#the episode before they got maniacally kidnapped

[arthur-side]

The fact that I thought this scene was from a fast pass spoiler just shows how bad my memory is💀

[xxstraykidsaikoxx]

sᴛʀᴀʏ ᴋɪᴅs

• ℍ𝕪𝕦𝕟𝕘 𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕖

➷ BANG CHAN (AiChan)

• Father-Daughter

• EnglishRacha

♡ His contact name: Channie❣️

♡ Her contact name: Baby Kangaroo💗

From the moment he saw her talent, he knew that she had to be apart of SKZ. Was the only one out of the boys to fully believe she could make a name for herself being the only and youngest female member. She looks to him for guidance and always follows his lead to a T. Channie was the first person besides her childhood friend to see her cry, and ever since, he's always been the person she goes to whenever things get overwhelming.

ICONIC MOMENTS:

During ISAC, Aiko was spotted sleeping on Channie's lap as he rubbed her head gently which melted the hearts of many STAYS

During the Food Wars episode of SKZ CODE, Aiko was on Chan's team and when he, Ai and Felix were crowded around a pot complaining in english with eachother which earned them the name 'EnglishRacha', Chan got 'annoyed' with her and called her by her korean name

In the 5-STAR Intro video, when the topic of 'Youtiful' was brought up, Aiko said she had wrote it with a double meaning, one of those being a reflection of her relationship with Chan

During a concert during the MANIAC tour, when Chan had jumped on the platform to perform 'Charmer', Aiko jumped after him and while she struggled to get up, she still did, STAYs nicknaming her 'Baby Kangaroo'

During a Channie's Room where Ai was a guest, a STAY asked if Aiko could replicate Chan's accent, Aiko asked what word do Aussie's use most often to make it believable, and before Chan could answer she made sure to say 'A word that's appropriate'

➷ LEE KNOW (MinKo)

• Brother-Sister

• Dance Better-Speak English Better Duo

♡ His contact name: Cat hoarder™

♡ Her contact name: Leader of Paboracha©

Hated eachother from first glance. Okay not really but they didn't really hit it off when they met. Even so, they stayed civil until the Survival Program. They had been forced to spend time together since they were eventually going to be bandmates. She enjoyed his comfortable silence, and he made her laugh, while she didn't push him to speak out. Ever since then, the two were close. Today they've become to what some STAYs call 'Unrelated siblings'. They are always at each others throats, some thinking that the two actually hate eachother.

ICONIC MOMENTS:

In 2021, Aiko had collapsed on stage due to a new diet JYP Staff had put her on, and Minho was the first one to rush to her side

Only one other than Jisung he trusts with his cats, and during the 'Two Kids One Room' she said she'd kidnap them one day

On multiple accounts, Aiko has been the one to help Minho with his english and even japanese, and she gets so happy whenever he gets sentences right

When he was struggling to read japanese letters during a live she was silently laughing at him and when he looked at her with an annoyed as fuck look she lost it and started laughing

During the Variety Game where they couldn't say english words, Aiko was on Minho's team and when he said an english word she tackled him and jokingly said she regretted teaching him english

During a stage during the MANIAC tour, when they got to FAM and it was Minho's turn and verse Aiko lightly pushed Minho as a joke, he escalated the gesture and pushed her harder then the two started to play fight on stage and when his verse finished, he put Aiko in a headlock and begun to sing his part while dragging her around in the headlock.

➷ CHANGBIN (AiBin)

• Chaotic Shorties

• RapRacha

♡ His contact name: binnie🐽

♡ Her contact name: kukuma🐈‍⬛

Thought she was okay when they first met. Didn't really get to know eachother too well since he was busy with 3Racha. But as time progressed, they realized they had something in common, they were both the shortest members. While the others and STAYs tease them about it, they've bonded over it and there are many moments of them being chaotic together. He always helps her perfect her rapping skills since in her eyes, Binnie's the best rapper she's ever heard.

ICONIC MOMENTS:

During SKZ-X LOVESTAY live, when Binnie said he was the tallest out of them all and everyone stood up besides Aiko and immediately started laughing

Also during the live when Binnie was asked if he liked having tracks written by JYP, Aiko suggested that he hold up the X and have the staff edit it out since the two both have a strained relationship with JYP

➷ HYUNJIN (AiHyun)

• Enemies to lovers

• Padoracha leaders

♡ His contact name: Cupid💕

♡ Her contact name: Muse💓

At first, they were anything but a happy couple. Always getting into petty arguments and going at each other for the littlest things. It was when Minho and Felix's elimination when the two had begun to grow close. Ai had major survivor's guilt, and she felt like if she hadn't been made part of the project so late, then the two would've been safe. Hyunjin had felt bad for the youngest member and decided to comfort her. Officially became a couple in 2020, and in March of 2023, their three year long relationship had been revealed.

ICONIC MOMENTS:

During the MANIAC tour, Felix and Channie had begun to 'fight' over who's maknae Aiko was, and before she could process life, Hyun went behind her and picked her up, claiming that she was his maknae

When they went to do the event with baby Rowoo, Aiko was very hesitant since she wasn't really great with small kids, but when she saw the baby with Hyun, she got a bad case of baby fever

During the SKZ CODE where they went to the haunted school, when the lights had gotten cut for a few seconds and Hyun went to hug the maknae line, Aiko immediately clung to him and when the lights came back on, Aiko was clinging to his waist

On a recent IG post, Hyun posted him and Aiko on a date, with the caption 'no one can replace you, my muse❤'

ᴍᴀsᴛᴇʀʟɪsᴛ

[shrimplymoray]

Neurodivergent, traumas and of sorts headcanons for creepypasta

Why? cuz obviously a bunch of traumatized psychos who live in a manor together can't not be neurodivergent and/or mentally ill in some way.

part 1 of some. idk when i'll make more but i like these.

feat. Jeff the Killer, Homicidal Liu + Sully, Jane the Killer and Ticci Toby

TW: Trauma discussion, Child abuse, PTSD discussion.

Jeff the Killer

Jeff and Liu grew up in a heavily catholic family, so you can imagine for a very emo and punk kid like Jeff it was hard to deal with.

Jeff, in my au, has Bipolar disorder, beside anger issues, and due to his family (excluding Liu) belief it was "the devil doing this to their son", he is neglected any sort of mental help.

Due to this religious trauma of being dragged to churches and being treated with physical violence for his likings and attitude, Jeff never learned a good coping mechanism, and resorts to violence to relief himself from his negative emotions.

When he is in a specially depressive episode, he tends to isolate himself and do the bare minimum to be alive.

But on his maniac episodes, he tends to be extra aggressive and violent. It was in one of those that he did his first killing spree.

Homicidal Liu and Sully

Like i said, Liu and Jeff grew up in a very catholic family. While Jeff's likings collided a lot with their parent's beliefs, Liu's were more accepted, albeit reluctantly.

Their parents had very high expectations of Liu, and whenever Liu didn't meet those, he was phisically punished.

Liu, was very distant from both of his parent's, due to fear of them, and he also didn't have many friends due to the excessive times his family moved in and out of cities.

Liu due to the physical abuse, reclusiveness and lack of attachment to anyone, including Jeff on his earlier years of life developed DID.

He only learned about DID, after Jeff's attack, when he was 15, though.

Besides DID, and him meeting with Sully, his protector, Liu also has heavy insomnia issues and PTSD from beds. Due to that he has a coffee addiction.

Sully, after being split, held a trauma holder role on the system. He grew very angry at Liu's parents, and slowly but surelly started having a more protector role, not only for Liu but, at the time, for Jeff.

After Jeff's attack, Sully grew even more bitter and split himself again, his trauma holder role staying with one part and himself, Sully, staying as a protector. That's when Liu noticed how sociopathic Sully grew.

Jane the Killer / Jane Arkensaw

Jane, before the Jeff incident, was completely normal. The max she had was one or other little insecurities with her appearance, but she had a safe and healthy childhood and family.

She was shy, but nothing that would be deemed worrysome.

After what Jeff did, whoever, her insecurities with her appearance ran out of the roof.

She always covers as much of her body as she can, too worried about anyone seeing her burnt scars and almost leathery skin.

She has an immense hate for Jeff, obviously, but she is extremely empathic with the ones that got hurt by him, including inside the manor by some reason and other people who were hunting him down, like Sully for example.

After her kidnapping, and even before that, after Jeff's burning alive, she grew a extreme anxiety disorder, and regularly does trades with Ann to get medication for it without having to notice Slenderman or the proxies.

She has heavy traumas of kidnapping, torture and tends to have panic attacks when assigned something like that.

Ticci Toby

Toby, of course, has Tourette's syndrome, as stated by his killer name.

Though in this au, Toby's main motor tics are more concentrated on his face, like multiple repeated blinking. Other tics he has is jerking his head to the left, stomping his feet, and turning his eyes around.

On the vocal tics category, he mainly ends up repeating sounds, while rarely he may repeat a word or whistle.

He also has CIPA, and that is what made him be so enthranced by fire since a young age. He didn't feel the burnt or the hurt, he only saw the pretty colour of fire.

Toby has some heavy trauma of cars, which results in most of his missions he walking to his victims. He only accepts entering on a car if another proxy is the one driving, and he can't be on the front.

Toby also has heavy trauma of drunk people, so most times on the comemorations inside the manor, he will stay in his room or outside putting something on fire.

He copes with most of his traumas and fears and honestly anything he can by putting stuff on fire or throwing stuff at people and getting away with it by being a proxy.

Happyness is in the little things <3/j

Toby also has ADHD, with an emphasys on the hiperactive.

He has trouble remembering stuff that are not written down, so if you hear an alarm going off in the middle of the night, it's probably Toby trying to remember something.

i'mma stop here because i got tired lol but this was fun.

[mandatory-blog-stop-asking]

hello this now a legend of the galactic heroes blog i will post essays on it at a whim

hi how you doing this is a big block of text that has light spoilers for LOGH and talks at length about its discussion of autocracy vs democracy, how it balances itself and how it evolves it into a conclusion. I'm gonna put the separation after the first paragraph and if the style seems interesting to you, click keep reading and enjoy the maddened rants of a man who writes to process things.

I think one of my favorite parts of Legend of the Galactic Heroes, a sentence I will write much more often in the coming years, is the weight it puts on actual discussion of merits and complications of imperialism and democracy, and how at the end of the day, there's no true correct option between either.

As the son of a nation that had just left a brutal dictatorship before I was born, I was raised with school teachers who in fact ran from cops in protests, fought secret police, ran counter-propaganda campaigns and defended their rights in the middle of the street, shouting and bleeding. And the pitch I got for democracy was always, well, military dictatorship is unacceptable, and the vote is the most important weapon in a population's arsenal.

LOGH mostly agrees with the sentiment, but it doesn't put republican democracy as the end-all be-all of good government as a matter of fact, which was a fascinating decision to me. The democrats as a faction are mostly corrupt or ineffective politicians who balance their self-interest by either flat-out lying to the population or throwing lives into blenders so they can push a ufanist agenda for an election.

They applaud each other as they figure out ways to remain in power while doing nothing themselves, and even though one or two of them are ultimately trying to Do The Right Thing, the system's checks and balances make it so they're being, well, checked and balanced by people who do not have the population's best interests in mind. We even have one of those same politicians say it out loud: we are parasites, we get paid to suckle on society and offer nothing, we are glorified bank attendants who should only be concerned with how to spend tax money but here we are, deciding who lives and who dies simply because we can.

Meanwhile you have the imperials-- descended from literal space nazis, genocidal maniacs who slaughtered billions or even hundreds of billions depending on how you interpret one of the history episodes -- and they're not much better before Reinhard shows up. A lousy, dumb class of aristocrats grown fat and complacent on the food and effort of the lower classes, with no desire to treat others who don't dress in their fancy suits as fellow human beings.

99.9% of the population will never affect public policy or even be targeted as the main beneficiary of policy, unless one of their young daughters is attractive enough for a 70 year old pervert to kidnap her and maybe listen to her requests every once in a while. The show is not subtle about who you're watching-- they scream Sieg Heil and are all German. It explicitly expects you to balance whatever you feel about the Lohengramm Dynasty with the historical context, both in the show and in real life.

So the question is thrown at the audience, at first by inferring it and then explicitly in season 2: assume for the sake of argument there's change coming for both systems, would you rather live in an aloof, corrupt democracy or a benevolent, yet inevitably complacent autocracy?

And I strongly feel that in most other stories, Reinhard would be depicted as a wide-eyed idealist that would slowly but surely succumb to his own vices, only to become a bad emperor killing all his incumbents and repeating the same problems of the original empire that destroyed billions of lives. It would be a cautionary tale about how absolute power corrupts absolutely or whatever, and about how only through freedom fighting with wanton abandon can we create a world worth living in. There would be nothing no one could tell Yang or Julian or whoever that would convince the audience that they didn't only have good points.

But no, LOGH is genuine about the question: it's a benevolent autocracy, at its heart, you can trust the emperor's words at face value. The values have shifted in such a way that the vices of yesteryear will not be around at least for a little while, and democracy itself may be on its way out due to the sheer lack of consistency it let fester at its breast.

The question is not whether or not having a decent-looking approach to government is a trick by the space nazis, the question is whether it's okay for you to give up your personal freedoms if you can be sure you will have your interests still considered, and that some level of oppression will happen on both sides either way. The show asks you whether, once removed from morality or ideology, you will go with the tax fraudists or with the pompous fucks, if you can be sure your life will objectively be easier on the latter and will always be unstable due to the former's natural changes.

The democratic systems in place in the galaxy by the time Reinhard takes over the Empire are shattered not just because of external actions, but because they were rotten to begin with. There was simply no way for them to survive in their form at the time. You have democrats constantly talking about the wonders of democracy while making sure most of the population will never experience those in the first place.

Parallel to that, in Iserlohn Fortress, the literal last bastion of democracy, you have Yang Wenli being pressured to become a military dictator to "put things in their place" and "make sure things work", showing you how little faith people have in the actual system and how much faith people have on him. But Yang has none of it-- taking over would make the entire exercise pointless.

Yet he never says Reinhard is an inherently bad leader, and never stops acknowledging the immense progress that he forced upon the galaxy. Both Yang and Julian constantly mention how, since Reinhard is a beloved monarch, he is technically more democratically-supported than any politician in Heinessen ever was. And that's not nothing-- it is imperative to actually engage with this conversation for those characters, because they are essentially fighting for a system that literally nobody in the universe has faith in, because they just saw it eat itself alive.

What the ideals of democracy eventually shape up to be is the belief that one man should not be the end-all-be-all of government policy, regardless of the kind of system they have. A king, a president, a prime minister, whatever-- other people's livelihoods should never come down to a single person's whim without any sort of recourse for criticism. Democracy, when stripped from its bells and whistles, becomes the ability to make yourself heard for good or ill. Autocracy, likewise, becomes the incapacity to reach anyone other than through personal, non-official means. Neither is future-proof, but one of them gives future generations the resources to fight the scourge of corruption, while the other does not.

And this conclusion takes one hundred and ten fucking episodes. It takes multiple revolutions, the rise and fall of entire governments, conspiracies, probably an entire planet's worth of alcohol. But it gets there! It sits you down and expects you to talk back as it talks about checks and balances, taxes, education, the measure of a man, the place of honor in politics, the whole damn thing!

Yet it never feels like the show is putting imperialism on a pedestal either, because you see, beyond a shadow of a doubt, how illuminated despotism always falls: the complete and utter lack of systems that aren't nepotistic as a rule means snakes will slither into nests, no matter what. Yes, the king might not be corrupt-- what about the second in command? The third? The fourth? If the fifth person in the chain is corrupt, then literally everyone under them also is. Because it's a system based on personality and connections, and not necessarily in what's best for each role.

Even though Reinhard tries his hardest to avoid this, and explicitly chooses people whom he trusts and knows can do a phenomenal job, he cannot change the nature of politics. The complete lack of systems designed to counter corruption in autocracies aside from someone coming in and saying "Eh, fuck it, just kill them" means smart enough disruptors will find a crack in the armor, and they will scheme and lie and conspire against the trust that glues the entire system together.

And cracks they find, and it works. You can bring down an entire system in one day by simply undermining the right person. There is no chain of command strong enough in an autocracy to survive the death of a king. Whoever the next king ends up being, things will drastically change, far more than they would if a president were to be assassinated. And, again, the show asks and expects you to form an opinion-- but is that worth it? Is the thought of building an entire castle on top of an exposed central rock inherently a thing of hubris? Is there no middle ground that can make the best of both worlds function perfectly? Is the most democratic-leaning autocrat still not democratic enough? Is the most benevolent military governor still unacceptable?

Ultimately, the conclusion LOGH seems to reach is that a parliament is a good buffer to a king so that the puck does not begin its movement in the same place it stops at, but also so that the people have a more direct way to speak their minds to a centralized ruler other than literally becoming friends with the right people. While much less directly discussed than the grander conversation, it seems that LOGH ascertains that the speed of decisions an autocracy can achieve is not a bug, but a feature, and should be utilized for the greater good, but that aristocrats and the king's friends should not be the only thing stopping a genocide if the king so wishes, and they should definitely not simply be capable of being ignored.

It's not really showed as a victory for either side. Reinhard doesn't live to interact with the new system, and Julian doesn't believe he'll ever stop undermining the Empire, even though he got them to compromise. People will keep dying for what they believe in, but now for far less romantic reasons and for far less charismatic leaders. The legend isn't just over, the legend is dead.

But that's history, that's how it works-- you don't fight until you're the only one standing, you fight until, somehow, both people lose, and then you keep going. The conversation about politics will literally never end, because there is no right answer. There is no holy book explaining how to perfectly govern a population. There's only the messy attempts imperfect men and women put forth, and the shape they take after being grounded through the gears of progress and war. And at the end of the day, this is all just different people trying to figure out a way to better put tax money where it should go, otherwise we all starve next winter.

Legends are told after the fact, and ultimately, they're just stories simplified so that they can better inspire us. The galaxy keeps spinning, unpreoccupied with the affairs of man and their ideals.

[sshbpodcast]

Top 3 Star Trek Voyager villains

By Ames

Invaders! Cower in fear this week on A Star to Steer Her By as we unleash some of the biggest masterminds, ne’er-do-wells, and other villains in this week’s blogtivity. We covered our more universal (and frequently more heroic) favorite characters from Voyager last week, and this week we’re conspiring with some of the baddest baddies from the Delta Quadrant. Mwahahaha!

This should be no surprise anymore. We did it for TOS, TNG, and DS9, so crawl into your favorite B-movie costume, prepare to engage in mutiny, and maybe grow a goatee for this week’s most villainous Voyager villains. Put up your dukes as you read on below, follow along with the master plan over on this week’s podcast episode (discussion at 1:01:56), and steeple your fingers thusly. Now that’s evil.

[Images © CBS/Paramount]

Ames – Wave after wave of our own men

Annorax

Arturis

Borg Queen

The diabolical plans of all of my picks are downright destructive when you get down to it. We see it with our Krenim friend, Annorax, whose beautiful timeship undoes so many people and only a patented Janeway Self Destruct™ can knock them out. We see it with the USS Dauntless, the fake Starfleet vessel programmed to get everyone’s ass assimilated, even if that means martyring Arturis in this revenge thing. And I can’t not see it in the Borg Queen, as I also did in TNG, when she willingly destroys her own ships to root out the beginnings of revolution.

—

Jake – Broken by circumstance

Annorax

Captain Ransom

Kashyk

Jake likes a villain who himself is a victim of a broader scheme, whether it be his own tragic backstory, his own people mutinying, or the player just plain getting played in his own game. So here are some more kudos for Annorax, who you can almost root for because his intentions are rational even if the execution is genocidal, for Captain Ransom whose displacement in the Delta Quadrant utterly ruined his crew, and for the double-crossing Kashyk who got thoroughly triple-crossed in just about every [Jane]way.

—

Chris – Mustache-twirlingly eeeevil!

Dr. Chaotica!

Kashyk

Warship Janeway

Chris is himself a cartoon character, so it only makes sense for him to pick some of the most over-the-top, Snidely Whiplash–adjacent, cartoonish villains for his list. Lean on that pipe organ as we introduce Doctor Chaotica!, with exclamation mark thoroughly intentional, as one of the most entertaining, least realistic villains we ever did see, but it’s a B-movie homage, so it’s okay. Let’s also bow before Kashyk, whose espionage skills rival a Bond villain’s, and Warship Janeway, the best mirror universe character not actually in the mirror universe!

—

Caitlin – Slimy scumbags, scummy slimebags

Henry Janeway

Penk

Dr. Kadan

Finally, all of the bad guys on Caitlin’s list are just scumbags to the core. They’re probably the most realistic villains on the show because we could see this level of corruption in a lot of people today. Dr. Kadan is just a kidnapping monster whose motivation is nothing but the capitalism of it all. Penk, played deliciously sleazily by Jeffrey Combs, is… also a kidnapping monster, etc. etc. And while Henry Janeway isn’t a kidnapping monster, per se, he also destroys a perfectly salvageable episode by being a selfish luddite who drags Shannon and Jason down with him.

— One more installment before we hit the Voyager finale and wrap up the series. What will we think? What will our favorite and least favorite episodes be? But I get ahead of myself: what will our favorite Voyager alien races be? Find out here next week! Also, obviously, follow along as we prepare to invade the Alpha Quadrant on the podcast, practice your maniacal laughter with us on Facebook and Twitter, and assimilate this!

[lilacwineandthesinkingsun]

Sweeter than honey.. Part 5

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT.

WARNING: this contains physical abuse, blood, please skip this episode if you're sensitive.

Summary: You're a close friend to the modern!Ragnarssons, and when you find yourself in a bad place they help. Even if it's finding a new room to rent, or your sex-life.

Masterlist

You woke up feeling weird. You weren't sick or anything, there was just this anxiety that's been making the hairs on your back standing on alert. That wasn't going away for the remainder of the day. You felt like you've been watched the whole day. Followed around.

Then you just sighed and finished work.

When you got home, Ubbe's car wasn't there, so you went ahead and started to prepare dinner. Not long after you heard the front door open.

-KITCHEN. - you yelled, so he knew where you were. You didn't look up when someone stepped behind you, thinking it was him coming to greet you. But instead a piece of cloth was shoved before your mouth and nose, strange smelling chemical laced in it. You fel your body go heavy before you passed out.

When Ubbe got home he thought you went to the bathroom, so he waited patiently. But when you've seemed to spend an awful lot of time there he went to check. Only then did he find out that you're not in the apartment. He tried calling you, but it went straight to voicemail. There were no sings of someone breaking in, so he texted his brothers, askng if they had heard from you.

Just when he was about to call again, Bjorn called him. He picked up immediately, maybe it's news from you, Bjorn was away, so he was the last he planned to call.

-Ubbe, is (y/n) with you?

-No, i'm trying to get a hold of her, why?

-Shit. Call the others immediately, i'll be back by morning.

-What? Why? What happened?

-Your fucking ex-wife and out halfwitted brother Sigurd got back to the country yesterday. If i'd have to guess then i'd say they want (Y/n).

-Shit, she said she felt someone was watching her the whole day. FUCK, i should've been picking up her regardless of her saying no. FUCK Bjorn... what the fuck do we do now?

-As i said, call the others, they will know what to do, i'll be back tomorrow. We'll get her back, and i'll sure hope that without any bruises and shit. You know how bad those two can be...

-Fcking psychos....

An hour later 3 very anxious guy and Lagertha was pacing around Ubbe's livingroom. Nor Margrethe nor Sigurd picked up their phones.

They had not heard from you for long hours now, even Bjorn got back into town. He nearly tore the door off of it's hinges. The plan was for Ubbe to try ang get back on Margrethe's good side. He sent her a text.

-It's done.. and it better fucking work.. If these fucking fake messages get to (Y/n), she'll let them kill her willingly...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile in an abandoned factory in the outskirts of town..

You were strapped in a chair in a dimly lit room when you woke up. Your head was pounding, the rope was burning into your wrists harshly. Judgind by the wet feeling it already reached your soft flesh and you were bleeding.

The door opened and someone jumped over to you.

-OOoh, you finally woke up. hahahahaa - she giggled. You knew this voice. When did she got back?

-WHy.. why did you kidnap me? - you asked still dizzy. She harshly took a hold of your chin, making you look in front of you as she whispered.

-You took what is mine.. also... i know someone who you missed out while fucking all the Lothbrok men.. - she saig still giggling like a maniac, as Sigurd came into view with a sick smirk on his face.

-It's not a nice thing to fuck my brothers and not me...

-You don't even like me.. just.. just let me go.. I am not fucking responsible for any of your brothers choices.

He walked closer making you look up at him, you hissed as he held your chin, it hurt.

-You see, i do not like you, but i do like your body. I fantasized about fucking you senseless since you grew tits... Also i would very much like to have my bastard brothers listen to you moan and scream my name...

-They won't give shit... when she was more than a simple fuck anyways? - Margrethe said as she was typing away on her phone. When she was done she walked up to Sigurd, putting an arm on his shoulder, looking at you.

-Ubbe just told me she was a quick fuck to help him forget me which he couldn't so.. Have fun lil bro in law, i'll be on my way on a date with my husband. - she said, nearly spitting the words at you.

You had tears in your eyes. Ubbe was so quick to forget you, so quick to call on her. It was so easy to believe that noone will help you and that you were just some fuckdoll to them..

-Awww.. pretty baby.. you thought you matter to them don't you? It's alright.. i'm here to fuck them out of your system.. well of course.. my way,, - he said, his smile evenb more sinister as he cut the rope that held your hands to the chair, yanking you after him to an even darker room. It only had ropes and chains hanging in the middle. He started to tie you up, not mindig if it hurt or not, or if you could feel your hands or legs. You were nothing for him but a toy. Well.. for him too. He soon had you suspended in the air, one leg barely reaching the ground, the other is tied to you side. At least you still had clothes on... Up until he came over and cut them down, not minding if he cut you or not, which he did a few times.

-Cry all you want.. you see... it actually makes me harder.. so does blood.. - he said as he smudged over some cuts harshly. You were handing in a cold room, only wearing your underwear, completely at the mercy of a sociopath. Not how you imagined your night to go. - and noone's gonna hear you.. - he whispered before he harshly spanked your inner thigh, not even bothering to smooth over it. It was plainly for hurting you. This all was. You tried to remain quiet, to not give him the pleasure of either hearing you cry, or hearing you hiss in pain. You're gonna give him nothing. He will either let you go or kil lyou when he'd become bored, and you were fine with either.

When you didn't react to spanks and bites anymore, he started using his fists. You were bleeding from your nose and mouth now, he also busted your brow, but you still refused to give him a single sound. When he got tired of it and searched around for stuff to hurt you with, the door opened, revealing a giggling Margrethe and a giggling Ubbe, hand in hand. You looked at him, and spat on the ground.

-Good to see you came to your senses Brother.. - said Sigurd as he hit your back with a lash.

-Yea, well it was only a matter of time till i missed my wifey like crazy.. She's a good fuck though.. - he said as he put an arm around Margrethe. She huffed and pouted. - not as good as you honey... - he said before he kissed her. Your heart broke at the sight. You trusted him, you believed him when he said he loved you since you were kids.. and now it was all a lie. No son of Ragnar deserved to ever have you. Why did you even try, why believe them? Silent tears escaped your eyes, stinging where they've gone into your bruises.

Ubbe then told her to watch, while he makes a call to a client. And she happily stayed and watched as Sigurds lashes you, drawing blood already from numerous cuts.

-So this turns you on huh? - she asked seemingly interested.

-Aren't she prettier this way? Bloodied, silent, vulnerable.

She just hummed. Soon Ubbe got back, and sat down on the couch next to Margrethe watching you with an emotionless face, as if the last few days meant absolutely nothing. You hung your head low, and just looked at the blood under you. As the small dots got bigger an bigger. Then the door opened again, and then it all went blank. You heard shouting, fighting, but all the energy left you. You weren't gonna fight anything anymore. The ones you trusted betrayed you in the most disgusting way, what point was there anymore? These were your last thoughts before you passed out.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ubbe on the phone...

-Ivar, Bjorn, Hvitserk.. need you to come to the old factory downtown, the abandoned one. Basement level, follow the lights. Also... call Lagertha, we'll need medical help..

-For them? - scoffed Ivar.

-For (Y/n).. - Ubbe said, then Ivar saw red. so did Bjorn and Hvitserk. They loaded the truck, calling Lagertha on the way.

When they barged in Ivar didn't even saw you at first, he just threw his axe at Sigurd, hitting his chest, killing him immediately. Then he saw you. Unconscious, suspended. When he looked to the side, he saw Ubbe holding a knife to Margrethe's neck. Hvitserk and Bjorn was already getting you down. Bjorn put his jacket around you, carrying you princess style. You were badly beaten, all over. They would never forgive Sigurd this, nor Margrethe. After Ivar saw you, and your state he started to beat up Sigurd's lifeless body, making him almost unrecognizable. Hvitserk tore Ivar off of him, while Ubbe tied Margrethe up. They will deal with her later, until then she will be good in the cell under the family mansion.First and foremost, they needed to get you to the mansion before you lost even more blood. Lagertha was waiting there. The color left her face as she saw you, watching as Ubbe yanked a giggling Margrethe behind him, straight down to the cells.

-Sigurd?

-Pulp, abandoned factory downtown. Slowly burning to shit now. - said Bjorn as he put you down, immediately lighting a cigarette. They could not lose you. Not when they only just got to have you.

Lagertha tended to your wounds, stiching a few together, bandaging the others, smoothing over ointments and antiseptic. She gave you painkillers through IV too. Now they just had to wait. They all refused to leave, so they sat out in the huge livingroom, sipping on their whiskey silently.

-WHat will we do with her? - asked Hivtserk.

-She needs to die. - said Bjorn as he clenched his jaw.

-Should've killed her in Norway. - said Ivar looking over at Ubbe.

-Should've never taken her o na fucking date. - said Ubbe as he slammed his glass down. He stood up, loaded his gun. -Call Floki, we'll ned to do something with her body. - he said before walking down to the cells. A single shot was heard then silence. Only the steps Ubbe took, before sitting don with his refilled whiskey.

-Do yall think she believed them about me? About us?

-We'll know when she wakes up..

------------------------------------------------------------------------

You did wake up 4 days later. Silently looking in front of you, with an emotionless face. When Ubbe woke up next to you, he immediately called out.

-(Y/n), sweetheart, you're awake.. - he sighed - i thought we're gonna lose you..

-You did not.. what i don't understand is... why did you even save me? go be with her..

-why did we even save you? we love you.. we really do..

-you sure as hell did not love me while you watched Sigurd beat me to pulp..

-what was i supposed to do? take on them myself alone? I had to alert the others and wait for them to get there.. i wish i could show you how much it fucking killed me to see you that way...

-just leave Ubbe... what's the point in pretending that i matter? as soon as i can walk i'll be out of your hairs... for good.

He cannot say anything else... he barged out, the others flowing in. Lagertha came with your medicine when she heard you scream at them to leave you alone.

-Give her time boys.. She'll come around.. - she said, trying to calm their nerves. She was the only one you were willing to talk to... well occasionally..

She changed your bandages, took out the stiches, gave you your meds. Before you fell asleep again, you asked her.

-Do you think they are telling the truth?

-I know they are. I watched you all grow. It might not always seem that way, but.. everyone knew you would be theirs as much as they would be yours. Even the gods told us.. . I remember when Torvi, Aslaug, Helga and I were dreaming the same thing over and over, that you were made for eachother.. with all of them.. There are things you should not fight (Y/n)... - she said gently holding your hand. You were asleep now.

The next day you woke up to Bjorn's blue eyes boring into you.

-How are you feeling? - he asked softly.

-Better.

-Still want to move away?

-Not sure..

-Well if it makes any difference... i um.. i got this after the second night we spent together at my place.. - he said placing a small box down on your lap before leaving the room.

You slowly opened the box, revealing a ring. Not diamond, that wouldn't be really you.. It was a simple band out of gold, with a black inlay, and with gold letters it said, till death. You cried softly. A few hours later Hvitserk visited, you two talked while Lagertha changed your bandages. He got a call and Lagertha gave you a knowing look.

-DId you know? - you asked.

-It dawned on me, yes. Remember when you kicked his ass when you were just a child? I remember him coming home huffing and puffing. And when i asked why he was so angry he said that he don't care that the others laughed at him, or that you bested him, but he was angry that when he was about to kiss you, Ubbe jumped on him, tackling him to the ground. He wanted you to be his first kiss..

-Well i wasn't.. and as i remember there were plenty others. - you smiled to yourself.

-Yes and all had similar qualities as you. Either from the inside or the outside, but none of them were you..

She kissed your forehead before leaving. That night you could not sleep. You knew they were all in the mansion. Lagertha told you they all refused to leave. You slowly got up, still weak so you were trying to be as quiet as you can, heading for Bjorn's room. You knocked gently, and he told a quiet it's open. probably thinking its his mother or one of his brothers. When he saw it was you, and also because you were so weak, barely standing, he shot up from his bed, Hugging you to himself gently.

-Careful now. - he said holding you flush to himself. - What are you doing out here? SHouldn't you be in bed princess? - he looked at you with concern.

-I um.. i know i just.. i couldn't sleep.. and i.. i thought..

-Shh, it's okay, i'm happy you're here, i was just worried. Come let's get you to bed. - he said slowly leading you to his bed, then taking you into his arms as gently as he could. He missed your perfect body, fitting into his side perfectly. You were made for him. Your presence both calmed him and made him unbeliavebly happy.

After a few minutes of revelling in his scent, and the heat of his body, only did you realize that he was halfnaked, only wearing his sweatpants. You reached for the pocket of your gown, taking out the small box, putting it on his chest. You heard his breath hitch, but then you put your arm around his middle, and your head on his chest.

-Wanted you to give it to me properly. - you whispered and he let out a low chuckle, holding you closer. He took it out of the box, looking at you sweetly, taking your hand in his.

-(Y/n), i know this might sound crazy.. but.. i haved loved you ever since i knew you. And i just.. i ... i talked with them about this.. we all know the prophecy, but... that shouldn't mean that i cannot do this... and if you.. if you'd have me.. i would be so fucking honored if you'd marry me.

You didn't answer just cried and nod into his chest, holding out your finger for him to slip on the ring. He kissed you softly, aware of your injuries.

The next morning Lagertha came running into his room.

-Bjorn.. Bjorn.. (Y/n)'s not in her...... - she then stopped and smiled as she saw you curled into Bjorn's side, his arm protectively around you, as you both slept. Ubbe and Ivar along with Hvitserk came too, they all smiled, knowing they did not lose you. When Lagertha motioned to her finger, they saw that you had the ring on.

-Guess we have a wedding to plan now huh? - asked Hvitserk with the biggest smile on his face.

[inertflouride]

Turmoils of you- Part 2

(This won't make much sense if you haven't read the first part)

Episode 10 references ⚠️

Warning: swearing, death references, nightmares, kidnapping.

"Save me! Please!", the girl in front of me begs. I have seen her from before, I-, I just can't figure out from where. "He has already killed him. He's going to kill me too! I'm begging you. Please. Save me."

Suddenly, she speeds over to me and creepily smiles at me, her bloodshot eyes staring into my soul. "Why don't you come save me? How can you be so heartless? How can you watch me die from the comfort your house?", she repeats, almost maniacally, "Won't you come save me? Huh?"

All of a sudden, she lunges on me, making me fall backwards, and then she sits on top of my stomach, getting her face closer and closer to me as she keeps repeating, "Why don't you save me? Why don't you?" with her red rimmed eyes budging out and a scary smile never leaving her. She hysterically starts laughing, and wraps her pale hands around my neck, strangling me. I didn't falter initially but eventually my lungs give up, and I start struggling to get in any oxygen. I desperately look for an object in the range of my hands to protect myself from getting killed by her.

Finally, I find a small rock, roughly about the size of my palm and move to hit the back of her head with it, whilst she is fixated on me. Just when I swing my hand with full force, the look on her face suddenly changed, any signs of hysteria vanished. I somehow stop my hand, losing grip on the rock.

She looks at me, expressionless, as if nothing just happened and even lets go of my neck. I gasp in all the air I can and start coughing up. I tried to sit back but realised she still hasn't got off of me, and by the looks of it, isn't planning to either.

Out of the blue, she gives me a sensitive smile, even more delicate than pansies. That's when it clicks, her identity. She is none other than Hannah Donfort.

"Why?", I somehow manage to utter with my raspy voice. Why me Hannah?

She opens her mouth, but before she could say anything, "Bang". She stiffs, with a bullet hole right in the middle of her head. I start screaming, as much as my throat allows, blasting off my sound box with all my might, screaming on the top of my lungs.

"NOOO!", I give out a pained yell and jerkingly, I sit back up, noticing my surrounding is no longer the one from before, noticing that Hannah is no longer on me, dead.

I hold my face down in my palms, trying to calm myself. "It's just a dream, it isn't real. Calm down", I mutter but my words fails to reach me. My body shakes convulsively as I break down. The nightmare kept repeating in my head, how Hannah begged for my help, how she strangled me and how she...

Two large arms wrap around me, trying to calm me down but it ends up inducing a totally opposite reaction. I jerk at the touch and push back the source, scrambling to the farthest corner of the bed and curl up in a ball. I immediately recognise him as the guy who had drugged me. Who else would it even be anyways.

"W- Who are you-u? What d-do you want?", I stutter in a voice so small, I could barely hear my own self. This person is wearing a hood and a face mask, so clearly, I can't make out who he is.

"Please calm down. Do you need water?", he asks, trying to be helpful but it rubs off in a wrong way. Why isn't he answering a simple damn question?

"No no no", I shriek, rocking back and forth, with tears dropping on my arms, my palms covering my ears.

"It's me. Jake", he begins, trying to make peace with weird arm motions as if trying to negotiate with my fear. "It's me. Jake. You don't have to be scared. I won't hurt you. You know I won't hurt you, right?"

"Oh, so it's you. Fancy meeting you", I mumble, letting my body fall on the bed with a soft thud. Jake rushes towards me and wraps himself around me, his arms rubbing up and down my arms, trying to warm me up but it only makes my sobbing grow. I grab his hoodie and nuzzle in his neck, trying to make it all go away.

"Shhh. It's okay. I'm here now", he says, softly, and kisses my forehead. He stretches one of his arms but does not let go of me and grabs a water bottle. "Come on, take a sip", he adds and twists open the cap, giving it to me. I take a few sips, for his sake, but when it relieves my scratchy throat, I continue drinking it.

He wipes my tears with his thumb and looks me in my eyes with his clenched jaw. "I will not let you hurt yourself anymore. I will bring Michael down even if I have to kill him", he silently vows to me.

"How did you know-", I voice but he places his finger on my lips, silencing me.

"I'd be a fool to not know what troubles the person I love", he cooed in my ear and patted my head, lifting me off him. Fuck, I didn't notice I was on his lap the whole time. I let a cough out and look at him, questioningly. His hood is down now, showing his wavy black hair. He's wearing a black mask which covers his nose and mouth just like the ones we wore in the pandemic.

He must have sensed me looking at his mask and takes it off. A subconscious "wow" escapes me and shit, I want to disappear right now. This embarrasses me and makes my cheeks burn. Why God?Why? And now he smirks at me. Way to go MC, feed his ego now, pfft.

He clears his throat and snaps me from marvelling him. I just want to dig my own grave right now.

He tries to start, "Do you want to talk about it, whatever just-"

"Nope", I interject him.

"Okay then. Are you alright now? Do you want to lie down, rest for a bit more?", he suggests, putting his hands in his pockets. He's nervous, probably because he hasn't been in such situations.

"Not really. I feel better now", I reply back, looking at him, "Um, how did you find me?"

"I traced your location from the network tower your phone accessed while messaging me", he hinted at me.

"But how did you get to me so fast, like I texted you about 10 minutes before...", I try to converse the part where he kidnapped me, giving me a shocker of a lifetime.

"Let's say I was around this area since a few days", he replies back, looking kind of pissed? Damn, I can sense the trail of anger emerging from him.

"What were you thinking? You knew this was a fucking suicide mission before deciding, didn't you? Why did you not discuss any of THIS with me?!", he finally lets it all out.

"And you would have let me?", I snapped back, "If I can save them both, why shouldn't I? And it wasn't like I was going to play by Michael's script. I had a plan but you jeopardised it!"

"No way in hell will I ever let you anywhere near that creep. What if it was Michael instead of me! Then what would have happened huh?!", he hisses back at me, and slumps down in his chair.

"By the way, he would have caught on to your little plan had you taken one step further into the cave. There was a CCTV on the entrance but you didn't know that, right?" he scoffs and gets on his computer.

Fuck. I didn't consider the CCTV part. The fact that he could plant cameras all around the 60 miles long mine never crossed me.

"I- But-", I try to start but fail to get anything out that would make sense.

"Yeah right, this is just what I expected", he says without even looking at me. We both stayed quiet for a while with awkwardness hanging in the air.

"What all happened when I was asleep?", I ask him.

He looks at me for a while before he starts describing, "You kept saying 'I am sorry' repeatedly, kept shaking your head furiously. You were even sweating profusely and whimpering too. At first, I thought you had a fever or maybe side effects of chloroform that I had to use but then you suddenly screamed and rest I think you are aware of."

I kept quiet for a few minutes before speaking up. "You know, I saw Hannah in my dream", he stiffens up. "She kept begging me to save her and when I didn't, she strangled me. Then, suddenly, she lets go of me only to get shot and her lifeless body falls on me."

He looks at me, speechless, and with a hard stare, his glossy eyes stays on me. Then, he strides over to me and gently cups my face with his two hands. "Has it ever happened before?", he asks in a soft voice. It has. It has because it was closely related to my own childhood trauma but I won't tell him that. Especially, when all I can see is pain and guilt in his eyes, silently blaming himself for it.

"Nope", I lie to him. I'll tell him when things settle down a bit but right now, nope. We look at each other, not breaking contact. He's so close to me. One of his hands grazes the skin exposed between my pants and top. It is when I gasp by his hand's sudden touch that he closes the space between us and presses his lips on mine softly. One of his hands wanders in my top and the other holds my nape lightly.

Everything about it was soft, gentle and comforting. The light brushing of our lips. It wasn't sexual. Nope. It was reassuring, his way of telling me that we will save Hannah. Not him or me, but us. He breaks away, keeping our foreheads pressed together, his hand still on my nape. "I will make him pay for this MC. For all that he has done to Hannah, to you. I will make him beg me for death", he solemnly pledges and presses his lips to my forehead.

"I have to handle some business about my pursuers right now. I have already overstayed my visit here, longer than I should have", he pauses. "Um, about Michael. We have to make a plan, a foolproof one and um, I'll need your help again. Not right now, a little later", he implies suggestively, giving a small smile.

"I wanted to take a shower as well. I was sweating a lot back there apparently. Plus, it will help me calm my nerves and clear my head", I reply, scratching the back of my head.

"Yeah sure, the bathroom's that way," he shows me and gets back to his work while I get busy overthinking everything.

I bolt the door and start stripping, thinking a thousand things at once. Sighing, I turn on my shower, close my eyes and let my mind go blank as cold water drums over my skin, loosening my limbs and calming my mind. I stay like this for a few seconds before I slip down with the tiles and sit down the cold floor, my head hung low while letting go of the restraints I have restricted on myself. I need to get out of this emotional dilemma because I can no longer afford to stay like this. Especially now that I have bigger things to do.

"So when I get out of this shower, there should no longer be any traces of weakness", I command myself.

I have to stay strong. Because I am. Because I can be.

PART-3

[yandere-sins]

Hi!! I loved your recent Sakusa work sm! It was so good and intense and you did a great job!! I was wondering, if the requests & prompts are still open can you do board games & diary for either Sakusa or Atsumu! I’m fine with either one <3

Sorry, I am just too much into both to separate them! Enjoy some good ol’ manipulated double-teaming!

Board games - “Don’t say such means things.. it breaks my heart to put you back in those locks.” 

Diary - “My pet should hold no secrets from their owner and vice versa.”

»»———————— ♡ ————————««     

It was a hard pill to swallow, but you had to admit that you were growing desperate.

For more than a week now, you had been in the clutches of these two maniacs, had to live through ups and downs with them and alone. Yet, there still didn’t seem to be any signs of an end to this nightmarish episode you were going through. Slowly but surely, this meant you were desperate for change. For something - anything! - to happen, just so all of this would finally end.

You found yourself desperate for the comfort of a bed, the privacy of your own toilet, the warmth of a sweater. Sometimes your mouth remembered your favorite dishes, and your heart remembered the feeling of hugging someone dear to you. And, every time you found yourself craving the same as you had before your life went downhill, all you were faced with were two psychos using your needs for their own gain.

At least, that’s what you thought about this situation.

“Come on! It’s good!” Atsumu tried to make the spoon of soup palatable for you, as he had for the last two days. He did his best, but his best wasn’t good enough for you. Lips pressed together into a thin line, you kept avoiding the spoon, going as far as to dodge and move out of the way of his reach. You’d rather fall to the floor than sit on this couch and eat the damn soup, you decided. Were you not too afraid of the other ghost in this apartment, you would have tried making a run for the hallway and the front door, but they were too unpredictable.

“I can’t believe you’re doing this to me,” you sobbed, the frown on your face holding back the tears you felt burning in your eyes ever since you woke up in this place. “We’ve been friends since our childhood! But I guess I didn’t mean anything to you.”

Finally slipping out of his grip, you fell to your knees, the cold, hard parquet being as unwelcoming as you felt. Atsumu’s disgruntled deep breath was absolutely unjustified how you found. After all, he wasn’t the one being held captive against his will. Of all the people, you were the only one allowed to showcase your discontent like that.

Next to you, Atsumu set down the bowl of soup on the coffee table, a strong, firm grip reaching down to the rope binding your wrists behind your back. Anything was better than letting him do as he pleased. Kicking, screaming, and biting if necessary! But by now, you two were playing a meager game of who was stronger, the lack of sustainable food and rest being one reason why you didn’t always have the upper hand in these situations; thus, he pulled you up on the couch again easily.

“Don’t say such mean things... you mean everything to me, [Name].”

This assurance was least helpful to the constant anxiety raging through you. Before all this, you had trusted Atsumu with everything. You’d been the best friend one could have, got along well with his family. It had been bold of you to assume that he was capable of anything beyond complaining to and nagging you, but you always hoped that he’d one day come to understand the feelings you harbored for him.

But not like this. You didn’t want to be loved by him like this.

“Be nice, or I’ll have to put you back in those metal locks. It would break my heart, and you don’t like them either, do ya?”

You shivered just from thinking about the chains clasping around your wrists and ankles, cold and tight. You hated them, just as much as the cage you had been stuck in for the first few nights. Everything kept you in place. You couldn’t even turn if you wanted. It was followed by constant pain, and having someone treat you like a caged animal rather than a human while you were in there, was only the cherry on top.

Compared to that, just hanging out in the living room with ropes around your wrists was freedom. “No,” you whispered, the fight not having disappeared from your voice, and you were relieved to still have it in you. “See?” Atsumu sighed, pulling you back on the couch and between his legs, arms wrapping around you and keeping you pressed up against him. “It’ll be fine,” he mumbled, kissing the back of your head.

“Just don’t upset him.”

“Upset who?” another voice echoed through the room as if on cue. Instinctively your eyes followed the sound to the kitchen. Through the connecting door to the hallway, Sakusa entered, newspaper in hand and seemingly reading an article on it. “Nobody,” Atsumu was quick to avert, but you had felt the slight flinch he made when his partner spoke up.

“Did they eat?” Sakusa asked, unbothered by the angry glare you sent him and Atsumu’s lie, setting down both paper and coffee mug on the kitchen counter before shifting his attention to you. Three long steps were all he needed to approach the couch from behind, fingers flitting up your throat and to your jaw as he grazed you with a short glance before eyeing the bowl on the table.

“Done with work?” Atsumu asked, pressing you possessively closer to him, but it wasn’t like he could upset Sakusa with his doings, even if it was his intention. “Taxes, Atsumu, but yes. They didn’t eat?”

At that, Atsumu finally had to admit defeat, sighing and averting his eyes to some point in the room but far away from you or his partner. Sakusa let out the same sound, though quieter and with a shook of his head before rounding the couch and grabbing the bowl himself. “Why won’t you eat?” he asked, directing his questions to you now. “You should be thankful for the food you are given.”

“I don’t want it,” you replied, as confident as you could. The truth was that whenever your eyes met, you felt as if any strength you had was pulled from you. It may have been due to the fact you had argued and pleaded with this man for the first few days of your kidnapping, but out of the two, Sakusa was the one that scared you more than your childhood friend who had no backbone, joining forces with this madman.

Letting the soup slide over and from the spoon a few times, Sakusa eventually took a small sip of it, his thoughts hidden well behind the indifference in his expression. “There’s no reason for you to not eat it. It’s completely fine.”

“I don’t want it since it’s you giving it to me.”

Silence raked through the room while Atsumu shuffled behind your back, pressing you closer again. For a moment, you thought this time, it might be to protect you, rather for his own pleasure, and you were quick to realize why. “Are you an idiot?” was Sakusa’s short yet meaningful reply to your defiance, his face scrunching up into disbelieve. “Other people would be happy to have this kind of luxury of being fed.”

“Omi...” Atsumu tried to settle the rising dispute, but a raised hand from his teammate was enough to shut him up uncomfortably. “I’m not other people,” you spoke up for yourself, trying to stay calm and not let him agitate you. “After all, I have to be locked up with you two crazy bastards.”

This time, the silence felt like an eternity. As if it was slowly but surely cutting through your body as if you were butter. Perhaps, you had been too comfortable simply refusing and struggling against them for the last two days, so your mind had already started to forget about the horror you were living in.

“So that’s what you think about us,” was all that Sakusa hissed back at you, his eyes drilling into your psyche like nails. Behind you, Atsumu opened his mouth again, perhaps to set you straight, but no word ever left him, Sakusa being faster than him. “No, it’s fine. A pet should hold no secrets from their owner and vice versa.”

You didn’t expect him to be the first one to avert his eyes, Sakusa’s gaze wandering back to the door in the back of the living room, the very same one you had woken up in before. The one that was filled with ‘your’ kennel and restraints and an unbelievable amount of deprecation. “So I will be very honest with you too.”

Next thing you knew, Sakusa was up again, having reached for your hands still locked between yours and Atsumu’s body. This time, when you fell to the floor, it was anything but controlled, your ass being the first to hit the resistance of the ground, and you gasped in pain as your shoulder slammed into the coffee table. There wasn’t enough time to grasp how your body hurt at that moment, the back of your shirt being tugged at, the fabric pressing into your throat at the front as you were dragged over the floor gasping for air.

“You will be thankful for what we do for you in the future. You don’t have any choice. Until then, you’ll stay in your cage and think about your behavior. Don’t even think about making a ruckus, or you won’t live to see what I will do to you, do you understand?”

Instantly, the dread of feeling the cold, uncomfortable bars against your body made your heart drop in your chest. You couldn’t even get used to the darkness in the boarded-up room without sunlight from the windows when you already heard the lock fall into place.

“No! NO!” you cried out, forgetting all about his warning and slamming yourself towards the only source of light coming from the open door to the living room. “Don’t leave me here again! Please!”

It was pathetic. Using big words just seconds prior to this, and yet, here you were pleading with him to spare you the agony of this place. But despite not wanting to be here, in this apartment, you had a special dislike of being confined in this cold, tiny space all by yourself. You’d rather hang out on the couch, unproductively watching TV with Atsumu all weekend long than having to listen to the clicking of the clock as the only companion you had in this room. You, actually begging to not be left here, was just proof of how desperate you were, scared of the anxiety and degradation you had experienced last time.

“You’ll have enough time to think about your behavior here,” Sakusa sighed, annoyed by your screams. “Learn your place.”

“I do! I know... I just...”

“You know nothing.”

“Omi...” you suddenly heard from the door. Unsure, gripping onto his own arm, Atsumu stood there, the light revealing a conflicted expression playing on his face. “That’s just... It’s too much, man,” he mumbled, and Sakusa let out another deep sigh.

“I told you it wouldn’t be easy, Atsumu. You can still get out if you don’t think you can do it, but don’t pull me down with you. I won’t tell anyone about your involvement if that worries you.”

Standing up, Sakusa seemed to glide out of the shadow, approaching Atsumu who’s gaze shifted from you to his partner in crime. “I’ll take good care of them,” Sakusa promised, though his voice was so indifferent, you had trouble believing that he meant it. “No...” Atsumu eventually spoke up after a moment of contemplation. “I love them just as much- No, I love them more than you. I can’t leave now.”

“Then you understand that this is necessary, right?”

For the first time, as you looked into Atsumu’s eyes, you felt the hints of pity come over you, your old friend looking like a beaten dog next to Sakusa. You barely could believe that Atsumu listened to the manipulative words of someone who should have no rule over your both lives. Someone who didn’t hide how toxic he was at all, but it seemed like Atsumu ate out of his hand as Sakusa held it out to him.

One hand patting Atsumu’s shoulder, Sakusa turned around to you, his scolding, suppressing gaze making you lose all hope of escaping this. He reached for the doorknob, and the only thing you could do was try to reach out, fingers curling into the bars of the kennel, your voice cracking as you called out, “Atsu--”

But you were cut off by the darkness now filling the room, seeping into your throat through your open mouth as you wanted to call out to your childhood friend to save you. Because he loved you, he said so himself. His reason to be here was you, so he was as good as anyone to protect you from this hell you found yourself in. You were desperate enough to even believe in him after everything Atsumu did to you.

Only, what you hadn’t realized so far, was that he had been manipulated into this, as Sakusa was now trying to do to you.

And perhaps, that meant there was no saving for either of you.

[ashesandhalefire]

okay but why didn’t they spread this hallucination plot over like three episodes for the maximum unhinged psychological drama effect

michael and alex get actual development in the first half of the season and are back together by 3x06 no i won’t justify or explain just know that i’m correct. we cut the vision plot and anything else that wasted time and accelerate the lockheart machine and jones because those are the ones that are a) semi-interesting, b) purposeful, and c) relevant

we actually see michael or alex asking each other out on their very first real in-public date because that’s a big fucking step for them and i think it’s dumb that we got told it happened in some dialogue

it can be that it wasn’t going to be for another day or two because hello they have other priorities like kyle, who is mentioned every other sentence in my version of s3 because everyone in this town loves him and is horribly repentant over how they’ve underappreciated him <3, and max, who is also unconscious while a sexy maniac borrows his body

anyway they spend time apart working on their respective side plots and that is okay! because we’re getting indications that they’re thinking about each other either from direct mentions or glances at texts or dumb little post it notes from each other that they keep on their desks

and we actually get to see that conversation with sanders because michael being able to confide in someone about this is a big fucking deal and again i didn’t deserve to be told about it in some throwaway dialogue like it wasn’t a scene that had the potential to shatter me

alex is working on the lockheart machine in the meantime and he genuinely thinks that he’s accessing an alien visual guide for the machine because it’s nora! nora is good! nora can’t be evil! and she’s generally unhelpful and speaks like a guide he doesn’t understand how to use properly and then he notices the project shepherd insert and thinks - oh! duh! - she’s corrupted! but technology is his thing and he’s going to figure this out, so he keeps working

and we get a scene of him going to visit kyle, who is safely being cared for at deep sky, where their scientists are working on waking him up under ramos’s constant, intense, unyielding supervision, which coincidentally alleviates the confusion of “why is this coma patient in a random barn” and “why has nobody noticed alex sitting around for two days even though all the walls are glass”

and alex gets to have a little self pep-talk with kyle about how he’s nervous and how he’s trying to resolve the machine issue before it becomes a problem like everything always does, and he also gets to be a little teary and say that he misses working with kyle and that he wonders if maybe he hadn’t been distracted by deep sky things and if they had stayed a team if kyle would’ve still been in so much trouble now

so alex feels guilty and helpless and he goes hard into solving the machine, and he does something - he moves the turquoise closer, he turns a knob, he prods at the project shepherd insert a little too hard - and suddenly the nora that he’s talking to is a little different. she’s a little more personable. she’s kind. she’s friendly. she still doesn’t have a lot of super helpful answers for him because she’s still kind of corrupted. but he doesn’t mind talking to her.

we can still get the same “how’s the office honey” convo because that was cute, but i think alex should be surprised when michael calls because he hasn’t realized how long he’s been working. he didn’t realize that his safety window expired. he didn’t even hear the alarm. he didn’t realize he turned it off. and nora is there the whole time, just smiling and being fond, and alex swears that he won’t forget their date and hangs up.

the music starts playing again, and nora tells alex that there was no music on the planet where she lived, and then alex gets caught up in telling nora about michael because for a second he forgets that she’s not nora. that she’s just a visual manual. she’s not actually michael’s long-lost alien mother that alex accidentally got killed when he brought two civilians along on a recon mission

but she likes alex, which is appealing in a way he can’t explain. she thinks he’s smart and she believes he’s going to solve the machine and she likes knowing that he’s been trying to take care of michael. he leaves deep sky to do other plot related things in town, to visit kyle, whatever, and when he comes back, she’s there and she’s smiling and she’s so happy to hear about her son. her beautiful son that obviously loves alex very much and who alex has worked very hard to protect

but she doesn’t like that he hasn’t always been successful

she doesn’t like that alex was the one that put michael in jesse’s crosshairs, and she doesn’t like that alex didn’t have the foresight to think twice before bringing michael to the shed, and she doesn’t like that he’s made michael feel like he was ashamed of him, and she doesn’t like that he lied about having the console piece - that he tried to trap michael just like every other manes man was always trying to do - and she doesn’t like that he got her blown up. that she lived all those years, that she survived the worst that jesse manes had to offer, that she had hope of escaping and finding her son, all until alex came along. and even after that, alex didn’t learn. even after getting nora blown up, alex still tried to trust his father, still took the console piece back and got himself kidnapped and made it so michael had to build a bomb that would kill what was left of his family just to save alex from his father

and now it becomes clearer that alex’s progress with the machine isn’t really progress. it’s still turning off and on at random. he can’t reach the project shepherd piece. nora isn’t speaking to him kindly anymore, and her clothes are tattered and her hair and face are dirty.

she prods at him again about the ways he has put michael in danger, and alex argues back that he has worked very hard to make sure nothing his father did could touch michael. he looks tired, frazzled

and nora thinks this is especially amusing because maybe the one thing that alex should be making sure isn’t touching michael is himself. maybe alex himself is the one manes weapon that he hasn’t considered.

and the conversation devolves into the same fight and comes to the same conclusion - that alex fears his capacity for love is not enough to overcome his father’s capacity for hate

and alex knows that she isn’t real. she isn’t real, she isn’t real, she isn’t real. she’s a hallucination, she isn’t real

but she doesn’t need to be real to tell the truth, alex. she doesn’t need to be real to be right. all it means for her to be a hallucination is that alex has known the truth all along, that deep down alex has always known that he isn’t enough, that he’s broken inside, that michael is better off without him.

and - oh, look! - the balcony door is open

[fandomlit]

the play (zuko x reader)

requested by anon “i love your avatar stuff!! can i get one where it’s the episode where they went to the play and the people who play zuko and reader kiss and the gaang’s like haha that didn’t happen and you two don’t say anything and they’re like !!! thanks :)”

summary the ember island play is in an insult to the entire gaang. but maybe they got one minor detail right..

gif cred belongs to @yuuki-ko​

the play was practically unbearable to watch. from everyone’s casting to the writing, it was awful. seeing you come in was painful as it was, and seeing how you were portrayed was just as bad.

“now that i have kidnapped you, the avatar will have to come save you, and i will catch him once and for all!” zuko’s actor proclaimed, laughing in a very fakely maniacal way. your actor was tied up off to the side, looking terrified.

“at least they got one thing right,” you grumbled, making your friends laugh as zuko huffed.

this exact scene played out a solid five more times throughout the first act.

“he didn’t really kidnap you this many times, did he?” suki giggled as you were taken once again.

“he did,” you confirmed, eyes still looking at the scene as you smirked. zuko buried his head in his hands.

“im sorry,” he muttered.

you nudged your shoulder against his. “don’t beat yourself up over something ponytail zuko did.” he let out a short laugh.

“haven’t you learned that this method doesn’t work?” your actor scoffed, taking a sassy stance. “all we end up doing is sitting her and talking, and then aang comes and kicks your ass, and we do it all over again a week later.”

zuko’s actor grimaced, “well-”

“and don’t go on that rant about how you’re better prepared this time,” “you” cut off, resting your head against a wall and crossing your arms. “maybe you just like having me around. you didn’t even tie me up this time.”

“are you going to fight me?” “zuko” asked lowly, turning to “you”. his words were soft.

after a moment of eye contact, “you” answered just as softly, “no.”

“zuko” leaned in, bringing your actor into a kiss. then, it was interrupted by a crash from above and “aang” breaking into the room. the gaang laughed as you and zuko avoided each other’s gaze.

“that didn’t happen,” sokka snorted.

“no way,” aang supported. they all looked to the two of you, seeing your blushes and guilty looks. “...right?”

you cleared your throat as zuko awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.

“no way!” sokka shouted, receiving a few hushes. aang’s jaw was on the floor. katara’s eyes were wide. toph and suki didn’t look surprised. you all watched the rest of the act in silence, and you could only imagine the gears turning in your friends’ heads.

at the next intermission, after avoiding katara and sokka’s questions, you escaped to go find where zuko had ran off to. you found him on a balcony of sorts.

“needed some fresh air?” you questioned, clasping your hands behind your back. he barely looked over his shoulder to you.

“something like that,” he said quietly, turning back to the warm night ahead. you walked up slowly to observe the city lights next to him. “im sorry i gave you stockholm syndrome.”

“is that what toph was saying?” you snickered. he didn’t answer. you dropped your teasing smile. “for what it’s worth, it wasn’t stockholm syndrome. it was..” you took a breath. “undeniably a crush.”

he looked over at you from the corner of his eye. “really?” you nodded. he paused, looking down. “what is it now?”

you let a small, embarrassed smile rest on your lips. “you know. same old same old.”

zuko stood up straighter, but you didn’t look over as he turned to you. “why haven’t we talked about it?”

you shrugged, still smiling sheepishly. “i know i wanted to think that that was over.” you finally looked over at him. “but what did you think?”

“i thought you were the most beautiful fugitive i had ever seen,” he admitted. you let out a small laugh, and he gave you a soft smile. “i still do.” you blushed. “but that would just be another reason for the team to get mad at me.”

“for what it’s worth, i don’t think their mad,” you shrugged. “if anything, they’re probably watching us from inside.”

he chuckled, and you joined, leaning closer to each other. he met your eyes and your smile and before he could even think about regretting it, he spoke, “should we give them something to watch?”

your eyebrows barely raised at the suggestion before you finally leaned in and closed the small gap between you and the fire prince. his lips were more gentle than they were those few months ago, just as he was. he took his time to enjoy the kiss, one hand sliding up to rest on your cheek just as he pulled away. 

“you have no idea how long i’ve been waiting for you to do that,” you breathed out, letting out a small laugh. he rolled his eyes at you.

“im glad i did,” he assured, giving you a smile. he went to lean in again, but was unfortunately rudely interrupted.

“i knew it!” sokka cried.

“no, you didn’t,” suki laughed.

“i knew some of it!”

[sam-t-a]

Okay. 

*Deep breath* 

I think I’m finally calm enough to put into words exactly why I hated the finale and why I wasn’t completely surprised that I hated it. 

(Heads-up: this is really long and pretty negative. If you disagree, I would of course appreciate your point of view and love to hear it, but just thought I’d let you know in case this is the kind of post you would like to avoid.)

To me, it felt like every character on the show got betrayed in some way or another, but the main ones are Han Seo (devastatingly), Chayoung (obviously) and Han Seok (bear with me). 

Cha Young: 

She started out as a solid FL who annoyed some people for sure, but who had so much promise as someone unconventional and bold. The way her mother’s death affected her and caused a clear shift in her personality was a super interesting plot point that really never got explored. We have no idea how she came to sacrifice her morality in joining Wusang, just that she wanted to spite her father, which is a very superficial exploration. She gets cute idiosyncrasies in lieu of an actual character and an actual character arc. 

We also, halfway through the show, seem to forget that her father's death was the initial trigger. Cha young does not suggest bold ideas or intricate plans, she doesn’t fill the gaps Vincenzo is incapable of filling (because that would require that Vincenzo have flaws, and that’s not something the writers can abide), and she’s literally victimized in episode 19 and bedridden in episode 20, and that is IT. 

Someone who started out supposedly as Vincenzo’s equal just became another piece in his chess set, no matter how important a piece she may be. 

So her role as a badass avenger is trashed. That leaves her role as a love interest. Now, as Vincenzo’s love interest, she was supposed to get kidnapped in like episode 5 or 6 at the most if the villain has any brains whatsoever (Han Seok may or may not, more on that later). We need a reason for that not to happen too early. Cue villain is somehow in love with her for all of 15 minutes or so throughout a 20-episode series because a love triangle is inconceivable with the show’s current structure and for its purposes. 

So, she spends 15 or so episodes making the first move on Vincenzo, every time, putting herself out there, creating cute moments, getting nothing in return, and then he leaves. No confession, nothing much, he wasn’t even going to say goodbye or give her the choice of coming with him. 

I’m sure more chayenzo-oriented fans have already expressed all the necessary outrage over this, so I’ll move on to the part that I’ve personally been way more emotionally invested in from the get go: the Jang brothers. 

Han Seo: 

I was among the minority that  hated the “Vinny hyung” angle from the get-go and I’ve ranted about it in another post, so I won’t get into it here in-depth, but basically it was because I felt like Vincenzo hadn’t earned it, so to have the last words Han Seo hears be “You deserve to be my brother” or whatever the fuck he was on about PISSED ME OFF. It’s VINCENZO who doesn’t deserve to be Han Seo’s brother and hasn’t done a single thing to earn it. He was a good ally. The situation he allowed Han Seo to be a part of was beneficial to him, but Han Seo’s attachment to him was neither healthy nor heartwarming, and it certainly wasn’t returned on the level he offered it.

Vincenzo’s disregard of his death didn’t strike me as odd because I never saw enough indications that this was a two-way street and Han Seo’s safety and well-being came second so often that I didn’t get the impression Vincenzo was doing much to keep him alive. This is what I meant when I said the show was glorifying a torture survivor’s trauma responses. Han Seo himself, as a torture survivor, meant nothing to them. He was just there to create one more contrived comparison between Vincenzo and Han Seok. Instead of recovering from the trauma, it’s simply employed to someone else’s favor. He doesn’t go to prison for Han Seok, he takes a bullet for Vincenzo, and we’re supposed to see that as so much better.

All of that might (JUST MIGHT) not have ruined the show for me if he’d died better. 1) It was narratively pointless and totally avoidable, 2) they could’ve framed it as heroic, but instead Han Seok’s hand patting his head is pushing it down, so he can’t even get shot with his chin up and his back straight, Taec’s already taller, so the angle’s fucked and the whole cinematography screamed “kicking an injured puppy” and most certainly NOT “survivor finally stands up to his abuser”. The final nail in the proverbial and literal coffin is that he is mourned by no one. They’re FLIRTING not 3 MINUTES LATER, it felt so tone deaf and left such a bad taste. As I said, I didn’t expect significant mourning from Vincenzo (gotta say, I didn’t expect no mourning, that was a shocker), and Cha young and the tenants had no real interactions with him and no reason to mourn him, which left only one person who could. 

Which brings me to Han Seok. 

Han Seok started out as a solid villain, clear goals, clear skills that help him achieve his goals and basically make him a villain worth defeating, and a very complex relationship with both his own psychopathy and his brother. 

Let me get it out of the way: I do not believe Han Seok is capable of killing Han Seo because he had every reason and every opportunity to do so in previous episodes and couldn’t do it (I say couldn’t because a certain degree of reluctance is in itself inability). Han Seo’s danger far outweighed his material value the minute he shot Han Seok and then completely lost any value once he came out to the world as the chairman and it became clear that the prosecution would be going after him if anything happened, and not his brother. But time and again, he’s proven he’s all bark and no bite when it comes to Han Seo (killing-wise, specifically). 

The scene where he asks him to beat Vincenzo to death could be interpreted as him wanting to give Vincenzo the “painful death” he would have given him, but honestly, I think he was way past that point. He just wanted him dead in the “You crazy? we have to kill him before he kills us” sense. To that end, killing off a key ally of Vincenzo’s, who betrayed you and almost got you killed a bunch of times, should take priority, but Han Seok’s priority is reclaiming Han Seo by forcing him back onto his side. Now, much like his “love for Cha young”, Han Seok’s keenness on not killing his brother was essential to the writers so that Han Seo can justifiably make it this far and still be useful to Vincenzo (he can’t help if Han Seok completely excludes him from all events, plans and management processes, so Han Seok needs to want to keep him on his side enough not to do that even when it’s more prudent). 

All of this isn’t to say it’s unbelievable that he would kill Han Seo, but it’s DEFINITELY unbelievable that he would stay the same man after killing him. Someone here (I’m sorry, I don’t rememebr who) once said that Han Seo had become, over time, far more of a foil to his brother than Vincenzo was. To me, this means that Post-Han Seo Han Seok would be out of balance (tilted screen), unhinged in a way he never was before. The Han Seok we see shrugs and “oh, well”-s and moves on in a flash, not really any different from the villain he was four minutes and a whole brother earlier. 

This is very consistent with the way the show has been de-humanizing him from the start. I’m not saying this to defend Han Seok in any way, he’s a serial killer, an abuser and a total maniac. But you can be all those things and still a human being. In fact, you can ONLY be those things if you’re a human being. The show used its villain vs villain idea to justify a lot, but in the end, Vincenzo had to be a protagonist. He had to follow up every “I’m a villain” with a contrived “but at least I’m not (insert something worse)”. 

On the level of humans:

1) Vincenzo is supposedly different because he doesn’t hurt children or women (unless the women deserve it, and shooting a parent in front of their kid doesn’t count as hurting.) 

But we never see Han Seok hurting women or children either. In fact, if we proceed with the “chayoung is the myung hee of the good guys” comparison, he hasn’t hurt any women nearly as badly as Vincenzo did. 

2) Babel vs Mafia 

Babel’s corruption is compared a lot to the mafia, with Vincenzo commenting repeatedly that the people are WORSE than the mafia...which is bullshit. Babel is a set of companies that provide goods and services, but use illegal means to maximize their profit, so they hurt/kill people in the process because they want more money and care about money more than ethics. The Mafia is an inherently criminal organization that functions PURELY on the basis of its criminality. Every single dime Vincenzo spends is blood money. None of it is clean. And while we’re on the topic, I find the whole “taking Miri under his wing” thing pretty unreasonable too because he tried to have her killed you guys, I cannot believe we’re just glossing over that. He had everyone who worked on that vault killed, just random fucking construction workers. And he’s not sorry. And the show tells you he shouldn’t be. 

3) Repentance

Han Seok says outright he won’t atone, and while Vincenzo says no such thing out loud he just...doesn’t repent, I guess. He keeps the blood money, he goes back to being a full-time mafia dude doing mafia things. He leaves the same man he arrived. 

So, if on the level of harm inflicted upon humanity, Vincenzo and Han Seok are pretty much equal (and Vincenzo might actually be worse), then why should we root for Vincenzo? 

Well, my friend, that’s where the dehumanization comes in! 

I was initially very excited to see their portrayal of a psychopath because of the very interesting ways in which the informal moral code and official justice system surrounding a psychopath/sociopath/narcissist affect their behavior and their chances of not turning out rotten, and the show looked like it was looking at corruption in general. 

But as the show went on, the villain vs villain thing proved not to be enough, Vincenzo has to be better in some way (or if you’re as obsessed with him as the writers are, then ALL ways), so it became a villain vs monster narrative. Vincenzo isn’t ethical or fair or in any way interested in having a remotely positive impact on society, but at least he’s A HUMAN BEING unlike SOMEBODY. So, the characterization goes to shit, Han Seok becomes a cartoon card-board cut out of a villain and emphasis is put on how pointless his violence is, as opposed to how purposeful Vincenzo’s is. 

This is dangerous on multiple levels (and I promise this is the last point I’m making). 

1) For people in general, dehumanizing abusers/murderers/etc. makes us very liable to forget that you don’t have to be “a monster” to cause harm, and it makes people complacent in their belief that they are “not bad people” since they aren’t total monsters. The Banality of Evil is a thing, and in this series, it goes completely ignored. No one is inherently incapable of good or inherently undeserving of humanity. 

2) For victims of abuse in specific, it’s dangerous to portray abusers (including serial killer and non-serial killer ones) as entirely bad and unlovable, because it poses the dual risk of making victims less likely to acknowledge their abuse if it comes from someone who cares about or loves them on some level because the idea that someone cannot both love and hurt you is so stereotypical. Your abuser can genuinely want you in their lives and need you and, on some level, love you, and IT DOESN’T MATTER if that love doesn’t stop them from hurting you. 

On the other hand, portraying the victims of abuse as capable of flipping an off switch and hating the abuser with no hesitation or second thoughts to the point of unapologetically and cheerfully helping someone kill them and having no mixed feelings about it sends the message that if you CAN’T do that, then are you really abused? Are sure you’re not complicit in your own abuse? Do you even want to get rid of them? 

So this is basically why the way the show ended was so painfully disappointing for me. And the main reason it hit so hard was that it was initially so good and had so much promise. I really expected more.

[i-love-hobbies]

(This isn't an anti-Eda, anti-Lilith or anti-Bump post. Just read this fully, please!)

Murder and violence are not ok!

This whole thing started literally after s1ep2 where Eda murdered a dude on screen.

What am I talking about?

"It's just a cartoon. Don't read too much into it."

I don't have a very strong opinion on this but I'm not a fan of normalizing murder. Also "Heroes that are genocidal maniacs, kill the villain cause he's awful." sounds extremely cringe.

And why are you reading a post that analyses a part of a cartoon right now?

"Death is normal on the Boiling isles, so that makes it ok."

Woah, woah! WHAT?

If everyone used that logic, slavery would still be a thing.

Just cause it's normalized in a culture doesn't mean it's less harmful or that everyone that comes from that culture does it.

It can be used to explain someone's actions, but not excuse them.

The ignorance of context.

1. Eda's murders

First I wanna point out that it was never emotional, it was all calculated. Remember when Tibbles scammed her, she didn't attack him back. None of her kills are revenge. She has always had something to win from them.

She has murdered two people, probably more, Adegast and Tibbles.

If she didn't kill Adegast. I can see this going two ways. He would starve to death, which means she put him out of his misery or he would slowly go back to full power which ties with Tibbles.

Batman kills the Joker.

No they are not as bad as the Joker but they would have continued trying to hurt her untill they got the idea of killing Willow and Gus in their sleep. TIBBLES KNEW THEIR ADDRESS!

Also if they were willing to do this. Who knows what else they have done to other people too. By doing this she has saved more lifes than she has taken (mostly kids).

Plus this willingness to kill is probably the reason Luz can go to school. Eda's enemies know that if they become an actual treat, things won't end well.

Her enemies are criminals. They are not stupid enough to think that she is helpless without magic. Especially now that she isn't running from the law.

- Now on to almost killing Amity in s1ep5 by making Luz cheat. That was messed up but not that badly.

Witches are harder to hurt, there were healers around who would help a Blight. She saw Amity use abomination so she knew mainly her traps were gonna be activated by a non-living thing.

Luz was going to be injured if that didn't happen. Amity was not in control of her strength and I don't think Lilith thought this trough. Though both sisters would have probably intervened when this got out of hand.

She also isn't the one to force Luz into the fight as many people have said. She has never on screen forced her opinion on someone else except in s1ep9 which was to protect her from school and changed in that episode. Luz just couldn't leave cause quitting ment never being able to perform magic.

Now I know that the right thing to do here was for her to try talk things through. I'm just saying it's not as bad as it seems.

2. Eda's scamming

To get my point across I'm gonna compare it to Wordlob.

Hers is the equivalent of you trying to buy gold and getting plastic. His is the equivalent of you're desperate for a cure and he promises to give it to you and then steals all your money and leaves you to die.

You're not going to try to buy gold when your desperate are you?

Scamming can take different forms and hers is the least harmful.

And consider this, what else can she do to put food on the table with her two adopted kids, Hooty and Owlbert. She can't find a legal job, cause that would be helping Belos, she'll die before she does that and she definitely knows ways to disguise herself but that puts her at risk as well.

3. Lilith's redemption arc still works

Yes, she did murder a bird in s1ep18, but the way it talked and acted. It seemed like it was mimicking speach.

Yes, she did almost kill a child, but she has made up for it probably in that week and a half that we didn't see considering this is the Boiling isles and everything is trying to kill you.

Plus, Eda only talked about the curse, considering "You hurt Luz, you cursed me!" She is not the person who would forget about her kid.

Bonus, she did make up for it on screen as well. In s2ep2 she saved King from Eda's experiments. In s2ep3 she saved Luz and King with her ice glyphs, when she could have just left, giving time for Eda to get them out of there. If Eda didn't show up Lilith would be dead.

4. Bump's jokes

- Dissecting Luz

I don't know why everyone talks about Bump and Amity trying to dissect Luz. They weren't certain if this was going to kill her. They weren't certain if she was alive. All they knew was that the lie will be broken if this would kill her.

Yes, they did try to catch her later on, but not to kill her. They wanted to make sense of what's going on and hopefully find her parents so she gets at the very least a talk on why she shouldn't do this.

Willow just overreacted which in return made Luz do the same.

- Bump's detention room

This room is a hypnosis one. Hypnosis is a job in real life. It can be dangerous but that can also be said about therapy if the therapist is bad. Depends on who does it.

"Impressive still alive!" This is a joke.

If a hypnotic session is stopped in the middle, you'd be too relaxed to be able to move. He was fine, he just needed some time.

- Bump's add

Everything that attacked Matt was alive. He probably did something to piss them off. But yeah Bump should have done something.

- Detention track

Guys knowing what he did for Willow in s1ep3, it's obvious that he was in a lot of stress. If he did what he did in that episode regularly. You just touch an orb and byeeeeee. Then this place should have been crowded.

Plus the wall with troublemakers' names had what six names and a portrait of lord calamity. Eda left school before three decades. And that's all we got.

He was probably not gonna keep them there even though he said so. He probably wasn't even planning that.

- Grom was very messed up. I have nothing to say except I wouldn't be surprised if the Emporer's coven forces this to be a thing and refuses to send actual adults, so the kids learn from a young age or whatever.

- Same with the photomemory class.

- "Bosha got away with murder. I can't say I approve, but at least she's trying new things."

This was a joke. Bosha's parents definitely have influence. His hands are tied like usual so he has learned to make jokes out of it. Plus since when are principals responsible for what happens out of school grounds.

5. The bat queen

She is a protector of palismans and I don't think she started to kill until the government was against her (I'm talking about her cave having bones all over it.)

I can't say it's completely justified like I did with Eda. But I don't see a way out of it where palisman wouldn't be extinct.

Now let's see our vilians' behaviour

1. Adegast

He was trying to kill Eda for his business by using a child as a bait.

2. Tibbles

He almost murdered four children so his stand is revenged.

3. Piniate

Is keeping people captive and literally is making them helpless as a punishment for not writing a book.

4. Demon hunters

They were gonna trow kids off a cliff. I'm not sure why actually.

5. The cat ladies

They were kidnapping children for their cafe.

6. The "coven" inspecture

She was stealing all the magic from none other than kids for power.

7. Wordlob

Who knows how many people have died, lost their jobs and so one, cause of his scams. All for money.

8. Warden wrath

He cut Eda's head so she goes out with him. Captures people for nothing.

9. Odalia and Alador

Alador was not stopping Odalia from trying to kill Luz. In their mind this was gonna help in combination with their child abuse, with their daughter helping their business. Everything they have done for now is for their business.

They backed up when Alador saw an opportunity for THEIR BUSINESS.

10. Kikimora

She tried to murder a child, cause of jealousy. Uses her authority to make the system even worse, cause how dare them look in her direction.

11. Belos

Is abusing a child and abused Lilith. Is the reason that palisman are getting extinct. Wild magic= death sentence. Basically created a horrible authority system that has created a lot of suffering and who knows how many it has killed. Probably all for power, though we don't know completely.

[mcd-ms-rants]

Wow you all are the best <3 <3 thanks so much!!

so without further ado

STUFF I DIDNT LIKE ABOUT SEASON 3:

• Ok why does this season have SO MUCH FILLER

• Waaay too much in my opinion

• We never actually find out what that fragment Zane has is for I mean Emmalyn did find something but she escaped before Zane could force her to say it soooo :/ and then mcd was discontinued

• I don’t understand Aphmau’s reasoning for not being Irene. When Zane says “you would deny your birth?” she tells Zane that she has no memories of Irene therefore she is not her. Well Aph honey tell that to the 38373 tourists that visit everyday just to see you -_-

• Wow was it really that easy to kidnap someone from Phoenix Drop the home of the new Irene damn Zane has his work cut out for him

• I mean he literally walked IN FRONT OF Dante

• Speaking of Zane, i don’t really like his s3 version. Him having the untouchable status of high priest was a big part of his character and removing it made him even more one-dimensional if it’s even possible. Now on top of being a way too simple character you don’t even have the one thing that made you unique. He wasn’t written to be a side antagonist and as someone who likes his concept I feel that he deserves much better. he shouldve been used in s2 as a main antagonist with ivy as a side maybe and not in s3 because it ruined him :(

• Tho why is he not treated as a big threat. He’s a shadow knight. Note that I pretty much skipped past all scenes with Aph in them so if she does something I’ve mentioned below, ignore it. She should’ve sent a warning letter or something to the lords of the neighboring villages like hey the murderous emo priest is back get yo shit together. No one even knows he’s back. for the record I feel like he grew weaker as a shadow knight?? Aren’t they supposed to have greater strength? I don’t understand why his strength level keeps changing throughout the season. It’s apparently easy to defeat Dante but not Lucinda?? Is it bcuz she’s a witch and has long-range magic? Cant shadow knights teleport and use magic too or am I getting it wrong

• I don’t like the ending to Dante and Gene’s fight. He legit laughs and it sounds like he has asthma I’m sorry he sounds like he’s choking there no hate tho...anyway why tf does he leave? All I remember is that the people somehow got freed from his memory magic (again, how??) and surrounded him. why is that a problem?? Knowing him he would’ve just massacred them. or used them as a hostage to force Dante to cooperate this makes no sense

• SO. MUCH. FILLER.

• I don’t like how in Zane’s Wrath it shows a whole village burning and then Zane says “hmm only about 30 people have been slaughtered.” EXCUSE ME HE MASSACRED A VILLAGE ONCE HE CAN DO IT AGAIN. He’s a shadow Knight now where did the advanced strength go?? AND THEN HE SLEEPS RIGHT AFTER. So THIS part of being a shadow Knight applies but his strength doesn’t?? • I don’t like how Emmalyn interacts with Zane. I get that they needed to make it a bit funny but there’s nothing funny about being kidnapped. they should’ve stuck the comedic relief somewhere in between the large amounts of filler. Zane’s a psychopath and a homicidal maniac and Emmalyn should be more scared. I mean it’s evident Zane wasn’t gentle when kidnapping her just look at her house. why is she talking causally. ok even if you argue that he hadn’t shown his true colors yet she knows of him and has heard of what he does. and for the record WHY DOES SHE SPEAK TO HIM NORMALLY AFTER HE SLAUGHTERS SO MANY PEOPLE. Like after the village rampage she cries for a minute and then she’s back to being a scholar who asks waaay too many questions. and purposely withholding info from someone like Zane doesn’t seem like a good idea to me idk abt the rest of you

• I feel like Lilith was really forgotten in the season bcuz of Alina having Shad’s relic and all that jazz. • Garroth was REALLY forgotten. im pretty sure he was neglected the first few episodes and then they chucked him with Hyria to have a really long tea party

• BUT at least we got some Ro’meave angst with Garroth and Zane yelling at each other. wish we got more of it tho it will never be enough

• ZANE IS SUPPOSED TO BE SMART. We can see that so many times in his concept. He’s meant to smart and cunning and calculating and manipulative how could he be that way if he was dumb. STOP WRITING DUMB DECISIONS FOR HIM. I hate how they made Emmalyn keep the fragment someone like Zane would never let anyone else keep something of *zane voice* POWER so why does she have it here. Zane wouldve logically kept it with him. I get that he could be overconfident enough to sleep while Emmalyn was free but no way he’s letting her keep the fragment. The script keeps making him do stupid things whyyy

• Aphmau being a shit friend again. When Lucinda arrives back at the Alliance Island and Malachi tells Aph about all the shit Zane did she’s just like BUT I need to find out about Irene. EXCUSE ME those books aren’t going anywhere but your friends sure are. Even Malachi says “you’re going? What about all the stuff that’s going on at home?” or something like that. YA CUZ WHY WOULD YOU LEAVE KENMUR IS DEAD AND DANTE IS GRIEVING.

• Wow why does Aph sound so surprised when Lucinda suggests making wanted posters you should’ve done it a long time ago

• The way canon mcd was left off was not great in my opinion and in some cases it’s downright awful. Emmalyn is stuck at the werewolf castle and they now know about Aphmau. Zane is powerless and useless, both of which so no favors for his already lacking character so idk what they could’ve done for him anyway. There’s so many inconsistencies throughout mcd regarding the way he was written. Aph wants to go tu Tu’La courtesy of a glowing book. Yay. im pretty sure Garroth is STILL with Hyria. travlyn is just chillin

• Basically pls give characters some better development and opportunities thanks and stop making Zane do dumb things he’s suffering from his lack of character development anyway

[chalkrevelations]

Word of Honor, Episode 30. STILL A LOT. This one got long.

(Spoilers. Scroll away and come back later, if you need to.)

Yeah, so, A-Xiang and I are crying again. At least they’re good, cathartic tears, this time? Poor Cao Weining – he continues trying to make sense of all this (It’s all a misunderstanding, right? My good friend Wen Kexing was framed, right? He can’t possibly be the terrifying master of the Ghost Valley, and you can’t possibly be his henchwoman, right?), but nothing he knew is true anymore. Nothing except his faith in A-Xiang. I know you’re good, he tells her. I won’t fail you. And they do make this explicit here, with him saying, “I made a promise I will never fail you in my life, not even once.” I’m flailing on the couch, at this point. Come here, my little cinnamon roll, and let me squeeze the stuffing out of you. And oh. Oh. It just hit me that a girl who was raised by the Department of the Unfaithful (as well as WKX) has found a man who will vow this to her and mean it. Also, I don’t know if this is the closest we’re going to get to this theme made explicit with Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing, but Cao Weining and Gu Xiang continue to act as proxy here for the m/m couple that has to be more circumspect. (Also, I would compare the way this promise, spoken out loud, bookends this ep – Cao Weining’s heart once again offered here, at the beginning, and the undertones of betrayal in Xie Wang’s words to Zhao Jing at the end, but we’ll get to Xie’er in a bit.)

Digging into our continuing parallels, I said a bit back - Ep 26? sometime before Wen Kexing’s identity had the ultimate reveal in the confrontation with Ye Baiyi, at least - that Zhou Zishu was beyond “you don’t fail me and I won’t fail you” into “even if you do fail me, I won’t fail you.” That’s where Cao Weining is now, knowing (finally) what A-Xiang’s been hiding from him, as ZZS knew about the Ghost Valley even before it was actually spoken out loud. Even if A-Xiang is there to infiltrate his sect, even if she’s helped cause all this death, Cao Weining will follow her into death and reincarnate with her to stay with her and protect her forever. (Ugh. My heart. Cao-dage, how are you like this?) Last ep, watching WKX’s frantic efforts to save Han Ying, I think there was some callback to the Four Sages of Anji, but I also pointed to what I saw as a callback to the paired conversations in Eps 22/23, when Cao Weining tells A-Xiang to be more careful because he knows she’ll feel bad if she kills an innocent accidentally, and ZZS tells WKX he’s trying to protect him from more sins on his hands. This ep, there’s a literal flashback to that Cao Weining/Gu Xiang conversation in Ep 22. I also want to go back to the interminable infodump in the Longyuan Cabinet cave in Eps 19/20, where - similar to Cao Weining finally learning and accepting who A-Xiang is in this ep - Zhou Zishu has finally put together all (well, most) of the pieces, and he makes it clear that he knows (at least part of) who WKX is by calling him “Zhen Yan” to his face. The color palettes for the two couples match in these scenes – slightly more saturated and intense for the older couple, but lavender for WKX and A-Xiang, blue for ZSS and Cao Weining; we also have an enthusiastic hug that’s met by a hesitant response. Although roles are reversed in the hug – A-Xiang hugging Cao Weining, ZZS hugging WKX - the way they shot Cao Weining’s response in this ep, hesitant hands finally going around A-Xiang’s back, is almost exactly the same framing and movements as WKX’s response to ZZS’s hug in Ep 20 (7:37 in Ep 20, 9:00 in Ep 30). I’m just sayin’.

Also, I might or might not have rewound three times to watch Cao Weining wipe the tears off A-Xiang’s face and her responding radiant smile. You can’t prove anything.

The other big parallel I see in this ep is a return to the ZZS/Prince Jin and Xie Wang/Zhao Jing relationships. Everyone is telling their creepy gaslighting mentor/parent figures to fuck off in this episode, apparently. (We even (kind of) get to see WKX do this, seeing the scene of him in the aftermath of killing the past master of Ghost Valley in flashback as A-Xiang tells her tale to Cao Weining). I have to think it’s not just coincidence that the ZZS/Prince Jin and Xie’er/Awful Yifu confrontations play out in the same ep. Not to mention the fact that both happen in the middle of a big fk’n mess, lit. and fig., that ZZS and Xie’er have made of not just their physical surroundings, but their Awful Prince’s/Yifu’s plans.

So, first off, we cut to Bad-Touch Prince Jin. I knew it, you creepster (and ZZS knew it too!). And yet, I still cannot believe you. You kidnap him, try to kill everyone in Four Seasons Manor for the second time around, burn his house, plan to get him drunk and take advantage of him, lit. and fig., and now you’re fondling his sword? Eurgh. There’s definitely an air of “bathe him, dress him, and bring him to my chambers” with ZZS at the beginning of this scene, even if we’re actually in the throne room and not any bedchamber (not that I don’t also enjoy the leather bracers-updo-evil collar look on ZZS, so I’ll give Prince Jin points for good taste, at least). Prince Jin pulls out the poor yifu prince card, because it’s lonely being in charge, you know. And now, we’re back to how could you leave me. Aaaaand then, he blows off Han Ying (Han Ying!), the last sort-of vestige of ZZS’s Four Seasons shidi, and oh, boy. You done fk’ed up now.

So, I love how clearly done with all this ZZS is, from the first minute we see him this ep. I keep hearing this role was a departure from Zhang Zhehan’s norm, and while I plan to check out some of his earlier work, I’m honestly glad I got to see him first in this. I hope it opens up some more doors for him. I keep being struck at various moments by his physicality as Zhou Zishu, which has a weight behind it that just … ah. I keep failing to put it into words, but it gives a substance to the character that makes ZZS feel real, and it’s not particularly in his big action fighting scenes that it keeps hitting me, like you might expect when it’s something about the way he moves and carries himself. I started turning this over in my head last week, when I talked about how I felt that shout at WKX in the wake of the fight with Ye Baiyi in Ep 27, moreso than any of the other various shouty characters we’ve met in the show, even when their yelling is louder and more sustained. There was something visceral about ZZH’s performance in that moment. It reminded me of an earlier scene when Wen Kexing’s been drunk under the table by Ye Baiyi but insists that he’s fine, just fine, and Zhou Zishu, who’s trying to make him go to bed, makes a feint at him and then hits him on the shoulder. (Hold on … I just went and found it, it’s at 37:19 in Ep 17.) Not just the hit, but particularly the feint preceding it struck me the same way Ep 27’s shout did. It’s something that maybe comes through strongest when ZZH is doing leashed anger, where the character’s raw emotion is simultaneously supposed to be controlled but leaking through – that contrast seems to showcase what I’m talking about. Or maybe not just anger, but any really strong emotion, because I got it in this ep, among other places, from the little lip tremble as ZZS drinks some of the wine before he pours one out for his dead homies, as well as from the way he works his jaw to get himself back under control after bringing up all his dead shidi. Also the tiny lip quirk and deliberate breathing while Prince Jin disparages Han Ying. (Not the snarl when he’s faced off with Prince Jin holding his sword blade right before the cheesy cut to close-up split-screen, though. That one didn’t hit right, unfortunately.) ANYWAY, this whole throne room scene with Prince Jin is basically porn for me, with ZZS simmering the entire time until he finally breaks and everything explodes. God, the only thing it’s missing is actual tears.

Cut from the scene of ZZS literally striking back at Prince Jin to what’s going to be – at least it looks like – Xie Wang’s breaking point. Xie’er and his henchwomen seem genuinely surprised that Awful Yifu is the one who shows up as reinforcement for the Gentle Wind Sword Sect, and I’m still trying to untangle all the various strings of this web. I don’t know if I’ve missed some things, or not put something together properly – I feel like Cao Weining, all “Slow down, I can’t keep up!” Anyway, we get a very public repudiation of Xie’er by his Awful Yifu, which is interesting because nobody is supposed to know they’re connected in the first place, right? Yet, clearly Mo Huaiyang does, and no one in his sect – all of them standing around in the subsequent cave scene - seem to react with any kind of shock to the info that Zhao Jing is Xie’er’s yifu. Aren’t we supposed to be hiding this from everyone? So that not only the jianghu but Prince Jin doesn’t know it (yet)? Anyway, as well as getting slapped, Xie’er gets a couple of places with good little maniacal laughs in. Given the apparent surprise at Awful Yifu’s appearance, I’m assuming this was something Xie Wang really didn’t expect, and this public repudiation is the breaking point? Or that Awful Yifu hid this alliance from him? Not that this attack on the Gentle Wind Sword Sect was part of a deliberate long-game to fuck over his Awful Yifu by fucking up this alliance? Anyway, Xie’er has learned his lesson about his Awful Yifu – or at least he says he has - so maybe there will be some deliberate fuckery of Awful Yifu going forward from here? Have you learned your lesson, little gambler? Finally?

I do have to warn you, Xie Wang: Do not touch A-Xiang. This is a hard limit. You will be dead to me.

Scattered other things:

Duan Pengju, omg, this asshole. I love how he just gets dismissed from the throne room like a lackey once he’s delivered the guy Prince Jin actually wants. I love how ZZS says, out loud, with everyone in the throne room to hear it, why would I leave this loser in charge of anyone I cared about? I looooove how utterly dismissive of him ZZS is even as ZZS is literally being tortured by him. ZZS’s mockery and whole air of how he’s just ever so bored with all this torture is delightful. However, I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’RE ENDING THE EPISODE THERE, SHOW. I’m going to have to wait until at least Thursday to find out what happens??? (This is d/t work schedule, which is 12-hour shifts on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, leaving no time to watch as the next eps upload, if I want to sleep).

I don’t know if this is deliberate, but when we cut to sleeping Wen Kexing near the beginning of the ep … we’ve just seen him in his very red robes as Ghost Valley master in A-Xiang’s flashbacks, and I notice that what he’s wearing now – it’s not the pinkie pink of the robe he wore to match the winter plum blossom forest, but it’s not blood red, either. It’s muted, something in-between, kind of salmon colored.

Bwahaha, dying at our two little foodies in the cave being the first ones to say “Hey, somebody’s cooking something!” Also, A-Xiang, my clever girl. You know to avoid letting Xie Wang or Zhao Jing (or Liu Qianqiao?) see you. What are you putting together in your head and coming up with about this tangled web of alliances? Also, I see you call Cao-dage over to your hiding spot. Are the two of you still there to hear the conversation between Zhao Jing and Mo Huaiyang, and how Mo Huaiyang and Zhao Jing are working together with the Scorpions and the Ghost Valley?

Last but not least, no intention to leave Jin Palace alive, ZZS? I seem to recall you telling your boyfriend, the terrifying master of the Ghost Valley, that there would be time for him to rescue you once he woke up from his nap. Is it possible you were lying so he wouldn’t feel bad? Mn. Possible. But I also remember the way you yelled at WKX over his plan to get himself killed and leave you alone, and I remember the fact that you won’t fail him, and I have to wonder if your plan really was to die, or if you’re bluffing when you say that to Prince Jin.

[anerdinallherglory]

Approaching Sun (29)

Author’s Note: Happy Halloween! Sorry this is so late everyone. I am currently writing my thesis for graduate college (the very reason why this chapter is not longer) and it has been sucking up ALL of my time in combination with Covid-19 face-to-face teaching and virtual teaching. In short, my life has been a walking list of “to-do’s” which causes me to neglect my writing. This chapter is dedicated to zeidika (hope you are reading this) who reviewed my story back in July. I occasionally think about your message and it keeps me going through stressful times. I hope your upcoming graduation is a memorable moment and that your son is doing well. You inspire me too! Congrats on the outstanding GPA! I am hoping to follow you soon with graduation!

Please let me know what you guys think. More action-packed chapters coming your way soon (hopefully).

P.S. While you are waiting on more chapters of A.S., go check out my new mystery/horror fiction story, “Beneath the Harlow Grove” by @anerdinallherglory on Wattpad.

Pairing: SasuSaku

Previous Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28

Chapter 29: A Generation of Weaklings

Sasuke blasted through a few too many red-dirt mountains in Kaguya’s core dimension. With every blast, he felt more like himself. Something chemical happened in his brain when he tunneled raw chakra through his veins; it helped him adopt the right mindset. Sasuke found that the quickest way to erase his thoughts was to surrender them to his shinobi persona who had to be focused. That chakra felt like a jolt to his nervous system, reminding him of himself and his shinobi goal.

Of course, now that he was less distracted, he found himself too depleted of chakra to do anything more than take a breather. Now that he was in the core dimension, Sasuke would have to adjust his plans. Previously, the Uchiha had been trying to cross into the desert dimension without going through the middle dimension. Now that he had jumped ship and escaped here by instinct, he was going to have to do this whole thing in reverse. Logically, his next step would have to be crossing into the desert dimension and then overpassing this core dimension directly to Kunagakure. All this would require a lot of chakra.

Just to speed up the process, Sasuke momentarily considered swallowing one of the chakra pills that he had swiped before his cold exit hours before into this dimension. It might be a good idea for experimentation purposes, but Sasuke knew enough about shortcuts to comprehend that chakra pills would do more harm than good, which is why they were typically reserved. It was best, the Uchiha decided strategically, to take the pill when he was at his chakra max, so he could ultimately top it off and have just the right amount to make the jump.

And besides, Sasuke just didn’t have enough time or chakra to experiment recklessly. He would get one shot to try it before he had to wait a significant amount of time for his chakra to replenish enough to try it again if he failed. Not to mention in what ways he would have to recover from whatever side effects he would suffer through from abusing the chakra pills.

Sasuke pinched his nose in concentration and tried his best to expel Sakura from his mind while he waited. And it worked just enough, for the most part…consciously—until he fell asleep that night and dreamt of her, his suppressed thoughts confronting him in his subconscious. He had developed a habit of dreaming about Sakura lately, so this wasn’t something new to him. His dreams of her usually involved her imminent death; an enemy threatening her life in a way that Sasuke was too late to prevent. This was the case. Usually. But something about that kiss earlier had unnerved Sasuke, transforming his instinctual focus on her from one of concern to one of…how would he describe it? Desire? Hope? Longing? None of those words seemed acceptable to the Uchiha; he hated to have to admit to any of those feelings even when dreaming.

In this dream, he was back in that damn medicine preparation room, glaring into Sakura’s green eyes after that unexpected kiss. But this time, instead of sensibly leaving, the Uchiha gave in to her desperate pleadings, taking her chin between his fingertips and bringing her mouth back to his. In this dream, Sasuke kissed her. Was kissing her frenziedly, hand suddenly twisting in the pink fuzz at the nape of her hot, flushed neck. Was, until a hand clamped firmly on his shoulder, jerking him abruptly back away from her. When he turned, Sasuke was face-to-face with himself. His conscious self vs. the subconscious.

When Sasuke woke, he laughed derisively as he realized he would always be the one to get in his own way in both reality and fiction.

“Good,” he said aloud to the airless dimension, suddenly frustrated for fantasizing about the opposite scenario of the one he had chosen. He hoped Kaguya, or others like her, somehow were able to hear him through this connection of dimensions. They would see just how determined he was to rid the world of them; how dedicated he was to protect those he loved. So much so, that he would sacrifice and surrender every aspect of his life to this goal.

Sasuke stood then, forming the hand sign to split the dimension in the space before him until raging sand materialized before his eyes. He decided he would just not sleep; not unless he was so tired that he wouldn’t even have enough left in him to dream.  

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

Sakura was a quick learner. The medical ninja gave herself that credit at least as she imitated the slow intake and exhale of breath that professed sleep. This certainly wasn’t her first kidnapping. Half a year ago, Kido had done just exactly that and as soon as his posse realized she was awake, the show had begun. Sakura’s poison-trained system had finally started to break down whatever sleep-induced toxin Mako had spiked her drink with. With no conception of how long she had been unconscious, Sakura had become cognizant and immediately began to mimic an undisturbed state. This time, she was set on listening. This time, she would assess and strategically plan.

She had been waiting to hear the answer as to “why” she found herself in this particular situation as she was dragged, then hoisted over someone’s shoulder. For a blurry second, Sakura was taken back to her drunken episode several weeks ago when Sasuke carried her home after the medic had decided to deplete Tsunade’s alcohol stash. The only similarity between this state of stupor and that one was the pounding headache that made Sakura want to vomit. That was when memory caught up with her and she began to “act.”

She was exchanged from one shoulder to the next and Sakura realized suddenly that she had been carried by Mako up until this point--that bastard--and was being surrendered to someone else. She didn’t know the voice.

“Great job,” a guttural accent commended Mako for his successful abduction. Sakura planned on commending him herself once she regained the upper hand.

“Just shut up and walk,” came Mako’s voice, in a tone that sent shivers down Sakura’s spine. She had never heard him speak like that. How could she have been played by him this whole time?

Sakura began to second-guess her decision to pretend the longer that they walked. In cases of abduction, it was well known that a person’s chances of survival drastically dropped if the kidnapper succeeded in moving them to a second location. But Sakura thought of Isao, her patients, her coworkers, and even Sasuke and resolved herself. It was better for them if she could allow these maniacs to believe that they had got her. What they didn’t know, was that their mistake would be getting Sakura just far enough away from civilians where she could cause some real damage. She had handled Kido; she could take care of these two as well. Neither of them could have anticipated her other skillset; Mako didn’t know her well enough.

When they had dropped her not so gracefully onto her back an hour later, Sakura bit the inside of her cheek to keep from making a pained groan or facial expression to give away her performance. Other voices chimed in then, and Sakura realized her adversaries had just doubled.

“About damn time,” someone drawled as she was dropped. “You couldn’t have taken care of this sooner?”

There was some shuffling as her capturers arranged themselves in what sounded like a cramped space.

Mako announced: “She’s surprisingly resistant. Not to mention Uchiha’s been around just until recently.”

That particular statement wounded Sakura a little more than the fall she just sustained. Of course, this was all about Sasuke. She should have known. Kido had kidnapped her for this same reason: to lure in Sasuke, kill her in front of him so his eyes would change. Sakura was starting to get pretty annoyed with people trying to use her to get to Sasuke—as if she would ever let that happen. When would they learn that things weren’t so black and white? Mako’s previous statement the morning of her capture began to make more sense to her now: “Well, it’s obvious that he likes you. To be honest, I thought you were already a couple.” And Sakura cursed her mouth for confiding in him because now she identified his interest as a predatory investigation.

“Or maybe you just weren’t trying hard enough because you liked her,” came a response from a voice Sakura seemed to recognize for some reason. It was different from the rest—distinctively female. Sakura mentally raised an eyebrow at that fact.  

“Believe me, that’s not the case” came Mako’s defense. “Ashuwa just didn’t do the trick on a medical specialist as we had hoped.”

And then Sakura was cursing. Cursing a stream of silent words that wouldn’t do her any good to express verbally now that she was getting information. The bastard had even convinced her that Sasuke should take it. She thanked the universe for Sasuke’s non-allergic reaction to it.

“What ended up working?” came the female voice again, expressing honest curiosity.

“Tea and kindness,” Mako stated unemotionally, eager to move past the topic. “Now let’s get on with this.”

“Of course,” said the female again, tossing what sounded like clanging metal onto the floor at his feet. “You have been given a position among us as promised for your service. Welcome.”

Sakura couldn’t resist. She snuck a peek through the corner of her eyelashes at them then and did not like what she saw. She was in a small gathering room with a domed ceiling, one of the many adobe homes on the outskirts of the Sand Village. She had also miscounted by 1. There were four of them, an extra silent companion seated & leaning against the wall farthest from her, seemingly uninterested. In the same second, Sakura also noted that Mako had bent down to retrieve something she recognized, a headband with a foreign symbol etched onto it—the same symbol she had seen on the headbands of their assailants back at the Tanigakure lodge. She made the connection: these were the same ninja who had followed Sakura and ambushed her and Sasuke in the night. The ninja she had recounted to Gaara, who was supposedly on their trail. How did they manage to get past him?

Just as Sakura thought this, an unexpected thud came from the ceiling accompanied by the crumbling sound of sand. Quiet consumed them as no one moved. Sakura observed quietly as all ninja revealed their weapons in silence as if they were snakes quietly coiling back to strike.

The man in the corner nodded toward the door, and the ninja closest to Sakura’s head disbanded from the group and disappeared within a second. Once outside, the same ninja began swearing loudly at some surprise. Everyone in the room relaxed as a child’s vocal squirming reached their years. The shuffling continued as this child was being brought inside.

“Damn kid must have followed us!” the returning ninja said in annoyance. “Got some bite to him.”

If Sakura hadn’t been laying down already, she would have collapsed in shock and fear at the memorable voice of the child they had just apprehended and threw down next to her. “Get away from me!” Isao shouted, the boy swinging a kunai out in front of him. They laughed wickedly at the boy’s ferocity.

Okay, show’s over.

Protective instincts kicked in swiftly as Sakura successfully reached forward and stole the kunai away from the child in less than a blinking second. There were unanimous intakes of breath throughout the room as Sakura managed to get Isao behind her and compress the blade threateningly against the esophagus of the man who had touched the both of them—it all happened within a microsecond.  Sakura’s sudden revival activated the group’s defense and they were upon her, but she let out a snarl, drawing blood against the man’s throat.

They immediately stopped their advance when the man she had ensnared began to laugh, throat nicking against the knife as he did so. “Do it already,” he breathed through his laugh. “My death will be a part of this effort. It will only help us in our cause.”

Sakura was certainly tempted by that. The way he had roughly handled Isao seconds before with his colossal insensitive hands was like a fresh and bloody burn on her skin, painful and needing the immediate relief of this man’s execution. But something in his words froze her hand. A cause?

“Glad you are finally awake,” came Mako’s distinct tone, a vicious friendliness warming the words again.

“Shut up you liar,” Sakura spat viciously.

“If you let him go, we’ll tell you why we are going to kill you,” came the female’s voice, and Sakura flashed her angry green eyes over in the woman’s direction. Her face and hair were covered, and Sakura acknowledged the same black shemagh that had concealed her attackers in Tanigakure.

Fat chance, she thought. Sakura immediately assessed her chakra levels and was aggravated by how slow chakra was reacting to her body’s summoning of it. Mako was a fellow medic, and Sakura deduced that whatever he had given her had strategically messed with her system and chakra connection. Sakura mutely criticized herself for trusting Mako. How many times would she be tricked in her lifetime? Probably many more, but she would learn from them all. Oh well, she thought. She had had worse odds before. Her only additional complication was Isao because now she was responsible for herself and the 11-year-old boy who had pursued after her. Had he somehow witnessed Mako’s abduction of her?

It was at this moment that the woman at the front of the room began to take off her mask, and Sakura almost dropped the knife altogether. As the black wrap was loosened and it slumped around the woman’s neck, Sakura immediately recognized the face of Hisa, the female medic ninja who had been her assistant throughout Sakura’s entire stay in Kunagakure. Even Isao behind her, gasped when he saw the woman who had helped take care of him.

Sakura’s moment of surprise was all it took for the ninja she stood behind to reach his hand lightning-quick between his own throat and the kunai. He grabbed on to Sakura’s wielded wrist with his left hand and flung her forward over his shoulder. She mentally cursed as she went flying toward the forefront of the room, landing painfully into the opposite wall. She practically went through it, and the side of the adobe house collapsed around her. As she fell, Sakura realized that the brute force used against her revealed their intention to truly kill her. They weren’t planning on preserving her, let alone sparing her life.

Sakura had been launched farther than she initially realized because when she managed to rise from the dust and sand, she winced at the other consequences of her distraction that was now beyond reach. One by one, the villains stepped through the new door that Sakura had made, carrying Isao with them. In the next second, Isao was tossed to the sand, screaming threats and clutching at the thug man’s foot that suddenly pinned down his chest. When the beast applied pressure to the child’s sternum, Isao began to moan in pain.

The sight enraged her, and she broke her silence. “You’re wrong if you think this plan of yours will work!” she screamed at them. “I am nothing to Sasuke. Nothing to anyone, do you hear me?!”

All but the quiet man snickered in response to her declarations, but she continued, seething through her teeth.

“He will not come to save me! You will not get what you want by using me! Let the child go!”

“This isn’t about Sasuke,” replied the wraith-like man who came last through the shattered side of the building’s exterior wall. For the first time since her awakening, the still man walked to the head of the party and addressed her. “Neither is it about the Hokage, or even the Jinchurki. This is about you.”

The night suddenly seemed starless, dark, and void of all sound save the squealing wind. As the stranger spoke this truth, three of the other members flanked his sides before fanning out beside him like Tamari’s fan, creating a close-knit semi-circle. The phantom-like man stood casually in the middle, his face cloaked in the combined darkness of night and the face wrapping he wore. As Sakura looked closer, even this man’s eyes, the only thing that could be seen between the black fabric, seemed like depthless holes of nothing. This man reminded Sakura of a walking desert mirage, some sort of shadow demon hiding in human clothing.

Sakura gritted her teeth as her body instinctively begged her to flee. Isao’s need for her overpowered that. She would die before abandoning him.

“Me?” Sakura asked instead, revealing her honest surprise. “What do you want with me?” It was a trick, the kunoichi told herself. What could they possibly have to gain from killing her when much more powerful figures literally walked side by side with Sakura? There was nothing to gain besides Sasuke’s, Naruto’s, or Kakashi’s ultimate death, defeat, or capture.  

“Your efforts to fix the ‘mentally ill’ goes against the philosophy of our newly founded group,” came Hisa’s poison-dripped answer. Sakura noted that they all took a step toward her in synchrony, tightening in on her a little closer. This practiced pack was testing her and Sakura took a step back to match their own. She was smart enough not to let them surround her like the meal they believed her to be. Sakura felt suddenly empathetic for those mother animals who felt torn between their captured young and their own safety. Let them believe that she was this helpless observer who reeked with fear.

“And what philosophy is that?” She asked, imitating the breaks of a trembling in her throat. She practically seeped the question with distress. It must have had the effect Sakura wanted, for her enemies smiled in response and took another step toward her.

With an insanity that Sakura had not heard in his statements before, Mako declared emphatically, “Progression!”

Sakura couldn’t wait to punch his teeth so far down his throat that Mako’s vocal cords and epiglottis would permanently suffer damage.  

Sakura stammered again, portraying the weakness they wished to see. “Pro--progression?” Another step back. Just a little more.

“Whether or not it is your intention, you will create a shinobi generation of weaklings,” stated the leader again. He essentially breathed more darkness, because the night around her suddenly grew thicker. Was she imagining it, or could this be some sort of jutsu?

“How do you figure that?” she questioned, adding a nervous laugh to her annoyed tinged inquiry. Sakura’s exasperation with their reasoning was starting to make her focus waver.

As she asked, Sakura concentrated on her chakra. She was calling it, calling it, calling it, but it did not spring forth. She would have compared the sensation to drawing blood from a syringe, except her chakra was like liquified cement and the syringe was the size of a pen. If she chose to use it, the Strength of a Hundred Seals just might flood her chakra paths and burst through whatever plug the medicine had caused, or it could potentially well up like water in a dam and she wouldn’t have any access to it. Medically, that might be a concern. And it had only been a few weeks since she had last used her reserves to assist Sasuke crossing dimensions, so would the risk be worth the additional amount behind her forehead?

In an eerie declaration, the masked leader stepped toward her again and said, “If you go around curing the next generation of their anger and pain, brainwashing them with this vision of peace, there will be no more progression.”

“What the hell does that mean?” she asked, all pretense gone now. The confidence in her tone made them stop their encroachment. For a second, Sakura didn’t look so weak to them. They glanced at the leader, the shadow-man, and then again at Mako because Mako knew her best out of the group; he had also drugged her.

“The medicine should still be working. We must hurry though. It won’t last all night.” Listening to this, Sakura inhaled and exhaled, willing the small drip of chakra to pool more heavily in her palm. She would only have one shot before she could collect enough chakra for another one. Sakura took another step back. And another, drawing them away from Isao and his captor. Just a little more. Keep them talking.

“There is peace in the world now,” Sakura baited. “There’s no need for children to suffer through trauma alone anymore.”

The leader did not hesitate a second before responding with the practiced mission justification of their group: “Without anger, hatred, and pain, there is no incentive for war between villages. And without war, there is no need for young shinobi. You will create a generation of weaklings who cannot defend our borders. The world of Shinobi as we know it will disappear.”

Sick freaks, Sakura thought. She was their target because she worked with children? They were afraid that children would be weaker without pain? “The world would be a better place,” she commented, “if there weren’t people like you in it.” Sakura didn’t care to listen to this nonsense anymore. She hated to kill them, but they weren’t giving her much of a choice.

At exactly this moment, Isao had somehow reached into his pocket for another kunai, stabbing it into the foot that held him down. Apparently, the ninja had been distracted by the rest of the pack’s slow pursuit of Sakura and the conversation. Isao left his mark, slicing it clean across the top. The ninja screamed which turned the heads of all those before her. Isao bolted up before anyone had the chance to stop him.

On his feet now, he charged the group and Sakura watched in panic as the ninja he had left behind now followed, brandishing a sword of his own.

“Kill that brat!” came Hisa’s order.

And then Sakura was in the air, her fury propelling her forward and then down on top of them.

Mako let out a cry of alarm, the first to notice her above them. The kunoichi had just enough for one hit, and Sakura prayed the sand wouldn’t buffer too much of it. She fisted the meager amount of chakra between both of her palms, fingers interlocked to make a combined fist. She brought them down as hard as she could at their feet, making it through several feet of sand before she connected it with the ground. Sakura was not able to see the damage done, because not only did sand fill the air, but all light blinked out and a shroud of complete blackness consumed her.

[volleychumps]

An Accidental Kind of Love (Iwaizumi Hajime x Reader)

Episode 10- Fading Nightmares 

Text Below the Cut:) 

Prev; Next; Masterlist 

I feel this needs to be described in vivid detail...

--------------------------------------------

“What...is this that abandoned school? Isn’t it set to be demolished soon?” Futakuchi mumbles in disbelief, closing the car door quietly. Kuroo claps Iwaizumi on the shoulder, shaking him slightly. 

“As much as I know you want to kill that piece of shit-” 

Iwaizumi glances at Kuroo’s hand on his shoulder, shaking it off. “I know. The end goal is to just get her the hell out of there.” 

“The minute it gets too dangerous, we leave and wait for the police.” Futakuchi warns as Kuroo begins to stretch his arm muscles out, Iwaizumi pulling his denim sleeves up to his elbow, both serious as ever. Iwa nods once, walking ahead with trembling fists at how hard he was clenching them. 

“Ready to beat the shit out of some fuckers?” Kuroo lazily grins at the uptight Futakuchi, a dangerous glint in his eye as Futakuchi sighs, releasing the pressure in his chest. Kuroo smirks, knowing the lengths of how far Kenji would go for (y/n) than any other person. Even if he knew she would never see him the way he did her. 

Futakuchi and Kuroo both break into a jog to meet at Iwa’s side, fire on their heels. “Let’s do it.”

----

“Just how much is he paying you to watch me?” You blink at the scary-looking dude who was sitting criss-cross in front of you as you deal the cards, eyebrow quirked at the situation you were in. Kidnapped by your ex, playing go-fish with a gangster in the middle of an old classroom. Now, you’ve been in lots of weird shit before, but this?

This was new. 

“I’m not supposed to talk to you.” 

“Yet here you are, playing go-fish with me. Got any eights?” 

“...Go fish.” 

You roll your eyes slightly, surprised at the calmness in your chest at what was happening. It had been two days. Two days of staying in the same old classroom, and you’re shitty ex had only shown himself to you twice. The first time you spat at him, refusing to accept anything from him in fear that he was trying to drug you. You cried your eyes out the first night of sleeping on cold concrete, ankle chained to the wall. 

The second time he introduced you to your new “bodyguard” who was meant to keep you “safe”. By the second day, you had somehow managed to rope him in to playing a game of cards after a few hesitant conversations. You had learned about why he was the way he was and why he did what he did. Sure, you empathized with him a little. Mostly because he was no Toby. 

“I don’t agree with this, you know.” Puffy (as you named him) frowns. You remain silent, allowing him to speak his mind. “The boss told me to follow this kid. He paid enough money, apparently. It’s just to keep you here, but...it’s still not right. He seems a little sick in the head.” 

You scoff, about to reply in agreement until a new voice sounds throughout the room, sending chills down your spine and a lump into your throat. 

“Sick in the head? Is that any way to talk about your employer?” 

Puffy drops his cards, standing immediately as his scary eyes cast you a sorry stare. 

“Leave us.” 

Puffy hesitates, and walks out of the room as you refuse to tear your eyes away from the cards in your hand. Toby smirks, taking Puffy’s place in front of you as he begins to pick up the scattered cards. 

“Enjoying your time here?” 

You stay silent, pressing your lips tightly closed as your heart pounds in your chest. 

Fingers grip at your cheeks, forcing you to look up into the eyes of a monster. 

“I asked you a question.” 

----

“Ouch. That’s gonna leave a bruise.” 

Futakuchi glances worriedly over at Kuroo before kicking the thug who came at him in the stomach as he laid on his side on the floor, ignoring his groan of pain as he ensures he can’t get back up.   

Kuroo throws another thug by the shirt into the wall, wiping sweat from his brow as he glances at his best friend.  “Oh. Not me. Him.” 

The two boys share a freaked-out glance at how savagely Iwaizumi fought, taking down two of the four thugs all on his own. He ignores their stares, clicking his tongue as he slips his denim pullover off, leaving him in a black sleeveless shirt that exposed his arms as his free hand rubs at the cuts on his knuckles.

“Show-off.” Kuroo smirks as the three restart their jog farther into the school.  “They’re weaklings.” The air Iwaizumi gave off was dangerous and harsh, a promise of death in his eyes as each step he took was filled with a single purpose.

Saving you. 

----

“Yes, Toby, I am enjoying my time here.” A fake smile stretches its’ way onto your face, feeling soreness in your cheeks at how hard his thumb and forefinger were pressing into them. “I love being kidnapped by my psychopath ex that I was kind enough to take pity on.” 

Those weren’t the right words. 

He flings his wrist to the side, jutting your head to that direction as an unstable laugh slips his mouth. 

“You just never learn, do you?” 

“A real man doesn’t hit a woman.” You manage out, feeling the intensity in your ex rise. “But I guess in your case, that doesn’t matter. You monster.” 

“Monster? No, don’t get me wrong-I’m no monster.” 

You tremble as his fingers ghost under your chin, a sickingly-sweet tone seeping into his words. 

“I’m yours.” 

You clench your eyes shut when his face nears yours, fingers tilting your chin up. In a panic, you swing with your free arm, the slap echoing throughout the room as your fingers tremble at what you had just done. 

Toby freezes, head jutted out to the side. The laugh spills out of his throat, and the fear makes you shiver as his gaze falls on you maniacally. 

“So is this how you felt?” 

You shut your eyes, waiting for the impact as soon as he raises his arm. 

But it never came. 

----

“She’s in here.” 

The three blink suspiciously as the scariest-looking thug they’ve encountered motions to the door. Iwaizumi takes another step cautiously, dark eyes calculating. 

“Why would we believe that?” 

The sirens around the building begin to ring as Puffy laughs humorlessly. “I...shouldn’t live my life this way. She helped me realize that. Just...please. Save her.”

The three wasted no time, Futakuchi suspiciously accepting the key from the criminal as he begins to work the lock. Kuroo scratches the back of his neck awkwardly starting to make conversation with the criminal until a sound makes all their blood chill cold. 

A slap. 

And then Iwaizumi’s foot was inside the door. 

----

“Get the FUCK away from her if you know what’s good for you.” 

A relieved gasp makes its’ way out of your mouth as Iwaizumi’s face comes into view, black sleeveless shirt torn with a spill of blood out of the corner of his lips. But he still looked more goregous than ever as he threw the monster that haunted both your dreams and life against the wall in one solid swoop. 

Tears brim your eyes when Kuroo and Futakuchi rush up to you, looking roughed up themselves as your weak arms widen to allow both of them to hug you at once. 

“Y-You guys...” 

“Hey. You don’t have to say anything.” Futakuchi was gentle as he cupped your face, Kuroo’s arms tightening around you as he breathes out all the worry that had placed itself on his chest. 

“You’re safe. Thank God you’re safe.”

And then Kuroo was gone, running to pull Iwaizumi off a half-concious Toby. You see him spit out a tooth, crazy eyes glaring at you as Kuroo presses him up against the wall by the shirt. You rub your ankle as Iwaizumi undoes the chain with the key he had taken from Toby’s pocket. 

“You BITCH! You called all your other fuck-buddies didn’t you? I got someone to fuck with your phone, how-?!”  Kuroo hisses as his fist connects with Toby’s face, knocking him out like a light as Kuroo allows him to drop to the floor from his position up on the wall. Kuroo examines the cut on his knuckle, looking satisfied with himself.

“Man, I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time.” 

Futakuchi rolls his eyes as he walks over to your ex’s unconcious body, hoisting him up with a groan. You don’t see the sadness in his eyes when Iwaizumi embraces you as he casts you a smile. 

“Hey. We’ll bring him down to the police. See you outside.” 

“I love you guys, you know that?” You say with emotion packed in your throat as Kuroo and Futakuchi leave the room with the unconcious body. Kuroo lets out a low whistle when they make it halfway down the hall. 

“You sure you’re okay with this?” 

“Yeah.” Futakuchi smiles slightly. “She looked happy.” 

----

“I...” 

“Don’t. Just...hold me.” 

Iwaizumi’s arms are gentle as you sob quietly into his neck, ignoring the terrible state you were in as his bruised hand runs through your tangled hair.

“T-Thank you...I’m so dumb, I didn’t know-” 

“Don’t speak.”

“W-what-?” 

So, in the middle of an abandoned classroom, with tear stained cheeks and bruised arms- Iwaizumi kissed you. A cut up hand resting on your cheek with the most softest touch he had used that day. You deepen the kiss for a second before pulling away, and he rests his forehead on yours, dark eyes staring into yours as your heart returns to a steady rhythm. 

“Iwa?”  “Hm?” 

“Can we try and go on another coffee run?” 

“Yes. Idiot.” Iwa’s busted lip forms a smile as your dry throat laughs a little bit, the room spinning around you as your body faces a round of fatigue from all the previous events. 

“Be here when I wake up?” 

“That’s a given.” 

And then the room stopped spinning as your body fell into a slump, eyes fluttering shut as Iwa’s half-smile is the last thing you see. 

----

It’s not over yet, folks! It will go back to standard social media AU in the next episode<33

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