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violetrainbow412-blog · 2 years ago

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Dressing for revenge [K. B]

Kaz Brekker x fem!reader

word count: 7k

summary: when Kaz and his crows return from Ravka they run into trouble, and to solve it, he looks for a childhood friend who is too resentful and too in love with him

warnings: trauma, PTSD, spoilers for S&B season 2, no physical contact, here Kaz has no romantic feelings for Inej

A/N: I LOVE Kanej, but I wanted to write something with Kazzle Dazzle because I love him too, lol. I hope you like it!

taglist (who I thought might be interested): @rustyyyyspoonz

The rumor had already spread throughout the Barrel: “Kaz Brekker and his crows are back” How long had it been since they had embarked into the Fold? Just a couple of months? They had felt like years, if you were being honest.

If it was true that they were back, you felt sorry for the trouble they were going to run into. The change of ownership of their club, the strengthening of the other gangs, and mainly the fact that they were being tried for murder thanks to the fact that Pekka Rollins had awarded it to them... all these problems were going to fall on them like a bucket of water cold. It had already fallen on them, in fact, since the rumor was accompanied that they had escaped from the stadwatch once they were captured.

You didn't know how much of what everyone was saying was true and how much was false, trying to stay as calm as possible when the name Kaz came from someone's lips for fear that Pekka had some magical ability and could read your mind or sense the fear in your eyes every time you met him. Afraid of him and afraid of what he might do to you if he knew you knew the black-haired man.

Things had changed a lot since the last time you saw the boy and that was more than noticeable. Your story goes back long before he made his reputation when you were just a couple of neighbor kids playing on the farms. You two arrived in Ketterdam together, with nothing but hopes for a better future and Jordie as your protector (or an attempt at that, at least), after your father and Mr. Rietveld died in the same accident, reuniting with Kaz’s mother and later to be matched by your mother, who had died of sadness, if that was possible. Three helpless children thrown into the cruel world were what came of that and the rest is history.

Crime, robbery, gangs, and a life of hardship were what you had to adjust to as a child, but you doubted very much that a single person living in The Barrel would be in a different situation. You weren't fully involved in the disgraced jobs of the majority, but if there was one true thing, it was that when it came to obtaining information you were, to say the least, excellent. You and Kaz had to fend for yourselves, and you learned what you could from the streets. In this way he and you became a team, so to speak, for a few teenage years, and for that period of your lives having each other was the only thing in the world. Over time he became ruthless, rude, a great fighter and earned the nickname 'dirtyhands' thanks to his gambling skills, from which he obtained most of the things you had. You learned to move quickly, to go unnoticed, and to defend yourself from those who tried to harm you, always supporting the boy’s plans.

Less than a year was enough for his name to become known and he began to think big. Sometimes he would tell you about the plans he had: to run Fifth Harbor, to establish the crow club, to become the best of The Barrel. All of that sounded like crazy ideas at first, but looking back you realized that he had accomplished too much in that pit for your relatively young age.

You never knew what made you and Kaz go their separate ways, but somehow it had happened. It was gradual, maybe that's why it was hard for you to notice, but one day you woke up and realized the distance that existed between him, who previously was practically the only family you knew, and you. It didn't take much for him to decide to break the bond that had held you together from a very early age; he never gave reasons for this and you never asked him.

You lived under some protection from the leader of The Crows, of course, but very few people could link you to The Bastard of the Barrel. Sometimes you still provided him with information, but when he found someone else, the inquiries became less and less frequent until one day they turned into none. You managed to eat and have a roof over your head pretty well (and mostly honestly) and you tried to stay out of trouble for a long time.

Until one day he flew away from Ketterdam without warning and order in the Barrel was disturbed in every possible way. With his team gone, it didn't take long for Pekka to seize control and anyone who didn't work for him was inevitably against him. It was only a matter of time before he found out the talent you had tried to hide and forced you to carry his lion shield... figuratively speaking.

If he ever knew that you used to work with Kaz he never mentioned it or maybe your relationship with him had been severed so long that no one remembered it anymore. Now you were just a little girl, as he used to call you, slippery enough that she seemed so harmless that, in his eyes, that became a benefit. You were never one to look rude, unfortunately for you, and that allowed men like him to feel entitled to take advantage of you. You thanked the saints that Rollins didn't find you attractive or who knows what other services he would have requested from you. It was always better to provide him with the information he needed than for him to force you to be his lover.

You weren't a part of the meetings that the Dime Lions had and you weren't considered a member either, which kept you calm every night. You were just another piece in the enormous chess game that Pekka moved at his convenience, the same game that was threatened by the mere existence of Kaz Brekker and much more so now that he had returned.

In the middle of the night it was logical to ask yourself, what kind of strange plans would he have in mind now?

One, two, and three knocks surprised you at the rickety wooden door and made you jump out of your chair, where you were already asleep. An old lamp was on the even older table and it illuminated the little space that your provisional home had so you took it to approach to open the door. It was raining outside (quite unusual for that time of year) and by the time it was you figured it was one of Rollins' idiots coming to do a job for you. What would he want now? Harbor information? Talk to a policeman? He was supposed to control everything, sometimes you kept wondering why he asked for your help.

When you opened the door, the air slipped in and almost extinguished the flame of the fire, but the temperature of the night wasn’t what left you freezing, but the presence that was in front of you. With his hat, a completely black outfit, and his cane in hand, but above all soaked from head to toe, there was him; Kaz. You almost feared you were imagining it, but you knew it was him by the clear, penetrating eyes that were watching you, even though you admitted that he had changed so much that in other circumstances you would have had trouble recognizing him.

“Did I arrive at a bad time?” he asked. No warm greetings, no smiles, no explanations. Just a cold, serious question, just the way he was.

“Someone followed you? If this place is horrible by itself, I don't want blood staining the floor” you replied with the same tone. You wanted to tell him that you had missed him, ask him if he was okay, and give him a huge hug, but those actions should be reserved for your nocturnal fantasies, because as soon as you took a step forward he would be able to hit you with his cane. Or at least that's what the Kaz you knew would do, but you doubted very much that the passing of the years would have softened his heart.

"Nobody followed me" was all he said and you stepped aside at the door so he could go inside. Even with his words, you felt the need to look out on both sides of the street in search of someone, but with the level of rain, you doubted very much that someone would want to stay and spy because he would probably die of pneumonia.

When you closed the door and turned around he didn't say anything, he just stood in front of you while the water drained from his coat. During that moment of silence, you allowed yourself to admire it under the warm light of the candle; his eyes definitely hadn't changed one bit, but now there was a tinge of contempt more noticeable than before. His features had hardened and he was thinner, barely resembling the boy you remembered, perhaps as a reminder of just that... that he was now a man.

“So the rumors are true…” you started to say “You are back”

"I think that's more than obvious," he exclaimed. For a second you forgot that it was he who had knocked on your door and you felt uncomfortable as if you were an intruder who had to get out of there.

There was silence again and you two just looked at each other. Kaz had made his own mental list of changes he noticed in you and was reflecting on when was the last time he had looked at you in such detail. You were wearing light clothes, because before he arrived you were about to go to sleep, and your face, although as childish as always, looked more tired than before. You had also cut your hair, which was messy around your shoulders and a bit darker in tone.

“And may I know to what I owe your visit? I guess you don't want to have tea” you said to break the silence. The dryness of your words in a certain way was to protect yourself because you never knew how much a sharp tongue like his could hurt you.

"I'm in a job and I need people"

Of course it was going to be due to a job, and of course that was why he had sought you out after so many years. A part of you, tremendously stupid, to tell you the truth, was hoping that during the time your friend was away from Ketterdam some divine clarity would have illuminated him so that he would realize that he had to look for you to repair your relationship and offer at least apologies. But you would have to pay him every kruge in the country for him to do something like that.

"I'm glad you considered me, but I'm sorry I have to decline."

"Why?" he asked immediately, his raspy voice showing annoyance at the refusal.

“Because it happens that you can’t work for opposing sides. At least not at the same time” you replied. Maybe it was due to fatigue, but you swore you saw a slight look of surprise on the man's face when you answered that. Most likely, he had assumed that you would be one of the few people who wouldn’t be on Pekka’s side and therefore a safe option.

“Do you work for Pekka?” he muttered. You knew him well enough to know that he was hurt, you could see it in his posture, in his voice, and especially in his look “After all he did to us?”

"And what did you want him to do?" you said, trying to ignore the fact that he had spoken in the plural. Us “You practically handed us over to him. My options were that or receive a bullet in the forehead."

"I didn’t hand you over to anyone"

"You abandoned us and left us in his hands, it's the same thing" you replied, shrugging. There was so much resentment and pain from never-closed wounds floating in the air that it was hard for him and you to think clearly. “Your vacation in Ravka may have been nice, but things only just went to hell here. So don't you dare judge me by the choices I made” you exclaimed defensively.

You didn't imagine that your first conversation with him after so long would be like this, but unfortunately, things never turned out the way you expected. After all, they were a crook and a spy talking in the dead of night.

"You could get information from him more easily," Kaz concluded, shrugging the same way you did. "And so we sink him from the inside."

"And risk him finding out and killing me?"

“You know that would never happen,” he said firmly “The thing about killing you. I wouldn't allow him” his eyes stared at you almost offended by the lack of trust you had towards him. There was silence for the third time and this time your gaze moved away to focus on anything but him.

"Plus you have this girl you took out of The Menagerie, don't you?" you said in your defense. The one you replaced me with, you wanted to add, but held back "So I don't know what you might need me for"

"With so many problems going on, I thought it would be better to have as many alliances as possible," he explained to you. You continued without looking at him, with your head still full of worries and sorrows, and when he didn’t receive an answer, he spoke again "You know that it is your best option"

"I don't know that, but I do know that I would have liked you to at least ask how I am before asking me to join the team you never wanted me in and from which you separated me as soon as you had the chance" you exhaled, in an attempt to lighten the weight on your chest.

It was no secret that you had always felt betrayed by Kaz’s treatment of you, even though he treated dozens of others the same way, because you somehow thought that your backstory was enough to deserve at least the sympathy or some consideration on the part of the crow. And of course you wanted to run from Pekka's clutches and plunge him into the deepest muck, but the resentment for what you considered your friend’s abandonment was stronger. You didn't even know if it was correct to call him ‘friend’.

"You would be a good ace up my sleeve" was all he replied, in an attempt to convince you. Kaz begged absolutely no one, but if there was one thing he had decided before coming to find you, it was that he wouldn't leave until you agreed to help him. Although the nature of your current job made things a bit difficult for him, "Pekka never knew you worked for me, did he?"

"With you" you corrected him "I didn't work for you but with you. We got to The Barrel at the same time”

"Y/N" he murmured. Your name sounded strange coming from his lips after so long without hearing it and that caught you off guard ��I'm trying to help you so you don't end up hurt or dead. If you work for… with me, I can tell you where not to be. Otherwise I could find you in the rubble of some confrontation or with a knife from Inej or a bullet from Jesper through your chest”

"Always so thoughtful," you replied with a smirk, but as much as it pained you to admit it, he had a point. You knew what he was capable of and what Pekka was capable of… which side was more convenient to be on? "How much are you going to pay me?" you asked and Kaz smiled, but it wasn't a sign of happiness but mockery “You've always said that's what's really important, haven't you?”

He took something out of his coat and tossed it on the table. They were bills.

"An advance, when I recover the crow club, I will pay you the rest"

“So my pay depends on whether we win or not. That doesn't sound so convenient to me,” you muttered, clicking your tongue, as you fought the urge to say yes just to be near him. It was cold outside, the rain was making a lot of noise and you just wanted to sleep at once, but you knew that you could have been arguing with him all night and neither of you would back down. Kaz was stubborn, one way or another he would get what he wanted. "This isn't just about the club, is it?" you said, with your voice noticeably lower and you would even say with a touch of softness. You and Kaz never talked about what had happened, but each of you was dealing with the weight of the trauma in your own way. He didn't say anything and this time you saw something in him that was different from his usual behavior, knowing that it was those ghosts from the past tormenting him.

"If someone should make him pay, it's us"

Us, again.

"I'll think about it" was what you answered, after reflecting on what would be the appropriate response. The speechless moment gave you something else to think about, and you knew that a huge flaw of yours was how easily you let your heart take over. Because even with all the other feelings on top, you still worried about him "Now that the crow club isn't yours..." you started to say, afraid of what he might say "do you have a place to stay?"

You would have offered to sleep there if he said no, but instead he said he’d manage. That didn't completely reassure you, but you decided not to insist.

“First thing tomorrow, send a reply to this address,” he asked you, holding out a piece of paper that had a few drops on it “Don't go there personally or you'll screw everything up, just send me a note. A yes or a no will suffice”

“What if someone tracks down the note?” you asked, which was a totally valid concern.

Kaz was silent while he thought of an alternative, and then spoke again.

“Just write crows of a feather, murder together. I'll understand” he murmured and you nodded. You knew the poem he was quoting from, had read it many times from the worn-out book he had gotten for you. Kaz didn't wait for anything else and took long steps to the door, which he opened as soon as he could. "Good night, Y/N."

And then he left.

That night you thought a lot about the solution you would give him in the morning, thinking about the pros and cons of each possible answer, until you decided that it was best to say yes. You needed to do it if you wanted to live peacefully (as much as the place allowed) but the main reason was to support him. If he had been about any stupid dispute you would have said no, but you knew this was something else. Kaz missed Jordie every day of his life and his way of honoring him was by planning revenge against the one who led him to that fate, so it was kind of an obligation for you to help him with that too.

You wrote the note on a piece of paper and carefully folded it to put it in an envelope. You signed the outside with his name, written in the best handwriting you had, and although you were hesitant to do so, at the end you wrote a little ‘from a friend’ in the hope of making it clear to him, and perhaps even encouraging him that, if he was willing, you could recover a little of what you had lost. And you weren’t referring to physical things, but to what existed between you.

All your life you had lived with almost opposite feelings when it came to Kaz. Somehow you were upset with him for only seeing you as an instrument that he could dispose of for his interests, but this was linked to the feeling of affection that you wanted him to experience for you and that apparently didn’t exist. It was difficult to decipher anything he was thinking, not just about you, since he had taken it upon himself to build such a convincing facade that it made it complicated to see beyond. Added to that was his aversion to touch of any kind, which, while quite understandable and justified, still made you feel sad. More than once you tried, in vain, to be able to touch him in some way, even if it was something tiny, but he always pushed you away. He pushed you away physically and eventually emotionally, and yet with all this background you wanted to help him.

You knew you couldn't expect a reply to your note, but you were confident that he had received it, and your suspicions were confirmed when another letter came back a couple of days later. It contained a day, a time, and a place, which you assumed was a meeting with him.

You were very careful when you headed there, because you thought that the fewer people saw you together, the better, or else Pekka might suspect something. You covered yourself with a long black cloak for this task and when you arrived you noticed that it wasn't Kaz who was there, but a couple of boys.

"Who are you?"

"And you?" you asked, with the same defensive tone. The place seemed to be an experiment workshop and looking at it in more detail you noticed that there was a bed, so it could even be some kind of apartment. The two men, one brown-skinned and the other pale as snow, wore simple brown suits and were looking at you warily.

“She is Y/N,” said a voice behind you. By the sound of the cane accompanied by the footsteps you knew it was Kaz, “she will work with us”

"Oh," said the dark-haired boy, looking happier with the answer, as he walked in your direction "Welcome, in that case" he muttered flirtatiously, as he held out his hand for you to greet him "Jesper Fahey, at your service”

"I am Wylan" intervened the other, from his place, timidly and quickly.

"You arrived" Kaz spoke again. You turned and a couple of women appeared, you guessed that the shorter one with Suli features was the famous wraith of Kaz. And she was beautiful, you couldn't help but notice.

There was a brief conversation with the six of you there and then Kaz asked you to walk him up to the roof of the place. Once there you instinctively stood next to the only one you knew and he just looked at you out of the corner of his eye while he adopted the typical position of him leaning on the cane.

“Brick by brick” whispered the man’s raspy voice and you were about to ask what you were supposed to do there when an explosion went off in the distance so impressively that you stepped back a bit. It didn't take you more than a few seconds to locate the space and realize the place it was.

"The crow club" you said in a low voice, only for the black-haired man to hear you, while you watched him in profile. But he didn't look at you, just exchanged words with the others and talked about how Pekka's apparent reign was coming to an end.

You'd always known that Kaz Brekker was a little unhinged, and that night you proved it for sure, but you weren't even the least bit afraid. Rather, it was some strange hope that this madness would allow you to go far. Even freedom, perhaps.

After that clear declaration of war, things got considerably complicated, especially when you were summoned before Pekka and he asked you to investigate someone in particular and it turned out to be none other than the man you were now secretly working with. You assumed it was something logical, but even so you feared that Rollins had noticed the slight tremor in your hands when he asked you to complete the task.

You summoned Kaz to Black Veil Cemetery, late at night, and there you confessed to him everything that had happened. He of course found something good in this and devised a way to use it to your advantage, which put you at ease. It still amazed you a little at how nervous you became around him as if you knew nothing of what you were doing, but when you regained your composure you thought it was an excellent plan.

Meetings with Kaz were regular, but always in secret and alone, and they worked to exchange information that you considered useful for him with what he would allow Pekka to know.

You didn't know the full plans and you weren't part of them in any way, or you would be found out, but you knew about almost everything that was going on. The attacks, the fights, the traps, the injuries... you had to look at everything from the outside without being able to intervene. It was frustrating for you, more than anything in the world, and you had to admit that you had taken a liking to crows, even if you had seen them only a couple of times, so you also looked after their safety.

One day you received a note and went to a meeting with all the members of his group present, to finally hear the full version of what Kaz intended to do to finish off your boss. It was a brilliant idea, but you were a little worried about your position in all of this.

“You mean I'm going to be there watching everything Pekka and his thugs do?”

"It will be the best" he answered you. His face still had a bruise on his cheek, a memory from the last fight he had, and he looked exhausted "Jesper and Nina will be there, plus you'll be in disguise" he added and you nodded at that.

When the moment came you thought it would be an easy task, but when Kaz started to get brutally beaten you had to muster all your willpower not to throw yourself into trying to face Pekka, even with your zero skill. He sounded so convincing when he said about Alby that even you believed it, feeling suddenly awed by the cynical smile on Kaz's blood-smeared face. And he also mentioned you in the story, although not directly, saying that it was all about revenge for having abandoned you two when you were children.

You were able to breathe again until Pekka and his entire gang left the place in search of a son who wasn't really buried and you four were left alone. Under other circumstances you would have run to Kaz, cupped his face in your hands, sobbed, and told him it was over. But instead, you just stood in front of him and watched him; his eyes were wild with fury and a thirst for revenge that had already been quenched, but you sensed a hint of calm when he became aware of your presence.

"Breathe," you said in a whisper. Jesper and Nina were dismayed by the closeness with which you spoke to him, as they knew little of your history together “You're fine. We all are,” you assured him. That situation took you back to multiple panic attacks in the past where, given the impossibility of physical contact, all you could do for him was talk to calm him down. It always worked and Kaz had forgotten how soft your voice was and the way you brought him back to the real world. You decided to risk trying to do something else to comfort him and cautiously stretched out your hand towards him, instantly seeing his eyes widen in terror. But your hand ended up landing, more like a touch than a squeeze, on the man's bicep, which was covered by his coat; it wasn't intrusive, or abrupt, and Kaz was surprised that he didn't feel anything negative about it. He looked at your hand and then he looked at you with that usual serious expression, but he didn't push you away and allowed you to stay that way for just a few seconds, after which you decided to move your limb back.

You didn’t receive a verbal response at any time, but you did see him exhale shakily (so softly that you barely noticed) and nod his head while still looking at you, as if he were letting go of a huge weight that was stuck in his chest and at the same time assure you that it felt like a victory. Victory for beating Pekka, victory because he wasn't engulfed by an attack when you touched him, and victory because somehow you were there. You were with him, again.

“Now can we go back to normal?” Jesper asked, to break the silence, and you felt like laughing. Have they ever had a normal life? you asked yourself, but you didn't say.

"Yes" was all Kaz said and taking one last look at you he began to walk in the direction of the exit.

Both of them were curious about the type of relationship you had with Kaz but neither thought it wise to ask at the time, although Nina was getting an idea of things thanks to your racing heartbeat and his that it was impossible not to hear a moment ago. You stayed there just long enough to have a drink with Jesper and then you left the Emerald Palace. You didn't want to go back home, but going with one of them didn't seem like an option either, and once you were on the street you felt worried about remembering the state the black-haired man had left. You trusted that by that time he would be calmer and as if they thought for themselves your legs began to walk to look for him.

It was cold again and you feared you would meet someone dangerous on the road, but you only saw a couple of drunks and a girl looking for clients. Until you were in front of the door, you wondered if it was a good idea to go in, thinking that you would probably be crossing a line that Kaz was not going to allow you to, and wondering if you were going to put up with his refusal, which was a pretty good chance.

With trembling hands you opened the door, which luckily was unlocked, and as if some unknown instinct were guiding you, you found Kaz's room; it was the only one from which light came out through the crack in the door and something told you that he was there. You knocked twice, fearing you had knocked so low that he hadn't heard, and even considered walking back the way you came, but didn't have time to as the door opened a few seconds later. He had already taken off his coat and vest, probably because they were stained with blood, and his black shirt was open at the top buttons, with the suspenders that held up his pants hanging on his thighs. But what caught your attention the most were his pale, gloveless hands.

"What do you need?" he asked you directly. His face looked worse now that the bruises had swollen and the blood was dry. He'd probably have them for a couple of days, and he was definitely going to have a scar over his eyebrow.

"I wanted to see you" you replied, instantly regretting not having considered your sincere words better "I mean... to see how you were" you tried to correct. You thought he would slam the door in your face, but instead he scooted to the side to let you in, then closed the door behind you with a soft click.

Again you felt alien to the place for a moment, thanks to the fact that he looked at you from head to toe as if your presence bothered him. You had to mentally remind yourself that he saw most of them that way.

“Your pay will be ready soon”

"That doesn't matter," you said softly. Several things had changed since the first conversation you had with him, because now that you knew why Kaz had done everything he had done and the traumatic memories returned to both of you, the money had taken a backseat.

You didn't say anything for a moment and you looked for a place where you could sit later. Kaz’s room, once painted green but now just damp walls, had a small bed by the window, a desk littered with papers and a lamp facing another window, with a simple bookcase placed on the top of the side wall; a nightstand, a place to wash your hands with a mirror above it, a circular table in the middle of the free space, and a single armchair that at least looked comfortable. It wasn't the prettiest place, but at least it was cozy.

"Your girl, did she leave?"

“Inej is not my girl. Or from anyone, she is free now” he answered you. He still wasn't looking at you and you noticed that he was having a hard time staying on his feet.

"I'm glad to hear it. She deserves it” you murmured sincerely. You thought that she would be important to Kaz, like all his partners, and you decided to venture out to see if he revealed something else to you. "She's very smart."

"She is"

"And she's pretty too" you added and without moving his head he looked out at yours. You felt as if he was reading your intentions through your eyes, a quality he had always had.

"I think so," he said without much interest.

"Are you very hurt?" you asked, changing the subject, as you took a step towards him. By inertia he took the same step, in the opposite direction, and that made you stop abruptly.

"Nothing to worry about" he exclaimed and though he thought, you couldn't have known, of course, get close to you, you decided to take that step back before he did anything else.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Mhm"

"What did I do to make you walk away?" you exclaimed, finally expressing a question that had been eating away at your chest and tormenting you for many nights in a row. And since there was silence, you spoke again: “Not like right now, but a long time ago. It's just… I never understood it. Before we were friends and for me… you were even like a family. I loved your brother too and I know losing him never affected us the same, but I was glad you were there for me after that. Then we got older and things got more difficult, but I still had you and that calmed me down. And then… we just drifted apart,” you muttered, shrugging, as you avoided his gaze. Kaz still didn't answer anything and you felt the obligation to fill the silence “Sometimes I remember the things we went through when we were young. The good ones, of course. Like that time we stole a cake to celebrate your birthday and it was probably the best sweet I've ever eaten” you commented, smiling at the memory "And when I made you laugh with my bad jokes, no matter how angry or sad you were... I haven't seen you smile for a long time and I don't know if you celebrate your birthday anymore” you reflected wistfully, almost as if you were talking to yourself. And well, in the face of Kaz's inexpressiveness, that's practically what you were doing.

He hadn't said anything yet and you concluded that all your effort was useless. It had been a mistake to go looking for him, as well as trying to get even the slightest proof that he had ever missed you and you wished you had never opened your mouth. You sighed to contain the urge to cry and without saying anything else you turned towards the exit, intending to leave and return only for your money, but Kaz's voice echoed.

"Do you remember what I told Pekka?"

You stopped.

“You told him many things, you will have to be more specific”

"About not loving anything" he replied. Your hand trembled on the doorknob at the mere thought of what he was implying and I was able to hear your racing heart pounding in your chest. You heard footsteps and, still without moving, you heard him speak again "That's why I drifted apart”

You never, even in your wildest dreams, imagined that he would say something like that to you and perhaps you were just deluding yourself with the implication of the words, but it was enough to make you freeze in place.

"I still don't understand how that relates to me” you expressed in a low voice. Kaz took a few more steps towards you until you could see his shadow mingling with yours and you felt it was time to turn. He was watching you from above, seriously.

"I didn't want��" he trailed off. You would almost say he was nervous “I didn't want you to be…”

"A weak spot," you said without thinking, followed by a sigh that sounded almost amused "That's your problem, Kaz," you continued, your gaze far across the room, "You think love is a person's greatest weakness, when it's not like that"

"It is not?"

"No" you exclaimed with determination "I believe that... many times love is what keeps us alive. Struggling"

You were speaking for yourself when you said this. What was your motivation every day? In the past, the love for Kaz. Now, it was love for yourself and the hope that one day someone could love you with the intensity with which you loved others.

“I had already lost Jordie. I didn't want to lose you too,” he finally said and that's when your eyes locked with his. You never thought he would verbally express something like that.

“And did you prefer that I lose you?" you whispered in pain. You wanted him to be aware of things, because it seemed like it had never crossed his mind to stop thinking about your well-being and start thinking about your feelings. “You don't just lose someone when they die, Kaz. You can also lose those who are fully alive”

He didn't say anything, because he clearly didn't know what to answer to that, and while he reflected on your words, you caught a glimpse of a certain vulnerability in his blue eyes that you had rarely seen. I couldn't say that you knew the man in front of you better than anyone, but you had a considerable advantage thanks to the years you had lived with him.

“Okay, just… listen” you started to say, knowing he most likely wouldn't give you an answer “I know it's hard to live as we do— as all of us at The Barrel live, but the risks I decide or don't take. They are my decision, not yours. These years you have sought to keep me out of danger and I appreciate it, but you have to learn to trust me”

"I do. I trust you"

"Then show me," you replied. You couldn't help noticing that, even with his stained face, Kaz was still the most handsome man you'd ever seen “Friends do not avoid each other, nor do they move away and despite that, during all these years I have trusted you as from the first moment we were left alone”

You didn't know if you were saying the right thing, but at least you were saying something.

"And if it's too late?"

It was too late? Kaz wondered. He wondered if it was too late to open up to someone, to try to get over his trauma, to let go and finally love you the way he wanted to.

But all this remained as a thought, phrases that couldn’t leave his throat.

“It's not for me,” you assured him. “But my patience won't last forever. I think you should know that”

You couldn't even imagine how many emotions Kaz was trying to process at that moment, but even he himself didn't understand what a mess you'd made of him with that conversation. From his perception, he had admitted that he loved you, but from his eyes, you didn't seem affected by it. And you, contrary to what he thought, felt like you were going to faint.

You were about to leave, for the second time, but he spoke:

“Stay,” he said, sounding more desperate than he would have liked. “I don't know what to say, but… just stay here. I don't want us to be alone tonight”

Us. That fucking habit of Kaz's to speak in the plural and make you a nervous wreck.

You looked at the bed and found that it was too small for both of you, to which we had to add his refusal to be close to others. Proof of this was the unconscious movement of sticking your hands as close as possible to his body during the entire time you were talking.

"Use the bed, obviously you need it more than me" you muttered and went directly to the armchair. Fortunately your first impression wasn’t wrong, it was very comfortable.

The room was so small that the apparent distance between the pieces of furniture didn't mean much, so when he sat on the bed you could see him perfectly.

The memory of one of the times when both of you were in similar situations came to your mind. That night you had been woken by frightened screams from the next room, in that abandoned house where you and Kaz found shelter, forcing you out of bed to investigate.

It was hard to comfort a person without physically touching them, especially when he had nightmares, and over the months you'd had to get used to it. The boy hated waking you up, it made him feel guilty and stupid, but you always kept him company. You never spoke, never asked questions, you just stayed there so he knew he wasn't alone.

Maybe something like that was what Kaz needed tonight.

"Rest" you exclaimed. His head turned to look at you and you detected a different and special glow in his eyes; as if it were a mixture of fear, softness, and gentleness. You appreciated that look for a few more seconds, which you feared you would never see again in your life, and then you reached out your hand to turn off the light on the desk.

Silence reigned in the darkness.

You settled in the chair, trying to figure out what would be the best sleeping position, and at the same time you heard Kaz slide between the sheets on the bed. After a while, your eyelids felt heavy, a consequence of the fatigue that the hustle and bustle of the day had left you, and when you were about to fall asleep, a voice pulled you out of your reverie.

"Thank you. For everything”

The phrase was a whisper, a delicate caress in your ear, but you understood it clearly. And you decided to think that when Kaz said 'for everything' he meant literally everything you had selflessly done for him during his life; like he just realized you were important. But it's not that he had just noticed it, but that he had just accepted it.

You wanted to stretch out the moment as long as you could because, even if you weren't looking at him, you knew he was awake thanks to the sound of his breathing, but at some point sleep overcame you and you fell fast asleep.

Kaz had nightmares that night, like always, but the difference was that when he woke up in shock in the morning, you were in the same room. So seeing you there, keeping him company, was reason enough to calm him down.

And like every time this had happened, he felt like the luckiest man in the world.

#kaz brekker #kaz brekker x reader #the crows #six of crows #jesper fahey #inej gafha #wylan van eck #nina zenik #mathias helvar #shadow and bone #shadow and bone netflix #kaz brekker x you #kaz brekker fanfic #kaz brekker imagine

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redflagshipwriter · 3 months ago

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Halfa Cass 11 pt 1

masterpost

They had a teensy bit of a war council about the new problem when Danny came back from work.

“On the bright side, they did send someone to take away Brick,” Danny said optimistically. He tried, anyway. He had a grim and depressing certainty that he was going to have to do something drastic and violent to solve this problem. That sucked. It sucked so hard. He looked at his knees. “But. Yeah. They probably will come after you to make me make some dumb ugly guns or whatever.”

“Okay,” Jazz said calmingly, “Every problem has solutions, Danny.”

…He scrunched up his face. He didn’t outright argue but he didn’t really see a great solution off hand.

Jazz’s big brain was clearly churning through the angles. She went quiet for a while, and then broke the silence in a thoughtful tone. “We could theoretically just kill the mob. All of them.” She looked up at the water stained ceiling and mouthed something that might be calculations. How many mob members she thought there might be? A plan to do this?

Danny blinked at her from his perch on the kitchen counter, hunched under the cupboard in a way that made him feel secure. “I thought this was going to go the other way. Like, with you telling me not to overreact.” He watched his big sister with a sort of horrified fascination.

Jazz waved that away with a hand. “I am not starting over again. I’m halfway through with my Gen Eds.” The dark smudges under her eyes looked even deeper in the shitty artificial lighting of their apartment. “The problem with that is that I only make about 1200 a month, and at that rate, we will never get you your identification.” She scowled and dug her fingers onto the tabletop as if she was going to squeeze cooperation out of it by force. “We sort of need that income source to get you into university on time. It’s important for your social development to get you back around your age mates sooner rather than later.”

He raised a hand like he had a question in class. “I thought the problem with that was going to be that murder is bad,” Danny said hesitantly. He was used to Jazz being the voice of morality. Were they doing something different now?

“The worst thing that happens to them is that they have to live near Skulker,” Jazz said waspishly. “Anyway, it’s on them for trying to make you build weapons. They’re the rude ones. They don’t get to throw off my twenty year plan.”

…Danny pinched his lips together to avoid the petty correction that they wouldn’t be living near Skulker, per se. Fair enough. The whole life or death thing did feel a bit less serious when you hung out with lots of dead people and they were just, like, people. Murder was, like, a conversation from a meat existence to a goo existence. It wasn’t nice, but it also wasn’t nice to threaten people’s sisters.

“Speaking of, I need to get to work so that I have my perfect attendance record for a good recommendation for the next job.” Jazz scrubbed at her face with the back of a hand and then dragged it down, squishing her cheek. “Do you want me to bring back breakfast?”

Yes.

“No,” Danny lied. He shimmied down off the counter and into his shoes. “I’ll walk you there. I’m sick of being inside. Maybe I’ll pick up groceries.”

Jazz snorted and rolled her eyes, but she grabbed her bag without making fun of him. He walked with her down cold, filthy sidewalks and waved goodbye on the street across from her building. Danny pretended not to worry. She did him the favor of not pointing out that he was definitely going to come back at 4:30 am to walk her home.

Danny locked the door when he got back in, but he felt kinda dumb about it.

If this mob or gang or whatever (was there a difference?) knew where he lived and wanted in, the door was not going to keep them out. Maybe he should just leave it unlocked so that they didn’t bust it open and break the lock, actually. A lock was what, 40 bucks? He didn’t want to have to replace that.

He went back and unlocked it on that basis. Then he screwed up his face to think.

…There wasn’t really a reason for them to come. He hadn’t made them mad yet. It would be different once they came back and he said he really wasn’t going to make them any weapons.

Danny locked it anyway and then set a timer for 4 in the morning. It was early for him to turn in but he grabbed the pillow off of the shelf and put it back on the sofa anyways. Hopefully he’d get to sleep like, right away.

#dp x dc #dc x dp #red halfa cass #dead silent #they finally meet this chapter!!!!

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clanwarrior-tumbly · 1 year ago

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OOOH!that ghost kid thing with the digital circus performers was amazing!!! I cant resist but ask.but can you make a headcanons of the performers would react if spirit kid Y/n is more absent today and suddenly after a while appear with more blood than usual..static noise around them..and points at the group and is like “I know who killed me now…” and poofs again away?? they found out who but as like a scare they prank the characters by making them think maybe one of them did..

I feel evil so- XD

Hope u have a good day!!

I'm glad you liked the hcs! Spooky season may be over, but I'm definitely not done writing spooky content 👻

.........

Jax

He blinks, and then immediately turns directly to Gangle.

"Oh Gangle, I knew it was you all along. Tsk, tsk." He shakes his head, putting on the cheekiest grin as the ribbon gal cries out that she didn't do anything.

He knows you were just pranking all of them, although he does wonder who really murdered you and how you figured it out.

Given how much you've been disappearing lately, he's sure that it's only a matter of time before your spirit moves on.

Or maybe...you were cursed to forever live inside this game since you had no body to return to.

Then again, he's not sure if any of them do...

All he knows is that during the times he does see you with the group, you seem happier (although the blood and static noises are still prevalent and aren't any less unsettling to see/hear).

Maybe you've already made peace with your existence after solving this huge mystery, content with making dark jokes to cope.

Pomni

At first she's happy..

Then she's utterly terrified once it sinks in that you didn't specify who exactly murdered you.

All you did was point to the group like you were accusing one of them before disappearing for the remainder of the day.

This poor jester can't remember anything for the life of her....so she can't help wondering if she might've been your killer.

You did arrive not long after she did.

After Jax points this out, she's 100% convinced it was her.

Maybe she unknowingly killed you while wearing the headset and this was some sort of eternal punishment.

It's a thought that keeps her up all night (not that she needed sleep to survive, but she was quite exhausted in the morning).

You do end up visiting her to say it was just a little prank. It wasn't anybody in the group and you didn't mean to freak her out this badly.

That brings her a lot of relief.

Although she's not a fan of your morbid humor (not that she'll say anything about it, though).

Gangle

The second you vanish after revealing you knew your killer, everyone looks at each other in confusion

"Th-They didn't say who, though, did they...?" She mutters.

"Right, because they know it was you, Gangs." Jax remarks, causing her to freeze.

She's outright horrified he would even remotely suggest that.

Poor girl's scrambling to justify how she couldn't have possibly killed you when she's been stuck in the game longer than you.

Imagine her awkwardness as Jax openly states that he was in fact kidding around..

He also expresses his doubts she'd even be capable of murder...as he recounts her crying over accidentally stepping on a digital ladybug.

She's not sure whether to take that as a compliment or not.

Gangle only fully calms down once you go to her personally and reassure her you were just pranking the group.

Although you'll haunt Jax as payback for trying to throw her under the bus.

Zooble

They just turn to the group and sigh.

"Okay, who did it? Because they've officially given me the f***ing creeps popping in and out like that."

She's strangled Jax on a number of occasions, so they are very much capable of committing violence...

But she has her doubts since you still hang around the group.

Alongside Jax, she quickly sees through your little joke and rolls their eyes when you admit that it was indeed a prank.

She can tolerate your dark humor, knowing you can't help it given your "spooky" theme.

They suspect Caine murdered you since he seemed most alarmed by your arrival. Plus you never spoke to him much.

But no, he actually helped you track down your killer--who abstracted the second they set foot inside the game and got thrown into the cellar.

Zooble never thought she'd see the day where they were actually impressed at Caine's actions.

Kinger

Like Pomni and Gangle...he's probably gonna overthink it and grow distrustful of the others, wondering who did it.

You seemed quite confident and serious in your confession---and scary as hell, too.

He proposes they all discussed it at the dinner table and hold a vote on who to cast out (sorta like a certain video game with a name that sadly slips by him).

Ironically, he refuses to say anything and just....stares uncomfortably at Gangle the entire time.

But before any of the talks could end in fighting or her getting sacrificed to the Gloink Queen...you show up again, looking calmer and less bloody than before.

When you reveal it was just a little prank, Kinger sighs in relief.

"Good heavens, you nearly gave me a second heartattack, [y/n]! Why didn't you just say so?"

"...thought it would be funny."

"........"

"........."

"......AH!! GH-GHOST!!!"

"Aaaand there's "heartattack #2, ladies and gentleman," Jax shakes his head, kicking his feet onto the table with an amused smile.

Ragatha

She's genuinely happy to hear that you knew who your killer was...

Although before she can ask you who, you disappear without warning.

Judging from the way you acted, you were accusing one of them...yet you didn't signal out anybody in particular.

She knows that she couldn't have possibly done it.

So she spends most of the day trying to calm down Pomni and the others (but mostly Pomni) who think they might've somehow accidentally killed you.

It begins to stress her out a little, so she searches for you, and you prank her with something silly.

After making her laugh, you use that opportunity to explain that you were joking with the group earlier, reassuring her that it wasn't any of them and the killer had already abstracted.

Her face falls flat as she realizes you just wanted to see how they would all react.

"[Y/n], that's just...mean." She frowns. "Pomni was freaking out all day, you know."

"Tell her I didn't mean any harm...I guess..nobody here understands my humor."

"I mean I do, but dark humor is more Zooble's and Jax's shticks."

"....true. My bad, Rags."

".....it's okay, dear." She sighs, unable to stay mad at you forever. "I'm just glad you didn't drive yourself insane trying to find them."

#clanask #anonymous #the amazing digital circus x reader #tadc x reader #tadc jax #tadc pomni #tadc caine #tadc gangle #tadc kinger #tadc ragatha #tadc zooble #ghost reader #child reader #headcanons

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arimiadev · 2 months ago

Text

spooky visual novel recs that just came out in the past month!!

now that the awards ceremony has happened, I can openly talk about the visual novels I liked from Spooktober VN Jam, an annual game jam for making Halloween-themed visual novels (which I happen to judge entries for)!

each of these spooky indie VNs came out at the end of September and were made in just 1 month. some are scary, some are cute, but they're all made with love so go give them some love 💜

Märchen Line

Embrace the indomitable human spirit by serving in the First Among Father's Voyager Armada- The Bravest of The Brave, who venture out to liberate the Milky Way from the True Enemy. Serving as a Soldier means embracing infinite potential. With the blessing of His Runes, you will grow stronger, smarter, faster and braver in a few weeks than you have in your entire life. All that growth comes with responsibility, and you will be expected to pay your civic dues- but luckily each Soldier is assigned a Valkyrie to help them manage their priorities. Train your stats, build your relationships, and be all you can be...or push past the galactic narrative and seek a deeper understanding of humanity's true ranking in the galactic hierarchy.

Pippa and Your Phantasmal Problem

Ms Ester's beautiful and neat house has been mysteriously wrecked in the past few weeks and nobody knows why. Patches of dirt on the carpet, things gone missing, and all sorts of mess keeps happening around the house. The police was called to investigate, a priest was invited to bless the house, and a group of ghostbusters was hired (they were so expensive!) and none of them found anything. How useless! If this problem isn't solved by the time Ms Ester returns from her short trip, she'll kick you out. You have to find someone who can help: anyone will do, even this unreliable looking, self-proclaimed witch you just randomly met.

BAD MANORS

On Friday the 13th, your plans for a spooky Halloween night are dashed when you show up alone at the escape room reserved by your friend. You consider going home when a handsome stranger offers to accompany you. Maybe the night is saved after all… Or so you thought.

MAMA

One day, you’ll thank me. After all… mother knows best. Today’s the first day of HimeCon, a Yuri convention. You’re attending with your girlfriend who’s a vendor in the artist alley. At the convention, you receive a text that ends up changing… everything. You find yourself back in your childhood home, except this time, something’s amiss— and you’ve got to escape. She’s always w̶��̠̟̳͚̮̫͒͒̏̏̌͑͊̒́̂̈̀̓̒͘͠ā̷̧̠͎̤͖̝̠̯͎̎̇͒̋͑̾͑̑͂̂̽͐͂̄͘̕̕͠͠͝t̷̢̙̦͖͙̹̪̠̳̰͛̓̇̀̂̾́̉̍̈́͌̇̔̑͝ç̷̥̮͓͔̣̆̀̆̔̈́̈̀͋͛̓̈͐̕͝h̵̢̧̹̲͇̭̥̰͎͖͇̎̓͒̎̂͑̽͒͑̓͗͗̕̕͘͜͜͝͠͝͝ͅi̸̛̝̳̳̠͇͍̓͒̈́̑́̒̓̊͐͒̆͘͝ͅͅñ̶̢̡̨͓̥̞͉͓͚̞̞̞̲̤̹͙͍̙͛̋̏͗̍̽̇̒̅͊͜͠ͅg̸̪͇͋̓͋̍̈́̇̽̿̑̋̏̏̈́̋̾̋̃͘ͅ you, isn’t she?

Elfin National Park

Come on down and see the ever changing sights of our forest. We have places for the whole family. Just please remember for the safety of you and your family to stay within the designated zones.

MAD LAB PARTY

Being a serial killer is hard when some crow decides to tamper with your bodies. Solution? Kill another and meet your ‘fan’ in the act?! It’s October 31st, and you are dragged out to a haunted house attraction with your friends despite the mysterious ‘Jack-o-killer’ running around, murdering strangers in gruesome and eccentric ways. Bodies ranged from being found taking the place of a scarecrow to being carved and their guts replaced with pumpkin seeds. You, however, didn’t worry about getting killed. You knew exactly who the murderer was. Problem? You knew for sure you didn’t kill them like that.

CANIDAE

The moonlight illuminates the animal that lies within everyone. Will you embrace it; or fight back? On Halloween, a gang of teenagers in animal masks head out to set off fireworks and drink with their friends. Unfortunately, nothing ever goes right for you. As the night grows darker and pranks turn to violence, your friends start to change. Will you?

Killer Chat!

A reporter by day, an aspiring writer by night: you've been asking all the important questions on the dark web. Like, how do you bury a body? How do you kill someone with a crowbar with the right angle to cause blunt-force trauma? What's the best way to hide from law enforcement? If you're to write a good crime book, this is how you'll do it. Suddenly, ERROR! UNKNOWN invites you to a server... with a warning. "don't be so obvious smh You're Gonna Get Caught". ... It's a serial killer chatroom. You may be slightly fucked.

Spirit Driver

From the everyday passenger to the horrors of Halloween, Spirit Driver is a short, casual conversation simulator where your choices can affect the fates of people and spirits alike. Remember, your choices have consequences. Good luck!

Let's Watch Steamboat Willie

Two film nerds sit down for a comfy evening watching old movies. Next up is Steamboat Willie, and they quickly take to bickering. By the time the cartoon is over, one of them will be dead.

Shut-in Vampire

Oh no! Mayu’s in a pinch! She’s woefully behind on paying the rent, and her scary landlady, Miss Himemiya, has issued an ultimatum. Mayu needs to earn ¥100,000 by the end of October, or she’ll be kicked out! Being evicted from her home would be bad enough, but Mayu has a secret: she’s actually a vampire. Mayu hasn’t been a vampire for a full year yet, and the church is keeping close tabs on her to ensure she’s been behaving herself. According to the stone-faced Sister Juriel, it’s the church’s standard policy to execute all vampires without a fixed address, lest they start roaming the streets causing chaos. If Mayu can’t pay the rent in time, she won’t just wind up homeless: she’ll be executed! What’s a fledgeling vampire to do?

Epimutation

Spencer, a former investigative journalist, lives in a small bunker with six other people who have also managed to stay alive after a viral outbreak brought the world to ruin. They're attempting to adjust to this new normal, until they stumble across some notebook pages written by a scientist documenting the infection. Make life or death decisions, form bonds with your fellow survivors, and attempt to unravel the mystery behind the outbreak.

Not My Body!

First you wake up in somebody else's ugly house in somebody else's ugly body, and then you find another person tied up in the closet? This isn't fair at all! Why do you have to deal with this?! It's not like you put him there! And what's going on in your own body right now, anyway…?

that's all of my recommendations for now, but with over 270 entries there's plenty more indie Halloween-themed visual novels for you to try!

#visual novel #visual novels #my recommendations #game recs #game recommendations #spooktober vn jam #just because your game isn't listed here doesn't mean it was bad! not every judge was able to play every single entry #though I plan to go back and play some of the ones that I didn't get assigned and ones that were disqualified from bugs / crashes #there were quite a few ones I was hopeful for that didn't make it because they had crashes :(

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prettypinklass · 6 months ago

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Persona 3 and Persona 4 are funny to sort timelines for because there is a one(1) year gap between the games. Now if you push p4 back by one year and put Minato in Inaba-

Im putting a cut here because spoilers for both games

Nyx gets chased off and not even a year later Izanami goes "its free real estate" lol

So Minato lives for unspecified reasons and (reluctantly) moves back to Inaba after the events of P3. He takes Koromaru with him (you can pry them as a duo from my cold dead hands) and attends Yasogami for his final year of high school. Which sucks because a. all his friends are at Gekkoukan and b. Yasogami is a terrible school and Inaba is a small town. He's losing his mind out here gang

Anyway then the midnight channel shows up and it hasn't even been a year since the dark hour vanished so you can imagine how upset he is about this. But he's way too nice so of course when he finds out a group of underclassmen have taken it upon themselves to fight shadows and solve the murder case he and Koromaru end up involved.

Dynamics with the investigation team include:

Yu Narukami - consistently on the same bullshit wavelength and nobody knows how (its the Wild Card Wavelength)

Yosuke Hanamura - punches him at least once for the internalized homophobia but they bond over music

Teddie - he reminds him of Aigis a bit. Trying to teach him to be Better then what he learns from Yosuke

Chie Satonaka - she reminds him of Yukari and its terrifying

Yukiko Amagi - you never fuck with the healers (also a bit scared of her)

Kanji Tatsumi - thinks hes cool. likes his dolls. would also like him to leave Koromaru alone

Rise Kujikawa - MUSIC BUDDIES!! Rise makes fun of him but she gets away with it (he is nothing if not respectful of the navigators who can make or break a fight)

Naoto Shirogane - siblings. arisato/shirogane family au my beloved

Entertaining scenarios include

"Why does your dog have a knife" "He likes them" "arf!"

"What do you mean I dont need to shoot myself in here"

Minato participating in the drag pageant

Elizabeth and Margaret sharing a velvet room for an extended period of time

Mitsuru in the background getting gray hairs because "minato what the fuck do you mean theres shadows in inaba"

Social link to explore Minato's character more

The exchange with Gekkoukan is 10x more entertaining if Minato is there to both comment on the love hotel he almost died in once and be friends with half the students at Gekkoukan

Anyway thats my au proposal

#persona 3 #persona 3 reload #ask me about this au i dare you #minato arisato #persona 4 #persona 3 au #au #koromaru #makoto yuki #persona 3 protagonist

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brucewaynehater101 · 6 months ago

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Ok so in reverse Robin aus I hate when Tim becomes redhood bc it’s really ooc for him, BUT Steph becoming the black mask after the incident but struggling with the business part (she is smart business is hard) and Tim becoming her right hand is in fact in character for him

seeing as he would not be obsessed with a dick Grayson who despite his murderous tendencies was light, and kind, and Jason who was all Robin gives me magic 😀

but instead Damian who is just as gritty as his father and a bitter Steph?

yep timmers would have a looooot less morals and a lot of money, and the second Robin needs HIS help? He is there!!!

(I don’t see him helping Bruce at all bc in canon Bruce’s grief for Steph lasted like two pages)

Oop. Your ending note is fantastic.

Let's add on, shall we?

Here's some tropes I don't prefer in Reverse Robin AUs:

Tim becoming Red Hood (Tim stealing Jason's shtick again is hilarious in the regular timeline). I will read a good fic with Tim as RH, but I prefer Tim to be Joker Junior, a completely new identity, or an Oracle-like identity.

Batman's partner being named "Robin" (that was Dick's identity he got from his parents. They should have another name)

I personally like Duke being the first one Batman adopts. Maybe Duke's parents get gassed in an alley in front of Batman, and Bruce decides to adopt Duke. The kid can still have his whole gang, and that's how Bruce decides to train Duke instead. Not sure.

Anyways, this could play into the AU you mentioned.

Damian moves on from his mantle, but Duke is still there. Steph, who Duke and Batman meet when she's Spoiler, agrees to fill in Damian's vacancy.

Tim meets Steph on the streets. He would be older than her in this. Your choice on how fanon it is (does he stalk Bats from a young age to take pictures of them), but I like the idea that he sent in cases he solved or tips he heard about.

When she dies, Damian comes home, and Duke is still there. Damian doesn't return to his previous mantle, but he's around. He's actually talking to Bruce again. Bruce thus doesn't grieve her much.

Tim doesn't see a need to step in.

Tim grieves his friend (or gf if that's your preference). Perhaps he goes abroad for a bit to distance himself from the city. There's bound to be some international programs his parents would like for him to take part in. Perhaps he still gets that Lady Shiva training. Dealer's choice.

After a year or two abroad (and if he got training, he learned from more teachers), Tim hears news about someone trying to rival Black Mask.

Since Black Mask took Steph from him, he sees this as a possible chance for revenge. He returns to Gotham.

I don't know if Steph would take up the mantle "Black Mask," but I could see her taking up a moniker that would mock the man (like White Veil, Lilac Cover, or something).

During her time "dead," she ends up getting training. Not sure who'd train her, but she learns more than Bruce ever taught her. Perhaps Helena and her end up chatting?

She's clever, and her father helped her knowledge on the criminal workings of Gotham. She utilizes her skills to gather people on her side and make them loyal to her (by providing great worker benefits, ig).

Tim offers his services to her gang without knowing it's Steph as the head (he plans to ruthlessly use them to get his revenge). Dealer's choice on whether Steph immediately lets him in or doesn't trust him (due to trauma with her death and shit).

Tim does some of the business and intel gathering. He occasionally goes in the field as well. Steph is the main brawns, gang director, and manager. She knows how gangs work, what her people really need/want, and how to manipulate the playing field. Tim can learn these things and suggest moves to Steph, but leaves decision-making to her.

Bruce, due to not knowing Tim, hasn't had the chance to instill tension between Steph and Tim. They have issues like all relationships, but they work it out. There's nowhere near the amount of shit there is in canon.

Maybe Tim's parents are dead by the time Steph gets back. Either way, I hope Crystal learns that her daughter is alive again

#steph brown #tim drake #dc universe #thank you for the ask!!!!#dc au

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adachimoe · 7 months ago

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How the bad endings teach us something about Adachi

I'm gonna preface this by saying that there is a "no-fun allowed" answer from Atlus. But I think you can come to this conclusion even without their no-fun allowed, developer corner, Word of God statement from the Premium Fan Book. I will do my best to hopefully express this before just posting the no-fun allowed comment at the end.

In my opinion, this is the absolute character defining line for Adachi:

At this point in time, you've identified Adachi as the culprit, chased him into the TV, heard his insane rant on December 7th, then went back to kick his ass, and beat him in his boss fight.

Before Amenosagiri hijacks him, he has some words about his situation. Despite his ramblings about haves vs have nots and about the whole "ooh look at you you have FRIENDS and PEOPLE and BONDS", he doesn't express any of that after his boss battle. There's no, "See, the world is unfair, you guys ganged up on me 7 vs 1!!" or any kind of delulu bullshit. He just says that the world is fucked and he didn't have anywhere to go back to.

When you think about the game until now, Adachi was trying to fit in to society as a normal person. Despite what he felt about women, it's not as though he walked around town in broad daylight using Tiger Drop on random schoolgirls. He didn't murder 2 ppl then also become a cop who was like, trying to use his powers to moonlight as a Magical Assassin or something. He didn't even, gasp, suggest that you teenagers try a little underage drinking.

When Adachi says, "I didn't have anywhere to go back to", it's because by exposing him as the murderer, he thinks you've taken away his ability to fit into society. Despite his ranting, for him to admit that he has nowhere left to back to, means that he knows that he's what's "wrong" and he's what doesn't "fit"; "rapey murderer" is not acceptable in reality.

What's more is that, after Amenosagiri's boss battle, when Adachi realizes that is super duper extremely over, he says he thinks you came to kill him. And -- despite being a murderer himself -- he indirectly advises you not to take the same path as him by telling you to just leave him there.

Because, again, he knows he's the part that's wrong. He doesn't belong in society anymore, but that doesn't mean all 8 of you (ain't counting Teddie, he doesn't have human rights) have to be on the outside of society and have murder in common.

At which point, Yosuke (and Kanji) point out that he *does* still belong to society, just in a jail cell:

That is how it works in the "real world", the world Adachi ran away from. Can't even call it a metaphor or subtle or something; the dude physically ran away from your party and jumped into a TV to retreat into the magic TV world.

Finally, after actually coming out of the TV, he learns that not even Dojima had discarded him:

Despite Adachi's perception that he doesn't belong anywhere, he learns that he does still belong. Not in the way he would like to belong, of course, but if he is a law abiding citizen, then there is a place for him.

Then December 23rd and New Years rolls around, and the world is fine.

And now, the bad endings

There are multiple bad endings in the game. First off, if you kill Namatame or can't convince the team to keep reaching out to the truth, then time fastforwards to March 20th and the protagonist leaves Inaba without solving the case. The city is fine, Shadows aren't running around, but the fog is still around. While the fog seems bad, it also doesn't seem *as* bad as it is in the dungeon failure ending.

If you refuse to handover Adachi's name and instead protect him, then time fastforwards to March 20th, Adachi gives you his phone number, tells you he'll keep in touch. Again: The city is fine, but the fog is still around.

On the other hand, when you do corner Adachi and are on the path for the good ending, then on December 7th, he tells you that the world will end by the end of the year, and this is why you must clear his dungeon.

But if you fail to clear Magatsu Inaba by the deadline of December 23rd, then the fog will be quite thick, even in your bedroom. Naoto will call you as she's attacked by what I am assuming is townspeople who have turned into Shadows.

Basically, it seems that one thing Adachi was not lying about on December 7th was what's going to happen by the end of the year.

The difference

So we have the usual bad ending and the Adachi ending where it's March 20th and even though there's fog, the world didn't end and people aren't running around as Shadows.

And then we have the dungeon failure game over where Adachi's threat about the world ending by the end of the year has come true and Naoto gets attacked.

From talking about this game with people on the internet for the past 1.5 years, I have learned that people consider this to be a plot hole or inconsistency, and is part of why "Persona 4's plot is bad and doesn't make sense".

The attempts I have seen to explain it are people who parrot Hiding in Private's video where he suggests that in the Adachi Ending, since you willingly helped cover for the murders, Izanami allows you to spend your remaining time in Inaba in peace. But this explanation makes no sense for the killed Namatame or didn't pursue the truth endings, where you fastforward to March 20th and everything is fine it's just foggy. You didn't willingly help cover for the murders there, you just gave up.

But both of these - Hiding's explanation and calling it a "plot hole because Persona 4 Plot Bad" - are both glossing over what I think is a pretty huge, key detail: In the endings where time skips to March and Inaba is fine, Adachi did not go into the TV, whereas in the ending where the world actually gets screwed, you cornered Adachi and he went inside the TV.

Which in turn reveals what is going on and why Adachi's line after his boss battle is so important: Even though Amenosagiri is the source of the power to screw over the world through the fog, the world is ending because Adachi wants it to. You revealed that he's a murderer and he doesn't belong anywhere anymore, so screw the world! It sucks now! Get rid of it!

It's selfish and it's childish, but we are talking about Adachi.

And now, a detour about Amenosagiri

I think it is a reoccurring thing in media that, even though there is some "interference" from these beings of higher power (e.g. Izanami giving people powers, and her picking a guy who represented "emptiness" and a guy who represented "despair" lol), it is ultimately humans that cause everything to go to shit, and the heroes -- who believe life is worth living even tho some humans do suck -- must fix it.

Adachi's desire to just end it all after the truth comes to light that he's the murderer fits in with this trope. Yes, he had a magic power that he normally wouldn't have and he got a bit silly, but it was ultimately him being weird about a woman who didn't know he even existed that spiraled into this chain of events that ended up with him being exposed and the world almost ending.

I have read interpretations that, since Golden also included the line about Izanami putting Amenosagiri in Adachi (it didn't exist in the PS2 version), that means that Adachi was just following a script and Amenosagiri made him kill people and end the world and all that. I'm not really a fan of this. "Adachi did it because demonic eyeball possession" feels like a huge cop out, as it would also shift blame away from him for murdering people and just generally being a shitty human being. It also raises questions like, "If Amenosagiri made Adachi evil, why did he throw up when he saw Mayumi's corpse / why did he only kill 2 people / why did he even say the line about not belonging in the world", amongst many other questions.

If Amenosagiri is so linked to Adachi as this suggests, why does Adachi even appear in foggy shopping district on dungeon deadlines to check for dead bodies??? Like, if he's linked to the observer from the TV world who has been watching the Investigation Team, and this observer has been controlling him, then why does he not already know the victim was rescued? I think the point of the line added into Golden (I don't think you even see it unless you do Marie's SLink?) seems to be "trying to explain for the player why Namatame and Adachi turn into the Sagiri dudes", cause that shit just kinda came out of nowhere in the PS2 game.

Notably, the game tries to address the "Ame controlling Adachi" thing right after Ame's boss fight, as if the writer read the player's mind, and thought you might be wondering about the same thing:

Chie, I believe she asks this because she is trying to understand what is going on with Adachi. If you can blame it on, "He did it because he had a demon eyeball photo lens inside of him telling him what to do", then you don't have to think about this any further, do you? Case closed. Naoto does not fully dismiss this idea, but voices her opinion that Adachi must have been down to end the world too. Which then goes back to Adachi saying he has nowhere left to go; I think Naoto is on the right track here.

But why is there fog

I think what trips people up during the "skip to March 20th" bad endings is the presence of the fog - does that not mean the world is still fucked, even tho Adachi didn't enter the TV?

The game itself uses the fog as a metaphor for lies and misconceptions and assuming that humans don't really want the truth. Like, after you solve the murder case, Amenosagiri does you a solid and instantly clears the fog from the real world. In the ending where you kill Namatame, the truth of the murder did not come to light. In the ending where you didn't kill Namatame but gave up on the truth, the truth again did not come to light. In the Adachi ending, you willingly buried the truth of the murders, and the truth stayed buried there as well.

I don't think the fog is present to communicate "The world is fucked", I think it's just saying that the case is unsolved. After all, the people still believe Namatame did it and in 2 of those endings he is going on trial as the protagonist leaves town, meaning people are still under the impression he's the murderer.

Curiously, on December 16th, Kondo brings up how Inaba gets covered in fog every 50 years. The validity of this, though, is left a mystery because he then says he heard it about on TV, which we know from the game isn't exactly the most reliable source of info lol. (I vaguely recall a different NPC, an older guy, talking about this too, but I can't quite remember which one it is. Maybe it was Daidara?)

On the other hand, despite "people being tricked by the media" being like a theme in the game, none of the other NPCs seem to have heard this TV special or news or whatever that Kondo heard because the majority of the other NPCs are freaking out and buying gas masks, assuming the fog is actually poison. One of them even believes that it's some conspiracy theory caused by Junes. Kondo suggesting that whatever he heard on TV is correct seems level headed compared to the poison gas conspiracy theories that the rest of the town is buying into.

But when you learn that Izanami is behind everything, I feel like that sequence of events gives some validity to what Kondo heard.

It makes it seem more like, every 50 years, Izanami gets a little silly, gives people powers, and then watches what unfolds. Thus, when you stop Izanami in the true ending, you are also stopping the cycle, which the protagonist recognizes.

Lastly, the no-fun allowed answer

From the Premium lore/setting book:

Discovering the truth, the self-proclaimed special investigation team have cornered Adachi, who enters the TV and wants the world to end with reality being swallowed by the Midnight Channel. If Marie is the one who listens to human wishes, then Adachi is the one who wished for his own very self-centered wish to become reality.

I believe the purpose of Naoto and Chie's dialogue was to suggest what the meta explanation was ("I think he wanted to end the world too") while still keeping it in-universe and in-character.

#persona 4 #tohru adachi #adachi brainrot #persona 4 golden #p4 #p4g #persona 4 the golden premium fun book

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riddlerosehearts · 2 years ago

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list of acd canon sherlock holmes things i absolutely love

(and am going to mostly put under a readmore because i made most of this list while rereading the entire canon so it is very long! listen i just think sherlock holmes is the best character ever and i need to share my love for him--)

immediately upon being introduced to watson he grabs him by the sleeve, starts excitedly showing off his bloodstain testing experiment, and claps his hands “looking as delighted as a child with a new toy”. once he finishes, his eyes glitter and he puts his hand on his heart and bows “as if to some applauding crowd conjured up by his imagination”.

watson: “i object to rows because my nerves are shaken”

holmes: “do you include violin playing in your category of rows?” he asked, anxiously

he’s noted to be extraordinarily knowledgeable and zealous in his studies, and yet on the same page it’s stated that he doesn’t know the earth travels around the sun and once watson tells him about it he immediately decides to forget about it because it’s not relevant to his work. this is where the famous “brain attic” monologue comes in.

watson writes this list about him and then throws it into the fire in despair:

has a habit of laughing in a way that’s described as bursting into an “explosion” or “roar” of laughter

frequently does this at crime scenes:

enlists a gang of street orphans to help him on his cases, pays them for their work, and generally treats them as equals but also playfully talks to them like a general to his soldiers

plays the violin for watson to help him get to sleep

is incredibly knowledgable on anything from different types of tobacco, to the ways one's trade can influence the form of their hands, to medieval pottery and stradivarus violins. and yet, i reiterate, does not know the earth revolves around the sun.

has a tendency of waxing poetic about the meaningless of existence, particularly when he’s bored from not having any cases to work on

once said about a dog “i would rather have toby’s help than that of the whole detective force of london”

used the word “doggy” when speaking to toby

once told watson “i don’t wish to be theatrical” despite all evidence to the contrary

disguises himself as an old man just to play a prank on watson

watson: “i think i had better go”

holmes: “not at all, doctor. stay where you are. i am lost without my boswell.”

is known to wiggle in his chair when he gets excited about a case

discovers that a man has tricked his own stepdaughter into a fake marriage so he can keep her at home and control her life and inheritance. acknowledges that said man hasn’t done anything illegal but still tells him “there never was a man who deserved punishment more” and that he ought to get whipped for what he did, and then goes to actually get his hunting crop, causing the man to run out the door at top speed

let a criminal go free because it turned out the man he murdered was trying to force said criminal’s daughter into an unwanted marriage

was suddenly made to participate in the wedding of someone he was tracking for a case, came home and laughed about it for several minutes, exclaimed “well, really!”, laughed for several more minutes, and only then did he actually tell watson what happened

responds to the king of bohemia insulting irene adler and saying she’s not on his level by saying coldly: “from what i have seen of the lady, she seems indeed to be on a very different level to your majesty”, which is basically him saying “actually she’s way better than you, so fuck off”

refused to shake said king’s hand

built a pillow fort in a client’s house so he could think better

let a poor jewel thief go because he cried, because it was christmas and therefore it was the season of forgiveness, and because the case was really easy anyway so it’s not his fault if the police are too stupid to solve it themselves

always reassures clients that they can trust him and watson and speak freely around them

is willing to waive his fee for clients who can’t afford to pay him, because according to him his profession is its own reward

this entire scene from speckled band when he gets confronted by his client’s abusive stepfather:

this nice little example of the gentleness he often displays with his clients:

the adventure of the copper beeches. just, all of it. a woman he doesn’t know comes to holmes for advice about a potential job she’s interviewed for and they both agree it sounds incredibly sketchy, she says she’s gonna take it anyway because she needs the money, and he’s like “well i wouldn’t want any sister of mine doing something like this but FINE i guess, just please write to us and let us know if you’re okay and if anything bad happens we’ll drop everything and come help you immediately”, and then the job does in fact turn out to be super sketchy and they drop everything and get on a train as soon as she writes to them

sometimes spends several hours out on walks through the park or the town with watson just relaxing and talking with him for the sake of it, despite watson frequently noting that holmes doesn’t have much appreciation for nature

“we have had the good fortune to bring peace to many troubled souls. i trust that we may do the same for you,” he says “in his easy, genial way” to a potential client who’s clearly very upset and sleep-deprived

is completely wrong about a particular case and asks watson to remind him of that case next time he gets overconfident

is noted by watson to be very neat and methodical in his methods and way of dress, while simultaneously being one of the messiest people ever who keeps his tobacco inside a persian slipper and his unopened letters held up by a knife in the center of his mantelpiece, keeps tons of criminal relics which apparently somehow end up in the butter dish sometimes, and keeps countless stacks of papers and documents all over the place

tells watson anecdotes about his past just to avoid cleaning up said documents

deliberately knocks over a table, shattering a glass fruit bowl which then sends oranges rolling all over the room, and then blames it on watson and runs away

says snarky things like “when gregson or lestrade are out of their depth–which, by the way, is their normal state” and “you’ve done very well, watson! it’s too bad you’ve missed everything of importance”

laughs when watson suggests he’s being modest about his abilities

picked up a rose and got all sappy and poetic about it

more specifically, picked up a rose and said that religion can be a science which involves a lot of careful deduction, and that flowers are a source of hope and proof of the goodness of god due to the fact that they aren’t a necessary part of life but are still so beautiful anyway

recovered an incredibly valuable government treaty for a client and had it served to him on a platter at breakfast because, in his own words, he “never can resist a touch of the dramatic”

faked his death and then revealed to watson that he was still alive in a manner that even he admitted was unnecessarily dramatic

had a full-scale wax model of himself created and used it to fool his enemies

made a diagram out of breadcrumbs to explain something to watson

broke into a blackmailer’s house for a case because he believed it to be morally justifiable, and admitted that he always thought he might make a good criminal

held watson’s hand while they were burgling said house together

twice

allowed said blackmailer to be murdered in front of him by one of his victims and then refused to take the case when asked because he just hated the guy that much

“flushed up with pleasure” when watson complimented him

asked watson to sell his medical practice and move back into 221b with him after the death of his wife. and then secretly gave a relative of his a ton of money to buy watson’s medical practice at the highest price watson would ask for, just so they could live together again

was nearly brought to tears by lestrade saying he was proud of him

let a dog lead him around on a case, multiple times in different stories

was very gentle with a client who he knew to be the victim of an abusive marriage and allowed the man who killed her husband to go free out of sympathy for their situation

noticed watson looking sad and touching his war wound and tried to cheer him up by echoing his thoughts and providing a deduction of how he knew what he was thinking

mentioned watson’s sparkling eyes in said deduction

talked about nothing but violins and his favorite violinist for an hour while he and watson had lunch together

likes going to classical music concerts and getting lost in the music

does scrapbooking

chuckles and rubs his hands together when he’s happy

this:

takes getting called "the devil himself" as a compliment

let a killer go because he had only killed in retaliation for the unjust murder of his lover, and holmes felt that he might’ve done the same if someone were to kill the woman he loved

on a completely unrelated note tells a guy who shoots watson “if you had killed watson you would not have got out of this room alive”

also reacted like this when watson got shot:

went undercover to supposedly give a guy secret government intelligence documents, and then gave him a book about bees instead

frequently disguised himself either for cases or just to fool watson and was noted to be a great actor

once disguised himself as an old woman with a parasol

tried the best he could to talk a young woman out of marrying a man who had a history of “collecting” women for sport and destroying their lives, and admitted to watson that he thought of her as he would think of his own daughter

was prone to “imp-like moods”

sent watson a message to come over at once ("if convenient--if inconvenient come all the same") just so he could infodump to him about dogs

wasn’t surprised that a dog died of grief shortly after its owner’s death, because of “the beautiful, faithful nature of dogs”

listened with great sympathy to a depressed woman who wanted to tell him her tragic story, picked up on hints that she was planning to commit suicide, talked her out of it by convincing her that her life does have value and then called her brave for choosing to live

got lost in thought looking out the window at the publicly funded elementary schools and randomly went on about how he believes they and the children who attend them are beacons of a brighter future

made hot cocoa for watson

shook hands with a baby

retired to the countryside to live on a farm and become a beekeeper.

#this post is SO ridiculously long i'm sorry. if the readmore doesn't work i will scream #it's also been in my drafts for ages and i wanna post it now that i'm deep in sherlock holmes obsession again #it is mostly for me so i can remind myself how much i love him <3 #sherlock holmes #acd canon #edit: okay not only did the readmore work but there are TWO readmores and i have no damn clue why #i can't seem to get rid of the second one?? idk if it's because the post is so long or what lol but oh well

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xetlynn · 8 months ago

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Twilight- Unknown: Chapter Five, Graduates

(Alice x Reader x Jasper)

[four] [five] [six]

I stood beside Jasper and Carlisle watching the news. Jasper's hand was on my side keeping me close to him.

"Police are baffled by the escalating murders and disappearances." The female reporter says to the camera. I leaned in closer to my boyfriend who was extremely concerned with what's going on. I knew why so I tried to comfort him in a subtle way. "Theories range from a vicious new gang to a wildly active serial killer. Reporting live, Dawn Chubai, CNN." She ends the report.

"It's getting worse. We're going to have to do something." Carlisle speaks after turning the tv off, facing the others.

"It takes more than one of our kind to cause the damage they're reporting. Quite a few more. They're undisciplined, conspicuous..." Jasper sighs, gripping me tired. I know he's thinking back to Maria.

"Newborns." Edward says aloud earning my sister's attention. "What, like new vampires?" She questions.

"In their first few months after the change." He says. "That's when we're at our most uncontrollable, vicious, insane with thirst." Jasper explains why it's so worrying. "Something to look forward to." Emmett picks at Bella.

"No one has trained these newborns, but this isn't random." My lover continues. "Someone's creating an army." Carlisle adds in, Jasper nods his head. Emmett smirks at this, getting excited. "Oh, now we're definitely going to Seattle." He says.

"An army of vampires?" Bella asks. "And they've been created to fight someone." Jasper sighs out.

"We're the only clan even close to Seattle." Edward points out to everyone. "Regardless of who they were. If we don't put a stop to them, the Volturi will. I'm surprised they've let it go on this long." Carlisle irritably tells us.

"Maybe they're behind it. In Italy. I read Aro's mind. He wants me and Alice to join him... Our gifts would shore up his power. Even [Name] would be a plus for him." Edward looks at me and I tense up, I feel Jasper try to calm my emotions. Greatly appreciated as I don't want to think about Aro and the rest of the Volturi I know would kill me if they had the chance.

"He knows we'd never choose him as long as our family is alive. An army could solve that for him."

I look over to my older sister who speaks up, "We can't wait two weeks for graduation; you need to change me now-"

"You'd be a liability as a newborn. Unable to control your instincts. An easy target." Jasper disagrees with Bella. "[Name] didn't go through that, though. What if I'm like her since I'm her sister." She points out but then Carlisle steps in and puts a hand on her shoulder.

"[Name] had the hybrid blood in her veins. She progressed so fast we knew she was different after the first three days. We don't know that for sure with you. Plus there's also your father to consider. And your mother. How terrible would it be for them if you suddenly disappeared?" He questions her, she knows she can't argue this, this time. Her shoulders slump in defeat.

"Hey did you eat dinner yet?" Bella asks Charlie, we walk into the kitchen after putting our stuff down at the table where he was reading a flier for a missing boy. "Um... no, I haven't." He answers. I watch Bella look over his shoulder, seeing the flier.

"This kid Riley Biers disappeared over a year ago and his poor parents have been papering Seattle with these things ever since." He expresses in a rough tone.

"You think they should just give up?" Bella looks at him, he glances between the both of us. "I wouldn't If it were either of you two. Not ever." He pulls us into a hug. After a small beat of silence he releases us. Taking a breath to cover up the fact that he was getting emotional over a case.

"So, one large, extra cheese?" He asks us, switching the subject. "And cheese bread. I know [Name]." He says before I even speak. I nod my head dramatically, kissing his cheek before I walk away, yelling a small thank you.

The next few days I've been getting ready for graduation. Actually doing my work.

Everything that happened this year the teachers were super lenient with me thinking I got major surgery.

I'm grateful for it. I know that technically I don't have to be worrying about this. I'm immortal. I'll be able to go to high school again and it will get easier and easier but this was my life at one point.

The only thing I'm sad about is the fact I had to give up my sports. I sigh, leaning back on my bed and closing my eyes after studying this bull crap.

I feel two dips in my bed and I open one eye to see Alice and Jasper looking over my homework.

"Gosh, this stuff is easy." Jasper hums out, putting the book back down. I open both eyes this time to glare at him. "You have years of practice, I don't want to hear it." I fold my arms, he snickers. Alice moves the stuff out of the way and climbs into my arms.

"We could always help you, you know." She offers, forcing me to put my arms around her. Now playing with my hand. Jasper sits on the other side of me. "You could but that feels like cheating." I lay my head on Jasper's shoulder.

"It would be but you'd also pass your tests faster." She sings quietly. I smile down at her, shaking my head.

"Not happening." I kiss the top of her head.

"Bella also told me that you two invited the wolves to the party." I bring up suddenly, she makes a noise I've never heard before and she shoots up from my arms.

"She begged me to do that. It was practically against my will." She rants, clearly upset by the decision she had to make to make my sister and her brother happy.

"I mean are they really that bad? The wolves?" I look at her, sort of looking back to Jasper. I knew he could tell what I was feeling. "What do you mean?" She tilts her head.

"I am a part of them, I can turn into one. I'm just worried that one day I'll change my mind and want to try out my wolf form and then you guys won't be happy with it. Or I don't know, it's childish but leave me I guess." I overly explain, feeling stupid once it comes out of my mouth. I avoid eye contact with Alice now.

Mentally cursing at myself.

"We'd still love you, [Name]. We love that you promised us to not turn but we'd never truly want to hold you back from what you wanted to do with your abilities and self-being." Alice grins at me, almost laughing, probably at how silly and stupid I sounded.

"Exactly, we've made some mistakes in the past with choosing things for you but we know that being a hybrid is something you didn't choose. Even being a vampire wasn't your choice." Jasper chimes in, pulling me into an embrace, forcing me into a lazy kiss. Alice then grabs my face and kisses me as well.

We weren't going to do anything else. My dad was in the other room. That also wasn't the only thing that stopped us. The three of us heard Jacob's truck pull up and one of the doors slam. Edward also pulled up.

We looked at each other. "Stay here." I tell them, rushing out of my room and outside.

"Not here, Edward. Please." Bella pleads with the vampire. "If you ever touch her against her will again." He points in Jacob's face but my sister is blocking him.

My eyebrows furrow hearing this. "Don't do this." Bella begs.

"She's not sure what she wants." Jacob stands straighter.

"Well, let me give you a clue. Wait for her to say the words." Edward holds onto Bella.

"Fine. And she will." Jacob glares at him. "Jacob. Just go, okay?" My sister tells the wolf. I get closer, they obviously don't know I was there, or they did and just didn't care. The two are practically facing off with one another.

The front door opens and Charlie gets down the steps. "Hey, hey, hey, hey... Easy guys. Let's take it down a notch. Alright? What's going on?" My dad questions the scene in front of him.

"I kissed Bella. And she broke her hand... Punching my face." Jacob explains. My eyes widen and I move without even realizing it.

Punching him in the jaw myself. Everyone gasps around me. Jacob actually holds his face as I look at him in disgust.

"The audacity you fucking have is astounding Jacob. " I shove him back to his truck. Not enough to show off a supernatural strength but the anger I feel of him just doing that to Bella without her consent sickens me.

After he leaves I turn back to the house. Bella was hiding her face into Edwards chest who was trying not to laugh. My dad looked shocked.

I sigh, shrugging my shoulders. "Carlisle should check that out, Bella." I point to her, Edward nods in agreement.

"Total misunderstanding, it's just a sprain. Should heal fairly quickly." The doctor of the family tells my sister. "Trying to walk and chew gum at the same time again, Bella?" Emmett teases her since she's so clumsy and practically known for it by everybody now.

"I punched a werewolf in the face." She corrects him. "Bad ass... You're going to be one tough little newborn." He grins.

"Tough enough to take you on." Bella smirks, Emmett goes to laugh but Rosalie slaps down the newspaper she was holding and storms out. Scowling towards Bella.

"Don't worry about it." Emmett shrugs it off.

"Okay, any leads?" Edward questions, switching the attention to something more dire.

"No sign of the intruder. But Victoria continues to make appearances." Jasper says. "But it seems to be only when [Name] isn't with any of us." He adds.

"She's toying with us. Keeping us distracted." Carlisle tells us.

"From Seattle?" Emmett tilts his head. "The intruder or something else." I speak up. "Alice can keep tracking her decisions but we have to track her on the ground." Edward says.

"We're having Alice watch a lot, I think I should take over some." I tell them. Jasper rubs my side as they look at me.

"I mean it has to be a lot for her. She hasn't said anything but Jesus, Aro, Charlie, Bella, and Victoria is a lot of information to cover and watch." I stand up for my girlfriend.

"Taking her energy is better?" Edward asks me. "I don't have to take her energy to take over her power." I cross my arms.

"[Name] your power lasts ten minutes, how would you be able to watch anyone?" Carlisle quizzes, not in a condescending way but genuinely just wanting to know.

I pause, glancing over at Jasper who nods his head for me to continue. "I've been practicing, Jasper has been helping me because I've spoken to him about it. I can do it for days now. And now I can basically copy your power without fully taking it. It's a lot but I can do it." I explain, begging for them to see my point in taking over for Alice.

At least taking over to watch over Charlie and Aro. Edward and Carlisle look at each other. "You need to make sure Alice is okay with it. You're also right, we didn't realize how much we put on her to watch." The father figure of the Cullen's tells me with a weak smile.

I let out a satisfied breath, squeezing onto Jasper without even realizing it.

"What ground have we covered?" Edward changes the subject once again.

"We've already covered the entire southern peninsula down to Quinault." Jasper answers.

"We'll search the northwestern trail." Edward says to Carlisle and Emmett. I didn't even notice that my sister left the room and was talking to Rosalie.

I looked out on the deck. I heard bits of their conversation so I tried to focus elsewhere. Already knowing Rosalie's tragic background I didn't want to eavesdrop on it.

Jasper kisses my jaw, I turn to him and he smiles. His dimple formed causing me to melt. It was one of my favorite features of his. We sat there in silence after everyone had left the living room. It was comfortable, finally having a moment away from all the hectic stuff.

Knowing it wasn't going to last much longer.

"When we were five, they asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up..." Jessica talks to the students of Forks high school, plus the teachers and families that joined.

"Our answers were things like astronaut, president, or in my case, princess." She smiles from her own words. I lean onto my older sister listening to Jessica's speech,

"When we were ten, they asked again and we answered rock star, cowboy or in my case, gold medalist. But now that we've grown up, they want a serious answer. Well, how about this: who the hell knows?!" She giggles as people holler from the audience.

Bella's shoulders were tense, I took her hand in mine when I noticed and she gave me a small smile.

"This isn't the time to make hard and fast decisions, it's the time to make mistakes. Take the wrong train and get stuck somewhere chilly. Fall in love- a lot.Major in philosophy because there's no way to make a career out of that. Change your mind. Then change it again, because nothing is permanent..." Jessica continues to do her speech, the words hit in ways I know as a human would be special.

Goosebumps would've crawled all over my skin but knowing that in a few decades everyone around me will be gone as I stand here. Never growing old it just doesn't feel the same. Knowing that my sister beside me has the choice to stay human I just wish she would.

But I also know she wants to be with her love. I couldn't stop her from that.

"I'm so proud of you two girls, I can't wait to see what you both do next. You're my biggest accomplishments." He has us on either side, arm wrapped on each daughter.

"Dad, that's not true." Bella disagrees.

"Yeah, it is. And it's.. well you'll see when you have kids." He shrugs it off. I frown knowing that Bella nor I will be giving him grandchildren.

At the Cullen house I stand with Bella. Jasper, Carlisle Emmett and Edward are in a deep conversation about what's going on with Seattle. My sister begins to walk over there but Jessica and Angela swoop in and grab us. Taking us the opposite way.

"You both made it." Angela grins. "Well, I am the girlfriend of the girl who's hosting." I point out, Angela laughs nodding. "Right, sorry."

"Hey. What'd you think of my speech? Too easy-breezy, too self-helpful? You may admit it." Jessica questions mainly to Bella.

"No, you pretty much nailed it." My sister shakes her head. "Yeah? It's like I was born to lead, right?" Jessica grins, proud of herself.

"Oh, great. I love this song, let's go." Angela pulls us to the dance floor where Eric and Mike join us. They do a stupid robot dance battle as the girls laugh.

I just stay beside Angela, both of us jumping and doing basic moves. I noticed Bella leave when Jacob came into the house. I didn't have to look because his smell is so distinct.

I think Angela saw I was a little distracted so she grabbed my hands and had us face each other. Forcing me to follow her lead.

The lighting was a little darker now and it was as if all I could see was her. "You're a good dancer!" She says over the music.

"I'm barely trying, you're keeping me going!" I laugh. I quickly fixed the wife beater I was wearing.

Alice dressed me in a dressy suit earlier and the jacket was too tight since she got it fitted before I turned into a hybrid. I still wore the dress pants though.

"Nonsense! I feel like you're leading me!" She huffs out, I saw her eyes trail to my arms and I snicker to myself, reminding me of Alice.

"You give me too much credit." I shake my head, starting to feel sweat drip down my forehead.

Going into the next song, Jessica joins in causing Mike and Eric to do the same. Angela sticks beside me though. That was until I got dragged away abruptly.

"Oh!- I'll be back!" I say once I realize that it's Alice. "She might not." My girlfriend disagrees. I furrow my eyebrows now worried that something happened.

We go by the staircase, Jasper already standing there. "What's going on? Everything okay?" I worriedly asked. Jasper was laughing but Alice looked a little angry?

"Babe?" I look down at her, she now had her arms crossed in front of her. "Am I missing something? Did I do something?" I question, confused by why she would be mad. Jasper went to speak up but Alice groaned.

"Your little friend was all over you, [Name]. God how could you not see that?" She asks me in an irritated tone. I tilt my head. "I mean we were just dancing..." I fail to agree with her.

"Are you that oblivious?" She scrunches her face in disbelief. "Why are you jealous, my love?" I ask her, pulling her into my arms.

"I'm not jealous, she was just eyeing something that's mine." Alice avoids eye contact with me as I hold her hips. "Mhm, I didn't know I was property." I chuckle lowly.

I see Alice look over on the dance floor then grab my face and kiss me. It surprised me but I kissed her back. When she let me go I looked over to where she was and Angela quickly looked away.

I shake my head laughing. "I've never seen you jealous before." I try to calm my laughter. Jasper doing the same thing.

The only thing that did was when Alice grew frozen and was having vision. I held onto her. I heard Bella behind me just as Alice came out of it.

"Alice, what did you see?" My sister asks.

"Okay, something is going on. Tell me." Jacob says. Bella got in between Alice and I. I stand beside Jasper.

Watching Jacob intently. I haven't seen him since I punched him in the jaw, something that already healed.

"I need to talk to Jasper and [Name]." She quietly says but then Jacob puts an arm against the wall, blocking her from getting to us.

"Why don't you talk to me?" The wolf angrily asks.

Both Jasper and I get in front of him.

"I suggest you remove your arm. Before I do." Jasper says, we glare at him. He makes the smart decision and backs away from our girlfriend.

"The decision's been made." Alice speaks.

"What's going on? You're not going to Seattle?" Bella quizzes.

"No, they're coming here." Alice looks up to Jasper and I.

Our faces drop.

Masterlist

A&J M.L

Taglist: if you want to be added lmk!

@stevenandmarcslove

@steh-lar-uh-nuhs

@l3ejm

@kisekihany

@aureliacorvina

@marit332

@marsyay78

@small-town-wayward-daughter

@sugathy

@tallrock35

@azazel-nyx

@silas-aeiou

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yanderederee · 1 year ago

Text

MurderMystery

「探偵場地！」

April29th, 2004

a/n: I felt inspired to rewrite this in a fun drabble idea♡ I was sad the opportunity was only given a five page spread, so I took matters into tutor!reader’s hands:)

shoutout to @tokyo-daaaamn-ji-gang for kindly helping me locating the bonus chapter link, so I may refresh myself on all the specifics regarding the deduction quiz (spoiler; the only clue pointed out is the ‘murder tool’/pill bottle.)

before! › here! › after!

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯✦

*i am not a medical professional; all drug/medications/ailments are either made up or should not be looked into as truth!

To say the least , you were ecstatic when Ryusei recruited you for this role.

Based on how Chifuyu and he had explained it to you, Baji was actually excited to try solving a detective case of his own.

They had even already dragged the ever so willing Mitarai into this plan as well.

You and Mitarai were friends. The both of you were very good in academics, and keeping patience with the overzealous boys in front of you.

The two of you huddled together that same day, whispering to eachother different plans and hints to lay around as clues.

“So, who is the killer?” You asked the genuine poindexter.

You could tell he was flustered by your closeness. You didn’t mind though, nerds were cute.

Mitarai looked over your compiled notes in critical fashion. Collaborating back and forth on the matter, you truly felt like the case would be a hit.

After about a half hour of planning, giggling, and whispering to one another, you could feel a heavy presence looked over your back. Automatically breaking out into a smile, you threw your hands across the desk to hide all evidence.

“What’re you doing?” Baji asked, flat. It was a simple question, yet the dark glint of jealousy glared obvious.

You could tell Baji was addressing how close you had been getting to Mitarai, but you thought jealous boys were cuter; better to play coy.

“Creating an awesome case,” you admitted, pulling all the papers that littered your desk into one big pile, to which you organized out of his view. “I’m actually really excited to come up with this!”

Mitarai made an attempt in hopping into the conversation. “Y/n is quite good at this! She had written a sequence of events in only a matter of seconds. Though, I admit her knowledge in…. ‘forensics’ is a little unnerving.” he murmured.

You shrugged with pride, putting the papers into a manila folder, and into your bag.

“I’ll have the materials for the operation by tomorrow. I’m gonna go consult with the victim of this case~”

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯✦

You bend down, checking for any sign of life. Your blood ran cold. “Detective, he…. He’s dead.” You announce to the room. Baji bends down, patting your arm so to dismiss you from the corpse. “This bottle looks suspicious…” he murmured seriously.

Chifuyu grinned wide at you and Mitarashi, giving a subtle thumbs up. You chose to remain in character, following the scripted dialogue you wrote and handed out yesterday (that everyone barely mesmerized in time).

Normally, Baji would love to solve this kind of thing on his own. But you knew better than anyone, that without direction, Baji would soon become irritable and fume with frustration. He just needed to notice the clues, without telling him he found a clue. Make it seem like he figured it out himself.

“Here is Sora Ijuuin’s file,” you handed Baji a small packet of paper, containing a profile shot of Chuu, some blurbs of false medical history, and reposts given by neighbors on the events leading up to the victim’s demise. “Please look over it carefully..”

“Thank you assistant.” He acknowledged shortly. Looking over the file, it took him a few minutes, but eventually he stood in haste.

Ijuuin Sora, date of birth: 03/07/1980, blood type: B, marital status: married.

- Statement given by Neighbor [1]: “That voice of his [Sora Ijuuin] sure does carry! Just three days ago, I could hear him fighting with someone clear down the street!”

- Statement given by Neighbor [3]: “Well , there has been a suspicious looking fellow visiting that house for the past month. He visits perhaps once a week. White hair, and dark skin. Suspicious!”

“Seems Chu had a few visitors before he bit it.” Baji said suspiciously. “Satou Ryusei, what business did you have with the victim three days ago?”

Baji thought he looked so cool, keeping his glare focused on the taller boy in the room.

Excellent. First step, make Baji suspect and snuff out all clues from innocent yet suspicious figures in the room.

Ryusei played it cool, a poker face striping him of all laughing matters. “Sora and I were colleagues. We had been collaborating on a project for about a month now. I came by to discuss these matters three days ago.”

“Sound reason. You say you were simply discussing, but neighbor complains state they heard loud arguing. You two must have had a disagreement.”

Baji’s cool demeanor slowly began showing more confidence as he made his case.

“We’re both particularly passionate fellows,” Ryusei suppressed a giggle. He may have thought your script was a little over the top. “We disagreed often. But our altercations were never very loud. We always came to sound conclusions.”

“And was that conclusion murder?” Baji asked accusatively.

“I would never!”

Baji hummed. Blaming Ryusei seemed too easy. And if he learned anything from his detective shows, never go with your first guess. So, eyeing the file again he read;

- Statement given by Neighbor [3]: “…his [Sora Ijuuin] wife and I only spoke on occasion. She told me they had been dating since high school. They had gotten together thanks to a mutual friend. […] Arguments with his wife have been consistent over the years, but for the last 6 months, they have been non-stop! They become progressively louder as days pass.”

- Statement given by Acquaintance [1]: “Sora? Yeah, he and some four eyes were friends back in high school. Though, he always seemed to have a thing for his girlfriend at the time. Guess they’re still friends, saw them hanging out recently. I heard four eyes became a doctor. Good for him.”

- Statement given by Neighbor [2]: “I’ve heard rumors about resident of that house becoming recently ill! A friend of his, I presume, has been visiting often to oversee his health. I hope he’s well?”

Based on this statement repost, Baji soon began concluding that it was perhaps Chu’s “wife” may be the murderer. However, reading further, he realized this to be impossible.

- […] After a particularly heated argument, {assumedly being the disagreement of Three Days ago}, eye witness repost conclude Wife had gone to stay with her mother three days ago.

Chifuyu caught your waiting gaze, and understood the subtle nod in his direction. Playing into the role, Chifuyu settled closer to the crime scene, eying the pill bottle.

“Cause of death, overdose? But with what? … Medication? Was Mr Sora ill?”

“My colleague often complained about suffering from unexplained migraines and severe nose bleeds. I recall him mentioning these symptoms began about three months ago.”

“He met quite frequently with his at home physician to determine a diagnosis.”

“Were the physician and victim on good terms?”

“Yes. In fact, neighbor reposts state they originally thought him an old familiar friend of the victim, with how often and friendly their visits.”

“Ah! Ijuuin and I have been friends for some years now, even before he requested I oversee his declining health.” Mitarai spoke up confidently.

A shock to everyone in the room, everyone stood silent. Baji’s judgemental gaze looked over the self proclaimed physician up and down, thinking of anyway to blame him.

Dense as he was, he nodded. “A nobel friend always sticks by his friend’s side. My condolences, doctor.” Baji turned, thinking to other matters at hand.

No!! Everyone internally yelled.

Mitarashi was practically trying to be blamed, at this point!! But Baji wasn’t taking the bait.

No matter, you sighed silently, planning your second hint.

“Looks like the only evidence useful to us is this pill bottle.” Baji interjected.

You handed Baji a plastic glove, insisting he wear it before touching any evidence. After doing so, he observed the bottle.

It was medicine, plain and simple. Without even so much as a label on the bottle, it was impossible to identify further than that.

“Detective,” Chifuyu whispered to Baji, just as you described he should do in the script. “I recognize the look of this pill. Its purpose is to increase blood flow, mostly aimed for anemic patients. It doesn’t match the name of the medicine typed on the pill bottle.”

Unfortunately, Baji had no idea what the fuck ‘an anemia’ even was.

“Doctor, if you could please elaborate, what diagnosis came of your time spent together?” You asked Mitarashi. He nodded in response.

“Ijuuin described having severe nosebleeds, following his migraines. I concluded he suffered textbook side effects of overexertion.”

A medication meant to increase blood flow for a patient with frequent nose bleeds? Baji finally started putting the clues together.

“Were you the one to prescribe this medicine, doctor?” Baji asked Mitarai.

Aha!!

Mitarashi purposely showed signs of nervousness. “Y-yes! That medicine is one that regulates migraines. I-it even says it on the bottle!”

Baji smirked, dropping the bottle into a plastic, held open by Chifuyu. “We’ll see what the forensic’s team has to say about that.”

Mitarai became anxious at the mention, but chose to keep quiet. Baji hadn’t earned a confession out of him yet.

Baji really had to think now. He had evidence, but no motive. What motive would a physician have to kill his own patient? One he seemed fond of, even.

The room grew quiet, and frustration was eating up Baji’s neck. How could he get the guy to confess?

And unfortunately for Mitarashi, when Detective Baji began to feel frustrated, he had a hard time putting a cap on his emotions. In fact, he physically couldn’t.

So of course, he resorted to intimidation.

“Speakin’ of forensics, back there, I noticed there’s a pill that’s been crushed up. Almost like it was stepped on. Saaay, doc, how bout I see the underside of those shoes, huh?” Baji grinned ear to ear, eyes creasing in one-sided victory.

Mitarai gasped, red faced and shaking. It was hard to tell if it was because he was in character, or genuinely scared of Baji’s terrifying aura.

“P-please sir! Spare me!” He yelled, backing up against the door quickly, showing the underside of only one of his shoes. “There’s nothing! See! Nothing!”

Baji shook his head, and in one quick motion, bent Mitarai’s standing knee. Unable to balance himself in time, the four-eyes fell to the floor with a scream. “Well what’da ya know? What’s this blue powder here? Think we’re gonna need to send this over too, Detective Matsuno.” He chuckled.

Surely this was enough to earn his confession.

“F-fine! I swapped the medication! I’ve been giving him medicine to make him sicker and sicker f-for the last five months… but-but! … I had to!” Mitarai crocked, crocodile tears falling down his face.

Damn, Mitarai sure knew how to act!! Who would have guessed…

“Well, spit it out.” Baji hurried.

Mitarai took a few deep breaths, increasing the reveals dramatic timing. “He made Hanako cry… I’ve… loved Hanako ever since I met her, you see!” Mitarashi looked away bashfully.

“Who’s Hanako? From the Toilet?”

“That’s the name of the victims’s wife. It’s on file.”

“…oh…”

“You’ve been friends with Mr Sora since high school?” You asked the clarifying question, which finally clicked in Baji’s mind.

“Yes! She always had eyes for the obnoxious types though… so, I waited… And just as I suspected, he began to mistreat her, all over petty misunderstandings and other stupid, meaningless things! They were fighting so often, Hanako finally reached out to me to ask for advise….

“I told her to give it time. I just needed a little time… make him sick, until he died of natural causes! Than she’d finally be free! So you see, it was out of love! And it worked!” Mitarai laughed, still hysterically crying. “He’s gone now, Hanako. She can be happy now, right detective?”

Baji’s face was cold at Mitarashi’s performance.

“That’s why?” He asked. “All over a girl? Seriously?” He clicked his tongue.

You frowned at his disgust.

“What a lame reason. Whatever, we got what we came here for. Matsuno, cuff this freak.”

And just as quickly, Baji’s victory became evident with such a wide grin. “Haha! I’m a genius! Bet ya didn’t think I’d notice that stepped on pill over there did ya?” He said in your face.

You laughed in unison, and rose your hand up to give him a big high five. “I’ll admit, I was wondering how long it would take you to notice, but I had faith in you, Detective!~”

The lot of you all cheered for Baji, making his ego soar all the more. But just as you thought to stop, that adorable toothy grin of his made you swoon all over again.

While he and Chu were laughing together, Ryusei took notice of your adoring stare, and melancholy smile. “You like him, don’t you?” He asked so very quietly. As much as you could act embarrassed and deny him, you knew it would be in vain. Ryusei knew. Your smile became more flatlined.

“I do… it’s one-sided, I know… but I’m happy where I am, for now.”

Ryusei watched as you tore your gaze away, distracting yourself with cleaning up the rest of the murder scene. Out of earshot, Ryusei chuckled. “One sided, huh… Can’t say I’m so sure of that.”

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯✦

Finally, after it was all said and done, the lot of you found yourselves shoved close into a booth at a local family diner. It was cheap and close by, but deserving enough for Detective Baji’s victory on his latest case.

“Still! That cheesy alibi was so over the top. Seriously, which one of you even came up with that crap?” Baji mulled over his drink, glaring at how closely sat you and Mitarai were sitting. You rolled your eyes. “Yeah yeah, just let it go already.”

“Mitarashi! Your acting was so good back there though, I almost thought you were really crying!” Chifuyu praised the four eyes beside him. “Thank you! I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off at first.”

Still dressed in the costumes stolenborrowed from the Drama Club, you all looked quite dashing and out of place in this family diner. But not a one of you seemed to care. Everyone was in high spirits.

Baji would occasionally bring up how ‘killing someone for a girl you like is so lame.’ And sure, he was right. It just made you all the more embarrassed that you were the one to come up with the dramatic idea. But that was the idea! Detective shows were dramas!

As everyone threw in their last praises and thoughts on the case, the natural urge to pee made itself known to you. Quickly excusing yourself, you shimmied yourself out from the booth. It hadn’t even been a few minutes before you were relieved and headed back for the table.

On your way to do so, some high school delinquent who clearly wasn’t paying attention to how much of the narrow walkway he was taking up, ended up smacking right dab into your shoulder. It wasn’t enough to make you fall backwards, but enough to lose your balance. What an asshole!

Yet, when you glared up for your rightfully owed apology, the high schooler kept walking. Baffled, you pursed your lips into a thin line. It probably wouldn’t do you any good to go after him. But that was way too rude!

Unbeknownst to you, the whole scene became a spectacle for your delinquent friend group. And they were Not having it. Most of all, Baji Keisuke. He practically hopped over the table to get out from the booth quicker— rather than waiting for whoever was on the outside to make way.

“Oi, asshole.” Baji seethed through his teeth. It was quiet, enough to not draw attention from everyone in the restaurant, at least. “Apologize, or we’re takin’ this outside.” He’d since grabbed the collar of the offending jerk.

The high schooler chuckled, not taking Baji all that seriously. “Yeah right, get lost pipsqueak.” He went to push Baji, who was a solid few inches shorter than him. Unfortunately, Baji took this personally.

Baji laughed at the audacity of this jerk, grabbing his arm hard, and twisting it behind his back. He wasn’t trying to cause a scene, but there he was, causing a scene.

You aught to stop him, but nothing you’d say would do you any good. “Stay here, this won’t take more than five minutes.” Baji had told you.

It didn’t take long for Baji to walk the punk outside of the family diner, around the front and into a less populated street.

Ryusei gave a shrug, and offered you a seat. “Leave him be, that’s just how he is.”

Chifuyu was tempted to follow his squad leader, but decided against it after seeing how anxious the whole situation was making you. “Maybe we should leave…” you mumbled. “No way, we just ordered while you were gone!” Ryusei patted your shoulder. Mitarashi was also a little unsettled, but tried not to show it.

“If anything, you should be glad Keisuke’s actually showing this much restraint. Normally. He’d have pummeled the poor guy in front of everyone and got us kicked out.” Ryusei sighed, as though that same scenario had just happened recently.

Just as Baji promised, he was back at the table in less than 5 minutes. “‘I miss anything?” He asked, a proud wide toothy smirk painting his features.

That proud look really suited him. Stop, why were you thinking about how cute he was at a time like this? Did you seriously find delinquency that attractive? Your heart felt like it’d beat out of your chest.

“Still think it’s one-sided?~” Ryusei whispered in your ear with a shit eating grin.

Your face went beat red.

“Hey, what’d I say about personal space asshole?” Baji cursed at his friend before pushing him hard.

“Sorry sorry~”

…♡

#FragileDearest #this took way too long #but here it finally is #I hope it’s enjoyable…#tokyo revengers #tokyo rev #tokyo revengers x reader #tokyo rev x y/n #baji keisuke #baji #baji x reader #Keisuke baji #a letter from baji #letter from baji keisuke

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myths-tournaments · 1 year ago

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Awful Characters Round 2 Part 1 (2/8)

Propaganda under the cut!

IANTHE TRIDENTARIUS

Her number one hobby is ruining every person's that she knows life. Her second hobby is being soooo slutty about it despite looking like a literal wet rat. Her third hobby is having an extremely unhealthy relationship with her twin. Her other hobbies include cannibalism, wearing a maid outfit, being extremely convinced she is the main character, the badboy sexy love interest and the villain. 'Why', you may ask. Well, the answer is, for shits and giggles #justgirlythings i, aswell as literally everybody else in the fandom have gone through the pipeline from hating her to desperately wanting to fuck her. expect for i still fucking hope she dies and doesn't come back for good. (that would literally solve all of everybody's problems) as god intended (EXPECT FOR. one of her hobbies literally is gaslighting god) She is fucking horrible i will love her until i die and even after that

parks and recs jean ralphio voice she's the woooorst!! The moment she learns she has to kill someone to become a Lyctor (aka a more special necromancer), she doesn't hesitate to kill and cannibalize the guy who has been her cavalier since childhood… cavalier who she also totally bullied as kids, she was allowed to choose one guest for her and her twin sister's birthday party each year, and she would always pick whoever she thought her cavalier didn't want to see there! While other characters are shown to regret the process of becoming a Lyctor (which involves someone close to them dying)/were forced into it because of circumstances, Ianthe has absolutely no regrets, she believes she did what she had to do

The author once said of Ianthe: "I don't think she's been nice to anyone, if she has I'll go back and change it." She killed and ate the soul of someone she has known all her life so that she could become a necromantic saint and tormented him plenty before that. General negging, ganging up against him, always inviting people he didn't like to their birthday parties. She doesn't regret killing him. I think she is repulsed by the idea that his digested soul is affecting hers. She helped her crush lobotomise herself so she would be in Ianthe's debt, and later lied and said she didn't see the corpse of a woman her crush killed under her bed (why did she do that? I do not know). She has a bone arm because her original arm was cut off, she hated the replacement so her crush cut THAT off and grew her a new one out of just bones. She had it gilded and only after that did she decide to help her crush deal with the person who had been repeatedly trying to kill her. She wants so badly to be the main character but people keep interrupting her villain monologues.

she has her own content warning tag

She's such a bitch to everyone all the time, she causes nothing but problems, she tries to do a villain speech but fumbles it because her tummy hurt, she is the awfulgirl of all time

THE SKULL

he is an evil ghost who used to be an assistant to a mad scientist gravedigger. accomplice to murder and torture and general evil scheming. now he lives in a jar and is besties with a teenage girl. and by besties i mean he encourages her to kill people and constantly cheers when her friends almost die. overall a silly little decapitated head <3

It is literally a skull in a jar. (More context if you don’t know the books/show: it’s a ghost source that’s been trapped in a silver container so it can’t escape. And it’s exceptionally powerful which means it can actually communicate with mc.) It frequently encourages the mc to commit various morally reprehensible acts such as homicide (she never does). When it was alive, it was a teenage boy who was apprenticed to an evil scientist.

#awful characters tournament #tournament poll #awful characters round 2 #the locked tomb #tlt #ianthe tridentarius #lockwood and co #the skull

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cairavende · 1 year ago

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Worm Arc 11 thoughts (pre-interludes):

Taylor's dad sees his daughter for the first time since she ran away. Since the fucking Endbringer attack! And literally says the line "“I need to go handle this" about a fucking work thing. No Danny. You do not NEED TO HANDLE THIS. God damn. It is fucking hard to be a co-parent for Taylor when I'm the only one doing any parenting!

Speaking of parenting - Taylor, you really should get some therapy. That was a pretty detailed level of fucked up nightmare you had. I love you and just want you to take care of yourself.

Skitter just like "all right, for day 1 I'm going to gain complete fucking control over my territory and establish myself as an unkillable bug goddess". And then she worries if she is doing enough!

Seriously though, letting that guy stab her and counting on her costume to block the knife? Fucking baller move. Also stupidly risky. So pretty much on point for my wonderful but stress inducing bug daughter.

And then she just sits in her chair drinking tea while she destroys two groups of Merchants? Doesn't just beat them, but absolutely terrorizes them. Lights one of them on fire with their own matches! WITH BUGS! I love her so much.

She also gained two minions as a side bonus to controlling her territory. And ensured their loyalty and dedication to her.

For real. Sierra would take a bullet. She'd die for Taylor. But Charlotte? Charlotte would kill for Taylor.

The speech Taylor gave Charlotte when giving her the options "leave town" or "work for me" was so well done! Came across as incredibly fair so Charlotte couldn't complain, but also just tied her in a little bundle all nice and neat. Set her up to want to work for you. Very nicely done. Taylor clearly has been learning from Lisa.

We're just pretty much giving up on that whole secret identity thing huh? It just started cascading out of control quite quickly. I don't expect Taylor and Skitter to be different people for much longer.

Lisa and Taylor went to a party together! A shitty villain party that was dangerous and almost killed them. But villain prom is villain prom. GAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!

Just a number of good Chatterbug (Smugbug) moments here.

Lisa has a MURDER WALL! AAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! I love her so fucking much and I will just sit in there with her working on the murder wall for hours. (She isn't trying to solve a murder so I know it isn't technically a murder wall, but it's a murder wall cause that's the best name.)

Fucking Bryce. Sure went through a lot of trouble for that asshole.

Skidmark just doing a thunderdome up in here. Some people use their powers for cool things and others build a fence.

Also really not seeming to do great for loyalty. Like ya you get a cape or two out of it but it left everyone in your gang not trusting anyone else.

I love everyone in Faultline's crew. Newter was my favorite but Shamrock may have beaten him out. I always loved Domino and Shamrock gives the same vibe.

Newter got a few good Nightcrawler like moments here too which was fun (grabbing things with his tail, talking to people from weird perches).

God DAMN Labyrinth is powerful. Like I knew she was but getting to see it. Holy shit. That was so fucking cool. Literal goddess of reality right here.

I'm really excited to learn more about Cauldron and the superhero in a can stuff. Very Weapon X with the memory wiping and such. (I'm just really on an X-men comparison thought process right now I guess)

Taylor "I'm not a skilled combatant" Hebert over here as she dual wields knives and successfully fights off multiple people, most bigger than her, while specifically using non-lethal attacks on them. Taylor that isn't what "not skilled" means!

PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD CHILD, STOP GETTING HIT IN THE HEAD! I WORRY!

Seeing the trigger event thing was really cool. I don't think the fact that any cape near a trigger event appears to almost pass out has been mentioned before. Obviously in universe know one would know anything beyond them appearing to stumble, but still. And we got to see more of the higher dimension beings. We in Flatland now.

Oh god there is so much more I think I'm missing huge amounts. AHHH!!!

Oh, this is important. While describing Mush Taylor says "He bore a resemblance to a particular pink skinned, scrawny goblin of a creature from those fantasy movies." That open endedness of that context made me decide she must be talking about The Goblin King in Labyrinth. David Bowie. But to keep things simple, since it might seem like she is talking about Gollum, I decided that on Earth Bet David Bowie played Gollum in the Lord of the Rings movies. This is canon as far as I am concerned.

That does also mean Mush looks at least a little bit like David Bowie.

#Worm #Worm Web Serial #Parahumans #Cairavende reads Worm #Chatterbug #Smugbug #Taylor Hebert #MURDERWALL!!!#Lisa Wilbourn #My daughter is so terrifying and she absolutely does not realize how much #The feelings Taylor had when she realized how terrifyingly powerful Labyrinth was is the same feeling everyone else has around Taylor #She literally is one step away from turning any moment into a horror movie. I love her so much.

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stilespeters · 2 years ago

Text

SALVATION (series)

(part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4) (part 5) (part 6)

pairing: colin zabel x reader

words: 3501

A/N: sooo i had this idea in my head and I’ve written it out. I haven't written a lot the past year, but now that i joined the evan train, i thought: why not.

It's a crossover AU of mare of easttown and ahs cult, where Kai Anderson is the bad guy:) The first chapter is more of an introduction so im sorry if it’s a bit boring. Reader will meet Colin in the next chapter. If things go as planned, there will be around 12 chapters. I got 9 chapters planned out already. If the chapter is too long then I'll shorten it, feedback is always appreciated:)

Anyway, lmk if u like it. I have fun things planned. Otherwise it’s also fine. Happy new year btw!

summary: 7 years after the reign of terror caused by Kai Anderson, a detective is called to Brookfield Heights to solve a string of murders. In the meantime, a girl who struggles to find her place in the world, tries her best to move on from an incident that happened years ago.

warnings: description of violence, swearing

Part 1: the ice cream man

“This is the third one in two weeks.” Crime scene investigator Janssen explained to Detective Colin Zabel. They both looked at the crimson smiley face that stared back at them inside of a home in Brookfield Heights, Michigan. It was dark outside, and the red and blue hue of the police cars were lighting the room.

“Next door neighbors recalled hearing commotion at around 11 in the evening. The neighbors tried to call the victim’s cell phone, but there was no answer. They called the police at 12:13 who arrived at the scene at 12:34. They did a welfare check but no one opened the door. After calling for reinforcements and forcing their way in, they found the bodies of Marie Allen and Bernard Allen in the living room,” he explained. “The fibers on the chair indicated that Bernard was tied up before his death, which matches with the marks on his wrists. Marie’s neck was bruised and they both got stabbed in the chest. ”

“Any signs of forced entry?” Colin asked, but Janssen shook his head. “The front door was locked. The window on the second floor was open, but it’s impossible to reach, since there is no way to climb in from the outside. Another window on the first floor bathroom was open as well, but it only opened 10 inches. However, the door that leads to the backyard was ajar, and there were also footprints visible on the mud in the backyard.”

“Has the podiatrist examined it yet?”

“He’s on his way.” Janssen planted his hands on his hips as he analyzed the smiley on the wall again and narrowed his eyes. The nose of the smiley was smeared. “What kind of sick fuck do you have to be to finish what someone else started.” Colin raised his eyebrow.

“Started?”

“In 2016 the terror happened. Councilman Kai Anderson started a group called fear is truth. They wanted to spread fear amongst the residents of Brookfield Heights by leaving a mark; the smiley face. If it appeared in your home, it meant that you were next to be targeted by Kai, which meant you were next to get killed,” He continued. “They began their spree on October 11th. They killed 5 people in 3 months time, and they went on to kill another 4 people after that.”

Colin remembered hearing about it on the news. The man who confessed to 11 murders in total including a few of his own loyal followers, gave him chills along his spine. His charisma and intelligence made him menacing and when Colin saw him speak in a court video, it made him very uneasy. At first glance you wouldn't think he was a dangerous man.

“What stopped him eventually?” He inquired and Janssen stepped aside for a forensics photographer who wanted to get through.

“Kai and his gang targeted the wrong people. A teenager who was smoking upstairs set the house on fire whilst Kai and the others were busy killing her parents. She managed to stab one of Kai’s followers, and as he bled out, Kai left him for dead and shot him, but he managed to survive. After his recovery he demanded immunity if he were to rat out Kai and the rest. Turns out he had physical evidence of the crimes Kai and his group had committed. The surviving girl and the ex-member of Kai’s group testified against him and it was enough to lock him and his followers away for good.”

Colin felt bad for the girl. She must’ve been traumatized. She was only a teen at that time. Losing one parent is already hard enough, but losing both of your parents at the same time is something that must be devastating. Especially when it was at the hands of a sociopathic sadist.

“We did find traces of DNA,” Janssen said. “They’re running it through the database right now but it could take a while to find a match, probably 2 to 3 days.”

“Good,” Colin said and he looked at the smiley face again.

“You really think the people who did this are finishing what Kai started? Like some worshippers? They don’t look like amateurs to me.”

Janssen looked puzzled as he sucked his teeth.

“The man who got immunity for ratting out every one of the group might have left someone out, although that is not most likely. The profiler should be here soon, so he can answer your questions better than me.”

Colin nodded and Janssen looked outside. That’s when he saw a man pull up the crime scene tape. “Speak of the devil. I’ll be right back. The sooner it’s done the earlier I can go home to my wife.” He patted Colin’s back and walked to the front door.

Colin also wanted to go back to his motel room. He awoke 20 minutes prior, and immediately rushed to the crime scene.

He’d be lying if he said he wasn't exhausted, but he knew that this was a huge step up in his career. Plus, he already drunk a cup of coffee on the way to the crime scene, so he’ll manage.

Colin looked at the window and saw that a few people from the neighborhood were gathered at the other side of the pavement. He figured that it was best to see if they witnessed anything. He walked outside and a patrol officer pulled up the tape for him.

He approached an older woman who had a concerned look on her face. Her eyes were red and puffy and her glasses were pushed to the far end of her nose. It was obvious that she had just awoken, due to her bathrobe that was wrapped around her body, and she shivered.

“Hello ma'am, my name is Detective Colin Zabel,” Colin said and the woman frowned in worry.

“Oh lord, do I have to provide a statement or something? You people scare me, my husband used to be one of you. I live over there,” she pointed at the house around the corner. “I just woke up to loud noises outside and saw a bunch of people at Marie’s house.”

“It’s alright, I just want to ask a few questions,” he reassured.

“Did something bad happen to Marie? If there’s this many of you it must be bad, right? Is it the same person who killed a couple and an older couple a few weeks ago? The one who leaves those creepy paintings? I read it on the news.” Her voice was shaky and she pushed her glasses back up her nose bridge.

“We don’t know precisely, but we're doing everything we can to catch the person who did this. He won't get away, we’ll try and make sure no one else gets hurt.” She let out a sigh and she rubbed her forehead.

“I trust your word, youngman.”

She gave a weak smile, to which Colin grabbed a notebook and a pen from his pocket.

After Colin asked the woman several questions, she tried to answer them as best as possible. He tried to write the most useful information on the notepad, but the woman spoke really fast which made it hard for him to keep up.

“I remember hearing a car or something, was it at 10 pm, or was it 11pm? It could be between 10 and 11. I don’t know exactly-”

“-Grandma?” A voice interjected and Colin looked down to see a girl dressed in a pink pajama, rubbing her eyes while holding a teddy bear. Whilst Colin talked to the woman, he hadn't noticed a child coming up to them. “Adelaide honey, go back to bed.” She tried her best to not sound panicked but she couldn't help it. Her granddaughter shouldn't have to see a crime scene unfold.

“Is that the ice cream man?” The girl’s eyes studied Colin’s face and she smiled widely as she pointed at him. Colin couldn't help but smile back. A child's innocence was one of the purist things on earth. He often wished that they would keep their innocence forever and not get stained by the cruel world.

He crouched down to her height and his hands were on his thighs to hold him up.

“I’m a detective,” she frowned and he tried to explain it as best as possible. “My job is to make sure that the world is free of bad guys. I team up with an amazing team of heroes and together we make sure that the bad guys can't hurt anyone else.”

The girl’s frown faded quickly and turned into an even wider smile, and her eyes were filled with adoration. “I want to be a hero too, like you.” His heart melted as she spoke in glee.

The grandma placed her hands on the girl’s shoulders as she stood behind her, and she played with a few of the hairs that stuck out of her short ponytail.

Colin saw her yawn as she brought her teddy bear closer to her chest. He wanted to question other neighbors and he realized that he wasn't gonna get any more useful information from the woman so he wanted to leave them be. “It’s really late, Adelaide. It’s almost half past 2. Maybe it's best if you and your grandma go back to bed.”

The girl immediately shook her head frantically.

“I’m not tired at all, I can go without sleep just like adults can. Besides, I will not go back unless I get ice cream. Can we please wait a little longer till the ice cream man comes back? Please?” She prolonged the last word as she looked up at her grandma, and she squeezed her shoulders.

Colin however, froze as his smile faded. Ice cream man?

“What did you see, Adelaide?” He asked carefully and the little girl looked up at the sky for a few seconds before answering. “I heard the ice cream song. I looked outside and saw a big car with ice cream on it. A clown was driving it. I love clowns.” She explained before rubbing her eyes. “Were you the ice cream man?”

Colin flipped to the new page of his notebook.

“Can you maybe describe him for me?”

…………

“32… 34… 36… Finally.” You exhaled in glee and relief.

For over thirty minutes you had tried to find the destination of your new psychiatrist. Turns out you had taken the wrong turn a few blocks ago, and it felt like you were in a maze. It didn't help that you had no clue how this car worked, since it was Cordelia’s. You may or may not have crashed yours into a traffic sign while trying to parallel park.

Once you drove in the parking spot next to a BMW, you rushed your way to the front door. You were already late due to sleeping through your alarm clock, and getting lost only made you lose more time.

You pressed on the bell, and after a while a man opened the door with a friendly smile.

“Hi Y/n,” He stepped aside for you to come into the room and as you hung your coat on the coat rack next to the door, you followed the man inside of another room; his office.

“Sorry I’m late, I just never had sessions in the morning and I slept through my alarm clock.” You held out your hand to shake his. You were kinda nervous since you didn’t know how he’d react. Teachers used to despise you for your tardiness in high school, and ever since you had always arrived everywhere on time. Luckily, he didn't show any signs of irritation. “I’m dr. Vincent. And it’s alright.” Vincent had a firm handshake and you took a seat in the armchair that was facing another armchair.

“I was just making tea, do you want some?”

You shook your head politely. After he set his own tea cup on a card on the table he sat down in front of you.

“As you know, Michonne is on maternity leave, so from now on I’ll be taking sessions with you.”

You nodded and he grabbed a notebook with a pen, and wrote something that looked like the date. He folded his hands on his knee.

“So Y/n, how are you?” You cleared your throat and let out a small sigh.

“I’m fine, actually. I feel better than expected at least. Today marks the 5 year anniversary of his death, which feels…” you sighed and rubbed your temple with your fingers. “I don’t really know what to feel about that. It’s surreal. I mean, I’m happy that he got what was coming for him, but I just don’t really feel the satisfaction of his death. I’m not a violent person, not at all. But I just wish he suffered more. Is that a bad thing to feel, or say?”

He shook his head and gave you an understanding look. “What happened to you was traumatic. Of course it’s reasonable that you want justice for yourself, and for your family.” He took a sip of his tea.

“It's just so confusing. Like, I know he felt pain in his last moments, and that is something that really calmed me after everything that had happened. I mean, while he was serving his lifetime prison sentence, his face was bashed in beyond recognition by another cellmate. It’s a cruel way to go. Yet I still don’t feel satisfaction for some reason. It’s like a book suddenly ends in the middle. Like it ends with a cliffhanger and the story doesn't come full circle.” You tried to explain as best as possible, but you didn't understand exactly what you felt so it was hard to explain it to someone else.

He however, nodded and intertwined his fingers into a fist on his lap. “I understand, and it’s totally normal. Your mind has suffered so much that your brain hasn’t accepted it. You haven’t found closure yet, which leaves you with an unsatisfied feeling.”

“And that’s the frustrating part,” you groaned. “There are people who have gone through the same thing I have, and they’re doing much better than I am doing. I don't understand how other people do it.”

“You are a unique person. No one will react the exact same way you do. Everyone deals with it in a different way. Some learn to give it space faster than others. Need I to remind you that you were the only person to survive Kai Anderson? Plus, you were 17 at the time. Your brain was still developing.” he explained. “It’s not nothing, going through something like that at that age.”

You let out a sigh, somehow talking about it was still difficult.

“I just… He is haunting me. Even after his death he is still torturing me,” you pinched your nose bridge while closing your eyes. “I used to see him in my nightmares, but now I see him in physical form. He just watches me from a distance. He doesn't say anything, he just stands there. I know it’s not possible, I know it’s not real. But it looks real, it’s like I can touch him,” you explained and he wrote everything you said in his notebook while listening thoughtfully.

“And what do you feel when you see him?” you shrugged.

“I don’t really feel anything. It’s like my mind is blank, like I’m in a trance. All I know is that everytime I see him, I want to smash the smug expression off his filthy face,” you balled your fists.

“When did this start, how often does this recur?” He inquired and you kissed the back of your teeth while thinking back.

“It actually started recently, I think two weeks ago. After that, I saw him everyday. When I go to work, when I visit a friend, when I stand in my kitchen looking outside,” you shivered when you thought about it. “I remember when I first saw him, that I felt like I was losing my mind. I didn't want to leave my house for a while. When I told people what I saw, everyone looked at me like I was crazy. I really felt like I was.”

Vincent clicked his tongue and cleared his throat.

“Do you have disorganized thinking?”

“No.”

“Abnormal motor behavior?”

“No.”

“Any signs of delusions?”

“I don’t think so.”

He scribbled something down again and you waited in anticipation. The only sound that was in the room was the sounds of his pen on paper, and the clock on the right side of the room that was ticking in a nerve wracking manner.

It was as if you were waiting for the result of a test you didn't study for. It was a gnawing feeling.

“Alright,” he started. “Even after all these years, he still has a hold on you. The mind is a powerful thing. It can’t process everything all at once; the grief, the anger, the pain. It’s too much, which is why your brain is playing tricks on you. Especially after the recent killings that have been tormenting Brookfield Heights. Maybe it triggered something again.” You knew about the recent killings, hell this morning you saw the news where yet another couple was found murdered in their home. But you weren't really afraid. Your house was protected and you weren't alone.

“I just don't understand why I see him, I pushed everything behind me.”

“that's the problem, you’re pushing it away. The harder you push, the stronger it comes back at you.” He interjected.

“What do you want me to do?” you asked.

“Whatever keeps your mind busy. Do you have any hobbies? Anything to take your mind off?”

“I help at my mom’s bar, the Supreme Dominion. She is in France now, so me and my sisters are in charge. It’s really stressful sometimes, but it does keep my mind from wandering.”

“Good. Just try to be as busy as possible, it’s a distraction for your brain,” he kept writing on the notepad, and you noticed he was already on the next page. “I’m prescribing you a different antipsychotic, paliperidone. In the meantime if you see him again, I want you to try and convince yourself that he isn’t real. Now, I know that sounds easier than done, but just try. Slowly take control again, over your mind and your life.” He gave you the receipt of the medical prescription, and you nodded friendly as you walked out of his office.

“I’ll try. Thank you Vincent. See you next week.”

After you left his office, you immediately drove by the pharmacy and got paliperidone. You figured the sooner you got it, the sooner things would finally go back to normal. Because that’s all you wanted, to put everything behind you. You didn’t want to see his face ever again, and you hoped that he was rotting somewhere in hell.

The sooner Kai was out of your mind and life, the sooner you could finally breathe in peace again.

But what you didn't know was this week would be one of the last peaceful moments in your life.

Because as you walked out of the pharmacy, bag in hand, and no clue whatsoever what was happening around you, a certain blue haired man was standing on the other side of the street, watching you intently as you made your way towards your car.

He wanted to jump you, right then and there, but he composed himself and placed his hands in his pockets as he watched you drive away.

He was going to hurt you, both mentally and physically. And oh boy, he had fantasized about it ever since he faked his death.

The murders of Marie and Bernard Allen he committed yesterday evening, and the previous murders in Brookfield Heights were only to feed his rage, but it didn't satisfy him in the slightest. No, he only wanted one thing. And that was satisfaction in watching you suffer. He wanted to watch life leave your eyes as you breathed your last puff of oxygen. He was determined to kill every last person you cared about.

He found joy when he saw the look of fear in your eyes as you and him made eye contact for the first time since 2016 three weeks ago. In fact, he enjoyed it way too much to mess with you. Making you think you were losing your mind hallucinating him was only the beginning.

There was nothing more dangerous than a man who wants revenge.

And he would break you in every way possible, if it’s the last thing he’ll do.

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