#then its a trigger warning that applies to that manga

[nicastamatis]

possibly the most depressing thing ive ever read! goddamn!

[skzhocomments]

The Rising Empress - Bang Chan Stray Kids Fanfic (Masterlist)

Main Masterlist

Pairing: Bang Chan (of Stray Kids) x OC (name: Aristia)

Genre: non-idol AU, Royal AU, soft enemies to lovers, angst, romance, mature

Word Count: ~64k words divided in 17 chapters

Warnings: explicit, mature, swearing, feelings of hopelessness, angst, depression, crying, domestic violence, depression, anxiety, angst, etc.

This is just a story that doesn’t describe Stray Kids members' true characters in any way. It’s just a product of my imagination and should be treated as such.

This story is also on Wattpad (click here) and AO3 (click here)

A/N: As any other writer out there, I would appreciate reblogs and your comments on this story. Please let me know if you enjoyed it, and most importantly, have fun!

---

Summary:

“I guarantee you nothing will happen to you. I give you my word.” “How much does your word weigh, though?” Aristia scoffs. “You vowed during our wedding to love, cherish, and protect me no matter what. So far, none of your vows were respected. You said it yourself. You were never a husband to me.” “Neither were yours. In sickness and in health, I will stand by your side. With all that I am and all that I have, I pledge my loyalty and my love to you.” Chris scoffs as well. “You didn’t give me any chance to get close to you. You’ve put up your barriers and thought of me as your enemy since day one.” She comes closer to him. “I had no idea we shared an enemy instead, Aristia. Truly. I thought you were a spy.” “You didn’t even ask me anything. You dead bolted me.” “How could I have trusted you? You are the daughter of my enemy.” Chris frowns. “I don’t know. How can I trust you now, then? You are a man who hates me for simply being born as a princess of the enemy kingdom.” “… I assume you can’t.”

---

The Kingdom of the South and the Empire of the Sun forge an alliance at the expense of Princess Aristia - the daughter of a King who didn’t want her, sent over like a sacrificial lamb to his enemy, a man who doesn’t want her either, who won’t even cast a look at her. She decides she won’t look at him either. Two can play this game. --- Non-idol AU This story takes place in an alternate universe where Bang Chan is Emperor Mature content ahead. 18+ ©storminsidemycore

Hello!

Storm here!

The Rising Empress is a story I've started writing on 17/01/2024 and finished on 28.10.2024.

I've always been an avid Manga and Manhwa reader, so I've pretty much gotten inspiration from the hundreds of things I've read, which is how this story was born.

I hope you will enjoy it, as I'm extremely proud with how it turned out. It's safe to say that for me personally, this is one of my best, if not the best work.

The main character's name (Aristia) is inspired after the Manhwa The Abandoned Empress - which is where I found this name and its meaning. Apparently, "Aristia" means "Rising Empress", which I found quite fitting for this story.

---

The story and cover are original and my property. Any similarities to other stories are purely coincidental. Aristia, the protagonist, is a made-up character.

Stray Kids members or any other famous people mentioned along this story DO NOT represent their true character in any way, they are simply mentioned in order to provide a visual representation for the readers. Their personas obviously have nothing to do with their true personalities. They're just characters I've created for this story, so please don't take this too seriously.

Mature content ahead. Lots of trigger warnings apply, so please read carefully.

---

18+

©storminsidemycore

---

Chapter 1 - The Sacrificial Lamb - Tumblr + Wattpad + AO3

Chapter 2 - The Wedding - Tumblr + Wattpad + AO3

Chapter 3 - Mistreatment and the Loss of Self - Tumblr + Wattpad + AO3

Chapter 4 - The Bearer of Bad News - Tumblr + Wattpad + AO3

Chapter 5 - Dirt on the Marble Floors - Tumblr + Wattpad + AO3

Chapter 6 - When You're on Your Own - Tumblr + Wattpad + AO3

Chapter 7 - When the Emperor Takes Notice - Tumblr + Wattpad + AO3

Chapter 8 - Envy and Power - Tumblr + Wattpad + AO3

Chapter 9 - Yearning for More - Tumblr + Wattpad + AO3

Chapter 10 - The Battlefield inside the Palace - Tumblr + Wattpad + AO3

Chapter 11 (coming soon)

---

Thank you so much for reading my story, and I'm looking forward to your thoughts!

[delusinaldreamer19]

Hello there,

I’m egregiously bad at social media for some reason, so bare with me. (Idk why I never made a tumbler back in middle school, would’ve helped me out a lot nowadays)

This is my, ahem, ATTEMPT at an introduction/masterlist post 🙃(will more edit/add more later)

I’m a rabid black butler fan of like what 6 years. It’s all I ever think about, I can’t get it out of my head. I am mainly a manga enjoyer, and am indifferent to the un-cannon characters, but I don't interact with them much.

It gotten a lot better with time, but I'll still mention that I have a small spelling disability. ADHD + like 25% undiagnosed dyslexia , or something.

As much as I'm a rabid kuro fan, I am a rabid maladaptive daydreamer, I wasn't kidding when I said it's all i ever think about. Ok its more like 50% if all I ever think about, the other half is taken up by my oc's and their story, but I doubt my oc's will be featured prominently on this blog.

One day I realized, wow, I have this cornucopia of kuro related storylines/AU's, and I'm mostly literate. Why not start writing & sharing them? and any other random thoughts of mine.

So, here we are. I have a few black butler fanfics that I��d like to promote (beg ppl to read). That's mostly what I want to do with this blog, as well as give updates, and share my thoughts since authors notes simply cannot contain me.

(these descriptions are very bear boned, they have proper ones on Ao3)

Of All The Unexpected

A modern day/coffee shop/friends to lovers Sebagni fanfic, where hygienics ensue, with a heaping dose of dadbastian. STATUS: ongoing

Audacity

Sebastian and Francis Midford have a little discussion about Ciel. STATUS: completed oneshot

Heightened Senses

Just...major trigger warnings apply. A horror mystery that delves headfirst into Sebastian's morals, where he learns that he has them. STATUS: completed

[ao3feed-izuku-midoriya]

Weird

Weird by snow dodecahedron

Autistic Izuku Midoriya is having a bad day. The autistic struggles of dissociation/derealization.

This is a vent fic because I need a way to describe these things. Read if you like. Nothing really triggering, except descriptions of dissociation/derealization obviously.

Words: 722, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga)

Rating: Not Rated

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Gen

Characters: Midoriya Izuku, Todoroki Shouto

Additional Tags: Midoriya Izuku-centric, Autistic Midoriya Izuku, Dissociation, Derealization, vent fic, Autism Spectrum, Todoroki Shouto is a Good Friend, Autistic Todoroki Shouto, Todoroki's special interest is psychology now, I don't know what to tag this because its really just a way for me to vent, Probably ooc

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/47928127

[sanguinechevalier]

# 𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐔𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐕𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐑. a writing blog for 𝙷𝙰𝙹𝙸 𝙱𝙰𝙷𝙳𝙰𝙽𝙾𝚅𝙸𝙲 from the animated and novel series, 𝙱𝙻𝙾𝙾𝙳 𝙿𝙻𝚄𝚂. performed by moe.

♢      —       [ ... ]  notes from the musician.

content trigger warnings: death, violence, murder, experimentation, sexual assualt (mentioned only), child death, abuse, gore, racism, discrimination, etc.

extra notes: you can read more about Haji in his wikia here. mature themes involved.

INTRODUCTION. Moe (she / her) twenty-three. african-american and cherokee indian. I also have ADHD and I can be an incredibly impulsive writer sometimes.

𝙿𝙾𝚁𝚃𝚁𝙰𝚈𝙰𝙻. as confirmed from the light novels of Russian Rose and an interview with Junichi Fujisaku, Haji is a Romani man. However, I also personally headcanon him as ambiguously asian who just happened to be born in France during the 1850's -- this makes him biracial as Romani and Asian. There will be themes exploring his chiropteran biology (vampirism) as a chevalier, his Roma identity, his mental health and so forth. My canon mainly sticks to manga Haji for his more fleshed out personality, but I do draw inspiration from the anime at times.

𝚂𝙷𝙸𝙿𝙿𝙸𝙽𝙶. Haji is a deeply traumatized person and copes with that by usually dissociating or becoming distant with others and doesn't easily open to everyone. That being said, while I am open to exploring his romantic side with more than just Saya Otonashi, chemistry will still need to be established between our characters.

𝙵𝙾𝙻𝙻𝙾𝚆𝙸𝙽𝙶. I don't always follow everyone back, it's absolutely nothing personal. I just don't see how our muses could interact. If you want to plot with me please come with an idea of some kind -- otherwise I won't be interested.

𝚄𝙽𝙵𝙾𝙻𝙻𝙾𝚆𝙸𝙽𝙶. I usually soft block if I don't want to follow someone anymore or they make me uncomfortable. The same is applied for me, block me if I make you uncomfortable or you don't have an interest in following me anymore, there won't be any hard feelings.

𝙲𝙾𝙼𝙼𝚄𝙽𝙸𝙲𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽. That being said however, I am a strong advocate for communicating with my partners. You need to tell me upfront if I've done something that made you uncomfortable. Otherwise, I won't know and therefore can't correct myself or maturely address the issue.

𝙳𝙸𝚂𝙲𝙾𝚁𝙳. I honestly prefer using discord to roleplay with people. It's a more effective and smooth way of writing instead of having to cut posts with xtoolkit (which I'm still learning how to use) with difficultly due to how Tumblr updates have changed its platforms and posting functions. So please, if you have discord, don't be afraid to ask.

[ao3feed-kiribaku]

Rebuild Renew Restart

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/Bcu0k2e by Scarlet_Traveler He wasn’t able to keep looking at the injury as the creature’s head turned toward him. Dark horns curved back at the top of its head, and smoke puffed from flared nostrils. Sharp teeth bared in a snarl, and slitted red eyes that reflected the beam of the flashlight locked onto Katsuki, triggering his fight or flight but keeping him pinned in place, too shocked to move. Holy shit. It was a dragon. ~ Where magical creature rehabilitator Bakugou rescues a dragon that is more than it seems. Words: 5618, Chapters: 1/4, Language: English Series: Part 12 of PopRocks Fandoms: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: Gen, M/M Characters: Bakugou Katsuki, Kirishima Eijirou, Midoriya Izuku, Uraraka Ochako, Todoroki Shouto Relationships: Bakugou Katsuki/Kirishima Eijirou, Bakugou Katsuki & Kirishima Eijirou, Bakugou Katsuki & Midoriya Izuku Additional Tags: Pre-Slash, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Alternate Universe - No Quirks (My Hero Academia), Alternate Universe - Veterinarians, magical creature vets :D, technically a rehabilitation center, Veterinarian Bakugou Katsuki, Dragon Kirishima Eijirou, Dragon Shifter Kirishima Eijirou, Bakugou Katsuki & Midoriya Izuku Friendship, because I said so, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Blood and Injury, Medical Procedures, Medical Inaccuracies, I did research but it's being applied to mythical creatures so y'know. you've been warned, Bakugou Katsuki Swears A Lot, Protective Bakugou Katsuki, Soft Bakugou Katsuki, Other Additional Tags to Be Added read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/Bcu0k2e

[ideas-on-paper]

Ohh, I really like this theory, especially since it lines up so well with the Ghost in the Shell-esque interpretation that I have (ever since reading the manga earlier this year, it has become something like my philosophical guide and encyclopedia for all questions pertaining to artificial life).

Creating a full-body cyborg (aka a human with a fully artificial body) in Ghost in the Shell requires a live transplantation of the brain, which is encased in a container for protection. Thus, the brain is the only natural organ that full-body cyborgs still have, as it contains the mind, memories, and consciousness - colloquially known as the "ghost" - of the individual. This means that despite switching to an artificial body, a full-body cyborg is the same person that they were before. Applying this logic to Lies of P/Romeo and Sophia, all you have to do is essentially replace the brain with the heart as the seat of the ghost (or the "soul"), and voilà - there you have it.

Completely artificial robots with no organic body parts are a different matter, though - unlike cyborgs, they are said to possess no ghost, or at least just a "lower grade" version of one (interpretations regarding this matter vary). There is, however, a very interesting story in the Ghost in the Shell manga called "Robot Rondo", whose contents were eventually adapted in "Ghost in the Shell 2 - Innocence".

[Spoiler warning for the Ghost in the Shell manga + trigger warning for human trafficking, non-consensual body modification]

Basically, some robotics engineers took a bunch of trafficked girls, copied their ghosts (against their will), and placed these ghosts into the bodies of lover robots (because all lover models without human ghosts were "too stiff" and acted "too unnatural"). It's a quite disturbing story, but there was one detail that particularly stood out to me: Upon being found by the police, one of the rescued girls explains that all of them were divided into different "levels" depending on how far they had progressed, and regarding one of the other children, she says:

"We are level 4, sir! Gosseyn has already transitioned to level 5 and is someone else entirely now!"

[Spoiler + trigger warning ends]

The keyword here is someone else - because as Batou explained previously, copying the ghost inevitably deletes the original, meaning that the human person dies. Typical of Ghost in the Shell, however, this isn't seen in an exclusively negative light, with the author commenting that "if one considers the ghost to be a "phase" or a "phenomenon", I could imagine that by the process of copying, the original disappears and something new is born instead".

If we apply this logic to Carlo and P, that would mean that the ghost in its original form (as Carlo) has died and transitioned into a different "phase" (as P). While it's still the same ghost, the two incarnations significantly differ from each other and are by no means the same person.

I already had this kind of thoughts before, and if your theory were true, that would pretty much confirm it. Still, I probably need some time to further polish this thesis (also, I should really read the Ghost in the Shell manga again xD).

Another possibility I have thought about is by consuming all that Ergo, P might have actually become something like a gestalt intellect (like an amalgam of multiple human souls). In fact, I wonder if creating a human gestalt is what Simon actually meant by creating his "world of truth". (Since we also had the topic of telepathic communication via Ergo waves, and a note saying that "Ergo hearts connect minds with wavelengths. That transparent fullness where lies cannot exist.")

The major question of the story that we are now asking:

Why, exactly, does Carlo never "wake up"?

[long post]

[Spoilers ahead]

Well, simply put - Because he is dead.

OK, that seems like too obvious an answer, but I'll elaborate, and bear with me here. I want to recap some elements first so you know where I'm coming from, but I'm also trying not to completely explain everything because that's way too hard and would be too long.

[Currently, we don't understand everything about the story or its meaning. Because of some of the shrouded nature of the lore and narrative, it leaves much mystery. But from viewing these questions and the story from a thematic standpoint, something unexpected and really cool happened. I found that the story and the lore opened up in reverse.]

The easiest way to explain the plot (in my opinion):

It was my impression that Geppetto never “started” the puppet frenzy. The puppets were NEVER breaking the grand covenant, interpretably they are protecting humans by stopping the spread of the petrification disease, it’s just that everyone in the city was infected by that point. 

Now with the puppets killing everybody in a city where everyone was infected (ergo being the result of the disease) Simon can go around harvesting all that ergo and Geppetto presumably plays him by letting Simon collect the Ergo first, and then sending P to kill him. [again, these details may not be completely accurate, but bear with me here]

Why create P in the first place?

He's made in Carlo's image so to speak because Geppetto hopes that Carlo's spirit will awaken. This is also why P is never bound to the covenant (it seems that not being bound to robot laws makes puppet egos awaken faster, since awakened puppets can break the grand covenant). So that is the two functions of P, to destroy puppets for ergo to harvest and so Carlo's consciousness can restore. I was just guessing that the arm of god was enough to get Carlo to revive, and Carlo's mental spirit reviving would be helpful but not entirely necessary. But for reasons we don't understand, Carlo never does regain consciousness.

Geppetto bitterly tells us that we don't seem to have inherited Carlo's memories. There is no big moment where Pinocchio or Pino or P reawakens, fully, as Carlo. He isn’t treated by the story as him. During the course of the game, P struggles to forge his own identity, to become a real boy, despite starting as a copy of the original. It’s a very fitting parable for the genre identity of a soulslike.

However, there are other successful re-incarnations of people through puppets, namely Sophia at the end of the Rise ending. We ask, for consistency's sake, why are puppet-form Romeo and puppet-form Sophia assumed to have retained their original identities, but not Pino? This is just my personal interpretation of why Carlo just couldn't or doesn't wake up. It isn't really based any lore or deduction from story details, this is from more of a philosophical point of view. And it isn't just the luck of the draw.

I had some initial thoughts about Carlo's failure. Romeo was made with intention of continuing to fight against the disease, as it's told that he "made a deal with the devil". Sophia may have been a special case, as she is a listener (Arlecchino even refers to her as the goddess in the tower), she may have had an ergo identity so strong that her essential self could retain this process. But either way, the implication is that Pino may have been able to recover her not long after that final fight. Look at the nameless puppet. The state of Carlo's body is so poor, that more than not his body seems to have been replaced with puppet parts. I think the implication was that Geppetto had been replacing parts as they rotted away. Maybe he had simply been dead for too long. But again, this isn't exactly why I think he couldn't awaken.

Simon and Geppetto

Lies has two main antagonists, although one isn't completely revealed until the last section. Both Simon and Geppetto are the perpetrators of Krat's destruction, but for what seems like different reasons. Simon is trying to be reborn, and Geppetto is trying to revive his dead son, Carlo. Interpretably, they are both trying to become Gods. Simon by grasping the supernatural, cosmic power of one, and Geppetto by raising the dead. They have destroyed Krat in their attempt to become a god, or more succinctly put, attempting to become God, singular. Geppetto's goal is, in essence, the same as Simon's goal - Because bringing back the dead would make him God.

That's why it seemed all so confusing. Haven't Geppetto and the alchemists already raised the dead, as Pino does at the end of the Rise ending with Sophia? Sophia, Romeo, and Carlo were all afflicted with the disease. Their Ergo were all made into puppets, but there's a minor but important distinction here. Sophia is still alive in her condition and actively suffering, this is the reason why she asks us to end her life. It seems as though Romeo lost his friend to the disease, and then made a "deal with the devil" to continue fighting, this implies being made into the king of puppets. We collected Sophia's ergo while she was alive, which we then used to animate the puppet. So the three of them were afflicted with the petrification disease. Sophia perished, Romeo perished, but Carlo died.

Now if we see the sand memories section of the beach, the stalker's words start to gain some clarity. If Carlo died from an incurable disease that the stalker couldn't prevent, why is she too late? Perhaps the goal was never to "save" Carlo's life. She laments; That she was too late, NOT to "save" him, but for him to be able to be restored. The stalker seemed to understand that whatever procedure needed to be done would be useless past the point of death.

I have to admit that there was something that I thought could override my theory. It seems as though the alchemists already were able to bring back both Champion Victor and The Eldest of the BRB, and from the dead no less. We read from notes in the Grand Exhibition that Victor had caught the disease, died to the despair of his adoring fans, but then miraculously made a comeback somehow stronger than ever. But maybe - he had only appeared to be brought back from the dead to the public, as Victor sought the help of the alchemists. And when it comes to the Eldest in the coffin, I'm wondering if he was actually only mortally wounded, leading the brotherhood to consult with the alchemists. [The way he was carried out by his brothers too (shouldered on either side) isn't typically the way you would expect people would handle a dead person]

Mirroring Sophia, Romeo, and Pinocchio, who were made into puppets: There is Champion Victor, The Eldest, and Nameless Puppet. We can see the former three as Geppetto's method of "cheating" God (cheating Death), and the latter three as alchemists' method. Only "Carlo" has a form in either one - The Nameless Puppet and the player, P. The Nameless puppet appears to share a similar undead quality with Victor and The Eldest of the BRB (including the tubes). We know that the collected Ergo can animate puppets, They are puppeting around their own dead bodies.

I feel like the Nameless Puppet tells us in a poetic way that Carlo is gone. My thoughts on this are more abstract. Again, this isn't from a factual analysis, but more of from viewing the Nameless Puppet itself as a metaphor. The Nameless puppet has qualities similar to the other undead bosses, yet the game doesn't describe it like it does Victor and the Eldest. It's not a body. It is a puppet [Human on the outside, mechanical on the inside - the inverse of our protagonist]. And straight in the text, we are told this is "The Nameless Puppet". But we know who Carlo was. His name was Carlo. We split open its head, and there are only cold, mechanical parts, instead of what we in the modern world now regard as the very most essential self (the brain). Because there was nothing to recover, there is no one there. Carlo's spirit had long, long since departed the world.

We are also told through one of the game's narrative devices that the Nameless puppet was the first puppet fitted with the organ. Ostensibly, Carlo's body was being prepared for whatever procedure that needed to take place, but Carlo died before that could happen (perhaps thankfully), and Geppetto pushed forward with his plans anyway, perhaps past the point of no return.

There are two forms of revival and we represent one of them, as in, there was the puppet form of Carlo and the undead form of Carlo. Presumably, the undead form was incredibly destructive, and thus stored away; We are the second try for Carlo's rebirth, this time in the puppet form, but we cannot even wake up without the aid of Sophia.

Lies, God, and the Finality of Death

But doesn't Geppetto actually succeed in one of the endings? Simon fails to become a god, (well, presumably only because we kill him in the process of doing so) and then we confront Geppetto. If we hand over our heart, Geppetto actually does revive Carlo. We see the resurrected Carlo, but with one simple smile we realize this isn't the Carlo the game has been leading us to believe existed. This ending leaves us with distrust and unease rather than a sense of peace and resolution. Simon fails to become a god, and at the bad ending - even if he "wins" - the game makes us wonder if So does Geppetto. No matter what, Carlo could NEVER be truly, and in both senses of the word, honestly, be revived.

[Simon Manus - like Simon Magus, the biblical figure who tries to buy into the supernatural power of God. And Geppetto, of course alluding to the 1883 italian novel The Adventures of Pinocchio - a puppet master, a creator indeed, but of wooden imitations of life, and a poor imitation of God]

So, why I think Carlo could not wake up? Because whatever needed to happen could not be done after the actual point of death, and Sophia and Romeo's hearts were both transferred before they actually died. His spirit had long gone from this world. Krat has methods of eternal life, but these transfers happened while they were still alive. While the alchemists and Geppetto could certainly cheat death (as we maybe even would with modern day medicine), they could not defeat it. Carlo can no longer wake up, Carlo can never wake up again, because he is dead.

[ladysunamireads]

Weird

Weird by snow dodecahedron

Autistic Izuku Midoriya is having a bad day. The autistic struggles of dissociation/derealization.

This is a vent fic because I need a way to describe these things. Read if you like. Nothing really triggering, except descriptions of dissociation/derealization obviously.

Words: 722, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga)

Rating: Not Rated

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Gen

Characters: Midoriya Izuku, Todoroki Shouto

Additional Tags: Midoriya Izuku-centric, Autistic Midoriya Izuku, Dissociation, Derealization, vent fic, Autism Spectrum, Todoroki Shouto is a Good Friend, Autistic Todoroki Shouto, Todoroki's special interest is psychology now, I don't know what to tag this because its really just a way for me to vent, Probably ooc

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/47928127

[ao3feed-danganronpa]

Interruptions

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/hjUWcNK

by Kirbytin

Hope’s Peak was considered one of if not the best hero academies in Japan. Its only rival being U-A high, which had quickly risen to prominence in previous years. Many believed that Hope’s Peak’s scouting methods were outdated. That U-A’s entrance exam was the best way to find new young heroes.

 A short one-shot crossover

(This is a collection version, I don't know how to put pre-existing fics into a collection)

Words: 1030, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga), Super Dangan Ronpa 2, Dangan Ronpa Series, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Other

Characters: Midoriya Izuku, Naegi Makoto, Tsumiki Mikan, Toga Himiko, Dabi | Todoroki Touya, Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic, Bubaigawara Jin | Twice

Relationships: Naegi Makoto/Tsumiki Mikan

Additional Tags: Canon-Typical Violence, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crossover, Non-Sexual Bondage, Non-Consensual Bondage, Possibly Unrequited Love, can also be seen as couple reunion

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/hjUWcNK

[asparklerwhowrites]

writing military fantasy and scifi

navigation | reposting policy

military fantasy is GODTIER. BEST GENRE. i love it with all my heart and soul and its my current obsession so. you get a post about it.

i love both military fantasy and scifi, so this post applies to both in general!

#1. Weapons.

If you’re leaning to a more fantasy-based military story, maybe with magic and all, you might want to choose more midevalish weapons, all of which is freely available to be researched! You don’t have to stick to swords and spears; there are a variety of weapons that can be used! You can make up some of your own too :))

If you’re going more towards scifi/modern warfare, you’ll want to know more about modern weaponry like tanks, guns, etc! Once again, try to make up your own, especially in scifi where it doesnt need to be “realistic.” For example, in the 86 novel series, there is a “railgun” that’s a gigantic weapon with a 400km range movable on train tracks. So really, go wild.

#2. Strategy

Strategy is complicated. Depending on whether you’re going to have a traditional military structure, you’ll have and infantry (foot soldiers who participate in close combat) and a cavalry (in the past, referring to soldiers who rode on animals like horses, and in the present those who fight in armoured vehicles)

I’d recommend checking out the wikipedia page on military strategies. It’s a bit complex if you’ve never studied it/read about it before, but try to understand it. You don’t need to be an expert on it - just make sure that whatever the situation is in your story (a siege, outnumbered by enemies, holding the battle frontiers) has a strategy that makes sense. It shouldn’t be stupid. Some great books with great strategies are the Poppy War series (ensure you check trigger warnings!) if you want an example of good, written, believable military strategy. 

The 36 stratagems is an excellent resource too! A lot of websites simplify it and its a goldmine for understanding strategy.

#3. Understand the importance of supply routes, forests and rivers

Easiest way to screw over a city? Cut off their supply routes. How long will a city survive without an income of trade and materials, bonus points if its a small city with very little farming capabilities. It’s like starving them out. Secondly, rivers. Controlling a river means that a) supply routes are controlled. b) its easy to make an offensive over water than on land, and provides a quick escape route too. Forests? They’re excellent for snipers and picking off travellers and soldiers. Also great hiding places for guerilla warfare (do understand what that is!)

#4. Use actual historical references

If you want to really understand the CRUX of military writing, then look at history. Understand the strategies and techniques of past wars that could apply to your fictional ones! It’s a smart technique - but remember that no-one wants to reread a step-by-step repeat of an actual historical event. Writing military stories means that the writing HAS to be fast-paced, and only important moments/beats of the story can be shown rather than the entire tale.

#5. Recommendations of militaristic stories!

I haven’t READ a lot of books about military fantasy/scifi, but here are some manga/anime/light novel series I really love that are related to this genre!

The Poppy War Series (book series) - The Poppy War is the story of passionate yet ruthless Fang Runin, also known as Rin, who grows up poor, orphaned by a previous war. But she studies and gets into an elite military academy, and develops a gift for shamanism that lets her call upon the fire powers of a vengeful Phoenix god.

Eighty-Six (anime, manga, and originally light novel series) - According to the Republic of San Magnolia, their ongoing war against the Giadian Empire has no casualties—however, that is mere propaganda. While the silver-haired Alba of the Republic's eighty-five sectors live safely behind protective walls, those of different appearances are interned in a secret eighty-sixth faction. Known within the military as the Eighty-Six, they are forced to fight against the Empire's autonomous Legion under the command of the Republican "Handlers."

Vladilena Milizé is assigned to the Spearhead squadron to replace their previous Handler. Shunned by her peers for being a fellow Eighty-Six supporter, she continues to fight against their inhumane discrimination. Shinei Nouzen is the captain of the Spearhead squadron. Infamous for being the sole survivor of every squadron he's been in, he insists on shouldering the names and wishes of his fallen comrades. When the fates of these young souls from two different worlds collide, will it ignite the spark that lights their path to salvation, or will they burn themselves in the flames of despair?

Yona of the Dawn (anime & manga series) - Yona's perfect world comes crashing down when a heinous act of treason threatens to erase all that she holds dear, including her birthright as the princess of Kouka. Left with no one to trust but her childhood friend and loyal bodyguard Son Hak, she is forced to flee the palace. Faced with the perils of surviving in the wild with a target on her back, Yona realizes that her kingdom is no longer the safe haven it once was. Free from the shackles of naivety, Yona vows to do everything in her power to become strong enough to crush her enemies. With Hak by her side, she must piece together the remains of an ancient legend that might be the key to reclaiming her kingdom from those who conspired to steal it from her.

[ao3feed-izuku-midoriya]

Encounter

Encounter by Deku-kun

“This is going to be a difficult mission, and I understand if you'd want to back out any time during my explanation. International missions are always going to be a struggle to deal with, considering other countries’ cultures and languages.”

Ahaha.. But they'd already been tested on their capabilities to see if they would be able to go.. It made sense though? Considering this was kind of top secret-ish.

“The name of the organization is Humarise. It's a cult to be more specific, and has created what we've named as ‘Trigger Bombs’, to effectively wipe out the quirked people. Basically, imagine trigger, except it's so strong that it causes people with, say, minor telekinesis or object attraction, to lift buildings. To put it bluntly, it makes them so strong that everything and themselves die too.”

He perked up, eyebrows pinching together. Where had he heard that name before? --- Prequel to World Heroes' Mission, the briefing, except Humarise is widely known amongst the Quirkless.

Words: 1002, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Gen

Characters: Humarise, Todoroki Shouto, Todoroki Enji | Endeavor, Bakugou Katsuki, Midoriya Izuku

Relationships: Midoriya Izuku & Todoroki Shouto, Bakugou Katsuki & Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku & Todoroki Enji | Endeavor

Additional Tags: My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission (Movie), My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission Spoilers, kind of, POV Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku-centric, Quirkless Discrimination, Briefing, Cults, what do I even tag, Endeavor Internship Arc, Interns & Internships, Pre-My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission (Movie), briefly mentioning that manga panel about world heroes mission (where they did the test thing), Protective Bakugou Katsuki, Soft Todoroki Shouto, Mentioned Bakugou Mitsuki, Shie Hassaikai, its only mentioned, A Lot., My Hero Academia Spoilers, Headcanon, endeavor's mission (the prequel chapter is hinted at)

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/45666769

[missyasf]

Game Of Hearts

| 1 |

↳ Summary: Your life is in monotonous tones of grey, day in, day out. Nothing matters besides your sister, the only thing you remember is seeing fireworks before waking up to Tokyo abandoned . Soon enough you are properly introduced to the deadly Borderlands where you must fight for your life in Games to survive. When things can’t possibly get worse soon division arises and rivalries are made. No matter what though, you are constantly plagued by a blonde who, no matter how hard you try, just can’t seem to go too far without.

↳ Pairing: Chishiya/Reader

↳ Genre: Angst, smut, thriller

Word Count: 11k

___| Next

Trigger Warning: ⚠️ much like the manga/Netflix adaptation this will be a dark fic which includes mentions of prostitution, attempted murder, child ab*se, sexual harassment, heavy grief and attempted suic*de among other things. Additional warnings will be added for chapters when triggers are brought up. Please read with caution if these are triggers for you or just skip all together! 

Side mention: This could be considered a prequel to the current Alice In Borderland. I’m writing based off the Manga bc I was a glutton and couldn’t wait no spoilers will be present as of...

Escapism

noun

the tendency to seek distraction and relief from unpleasant realities, especially by seeking entertainment or engaging in fantasy ♡ 

You had known all about this during your short lifespan, as a child you’d often play pretend with your sister that you were movie stars living in a five star hotel rather than the shitty busted up apartment on the wrong side of town. Escapism came in, many forms. It was often a way for people to cope psychologically, simply because sometimes, facing the reality of your situation can be too much for one person to handle mentally. 

Or at least, that was the topic of your lecture today in class. The human mind always fascinated you. Even at the young tender age when your mom died and you watched your once cozy little family fall apart piece by piece until nothing was left in its wake. 

It was your fascination that drove you now for most things, why? Why, why, why? You always wondered what the motive was behind someone’s actions, not only thing but you wanted to  understand them better, to try and sympathize. You were already fairly intuitive in nature. It wasn’t difficult to read people. In fact your line of work made it easy, you’d watch a man who would be excited to be with you reach for his left finger as if used to touching something. A wedding band perhaps? 

The lowlife cheater was fairly common in a whore house after all. Or the man who had been pissy this morning behind you in line because you had decided to try something new on the menu and you weren’t fast enough, obviously because he was tardy and woke up late, his shirt unbeknownst to him was button the wrong way and his tie loose and even the way his hair fell were all signs of being late to work. 

It was the little things you noticed in people’s facial expressions, the way they moved and spoke. You could read people like a book, and sure sometimes it was useful. But you often wished you weren’t so perceptive. It drove you mad knowing when a potential love interest was no longer interested through a simple text or a friend not wanting to talk by their tone. Sometimes you wished you could just blot it all out, still, you lived like this day in and day out, you were used to this kind of thing and honestly. Friends? Love? Your gaze dropped a little to your feet, the pumps you were wearing a jet black and the heel too high for any respectable woman to ever wear. 

...It wasn’t like you ever had any of those in your life and you had struggled to come to terms with the fact that you could survive without that kind of support. Still...it made you envious, the couple happily holding hands on the sidewalk. The group of friends all laughing at a table while they studied. Oftentimes these feelings are muted, but when you’re faced with something you’ve always craved, those muted feelings suddenly become hyperactive in your mind. 

It’s pathetic, honestly. 

“How dare you! You disgusting slut!” 

In this moment however, you were brought back to reality at just what was happening, you squeaked loudly as you dodged the shoe the woman had thrown at you. This was all a regular occurrence, you had a lot of regulars who weren’t the most amazing people but hey, money was money. But along with them they also left a trail which their wives and girlfriends always followed. And then they always blamed you instead of their partner for leaving them for a prostitute despite you never having agreed to anything such as that.

It really wasn’t your fault, you were just trying to make a living while juggling with keeping up your own education, paying your fathers debts, rent and still somehow getting food on the table. What part time college job could provide that?

Prostitution wasn’t a job you would’ve gone into willingly but given the past and your trauma that was already laced in it you had been learning that sometimes because of the trauma we experience, sometimes people go back to that same trauma and actively participate in it as a way of feeling like they’re in control. 

That whatever happened before, would never happen again if you were in control. You weren’t sure if you qualified under this category, trauma came in many forms but the one most used as an example in your class was that a study showed that women who were assaulted often develop a kink for consensual non consent as a way of coping with what happened, except this time, it’s in a controlled environment where it can end the moment they want it too. 

Again, you weren’t sure you fell into this category, but you often wondered if your line of work was intertwined with your earlier memories when you were younger, if anything it brought comfort to you. Much of it, blotted out now simply because your mind couldn’t take it. Trauma expressed through amnesia was also much more common than many thought, and it’s so small, so easy to miss. After all how can you be aware of something if you have no memory of it anymore?

“Security!” Your manager screeched, two of the bodyguards were already between you and the feral woman who was ready to gut you clean as she screamed hysterically, her husband...your regular....at her side trying to get her to calm down only for her to come to her senses and slap him clean across the face. You didn’t condone violence, but he did have it coming...

You weren’t about to justify cheaters, you couldn’t imagine the hurt someone had to feel that not only did their partner cheat on them, but it was with someone...like you...You had been trying not to put down your job occupation, sex workers were just as valid as anyone else...you knew you would’ve thought this way if it was anyone but you in this position. 

You sighed as you ran your hands through your hair, watching the couple get dragged out of the tight space of the brothel, “Jesus christ....didn’t you say you stopped using perfume because of this?” Miki, your manager sighed as she crossed her arms. You didn’t want to say your manager was your friend but she was the closest you had as you’d often complain to her about most of your problems. Sex work often attracted broken people, it wasn’t something she wasn’t used to. 

“Yeah, but apparently he never got around to washing his clothes…” You wiped your mouth on the back of your hand, “Lipstick stain,” You glanced down at the ruby pink color that stained your skin now, “Fuck...that did hurt.” You rubbed your sore cheek that was still throbbing from where she had first slapped it when she ripped the door open of the room where she got to see with her own eyes you riding her husband. 

It had happened so many times now you weren’t even embarrassed about someone walking in let alone a partner. Miki gave you a lopsided smile as she patted your shoulder, “Guess that just pays for being one of the best here. Did you at least get paid.” 

You nodded, “Yeah, I always make them pay in advanced but I was hoping to get a tip afterwards...He was a lawyer so you know he had good money.” You sighed, crossing your arms, you were well aware of his partner because a lot of the time he didn’t even come in for sex anymore. It was funny how humans work. 

He often felt his wife was overbearing and you had suspected some sort of verbal abuse by the way he talked about her constant screaming. Truthfully, you don’t think he ever intended on cheating with her. He just wanted someone to talk to without being judged, you could relate with sympathy to that, but he unfortunately chose to walk into a brothel instead of a therapy clinic and this truly was the only inevitable outcome. Still, you hope if for anyone’s sake, he gets that divorce for himself. 

 “Hey I think I’m gonna call it a day. I need to get back to Nanami, she was wanting to talk to me about college applications.” You sighed as you rubbed your neck, ever since she had graduated high school she had been chomping at the bit to start applying for college, maybe to just get out of the house and into a dorm. You couldn’t blame her and if she did that it would lighten your load a little. 

Guilt washed over you at the thought as Miki chuckled, “They grow up pretty fast huh? My brother was the same way, except the moment he found out I was a sex worker was the moment he called me a whore and we haven’t talked since. That was probably about five years ago,” She crossed her arms as she sighed, “Crazy how the things we do for the ones we love, never appreciate our effort...I’ll see you tomorrow then?” 

“If I’m not bruising.” You offered a weak smile as you nodded at her before going back to your room to get changed. Truthfully, you much like anyone else, often wished you could go to a world where reality wasn’t a concept any longer. Where you could lay out in the sun for the whole day and just soak up it’s rays with no worries or trepidations. 

But sooner then later everyone had to face their fears. Even you, you supposed. But no matter how hard you fought your demons, they always came back tenfold. Again, you supposed your story was no different from tens of thousands, and yet you all live on regardless. Maybe it’s you who should be the one seeking therapy. Pulling on your jeans and the cropped top over your head before pulling the jacket over your arms and grabbing your bag. 

The walk home was as quiet as ever, your hood over your head and earbuds any unwanted attention, it wasn’t too late at night, only eleven PM and your work had just been getting started but that had ruined the night for you and besides, you had already failed a test today, you could use the sleep tonight. 

Occasionally you’d hear the sirens of  a cop car passing by or a bystander shout, nothing out of the ordinary in this neighborhood. Walking up to the apartment complex you pulled the key from your bag as you unlocked the door. Quietly stepping insides as you shut the door before locking it once more. Your nose wrinkled at the smell of stale air mixed with rotten...something…

If anything, you were always lacking in something, you had been so busy most of the day that you never had time to clean anything leaving the house in a horrible state. Not that you thought this was much of a house. 

Walking down the narrow hallway you opened the rickety door with a missing lock as you gave a brief smile to the small clump of bedsheets. Your sister was curled up and on her phone, eyes darting to the door with a hint of fear before she jumped up, “Y/n! You’re home earlier from night shift already!?” 

You offered a smile as you set down your bag and nodded, sitting down on the mattress that laid on the floor as you replied, “Yeah, a coworker needed the extra hours so I let them cover for me tonight. Besides, you wanted to talk about college applications?” Your sister was under the impression your late night job was bartending at some hole in the wall downtown, where in all actuality you just went there to drink a few days and talk to the loud and sometimes obnoxious, but good hearted bartender who loved talking about his nerdy underaged friends that couldn’t do anything beside stay and drink soda. 

It wasn’t that you didn’t think your sister would accept you, if she knew what you were actually doing. Fear, most times came in many different forms and this was one of them. You simply didn’t want to be judged, even by her. So nobody in your life truly knew who you were, and therefore, how could you hold the expectation for people to accept you into society if you were already self sabotaging yourself? 

All philosophy aside, you were simply a lost soul, looking for your way in the cruel reality called life. 

“Yes!” Nanami was chipper as always as she squealed, clapping her hands, “I…! I was thinking about applying to the university you attend! Maybe I'll get a grant and move into the dorms there? I already applied for several jobs, I’m just waiting on a callback!” 

You offered a small smile as you hugged your knees to your chest, “I think you’d like it there, there’s lots to do around campus. But what will you go in for? The only advice I can offer is be sure it’s what you want to do.” 

Nanami’s face faltered a little as she hummed, “Well...I thought maybe working with animals? I’d love to be an assistant surgeon in veterinarian? I know it’s a pretty...sad job but...I really like the idea of being able to heal such innocent things.” Your smile tugged into a gentle one at your sister. She was too tender for this world.

It had been your goal sense the day your mother died that you took care of your sister, it didn’t matter what happened to you. You could rot for all you cared at the end of the day, all you wanted was to look up and see your sister's smile and her happiness in life blossom. She more than anyone deserved it. 

“I think you’ll be great at it.” You encouraged as you rested your chin on your hand, always happy to see her bounce in excitement as you yawned, your body was used to your demanding schedule but it was always more than happy to welcome a few extra hours of sleep.”

Hearing the door loudly slam close caused you both to jump, Nanami hurriedly crawled back in bed, pretending to be asleep as you frowned. Your dad must’ve come back home from wherever he was. 

“Y/n! Just stay here! Can’t you talk to him later?” Nanami looked scared, she always did when he was around. But you weren’t about to stand down to the bastard any day of the week, you offered a weak smile as you replied. 

“It’s fine Nami, I’ll be just a few minutes.” You replied, you knew that she knew, that was probably a lie. But you’d try your best, for her sake at least. But somebody had to put this guy in his place occasionally and it was always you. It results in a lot of screaming sometimes, other times he’d break down in tears or on a bad occasion you’d get shoved to the ground, a few times hit. Nothing major. 

Walking out of the room you leaned against the wall of the entrance of the hallway watching your father stumble around in the living room, “Did you finally talk to the loan company?” You called out as you asked, not in a forgiving mood tonight. He had said he’d do this for two weeks in a row. The company that sank your whole family into the ground. The reason your mother couldn’t take it anymore and put a blade to her wrist. 

Your father stood up, looking a little wobbly, obviously drunk, “Now listen here little girl I don’t have shit to own to you or anyone else.” You sighed as you tucked your tongue into your cheek, annoyance flowing inside you as you straightened up. You weren’t going to be bullied into being scared of this guy. 

“Actually you do,” Your smile twisted into something more sharp, more bitter and sinister as you walked forward, “See, if you hadn’t of gotten involved in something shady like loan sharks we wouldn’t be drowning in debt and mom wouldn’t have killed herself because of you and both your daughters wouldn’t hate you. I know you drink away all our money in some pathetic attempt to escape from the cold reality that you fucked up your whole life and watched your family slip from your fingers while not even trying to do anything other then put us in further shit,” You closed your eyes as you tilted your head, “But the least you could do, is admit that. You owe us at least that for being a total fuck up.” 

You opened your eyes to find pure rage brewing in your fathers eyes as you smiled once more, this time a false sense of sickly sweet tone to it as you shrugged, “Or you could live in denial, at this point, there really isn’t anything you can do to get anyone back ♡ ” 

You had turned around, planning to tell Nanami that maybe she should go sleep over at a friends house today but you never got the chance, suddenly being slammed into the wall and flecks of spit hitting your face, “I am your fucking father! I deserve respect from you and your worthless sister! Do you know how much I provide for you both?” 

Anger splintered through your veins as you grabbed onto his wrists, his fingers digging into your neck as you squirmed, “Like fucking what!? A shitty broken down apartment that your vacant from because you’re too fucking ashamed of yourself to even look at us sober!?” 

Much like years in the past you weren’t surprised to hear Nanami cry as she rushed out of the room at the sound of you both screaming, “Stop!” She cried out, trying to break you both up, “Stop! Don’t fight! Why…! Why can’t we all just get along!” She sobbed only for your dad to shove her down making her curl up in defeat. 

Alarm bells were triggered in your head at the sight of Nanami on the ground, she had never actually gotten hurt while in your sight and it was triggering something deep inside you as you watched him stalk up to her. Your hands shaking and rage boiling in your mind as you grabbed the closet thing you could find. An empty beer bottle on the table. 

Your vision blurred and you don’t quite remember what happened other than glass shattering over his head and the brute force of you shoving something before blood was stained on your hands. 

How did you end up sitting against the wall? Why was there….blood on your hands…? Your fingers trembled at the metallic sticky substance. All you could hear were Nanami’s sobs and cries as she frantically pushed herself away from the body slumped on the ground. 

“You…! He…!” Nanami’s eyes brimmed with tears as you heard a loud boom making you jump, your eyes darting to the open window where….fireworks, big and bold crashed and crackled before you felt like you were sucked into a vortex making your whole vision black out. 

Your head felt fuzzy and there was ringing in your ears as you groaned, curling up into yourself as the darkness beckoned you closer before you forcibly opened your eyes. You were laying against the hardwood floor. Beams of light streaked through the window and you could see dust particles in the air against the shower of sunshine that streamed in. 

...Wait...Light? The thought had perplexed your head enough to make you push up from the ground, memories pulling into your mind as your breath became shallow, suddenly looking to the side where...you slumped against the wall. It must’ve just been a bad dream….your eyes flickered to Nanami’s curled up figure...a really vivid dream…? Something wrenched in your gut as you rubbed your eyes. What happened? “Nami…!” You whispered, forcing your muscles to move despite their protest as she whined. 

After another moment she reluctantly opened her eyes, flickering around before she suddenly scrambled up, taking a deep breath as if realizing what had happened before, looking towards where your dad once was she frowned, “...I...What…” She seemed just as perplexed as you and if her face was anything to go by, last night had obviously happened, “Is dad…” She looked at the absent place of the floor. 

Leaning against the wall your eyes darted around the room, “I guess so…” You silently felt relief at knowing your dad was still very much alive as you leaned back as you closed your eyes, trying to remember what had happened before everything went dark...oh..! The fireworks...had it been a celebration last night? Your brows pinched together, something felt...off...getting up you opened the door to the apartment walking out. 

“Y/n? Y/n! Hey! Where are you going!” Nanami called out, quickly chasing after you as you frowned, cars were parked odd and there was no one out on the street...as in...at all...Something was very wrong and you couldn’t figure out what. 

“Wow...it..must be a slow day…” Nanami felt a sense of discomfort at the lack of life as you both walked down the side walk, it didn’t just feel like a slow day it felt, apocalyptic. As if humanity just left on it’s own leaving nothing but an empty city behind. Cars were parked on the curb and a few even left in the street.

“No, it’s like everyone vanished...This is really weird.” You wrapped your arms around yourself as you frowned, looking around as you came closer to where typically it would be a booming part of the downtown but it was empty, just as everything before. 

“Well, maybe it’s a national holiday?” Nanami rubbed her head, trying to make sense of the situation just as much as you, surely everyone wasn’t...gone...right? She looked around as she bit her lip, second guessing herself at all the cars that were vacant, “Hey Y/n.” 

You paused as you looked at your sister, curving an eyebrow as she offered a weak smile, “What if everyone got raptured away like they talk about in christanity?” Your expression flattened as she giggled, obviously getting a rise out of you as you crossed your arms. 

Raptured? Where? To heaven? “Wouldn’t it be fire and brimstone then if that was the case?” Nanami pouted at your words as you shrugged, snickering yourself at her expression, the tables now turned as you sighed, “I don’t think there’s anyone left in Tokyo...I mean, it feels like...we’d have seen someone by now...right?” 

“Well…” Nanami frowned once more, a little disturbed at your words as she spoke, “There’s no way everyone could be gone I mean, where would they go? And how could we miss something like that...Maybe the police found us and now we’re under some weird simulation.” 

Chills spilled down your spine as you shoved her making her whine, “Don’t say that! That makes me feel all weird…! I didn’t…!” You cut yourself off, you didn’t what? Murder your own dad in cold blood...you looked down at your hands, they were free of any blood but it still felt like something like sin lingered. Like no matter where you went, it would always be stuck to you.

You didn’t like this, not one bit. Briefly you felt the urge to go hunt down your dad, he was a deadbeat but you would never...you’d never kill him....Right?

“Well…” Nanami hummed her eyes scanning ahead before they jumped to the mall that was up ahead, “Hey…! If nobody is here...maybe we could make use of it! Come on! Let's go!” You yelped at her grabbing your arm before dragging you ahead. Cars were all parked and yet not a single person exited through the mall's entrance. Something just felt off! You wrapped your arms around yourself as you warily looked around the empty mall, “Nanami I really don’t like this!” You looked around, concern bubbling inside you as she ran ahead into the store, digging through the section of clothes as she giggled. 

“Relax! I doubt any of this is real and even so…! Who’s going to stop us!?” She shrugged as she bounced in excitement, “Oh my god! I had dreamed of something like this happening! Now we can do whatever we want! Go wherever we want! Y/n!” She gasped with a smile, “Now we don’t even have to worry about money!” 

“We don’t even know if this is permanent.” You looked around warily, not partaking as she began plucking off the racks, “Regardless of what this is, I don’t like it. I want to go back home, our home. This just doesn’t…” You shook your head, “This just doesn’t feel right.” 

“Well you can feel that way!” Nanami clacked her tongue as she gave a childish smile, “But I’m gonna go through this whole store and get a new wardrobe so feel free to sit on the bench and tell me what you think looks good!” 

Looking away you sighed, unable to pinch the anxious feeling you had away as you sat down reluctantly as Nanami went into the changing room. Well...at least she was smiling and she was happy...With each outfit Nanami tried out and giggled, you giggled with her and maybe things weren’t so bad after all…

“What a perfect day.” Nanami hugged you close as she sighed, yawning as you looked up at the sky in awe, you had seen a single star while living in Tokyo before, but now it was filled with constellations and millions of stars that stretched for miles. You could stare at it for days and days. The sun had just set a little over half an hour ago and you were ready to retire and find something to eat at the apartment. 

You and Nanami had tried going to the food court but much to your dismay everything had been...rotten...soiled and ruined, meaning there was no point in trying to find anything there and you were getting really hungry despite devouring bags of chips you had both got at the convenient store, another thing that stood out to you was that there was no electricity...at all..

Looking back up to the sidewalk something caught your eyes...was that…! Light!? “Hey! Nanami look!” You shook her making her squeak as she looked up ahead, “It’s the hospital! They have electricity there which means there’s other people! Of course! Why didn’t we think to check essential areas!? Come on! Lets go! I wanna figure out what happened.” 

“Alright! It sucks that this is already over but at least I can finally charge my phone, the battery is pretty low.” Nanami nodded in agreement as you both made your way up the road. 

The walk wasn’t too far and you felt excitement fill you at the sight of the hospital all lit up as you walked into the entrance, a frown slowly setting on your lips once more as you walked past the receptionist desk and…! Oh there’s other people! 

You felt relief wash over your as you ran up, there were at least seven other other people here at least! “Hey! Guys oh my god. I thought everyone was gone! What’s going on?” You asked, smiling bright in relief that you and Nanami weren’t the only ones left behind. Was this some kind of evac point or…?

Silence ensued and you slowly began to frown as you felt everyone stare at you as if you were insane, “Um…” You wrapped a hand around your arm, suddenly feeling as if everyone knew something you didn’t, “What’s going on…?” You furrowed your brows as you tilted your head, unsure of why everyone was looking at you like this. 

Somebody looked like they were going to talk to you, a guy relatively around your age but a woman stopped him- his girlfriend maybe? “Stop, the less that know the better chance we have.” She said quietly though you still heard just enough. Fear twisted inside you as you took a cautious step back...The...the less you knew? 

“Wow, you guys are assholes,” A girl suddenly whistled out, she was sitting in a waiting chair, a cowboy hat on her head paired with distressed jeans and...a bikini top? Strange but you’d roll with it if it meant getting answers. She stood up as she offered a smile, “Akari, nice to meet ya’. You folk must be new to the Borderlands huh?” She jutted her bottom lip a little as you frowned. 

“Um I’m Y/n and this is my sister Nanami...?” You introduced yourself despite feeling confused as you raised a brow, “Borderlands…?” You echoed, what was that supposed to be? Other than Tokyo?

Akari gave a nod as she let out a brief chuckle, as if amused by your confusion but you sensed she had no real ill will unlike....your eyes checked to the couple that stood off in the corner on their own, “That’s what they call it here,” She nodded in affirmation as your eyes darted back to her in confusion, “To be frank with ya’, I don’t have a damn clue what's going on. Nobody does. But ever since you crossed the threshold there’s no going back, so I’ll be brief. We’re all considered outsiders here and we participate in games at venues such as this to extend our stay.”

Nanami and you looked at one another confused as Akari waved you over to the table in front of a TV, “Here, you’ll wanna put these on, it’s for the game.” She explained as you carefully picked up the metal bracelet, something about it felt ominous as you reluctantly put it on, jumping at the way it latched together and there was no getting it off now, “Word of advice, just don’t panic and you probably won’t die.” 

“What?!” You screeched as Akari smacked your back, panic evident in your voice as you turned around to face her making her laugh again, this girl was insane! She had to be! “You’re…! You’re joking!” 

Akari wrinkled her nose as she tilted her head, “Ah shit, I wish I was- Oh…! There’s the last player!” Just on que everyone turned to look at who had arrived, someone heaving breaths with their hands on their knees as if they had sprinted. You were mildly worried at why he seemed so scared but you had a feeling that was the least of your problems right now.

“Y/n what’s going on…?” Nanami frightened grabbed your arm as she hid a little behind you due to all these immensing strangers that looked like they were ready to feed you to the sharks, literally. 

The guy walked past you both as he put on his bracelet, your eyes sharp as you watched it latch together automatically, your gaze jumping to everyone's wrists to notice you were all now wearing one. The TV suddenly lit up. 

Game 

You squinted your eyes a little at the sight of the screen, just what were you about to unwillingly participate in…?

Difficulty: 5♣

“The game you will be participating in is, Monster under the bed.”

A playing card? Monster under the bed? Your brows furrowed as you looked at Nanami who shrugged a little despite her concerned expression, looking just as confused as you. You could’ve made a joke out of this, surely it would’ve been easier. Maybe everyone would bust out laughing and you’d be at the end of a poor joke but...somehow you felt that wasn’t the case. Thus paying very close attention to whatever was on this screen, 

“Everyone will be sectioned off into pairs by the number chosen on your bracelet, when the doors to the ward open you will have three rounds ten minutes each to figure out who is the monster under the bed that must be returned to its own, once the ten minutes is up you must hide before you are found. If the selected pair that is the monster is chosen correctly it’s a Game Clear.  If the monster is not found by the end of the third round or if the pair fails to hide it’s a Game Over.” 

Rules: 

Once the doors are open you and your partner must find a hiding spot by the time limit

Both partners must be hidden. If one is exposed to the monster it’s a Game Over for both partners

There will be an X marked on the ground to place the monster of your guess onto. 

You will have three rounds of ten minutes each to find the monster.

Any attempt to remove bracelets results in a Game Over

If the monster is not found by the third round a Game Over.

The only Game Clear condition required is for the monster to be returned by the third round.

What…

What!? 

“Now the game will commence, you have five minutes to figure out who you have been paired up with before the doors open.”

Your mind was blanking as you watched everyone look down at their bracelet, hurriedly you lifted your arm as your mind blanked 2 looking back at Nanami her lips were already quivering as she sniffled lifting her arm in defeat as your lips dropped open, 5.

“Hey! Guess you’re my partner!” Akari grinned as she wrapped an arm around Nanami who sniffled, “Oh…” She looked between you both, “Oh! Oh don’t worry! We’re not the monster so I’ll make sure your sister lives! You should go find your partner.” 

Your hands trembled unsure of what to do before you went to hug Nanami, “Whatever happens just stay calm okay! I need to go find my partner now!” You whispered, kissing her cheek as she sniffled while nodding. 

Everybody was shuffling around looking for their partner now, you passed by a few people, 4, 1, 3...did you even have a partner…? You scanned around, your throat tightening a little in panic, there had to be a mistake! There were only 8 people surrounding you- you yelped at the tight grip that suddenly held your arm forcing you to turn around to be met with a white hooded figure, a lollipop handle hanging and earbuds in before sighing, “So it appears I’m stuck with someone useless.” The man concluded as he stood up making you back away a little as your lips parted somewhat indignantly. 

How...how rude! You looked up, unable to fully make out his face but you could tell you didn’t like him one bit, “I’ll…! First of all I’m not useless! I’m just trying to understand what's going on! This is insane! We aren’t actually going to die from this, are we!?” Pushing his hood down you were immediately met with a snide gaze and cat eyes that leered at you like you were nothing more then dirt beneath his feet, long blonde hair pushed behind his shoulders and his bangs hanging low, suddenly a viscous side smile appeared on his lips, “Apparently so, otherwise I wouldn’t have watched half my last game get their brains blown out and the other half hung.” 

You reeled a little away from the blonde, your face dropped in semi horror, unsure if this was just a sick joke or he was serious. You searched his face a thousand times over, but for the first time in your life, you couldn’t figure out what his goal was. You couldn’t figure out anything about him, except he was exceptionally cold, “Well I don’t suppose I have much choice to doubt you,” He said with an annoying sing song tone as he rattled his wrist that showed the bracelet with a matching 2 on it, “My name is Chishiya, just stay out of my way and we’ll both live.” 

How arrogant! You scoffed as he walked past you, not the least bit bothered at your offense as you whipped around, glaring at his back. How come out of everyone you got stuck with the most…! Pompous! Arrogant! Ugh! You crossed your arms as you followed behind him, stilling secretly sending daggers into his back with your eyes as everyone shuffled into the ward. 

Hospital beds were scattered around the room, a few closets and one large vent at the bottom right corner of the room ahead. 

“Wait, what is this?” The first person to speak was a fair thin older gentleman, he appeared friendly as he observed the room around him, everyone looked around in confusion as you noticed what he meant. 

Any possible hiding spot was covered by either sheets of metal or locked tight...How were any of you supposed to hide if…!? The rules mentioned nothing about solving puzzles to gain access to a hiding spot!

“Forget that,” Another man said with a sneer he was broad and a bit older, well into his late twenties at least, perhaps a gym coach? Or maybe a wrestler of some sort? He looked like he could break you and nearly every other person in this room like a twig, “We need to figure out who’s the monster. “ He cracked his knuckles as you leered a little away and nobody spoke for a second. 

Of course, who would out themselves as the monster, more importantly, how does one even know they’re the monster? You could immediately feel tension rise as the previous, more patient man spoke, a little more collected, “How about we just check one another's’ watches! If anywhere it would show us on that! One pair should work on solving these puzzles here so everyone has a place to hide” 

“Unless the monster is among us and it sabotages us so we all die by the time limit.” The girlfriend crossed her arms as she darted her eyes around. Truthfully you didn’t know what to believe, the wording on the soundbox was rather confusing as to just what were you looking for. Was the monster supposed to be in the group or it’s own entity?

“If that were the case it would’ve showed up on our watches, which it didn’t. So that won’t work.” Chishiya spoke matter of fact, his tone cool as his eyes gazed across the room before he walked away from the group inspecting various hiding spots granted you didn’t think he was about to help anyone but himself, if anything you were at least lucky that him securing a hiding spot meant it was one for you as well. 

You looked at everyone in confusion, some arguing while others scattered to look for a hiding spot as the clock ticked down. You breathed in relief at the sight of Nanami and Akari both going for a bed to hide under. Your gaze finally found Chishiya’s form before following him, unsure of what you were supposed to do, if anything outside trying to figure out just what the monster even was. 

You glanced up at the digital clock that stood above the entrance you had just come in from, it was already a minute in before you searched the floor where you found a red X in the center of the room, that must’ve been the...what? Offering spot? You cringed a little at the idea. Looking forward you peered behind Chishiya’s shoulder deciding to not think about that, it seemed the metal sheet that had wrapped around the bed and was sealed to the ground was locked by some sort of metal device…? Contraption? Lock?

“Isn’t hiding under a bed a bit obvious…?” You frowned as you crossed your arms, unsure as you looked behind your shoulder once more to where accusations were already being thrown in the group. 

“The vent is a decoy to make you waste time, I already checked,” Chishiya replied, his fingers nimble as they rattled the metal, “And even if someone were to accomplish it in the time limit it’s the most obvious spot the monster would first check. Next would be the closet given it’s at eye level and the first thing one is drawn too when they walk into a room.” 

Your lips parted a little in surprise at his assessment...obviously he wasn’t just overconfident, “And why this spot?” If he had really thought about all this in less than a minute then...did he have a reason for this spot? You now found yourself, slightly less annoyed and a little more curious as to what was going on in his mind. 

“If the monster were to check a bed it would be after his eyes are drawn to the closet. Next in that line of sight would be the vent directly across it, which would be his next place to look if not his first and vice versa. The beds are all staggered throughout the room making them less conspicuous compared to the other hiding places, the bed on the far end of the room would be no good.” 

Your brows furrowed in curiosity at his assessment as you watched Chishiya blow a piece of hair from his face, wiggling out one piece of the knotted metal, “It’s too far from the entrance where as the one in the middle is by average the one most people would start with, where as the first? It’s almost too soon in the start to look there thus making it the safest.” 

“It’s them! They’re over there conspiring!” You both twisted around to watch the broad man point an accusing finger at you both as your eyes darted from him to the clock on the wall, which read at six minutes. A few other pairs, relievingly so was your sister had started working on a hiding spot while a few others stood around and argued. 

Your face coiled a little as you replied, not appreciating the accusation to such a baseless accusation, did they not realize the longer they argued the less time they had to secure a hiding spot? “Someone who’s terrible at playing the minority would often be the first to point fingers. There’s only six minutes left before the first round is over and we need to hide. But if you want to talk about this then sure,” 

You stepped closer as you crossed your arms, scanning over him before continuing, “Let’s talk about the chances of you being the monster, ever since you first came in you’ve been all twitchy and acting like something is wrong. Even when we first got paired up, you seemed a little panicked. Anyways,” You turned around as you spoke, “How do we know one pair is a monster and not one single person?” 

“Eh,” Akari sat on the bed that her and Nanami chose as Nanami fumbled to work out the puzzle, she had always been good at those! You felt assured as your heart beat frantically at the idea of them not being able to get a hiding spot in time, “Let’s all calm down,” She gave an awkward laugh, “This isn’t a hearts game, we shouldn’t divide our trust. This is a team building after all which means this game should be making us work together, the last thing we need to do is throw that away on our own accord.” 

“...Team building?” You frowned as you murmured having not been aware that this was some sort of game category...Hearts? Clubs? The memory of the playing card flashing on the screen appeared in your mind again, right...was that to stand for some kind of game genre? If Clubs stood for team building then...there should be no reason that the monster is any of you. Why would they even suggest that to begin with?

Then...what was the monster? 

“One minute remaining.”

The lights suddenly began flickering, “Got it.” Chishiya yanked the last piece of metal undone as he pulled the sheet of metal off, everyone was now scrambling and the few who had not done their puzzle were now panicking. Getting down you crawled under the bed, your back flat to the ground as you inhaled sharply as you noticed the lights beginning to dim, “This is...uncomfortable.” You mumbled, trying to ignore being pressed shoulder to shoulder with a man you didn’t even know besides him having a god complex, “We should’ve went with the vent.” 

“By all means, if you want to try and get yourself killed already. Go for it.” You turned to look at him, dark endless cat eyes meeting you as you harshly glared at him, why was he so condescending!? 

You were about to snap back something before you realized it was completely dark and the door slammed open causing you to jump. Was your heart always this loud? You could see the heavy boots step against the ground making you unsteadily inhale, swallowing as you closed your eyes. You could only place your trust that Chishiya hadn’t picked a horrible spot. 

More importantly your mind was plagued with worry for your sister, you had been so caught up you hadn’t even tried to help her yet...did she even…! You heard a sudden loud scream from two people causing you to stiffen as you looked up at the bed frame lined with wooden planks. You could only cower back down at blood suddenly painting the floor.

Your stomach suddenly churned as you covered your mouth. So he wasn’t lying. Chishiya however looked just as nonpulsed as he did when he first told you himself, his eyes blankly staring up at the bed frame as if this was just a regular game of hide and seek as people screamed as they were torn apart. 

Or that’s at least what you assumed it was. 

After an agonizing few minutes the doors finally closed and the lights flickered back on making you breath in relief as you waited a moment, could you even bear to face what was waiting on the floor? You winced a little before something caught your eye. What was with all this extra wood stuck in the frame? 

Chishiya had already gotten out from under the bed and before you suddenly heard a few girls scream, your sister among them making you puff and breath as you scrambled from beneath the bed.

Standing up your mouth agape at the horrid sight of the female and the broad male that had been too focused on accusing others, they didn’t have...enough time...it looked like they had been completely mutilated, blood pouring on the floor and the smell made you want to gag as you looked away. 

“Well, now what do we do.” Akari scratched her head, also not looking phased that two people had just been brutally killed. Your eyes stayed placed on the bodies before they slowly trailed to your hands, the memory of blood staining them still fresh in your mind. 

“Well we have to figure out where the monster is?” The girlfriend of the couple spoke up, she looked around somewhat suspiciously, “But I’m not sure where we could find it? Maybe it has to do with the bracelets? Maybe there’s a clue hidden.” 

“Oh what about in the cabinets?” The collected man from before offered as he went to search the cabinets, your frown furthered as you glanced around. Everyone was now getting along, still on edge but along at least. 

Chishiya only leaned against the wall, his hands in his pocket as he rolled the lollipop in his mouth, his gaze the same steely one it was before as if he had done his job in securing his temporary salvation and was now done. 

Or maybe he just didn’t know what to do? It was obvious his strength didn’t lie in teamwork, clearly. But then again, you weren’t sure what was going on, you couldn’t get a read on him. Crossing your arms you stayed beside him, your eyes briefly washing over your sister who was working Akari to dig through a desk together. 

“Cabinets and drawers are too obvious.” 

Chishiya’s eyes flickered to your figure, his expression just as cold if not...a little smug maybe? He said nothing in return as you continued, “If we’re looking for a monster, it’s obvious it’s a metaphor for something. Inanimate most likely,” Your eyes flickered around the room, inhaling sharply, why did it feel like the answer was right in front of you? 

Think…! You glanced at the clock, only six minutes left. The rounds were really short…! “It’d be something small and inconspicuous, something that’s in plain sight….but easy to miss...and the game said it was a pair which means there’s more than likely two.” 

“Three,” You glanced at Chishiya as he spoke, pulling the lollipop from his mouth, that permanent smug look on his face as he answered, “Two is what they want you to think and if you spend a round searching for each like they hope it’s game over by three.” 

You rubbed your neck as you frowned, “It’s already the second round and we haven’t even found one…” You glanced around before you suddenly perked up, “Wait…!” Getting back down on the floor you laid on your back as you pushed yourself under the bed, “Chishiya! Help me get this thing out!” 

Within a moment the blonde appeared as well, his eye sharp and keen as they noticed straight away what you were tugging at, “You think this is the monster?” 

You looked at him as you raised a brow, “We have less than four minutes left on our second round, you have a better idea?” Chishiya said no more but helped regardless, successfully with the both of you maneuvering it around from beneath the wooden boards you managed to get it out. 

Holding it up you looked at it, “It’s a poppet doll.” You turned to face him as you smiled in accomplishment, “They’re typically used as curses to place upon people in folklore. If anything is a monster, this would be it.” 

Excited at your first victory you pulled out from beneath the bed as you waved it up, “Hey guys! We need to start looking for something similar to this! If not a replica.” Everyone huddled around you examining the doll before the microphone sounded, “One minute remaining.”

Everyone had immediately scrambled back to their hiding place as you ran to the red X, placing the poppet on it, that's the reason that had to be there right!? You’d just have to see, hurriedly you ran back to your spot under the bed. Making it just in time as the lights flickered off. 

The door slamming open once more as you slowly inhaled, it had to work right? If not...then you were at a loss for what to search for and you were utterly screwed. 

The boots stomped against the floor past the bed as you closed your eyes, unable to calm yourself. After a moment you heard a screech and something rip open before screams followed making you jump. Chishiya’s eyes were on the feet that stood by the closet that had been obviously ripped open. 

You heard the sound of something wet and a gurgle before a body slumped to the floor and you could hear begging before something got snapped in half causing you to close your eyes once more...Did you make it angry!? Was that not it? Fuck. You had never felt this stressed before as it roamed around, passing in front of your bed as you tensed.

Was this your last moment alive? Truly? 

Much to your relief, the door closed once more before the lights followed, flickering on, relaxing a little you sighed as you reluctantly got out from underneath the bed with Chishiya to see what had happened. Much to your horror it was the man who had been so kind this whole game and his partner. 

The monster didn’t check anywhere in the first round, yet he did this round? You tried to block out the bodies slumped in the corner as you glanced at the red X, the poppet doll gone. 

“Why- why were they killed!” Nanami’s eyes began to water as she grabbed her head, “This makes no sense!” 

“If it accepts the doll that means we only need two more. What happened to them is irrelevant.” Chishiya stuffed his hands back into his pocket as you glared at him sideways, not appreciating his careless tone. You could deal with it, but you didn’t want your sister dragged into it. 

Grabbing your chin you thought about it for a moment, “Well...the game said to return the monster to its own and…” You glance down at the X, was there some kind of unsaid rule that if you didn’t get all three of them on the first try that it would start hunting down players? “How would a mother feel if they only returned one of its children?” 

“This thing doesn’t have feelings,” The girlfriend of the partners replied coldly, her eyes like steel of her own as she clung to her boyfriend, “It’s as he said,” She waved to Chishiya, “It doesn’t matter, we’ll be like them if we don’t figure this out.” 

You glanced around the room, “Tell me this, if it doesn’t matter, then why did they give us all these different hiding spots?” Everyone was silent, all eyes on you as if your question didn’t make any sense, your eyes flickered to the clock that was nearing eight minutes, you didn’t have time to monologue, “No think about it. The monster never intended to look for us- that was never stated in the rules. So why did they give us all of these choices if we only needed one per pair? My point being, if we found one poppet in our hiding spot then...You get where I’m going with this? Chishiya.” 

He glanced up at you acknowledgement as you curved a brow, your lips threatening to tug into a smile as you tilted your head, “How confident are you in solving that vent?” 

He glanced back down and for the first time, you watch a cocky wide smirk twist onto his lips, “You’re lucky to have someone as smart as me here to be able to open it.” You tucked your tongue into your cheek as in annoyance as he sauntered over to the vent already getting to work, “As for everyone else, we need to open up as many of these as possible to find the other two.” 

Everyone immediately scrambled to get to work, with only seven minutes on the clock this was...going to be difficult. First Nanami and Akari searched all the opened spots as you worked on another bed. Rubbing your head as muttered, “Shit...I never was good with puzzles.” You awkwardly hung your head in defeat temporarily, briefly letting your eyes shift to Chishiya who was fiddling with several locks, his gaze sharp and you couldn’t even imagine all the calculations going on in his mind. You were somewhat envious of what it would be like to be that perceptive to anything adhering to logic and solution. 

“Aha! Found one!” Akari yanked the poppet from the top of the closest as Nanami covered her mouth, looking like she was gonna throw up being so close to so many dead bodies. You ignored the grisly sight at the second victory of the poppet doll. Akari quickly placed it on the X as you began to work on the puzzle once more, looking up at the clock. Oh no...Oh no there was only three minutes left!

“Chishiya! Hows that puzzle coming along.” You called out, trying not to sound alarmed but you could see the clear cut annoyance on his face as he continued working through the locks, “If you’d like to help while struggling on a novice lock feel free.” He replied condescendingly, not appreciating the pressure. 

You rolled your eyes with huff as you finally managed to get it undone, feeling triumphant as you searched under the bed but there was no luck, “There’s nothing here!”

“Or here!” 

Several people called out as well as you rubbed your head, standing up, “If the only other place that hasn’t been searched is the vent then maybe there’s only two? It did say a pair.” You felt a lump of anxiety well in your chest at the sight of the clock ticking close to a minute and half. 

“Should we really take the risk?” The boyfriend asked as he rubbed his neck, concern on his face as he looked around, “If we’re wrong then we’ll all…” 

You hadn’t even thought of that…

“...! Hey.” You turned to Chishiya who seemed to be trying to get your attention making you immediately come over, if he was asking for you it’d have to be for something important given there was nearly less then two minute on the clock, “Hold this right here.” He immediately pushed your hand onto the lock right where he wanted it, “This is a two handle mechanism meaning that there needs to be two people unlocking it. Push down and out at the same time.”

“Hide! Everyone needs to hide now!”

The lights were beginning to flicker as everyone scrambled to hide, stress evidently put on your shoulders now more than ever. You could only hope he was right with your life on the line, “Now!” You pushed down on your side, the lock sliding as you pulled out, pulling a piece of metal holding up the lock directly out as Chishiya did the same with his side. 

The lock fell off as well as the metal of the gate of the vent, you immediately with no hesitation leaned inside it was dark and hard to make it out anything besides the steep drop off. So he was right, this was a waste of time for a hiding place. 

Looking down you caught sight of wood before laughing in relief, “It’s here! Wait shit! Chishiya! It’s too far down in the vent, you’re gonna have to lower me down to reach it. Time?” 

“Forty five seconds.” You felt unfamiliar hands on your hips lifting you up as you were lowered down, “We have time.” 

You squinted trying to see as you reached down, “Lower me further! I’m not quite in reach,” Your muscles began to ache in your shoulder as you reached harder, growling in frustration, “Time!?” You were lowered a little further, the wooden poppet brushing against your fingers. 

“Thirty seconds! Could you go a little faster?” 

“Could you lower me a little quicker- Ah! Hey did you almost let go!?” You snarled back, grabbing the poppet doll, giving a good yank as it lodged in between the crevice it was in, “Get me back up! I got it. Time!” 

“Twenty seconds.” Chishiya called back, pulling you up as you gasped, pain from the metal jabbing into your stomach evident as you were met with a darkening room. Setting your feet firmly on the floor your eyes flew to the flock fifteen seconds and your spot was all the way across the room….! 

“Where are we supposed to hide!? We can’t get all the way there in time!” You hissed out running to the X as you dropped the poppet down. The lights shut off as the final five seconds counted down and before you could do anything you were shoved to the floor as you squeaked. Your body throbbing in pain and your mouth immediately covered as you were met with the coverage of a bed but neither one of you were bold enough to try and scramble beneath it as the doors slammed open. 

Fuck.

Your whole body was tense as your eyes squeezed shut, you were just a little ahead of the X here, if this is all the poppet dolls...they’d have no reason to go further into the room...unless...Your hand squeezed tight around the wrist of the hand that covered your mouth as you tried to calm yourself at the loud thudded footsteps. 

It was quiet for a moment before you heard more walking before the doors closed. 

“Game Cleared”

The lights turned on as you fell limp against the side of the bed, Chishiya’s hand removed from mouth as you pushed your hair from your face, closing your eyes as you breathed in relief, “Holy shit.” Was all you could mutter to yourself, you had never been more grateful to breathe air in your whole life. 

“I guess you weren’t that useless after all huh.” Chishiya clacked his tongue as you turned your head to look at him, raising your brows as your face contorted into something between insult and amusement. 

You’ve only known this man for a half an hour and yet...something about his words, if you dug down deep past that smug expression of his, was this a compliment? Looking away you pressed your tongue into your cheek, trying to keep from smiling, “Yeah, and you’re still conceited and arrogant but, I guess you have a good reason to be.” You glanced back at him again but you could hardly hold his gaze, something in that brief moment was electrified between you both as you laughed somewhat sheepishly, closing your eyes as you looked away once more. 

What the fuck was even wrong with you? If this was back before today you would’ve totally kicked this guy in the balls and went about your day.

“Y/n!” You straightened up at the sound of Nanami’s voice, your expression brightening as you stood up, quickly running to her as you hugged her tight, “I can’t believe that just happened…” She whispered to you as she pressed her face into your neck. You couldn’t either but, you were thankful you had survived this game. Whatever it was. 

“Come on, let's get out of this room.” You tugged on her arm, no longer wanting to be in this death room despite knowing it was all over. Pulling her out you paused at the sight of the TV and a...register…? You bracelet unlocked as you took it off, tossing it on the table as you tilted your head. 

“Congratulations Game ''Clear ``.''

“...Now issuing visas to those who survived the game…?” You furrowed your brows as you glanced at Nanami who rubbed her head in confusion. You grabbed the receipt as you looked it over with a frown before picking up the 5 of clubs playing card along with it. Odd. 

“It’s how many days you’re allowed to stay now! Almost a whole week, that's a good score for a first game!” Akari called out as she patted your back making you jump a little. 

Almost a whole week…”Until we have to play again to...continue our stay?” You raised a brow, deciding not to ask what happens if you refused. While you had many questions, you had a feeling you knew the answer to that one. 

A part of you couldn’t even believe this had happened, or was it all still a dream. 

“Hey…! Sorry for all of that in there,” You turned to see...oh…! It was the boyfriend of the partner, the gifrlfriend stayed behind looking brooding, “I’m Ryu and that’s my girlfriend Hiroko I was...ah…” He faltered a little, rubbing the back of his neck as his gaze flittered to his girlfriend who was glaring him down, “You should stop by the Beach- I...I think you guys would make good additions! Bye!” He hurried not even finishing his original sentence before scurrying off making you furrow your brows at what he even meant. 

“The hell?” Akari raised a brow as she watched the guy run off, “Seems to me he wanted to chat more…guess we know who's really pulling balls in that relationship.” 

Nanami suddenly snickered, covering her mouth as she giggled, “Hey Akari! Why don’t we stay together! We did really well in the game together!” 

“Awh shit, if you guys really want me too!” Akari offered a quirky smile as you laughed, you had no problems with someone staying behind with you. Looking past Akari your smile faded a little at the sight of a white hoodie exiting the entrance. 

“Hey- I’ll be right back!” You pushed past the both of them who paid you no mind as you pushed out of the exit and down the stone steps, not sure why your feet were making you chase after such an egotistical man but…!

“Chishiya!” You called out, making the man pause, he turned around, pulling the earbuds out as he glanced up from his hoodie, raising his brows in acknowledgement, “Um…” Why did you even chase after him…? You stepped down the last step as you wrapped your arms around yourself. 

It was silent for a moment as you berated yourself internally for why you seemed so speechless all of a sudden. Chishiya however didn’t seem to mind, his eyes absent now as he stared up at the hospital, “I used to do my clinical rotations here.” 

You were broken out of your silent thrashing of internal humiliation as you raised your brows, lips parting in curiosity as you asked, “You were a doctor?” 

“No,” Chishiya snorted, that amused calico look of his on his face once more as he looked down at you, “I was a medical student. Training to be a doctor but that obviously didn’t happen…” His lips curved into a frown, his eyes cold once more as they looked back up at the building, “I came here tonight to see if anyone I knew would be here.” 

“Oh…” You looked away, feeling somewhat awkward and unsure of how to reply to him as silence took over once more beside the occasional rustling of the wind in the tree’s, the urge to speak overtaking you to the point you couldn't resist, “Chishiya...I…” You looked away, feeling somewhat bashful, “We...made a really good team back there.” You forced yourself to look up at him as you offered a bright yet subtly shy smile, “If you want...you could stay with us…?” 

Chishiya pulled the lollipop stick from his mouth, letting it drop to the ground as he spoke, “No thanks.” You turned to him in surprise as you frowned a little, you shouldn’t have expected anything less…

“Oh...I understand.” You offered a weak smile as he turned his back on you and began to walk once more, “I just have one more question,” You called out causing him to pause, “...Do you by any chance know about a place called the Beach?”

Note: Whew...! As a lurker in the Alice in borderland fandom I saw a lot of people complaining about the lack of Chishiya fics so I decided to volunteer myself and take on for the team to write a series for this little blonde fucker so PLEASE let me know your thoughts and I hope you enjoy!! Also

[bnha-big-bang]

FAQ

What is the BNHA Big Bang?

The BNHA Big Bang is a collaborative event where writers, betas, and artists are paired up and work on a unique fic/art piece. This big bang is focusing on the BNHA manga and anime.

Can I participate?

As long as you are old enough, yes! Interest forms will open in January, and the actual sign up forms will open in early February. The forms will be linked on our blog and here, once open. You can find the general schedule here.

Is there an age requirement for this event?

You have to be at least 16 when you sign up.

What do I need to participate?

You must have a Discord account, as that is the primary communication route we use for this event. These channels both include announcements from the mods and communicating with your team, so you cannot participate without a Discord account.

If you are a writer, you must have an AO3 account, as that is where the final fics will be posted and put into a collection. Writers can cross-post to other sites, but they must have a copy on AO3.

Both writers and artists must have a Tumblr account.  If you are an artist, you must be able to post your final piece on Tumblr so that we can reblog it.

Can I sign up for more than one position?

Yes! You can sign up for however many positions you feel comfortable with.

If I want to participate as a writer, how much do I have to write?

The minimum word count is 6,000 for one shots, and 12,000 for multi chapter fics.

How do I estimate my word count?

We mostly ask that you do your best. You probably won’t be able to estimate exactly. We do ask that you over- rather than under-estimate, though, so that your betas have a better idea what they’re getting into!

Is there anything I’m not allowed to write?

We are not allowing fics including glorifying of unhealthy relationships (abuse, pedophilia/age difference where one was a minor, grooming, etc). We are also not allowing any x reader fics.

What about crossovers and OC’s?

Crossovers and OC’s are fine as long as they focus on the BNHA universe/characters, but we are not allowing reader-inserts for this event.

What type of art can I make?

We accept sketches, drawings, gifs, playlists, moodboards…whatever!

Are there any requirements to be a beta?

Not really! Just try your best, be helpful, be supportive, and not mean to your writer. Betas work with the writer to make sure that the fic is in its best form come posting day.

Is explicit content allowed?

Sexual content is allowed, but we’re looking for fics that are more plot-centric, so we just ask that you have a higher ratio of plot to porn. Minors will not be allowed to work on any fic that is rated E, or M rated fics that contain sexual content.

What if I am a minor and feel uncomfortable working with adults, (or I am an adult and feel uncomfortable working with minors)?

We understand that both adults and minors might want to only work with people closer to their age.  When authors fill out their fic synopsis forms, they will be able to say that their fic is minors only or adults only, as well as any other trigger or content warnings that apply to their fic. When we open claiming, artists and betas will have full access to all of this info, and be able to make their choices from there.

Moderators will be keeping an eye on everything, especially interactions between adults and minors, and step in if needed. Writers are also allowed to create their own servers for their projects; however, a mod must be let in to monitor activity.

Where can I see/read the fics/art?

We will start reblogging everyone’s final works onto this blog at the end of the bang.  Everyone will be assigned a posting day and a collection will be made on the official AO3 Big Bang account.

[weebsinstash]

This is gonna sound stupid but I like that you think critically about the stuff you’re really into. A lot of bnha blogs are really bad about that. Like they’ll like one character or one group of characters and if someone says something like “this character did something shitty, and I don’t know if they’ll get/if they deserve a redemption arc” their response will deadass just be like “OKAY triggered ANTI.” and it’s like, look homie, you can be horny for whoever you want, I myself am horny for all the bad boys from endeavor, to hawks, to AFO, but like, you have to at least acknowledge that the other person might have a point about the actions of one character and the way they’ve affected the story and other characters. And then the conversation shifts to “its FICTIONAL LMAO it doesn’t matter” which. Is just a shitty argument all around, because yeah no shit something happening in a story isn’t the same as it happening irl but we can do this neato thing where we analyze the writer’s choices and the message they push, especially for a show that is literally centered around asking bigger more profound questions about the story’s universe and ours because fiction doesn’t come from a vacuum. Like i’m not asking everyone to 4D analyze every little detail, I know fandoms are an escape for a lot of people, I just wish more fandom blogs (this really can apply to all fandoms, but especially anime and bnha) could consume literally anything critically. N e weighzzzz I love you and your blog, have a nice morning and i hope your coffee stays hot ❤️

Well, I'll be perfectly honest, I have plenty of personally-biased takes myself. I'm definitely not like, good at looking at this series critically 24/7, especially because it's actually starting to piss me off. I actually really, like, without a doubt absolutely HATE this plot line of "societal corruption" because I don't actually expect the problem to be addressed in any way whatsoever and like. It's boring to me. I don't fucking care about a story based on the moralities of good vs evil (especially when they're being preached to me by literal children, Deku) because that's all extremely subjective. This is all especially frustrating in My Hero Academia, because it's trying to tackle issues that are cemented in culture and society and law which, I'm going to be honest, are kind of... fundamentally impossible to change? Like not to be a Debbie Downer but this entire plot line of "reforming hero society, the system is broken" is completely pointless because it is not actually something that can be changed. Just like in our world, the societal injustice is deliberate, and changing it would require a level of lawmaking and overturning that just isn't going to happen. That's why I made the comparison to Naruto: at the very end of the series it brought up the inherent corruption in turning children into ninjas, showed you how gritty and violent it was for children to fight in wars and said "there is something wrong here" and then did not change anything about that problem whatsoever and then actually released a sequel where the problem is arguably even worse.

You get what I mean? This entire thing about "Hero Society bad" is all bullshit because uh it isn't actually going to change so to even address it, let alone make it a focal argument in the series, is actually a pretty bad decision, and you could argue it was childishly naive.

Like deadass, spoiler warning for the newest chapter leaks that were released today, but [[spoiler starts here]] Deku literally made some dumbass comment to the effect of "Endeavor is different than he used to be and he's trying to be a better person, the person who was an abuser is no longer here" should honestly tell you everything you need to know. I know this is ultimately a manga for children but the idea that intentions alone make everything ok or just the insinuation that Endeavor doesn't need to face consequences at all is. Dumb. Like Jesus fuck, all this talk about being a better person and helping others and we're told "yeah this guy is blatantly a criminal for multiple reasons but he's on the Good Guy Side so as long as he says he's sorry he doesn't have to go to jail" like literally just Endeavor himself undermines the entire discussion altogether.[[end spoiler]]

Horikoshi created a story about Heroes vs Villains, then said "actually what makes Heroes and Villains different? Heroes can be pretty scummy and some Villains can do pretty good things" and then he turned around again and said "actually nevermind, even though there may be just a few bad faith actors, the Heroes are always righteous and just :)" and honestly I'm sick of it

Dkfkfkfkf anyways thank you! I've tried not to nag too much over here cause I don't want to you know, ruin anyone's good time or anything, but I've been having uh. A lot of issues with the decisions being made for this series so I've been occasionally just... throwing my opinion out there and seeing what people think

[common-nerd-knowledge]

Obey me! One Nerd to Explain Them All!

Leviathan Headcanons: Another Side

Alright, I know this is a second part that no one asked for after my first one for Asmodeus. However, it’s come to my attention that there are important pieces of information that it seems a majority of people are forgetting about. Leviathan, to me, has many more layers to him than one might think. Today, I’m motivated enough to write about him today too.

!!Warning!!: these are just my own personal headcanons and may get sensitive topics mentioned (or spoilers for the current end of the year). By no way, shape, or form am I expecting anything from this.

Honestly, this probably is an unpopular and very much personal opinion but- no one seems to realize that this guy is the Grand Admiral of Hell's Navy and exactly how much more to him there is than some otaku with an obsession with Ruri-Chan.

Despite this fact, there’s not even much to show with it. It’s upsetting.

However, with a bit of asking a few relatives of mine who have also served at one point or another- I think Levi might have PTSD. With seeing how a good few cope with it, I’m starting to see the similarities.

Anime, Manga, Games- all of it not only become a part of him when he found out they existed, but they also became his way to cope with his PTSD. It’s to help him avoid losing it.

It’s also why he can’t stand crowds- not only from social anxiety or because of him being a recluse. 

Crowds can be a trigger for PTSD for some people, because of flashbacks that could potentially resurface of being in a situation where you’re in a tight space and everyone’s dropping around you (as one example due to what I’m talking about and how this is involved with Levi).

Isolation is one way some people with PTSD can try to deal with it. No people, loud noises, or anything else? Nothing to spark you. (Disclaimer: This doesn’t apply to everyone with PTSD!! Note how I’m still saying ‘some’.)

If he’s back in that sort of scenery, or in his element- I believe you could see a much different side of Levi that you wouldn’t on any other occasion.

He’s that high a rank for a reason, after all.

I believe it’s one of the rare times everyone can see a serious and very dangerous Leviathan. A great soldier who was even trusted for his position has to be an opponent not anyone would want to face.

Not to mention he’s based on the serpent and naturally water would be his domain here. He could get through it easily.

Despite being out of shape, likely due to everything that’s going on now, he still has to be doing something to keep up with his body too.

I’m almost positive that Levi then, with this in mind, would appreciate someone who understands that at times he might need his personal space.

It’s nothing against his dear friend/partner, of course. He just doesn’t want anything to happen if things ever escalated.

That doesn’t mean he won’t appreciate someone, who knows how to handle this, attempt to comfort him though!! That’s brownie points there.

The war must have taken a toll on him too, since it’s likely that he played a similar role then too. So it’s not out of the question that one way or another it could have affected him a lot more than it seems.

He likely feels horrible for his own failure too, having lost Lilith too. His low self esteem- probably also driven from that (not to the extreme as Belphegor, which is a story for another time.) alongside so much piling up.

It’s no wonder he is questioning his own worth and assumes everyone thinks badly of him.

Not all military, sadly, are treated the best to start. Then when he became an otaku, faced the relentless teasing and maybe even bullying. After all, not everyone likes fans of anime/manga/video games.

Then to see that everyone sees so much more good with the others... he’s going to feel like all he does is exist.

Although he does also get angry with Mammon too, but that doesn’t mean he thinks he’s better. That’s just a clash if Mammon steals something of his. (Doesn’t mean it’s right, but that’s another story for another time.)

He also went from an angel to a demon. He’s not excluded from the fact such a change could have affected him too.

One way or another, it turned him into the avatar of Envy.

Everything started piling up- from his own issues to then seeing how happy everyone else is when he’s suffering and fighting many quiet battles on his own... it’s likely why jealousy ended up being his snapping point.

He doesn’t talk about these issues often, and little is it mentioned as to why he is the way he is. I think his spurts of envy are not only emotional outbursts, but to the extreme of feeling threatened during the quiz is a result of that bottle he’s been pushing his feelings in completely boiling over. I think he’s hiding a lot more pain than we think.

As petty and all as it may be, his complex to his fandoms and why he has to be the biggest fan must stem from him wanting at least some achievements to hold onto when everyone else was ripped away. He wants to have his nice things and something to bring up that no one else can. He wants to be special, even though he knows its disliked that he’s a fan. It’s his main go to, though.

 That and he wants to indulge himself on this because it’s the only thing he has to cope with his problems.

Yes, he’s aware (at times- maybe) he might be taking it to unhealthy lengths. That’s why he needs someone who can help push him in the right direction within reason. It’ll be extremely difficult, I know. Especially with how he can be. But with looking deep into his character and trying to look past what kind of ‘front’ he may have, he would not disappoint.