#they have to fight said entities and get a questionable THING back???

[sketchingwithlyn]

Just finished watching the 1st episode of Dandadan and..... my honest reaction:

[runawayolives]

So for baby daddy Nate: when they are older and married reader can't handle anymore and they both fight she ask for divorce but the kid hear it.? Hope you write about this.

This isn't canon, I think.

This belongs to Baby Daddy.

"I think we should get a divorce."

"What?"

"I said that I think we should get a divorce."

"I heard you the first time."

The Jacobs' household was soaked in silence, the two young adults in the kitchen after setting their kid to bed. Nate was sitting on the armchair near the kitchen island, while she was cleaning the remaining of dinner. He stood up, walking towards his wife, invading her personal space.

"Can I know where this is coming from?" The faucet had been dripping for a bit, probably because it knew breaking the silence was its new task.

"I don't think we need to be married." Her hand was gripping a damp towel, hyper-focusing in a little circle of coffee from that morning. "We aren't a married couple, we're just two adults living in a house and raising a child."

"Who's fault is that?"

"Don't blame me." The circle was finally gone. "You were the one who married a woman who never wanted you." Their eyes met for the fist time since they put their child to bed.

"Don't say that shit."

"Mommy? Daddy? I'm thirsty." Both young adults turned around to look at the small figure standing by the hallway. The way they were gripping the doorway and their half hidden body proved that the child had been there for longer.

"Mommy will get you some." Quickly she turned around to fill a plastic cup with water. "Here hon. Do you need help going back to bed?"

"I want daddy to do it." Those big brown eyes were too hard to deny, making Nate walk forward.

"Come on, Jojo, I'll read you another story." He lifted his child to his hip, somehow still dwarfing the child, as if they hadn't grown since they were still a baby.

"Goodnight mommy."

"Goodnight, baby."

The staircase was full of picture frames of the young family, at the park, the zoo, on christmas. Endless memories that his stupid wife wanted to throw away because she was a quitter and a coward.

"What were you and mommy talking about?"

"Nothing you have to worry about."

"You were mad. Is mommy in trouble? Should she sit on the step?" Jojo was the most terrifying child Nate had ever met. The big eyes, the big cheeks and their calm nature made them look like a small victorian child that had seen too much. Jojo had a normal childhood, two parents that loved them, friends, and two set of grandparents that spoiled the kid a bit too much. Normal, very normal child.

Nate thought all the weird things that came out of Jojo were her fault. She burdened their child, he knew it. Jojo played like any other kid, Jojo had the same taste buds as any other kid. But Jojo asked uncomfortable questions and would stare at you for a bit too long, as if the five year-old was trying to figure you out.

She spent too much time raising the child, got bored because she's a stupid selfish bitch and decided to treat Jojo like an adult. Too many books, too many paintings and too many museums.

Jojo loved their mom, and Nate was envious. Not because Jojo didn't love Nate, but because looking at them proved what relationships between mother and child could be. Martha hadn't been present, she was home, and she picked him up from school, but his dad was the one in charge of raising him.

Seeing Jojo and Y/N somehow was the Universe or whatever entity rubbing it his face. You had the potential for having this, but you didn't.

The white walls of his kid's room were covered in little scribbles on the wall, something they hadn't bothered in correcting as long as it was only in these walls. The dinosaur lamp was still on, spreading the room in the light green light. Some story books were laying on the ground, and some books. Original versions of classics such as Little Women and To kill a mockingbird laid besides The very humgry caterpillar and The Giving tree.

During the walk up and the small back rubs Nate was giving Jojo, the five-year old had fallen asleep, long eyelashes tickling their cheeks. The toddler was set on the brand new ocean life bed sheets, their latest obsession, and immediately started hugging the handmade-crochet whale they had made with their mom's help.

After setting the kid to sleep and kissing their small forehead, Nate went downstairs. His wife was were he left her, this time with a mug between her hands.

"If you think I'll give you a divorce and let you separate me from my son, you're way stupider than I thought."

[vickytaa]

𝕯𝖔 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖉𝖆𝖗𝖊 𝖙𝖔 𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖉𝖆𝖗𝖐𝖓𝖊𝖘𝖘? 𝕻.2.

𝔰𝔲𝔪𝔪𝔢𝔯𝔶: A new video in collaboration with Sam and Colby, where the group enters an abandoned church full of mysteries. What starts as an exciting adventure quickly turns into a nightmare. Y/n will have terrifying nightmares and must fight her fears after entering the darkness. Part 1.

"She... The girl was one of the few people who saw a nun, even though the place is abandoned. Some say they couldn't stop seeing her when they looked in the mirror, others say it was just that moment, and others say they stopped seeing her but strange things happened around them. What they did notice was that there was a kind of pattern, when the person was afraid, the nun's curse was even stronger, as if..."

"As if it was feeding on fear." Colby finished.

My body began to shake desperately, fear coursing through my veins. I tried to look at Matt, who was also scared but was trying his best not to break down there.

We all looked at each other, knowing that the best thing was to keep me company. "Honey, you..." Matt tried to calm me down, but I interrupted him, "Stay with me. Please, Matt," I begged, grabbing his shirt as if I would die if I didn't.

Matt hugged me tighter as I rested my head more and more against his chest. "I was scared, Matt." He pulled away a little, but just enough to see my face. My eyes were full of panic, even though almost an hour had passed since the incident. It broke him to see me like this, because normally I was the strong one, the brave one, but now? now I was scared.

"It's okay, sweetheart. You're with me now, I'm not going anywhere." Matt said. The words hung in the air as I tried to reach them, to believe them. I knew Matt wasn't going to leave my side, but I was scared of what might happen. What if I go back to the darkness?

Matt sat me on his lap, to have me even closer, showering me with small kisses to try to calm me down. My body began to tremble as my mind replayed the scenarios over and over again, each time feeling more real. I tried to push those thoughts away to drown myself in Matt's love and security.

Another hour passed, and the event was almost forgotten, at the back of my mind. I was laughing at a joke Matt made to make me feel something other than fear. "Matt, I think... I think we should continue with the video," I said, now sure that nothing else was going to happen.

Or so I thought...

We started looking for the others until we found them about to do the 'Estes method' where the person doing it is blindfolded and listens to words coming out of a 'special' radio, through headphones.

It was my favorite part of Sam and Colby's videos, but I still felt a little scared to get back into the game. So, when they asked who was going to do it, I immediately said no.

"I'll do it," Matt said, "I'll go with you," Chris followed. We all agreed and started with the method.

"If any person or being is here with us, please communicate through the devices," Colby said.

Silence.

"I repeat, if any being is here with us, communicate through these devices."

Silence, again.

We all started asking questions every now and then, but with no answers, as if neither Chris nor Matt could connect with the entities here.

Few insignificant words came out despite the long time they were there. Colby touched Chris's shoulder while I touched Matt's.

When they took off the equipment, we explained that it hadn't worked well, and they replied that we could try again. Despite the fear, I didn't want to miss out, for me, the best part of the video, so I decided to be brave and offered to do it.

At first, everyone hesitated, but after insisting a little more, they let me.

I sat in the wooden chair, with the headphones and blindfold on. Matt rested his hand on my thigh to assure me that he was there.

"Death," I heard the neutral voice from the headphones, "Death," I repeated exactly the same, interpreting the tone.

"Father," "Father."

The words weren't making much sense, but I was sure they were answering the questions the others were asking.

Shortly after, I heard a small, gruff laugh, which made me jump a little in fear, as I felt it in my right ear, as if a man was there. "A small laugh, like an adult man," I said.

The meaningless words quickly reappeared, "Fire," "Broken," "Eight," among others.

Suddenly, that gruff-voiced man's laugh was heard again, "The man's laugh again," I said, now a little scared, since normally words or things don't repeat.

Matt's hand was still there, motionless, squeezing my leg every now and then.

The radio went silent, no more words came out of there, until a deep voice said, "Are you afraid of the dark?"

My body tensed quickly, my hands began to shake. It was the same voice as before. I'd had enough.

I desperately took off the headphones and threw them on the floor. My hands traveled to the back of my head, to untangle the knot and take off the blindfold. I quickly opened my eyes, and there...

There was nothing.

Only darkness.

"No, please, not again!" I started to scream desperately, the air trapped in my throat. My eyes filled with tears and poured down my face. My head was killing me, and I slowly started to feel dizzy, my legs were slowly giving out and my heart was getting tired of beating.

I closed my eyes but quickly opened them at the feeling of being shaken. "Y/N!" Matt said, his face was practically inches from mine, but I could read his panic from miles away.

My mind was clouded, as I did nothing. The tears were falling down my face, but I couldn't feel them anymore. Nor did I feel that warmth of Matt when he hugged me.

I was exhausted. My legs felt like I'd run a marathon, and breathing was as hard as if I were at the top of the highest mountain.

"Let's go home," Matt said, hugging me and carrying me to the car. I wanted to stay there to finish the video they'd been planning for months, feeling guilty for ruining it, but at that point, I was so weak I couldn't even form a word.

Matt said goodbye to everyone and took me to the car. He quickly started it and began to drive. The tiredness was killing me, and since I got tired of fighting it, unfortunately, I lost and fell fast asleep.

The softness and comfort of my bed woke me up. "Matt..." I tried to look for him but my eyelids were too tired to open.

"I'm here, love. Let's sleep," Matt said, gently wrapping an arm around my waist, pulling me as close as possible.

Hours passed and the tiredness never came. I really tried to fall asleep, to follow Matt, but I just couldn't.

I decided that the best thing to do would be to get some water and go back to bed, it was simple and quick, right?

Right?

The scenes of today were in the back of my mind, while the glass of water was in front of everything. I slowly got out of his embrace and got up to go to the kitchen. The house was silent, which indicated that Nick and Chris hadn't returned yet. I felt a little bad for ruining their video, but I also didn't want to stay there to continue suffering.

The lights were off, a cold breeze passed, sending shivers down my spine. There was a strange tension in the air, as if something was going to happen, but I decided to ignore it.

I grabbed the glass and poured myself some cold water, trying to calm my nighttime thoughts. I was already out of there, I was with Matt, there was nothing to worry about. Or was there?

I turned to leave the glass on the counter, and there I saw her.

Kneeling in front of me, the nun again.

Panic and fear ran through my veins. I was frozen, not knowing what to do. I dropped the glass on the floor, shattering into a thousand pieces, but I couldn't hear it anymore, I could only hear the nun's sobs, getting louder and louder.

"Matt! Matt, please!!" I started to scream desperately, but for some strange reason, I couldn't hear anything. No matter how hard I screamed, nothing came out of my mouth.

I grabbed my throat in desperation. My eyes wide open, I watched as the nun slowly stood up in front of me, clearly towering over me.

Her burned hands detached from her face, moving slowly towards my neck.

Tears streamed down my eyes without stopping, my body completely frozen, all my strength trying to scream or get something to wake Matt up, but nothing helped.

The nun's hands, cold and dusty, began to squeeze my throat, cutting off my breath.

This was it, there was nothing else to do. All my strength spent, my soul slowly leaving my body.

𝕴 𝖘𝖍𝖔𝖚𝖑𝖉 𝖓𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖗 𝖍𝖆𝖛𝖊 𝖉𝖆𝖗𝖊𝖉 𝖙𝖔 𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖉𝖆𝖗𝖐𝖓𝖊𝖘𝖘.

𝐕 -

[forestclan-clangen]

MOON 8 (Final)

<< FIRST | < PREVIOUS |

Tree helps Shiverpaw find herbs, and they run into a Woodcrawler. Tree miraculously incapacitates it, barely getting hurt! Tree tells the Clan that they've warded off Deep Root entities before. Closer to the ends of their legs, their roots are sensitive. They're like a heel - the tendons are weak. They can be torn apart, causing the entity to lose motor control.

(Tree, warrior, non-binary, 39 moons) (Shiverpaw, medicine cat apprentice, 8 moons) (Woodcrawler. A mockery of nature. Without defined age.)

---

Shiverpaw felt uncomfortable when Windfur told her that she was capable of gathering plantain by herself. She felt even more uncomfortable when Windfur asked Tree to accompany her.

Ever since she came back to camp with Talonpaw the moon prior, Windfur had been stiff around her. She didn't know if it was something Talonpaw told him, or something she did, but the fact that she was being ousted with a stranger in the middle of the woods to gather herbs made her feel like…like Windfur didn't like her. She wasn't…doing anything bad, right? She knew that earlier in the moon they got into a fight about the Nature's Mockery she saw, but she thought that enough time had passed for it to not matter anymore.

It was hard to believe that when Windfur was looking at her less and less.

She quietly grabbed one of the woven baskets by the handle, and quietly padded up to Tree, who was waiting patiently by the camp entrance.

"Well, no time like the present, eh?" Tree meowed.

Shiverpaw nodded wordlessly, then walked past them and through the entrance. Tree padded after the apprentice, their eyes staring at the ropes and sliding mechanisms that were attached to ForestClan's front gates. Their tail twitched with interest.

Shiverpaw wasn't sure what to make of the former loner. They were brought back to camp by Cloudthunder and Morningpaw the moon prior, and almost immediately went from non-committal about joining, to gaping and inquiring about every little aspect of Clan life. Tree had especially taken interest in speaking to Windfur, fascinated by the amount of medical knowledge and herbs he had at his disposal. Windfur noticed the tinge of lemonweed emitting from their pelt, and offered to provide them with regular dosage, if they wished. Tree was happy to agree.

This happened with almost every single clanmate in camp. Tree asked about the fire burning beneath a makeshift table of stones, and Cloudthunder was happy to show them how they dried out strips of meat. Tree asked about the thick ropes binding the logs of pine and spruce that created their walls, and Barleywave was happy to show them the ropes, literally. Tree asked about how long they've existed in this forest, and Redstar was happy to give them ForestClan's history. Every day, Tree seemed to have another question for someone to answer.

But not for her.

Not that she could really blame them. She…wasn't exactly the most interesting cat. At least, she didn't think so.

As the two cats trekked through the undergrowth, Shiverpaw took a moment to appreciate the sunshine. It was getting colder, and the red and yellow hues of early leaf-fall had long gone. The ground was painted in husky brown leaf litter, and the birch and oaks were stripped bare of their foliage. The only thing that remained were the evergreens, their pines growing dark under the cold.

Shiverpaw's appreciation of the gentle sun was cut short by cloudy overcast. She sighed.

"Ah, poor sunshine." Tree's voice spoke up from behind her. "I was enjoying that."

Shiverpaw let out a huff of agreement. "I was always told that I'd miss the sun the closer to leafbare we got. But…it's hard to really get that when you're a kit."

"Experience is the best teacher," Tree said simply. They paused, then tilted their head slightly. "So you've never felt winter - er, I guess you call it leafbare - before?"

"No," Shiverpaw confirmed. She started walking again, remembering the path towards plantain that Windfur showed her.

Tree padded up beside her and continued the conversation. "It's not very pleasant. The cold is the worst part of it. And how dark it gets, so early."

Shiverpaw gave them a curious glance. Her ear turned towards Tree, attentive.

"But, despite the cold and the darkness, there's something…oddly reassuring about it." Tree's green eyes were filled with unknown emotion. "It's a little mad, with how many creatures manage to survive a time that is so hostile to life. There's beauty in that - but perhaps only a hateful beauty. One that's admired only because we appreciate that there are things not like it. Such as your clan." Tree gave Shiverpaw a look. "It's wonderful how much you create together."

Shiverpaw blinked in surprise. The way Tree described leafbare was harsh, but also poetic. It strangely made her look forward to leafbare - but she'd never admit that to anyone in the clan!

"I'm glad that you like our camp. We work hard on it," Shiverpaw meowed quietly, staying polite. She stopped as the path beneath her feet turned from dirt to stone, and she found the patch of plantain she needed. "Oh, here it is." Shiverpaw put down the basket and trotted towards the herb, carefully cultivating the leaves - as wilted as they were becoming.

"Did you need any help grabbing them?"

"Um, not right now - I'm trying to see what's still good to take."

"Take your time, then. We're in no rush." Tree sat down comfortably on one of the flat stones on the path. They stretched out their front legs and arched their back, letting out a big yawn. Shiverpaw caught them yawning from the corner of her eye, and failed to suppress one of her own. Tree let a mrrow of amusement.

"I suppose we're all due for a nap later."

"That'd be nice," Shiverpaw agreed. She kept winnowing the plantain, hoping that she was leaving enough of the plant to grow back in newleaf. She was so focused on her careful task, that by the time she had turned around with a bundle of them in her mouth, she was caught off guard by Tree standing upright and staring off into the woods.

"...Um, Tree?"

Tree lifted their tail up as a sign to stay quiet.

Shiverpaw froze and her hair stood on end as she panned the scene, desperate to find out what they were looking at. All she saw were rows of tree trunks sticking out in all directions, growing smaller into the horizon. The undergrowth was a heavy layer of dead pine needles and dormant plants, with the largest being the now-bare branches from a broad shrub. Brown leaf litter dappled the ground. Her eyes flicked back and forth, her heart racing.

She scanned around her again. The tree trunks. The branches of shrubs. Leaf litter.

Again. Trees. Shrubs. Leaf-litter.

"I can smell it. I see it." Tree whispered. "Don't move."

Shiverpaw did as she was told. Then, the wind blew softly against her, and her blue eyes widened with terror. Her heart seized in her chest and it took everything in her to not start panting. Her eyes watered as she remembered the wretched scent that invaded her nostrils two moons ago. When she returned to the Dome last moon with Windfur, the absence of the monster gave her peace. She dreamed of StarClan. Icypaw spoke to her clearly, and seemed relaxed. She even saw Warblerkit, and he told her that he was going to be a big brother to any kit that needed his help - it made her purr. It made her happy. She thought, maybe, the moon she was apprenticed - it was all a bad dream. A horrible nightmare that she could move on from, and she could be a good cleric for her clan, just like she wanted.

She wanted to wail and burst into tears when the wet, bloody scent invaded her body.

She didn't want this. She didn't want this.

She couldn't force herself to look away from the undergrowth. She expected a red, foul mass to crawl around the branches of the shrubs and pull itself up to reveal the dead, black eyes of a cat's deformed skull. It would rise above the trees, above the sky, blot out the sun, and lock its eyes on her. Its jaw, raw and haggard, would shudder. "WE…CAN…HEAR…YOU."

"Shiverpaw." Tree's voice pierced into her waking nightmare. "Hold your breath. When the legs rise - run."

Shiverpaw was jostled from her nightmare, rattled by Tree's words. Legs? What legs? What -

She scanned again. The branches of a shrub. Thicker than normal. The tree trunks. Far on the horizon. The leaf litter. The branches of -

Shiverpaw's eyes shot open wide and her claws unsheathed.

Those were not branches.

The legs of the Woodcrawler rose.

Shiverpaw burst into a dash back down the path. Her heart dropped as Tree was absent. She skidded to a halt and looked back to see them hissing as the Woodcrawler's legs jabbed down.

"TREE!" she howled.

Tree did something unfathomable. They dodged, and then jumped at one of the Woodcrawler's legs. Their green eyes were wild with unbridled fury. With all four sets of claws outstretched, they latched on and started gouging. They plunged their fangs around a bulging point near the base of its leg and started tearing.

The Woodcrawler thrashed in silent agony, its legs flailing as it tried to stab the tortoiseshell cat. Tree glanced up to see one of its dagger-like legs above, and pushed themselves off as the attack came down. Tree sprinted towards Shiverpaw screaming, "GO!"

Shiverpaw didn't need to be told twice. The rush of terror and bewilderment that Tree just did that gave her the boost of speed she didn't know she had. Her head throbbed as she felt something chasing them. She could hear it thrashing through the woods, its many legs skittering across the dirt and leaves, rumbling like a Thunderpath. It lasted only a few moments before she heard a loud crash and snapping branches, then silence. The sound of blood pumping through her ears and Tree panting as they ran beside her replaced it.

Shiverpaw felt desperate relief as she saw the tall walls of the camp come into her line of sight. "WOODCRAWLER! HIDE, HIDE, HIDE!" she screeched.

ForestClan sprung into action, everyone's furs on end. Shiverpaw felt the world around her spin. She could hear Redstar barking orders and scrambling with her three functional legs to close the gate with Barleywave. Windfur and Morningpaw's pelts blurred as they dashed into the nursery and pushed Olive up. Branchkit and Perchkit were wide-eyed and limp as Cloudthunder and Talonpaw grabbed them by the scruff. Before she knew it, the clan was huddled into the back of Redstar's den, trembling in the dark.

Iciclepool was at the den's entrance.

Redstar was staring out into the woods from the gate, her ears swivelling.

Shiverpaw could still hear her heart in her ears.

She felt the world around her blur as she stared at the interior of the den. The brown tree hollow was dark and splintered. Redstar's bedding was made of yellowed moss.

Her eyes couldn't focus on the moss. Something was wrong. It rippled and shifted. Like something had smudged it and dragged its shape out of reality. It felt wrong. The dirt floor was flat. Too flat. There was a beetle on the floor. It crawled slowly across the den, its antennae waving gently. It stopped, frozen. Shiverpaw wanted to blink. She didn't know how. Was the beetle real? Was the bed real? Were her lungs, her heart, her mind? Was -

She felt someone's paw press against her shoulder.

Shiverpaw blinked.

She looked at the paw, and saw a brown, spotted texture rising along its leg. She slowly turned her head to see Olive staring up at her with softness. In silence, Olive pointed to her own claws. Then her ears. Then her nose. One, two, three. Remember.

Shiverpaw took a deep breath. She unsheathed her claws and dug them beneath her. Dirt. It was dry. It snagged into her claws. Shoot. They were dirty now. She'll have to clean them later.

She breathed through her nose. She could smell her clanmate's individual scents. She smelled pine. The air was cold.

She twitched her ears. She could hear…birds? She thinks so. She could hear a songbird or two. Then, she heard something unfamiliar - a…flock of large birds flying overhead? They made a nasally bellow.

Tree's voice mumbled. "Geese. Big black and brown birds. They're just migrating. It's okay."

Branchkit and Perchkit must've heard the sound too, as their eyes twinkled with relief when Tree spoke. The two kits were wrapped around each other, seeking comfort. The rest of the clan remained quiet.

As Redstar gave a final chitter of alarm, Iciclepool sighed deeply. The camp was allowed to breathe again, and Shiverpaw and Tree were interrogated. Shiverpaw could barely recall what her answers were. She felt her mind move and speak automatically. It wasn't like the time at the Half-Moon Dome. There, she felt like something had actively taken over her. Now, it felt like her own mind had picked her up by the scruff, carrying her around and speaking for her. She knows Iciclepool curled up next to her and started grooming her. She knows Redstar spoke to her calmly. She knows Morningpaw brought her a few strips of jerky to eat. But she didn't really remember how she ended up in the medicine den, sitting in her bedding as she watched Windfur and Tree speak to one another.

"I'm going to have to clean your muzzle with water and mouse bile."

"A bit late for that. It was on my teeth. I spit it out, but if there's some kind of infection related to it, well…"

"Let me put it to you this way - I haven't seen someone insane enough to attack a Woodcrawler and survive," Windfur hissed as he started shoving the water and bile-soaked moss on Tree's face.

Tree hissed. "Ow. Ow. This sucks."

"Wouldn't need to do this if I knew what was in Woodcrawlers to begin with," Windfur sighed. "I guess I can sacrifice some of the honey, but I'm not happy about it. Next time, just run."

"We did run."

"No, you attacked it, then you ran. Big difference."

"If I didn't, it would've successfully chased us. I decided to not bring a giant spider back during my first moon living here, thank you."

Windfur's tail thrashed as he padded towards the back of the den and grabbed a flat pebble and a massive slab of honeycomb, carefully peeling away the wax and scraping off some of the honey. "You could've died," Windfur said gravely. "...You should have died."

There was a tense silence in the medicine den as Windfur grabbed Tree's paw and wiped it clean with moss, then added a layer of honey around a bleeding claw.

Shiverpaw stared blankly at Windfur's treatment. Honey for outer infections. Honey. Yes. That was nice. She tried to bump herself back to the present, coaxing gently. She knew the song, right? Windfur showed her last week.

"Bo-bumblebee, bo-bumblebee, give me a cure, one sweet and so dandy, for my little bird…" she mumbled the start of the nursery rhyme Windfur taught her. She was too quiet for either of them to pick up on it.

Tree watched as Windfur used a small, leather pelt to wrap around their foot. Windfur secured it tightly, then looked back up at Tree.

"...How did you live?"

Shiverpaw's ears twitched. She looked at Tree.

Tree tested their paw on the ground. Seemingly satisfied, they gave an answer. "I've had to fight them before, but I do not recommend it. I made a calculated risk, but you're right. I should be dead." Tree's emerald eyes were solemn. "This one was…I'd say the size of a large bramble bush. I wouldn't recommend confronting anything larger than that - which most Woodcrawlers are. Fighting it close to its den is also a death wish. It doesn't need you dead immediately, only tangled for long enough to drag you down. This one was either desperate, or a hatchling. It was nowhere near its den. Otherwise, Shiverpaw and I would've caught the scent of the den long before we saw the beast."

Shiverpaw blinked. She felt extremely uneasy as she remembered staring right at the Woodcrawler and only seeing the branches of a large shrub. It was so incredibly still that she wouldn't have known if it weren't for Tree.

The more she thought about it, the more she felt her face turn hot. She didn't know where the feeling came from. Embarrassment? Shame? Lingering terror? Tree saved her life. She'd be dead if they weren't there.

"That's not the question I asked," Windfur said curtly.

"I'm giving you the preamble because it's the same story I gave to Redstar," they meowed. "Running from Woodcrawlers is the correct answer. However," Tree's eyes grew stern as they glanced at both Shiverpaw and Windfur. "The ends of their legs - their points - there's a grouping of roots near the base of them that are sensitive. There's no bark or scale, just tendons. You can tear them out and cause them to lose motor control. If you're fast, you have time to disable one leg and then make a break for it. But that's all," Tree scowled, their tail twitching. "You can only stop it from chasing you and knowing where you sleep. In the moment, I decided that was a good option." There was a pause, then Tree's expression softened slightly. "But I understand the worry for my well being. Given how promptly you responded to the danger, I think I'll feel better now, knowing ForestClan can defend its home against the Woodcrawlers."

---

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[sleepingdeath-light]

shadow milk cookie + segmented smut alphabet ; 18+

requested by ; cookie simp anon (part of an event)

letters used ; k / m / w

masterlist(s) ; here / here

minors and ageless blogs do not interact

K ��� Kinks

some of their kinks

Having spent so long in complete isolation and imprisonment, Shadow Milk Cookie was quick to start experimenting with you and trying to spice up your sex life. These experiments were a mixture of incorporating things he already knew he enjoyed and trying new things as a couple that you both ended up enjoying and making a part of your routines. A small selection of the things he enjoys is as follows:

Role Play — it shakes things up, keeps things interesting, appeals to his love of theatre, and gives him an excuse to show off his natural talents and magical capabilities to you… what’s not to love?

Bondage — tying you up or being tied up by you, he can enjoy both depending on his mood and as long as you’re both able to keep things interesting during these sessions

Fighting for Dominance — though he does have a strong dominant lean and does enjoy being able to control others, he can enjoy the chance to play fight with you and shake things up every now and then (he doesn’t make things easy for you, of course, and can be a terrible brat but he does play by the limits you’ve set and won’t use his powers to take back control… unless he’s bored or overly frustrated)

Pet Name Kink — this mainly goes hand-in-hand with his love of roleplaying and he’s happy to call you or be called whatever the scenario requires (e.g. daddy/mommy, master/mistress, sir/ma’am, etc.) but he will tease you if he notices a certain pet name popping up and affecting you more than the rest

Public Sex — he’s been imprisoned for what felt like forever, has less than zero shame, and would sooner take complete control over a kingdom than comply to its rules, so it goes without saying that he wouldn’t be opposed to pleasuring you or receiving pleasure where others can see you both

M — Motivation

what turns them on?

Pretty much everything you do is a turn on for Shadow Milk Cookie in one way or another, in fact it may just be easier to list out the things that don’t turn him on. That being said, surprising him with an opening prompt for some role play after a long day is always guaranteed to get him in the mood.

W — Wild Card

a random nsfw headcanon for the character

On the rare occasion where he gets jealous of someone, he’ll go out of his way to orchestrate a situation where they’ll walk in on the two of you having sex. He has literally zero shame and will look up at them just long enough to lock eyes and give them the most shit eating grin he can muster before returning his attention to you once they’ve finally regained their senses and fled the scene. Needless to say you usually don’t end up seeing much of the person in question after that (they’ve learned their lesson, after all, and most people don’t want to risk further pissing off a powerful entity like Shadow Milk Cookie if they can help it).

[morimemichael]

Not Allowed

Dbd!Myers x f!Reader

Reader it’s new to the realm, she gets a good first impression on everyone; killer and survivor. Tho there’s certain someone who seams to became too obsessed with her. She doesn’t get it, she thinks this killer hates her with all their guts. Sooner than later she finds that some interactions and relationships are not allowed in the realm.

WG: Some angst and cursing Michael actually talks but this is not actually a warning lol mentions of death, blood and gore. Michael and Ghostface have a bromance cause deep down they are besties. Dbd!Michael it’s based on RZ! Michael here. Use if y/n twice on the entire fic. Ghostface removes his mask. Michael removes his mask. Big old Pewpaw Kazan Yamaoka, aka, the ink is a great hugger. Happy ending(?)

You were brand new to the realm, like a new born baby. You didn’t understand what was going on, one night you went to bed and the next thing you know it’s the uncomfortable feeling of grass and wood sticks on your back. This was beyond clear that it wasn’t your bed.

You woke up scared as hell in an unknown forest to you, it’s was late at night you could tell and you didn’t met a single soul this far. All of that was vanished when the sound of what it seemed a camp fire stroked your ears, and for your surprise it wasn’t just a camp fire you could distinguish the sound of human voices too. It didn’t seem too far from were you currently were. So you walked a little faster while covering your chest with your own arms in a sutil attempt to combat the cold weather.

You stepped closer to the people in the camp fire to ask for help and maybe an answer to what was going on here. As you got closer could see a bunch of girls and a few boys. One of the girls had red hair and running clothes, the Oder one had short black hair, she was wearing glasses, the other one had also shirt hair, she was wearing a black and red shirt and loosen pants, on the other side; one of the boys was tall with very short black hair and when you herd him taking he had a british accent, the other boy had also black hair but it reached the mid of his face.

“Uhm, excuse me?” You said. Your voice low but clear. The red hair girl turned around to look at you. Suddenly everyone stopped talking.

“Oh my god…” The red hair girl stated. “Guys…I think we have a new partner!” She continued.

Everyone smiled at you and presented themselves. It turned out the red hair girl’s name was Meg Thomas, the girl with the glasses was Claudette Morel, the other girl was Nea Karlson, the British guy was David King and the other guy was Jake Park.

“Did you just arrived?” Claudette asked.

“Yeah…I don’t know where I am.” You stated.

“What’s your name girl?” Meg asked.

“Where are you from?” Another question, this time Jake.

“She’s gonna need a lot of help.” You herd David talking.

“Guys, why don’t we just let her sit with us and let her talk?” Nea said. It was the first time she talked.

You smiled for the first time.

You sat next to Meg and Nea and proceeded to tell every detail about you, your name, your age, where were you from. You told them that last night you had a fight with your parents and when you went to sleep you woke up here.

“We get you, we really do.” Jake spoke.

Everyone told you their personal story. How they end up here, but most important of all they told you what was going on in this place.

“There’s uhm…there’s something that we call the entity, that rules all of this place. She can do what she pleases with us and with everyone.” Nea talked looking at you.

“To survive and to keep every thing, no matter how small it might be, here with us, like some food and water, we have to go through trials.” Jake explained.

“Trials?” You asked confused.

“Yeah, we must repair five generators to open the exit gates.” Meg continued.

“That’s it? Just five generators? It’s a piece of cake…” you laughed.

“I wouldn’t say that if i were you…” David looked at you.

“Why not?” You talked back.

David sight, then he explained the most difficult part.

“We must face a killer that will be with us in the same place.”

“WHAT!? A real killer? Like from slasher movies?” You stated.

“Yes, a real killer.” David stated.

“N-no, no, I wanna go home, please!” You yell at the sky hopping this entity would hear you and somehow pity you.

Everyone looked at you with sad eyes, they knew you weren’t going home anytime sooner.

“Wish we could do something about it, I’m so sorry.” Jake spoke again after a long time.

You moved your head to the sides and looked down, a long sigh scapes your mouth. “Shit…” that’s all that came from you. Everyone remained silent for a while until you spoke again.

“So, how this trial thing works?”

“Well, the entity select some of us for the trial, four survivors to be exact. To help you in the trial you can carrie an object with you, this objects being a toolbox or a flashlight or a med kit and others. Every object has their own use, the toolbox can be use on the generators or to sabotage the hooks the killer use to hook us, by the way; the killer’s main goal is to hook us all in those hooks, flashlights are meant to blind the killer and save your teammates that se going to get hook, and last but not least the med kit as its name suggests can be use to heal yourself or your teammates. Also when you get hook-“ Claudette was interrupted by survivors who just came back from a trial. Four survivors emerged from the dar fog of this place.

“Gosh, that trial was so easy, I need something more challenging!” A young girl with blonde hair spoke.

“Hey Laurie, who was the killer this time?” David asked her.

Laurie? Like the same Laurie from the Halloween movies? You thought to yourself. The intrigue of knowing if you were right was eating your brain, you know you wouldn’t last any longer so you had to ask her.

“The trickster.” This girl said looking at David.

“Uhm excuse me, Laurie? Like Laurie Strode form the Halloween movies?” You finally asked her.

“Yes! I’m her. You must be new right?” She smiled back at you.

“Yes, in fact I got here a few moments ago.” You then proceed to present yourself.

“So nice to meet you! I know we’re gonna be good friends, watcha say new girl?” Laurie had a content face. New girl huh? You liked the new nickname.

“I hope so! By the way I loved that nickname!” Laurie smiled back at your words.

Nea joined your conversation with Laurie explaining further more how the trials work.

“Continuing with the trials, we’re gonna spawn in a map. In this map you will find certain constructions you can use to loop the killer, evade them or confuse them.

“Ok.” You listen very carefully to what Nea said.

Sooner than later you realize that some of the survivors that came with Laurie were from the Resident Evil game franchise. Leon and Jill were here, you wondered if others form the same games were too. You smiled when you saw Chris and Claire in this place too. You presented yourself like you did with everyone else and they seemed to like you as much as the rest did.

“We should tell you that some survivors came along with their respective killers, generally they are related to them. For example, Leon and me came along with Nemesis.” Jill explained.

“So…if you guys came along with Nemesis that means you Laurie came along with M-“

“Yes, I came along with Michael Myers.” She finished the sentence for you. The second you hear that afirmation you knew you no longer wanted to get back home.

“Gosh that’s awesome! I love the Halloween movies, as much as the Resident Evil games or the Scream movies. I love Halloween season so much, and Halloween loves me.” You gave the guys a mischievous smile.

“That’s great! But do let me tell you that most of the killers aren’t nice as us survivors. Some of them lack empathy and act rude. Tho I have to say some killers are nice sometimes.” Leon’s voice was calm but it sounded firm.

“I see, so uhm…Michael?” Your question was meant to find out how he acts in this place.

“Well, Michael has his “I think I could spare you” moments sometimes, but most of the time he just hooks us…he’s very accurate I would say.” Laurie didn’t have anything left to say about Michael.

You couldn’t help but feel a mix of disappointment and excitement, you wanted to face him so bad by now. Eventually the time for your first trial came, thankfully you weren’t alone, Laurie got picked too. You asume that the most optimal object to take with yourself for your first trial was med kit.

Soon the trial started and you couldn’t believe your eyes when you saw that the killer you were going against was none other than Michael Myers himself. You were over excited, you wanted to say hi, let him know how much you liked his movies. You wander how he was going to act this time, you assumed since you were new maybe he could spare you. He was lurking near the generator you were currently working on, unaware you were conscious he was there.

Something inside you made you leave the generator and get closer to Michael. You could see he was stalking Jill, who was also picked with you, David was here too, somewhere on the map. You got closer and closer to Michael until you were near his back. The sound of a wood stick breaking under your feet gave you away. He stopped on his track and tilted his head to the left making you know he heard you. Your heart was ricing at this point. He turned around completely to face you. You could hear him breathing behind his mask. His blueish eyes analyzing you. The leafs under his feet made a cracking noise as he slowly walked towards you. Walking in circles around you he kept looking you up and down. Something form you caught his attention, maybe you reminded him form someone, he didn’t know. One thing was certain, besides looking you he was also stalking you. He made a final step in front of you, this time he was very near you. You instantly thought it was your end when he lifted his kitchen knife at you. You closed your eyes ready to get hit and downed, but the empty feeling of nothing tearing your flesh apart made you open your eyes. Yes, he was still there but his didn’t made a single move against you, he didn’t even tried to down you.

“I-i uhm know you! I love your movies.” You didn’t know why you said that. You felt so stupid. He didn’t answer of course he just tilted his head to the left.

He started moving forward through the map that’s stroke you late it was Haddonfield. You were following him, you didn’t fully understand why he didn’t try to kill you or stab you. Asking him questions didn’t seemed a bad idea to you tho. “So, how you end up here?” And another one “How long have you been here?” And another “Why don’t you talk?”, “Don’t you miss your home?”, “I told you i love your movies right? I think i did..” You even told him your name and your age and the place you came form, even how you end up here. But he never answered, all he did was stopping whenever you asked something and turn around to look at you.

Later than sooner you realize he was heading toward Laurie, who happened to see all the interactions between Michael and you.

“New girl? What are you doing?! RUN!” She screamed at you. She stepped forward to grab your hand, and just as she saw Michael was going for you she stepped in the middle of you to. Michael grabbed her instead. He grabbed Laurie by the throat and buried the long kitchen knife in her abdomen.

“OH MY GOD LAURIE!” You scream in panic. The young blond girl struggled against Michael who buried the knife deeper fully killing her.

“LEAVE HER ALONE PLEASE, DON’T HURT HER!” Blood leaving Laurie’s body as he throws her on the street asphalt. He lowered his knife for a second and walked to your side, he looked again at you, this time inches away from your face. You closed your eyes waiting for your inevitably fate, which it never came. He lifted his knife again and went for the rest of the survivors, Jill and you were left until it was only you.

“Shit…” you muttered to yourself. You were just meters away from Michael who was facing back at you and still had his knife up.

You heard a little noice of something opening near you, but Michel herd it too. This time walking towards you, ready to curse him you saw how he walked pass you a few meters away and turned to look at you again, this time putting his knife down. He look down at what it seemed to you like a little door on the street, and look back up at you. You didn’t understand. You catch up with him and looked him dead in his dark eyes.

“Fuck..you..and this place and your stupid movies!!” He gestured down to the little gate again.

“I don’t get it!! I don’t know what it means…freak.” You were really starting to hate him, or you were just scared. Claudette didn’t finish to tell you that this things happen frequently. Deaths happen frequently, but you just didn’t know it. Michael gestured one last time to the little door and then looked up at you.

“FUCK! I don’t want it! Screw you bastard!” You push him a little bit, you knew this time you went too far when he grabbed you by your throat and push you against the nearest parked car. You tried your best to hit him hard, unfortunately he didn’t even react.

“I-i can’t…can’t breath Mich-michael…” You felt your air leaving your lungs. He gave you his signature look and move his knife closer to you. Then you finally felt it. Cold, it sting like, you finally felt the pain. Then all over again, and again, and again. He stabbed you, more than once. He wasn’t stabbing vital points, he was going slow.

“Please…” You pleaded, in vain, cause he didn’t stop. Instead he got out all the knife and finally stabbed you deeper. Little pain sounds scaped your mouth, and for the first time on this place you cried. Then all turned black. Just like that you were gone.

Michael put your body down, surprisingly with gentle moves. He kept looking at your dead body noticing what was left of your tears. He wasn’t going to kill you. When he saw you for the first time moments ago something woke up in him, he didn’t know what it was. You intrigued him in a way nothing ever did before. He wasn’t bother by your questions, the first time he looked at you was because he didn’t know what to do, he analyzed your gestures your face, your eyes...the other times he stopped when you asked him a question was on purpose, he wanted to look at your precios eyes just to be sure he wasn’t making it all up. He didn’t want to kill you, but…why did you act like that? He wanted you to leave, damn he even offered you the hatch. The second those hurting words left your mouth he felt attacked. He was trying to be nice, to do something nice…why couldn’t you be nice to him too? He was hurt, you caught his attention, but you hurt him. Why? You even said you loved his movies, why were you being so rude to him? He let his knife fell to the street, looking down he brought one hand to his masked face and one single scream was heard on Haddonfield that night. He was the only one left there.

The feeling of your death still lingered on your body the first time you came back to the camp fire. Laurie, Jill and David were already there due to that they have been killed earlier before you. You couldn’t help but feel awful.

“He…killed…he killed us. Like we were nothing.” You sounded so disgusted.

“Yeah new girl…most of the time it is like this. We forgot to tell you that killers hook survivors to sacrifice them to the entity. Or sometimes they can kill us with their own hand…like Michael did.” Laurie explained. You were so relieved to know that even if you or anyone gets killed they came back.

“I tried to be nice…i-i really did. I even want sure if he was going to kill me, but then he got you Laurie…” You continued.

“I saw all of it. And it was rare! He never acted like that with new survivors.” Laurie exclaime surprised.

“What you mean?” You replied back.

“He wasn’t just stalking you…he seemed to be analyzing you as well…who knows for what or why?” Laurie confirmed.

“Well that didn’t go well did it? I think he hates me…”

“I think he saw something in you. He likes you…” Laurie’s word were spoken so low you didn’t hear her, tho the rest of the survivors did, and they shared the same theory. Because killers can be nice sometimes, you heard killers like Ghostface, or Deathslinger, or even Oni had a good side….but Michael? He was known to be nice just three or four times since he got in the realm. It was unusual his behavior. And they know it, specially Laurie who came with him and Danny the Ghostface who seemed to grow closer to Michael over the years.

On the other hand, in the distant across the camp fire were the killers. They were all in the same place, hanging and resting like survivors did. It existed a physical barrier that separated the camp fire form the killers. Both survivor and killer could get near this barrier but couldn’t cross it. Survivors could meet the killers on trials or if the decided to go to certain map or place. Once there they could interact. But some interactions were not allowed. It’s not like something bad would happen to the survivor or the killer, it was the fact that the entity didn’t want that in her realm. It was known that when a killer didn’t do well in the trial, the entity would punish them, maybe she would make them see something they fear or hurt them the most, something about their past maybe. This only happens when the entity consideres it necessary.

Danny, Kazan, Caleb and Herman were watching the trial. They were also surprised Michael tried to spare the new girl. Of course the also saw how you rejected the offer. Michael came back to the other side of the camp fire with the rest of the killers, head pointing down.

“Hey Mike, you’re okay?” Danny asked him, his vice distant due to the ghost face mask. Michael didn’t answer he just looked at him. It’s not that they didn’t hear him talking tho, this time he just chose to remain silent and walk away. Danny was going to follow him but Caleb stopped him.

“Leave him be, give him some space…” Danny looked at him, then his head turned to look at Michael walking away. His eyes looked down behind his mask. He then decided to walk away too.

“Rejection can hurt.” Kazan said. His English still had a fainted Japanese accent.

“Sure does.” Herman added.

Michael made sure there was nobody with him. Once he realized he was all alone, his hands reached the bottom of his mask and pulled it up, reveling his face. Long blond and a little dirty hair covered part of his face. He couldn’t stop thinking about you. Your eyes, the way you walked with him while asking questions, your hair, your face…then he remembered those harsh words leaving your mouth. He wanted to understand, he needed to understand so bad why, why did you do that? He was trying to be nice, he usually isn’t. He knows he’s mean, selfish, he has a dark twisted heart, if he even had one. He find himself surprised by the choice of letting you go, to leave through the hatch. He lives for the hunt, the cat and mouse play, the adrenaline he feels when he kills. He’s no good and he knows it very well. On the other hand he felt hurt at your words…he felt…something was wrong with him, it must be right? He never experienced anything let along feelings. So he got to the conclusion that he was just offended by some words. You had offended him, yet here he is, thinking non stop of you.

Back to the others, Caleb was taking with Kazan.

“I think…I think he either likes her or she became his obsession. I mean, she seems like a nice girl, we didn’t cross paths yet. He’s the first one she goes against.” Said Caleb.

“Dark, twisted, small and very broken, but he has it.” Kazan abruptly said. Caleb wasn’t following.

“Excuse me?

“Soul.” Kazan explained. “His soul is dark, twisted, small and very broken, but he has one.” He finished. Caleb rises an eyebrow at Kazans words as to say he is not understanding him.

“Souls, I can see. Souls, I can sense.” Kazan said.

“It’s that so? How’s mine then?” Caleb teased.

“Baka…” It wasn’t rare at all for the Oni to speak Japanese now and then, he just told Caleb he’s a moron.

“Oh come on Kazan! You know my Japanese it’s not fresh!” Caleb protested then saw Kazan walking away.

Days turned into weeks in the realm and you were getting better at trials and so far killer you face killer you got to like you, not as much as Michael apparently. The things with him didn’t change unfortunately. Whenever you two go against each other he tries to give you hatch even if he didn’t sacrifice anyone. All the words that left your mouth were hate words and curse words. You decided if he was going to hate you you will hate him back. Tho deep down you didn’t like that idea. Now and then you catch yourself waking pass the limit of the barrier, just in case you see him. At this point it was like a dynamic. You would face him in a trial, get at his nerves, sometimes he would try to give the hatch anyway but you always complain. And that ends in painful death. You felt like he kills you slower than the rest on purpose. He won’t admit that he also walks pass the limit of the barrier, but in his case he does see you, he sees everything thing you say or do. Of course he does this intentionally. He doesn’t know why he keeps torturing you like he does, or even why he keeps torturing himself watching you knowing nothing will ever happen. Maybe all he wants is to make you hurt, because that way he gets to hear you begging him and saying his name so low.

Michael…please. Stop it.

A soft beg said in a soft voice. All you ever mean by this is for him to stop killing you like he does. He gets you sacrificed sometimes, but you rather get sacrificed a million times than to feel the cold of his kitchen knife stabbing you deep in your guts in the most slow way possible.

By now, you have met all the survivors and went against every killer. But you were closer to Laurie, Nea, Jill, Leon, Yun Jin, Feng, Yui, Oni, Ghostface, the Deathslinger, the Spirit and Wesker. It’s not like you didn’t like the rest of killers and survivors, you just were closer with some. You would often speak with Wesker to hear about genetic stuff, and then you would tease him about some random word you thought it was funny. He would look at you and say something like:

“Hey don’t push me new girl, you will not want me to go Michael!” He laughed. His sense of humor was evident not shared with yours.

“That was not funny Albert.” You said, he looked down.

“I apologize.”

“Rude..” You smiled when you heard Kazan saying that when Albert left.

This far you couldn’t really complain about your staying here. You wish things with Michael were different tho. There was this time when you faced The Doctor, and you were carrying a flashlight, you were getting good at flashlight saves, everything was laugh and fun. You blind him several times, and save your teammates a couple of other time too.

“Hey stop it with the flashlight, new girl! I can call you new girl too right?” Herman asked, annoyed but with a yet friendly tone. In response you pointed the flashlight to his face and granted permission to call you bay your nickname.

“Come on!!! Stop it! I’m warning ya!” He yeld.

“Or what doc?” You really weren’t taking him seriously. Next thing you know is you’re hooked then unhooked, and hooked again. The second time one of your teammates unhooked you, Herman tunneled you and killed you with his own hands.

When you came back to the camp fire you were laughing like a maniac. You really had a good time, not fully caring if you got tunneled or not. Michael, on the other hand, didn’t like that. Not.a.single.bit.

What happened next? The next trial you went on, you and Feng were the only ones left, and guess what? Your were going against Michael, again. This time was different, he actually down you with normal hits and hooked you, it was your first hook when Feng tried to rescue you. It’s not necessary to say Michael grabbed her before she could unhook you. He grabbed poorFeng by the neck and then looked at you, then back at Feng, she knew what was coming. He killed her with his own hand many times before, she didn’t mind at this point. But you? Oh boy you did care…

“Michael…” You say terrified. He tilted his head, he didn’t say a single word but you knew he meant to say “what?” He lift her from the ground and started to get his knife out.

“No please…Michael,” You knew he saw that trial with Herman, you were having fun with the flashlight, then you got tunneled, but you didn’t care, why did he? You could tell it was some type of pay back on Herman, because Feng was his survivor. But..you weren’t his…

Of course Michael was getting his pay back, he just wasn’t going to admit it to you. Pay back exactly for what? For the tunneling? Or maybe was cause he saw you laughing and having fun with Herman instead of him. He thinks he deserves that from you too. Or maybe not, by the way he kept killing you he didn’t doubt why you hated him so much. He just didn’t know what to do. Deep down he must feel that he has to hurt you bad because you hurted him, you kind of rejected him, and one part of him resented you for that. But his other part knows that giving you the worst death of the trial was the only way to get you to talk nicely to him…the way you beg…maybe he wanted so bad to hear you beg cause he couldn’t let himself beg you for attention, for that thing he felt only wfor his mother and his little baby sister, a little bit of love.

Him? Begging? Michael Myers never begged. Victims beg him for mercy, beg him to spare them. He wouldn’t allowed to do that himself.

“Please!!! PLEASE!! LET HER GO!” He didn’t listen any of your words, and the tip of his knife threatened to go deeper into Feng’s belly. You didn’t know what else to do, what else could you say.

“I’m sorry Michael! I’m so sorry, it’s my fault!” The desperate plea for Michael to stop for a second. He knew you didn’t mean to apologize for how you been treating each other. You meant that Feng death was your fault. He turned to look at you. For a second you thought you got it, he would stop. Reality hitter you like a truck when you heard Feng’s desperate cries of pain.

“NOO! PLEASE! FENG!” You cried and sobbed hard. “I’m so sorry Feng.” You apologized to your already dead friend laying on the cold snow of Ormond.

“Why…” Tears falling from your eyes like waterfalls. “Why are you doing this to me? Why I’m not even allowed to have friends…I need them Michael…” you continued.

He remained silent.

“I fucking hate you…your making it impossible for me to be here!” You reclaim.

Imposible for her? He thought. You were the one who put his world and all he knew this entire time upside down. If your harsh words hurt him, this hurt him even more. All of a sudden he got closer to you, and closer….to the point you two were face to face. He hit you with his knife while you were hooked. It was already too late when he noticed that the sharp blade of his knife had cut deep on your throat.

Your face of sudden realization he sliced your throat and your were bleeding out was too much for him. He closes his eyes every time he kills you, but this was too much. This felt way more painful that his normal killing mode. Tears running down your face as you tried to cover your bloody throat in pain. Not being able to tolerate seeing you die like this in so, so much pain, Michael left. He left you there alone to die in the cold.

The trial ended and Michael came back before you, stepping into the other side of the camp fire with the rest of the killers, he was met with Danny, Kazan and Herman.

“Bro…was cutting her throat open really necessary there?” Danny asked him, not really judging him, cause after all you got sacrificed and that what counted. Michael leaned back against the nearest tree there. He looked at Danny, and for the first time since he met you he decided that talking wasn’t going to hurt him that bad.

“No it wasn’t. I don’t know why I did that.” He answered Danny’s question.

Herman decided to join the conversation too.

“Are you okay Michael?” Herman asked. Michael didn’t reply what he expected. He looked at Herman, and for one second he felt ashamed of what he did to Feng Ming, but specifically why he did it. And then something he never thought he would say.

“I’m sorry about Feng Ming.” Herman opened his eyes more…if that was even possible.

Michael gathered himself from the tree and walk away. Kazan made a gesture to Danny. Follow him, that’s what he was tending to say. Needless to say Danny got the hint almost immediately. Danny stood up and quickly tried to put up with Michael.

On the camp fire side, desperate cries and tears came down your face. It turns out that, since Michael cutted your throat while you were still on hooked, when you came back you found out by Laurie’s words that a thin but long scar adorned you neck. You couldn’t believe it. You loved using necklaces and stuff, but now? You wouldn’t be able to use one without the scar sticked to your neck like a bad tattoo.

“I can’t believe this…” You cried. You were so weak that Laurie was holding you by your left arm as Rebecca told you to go to the medical support room, which it was only another part of the camp fire, but with the few things Rebecca could gathered around to help, heal and examine other’s wounds.

“It’s ok girl…we got you.” Laurie reaffirmed. You wouldn’t stop crying. Rebecca was walking in front of you, and Laurie still by your side. You heard a distant “Michael wait!” You recognized that voice immediately.

Ghostface…Danny. You thought. You knew He was close with Michael so you figured out he must be with him.

If I see him I’ll kill him. You thought to yourself. Of course you knew the odds of actually killing a Killer were none, %0. But this time Michael has gone too far and now all you wanna do is tell him how bad he has hurt you. Was he even going to react at your words? Probably not. You turn to look at your left were the barrier was, and you were right. Ghostface was trying to keep up the pace walking Michael had. Laurie seemed to notice you notice Michael on the other side, and gesture to Rebecca to stay with you for a moment.

“Hey, Michael…HEY!” She spoke caughting his attention. Michael stopped and turned to look at Laurie as she got closer and closer to the barrier.

“What’s your deal with her?! You went too far this time! She came back crying and sobbing like an animal!” Michael didn’t react to her words, which only made you angrier. You stepped closer to the barrier as well next to Laurie, this time you were beyond hurt.

“Why…? Why you hate me su much?!” That’s all you could ask.

Michael looked at you but to he was showing no emotions, and you were really starting to suspect it was not due to his mask, you truly believed he hates you for something you couldn’t completely understand.

“You know what? Fuck it I’m done trying to talk to you and to ask-no, beg you to speak back to me and tell me what I did wrong…” tears running down your face.

Michael saw you crying, leaning against Laurie for help. The effort you did in your last trial with him was too much to handle for your little frame. Besides, the feeling of getting your throat cut open was awful. His eyes looked down behind his mask, he couldn’t stand seeing you like this. The sound of your cries and sobbing were tearing through his chest, straight to his heart, if he even had one. He didn’t put a name to what he was feeling and experience when you were with him or near him, all he knew was death, blood and pain. He couldn’t afford to feel anything else…right? With that in mind he turned around and walk away silently.

“Yeah, walk away…like you always do.” You said in a low tone. Throat still hurting for the previous abused it received. He pretend no to listen to what you say. He couldn’t help but feel how something inside started to break.

Michael wondered if the entity was going to do something about this eventually. Little did he know that in reality, the entity was amazed by you and how you treated Michael the first time you met him. Needless to say, that the entity knew how both of you felt for each other. And the only reason she was going to allow what she was going to do, was because she knew both, you and Michael, would react eventually and arrange the differences between you two.

The entity had a plan.

Michael kept stalking you from the dark the rest of the night, that’s how he found out you wanted a choker to cover up the nasty scar. He wasn’t alone tho, Danny was with him. “Ahh…I really would like a choker.” Those were your exact words.

“You heard that Mike?” Danny asked looking at him, smiling behind his mask. Michael nodded.

“I..want to apologize..for..everything I did to her.” Michael said, looking down, eyes to coward to look at you complaining about the scar, a scar he gave you.

“Hey! Now we’re talking!” Danny’s voice a little bit enthusiastic. “How you plan on doing that? I don’t think by just saying that she will even consider to forgive you man…”

“I’ve got an idea…” Michael looked at Danny, then proceeded to whisper in his covered ear what he was going to do.

“It sounds great Mike! You’ll will need lots of paper and fabric. Maybe your mask supplies might work that thing as well!” Danny said looking at your throat’s scar.

“I’m going to Haddonfield.” And with That Michael made his way to his own home town.

Michael spent all night on Haddonfield working on something to give you as for an apology. On the other hand, you didn’t do much, you didn’t had trials that day, until like 6 o’clock you spent your time talking with Kazan, and Danny.

“I don’t like my scar…”

“Scars are sings of fight, if you survive fights it means your strong, therefor scars shows strength.” Kazan spoke.

“I agree with this big red guy here.” Danny added.

“I guess your right guys.”

Somewhere meters away from you, on the killer side, Evan and Caleb were sharing a interesting conversation. You see, Evan since he’s been here long before most of the killers he can speak with the entity sometimes.

“So…your telling me the entity’s plan is basically hope for the best? There’s no way we can know how he will react to it. He has never been punished before!” Caleb said.

“We gotta trust her plan Caleb.” Evan said, his gaze looking up where the entity is supposed to be.

“I hope she don’t do wrong.”

“She never does, Caleb. She never does.”

Time passed and you keep talking with Kazan and Danny from your side of the camp. Danny telling you something about his camera you didn’t quite catch the meaning. It was so specific and technical you didn’t even try to understand it. Then you asked Kazan to tell you everything he knew about the Samurai. You’ve always loved Japanese culture, you wanted to go someday to japan too.

“I would have loved to travel to Japan…” Your voice flooded with sadness.

“It’s so beautiful…my country…I don’t doubt you would have love it.” Kazan replays.

You were so focused on your conversation with Kazan and Danny that you didn’t notice Michael joining them. When you saw him all the joy on your face instantly disappeared. It’s like you couldn’t had one minute alone, not even a day! Kazan and Danny didn’t understand your sudden change of mood.

“What the hell do you want now?” You said, eyes wouldn’t dare to leave that white mask of his.

Both Kazan and Danny looked at each other, raised their shoulders until they looked behind themselves.

“Guys, can we move somewhere else please? I don’t have time nor the energy to deal with this freak.” You said looking dead to Michael’s eyes. Danny examined Michael for a moment and noticed something in his right hand.

“New girl…” Danny looked at you.

“What??” You already sounded pissed.

“Please, just give him a moment…” He said. It was the first time you heard The Ghostface say “please”, so for the sake of it you listed.

Michael stepped closer to the barrier, Danny and Kazan gave him space so his now was positioned in the middle. He reached his right hand to the edge of the barrier beneath him and tossed something to your side. You looked at it confused.

“I don’t get it, the hell do you want?!” You yeld at him.

Michael looks down at the object then back up at you. He wanted you to grab it. You sigh ruin discomfort as you bent down to grab it. Still didn’t catching what it was. All you knew it was soft to the touch.

“And I’m still don’t getting it, maybe I’m just stupid or perhaps you should fucking talk to me already!!” You were getting angrier every minute.

“I think you should open it..” Kazan has an idea of what could it been, you said earlier that you hated your scar, so he though maybe it was a necklace. You looked at Danny for his opinion too. He just nodded.

“Agh!! The things I do for you guys…” You said, your voice still angry. Michael couldn’t help but to feel bad you wanted to spend time with them but not with him.

Your eyes filled with anger when you saw this thing was a choker, and you didn’t even know why. Deep down you wanted to forgive him, you just couldn’t seem to find a reason.

“Sorry.” A single word scaped Michael’s mouth. It was the first time he ever spoke to you. Yet you felt it wasn’t enough. This wasn’t a worthy apology.

“Sorry? SORRY?! That’s all you could came up with?

“New girl, I think you shou-“ You didn’t let Danny finish.

“Your pathetic! Your fucking pathetic you hear me? I can’t believe I told you I loved your movies. How I regret that, I regret being nice to you..” You were angry as ever.

The bad treat continued, once, twice..you couldn’t count how many bad, nasty and hurting things you said to him.

“Childish!”

“Coward!”

“Fuckin evil!!”

“I hope you die fucking bastard, I want you dead!”

You tossed back the choker to the other side in contempt, and when you finished something scaped your mouth. Something that even in the most agitated of situations you wouldn’t even think of saying.

“Your mom was a fucking whore, a filthy slut. I bet she didn’t even wanted to have you in the first place!! Why don’t you just leave me alone, damn it!” You yelled at him hitting the invisible barrier that separated you from him and your friend killers. You knew thanks to the movie his mom used to be a stripper. His heart skipped a bit when you said that. Now he knew for sure he had a heart.

If he was hurt before now he was torn to pieces. But what torn apart his heart the most was knowing that, despite what you had just said, what he felt for you didn’t change a damn bit. With no more further a do, he proceeded to walk away. Danny followed him as usual, trying to get him to stay.

“Come on Mike! Don’t leave.” He yelled. “You went way too far kid…Kazan, looked at the choker.” He continued, he notice something written inside the choker, you just hadn’t seen it. Kazan took the little fabric from the dirty ground, wipped of the dirt and read it. Danny far gone by now.

“Kazan…? What does it say?” You asked him.

“You made me human…” This words stabbed you right in your chest. You knew very well the pain of getting stabbed, but this? This can’t be compared.

You felt awful. Why did you said that? It’s not like you even meant it. You felt your eyes filling with tears again at what you just said to him. All alone you thought that hurting him back the way he’d hurt you would make you feel better. But it didn’t. It just made you feel worse. Like you had no soul.

“I…I really messed up here, didn’t i? Kazan?” You looked at his red Oni mask.

“I’m afraid you did…” He confessed.

“Oh my god…what did I do?” You tried to see if you could find Michael with your eyes from your side of the camp. What you didn’t know was that the moment Michael tossed you the choker he made the entity put to work her own plan. You could hear a distant voice, again it was Danny.

“Hey, Mike! Hey!! Michael!” Danny exclaimed, yet no answer from Michael. Danny’s exclamations for Michael became more and more audible. Something was wrong, you knew it, you could feel it. You ran in direction of Danny’s voice.

“Dude wake up! Michael!” Danny kept saying. You got there panting and sweating. Kazan followed a little bit after.

“What’s wrong with him?” You asked.

“I don’t know, he was like this when I catch up with him.”

You could see his body was struggling. His left hand holding his knife, knukles white as milk. His breathing could be heard from where you were. He was getting trouble to breathe. Soft pants and groans suddenly left his mouth too. He sounded like he was in pain, but physically he looked fine. No blood or sings of injuries. It take you a lot of effort to notice through his eyes of his mask that his real eyes were glued shut and a few tears running down.

“Oh my god…his eyes! Look at his eyes.” You told Danny.

“He’s crying!” Danny said surprised.

“Something’s wrong with him. Something’s wrong with him!” You exclaimed. His groans and pants became louder.

“Ahh agh…” Michael complained. Hearing him like this putted you on desperate mode. You tried hitting the barrier unsuccessfully, even kicked it several times.

“Please let in through!” You yelled at the sky, knowing the entity will hear you.

“Do something, guys. Help him! I can’t do anything from here!”

Danny tried to shake his body. No responce. Kazan snaked his body even harder. Again, no response. You noticed some pamphlets in the ground near his boots. You pointed this out to Danny and Kazan. It didn’t took you long to realize that those were her mother’s stripper pamphlets. So did Ghostface and Oni.

“He’s being punished…” Kazan said.

“What? Why?!” You cried. “It’s because of the choker?” You asked.

“Maybe, we don’t know.” Danny spoke.

“No! Please, it’s not his fault it’s mine! I’m the one who should be punished. Please!” You begged to the entity. At this point Michael had his head looking up. Grantings of pain still scaped his mouth.

“No Michael, Michael…listen to me!” You looked at his poor suffering form. “I was wrong. I was wrong! All of this wasn’t your fault. I overreacted, okay? And your mom? Your mom was a beautiful person. She did everything she could for you and both your sisters! I was wrong Michael. I’m so sorry…so so sorry! I didn’t mean anything of this to happen…” You sobbed while explaining yourself. Michael managed to look down at you.

Desperation taking over your body, you punched and kicked the barrier. Demanding the entity to let you in just this once.

“Please!! Please, i-I’ll do anything!” You begged her.

From the distant, Caleb and Evan could hear your screams. They know what was already happening, that’s why the decided that not interfering was the best option. Nothing could have prepared the people on this realm for what was about to happen. Your hands banging the barrier were suddenly met with grass and dirt. You fall, that was for sure. But you had fallen into the other side of the camp. To everyone’s surprise, there was no barrier separating both camps anymore.

“Did just the barrier…” Caleb asked Evan. “What did just the entity do?”

“Allowing what was not allowed.” Evan sounded happy. The entity’s plan was working.

You didn’t have time to enjoy your new freedom nor did you killer friends. As soon you got up you went straight to Michael. Holding him by his broad shoulders, you reassured him.

“I’m here Michael! I’m here. Please come back to me.” You begged him, this time was different. You noticed his hands still struggling and clenched. You grabbed the hand that was holding the knife to see if you could easy some of that tension. Worried eyes examining his mask to catch any sign that he was okay.

Suddenly his struggling stopped and his head went down. Your hands fly up to grab his masked face only to be met by his free hand around your neck, squeezing tightly.

“Dude what are you doing?!” Danny yelled.

“Michael, it-it’s me…” Your air leaving your lungs. His hand dangerously tight around your neck. Threatening to break it right there.

“Judith…” He growled. The entity no longer had him seeing the posters of his stripper mother, his school bullies or his stepfather. Now he was having living flashbacks of his older sister, Judith.

“N-no, Michael please, y-you know me…” It was getting hard for you to speak due to the lack of oxygen.

“Don’t speak.” His hand squeezing harder. “I hate you.” The flashbacks of his selfish sister were really getting to him. It all was so real to him that without noticing he was getting his knife near your belly again.

“Dude-dude, if you killer her she’s not coming back, she’s it coming back Michael!” Danny said trying his best to help you. Michael looked at him for one second or two, then he continued to reach for your belly. In a desperate measure, Danny took off his ghostface mask and grabbed Michael’s hand that was holding his signature kitchen knife.

“Mike, who am i?” Danny asked. Another desperate attempt to make him come back to himself.

“L-loomis.” Michael growled at him.

“No, Michael you know me, come on! Who am i? He asked again.

“D-danny..Danny.” Michael said. You could see the tears in his eyes. He was fighting this.

“Good! Good, now, who is she? You got this you know her.” Danny cheered him up. Michael looked at you, eyebrows frowned.

“J-j…Judidth.”

“No..” You left out a sight. You cried even harder when you noticed Michael raising the knife up.

“Dude stop!!” Danny yelled again, this time ready to do something about it but Kazan had to hold him down.

“Let me go Kazan!”

“You’re only going to make it worst.” He stated, holding Danny down.

“Michael..” You sobbed. You prepared yourself when he got ready to stab you. One final stab, and you were going to see dark…fall to eternal sleep. One last thing scaped your mouth before closing your eyes.

“I love you, Michael Myers…” it was low, you hadn’t much air left. But you didn’t want to leave this world without letting him know this. You glue shut your eyes one last time to embrace his final stab. You even heard Danny screaming “Stop!! Stop it!!!” You were ready now, waiting patiently for your inevitable fate. You flinched your eyes anticipating the blade, but the blade cutted through nothing. You opened your eyes. Somehow you succeeded to get Micheal back. The entity’s plan had worked without you even noticing. He let you fell to the ground so as he did with his knife. Danny and Kazan ran to help you get up. You tried to reach for Michael’s arms but he rejected your touch.

“No…i-i” That was all he could say.

“It’s not your fault Michael.” You assure him. But he just took off leaving the three of you there. He wasn’t the only one afraid to keep touching you it appear. Danny hand left your arm and Kazan took a step back. You gave them a “I’m not following you guys” look.

“It’s just that…this barrier thing, never happened before. We never touched you before, none other than to kill you ir sacrifice you…” Danny spoke for both of them, Kazan and himself.

You reached your hand to Danny’s uncovered face, and cupped it in your warmth. He embrace it immediately. Closing his eyes and smiling.

“You look better with the mask off.” You laughed, he did the same.

“If you say so…”

“Kazan…come here!” You told him with opened arms. He seemed hesitant at first.

“Come…” You insisted, smiling.

“Hug?” He asked.

“Yes!” You exclaimed. The tenderness in his hug cought you by surprise for such a big and buffed man like him.

You stayed like that for a few minutes until Michael was the topic of conversation again. You asked Danny where he might have gone.

“I think I know where..” He said.

The single Street and the kind of trees in the block gave the map away very fast. You were again on Haddonfield.

“I know he sometimes comes here to make mask or whenever he feels bad or angry…I don’t know which house it’s his house tho.” Danny explained.

“Oh don’t worry I know which one is it.” You looked at his still uncovered face.

“Okay, good luck New Girl…if he doesn’t speak right away you should come back later.” He said ready to leave when you said one last thing to him.

“You know Danny…your not that bad after all.” It was the first time he heard you call him by his real name, it always had been “hey ghost!” Or “Ghostie!” It felt good hearing that coming from someone he considered a friend.

“You know y/n…Michael wasn’t wrong after all.”

“I don’t follow.”

“You did made us human after all.” You smiled at his statement then he walks back to the camp.

Once you reach Michael’s house you stepped in. Thinking to yourself he must be upstairs you went up. There was only one room with its door opened. Michael must be in there. You were reaching the end of the stairs, walking as slowly as possible to not give your self away. The house wasn’t helping much tho, with each step you made the wood underneath you cracked. He wasn’t unnoticed to the sound he thought perhaps was the wind since he had the windows open. Your small frame compared to his made a silhouette on his door frame.

Once inside his room you could see he had fully decorated its walls with handmade masks he had done himself. Just like in the movie, but that was on the prison cell instead of his real room. You saw him sat in a chair near a wooden desk. His mask still on, his head was down. His chest moving up and down.

"Michael…" You soft voice soothed his ears. He looked at his left, letting you know he knew you were there. "I'm not here to fight you. Not anymore." You said. Michael didn't react. His breathing sounded soft. Him not having any type of reaction made you move closer to him, until you were besides him. Your left hand resting on his right shoulder. Your eyes wondering the masks hanged on the wall in front of you.

"They are beautiful. You know that?" You told him giving his right shoulder little masages. He looked up to contemplate them. You didn't know how you went from looking masks to have him face to face again and your back pressed yo the wall. By now you were expecting nothing less than a kiss. He grabbed you by both your shoulders and lowered his head until it was pressed against your left collarbone.

This is not a kiss. You thought.

Soft sobs could be heard behind his mask, they were muffled by the same, but you were able to hear them. Then suddenly, he spoke again.

“I’m so…so sorry.” Your heart melted at his words and you couldn’t resist but to hold him tight against your little chest compared to his. More muffled sobs coming from Him.

“It’s okay…I’m the one that should be apologizing.” You replied back.

“You already did.” He lift his head to look at you.

You felt the urge to know how he looked behind that mask. What was he hiding. You didn’t have to take out his mask to know he was beautiful. Took your hand move to the edge of it. Michael moved his head back, hesistant.

“Let me see you Mike.” Hearing you calling him Mike was all he needed.

Pulling the mask up with little effort was necessary to take it off. And just as you spectated, he has long blond curly hair, blueish eyes a big, but yet straight nose, and plump heart shaped lips. A beautiful face, just as you thought. You cupped his face with your hands just as you did with Danny.

“You’re beautiful Michael.” Your voice like a sweet whisper. He touched your lips with his thumb, caressing them like it was a newly found treasure. His treasure.

The feeling of his chapped lips on yours was inevitable. Tho he seemed to be the first to started it, as soon as he started he wanted to finish, scared you wouldn’t like it. But you insisted to kiss him longer. You wanted more. It didn’t matter that his lips were chapped. Eventually you two separated to get some air.

“You’re beautiful.” You reassured him again. He put his forehead against yours.

“And you’re the most beautiful human I ever seen.” He replied, voice deep and low. “Y/n?” He added.

“Yeah?”

“I love you too.” He finally said it. Finally admitted it and gave it a name.

A little time went by and now you were sitting on his lap seeing how he made masks. Your left arm wrapped around his shoulders for support.

“So, I put more glue over here and…we are done.” He was showing you how he made his masks.

“This seems interesting to make.” You replied.

“Are you sure you never done this before?” His mouth forming a little smile. Not fully believing you never done a paper mask before.

“Oh well…you caught me. I did. But a like to see you make them.” You said honestly.

“How cute.” Your heart flinched at his words and your cheeks flushed. “I like it when you flush”

“Stop it Michael!” You gave him a little tug on his coverall.

“Never.” He said looking into your eyes and give your nose a quick kiss.

You spent the rest of the night like this, laughing your lungs out and doing disasters with his glue.

That night loud voices were heard at Haddonfield. The difference this time was that Michael wasn’t alone, he had the best company he could’ve asked for.

I hope you enjoyed this! Sorry if there’s misspellings, English it’s not my mother language, have mercy please 🥹 I’m open to requests!!

[soft-pine]

im literally so confused when people say that dean learned that his mom was a real complex person. like. he already knew that? he wanted someone to actually take his burdens from him and maybe that's not a fair thing to desire from your mom but i kind of dont get the fandom-wide presumption that amara brought mary back as a kindness, like she was doing it to teach dean a lesson and playing with his life (even if it was for his own good in her mind) and using mary as a gift.

hi anon! yes! i have said a lot more about the mary-specific stuff about this here (maybe you saw that already idk) and others added some great comments as well!

but i think this general kind of pattern comes from allowing characters narrativizations of each other to stand in place of actual analysis by the viewer. some classic examples of that, to me, are e.g. rachel's angry speech in 6.18

RACHEL: I'm his friend. SAM: What, you think we're not? RACHEL: I think you call him when you need something. We're fighting a war. SAM: We get that. RACHEL: Clearly you don't, or you wouldn't call him every time you stub your toe.

the amount of times when i've seen similar claims made by fans about dean in season 6. when, in actually, dean spent most of season six saying he knew cas was busy, asking if he could help cas at all, and when it came down to dean actually asking for help it was asking cas questions about things about which cas had significantly more knowledge or power than dean.

another example is sam's lashing out in 9.13

SAM: I'll give you this much. You are certainly willing to do the sacrificing as long as you're not the one being hurt.

hell of a thing to say to a man who sacrificed his soul to go to hell for you but ok.

another (maybe more controversial) one but one that is very dear to me is cas' claim in 6.21

CASTIEL: Dean, I do everything that you ask. I always come when you call.

it is wild to me when people take this at face value when it's a grotesque (pos) amalgamation of all of cas' desires and intentions with the beating heart of cas' own self delusion and the eerily long arms of manipulation.

anyway, that is all a long way around to saying, i think because the fan perception of dean is that he needs things explained AT him (his feelings, his trauma, his sexuality, his father, etc. etc). so when characters tell him how he is or what he needs, people sometimes just take that as a fact. so in 15.15 when amara tells dean he needed to see his mom as a real person, many people just intake that, nod and carry on. and then, worst case, repeat that pattern in fic and then the mischaracterization spreads....

but almost every time a character tells dean what he must be feeling, they are wrong (2.02 and 2.04 come to mind specifically in addition to the examples listed above). so yeah, amara's reasons for bringing mary back and her reasons for saying it don't come from a deep understanding of dean and who he is and what he needs. they come from her own selfish desires and her speech is coated in layers of manipulation.

but idk i really don't like amara. i think it makes sense that in season 15, when people were grasping for a ending godlike entity that wasn't chuck and that wasn't jack, amara was kinda there.... and her season 11 behavior wasn't as fresh in people's minds. so i think she additionally gets a pass sometimes because people (for some reason?) want a god-creature to kinda step in a solve things. so they want her to be saying true, honest things.

sorry this was a real ramble.

[gravitycavity]

Sunshine (Pomni x Ragatha) Chapter 1 - Put On a Happy Face

[Click here to read from the beginning on AO3!]

Cover art by @blukiar

“You’re supposed to $%#&ing smile, Pomni!” Zooble's hoarse scream reverberated throughout the big top. “Are you stupid?! We can’t finish the new intro if you aren’t @#$%ing smiling!”

“Leave. Me. Alone!” Pomni, denied the catharsis of slinging her sailor’s mouth, expressed her disdain with her middle fingers instead. She only ended up seething harder, however, when a pair of other-dimensional censor bars appeared to obscure the rude gestures.

“Oh! So that’s how you want to play it, Puffball?” Zooble narrowed her eyes, limping toward the jester with as much aggression as their awkwardly-constructed body would allow — which, for the record, wasn’t very much.

Ragatha had seen enough. “Relax!” She raised her voice, swooping vigilantly between the bickering belligerents. “Both of you!”

Gangle, moping off to the side, sniveled pitifully. In all the commotion, her comedy mask had been shattered. For the second time. This morning. “Guys…! Please, just stop fighting…”

Jax crossed his legs, reclining smartly against Kinger’s impenetrable pillow fort. “Can it, crybaby. This is the best entertainment we’ve had in years!” He flicked a piece of popcorn into the air and caught it in his mouth. Meanwhile, a vibrating Kinger poked his eyes out from between two pillows, saying nothing and everything at the same time.

Ragatha’s good-natured attempts to keep the peace were all for naught. She flinched out of the way of Zooble’s punch — but before the strike could connect, a floating boxing bell materialized out of nowhere, piercing the air with a shrill shriek.

“Now, now! There’s no need for that!” Caine’s wagging finger appeared beside the bell, followed shortly after by the rest of the entity. He lifted his tophat, and a cheesing Bubble gingerly drifted out.

“Naughty, naughty~” Bubble chomped his teeth.

Caine snapped his fingers, and an unseen force pushed Pomni and Zooble apart. “The Amazing Digital Circus — copyright 1996 C&A Incorporated, all rights reserved — is a magical, marvelous CD-Romp for all ages! Zany shenanigans and cartoon mischief I can abide, but outright violence? Strictly out of the question!”

With a grunt, Zooble spiked their arm against the floor. “What are we supposed to do, then!? We’re on take fifty-seven of your dumb@%$ theme song because poor little Pomni thinks she’s the main character of the universe!”

Pomni responded to that, but whatever she said, it was profane enough to be scrubbed out entirely.

“Yes, well…” Caine crossed his arms, steeped in careful thought. The last hour-and-a-half of unusable footage played back through his mismatched eyeballs in a matter of seconds. “It’s nothing we can’t fix in post.”

Zooble swiped their discarded arm off the ground and crammed it back into its empty socket. “Great. Then you can edit me in, too.” They stormed off, reciprocating Pomni’s earlier gesture. “Eat $@#%, sad sack.”

Jax sighed. “Aw, shucks. Right when things were getting good…”

“Uh…!” Caine skipped a beat. He swiveled toward the five circus members still gathered beneath the big top. “Well, then!” he elbowed his soap bubble companion, “Looks like we’ve got our work cut out for us, Bubble! As for the rest of you, consider yourselves off the hook for the rest of the day — my treat! Take some personal time, get some sleep, and try your darndest not to dwell on the soul-crushing scale of eternity!”

“I have no soul!” Bubble turned upside-down. “So I don’t mind it one bit!”

“You and me both, old pal!” Caine’s laugh sounded forced and unnatural.

There was a pause. Gangle glanced around, then meekly raised her ribbony hand. “But what about—”

“Go on, now! I won’t take no for an answer!” the ringmaster stabbed the air with his cane, “I want you all in tip-top condition for tomorrow’s wacky adventure!”

🎪 🎪 🎪

It wasn’t long before everyone had gone their separate ways. Jax had slinked off to the digital carnival to terrorize the NPCs, Gangle had left a trail of teardrops all the way to the digital lake, and Kinger, as per usual, had just disappeared without anyone really noticing.

At last, Pomni was alone again. She curled her tear-stained face inward and filled her chest with three shaky breaths. She couldn’t hold it in anymore. Hands tightened into trembling fists, she threw her head toward the sky and let loose a long, ear-shattering shriek.

Why was this happening to her? What did she ever do to deserve this!? She was a person — a human being, for God’s sake — not some stupid, one-dimensional children’s character. How dare anyone expect her to just grin and bear it? She didn’t owe anything to anyone — not even one second of feigned emotion. As far as she was concerned, the moment she forced that goofy smile onto her face would be the moment she surrendered, and she would never, ever, in a million years—

“I’m always here if you need to talk. You haven’t forgotten, have you?”

Pomni flinched, wrenching away from the sudden voice. After the emotional hell she’d gone through during her first day, unexpected noises didn’t exactly put her at ease — nor did anything else in this deranged digital purgatory, for that matter.

“Ah! Sorry!” Ragatha covered her mouth. “I didn’t spook you too bad, did I?”

“You did, actually! Wh-What’s wrong with you?” Pomni gathered herself quickly. She didn’t dare to even look in the direction of the person who had just watched her childish tantrum. The moment she found her footing again, she stormed off like her very life depended on it. “Don’t just sneak up on people like that!”

Silently relenting, Ragatha stepped aside to let Pomni pass. She watched the pouting jester jingle and jangle with every step, stomping with boundless confidence in the completely wrong direction.

“Uh…” Ragatha tilted her head. “Pomni? Do you remember the way to your room?”

“Ugh! What do you care?” Pomni doubled her pace. “Mind your own business!”

Ragatha smirked. “Alright, I guess I’ll just head back to my room, then. Which, for the record…” She pointed behind herself, “…is that way.”

Pomni stared vacantly as Ragatha sauntered off. The doll had read her like a book. Locking herself in her room for days on end meant she still had no clue how to get around the tent — if she wanted to get back to her regularly-scheduled self-pity anytime soon, she would have to swallow whatever was left of her pride.

Pomni grumbled under her breath, fast-walking to catch up. “Hey! W-Wait!”

🎪 🎪 🎪

There was no ambient noise to dampen the tension; the dormitory hall’s plush carpet absorbed the sound of Pomni and Ragatha’s footsteps. Ragatha led, hands tucked politely below her waist, while Pomni trailed behind.

The complete, unbroken silence wasn’t exactly the most comfortable thing in the world, but it was preferable to whatever inane smalltalk would have filled it. That’s how Pomni saw things, at least.

In the time it had taken to walk here, she had managed to cool off a bit — and the unwavering quiet gave her plenty of mental space to reflect on the last few minutes.

She wasn’t sorry. Pomni didn’t care if Zooble hated her — she could hate them right back. Breaking bread with Jax was pointless; that creep preferred to provoke. Gangle was friendly, but to interact with her was to walk on eggshells, and Pomni lacked the patience. And Kinger? Was Kinger.

Arms crossed, Pomni looked up from her big, dumb clown shoes. Her gaze settled on the doll in front of her. Pomni despised everything about this place — but now that she was going through her laundry list of grievances, she had to admit: she had nothing on the redhead.

…What was her name? Ragatha…? She was by far the most mature of the circus’s captives. She was kind. Predictable. An island of calm in a stormy sea.

Pomni’s harsh features softened. Ragatha was the only character who had shown her the slightest shred of compassion since she’d arrived here. The realization weighed down her stomach with more than a few pangs of guilt. Ragatha, of all people, certainly wasn’t a deserving outlet for her angst.

Oh, no — nice going, you idiot. Ragatha was the one thing about this place keeping you anywhere close to sanity, and you’ve already repelled her by acting like a petulant child. She probably hates you now. You know that, right? Actually, it’s not ‘probably’. It’s ‘definitely’. That’s why she isn’t talking. That’s why this is so awkward. That’s why —

“So…what’s under your cap?”

Pomni stumbled. Had the wall not been there to grab onto, she absolutely would have fallen flat on her face.

Stabilizing herself, Pomni gawked up at Ragatha as if the doll had just beamed down from another planet. What’s under her cap? Did she hear that right? It was such an odd, out-of-the-blue question — but at least it had yanked her out of her head.

“I’m sorry?”

Ragatha bent down to Pomni’s eye level. “Your cap.” She said gently, resisting the urge to prod one of the little bells dangling from either end. “It comes off, doesn’t it?”

Pomni blinked. She hadn’t really given it any thought. In fact, until Ragatha had brought it up, she had forgotten that her ridiculous new form came with a hat at all. Doing nothing but hiding under the covers and sobbing for days on end had that effect.

With much bigger problems weighing on her mind, Pomni didn’t really care to check — but something about Ragatha’s expectant gaze possessed her anyway. Very carefully, she hooked her fingers beneath the golden rim. She felt a small amount of resistance as she pushed up, almost as if the headpiece were attached to her body through some kind of magnetic force.

With a just a little effort, though, it popped right off.

“…Huh.” Pomni held the striped cap in her hands. “Look at that.”

“Oh, goodness!” Ragatha tried and failed to suppress a squeal. She paid no mind to her question’s answer, too distracted by the worst hat hair anyone had ever seen. It was certainly a look; a chaotic mess of tangles, knots, and flyaways did as it pleased atop the jester’s capless crown.

“Hey! What gives?!” Pomni ducked her cap back onto her head. A few extra clumps of hair stuck out from underneath. “Why are you laughing?”

“I’m so sorry! Your hair is just…” Ragatha giggled. “Well, it’s a bit messy at the moment. But I like it!”

Pomni leered. “…Liar.”

“I’m not making fun of you! Honest!” Ragatha crossed her hands over her heart. “I love your hair, Pomni. It’s…”

“It’s what?!”

“It’s so cute!”

Pomni’s eyes grew two sizes. That was…not the answer she expected to hear. She didn’t know what to say — just that her face felt a lot warmer than before.

“Obviously, you could use a comb…or three. But who cares about that?” Ragatha’s hand drifted through her own thick, yarn-like locks. “You really lucked out, you know. I’d trade your hair for mine in a heartbeat.”

Despite everything, the smallest of half-smiles lit Pomni’s face.

“I, um…” Pomni took a deep breath. And then two more. Her whole body slumped closer to the floor. Try as she might to keep her personal pity party alive, Ragatha’s radiant energy made her forget her troubles, if only for a moment.

“…Why are you being so nice? And to me, of all people?”

Ragatha just shrugged. “Do I have a reason not to be?”

Pomni gripped her other arm, gaze flicking down the corridor. Her smile faded in the silence.

“Well, um, anyway…” Ragatha glanced at the door behind her — Pomni’s awkwardness was infectious. “You have your room key, right?”

Pomni’s heart skipped at the thought of having lost it, but eased at the feeling of cold metal in her pocket. She nodded.

Gently, Ragatha took the cartoonish key from Pomni’s hand. With a turn and a click, the way to the jester’s room was open.

Ragatha held the door, smiling warmly. “You look like you could use some space. Go enjoy some quality alone time, okay, new stuff?”

“O-Okay.” Pomni didn’t hesitate to do just that — until she did. “Um…” She peeked behind a door half-open. After the longest pause, a simple, stammered “thanks” was all she could manage to get out.

Her door clicked shut. And audibly locked.

My Ko-fi - Tips are very much appreciated! :)

[Next Chapter]

[queen-beom]

This is a short and resumed analysis of the Wednesday plot on the long term if the show surpasses the second season (which is actually possible):

Soooo I think there are three main plots on Wednesday: Wednesday's plot, Tyler's plot and the big plot that connects the two, that big thing Wednesday said that is behind the Thornhill/Gates plan and Crackstone resurrection and the subsequent implication of Morning Song on it.

Wednesday's plot is about her growing as a person, I think with each season she's gonna learn something that will make her a better person/character and that will be related to Tyler's arc and the bigger plot as well. I also believe that Wednesday's character arc is gonna be developing by her interaction with other characters (Enid, Eugene and her family mainly) and the majority of the young cast is somewhat involved on the big plot so that's the link between Wednesday and them. There's also Goody and the Addams family lore that will be related but I don't know how.

Tyler's arc is about discovering himself. In the WCU (Wednesday Cinematic Universe) he is this almost unknown shapeshifter monster called Hyde. The Hyde is sort of a mystery, we barely know anything about it, and the things we know are highly questionable or unfinished. So Tyler's character arc is gonna be about himself being a Hyde, what it means to be a Hyde, why do Hydes need to have a master (if they really need to have masters). I think we'll have the Galpin's family story too. About Francoise and her time in Willow Hill this season, and about Donovan in the future.

Then there's the big plot, the one that connects Wednesday, Tyler and the rest. in the first season, the first characters to be directly intertwined by the plot were Wednesday and Tyler, they were settled as enemies by this unknown force/entity behind Thornhill/Gates actions, and by the info we got, the next direct connection is Bianca. (Xavier's connection was hinted by his visions but meh, since they won't bring him back next season with a different actor his connection seems rather insubstantial). I think that with each season we'll have more young characters getting attached to this bigger plot and they're gonna be the ones fighting the main villain together.

But I also believe that the final fight will be between fully developed Wednesday and Tyler vs the villain because all of this started with them and with them is going to end.

ps

I didn't add anything about romantic dynamic between Wyler that I do believe is gonna happen and it will be an important part of the character arc of Wednesday and Tyler because I also believe that can change. Either way be romance or friendship their bond and it's exploration is important to the bigger plot that involved both of them since the beginning and since I consider Tyler as a victim primarily (he's also a perpetrator but against his will which adds a layer to the nuance of his character) I don't wanna see him as a fully villain, maybe an anti-villain (this will be an interesting development to the Wyler relationship considering Wednesday is an anti-heroine).

[roz-ani]

One issue I don't quite get and want to briefly comment on is the idea that Alastor has to be either an old-school villain who's just evil for the sake of being evil, or more of an antagonist with actual depth, emotions, and traumatic backstory to explain his actions, letting the audience relate to him. I think we're going to extremes here. We don't have to go, "Oh, I understand why he would do that". The main goal is for us to say, "Oh, so that's his deal".

While we don't know exactly what Alstor's deal is, what the exact terms of his contract are etc., he is, without a doubt, the most complex character in the show. He's in a unique position since he technically helps Charlie achieve her goal, but it's obvious he's in it for selfish reasons, with some grander scheme going on behind the scenes. May he eventually be the one the main cast will have to fight at some point? Sure. Would it be even more fun because he is a part of the said cast? Absolutely.

Let's get one thing straight: Alastor is evil. He's in Hell for a good reason. He's a cannibal and a serial killer. And I know we can absolutely forgive characters for doing the absolute worst, but he is not a good person. And yes, you can like (and simp for) evil characters. (If you think being a fan of intriguing fictional creations makes you a terrible person, you need to get off twitter and tiktok to actually interact with real people.) At the same time, the finale of season 1 simply made it clear that Al does have depth, and that he's going to be a three-dimensional character. Not that his actions are going to be suddenly justified.

But why can't we explore evil characters while enjoying them and letting them be evil? We can. Alastor started his carnage in Hell before making his deal, so it's not the main reason behind his less-than-questionable actions. For now, he's looking for freedom so he can (re)gain power and be in control again. At the same time, he is growing attached to the other characters. I highly doubt he'll be redeemed; we'll just learn more about him, his backstory, and his goals.

Can you even call Al an antagonist? If you ask me, he's more of an anti-hero. Heck, do we know who he is? Not really, and that's the point. He's one of the main characters, but he makes himself separate in both the story and the writing. He's a wild card.

We don't know what's coming for the Radio Demon in season 2. The first one established that there's more to him and that he started growing fond of the other characters, while the finale made Al realise it almost got him killed. He was humiliated and it reminded him even more that he's still under someone else's control. At least, that's how I see it. Alastor may become more sinister as the story progresses, and as he's getting more and more desperate to free himself of the contract. AT THE SAME TIME, he did come back to the Hotel with a smile and consent for a group hug, so it's not like he's going to blow it up in the first episode. He's not against the Hotel itself. He's doing his own thing, knowing that the titular establishment is an inherent part of his story. All paths lead to the Hazbin Hotel. My guess is that he will simply become more active.

Alastor is already a three-dimensional character; there is no doubt about that. But it's not like he's getting reckoned here. I don't really understand where this notion of our Radio Demon being an old-school villain came from in the first place. He's always been a mystery. Okay, maybe in the pilot it was not so clear-cut, and I'll admit, it would be fun to just see the Radio Demon as a powerful entity overlooking the hotel for his own pleasure. Turning him into a villain later on? Meh, depends on what would happen in the story if that were the case. Watching Jack Horner in "Puss in Boots", reminded me how much I missed villains that were not an initial antagonist's evil-incarnate-superior. However, it was quite quickly established that there is more to Alastor. He would have to appear pretty rarely to not go through any character arc in a show with such an ambitious storyline as Hazbin Hotel (and what a delightful character would we lose if that was the direction the writing team would have taken?). I would mention the pacing actually harming that development, but it's clear this is the show's biggest problem, and we just have to take things for granted.

If anything, Alastor is being restrained from being purely evil. To me, he's a combination of both of the character types I mentioned at the beginning, leaning more toward the well-developed anti-hero. Just let evil characters be evil and three-dimensional. 

[allastoredeer]

I'm with you there on preferring bottom!Alastor and getting squicked out by top!Alastor. The squick is worse for me when searching radioapple than radiostatic stuff, and I think it has more to do with the egregious amount of uke-fication of Lucifer that I've seen. Vox and Al get it sometimes too, let's be real that's gonna happen in any mlm ship. But I feel like it happens SO often to Lucifer, mostly cause he's small and cute, that people completely forget he's the oldest and most powerful entity in hell.

He would NOT be genuinely scared or intimidated by Al or any other sinner for that matter and Al would NOT be able to physically overpower or threaten Luci. It just feels so wildly out of character for me that any of the appeal of the ship/characters is gone at that point.

Like, for real, no shade to anyone that likes that, go on and get your food. But my extreme dislike of it has me now avoiding bottom!Lucifer radioapple like the plague just so I don't risk being subjected to it.

I think...I think you just described why I feel so squicked out by bottom!Lucifer and top!Alastor 😦 Like, I couldn't figure out what exactly about it was throwing me off, but you just said it perfectly!!

That's literally it! It's the uke-fication of Lucifer. That's it. Lucifer would never feel threatened by Alastor. He would never be overpowered by Alastor. So when I see depictions of Alastor successfully intimidating Lucifer, or overpowering him at all, it just throws me out of the story.

Lucifer's been alive longer than Hell. Alastor's measely 100+ years of being alive is nothing compared to his millennia+ lifespan. And yeah, Lucifer is the strongest person in Hell, he could beat Alastor in any fight, no question. He has no reason to be scared or threatened by him.

And look, there are ways to get Lucifer to a point of being afraid. There are always a way to make characters act in a way you wouldn't typically see. In fact, Lucifer, the biggest, baddest person in Hell, being threatened by something would be a huge thing for his character and for the story. That could totally work!

But when it comes from Alastor just going into his demon form, or looming over Lucifer, I just 🥲 it takes me out of the story. I can't. Alastor may be a big bad Overlord, and he's dangerous for sure, but like...power-wise he is just not on Lucifer's level and Lucifer knows that--Alastor knows that--and this is what makes their dynamic so, SO interesting, especially if they're in a relationship or slowly building into a relationship. That's what makes it so spicy and flavorful. The push and pull. The insecurity and emotion. The complex dynamic between them.

I think you're right about it making bottom!Lucifer and top!Alastor lose its appeal. I went back through my Twitter bookmarks yesterday and found a few top!Alastor's & bottom!Lucifer's that I've saved, but I've come to dislike that generalized characterization of it so much that I avoid it it like the plague too.

And like you said, there's no hate to those who enjoy it. This is fandom and people are allowed to write, draw, and do what they want. It's all fiction and it's not hurting anyone.

I just don't like the top!Alastor & bottom!Lucifer dynamic in most fan-arts, and I don't click onto fics with it cause I just don't want to subject myself to an unenjoyable time 😂 I'm here to have fun too, afterall.

[drchucktingle]

DECONSTRUCTING DAMASCUS #2

hello buckaroos welcome back to deconstructing damascus where i will be talkin on THEMES and hidden secrets in my dang horror novel CAMP DAMASCUS. as with previous post, this talk will have HUGE SPOILERS so i recommend not reading until you have had a chance to read camp damascus. if you are curious about this way and are thinkin 'oh ill just take a buckaroo peek' then i will say again DO NOT. trust me bud, camp damascus has a lot of mystery to unfold and it is best to go in without knowing anything

THAT being said if you have already read the book and want to dive in then here we go. i will post previous edition of DECONSTRUCTING DAMASCUS below so you can catch up if you have not read the first post yet

DECONSTRUCTING DAMASCUS #1

(EDIT: PART 3 IS HERE)

(EDIT: PART 4 IS HERE)

okay now that is out of the way LETS TROT. big warning there are HUGE SPOILERS BELOW this line you have been warned buckaroo

DECONSTRUCTING DAMASCUS #2: CASTING SHADOWS

previously we talked about way peter pan folklore is sometimes used as allegory running through this story, and before we move on i would like to discuss ONE PARTICULAR aspect of this allegory. last time i gave many examples, but i left a big one off because it is SO IMPORTANT and i wanted to talk about it as its own separate post

in story of peter pan there is classic scene of peter wrestling his shadow. the shadow is both separate entity and the same person, and eventually peter reattaches the shadow to his feet and regains control

in CAMP DAMASCUS shadows are used throughout the whole book, but the metaphor is basically the same: control. more specifically, the trot of shadows is a representation of AGENCY

when we first see PACHID she has all of the control. she is standing in the living room BATHED IN SHADOW. this position of power is where she emerges from

halfway through camp damascus, when roses HEROIC TURN happens and she starts fighting back, there is a scene where SHE TOO wrestles with her own shadow and reattaches it to herself. this is point in the story where rose is reclaiming her agency

but honestly most important thing you need to know about shadows involves OTHER question about camp damascus. question i KNEW WOUlD BE COMING but decided to chart my own path for the sake of art.

when writing book, chuck knew that ending would seem abrupt to some and that it might bother some buckaroos, but artistically speaking this story HAS TO END WHERE IT DOES. because this is not just a story about rose so much as it is a story about ROSES AGENCY. THAT IS THE JOURNEY.

to unlock the secret of WHY camp damascus ends exactly where it does and WHAT it means, all you have to do is ONE SIMPLE TRICK. get up and trot over to get your copy of camp damascus, we can do this together. NO JOKE BUCKAROO go get your dang book.

got it? good job bud. here we go

read the last sentence of the book

now immediately go back and read the first sentence

[theimfarchives]

As We Get Closer To Mission: Impossible The Final Reckoning, There Are Some Big Questions We Need Answered

What Exactly Is The Rabbit's Foot?

When the first Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning teaser dropped back in November 2024, I was blown away by the massive callbacks to earlier entries, especially the “Rabbit’s Foot.” This mysterious weapon of mass destruction introduced as the MacGuffin in Mission: Impossible III nearly 20 years ago hasn’t been featured or discussed in the franchise since Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) defeated Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman) way back in 2006, and I honestly forgot about it.

But the re-emergence of the device all these years later has me wondering, what exactly is the Rabbit’s Foot? I know it’s a device that could bring an end to humanity as we know it and that it’s highly sought after (presumably by the Entity this time around), but what is it besides some mysterious biological weapon? The third movie never really did a good job of explaining things, and I hope we’re not left out in the cold once again.

Is Eugene Kittridge A Villain, Hero, Or Something In Between?

After being away from the franchise for 25-plus years, Eugene Kittridge (Henry Czerny) returned in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, only this time he was the CIA director after moving on as IMF chief during his five-movie absence. And while I’m glad to have both the character and Czerny (his work in Clear and Present Danger is still the stuff of legend), I’m wondering if he’ll be a villain, a hero, or something in between and more than just a perennial thorn in Ethan Hunt’s side.

In his first two appearances in the franchise so far, Kittridge has been a little bit of both an ally and a nemesis of Hunt and his IMF team, which has created a fun and engaging dynamic along the way. I wouldn’t be mad if The Final Reckoning leaves this ambiguous, but some closure would be nice by the time the credits roll, especially if this ends up being the final movie in the series.

How Did The Entity Go Rogue?

A hyperintelligent sentient artificial intelligence has been at the center of some of the best sci-fi movies over the years, and in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Ethan Hunt’s IMF team saw one of the most dangerous AIs yet with the “Entity.” Based on what I’ve seen from the latest The Final Reckoning trailer, it looks like the evil and mysterious AI is once again going to be a major part of the movie.

If that’s so, I hope the movie dives into how the Entity went rogue in the first place. It was revealed in Dead Reckoning that it was created by the United States government as a military tool, but at some point, it went into business for itself and set off the events of the movie (and the upcoming sequel). I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if the new Mission: Impossible movie opens with the entity’s backstory.

Why Was Gabriel Chosen By The Entity To Carry Out Its Mission?

While it’s made clear in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning that the Entity selected Gabriel (Esai Morales) to be its messenger and carry out its goal of recovering its keys, it’s never really made all that clear as to why he was selected outside of his history with Ethan Hunt. But with Hunt having that history (good, bad, and very bad), the AI could have chosen anyone willing and able to act as its assistant and make sure the mission was successful. That said, I think there has to be something more there.

I need Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning to answer these questions: Why exactly was Gabriel selected? Was it his connection to Hunt, was it his name, is Gabriel even his name? If handled properly, I think Morales’ character could end up being one of the franchise’s best villains.

What Is The Full History Between Ethan Hunt And Gabriel?

In the past, Ethan Hunt has been haunted by ghosts from his past, and it is no different for Gabriel. Long before the two had a killer knife fight during the Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning ending, it was revealed that Gabriel killed Ethan’s lover before Hunt started working with IMF. This leads me to believe that their connection – they are mortal enemies after all – didn’t just start with that tragic killing, but instead earlier before that.

Some big questions I have as I prepare myself for The Final Reckoning are about their shared history. How far does it go? Were they once friends before becoming adversaries? Why are they so similar yet so different? Hopefully, these are all answered by the time the credits roll.

Is This Really Going To Be The Final Mission: Impossible Movie?

Depending on who’s being asked and when the conversation is going down, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is or isn’t the last movie in the franchise. I was in the “this series isn’t ending” camp until I saw the most recent trailer with its “one last run” vibes running all through its two-minute runtime. Couple that with talk of an extended standing ovation when the movie premieres at Cannes in May 2025, and I’m thinking that Paramount is actually going to end this franchise after all these years.

But still, is this actually the END, and if so, how is it going to end? Will Ethan Hunt get to retire on a beach somewhere, or will he suffer the same fate as Daniel Craig’s James Bond in No Time to Die? I’m honestly torn because I love these movies but also don’t want them going on and on for years and decades to come.

I guess I'll find out if these questions get answered when Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning opens on May 23rd. Until then, I'll just have to wait...

Source

[stalkedbytrains]

Eldritch Tech Support 2: Digital Ghosts and Dead Religions

[this is a direct sequel to Eldritch Tech Support: The Algorithm of Chaos so thar be spoilers ahead]

"Aeth, hello again! I'm glad you could meet with me again."

"Why am I here?"

"You know we met a few days ago, and we had a lot to talk about."

"You're with the Catalog and Archive Bureau, is this about Lance Corporal?"

"Haha! No! Oh, definitely not. This is about precedence," the person sitting across from Aeth laughed heartily as they put their feet up on the table. "And I was never with the CAB. They just work with me, or for me, depending on how you look at it."

Aeth shifted uncomfortably in their seat. "Then who are you? Should I have representation present?"

The person across them smiled widely, almost predatory. "If you want. You can call in whoever you want. But I am here and I am going to get my answers."

"You said your name was Zerinnell. What do you want?"

"I work for... with... no... Let me start again. I represent the Dead Lands. I am Reckonfall. And we have one irrevocable rule. One thing that cannot be broken," they said as they adjusted their position, pulling their feet back. They shifted their weight so that they were looking Aeth directly in the eye, unblinking and unmoving. "We do not allow gods in the Dead Lands."

"Then what are we here for."

"Like I said. Precedence. I like the word 'precedence' more than I like 'the law of unintended consequences' or 'you fucked up and now you find out'."

"What do you mean?"

"The Deep Ones allowed you to keep your God of Tech Support so long as he said within the realm of digital information. That layer of reality that lays on top of our own, not direct influencing but ever-present. So long as he never set foot in our realm ever again."

"The first time was to protect us-"

"I know what you did. And off the record I thank you for it. I would hate to see what great-granddad would do to fight an entity of the Abyss, but I'm sure it would have been scarring for all of us."

"Then what do you want?"

"You're going to help me."

Aeth was starting to get frustrated with Zerinnell. They said so much but didn't really say anything.

"With what?" they yelled the question.

"Precedent. Like I said. We allowed your god to live in the digital. And now there is a second. A cult or a church. Something that is either a scam or a danger. Something that could upend the entire fabric of the Dead Lands or force the Deep Ones to change the terms of their agreement with your new god. You're going to help me figure out what this new thing is, if it is a threat or not, and how we are all going to collectively deal with this new plane that you call the internet."

"You can't be serious."

Zerinnell smiled widely, too widely. Almost as if they didn't constrain to fit within the normal human confines of muscle, skin, and bone. "I'm always serious."

"This isn't my area. This isn't my job."

"But you are the priest. You know the god and you know the tech better than I do."

"What if I say no?"

"Do you really want me to act independently? Because I will just declare the whole thing unworthy and place a ban upon it within the Dead Lands. And I don't think we want that. No internet? No tech over all of the Dead Lands? Reckonfall without the internet sounds terrible! How will I be able to watch old episodes of Real Monsters of Reckonfall Bay? But if you don't work with me, I'll have no choice but to declare a scorched earth, a new dead lands."

Aeth frowned. "Anyone ever tell you that you talk too much?"

Zerinnell smiled their apex predator smile. "All the time actually."

[penny00dreadful]

CW for this chapter on AO3

Part 1/ Part 5/ Part 7 (Complete)/ AO3

Eddie was adamant they go to the library at the museum, now more than ever. It was urgent he had all of the information he needed for the fight ahead.

How else was he supposed to battle a supernatural entity that seemed determined to suck his face… in more ways than one.

They were all jogging up the stone stairs to the museum, Eddie at the front, followed by Robin and Steve, who were followed by the remaining Cowboys. 

They never made it to the library, however.

Because as soon as their group turned the corner onto the main museum floor, they were met with Eddie’s boss; the curator and—

“You?” 

Eddie stared at the man wide-eyed. The man who had met them at the opening of the underground temple after Vecna had been awoken. 

The one who had glared at them and told them they’d fucked everything up, which to be fair, they had.

“Me.” The man said, standing amongst the ancient artefacts of his people. “My name is Ardeth Bay.”

Eddie raised a hesitant hand in a little wave, haltingly introducing himself while everyone else confusedly did the same.

“This is all very pleasant, but what are you doing here?” Steve asked, hovering over Eddie’s shoulder like he wanted to jump in front, to protect him from… what? Small talk?

“I suspect,” the curator sighed, “the same thing you are doing. Trying to find information on this Vecna fellow.”

Eddie opened and closed his mouth, his entire world view trying to rearrange itself to make sense of what was happening.

“We are a part of an ancient secret society.” Ardeth Bay proclaimed to the room.

Oh, so we’re just going to brush over everything and jump to secret societies? All right. Okay. This is fine. Eddie thought to himself, a little hysterically at how normal everyone was acting about such a proclamation.

“For 3,000 years we have guarded the City of the Dead and the evil that lay inside of it. We are sworn to do any and all in our power to stop Vecna from being reborn into this world.”

Eddie bit his lip.

“Sorry about that.”

“Question.” Steve asked with a raised hand, trying to pull the attention off Eddie. “Why doesn’t he like cats?”

“Cats are the guardians of the underworld.” Eddie answered him, though the question clearly hadn’t been directed towards him. “You could have just asked me.” He huffed.

Steve pursed his lips, but didn’t answer him, his face still a little twisted in the same way it had been when he was snarking about Eddie dating the mummy.

“So we just get an army of cats together to scare him back to death?”

“No.” Ardeth Bay said, his expression serious, not indulging Steve in lightening the mood. “He will fear them until he’s fully regenerated. Then, he will fear nothing.”

“Great.” Eddie sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“How would he achieve full regeneration?” Robin asked.

“By killing every single one of us and sucking us dry!” Jason screamed in hysterics.

Ardeth Bay didn’t answer, just gestured in Jason’s direction, confirming he was correct while the rest of them tried not to indulge his panic.

Robin nodded to herself, glancing around the room, taking a mental inventory.

“Where’s Tommy?” Robin asked.

“Hagan?” Billy leaned back against the wall, his arms crossed. “Haven’t seen him since the mummy came back to life. I thought he was dead.”

“No, he’s alive.” Eddie said. “I saw him a few hours ago. Right before—”

“Right before we found Fred.” Steve nodded.

“He ran like a bat outta hell. You don’t think–?”

“Oh yeah, I do think. Tommy has no problem changing loyalty if it means saving his own skin.”

Robin pressed her fingers into her eyes. “Okay, great. Now we have that to worry about, too.”

Eddie looked between their mysterious new friend and his boss, figuring the easiest way to ask this question was to just be blunt.

“Do either of you know whether Vecna was a particularly horny man?”

The silence that followed his question would be almost comical if Eddie hadn’t been completely serious. Everyone around the room stared at him like they thought he’d finally lost it. 

With a great sigh, like his patience was still being tested, the curator responded. “Why do you ask, Munson?”

He was acting like Eddie was making fun of the whole situation. Not taking it seriously and yeah. His question might have been a strange one, but he was so super fucking serious. 

“Well…” Eddie hesitated. “I think he tried to kiss me.”

Ardeth immediately straightened up. “And it was you who read from the book?”

Eddie fiddled with the rings around his fingers.

“It was an accident!”

“How do you read a book by accident, Munson?” The curator almost growled, glaring at Eddie like he was a child insisting the cookies ate themselves. “You know what? I don’t care for whatever nonsense explanation you try to give me. It seems that Vecna has marked you as the sacrifice needed to resurrect the body of his lover.”

“So he is horny for Eddie?” Robin asked, poking around the ancient spears.

Ardeth tilted his head back and forth, considering. 

“In a way, yes.”

“Oh, well that’s…” Eddie placed his hands on his hips, sighing, “fantastic.”

“Sucks to be you.”

“Thanks, Robin.”

“Or… no wait, actually. Let’s think about this for a moment.” She said, coming around to stand in front of him. “We could use you as bait?”

“Nope.” Steve finally decided to speak instead of sulking in the corner, coming over to stand by Eddie’s side. “Not happening.”

Eddie turned his head to glare at him. “Who says you get to make decisions for me?” He poked Steve in the chest. “You were trying to set me up on a date with him ten minutes ago. Isn’t this what you wanted?”

Steve just scowled. They were gearing up for another bitch fight, a back and forth that would no doubt irritate everyone else in the room, but before they could even start, everyone’s attention was diverted.

The room was steadily being thrown into darkness and as they all looked up to the domed skylight above, they saw the moon slowly being covered in darkness.

An eclipse.

They were rapidly running out of time.

They ended up back in Eddie’s apartment, everyone tearing through his things looking for the Book of the Dead.

“Where is it?” Billy snapped at him, practically overturning his couch.

“Well it’s not under there.” Eddie snapped right back, on his knees, rifling through the luggage he’d brought back from the expedition.

“If you don’t have it then who would?” 

Eddie looked up at Robin. 

“You, I would have assumed.”

“No.” She shook her head. “Not me. Who did we last see it with?”

“Didn’t that pompous guy have it?” Steve asked.

“The Egyptologist?” Eddie pondered. “I think he did, actually.”

“Then he’s in danger.” Jason looked up from his exploration of Eddie’s drawers.

“Alright then.” Eddie pushed himself to his feet. “Let’s go get him.”

“No, no, no, no, no.” Steve stopped him with a hand to the chest. “You are not going anywhere.”

Eddie’s mouth hung open in outrage. “Excuse me–?!”

“We have just had a conversation about a horny mummy looking to sacrifice you, I am not letting you leave this building.”

“Oh, really?” Eddie crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at him. “And how exactly do you intend to stop me?”

He stepped forward, intending to shoulder past Steve but Steve ducked, unexpectedly catching Eddie around the middle, and before he could do anything to stop it, he found himself thrown over the caveman’s shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“What are you— Harrington! What do you think you’re doing?! Put me down!”

For the second time in recent memory, Eddie found himself being thrown by Steve.

But at least this time he was tossed down onto his own soft bedding rather than being thrown overboard.

Steve barely spared him a glance as he turned his back.

“That is how I intend to stop you, Eddie.”

Before he could even push himself up to sitting, Steve had stomped out of the room and slammed the door behind him.

Eddie was on his feet and storming forward before he could even breathe, but he was half a second late in reaching the door, the lock clicking just before he made it.

He grabbed the handle, trying to wrench it open but there was no give to it.

“Harrington! I’m not playing any of your fucking games! Let me out of here!”

From beyond the door he could hear Steve ordering Billy and Jason to stand guard and calling Robin after him as his voice got quieter under Eddie’s constant shouting and pounding at the door.

“Billy! Jason! Open this fucking door right now!”

“Sorry.” He heard Billy let out a satisfied exhale as he sat down, the creak of Eddie’s overstuffed couch a familiar sound to him. “You heard the man’s orders.”

Eddie kicked the door. Hard.

Steve ducked unexpectedly, catching Eddie around the middle and before he could do anything to stop it, he found himself thrown over the caveman’s shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“What are you— Harrington! What do you think you’re doing?!”

Steve had one arm curled around his knees, steadying him, while the other gripped the door handle tight, slamming it closed behind the two of them.

“Put me down!”

For the second time in recent memory, Eddie found himself being thrown by Steve.

But at least this time he was tossed down onto his own soft bedding rather than being thrown overboard.

He had expected Steve to turn and stomp his way out of the room.

What he got was somehow far more terrifying and exhilarating than that.

He was left wide eyed and breathless as Steve leaned down low over him, nudging his way onto the bed with a knee at the side of each of Eddie’s legs.

“What– what are you doing?” Eddie asked in a hushed whisper, not wanting to disturb the atmosphere building around them. He was leaning back on his elbows but as Steve slowly began to lower himself, bringing their faces closer, Eddie let himself sink down to his back.

“This, Eddie,” Steve whispered to him, his breath fanning out over Eddie’s lips, a hand coming up to rest gently against the side of his face, “is how I intend to stop you.”

Closing that final bit of distance, Steve’s lips met his and though Eddie was below him, Steve still managed to worm an arm around his waist like he weighed nothing, pulling them flush together.

Eddie’s heart was pounding in his chest but there was no way he was going to hesitate any longer than it took for his brain and his lips to catch up with what was going on.

His eyes slipped closed, and he kissed back, hard, his own hands coming up to tug at Steve’s hair.

Eddie’s legs developed a mind of their own, winding their way around Steve’s middle and clamping on tight, punching a low groan out of him that Eddie happily swallowed.

Steve pressed in further, his tongue gently pushing into Eddie’s mouth and his pelvis grinding down, hardness meeting hardness and they both broke away to exhale, strained between them.

“Eddie. I’ve been thinking about this for so long.” Steve breathed between them. “Been thinking about you for so long. Eddie.”

He tipped his head back, mouth hanging open on a light moan as Steve ground down again, pressing them together and Eddie’s eyes nearly rolled back in his head at the feeling of soft lips against his throat. 

“Me–me too.”

“Eddie.”

Steve exhaled his name against his skin, like he couldn’t help it.

“Eddie.”

He kissed his way back up his neck and across his jaw before sealing their mouths together again.

“Eddie!”

Eddie opened his eyes, pillow below his head and the expected weight of Steve leaning over him.

But the eyes looking back at him weren’t the warm hazel ones he was expecting, but instead a bright electric blue.

Eddie tried to shove himself backwards, tried to scream but his mouth remained occupied, sealed against the man's own above him.

He could see nothing but blonde curls and angular features and his scream felt pulled from him, inhaled. 

Like the breath was being stolen from his body.

Every moment he pushed away, he felt his muscles become weaker, darkness starting to pull at his vision again while those eyes became steadily brighter.

“Eddie!”

His bedroom door banged open, splinters of wood flying and Steve swung forward, landing on the outstretched leg he had used to kick it open and break clean through the lock.

“Get off of him!”

Eddie felt like all of the air had been sucked from his body, dragged out of him, his lungs crumpling from the pressure as the figure above him finally unsealed himself.

The next second he breathed in, inhaling like the moment before implosion, feeling it extend the whole way down his body.

He fell back to the pillows, his body having been lifted slightly with the force of the extraction. He tipped over the edge of the bed, coughed out a mouthful of sand, and breathed in air like a drowning man.

 He looked up, Steve had Asy in his hands, holding her up in Vecna’s direction.

She looked as pissed off as he had ever seen her, spiked fur and claws out, but not directed at Steve.

She hissed and yowled so loudly that Eddie felt it ringing in his ears.

The otherworldly screech that came from the man above him only added to the noise but as Asy swiped for him, he dematerialized around them, spinning himself into a swirl of sand and blasting himself out of the window.

Eddie breathed heavily in the silence around them, putting a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes.

Great.

So the horny mummy had made his first move.

“Eddie? Are you okay?”

Steve was hovering over him, his brows pinched in concern but his posture hesitant, so different from how he had looked in Eddie’s dream–

Oh fucking Christ.

Eddie had dreamed of him! 

What the fuck was wrong with him?

He lifted his eyes again, up to Steve.

Steve, who was looking down on him, all big hazel eyes and chest hair and moles. 

There was a blush rising to his cheeks. 

Nope. He was absolutely not going to be thinking about that right now. 

He sat up, the collar of his sleep shirt falling open, practically hanging off his shoulder.

Eddie tugged it back into place while Steve stared up at the ceiling, apparently finding it very interesting to look at, a deep red blush crawling up his neck.

Robin just raised her eyebrows at him.

“‘M fine.”

He snatched up his trousers from where they had been tossed over a chair and tugged them on.

“I’m getting really sick of unexpected kisses.”

Steve let out an offended noise, his head whipping around before his eyes went wide at the sight of Eddie buttoning up.

He turned his head away again.

“So you’ll call that a kiss, but not mine?”

Eddie grinned at Steve’s back.

“Jealous?”

He couldn’t see what expression was on Steve’s face but he could feel the stare he was giving Robin, some kind of silent communication that she just rolled her eyes at.

Unfortunately, the answer as to how Vecna had managed to get into Eddie’s room when he had two guards at the door was that the guards were no longer at his door.

At least not alive.

Vecna had sucked the life from the two of them which at least explained how he was less corpse and more man when he snuck into Eddie’s room like a giant fucking creep.

And honestly, Eddie was over it at this stage. He was over unwanted kisses and undead corpses and sacrifices and plagues. 

He was just fucking over it.

He stormed back up the stairs of the museum, just wanting this shit ended. Robin, Steve and Ardeth, who had still been at the museum, were on his heels, scrambling to keep up.

“Eddie, wait!” Steve called after him.

Eddie had the benefit of long legs on his side, able to clear multiple steps at once in his rush and pure irritation.

“When I’d read about the Book of the Dead before, I never really took it seriously. I mean bringing people back to life?” He scoffed. “Sounded like nonsense. But now that I’ve seen what I’ve seen, there’s a chance the Book of Amun-Ra will have a way to kill him. We just have to find it.”

“And you’re going to find it, are you?” Steve snarked. “It’s not like people have been looking for that for hundreds of years.”

“Thousands.” Eddie quipped right back.

“Right. Thousands.”

There was a low murmur coming from outside, getting closer as Eddie finally found his way to the huge stone tablet, the sound of a crowd forming, a slow chant becoming clearer and clearer the closer they got.

Vecna. Vecna. Vecna.

Great, just what they needed. 

An enthralled crowd.

“Are you sure you need to be here for this?” Steve asked, his back tense as he looked over the railing of the upper section they were on, down to the lobby.

“How else do you expect me to read this if I’m not here?” Eddie muttered, tracing his fingers along the hieroglyphics. 

“Robin could have read them. We could have gotten you somewhere safe so you’re not…” Steve huffed to himself, “...kissed again.”

Before Eddie could answer, Robin chimed in.

“Wouldn’t have worked. I understand alphanumeric texts better. Eddie’s the expert when it comes to logographic writing.”

“Okay. According to the Bembridge scholars, the Golden Book of Amun-Ra was supposed to be located inside the statue of Anubis.”

“But that was where you found the black book?” Ardeth asked.

“Right.” Eddie nodded. “They mixed up where they were buried. So if the black book was actually inside the statue of Anubis, then the Golden Book has to be…” Eddie trailed off, taking his time to make sure he was translating correctly.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Robin wave him along impatiently, trying to get him to hurry up.

Eddie dismissed her with a wave of his own hand, trying to keep his focus.

He’d been focusing so hard he didn’t even flinch when he heard the door to the museum slam open and the unmistakable sound of the crowd start to filter in, lowly chanting to themselves. 

“Keys.” Robin held her hand out urgently to Steve, who threw her his car keys without a second of hesitation.

As soon as she caught them, she was off, tearing down the corridors of the museum in the direction that would lead her to the back entrance, where Steve’s car was parked. The one they had used to get here.

There.

Eddie had found it, finally.

“The Golden Book of Amun-Ra is at Hamunaptra inside the statue of Horus.” He turned back to what was left of their party with a huge smile, his eyes landing on Steve. “Take that, Bembridge scholars!”

Steve’s smile in return was something soft and a little proud if Eddie was reading it right, making something squirm with satisfaction in his belly.

The feeling only got worse when Steve grabbed his hand and pulled him along the corridor, keeping him close as the three of them followed the same route Robin had taken while the sound of footfalls got ever closer.

Outside the museum, Robin was waiting with the car, sitting behind the wheel and practically bouncing in her seat, urging them forward.

Eddie made a dive for it, throwing himself face first into the open top back seat, Ardeth following smoothly behind while Steve pulled some kind of hero move, vaulting himself over the passenger door and into the seat next to Robin, who slammed her foot down on the gas pedal immediately, Eddie still rolling like a pinball in the back.

The crowd was slowly shuffling around the corner and through the museum doors and there, pushing his way through the middle, was Tommy, eyes ablaze as they landed on Eddie, who had finally managed to sit up, poking his head out over the back seat, hair flying around him in every direction.

Tommy puffed his chest out and let out a scream of “Vecna!”

Sand immediately began to swirl around the museum, slowly whirlpooling and condensing down into a vaguely human shape standing next to Tommy that was lost to them when they turned the corner and sped down the road.

“Why the fuck did we ever trust that guy?” Steve shouted at Robin over the wind rushing past them.

“Hey!” Robin pulled the wheel around, trying not to hit anything, her driving more erratic than smooth. “He was your pet, not mine!”

The car jolted again, skidding a little across the road before she got it back under control.

“Jesus, Robbie.” Steve was white knuckling the dash in front of him, “Need me to drive?”

Eddie was clutching onto the headrest in front of him, trying and barely succeeding in keeping himself from being thrown around, Ardeth doing the same.

“This isn’t me!” Robin grunted as the car shifted again, skidding out in a far more terrifying and uncontrolled way.

As they spun out, sand started to kick up underneath them and when Eddie whipped his head around to see what was happening he caught sight of a river of sand, writhing and undulating in and out under the wheels of the car. 

With one last terrifying spin, the car tipped. Two wheels bouncing up against the pavement and the front crashing into a water fountain, bringing the car to a sudden halt.

Eddie was thrown forward, over the seats and into the front, landing in a crumpled heap between Steve and Robin, the two of them trying to shake off their own impact into the steering wheel and the dashboard respectively. 

He was vaguely aware of the ever constant chanting of the crowd getting closer but he was finding it a little difficult to pay attention to, his head still spinning, even as Steve took his arm and helped to guide him out of the car.

The crowd was still approaching, still chanting as the four of them backed away until they had nowhere else to go, a stone wall stopping their retreat.

Steve plucked a burning torch from a bracket on the wall and waved it in front of them, trying to stop the crowd from their continued approach, Robin and Ardeth holding revolvers aloft, but they needn’t have bothered.

The crowd parted for a man who stepped forward clothed in a flowing fine linen blouse and an intricate pleated linen kilt, tied at the waist with a large jewelled belt. His bright blue eyes were lined with kohl and his bright blonde hair hung in swooping curls atop his head. 

Vecna.

Fully regenerated.

Seemed like he’d been snacking since the last time he and Eddie had come face to face.

Steve, Ardeth and Robin stepped together, placing Eddie firmly behind them, blocking him from sight.

Tommy shuffled along at Vecna's side, eyes darting between all of them.

When Vecna opened his mouth to speak, Tommy translated for him and Eddie had to wonder if it was just for Steve’s benefit because both he and Robin could understand him easily, and judging by the expression on Ardeth’s face, he could too.

“Come with me, my love.” Tommy said after Vecna spoke. “It is time to make you mine, forever.”

Eddie scowled and poked his head out over Robin and Steve’s shoulders.

“He said ‘for all eternity’, idiot.”

Tommy’s lip curled and he opened his mouth to snap back but when Vecna began to speak again, he switched track almost immediately, translating again.

Vecna stretched an arm out towards them.

“Take my hand,” Tommy said, “and I will spare your friends.”

“Bullshit.” Steve spat.

Eddie brought a hand up, resting it on Steve’s shoulder and leaned in to whisper in his ear.

“Have you got any bright ideas?”

Steve didn’t move from where he was, still standing in front of Eddie like a statue. 

“I’m working on it.”

“Well,” Eddie sighed, hating himself for having come to the conclusion that he had. That this was the best way forward. That without Steve and Robin and Ardeth, the world would definitely be doomed. And that the best way to make sure they stayed alive was to comply… for now.

He stepped around Steve, allowing his hand to drag across his shoulders and down his arm, taking his hand momentarily.

“You better think of something fast because if he turns me into a mummy, you’re the first one I’m coming after.”

“What– Eddie!” 

Eddie ducked low, slipping under the arm that Steve threw out to try and stop him.

He stepped forward, taking Vecna’s hand and felt himself get pulled in close, curled into Vecna’s side, almost lovingly.

Eddie’s eyes didn’t leave Steve, who looked like he was ready to set the world on fire, pulling his revolver out and taking a step forward.

“Steve, wait!” Robin and Ardeth grabbed him by the arms, pulling him back between them and Eddie held a hand up to stop him as well.

 “Stop, it’s okay, Steve. He has to take me back to Hamunaptra to perform the ritual.” He lowered his voice, almost imploring him to keep a level head despite his own heart thumping loudly in fear. “You have time.”

There was a tense moment where Eddie wasn’t entirely sure whether Steve was going to listen to him, Ardeth whispering into his ear, repeating the same thing. It looked like Steve wasn’t even sure if he was going to submit, but eventually he took a step back, though it seemed to take a great effort to do so.

“I’ll be seeing you later.” Steve growled, pointing his torch directly at Vecna, who just smiled at him, placid and confident. 

Eddie felt himself being pulled, almost dragged away and even though he’d conceded to this, it was difficult to make his legs comply.

He looked back over his shoulder where he saw Tommy approach Robin, reaching into her pocket to pull the puzzle box out.

Robin glared at him and suddenly raised her fist, faking out a punch to the face.

When Tommy flinched back, Robin grinned at him and Tommy turned his back, following after them.

“Kill them!” Vecna shouted to the crowd.

God damn it, why had Eddie expected anything different?

“No!” He tried to pull away as the crowd closed in, blocking him off from his friends but Vecna’s grip was unfaltering.

He would have bit and scratched and clawed his way out. 

If he had to resort to dirty tactics, he would. 

He would have popped Vecna’s fucking testicles under his knee if he’d had the chance, but he didn’t.

Eddie’s senses were assaulted, sand swirling around him and he could feel it getting sucked into his mouth, up his nose, in his eyes, in his ears and everything around him darkened. 

Part 1/ Part 5/ Part 7 (Complete)/ AO3

Happy birthday @hbyrde36

My biggest thanks and much love to @pearynice and @hitlikehammers for the beta work with this and to the @strangerthingswritersguild for their motivation!

[tokiro07]

Undead Unluck ch.219 thoughts

[Big Dick is Back in Town!]

(Contents: immediate reaction - gushing, setting analysis - Clothy, character analysis - Chikara/Ruin)

This chapter is the perfect example of why I don't do numerical ratings. If last week I'd said ch.218 was a 10/10, that would carry the implication that it was the perfect UU chapter, that nothing could top it, and come this week I'd look like a fool! Nor am I willing to give 219 any such rating, because I refuse to believe that we've reached the pinnacle of what Tozuka is planning to show to us. However, my refusal to assign a number to this chapter should not be taken as indicative of my opinion on it, because, as I'm sure you've all guessed by now...

This is the best god damn chapter in the entire series so far!

That entire sequence, that eight-page span, with two of the most exciting and jaw-dropping spreads that Tozuka has produced to date, was an immediate daymaker. Fuuko sticking the five-point landing, the realization that she was back on the bridge where she and Andy first met, Andy's head dropping onto the bridge only for him to revive just like in the anime's interpretation of the same originally more low-key events of the manga, all culminating in Andy sweeping Fuuko off of her feet with the two most lovely and romantic smiles I've ever seen in ink put to page?! Like Andy bursting through Ruin's Bloodclot Ball and allowing the radiance of the sun to shine down on Fuuko, I too felt like my day was instantly brightened

And that's just from Andy coming back! Now that he's here to stay, I can only imagine what moments Tozuka's going to hit us with! Sure, Andy and Fuuko are gonna have the most romantically charged kiss in all of Shonen Jump's history, but that's a given! I can't imagine Tozuka's going to stop there, there's bound to be all kinds of great lines, action setpieces, character developments, and don't even talk to me about the catharsis of it all! Tozuka's always been good at wrapping up storylines in my opinion (not you, Kururu) and this was such an incredible payoff for the Andy is Missing arc that I just know the ending of the main plot is going to render me unconscious

But of course, the latter eight pages aren't the only things that matter here; sure, they're what elevates this to being my current favorite chapter, but don't be fooled into thinking that the rest of the chapter isn't an absolute banger in its own right!

Chikara

First of all, Chikara is, without question, the MVP of the Union. Juiz and Victor going through 456 billion years worth of loops? Nah. Fuuko raising the first complete and upgraded Union? Nope. Andy becoming hands down the single strongest Negator in any loop ever? Forget 'im!

Chikara's not invincible. He doesn't have eons of experience. He can't even use his ability offensively! And yet? Chikara always pulls through. Rip? Killed 'im! Summer? Killed 'im! Creed? Got his eyes crushed and his knees capped, and he still beat 'im, only to limp his way to helping everyone beat Spring too! Then in the fight with God, this kid loses his arm immediately upon the fight starting, but still manages to crawl his way forward to halt his approach from Fuuko!

Fuuko, Juiz, Billy, Shen, etc., they're all monsters, fighting prodigies or ancient entities unlike anything the world has ever produced, and Andy and Victor are so unkillable that nothing they do should be even remotely surprising. But Chikara? He's just a boy. Just yesterday his biggest concern was whether he was going to pass college entrance exams, and now he's getting his eyes chopped in half and not even crying about it! He just decides "this is unacceptable. I will not be a liability just because of something as petty as losing my eyes!" If you don't think that's badass, there's just no helping you

And why shouldn't Chikara be the toughest "normal" character? He was the first Negator that Fuuko ever recruited back in L100. He clearly means a lot to Tozuka and was always intended to be integral to the plot, and he has absolutely stayed true to that vision. I know I've ranked Chikara pretty low when compared to everyone else, but that is not because Chikara's character is lacking in any major way, he's always had one of the most compelling arcs in the story, and every time I think Tozuka is done building on him, I am delighted to be proven wrong

Speaking of characters that continue to surprise me...

Clothy

CLOTHY IS BAAACK!!! No wonder he wasn't around for Tatiana's fashion show, he never left Andy's side! You know what that means?

Clothy survived Ragnarok

Even when every other UMA was erased from existence, Clothy lived on, retaining his memories and his friendships so he wouldn't need to be tamed all over again! I mean, just look at how happy he is to see Fuuko! Poor little guy, I hope Andy changed his criteria for an ideal outfit to include "unconscious when not on Earth," or at least offered to if Clothy wasn't willing to wait the whole 4.6 billion years along with him

I once questioned where Clothy's core was, as he frequently gets completely engulfed and destroyed when Andy gets hurt, say by lava or whathaveyou, but now thanks to this, I finally understand

Because Andy is his wearer and Andy's ideal outfit is one that can regenerate along with him, Andy has essentially overwritten the core as a weakness: Andy has become Clothy's core. So long as Andy survives, so too will Clothy; without meaning to, Andy has already successfully externalized Undead

...Hey, that sounds kinda familiar, doesn't it?

Blood and Shadow

Oh yeah, Ruin also wears his UMA partners and shared his immortality with them! It turns out that I was wrong last week, and that Ruin does still have both Blood and Shadow, and unless I'm mistaken, it...looks like Shadow is his pants??? Or...maybe he's hiding in Ruin's pocket? The position of Shadow's attack and Ruin's leg makes it a little ambiguous, but honestly whether he's in Ruin pants or is Ruin's pants doesn't change the fact that it's a completely undignified position for a villainous entity to be in and it's very very funny to me

Based on the way that Blood seems to flow out of the scar on Ruin's body, I think that Blood has actively become Ruin's own blood and Shadow his...shadow. These are likely extensions of their own Rules, the same way that Clothy has to abide by the wishes of his wearer, but becoming a part of a self-targeting Negator's body would certainly justify coming under his Rule's effects. I also wonder if their presence is related to Ruin's new appearance; Soul calls Blood and Shadow "the powered-up pair," so their increase in strength may be related to Ruin's sizeable scar and loss of hair color, though there are certainly other probable explanations

Ruin's Past

Blood and Shadow's return have shaken the likelihood that this is Ruin 101 and not 100, but the lack of his Regulator status, his new appearance and Billy's read that Unruin doesn't actually allow Ruin to survive Ragnarok all greatly imply that this is, in fact, 101, even if he's somehow able to remember his past iterations

This week's chapter has given us the most insight into his character that we've ever gotten: that Ruin loves the world, but hates people. There are so many ways that this could have come about, but given the flow of the rest of the story, I think I have a pretty good idea

Ruin is already a pretty heavy inversion of the rest of the cast just by virtue of being God's servant, but I don't think that the parallels stop just with his status. Everyone else is God's enemy because the awakening of their Negator abilities were all tragedies that they blame God for, so what would motivate someone to become God's ally instead?

What else could it be but for Ruin's awakening to be a blessing that he thanks God for?

Let's say a child is born in some small, superstitious village. The baby is quickly observed to be harmed by sunlight, and within two years it has grown exceptionally sharp canine teeth. I don't think they'd wait to find out if it's allergic to garlic before tossing that baby out - that thing's a vampire, after all!

Now maybe the baby wasn't cast out into the wilderness. Maybe just a church or a religious orphanage that refuses to believe a child is evil without observing any bad behavior first? So the baby starts to grow up, gets to be a child or maybe even hits adolescence; all the while, the families in town have avoided the vampire, giving him dirty looks when he comes out at night, scrutinizing every little thing he says and does; they all know that one day, he's going to bring the village to ruin. Only the priest or a nun or whoever believes he's human, and assures him that this is all a part of God's plan, that he will do great things someday

Then something happens. Tragedy strikes. And whether the child was involved or not, whether he was anywhere near the scene, it's all his fault. And the townsfolk have had enough

The church is destroyed. The priest is killed. The child can only watch as everything he holds dear is taken from him; his eye or his body wounded and bleeding, his hair rapidly losing color from the trauma, the light of the sun burning his very flesh away, his life lies in ruin

As his consciousness fades, hatred bubbles up inside. With his last breath, he wishes to punish those who ruined what little hope he had in life, those who defied God's plan, those who broke the rules. And then...the pain is gone. The scars remain, but the boy's body is no longer broken. The Blood no longer spills, and a Shadow shields him from the scorching sunlight. Though his past is set in stone, the boy can no longer be brought to ruin; and with this new power he will enact God's will and put right the world that humanity has harmed - it will be Unruined

At least, that's how I'd write it

Ruin's Present

Tozuka probably has different plans for the specifics, but I expect Ruin's backstory will have some elements along those lines, with him feeling like God is his savior and humanity being the ones ruining God's plan for an ideal world

Someone on twitter pointed out that Fuuko once said that the Rules themselves aren't inherently harmful to humanity, that it's usually people who abuse the Rules to do harm. This is likely the same conclusion that Ruin came to, and took that sentiment to its logical extreme - since Negators, who are humans, defy, enslave and kill Rules, humanity are the evil ones, and they must be stopped

Ruin likely believes he's the hero of this story and that the UMA are the victims! That would make sense, as the only characters he's emotionally attached to are UMAs! They're probably his family! While visually Ruin is the anti-Andy, morally he's the anti-Fuuko, fighting to protect as many of the Rules as possible, as they ensure the world keeps turning the way it's supposed to!

No wonder he killed Fuuko right after the Spring fight last time! She triggered Revolution!!! She sent his beloved world hurtling into the sun!!! That is ultimately a good thing from his perspective, as it means that God can come down and wipe the slate clean, but that's only a good thing because so many UMA are already dead! This is God's opportunity to reset the world to how it should be, the way it no longer is because of Fuuko and the Union

But from Fuuko's perspective, Ruin is one of the people who abused the UMAs. He had Blood, Shadow and Ghost rounding up people to use as sacrifices and taking hostages for blackmail. He was serving the misanthropic God that reveled in humanity's suffering. He was the reason she now had to go back to make sure that the world was reset to how it should be, with all of the people she loves in it, the way it no longer is because of Ruin, the Rules and God

Buuut maybe I'm getting ahead of myself again. I certainly don't want this to be another Kururu situation where I write up a whole backstory that we never get to see, and I'll definitely feel foolish if I make Ruin out to be a secretly heroic figure from a certain point of view only for it to turn out that he's just a bloodthirsty killer using faith as an excuse to cause mayhem. But I can't help it!!! Tozuka's characters are all so interesting to me that I can't help but want to look at them more closely and try to puzzle them out myself! It doesn't matter if I'm wrong, I just have so much fun thinking about them!

Conclusion

The mystery is part of what makes it compelling. This has been true since the literal beginning of the series, which I think is part of the reason I've been such a diehard fan since day one. Chapter one made us ask "who is Andy really? Why are there Negators? And how will Fuuko help him die?" Chapter two made us ask "what's a UMA? Who are the Union?" Chapter five made us ask "why AREN'T there any stars??" I've been so engaged with this series from the get because it only gave me what I needed to know in the moment and teased everything else, a tradition that it's clearly kept up 200 chapters later!

It's never been perfect. Sometimes details that should be given aren't, or are given in external material that a lot of fans may not see. It's not a 10/10, because there are certainly "better" manga out there and even they aren't 10/10s

But it is my favorite

Even when it doesn't give me exactly what I want, it always resonates with me. I always feel a deep connection to this series, to this world, to these people, and I want to deepen that connection as much as possible. Even if Tozuka won't tell me everything, what he does tell me makes me want to know everything, to be closer to what I love so dearly. That's how I enjoy life, and I'm grateful that Tozuka has given me such a great avenue to do it

Until next time, let's all enjoy life! Welcome back, Andy!