#trial 1 wrecked me guys

[fried-manto]

I'll hand it to you.

[flower-boi16]

the "both sides have made mistakes" thing is actively funny to me because as usual it ignores that the real issue is in the framing

the worst ways the narrative twists itself to make Blitzo look better is by making what happened to Fizz just a freak accident (fr the guy carrying the candles if the circus was that flammable is just as responsible for that one) and by not really having M&M chew him out for the stalking. but the show never denies he has issues and causes problems by pushing people away before they can leave. and some places where the narrative suggested ambiguity in season 1 are actively removed to make Blitzo look worse in season 2 - he has a problem with Verosika's alcoholism in s1 but in s2 he's made unambiguously the only bad guy in their breakup

the worst ways the narrative twists itself to make Stolas look better is by: having Stolas and Blitzo both say cheating isn't bad/Stolas' cheating doesn't count as cheating because Stella is mean (basically) on multiple occasions, rewriting Stella from a classist jerk to an abusive monster, having an entire flashback episode devoted to making the viewer feel sorry for Stolas in the most on the nose way possible, retconning in Stolas treating Blitzo like a human being over the phone that happens entirely offscreen, comparing Stolas to all Blitzo's exes even though they weren't dating, massively inflating the number of people who hate Blitzo to make Stolas look better and the most telling thing of all: the entire awful argument in Apology Tour where the writers made Stolas look like a hypocritical gaslighter by ignoring all the ways he treated Blitzo in season 1 and never allowed Blitzo to mention any of them when it would have made perfect sense

Blitzo got a season that built up to the climatic point of having everyone he's ever wronged read him for filth in a mushroom samba sequence.

Stolas got a season where every episode that mentioned or featured him either retconned something to make him look better, inserted something that happened offscreen to make him look better or refused to allow other characters to bring up season 1 events to make him look better. S2 built up to the climatic scene of a trial sequence where no one gets to call out Stolas for making the deal to get sex, he gets to look like a hero for "sacrificing" himself (instead of it being framed like the book fiasco is equally his responsibility, which it is) and he ends the season having lost his daughter (but only because she somehow doesn't know how totally evil Stella is and how totally not responsible Stolas is because she's only allowed to be mad at him for the trial thing) but gets handed the consolation prize of Blitzo's unconditional love which he's done nothing outside of a single grand gesture to earn. Oh, and then he follows that up by freeloading off of Blitzo, trying to wreck his office during a temper tantrum and being a passive aggressive ass, none of which the show frames like something anyone should have a problem with

so, yeah. when it comes to the way the writers don't want to challenge the characters Stolas and Blitzo aren't even in the same postcode, never mind playing the same game. they're just not remotely comparable

^^^^^^^ THIS.

The entire argument that "they both made mistakes/their both in the wrong" falls flat on it's face when the narrative doesn't treat their mistakes as bad as they actually are. Blitzo gets dragged for filth for his mistakes and called about by both the narrative and everyone around him, and his truama and whatever baggage he may have is never used as an excuse by the narrative, which, is good writting, I'll give it that, the problem is that the narrative is holding him accountable using the wrong character.

Stolas' mistakes, however, are either ignored, downplayed, or justified by the narrative so to make it look like they weren't actually mistakes. Him cheating on Stella? Well, Stella was abusive, so Stolas was actually in the right to do that. Stolas repeatedly belittles and dehumaizes Blitz, making him uncomfortable around Stolas all the time and giving the impression that he views Blitz as nothing but a sex toy, continueing to make sexual advances to Blitz even when he can see it's uncomfortable? Actually, Stolas loves Blitz and thinks very highly of him, those sexual comments were actually Stolas thinking that Blitz enjoyed being treated that way, it's just Blitz's fault for not seeing that.

Stolas coercing Blitz? I mean, ya, the deal wasn't right, but let's just pretend it wasn't totally coercian guys!/s

You get the picture. Stolas' mistakes and actions are so frequently recontextualized and excused by the narrative multiple times, and, aside from maybe his mistakes as a father, the series has not called out the full extent of his behavior and I don't think it will.

Many fans like to counter this with "oh, the show will call him out later!", but, the thing is, it should have called him out now. Because the narrative's refusal of calling Stolas out actively harms the writting of not just Stolas, but Blitz as well.

Blitz's character arc of growing to become a better person was kickstarted by having him get gaslit and guilt-tripped into apologizing to his abuser. Even if the show calls Stolas out later, it wont change that unless it directly calls this out and recontextualized.

Series held Blitz accountable for something that he wasn't even in the wrong for. That's the issue, I don't care if Apology Tour was dedicated to calling out Blitz, it did a shit tier job of that because it didn't call out STOLAS. The series needs to start holding Stolas accountable and actually call out the full extent of his actions, not downplaying them, not justifying them, no excuses.

With Octavia their taking a step in the right direction but, we'll have to wait and see if they'll commit to it.

[serickswrites]

Strength in Your Bones IV

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Warnings: imprisonment, restraints, referenced captivity, referenced torture, poisoning, coma, hospital, unclear character status

"Twinsies," Whumper said with a smirk as Caretaker was led in by Team Leader, their wrists cuffed loosely behind their back. "What did you do to get yourself in cuffs?"

"What did you give Whumpee?" Caretaker ignored Whumper's question.

Whumper gave Caretaker a once over. "How rude. Straight to business. No, 'how's it going, Whumper' or 'can I get you anything, Whumper'? Just 'what did you give Whumpee?' How incredibly rude. You're just a simpleton, of course, but simpletons don't have to be rude."

"And you're so brilliant?" Caretaker fired back sarcastically.

"Naturally," Whumper preened, completely missing Caretaker's sarcasm. "It's so hard to find someone to compete with my massive intellect."

"I bet."

"Well of course. I had hoped that Whumpee would have at least kept up with what I was doing. But, I think they were one of my less intelligent subjects."

"Subjects?" Caretaker's heart pounded. There were others? Where were the others?

"Of course. I was conducting a clinical trial. The other subjects all expired of course. Their post mortems proved most interesting. I think that--"

"Clinical trial for what?" Caretaker interrupted.

Whumper glared at Caretaker. "For the new poison I was developing of course. I think Whumpee's batch was the most potent."

"What's the cure? What's the cure?" Caretaker started towards Whumper. Team Leader grabbed Caretaker's shoulder, stopping them from going any further.

Whumper grinned smugly. "Wouldn't you like to know."

***

Caretaker found themself sitting at Whumpee's bedside again, a knot in their chest. They hadn't been able to breathe properly since they had left the interrogation room. They hadn't really been able to do anything since they left the interrogation room. Teammate One had driven them to the hospital since Team Leader hadn't trusted them to not get into a wreck.

"Whumpee," Caretaker whispered as they took Whumpee's hand in theirs. "Whumpee, please." Caretaker could barely speak around the lump in their throat. Slowly, the tears they had been holding back began to flow.

"Whumpee, I need you to come back to me. You're so strong. You're so strong, I know you can do it. You have so much strength in your bones, Whumpee. Come back to me. Please."

Whumpee would prove Whumper wrong. Whumpee would prove the doctors wrong. They would beat the poison with no antidote. They would beat the odds. They were the strongest person Caretaker knew. "You have to come back to me, Whumpee. Please."

As Caretaker begged and cried at Whumpee's bedside, refusing to give up hope, the medical team did their observations from the door. They didn't want Caretaker to see their concerned faces. Didn't want Caretaker to be more upset. And they didn't want Caretaker to realize Whumpee's vital signs were getting worse and worse as time wore on.

Tags:

@mousepaw @jumpywhumpywriter @knightinbatteredarmor @hufflepuffwritingstuff2 @anightmarishwhump

@steh-lar-uh-nuhs @celestialsoyeon @st0rmm @ay5ksal @pedro-pedro-pedro-pedro-pe

@pepeniascat @bluesoulpeace @genuinelythioehat-is-whump @goureblogs @xo7-parad0x

@acattiedtoastick @shylilbunny15 @snaillamp @whumpitywhumpwhump @pigeonwhumps

@bad-guy-sauron @homebasesystem @pawieeeee0804 @undeadunhingedchaos @sowhumpful

@whumpback-wail @chamomileteawicca

[aceof-stars]

Actually, “Feenie” Makes Perfect Sense as a Backstory for Phoenix (+ 3-1 Initial Thoughts)

I've decided to start a series where I record my thoughts and analysis as I play through the Ace Attorney games for the first time. I'll try to post these as soon as I finish a case so that my thoughts are fresh.

Phoenix Wright/"Feenie"

I've noticed critiques in this fandom that "Feenie" from Turnabout Memories is too different from Phoenix in the trilogy or that the backstory is poorly inserted. But, honestly I disagree. It's easy to treat Phoenix and Feenie as different people because of their different outfits and mannerisms, but I think the characterization is consistent (despite "Feenie" being exaggerated sometimes for comedic effect).

I've seen the fandom portray "Feenie" as a sweet pushover. But if anything, his belief is extremely stubborn and strong-willed. Phoenix believed in true love and fate which was why he accepts that necklace in the first place. He also never relents to Dahlia (or should I say Iris) when she asks for the necklace back.

He’s only able to be used and manipulated by Dahlia because his own goals and beliefs aligned with the facade she presented to him.

Phoenix literally shoves a guy so hard that he fell onto his back because he badmouthed Dahlia. I think one constant of Phoenix's character is that he cares too deeply and is protective over the people he loves.

There's also the part where Phoenix mocks Doug for being British? or wearing the British flag (I didn’t take a screenshot of it). “Feenie” is just as sassy and judgmental as Phoenix is. He might be a lot more naive and immature but he's still Phoenix.

Oh Phoenix... back when you believed in people saving you... before you bottled up your problems and refused to let anyone help you...

To be fair he is the defendant here but still. He doesn't ask for support after Edgeworth disappears, he doesn't ask for help at first when Maya is kidnapped.

I think, unfortunately, this incident with Dahlia is what kickstarted a lot of his trust and abandonment issues. His overwhelmingly strong belief and trust in Dahlia backfired in the worst way possible. It’s not a stretch that this made him too terrified of betrayal to open up to anyone in the trilogy.

So I know this is for comedic effect, but it’s also really good proof that Phoenix heavily idealizes the people he gets super attached to.

(Coughs in Edgeworth and Justice for All)

… I mean he’s not wrong! But he’s also being delusional

This is one of the first things Phoenix says after finding out he was betrayed. He doesn't spend much time acknowledging his feelings of hurt. He just goes into denial.

(COUGHS IN EDGEWORTH AND JUSTICE FOR ALL)

This is just further proof for me that Phoenix’s coping mechanisms are suppression and delusion.

And then Phoenix immediately he moves on to saving Edgeworth! He just shoves all that trauma aside to fixate on saving someone else... to cope by giving himself more control. Phoenix's savior complex stems from abandonment issues.

This trial doesn't give Phoenix the idea to save Edgeworth, it solidifies it.

After being reminded by Mia of his belief that a defense attorney saves people, Phoenix firmly sets himself on this path.

There it is. Phoenix says it himself... he suppressed these memories. That's why he never brought it up in the last two games. I know the real reason is because the creators didn’t plan it, but it also makes sense narratively.

I mean, Phoenix hides the class trial story until Turnabout Goodbyes. This man does not like to talk about his problems or trauma.

Mia Fey

Damn Mia is so brutal. Is this where Phoenix gets his sass from?

Mia is also not how I expected her to be. I mean whenever she gets channeled to help Phoenix out, she's in the role of the wise mentor. But here? She's a nervous wreck, cynical of romance, and full of trust issues.

Speaking of trust issues... I unfortunately did not take a screenshot of this but as soon as Mia finds out Phoenix has lying to her, she reacts very strongly with distrust. She also has to convince herself multiple times to trust in him again. Believing in people or trusting them doesn't seem to come easy to Mia. Which is super interesting because her advice is to always believe in your client. Maybe Mia eventually got used to trusting her clients but... she also never tells Phoenix about her investigation in Redd White. I don't think Mia is as trusting as she presents herself as.

[pocket-vvardvark]

Ty for tagging me @skyrim-forever !!

I'd like to tag: @fangsandsoftgrass @sanzas-reverie @sulphuricgrin @hircines-hunter @changelingsandothernonsense @scholarlyhermit @mavariel @madamefluffnstuff

Which NPCs in TES (all games included!) do you crush on, and why? They don't have to be marriage candidates (in vanilla), just people you find yourself blushing around. Hell, it could be a Deadric Prince if that's what you're into. Name them and say what about them you find appealing! Then feel free to tag a friend or two!

These r mostly gonna be ESO bc I haven't played Skyrim in a gazillion years lol, soooo:

1. Fennorian Ravenwatch!!!

Literally the main reason why i actually continued playing ESO lol. I just love his shyness, and how much he cares about the vestige (they fumbled in the newest chapter I stfg 🙄🙄🙄) I would date him irl idec I'm only straight for pookie <333333 I used to tweak so bad, I couldn't look at his face or hear his voice 🥴

2. Verandis Ravenwatch

Listen, he's hot and he's a dilf sooo perfect combo fr fr. Also, there's something I really like about the 'fatherly' characters, something like mentors just tickles my brain in the right way.

3. Vanus Galerion

Ok, so I'm not gonna lie, at first!! I didn't like him!! But then my brain chemistry changed when he was low key degrading us 🤤 ok ignore that, but I love that underneath all his grumpiness, is someone who's vulnerable. Also I want him to bend me over his desk :) I need more Vanus loreee, let me love pookie right

4. Abnur Tharn

When I was done with his DLC, I fucking scoured ao3 and Tumblr to lick at the crumbs left for me :)) The first time he shows up in the main quest?? Liked him but wasn't feral yet. Elsewyr?? Omfg, I love how he's changing!!! C'mere pookie 😍😍 ok, also I'm ngl but I blushed when he called us a pretty face <33

5. Iachesis

He's a hot, old, Altmer with good hair what else is there to say?? When he first showed up I was like damn, this is Vanus's dad figure?? Sign me UP!!!

6. Revus Demnevanni

He's so endearing. I love how clumsy he is, but ALSO!! He's always trying to right his mistakes which is hot ASF. Really miss him :/

7. Ayrenn

Ok, first off--HER VOICE. Her voice is sooooooo nice like OUGH, I could listen to her for hours. She's so caring, too, and I love that she's really willing to stuff for all the races in the Altmer alliance. FCK the veiled heritance fr fr.

8. Darien Gautier

I miss this man sm, guys I fucking cried during the Summerset DLC. He fucking BROKE ME. I didn't care for him that much in the beginning, but the dlc absolutely wrecked me :((. I felt like there was a real relationship there, and Darien really cared about everyone around him. I miss my knight 😭

9. Gabrielle Benele

Gabby is so cute, I love how crazy she is sometimes. But, also she cares SO MUCH. I just wanna hug her(maybe a smooch also), she's been thru sm and deserves sum loveeee

10. Divayth Fyr

Yeah, this got developed when I did cw city dlc, but um...he calls us a distraction after the trial and it fucked me UP. HELL YA I WANNA BE UR DISTRACTION DADDY FYR

11. Marcurio

Guys, this was my FIRST LOVE, NOT EVEN KIDDING. I love his stupid sassy attitude and want to break his back (or have him break mine idc). ALSO, he has this one line when you go through caves that's, like just reminding you that he's here if you're scared <33

12. Hieronymus lex

Listen, man, I didn't expect it either. I love love love him sooooo much. Playing the thieves guild quest line in high school got me so crunked up. I just love this like forbidden love between a guard and a thief like 😍😍

13. Martin Septim

I'm a Martin truther y'all, can't stop myself. I just know he's kinky ASF, ANYWAYS. He really changes throughout the whole quest line and I love that, but alsoooo Martin is so sweet. Esp when he yells at you to put the mysterium xarxes down bc he's worried <33 yes king, I am but ur humble servant 🥴 I also love knight x king type of romance yum

14. Sotha Sil

I blushed. I fucking blushed when his tall ass stepped into the psijic order. He's looking for me? FOR ME??? I was like standing there brain.exe stopped working. Also his voice is straight up butter like omggg

15. Clavicus vile

Shoot me. Do it. Skyrim version AND ESO version. I'm insane, Ik, but the deal aspect has me thinking bad thoughts 🥴 ALSO HIS VOICE SKSKSKSKWMW

16. Caius Cosades

Yup. You heard right. Listen, he's kinda brusque or whatever in the beginning, but I feel like he rlly helps you thru shit tbh. I'm dumb, so I can't see any deeper, BUT he's kinda caring and I genuinely felt so sad and lost once he peaces out 💀

[multifandomxzion]

Phaindei x Moonian! reader pt.1

(Spoilers for Amphoreas quest)

Being put on this strange planet with Dan Heng and Caelus was rather nerve-wracking, you were hopelessly paranoid after the train wreck that was Penacony. But after hearing that legend from Tribbie.. Things didnt feel so bad, and I mean have you SEEN Amphoreas? Its such a beautiful planet.

That was until you were "bound by the truth" and interrogated by Aglaea, Almost dying to Castorice if it wasnt for Caelus getting you 3 through the trial. You were WOBBLING with fear, and it didnt seem to steady until you felt a hand on your shoulder, It was Phainon! And he was defending you guys!!

Caelus: I.. Cant believe you defended us

Phainon: Of course, I see you all as commerads in battle, and our city needs the best it can get! Call it warriors intuition~

Dan Heng and caelus start walking back to the hotel room, but as you try to follow them, Phainon stops you.

Phainon: I uh.. *ahem* Wow.

Reader: Wow??

Phainon: Yes! Wow! I mean, Ive had many chances to see you upclose before, but with this lighting? Just.. Just wow.

*He clasps one of your hands in his, almost unconsciously*

Phainon: Ive seen armor that glows so bright, but you.. Your glow is.. Captivating. I.. I could stare at it forever~.

Reader: O////O...

Caelus: Hey, uh im here too! 🖐🏾

Phainon: Huh? O-oh! My word, Ive kept you here for too long, I must go, Hoping to see the rest of you later on!

*And with that, he's gone. And now.. You should probably hurry too.*

*However as soon as you make it back to your hotel room, Caelus's adorably nosey and curious nature get the better of him*

Caelus: So! What was all that about? What was all that stuff about a.. Glow thing?? Are ya gonna tell me? Please tell me, we've been friends since 3 planets ago! Pleeeeease reader?

Reader: I.. I dont even know what happened, just let me sleep, Caelus..

*you barely finish your sentence before flopping onto your lounge chair, the exhaustion finally hitting you*

Caelus: Oh come on! Dont leave me on a cliff hanger!

Can you tell this is the first x reader ive made?

Pt.2

[oc-tournaments]

ROUND ONE - MATCH 5

LEAH GARMINEBHEL vs TRISTAN CASTELLANE

Leah Garminebhel: @literatureinducedexhaustion

Tristan Castellane: @the-demoness-next-door

VOTE BASED ON THE INFORMATION BELOW CUT!!

Propoganda Content Warnings: Apocalypse, eldritch horrors, neglect, timeline fuckery for LEAH. Physical torture for TRISTAN.

LEAH GARMINEBHEL:

PROPAGANDA: Leah's status as the universe's favourite pain sponge starts with them generally being a nervous wreck when nothing interesting is happening. Their current state, by contrast, is being one of a handful of humans left alive on Earth after 2 separate apocalypses, and, at present, is the only person capable of saving the world, TWICE OVER. They've watched the place they call home be destroyed at least thrice by this point, counting their mother's house, their original base, and their temporary refuge (and there's probably more coming if the canon I'm basing this off of is any indication). They have 3 anxiety disorders for good reason. Their arc includes having to:

- watch the world be engulfed in flames

- fight dragons, skeletons, witches, and other mythological creatures with no magic training

- survive the Count of Monte Cristo dragging them into a mind dungeon

- put up with Thomas Edison at close range

- fight the King of Demons with their bare hands

- survive a reenactment of the Salem Witch Trials but with eldritch horrors

- see a lot a lot of corpses

- parent their younger siblings through a good portion of life, including apocalypse number 1

- watch an alien invasion destroy their home and all life as we know it

- watch their siblings get themselves kidnapped to protect Leah when apocalypse number 2 began

- listen to their parents scream at each other for seventeen hours as a result of said kidnapping, while trapped in a vessel barely larger than a Winnebago

- endure rampant power abuse from their boss

- be isolated from their support system for months due to not having enough magic to keep them all corporeal at once

- destroy 7+ alternate timelines for a chance of bringing their home back

- do all this through some of the worst autistic burnout known to science

- work through deep-rooted self-hatred that was in their brain BEFORE ANY OF THE ABOVE HAPPENED

Leah can no longer function in society. They have no idea what their life will look like after the world is saved. help.

THEME SONG:

TRISTAN CASTELLANE:

PROPAGANDA: okay so this blue eyed bitch boy (he's a sweetie ignore me) is LITERALLY a god's punching bag. spent almost seven thousand years being exactly that bc the god of hatred + hope wanted to prove a point to his enemies. to be clear tristan is just A Guy. normal guy you would find on the street. nothing special about him. apart from the fact hes very pretty if thats ur thing. and he spent. seven thousand years enduring nothing short of Actual Torture every cpl days. and now he's got real severe trauma bcos of it bc... how could he not. like cmon he's LITERALLY a god's punching bag what more can i say. also he's a demipan demiboy so we love a queer king

side note the image i'm submitting him with is by parziivale (same username on all platforms)

THEME SONG:

[tea-potato-gt]

More reactions and memes I thought of as I read the new “Shot in the Dark” book by @marydublinauthor and @kendsleyauthor

Part 1 here / Part 3 here / Part 4 here / Predictions /Pirate AU

*spoiler ahead*

Chapter 13

Squirrels after they get bit by Werewolves:

Sylvia *starts talking about Alice’s music box* Me: NooOoOoOo Sylvia shut up!!! 😭😭😭 Alice: “My sweet visitor. My friend.” Me:

Sylvia: “No offense, but I never want to see either of you again.” 💀💀💀 (Get wrecked again Jon)

What do you feel after you kidnapped an innocent fairy and held her hostage for days? 🎤 Jon:

Chapter 14

No, Damian! No! I was rooting for you!! 😭😭😭

The disrespect these fairies are putting on Sylvia’s dead father’s name 💀💀💀 👁️👄👁️

Ayden be like: “I know I have to brand you as a traitor, which will ruin your life, but Imma give you a Badass tattoo.” 👨‍🎨🎨🖌️🔥

POV you pirated Sylvia’s trial scene…🏴‍☠️

Chapter 15

What Hazel hopes happens to Jon:

What probably would happen:

Chapter 16

Jon apparently:

Sylvia if she tried to swim…

Jon and Sylvia flirting in the bathroom:

Sylvia casually undresses… Jon: 😳😳😳

Chapter 17

Jon and Cliff trying to have a conversation about Sylvia while she’s in the room:

Chapter 18

Me @ Sylvia as she drools over Jon’s gray T-shirt 🤤

Chapter 19

Damian trying to kill Jon: 💨🌬️💀

Horny jail meme again, this time for Cliff:

Chapter 20

Them trying to unlock the door: (Tik Tok audio)

Jon: How did you get passed security, the fortress is impenetrable?

Sylvia🧚🏼‍♀️: Door was unlocked

Cliff: Son of a Bitch!

🚪🔓🤷‍♀️

Sylvia: “No wonder you guys don’t have any friends” 🤣💀💀💀 (get wrecked again)

Jonathan “I like stealing” Nowak

If Jon is short for Jonathan. Is Cliff short for “Clifford?” Like the giant DOG??? 💀💀💀 or “Clifton?” How did I not realize that sooner? 😭😂🤣

————————————————

Bonus Chapter 9

Jon and Sylvia:

——————————

Thanks for reading!

Part 3 here! 😌😤🧚🏼‍♀️👁️🫦👁️

[vonlipvig]

okay yeah, memoirs of a clouded kokoro was way better that the first part, no doubt about it. it feels like they learned what didn't work too well in adventures and locked in for resolve, for the most part. the main criticism i have with both parts is how odd the pacing can feel at times. part 2 is much less annoying about it because even during the slower moments, Something is happening to advance the trial/overall story. though, i could live without hearing about gas and soap over and over for a bit lol

onto the positives, what pleasantly surprised me was how weirdly sympathetic olive is. shamspeare sucked through and through in terms of morality (but is a great character imo), but i fully get why olive did what she did. she lived through being at risk of dying And grieving her fiance in 2 events that were almost purely accidental in like, the span of a month and some change. i fully believe she should be even meaner about it, tbh. to me, the biggest standout moment for this case is right near the end:

given how mixed i am on how the series deals with more delicate topics, the handling of suicide and self harm here was perfect. it genuinely made me tear up a bit. i haven't done that since i think either 1-4 or 1-5 in adventures, wherever that once scene was where iris and gina have a deep talk right before shit goes down at windibank's. it's the more unexpected moments where this series Really gets me ahahaha

okay, onto episode 3, now i can see who the blond haired guy with the glasses is all about. i feel i will like him a lot based on the opening animation alone. with that, it seems i'll also get more than an inkling of whatever the hell barok's deal is, and by extension:

him. i can't wait for the rest of the game to emotionally wreck the shit out of me ^_^

they really just pulled a "daniel / the cooler daniel" with the clouded kokoro cases lmao. this one is just soooo much better in every sense, i really enjoyed it, even if it doesn't tie into the Big Plot Moments that might start to crop up.

shamspeare was sooo fucking good, he's absolutely awful and i enjoyed every second of it. i honestly never got tired of his speech gimmick (and when he drops it it's suuuch a satisfying gotcha moment), and god his animations! i'd just sit there watching him dance for minutes lmao. they said we're doing mo-cap now and you're gonna LOVE IT.

OLIVE YES. the way they dealt with her here honestly surprised me, especially after all the fat jokes in the first clouded kokoro. she felt like a complete character, and her suicide attempt genuinely shocked me as a moment, it was really good. i felt for her a lot, and i totally get her motives. when she said this?

yeah girl, i'm with you, tbh. but yes, dgs does not shy away from topics such as suicide and self harm, and i love that they give it the gravity they deserve.

OOOH CASE 3 ON TO ABSOLUTE FUCKING PEAKKKKK. this is The One, get ready. say hi to harebrayne, he's my absolute faveeeee.

and wow, i wonder who that is......

[jesslovesboats]

It's the most wonderful time of the year- time for @terrortracks! I'll post my playlists here, along with covers and liner notes or at least a little bit of insight into why I chose these specific tracks.

First up is my playlist for Day 1- explorer of choice!

If you've been here longer than 5 minutes, you know that my favorite expedition is the Karluk, but my favorite guy is actually Joseph Stenhouse, of Ross Sea Party fame. I've never related to a polar guy more, and I project onto him in a way that is probably less than healthy. There's a reason he's the sun sign in my explorerscope.

ANYWAY, he is best known for getting the Aurora back to safety and for sinking u-boats with his bestie Frank Worsley during the war. Later in his life, though, he served as the captain of the Discovery during the Discovery Oceanographic Expeditions of 1925-1927! This was a bad time for everyone involved, as Stennie was fighting with the scientific team non-stop, witnessing absolutely horrific animal cruelty at the Grytviken whaling station, dealing with his own crippling anxiety, depression, and (probable) PTSD, and coming to the painful realization that the age of sail was over and the skills he dedicated his life to perfecting were no longer valuable or necessary. It was an impossibly hard pill to swallow.

This playlist features songs about feeling awkward, out of place, uncomfortable, sad, too old, and not enough. I'm sure none of you can relate to that- me neither!

1. ballad of a homeschooled girl- Olivia Rodrigo

I broke a glass, I tripped and fell, I told secrets I shouldn't tell I stumbled over all my words, I made it weird, I made it worse Each time I step outside, it's social suicide

2. Ashamed- Deer Tick

Murdered my throat, screaming bloody all night Hit him with a book and how he crumbles So, you should have seen how the arches tumble They're golden no more, now I'm smiling in my blood I'm caught in a whirlwind, I'm going to heaven I'm standing on trial and it's painted on canvas An eternal testament to how we are so animalistic

3. Crack Baby- Mitski

Crack baby, you don't know what you want But you know that you had it once And you know that you want it back Crack baby, you don't know what you want But you know that you're needing it And you know that you need it bad

4. Mariners Apartment Complex- Lana Del Ray

They mistook my kindness for weakness I fucked up, I know that, but Jesus Can't a girl just do the best she can? Catch a wave and take in the sweetness Think about it, the darkness, the deepness All the things that make me who I am

5. Calamity Song- The Decemberists

And you've receded into loam And they're picking at your bones Will call cold We'll come home

6. Bite The Hand- boygenius

Here's the best part distilled for you But you want what I can't give to you Your hands are gravity while my hands are tied

7. Ship To Wreck- Florence and the Machine

What's with the long face? Do you want more? Thousands of red-eyed mice, scratching at the door And don't let the curtain catch you, cause you've been here before The chair is an island, darling, you can't touch the floor

8. A Better Son/Daughter- Rilo Kiley

And sometimes when you're on, you're really fucking on And your friends they sing along and they love you But the lows are so extreme, that the good seems fucking cheap And it teases you for weeks in its absence But you'll fight and you'll make it through You'll fake it if you have to And you'll show up for work with a smile You'll be better and you'll be smarter and more grown up And a better daughter or son And a real good friend

[georgegraphys]

@grbambi63's theory really made me peek into Daimler's 2018, 2019, and 2023 annual report to see the difference between Zetsche's management to Kallenius' management.

Zetsche's objective:

Kallenius had a similar objective on that too but I won't include it for today because we're not talking about the similarity but... the one thing Kallenius had that Zetsche didn't.

2019 & 2023's Kallenius-term annual report objectives:

Lower cost base. Reduction of (...) costs.

This isn't just some move that Kallenius added just because he loved saving some pennies but it might be due to the chaos that happens in his first year as a CEO. I am going to highlight two major events here.

1) Diesel Emission Scandal

In the beginning of 2018 (Zetsche's term), Daimler was accused of having shit devices on their control software for their US products but they denied this allegations. Then it was reported that the US authorities were investigating them for diesel emission cheating scandals.

In June 2019, Daimler had to recall 60,000 Mercedes diesel powered cars in Germany, the model affected is the Mercedes-Benz GLK 220 SUV produced between 2012 and 2015, the car is fitted with software aimed at distorting emissions tests. And during the same year, Daimler was fined 870 million euros in Germany for "negligent violation of supervisory duties" in relation to not fully complying with emissions regulations. In 2020, they had to pay $2.2B in settlement.

The scandal got serious actually as "The Daimler boss is also putting the german federal government in trouble. It has its back against the wall internationally because of the fraud committed by its flagship industry. US President Donald Trump has targeted Daimler in the trade dispute and threatened that he no longer wants to see Mercedes cars on Fifth Avenue in New York" source

This crisis ironically started at Zetsche's management but the peak of the case was handled during Kallenius' early stage of leadership 💀💀💀 (I FELT BAD FOR HIM NGL LMAOOO)

2) COVID 19

Do you think Kallenius' trials decrease after his first year? No. COVID-19 happens. They still profit as they are THEE Mercedes but sales were slow at one point. Kallenius and other executives had to take pay cuts due to COVID and even before, COVID he also had to struggle with Daimler's stocks dropping drastically while having to deal with the lawsuit and satisfying the investors. He also said this: (source)

Looking at how they have interesting differences as CEO. Kallenius is definitely all about cost efficient and maybe this was due to the crisis he felt in 2021 and as a preparation for Daimler's future ventures in focusing more about EQs

Update: Yeah this confirms that he had a pretty rough start to his management year in 2019 due to diesel scandal (source)

And bold of you to think that Zetsche retired from Mercedes with a bang. No he didn't. (source)

AND THE BEEF THICKENS as some board member reportedly are against his rise to be the chairman of the supervisory board (source)

Just a personal thought from me, but what if the reason Kallenius was pissed at LH in 2021 is caused by all these financial wrecks Mercedes are in during these years? They were hit again and again. To add that, Kallenius is very adamant on his cost efficient and cost reduction objectives after these hardships. And at that time, just after 2020, LH demands a raise. A raise from a company who is literally in the trenches fighting for a surplus and good result from all the legal battles they're in and COVID that caused the board members and employees to get paid cuts. Maybe this was what pissed Kallenius off? Because at that time, Mercedes wasn't doing so well and suddenly, LH asked for pay raise to a guy who is very set and clear about saving every pennies 😭😭 That must've pissed the hell out of him. I'm not saying Lewis is wrong but kinda 💀💀 to think that the butterfly effect from that moment of their contract negotiation in 2021 to what is happening rn in 2024 💀💀.

If that is true then Zetsche is the catalyst for the butterfly effect happening rn:

Zetsche diesel scandal>Him retiring>Kallenius' rise to position>Mercedes financial flopification due to dieselgate and covid>LH demanding more salary>Cost efficient and suffering Kallenius, with his hands full on Zetsche's mess, getting pissed at LH>LH and Mercedes fallout>Kallenius using George as a piece in the contract negotiation>Toto Wolff power decrease in Kallenius' era>George to Mercedes>Another contract negotiation problems>Ambassadorial promise getting yeetus deletus-ed>LH pissed>Ferrari move early>George steps forward as team leader

If this is real. If the butterfly effect is real, then it's crazy.

[givemeanaccountalready]

for milgram ask game 💖 1, 2, 5, 8 for Yuno 3, 4, 6, 7 for Haruka 12, 13, 14, 15 for Mikoto

Yuno

1.) Favorite song lyrics?

I think I like Tear Drop just slightly more than Umbilical.

“I’m the one who chose / let you and you and you all in / Happy or sad? / Why decide? / Where’d you get your half-baked sense of justice / So nauseating… so creepy will you please disappear? / Phew. Anyway”

I just really like this verse from Tear Drop and that she is continuing to emphasize her point that yeah, you can punish people outside the law, but it’s never-ending and people have differing views on what the ‘right’ punishment is. No one in the audience expected Kotoko to attack the Guilty prisoners after Trial One, and during Kotoko’s voice drama, she is able to verbally put Es in the corner when they try to shut her down. As far as Kotoko was concerned, murder is murder, get wrecked by the fang of justice. Muu, in her first voice drama, brings up the idea of self-defense and Es agreed with her that killing someone in self-defense is justifiable and can be forgiven, something that conflicts with Kotoko’s view on justice. Yuno brings up that most people look down on sex work, but if it’s a consensual exchange of sex in exchange for money, is it really hurting anyone, and if not, why is it other people’s business what she does? Especially even seems to understand where she is coming from, even if they don’t give a vocal agreement to it. That said, I still want to know how in the hell she got involved with sex work in the first place. I know she’s using sex (the warmth) to fill an emotional void (the coldness), but how long has she been doing sex work, because some of those men she’s been with have taken her to upscale places that a high school boy and most college guys certainly can’t afford to take their dates to.

2.) Favorite music video frame?

I did get question 2 before and I picked a scene from Tear Drop, so it’s only fair that I pick from Umbilical.

I think this one is my favorite because it seems to be the one time she’s making her own decision and seems totally into it.

5.) Favorite voice drama line/moment?

I had gotten 5 before (see the previous link in 2 if you’re interested) and since I picked a line from her second voice drama the first time, this time I’ll do one from the first:

“That’s right. You know those people who just want to convince themselves, so they intrude in other people’s affairs even though it’s not their place—I despise them. That’s what I was saying. They only do it to make themselves feel better, don’t they? Those people don’t actually end up doing anything.”

Though, the “It’s fucking bothersome,” line is still number one Yuno quote in my heart.

8.) What is your theory of their crime? If there is a general consensus on it in the fandom, do you have any other, not-so-widely-accepted theories?

The abortion. I’m 99.99% sure that her murder was an abortion and I will be very surprised if it turns out that she murdered one of her clients because that would be out of left field at this point. @2amtechnicolor has a good post on whether Yuno actually wanted the abortion, and how that plays into her feelings regarding her Trial One verdict. It definitely put Yuno’s words in a different light and explains why she was adamant over being found Guilty in Trial Two. Definitely not something I would have thought of on my own. Before I read that post, I thought Yuno had been angered by everyone waving her off as a naive young girl who doesn’t understand what she’s done and maybe even regretted her abortion after the fact.

Haruka

3.) Favorite non-MV official illustration?

I think I like the birthday image for him best:

I like the little Chibi drawing. I do just want to point out that in his Trial Two image, the heel of one of Haruka’s shoes is stomped down and it bothers me, so now you all have to look at it:

They’re not tied either but untied fits the image of his younger self that he is trying to cling onto. I wonder what happened to his slip-on shoes he wore last trial. They didn’t have any laces.

4.) Favorite Minigram episode/moment?

Ooh, it’s probably the cat’s cradle one where Yuno is showing off her tricks and he keeps asking Fuuta if he saw the tricks and Fuuta is pretending not to care. And then they both get amazed and Haruka is like, did you see that, did ya, did ya, as Fuuta is frantically yelling that he’s apathetic. Comedy gold.

6.) Favorite relationships with another character in the prison?

Fuuta for sure. They have the, “Excuse me, he asked for no pickles,” energy that I appreciate. I think it’s important that Fuuta treats him like a peer with equal footing, because Haruka seems to be so used to being less than. I’m sad that they splintered off after Trial One. Muu is alright with me for now, since I was introduced to the idea that she has been teaching him how to write and that’s why his questions in the second response are longer and neater than in the last trial, and she does seem to be trying to increase his self-esteem, if her gifts are anything to go off of. She’s not number one best girl because she and Haruka magnify each other’s worst traits and behavior. I think Fuuta was trying to encourage Haruka to speak for himself, (see the timeline convos insistence that Haruka not speak so formally to him and trying to figure out what Haruka likes). Haruka does need someone to support him, but he also needs that someone to help give him a push so he doesn’t stagnate (same with Muu) and he and Muu are not a good fit for where they are mentally.

7.) Favorite relationships with another character if they weren’t in Milgram, the way you imagine or would like them to be?

I had gotten 7 for Haruka before and said Fuuta, but besides Fuuta… hmmmmm. I think I would say Shidou and Haruka would be interesting since Shidou is said to have treated Haruka for a cold in the Minigram and when Haruka cut his palms by pressing his fingernails into them. I know Amane doesn’t like how Shidou treats her like a little kid and would be better off with Kazui as a father figure because Kazui has shown himself to be capable of treating Es like a young adult, which she would appreciate it. But given Haruka’s mother’s neglectful treatment of him and the apathy and disappointment his father feels towards him, I think the gentleness Shidou has shown him would be a welcome relief. If I remember correctly, I think Shidou had asked Haruka to make sure to take care of himself after he finished bandaging his hands.

It’s possible that the two could meet if Shidou worked at a doctor’s office where Haruka’s mother took him for a check up. Or maybe Shidou moves his family to Haruka’s neighborhood or vice versa, and Shidou notices how Haruka is staring at how Shidou and his wife interact with their kids. Maybe he’d ask if he would mind watching their two boys while they have a date night, or start simpler with asking if Haruka could help Shidou move some things in their house and thank him sincerely and praise him a little for being so helpful. I think the gentler, while sometimes condescending, attitude that Shidou takes with younger prisoners is what Haruka would need to start believing that he is capable of doing things right.

Mikoto

12.) What do you wish would be discussed more often about them within the fandom?

Hmm, I see a lot of theories and analyses of Mikoto, and I wish I could do him justice the way others in the fandom have. I’m starting to see some discuss the reliability of Mikoto and John’s accounts, which I’m thankful for because they are putting the words together much more coherently than I could. I’m happy I got @archivalofsins to watch Primal Fear and to hear her thoughts on it because whenever I try to analyze Mikoto, I’m worried that that film is coloring my view negatively and I’m not giving Mikoto a fair shake and jumping the gun.

There are a couple of things that I want to hear more talk about. For starters, since DID is a rare disorder formed in response to extreme abuse during early, and sometimes middle childhood, what could have caused it in Mikoto? Was it abuse from his dad? When John first appeared in John Doe, it sounded like I was listening to an abusive father beat and belittle his kid. We know his mom raised him and his baby sister after she divorced their father and he sounds quite attached to her. I had hoped for some more answers on this during Trial Two, but Mikoto’s murder is supposed to be at the forefront of the discussion, so we may not get an answer just yet. Which leads me to my next thought: I think John and/or Mikoto is full of shit that the person killed by them was just a stranger. In MeMe, it looks like Mikoto is waiting for someone before we cut to the blond guy crawling on the ground while Mikoto swings the bat down. I think it was a targeted attack. Maybe he is someone from Mikoto’s past who could have ruined all his hard work with blackmail (hence the “my life… wasn’t supposed to be this way,” and “DESTROY EVERYTHING”) that Mikoto either thought he could scare off with the bat but ended up killing the guy or went there with the intent to kill or seriously harm him. I do think that Mikoto knows more than he is letting on, and that John isn’t a purely evil monster hellbent on killing anyone who annoys him.

I am bummed that Trikoto seems to be officially dead with Double, but there better not be a surprise twist of a third alter during Trial Three.

13.) Any ideas on what would they and their music videos would have been like if they had gotten a different in Trial 1?

Remember how the beginning of MeMe had some glitchiness and jump cuts? I think we would have seen more of that in Double if Mikoto had been voted Innocent in Trial One. Mikoto doesn’t seem to know, or maybe, doesn’t want to know what goes on during his memory lapses and about John. He probably attributes it to stress from his work and while the stigma attached to mental illnesses has lessened over the years, it’s still not something you admit to in private, much less in public circles around most of the world. Voting Guilty forced John to surface more, and him surfacing more often seems to have forced John’s perspective of the crime to appear more in Double and both seemed to have been stressed out over the murder. I think the flashes of John probably would have been much more violent compared to the POV of the easygoing, but ignorant Mikoto. Like MeMe on steroids. I hope that makes sense.

14.) Any headcanons on their appearance?

It’s kind of funny in a mean way that in-universe, that Mikoto is said to be so plain that he resembles mass-produced goods. I like to think he is the most fashionable of the male prisoners because he learned how to cultivate different looks to make himself stand out more and boost his confidence. He would love to join in on Mahiru’s skincare routine when he learns that she shared it with the girls. He does notice how Fuuta and Haruka balk at joining in on Mahiru and Yuno’s fashion fun times because of their low self-esteem, and does try (well, did try for Fuuta) to gently encourage them to join by offering himself up as the girls’ ‘doll’ because Amane and Kotoko are not willing and Muu prefers certain aesthetics and isn’t ready to let them go hog wild just yet. Haruka wants to join but doesn’t join in because Fuuta is loudly complaining about how it’s girly and boring and it���s only when Mikoto shoots him a death glare that Fuuta gets the message and reluctantly agrees on the condition that they don’t put anything on his face/touch his mask. Fuuta does grumble but it’s more half-hearted because Haruka is soaking up the positive attention.

15.) What do you think of their voice?

I am not the coolest when it comes to taste in music, but I did dabble with metal and I like the kind that Mikoto does where it’s mostly singing with some screaming to punctuate. Sorry, I’m a bit lame, haha 😅

As for his speaking voice, I like the sound of his and John’s different ways of speaking. It works with his more cutesy and chill moments as Mikoto and the blunt, brusque, and brutal way it gets with John. I love the range. I may not know many Japanese voice actors, but I can’t imagine anyone but Natsuki Hanae voicing him.

[sweet-jelly-dreams]

Will's, ah, character development is so funny to me because while Hannibal as a character is quite steady, we just slowly get to see more of him as the show progresses, Will is like, 6 different people 😂

• Season one Will is just Unwell™, that's it, that's his personality (though he honestly rocks it).

• Then we have prison era Will, who is angry and betrayed, but also finally on the way to becoming his own person. He doesn't seem to like who that is but he's making his own decisions, for better or worse.

• After his release he is at his most unhinged and somehow also the most steady we've seen him up to then. He's very confident and kind of playing both sides but at least this time he's the one manipulating ppl and he seems to enjoy it as much as he feels guilty about it.

• Early seaon 3 Will is a wreck, like he's legit just pining after the guy who gutted him and left him behind and then he goes after him and it's his first character development he has entirely without Hannibal (though it's very much motivated entirely by Hannibal as well) and while I love his drive it's mostly a little desperate and by the end of it he still ends up kind of pathetic. (I mean he chased the guy all the way to Italy, getting to know important backstory and all and he still ends up with a failed attempt at assass... I mean forgiveness, nearly gets his head cut open by Hannibal and then nearly gets his face cut off by Hannibal's enemy, gets saved by Hannibal and when he tries to break off their relationship in a last ditch effort at regaining agency after all that Hannibal effectively takes that from him as well)

• Married Will is a fantasy of what he could have been had he never joined the FBI and everyone seems to be aware of that. It's honestly a bit sad but he changes out of that personality as fast as he changes out of his seaon 1 clothing style as soon as he's back to talking with Hannibal and that kind of reinforces the feeling that this version of him is cosplay more than anything else.

• The end of season 3 is his final pokemon evolution, his proper becoming, and the first time he actually seems to be on equal footing with Hannibal. End season 2 Will was the trial version of this and it kind of feels like he's playing both jack and hannibal again but this time he actually decided which side he's on and it's his own. Love that for him tbh.

rewatching hannibal and-

will looks so- fresh and young and- unfucked up? 😭😭 like he has his usual puppy eyes but he's not as fucked up as in s3 damn i had totally forgotten about his erm character development

[fific7]

Ticket to Ride - Part 4

Billy Russo x Reader

A/N: Inspired by The Beatles song of the same name. This takes place in my S1 Punisher AU with Arrogant!Billy in attendance, in which he gets a taste of his own medicine.

Warnings: 18+ NSFW due to sexual content, including oral and unprotected, between consenting adults* in some chapters. Drinking and swearing.

*Irl, please don’t go wild in the country without protection.

(My Photo Edit)

𝔹𝕖𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕤𝕙𝕖 𝕘𝕖𝕥𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕒𝕪𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕘𝕠𝕠𝕕𝕓𝕪𝕖

𝕊𝕙𝕖 𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕜 𝕥𝕨𝕚𝕔𝕖, 𝕤𝕙𝕖 𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕕𝕠 𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕓𝕪 𝕞𝕖

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Billy woke up really early due to light streaming into his room. The sun was coming up. He couldn’t bring himself to close the curtains the previous night - after all, the view was the big thing in this hotel, wasn’t it? He rearranged his pillows so that he could still lie in bed but also tipped his head up enough so he could see the view.

It was too early to go along to her room yet, so he’d laze a little, shower and then he’d go. He hoped that her anger had cooled overnight, as the two of them really had to have a conversation. Not that he was looking forward to that conversation, but he realised that if he wanted to have even an outside chance of getting her back, he had to man up and tell her the truth. He had the distinct feeling that If he only told her part of it - a sanitised version of what had happened - she’d see right through him and that would be that.

He laughed out loud.... god he hadn’t even slept with the woman, but if he’d known the shitstorm that was going to be stirred up by all of this, maybe he should’ve just damn well done it!

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Meanwhile, you sat at the departure gate waiting for the boarding call. You’d always wanted to visit your next destination so while you were sad to leave Barcelona, you felt excited to be on your way.

With a little smile, you thought that the only real regret you had was you wouldn’t be there to see the expression on Billy’s face when he realised you’d skipped town again.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

As soon as he’d had that thought a little voice inside his head had said, if you had then you’d never ever get her back and you know it. Yeah, he did know it. So it was just as well I didn’t, he acknowledged to himself. Some no-strings sex with Madani wasn’t worth wrecking what he’d had with her.

Now he just had to hope that he wasn’t already too late to salvage that.

Billy stepped out onto the 20th floor landing then began walking up the red corridor to her room. He spotted a cleaning cart in the corridor - wait, that wasn’t outside her room, was it? No, it couldn’t be. But he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach the nearer he got.

He came to a halt next to the cart, and looked at the room number on the door for confirmation but he knew it before he even saw it.

She’d run out on him again.

Billy cursed loudly then swung round on his heel and headed back to the lifts. He took his phone out as he walked, hitting a starred number. It rang for a while then a grouchy voice said, “Yeah, what?”

“Micro? Got another job for you.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

After clearing Customs and Passport Control you walked briskly out of the terminal building, following a sign indicating where you needed to go. You were getting more and more impatient to get to the city by the minute, but you knew you had to make sure you picked the correct coloured route, as they went to different destinations.

Standing on the jetty at Marco Polo Airport, you waited patiently along with other passengers for the Alilaguna airport boat to moor alongside it and which would then take you to Venice.

La Serenissima. The city which floats on a lagoon.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Frank listened to what Micro had to say, then exploded. “Oh for fuck’s sake!!! This is gettin’ out of control. Yeah okay, do his search then let me know - not him - what you find out.”

He ended the call and threw his phone onto the bedside table. He’d have to speak to Bill, this was too much.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Billy was in a temper. He threw his clothes and toiletries into his duffel bag and zipped it up viciously. Nothing from Micro yet and he had to check out of his room now. He’d just have to sit in the bar/lounge downstairs and have a drink or two until he did hear back.

An hour and two whiskies later (yes, he’d thought as the barman’s eyebrows raised up at his request, it is damn early for a whisky but you have no idea what I’m going through), Billy was getting more and more impatient. Then his phone buzzed, but hope sank like a stone when he saw it was Frank.

“I guess he called you, then?” Billy said as soon as he answered the call. “Yep,” said Frank, “...he did. And this is the last one, Bill, you hear me?” “It’s not my fault she keeps flyin’ off t’different places!” whined Billy. “It’s your damn fault she took off in the first place, dumbass!” growled Frank and Billy said nothing as he couldn’t argue with that.

“Where’s she gone, Frankie?” he asked after a short silence. “Venice.” “Ah shit!!! Back to the States? Didn’t see that coming.” “Not Venice Beach, Bill... Venice, Italy.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

You settled yourself onto the wooden bench inside the vaporetto which would take you on the short hop across the wide Giudecca Canal from Palanca to Zattere. Vaporetti were the Venetian equivalent of public transport but a hugely more pleasurable experience. What would you rather hop on - a bus or a ferry? Yeah, definitely a ferry! You’d decided to stay on Giudecca instead of the main islands as it had a calmer, more relaxed vibe and tourists were much less in evidence.

Karen had texted you as you were getting unpacked in your small but cute room. Your hotel was surrounded by residential gardens and a narrow canal on one side; when you went out onto the large balcony, all you could hear was birdsong and the church bells of Venice. It was heavenly.

But Karen’s text had brought you down somewhat; Billy was on your track again. He’d been told by Frank that they weren’t going to help him out any longer, but you weren’t convinced that would put him off. Billy was the most stubborn sonuvabitch you’d ever met. Looking out the vaporetto windows, you saw a majestic tall ship making its way imperiously up the canal followed by a small tug like a lady in waiting, and wondered where it was sailing off to.

Sighing, you gathered up your bag as the vaporetto docked at Zattere and prepared to disembark. Maybe it was time to just sit down and have ‘that talk’ with him.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Billy, meanwhile, was waiting impatiently for his flight to start boarding in Barcelona airport. He just had to pin her down this time. No more escaping him and the talk they had to have.

He marvelled at the fact that in Europe, you were never really that far from your next destination. Here he was in Spain and in less than two hours’ time, he’d be in Italy. He’d bought a travel guide to Venice in one of the airport stores and settled down to read it.

Frank had given him the name and location of her hotel, somewhere called Giudecca. He didn’t have the first fucking clue as to where that was, so he’d better find out and quickly. Okay…. here was a map. Venice seemed to be divided into six sestiere or areas… hmmm no mention of Giudecca. Oh right, here it was, a large island out on its own across the Giudecca Canal from Venice.

He pinpointed the hotel on the map and felt a lot more relaxed.

I know where you are now, kitten.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Escaping from the crowd of tourists in Piazza San Marco into the relative peace of Caffé Florian, you sat down and ordered a horribly expensive cappuccino and pastry from the impassive waiter. But it was worth it just to soak up the historical atmosphere. You looked round the opulently decorated and gilded interior and opened up your guide book; it had opened in 1720 and scores of famous faces had passed through its doors or listened to its musicians outside. Wow - Casanova, Lord Byron, Charles Dickens, Ernest Hemingway, Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable, Andy Warhol. The list went on and on.

Coffee finished, you wandered out of Florian’s and back along the Piazetta next to the Doge’s Palace. There was an arched bridge - the Ponte della Paglia - on the waterfront from which you could see the world-famous Bridge of Sighs, and you joined the huddle of tourists at the top of the bridge to eventually make it to the front and take a picture of it. Your guide book told you the bridge was so called because after their trials, condemned prisoners would be taken from the Doge’s Palace over the small canal at its side to the prison, and their last sight of Venice would be from the bridge. Hence the ‘sighs’.

Next, you walked along to the Arsenale, the huge historical shipyard where Venice had built her vast number of ships which had enabled her to have a huge trading empire. It had been said that they’d been able to construct a fully equipped warship in one day. But that was long in the past, you thought as you looked at an array of stone lion statues outside its main entrance and a bust of Dante set onto the wall.

Turning away, you headed to the vaporetto stop of the same name and waited for the Line 1 vaporetto to arrive and take you on a sail up the Grand Canal.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Yet again, Billy was in a bad mood. After a couple of false starts, he’d eventually managed to make his way onto the correct Alilaguna boat at Marco Polo and had alighted at Zitelle on Giudecca.

But now here he was - walking backwards and forwards, backwards and forwards - along the waterfront, trying to find out where this damn fucking hotel was. He just couldn’t find it! Where the hell was it?

Billy spotted a guy around his own age walking towards him and stepped in front of him, asking politely in English if he could help him find this hotel. A stream of Italian burst forth and the guy must’ve realised that Billy didn’t understand one word, as he then took his arm and pulled him along the waterfront a little. He stopped and gestured towards one of the narrowest damn alleyways Billy had ever seen, quite near the vaporetto stop.

He thanked the guy effusively and set off up the alleyway. There were peoples’ houses on each side of it and he tried not to be too nosy as he walked past them. But echoing within the walls of the alley he could hear voices, children’s laughter, a football match on a TV, a dog barking… talk about living on top of each other. He wasn’t sure he could live like that but then it just depended on what you were used to, he supposed.

Arriving in a small open area leading to a canal and a bridge over it - Corte Ferrando, he saw on a sign - he found the Giudecca Hotel right on the corner next to the canal. At last!!!

Walking in to the small but light and airy reception area, he dumped his bag next to reception and asked the guy behind the desk if he could book a room. “Certainly, signore, how many nights would that be for?” Billy shrugged, saying, “I’ll make it for two nights for now, but maybe I’ll need to extend that, I’m not sure.” “That is no problem. Can I have your passport please, signore?”

Billy handed it over, thinking as he did, going by her recent history it might be only the one night!

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

You stepped off the vaporetto at Rialto. Well, you just had to walk over the famous bridge and be a total tourist didn’t you, stopping to take a picture looking back down the Grand Canal. You’d gazed at all the big palazzi lining the waterway as the vaporetto zig-zagged its way between all the stops on the canal. They were certainly impressive, but they also had a faded, melancholic air about them.

Some of them had been converted into museums, some rented out on long or short-term leases by their owners, or they were now owned by foreigners who only stayed in them for a handful of weeks each year. When the festivals were taking place… Carnevale, the Biennale, the Film Festival. The rest of the year they lay empty and lonely, no doubt steeped in dreams of the lavish masked balls and elegant dinner parties from centuries past, while the noble Venetian families who used to own them lived in modern condos in Mestre on the mainland, no longer in their beloved Venezia. How sad, you thought.

Heading back to the vaporetto stop, you decided you’d go to Accademia, have a look round the art gallery, visit the huge and famous church Santa Maria della Salute and then wander round the artisan shops in Dorsoduro, perhaps have a glass of vino in one of the cute little wine bars.

You were determined to make this afternoon and evening last for as long as you could. Billy would no doubt be waiting for you when you got back to Giudecca.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

The man himself hadn’t even bothered unpacking this time, just in case. He’d had a quick shower and then had taken a short stroll around the local area. He noticed very few tourists and decided this was why she’d chosen it. He knew she’d prefer to sample the local life more than the tourist traps.

Not wanting to spend too much time away from the hotel, he made his way back and sat outside on the lone park bench in the courtyard area. He started running over in his mind what he was going to say to her, to be honest he still wasn’t sure how to frame it so that she wouldn’t go ballistic.

His stomach knotted. Who was he kidding? Of course she was going to go ballistic! He was about to admit he’d made out on more than one occasion with another woman. And irrespective of the fact that it had been strictly business from his point of view, his girl was not going to be the least bit impressed with him.

Fuck, I’ve really screwed this up, he allowed himself to think for the first time. He’d made his brain block out this uncomfortable thought what with all the chasing after her in the previous few days. He’d been telling himself over and over that everything would all be alright.

But now he thought… would it? Would it really?

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Returning on the vaporetto to Palanca, you felt yourself starting to tense up. You knew Billy would either have arrived by now or would very shortly.

Whatever he had to say to to you, you knew you weren’t going to like it. The evidence was too strong that he’d been cheating on you and you weren’t going to let him off the hook for that. The problem was, you loved the stupid douchebag. But how could you trust him now, after he’d been seeing another woman? In some ways, it was worse that it was just the one. And you were sure it was just one, if the perfume evidence was anything to go by. It would almost have been better if he’d gone back to his old tom-catting ways, quantity over quality to coin Frank’s phrase. Your stomach twisted as you remembered him saying to you that at last Billy had reversed that equation when he got with you. But if he was seeing just the one? That was bad.

You began walking up the alleyway and as you reached the open area, you saw a figure sitting on the park bench, the back of a dark head. Billy.

Squaring your shoulders and feeling as if you were about to go into battle, you walked steadily towards him.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Venice

(My Photos/video 3 & 7 / June 2012 & 2016)

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

@blackbirddaredevil23 @theshadowkingsqueen @omgrachwrites @behindmyeyes-insidemyhead @ourloveisforthelovely @swthxrry @odetostep @supernaturalcat7 @obscurilicious @strawb3rrydr3ss @bruxa0007 @aleksanderwh0r3 @bat-luna-cat

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

[kopawz]

this is the "Scale of Hot People from Date-ableness and Respectableness” according to my lima-bean sized brain

if you have no idea who a character is, please refer to the numbered list below, in the keep reading tab

1. my friends on discord who wanted to be on this graph to prove their hotness

2. krillin, from dragon ball. he is on the far left due to being married, i think he worked too hard to have somebody home-wreck his marriage

3. jadzia, from DS9. she is also married, but i feel like everybody in DS9 is already married to each other in some way, shape, or form

4. oliver armstrong, from fullmetal alchemist. she would likely be too busy to go on a date with me, and i respect that

5. stanford pines, from gravity falls. he’s just here to fill space, and to serve as a foil to his much more hot and date-able brother.

6. mina, from pokemon sun & moon. i respect her vibes, but she is also likely too busy as a trial captain

7. adrian farenheights tepes (A.K.A. alucard), from the castlevania series. i love a guy who can storm into his dad’s castle just to kick his ass, but i’m not sure how well a date with him would go; i’m on the fence about it

8. terry bogard, from the fatal fury and king of fighters games. i just put him here because he’s eye candy, while i don’t actually know much about him; apparently he has an adoptive son? that’s cool man, give me your number

9. the grim reaper, from the sims games. now hear me out; if every sim agrees to woohoo with the grim reaper after spending enough time with them- clearly there must be some kind of hotness to him, and i can’t deny logic

10. mia fey, from the ace attorney series. miss fey is one of the best characters in the ace attorney series, and wasn’t even held back from helping her friends and family by something as trivial as death itself; a loosely defined girlboss

11. telma from zelda: twilight princess. she runs a successful business, is a member of a resistance against zant and ganondorf, has an adorable pet cat, is a kind and brave person who helps whoever wanders into her bar; a textbook definition of a girlboss

12. kiryu kazuma, from the yakuza series. he’s strong and a huge cutie; i’d wanna take him to an amusement park so he can win me a comically oversized bear plushie from an obviously rigged fair game

13. stanley pines, from gravity falls. this man conned an entire town, the U.S. government, and himself for 40 years. he is the arguably the biggest MVP in the entire show.

14. klavier gavin, from the ace attorney series; he is just some guy to me. i don’t think i’d date him because he would take ten minutes to order something off a menu at a fast-food restaurant; yet his hot guy status is undeniable

15. vash the stampede, from trigun; i just think he’s hilarious, a huge dumbass with a massive heart of gold; yes he blew up two entire cities by accident, but hey, nobody’s perfect

16. phoenix wright, from the ace attorney series. he is also just some guy to me, but i feel like he would be more pleasant to go on a date with, even if i am the one that winds up paying for wherever the date is

17. lady palutena, from the kid icarus series. she has a wonderful personality, incredible power, and has great advice once she’s done bullying you; unfortunately she is a war criminal

18. wulfric, from pokemon X & Y. he’s incredibly hot, but his gym is far too easy in both puzzle sense, and battle sense- especially for being the final gym of the game; he has the looks and confidence, but i feel he needs to try harder as a gym leader

19. goku, from dragon ball. has no idea what a date is; self explanatory.

20. majima goro, from the yakuza series. i kinda just wanna go bowling with the guy, to be honest

21. midna, from zelda: twilight princess. a trickster, a scoundrel, kind of manipulative at first; i love her, and hope she has a nice time ruling over the twilight realm by doing absolutely nothing, luigi style

22. lupin the 3rd, from lupin the 3rd. i hate him so much. he’s so stupid, and nobody in their right mind would agree to go on a date with this embarrassment of a man; he’s lucky he’s cute

23. master utsushi, from monster hunter rise. he might seem like a total catch at first, but this guy just sits on roof tops eating mochi and playing with his pet owls all day. he only shows up on rare occasion to help during missions; cute, but not reliable or date worthy

24. ozychlyrus brounev tantal (A.K.A. zeke). he’s hot sure, but he’s too much of a clown for me to really respect or want to go on a date with him; his streak of deadly bad luck also is a deterrent

25. waka, from ōkami. a very talented, powerful, and knowledgeable man; if only he was less of a pompous tootsie-roll, i’d be happy to hang out with him more often

26. inuyasha, from inuyasha. i feel like he’d actually be alright to go on a date with; may get us removed from any establishment we go to because he won’t wear shoes, calls everyone bastards, and carries a sword everywhere

27. doctor octopus, from spider-man 2 (2004). man has tits; self explanatory.

[cobaltusami]

Tropical Vacation pt. 2

Hey hi hello! This Is the last part for the day, I felt bad since the first one was so short and uneventful.

This one was funny to write, I liked writing Monokuma and Monomi's 'fight' scene xD

Characters In this part: Lee!Gundham, Lee!Kazuichi, Lee!Nagito, Ler!Nekomaru, Ler!Chiaki, Hajime, Fuyuhiko, Mahiru, Sonia, Hiyoko, Akane, Mikan, Peko

Words: 3,083

PT 1: [Click here], PT 2: [You are here.]

“KAZUICHI, I AM GOING TO DESTROY YOU!” Gundham yelled after his friend, chasing him down the beach in a full on sprint. The chase didn’t last very long though before Nekomaru quickly got In the middle of the two and held the breeder back.

“Easy Tanaka!” He barked. “What the hell Is going on?!”

“Yeah, Why are you so worked up? You guys sparrin’?” Akane asked..

“He’s trying to kill me!” Soda accused, pointing his finger at the angry boy in front of him.

“This fiend used some kind of powerful unseen force to send me flying into the water!” Gundham responded angrily. “You are lucky my Devas were not with me!”

Now that he mentioned It, Nekomaru did notice that Gundham was soaking wet.

“Easy dude! I was just playing around, I saw Sonia had your scarf and your zhu zhu pets!” Kazuichi retorted.

“THEY ARE NOT ZHU ZHU PETS!”

Nekomaru sighed in exasperation, why can’t It ever be something… normal with these two? “Y’know what, fine.” The larger student pushed both of them to the ground and proceeded to pin them both and tickle them. “If you’re gonna fight with each other… Then you’re gonna laugh with each other!”

Kazuichi shrieked as he felt his ribs being attacked, he cursed himself for not changing out of his swim attire back into his jumpsuit before launching Gundham into the water.

“NEHEHEHEKO NOHOHOHOHO!”

Gundham wasn’t much better off, Nekomaru was mercilessly tickling his exposed neck and collarbone. “FUAHAHAHAHAHA! F-FIEHEHEHEHEND STAHAHAHAP IHIHIT AT OHOHONCE!” He tried bringing his shoulders up to protect his neck but as soon as he would, Nekomaru would then attack his belly and hip, making his arms instinctively shoot back down to protect his body.

“Not until you two agree to stop fighting.”

“NOHOHOHO WAHAHAHAY! HEHEHE’S THE ONE WHO TRIHIHIHIED TO KILL ME!” Kazuichi cackled, flailing uselessly.

The Ultimate Team manager narrowed his eyes at the pinkette, he leaned down and blew a raspberry against his belly whilst vibrating his fingers into his ribcage.

Kazuichi exploded with screaming high pitched laughter, throwing his head back in the sand as he frantically shoved at Neko’s head and kicked at the sand.

He pulled back grinning then turned to Gundham, whose belly he was still tickling with his other hand. “Don’t think I forgot about you!” He teased, leaning down and blowing a raspberry against his neck.

Gundham burst into loud laughter, rivaling Kazuichi in volume. He tried to push Nekomaru away but this only seemed to encourage him, his other hand left Kazuichi giving him a chance to breathe and instead began poking at Gundham’s ribs and underarm teasingly.

He delivered another deadly raspberry to his sensitive neck, this time drawing a loud squeal followed by booming belly laughs. “GAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! NAHAHAHAHAHAHA PLEHEHEHEHEHEHEASE!”

“Do you agree to stop fighting with Kazuichi?” Nekomaru asked, after a moment of no response he gifted him yet another raspberry.

“EEEAHAHAHAHAHAHA! FUAHAHAHAHAHA!” Tears were in the Supreme Overlord’s eyes from laughing so hard already.

“I’ll ask again, Are you gonna stop fighting?” He repeated, speeding up his tickles.

This time he was met with frantic nods. Nekomaru stopped tickling Gundham and turned back to Kazuichi. “Now, Will you stop fighting with Gundham?”

“As long as he doesn’t fight with me…” Kazuichi said nervously, sitting up.

“I don’t think that’ll be an issue, If he does, He knows what will happen to him!” Nekomaru laughed in amusement.

Gundham shakily sat up. “D-Do you also… vow… not to… push me Into anymore… water?” He panted.

“I dunno man, That’s kind of a hard one. The look on your face was hilarious!” Kazuichi grinned.

Nekomaru glanced at Gundham, upon seeing the somewhat downcast expression on his face he grabbed Kazuichi and held him down.

“ACK! Hey hey hey! What are you doing?!” He panicked.

“Promise you won’t throw him In anymore water.” He ordered.

“Okayokay! Jeez! I promise I won’t throw him In the water again!”

“And apologize to him.”

“What?!”

“You hurt his feelings, apologize for pushing him in the water.”

“No way! He didn’t apologize to me for chasing me!” Kazuichi fired back.

Nekomaru sighed. These damn kids never learn do they? “Gundham, C’mere.”

Gundham shuffled closer, looking questioningly at the larger student. “Yes?”

“There’s something I want you to do.” Nekomaru replied.

“What Is It, Fiend?”

“Hey, I don’t like where this is going…” Kazuichi squinted at Nekomaru, suspicious.

“Tickle him without mercy until he says he’s sorry.” The muscular student grinned at the horrified shriek that came from Kazuichi.

The Mechanic began frantically squirming, though he wasn’t able to move very much thanks to Nekomaru being freakishly strong. “Nononononono!” He didn’t much care for the dark look in Gundham’s eyes, nor the evil smile that followed.

Meanwhile further down the beach, the rest of the students were just chilling and enjoying the day. Or trying their best to.

“Are you sure we should not go check on Kazuichi and Gundham?” Sonia asked.

“Nah, I’m sure they’re fine.” Chiaki replied, building a sandcastle version of Princess Peach’s castle.

“Or one of them has finally killed the other and we’re going to have our first trial.” Hiyoko smirked. “I’m betting on Kazuichi being the dead person.”

Sonia looked horrified.

“Hiyoko!” Chiaki and Hajime chastised.

Mahiru approached the mischievous girl. “Okay, That’s a timeout.”

“What? But I--”

“Go sit on the steps!” she pointed to the steps leading to the beach, Hiyoko pouted and complied silently, crossing her arms as she sat down.

“Listen, I’m sure those two dumbasses are fine, Hiyoko’s just a bitch.” Hiko tried to reassure the blonde, Hajime tried not to laugh at that, but a chuckle slipped out. Mahiru wasn’t as amused.

“Hiko!”

“Where’s the lie?” Hajime whispered under his breath.

“Both of you get a timeout too.” Chiaki said as she stood up, she pointed to a second set of stairs. “Go sit until you can be nice.”

“Why? It’s--”

“I’m not going in fucking timeou--”

Chiaki squeezed Hajime’s side and poked at Fuyuhiko’s ribs, making them both immediately shut up. “Steps.”

They both complied, muttering under their breath as they sat down on the steps next to each other.

“You guys worried about Kazuichi and Gundham?” Akane asked, coming from the direction of said two students. “‘Cause they’re fine, Coach Nekomaru Is helpin’ them.”

Sonia let out a sigh of relief, her hand resting over her heart. “That Is good to hear, Gundham was quite mad when--”

She was cut off by a blood curdling scream that sounded vaguely like Kazuichi coming from the other side of the beach, followed by laughter. Sonia giggled. “I think I will go check on them anyway.” She said as she stood and walked off.

“Nekomaru Is wrecking them, Isn’t he?” Nagito asked amusedly.

“Oh totally.” Akane grinned. “I kinda forgot how vicious of a tickler he is, kind of makes me wanna challenge him to a tickle fight.”

“I think you’d lose.” Mahiru smiled in exasperation.

“For some reason, I get the impression that’s what she wants.” Hajime chuckled.

“Goodness! Whatever was that horrible scream?” Usami asked, appearing out of seemingly nowhere.

“Oh hey Usami.” Chiaki greeted the pink and white rabbit with a small smile. “It was the sound of Kazuichi getting tickled.”

Usami let out a small sigh of relief, then giggled. “Oh, That’s a relief. I am glad It was the sound of friendship, I thought for a moment that Monokuma had reappeared.”

“You rang?” Monokuma asked, suddenly next to her.

“Uwaaah! Where did you come from!?” Usami cried out in surprise.

“We could ask you the same thing…” Hajime said quietly.

“Wha? Has no one ever explained the bears and the bees to you?” Monokuma asked, tilting his head. “Alright I guess. Well, when two bears love each other very much--”

“Nooo! That is too mature for this audience!” Usami protested, putting her little hands on Monokuma to stop him.

“She does realize we’re not kids… Right?” Nagito whispered to Chiaki.

“For some reason, I don’t think she’s talking about us…” She whispered back.

Monokuma growled, his red eye flashing briefly before he shifted and threw all of his weight into his shoulder, promptly sending Usami flying from the force. “Keep your dirty pure hands to yourself, Monomi!”

“Uwaahh! It really hurts when you shoulder tackle me!” she cried, hitting the ground next to Chiaki.

“Anyways! I have an announcement for you Goody goody losers!” Monokuma said loudly as Nekomaru, Gundham, Kazuichi and Sonia all rejoined the group.

“Oh great, I get back just In time to listen to the homicidal tanuki.” Kazuichi frowned.

“For the last time, I am not a tanuki!” Monokuma snapped, raising his hand to threateningly show off his claws.

“He Is right, Children! Monokuma Is a bear, and--” Usami was cut off by Monokuma stomping over to kick her In the head.

“I don’t need your help!”

“Oogh! It hurts when you punt me too!” she sobbed, curling up in the sand. Chiaki got down on the ground next to her to comfort her.

Monokuma cleared his throat. “Now that Monomi Is done interrupting me, I have an announcement. As you know, I am the headmaster of Hope’s peak. That school, just like this island, Is currently full of students!”

“What?! There’s more than just us trapped by you?!” Kazuichi asked, shocked.

“Why are you telling us this?” Peko asked, crossing her arms.

“I’m glad you asked!” Monokuma bellowed. “Because, I think my students are starting to get depressed… So I think they might benefit from a change In scenery!”

“You don’t mean…” Hajime trailed off, nervous as to where this was going.

“Are you going to let those students out of the school??” Usami asked, surprised.

“Yup! Only for a while though, I wouldn’t want you all conspiring against me once you get acquainted with each other! I just hope those cold blooded killers can behave themselves for a few minutes...” Monokuma replied. “Puhuhu, Oops, did I say that out loud?”

“Acquainted with each other…?” Mahiru repeated. “You mean you’re…”

“You’re going to let them loose, Here!?” Kazuichi finished for her.

“You guessed It! Sharkboy Is today’s winner! Tell him what he’s won, Monomi!”

“W-What? What are you talking about n--”

Monokuma jumped into the air and elbow dropped the rabbit. “Nevermind! My joke Is ruined now, you’re so useless!”

“Uwah! It hurts when you elbow drop me!”

Hajime sighed at the scene before him. Is anything ever normal with these two?

After that, Monokuma left saying he had other business to attend to, After Usami had calmed down from getting a third strike from Monokuma she stood up and dusted herself off.

“What was he talking about? There aren’t really other students… Are there?” Mahiru asked apprehensively.

“No way, He’s clearly lying to us!” Kazuichi answered.

“There’s one way to find out…” Chiaki mumbled, looking at Usami. “Usami?”

“Y-Yes?”

“Was he telling the truth? Are there really more like us?” The pink haired girl asked softly.

Usami nervously looked away, stammering as she spoke. “W-Well, I don’t… i’m not…”

Chiaki frowned. “So It’s true. Is what he said about them true too?”

“N-No! I don’t… Think so…” Usami sighed softly, sitting on a beach towel. “Yes there Is more like you. I didn’t want to leave them, Please believe me! But I didn’t have time to grab any more of you before Monokuma showed up again.”

“Why didn’t you tell us before?!” Hajime snapped.

“Uwah!” Usami jumped In surprise, her ears drooping sadly. “I-I couldn’t! I felt too guilty and horrible for having to leave them behind! I can only imagine the horrors they’ve had to endure because of Monokuma.”

Chiaki gently petted the rabbit’s head. “It’s okay, It’s not your fault. It’s Monokuma’s fault.”

Usami sniffled, her ears perking back up. “Th-Thank you.” she cried. “But, I am at fault too. I should have fought him at that point, But I was scared and worried about what would happen to you all if I were to lose… I guess In the end It didn’t matter anyway.”

“So just to confirm, there’s a whole other group of students about to be released onto the island and we have no idea if they’re participating in the killing game or not...?” Mahiru asked quietly, fear prominent in her eyes.

Hiyoko got up and went over to her girlfriend, wrapping her arms around her to comfort her. “It’s okay, Mahiru! I won’t let them hurt you!”

Mahiru blushed. “I-I wasn’t scared!”

“I am afraid so.” Usami confirmed grimly, though the next moment… “However! This could be a very good thing too, Perhaps they are like you and refuse to play his game!” She suggested brightly.

Hajime felt a pit In his stomach, It took him a while to warm up to and trust the students trapped with him... he was definitely nervous and untrusting of this.

“Usami Is right!” Nagito spoke up. “We have to stay *Hopeful!”

Oh here we go…

“They are Hope’s peak academy students, after all! I’m sure they’re as reserved and strong willed as all of you Ultimate’s!” Nagito smiled, getting that look In his eyes again.

“Nagito…” Hajime said warningly, not wanting to listen to his speech again. “Remember what happened last time you droned on about Hope and Ultimates?”

“Oh, Right! Sorry, I guess even trash can be forgetful too, I’ll try to stop.” He smiled sympathetically at the Tsundere student.

“Stop calling yourself trash.” Chiaki frowned.

“But…” He stopped himself as Hajime and Chiaki both folded their arms and glared at him warningly. “O-Okay… Even though I am…--”

“Say It, and you’ll be sorry.” Chiaki puffed her cheeks in annoyance.

Nagito blinked, weighing his options. “Why are you so upset about me calling myself trash? I am trash. Do you get mad at everyone for speaking the truth?”

Unfortunately as he usually does, He chose incorrectly. Chiaki threw herself at the taller student, knocking him over into the sand. She then began squeezing his sides in rapid succession, avoiding his attempts to dislodge her hands quite easily.

“W-Wahahahahait! Chihihiaki!” Nagito squealed, trying to protect his sensitive sides from her merciless wrath.

“I warned you.” She deadpanned.

“Usami, Do you think we should be worried about these students?” Nekomaru asked over Nagito’s laughter.

“I don’t think so, I think we should welcome them with open arms! Who knows what horrors they’ve seen? We should treat them with kindness and love!” She answered.

“Then that’s good enough for me!” Neko grinned.

“Yes, I think It will be nice to make some new friends!” Sonia beamed, her eyes glittering happily.

“And who knows? Maybe there’ll be some cute girls In the class…” Teruteru said slyly.

“If you make any unsavory advancements towards the new mortals, I will put a curse so vile on you that even your future spawn will be cursed!” Gundham threatened, making Teruteru immediately shut up and shrink back with fear.

“I guess It doesn’t hurt to have some new friends…” Kazuichi reluctantly agreed with Sonia, no one was surprised.

“Ibuki thinks It’s a great idea! Maybe Ibuki will meet a musician to rock out with!” Ibuki’s eyes became starry at the prospect.

“Hey guys…?” Hajime spoke up hesitantly.

“Maybe there’ll be a gamer I can play with…” Chiaki smiled, still mercilessly tickling Nagito. “Or y’know… A therapist for Nagito…”

“Whyhyhy would a-ahahaha therapist wahahahaste their tihihime on sohohomeone lihihike mehehe?” Nagito laughed.

Chiaki narrowed her eyes at the Lucky student, attacking his belly with clawed hands. “You’re just asking for It, Aren’t you? Do you enjoy being tickled, Nagi?”

“NOHOHOHO!” he squealed, trying to curl In on himself.

“M-Maybe I-It won’t be s-so bad.” Mikan said hopefully. “I’m sure they a-are nice!”

Mahiru glared at Hiyoko, sensing she was about to say something unpleasant, The blonde girl immediately shut her mouth and snuggled more into Mahiru.

“Perhaps there will be someone who is knowledgeable with swords…” Wow, even Peko seemed enthusiastic about this-- well, as enthusiastic as Peko can be.

“Ooh! Maybe there’s someone strong I can fight with!” Akane’s face lit up excitedly.

“Guys? Aren’t you the least bit worried? What If they’re just like Monokuma said…?” Hajime asked.

“What’s to be worried about? If they step outta line, We can just beat ‘em up.” Akane grinned.

“We are NOT going to beat them up!” Nekomaru argued. “There are other ways of dealing with violent students than fighting!”

Akane put her hands on her hips and looked questioningly at Neko. “Oh yeah? Like what?”

Nekomaru glanced at Kazuichi and Gundham, who both seemed to blush at his gaze. “Things…” was his vague answer.

“I’m with Hajime on this one.” Fuyuhiko spoke up, standing up. “The thought of people we can’t trust coming on to the island makes me… kind of nervous.” he admitted.

Mahiru nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I agree too.”

“I’m kind of indifferent.” Hiyoko shrugged. “Maybe they won’t be as lame as you guys… but on the other hand, I don’t want Mahiru to be afraid.”

“I-I told you I’m not afraid!” The tsundere girl stuttered.

“It’ll be okay, guys.” Chiaki said softly, her tone contradicting her ruthless tickling. “As long as we stick together, We’ll be fine.”

“YEHEHEHEAH! WHAHAT SHE SAHAHAHAID!” Nagito cackled as she squeezed his hips. “YOUHUHU GUYS ARE ULTIMAHAHATES, THERE’S NOHOHOHOTHING YOU CAHAHAN’T HANDLE!”

“You’re an Ultimate too.” Chiaki reminded, pausing her ticklish attack. “And you’re valuable. Not trash.”

Nagito giggled tiredly as he caught his breath. “But compared to you guys… I’m not all that special…”

“Neko, He still hasn’t learned.” Chiaki called over her shoulder. Nekomaru sat down next to them and cracked his knuckles.

“I got this!” He chuckled, The next moment the air was filled with Nagito’s shrieking laughter as Chiaki and Neko proceeded to destroy the man with low self esteem.

Hajime was silent as he thought about the possibilities, It just wasn’t sitting right with him. But If Chiaki could look on the bright side… Maybe he was overreacting…?

He felt a hand rest on his back, looking to his left he saw Fuyu offer a brief reassuring smile, showing that he was just as nervous as Hajime but more worried about comforting him. Hajime faintly smiled back and put his arm around Fuyu’s shoulders, pulling the Yakuza into his side.

Mahiru gently punched Hajime’s shoulder affectionately. “It’ll be okay… We just gotta stick together like Chiaki said…”

Hajime sincerely hoped she was right about this…