#what a darn coincidence

[always-elias]

The Magnus Protocol Episodes have a downright uncanny talent to match up with what is happening to me while I listen to them.

Once, I was out on an evening walk, and decided to go a bit off-track. I don't do evening walks often, but the weather was quite nice and I wanted to listen to the new episode. However, it got far too darker in the forest than I'd have expected, so I was feeling rather uneasy. I descended down to the creek, walking by it. Just hoping I don't stumble into any creepy murder-guy. Well. Guess what episode I was listening to? Certainly not the one with the needle-covered creepy murder-guy?

It was quite terrifying, but I was doing well enough and I was intrigued, so I kept listening. However, at the very moment when he started to doxx the call operator, something splashed in that fucking creek. Needles to say (ha! See what I did there?) I got spooked to all hells and back, and to this day I have mixed feelings about the episode.

The other time, I, having learnt from my mistakes, headed on another evening walk. This time, into the city, y'know, where there are lights on and everything is fine. I headed out to explore one part of the town that I don't know well, and only have been there a handful of times before. It was quiet, and completely deserted. But the lamps lit the way, so it was fine. It would be fine, right?

It felt weird. It just felt weird, and I headed into one of the streets. The lamps started to be sparse. One of the houses was shrouded in darkness, and it's fence looked so weird in the dark. There was a strange shape, maybe a shed, leaning on the house. There was a couple of weak, colourful lights on in the garden of that house, and it seemed like they swayed ever so slightly. My dear friends, I was listening to Running On Empty, y'know. The Lonely liminal place episode? With the darkened place, and strange lights surrounding the piece of architecture? I noped the fuck out of that street so fast.

And of course, the most recent case fo this. I live in a country with a lot of public transport, and when you take your local bus several times everyday, you reach a certain level of familiarity with the bus drivers. Some even let me board without showing my ticket, and I have memorised all of their faces and demeanors. We often smalltalk a bit, it's fun, and it's routine. I've been commuting for years, so I can for example recognize the type of the incoming train in the dark, based on shape of the approaching lights alone. I can, also, recognize all of the buses on my line home, even without seeing their actual numbers. I know them. Sometimes a new driver comes on the line, or an old one leaves, and even if they add a new bus, it tends to be of a certain model or general vibe.

One night I was waiting for my bus home, listening to the episode Driven, y'know, with the people-eating coach that looks just similar enough to blend in, if the passersby don't pay close attention?

It was dark, and cold, and there was only like three other people waiting for the bus, which is unusually little.

A new bus came. The ones on this line are white and red, with shiny paint, the corners are smooth and round and sometimes there's ads on the walls, depending on the bus. This one was yellow and blue, the paint matte, and it just looked a bit too blocky compared to the others. The bus driver was also unknown to me.

Boy did I fucking hesitate to get on that one. I did, in the end, and it's probably still me writing these lines.

I'm just so intrigued, this never happened to me with any of the TMA cases... Did anyone have something like this happen to them with any of the statements?

[sodavizz]

Hiii! Can you make a Daisuke x Reader, where the reader feels like crap and feels like they're invisible, but then Daisuke comes into their life and helps them find happiness in life?? Any gender is okay, Thank you!! 😭

So many Daisuke asks TvT (someone gotta give me a new character or something-)

— No One Noticed.

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ

Pairing: Daisuke x GN! Reader

Warnings: Darn fluff again

Wc: 600+

--

The world blurred past me like a forgotten dream—gray, muffled, inconsequential. I had long since become a shadow in the corner of my own life. People didn’t see me, didn’t notice when I sat silently at the edge of gatherings or drifted through hallways at work. My heart was heavy with the weight of being unseen.

Until that day.

It was raining—not a gentle drizzle but a torrent that matched the storm within me. I had just turned the corner of the café, balancing my umbrella, when I bumped into someone—hard. My umbrella slipped from my grasp, clattering to the pavement.

“Oh! I’m so sorry,” I muttered, not bothering to look up.

“It’s okay. Are you alright?” A voice—soft but warm—cut through the rain.

For the first time in what felt like ages, I looked up and locked eyes with someone. He had dyed brown hair, messy from the rain, and eyes that held a strange mix of curiosity and something deeper.

“I’m fine,” I said, though my voice was flat, practiced.

He smiled—a smile that felt like sunlight breaking through clouds. “I’m Daisuke, by the way. And you?”

“[Y/N],” I replied, unsure why I even bothered.

His gaze lingered on me for a moment longer, and something about it felt… different. He noticed me.

--

Days passed, and somehow, Daisuke kept appearing in my life. At first, it felt like coincidence—another encounter at the café, then at the park where I often walked alone. Each time, he smiled, his face lighting up as if seeing me made his day. I started to realize he wasn’t just being polite. He genuinely wanted to talk to me, to know me.

“You come here a lot,” he said one afternoon as we walked along the park’s quiet trail.

“It’s peaceful,” I replied.

“Or lonely,” he added gently.

I glanced at him, startled. No one had ever said that out loud to me before.

He shrugged, his hands in his pockets. “I get it. Sometimes the world feels too noisy, and the silence feels safer.”

I didn’t respond, but his words stayed with me.

--

Weeks turned into months, and Daisuke became a fixture in my life. We started meeting on purpose—at first for coffee, then dinners, then evenings spent wandering the city.

He had this way of making everything feel lighter, like the weight I carried wasn’t just mine anymore. He never pushed, never pried. Instead, he listened, really listened, and for the first time, I started sharing pieces of myself I’d long kept hidden.

One evening, as we sat on a bench overlooking the city, I finally asked, “Why do you care so much?”

Daisuke turned to me, his expression serious but soft. “Because I see you, [Y/N]. And I think you’re worth knowing. You’ve just forgotten how to see yourself.”

His words hit me harder than I expected.

--

Over time, something changed. It wasn’t just that I felt lighter or happier—it was that I started noticing things, too. I noticed the way Daisuke’s eyes crinkled when he laughed, how his voice grew quieter when he talked about things he loved. I noticed how my heart beat faster when he smiled at me, how his presence made me feel like I was finally home.

I realized I was falling for him—harder than I thought possible.

One night, as we stood beneath the streetlights after another long walk, I turned to him and blurted out, “Thank you.”

“For what?” he asked, his brow furrowing.

“For seeing me. For reminding me how to be free, and make my own choices in life.”

His eyes softened, and he stepped closer. “You’ve always been worth seeing, [N/N]. I’m just glad you let me.”

In that moment, something clicked. All the loneliness, all the grayness of my past—it faded into the background.

I reached for his hand, my voice trembling. “You know, I think I might love you.”

Daisuke smiled, his fingers tightening around mine. “Good. Because I’ve loved you since the day we met.”

In him, I found more than love—I found life again. And for the first time, I knew I wasn’t invisible. I was noticed, I was seen, and I was loved.

[ikeoji-subs]

Zettai BL Ni Naru Sekai VS Zettai BL Ni Naritakunai Otoko 2024 - Episode 5 Eng Sub

VS THE START OF A ROMANCE and VS HELPING

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translation notes:

About “naresome”

As tends to happen when translating Japanese, this is one of those words that don’t exist in English. Its literal translation is “the start of a romance.” So, while we’ve chosen to translate it as “get together,” it would be more accurate to give a more extensive explanation. It is a noun that specifically refers to the moment that love begins. So when we’re talking about “naresome” we’re talking about the thing or situation that triggered the romantic relationship or romantic feelings.–Snow

about casting Tominaga Yuya as a guy who gets busy when it rains

I think this is another tokusatsu Easter egg. Tominaga Yuya, who plays Jouji in the “Vs. The Start of a Relationship” chapter, was also on Avataro Sentai DonBrothers, a Super Sentai series that ran from 2022 to 2023. His character, Sonoi, was the agent of a culture from another plane of existence whose members feed off of the brainwaves of human beings. At first, he and his associates Sonoza and Sononi were enemies of the DonBrothers, but they eventually joined forces with the Sentai. A big reason this happened was that Sonoi had a special connection to the leader of the DonBrothers, Momoi Tarou. Their relationship reads as pretty darned queer to a lot of viewers, myself included.

Momoi Tarou and Sonoi bonding, before they found out they were nemeses

Many JBL fans know Higuchi Kouhei from My Personal Weatherman/Taikan Yoho, in which he played the titular meteorologist, Segasaki. Part of the premise of that series is that at the start of the story, Higuchi’s character only has sex with his partner on sunny days. Jouji, Tominaga’s Zettai BL character, does the opposite: he and his “sex friend” only do it on rainy days. 

Basically, the writers of Zettai BL 3 have made Higuchi’s toku boyfriend’s story into a reverse Taikan Yoho situation. What are the odds that’s just a coincidence?–Towel

Also, he gets his own “Zettai BL” title card moment (and he’s the only one out of the secondary cast who get to have that).–Snow

That’s right!

I’m going to put this in context a little because I’ve given a lot of thought (probably too much) to who’s been featured in the opening credits of the different Zettai BL seasons. For every season of the show so far, Inukai Atsuhiro has had four other actors perform with him in the opening theme dance number. (All of whom also get a crack at some of those title card moments.) For two seasons, three of the four spots were taken up by Yutaro (Ayato), Shiono Akihisa (Toujou), and Itou Asahi (Kikuchi). The fourth spot was taken up by different actors in the first two seasons. It was the guy who played the attractive dude from the goukon in the first season, and it was Izuka Kenta, who played Kikuchi’s ex Igarashi, in the second. 

This time around, I had hoped that Sekoguchi Ryo would take the fourth spot, because he’s my blorbo and of course I wanted to see him in a retro dance number (boy was that wish ever granted!). But I hadn’t expected Shiono not to appear this time. Maybe there were specific reasons for this, like a scheduling conflict or an injury. It’s not like Shiono appears less in season 3 than he did in the others, so that’s not the reason. It’s hard to say. But in that context, it seems even more significant that they gave a spot to Tominaga Yuya. We don’t know the reasons for this. But it’s possible they featured him more heavily in this way because of his tokusatsu backstory and the inside joke it allowed them to make.–Towel

about “pudding relationship” and “prince and princess”

This part was tricky to translate. As you might have noticed by this point, Mob likes to make puns. In Japanese, pudding is written as “purin” and it is used to refer to pudding as well as custard. Mob goes on to follow with “prince and princess”, which in Japanese are pronounced as “purinsu” and “purinsesu”. In here, there’s wordplay with these similar sounding words and the image of the ToujouAyato couple.–Snow  

about “cuteness overload”

Japanese is a language that uses a lot of onomatopoeia. There’s 4 types, iirc: animal sounds, object sounds (like rain, creaking and the like), things that don’t make noise (smiles, stares, silence, etc), verbs turned onomatopoeia (I unfortunately cannot remember this properly but it was something like that). In this case, Mob says “Kyun ga tomaranai” (which literally means “the kyun can’t be stopped”). “Kyun” is an onomatopoeic word to refer to a “momentary tightening of one's chest caused by powerful feelings,” usually tied to a romantic context but not exclusively. Taking this into account, we thought “cuteness overload” might be the closest expression in English.–Snow

It’s worth noting that Mob is also saying “kyun” right after the “cuteness overload” line. I really thought at first that he was saying “cute,” since it sounds so similar, it would make a lot of sense contextually, and English loan words are so common in Japanese. But no, it was “kyun.” There was no way we could get across the meaning of “kyun” in one or two syllables of English, so we went with “adorbs,” which is just another word for “cute,” but at least it has a cutesy pronunciation that steps it up a notch.–Towel

about bouhan buzzers (16:06)

The translation note shown onscreen during this scene reads: “a bouhan buzzer is a security gadget carried by Japanese schoolchildren.” We did our best to summarize the meaning of this term briefly, so that it would be readable in the amount of time it was possible for us to keep that caption onscreen. But here’s a longer explanation for those who might be curious. 

It took a while for me to understand what these things were. At first I pictured something like a hand buzzer–the kind that people used to use to prank people. But it’s nothing like that. They’re sometimes referred to as “personal security alarms.” They’re little doodads that you can clip onto a backpack or carry in your pocket, and if you activate them (the most common mechanism for which seems to be pulling some kind of tab or string), they make some form of alarm-type sound. I found a video, below, that shows someone activating two different types of buzzers, showing the sound they make. 

These two make the same sort of beeping/chirping noises you’d associate with an alarm protecting a car or the entrance to a building–not really a “buzzing” sound, or anything that resembles the sound Mr. Cheerleader makes in this scene. But maybe there are other types that are more buzz-like, or sound more like the sound our buddy is imitating. 

According to some things I read when I looked these up, children often play with their bouhan buzzers, making it somewhat less likely that people will be on alert when they hear them go off. I don’t think I could have resisted setting off a gadget like this if I’d had one as a child. They seem to be available with all sorts of characters on them and in all sorts of colors and shapes, which is cool but might make them seem even more toy-like. 

From what I’ve seen, these things are most commonly used by children, but adults sometimes use them too. If you look for them for sale online, there are more adult-looking versions available (say, a rose-gold blob instead of something with cute characters on it–though of course, adults might want those too). One listing I saw advertised that they’re useful for kids, women, and the elderly.–Towel

Tag list: @absolutebl @bengiyo @c1nto @come-back-serotonin @lurkingshan @my-rose-tinted-glasses @porridgefeast @sorry-bonebag @twig-tea @wen-kexing-apologist

[murfpersonalblog]

My 2 cents on the Critics Choice Nomination

I think everyone's been confusing Fan Favorite & Better Actor. YES, we love Sam as Lestat. And YES, we love Lestat. But fake-blonde white man to fake-blonde white man, who REALLY did a better job in S2: Ben Daniels as Santiago, or Sam Reid as Lestat?

Cuz what's interesting is that Ben Daniels hasn't been part of this convo at all.

And it's THIS snub, IMO, that's actually the most telling, most egregious flex of AMC's OBVIOUS priorities to guarantee that Sam Reid has all the attention & accolades in his pocket ready to go in time for S3, when Lestat is the MC.

Even before S2 aired, the reviews were singing Ben's praises, saying he was giving Sam a run for his money as THE campiest & most entertaining character in S2.

Esp. since we don't get the maliciously charming Lestat in S2--that was Season ONE Lestat. Sam was BARELY in S2; we mostly only got Dreamstat, who's far more chill & seductive & even SWEET/romantic. That was NOT the pony-on-meth meme he was in S1. His most prominent part (aside from 2x3) was the Trial in 2x7, when he had to share the stage with Ben. And NGL, Ben was putting Sam through his paces darn near the whole time. Ben Daniels was in more scenes than Sam, and had a MUCH bigger stage presence all season.

But for some strange reason, Ben NEVER comes up in these award nominations. This is how I know the fix is in, and they're rigging the game in Sam's favor. He's got white privilege AND pretty privilege, lord have mercy.

Is it Sam's fault? Definitely not. But is it undeserved? Arguably yes! This is the media machine making sure fan favorite Sam/Lestat's rollout for S3 is pitch perfect. 👌

Now S3 can flex that its main actor's been nominated for XYZ, and bring in all the extra press & media attention that S1 AND S2 were sorely lacking.

IWTV is FINALLY on Netflix & all these more accessible streaming platforms, just in time to garner interest in S3.

Coincidence?

I've been pissed at AMC for sabotaging this show (and specifically Jacob) ever since S1. Jacob walked so Sam could run, as usual in Blaxploitation. That's beating a dead horse--Bipoc fans have been screaming since Day 1 that the white media machine DGAF about us, and only care about Asians up to a certain point--esp. not if you're dark-skinned & Muslim. So I totally get them not giving Assad any shine--he didn't stand a effing chance, DUH.

But not giving THE most consistently present white male supporting actor in S2 any shine is FAR stranger; and it's what convinces me most of all that AMC is deliberately pushing Sam forward cuz they know Sam's pretty face is gonna carry this whole show going forward, even when they KNOW his presence in S2 was lacking. EVERY reactor I've seen complained about how much they missed Lestat & wished he was in the season more. So how in the HELL is Sam the one getting nominated over everyone else who's been in the season more than him? SUS!

[misskattylashes]

A few ruminations on Miles and America.

Currently on a very long cab journey to a boring work conference so I thought I would ruminate a bit, as the there are currently two hot topics of conversation about Miles at the moment. One of which I am not going to entertain because it is the usual PR crap, but it does sort of feed into my thoughts about Miles never being promoted in America.

On the surface it makes no sense. Go back to Colour of the Trap, which was never released there. CTT era Miles was cute, personable, BRITISH, had Noel Gallagher singing on the album and most of all some of the tracks had been co written with Alex and AM were becoming huge in the US at the time so surely releasing CTT would have been a sure fire money maker. He even had a super gorgeous girlfriend at the time in Suki, so I don't know what the reason behind this was at all.

Since then, apart from TLSP his career has been non existent in the US. Note how all the interviews around the world around at time of EYCTE were about how silly and close Alex and Miles were. Where was the toxic one? The ill-judged comment in a world where many stars must make ill-judged comments but their PRs pay the journalists or publications off to stop them mentioning it... America. So straight away at the height of Me Too, Miles has this horrid image of a sexual predator in the US. Unfortunately an image that still lives with him today on certain social media platforms.

Another thing I was thinking was if he had made such a comment to a male journalist would it have even been mentioned, or was it the fact she was female it still helped keep the hetero image at the time him and Alex were behaving outrageously on stage.

Miles has been signed to some major labels in the time Alex has just been with Domino, and I wonder if the reason the contracts have ended is because they have wanted to promote him in the US and the powers that be have said no.

I'll maintain he has been kept away from the states to protect Alex's image and stop drawing attention to their close relationship. I will never change my mind that it was not a coincidence that Mr Private Alex got a girlfriend who he appeared to have a passionate relationship with, and was happy to be seen standing in the street snogging like a teenage boy, at the same time as his most homoerotic image.

In the words of the man himself....and even though the majority of the fandom realised darn well most of CDG was about Alex, Miles still had to play the game and in interviews pretend it was about Hannah Ware. (thank goodness for those people who recorded him calling Alex Shavambacu!)

[chrysalis-the-butterfly]

Huskerdust and Soulmate Flowers

I was recently researching the various Soulmate AUs that people have come up with for their fandoms, and one in particular stood out to me: the Flower Soulmate AU.

What if every time something tragic happens in your soulmate’s life, a flower appears on your body somewhere? ... Imagine having a partner at war, and flowers are appearing everywhere over your body. When they return home, they have scars while you have roses.

And I started thinking about Huskerdust, and what would happen if they were soulmates, and what would happen if one man grew flowers when the other was hurting.

Imagine Husk behind the bar, late at night, feeling a tingling on his face and noticing a patch of cherry blossoms around his eye, and watching as more and more of them bloom on his chest and under his trousers, and realising, "Yeesh, Anthony must be having a really hard day at work," and heading upstairs to run a bath and find the First Aid kit.

Imagine Angel at work on another day, in his dressing room, yanking red roses out of his spine and knees, muttering, "Come on, Husk, can you not have chronic pain while I'm trying to shoot a movie?" and then immediately feeling guilty, and resolving to give Husk the best darn back massage he's ever had when he's back at the Hotel - with all six arms out.

Imagine Charlie noticing Husk's cherry blossoms and Angel's roses, and knowing what this means because she has an izote flower by her left eye, the same eye that Vaggie is missing. Imagine Charlie squeeing at the prospect of Husk and Angel being soulmates and getting married and whatnot, and the two men insisting that they're not soulmates, the flowers are a coincidence, they don't even like each other ... except they do.

Yeah, I think I want to write a fanfic about this.

[ninja-muse]

Does anyone want a gender-swapped far-future Indian retelling of Aladdin with a subplot involving robot kaiju battles? How about a sci-fi novel full of anticolonial resistance and borderline unlikable characters that is also action-packed and funny? A book that moves from "sure, that might as well happen" to "oh, that got real" over the course of a page, and you both can and cannot trust the narrator?

That said, this is a good book but not a great one. For all the detail that Basu's poured into this, everything from street bazaars to tech terms used out of their present contexts to stoic superpowered space heroes to the incorporation of robots and AIs, the world of Shantiport still never felt real, and there was a little bit more "sure, why not" than I personally like in a plot. It also took a while for me to warm up to "Aladdin" and feel like I understood her, and some minor characters felt one-dimensional or archetypal. But a lot of that comes from the narrative POV, which is necessary to the story and so cool, and the rest comes from anime, Bollywood, and other pop culture tropes and Basu's intent to make this feel cinematic, which is all fair. This isn't a novel so concerned with a finely drawn world that it disregards set pieces and writes out all daring rooftop chases and improbable coincidences.

In short, this is a book that is both intensely smart but is also written to entertain. It was delightful to see all the Aladdin moments in this future context, and even better to see Basu using the story to talk about individual rights, corruption, colonization, oppression, resistance, and reclamation.* The set pieces were great, don't get me wrong. I loved the heck out of the world and how he conveyed it. I loved the narrator even more. (I'm going to call Basu masterful just for what he did with them.) I loved never quite knowing what to expect, either from Basu or the characters, and how what felt like extraneous moments or subplots got tied back in. The villain and the jinn were both fantastic. It's chewy in the way of sci-fi with a point. It made me laugh.

So yes, while it's not a perfect book, it's still pretty darn good and worth the read. It would have been a highlight of my reading month even if August hadn't been as lukewarm as it was, and I'll be watching for whatever Basu puts out next. Well worth the 10 months it spent on my TBR….

*Would it have been nice to see more of that rather than being told? Sure, but I'm not sure how Basu could have worked that in without breaking something more central to the book.

[aceviscontiswife]

Hello! I hope you're doing okay! :)

May I request Ghostface with the reader who is obsessed with him? Like the reader always stares at him, squirms anytime Ghostface stabs them, always stares at him and stuff? How would ghostface react to it? :P (it would be nice if there was some nsfw but if you don't want to it's totally fine!!)

Survivor’s Obsession || Danny Johnson

Ahhhh thank you so much for this request!! I hope I did it justice lol 😅 this was honestly so much fun to write, and I definitely didn’t go light on the nsfw, so minors you better get out. (All I post is nsfw anyways… probably not the best place for you darned whippersnappers)

Warnings: Knifeplay (danny carves his name onto you), blood, fucking in trial, switch!Danny, switch!Reader, creampie, Meg. GN reader (first time doing GN reader)

Danny first noticed your… odd personality when he had you pinned to the ground, squirming underneath him as his knife plunged into your back. In your last moments, as Danny lifts your head for a selfie, he could’ve sworn he heard a quiet moan escape from your blood-filled mouth.

The masked killer wanted to know more about you. He could sense you watching him during trials, watching him with such intensity that he felt as if you might expose him. The cherry on top however was that no matter where he plunged his knife, you always positioned your body just right so your ass rubbed against his crotch as he moried you. At first he thought it was a coincidence, but now?

He knows it’s on purpose.

Sometimes he wondered what would happen if he slammed you against a wall and took you right there, demanding that you tell him every little thought you’ve had about him, or how many times you’ve came to the thought of him alone. Danny loved how obsessed you were with him. He’d noticed some of his selfies with you were missing, and he knew immediately that you had stolen them. Danny knew that the survivors weren’t exactly innocent people, but he wasn’t expecting you to go as far as breaking into his shack.

Danny wasn’t upset, in fact, the mental image of you stealing his things just to have some reminder of him was enough to have him in his shack screaming your name as he ruthlessly jerked his cock, cum spraying onto his bare chest.

You couldn’t focus on the trial, instead you found yourself following behind Ghostface, watching every move he made with wide eyes. He was like nothing you’d ever seen before; he was cocky, stunning—despite the fact that you’ve never even seen his face. He wasn’t huge and muscle-y like Trapper or Oni, instead he was lean and around average height. Despite his build, Ghostface still managed to hoist survivors onto his shoulder and onto hooks with ease.

Two survivors had already been sacrificed, and you couldn’t even be bothered to remember who they were. Meg had given up on trying to make you do generators, resorting to hiding until Ghostface killed you. You were fine with Ghostie killing you. Even if he was carrying you to a hook, you were still secure on his shoulder, his pretty, strong arm resting on your back to keep you locked in place. You never even tried to free yourself, you simply enjoyed what little contact you could get with the killer.

Danny could tell you were watching him again, staring at him with wide eyes. You were peering at him from behind one of Autohaven’s massive pile of cars, frozen in place for as long as Danny remained in your sight. It was cute, you wanted him so bad and everyone could tell. Maybe you’d tell him where Meg is? It had become quite clear that your teammates didn’t matter to you.

He began walking towards you, grinning beneath his mask as he watched you press yourself against a pile of cars, your body subconsciously leaning towards Danny as he approached you. You didn’t even try to run. Hell, you never did.

Danny clears his throat, snapping you out of your trance. “Where’s your teammate, Dollface?” His voice was deep, smooth. It was enough to send a shiver down your spine, arousal building up inside of your sex. You had imagined yourself in so many scenarios with Ghostface, and you finally had a voice to match the man you’ve obsessed over for what’s felt like an eternity.

“I’m not sure. Probably hiding in a locker somewhere.” You stutter out, pulling yourself back into reality. Danny nods leaning against the pile of cars and crossing his arms. His knife rests loosely in his hands, Danny slowly swinging the knife side to side.

“They’ll show up eventually.” You agree with a nod, your cheeks flushing as Danny takes a step towards you. You were only a few feet apart, the masked killer looking down at you, barely visible red eyes staring at you from behind the mask. His expression was unreadable, but deep within his eyes was a look you could only describe as hungry.

“Would you happen to know anything about my missing pictures? I’d hate it if someone stole them.” You were reminded of the polaroid resting in your pocket; you had stolen it from his shack while he was in a trial. You took as many as you could carry, and almost every time you tried to rest you ended up touching yourself to one of the photos, your gaze honed in on the black eyes of the plastic mask Ghostface always wore.

Your lack of a response gets a chuckle from Danny, a deep, mocking chuckle that leaves you fighting back a moan as a sudden surge of pleasure shot through your lower half. The effect he had on you was strong, and he knew it. Had he known this whole time?

“You’re more of a stalker than I am, sweetheart. Your teammates must be so disappointed in you… tired of always being left to die because you can’t stop drooling over the fucking killer. Well guess what, dollface?” You had taken advantage of the situation, closing the distance between you and Ghostface. You now stood inches apart, his red eyes glancing up and down your body before losing themselves in your e/c eyes.

“What?” You press for an answer, risking everything by placing a hand on Danny’s chest. Danny takes things further by cupping your face in his gloved hand, leaning down until his mask brushed against the tip of your nose.

“I love how obsessed you are.” Ghostface whispers, brushing his fingers over your lips, his free hand resting on your waist. You wanted nothing more than to rip off his mask and smash your lips against his, to let him take you right there, right now.

“Ghostie…” You whimper, pushing your body against his. He was hard already, his erection pressing against your lower stomach. “My name is Danny, and you’ll be screaming it before I’m even close to being finished with you.” Danny steps away suddenly, only to grab you a moment later and toss you over his shoulder. His hand came to rest on your ass, massaging the soft flesh as he made his way towards the killer shack.

“What’s this?” Danny reaches into your back pocket with his free hand, laughing cockily when he pulls out a picture of you and him. In it, you were pinned to the ground by Danny, his knife surely resting in your back as he held you up by your hair. Blood was pouring out of your mouth, your eyes not yet lifeless, but instead glazed over with what seemed like lust. Danny tosses the picture aside, setting you down against the shacks pallet.

“How many times have you came to that photo? From how wrinkled it was, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were getting off to it seconds before this trial.” Danny knew exactly what to say to have you grasping at him, desperately wanting to speed things up. “Please…” Your voice was quiet, earning a ‘tsk’ from Danny.

“C’mon, dollface, you can beg better than that. I bet you were begging for me to bend you over a vault and fuck you senseless when you were watching me earlier, hmm?” Your hand traced up Danny’s chest, resting on the slim cheek of his mask. Your fingers occasionally dipped under the mask, your mind having to stop your body from taking it off. You wondered what Danny’s face would look like; maybe he’d have some stubble?

You couldn’t manage to say anything other than his name, your fingers curling into the mask, as a desperate way to say ‘I want this mask off now.’

“If you want the mask off,” Danny removed his hood, revealing messy black hair that was sloppily slicked back. He took your hands and placed them on either side of his mask. “Take it off.” With that said, you remove the mask from his face, your eye’s widening upon seeing what the mask hid.

His skin was as pale as could be, and his eyes had turned into a pale blue. His lips were plump, his jaw and chin clean of hair. His face was littered with small scars—your favorite a small, jagged scar that went across the edge of his lips. He had a cocky smirk plastered on his face, his own way of telling you that he knew exactly what was going through your mind.

“Tell me,” Danny starts, taking his knife out of his cloaks pocket. “What would your twisted little mind think if I were to carve my initials onto your chest?” You had dreamed of this moment with Danny since the moment you saw him. You cherished each scar you had received from trials with Ghostface, and now there was a chance to have a permanent reminder of Danny. Instead of responding, you toss his mask aside and cup his face, smashing his lips against yours.

Danny let out a loud, dramatic groan and kicks your legs apart with his foot. Without breaking the kiss, Danny presses himself against you, pressing and rubbing his leg against your clothed sex. You stifle a moan, but Danny tangles his fingers in your hair, pulling it hard enough to earn a surprised gasp from your sweet lips. Danny takes advantage of this and begins invading your mouth with his tongue, tasting each and every bit of your mouth with unbridled passion.

Eventually, the need for air takes over and Danny separates the kiss, his breath hitting your jaw in quick pants. He looked even better than you had imagined he would, each fantasy you had previously had of Danny were nothing compared to this.

“Fuck… let me know you want this, dollface.” You nod desperately, tugging at his cloaks tendrils. The tendrils wrapped around your wrists, slowly snaking their way up your arm. Satisfied with your answer, Danny steps away, kicking off his boots. You do the same, tossing your shoes somewhere in the small shack.

“Danny,” You start, stopping the killer in his tracks. “Strip for me.” You demand, a surge of dominance flowing through your veins. Danny chuckles, following your command without a second thought. He removes his gloves at lightning speed, tossing them beside his boots. Your eyes soak in every mole, scar, and muscle of Danny’s chest as he unzips his cloak.

“Is this what you expected, dollface?” It was so much more. Danny’s chest was littered his scars, and there was a mole just a few inches away from his belly button. He had a slight happy trail, his painfully hard cock still concealed by his cloak. “Strip all the way and I’ll tell you.” Danny obeys you, letting his cloak pool around his feet before kicking it away.

“What about now?” He asks with a cocky smirk. Danny’s cock was rock hard, precum leaking from its tip. His dick was aching to be touched, your own sex throbbing as well. Danny had more than enough to fill you, and you wondered if he would even fit.

“Perfect.” You tell him, eyeing him as you begin to undress yourself. “Touch yourself for me, Danny.” You were expecting Danny to be a tease, to make fun of your obsession for him. Instead he followed your orders, allowing you to take the dominant role. He was letting you live out your fantasies—though the next time he had you, you’d be his to control completely.

Danny ran his thumb over his slit, hissing through his teeth as he collected precum onto his finger. You had removed your pants and shirt, rubbing yourself through your underwear as Danny traced a finger down a vein on his cock. “I need you now, sweetheart.” Danny wraps his hand around the base of his dick, slowly jerking himself off as he made his way towards you.

“Make me yours, Danny.” With that said, you hook your thumb in the waistband of your underwear, taking them off and exposing your naked body to Danny. He stared at you like a predator staring at their prey, practically eating you up with his eyes. “Tell me everything you’ve ever wanted me to do to you.” Danny demands of you, his hard cock poking against your abdomen.

“I want you to fill me up, to mark me as yours. Fuck, Danny, I want you.” Danny chuckles, his hands resting on your hips. “I want you to scream my name, I want every survivor in this realm to know who you belong to.” You nod. Danny cups your face in his left hand, pressing his lips against yours.

You shiver as Danny’s hand cups your sex, moaning quietly. He pulls away from your lips, trailing kisses down your jaw and neck before locking onto your skin just above your collarbone, biting down onto your flesh. You yelp, gripping his biceps. It didn’t take long before the pain subsided, and a loud, needy moan left your lips when Danny suddenly inserted a finger into your entrance.

“Fuck, Danny!” Danny pinches at your nipples, rolling the hard, sensitive buds between his fingers. “How many times have you came while imagining me, and only me?” Danny asks, his voice a deep whisper.

You decide to tease him, staring deep into his pale blue eyes, you chuckle. “How many—“ you gasp when Danny curls his finger, hitting a sensitive spot within you. “H-How many times have you came to me?” Danny hums, pulling his finger out of you momentarily before pushing two of his fingers into your sensitive hole. Your back arches and you scream Danny’s name, your hands scratching at his back.

“I couldn’t even begin to tell you how much I’ve wanted to do this to you, babe. I’ve gotten off in trials, all because of you, dollface.” Danny slams his fingers into you, producing another moan of his name from your lips. You had remembered trials with Danny in which he had disappeared for a while before returning, usually going a lot easier on everyone and even letting you escape sometimes.

“Think you’re ready for my cock, doll?” You nod, mind still fuzzy from Danny’s merciless finger-fucking. Danny pulls his fingers out, wrapping his hand around his aching cock and pumping it a few times, gauging his sensitivity. Guessing by the breathy groan that left him, and the throbbing sensation in your core, you imagined that neither of you would last long.

Danny gathers some precum onto his thumb and brings it up to your lips, moaning dramatically as you wrap your lips around his finger, licking and sucking his thumb clean. He positions his cock at your entrance, pushing his tip into your tight hole. You and Danny gasp at the feeling, your nails digging into Danny’s back as he buries his face in your neck, his dick pushing further and further into your hole.

Setting a slow rhythm, Danny begins pumping his cock into you, relishing in the lovely sounds that left you with each thrust of his cock. “Mark me, Danny! Fuck— Mark me as yours!” You grab his knife, that he had set atop the pallet, and give it to him eagerly. Danny chuckles, slowly dragging the blade up your chest.

“You’re gonna—fuck, you’re gonna have fun trying to hide this, Y/n.” Danny jokes as he presses the blade into your skin just above your breasts. You hiss, the pain slowly turning into pleasure as Danny speeds up his thrusts. Blood was pouring down your chest, but you could still make out the ‘D.J.’ Now engraved onto you. The sight was enough to make you moan, whimpering as Danny tosses his knife aside and begins slamming into you at an inhuman pace.

“Fuck— I’m yours, Y/n. And-“ Danny leans down until his mouth was level with your ear. “You’re mine.” He growls, nibbling on your earlobe. Danny grabs yours thighs, lifting your legs and wrapping them around his waist so he could thrust even deeper into you. You grab at the pallet behind you, tossing your head back as Danny hits your G-spot.

You could feel the familiar knot forming in your abdomen, a feeling that Danny had caused many times, even if he wasn’t actually with you until now. You knew Danny was close too, his pace faltering as he lets out a sweet moan of your name.

“I’m so close, baby.” Danny tells you, his voice shaky. “M-Me too.” You squeeze your eyes shut as you try to hold off your orgasm until Danny was closer. “‘Gonna fill you up… have you leaking everywhere. You’ll have to limp your way back to your campfire, my cum still dripping out of you.” Danny rambles between moans. Wet, phallic sounds filled the small shack as Danny fucked you. You were sure, that wherever Meg was, she had to know what you were doing by now; but you didn’t care.

“S-Shit! I’m gonna cum! Fucking— cum with me, dollface!” Danny tells you, and you give Danny a quick ‘C-Cumming!’ Before you tighten around his cock, screaming his name as your climax hits you. Danny thrusts himself deep into you, letting out a whimper of your name as his seed fills your hole. Danny fucks into you slowly, pushing his cum deeper into you. He pulls out when the pair of you began to feel overstimulated, collapsing onto the ground next to you.

You join him, your legs shaky and your sex sore as cum leaks out of you. Danny wraps his arm around your waist, admiring your bloody, marked, fucked-out body. He knew, in your twisted little mind, that this was everything you’d wanted and more. He knew that you’d show everyone your mark, letting them know exactly who you belonged to. Danny knew that you’d still stare at him in trials, hoping that he’d pin you against a wall and fuck you senseless.

“How do you feel, babe?” Danny asks, tracing circles onto your thigh with his thumb.

“I feel… great. You?” You look up at Danny, already imagining every place you could mark him the next time you did this. Now, when you were touching yourself in your shack, grasping onto a polaroid of you and him that you’d stolen, you would know how good his fingers felt. How full his cock made you feel.

“Like a million dollars.” You chuckle, laying your head against Danny’s shoulder. Danny lays his head on yours. “I should probably go find Meg. If she finds you like this she might just kill you herself.”

You glance outside the shacks window, smirking as you make eye-contact with a certain redhead, still cowering behind a rock.

“Meg can wait.”

********

And thats a wrap!! I wrote most of this really late at night because I haven’t had time during the day, but I still hope enjoy it! Love ya. 💙

[rekino2114]

Romantic evening with kirumi tojo

A/n:this is kind of a remake of something I did a while ago, a request by @beestriker015 (feel free to request more btw) that I decided to remake for a bunch of reasons: I feel like my writing has gotten better and I realized kirumi didn't have anything in the masterlist yet. Also, this is kind of a gift for his two years anniversary on wattpad(which is kind of a weird coincidence since i was already planning to make this when he made the. announcement). I seriously can't recommend the guy's stuff enough if you like male reader x female stories go check him out, especially on wattpad

You and kirumi had agreed to spend the evening together as a date, lately she had been busier than usual with her duties and requests so she felt like she wasn't giving you enough attention so she decided to put her obligations aside for the day and give you the love and relaxation you deserved, after all she would always make time for her boyfriend.

You heard a knock on your dorm door and opened it to see kirumi with a tray of tea and your favorite food

"Hello dear, may I come In?"

"Of course, I was waiting for you"

You let her in and she put the tray on a small table before turning towards you, in response you hugged her and you two shared a kiss

"Thanks for coming by the way, I know you've been busy lately"

"It's nothing I would never miss on a date with you no matter what I have to do, you are more important"

"Awww that's so sweet kirumi, I love you so darn much"

"I love you too darling, now would you like some tea?"

"If you made it, of course"

She gave you a cup and poured tea in it, it was delicious (like everything kirumi made). You spent the following time eating what she made and talking about whatever crossed your mind.

"Thanks again for the food it was delicious, but you really didn't have to"

"Why do you say that y/n?"

"I dunno I just feel kinda guilty accepting everything you do for me, I don't wanna add to your pile of work"

Your girlfriend looked at you with a sad expression before holding your hands in hers

"My love please don't think that I am doing those things out of obligation I do them because I love you and want to use my talent to demonstrate that, I never do tasks that I don't want to do, you're my boyfriend and for you I'd do anything it's both my duty and pleasure"

She then kissed your cheek and looked back at you

"Alright thank you babe, just make sure not to overwork yourself ok?"

"Yes, don't worry, I'll make sure of that, let's continue this lovely night. Would you like a massage to help you relax perhaps?"

"Oh no that's alright how about we cuddle instead"

Kirumi smiled and sat on the couch as you followed her, she wrapped her arms around you and you did the same.

"This feels quite nice, we really should do this more often"

"Agreed, whenever you need to relax just come to me, you're always welcome in my arms"

"The same goes for you dearest"

You looked at your beautiful girlfriend's face and kissed her passionately after which you nuzzled more into her form

"You're the best girlfriend ever kirumi, I love you so so much"

"I feel exactly the same for you, love"

[altocat]

ik it’s coincidence but i’m sick over miniroth knowing a lucia who was pretty darn sweet to him from what i saw? and her name sounds similar to lucrecia.

Lucia was literally the only one who moved to comfort him after Glenn punted the necklace. And consistently worried about him throughout the story. Not to mention was the first one to pet him.

I'm hardcore headcannoning Miniroth developing a short-lived crush on her, but mostly because he was desperate for any form of maternal warmth. Full duckling-coded nonsense, with him hungry to imprint on anyone who is relatively nice to him.

[an0nfr0mth3d3n]

Ever heard the ‘Foolish and Bad are divorced’ theory? Here’s totally what happened.

Bad probably lost one of his lovers, and it happened to coincide with Foolish losing one of his lovers, and usually what happens is they seek each other out and cry about it (well Bad cries, Foolish makes a bunch of really sad and deprecating jokes because humor is his coping mechanism).

Well when the coincidence happens, they both end up finding each other and just, venting about mortals and how immortality sucks sometimes, until Bad is like, “gosh darn it Foolish I can’t go through this again. Can you just marry me so we can find love together and not get love-trapped by stupid mortals again?”

(I’m aware the words are out of character but if it was in character the amount of dodging and implying would take up several paragraphs and I’m not doing that)

And Foolish laughs and is like “Aaa fuck it. Might as well try I guess, your stupid ass is the only one who doesn’t leave anyways”

It’s very unofficial, they don’t go to a church or anything, and their rings are just mismatched random rings that Bad stole, but they both have weird and mixed feelings about this.

Bad says he’s sure they’ll love each other eventually (I hc him as demiromantic because it’s on the spectrum and because also that’s me too so yippee)

It takes a day or too before Foolish can’t take it any longer. Not only is it too soon, but when he takes a step back from his grief and actually imagines being in a somewhat romantic relationship with Bad, he wants to puke and roll over and die somehow. Also probably had something to do with the fact that Bad started moving in to his current build project and setting up space there and usually it’s not a promising sign for a marriage if you started the day after absolutely strangling your partner.

Bad also realizes this too. The thought of a traditional marriage at ALL has never sounded appealing. He isn’t one to get domestic with it, and despite trying to set up a home with Foolish sounds unappealing (noooo had nothing to do with the current bruises on his neck right now…) Bad lived for adventure, and liked solitude once in a while, and marriage was just a tether that promised no benefits except for tax purposes and he already evades taxes anyways.

They both fight each other to be the once that divorces the other, and they start by making this EVERYONES problem. They never had a traditional wedding, but they DID go to an official divorce court, making it a point to hire the best talent with divorce lawyers out there. Not that there was much to go on, they were only married for a handful of days, and it wasn’t even official so the lawyers have no clue what to do. They go with it anyways because it’s a totem shark and a demon and they are already beating the shit out of each other in the middle of the court, and the lawyers did NOT want to get in the middle of that.

Bad of course tries to weasel his way into getting 50% of Foolish’s build, and Foolish gets impatient with the court and just attacks Bad himself, fed up at the consistent attempts to steal his build.

They both roll around on the ground, biting, kicking, punching, and both of them are smiling through it. They can lean on each other when times get tough, but Landduo will NEVER stoop to petty human traditions ever again.

(whoops this turned into a mini hc fic)

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Special Interest 4

Warnings: non/dubcon, age gap, creep behaviour, and other dark elements. My username actually says you never asked for any of this.

Characters: Cole Turner, short!reader

Part of the Bookstore AU

Note: this one is a bit longer than I anticipated!

My warnings are not exhaustive but be aware this is a dark fic and may include potentially triggering topics. Please use your common sense when consuming content. I am not responsible for your decisions.

As usual, I would appreciate any and all feedback. I’m happy to once more go on this adventure with all of you! Thank you in advance for your comments and for reblogging.

You have everything neatly tucked into a box for your delivery. You're anxious, more so to get it done and over with, than to meet the demanding buyer. Your mother finishes up and hurries you to get ready. You can’t help but take your time.

You bring another box, this one full of parcels to be sent out. After dropping those off, you’re back in the car hug the last order in your lap. Your mother pulls into the lot, just behind the garden center outside, now selling wreaths and pine trees in lieu of the season bulbs and petals.

You get out and check your phone. Your mom comes around to read over your shoulder. You keep an arm around the box as you lean it against the car. You bring up your Etsy messages.

‘Think I got here early. In the garden center checking out the garlands.’ 

“Oh, great,” your mother says, “we won’t have to waste too much time.”

“Mhmm,” you agree and bring your other arm around the box, pressing your phone to it as you follow her. 

She doesn’t wait as she walks along the wall of the garden centre and dips through the door. You catch up inside, nearly bouncing off of her as you hold the box ahead of you. She squeals and points out a shelf of ornaments made of pine cones. You humour her with a smile and hum.

“Those are cute, mom, but we’re not here to shop,” you huff as you peer around.

That woman in the patchwork jacket looks like a farmer. She has the square jaw of a real hard lady. You know she’d probably best you in any physical combat. You meet her eye, tilting her head in question, ‘are these your crochet goods? Huh? Did you make me come all the way down here?’

She frowns and quickly turns away. Alright, not her but you’ve definitely creeped her out. You glance back at your mom as she ogles the ornaments. You wonder how she manages to work from home effectively.

“Excuse me, uh, SashayCrochet? Um, I think that’s for me?” A voice draws you back to face the rows of trees and hanging wreaths. You almost fall over as you recognize the man approaching you. No flipping way. “Hey,” he points at you in a similar epiphany.

“Uh, Farmer’s Delight?” You grimace.

“That’d be me,” he smiles. He’s wearing the same tan jacket, you note the stain by the pocket, “thanks for meeting me here.”

“Uh huh,” you squint at him. What a gosh dang diddly darn coincidence this is. “Here, everything’s there. Have a good day.”

“Oh, wow,” he sputters as you push the box against his stomach, slowly placing his hands on the corners. “Do you mind if I check to make sure or–”

You hold back a sneer. You can’t believe this. You had a bad feeling all along. You somehow don’t think this is fate. You think this guy has a problem. Why would he needs a lady’s magenta cap and matching mitts?

“Honey,” your mom finally catches on to the scene behind her, “oh, is this him?”

“Um, hello,” the weirdo smiles at her, “yeah, uh, it’s me. Cole.”

He offers his hand as he shifts the box under his arm. Your mother shakes his hand and nearly vibrates in excitement. She loves finding a new mark for her unending small talk. They deserve each other.

“Cole, that’s such a cute name,” she rescinds her hand, holding it over her chest coyly, “matches you well.”

“Mom,” you growl, raising your chin defiantly at Cole the creep, “I included an invoice so you can see everything��s there. Go ahead and check, we have things to do.”

“Honey, don’t be so rude,” your mother chides, “so, Cole, you live on a farm?”

He sets the box down on the corner of a table and shuffles through the contents. You stay where you are as your mom steps closer. You wonder if she sees the silver in his beard and just thinks that’s some festive touch. He’s ancient.

“Yeah, my parents’ place. I help out. As much as I can.”

“Oh, wow, I always dreamt of living out in the country but I’m too much of a busy body. The city is where I belong,” she preens, “but my daughter, she’s loves being at home. Don’t you, honey?” She beckons to you but you don’t move. “Spends all her time making this stuff,” she motions to the box.

“It’s very nice,” he says as he admires the beret style cap, “good handiwork. Talented.”

“Yes, a good hobby,” your mom insists, “not so useful as working the field, I’m sure.”

He chuckles, “yeah, I guess, but it takes all sorts.” He lifts the box up again, “my mother is going to love all this. Her birthday’s just around the corner and I didn’t really wanna walk in with another gift store teddy bear.”

“Too sweet,” your mom chimes, “any mother would be so lucky. Honey, get over here.” She reaches back blindly and grabs your arm, forcing you up next to her, “she always makes me something pretty for the holidays but you can only really have so many socks and scarfs.”

“Mom,” you snarl again, glowering at Cole as amusement dimples in his cheek.

“Actually, uh, I was just coming from the market. I have a booth there. I sell plants, so, uh, I have some in my car. If you wanna have a look. You can have one for free… some probably won’t last that much longer,” he suggests.

“Oh, plants! I love plants. And with this weather, everything’s so grey,” your mother trills. “We’d love to have a look.”

You almost hiss at her again but you don’t want to argue, not in front of this man. He smiles and leads her out of the garden center. You trail behind reluctantly. Your mother glances over her shoulder and snaps her fingers at you. You come up behind her and lean in close.

“Mom,” you whisper, “do you really think we should follow this stranger to his car?”

“Stranger? He’s so nice.”

“You said two words to each other.”

“Don’t be so cynical,” she snaps back, lowering her voice as she talks out the side of her mouth, "he's gorgeous."

He takes her to a pale blue truck and opens the back door, he tucks the box on the floor and steps back, gesturing to the back seat. You furrow your brow at your mom. She is easy pickings.

“You can have a look. Mostly cacti,” he shrugs.

“Don’t mind if I do,” your mom steps up and peeks into the back seat.

You can see the edge of a cardboard tray as she moves around the small pots. You stay a few feet back and cross your arms. Cole edges towards you.

“I guess… we’re running into each other so I can apologise,” he says, keeping his voice notably low, “about the bookstore.”

“Huh, bookstore? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I’m being nice. I just wanna make it up for you. Why don’t you take a plant too?”

“I don’t have much of a green thumb. I’d rather knit my plants,” you sneer.

“You mean crochet,” he corrects you. You look at him sharply and he lifts his brows plaintively, “I’m learning, see?”

“Mom,” you put your hand up as if to say ‘talk to the hand’ and block him out, “hurry up. We gotta grab that thing for dad. Remember?”

“Great, I’m heading inside too,” Cole says, “they have some sod in stock and I need some chicken wire.”

“I like this one,” you mother shows a prickly cactus with a little red cushion on top, “and wonderful, you might know what this is,” she fishes out her phone with her free hand, “something for the sink. My husband sent me a link…”

You die a little as your mother shows him the web page. Of course she can’t just let him go. She can’t let you get out of this. She thinks this guy with his dumb blue eyes and sandy brown hair is some sort of Prince Charming.

“Maybe I’ll just wait in the car,” you say.

“Oh, honey, don’t be silly, it’s too cold for that.”

Cole looks at her phone, “oh, I know exactly where those are. One sec.”

He shuffles past her to shut his truck door. You glare at your mom but she doesn’t notice, she’s completely enamored with this tall hunk of weirdo. Whatever, you’ll have to sneak away and hide in the pet section and daydream about the puppy you never got.

[itsclydebitches]

Did I just saw with my own two eyes an episode, where Ted’s mother shows up and acts in this very disinterested “I am not interested in you and your achievements whatsoever, you are not even the main attraction of this trip and I’m going to tell you that in this indirect passive-aggressive way, but at the same time I AM here because I am displeased with you, now guess what’s wrong while I tell lies about you to your friends and colleagues. The lies that are kind of nice but also lies and it makes you feel uncomfortable and I do not care”.

And then Ted goes back to Kansas where he can’t have his career, his friends, but he will be in contact with Michelle (who dates their couple therapist, and that is something that makes Ted very uncomfortable) and mom???? Like? And Henry never asked him to return and in fact is not suffering at all. Henry is shown to be fine. He never has meltdowns when he leaves London, he doesn’t express any hurt feelings towards Ted. They seem to just have an unconventional arrangement and Henry misses Ted, but doesn’t feel neglected. It also seems like his mom just believes that Ted should be home with his son, an unassuming father who doesn’t have public panic attacks and causes her embarrassment??? Because the way she showed him the clippings from the papers?? Boy! I don’t know how else to interpret that tbh

Ted has just achieved one of the best moments in his career and his mom actively and purposefully poisoned that moment for him, this whole thing is being contrasted to Jamie’s mom, I just don’t believe that Ted is going to stay in Kansas. That can’t be.

Also I feel like the tedependance tinfoil hat is not a tinfoil hat at all because actually! Ted having suppressed a huge part about himself (bisexuality), and not being able to live his life because of his roots works really well here.

It's precisely readings like this that make me hope a permanent Kansas ending can't be possible and likewise believe that if that is our ending... Ted Lasso will have failed in a pretty significant way. Even just a few episodes ago I was fully on team, "I 100% don't want Ted to return to Kansas, but if he does I accept that this was an ending long in the making and just because I personally dislike it doesn't make it bad." Now though? They've introduced so much lately -- and emphasized so much else from past seasons, like Ted's rocky relationship with Michelle/Jake -- that I just can't read Kansas as a positive ending for Ted anymore. It's not just me and my preferences anymore, I don't think that ending fits the show, period. Is, in fact, a betrayal of everything Ted Lasso has argued for.

Ted's mom was a big part of that feeling this episode, as you've nicely laid out, anon. It's no coincidence that in an episode titled "Mom City," Ted's story with his mother does not run parallel to Jamie's (unfailingly supportive, knows him better than he knows himself, Jamie comes to her when he's ready, an act of agency that Dottie doesn't allow Ted), but rather closer to Jamie's dad. Which I don't mean as a way to say, "She's abusive!" but rather the more nuanced take that we end the episode on: You can forgive someone while still acknowledging that they've hurt you so badly. Ted, normally so polite with his "Oh boy"s and "Darn"s and "Shucks"s really says it all with a string of direct, angry, "Fuck you"s. That level of anger and disappointment will not be magically fixed with one dinner. By continually introducing Kansas-aligned characters that make Ted uncomfortable at best, uncharacteristically angry at worst, it HEAVILY sells the idea that the space itself is no longer healthy for him. He can slowly rebuild those relationships -- and arguably should -- but that's not the same thing as throwing himself back into their mix. Allowing Ted to stay in London with visits from his family is akin to Jamie remaining removed from his dad, but sending him a text on his own terms.

As for Henry, yeah. I've been arguing for ages that Henry does not act like someone who feels abandoned and the few arguments I've seen fans bring up aren't very persuasive to me. Basically, framing every normal child struggle as a result of Ted's distance. Henry being a short-term bully is not automatically some cry for attention tethered to an absent dad -- there's no evidence for that, especially when Henry uses Ted's own teachings to realize his mistake and apologize -- and him being sad with Beard is because he's finally seeing his dad and Ted is ignoring him. I'd be sad too if I hadn't seen someone in a while and they were spiraling instead of hanging with me. That doesn't mean I need them to drastically change their life to accommodate me in new ways. Henry as a character needs to be allowed to make mistakes without that automatically reflecting badly on what Ted has chosen for his own happiness and mental health. Anyway, yeah, Henry has consistently been shown to likewise be happy, well-adjusted, and fully engaged with Ted through visits/over Zoom, so this claim that Henry needs his dad in this way doesn't jive with three seasons of Henry flourishing through Ted's parenting this other way.

All of which means that, frankly, I think we should take Dottie's "Your son misses you" with a serious grain of salt. That's a damn broad statement because of COURSE Henry misses Ted and vice versa, but that basic reality of missing people in life when you're separated from them doesn't mean he misses him in the way that I think Dottie is implying: he's hurting to an extent that you need to fix in this specific way (moving back home). Beyond everything you've listed about how Dottie makes Ted uncomfortable, I think it's significant that she has Very Traditional Ideas about how this family should function. She couches it in a lot of humor and starts to demonstrate a bit more open-mindedness at the end of the episode, but we're still left with:

Telling all Ted's friends that he's done Amazing, Unique, Super Cool Things That are Objectively Impressive. To be clear, I found her interactions with the team as funny and surface-wholesome as we were supposed to, but I do think there was this underlying implication that Dottie is not as satisfied with Ted's choices as Ted himself is, so she 'accidentally' makes up stories that make him seem 'better' than he actually is. This is compounded by what you've pointed out, about how she only gives a cursory congratulations for this MONUMENTAL achievement. Compare that to Jamie's mom absolutely loosing her shit in support of him.

She brings the 'gift' of the clippings -- Ted should be GRATEFUL for this. Only a terrible son would be upset by a mother keeping track of his accomplishments! -- which not only include the headlines about the panic attacks, but she's situated them front and center, ensuring they're the first thing Ted sees. Combine that with her 'concerned' question about whether he's still getting panic attacks and you have this strong implication that Ted Is Bad For Showing Weakness. Men don't do that. The Lassos don't do that. They bury things in positivity, even the suicide of a father/husband. The fact that Ted immediately lies and says the panic attacks are gone says it all. He knows trying to explain this to her is a lost cause.

Speaking of mental health, are you really seeing that therapist? Oh, well, good for you, I guess. Me? No, no, no, I would never see one. I'm going to be suspicious of it to the point of implying that it's a flaw to need one. This is the one point where I cut Dottie a lot of slack because Ted himself went through the same arc of needing to accept the benefits of therapy, but we're nevertheless seeing where he (in part) got that biased perspective from.

There are a lot of throwaway lines that paint Dottie as a Good Traditional Mother, very much in contrast to Ted Lasso's queer, open-minded, gender roles-bending world. She continually reminds him that she is NOT having sex, it's those Australians. Why-ever would an older woman be having loud, enthusiastic sex? (Compare that to Rebecca nearly getting it on with the boat guy, a celebration of romance and sexuality for older women.) Dottie can't take the bed. That's not the polite thing to do. She needs to be coaxed into accepting even the simplest of care while, simultaneously, expecting Ted to offer it despite the inconvenience. (If I bring up the awful hostel I've been staying in you'll offer to let me crash here instead, right?). That's one of the big differences between Ted and his mother: Ted has a lot of trouble accepting help, but honestly doesn't expect anything in return for the intense kindness he doles out to others. In contrast, Dottie has trouble admitting that she's accepting help, she pretends to do the nice thing while waiting for someone to insist strongly enough that she do what she's wanted to do from the get-go, then she's off the hook because, well, they basically made her. Will Dottie go to a football game like Henry and Higgins and Rebecca and Keeley and Bex and all the other emotionally open characters, screaming for her son in the midst of chaotic action? Oh no. No, no, no, that's not for her. She'll just stay home and do the Proper Thing of making a home-cooked dinner for her little boy... while making him feel guilty about that by sending texts about how now she kinda does wish she was at the game. The conclusion to their moment of honesty and growth is Ted (a man, the child in the relationship) serving her (the woman, the mother) for once, which I think highlights how much of the Good Traditional Kansas Woman mask Dottie has learned to maintain.

All of which is to say that we've been introduced to a loving but incredibly flawed mother who puts a LOT of stock in old-school values and appearances. There's no way that this all doesn't extend to her views on Henry, her grandson. Right now, Dottie is not someone who can fully embrace Ted's nontraditional style of life (divorced, in therapy, taking some risks like drinking not-actually-drugged tea) or parenting (long-distance, "It takes a village"). She doesn't outright reject Ted's choices, but she does spend the entire episode being passive-aggressive, even manipulative at times, to make it very clear that she does not approve of all this. When she says, "Your son misses you" it reads as a very biased view of the situation, driven by the idea that no child could possibly be happy without that nuclear family living their white-picket fence life in the good old US-of-A. Ted needs to move back to Kansas not because of Henry, but because that's what Good Fathers Do. I don't think Dottie should be seen as a reliable source here for what Henry actually wants or needs. She certainly hasn't been a reliable source for Ted.

Which -- as said numerous times -- paints Kansas in an incredibly negative light. We haven't actually seen Ted in Kansas on the show, so our understanding of his relationship with that place is filtered through the people living there. Michelle, Jake, and Dottie are all emotional landmines that Ted still needs a lot of time to diffuse and Henry is written as perfectly content with their arrangement. If Ted permanently goes back to Kansas I'm really gonna be ????????????????????????????????? about it.

[starsreminisce]

Was the Elucien similiarities with Solas and Cthona a coincidence or intentional?

Ahh, can it be both?

I think it's coincidental until we get to their book, and then SJM can tell us whether we picked up on it correctly or if we were just being delulu because she took so long at releasing that book that we were overanalyzing something just for something new to discuss.

With that said, SJM is pretty darn predictable with how she considers her endgame couples to have complementary or similar powers. Most males have a way to support the female characters with their powers. That's pretty much a huge sign of endgame status for me and it's been consistent in TOG and CC.

I also don't consider it that much of a stretch considering she wrote HOSAB and ACOSF close enough that some of the mating bond language found its way from HOSAB to ACOSF. I wouldn't be surprised if Solas and Cthona ended up taking similarities to Elain and Lucien, just solely because Lucien being connected to sunshine and being Elain's mate already provides a lot for SJM to play around with how Lucien can support Elain's power.

Lucien and Elain having very similar dynamics to Cthona and Solas seems too intentional to me for it to be coincidental. But until we know for sure, I'm erring on the side that it is.

I will say though, this from HOFAS BC:

A holiday in Midgard, the Winter Solstice, is about the death and rebirth of Solas and his final embrace with Cthona before dying. The story of the Winter Solstice is that Solas's light is extinguished with the setting sun, with only a single kernel of him surviving. That kernel represents hope, which is fully rekindled with the rising of the sun at dawn. This marks Solas's rebirth from Cthona's dark embrace through the long night of her mourning vigil. People represent the single kernel of Solas by lighting one candle and placing it in their windowsill. The High Priest of Solas and the High Priestess of Cthona have their own "embrace" to reenact the return of Solas to Cthona's side. People rise at dawn to welcome the rebirth of Solas.

sounds a lot like this from ACOMAF:

I hadn’t particularly listened to the explanations of its origins—and the Fae themselves debated whether it had emerged from the Winter Court or Day Court. Both now claimed it as their holiest holiday. All I really knew was that I’d had to endure two ceremonies: one at sunset to begin that endless night of presents and dancing and drinking in honor of the old sun’s death; and one at the following dawn, bleary eyed and feet aching, to welcome the sun’s rebirth.

and what an interesting coincidence that Lucien is heir of the Day Court.

Hope this was helpful! Thanks for asking!

[lunastars21]

Welp, today is one year since Sonic superstars came out,

so for this special day I’ll finally put all my thoughts in this blog, so I can finally put this gosh darn game behind me! XD, so read if you like and enjoy the ride!

My (Hopefully) last Superstars Rant:

Well, this is it. Today is Sonic superstars first anniversary, and unlike the two classic games before it, this one doesn't come with a plus version at all. To say I'm not surprised is an understatement.

Now before we start let me get some things out of the way, First of all: This is MY OPINION on the game, if you like it that's fine, if you hate it that's fine too! I just want to get my thoughts out now and finally bury this game into the ground where it can stay there, alright! Second of all, I have no hatred for Trip, I may sound like I hate her, but I do think she is really neat and fun to play as and I hope she returns in future classic titles.

Now with that out the way let's begin:

I became obsessed with Fang the Sniper/Hunter on August 15, 2022 (yes, I remember the exact date), and when I finished reading all the information, one thing was clear to me.

Okay, I'm NEVER seeing him again

Pretty simple mindset I gave myself because of a few reasons!

1. He's a classic character, so he isn't allowed in modern with cool cutscenes nor voice acting

2. He hasn't had a big appearance since sonic the fighters and only had a cameo in mania

3. What kept him relevant was Archie, and that got canceled in 2017, so his only hope was idw. But they only do classic for anniversary specials, so once again, nothing for a good while anyway

All of it was clear to me that Sega wasn't going to use him, nor Bean or Bark. So I immediately adopted them as any fan who has been waiting for their return for over 20 years would, I gave them headcanons and their own story, Because if sega wouldn't, I will!

..and then Jun 8, 2023 arrived during a direct. Sonic superstars was revealed, and Fang would return in it. A coincidence I got into him a year before his return!? I dunno! But I thought it was a blessing in disguise! I was excited about it! October 17th was gonna be the best day of my life, I thought.

I was there for the comic short, I was there for the trio of trouble animation, and I was planning to buy his miniseries books once they were READY in January! I was prepared to give my full support so Fang could have more appearances just like Mighty and Ray! Hell, even hearing that Sonic Superstars takes place BEFORE Sonic Adventure gave me hope that if this game does well! They'll finally put classic characters in modern, this is where the barrier was and if Fang could break it! That would be awesome! I had my hopes way too high, and that was my mistake.

October 17th finally arrives and I buy the digital deluxe version, giving sega 70 smackeroons for the art book mostly and to support my jerboa in his career.

And then I played the game. It took probably 3 to 4 days to finish all the stories. My pros about it! Mostly great stages and atmosphere, I love the little cutscenes that were in, the controls were okay, and Trip as a playable character was fun to play as! Basically, being a better knuckles and Amy combined, the emerald powers could use work, but overall, I thought it was a neat idea to have these gems show they weren't useless on their own! This game has a ton of potential with all the ideas they were cooking with!

And uh

That's about it

Now for why you're probably here and why I'm writing this to begin with

The cons..

First off,

WHY DOES THE MUSIC SWITCH BETWEEN GOOD AND DOG SHIT!?

I WAS ABSOLUTELY EXCITED TO HEAR FANG'S THEME REMIXED AFTER ALL THESE YEARS AND YOU GAVE THAT TO THE OTHER GUY INSTEAD OF TEE LOPES!? YOU DIDN'T PICK THE COMPOSER WHO MADE THE FIRE SONIC MANIA SOUNDTRACK YOU GIVE IT TO THE GUY THAT USES THE SONIC 4 SOUNDFONT!?(No offense to them)

I have mixed feelings about Fang's theme in this game, it's groovy at first but then when we get to the part the song usually drops and goes into an absolute banger, it LOOPS early and doesn't play the part! My favorite part of his theme is CUT OFF from the song! Making it shorter and more annoying! And I can only listen to it maybe 2 times before I get sick of it!

Listen to the srb2 version that is more of a banger.

Another Con is the lack of story! I KINDA get the idea of what's going on, but where is this STUPID EGG FROM, HOW DID IT GET UNLEASHED? There's no cutscene that shows Eggman or Fang opening it up! It just spawns on its own and then gets sealed away, fucker doesn't even have a name it's just DARK DRAGON. Also the animation in this game that's 2D went down in quality compared to its trio of trouble short! What happened!? And why does Fang have SHREK EARS, just remove the tube's, don't give him earholes its fine! It's not supposed to make sense anyway!

Also, Trip's story is the same as knuckles, she's the last of her kind in an isolated island because her people fucked with the emeralds, she's now it's quote on quote guardian and she gets tricked (more like forced) by Eggman and Fang to be their tour guide through the islands untill she meets sonic and defeats them together, Lack of FIGHTING sonic because despite the game calling her an antagonist she doesn't really do shit against the heroes at all. But she's BASICALLY knuckles but a shy girl. We got this story before man, come on.

Okay, got the small points out the way, now for the spotlight of the hour..

Why the fuck does this game market Fang when he RARELY SHOWS UP!

This game went full force on marketing for Fang when it was announced, he got a mini comic explaining why he's there, he got an animated short, he got a miniseries announcement, HE FINALLY GOT A MINI FIGURE! He had comics in super fast friends that were going on at the time! And other official art from the main account!

But when you play the game, yes he shows up in cutscenes, but you only face him off 3 times and TWO OF EM ARE OPTIONAL, you have no choice but to play level sonic to run away from him, but the golden capital Boss fight (which is really time consuming) can be skipped via a glitch, and you DON'T have to fight him In trip's story if ya don’t want too, ya could just play and finish the main story and put it on the shelf bam boom ya done!

“But I wanna fight the dragon”

Not worth it, it's a pain in the ass like the other boss fights. So in reality if you skip golden capital and never play trip's story, you fight Fang

ONCE

And it's not even a fight you just run away from him!

This game was fully marketed for him, and he only made ONE ACTUAL SHOWING, and that's it! He doesn't have an ending cutscene. He doesn't show up at all during or after the dark dragon fight. He just vanishes. The End.

When I finished the game, I was absolutely pissed about it. I gave Sega 70 dollars to show my support, and he only showed up for a few minutes, and then he peace sign vanished. Ya wanna stay with him for 2 hours? Play his final boss fight because that's how long it took me to beat him.

Speaking of, I actually had a more annoying time with the Eggman final boss than Fang's. The second phase of eggmans was always buggy with me and kept killing me, at least with Fang my deaths were more of my mistake than a bug and his ending blow with his nose made me actually laugh because I didn't expect it and found it funny, and his boss theme is a banger too. (So that's a plus)

Another fault with Fang is the scene after his golden capital fight, where Trip stands up to him after he kicks Her in which the whole Fandom started calling him an abuser (even tho she has armor on so it shouldn't even do much) and now it's all over his god damn wiki, doesn't help his miniseries supports that now more too. And I know, people will love a genuine asshole character, but what bothers me is that

He is just EGGMAN 2.0 IN THIS GAME

Who else mistreats their allies, eggman

Who else builds a giant robot of themselves, eggman

Who else runs away when things get dire, EGGMAN

The only difference between them is that Fang is still greedy, but they are basically the SAME CHARACTER HERE.

I thought this game would go a different direction for him because the animated short and Fang's big break have the same morals.

Learning from your mistakes.

In both stories, Fang struggles against a giant animal ( the giant flicky and giant snake), but once he calms himself down or remembers a past experience, he focuses and defeats the foe! Both stories show how smart Fang can be if he puts his mind to it, and he is not called a hunter for nothing!

So I thought superstars would do the same thing in that scene in golden capital Zone, Fang would realize he is out numbered, his robot isn't done and Trip moved to the hero side, taking all the emeralds he had. at that point, it wouldn't be worth it, especially if Eggman already paid him in advance, and team up with the heroes instead to save his own hide. At the start of the game, Fang ALREADY got what he wanted. He could leave if he wanted to. Those stories showed Fang was smarter than he seemed, but instead in this FUCKING GAME he doesn't do that! He still goes in the UNFINISHED ROBOT and gets one shot by Trip.

I get that at the end of the day he's still an antagonist, BUT PREVIOUS STORIES SHOWED ME HE WASN'T THIS STUPID, SO FUCKING WHY.

This continues in his miniseries! Doesn't wanna go back for Bark, wastes TWO ISSUES searching for an 8th Emerald and getting nothing, and the 4th he separates from bark and bean because of his stupidity Not learning at all to be grateful or show any remorse, which is fine if people like him that way it's cool, but once again that just makes him EGGGGMMMMAAAAAN.

What I found cool about Fang is that he could be NEUTRAL! he'd be an enemy of sonic in triple trouble, but then the next beats up eggman and saves the world in sonic the fighters, and even fights THEN TEAMS UP with sonic at the end of the season of chaos special.

It was clear to me that fang can be a bad or good person as long as it benefits HIM. So him jumping in that Mech and kicking Trip DIDN'T benefit him at all, and losing Bean and bark didn't either because them not being there leads to his fate in superstars.

You can like the hooligans being together or not, but the whole thing stands, these boys were last seen in archie together, which got canceled and didn't show up again till season of chaos. At this point, specifically archie fans, WE GOT ATTACHED TO THEM as a team, we saw them up there with the other teams! And I got an entire discord server to prove it!

So, just splitting them up like that is a stab in the gut. That despite all of the waiting, sega decided to listen To fucking 2, 3, or more people (no offense to you) who hated team hooligan to seperate them and blame it all on fang.

Which by the way Bean ANNOYED me in the miniseries, and not in a good way, him and Fang arguing EACH issue was getting on my nerves, issue 3 being the best of the whole thing because they RARELY argued in that one. That issue showed the potential of the Hooligans and how good they worked as a team. AND SEGA THREW IT OUT THE WINDOW!!!! FUCKING GENIUSES HERE.

Plus they could've EASILY left In issue 2 if they could separate the side cars from the Queen since they could already LATER ON in issue 4. (Bean and Bark ya both fuckin stupid ya not escaping my wrath either I'm ANGY

I Still love yall tho)

I'm fine with Fang being a jerk, But there should be a limit and getting him to “abusive Level” isn't it, despite issue 3, I wasn't happy or laughing as I thought I would for the game or miniseries, Because the hooligans are like looney tunes for me, when I see them, I wana laugh and have a good time. Not be depressed. And I know people like when Fang is cool and serious, I do too, but he was also made to be funny. If you want a 100% serious character, Shadow is RIGHT THERE.

Superstars was marketed for Fang fans. Everything related to it was, it was SUPPOSED to be his grand return. But no, it's a lie. This game was made so you could feel bad for Trip and like her. Fang was just a tool used to lure people to the game and love this lizard. That's all it was. He was just bait, so once Trip got the fans sega wanted, they would throw him away into the vault again, but this time with no Bean, no Bark, not even a bloody popgun, they just left him there to suffer.

That's how I view sonic superstars, a game baited to classic sonic fans, making it seem like an old character's return, when in reality, it's to get people to like Trip, a new character. Who won't even fucking show up till a new classic sonic game comes out or a new anniversary special.

That's why I find it so frustrating, and no matter how much I try, I won't be able to fully like this game because of this information, HELL SHE GOT A FULL SUPER FORM! NOT EVEN AMY, TAILS, NOR KNUCKLES GOT THAT SHIT.

They just got “Super powers” ooOoOo

Bullshit, and the fact your friends can't play as the same character in their levels sucks, Kirby easily did it for magolor, but nope! Ya gotta play level sonic with one player as your friends watch.

Anyway, I think that's everything. Thanks for reading this far. Once again this is just my opinion, I wanted to finally let that all out as for certain there's no plus adaptation for this, and that I want to finally forget this game, I already made a fanfic chapter doing it my way to satisfy how this story actually ends while being consistent. And maybe Fang will get another chance in another 20 years. But until then, I'll enjoy the small moments that did make me smile in that game and his miniseries, like him using an ice sword or having a big mech, and if you actually Enjoyed the game and everything it came with, and still love Fang despite it all, good for you! I'm glad you still like fang, whether he's good, bad, or neutral in your book! All I care about is that you like him, so thank you. :] but I'm fairly certain. Rarely any Sonic fans will celebrate its anniversary. If anything, mostly Trip fans will as it's her birthday.

…

ALSO BRING BACK HIS POPGUN YOU COWARDS! WHY DIDN'T HE USE IT DURING THE MINISERIES HE DIDN'T BREAK IT YET BY THEN AAAGGHGG

Cough if you want a better 2D game with more playable characters and a good story with great music.

Play Mario Wonder

Or play the new mario party! That's out today! ^^

Okay, have a nice day <333

[jumpywhumpywriter]

A Life in the Hands of the Enemy -- Villain reluctantly saves Hero's Life part 4

Warnings: violence, bleeding, near-death experience, captivity whump, cruel Villain whumper

Amber stayed quiet. Zack's frustration bubbled to the surface. All he wanted was an explanation. Was that too much to ask for?! With a growl, he suddenly reached out and pushed her against the wall, pinning her there, before digging his fingers straight into one of her bandaged wounds.

An agonized scream of pain tore loose from her, and she doubled over, coughing violently and shaking all over.

"Let's try again, shall we?" Zack's voice dripped with venom.

"OKAY, okay! You win..." Amber rasped weakly, head drooping. "The enemy I faced... was like no one I've ever met before. He was so, unnaturally strong..." She trailed off, gaze growing distant and foggy. "His power... he had powers like mine. Which should be impossible, considering he was merely human. Only people like me have that kind of magic potential." She leaned back against the wall with a wince to rest.

"He wasn't alone, either. I walked straight into an ambush. And his henchmen... there were only three of them, but they were strong. Strong as I was. And I..." She hesitated. "I... I got in over my head, okay?" She finally spat.

"Huh. And I never thought I'd see the day a normal human laid you low..." Zack scoffed.

A long silence fell between them, before Amber spoke again. "If I may ask... Why did you save me?" She croaked, changing the subject.

"Because I've seen you fight before... I've fought you before. I know how powerful you are. And how much it takes to truly hurt you. So seeing you so gravely wounded... I knew that whoever inflicted the damage must have been pretty darn strong." Zack got up and started pacing.

"And the problem is, I'm smart enough to know my own limits. I accept and acknowledge that you can usually beat me in battle. In the past I've only escaped you because of sheer luck, nothing more, hard as it is to admit. Which means... that if someone strong enough to nearly kill you is out there, I better make sure they're not my enemy. And if they are..." He paused, fixing her with a grave look.

"I might need extra firepower to eliminate them. I might need a weapon like you."

"I'm not a weapon," Amber spat. "I'm a person with powers that can be used to either help or hurt."

"Power is power." Zack shrugged indifferently. "Basic point is that saving you might be worthwhile for me. On any other day I wouldn't care less if you live or die... but now, we might have a common enemy, one that I may not be strong enough to take out on my own. I look forward to seeing how the situation plays out."

"And how do you plan to proceed, now that all cards are on the table?" Amber challenged.

"I'm going to see if I can track down this new character, determine for myself if they are friend or foe. Who knows, maybe I won't need you alive after all! How fun would THAT be?" Zack cackled darkly, a loud, cruel sound, before becoming serious again. "Oh, and one more question... how did you find me? The alley you were in was only a block away from my hideout. If that's a coincidence, I'll be darned. Were you trying to find me to help you or something?"

Amber averted her gaze, shifting uncomfortably.

"Answer me!" He snapped, and she winced.

"Fine. Yes, I knew where your hideout was. I also knew I wouldn't make it back to my headquarters, as injured as I was. My only hope was to try and make it to your hideout and beg for help, pathetic as that is. I've been keeping tabs on you for longer than you realize," she replied, lifting her head to meet his eyes.

"W-What?" Zack sputtered. "That's impossible! My security is impenetrable!"

"Clearly not, because the proof is sitting right in front of you." Amber gestured meaningfully to herself.

"Then why not strike sooner? If you knew where I was hiding, why didn't you attack?"

"Because I had larger threats to deal with at the time. So I had to prioritize. Also, I couldn't risk you moving to a new location. I knew where you were, so I decided to let you stay there until I could find time to swing by. Didn't imagine it would be quite like this, though." She let out a single wheezing laugh but clutched her side at the pain it cost her.

"I'm not sure if I should be offended that I'm not higher on your threat list." Zack folded his arms over his chest and glowered.

"Believe me, in the kind of life I live, you're the least of my worries. Fighting you is a walk in the park compared to some of the other villains I'm up against."

"Mmhmm..." Zack tapped his chin thoughtfully. "And why me?"

"What?"

"Why did you come to me for help? I mean, what were you thinking?"

"I wasn't," Amber admitted grimly. "I only knew I was too injured to make it back to my headquarters, and your hideout was the closest place I knew of. I obviously couldn't show up at a random civilian's house. Imagine the chaos that would cause." She shuddered.

"...So your plan was seriously to just hand yourself over to your greatest enemy and hope they didn't kill you?" Zack gawked at her in disbelief.

"Pretty much. And it worked, didn't it? I understand your thought process. I know how you work. You're an analytical thinker. Always analyzing possibilities and outcomes, inquisitive by nature. I hoped that you would want to keep me alive for questioning, thus creating internal conflict between killing me or satisfying curiosity." Amber quirked an eyebrow. "Your mind is your greatest tool, but also your greatest weakness. You're more predictable than you think."

Zack was seething mad, but also deeply unsettled by how accurate it was. She knew him better than he thought.

"Hmph. Clever," he snorted. "You're lucky my curiosity won out in the end."

"I suppose I am," Amber answered smugly.

He bristled even more. He hated it when people agreed with his barbed remarks. Took all the satisfaction out of it. He spun on his heel and started stalking out of the room.

"H-Hey! Wait! You can't leave me here! My team members will be searching the whole city for me! And if they find me here--"

Zack cut off Amber's protests with a raised hand, turning back to look at her with a smug, wolf-like grin. "I don't think I have anything to worry about. They don't know where my hideout is, do they?" Her reaction confirmed his suspicion. He was always five steps ahead.

"Ha! I knew it! You're not the only one who does their homework. You like to categorize information on your enemies by yourself, leaving your 'team members' out of the majority of your plans. They don't have a clue I live here, do they?" He laughed at her dry scowl. "Classic uno-reverse." He chuckled to himself as he turned and walked out of the room, even as Amber shouted threats after him.

"You're in MY house, so you better follow my rules! Keep yelling, and I'll gag you!" Zack called over his shoulder. He smiled at the immediate silence his words created. She knew him well enough to know he wasn't joking.

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