#what a gruesome death the guy with the weight change... i mean he should be im slices

[hauntingblue]

'I am here because kind cora-san couldn't pull the trigger that day. I am here just to pull the trigger' damn

[alpacaparkaseok]

As Fate Would Have It

[1 / 5] 

Ghost

The last time I saw him was July 16, 1392. It was also the day I died. 

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➣ pairing/genre: idol!KTH x reader, past life au // feat. OT7 BTS

➣ word count: 1.3k (jus a lil bitty beginning)

➣ warnings/tags: this is gonna talk about death, but not in a super gruesome/direct way. we keep things pretty SFW over here

a/n: here we goooo! thank you guys for sticking around for this new series, I hope you enjoy it! as always, your comments, reblogs, and asks mean so much to me and really help more than you know to keep going. So please let me know how you feel about this new series! Enjoy! 💕 p.s. if you didn’t read the prologue I would recommend you do! 

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“This is a major downgrade,” you sulk while shivering beside a crowded bus stop.

           “Yeah, well,” Noa, your roommate gripes from your right, “at least you got to be royalty once. Quit complaining.”

           “I heard that Kate Middleton is on her third life, and she’s been royalty all three times!” Daeun chimes in from your left. She’s also shivering, clinging to a flimsy umbrella that’s doing a poor job of keeping the three of you safe from the rain.

           “Like what, born into royalty? Or did she manage to marry into it like this lifetime?”

           Daeun and Noa continue chattering away, throwing off multiple theories and speculating about Kate Middleton’s past lives. Of course it’s all guesswork; the details of previous lives are usually meant to be kept secret. However it provides a temporary distraction from the bad weather, which is all you can really ask for right now. Hopefully it will prove enough of a distraction to sway you from your rampant thoughts of last night’s dream.

           “Being born royal isn’t all that fun,” an elderly woman calls out as she ambles up from her seat to catch the approaching bus. It’s not the one you’re taking, that won’t be here for another couple of minutes. “My mistress saw a lot of sorrow in her day, and few remember her now. She deserved to be remembered, in my opinion. I owe her my first life.”

           You tilt your head, squinting a little as the woman gives a wistful sigh. A memory nudges you from the catacombs of your mind.

           “Who was your mistress?” The question falls from your lips before you can catch it.

           The woman blinks, smiling softly. It’s almost as though the mere thought of her past mistress brings her peace. “Iseul, the final daughter of the Goryeo dynasty.”

           The name carries a weight that comes crashing into you, both liberating and binding you to your memories. You’ve heard that name before, albeit centuries ago. And this woman…

           “Ja-young.”

           Two syllables, enormous power. The instant you utter them, the elderly woman gasps and drops her cane in shock. You rush forward, picking it up and placing it gently in her hands with a warm smile. There are tears in Ja-young’s eyes as you look at her, her old face creased with wrinkles and countless stories.

           “My…my lady…” Ja-young attempts to bow, drawing the attention of several onlookers. You grasp her shoulders, stopping her.

           “There’s no need to bow,” you reassure. “I’m just a girl now. I hold no power.”

           Ja-young shakes her head. “No, my lady. I- I owe you my first life! What you did for me-”

           “You would have done the same for me.”

           “Oh, my Lady…” Ja-young’s bottom lip quivers as she clutches your forearm with surprising strength. “My wish has been granted. For so long I’ve been waiting to meet you again. You look just as you did, all those years ago…how did I not see it sooner? So vibrant – you haven’t changed at all.”

           Noa and Daeun remain silent behind you, having experienced this before. It’s not your fault that nearly all your court from your first lifetime as the emperor’s daughter in the Goryeo dynasty have just so happened to be born within the same lifetime. Although, it does become a little odd when you cross paths with a gossipy maid or flirtatious errand boy in the produce aisle of your local grocery store.

           Life is funny that way. You’re on top of the world one moment, and living off of a diet of Mac n Cheese the next.

           “I’m happy to see you like this,” you smile. “You’ve lived a full life, it appears.”

           Ja-young inclines her head. “As I did in my first lifetime, so long ago. My Lady-”

           “I’m afraid that I’m just Hana now,” you gently correct. Despite the fact that you’re living in the 21st century, you still aren’t the most keen on the general public discovering your identity. Not when there’s potential danger still lurking out there.

           “Oh, if that’s the case then I’m Ma-ri now,” Ja-young – now Ma-ri says. “Hana, I’ve been praying for the opportunity to see you again. I’m running out of time now.”

           Time. It once seemed so infinite. And now it’s slipping through your fingertips faster than you can keep up.

           “You’ve made it to your fourth…?”

           Ma-ri nods solemnly. “And final lifetime. But I wanted to tell you, my Lady, that I kept my promise to you. I visited your grave often, I told my children stories of you. However, I wasn’t the only one who frequented the site.”

           You jump as the bus driver lets out a shrill honk, clearly impatient. Ma-ri turns around, waving him on. With a shrug and an eye-roll, the bus driver closes the doors and continues on his way. Now the bus stop is empty save for your party of four.

           “Who else visited me?” You ask, curious now at the gleam in Ma-ri’s eye. She had always been a feisty one, if you remember correctly.

           An invisible shudder runs through Ma-ri’s body as she finally delivers the message she’s waited three lifetimes to deliver. Indeed, she can pass on to the unknown now that she’s finally laid eyes on her mistress once more.

           “Sungho.”

--

           “Kim Taehyung is not a murderer!” Noa defends, crossing her arms protectively as you clench your jaw.

           “No, but Sungho was. And they’re one and the same, aren’t they?” You mirror her, also crossing your arms. “Aren’tthey?”

           Your eyes flicker across the street, toward a billboard that lauds a BTS sponsorship for all to see. However, all you see is Sungho, smiling down at you with those same dark eyes from centuries ago.

           Ma-ri left just a few minutes ago, catching a bus and leaving you with a scribbled address to visit anytime you wanted. You tucked it away safely into the pocket of your jeans before losing your mind.

           “Hana, I don’t think you should be directing your anger at Taehyung,” Daeun quietly interjects, standing just off to the side. “He’s done a lot of good in this life-”

           “You’ll understand when you’re older!” You grind out. Noa winces, but begrudgingly agrees.

           “Yeah…sorry Daeun, but you’re a first-lifer. You’ll understand the next time around. It’s hard to separate people from what they were before.”

           Daeun doesn’t argue, knowing it’s pointless. Living with seasoned lifers, as people who have lived multiple lives have been so lovingly dubbed, doesn’t allow much room for argument. Noa sports two past lives, enjoying her third. And you…

           “Is this really how you wanna live this life?” Noa says, arching a brow. “Angry at some idol philanthropist just because of what happened in your first life? C’mon, Hana. That was three lifetimes ago.”

           “You’re not suggesting that I get over it, are you?”

           “Well…”

           “Nuh-uh,” you take a step back, offended. “No way. Goryeo fell, I died, and he was there to watch everything burn to the ground. And I’m just supposed to let it go all because he’s some adored global icon?”

           “YES!” Both Noa and Daeun shout, sending a few birds flying from a nearby bush.

           You pause to think, staring daggers up at the billboard and Taehyung’s flawless features. Perhaps you would find him beautiful if it weren’t for the past marring your current viewpoint. You stare and stare, mind whirring with the possibilities of all that you could do instead of forgiving.

           “It’s no use sitting here and sulking about the past, not when I can’t do anything about it…” you start, ignoring the relieved expressions on your roommates’ faces.

           “Good, that’s good.”

           “But…”

           “No, back up. You were doing so well!”

           The corners of your lips turn up into an evil grin. “…I have an idea.”

           Daeun groans. “What’s the stupid idea now?”

           You shake your head, stepping forward as the bus rounds the corner. “I’m not telling you.”

           “Why not?”

           “Because you’ll try to stop me.”

           Noa elbows you lightly. “At least tell us what your end goal is here.”

           The bus pulls up, doors opening and a flurry of people pouring out onto the street. In the din and chaos of it all, you turn to your friends.

           “If you can’t beat them…” again, your eyes fall on the billboard, quickly finding Taehyung’s eyes among the rest. “Join ‘em.”

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[aesterblaster]

The Facility: Chapter One

Ok ok so you know that idea I had about a horror version of blue lock? If you don't then here is where I first put the idea, its second to last on the list. There are going to be some changes from cannon/twists since this is an au but yeah enjoy!

Summary: Isagi and 299 other kids enter blue lock expecting a soccer camp. But the elimination process is more gruesome than they bargained for.

TWs: Blood and injury mention, general horror also an animal attack

Isagi watched with wide eyes as the man on stage finished his speech. "There will be an intense elimination. But the last 30 standing will get a chance to progress and show what they have. That's all for the details. You can leave if you like, but as soon as you go through that door you are unlocking the chance to be the best striker in the world!"

The others around Isagi buzzed with excitement, what could he say. This Ego guy had a way with words. He had never heard of this philosophy, leaving your teammates behind and scoring your own goals? It was crazy! So crazy it just might work. Suddenly a hand raised.

"Hey! Sorry, but I can't agree with what you just said."

It was Kira, the only one here Isagi knew. The other teens stepped back from him as if his bravery was contagious. Ego's eyes narrowed as the star player began attacking the facility. A few people agreed with him. Nodding and shouting out their concerns. Ego only scratched his head, "I see, all of you are really fucked in the head. Then leave."

His harsh words and critiques quickly whipped all the naysayers into shape. But Kira still looked doubtful. The doors whirred open and all 300 kids ran through, including Isagi. What choice did they really have?

If only they knew what was waiting for them, maybe they wouldn't have been so eager.

. . . . 35 minutes later . . . .

Isagi walked through the hall, examining his new uniform. It was sleek but there were a lot of pockets and a chain like wrist band with a red dot. A tracker? Before he could think about it Kira poked his head out a "Team Z" door and waved to him. "Hey there! You're in the same room as me."

"Oh cool." At least there was a familiar face. Isagi scanned the other kids sitting around the room. It was surprisingly dark and there was one big screen on the wall that lit up with the Blue Lock logo after he closed the door. He'd be lying if he said there wasn't a pang of disappointment in his chest at the fact he couldn't socialize before it started. Get to know everyone's strengths and weaknesses.

"Hello everyone. The people around you right now are your team and will be your team for the foreseeable future. This first part is about survival." That wasn't Ego's voice. A shiver went down Isagi's spine. It sounded like a robot and the screen showed no face, only the logo. "Whoever gets injured will not see the next phase."

"What's going on!? I thought we'd be playing soccer, not fucking around playing caveman!" one boy with short hair and eyeliner said, a vein bulging in his forehead. The voice carried on, if it heard him it made no sign.

"Yeah I want to go back home!"

"This is weird, but I think we should listen. Maybe we can get a grip on what's happening.." a player with spiky orange hair muttered. At least there was someone who was being reasonable. Isagi sighed with relief.

"Step one of this phase is water. There is a map in one of the pockets of your suits. Marked in blue are the places with water and marked in black are the places with buckets for the water. The lights will come on after this message is over and you will have to store away as much of it as you can. You never know when the tap will shut off."

There was a sickening laugh from the robotic voice. "If you haven't guessed it already, this isn't Ego or his little assistant. Please only refer to me as Quill. The only way to escape is major injury since the fences and exit doors are wired with electrocution. Showers will happen every other day, but you are not allowed to bring any buckets with you or fight. The discussion on food will happen later. The doors will only be locked when it's time to sleep and trust me you'll need it."

"Good luck."

"What the fuck." Isagi whispered. The lights turned on.

A boy with blue hair already had his map out and spread on the floor. Most of the others were still in shock. "There are buckets near us, someone should go get those."

"Are you seriously going through with this?" Kira shouted. "This is hacked! We have to find some way out. Not play some little death game."

"Do you have any better ideas? He said he'd turn off the water soon right? Oh great Buddha have mercy!" someone whimpered.

"Come on, this is a high tech place." the blue haired one continued. "They'll fix the hacker soon enough and everything will be back to normal. For now let's just go along and not get hurt."

"And introduce ourselves? He said we're going to be together for the foreseeable future right?" it was the guy with spiky hair again.

"Yeah." Isagi spoke up. "Let's do that, it'll help with our nerves."

"Well, I'm going to go get water." someone with long red hair stood up and opened the door. Walking out without another word. The group went around and introduced themselves when he came back with three buckets full. The only one who didn't talk was someone who was asleep on the floor. More of the group went out and soon the corner of the dim room was crowded with buckets of fresh water

"We have water right? We should be stable for now." Iemon reasoned slumping against the wall. "Anyone have any games to pass the time?"

. . . . 22 minutes later . . . .

The more the boys talked with each other the more they relaxed. The guy who was asleep eventually woke up and introduced himself as Bachira. "I heard the whole thing, don't worry." he said with a nervous laugh as he twisted some of his hair around his finger.

The games continued, but there was this nagging sense that disaster would strike any moment. And it did. "You mean there's no fucking water left?" a voice outside Team Z's door boomed. Everyone froze as it got quiet again. Whoever was speaking had others with him because now there were talking in whispers. In deep discussion about what to do probably.

"Maybe we should barricade the door." Naruhaya said quietly.

"Hell no, we should go out there and help them!" Kira, ever the hero, argued.

"Agreed. We have more than enough for us." Kunigami added. No one else spoke up. Isagi wanted too, but it was best to stay put in this situation right? And Kunigami and Kira could handle any negotiations just fine. He'd only be dead weight in that situation.

"What is wrong with you? I can't believe you don't think they deserve help too." Kira adressed the whole room but it felt as if he was staring at Isagi.

"No it's not that it-" Gagumaru couldn't finish before both him and Kunigami left. The whole room waited for them to come back. The silence combined with the terrible lighting covered the room like a thick blanket. There was a scream and some muffled shouting. Was that a dog barking? Ten minutes went by. Kuon convinced everyone to stay put.

"There could be a hundred people out there for all we know! Think logically, those screams could be someone else!" He was right, and the unknown was terrifying. But a pit of guilt still sat in everyone's stomach. Two minutes passed. Fifteen. Twenty. Thirt-

Kunigami opened the door and closed it abruptly, Kiras arm was hoisted over his shoulders and he was groaning in pain. "What happened out there?" Isagi asked tentatively.

"There are other people out there. They look terrible. I think they've been here for weeks. I'll explain more in a second just, get Kira some rest, something. He's badly hurt."

The boys rushed to make a pillow out of the maps in their suits. Kira was laid down gently and quickly passed out. "I have a flashlight in my suit." Imamura said. He took it out and shined the beam on Kira. The arm of his suit was ripped off and his skin had three bite marks that broke the skin.

There was that thick, thick blanket of silence again. Chigiri threw up.

"What the fuck did that!?" Raichi whispered. "What happened?"

"We found a couple of people close to our door who had no water. We started to talk to them and they introduced themselves as Okawa and Niko. Then we heard that fucking voice again, the Quill guy. I dunno how he saw we were in the hallway but he said we weren't supposed to meet each other yet." There was a pause.

"Then he sicked a dog on us, it came bowling through the hallways like it's tail was on fire. Those two ran away but Kira thought it was a hologram or something. It wasn't." He stopped there. There was a mass gasp and cry of shock

"You're telling me Quill has bodyguard dogs?" Bachira asked.

"I guess we shouldn't get on his bad side. That's all. We'll be fine."

"Kira isn't! He's fucking bleeding out what are we gonna do?"

"Maybe he wouldn't be if you didn't go out there? Huh? We could be playing charades right now!"

Igaguri started praying. An argument broke out. Isagi wish he could see who was fighting but they flashed in and out of view. Where was that flashlight anyway? It was a mess.

"Everyone shut the fuck up! Kira is dead!" It was Kuon who spoke up. "I checked his pulse. He's dead. Shock and blood loss I think." Whatever fight was happening stopped as Isagi felt tears well up in his eyes. This couldn't be happening. Everything was moving too fast. Just an hour ago, just an hour ago he had just won the local tournament. And yet here he was, his arm a mangled mess of blood and tattered mesh.

The screen turned on again.

end of chapter one

[rivetwrites]

//hello!! it's here!! it's my first fic, so it's not at my full potential yet! i had a lot of trouble with toko and syo. i tried my best to...at least remove the sneezing thing, but i know it's not perfect and i'm hoping to improve in the future! the ending is sort of rushed, as i was milking the last of motivation and ideas!! definitely not proof-read BAHHAHA

Byakuya Togami's Trial

Chihiro was dead. It was almost surreal, everyone promised not to kill anyone else. Yet it was in such a gruesome way. He was found in the girl’s locker room, which is strange, since he discovered to be a boy. Surely Monokuma knew about it, he knew practically everything about them.

Everyone was seated in their respectful places in the trial room. Kiyotaka looked the most nervous, but everyone looked the same. Who wouldn’t be? Chihiro was found strung up by his wrists and neck, “bloodlust” written in his own blood on the wall. And someone took the time to do that. Who would even want to hurt Chihiro? Sure, he’s an easy target, he wouldn’t have fought back, but he was the nicest one here.

“Let’s go over the rules once mo-” Monokuma had started, the bear sitting in his “judge seat.” But he was quickly interrupted by Byakuya, “Shut it. We’re starting.” That wasn’t unlike him, but he had a small smile on his face, almost like he was excited to start the trial. Who the hell would be excited to discuss one of our dead friend’s death? And convict someone and send them to their own death. “Very well! Since Togami thinks that he’s the judge, we shall start!!”

Of course the discussion went to how Chihiro even got to the girl’s locker room. Monokuma had stated that he did know that he was a boy, so it would’ve been impossible for him to get into the room on his own. “Obviously he was dead before he even went into the girl’s locker room,” Byakuya started, “then strung him up onto the wall. Doesn’t the position of his body look familiar, Makoto?” He looked over at the small boy, who perked up at his name.

Yes, it did look familiar. Makoto had seen similar positioning in the book that Byakuya showed him in the library. The cases with Genocide Jack. But Genocide Jack wasn’t here. He couldn’t be. As soon as Makoto mentioned his name, Byakuya looked over at Toko, who seemed to have almost burst a blood vessel.

“Genocide Jack is a lot closer than we think, Makoto,” he hummed, his hand resting on his chin. Toko looked like she wanted to jump over her table to kick his ass, but she was starting to panic. “Y-you promised n-not to tell anyone, B-Byakuya!” It had only hardened the case that Toko was Genocide Jack. On cue, from the sudden conviction and stress that she had been forced to endure, her eyes rolled back as she fell onto the floor.

Makoto had jolted up to help her up, which Togami gripped his arm tightly. Toko had started to stand back up, but she looked so different. This wasn’t Toko, it couldn’t be. She had flashes of both anger and slight arousal as she started laughing hysterically. Her voice radiated throughout the trial room, high pitched and unnerving. Her laughter soon died down to small chuckles and giggles, her wild eyes looking at Makoto. Well, it looked like she was looking at him, but her eyes seem to not have acknowledged him. “You caaaallled? Master has called me! Ooooh!! I’m guessing it was about me, huh huh huh?” Her voice sounded completely different compared to Toko’s quiet, stuttering voice.

Once Byakuya started explaining how he found out about Genocide Jack, she seemed confused. “That’s what they call me? I’m not some guy! Genocide Jill, or Syo would do for me!!” Her sentence followed with her cackling laughter. Tok- Syo, was definitely confused when everyone started to convict her of being the murderer. “Whaaat? No way! Makoto! You should see a pattern of my kills!” Of course she went to Makoto. But she was right. She only killed boys. But once Byakuya stated that Chihiro was yes, indeed a boy, she almost looked disappointed. “Awhh!! Now I wish I killed him! But I didn’t! I don’t use those weapons! Plus, an electrical cord?” Again, she was right. All the pictures consisted of the boys being pinned up by scissors.

Makoto was about to state that she didn’t have any, but it was shot down when she already had two scissors in her hands. Well, now the suspicion went to Byakuya. He was the only one to know of Genocide Jack, besides Makoto, who had an alibi. Togami looked like he was about to snap, but clicked his tongue. “Obviously I couldn’t have done it. I saw Mondo leaving the girl’s locker room,” that sentence brought Mondo’s attention. “You fucking strung Chihiro up?!” Thankfully Sakura was within arms reach of Mondo, because he was about to fucking kill Byakuya.

“I simply wanted to make things interesting. You wouldn’t want a boring trial, now would you?” He still had a cool smile on his face, but his back was tensing from the sudden threat of Mondo actually getting to him. “Why the fuck would you do that?!” Owada’s voice started getting furious and loud. Kyoko put one of her gloved hands up, her eyes glaring at Byakuya with clear disgust before saying that we should continue the trial before times up.

Now everyone looked over at Mondo, who looked extremely guilty. Before people even began to shoot questions at him, Kiyotaka’s voice triumphed over theirs. “N-no way! Mondo would never! We’re bros, he’s not that kind of person!! What kind of people are you?!” Mondo looked just as astonished at Taka defending him, especially in such an aggressive manner. It was very unlike him. Mondo wanted to confess so badly, but something inside him, anxiety and fear prevented him from doing so. But all the evidence started pointing to him. Celeste said she saw Chihiro late at night with a workout bag, how Mondo said the correct colour of the tracksuit, how he was strong enough to swing that weight at him. It was all clicking into place, and now looking horrible for Mondo.

But it didn’t make sense. Would Chihiro be able to die from one swing? There was only one head wound, quite a bit of blood, but would he be able to die? Or simply be knocked out. Mondo wasn’t the...brightest of the bunch, so would be able to know that he didn’t actually kill him? Kyoko had the same thought, her eyes scanning Mondo’s face as she spoke up, “Were you sure that Chihiro was dead?” Straight to the point. Owada looked confused, his brows furrowing, “...Yeah. I carried him to the girl’s locker room. He wasn’t breathing.” Which is understandable, but if you get knocked out, especially by such a big guy like Mondo, your body can seem dead.

“Obviously he was dead. I checked beforehand.” Byakuya tapped his glasses, his voice speaking matter of factly, but it still didn’t make sense. “Togami, your breathing stops and your pulse goes faint when someone knocks you out,” Makoto piped up. He wasn’t trying to accuse him, but he was looking at every option. Their lives are on the line. “What’re you saying, Makoto? That I killed him? I’m telling you, he was already dead!” His voice started to falter, like he was starting to believe it himself. He didn’t properly check Chihiro before he hung him up, but he didn’t want to admit it.

Byakuya turned to Monokuma, “Bear! Tell them that I didn’t kill him! There’s no way!” The smile that he held had fallen as soon as he was being suspected. Monokuma didn’t respond, only a soft “puhuhu” coming from him. Sweat started to bead on Togami’s forehead, looking back at the students, “There’s no way. I didn’t!” No one was defending him, well, except Syo, but even then, she wasn’t taking it seriously. “When I was checking his body,” Sakura finally said, crossing her arms across her chest, “his lips and fingertips were blue. Which I’m pretty sure wouldn’t happen if he was already dead.” In which, Kyoko confirmed that it’s true.

Now everyone’s eyes were on Byakuya, who looked disheveled and anxious. He looked like he was at his breaking point, the reality hitting him that he, Byakuya Togami, had killed Chihiro by accident. He didn’t mean to in the slightest, but the chance that he did was eating him up.

Though, the one who looked the least anxious and sad now, was Taka. The weight of grief was lifted off of his chest, that maybe, just maybe, his bro was safe!! Mondo, not so much. He felt a weight of guilt on his own shoulders. He caused Chihiro’s death. It’s his fault. All his fault. He never felt worse. The boy trusted him, and he just- Mondo was thrown out of his thoughts at Monokuma’s voice. “All right!! Time to cast your votes! I will change this a bit!! Whoever has the most votes between Togami and Owada, will be chosen! Now it’s just luck! Puhuhuhu!!”

There wasn’t enough time to actually get a confession. But even they don’t know. Guess it was just luck. The voting time was a lot longer, which they couldn’t choose to be thankful over, or to be fucking terrified. Finally, the votes were in.

Byakuya had the most votes.

The look of horror on Togami’s face was...almost priceless. When Monokuma pulled the slot game to reveal his sprite, they were correct. Byakuya did kill Chihiro. It felt like fiction. Actually, this entire fucking game felt like fiction to them, but it was all real. All the deaths were real. Sayaka, Junko, Leon, and Chihiro were all gone, and Byakuya was next. The tall boy didn’t even want to believe it, his jaw opening and closing as he tried to think of a rebuttal. But it was already decided. Byakuya killed Chihiro, it was over.

They all left their stands, off the court to discuss, but Byakuya was near unresponsive. It was...strange. He always had something sarcastic to say, just like he said to Leon before his execution. It was...quiet. Probably out of shock, no one expected Byakuya to kill someone. Byakuya being a victim, yes, but not him being a murderer. Mondo seemed to have calmed down, well, as much as he could during the situation. Sakura still had to hold him back by the arm so he didn’t commit his own murder right in that trial room.

“Puhuhuu! What a twist!! I do love surprises, isn’t that right Togami?” Monokuma looked down at the man from his seat, “I mean, you do love surprises!” The words were almost taunting Byakuya, beads of sweat trailing down the side of his face. He looked...defeated. Togami didn’t even care that he was going to die, just to be found out, just to be wrong, really hit him like a truck.

No one wanted to say anything, the only words to be heard was Mondo’s hisses of rage and Taka’s reassuring words to his bro. Makoto was the first to say something, “Chihiro would be alive if you didn’t do that stunt, Byakuya.” It caused the taller man to snap his neck to look at Naegi, his gaze being a split of sorrow and...almost anger. Before Byakuya could even respond, Kyoko piped up, “it was stupid of you. I didn’t expect something that disgusting to come from you.” It was harsh, probably the harshest that Kirigiri has been up to that point, but no one could really blame her.

Byakuya felt like he should...apologize, but pride inside of him refrained it. They weren’t good enough to hear an apology, so he stayed silent. It only displeased everyone, Sakura now having to hold back Aoi from smacking him as well. Since the conversation was going nowhere, Monokuma decided to end it himself, “Huh! I thought we were going to get, ‘oooo, I’m so sorry! Forgive me, don’t do this! I need to be there for the Togami’s!” His words were mocking, draping the side of his body over the arm of his chair dramatically before laughing, “buuuut, I wouldn’t expect anything less from you! P-p-p-punishment time!!”

It was almost ceremonial to see Byakuya being dragged off with little to no resistance. He didn’t want to look like a fool, especially the last time they ever get to see him. Kiyotaka would usually look away, hating seeing the death of people who, in his opinion, ultimately didn’t deserve it. But he was the one in the front, watching everything unfold. Mondo tried to get him away, not really wanting Taka to get sad again, but he refused, pulling away from his bro’s touches.

Instead of watching it first hand, they looked up on the big screen. It flickered on, the colours warping to what...seemed to be Byakuya. He was wearing very beat up clothing, filthy with dirt. He was looking down at his attire, a look of pure disgust on his face. He was...a “commoner.” Monokuma popped into the scene, wearing an elementary student uniform. He had a huge pile of rocks, ranging from small pebbles, to near huge stones that he could barely hold. The name of the execution finally appeared on the screen:

Human Disqualification

The music playing in the background was almost somber. Until Monokuma started pelting the stones at Byakuya. Look of pain of agony appeared on Togami’s face as he was forced to endure the hard rocks hitting his skin. Welts and bruises started to appear as time went on.

Stoning someone to death took ages, especially from only one person doing it. But everyone sat in watch. Not like they had other things to do, they weren’t allowed to leave. But people were allowed in. Everyone was so distracted, Aoi cringing every time the stones hit a more sensitive place on Togami. No one spoke a word, but they didn’t have anything to say anyway.

Until they heard the courtroom door open.

It was so sudden, even causing Sakura to jolt slightly from the sudden change of noise. Everyone’s head whipped around to see what has caused it. Definitely not one of them, since they were too entranced by Byakuya’s execution, which was still happening slowly. Small footsteps seemed to have been getting closer, and they were very uneven and tended to scrape on the floor ever so often.

...Chihiro?

The small boy looked rather...sullen. His blood was stained on his clothes and the right side of his face, his neck and wrists bruised from the blood rushing to them. It was...strange. Why was he here? Was this some kind of sick trick that Monokuma was playing? That thought was immediately debunked as Chihiro spoke,

“D-did I...miss something?”

He seemed so confused and...understandably upset. He had woken up in a small pool of his own blood, his neck and wrists sore from the constant pressure of the electrical cord on them, no one around the entire school. He had assumed there was another murder and that he just wasn’t told, so he went there himself.

But everyone was staring at him. It was starting to make him nervous, having so many eyes on him, Byakuya’s execution in the background. Huh, Chihiro didn’t expect him to be able to kill someone. Kyoko was the first to speak up, of course, but even she had a look of shock on her face, “You’re...supposed to be dead. Byakuya killed you,” her voice was still as calm as ever. It was sort of hard to hear her over Yasuhiro’s shrieks of terror at the boy’s “ghost.”

A look of terror appeared on Chihiro, tears filling his big eyes as he looked up at the huge screen, “B-but, I’m not! I-I promise!” It was obvious that he wasn’t dead, but it was mostly to soothe Hiro. But if Chihiro is alive, then Byakuya has no reason to die. Makoto was able to shout loud enough, “M-Monokuma! Chihiro is alive!!” It caused the Monokuma on the screen to turn to the camera, an obvious look of confusion on his face. The robot paused for a moment, not responding, almost like he was...checking that what they were saying was true. He quickly returned, a loud sigh of...annoyance emitting from him as he was forced to stop the execution.

After all, he wasn’t allowed to break his own rules.

Byakuya was quickly let back into the trial room, bruises and cuts all over his body as he was still wearing the “commoner” clothes. He fell to his knees in front of a very confused Chihiro, which caused the small boy to back up a few steps. Togami reached for the boy’s tiny hand, pressing small kisses to his fingers as he apologized. His voice sounded broken and saddened. His ego was just crushed to death. He didn’t even care who was looking, nor how he even looked like in that moment.

Chihiro looked visibly uncomfortable, trying to tell him that it was okay - though it kind of wasn’t - and that he shouldn’t apologize like that. It took Sakura and Aoi to drag Byakuya away by the shoulders, forcing him to let go of the boy’s hand. He didn’t speak to anyone else, still spewing apologies at Fujisaki. It was almost laughable. Surely, Mondo would’ve been laughing straight at his face at it, but the total shock to see Chihiro alive really hit him. He had pulled the small boy close to his chest, his own apologies leaving his lips. The boy welcomed this one a bit more, his cheek resting on his shoulder. Though, Mondo felt like he shouldn’t be forgiven. He had almost killed the boy.

But it was okay for now, they were alive, and somehow Byakuya was able to survive another day. Mondo promised not to beat him alive...yet, as long as Chihiro and Kiyotaka was alive, he was going to be okay.

[thebuckysoldier]

Identical Monsters - chapter 6

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: The reader is new at the compound and doesn’t talk to anyone there. She befriends Bucky over a shared trauma all while trying to find her own place in the compound.  

Word count: 2.6K

Warnings: a lot. mentions of death, mentions of murder, mentions of rape, just a whole lot of sadness

A/N: So I again feel the need to say that this is a heavy chapter. This one’s also a little longer then the previous chapters but i hope you’ll like it! There is some important information in there...

Identical Monsters - masterpage

Bucky stood on the outside of your door, it was way later than the other times you would meet at night. He hadn’t seen you today after your little run in in the hallways. But he had heard about the events that happened today, he had spoken to Steve not too long ago and he had told Bucky about the mission and what you had said today, not only on the mission but this morning as well.

After he had spent a while in the training room but you never showed up. He waited for a while, but never caught a glimpse of you. After a while he had figured that you were tired after your mission and actually were able to sleep tonight, but when he was about to step into his own room he saw light coming from yours.

Then it dawned to him that you probably had a lot on your mind after today, and with all those thoughts you were unable to sleep.

He didn’t really know you, no one really did. But he thought he knew you well enough to know that you were cropping up all your emotions and speaking from experience, he knew it would only help when you got the things that were bothering you off your chest. He had felt such relief when he talked to Steve about what he had done.

He was unsure if he should knock on your door up until the moment he actually did. He knew there was a lot of things going on inside that head of yours, he could see it in the way you were unable to sit still for a longer period of time. You had a lot of things laying on your chest, weighting you down. And even though you may not have known it, he knew those things should be lifted off. He believed that you were capable of such great things when you weren’t being weighted down.

When he heard the lock pop open he considered it as an invitation to come in. He closed the door behind him and when he looked around the room, you were no where to be found. He was confused until he saw a small figure outside, sitting on the lounge set.

What he also noticed was that you had unpacked. You had told him that it was something you had yet to do when he had asked if the compound was already starting to feel like home.

He sat down next to you, not too close because he knew you were keen on the distance between anyone and yourself, but close enough so he could fit himself under the incredibly soft blanket as well. He noticed the book laying open on your lap, but you hadn’t really been reading it, at least not since he came in. You were looking at the night sky and the many beautiful stars scattered all over it.

“You unpacked” He stated, breaking the silence. 

“I did” you answered him immediately.

“Was it worth the dreading?” He asked, it may have sounded like he was making fun of you to anyone else, but the both of you knew it was a very serious question.

“It was hard, but I did it” You answered him, now looking away from the sky to look at him, only to find him already looking at you.

“I heard today has been a rollercoaster”

Your head turned back towards the sky. The sentence had made you think. Today was a difficult day, and it had been full of changes. Maybe not changes to be seen by the eye but you had felt them. For starters you had said more words then you had the entire time you had been here. And no, those words weren’t just words that held no meaning. No, on the contrast, the words you had uttered today held so much meaning that you almost drowned in it. At least, that is what it felt like to you. You had told them a little about your past, about the things that weren’t in the file.

“Yeah” You breathed out, the sound was so soft that he almost hadn’t heard it.

“I talked to Steve”

You hummed in response.

“He said some things” he continued cautiously, he didn’t want to say the wrong thing and set you off.

“Like how he doesn’t trust me?”

“Among other things” he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in. This was the right moment, he knew it was. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t scared to ask what he was about to ask you.

“What does it remind you of, what Clint called you?”

You swallowed at what he was asking from you. You closed your eyes, already feeling the tears coming. But you had felt it too, this was the right moment to open up.

“It’s what he used to call me”

“Who?” He said it so softly, so kind that it almost made you cry. Bucky may look like he is the guy in the stories, but in real life, you know he is way too kind to do such things.

“My uncle”

You could feel he was about to ask you, but you were already ahead of him.

“I t’s what my uncle used to call me when he raped me. Kid.”

He was shocked at your answer, to say the least. Out of all the things he had expected, this wasn’t it. He had thought that it would be linked to a nice memory, maybe of a loved one that had passed away. But this, this made even more sense. It was the reason why you kept your distance, from everyone. He thought he might have noticed it before, but you distanced yourself a little less from Nat or Wanda. He had noticed but he hadn’t thought about it. He hadn’t given it a second thought like he should have.

When the last word had rolled off your tongue, the first tear had rolled down your face as well.

“Oh Y/N” was all Bucky could bring himself to say.

“I’ve accepted it now. I’m not over it but I have accepted it. It’s part of me, he has made me who I am today. But I know I am not what he did to me.” He admired the strength behind your words, and voice.

“That doesn’t mean it hurts any less. And it doesn’t mean that you should keep it all inside your head. You can talk to me, I’ll listen.”

And for some unknown reason, that was exactly what you did, and it was exactly what he did. You talked all night, about all the things that had happened in your life. And he listened.

You told him how it had started when you were around 4 years old, when your mother had still been in the picture. How she apparently owed your uncle something and how she would take you to him, so he could have his way with you.

You told him about when you were four years older and your body wasn’t the only thing he was using you for anymore. Your uncle had always been a shady person, hung around the wrong crowd and was caught up in some bad things. You were perfect to create a distraction or fit into small spaces and steal things. Back then you would do all these things because your mom had asked you to, back then she was still your hero. While you were doing these things your training had started, you were actually great at it. A natural as your mother would call you.

You told him about when you were ten your mother got pregnant again. And when your baby brother was born he was an angel in disguise, you just knew it. And it was even more iconic when she named him Gabriel. It was mostly you who took care of him, it was that around that time when your mother was starting to get caught up in the wrong crowd too. You knew she would hurt Gabriel and you’d do anything you could to protect him.

You told him that that had been the actual start of the worst thing you’d ever experience. How your uncle and mother would threaten to hurt him if you didn’t do what you were asked. And when you refused you’d hear his cries and you knew you were defenseless against them.

You told him about how you were training harder and harder and becoming more and more skilled at what you did. You would do the most horrible tasks, you would kill men, many of them while you were at it. How you would seduce and sleep with men who were triple your age or even more when you were only twelve years old.

You told him about the one mission your uncle had given you. You were fourteen at the time, your little Gabriel only 4 when your uncle asked you. He asked you to take down your mother, according to him she was the greatest threat of all the threats that were out there.

You told him that even though she had caused you so much hurt, you refused. You knew little Gabriel needed her, even if you didn’t like it. By then your respect for her had long gone. When you came back that day from your training you head his cries, his whimpers out of pain. Poor little Gabriel, only 4 years old when your uncle had taken it too far. Only 4 years old when he bled out in your arms from the stab wound in his little stomach.

You told him about how you uncle had not only killed your little brother that day, but your mother too.

And you told him about how he had taken his anger and own grief out on you, while punishing you for refusing to do his dirty work.

You told him that that was the first and last time you had refused to do something for him.

You told him about how you uncle had convinced you that it was all your fault, but he didn’t have to convince you for that, you already blamed yourself.

You told him how your uncle played your naive fourteen-year-old mind. You how made you hurt yourself when you as much as slipped up. How he would make you hurt yourself because he felt like it, how he would make you hurt yourself because you struggled against him when he tried to rape you.

You told him how the killings continued, how the fights continued for years. For 10 years to be precise. Until you stood in front of Natasha.

You told him how done you were with your life that you had just sinked to the floor. Asking her, begging her to take you down. But she didn’t, instead she took you here.

You told him all of it, not letting one gruesome fact out. And he listened to all of it. By the time you had told the whole story the sun was already coming up and your head hurt because of the amount of tears that had slipped from your eyes.

It was dawn when you fell asleep, outside, still in the same place Bucky had found you in. You were so exhausted and emotionally drained after telling Bucky the story you had never shared with anyone else. And for some reason he found you looked peaceful in your sleep. It took everything inside of him not to take you in his arms and let his flesh hand slide through your hair. He didn’t even knew why he wanted to, because he felt sorry for you. That is what he told himself, ignoring the pit in his stomach. He looked at your peaceful state again, pulling the book out of your grasp, closing it and laying it on the table. He was grateful your mind wasn’t thinking about all the bad stuff right now.

But him on the other hand, the thoughts were racing through his head. He was angry, no angry didn’t cut it, he was seething at the man who dared to do all those things to just a child, a toddler, a baby. He felt deeply sorry for you, that you had to endure all those things.

He had told FRIDAY to not let anyone know about the whereabouts of you two. He stayed with you until you woke up from your sleep with the worst headache ever, feeling like you had a terrible hangover. And you were thankful for Bucky when he had offered you a cold glass of water.

“Thank you for listening to me” You told him and he just waved it off.

“You see their faces, right? When you sleep, the nightmares” you nod as answer his question.

“Every night I’m reminded of the monster that I am. How I am the demon inside my head. I’m sacred he’ll find me again. And that he’ll make me murder more innocent people.”

“But he won’t,” Bucky reassured you, “and even if he did, you’d have the most skilled fighters in the world to protect you.”

“You struggle with it too. Knowing you hurt all those people. I know you’ve heard this a thousand times before, but it wasn’t you. Your mind was controlled. You didn’t know what you were doing, not consciously. Trust me, it’d feel different if you had a choice.”

He felt his heart clench at your words, but for some ungodly reason they reassured him. And the words hit him different when coming from your mouth. You understood him, you had hurt people too, you remembered them all too. You remembered their faces, and that felt strangely comforting to him.

“You didn’t have a choice either” He started, but you cut him off immediately. “Don’t start that shit with me. I had a choice, and I took the coward way out. Even though we might understand each other, we went through two completely different things. Don’t you dare say those words.” Your voice was harsh, but it didn’t scare him, it didn’t make him stand down.

“No. You listen. You did some bad stuff, horrible stuff there is no denying that, so did I. You were manipulated and you were too young. You have been manipulated and abused your entire life. There is nothing about you, not one thing, that isn’t brave. You had to make a choice between two evils, even worse than evil. And you chose, because there was nothing else you could do. That is not your fault.”

He said the words. “So all those lives I took. All the lives I have ruined. That’s all okay now? Because I was manipulated. I am 24, I was 24 years old and I still worked for him. I’m a grown woman, I can make my own choices. And I made the wrong one, and other people payed the price for it.”

“You tell me, were the people whose lives you took good people? I know that doesn’t make it right but it still makes it better. For gods sake, I killed many innocent people, and I almost killed millions when I fought Steve on the helicarriers. I also killed Tonys parents, you’re fine. ”

“Some of them were, he called them collateral damage. And again, that wasn’t you, HYDRA controlled your mind. They literally wiped your mind.”

“But I still did those things, didn’t I.”

[chapter 7] 

[bittermarrow]

Imagine Slashers With an Angel S/O: (part 2) Michael Myers

Sorry that it took me forever to finish this! This is also more of a tiny fic than Jason’s was since it got so lengthy and has a more in-depth meeting scene. (I’ll be doing Bubba’s next!)

Warnings: Nsfw at the end, but nothing graphic.

Words: 3900+ (This is embarrassingly long T-T )

Michael

Michael knows what angels are, the family he spent six years with was religious enough for him to know. Did he really care about all that stuff? No. The point is he knows or at least he assumes that's what you are when he finds you, well, in all reality you found him. It was very hard to find someone who doesn't want to be found, and you made a conscious effort to avoid any and all human contact. You didn’t like humans very much, or talking to them so you kept a low profile.

You lived in a small house you rented from the old man that had originally found you when you fell, he was nice enough- and religious enough to offer you a place to live. He and his daughter were trying to move, and apparently, no one wanted the house, so if anything he was more grateful of you taking it off his hands than you were receiving it. With the promise of protection of his family and all that God stuff, it was a bit shady for you but you were desperate.

You’re stuck living on Earth now, your wings saw no real use indoors, and since you never left you never flew. Your misuse of them is leading you down a path of some pretty bad wing cramping, so you'd have to get a good couple of flights in soon. It's not like anyone was roaming out and about anymore, Haddonfield had gotten itself quite the gruesome reputation after all.

You had heard about all the murders that went on around this time of year, you may be an outsider, but you did own a TV.

There was a barely recognizable, blurry photo of the killer’s masked face plastered all over the news station you kept on literally all day. The background noise makes you feel less alone, you may purposely isolate yourself, but that doesn't mean you don't get lonely.

It was the quiet life that most people would die for, but it really isn't all that it appears to be. You can see the appeal, but sometimes you really wished you had friends.

And then you found him, Michael Myers, The Boogeyman of Haddonfield, The infamous escapee of Smith’s Grove, being chased by cops and jumping your fence.

Why in the hell you had shouted, “Hey!” and beckoned him into your home was beyond you. It really was pitiful how lonely you must be to let in a mentally deranged psycho killer into your home.

After a long stare, he inevitably entered, seeking shelter from the police rather than the heavy downpour, and was now dripping all over the hardwood floors of your kitchen. You looked up at the towering man, only slightly beginning to regret letting him in. Why had you let him in? Maybe it was some sick form of sympathy, or maybe you just finally lost the rest of your fucking marbles, because no mentally stable person with any sort of intelligence or common sense should ever attempt to house a sociopathic serial killer.

But you did.

And there was no going back now.

The stove light caught and reflected against the cold metal in his hand, and as he stared you swallowed the dread and turned on your heel, disappearing into the hallway. The feathered drapes of white and black that dragged behind you as you padded across the creaking floors did not go unnoticed by the motionless stranger’s watchful eyes.

When you returned he had moved further into the kitchen observing his surroundings, you passed him and set a folded up blanket, a towel, and a pillow on one of the cushions of your couch. When you turned around he was inches away from you, you didn’t even hear him move. You held his soulless stare for a minute, and then walked around him and back into the hall to retire for the night. He watched you leave, with a loose grip around the handle of the stained steel blade. Maybe God really wouldn’t let him die after all…

.   .   .

When you woke the next morning, you crept out of the hallway and as you went to prepare your morning coffee you threw a sideways glance over to the couch. It was empty, no sign of the monster that you’d sheltered last night. But the bunched up blanket half-hanging off the cushion, and the slightly damp towel hanging over the back of the sofa told you he had no doubt been there all night. As you poured your coffee you noticed an empty slot in your rarely used knife block, puzzled, you looked around for it and saw an unfamiliar knife stained with dried blood laying on your counter.

It was not in bad enough shape to be considered useless, so the only other explanation for him leaving it was that he would be coming back for it. And for a moment -just a fleeting breath of a second, you felt the heavy gloom that had kept your mood dark for years, lifted at the thought of someone else's company. For once you didn’t mind rotting here than hot tubbing with Hades down below after you'd been banished, like you were certain you would have, had you not escaped in time.

You decided to keep the back door unlocked, just in case he did come back.

.   .   .

You turned out to be right when night fell and you heard the loud screech of tires skidding across asphalt, the screaming of sirens and flashing blue and red lights shining through your windows, illuminating the darkness of the room as you sat in front of the television. Your feathers stood up on end at the sound of your back door creaking open and slamming shut, and then light footsteps across your kitchen floors.

From the couch you watched Michael return the borrowed blade into its rightful spot in your knife block, swiping the familiar knife off of the marble countertop, which had been cleaned of gore. He stopped in the entryway of the living room his head tilting to the side as he caught your eyes.

You searched his eyes, but you found nothing but cold blankness in them, was he really human? Creating space for him to sit down if he chose to, your eyes transfixed themselves back onto the TV, and your fingers pulled the blanket around your shoulders a bit tighter.

You had forgotten how uncomfortable it was to be stared at, it'd been so long...

To your surprise, you felt the couch cushion shift with someone else's weight and a quick glance to your left confirmed that he had sunk down beside you— on the opposite end of the sofa, of course, keeping some space between you. You could feel his eyes on you, specifically on your wings when they shifted with a soft rustle against the back of the couch, and while you couldn’t blame him for his interest, it was still uncomfortable.

You decide to bravely turn your head and meet his eyes straight on, and you notice his dark, shaded eyes widen a fraction. But as soon as the change appeared it was gone just as quickly, his blank stare boring into your soul through the eye-holes of that dirty white-faced mask.

Seeing his face obscured by the rubber skin only strengthened the urge to look away, this guy really had the fear factor working for him. What's scarier than a psychotic murderer? One you don't know the face of. It sounds like such an unfulfilling death… not even being able to remember the face of your killer in whatever afterlife existed.

“Your name is Michael, right?” You rasp blatantly, your voice scratchy from misuse as it leaves your throat. You don’t expect him to reply, and he doesn’t. But his head tilts, much like an owl’s would, and you knew his name and bits and pieces from the news but wanted to see how he’d react— if at all to you asking. “Thought so.”

Michael continues to glare at you as if there was a specific detail about you that he didn't like.

“Do you talk? or are you just going to stare menacingly until I leave?” You manage to croak, intending to sound humorous but it came out more bitter than you'd meant.

He didn't acknowledge your attempt at a joke in the slightest, his eyes burning holes into the side of your head.

“Ah, you must be quite the strong silent type, the ladies must love you.” You let out a short chuckle, too tired to really care if you were annoying him, which you most likely were.

You turned your attention back to the flashing colors on the TV, the headlines of the news reporting several murders that no doubt had been committed by the man you so casually had let into your home. You were testing your luck with this, it was like letting in a stray cat, you never know if it’s rabid or if it's too wild to be a house pet. Best case scenario, it's going to have a few fleas and can be fixed with some TLC. Whatever the worst case scenario was you didn’t want to think about it.

You think of mentioning your own name, although you doubt he truly cares, you decide to tell him anyways.

“I’m, Y/N, by the way.” While you're unsure if he's tuning you out or not you continue, trying to shake your nerves.

“You can stay here if you want.” You can feel Michael’s eyes, but don’t bother to look back, instead, you answer whatever questions he may or may not have been silently asking. “Don’t bother to ask why. I don’t really know either.”

And that's true, you don't know why you're offering for him to stay, especially considering he that he still had a knife in hand and could easily bury it into your skull if he so chose to, at any moment your life could be cut short. And based on his size and whatever motivation he has to slaughter people, he would be able to overpower you easily.

A sickening shiver of pleasure envelopes your body at the thought, and you feel extremely weirded out by your body’s reaction to it. What the hell is wrong with you? You hide your inner conflict and clear your throat, speaking a lot less uneasily this time around.

“I don’t care what you do, but if you decide to stay I leave leftovers in the fridge and the bathroom’s down the hall, the first door on your right.”

You feel silly adding in all those details. like you knew he’d stay. Your cheeks inevitably go a bit pink at how lame you must sound. Why should you care if he starves or can’t find the bathroom? You convince yourself that it’s that sick kind of pity from the night prior, and decide to go with that, it makes the most sense to you. You sigh and get up from the couch letting the blanket slip back onto the couch and walking to fetch another pillow from your linen closet.

When you re-emerge from the hallway Michael is laying down with the blanket draped over himself, the small thing not nearly big enough to cover his feet and you are shocked to find it… oddly… —nevermind. You hold out the pillow to him and he slowly grabs it, not bothering to linger you briskly turn on your heel to leave when a hand catches your left wing. It’s enough to make you jump and let out a short shriek, you try to push out of his grasp, but it’s a futile attempt. He's much stronger than you are. Panic starts to set in as you consider your options, knowing escape isn't one of them. You look down at him, not sure if you're scared or just uncomfortable with being touched to the point of beginning to tremble.

“Let go- that hurts.”

He does, and you return to your room. You don’t know why he stopped you, but you’re not about to ask, you absentmindedly feel around the spot where his cold hand had been. Did he just want to touch you?- No, that was stupid, you were being stupid. You slip under the covers and shut out the world for another night of meaningless dreams.

So they are real. Michael had first thought you were one of those adults who were ‘never too old’ to dress up for Halloween, and when you had irritatingly not taken your ‘costume’ off after the holiday had passed he had begun to question if it really was fake. A childish thought, but when you flinched he had no doubt in his mind that those wings were attached to your back.

He stares at the plain white ceiling and lays flat on the couch, he thinks about your actions from the last night and just now. He's never had someone willingly let him into their house before, better yet invite him in. Surely with all the TV you seem to watch you know who he is, then… why? Your behavior towards him is shockingly indifferent. Like he isn't a cold-blooded murder machine with little to no sentiment or empathy, it's almost insulting.

He doesn't have to try to be intimidating, his sheer height alone is already effective enough without the extra nightmare fuel. He feeds on making people suffer, seeing their blood stain his hands and watching their faces turn blue with death. Why weren't you afraid of him? You should be, and you were for a moment when he'd reached for you.

But still, you had let him stay.

You are interesting to him, an angelic kind of figure, yet somehow darker. Your lack of fear of him must have something to do with your inhuman-ness, and while he doesn't really understand your apparent interest in him, he cannot say he hates it.

For now, you are simply a convenience to him, a place to crash and a roof over his head that isn't full of doctors and other mentally disturbed patients with petrified nurses is too good of to pass up. You're offering a good deal that he's not opposed to, at least that's how he sees it. He'll keep you alive until his urges force him to kill you, which could very well be soon if you get annoying.

.   .   .

It’s been months and Michael hasn’t grabbed you like that again, and you don’t bring it up, doing so would probably only earn you silence. You’ve grown used to having him around at night, and sometimes during the day, he decides to pop up. You can only assume what he does when he’s gone, and although the idea of letting him murder innocent people isn’t something that sits well on your conscience you’ve learned to live with it. Learned to live with him.

He’s grown on you somehow, it’s strange how easily you coexist together now. 90% of the time he is distant and seemingly uninterested in anything you say. But you spend an awful lot of time together, sometimes you can get him to play board games with you. He is unfairly good at them too, and you have the presence of mind to tell he likes playing them, he was always more relaxed. You have taken an initiative to talk to him. Even when you know he won’t talk back you still enjoy your conversations, no matter how one-sided they may be.

You don't know it, but he thoroughly enjoys listening to you speak, he has taken a liking to your voice. It's calming, and it's different, he was in constant silence for years at Smith’s Grove the only noises being moans of pain, meaningless chatter among staff and… Loomis. He listens a lot more than you give him credit for, and although he is often unresponsive overall, he likes that you continue to talk to him.

He doesn't want to admit it, even to himself, but he really has grown attached to you. He couldn't think of harming you now, even as unpredictable as his urges are, and when he does get them he goes out. It's better for him to separate himself from you when he’s overwhelmed by the voices in his head, telling him to hurt, to kill, to make others suffer. You're safer with him gone when he's like that, and he realizes this.

But it becomes harder to leave your side as a year goes by, he stays for days at a time now, sometimes your mere presence is enough to keep his murderous impulses at bay. Michael hasn't had someone that cared for him in his life in a very long time, and while he insists that he doesn't need to be loved he’s already making exceptions for you.

Only you can touch him, only you can soothe him, only you get to see the weaker side of Michael that is still hurting. He even let you teach him how to sign so he could communicate with you without having to talk, which you knew he didn't like doing.

He doesn’t realize how dependent you are on him, he's more thoughtful than he gives himself credit for. He notices everything, so he knows when you are upset or angry or simply having a bad day. Whether or not he is in the right place in his mind to attempt to comfort you is unpredictable, but he is trying.

He isn't the best at showing you that he cares but you know he does, he just struggles with expressing himself after all he's been through. But a particular quality about angels is they can sense discontentment in people who they are close enough to, so inevitably you begin to learn how to notice when he needs to be comforted. Michael won't initiate cuddling or let you hold him for long, but it helps him feel safe. He feels protected when he's in your arms and that can frustrate him, too many overwhelming emotions at once can lead to him pushing you away.

Don't worry, he'll always come back to you. He just needs time.

.   .   .

You can hardly call your relationship platonic anymore, you don't think you've been ‘just friends’ since the first time you felt his chapped lips crushing against yours one night. Not the mask’s lips, his lips. You can't recall what had originally encouraged him to kiss you or why his mask was off, but you were glad it happened.

In the beginning, he only let you press small kisses to the rubber lips if his mask, and for after awhile you were convinced he just he hadn't liked it and refrained from kissing him anymore. Suffice is to say, he noticed and became confused when you stopped doing it, he never told you to stop.

Michael began initiating affection more after that, but the mask stayed on for a while even after being together so long.

One of Mikey’s very favorite things about you were your wings, he has a bit of an odd fascination with them. He touches them quite a lot. You could be in his lap or his head in yours, or simply walking by and you’d feel him reach out to give them a good pet. You can't say you minded even if you did find it odd, you embraced any and all affection that Michael had to offer. This is because there were only a few times where he's loose enough to touch you without you asking him to.

He's moved from the couch into your bed to sleep since your first few encounters, and you'd found he slept much easier when he was close to you. Something about being around you comforted him and kept the night terrors at bay, there were often times where he would hallucinate or wake up from nightmares.

The first time it happened he jolted awake and reached out to grab you as if in fear that you were gone. You were half-asleep and he was shaking, so you rolled over onto your stomach so you could snake an arm around his shoulder and draped a wing over his front to keep him still.

“It’s just a bad dream, Mikey, go back to sleep.” Michael relaxed slightly under your touch, both of his arms had locked themselves tightly around you in his scramble to find you. Sensing he was still tense and not liking how tightly he was squeezing you, you mumbled something to him.

“You're safe… “

And that's when he realized how much he needed you, and that thought alone scared him more than his nightmare had.

.   .   .

From then on your wings have changed from a fascination to a comfort. when you do cuddle it's best to keep at least one of your feathered limbs wrapped around him. He feels secure when he's being held by you, and the more security he finds in you the longer he will allow you to hold him.

He keeps knives stashed everywhere in your house in case of emergencies, behind pictures, inside vases, between the couch cushions… hell, you'd poured yourself a bowl of cereal once and a knife fell out of the box into your mini wheats. No one fucked with your cereal. You had definitely scolded him for that, you didn't mind so much that he kept blades around the house, but in your cereal box? That's too far.

Heaven forbid someone walks into your house uninvited or with the intention to harm you, the thought of someone hurting you is enough to deny him into a boiling murderous rage. The few times your home has been invaded you've had the worst of gorey messes to clean, how the fuck did he get blood on the ceiling?

It’s not just the mess he made of your house that bothered you the most, it was the mess he would make of himself mentally afterward. When Michael thinks you have been put in danger he brings clinginess to a whole new level, he will follow you around the house for days. He even sits outside the bathroom door!

The truth is, he’s afraid to leave you alone, and it's that paranoia, that fear of losing you that makes him cling. You won't change his mind so don't bother trying to get alone time, the only thing you can do is wait it out until he can trust himself again.

NSFW

Intimacy with Michael is something that doesn't take long to develop, you've gotta realize that this man spent most of his life in a Sanitarium, so he has a lot of pent up sexual frustration.

But since sex is something Michael knows only so much about you are going to have to be his teacher. You will also have to remind him constantly to be patient in the beginning. He's eager and while that's good and all… have you seen how big he is? Like, he's definitely proportional down south so if you don't remind him to go slow he'll end up hurting you.

It doesn't take him long to learn though, he'll rarely need to be reminded of where to touch you. He’s pretty intuitive and prefers to learn things on his own, so just let him explore if you have the patience. One sensitive place he found on his own was your wings. The absolutely obscene noise you made when he had first reached down to get a good handful of feathers told him all he needed to know. Just make sure you don’t try to drag things out for too long, if there’s anything at all that Michael lacks the patience for, it’s intimacy.

[kerfufflewatch]

ah, what’s better than writing siblings being incredibly awkward (and also Lucio’s there)

(with a hint of Gencio)

(which is why Lucio’s there)

--

52.) Accidentally Witnessed kiss +

67.) When One Stops The Kiss To Whisper “I’m Sorry, Are You Sure You-” And They Answer By Kissing Them More

Genji is in the med bay past visiting hours because he likes it to be empty when he needs his care, because no matter how comfortable he is now with his body, he still feels vulnerable when he has to have someone start pulling bits of metal off. It's simply easier to limit the number of people examining his body, and that is easier done after hours. He’s not sure why the figure sneaking through the window is in the med bay, however.

The healthcare-slash-maintenance portion of his visit is over, but Genji had found an excuse to linger in helping Lúcio gather supplies from the back room. Genji had been a little reluctant, at first, to let anyone other than Angela work with him, but Angela’s so busy nowadays with the care needs of an entire team. Besides, Lúcio had proven himself to a quick study--and rather pleasant company, if Genji’s being truthful. Genji squints into the darkened bay, which is unlit except for the light slanting through the closed office blinds nearby, and finally recognizes the darkened silhouette as Hanzo.

Hanzo, who is quietly, carefully, pulling up a chair next to the bed where McCree lay.

“What in the hell,” Genji says aloud, unthinking. Lúcio immediately snaps his head up and follows Genji’s gaze around the corner.

“What the hell,” he agrees mildly. “Isn’t that your brother? Did he come through the window?”

McCree had been asleep when they passed through earlier, but there’s some shifting of the shadowy lump in the bed now. The bedside lamp snaps on, casting bright light on both of their faces, and Genji can’t help grimacing.

McCree looks awful. Par for the course, all things considered, considering he had been thrown out of a second-story balcony earlier that day and tumbled ten feet across London cobblestone after taking a plasma round to the ribs. He would live, and really had not come all that close to death in the first place, but his injuries were severe enough to worry. Despite Angela’s healing, the right side of his face is still a gruesome canvas of red and purple bruises under scabbing abrasions, and squares of gauze peek out from under his hospital shirt.

Genji glances at Lúcio, who gives him a helpless shrug back. They should reveal themselves and put away their supplies, but whatever moment it is that requires Hanzo to sneak into the bay at night--for McCree, of all people--is a moment that feels too delicate to interrupt.

“Not that I’m complainin’, but what are you doin here so late?” McCree asks, asking the question on everyone’s minds.

“I . . . wanted to see that you were well,” Hanzo says slowly, addressing his folded hands in his lap. “The debriefing took too long, and I was unable to get here before the med bay was closed for the night.”

McCree laughs quietly, weak with exhaustion. “You coulda come by tomorrow,” he says. “I’m not goin’ anywhere for a couple days. Doctor’s orders.”

Hanzo smiles, but it is a bit forced. He asks just how McCree was injured--he was far away when the incident occurred, sniping from a rooftop--and as they talk, Genji feels a deep, growing sense of suspicion.

“So, uh,” Lúcio says awkwardly, quietly. He shifts the box in his hands. “Are they a thing? I didn’t think they were.”

Genji shakes his head. “No,” he says. “I would have known.”

He’s joked, of course, that Hanzo clearly had some deep-seated romantic feelings for McCree that he was too stubborn to even notice, let alone act upon, but he never had anything concrete. This could just be the standard Hanzo level of melodrama while he visits a friend, but Genji isn’t so certain.

That’s not even getting started on McCree’s “is he serious or not” flirting for the past eight months.

“Huh.” Lúcio shifts again. It’s clear he’s uncomfortable, not just tired of the weight in his arms. “I mean, I don’t know your brother all that well, but that seems like a thing.”

“I mean, you are not wrong.”

Lúcio laughs a little, prompting Genji to look back at him. “Sorry,” Lúcio says, “it’s just--it’s really hard to imagine Hanzo being into anyone.”

“No, I don’t blame you,” Genji says. “Even when we were young, he was not very interested in others. I only know of a couple people he showed interest in at all.”

“Now that sounds right.” Lúcio leans around Genji to sneak a better peek at the scene, then back again quickly before he can be caught. It’s decidedly unstealthy, but Genji finds it amusing nonetheless.

“Though to be honest,” he adds after a moment, “I did not expect this out of McCree, either.”

“Really? Don’t get me wrong, he’s cool and all, but there also isn’t a person on this team he hasn’t flirted with.”

Genji laughs quietly. “That is true,” he says. “But he’s . . . He has his own demons. Everyone here does. He’s been very careful, compared to when I knew him when Overwatch was still official.” McCree is still far friendlier than Hanzo and one of the more sociable members of the team overall, but Genji knows the difference. The McCree of ten years ago drank a lot less whiskey, faked a lot fewer smiles, spent so many fewer days locked in his dorm claiming a bad night.

The Recall has been good for them both, he thinks.

“Yeah,” Lúcio says after a moment. “I guess that’s true. He hasn’t told me much, but I get some of it. Guess it’s--”

“Because you were being a fool!” Hanzo snaps suddenly, startling them out of their conversation. They both look back simultaneously to find Hanzo glaring at McCree, leaning forward as though trying to threaten the bedridden man.

“C’mon now,” McCree says, unfazed. Somehow, he looks like he’s smiling in the face in the face of Hanzo’s anger. “Wasn’t nothin’ I don’t do on a regular basis.”

“You were hurt because you were not paying attention,” Hanzo growls.

“I was payin’ plenty of attention. I knew the guy was there when he shot me. He just got the upper hand, which happens sometimes.”

Hanzo looks like he wants to yell again, but abruptly, the fight seems to drain out of him. He slouches in his seat with a heavy exhale. “I am sorry,” he says. “I did not come here to yell at you. I am well aware that you are more than capable of taking care of yourself.”

“What’s got you so bothered? This is hardly the first time I’ve gotten hurt. Sure it won’t be the last, either.”

Hanzo doesn’t answer for a long time, unmoving. Genji finds himself holding his breath. Hanzo lifts a hand, hesitates, starts to take it back, and ultimately rests it on the bed. It’s only by McCree’s reaction--suddenly staring down at the space in disbelief--that Genji realizes Hanzo must have taken his hand.

More words are spoken. Genji can’t hear, but he can guess well enough at the nature of them. “Wow I wish we’d gotten out of here like five seconds faster,” Lúcio says.

Hanzo looks down at their joined hands on the bed, then up again. Then he leans in suddenly, and Genji can’t quite contain the strangled noise he makes when he sees his brother kiss McCree.

“Holy shit,” Lúcio breathes beside him. Genji internally echoes the sentiment.

There is a moment where, despite Hanzo initiating a kiss, McCree does not respond, and Genji slowly tenses. This is Hanzo baring his soul, and his brother might be a grown adult and McCree one of his oldest friends, but if he has to witness McCree push Hanzo away when there is no good reason to do so--

But then McCree softens and kisses back, and Genji lets out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

Genji tries to tear his eyes away, distinctly aware that he is watching his brother and his close friend in a deeply intimate moment, but he’s drawn back when Hanzo suddenly pulls away. “I am sorry,” he says, barely loud enough to be heard. “You are hurt, and this is . . . sudden. Are you certain you--”

“God, Hanzo, for once in your life just shut the fuck up,” McCree breathes before pulling Hanzo back in with a hand around his neck. Genji chokes on a poorly-suppressed laugh, and beside him, Lúcio snorts with amusement. They both look away, realizing they’ve spent too long watching what is happening, Genji in particular aware that he is watching his older brother engaged in a passionate kiss with their mutual friend and teammate.

But . . . awkward as it is, it’s nice to see Hanzo going for something, for once. Allowing himself to have something.

Thankfully, it doesn’t seem to go on much longer than a few more seconds. He soon hears murmuring between the two of them, nothing that he can understand, followed by a chair scraping on the floor. A moment later, the window gently slides open and shut, and the med bay is entirely silent.

“Well then,” Lúcio says mildly. “We just watched McCree and your brother get together. That’s something.”

“It’s something,” Genji agrees.

Lúcio fidgets a little with the box he still folds, looking at the top. “It’s kinda sweet, though,” he says after a moment. “Awkward, but it’s nice that they got something like that, you know? In the middle of all this stuff that we do for Overwatch, that they managed to find something good.” He smiles up at Genji, and Genji’s heart does an odd little stutter at that.

Before he can decide what that means and what to do about it, they are interrupted by the sound of McCree loudly, intentionally, clearing his throat.

“I wasn’t asleep when you went by the first time,” he says. “And I ain’t seen you come out. So I highly recommend you finish your business and get on out of here before I change my mind and tell Hanzo you were there the whole damn time.”

[sinfulavenue]

Episode 40 - Old Story Review

(Manga spoilers)

Overall: Less exciting than last week’s episode but a much needed break in the action to focus on character.

Before I get down to the nitty gritty of episode 40 I just want to say that in order to give my reviews more depth I decided to reread the Uprising Arc. I mean it’s been like 2 years since I read it and admittedly there was a lot of important stuff I’d forgotten.

Just to give you an idea just how immense the restructuring is, episode 40 is comprised of scenes from chapters 52, 55, 56, 57 and 59. Regarding the changes in the anime, I’m still at the same place I was last week and my thoughts remain on hold until I see more, but I enjoyed this episode. It made sense to open the season with action but now I’m glad the pace is slowing in order to catch up on important details.

Historia

When I first read Historia’s back story it broke my heart and seeing it animated broke it a second time. Just about every character in the series has tragedy in their past but Historia’s is particularly devastating because she grew up deprived of affection, shunned by the person who should have loved her the most.

How Alma treated Historia is unforgivable but for some reason I pitied her, not just because of the gruesome end she met but for the miserable life she inflicted upon herself. I felt sorry for her for being so cold and for not even trying to love her sweet little daughter. With an open heart she could have had so much more happiness but instead from the moment Historia was born, she resigned herself to a life of misery and resentment where she couldn’t even embrace her own child.

A wretched woman who led a wretched existence.

The way Historia finds out about her royal blood is handled very differently in the anime and it is through her father she learns of her heritage. While I’m still unsure about the changes, it did make me emotional to see her tear up when Rod told her because I knew exactly why she was crying.

After spending her whole life feeling unwanted she finally felt like she had a place. The flashback coming before this scene really emphasised why it meant so much to her. I look forward to seeing Historia be faced with moral dilemmas, to almost give in and do exactly what’s expected of her before finding the strength to reject her father’s ideals and take charge of her own destiny (*sob Ymir would be so proud!). I just hope Historia get’s the character growth she deserves this season.

Sannes Learns of his Betrayal

I just love psycho Hanji! I guess maybe I felt a bit sorry for Sannes when he realised he’d been tricked into betraying the king (gosh I’m feeling sorry for everyone this week aren’t I?), but this furthers the message that it’s not as simple as good guys and bad guys anymore.

Eren will be eaten!

In the manga, how titan shifters inherit the power was revealed during a conversation between Hanji and Erwin but in the anime it was done in front of Levi’s squad and we get to see their reaction to the prospect of Eren being imminently eaten.

Ok so I have to get this off my chest ... How many more god damn times do we need to see Levi saving Mikasa from her impulses? I let it slide last week but then it happened again this week and it’s really starting to piss me off. Not only are these additional scenes unnecessary but they are really disappointing. Makes it seem like she’s learned nothing since the female titan encounter. She’s protective of Eren, we get it! We don’t need to be reminded every time his name is mentioned by her flaring up in a violent rage.

I just hope this isn’t a trend that will persist. It’s time they showed that there’s more to her than that.

Erwin

So this episode presented us with another tragic childhood story. The second half of this episode was dedicated entirely to building Erwin’s character and I have to say that how his story was handled really showed that the restructuring isn’t random or thoughtless. It was powerful to have Erwin’s childhood flashback immediately preceded by the scene where he vows to avenge Reeves death. Like his father, Reeves was one more problematic individual who had to be snuffed out by the corrupt military police. These two scenes really complement one another when shown side by side as we see how Erwin’s past is driving his motivation in the present.

I’m also glad we got to see Hanji being named as his successor, this moment is significant too as it showed that Erwin really believed his time may be up.

After the arrest of the Survey Corps I noticed that a conversation between Hanji and Flegel from the manga is missing but it looks like it might be in next week’s episode based on the preview. It’s the one they have on the rooftop where they discuss Reeves death and the hopelessness of the situation. I hope this scene has been kept as I like the part where Flegel says that they’ve lost to which Hanji replies that the Survey Corps have always been the losers but that it never stopped them before.

Inspiring!

Update on my thoughts regarding the changes

While I’ve been enjoying the series so far and unlike a lot of people I don’t think Wit studio are doing a terrible job at all, but this week I’m going to express a little bit of criticism based on what I’ve seen so far.

After rereading the manga I realised just how much certain scenes gave meaning and context to later events. The restructuring has resulted in many of these scenes being cut or moved meaning that some moments don’t have the impact they once did.

The most prominent example of this is the scene in last week’s episode where Jean apologizes to Levi for not shooting. In the manga Jean’s distrust of Levi was something that built up over the course of a few chapters, beginning when Levi attacked Historia and reaching a climax when Jean hesitated to kill when ordered to. There was a scene in the middle where Jean, Connie and Sasha, after the Survey Corps were blamed for Reeves death, talked about how being criminals wasn’t what they signed up for when they joined the Survey Corps and they expressed their doubts about their Captain. This provides so much context for Jean’s actions later and that conversation he has with Levi after Armin’s kill.

This is another reason why Levi attacking Historia was such an important moment because it’s what started the squad’s distrust of Levi in the first place and it directly affected Jean’s actions in the MP chase scene.

While watching last week’s episode, I feel like I kind of subconsciously knew the context behind that conversation Jean had with Levi (I feel like my brain has been doing a lot of filling in the blanks this season) but anime only people do not have this context and they are the ones who are really missing out here.

Don’t get me wrong, I still think Armin’s kill in the anime was a critical moment and the guilt and sickness he felt for taking a human life was portrayed well but what’s missing is that important context that would have given the scene additional weight.

The Uprising Arc is a complex one and I sense Isayama and Wit felt it wouldn’t translate well to anime fans who were expecting combat and titan slaying. I’m long past accepting that the anime is going to be a simplified retelling (this image springs to mind).

But instead of being bitter about it I’m trying to see it this way. Neither manga or anime are perfect but they enhance one another and the anime doing it differently doesn’t take away from the manga or discredit it in any way. The manga gives greater meaning and context to the scenes I’m watching in the anime meanwhile the anime is treating me to stunning visuals, incredible voice acting and beautiful soundtracks that just isn’t possible in a manga format.  

Aaand I’m rambling aren’t I?

I look forward to next weeks episode. I suspect the pace will remain constant for a few episodes before picking up again.

I guess I’ll conclude with some Connie appreciation.

We love you Connie! Keep being your clueless, dorky, weird, adorable self 😂

[sparda3g]

Kingdom Chapter 594 Review

Well, that went south really fast. What did anyone expect? Shin cut a man’s top head like a brain surgeon; no one wants that. Too late now; his brain is exposed and there’s nothing they can do about it. Well, except going full course on vengeance. Whoops. So far, this was the most intense chapter yet with increasing tension and a massacre that we haven’t seen in a long time. However, its greatness comes with a price of longer wait time for more.

It’s still badass how Shin took out Jorin by slicing his head cleanly. That’s a sick kill. Blood runs thickest when it comes to siblings and Joshou is no exception. The man is bawling heavily; almost crying like a One Piece character. Check it out if you don’t know what I mean. He is done with this bullshit charade; now he’s all for the total annihilation. When it comes to siblings, it’s best to take out both at the same time. Too late now; all of the Dojaku gather up and form a ring to surround Hi Shin Unit with no chance in hell to run. Mincemeat he wants and dammit, he’s going to get them.

It was already bad enough for them in the last chapter; now they are getting floored singlehanded. More body count to tally up and Garo is about to be in line with Shousa. Ugh. It still pains me to think about it. There’s nothing to fear because Shin is still there. Oh wait. He’s injured because of that stab. I’m glad Shin didn’t go out of his way and act like Superman as if it did nothing. It does add more tension since he was godlike in the field, but now, the enemy force has a chance. I am not glad that he and everyone there are even more screwed than ever.

Joshou has gone revenge hungry so deep, he didn’t send request to Chougaryuu to the change the formation. Siblings blood run very deep. But it’s all good, because this is actually the right opportunity to dominate. Apology accepted I guess. Once more, we have the arrogant Chougaryuu of the week, proclaiming the end for Hi Shin Unit. This time, he is 45% sure; but really, he is certain. Cocky prick. Ten is on verge of going back to her days of losing all hope. It’s all on Shin’s court.

You know what else is fun to watch? Shousa’s slow walk to death. Thanks, Hara. But in all seriousness, unlike the last chapter, this one is disheartening to watch. It was hopeful the last time, but with Shin and his men in a crisis, it’s as if Shousa has lost hope and collapse. Not saying he really did lose hope, but it’s a symbolic way to point out the possible tragic disaster. God, this is tearing me apart. Just end his misery, or save him, but I know that won’t happen. Instead, Kyo Gai is about to meet death before him. How freaking nice.

Praise the Goddess, the Goddess has finally returned and yes, I do mean Kyou Kai. Sorry to point the obvious. But damn, that was one hell of a close call; badass as usual. The Naki Clan also shows up to help, even if he doesn’t see himself as the same level as her, but all are welcome. I did laugh at that guy in the back though. Sucks to be him; I sort of feel bad for him. I did wish for her to ambush Chougaryuu when he least expected, but the explanation is pretty reasonable. More importantly, we get one enticing action that we haven’t seen in a long time.

The reason why she entered the death zone is because normally, it would require two powerhouses to break out the encirclement. Easier said than done because Shin is injured, so that task is no longer an option. Entering was a mistake. But Kyou Kai has a plan. Instead of breaking out, why not kill every single one of them? Hell yeah! Wait. What the hell? Yes, it’s damn insane, but it’s not bad. Think about it. You have strongest soldiers all gathered up. If you can clean sweep, that would make Chougaryuu lose his shit. But can it be done? When she begins huff and puff, I got goosebumps.

I love the way it sets up before she goes on rampage alas Priestess Dance. It’s been so long, but every time she uses it, I get serious chills. You could imagine my excitement escalating. But it’s the weight and stakes behind this plan. This must be done to turn the tide completely. Kyou Kai can do it with her breathing technique, but if you forgot the drawback, her stamina will be incredibly low. It’s why Shin doesn’t like the idea. First, they have to defend her until her technique is ready. For Chougaryuu, it looks like a normal battle happening from afar. Once Kyou Kai sets off, the landscape completely changed to unbelievable massacre.

One of the best part of her killing spree is the way how the visual presented. It’s always stunning to watch her dance while dismembering her enemies into pieces. It’s gruesome yet beautiful. It’s great to see the words, “Ton Tan Tan” again. You can say this series can create meme by a single word or three, like “Hoh” for some reason. All the focus goes to her yet they can’t do a damn thing. I love how the enemies thought they had a shot to kill her, only to swiftly dodge them and slice their heads off. That was insane.

She may be the main target, but lose sight of others and Shin and others would be killing them. I do feel bad for Shin however. He knows well the drawback of the Priestess Dance, which is why he is yelling at her to stop already. Garo try to reason with him that Kyou Kai has to do it, whatever it takes. Shin already knows the idea, but it doesn’t take away that she put herself in danger. That’s a true captain. Not saying he should take her back, but he thinks of their life first and everything else next.

Kyou Kai is doing a hell of a job that the circle of doom has enlarged. This actually pissed Chougaryuu so much that he opens his eyes again. Now it’s going to get serious. The cliffhanger is a bit worrisome with Kyou Kai slowing down, coughing out a bit of a blood. To make the matter worst, Joshou, the man who thirst for blood, marks his target on Kyou Kai. Oh man. Time for her to be the brain surgeon.

This was a pretty tensed chapter. It’s the chapter Kyou Kai fans have been waiting for and it was crazy as usual. The tension is high, the battle is growing intense, and Kyou Kai is a beauty to behold. The visual is always impressive when she performs the dance and it didn’t disappoint. As crazy this chapter was, sadly, we are on a break. It’s what happens when we get too much good things. Rest up, because the next time we return, it’s all hell from there.

[ourievamp]

OK I NEED TO TALK THIS OUT

Some of you may have heard of a YouTuber named Markiplier. He has been posting videos on the web site for over five years now and has accumulated over 20 million followers. His videos are mainly devoted to LetsPlays of horror games, but through the years he has branched out into sketch comedy and improvisation. He has used his internet fame to help others by holding charity live streams and donating massive amounts to various well deserving causes. He is very talented and has even produced a few films like Who Killed Markiplier https://youtu.be/YoSrocwNYjA and a choose your own adventure style video called A Date With Markiplier https://youtu.be/yyU_1JD2wuA.

A year ago I had no idea this man existed! My boyfriend and I went over to a friend's house to play video games. I am no means a gamer, but I can play occasionally. That day, though, a hilarious video was playing on one of the many TV screens that were up and running. A deep voiced man was playing a gruesome game called Happy Wheels! I asked who that was. Many of the people there were surprised that I had never heard of Markiplier https://youtu.be/9SUrbImyTMo . While my boyfriend and his friends played their games, I watched Mark hilariously mangle his avatar, such gory deaths was one of the appeals of the game. While everyone else wound down and went to sleep I stayed up and laughed as he raged against a particularly difficult level…or ten. When I got home, I went on YouTube to keep watching…and I never stopped. Whenever I want something on, especially for a laugh I turn to Markiplier. Just something about him…

Another thing happened as I watched. Mark's kindness and message to his fans to always think better of themselves, improve themselves and work toward their goals really resonated with me as I had felt stuck where I was for years. I graduated from college in 2012 with a degree in fashion design. After graduating, though, I felt like a child thrown into the deep end of a pool. No one was there to tell me what to do anymore. I was making my own choices. Well, I knew I needed a job, so I took the first full time job that was offered to me. Thus, I began my career in Aerosteuctures and composites (building aircrafts). I worked a year before moving out to South Carolina to live on my own since I earned enough to do so and continued my job in airplanes. I made the mistake of living just below my means, which left little money for fabric, or time for developing the skills I had learned in school. I also felt like my schooling was inadequate to properly prepare me for the fashion world. Sure, I had learned a lot: I now knew in great detail how to make and present a garment or an idea, but no clue how to make that into a living. I didn't know how to sell a design, or source materials, or manufacture products for people to buy! I felt like I would die doing a job I didn't want, never realizing my dream of being a designer.

I really want to be able to see something in a store window, or a costume in a film and be able to stay ‘I made that!’ Instead, I sat in large buildings, sticking carbon fiber sheets onto molds that would become a plane. Some may say that a full time job creating airplane parts is a pretty cool job, but honestly it is repetitive and can be quite boring. I would rather be in front of a sewing machine, seeing a garment put together piece by piece into a garment that will be worn during some event in someone’s life!

Theater was also a love of mine, but my choices had led me from that path as well. I had moved far from Broadway and the theater where I had moved was lacking. Even my attempts to costume some shows were thwarted by my being placed on night shift. As Mark went on tour and created characters that could make his fans, including me, laugh or cry, I wrote my ideas in notebooks…and nothing else. Something about Mark and his content showed me just how much a person can accomplish with just themselves, a camera and ideas! It was not difficult to acquire a camera and a space to use it regularly to tell a story of some kind. I'm still waiting to see if I can gain an audience as well, but time will tell. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC130iG2OBxdGgxDfB8ObsyQ

Despite this attempt, I still felt bound by my ill conceived choices and the life they led to.

Then CLOAK happened. Markiplier and Jacksepticeye (a friend of his and fellow YouTuber) announced that they had been developing a line of clothes that would soon be released for purchase. Another one of my aspirations had been accomplished by a man only a year older than me! I had to look back and think of what I had done with my time and the answer was…nothing. I went to work, came home, slept and did the same thing again the next day, and the next and the next. I felt both trapped and helpless like there was no time in the day to do anything of worth towards reaching my dreams. Mark had worked for where he was. He experimented, collaborated, and put effort into every video and it showed! Trust me, I began by watching his older stuff, attempting to view it all in order, and the amount that Mark had grown through the years is amazing!

I needed to change. I wanted to be like Markiplier, but…no, I want to be better! I want to find my own characters, my own content, watching Mark, learning from his mistakes and gain my own fans to push me further and keep me going…but how? Little by little. Bit by bit, every day doing just one more small thing to get further to my goals. I want to lose weight, so I began running every day (lost 13 pounds so far!). I want to read more, so I devoted an hour before bed to read one of the many books I had been meaning to learn from! I want to tell my stories, so every week I post two videos to YouTube, one as a vlog for myself, one as a fictional character to tell the tales that have been locked in my head for years!

I want to be a fashion designer…….. Here is where I lost my way for a moment. When CLOAK was announced it was quite simple: a small assortment of t shirts and hoodies in black and grey colors. It was praised for having a diverse group of models, but I didn't get the appeal until I heard it said that it was a clothing line built for the gaming community. That confused me even more because I assumed a gamer would rather spend $80 on a game than a hoodie, but I was quickly proven wrong as CLOAK sold out of their stock of preorders in the first weekend.

One thing that kept coming up was ‘Would the CLOAK brand ever sell a cloak?’ Both Mark and Jack had been asked this, but I had yet to hear a definitive answer from either. I decided to design my own cloak, drawing heavily on the designs in the brand and doing all I could to further its development to be produced one day…but who would produce it?

If I was designing a cloak for CLOAK shouldn't it be sold by them? How would they go about it? I knew it was very possible that any suggestion made through their means (they ask for input on their web site) would be taken from me with no regard to me or any repayment. I could go through the time and effort to draft a pattern, create a technical sheet and pretty much everything but manufacture it and CLOAK could just take it and there would be nothing I could do! Any sketch, picture, anything is a risk in design because clothes cannot be copywritten, and therefore easily stolen. I knew the value of my design and did not want to give it up for nothing!

Could I sell the design to them? Both Jack and Mark make many appearances at cons and the like, if I could have a discussion with them, perhaps they would be willing to compensate me for the work I had put into the cloak. This ranged from a monetary sum (the amount of which….I had no idea what the work I had done was worth!), to simply gaining a job that would be beneficial to my pursuit of having my own brand one day! For days the possible outcomes of such a discussion went in and out of my head as I contemplated selling my design to the brand in which it ‘belonged'.

No. I will not give up what I have worked on just for someone else's name to be on it! My cloak may have been inspired by the CLOAK brand, but it is still mine! I realized that I was designing this for Mark when I should have been designing it for me! I have found a need that I can fill. People are calling for a functional, modern cloak that can be worn in this day and age. If the CLOAK brand will not oblige its many requests to produce one….I will!

Of course this presented it's own problems. If I utilized the design that was similar to CLOAK brand, would it be called a knock off or imitation? That is not how I want to begin my career, but if I differ from the design, I may lose my target customer, that being a Markiplier or Jacksepticeye fan who would love a CLOAK cloak! It is possible the garment, through fabric or other decisions in production, will evolve and differ from the original concept, moving away from a CLOAK copy and into a design all my own! I plan on finding a manufacturer soon to help me in this process so, I suppose we shall see!

I suppose the point I'm trying to get at is…in the year since I found out about this guy called Markiplier I have done more with my life than the five years since I graduated college. Thank you Mark. I can feel a fire inside of me driving me forward. The flames belong to me….but you are the spark! #markthespark

Stay tuned

@markiplier

[velvetchen]

Draconian | ix. notice

[ series masterlist ] | [ main masterlist ]  AU: Dragon!au Pairing: Kai/Reader  Word Count: 1768 Warnings: none Summary: In a world where they are hunted to death, the magic still survives…but it is not to last. War is on the horizon.

You had watched Kai come in and out of your house in the last few weeks - sometimes he stayed the night, other times you saw the dark silhouette of his dragon form tucked in the woods just beyond the edge when you peered out of the window. Occasionally, he would join you as you foraged in the forest. One moment, you would be alone, gathering firewood or berries or something of the like, and the next he would be joining you, his movements graceful even in a body so large.

He was with you today, here and there. You were deeper in the woods today, deeper than you had gone even the night you had found him. His presence at your side, though not always consistent, was a comfort. What beast would dare attack when you had a more fearsome one to protect you? Although you were not sure if he would be inclined to protect you. He was still much too aloof for that. He was there, though, and that was enough.

You crouched at the edge of the lake, your hands rooting in the mud at its edge for stones. This was an area of the forest where the treetops didn’t crowd so closely together, their branches like single hands stretching into the vast depth of the day’s cloudless sky. You could see the reflection of the same sky on the surface of the water, still as a mirror except for the ripples that shifted outwards from where your hands touched.

A rustling at the tree edge startled you, and you turned to see Kai lumbering out from a gap in the trees. It was nearing midday, and as was his routine, you knew he would lay on the flat rocks at the side of the lake to soak up the heat of the sun. Today was a lazier day, so you thought of joining him. You trusted his presence enough that you might even brave a nap on the rocks, too.

Standing, you dried your hands on the front of your dress and glanced about the clearing. True to habit, he had already stretched out on the rocks, the sunlight limning the edges of his dark pewter-colored scales so that they glinted brightly. You grasped the handle of your basket, already full, and hefted it along with you to the rocks. You picked a spot a little ways away from him: far enough for comfort, but still close enough that he could hear you if you were to say something.

Not that you were going to say anything. He wasn’t much one for conversation, you’d gathered, even though he could be friendly and at times even playful with you.

The rocks beneath you were warm, almost unbearably so, but as you relaxed you felt the warmth seep into your skin and suffuse across you. You understood why Kai needed this. For a dragon, surely, the warmth was more than comforting: it was home.

What are you doing? Even though you were not unused to hearing his voice in your head, the suddenness of it still caught you off guard.

“I’m resting,” you said, frowning in his direction. “What does it seem like I’m doing?”

You heard his answering grunt, an acknowledgement. Forgive me. You don’t do this often. Or at all.

“I thought a change would be nice.” You closed your eyes, letting the sunlight filter through your eyelids.

You heard the scrape of his scales on the stone as he shifted. When you peeked one eye open, he had turned to look at you, his entire body closer than it had been. “Don’t look at me like that,” you complained. It was unnerving how he could stare so long without blinking, his eyes blazing as they caught the light.

Like what?

“Like you’re going to eat me.”

He bared his teeth. Like this?

“Yes, like that.” You heard a snort and a snuffling sound, his version of a laugh.

I’m not going to eat you. I don’t think you’d taste very good anyway.

“I refuse to be consoled by that.” You made a face. “What do you eat? As a dragon, I mean. I know you eat human food.”

I have a fondness for deer, but people get suspicious when they see too many carcasses lying around. He laughed again at your disgusted expression. Mostly rabbits. Sometimes I catch fish.

You gestured to the lake. “Fish? Here?”

He raised up, nodding his head. Yes. Do you want me to catch some to eat now?

“Are you hungry?”

He bared his teeth again. I’m always hungry. With that, he turned, balancing on his clawed feet, wings spread to either side for balance and tail switching from side to side, like a cat’s. In fact, most of his movements were catlike, in the way he stalked around, pouncing on things, curling up on the rocks. Sometimes the rumble of his breath when he was particularly contented reminded you of a purr.

You watched as he moved stealthily, silently, towards the edge of the water, his long neck leaning over its surface to peer in. His eyes shifted rapidly, tracking movement. Faster than you could blink, his head ducked in, his entire body following, the water splashing out loudly as he dived. A moment later, he reemerged, shaking water from his head, something silver and writhing clutched in his jaws. Swimming to the water’s edge, he bent forward and dropped the fish on the rocks, looking up at you as if to say, here.

Sitting up, you watched as he doubled back into the water, returning with three more. The fourth time he dived further and came up with an even bigger one, and, thinking his haul enough for the both of you, clambered out of the water and shook the wetness off his body.

You made your way over to the pile. “How will I cook them? I don’t have a fire.”

How fortunate for me that I don’t have to worry about cooking. He sat back on his haunches, giving you a smug look.

“You just eat them? Bones and all?”

Bones and all.

“I don’t want to imagine. But can’t you breathe fire? Will you light one for me?”

His expression became affronted. It was amazing, how easily you saw these human emotions on a creature you once would have considered a gruesome beast. Maybe he was an exception. You hoped not. You wanted to see good in him and his kind, see past the scales and claws and teeth to his heart.

You want me to use my fire?

“Can’t you?” You glanced down at the fish; they only needed hot coals, not a full blaze.

It is insulting that you expect me to use it for so menial a task, but...alright.

You went to gather tinder and the small flat rocks that you had been picking up earlier, forming them into a neat pile higher up in the lee of the wind. Kai followed, settling at the side before opening his mouth in what seemed like a yawn.

Move.

“Oh, sorry.” Sheepish, you shifted to the side, a safe distance away. A burst of flame issued from his throat, the tendrils of it wrapping around the edges of the tinder and igniting it. Pleased, Kai leaned away and sat again. It’s been a while since I’ve used my fire.

You hummed in agreement. “I don’t imagine you’d get many opportunities.”

No. In fact, I don’t get to be in my true form often. He sighed. Two legs and no wings. I don’t know how you humans survive.

Squatting, you prodded at the fire with a stick to let the embers calm to a simmering heat. “We don’t know any better.”

A shame. If you’ve flown even once, from then on, being confined to the ground is tortuous.

You shrugged. “Then it’s a good thing I haven’t.” The fish sizzled as you nestled it between the hot stones.

Kai regarded you oddly, as if he meant to say something, then looked away. Y/N...You should know.

“Know what?” You looked up; he did not meet your eyes.

My staying here, with you, puts you in danger. The night you found me, they had not left me for dead. They were going to come back.

“The soldiers?” Inside you, your heart thumped. He might have been safe, might not have hurt you, but you couldn’t forget what he was. “Why didn’t they, then?”

It has to be something else. Something more important than a dragon they had been hunting down for years. He stood, beginning to pace. I can’t think of what it might be.

“Whatever it is, it shouldn’t matter,” you said. “After all, they haven’t returned, have they?”

That is what worries me. They should have been back to take me away by now.

You looked back at the forest. What had been a peaceful image, an idyll, had shattered with his words. Now, you thought of what might lurk in the woods: not wolves, bears, or dragons.

Hunters.

I’ve grown complacent, he said. I’ve put you in danger.

“Careful, Kai. You almost sound like you care for me.”

He snorted, indignant. As if I have ever said otherwise.

Your cheeks warmed, but you frowned. “What would they do with me? You’re the one they want.”

They would see you hang for hiding me from them. His eyes gazed upon you solemnly.

You bit your lip, your eyes widening as the weight of his words settled in. All this time, he had just been yours. Your secret. You hadn’t thought of anyone else coming to know of him.

Kai jerked suddenly, looking up at the sky. You followed his gaze, wondering what might have caught his attention.

A dark shape circled above, making a slow, languorous turn before turning, letting out a sharp cry. It shrank as it retreated into the distance.

A shape, too large to be a bird. With two wide wings and a curling, sinuous tail.

Another dragon.

When you looked back at Kai, his eyes were mad, panicked. Things are changing, Y/N. Something’s wrong. That’s why they haven’t come for me.

“I don’t understand,” you whispered.

Go home. Now. And don’t come back.

You glanced down at the fire, sputtering out. At the still-peaceful surface of the lake. “What about you?”

Don’t come back for me, he repeated.

With a single nod, you picked up your basket, lifted your skirts, and entered the dark of the forest once again, your heart beating in your throat.

a/n: more very subtle plot progression! this is another one of my favorite chapters - let me know what u guys think x

[sevenpabosandabunchoffans]

Criminal Minds {Jung Hoseok}

After Namjoon realizes he doesn’t exactly like working as a detective at the local police department, he leaves, determined to finish a case by himself. After months of nothing, a new development comes to light, motivating him to enlist the help of someone else. The two of them build a team from the ground up that’s independent from any government or police force, solving cases purely for the benefit of helping others and doing what’s right. One day, a newcomer enters their lives, begging them to let him join, too.

:: characters: namjoon, yoongi, hoseok

:: genre: angst, thriller, Criminal Minds!au

:: warnings: graphic descriptions, blood

:: word count: 1600

Min Yoongi

With the decision to work together, Namjoon and Yoongi immediately searched for a building to house their business. They managed to find an old assessment center, complete with a lobby and reception desk, two meeting rooms, and a handful of offices, for a fairly cheap price, quickly deciding to make that their home. They spent the next month furnishing the area, wanting to be able to get to work as quickly as possible. They had been putting the finishing touches to their individual offices when they were finally contacted with a case.

Yoongi was arranging his desk when Namjoon entered the office. “We got a case.”

The older male looked up, somewhat surprised. “Really?”

Namjoon nodded, holding up some papers that had been faxed over. “We’re going to Gwangju.”

They agreed for Yoongi to drive the three hours while Namjoon briefed him on the case. “A family was murdered on their farm about 45 minutes outside of Gwangju.” Namjoon flipped through the papers to find the victims. “42-year-old Kim Jihoon, his 38-year-old wife, Min Jihye, their 20-year-old daughter, Kim Jieun, Jieun’s 2-year-old son, Minjoon, and a family friend who was visiting, Jung Hyunjung.”

“Do they know the cause of death?” Yoongi inquired.

Namjoon nodded, pulling out the picture of found murder weapon. “Blunt force trauma to the head. They found a bloody hammer in the kitchen. The blood matched the victims, sadly there were no prints.”

Yoongi sighed. “Why can’t there ever be a case where we automatically know who the bad guy is?”

Namjoon looked at his partner and chuckled. “What would be the fun in that?”

After meeting with the detective in charge of the case, they made their way to the farm. “So, you said nothing had been stolen?” Yoongi clarified, looking around the first of the crime scenes, the married couple’s bedroom.

Detective Chae Hyungwon nodded. “We found money hidden all over the place, and it doesn’t seem that any jewelry or other valuables were taken.”

Namjoon looked at the blood stain on the bed. “Judging from that, and the fact that they were struck on the front of the head rather than the back, this was a personal kill.” Namjoon made eye contact with Yoongi and immediately knew that they were thinking the same thing. “They knew their killer.” He turned to Hyungwon as Yoongi left the room. “We’re gonna need a list of everyone that had any connections to the family.”

Hyungwon nodded. “I’ll have some of my people get right on that.”

“Joon~” Namjoon followed Yoongi’s voice, finding him in Jieun’s bedroom. Yoongi turned around holding up a laptop that someone had very obviously tried to get into from the “this device has been locked for the next 24 hours” message and countdown on the screen. “What would they have been trying to find?”

“I guess we’ll find out.”

After Hyungwon requested the officer with the most computer skills to meet them at the farm, they huddled around the kitchen table as Jung Yunho managed to bypass the lockdown and password screen of the laptop. “What exactly are we looking for?” Yunho asked, clicking on a few files.

“Anything that could be of interest to our killer.” Yoongi answered. After a few minutes of searching, the screen began to glitch. Yunho lifted his hands up, waiting for the device to calm down, only to see the mouse seemingly moving by itself and random files being pulled up at lightning speed. “What the fuck is going on?”

“Someone’s hacking it.” Yunho replied, placing his hands back on the keyboard and tapping at the keyboard.

“Can you find who it is?” Namjoon asked, watching as a “files downloading” bar appeared on the screen.

“Already on it.” Yunho muttered, pulling up a code system to try to trace the hacker. As quickly as the files had appeared on screen, they disappeared, seemingly leaving no trace that anyone had been in the system. Just as the duo were about to sigh in defeat, Yunho turned to them and said, “I got them.”

The door opened to reveal a middle-aged woman. “Hi, ma’am,” Namjoon greeted as he and Yoongi held up their badges. “Is your son home?”

The woman, very obviously confused, pointed behind her into the house. “He’s downstairs in his room, but what do you need with my Hoseokie?”

“We just need to ask him a few questions, ma’am.” Yoongi replied, smiling at her as she let them into the house. She pointed them towards the staircase leading to the basement, where Hoseok had moved into when he’d graduated college and moved back in with his parents. As they descended into the room, they could hear Coldplay blasting through some speakers, eventually seeing a guy around their age surrounded by a few computer screens. The bottom stair creaked under Namjoon’s weight, alerting Hoseok to their presence. He spun around and, as soon as his gaze landed on them, his eyes widened as he jumped out of his chair, looking ready to flee the country. “Hey, why do you look like you’re about to run?” Yoongi asked, hand ready to pull out his gun should it resort to that.

“What would you do if two random men entered your room?”

Namjoon held his hands out to show that they weren’t going to hurt him. “We just need you to come with us, so we can ask you a few questions.” Hoseok visibly swallowed before nodding in agreement.

“I honestly have no idea why I’m here.” Hoseok said for the dozenth time as Yoongi stared him down from across the table in the interrogation room.

“Let me show you.” Yoongi finally spoke up, opening the file and laying a few pictures of the victims in front of him.

Hoseok’s eyes widened and his skin lost its color at the gruesome images. “A-are these those people from the news this morning?”

Yoongi nodded and lay a few more pictures on the table, this time of evidence, finally placing a picture of Jieun’s laptop directly in front of Hoseok. “And you know what this is?” Hoseok shook his head no, looking at Yoongi in confusion. “This is the computer of Kim Jieun, one of the victims. And funny story, we were looking at the laptop, trying to see if we could find anything that could point towards the person we’re looking for when someone seemingly hacked into the device and downloaded nearly everything.” Hoseok gulped, trying to avoid eye contact with Yoongi. “And you know who that hacker was?”

“I swear I had no idea it was related to this!” Hoseok confessed, slightly surprising Yoongi at how quickly he gave in. “Some guy e-mailed me this morning, saying that his computer had crashed, and he needed to recover his files, and that he would pay me a million won to do it for him.”

“Is this something you do often?”

Hoseok shrugged. “Usually I just retrieve test answers and stuff for high school kids, sometimes changing their grades in the system. Occasionally I get stuff like this, though, but never for this kind of pay out, which is why I accepted so quickly.”

“Can you tell us who paid you to hack into the system?”

“He didn’t tell me his name.” Hoseok rested his elbows on the table in front of him. “He just gave me the network info, so I could get into the computer, then a deposit was made into my account after I sent him the files.”

“Did you happen to look at the files?” Hoseok shook his head again. “Would you be able to do us a favor then?”

A few minutes later, they were back in Hoseok’s room and he was logging into his online bank account. “What do I need to do?”

Namjoon pointed to the most recent transaction, a deposit of one million won. “Can you trace the source of this deposit?”

Hoseok scoffed. “And here I thought you were going to ask me something difficult.” He pulled up a window on a different computer screen and typed at lightning speed for a few minutes until an account number appeared. “Do you want me to find who this account belongs to?”

“You can do that?” Namjoon sounded somewhat impressed as Hoseok began typing again. A name and some information popped up. “Park Hyunwoo.” Namjoon read off. “I’ll call Hyungwon and tell him to go look for this guy.”

As Namjoon walked away to make the call, Yoongi clasped his hand on Hoseok’s shoulder. “You really enjoy doing this, don’t you?” Hoseok shrugged with a light nod. “Would you like to have a job that involves this? You would get less pay, but it would be legal, and extinguish any chances of you getting arrested.”

Hoseok bit his lip, contemplating the offer. “Let me get back to you on that.”

Eventually, Park Hyunwoo was taken into custody, confessing to the murders, “I was convinced she was cheating on me, so I tried to get into her laptop to find proof. She caught me, and I freaked out. I didn’t mean to hurt her or her family.” Yoongi and Namjoon went back to Seoul and finished setting up their offices.

About a week after the case was closed, they were enjoying some beers together back in Namjoon’s office when the bell they’d placed on the receptionist desk out front dinged. They went to see who would be coming this late at night, shock washing over them as they saw Hoseok standing at the desk. “Is that job offer still up for grabs?”

Jeon Jungkook

[boleyn13ao3]

Infinity War SPOILER Review

I didn’t quite know where to start, because this movie is huge and there is so much to say and I can’t just divide everything into positives and negatives. Every character is going to get its own take (or at least most characters) and I guess I will get into some scenes that left a big impact on me. General thoughts beforehand. All in all I really liked Infinity War, I would even call it great if it wasn’t for their poor, horrible, yes even disgusting treatment of everything related to Civil War and the radical change to some characters. Change they were submitted to, to fit the narrative although it made no sense at all when the history of the last movies is taken into consideration (Rhodey and Vision) I was never one the people who claimed there was too much humour in the latest Marvel movies, but it’s clearly the case with this one. It was so placed so badly, it made me seriously angry at times. Dramatic scenes that were necessary to give the audience and the characters closure were destroyed by a bad joke. Jokes that people wouldn’t make in such situations that is dealing with desperation and loss. THE BEGINNING Unfortunately the big death at the beginning was spoiled for me, but to be honest – I knew it was coming. The trailer was a big hint and it made sense in the narrative. I’ll go into detail when I talk about Loki, but for now – I am immensely satisfied with the way his life ended. Because it was important and the movie knew it was important, it was portrayed like a big thing, it made us understand – this is the end of the road, this movie means business. We’re going to kill one of the most likable and best characters during the first five minutes and it’s ugly. Like this the audience will understand what this is all about and I did understand. Unfortunately Loki is by far my favourite character and the reason why the MCU is so dear to my heart and because he is portrayed by the best actor in the entire thing… I was mourning him for the next half hour and took me at times out of the movie. Then again – isn’t that a huge accomplishment? Asgard is completely dead. We’ve lost the best character (in my opinion) and it was meaningful. A great start. THE END I was so hoping for that to happen and I didn’t think Marvel would have the guts to do it. Throughout the whole movie I was convinced that Thanos would get all the Infinity Stones and they would leave it at that. They went one step further and made him snap his fingers. Thanos wiped out half of the universe and I loved it. Misery, desperation and finally somebody making our heroes feel completely helpless. It has weight – wonderful. Unfortunately I got nervous and uneasy when Peter died. There is no way Peter isn’t coming back (Sony is not going to have that) and if Peter comes back – do they all come back? That would be terrible. Please, don’t go down that road. No time stone trick to make it all undone. If some come back, then one or two. Not everybody. Let them stay dead. Please, Marvel. Don’t ruin it. Alright, now let’s talk about the characters and how they were dealt with. Should we start with the most important one? Yes? Here we go: TONY STARK I am so relieved. Relieved beyond belief. I was worried they would fuck him up like they did Rhodey. They didn’t. Marvel treated him wonderfully. They knew that Tony Stark is the heart of the MCU and they treated him as such. He wasn’t wasted, he wasn’t made the bad guy. He was effective, sharp and clearly the man in charge. During the movie it became once more clear that it will have to be Tony Stark who has to end this journey. I guess he will die in the second part, but it will be him who ends Thanos. It all started with Tony, it will end with Tony. Compliments to Robert Downey Junior who is doing a marvellous job like he always does. He felt his anger and his pain. The last shot of him alone on Titan is still burned in my mind. Tony was the one person, the single one person that couldn’t die in this movie and he didn’t. Good job, Marvel. It is always a joy to see him and I know he will be the one to make the difference (looking at you Doctor Strange) I felt the loss, the emotion, the desperation. Perfect. Only problem – Why did you keep that phone? You should have thrown it away. Only moment of the movie was on the edge of my seat – Thanos stabbing Tony. For a second I was done with the MCU THANOS Okay, go easy on me – this comes from a major, MAJOR Loki fangirl - I like Thanos. He is a good villain. Clearly the best villain we’ve had since Loki himself. (Killmonger could have been great, but his plan was just too stupid for any person with an understanding of how the world actually works). Oh, it’s so easy to hate him. He’s killed the best character at the beginning of the movie. With his bare hand. But I don’t hate him. Thanos, in his little screen time, made me feel more than Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff and many other characters ever did. I believed his pain and his tears after killing his daughter. I enjoyed his conversation with and I appreciate it Gamora that they took the time to do that. I believed their backstory, their relationship and hell, I even get Thanos’ plan. At first I thought this ‘mercy killing’ bullshit was just a catchphrase, but no – Thanos actually believes in this stuff and that makes him a good character. Hell, he killed Loki and nevertheless I wanted other people to die so much more than him! Nonetheless – Thanos killed Loki, so he has to go. Tony Stark will take care of that. I know he will LOKI For me he and Tony are the two best characters in the MCU. Their story lines are the richest, their emotions the realest and the motivations the best. Unfortunately Loki’s time has come to an end now and that makes me sad, because I feel like the MCU hasn’t done him justice, they haven’t done enough with him. They only ever hinted his powers (telekinesis, astral projection, mind tricks, illusions), I would have loved to see what he really can do. Or a thorough exploration of his trauma. Him and Thor actually sitting down and having a conversation of how badly Odin fucked Loki over. Loki coming to terms with his heritage. Sure, one could argue we saw that in Infinity War, but one line isn’t enough for me. Loki has this wonderful backstory, all these emotions and facets – why couldn’t we spend more time with him? I blame the Thor movies for that, but it’s too late now. Anyway – Loki’s death was a rather obvious thing that was going to happen, I knew it and yet… it was heart-breaking. I thought it was perfect. Everything about it. Letting Thanos hurt Thor, not being able to take it, trying to trick him, twice, the little speech… Oh, Tom Hiddleston out-acted everyone else within the first five minutes. The look on his face when he looks at Thor… That is fear, desperation, anguish, love... It was everything. Other characters could only dream of making me care so much about them. I was scared that they wouldn’t give his death meaning, but they did. Being strangled to dead is gruesome, horrible and so painful. For him and for all of us and it had to be. Loki’s death had to make an impact, he deserves it and therefore I am happy about how it went down. It felt real, he was struggling while dying and still had the nerve to tell Thanos that he will never be a god. So right… The direct aftermath was also wonderful. Thor crawling towards Loki’s body. I only had one thought in my head “Please, take him with you. Please, take him with you.” Unfortunately I knew that he couldn’t, damn the trailer. Guys, I am having tears in my eyes while writing this, I swear. Blame is on you, Tom Hiddleston, for making him such a great character… Anyway, I am very happy about how Loki’s death went down and so mad at the aftermath, but I get to that I talk about Thor… Loki is always the best for me in any movie and it was the same thing here – for me his death had the hardest impact. As it should be STEVE ROGERS Oh, the hypocrisy is strong with this one. I mean – what the hell. I can’t remember the exact line… was it “We aren’t trading lives?” Don’t you remember Civil War? All you have done is trading lives for Bucky! I don’t care if it was never stated in canon, but you definitely killed some of the forces that were sent to go after the Winter Solider and you killed people in the tunnel in Bucharest and you were involved in how Rhodey got crippled. Captain America is full of shit and it didn’t improve one bit. Nonetheless I wasn’t hoping for him to do in the movie… but I am glad that he didn’t get many lines. The ones he had made me roll my eyes. Years of exile and you didn’t once reconsider your position? You still think you were right? You still think that you should have the power to do whatever you want, whenever you went, when you are pretty much the general of an army that doesn’t respond to anyone? I also don’t get his false idealism. I am sorry, but Vision’s life against half the universe? There is no math here! Don’t pretend like you’re too noble to take a life. You showed your morals in Civil War, I can’t take you serious anymore after that movie… Also who gave you that jet? Is it still the one you stole? The compound isn’t your home, you… I digress… I hope to god that they won’t make him the big, grand hero of the second part. That would ruin it for me. Oh, there is still one question I have – How were the non-super powered people and Rogers able to defeat Thanos’ minions in Scotland? I didn’t but that for a second. Great plot armour NATASHA ROMANOFF Why are you still alive? You have no story line going, your character was completely ruined in CIVIL WAR. All you do is saying one liners and I was wishing for your immediate death during the entire movie. Oh right, you are still alive, because we need a woman around… I’ll take Okoye over you any day. Seriously, Natasha served no purpose and not a single reference to Civil War and how she is the worst person ever. I am so done with her VISION / WANDA Okay, I need to clear something up before I get into this. Oh, this is going to get ugly. I don’t need political correctness in movies. I don’t always need strong characters. There are weak people in real life and there should be weak people in fiction. That doesn’t necessarily make them bad. I roll my eyes when people complain that a female character needed to be rescued. Yes, sometimes somebody needs to be rescued and that person could happen to be a woman. One character doesn’t equal sexism. So the portrayal of an abusive relationship or co-dependency itself doesn’t bother me. Show it. Show the manipulation, show how awful and twisted things can be and that they don’t always end well. That would be great story telling. What does Infinity War do? It tells us that Wanda never could hurt Vision. Just go fuck yourself. Wanda assaulted him. A person she claimed to care about and he didn’t threaten her, he didn’t do anything and she didn’t even know why she needed to get out of the compound. Nevertheless she used her magic against him in the most brutal way and stated a horrible, nonsensical one-liner that the writers thought would cool. Infinity War did the worst thing possible with this set-up. They ignored it. That was not a small thing and now it’s a non-thing. We’re even supposed to feel bad for Wanda for having to kill him. I didn’t feel a thing. I didn’t believe that it was hurting her. She showed me that she would gladly use violence against him because of literally NOTHING. Why the hell should I care? Natasha, Sam and Wanda were the people I wanted to die the most, so I actually smiled when I saw her go. I don’t that was the intention of the writers. I was happy though. I hope she stays dead. That relationship was horribly portrayed. Repulsive even.I would have been okay with it if they had implied that it was somewhat weird for Vision to have all forgotten about the assault, but they didn’t. So no, not comfortable with that. SAM WILSON You had nothing to add to the last story but your arrogance. I won’t miss you. You didn’t even apologize to Rhodey. Or acknowledge his injury. Hey, Tony fixed it, so no sweat, right? You are another horrible person BUCKY Wow. That was it? What a waste. We go through all of Civil War because of him and that he evaporates? Admittedly, it felt kind of good to have Steve witness that. Still, what a waste. There was still so much to do with him. Like – trying to make up for what happened or really dealing with the fallout of Civil War or his past in general. Then again, I am so glad Tony didn’t have to put up with any of this. DOCTOR STRANGE Benedict Cumberbatch is a treasure. Loved the performance, loved his power, loved his cynicism, he is great. I didn’t quite understand why he did give up the Time Stone, but I guess it has something to do with his visions. He needed to save Tony’s life, because Tony is still needed. That’s just my theory. I was shocked to see him go, because now I have only one person left to care about. GAMORA She was handled beautifully. Her death was so powerful. I loved it. They really did her justice, what a wonderful character. Can’t say much more. It was heart-breaking, but so good PETER QUILL You fucking idiot. What else is there to say? SPIDERMAN I couldn’t believe it when he died. Sony is not going to let them do that. They killed him. He is going to come back though and that has me worried that everybody is going to come back. That death was gut-wrenching though. Him and Tony… Peter’s pleading. Props to Tom Holland. Spiderman was great during the entire movie. RHODEY Oh my god, what did they do to you!? Yes, you have to let the Rogues inside because it’s the end of the world, but why would you hug him?! “Good to see you, Cap.” What the hell? Did Tony never tell you what Steve did? How is this possible? Why are the Accords suddenly bad? Why is Ross not in prison? How does any of this make any sense? Why did have to go through Civil War when now everything is fine and we completely ignore Steve’s huge betrayal, the disaster in Lagos, Bucharest and the sheer impossible arrogance that the Avengers wouldn’t need oversight. I couldn’t believe what I saw. This is Tony’s best friend. What is happening? The Accords are now bad, but T’Challa’s father and T’Challa were all for them, T’Challa is friends with Steve… How on earth does any of this make sense? Did the writers realise that they made Cap the bad guy in Civil War? I thought they knew all along and I applauded them for it, but I was obviously wrong. They didn’t know and they panicked. Now we have to make the Accords bad and Rhodey is all okay with being crippled because of them and the death of Tony’s parents doesn’t matter, Steve and Bucky beating him up and leaving him in Siberia doesn’t matter. Wanda abusing Vision doesn’t matter. Sam being an arrogant jerk who won’t let the UN tell him anything doesn’t matter. Steve believing that collateral damage doesn’t matter as long as it isn’t Bucky doesn’t matter. Why did you even make Civil War?! THOR Well, this is the big one. The one that made me mad. I didn’t mind the humour in Thor Ragnarok. It made sense there, there was a different tone, Jeff Goldblum was in it. But in Infinity War? Oh god… It started with the Guardians. Thor wakes up and his entire race has been wiped out. They are all dead. Heimdall stabbed and his brother, Loki, murdered in front of his eyes. With whom he had just made peace. What happens? Instead of anger, devastation and hurt we get a couple of jokes and awkward lines. What the hell? Other dramatic moments were handled so beautifully. Did someone else write those? I get so mad, because through all Thor movies he claimed that he had mourned Loki, but we didn’t see him do it. Not once. His brother’s body was left to rot in the Dark World and in the first movie Thor praised Odin for being such a good king when all he did was seriously fucking up Loki. I wanted him to mourn, I wanted anger, rage… he is the god of thunder for god’s sake and he made peace with Loki in the last film! Thanos choked the life out of Loki in front of Thor! For a second I thought things would turn around when Rocket came to talk to him and then somehow the conversation went back to Frigga and Odin although it had been Loki who had just died. Is it so hard for the writers to have Thor acknowledge his loss just once? In the Dark World they made a joke about it and here? Here it’s half-assed, but I guess I could have lived with this short moment if it hadn’t been for the eye joke. That ruined everything, was so out of place and tasteless. What was the point of the eye anyway? Was that really needed? God, I was so angry at that… The look on Thor’s face was good, why did you have to ruin it? I want some grief is that too much to ask? I know Thor is trying to play the tough guy, that’s okay, but Loki just died and it was for real this time. You did it so greatly, why fuck it up? Enough of the stupid jokes. All I want is Thor going at Thanos with Stormbreaker, screaming “You killed my brother!” That’s all. I get that this death is meaningful, why doesn’t Thor? Okay, maybe the breakground will come later, then why have the scene with Rocket? Maybe that’s just the fan girl talking, but after two Thor movies of disrespecting Loki’s death, I am fed up with it. Does Thor even care? Alright, enough of the characters, just one more thing that have to point out and again it has to do with Civil War. The end fight in Wakanda. I didn’t give a shit. Why? Because every single character that I cared about was either dead (Loki, Gamora) or in space (Tony, Peter, Strange, the Guardians, Thor). I was actually rooting for the aliens to kill as many of them as possible, because I either strongly disliked (Wanda, Natasha, Sam) them or I simply didn’t care enough (Bruce, Steve, T’Challa) or I couldn’t take them seriously anymore (Rhodey, Vision). Good job, writers. CONCLUSION Wow, those were more negatives than expected, but I guess the movie makes up for it in its relentlessness. We are spared nothing, there is loss, tears and desperation. Something we definitely needed in these movies. The characters that I love were treated greatly and I highly appreciate that. Yes, there is the Civil War problem, but there is no way they’re going to solve that now. Overall I enjoyed Infinity War, the ending made it work although it worries me. There is only one character left that I genuinely care about, that I even love and I hope they’re going to give Tony his time to shine in the next movie. What else to say? I’ll miss Loki and Gamora dearly. The other ones? Not so much. We’ll get our revenge. As Loki said “You’re never going to be a god.” Tony is going to make sure of that.

[iammultifandomaf]

Chapter 37 - Scarlett

BROTHERHOOD

https://m.fanfiction.net/s/12211562/37/

With that, Michendros has walked over to the swamp, bent his wide back and dipped his talon into it. He slowly straightened his back again, his hand curled together and reaching up. The surface of the swamp started to shake and a pile of bones and not fully decomposed bodies emerged from it. Michendros' hand then moved to his right to where the corpses followed and one by one laid down on the ground.

"Oh god," Lydia covered her mouth and nose with her hand, "the hunters did this?"

"I guess so... it must've been the place they ditched them so they wouldn't find a way back to their homes," Stolos said and looked at Mr. Martin whose eyes were tearing up.

"I am sorry that I couldn't find your wife alive," Stolos said with a genuine tone.

"What an irony," Lydia's father laughed through his teeth, "humans did this monstrous thing to Scarlett... and these creatures are showing her kindness."

When Michendros' carefully laid the corpses down next to each other, he looked back at Stolos for help. Stolos understood and walked to him, Lydia and her father followed also because Stolos was the main source of light at this moment. Stolos noticed that and decided to use magic to enlighten the are instead of firebending.

He clasped his hands together, extinguishing the flame and put his hands in the air, creating small balls of light around them.

"Why didn't you do this before, boy?" Mr. Martin asked, thinking that this alternative was more efficient. Stolos shrugged and said: "Didn't want you to see all that stuff we encountered on the way."

"What stuff?!" Lydia shrieked.

Stolos didn't answer, though, and looked up at Michendros who was patiently waiting for his further instructions.

"That one," Stolos said and pointed. Michendros' talon pointed at a skeleton and looked at Stolos for confirmation.

"No, no, the other one," Stolos said.

"You are always so unspecific," Michendros complained and pointed to the skeleton on the right.

"Yeah, that's Scarlett," Stolos said as he fingered the silver ring in his pocket.

Lydia and her father held each other and watched the skeleton who was supposedly their mother and wife being moved from the row of corpses to the opposite side.

Michendros then raised his both hands above the rest of the dead banshees and with that, all of the women's spirits appeared next to their own corpse or skeleton.

One of them who looked visibly older than the other women glanced at Michendros familiarly, knowing what he was. She put her hands together and bowed slighlty in front of him, saying a soft: "Merci."

With that, the spirits disappeared with a similar gush of light as did the previous freckled girl.

"Did they hunt them over the whole world?" Lydia wondered sadly.

"It seems so," Stolos said and turned around to face the other spirit that had appeared next to Scarlett's skeleton. Lydia copied his movement and her eyes widened at the sight.

"Mom?" she asked.

"What? Scarlett?" her father turned around abrubtly and started crying.

"Lydia, sweetheart," the spirit then looked at her alive husband, "Robert, I didn't manage to escape them," she said sadly.

Michendros quietly let the corpses of the other banshees dive into the ground and let a tombstone arise with the women's names. After that, he sat down next to Stolos who was watching his girlfriend and her father to walk closer to their dead relative.

"Scarlett, I- I miss you so much," Robert said and tried to touch his wife, however his hand just passed through her, "why can't I touch you when he could!" he roared angrily. Scarlett looked up at the man and the horrifying creature in front of her and then gazed back at her family.

"Who are they?" she wondered.

"They are the two brothers you warned me about," Robert tried to keep his voice down. Scarlett's eyes widened in surprise. "What? Why are they helping you, then? You didn't promise them anything, did you, Bob?"

"You wouldn't guess it, guess who's dating the smaller one," Robert said and gave a strict look to Lydia who blushed.

"Lydia!" her mother gasped, "my baby, why would you?"

"Mom, if it weren't for them, you'd still be in that disgusting swamp and I wouldn't be able to see you."

"That's right, and I am grateful for that. But sweetie, they can be really dangerous... otherwise they wouldn't be feared by so many."

"Well, it wasn't them who murdered you, was it? It was them who found you and...," Lydia couldn't finish her sentence. She wanted to say that they would be able to give her a final rest, but that made her cry again.

"Lydia, Lydia, I know. I just worry about you, I am your mother after all. Just, please, be careful, always, okay? And smart, be smart. And you," she said and looked at Robert,"don't beat yourself up about it. It happened, alright. Don't think of vengance or anything. They are way too good at what they are doing. Lydia needs you to stay alive, Bob."

"How can I let the bastards running around, Scarlett? How can I live with the fact that they killed you and nobody will do anything about it."

"And how would you do it, Bob? You always let your feelings overtake your actions and then don't think the plan through."

"I couldn't help myself but to interrupt," Stolos suddenly said, standing next to them which made all three of the Martins jump up,"firstly, I believe this is yours," Stolos said and took out the silver ring out of his pocket. Scarlett's eyes lightened up at the sight of the ring and looked at Robert. "You kept it all those years? It was my favorite thing, Bob."

"That's why I think you should keep it on you wherever you go," Stolos smiled at her and let the ring float to her palm where he laid it on.

"How can I touch it?" Scarlett thought outloud in surprise.

"Let's say that the God of Death made an exception for you," Stolos said. Scarlett put the ring on with ease, tears flowing down her cheeks. She looked up at the sitting creature in front of them who causally raised his great hand in an awkward wave.

"He's the God of Death?" Robert turned around to see him as well and then he looked back at his daughter. "That's the family you wanna marry into?"

"Dad!" Lydia said in a protestive tone.

"What? My question is genuine. What will you do with them? Have small death-god babies?"

"Jesus christ, dad... I am not dating Mich, I am dating him," she pointed at Stolos who smirked at her.

"So? Are you some god, too, or are you just a random being?"

"Well," Stolos began but Lydia interrupted him, "leave that for later, dad, we have now to be with mom."

"Hm, you're right."

"What did you want to say next?" Scarlett remembered and looked at Stolos once again.

"I know that you're afraid for your husband, however I dislike when someone messes with my loved ones, so I understand Mr. Martin's need to revenge you. Then again, these hunters might be still killing other banshees. Don't you think someone should stop them?"

Scarlett looked down at her ring on her finger and then at her husband who was watching Stolos.

"You have no idea how much I wanted to hurt them," Scarlett said, "but even I was too weak."

"What if I had a skillful son in law?" Robert suddenly said.

"Son in law?" Lydia repeated.

"Well, yeah, look at him, what a competent guy," Robert said with a grin and patted Stolos on his back.

"You quickly changed your opinion on him," Lydia stated.

"Well, his actions really speak for themselves, honey."

"Alright, but don't you let him get hurt!" Scarlett said firmly.

"Wait, wait, are you just talking about killing the hunters?" Lydia had to assure herself.

"Yeah," her mother and father said unanimously. Lydia sent a glare to Stolos, remembering what he told her about his godly influence on other people.

"Come here," Lydia ordered to Stolos who obeyed without a word and followed her. She stopped in front of Michendros who raised his head from his palm that he used to for supporting its weight and looked down at the two.

Lydia looked up at Michendros and directly asked him: "Is this the destructiveness he has as a god or is that just simply him?"

"Uhm," Michendros looked at his younger brother who put his hand around the back of his neck, "I think this is his... normal destructiveness?" Michendros said carefully.

"I am definitely not influencing your parents with anything extra," Stolos said in defense. Lydia looked strictly at the both of them.

"Our reputation is so gruesome because we aren't that friendly sometimes," Michendros said.

"So, your first go to is murder?" Lydia asked and looked at Stolos who approached her slowly and took her hands into his. "Not always the first... but yes, often we chose this option."

"I don't know how I feel about it," Lydia admitted.

"I understand, if you don't want me kill the hunters, I won't."

"God damn it. You're like the devil on my shoulder. Of course I wish them to be dead... but it just doesn't feel like the right thing to do."

"Once you live this long, Lydia, and end up like this," Michendros gestured to himself, "you don't really follow the rights or wrongs of this century's society. We do as we think is right, not asking for permisson nor judgement."

Lydia looked up at Michendros again and said: "And what about... God-God?"

"You mean the Bible fella?" Stolos asked.

"Yeah..."

"Well, if he exists, I've never met him," Stolos said.

"Me neither," Michendros shrugged, "but I think the sea deity told me he saw him once."

"Oh, did he?"

"Yeah."

"Well, there you go," Stolos said. Lydia's face saddened a bit and said: "I know that for you it's something else. But I am just human and I am afraid what could come... if I myself decide what's right and wrong. What if I'll be punished?"

"This sounds like the typical religious thinking," Stolos said, "from what I have seen, people get what they think they deserve. If they believe in a bearded man who'll send them to hell to be punished by a horny red guy, then it will possibly happen to them."

"What?" Lydia said in surprise, "so... you're saying that we alone decide what comes after?"

"Well, kind of, depends on the situation as well," Michendros said, for example these girls, I intervened in their lives, so they got sent where I wanted to," Michendros said, becoming now a bit more comfortable talking when he saw that Lydia got used to his creepy voice.

"Oh, that kind of changes the situation," Lydia realized, "right?"

Stolos laughed heartedly: "I am afraid I drew you to the dark side." Michendros chuckled, too.

"Oh, shut up you and you with this weird ass outfit," she pointed at Michendros' silky tunic.

"Hey, it fits my silky looking wings!" he defended himself.

"What wings? I don't see any."

"Well, I am not flying anywhere, so I don't need to take them out," Michendros explained.

"Show me," Lydia said without hesitation.

"Shouldn't you pay attention to your parents first?" Michendros reminded her.

"You're right," she said guiltily and leaned to Stolos' ear: "Are they really silky?"

Stolos rolled his eyes and said in a pretended annoyed tone: "The feathers alltogether may or may not give out the impression of a soft material, for example silk, yeah."

"You see?" Michendros said, satisfied and pulled his knee closer so he could rest his chin on it.

Lydia returned to her parents who were talking about everything they could before Scarlett had to leave.

"Is everything alright, Lyds?" her mother asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I am sorry, I am back now."

Michendros let them talk some more to catch up but after a while, he rose to his feet and walked over to them. Scarlett looked at him gloomily and asked: "It's time?"

Michendros' head just nodded but didn't do anything yet.

"Remember I love you, alright you two? And don't fight!"

"We love you, too," Robert said sadly and Lydia tried to surpress her tears. Scarlett walked back to her skeleton and looked up to the God of Death who put his talon on her forehead and raised his other hand above her. Her eyes quickly searched for Lydia and Robert and before she went, she managed to form a silent 'bye' with her lips.

[pachathegreat]

Day 19: The Wolfman (2010)

“Even a man who is pure in heart, and says his prayers by night; May become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright.“

Welcome back to A New Beginning (Famous Monsters). This is our 5th entry for the week and we take a look at the 2010 remake of The Wolfman.

So Hollow Man wasn’t necessarily a remake of The Invisible Man, but a reimagining of the H.G. Wells story in a contemporary setting. 

FUCK OFF KEVIN BACON! BEGONE WITH YOU, FUCK NUGGET!

This movie however is a full remake, done by Universal so we see a lot of recurring themes from the original, and some of the characters of the original. 

The film apparently had a rocky production with director Joe Johnston joining a little under a month before principal photography and a score by Danny Elfman that was rejected, then re-used. 

The film still follows Lawrence Talbot, but he is no longer an every-man, but a famed Shakespearean actor from England. Benicio del Toro plays our wolfman this time.

 Let me just say that Lon Chaney Jr. was supposed to be welsh in the original, that’s why Claude Rains played his dad. Dude, did not remotely sound British, at all. Dick Van Dyke did a better job convincing me he was British. Del Toro does very well to do a good accent, it’s a bit Americanized, but they explain that away as having an education over in America. Also coincidentally, Anthony Hopkins who plays Del Toro’s father in the film is Welsh in real life.

The film changes the year it takes place, no longer in 1941, and it takes us to the 1890′s where Victorian Goths run amok, and people say things like GIVE US A KISS THEN, GUVNAH! as they die from not brushing their teeth or whatever. 

ANYWAYS! The setting it is a nice change, and it feels like the director was really challenging himself. For those that don’t know Joe Johnston worked on the first Captain America movie, The Rocketeer, and Jumanji. He’s usually done American period pieces, but this feels like he was testing himself. I think this might be his first R rated movie too. 

The lighting and whole aesthetic of the film is gothic, kinda what I expected from the Hammer films. It looks amazing and helps the vibe of the whole film. The color within the film is usually on the cooler side with the candles providing warmth and aiding in the deep shadows of the film. Usually I get to this stuff last, but it’s a really nice movie to look at. 

While I did like the 1941 version, the setting was usually a generic looking manor and a heavily fogged induced forest with some trees thrown in. 

On second thought...

There’s a great shot when Lawrence reaches the Talbot estate and you can see the entire countryside and it’s this huge sprawling thing. It looks really good, I swear. 

So the original movie dealt with an everyday man afflicted with this curse, struggling to find a cure before anything bad happens. He doesn’t and his father beats him to death with a silver cane.

Our 2010 films sets the story up as a suspense thriller with eruptions of violence. Lawrence is asked by his brother’s fiance, Gwen (Emily Blunt) to help find him as he’s gone missing. Lawrence goes back home to begin the search, but as soon as he arrives, he meets with his estranged father who tells him he’s been found dead. Upon seeing the state in which his brother died, Lawrence will not leave until whatever or whoever mutilated his brother is found. Along the way Lawrence is haunted by his mother’s apparent suicide when he was a young boy. Eventually he goes to a Romani camp to find answers to his brother’s death, the camp is attacked, and while Lawrence is saving someone he’s bit by the creature attacking the camp. Having survived the attack, he’s now cursed to become a werewolf. Lawrence begins to uncover the truth until his first transformation and is taken in by the locals the morning after. He’s committed to an asylum. While there, his father reveals the truth, he is the werewolf that bit him, and his mother didn’t commit suicide, he had killed her. After her death, Lord Talbot didn’t see the need to fight his curse and began to embrace it. Lawrence vows to kill his father and escapes when he transforms. He has a climatic battle with his dad, and chases down Gwen in his wolf form. Before he can do anything, she shoots him with a silver bullet, putting Lawrence peacefully to rest. I might’ve left some things out to save time. 

I first watched this movie when it came out and I remember really liking it.Watching it again, it felt a little long this time around. Then I realized that I had just watched the director’s cut. While I did enjoy the mystery of the story, I think the theatrical cut is the best way to go. Those extra 17 minutes can be felt. It takes a while before we see the first transformation, and as good as a story is, sometimes we wanna watch cool shit happen. Case in point: this scene

while this isn’t the first transformation in the movie, it’s the one that stands out. The first transformation is good btw. Much better than doing a cross dissolve from bare feet to uggs like the original. The design and make up of the wolfman in this were done by Rick Baker who did the work for An American Werewolf in London. This movie has the type of effects I like, the use of both practical and CGI. Though the movie does rely on it for a lot of the moon shots. I mean, a lot of them. The transformations are impressive and even the way they show Victorian London looks good. 

🎶HawoooOOOOOoooo werewolves of London  🎶

Baker was inspired as a kid watching the original Wolfman and asked specifically to work on this one when he heard it was being done. His work on the film is so nice. Look at the detail between these two photos and see what I mean. 

We don’t see Anthony Hopkins in his wolf form for long, but you can see a lot of work had been put into what’s essentially one scene (though it is the big climatic battle).

It feels like such a good update of the original. It doesn’t deviate too far from the feel of the 1941 version, but adds contemporary elements to bring it to the 21st century.

I’ve mentioned Anthony Hopkins so I guess we should talk about performances! Del Toro brings a weight into his rendition of Talbot. Even before he’s bitten, he’s a man whose haunted and hurt. He’s unsure if he should return home at all, if his brother’s death means anything to him. The Lawrence of this movie initially channels that pain by playing tortured characters like Macbeth before being made to confront his past and the trauma he’s witnessed and suffered as a child and now being blamed for the gruesome murders happening. 

Emily Blunt’s performance is good. To be honest, she’s just kinda there. I always have a hard time recognizing her sometimes.

Anthony Hopkins plays Sir John Talbot, and at first he’s this kinda eccentric and emotionally distant character, but as Lawrence gets closer to understanding what’s happening to him, Hopkins begins to show this subdued ferocity to the character with a kind of matter of fact malevolence when he reveals he killed Lawrence’s mother and brother with this add sense of pride in his son.  

Hugo Weaving also plays Francis Aberline based on the main inspector after Jack the Ripper. I found Weaving’s performance to be pretty good, but wondered why he was there to begin with. He does get bit at the end of the film and survives. Maybe they were hoping to capitalize on a sequel? We’ll never know.

Box office wise this was considered a bomb, and while it didn’t make as much money as was spent. I don’t think “bomb” would be a good description. It cost $150 million to make, but only made around $140 million and was thrashed by critics. Now I personally don’t like critics (ironic given that I am at this very moment critiquing) cause they’ll usually just shit on things and beat a movie down unfairly. Being on @filmaweekpodcast I’ve noticed a trend of decent to even good movies being just eviscerated unjustly by critics. 

Not that this is a perfect movie, watching the director’s cut stretched out the plot more than it needed to be. The effects in this are great, and Johnston did a good job coming in so late into production for this film. This a good remake. For me it delivers on what the original kinda missed out on, and that was more wolfman. 

This film does not shy away from gore either, and that was surprising given Johnston’s previous films, but again, I think he was challenging himself. 

I think I’m done with this now. I enjoyed the movie, but stick with the theatrical cut and I think you guys would dig it too. 

Oh! Before I go, check out this sweet werewolf on werewolf action!

Alright that about does it, tomorrow 

Play me out Warren Zevon!

[verdigrisprowl]

Feb 15 Blurr’s Horror Stream - Children of the Corn

An Insecticon showed up. Prowl panicked and left. He forced himself to come back. He had to keep a hand on his neck the whole time to keep himself from panicking, but he successfully managed not to panic. He’s getting better at handling Insecticons.

It helped that the Insecticon talked like Ben Stein.

Welcome to the 'speedxstealer' room. The chat room has been cleared by the moderator. Dart: [ Running late. Skids into the room and slams down a tray of treats. Phew. Not so late. ] ItsyBitsySpyers: *Soundwave shows up with only Frenzy in tow. Rumble stayed home and the others are busy working right now. He'll peer closely at Dart before taking his usual seat.* Dart: [ waves with a slight smile. ] ItsyBitsySpyers: *Wonders if that new mod made Blurr ill. Hmm.* Dart: [ u will find out because tonight is the reveal all night ] N O S: [ comes skidding in on a cart. He has a CART of snacks] Airachnid: [is just going to flick her glossa in and out and following the cart] Airachnid: [so much for sneaking in like normal] N O S: [ presents the cart ] Snacks for the guests! Airachnid: [happily helps herself, she didn't eat before coming here] Whirl: *trots in, looks around; he tilts his head at his new hosts questioningly, but doesn't say anything* Dart: [ waves at Whirl and Airachnid ] Airachnid: [gives a wave in response before climbing into the hammock] Whirl: *steps further in and just talks to Dart as if he DIDN'T threaten to burn him to death last week* What's the news? ANY news? ItsyBitsySpyers: *Soundwave tilts his helm in Whirl and Dart's direction. Listening again.* Dart: Uh, well... [ looks around ] We'll wait til everyone's settled, all right? Whirl: *arrows his optic, briefly considering throwing his weight around again, before he finally nods; turning away, he bobs his helm cordially at Airachnid* Airachnid: [waves at Whirl before getting more comfortable in the hammock] Whirl: *he does not sit down, but instead, begins pacing* N O S: ... You want something to drink or somethin'? Dart: (( lemme know when you guys are ready. )) Whirl: Nah. Whirl: ((I am!)) ItsyBitsySpyers: ((gimme like 3 min plz)) ItsyBitsySpyers: ((then i will be ready if others are)) Dart: (( mhm! )) N O S: If you say so. Prowl: *belated arrival. sits, dims optics, tunes out world until show starts* N O S: (( and we're back )) Whirl: ((i have, the black screen)) Dart: (( try it now )) Dart: (( It just reset itself again )) Whirl: ((lemme refresh)) N O S: ((mkay )) Whirl: ((THERE we go)) Dart: (anyway. y'all lemme know when you're ready again )) Whirl: ((i am!)) Airachnid: I am)) boomtank: ((ready! ItsyBitsySpyers: ((yup)) Dart: [ looking around at everyone. He hasn't really formally met anyone. ] Dart: [ But, he'll be friendly. For the moment ] Whirl: *has not stopped pacing* Dart: ... You okay? [frowns a little ] Airachnid: [may or may not be watching Whirl] Whirl: What do you THINK? Dart: (( ANYWAY. )) N O S: (( okay are people ready yet? )) Whirl: **yep!)) Airachnid: ye)) Dart: (( everyone else, too? )) Sideswipe: ((yep Dart: (( before my net crashes AGAIN )) Dart: (( anyway im starting ) ItsyBitsySpyers: *Soundwave cautiously taps the avatar. Thing's starting.* Whirl: *leans on the wall by the door and STARES at Dart* FakeProwl: *several seconds of silence; then optics flicker and brighten. small nod of thanks.* Dart: ... What? Dart: [ SIGH ] ItsyBitsySpyers: [[Corn children. ... Seeds?]] ItsyBitsySpyers: *Nods back.* Whirl: What do you mean, what, you idiot? How is he? Any better? Any WORSE? Dart: ... [sighs] Not better. Not worse. Dart: He's just the same. Whirl: *IT'S HIS TURN TO SIGH* Whirl: ((whops all caps)) Airachnid: [since Whirl is preoccupied with other things, she's just going to take up the whole hammock] Sideswipe: -he's here now- Whirl: Any words on your plans? N O S: ... Uh, we're gonna keep working? N O S: We can't stop just because he decided to take a head vacation. Airachnid: [that got violent quickly, she likes it] Whirl: Mmhmm. Whirl: Well. *pings his frequency over* Whirl: Comm me if anything changes, one way or the other. Sideswipe: ....that's an interesting start to a movie N O S: ... I guess. Dart: He means we will. Whirl: ((!! i didn;'t know Linda Hamilton was in this!)) Whirl: ((danny elfman is that u in the ost i hear)) Whirl: (OH NO, IT WAS NOT)) Whirl: You'd BETTER, because if I find out you held out on me, you'll regret it. Dart: We're not sure what to do, honestly. Dart: We should probably tell his friends, though. Whirl: Yeah. There's a few people back home. I'll let 'em know. Dart: (( oh come on internet.. )) Dart: I don't really know who his friends are. Dart: [ looking around ] Other than Drift and you. ItsyBitsySpyers: ((i have audio and no video)) Airachnid: same)) Dart: (( I paused it. )) Sideswipe: ((black screeeeen Dart: (( fuckiing comcast. )) ItsyBitsySpyers: ((there we go)) Whirl: ((goddammit livestream pls)) Whirl: ((and/or internet)) Dart: [ maybe soundwave, but he's never mentioned soundwave. Ravage, yes ] Dart: [ But, he doesn't know what to say so. Shift. Sits down. ] ItsyBitsySpyers: *Soundwave will tell Ravage himself soon.* Whirl: All right. Well. *just sort of trails off* Dart: Axis figured out some things, though. ItsyBitsySpyers: *Also: a serenade. How lucky.* Whirl: I'm out. I'll check with you guys later. *he doesn't feel like sticking around with Blurr half-dead; he can't relax* ItsyBitsySpyers: *Frenzy waves Whirl goodbye* Dart: [ waves a servo ] Whirl: *bobs his helm to Frenzy, and then Airachnid* Airachnid: [oh is he leaving? she waves from the hammock] Whirl: *and then, he is gone* ItsyBitsySpyers: [[Gruesome.]] Dart: [ chin hands. ] Whirl: ((ok, OC incoming, lemme post y'al a ref: Whirl: http://68.media.tumblr.com/54e294d05cac7a4a53a93276f14bafde/tumblr_newh7bf4Vr1qgwdbco1_r1_1280.png FakeProwl: ((is it paused rn?)) Dart: (( no )) ItsyBitsySpyers: ((i don't think so)) FakeProwl: ((NOPE. I WAS JUST FROZEN)) Whirl: ((nah linda hamilton and A Dude are in a car)) Airachnid: A BUGGER??)) Dart: (( want me to pause? )) FakeProwl: ((no i restarted)) Whirl: ((A BIG BUGGER)) Airachnid: YE)) Whirl changed their nickname to Fiasco. Dart: (( okie )) FakeProwl: ((it's going now. a child is running in corn. how far behind am i)) FakeProwl: ((and now there's creepy laughter and a spider)) Dart: (( not that far )) Fiasco: ((CORN LOOMS MENACINGLY)) ItsyBitsySpyers: ((i'm behind you as a matter of fact)) FakeProwl: ((good enough)) Airachnid: I was about to say are you talking about Airachnid cause)) FakeProwl: ((the spider in question was just a wee bit smaller than airachnid)) FakeProwl: *prowl suddenly realizes he has absolutely no idea what's going on* Dart: [ glances at Frenzy ] Hey. Frenzy. [Waves a servo  ] Can I ask you somethin'? FakeProwl: *a diner got massacred while a sick child doodled, and another child got attacked in the plants and then got hit by a car. that's it. he hasn't paid attention to anything else.* ItsyBitsySpyers: \\SUP?\\ FakeProwl: *what the happ is fuckening* Fiasco: *there is a mech standing in your doorway. He's holding what looks to be a screen that was reconstituted into a data pad, and he is one-third again as tall as a average IDW mech* Airachnid: Oh just bury the body and keep going. ItsyBitsySpyers: *Prowl may ask for a recap if he needs one.* Sideswipe: ...I don't think humans do that Dart: [ tilts helm ] Did Blurr say anything while you guys were working on Thundertron's demise? ItsyBitsySpyers: *Soundwave glances at the newbie. Who...?* ItsyBitsySpyers: \\LOTSA STUFF WHAT AIN'T FIT FOR POLITE COMPANY.\\ N O S: [ glances at the door. Double takes. Draws out swivel pistols] Whoa whoa, whoa. Who's this clown? FakeProwl: *... he's gonna.* @Soundwave «I faded out. What happened between the diner massacre and the child getting killed in the plants?» Fiasco: *and when he speaks, his voice is an utterly monotone, lifeless drone. Imagine Ben Srtein, if he were a robot* Excuse me. Is this, in fact, the Emp--*looks up* Sideswipe: Or this one does? Maybe? Airachnid: [who is everyone looking at? she turns and.. oh] FakeProwl: ((insectistein)) Airachnid: [chirps at the newcomer] FakeProwl: ((... bensectistein)) Fiasco: *stares at the drawn pistols; his expression, which is one that is either weariness or boredom, does not changfe* Is this the Emperor. Dart: No, not like... not his usual talk. [ frowns ] I mean, did he do anything weird? Fiasco: ((WIN BENSECTSTEIN'S MONEY)) N O S: Yeah, who's askin'? Fiasco: I am N O S: Who's I? ItsyBitsySpyers: @Prowl: (txt): Little. Human pair celebrated birthday, began job location transfer. Human child attempted departure, stated dislike of environment. Two other children assisted, stayed behind. Fiasco: *looks at his "datapad" and then back up* Is this the movie room. N O S: Yeah... FakeProwl: @Soundwave «Has there been any explanation of the massacre?» Sideswipe: Yep Sideswipe: -points- Movie. There. Fiasco: *his antenna perk up a bit at the chirp and he glances her way, but his expression does not change* ... *looks back to NOS* Then I think I'm in the right place. I'm here to view the film. ItsyBitsySpyers: @Prowl: (txt): Only explanation: Malachi, Isaac perhaps ringleaders. Whole town affected. Nothing else. Fiasco: Are you going to point your guns at me the whole time. N O S: ... Right. [ lets his pistols swivel back ] Not unless you give me reason. N O S: I'm NOS. [points ] That's Dart. We're in charge right now. FakeProwl: *hm. acknowledging ping.* Fiasco: NOS. Dart. *nods* Fiasco. Fiasco: *and now he will duck so he can get through this door and take a seat* ItsyBitsySpyers: *"Fiasco" has a file now.* Airachnid: [she'll watch him now, she hasn't met an Insecticon froma  diffrent reality before] N O S: Fiasco... [ hums and just leans back against the wall ] Fiasco: I don't believe thirteen-thousand-hundred is a number. *abruptly looks to Airachnid* Who are you, and why have you made a sound at me. ItsyBitsySpyers: @Prowl: (txt): Music, games, crayons, drawings forbidden. This, against Malachi, Isaac human rules. Dead child suggested unpleasant end if discovered. FakeProwl: @Soundwave «Is this a new change, or some sort of cult that's been long established?» Airachnid: I'm Airachnid. I sometimes greet mecha like that. Fiasco: Hello, Airachnid. Airachnid: And, I like to see Insecticons, even if they aren't from my home reality. ItsyBitsySpyers: @Prowl: (txt): Initial murders, three years ago. Nothing else known. FakeProwl: @Soundwave «The one in the pinstripes is Isaac?» Fiasco: *his antenna perk up again* Oh? That's not the typical reaction. *he sets his datapad in his lap, aand pauses, eyeing her over* Are you an insecticon? ItsyBitsySpyers: *Tiny nod.* FakeProwl: *there's a new voice. glances toward it?* N O S: What in the pit is an Insecticon? Airachnid: Part Insecticon. ItsyBitsySpyers: \\HIM.\\ FakeProwl: *WHEN DID BOMBSHELL-- avatar spazzes and glitches.* N O S: I see that, obviously. But, what's the special name for? FakeProwl: *goodbye prowl is gone* Fiasco: *pauses and considers the question; he just sits there in silence for a few long moments* If I were to define it, I would say any and all mecha who have the potential to transform into a cyber-insect Fiasco: or retains cyber-insectoid characterstics. But I'm not an expert. N O S: Yeah, well, we've never seen one that looks like you. ItsyBitsySpyers: *What-- oh. Yes. Prowl's thing about Insecticons. He'll ping after to see if Prowl needs anything.* ItsyBitsySpyers: *Frenzy finally remembers he got asked a question* Airachnid: [notices what happened with Prowl] Fiasco: *if he noticed, he gives no sign* ItsyBitsySpyers: \\DON'T THINK SO? AFTER HE GOT THAT THING IN HE WAS LIKE. RUBBIN' HIS HELM 'N STUFF A WHOLE BUNCH.\\ FakeProwl: *pings back. the ping does not say anything. at least he's alive.* ItsyBitsySpyers: \\DUNNO 'BOUT NOTHIN' ELSE.\\ Fiasco: I am a unique specimen. *pause* In a manner of speaking. Fiasco: If we're talking in plain terms, I'm a failed science experiment, but "insecticon" has less syllables. Dart: He was getting a lot of migraines after that thing was installed. That's because his processor can't handle all these upgrades. FakeProwl: ((god i'm remembering cabin in the woods. what was the dude's name--the harbinger?)) Airachnid: I'm more along the lines of "a Allspark abnormality". Dart: [[ yeah ]] ItsyBitsySpyers: *Soundwave acknowledges. He trusts Prowl to message him if he needs something the Constructicons can't offer.* ItsyBitsySpyers: \\SO MAYBE HE BUSTED HISSELF. I AIN'T LEARNED HEAD STUFF.\\ Dart: If he'd busted himself, he'd be offline at least. Dart: The upgrade probably didn't help, but he was picking himself apart before that. Dart: Ever since he came through the bridge in a hurry and threw that tantrum. ItsyBitsySpyers: \\DUNNO 'BOUT NO TANTRUM.\\ ItsyBitsySpyers: \\HE BEEN PICKIN STUFF A LONG TIME THOUGH.\\ Dart: He came home one day and was furious... He almost broke the bridge. ItsyBitsySpyers: \\'N AIN'T NOBODY ASKED HIM HOW COME?\\ FakeProwl: @Soundwave «... Who's the Insecticon?» Fiasco: What is the name of this film? Airachnid: Children of the Corn. Airachnid: Whatever "corn" is. Fiasco: Hm. *fires up his datapad and starts typing carefully* Dart: We asked him. Well, I did. He didn't tell me. ItsyBitsySpyers: @Prowl: (txt): Self-identification: failed science experiment. Designation: Fiasco. Unrecognized. Dart: Right after he came back and calmed down, he said for us to find a ship. So... we found a ship. Airachnid: I hate religous zealots. Fiasco: It's a large grain plant, apparently. FakeProwl: *well. fiasco isn't bombshell.* Fiasco: I believe it's--*points at the screen* the stalks behind them. *holds his datapad up and looks between the two, verifying his identification* Fiasco: I can confirm that that is, in fact, corn. ItsyBitsySpyers: \\HE AIN'T SAID WHY A SHIP?\\ Airachnid: So it's a plant? [that would explain some things] Fiasco: *looks to her and nods* ItsyBitsySpyers: \\HOW COME THERE'S SO MUCH?\\ FakeProwl: *hesitantly flickers back on. hello, prowl is back.* Dart: Pit, I don't know. Fiasco: *looks back to his datapad. Scolls. After a few moments he speaks in that same, dull monotone*Corns are grown in great abundance because they';re used for food. Dart: We went onto the ship and he went ... he just went to town. Killed everyone. Dart: It was fun, but... well, he seemed angry.  Or something. ItsyBitsySpyers: *Ping hello. Quietly moves his fingers until they're bumping Prowl's hand. Hold needed?* FakeProwl: *hold accepted* Fiasco: *does more typing, and falls quiet as he reads* FakeProwl: *warily looks around for fias-- there he is. prowl's gonna keep him in the corner of his optic.* ItsyBitsySpyers: *Good. Laces their fingers tight and shifts his other arm as if he's getting comfortable. Mostly he's just putting it a little more in the way between them.* N O S: So, what are you researching? [breaks apart and reforms by Fiasco ] And how'd you get a hold of us? ItsyBitsySpyers: \\THAT'S A LOTTA FOOD FOR A LIL BUNCHA MINIMEATS.\\ N O S: Ugh, humans eat too much. ItsyBitsySpyers: *Soundwave glances at Dart.* ItsyBitsySpyers: [[What will you do if you cannot bring him around?]] Airachnid: Because they are not efficent enough to get much energy out of the things they consume. Fiasco: *looks up* There was a broadcast, on the multiversal data-net. Dart: [ blinks and looks over at Soundwave ] We... we don't know. Fiasco: I've never seen a film before, so I figured I would do that. N O S: Well, we do this once a week. N O S: I mean, /we/ don't, but Blurr does. He's our Captain. ItsyBitsySpyers: *Soundwave's free hand taps his leg twice while he thinks. He nods. For now.* Fiasco: *silently looks around* Fiasco: Which one of you ius Blurr? Airachnid: He's not here. Dart: He's... out right now. FakeProwl: *tries to refocus on the movie. free hand slides up to cover the back of his neck* Fiasco: Oh. Dart: But, he should be back soon. Dart: We hope. ItsyBitsySpyers: @Prowl: (txt): Hand. Unnecessary. Others will not touch in his presence. FakeProwl: @Soundwave «It helps.» Fiasco: At any rate, I think I am caught up. This is Burt and Vicky, and they are in Gatlin, correct? N O S: Yep. ItsyBitsySpyers: @Prowl: (txt): ...Understood. Other needs? Fiasco: *nods and sets his datapad down again* ItsyBitsySpyers: *He doesn't want others to figure out Prowl's thing but... if Prowl knows and wants his hand there still, he won't argue.* Dart: [ looks at Soundwave, then Frenzy ] Are you sure he didn't tell you anything? FakeProwl: *he slouches forward so his elbow's on his knee. looks more like he's rubbing a crick in his neck than anything.* FakeProwl: *... that's what he's going for, at least.* FakeProwl: @Soundwave «No needs now.» ItsyBitsySpyers: [[Nothing.]] ItsyBitsySpyers: \\SORRY.\\ Dart: [ frowns ] It's all right... Dart: [ rubs helm ] I just thought we could use some key words to snap him out of it. Fiasco: *tilts his head anc glances back Airachnid's way* You say you're part insecticon...? How did you manage to do that? Airachnid: I came out of the Allspark this way. Fiasco: "Allpsark"? ItsyBitsySpyers: *Catching up on the movie's a good distraction, right?* @Prowl: (txt): Murderous corn god cult confirmed. Corn deity guided initial murders. No human adults seen. ItsyBitsySpyers: Human assisting outsiders killed. Outsiders assigned death sentence. Airachnid: The Well of Allsparks, the source of all life on our Cybertron. Fiasco: Oh. Hmm. ...*pulls the datapad right up again* Airachnid: Our sparks rise from our planet's core and we eventually form our frames. ItsyBitsySpyers: [[Perhaps if you knew what put him there to start with. If you do not... then he does not know.]] FakeProwl: @Soundwave «Is there evidence that the "corn deity" actual exists? Or do we only know of its whims through its prophet? Fiasco: *nods absently; for the first time his masked has something close to an expression: he squints as he reads* Dart: He didn't say anything... He just locked himself in his room after the movies that night. Airachnid: To be quite honest, no one really knows why mecha like myself are formed. Some say it's what happens when an Insecticon spark and a normal spark merge while rising in the Well. ItsyBitsySpyers: @Prowl: (txt): Corn deity - [][][]He Who Walks Behind the Rows[][][] - known only through prophet, rapid cloud movement. Fiasco: *sets the datapad down again* I don't think we have one of those, where I'm from. That's interesting. N O S: We don't , either. ItsyBitsySpyers: *Records that bit Airachnid just said. He's never heard that. Fascinating* FakeProwl: *half-listening to the Insecticon's conversation. great, there's a universe where Insecticons occur naturally.* ItsyBitsySpyers: *Of course they do.* FakeProwl: *sounds awful* ItsyBitsySpyers: [[Room logs checked?]] Airachnid: [she's happy to inform] Dart: He never left his room after that night. Dart: And the history of the bridge only showed two destinations. ItsyBitsySpyers: [[Negative. Voice logs.]] Fiasco: *holds his datapad with one primary hand and starts to type with his secondary limbs* Thank you for sharing that. Dart: His comm was disconnected. ItsyBitsySpyers: *Shakes helm. Damn it, Blurr.* Dart: [ frowns ] He didn't visit or call anyone. But, Roadbuster came over one night. Dart: That was it, though. That was before he really locked himself up. ItsyBitsySpyers: [[Question Roadbuster.]] Dart: He didn't do anything. ItsyBitsySpyers: [[For what he heard.]] Dart: That Blurr was just feeling down. Dart: Sometimes he gets in these moods. I thought it was just one of his moods. Fiasco: ...do corns do that? ItsyBitsySpyers: @Fiasco: [[You are... a scientist? A historian?]] N O S: Do what, make fuel? ItsyBitsySpyers: \\DUNNO. I NEVER BEEN IN CORNS.\\ Fiasco: *blinks and swivels his helm about, looking for the source of the comm* @Soundwave: I am just me, for now. Fiasco: ((THE C O R N   B O W L )) FakeProwl: *he's looking this way. hand tightens on neck.* ItsyBitsySpyers: *Tugs slightly closer. The Insecticon does not approach.* Airachnid: So it's a youngling cult that involve the corn plant? Fiasco: @Soundwave: What about you? ItsyBitsySpyers: [[It would seem so. They do not allow themselves to live past their youngling years.]] FakeProwl: *prowl knows. he still doesn't like those beady yellow optics on him* Airachnid: Then how do they repopulate? Fiasco: ((ofg that last kid)) ItsyBitsySpyers: [[They are younglings. Perhaps they have not thought that far ahead.]] N O S: Maybe they don't. N O S: Better for us, really. Humans shouldn't reproduce. Airachnid: That is true. ItsyBitsySpyers: @Fiasco: [[An observer. That is his only question for now.]] N O S: How stupid of a system, though. N O S: They kill them when they get older? But, then there's no point- sooner or later, no one will be alive. Airachnid: It is indeed foolish. ItsyBitsySpyers: [[The eldest seemed content to perish. They may not care.]] Airachnid: They are most likely conditioned to think that way, doesn't make it any less foolish. Fiasco: *nods to Soundwave ad returns his attention to the screen, still typing, even as he speaks* I would guess they do not care if they all die; they believe that something is waiting for them in the corn. Fiasco: It's possible they don't think they die--or also, possible something IS waiting for them. Airachnid: Something is waiting for them: the buzzards. Fiasco: ... *immediately begins to look up the word "buzzard"* N O S: That runt is annoying Airachnid: He is indeed irksome. N O S: All of them are, honestly. Fiasco: *approximately two minutes after she makes the joke, he gives a little laugh* Airachnid: But, he is getting what he deserves. Airachnid: [preening] Airachnid: It's like listening to Starscream. ItsyBitsySpyers: \\HA!\\ FakeProwl: *snorts* N O S: It's like listening to anyone. ItsyBitsySpyers: [[Not everyone.]] Fiasco: I don't sound like that. FakeProwl: ((did it go black?)) Airachnid: yeah)) N O S: (( yep. LS dropped )) Sideswipe: ((yup Fiasco: ((DURN)) Fiasco: ((wait i hear a thing)) FakeProwl: ((i hear wind)) N O S: (( its paused now so. )) N O S: back for anyone? )) FakeProwl: ((clearly LS didn't drop, it's just nighttime 0u0)) FakeProwl: ((there it is!)) N O S: [[ mmm nope its still dropping ]] Airachnid: ye)) Fiasco: ((I see a paused screen!)) FakeProwl: ((same)) N O S: (( is it working?) Airachnid: same)) N O S: (( SIGH its not is it? ) Fiasco: ((sound is running, video is choppy, but that;s probably me)) FakeProwl: ((same here)) N O S: (( no it's LS. )) N O S: (( It's dropping. )) FakeProwl: ... Hm. So there IS something out there. N O S: (( LS come the fuuck on. )) Fiasco: *nods* Airachnid: Hmm, strange. N O S: omfg it won't stop dropping. ]] Fiasco: ((LIVESTREAM)) N O S: [[ dude tthere's only20 minutes left come on ]] Airachnid: LS you nugget work)) N O S: is it back for you guys? ] Airachnid: no)) N O S: (( refresh. )) FakeProwl: ((there it is)) Airachnid: I see it!)) Fiasco: ((I see it!)) N O S: ((... wow. ) Sideswipe: there it is)) N O S: (( I hit play and it starts dropping )) Airachnid: I... Fiasco: ...this is significantly less menacing than I think the filmmakers perhaps intended. *points* Airachnid: Well then. FakeProwl: *the hand that was on his neck is now over his mouth* FakeProwl: *it just—it took off. fwoosh. corn rocket.* ItsyBitsySpyers: \\HUH. THEY SAID THEY WAS TURNIN' THE CORN INTO FUEL.\\ ItsyBitsySpyers: \\GUESS THEY MUSTA FIGURED OUT HOW.\\ Fiasco: *another very little laugh* FakeProwl: ((oh so THAT'S why his voice was so high. so you could tell when it dropped.)) Airachnid: That certainly is... something. Sideswipe: -hasn't been paying attention- So...that was...? Fiasco: Again *points* I am not an expert on films, but that seems humorous rather than horrific. I do not feel particularly horrified, in this moment. Airachnid: It does seem silly. Airachnid: But it is indeed humorous. FakeProwl: *slides hand back to his neck* ItsyBitsySpyers: *Tiny squeeze.* FakeProwl: *squeezes back* FakeProwl: ((rude, tearing off that kid's clothes)) FakeProwl: ((tear your OWN clothes, lady)) FakeProwl: ((corn stalks: *gently whap*)) Fiasco: ((PFFF)) Airachnid: ...can plants move on their own like that? Fiasco: ...again. Airachnid: it is very silly but so f*cking funny)) FakeProwl: ... Perhaps they should get out of the field before setting it on fire? N O S: They're horrible at making explosives. Fiasco: That would be wise. Airachnid: Humans are not that bright... Fiasco: Especially given prior evidence that the corns can and will grab them, and retrain them. Fiasco: *restrain ItsyBitsySpyers: [[Perhaps He Who Walks Behind the Rows should have chosen a less flammable manifestation.]] Airachnid: Even human MONSTERS are dim. Sideswipe: -snorts- N O S: Not all of them are that dumb. N O S: humans just like to make themselves the heroes N O S: [ SNORT ] Whirl: F-for a moment I thought the music was for the corn stalk inside the vehicle. Fiasco: And it was going to get them. FakeProwl: ((whirl returns)) ItsyBitsySpyers: [[What a strange film.]] Fiasco: ((WHIRL BACK)) Sideswipe: -more snorting laughter- Airachnid: "Strange" is one way to describe it. Fiasco: I have very little basis for comparison, but I must agree. N O S: Well, that was weird. ItsyBitsySpyers: [[Evil fue...]] Considers that. [[No. He supposes that part makes sense.]] ItsyBitsySpyers: [[The rest is odd.]] Fiasco: Are all "horror" films this strange? *looks to NOS and Dart* N O S: No, some are really good. Dart: I'm afraid the Captain makes the best choices. Fiasco: You said your Captain was sick, didn't you? Dart: He's... ah. I mean, he's... - N O S: He's brain dead. [ huffs] How was that hard to say? Dart: [ B( ] Fiasco: Oh. My condolences. FakeProwl: *oh. good news.* Dart: He's gonna get better. Airachnid: [that was a very blunt delivery] N O S: Unfortunately. He'll come out of it. Fiasco: ...I wasn't aware brain deat was a condition one could recover from. N O S: It's a skill. He's a roach. ItsyBitsySpyers: *Ugh. Roaches.* Fiasco: *antennae perk up* He's an Insecticon? ItsyBitsySpyers: *Shakes his helm slightly. For Primus' sake.* N O S: No, he's... well. He looks like a monster, if that helps. Fiasco: *considers this* Hm. It does not. FakeProwl: *... hand squeeze. no reason.* Dart: Maybe you can meet him next time. ItsyBitsySpyers: *Oh? Returns it. Almost imperceptible glance in Prowl's direction.* Fiasco: Perhaps. I don't know that I'll be able to come back anytime soon; it was convenient, for now. But I appreciate your implied invitation to return. N O S: He's all stitched up in the face. N O S: And he has sharp teeth. He's a weird one. Dart: Not that we're normal. FakeProwl: *except for the hand on his neck, looks pretty much neutral* Fiasco: My teeth, when I had them, were sharp; I don't see the point of flat teeth. N O S: You know, I bet I could look like a bug... ItsyBitsySpyers: *Doesn't know what's weird about sharp teeth, hmph.* Airachnid: [likewise] N O S: [ studying Fiasco ] N O S: Can't be that hard. ItsyBitsySpyers: @Prowl: (txt): ...Avatar time in safer place wanted after business concluded? Should not attend site disturbed. Fiasco: *stares back with that same, flat, Permanently Bored expression* ItsyBitsySpyers: *He doesn't know how long Prowl has before the shift starts. If he has to go straight from this to more discomfort...* N O S: When we combine, we have four arms. Dart: Combining is not fun for me when it's with YOU. FakeProwl: @Soundwave «I'll only have a few minutes.» ItsyBitsySpyers: *Quick thoughts. Many of them.* Fiasco: I have a minimum of six limbs, a maximum of eight, actually. Abnd... you're a comibiner? Fiasco: (COMIBINER) N O S: Not... naturally. N O S: Probably doesn't work like normal. ItsyBitsySpyers: @Dart: [[-Certify- brain module death. If any signs visible, contact.]] ItsyBitsySpyers: *Tugs Prowl's hand up. Come on. He'll give you those few minutes, at least.* Dart: @Soundwave: :: Uh, you mean comm you? Uhm, we'll try? :: Fiasco: *folds his hands on top of his datapad, which is in his lap* Allow me to assure you that I don't have a terribly firm preconceived notion for what is and isn't "normal." N O S: Well, good. [smirks and leans on the couch ]  We don't like normal. ItsyBitsySpyers: @Dart: [[Correct. Frenzy and Ravage will find him if he is unavailable.]] Dart: @Soundwave: :: Uhm, all right. :: FakeProwl: *small nod* @Soundwave «I'll see you at the bar?» Airachnid: I never liked the word "normal" to be fair. ItsyBitsySpyers: @Prowl: (txt): Affirmative. N O S: That's what Blurr's all about. Throwing aside what's normal and working with everything that isn't N O S: Normal is an ugly word. FakeProwl: *nod. flickers and disappears* Fiasco: I have no strong feelings regarding it, one way or the other. N O S: [ shrugs ] Good. Fiasco: But, it is good to know that, in case I come to visit again. Thank you for the interesting film. ItsyBitsySpyers: *Taps Frenzy, docks, and nods to the others. Excuses himself quietly.* N O S: Oh, sure. We aim to please. Airachnid: Oh do come by again sometime. Dart: For our Captain's sake. I'm sure he'd like you to come back. Sideswipe: ...Right. I gotta go now. But thanks for the film. Dart: [ wave ] Fiasco: *stands and nods to Airachnid* It was nice to meet you. There are very few of my kind left, so it's always... somewhat refreshing, to see another. Sideswipe: ((thanks for the stream, scooting off now Airachnid: [a smile and nod] Airachnid: Farewell. Dart: (( welcome! )) Fiasco: *bows at the waist to her, and then addresses the room* Goodbye. Fiasco: *and he is gone* Dart: [ waves] Airachnid: [she looks around before climbing out of the hammock] N O S: Well, let's shut down, yeah? We gotta go check on the carrot. Dart: ... [ embarrassed noise ] Don't call him that. Airachnid: I need to get going as well. Until next time. Dart: Goodbye! [ wave ] Airachnid: [nods before sneaking off]