#what if i went insane? what if i fuckin died? what then eh???

[thesmokinpossum]

Sonny and Tom, from beginning to end

[nochi-quinn]

campaign 3 episode 66: early edition

I didn't watch any of team issylra and then I missed last week bc I was traveling so let's see how fuckin lost I am this week

(tho I skipped most of Let's Be Pirates in c2 and a chunk of c1 when I went from watching the archives to livewatching so eh)

tbh someone in a chat I'm in said BH still feel like NPCs kinda and they're…not wrong? the plot is happening TO them vs BECAUSE of them kinda thing

okay I was late bc I was reading ella enchanted to my kid

stray gods ad in the corner! god I'm so hyped for stray gods

travis looks good tonight

kiki :(

matt. say. things. OUT. LOUD. FIRST.

"only hurt him"

ahh, a nice relaxing fetch quest where certainly nothing will go wrong

once upon a forest vibes

leave orym's people aloooone

"I should be the one making the trip" keyleth istg

liam trying to find out if she also saw The Boy

she saw The Boy

forever laying in the floor about vaxleth

(someone on one of my lovm text post memes said they "just want them to be happy" and I just. bless them.)

don't out her like that orym jeeze

wait the poison ate her spell slots?? that's cheating

god I love her

"twice a year"

when we watched lovm with my roommate she asked why keyleth was wearing a pelvis on her forehead. I explained that it was antlers and it belonged to her mom and she asked why she was wearing her mom's pelvis on her head. so the diadem is ruined for me now

heading off any further fantasy religion discourse with the fact that keyleth has always been like this

tbf "the ascension and the ceiling" also works

ascended until it didn't

always good to know your insane plans worked out

"did he get raptured"

lmao the note-taking arm stretch

"you hear want you wanna hear, travis willingham"

(I wasn't looking, did they subtitle it "urine")

orym mom ORYM MOM

"what if your stuff takes a while?" found liam's mom

hobbit hole but in the side of a mountain

I love liam's face when he's having Emotions about his boys

oh my best friend from when I was a kid is named Alma, I'm prepared to do a million double-takes

orym version of the time my kid climbed under the table and onto the weird recessed buffet thing in the wall; there was no way to get around or over the table so we just had to sit there and try to negotiate with a three-year-old

flashbacks to seeing teenage photos of my partner at his grandmother's house

sam

oh no he's planted the seed

WHISPERS

did you fuck my mom, santa claus?

"whitestone is for lovers, zephrah's for fuckers"

stray gods STRAY GODS

SAM

"sorry, Q"

"rocks fall, everyone dies" pay randy millholland 5 dollars

okay I have to tap out, we've got a storm system rolling in and it's playing hell with my sinuses. I know there's about to be a bunch of combat so nobody fuckin die okay

[mewmewchann]

Y’know those aus where all the dead people are like ghosts watching the killing game and doing wacky hijinx after they die (while also dealing the angst that comes from dying in a killing game and having to watch it play out with the other dead contestants) what’s going on with the DFTH ghosts in an au like that. Have any of them tried to like fulfill life goals they never got to accomplish in strange ways? If they can move things around and physically do things, who’s messing with the-1/2

Hmmmmm

I ramble a bit here so here’s a cut (also I spoil who the chapter 4 victim is so there’s that)

Kaoru doesn’t really do that much, he’s mostly vibing. But he does treat people’s small injuries, he’s nice like that As for what his relationship with Saiko is like now, it’s...Complicated. Sure on one hand he did kill him, but on the other hand Monokuma practically picked him up and threw him into doing it, so after a while he figures that there’s not really any point in hating him over it since they’re evidently gonna be stuck together for a while.

Speaking of Saiko. Uh. He’s fuckin pissed. Mainly because he realises now how easily he was pushed into killing someone so now he’s really pissed at Monokuma. (he also has some resentment towards Haruto for a bit since he kinda stole his role as Rantaro’s Kirigiri but let’s not worry about that) ...Also I just pictured this and this is fckin hilarious to me

Rantaro: There has to be more evidence here! I have no idea where to look... Saiko: *points* it’s over there Rantaro: ...I suddenly feel very compelled to go look over there Saiko: ...Holy shit that actually worked.

So yeah he mainly follows Rantaro around and tries to help where he can. Idk I just think him being the ghost Kirigiri is neat

With Yuuma, if Saiko and Kaoru didn’t figure it out already, I can imagine that she’d still try to keep her gender a secret from them after she died. ...And then both it and her backstory are revealed to literally everyone in the middle of the trial. One lengthy and awkward explanation later, she decides that now that she’s dead she can finally be herself now. (she still doesn’t use the name “Kokona” though if people are wondering, as there are still some lingering issues for her with that name) And while she gets that her secret kinda had to be revealed to solve her murder, she’s pretty pissed off at Monokuma for telling everyone her life story.

Saying that Rikona was super apologetic when she eventually joined the others is an understatement. She was a blubbering mess for the first few hours, but then she immediately went back to her old prissy self within like a day. (much to the others’ annoyance)  As for what I assume is the million dollar question, it’ll probably take a really long time before her and Yuuma get together. Because at this point Yuuma is still trying to figure out how to be herself again and Rikona has gone back to being a bitch, sooooooo

Amai and Ahmya don’t really change that much, they’re also just vibing Though Ahmya being the quippy and sarcastic queen she is does do a lot of commentary sdsdadsdh Also now that all her injuries have been healed now that she’s dead, it takes her a long time to notice that her eye’s back. But once she does notice it’s just like “...Eh that’s cool. Anyway-”

Also. Everyone mcfuckin loses their MINDS when the chapter 3 trial happens. Sure, Amai and Ahmya knew that Ayano killed them, but a) they didn’t realise what her plan with killing them actually was and b) literally no-one had any idea about Jasper’s insane counter-plan. Literally. No. One. (sure Slade figured that Jasper was planning something but even he had no idea how insane it was)

As for when Ayano comes in it’s basically

Ayano: *walks in* hey guys Ahmya: YOU INSANE BITCH *punches her in the face* Kaoru: NO! DON’T PUNCH HER! Yuuma: YEAH! KICKING HER WILL HURT MORE!!!

So after finding out that she literally tried to kill everyone who was still alive there is a LOT of resentment there when she shows up. And while Ayano is initially confused about this since she had good intentions and thinks what she was doing was the right thing, she shrugs it off and figures that haters are gonna hate. So she mainly just alternates between following Jasper around to figure out what the fuck is going on with him (also because she still really fckin hates him for ruining her plan to end the killing game) and following Miko around because ofc she does And before anyone asks, no. Miko didn’t tell her about what happened to his parents before she died. That scene when he tells Rantaro is the first she’s hearing about it.

Chapter 4. … … Holy fucking shit.

I obviously can’t go into too much detail about Haruto because obvious reasons, but let’s just say he does NOT take being dead well. At all. Like for a while he’s constantly trying to get Rantaro and Sachiko’s attention and is absolutely crushed when he realises that they can’t hear him. Like real angst hours over here I really can’t go into any more detail here because duh, but let’s just say the angst is really high with this one. (also I’ve wanted to write a oneshot or a drabble or something that is specifically this for a really long time. If people wanna see it I might do it when we get further into chapter 4 who knows)

And without spoiling anything about what happens in the chapter 4 trial, remember how I said that when the chapter 3 trial happened everyone lost their minds? Ohohoho. You have no idea.

[concussed-to-pieces]

The Mettle Of A Man; Part Sixteen

Fandom: Fallout (4)

Pairing: Eventual Paladin Danse/Female Sole Survivor

Rating: Holy shit M.

AN: A very special shoutout to @anonymouscosmos for all of their encouragement and support! You are a god among insects. I’d also like to thank the discord chat for enduring my nonsense, as ever. Enjoy!

Part One: ArcJet

Part Two: The Prydwen

Part Three: Orders

Part Four: Finding Brandis

Part Five: Weston Water And Oberland

Part Six: Meeting Preston And Matthew

Part Seven: Radstag And Radstorm

Part Eight: The Return To Sanctuary Hills

Part Nine: Domestic Ruminations

Part Ten: Institutionalized

Part Eleven: Two Weeks, Three Days

Part Twelve: Haylen’s Warning And The Glowing Sea

Part Thirteen: Under Fire

Part Fourteen: Dichotomy

Part Fifteen: The Litany Trial

[!TRIGGER WARNING!: This installment contains graphic depictions of gore and detailed descriptions of previous abuse. Stay safe!]

Her head had been blown open, or at least it felt that way. The explosion was so close to her face that her helmet had just peeled off like it was made out of shrapnel-laden papier-mâché.

  Sergeant Shaun 'Lucky' Cathan was flat on his back hardly a foot away from her, pinned under the weight of the debris that was slowly crushing his armor. 

  She couldn't move. Her arms and legs wouldn't respond. That blow to the head had been nearly fatal. She was trapped on her stomach, inches from him.

  "Backhand-" Cathan choked, his voice wet. His gauntlet fumbled for her own, large metal fingers gripping her hand. "End of the line for me, eh Handy?"

  She gurgled something, trying to talk. One eye still worked. Barely. It felt like it was full of glass every time she forced herself to blink. It was too dark to see much anyway, even if she squinted. Her head throbbed with the beat of her heart. 

  "Save--your strength, Vega." Cathan instructed. 

  She wasn't sure what strength he was even talking about. Her armor felt like it had collapsed down on her spine. "Sir-" Vega managed to say. "S'been an honor-"

  "Don't give me that-- shit , Vega." Cathan chuckled. "I was just another dog of war. You'll get out of this. Go back to that man of yours, have a few kids, live your life." He coughed, wheezing, "my time is up, Handy."

  "No, no I'm-" Backhand tried to pull him closer, tried to get upright. Pain jolted down her back and legs and she halted, trembling. "I c-can't leave you here, Sarge." She groaned, knowing deep down that it was futile but refusing to give up .

  Cathan's grip tightened briefly. "It's alright, Handy." Her CO murmured. "It's alright. Make sure Tabitha has me buried on American soil. Or chuck my ashes in the harbor, yeah? Piss off all those Cambridge fucks." He chuckled.

  Backhand nodded as best as she could, the tears stinging painfully against the flayed skin of her face. "I will. Promise."

  The rubble overhead creaked and groaned, dust falling down on top of them. "Won't be long now." Cathan mused faintly, "Not long at all…"

  …

  Danse struggled to sit up and roll Vega onto her back. His own injuries faded to the background of his mind as she laid unresponsive, blood slowly pooling in the dirt beneath her left side. Her mouth opened and closed in a spasm; her eyes had rolled back in her skull and her fingers twitched erratically. 

  Have to hold pressure. Stop the bleeding. Danse numbly pressed his shaking hands down on her side just below her ribs, his body suddenly awash in a cold sweat as he realized just how much blood she was losing. He could almost hear Haylen rambling about the arteries, internal bleeding, penetrating damage, Worwick and Brach and Dawes and Keane and Danse felt like he was going to be sick. 

  "H... Haylen! " He yelled desperately. It was the only thing he could think to do.

  Then, against all odds, startling the everliving daylights out of him, Vega sat up . " Oh , you fuckin' asshole! " She hollered at Maxson around Danse's body while the paladin scrambled to attempt to stem the flow of fresh blood that her motion sent spurting out. "You really fuckin' shot me?! You're the worst kind of dick! " 

  Danse was flabbergasted. Her state was clearly compromised, how was she even conscious-

  "Fuck!" Vega growled in pain, dropping her forehead to rest on Danse's chest. "Oh fuck, fuck fuck you, you told me Danse was fuckin' dead, you liar! You expect me to just stand by and let you kill him in front of me?!" She continued to rant at Maxson, her voice muffled somewhat by Danse's shirt. "You dumb fuckin' prick, you stupid fuckin' dipshit motherfuck son of a cockass! This ain't exactly my first time gettin' fuckin' shot, you fuckin' fuck!"

  Danse realized that Arthur hadn't said a damn thing, possibly just as bewildered and awestruck by Elizabeth's impressive grasp of blue-streaked vernacular as he himself was.

  "Paladin Brandis, if I may…?" Haylen's voice was almost inaudible over Backhand's continued snarling. Danse jerked his attention away from Elizabeth, trying to blink the sweat out of his eyes in order to determine the field scribe's location.

  "Scribe, get the hell back behind the line!" Maxson barked. 

  Heavy footfalls heralded the arrival of Rhys and Haylen, the knight using his power armor like a shield to protect the scribe as if they were out in the field. Haylen was suddenly there , on her knees in the gravel next to Danse and Elizabeth. The paladin's eyes were now blinded with tears of gratitude and he huffed out a breath. "Danse, I'll get to you in a second." Haylen said softly, patting his hand. "Let me have her, okay?"

  "Haylen, I…" the large man didn't know what to say, his words failing him. He clutched pitifully at the scribe's hands, sure that he was gripping too tight.

  "I've got her, Danse. It's okay." Scribe Haylen soothed.

  "Yeah Danse, s'okay." Backhand said blearily, "s'Haylen, she's great. We love Haylen." Her head lolled back like it was too heavy for her to hold up. "Haylen made sure I got to eat and stuff."

  " What? " Danse rasped. 

  "The tactics Elder Maxson used during her incarceration…" Haylen trailed off, grimacing and then continuing in an undertone, "I made sure Rhys smuggled in something for her when he brought Brandis' meals."

  "Vega, Jesus Christ, I'm so sorry." Danse apologized needlessly, resting his forehead against Elizabeth's as he supported her neck. "I didn't think anything would happen to you. I...I didn't think in general, I guess." He admitted.

  Vega smiled . "Hey, I'd say whatever shit I went through was a pretty decent tradeoff for finding out that you didn't bite it after all." She slurred. "Missed you."

  " Christ , Vega." Danse muttered in dismay, fighting to untie her hands. Haylen took over after a moment, the scribe's fingers infinitely more steady than his own.

  "I need a Stim and a bloodpack!" Haylen announced after examining Vega's abdomen, looking up worriedly. 

  Not a soul moved. The only sound was the noise of Maxson wriggling in the grip of the armored knight who finally had him secured. "Listen to the scribe!" Brandis shouted to the mute crowd. "You have a sister bleeding in front of you and you would be still and silent? Where are the brave, compassionate soldiers I once knew? Knights! Scribes! Are you not Brotherhood?"

  Two aspirants finally elbowed their way through the throng, making a wide berth around Maxson. One of them bore a large canvas bag. "Good, good work. Drop it here." Haylen instructed, unrolling her field kit. "Can I get a scribe with steady hands and another knight for the opposite side?" She called. 

  A knight thundered past Maxson, the man throwing Danse of all people a haphazard salute before he took up his post at the other end of the group. Maxson practically seethed with rage. "Knight, how dare you salute that--that thing! "

  "That thing is still Paladin Danse of the Brotherhood of Steel, Maxson." Brandis growled. "He won the trial fair and square."

  "I will not allow it to live!" Maxson shrieked hysterically, struggling against the iron hold of the knight bear-hugging him. "I don't care how many of you I have to take down, Danse dies today! "

  "Maxson!" Brandis chided. "Do you even hear yourself? You sound insane! Think about what you're saying before you do something you'll regret!"

  "Not before he dies! "

  "Which would you rather be known as, Maxson? The abuser or the synth fucker?" Maxson froze at the sound of Danse's voice. The burly paladin shot the elder a bloodied sneer, his head tilted to the side at an almost arrogant angle. "After all, you got fucked by a synth." What the hell was he saying? Danse felt unhinged , words flippant, his tired limbs barely cooperating as he forced himself up on his knees and then to his feet. "You let a synth fuck you, Arthur." 

  " Abomination -"

  "You ordered a synth to fuck you." Danse reminded him, voice grating as his words came faster. "Demanded it to fuck you. Abused it. Threatened it with a certain death mission if it didn't. Then gave it that mission anyway." Danse rubbed at some crusted blood beneath his blackened right eye, grimacing. "Does it make it better if you didn't know I was a synth? Because then , you have to justify the reality that you molested a soldier in a compromised emotional state utilizing your privileged position of authority. Can you accept that , Maxson?"

  "You...Maxson, is this true?" Brandis asked incredulously.

  "That thing is clearly lying!" Maxson scoffed, looking around at the spellbound crowd like he expected everyone to agree with him. "Dammit, I am the elder -"

  "Did you hope that I would die out here, Arthur? Or did you assume that I would come crawling back to the Capital Wasteland after my inevitable failure in the Commonwealth?" Danse cut him off bitterly. "Did you think I would be easier to break once I had lost everything , Maxson?"

  "He always fights with Danse!" A tiny squire chimed in. Danse hadn't realised that Maxson had Ingram summon the damn children to watch their trial. "We heard them fight!"

  "Silence, brat! " Maxson screamed, his face purpling with fury. "I am the elder of this chapter, last of the Maxson line, and I will be given the respect I deserve! "

  "Cade's records can verify my story!" Danse shouted hoarsely for everyone to hear, his shoulders heaving with emotion. "Every time we engaged, I did not escape unscathed. Nearly every injury was documented. The dates will align with high-stress situations, and I'll stake my life on there being a long stretch of shit mood during the absence of your preferred punching bag, Elder! "

  " Liar! "

  "Abuser!" Danse yelled in reply, "murderer! You killed Cutler, through your biased orders! You killed Knight Astlin, Scribe Farris, Knight Varham! You killed my brothers and sisters!" Danse's fists clenched tight enough to ache. "And for what, Arthur? For a synth? Or for a man that had no interest in you? Either way, I refuse to accept their blood on my hands, Maxson!"

  " You killed them and you know it!" Maxson shrieked, kicking his legs desperately. "All you had to do was obey me, Danse! Was your pride worth their lives?"

  "There was once a time in my life where I would have done damn near anything you asked of me." His anger petering out, all Danse felt now was weary and bruised. "I loved the Brotherhood, Maxson. I still do. But the path we have taken under your leadership is heinous."

  "Don't you dare to lecture me about devotion, you mechanical mockery! " Maxson retorted.

  "This body may be synthetic, but my heart and mind…" Danse paused, saluting once more. " Those belong to the Brotherhood, Maxson. To my brothers and sisters in arms. Nothing can change that. Not even the knowledge of my true identity."

  "That's what you think!" Arthur flailed in the knight's grip, trying in vain to escape. No doubt so he could pitch himself at the paladin one final time.

  "Elder Maxson, through your words and through your deeds, I deem you unfit to lead our chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel at this point in time." Brandis announced abruptly. "As the senior ranking officer, I, Paladin Brandis, will function as the interim elder until we receive proper instructions from our superiors." He removed his helmet, staring down at Arthur sternly. 

  The young man was quite the pitiful sight, bedraggled from trying to beat Danse within an inch of his life as well as from his struggling afterwards. He still looked mad enough to kill, those blue eyes almost crackling with pent-up fury. "You planned this, didn't you?!" His paranoia on full display, Maxson made no attempt to maintain any sort of composure. "Just how many synths have infiltrated our chapter? Well Brandis?! "

  "Arthur, that's enough ." The senior paladin said in reply, his tone measured. "Don't make an even bigger fool of yourself. Bow out while you still have some dignity." He sighed. "Perhaps the stress of this campaign has been too heavy of a burden to bear for you. I sympathize, but I cannot permit you to carry on in this manner, Maxson." Brandis raised his eyes, scanning the crowd. "Cade! Knight-Captain Cade, please see to Maxson. He is obviously unwell."

  …

  Vega flickered in and out of consciousness. The weeks of abuse culminating in this final (though inadvertent) attempt to end her seemed to have nearly been successful. She only barely remembered Haylen treating her wound, mumbling out an apology to the younger woman for leaning so much weight on her. She caught snippets of Danse and Maxson shouting at each other, bits of the trauma that Danse had endured coming tumbling out and making Vega wish that she wasn't half-dead so she could at least flip Maxson off.

  " Rest , Vega ." Haylen had ordered. " You need rest ."

  And really, who was Backhand to refuse? 

  When next she opened her eyes, she was greeted by a canvas ceiling overhead. Vega squinted a little at the brightness of it. How long have I been out for?

  "Welcome back, General." That familiar voice snapped her out of her staring contest with the tent above her and she rolled her head to the side, unable to help her smile at the sight of Danse. Still a little bruised and banged-up, but alive . 

  Tears streaked down her cheeks and Backhand wished that she could have stopped them, sniffling loudly and covering her face.

  "General Vega, there's no need for that." The paladin chided her softly. Something bumped against her knuckles and she realized after a second that Danse was attempting to give her glasses back. 

  Vega accepted the glasses mutely, grabbed Danse's hand and used his arm as leverage to pull herself up off the cot. 

  "Wait, Elizabeth you-" The paladin began to protest, rising to his feet to stop her. Her legs nearly gave out but Danse managed to steady her, one large hand splayed on the small of her back. "You shouldn't be upright yet, Vega." He scolded.

  I missed you. I thought you were dead. The words tangled up in her mouth and instead Backhand mumbled, "I thought I missed you." Danse's brows furrowed in confusion and she hurried to correct herself, "I mean--I...I thought you were dead!"

  "I needed some time to regroup. Straighten my head out. Heal." The paladin explained quietly. "The O'Brians nursed me back to health."

  "What happened , though?"

  "What happened to you , Vega?" Danse asked instead, gripping her elbows carefully to keep her upright. 

  Backhand shrugged weakly. "Maxson thought I knew you were a synth."

  " I didn't even know I was a synth." Danse huffed, thick eyebrows raising once again. "How on earth would you have known?"

  "Maybe he was going on a witch hunt, trying to get me to confess even though I wasn't guilty of anything." She closed her eyes as she mumbled, "I missed you."

  "I thought of you every day." Danse replied bluntly. Her head shot up and she stared at him, watching as a flush crept up his neck. "I er, I...I am not good at these sorts of things," he admitted. "But it's true. I thought of you and...and of your son. Of the life you should have had. When Preston tracked me down, we realized that something must have gone wrong. So I...came back." 

  Oh . She hated the disappointed pit that yawned open in her stomach. She should have known that he wasn't thinking of her in the same way that she had thought of him. 

  Backhand rested her forehead on his chest, willing her tears to abate. "We need to get them out of the Institute." She said thickly. "All of them. Anyone that will come, Danse."

  "I think you and I should speak to Pal-- Elder Brandis. He has expressed interest in working with the Minutemen." Danse sighed heavily, then continued, "I cannot recommend that we work exclusively with the Brotherhood. There are years of prejudice that have been beaten into these men and women. The allowance of my presence is a show of good faith, but I don't know if I trust the rank and file to storm the Institute without turning it into a massacre." He gave her a wry smile. "I cannot blame them. Even knowing what I am now, it's going to take me some time to remove my knee-jerk reaction."

  "There's always something else to do." She wasn't trying to complain , but God she was tired .

  His facial hair brushed against her forehead, scraping the skin lightly. "I know. What was it you said in the Glowing Sea? 'A run ashore'?" He queried while giving her forearms a gentle squeeze, as if to comfort her.

  "I thought you were dead." She hadn't meant to say it again, watching his eyes go dark and kicking herself for bringing it back up.

  "I suppose I was, for a time." Danse murmured, his expression troubled.

  "I... please don't do that to me again." Vega begged. Her hands fisted in his fatigues, wrinkling the worn fabric. "This is going to sound really dumb and really selfish, but please . Don't."

  "When you thought I was dead, did you..." Danse hesitated. "I mean, did you really miss me? I'm not even...well, I'm not a..." He cast his eyes around, narrowing them like he was physically searching for the word he wanted to use. "Human." He finally managed to say, the admission obviously paining him. "I'm a freak of nature, Vega. A perversion of science and an example of where mankind has gone wrong--"

  "Danse." Backhand cupped his jaw, her palms smoothing over the bristle of his stubble as she coaxed him to look at her. "No offense, but you cannot be this stupid."

  "What do you mean?" The paladin asked, his confusion endearingly evident. "I'm not...how am I being…?"

  Backhand blinked. Maybe he could be that stupid. "You're probably the most human person I've ever met, Danse. The way you care about your squadron, the way you've helped me...look, I wasn't upset about you being a synth, I was upset about you being dead ."

  "Oh." Danse breathed. "Really? You... really? Me being a synth wasn't…?" His words kept faltering, uncertainty shining through with every hitch. 

  " You , Danse. I cried about you being gone ."

  "Elizabeth…" 

  "So don't you dare scare me like that ever again, got it?" Backhand leaned forward, boldly pressing a soft kiss to his cheek.

  "I--yes. Understood, Knight. Uh, General." Danse stammered, his fingers absently touching the spot she had kissed. "W-We should...go speak to Elder Brandis. If you believe you can walk a short distance? I know better than to ask you to stay put and be patient."

  "Permit me the usage of your arm to keep me upright and yes, we can absolutely go."

  ...

  Please don't do that to me again .

  She had missed him, she said. She had mourned him, even. Cried over him. Danse's head was spinning.

  How could that even be possible? How could she...he was a machine . 

  No time left to consider such weighty problems, unfortunately, as he found that far too soon the two of them were approaching what had formerly been Maxson's quarters and now served as Brandis' war room.

  "Ad Victoriam, Paladin Danse and General Vega!" Elder Brandis greeted them warmly with a loose salute, gesturing around the war table afterwards. "Kells, Cade, Ingram, Quinlan, Doctor Li, I trust you all need no introductions?"

  The briefing was, as they usually were, tedious. Nothing brief about it, if he was being brutally honest. Vega held her ground though, which was all he really needed.

  "You boys aren't tyrants or fuckin' warlords. Not while I have any sort of say in the matter." She said sharply. "If you want Minutemen support, we are working as a team and the Minutemen have uninhibited access to all information as it is gathered. That means we'll need Quinlan's full cooperation." She held up a hand, staving off Quinlan's outburst. " Only in regards to the Institute. We don't want your super-secret Spec Ops sealed Brotherhood case files, so don't get those boxers in a bunch." Cade snorted and Proctor Quinlan looked absolutely scandalized, even as he grudgingly nodded. 

  "Now, General, this is all well and good but what does the Brotherhood get out of this bargain?" Kells asked pointedly. "As far as I can see, we're the integral piece in this plan."

  "' As far as you can see ' is an apt phrase, Lancer-Captain Kells." Backhand's tone was cool. This was General Vega for certain, the woman who had whipped the Minutemen back into shape. "Because what you can't see are the rest of my operations. The Minutemen aren't the only force I have at my disposal, just the most obvious." She leaned in a little, her eyes cold as ice behind the lenses of her glasses. "Do you really want to test me on my home turf, Kells? After everything that's happened?"

  "Not testing you, General Vega." The lancer-captain clarified, "simply identifying what seems to be an imbalance in the negotiations."

  "I got you Doctor Li." Vega retorted. "Without her, your Liberty Prime would still be a pile of junk. I've gotten your scribes tons of information to sift through, I've done everything the former elder asked of me."

  "Lancer-Captain Kells, if I might also interject?" Danse asked hesitantly, cringing on the inside as everyone turned to look at him like they had forgotten he was even there. Kells inclined his head after a moment. "Sir, we cannot be so quick to discredit our position. Due to our aerial location, we will be within the perfect striking distance to any sort of localized, above-ground assault."

  "I am more than aware of our position, Paladin . But that does not negate the fact that we have a much larger stake in this than anyone else-"

  "Larger than the locals who have been getting body-snatched for years?" Vega cut him off. "Let's not forget that myself and your new elder were starved and tortured for weeks , while the rest of you sat around and twiddled your thumbs out of fear and respect." She spat. "Don't fuckin' come to me with your scale-tipping bullshit . It took a synth to make you all sack up, and I don't intend to let you forget that." The woman straightened up, looking grim. "I'm not giving you anything else. You can either work with us, or you can keep pitching yourself against the Institute until they've all slipped away and you're left with nothing but an empty facility and unanswered questions."

  "She's right." Doctor Li affirmed tersely. "They won't just wait around to be pummeled. This isn't the Enclave. The board of directors will do everything in their power to avoid you and waste your resources at the same time."

  "We cannot afford to entrench ourselves in a drawn-out assault, Kells." Brandis reasoned. "When we strike, we have to do it decisively. Give it everything we've got and cut off the head."

  Kells nodded, seeming satisfied. "Understood, Elder Brandis. I meant no disrespect, General Vega."

  "None taken. I'm still recovering from getting the shit kicked out of me, so my manners aren't up to par quite yet." Vega rested her elbows on the table, steepled fingers tapping her chin. "I won't take anything from you that you're unable to give, Lancer-Captain Kells. If I can avoid using the BoS altogether, I will." She murmured, tilting her head. "I need to get in touch with some people before I can offer anything concrete, but once Lieutenant Garvey knows I'm alive I'm sure the rest will learn fast. We'll rally and plan accordingly." 

  "Well then, what are we waiting for?" Ingram asked eagerly. "C'mon Vega, let's head to the comm deck and get things squared away!"

  "Excellent plan. You two are dismissed." Brandis agreed, making a shooing gesture at the two women. Once they had departed, he turned his attention to Cade. "Do you have faith in our medical capabilities, Knight-Captain?" 

  Cade nodded. "We had been planning to attack them head on anyways, Brandis. If we're truly going in a little less 'shock and awe', we may actually tip more towards over-prepared."

  "I'm not certain how useful their teleporter will be to us once we get inside. I'm sure they'll lock it down with great expedience. However there is another possible egress." Quinlan spread the old blueprint out on the war table, fingers indicating a small service tunnel. "Now, if their measurements are accurate, power armored troops will not fit in this tunnel. But unarmored individuals most certainly will. This includes any…" he hesitated, like he was preparing himself to say it, "... refugees , or non-hostile denizens." 

  Quinlan referring to synths as anything but had Danse's head spinning. Vega was an absolute marvel .

  "It will be heavily guarded." Doctor Li warned. "They like to pretend that there's only one way in or out. Their precious molecular relay ."

  "Danse, I think you ought to take point when it comes to securing this tunnel." Kells remarked, making the paladin straighten up. "We won't be able to gauge our level of involvement until we have a full muster from Vega, but I'd like a senior-ranked soldier in the mix. And I know how much you enjoy being boots on the ground." The older man offered Danse a thin smile.

  Danse was so moved he needed to take a moment, finally choking out a ' yes sir ' with his hand over his heart. That Kells, even after all the years of growing to despise synths, would trust him with such a task-!

  Perhaps they did stand a chance, after all.

Part Seventeen

[braskide]

outofcharacter. been on a x-2 frenzy replay because i can’t beat the blitz tournament in x lmfao --- but!!!! between the two, x-2 is definitely the one i played less so i’m happy to live through the scenes again. it’s actually insane how much growth is there for yuna ngl. though yuna is already an extraordinary example of dynamic character in x, in x-2 it just takes a whole different meaning. i love that she’s reckless. you can see it in the early phases of the game that she just tries hard to make someone new out of herself and act more on whims and selfishness, if we can say that, but she just ends up falling into the old habits of being, and i quote rikku here, “a goodie”. but i also noticed how it’s basically... always pointed out how she’s “the savior of spira” and thus it’s only logical she saves spira again. rest assured it’s all for gameplay purpose, but it just feels exhausting that all the dirty laundry is pushed onto the high summoner of the eternal calm. not that she would just... ignore it anyway. yuna being yuna would probably get involved anyway at the cost of her own life ( again ). multiple times throughout the game she tries to not get herself involved --- and i love when she meets bahamut especially and she says “this is not how it was supposed to be, i wish [tidus] were here with me”. like. she’s done with it all. and she’s tired. and she just admits she can’t do it alone anymore. it must suck so fuckin’ hard when you have had to overthrow your whole life to find out & make others realize that yevon and the whole system of sacrificing summoners to kill sin and thus everything you ever believed in is a fuckin scam --- and you end it all, sacrifice the only good thing you’ve ever found solace in only for two years later to see it all collapse easily like that. funny thing is, if it all went according to yevon’s tradition, the ephemeral calm would have lasted longer ( ten years compared to the two ), though i guess it’s not comparable, especially cause vegnagun has always been hidden with yevon anyway. 

[ i forgot where i was going with this because i started typing it after a cutscene in game but then left it to play more lmfao. ]

when i got at the mi’hen quest in chapter two ( you have to catch a chocobo for calli ), i actually forgot that the first thing yuna is willing to do when she sees calli in danger is throw herself in, basically jumping from a god knows how high cliff and directly into the mouth of the chocobo eater --- though she luckily gets stopped by paine, her voice of reason. also, paine reveals to be really deeply connected to yuna when they face bahamut and again, the first thing yuna is willing to do is stop him without really wanting to fight him ( which, again, just proves the point of how deeply yuna has always felt her connection to aeons ), and then paine pulls her back, making her realize that the only thing they can do is fight it. and once again, when yrp is in leblanc’s chateau and she tells yuna that spira’s high summoner ought to save it again, which only gains a silent agreement from yuna and we can clearly see paine in the background mad worried about her. all this to say that x-2 is really about yuna’s interior conflict --- and i’ve been wondering if her ‘fearless’ instincts, her will to do what is right at the cost of her own life has always been inside of her or if she just gained that by... not fearing death anymore. that’s just feels like a trait of someone that has faced death, that has expected it to come at her like a whirlwind and accepted it as it is. i wonder if that kind of fearlessness comes from yuna’s turmoil of perhaps feeling guilty of what has happened to tidus? for two entire years and some she must have been wondering what would have happened if things just went as they were supposed to go. maybe tidus would have kept on living, eh? and she would have died like she intended to, all to bring a false sense of hope to spira. but she couldn’t allow herself to really succumb to that kind of thought. to think that her turmoil is a bigger issue than the wellness of spira as a whole, the lives of the ones she loved and the ones that believed in her. and like yuna says, it’s all connected. i just wonder how hard it must be to carry that weight. to be spira’s savior over and over again and to think to have found peace only to have it stolen again and again. and this goes to x-3 too. i know we don’t wanna go there but if we think of the fact that sin might be actually coming back once again it just is too fuckin much to take in regards of character development / trauma. 

but yeah. x-2 is definitely just an ~easy game. definitely. if you take out the crimson squad history. if you take out lenne and shuyin’s context. if you take out the whole fuckin’ plot and only play the monkey matchmaking minigame maybe, yeah. 

[appleflavoredkitkats]

sweeney todd manila review

okay, just a heads up, i don’t know much about sweeney todd outside of this production and of what little bits i’ve heard of the other productions, so this won’t be the most professional review. i watched the show on the twentieth of october and i believe the whole cast was there.

btw, this is gonna be really messy bc i still have lots of stuff to do so i’m speed typing this review out KDDLJF.

(hello, @thegirlisuedtobe, this is for you! sorry if this is very late, i was really busy!)

- the set is phenomenal. before the show started, there was the sound of rain while smoke scattered across the stage. it really gave off a very eerie vibe to the show, even if it hasn’t started, and i give huge props to the set designers for setting the tone of the musical!

- here’s what amazed me the most about the set-- FLOATING CARS. there were cars hanging up on strings and just... wow. absolutely breathtaking. there was also an upperstage that was build particularly for this musical which was also well done as well. on stage left, there was this platform in particular that intrigued me because it was slanted and only had a railing that could possibly reach below your thigh. it was risky, i might say, and because of that, huge appreciation to the cast because they were able to maneuver themselves on that platform without slipping or injuring themselves.

- another interesting prop which i’m sure many of you have seen in promos was the red car that both mrs lovett and sweeney todd used. in my opinion, at first glance, the car looked cool, but there were some pros and cons.

- pros of the car: the car gave some kind of edginess to the musical. the main characters rode the car into the stage as their introduction and it really left a good impact! additionally, i loved the way how they moved the car around. all transitions were so smooth and commendable and i praise the designer who thought of all of these up.

- cons of the car: it was awkward when the setting was at the bakery of mrs lovett. the car represented the second floor of the building and the chair of sweeney’s barbershop merely rested on top of the car. it was... kinda confusing at first, especially when it is really up to the audience on how they want to interpret the murders that occurred on the car (more on that later). additionally, the car served as a weird divider to the shop, the bakehouse, and the barbershop, and honestly, they should’ve placed the barbershop on the upperstage instead of on top of the car. (gurl, when i say i was confused, i say i was confused.)

- the keep your cellphone message was really funny to me but... kinda long? like it was so unnecessarily long that i was confused whether the show started or not. i also thought they were checking the set since there was many props littered around. but when they eventually get to the point of things, it was really, really funny, so i commend them for adding this small comedic scene just for audience members to stop taking photos. 

- the singing of the cast was phenomenal! these people are just... so great, and it was definitely the highlight of the show. 

- now... here’s where i get a little bit iffy-- the costumes. i don’t really know what to say because the costumes seem... laughable. but not in a good way. it seems like they wanted to modernize the costumes which is understandable but at some cases, it kinda fails? 

- pros of costume: mrs lovett and pirelli really have the costumes which i loved. lea salonga did not look like herself but my god, did her costume stand out from the rest. and pirelli, on the other hand, had a cape that wooshed around a lot alongside a skirt, and boio, did nyoy volante nail this costume well. the modernizing costume thing didn’t really work with the others besides these two. other modernized costumes that look passable were tobias’ costume and some of the ensemble. (also, jonas fogg wore a denim jacket with a junji ito screencap on the back of it? uh, okay, i love junji ito but why is his manga featured here...)

- cons of costume: oh boy. sweeney todd’s costume was... eh. jeans, really? out of everything they could’ve given to sweeney fucking todd, they gave him a polo under a denim jacket under a blazer and jeans? then there’s the mess that is johanna’s costume design. girl, the designer probably went to an sm sale and decided to just shove anything they found in the department store into their cart. johanna’s dress was. eh. her wig? eh. the costumes didn’t snatch my wig but i’ll let them snatch my wig just so that they can replace whatever the heck johanna has on her head. additionally, not all costumes were modernized... which is like... what? the ensemble who had victorian era-esque costumes looked fine! they even could’ve given sweeney todd one of their costumes because it looked much better than the denim outfit they gave sweeney. it’s just quite... odd to see a mix of modernized costumes and oldstyle costumes mix all together because they lowkey clash with one another.

- okay, let’s move on to the actors themselves. let’s start of with lea salonga-- oh my god, she is a legend. she easily adapted into being mrs lovett and that is so commendable especially when she isn’t used to playing an insane role like that. her mrs lovett had consistent, chaotic energy which i admired and she really was the one to eye whenever you see her in a scene.

- jett pangan was great but he isn’t as consistent as lea when he portrayed his character. sweeney todd was insane, he is angery, he is chaotic but jett pangan portrayed him as stoic and silent in some parts. i really enjoyed his more insane side during little priest but i wished he kept it throughout the whole performance. what i did like about him is his voice is just so, so great. his vibratos were so good y’all, his singing in general makes up for everything. additionally, when sweeney gets emotional, he did a really good job portraying a sadder and more depressed kind of sweeney, almost like he was having some existential crisis on stage. (he really looked like he was regretting life choices during by the sea and the ending, it was actually kind of amusing).

- now, luigi quesada, an underrated actor from this production. god... he was just so consistent and energetic and an absolutely great actor. he really portrayed a pure soft boi through tobias and when he started to become insane, he portrayed that shift of character so fucking well. the shift of character was my absolute favorite thing because, in my opinion, it is the scariest thing that’s happened in sweeney todd. tobias was a pure, innocent child who wanted nothing more but to have a smol job and serve others nicely and then, bam, when he saw the corpses, something snapped in his head and it was so horrific to witness his change. additionally, luigi had such a cheerful singing voice which embodied the character well and accustomed to both the innocent and insane side of tobias.

- nyoy volante was another great treasure in this. he wasn’t as seen since his character died midway through but his stage presence is so great. he was so flamboyant while also being very comedic, using his costume to emphasize the comedy. also, he didn’t die immediately when he got attacked by sweeney, and he did portray the struggling pirelli so, so well. 

- gerald santos was... okay. he has a great singing voice, they all do, so i tend to judge how good they are based from their acting. gerald was really good at portraying a panicky anthony who was desperate for johanna. his character was really consistent and i like that! my main issue with gerald is at some times, his diction isn’t too great. i know that some filipinos (even me) would struggle pronouncing words in english, but if you’re an actor who’s worked on many musicals in english, i expect a lot from you. i think he had a really thick filipino/tagalog accent and mixed with a really mediocre british accent, it wasn’t too... understandable. i couldn’t understand most of his dialogue and because he can’t do accents well, his acting becomes affected. 

- mikkie volante’s voice is so fucking beautiful, how do you even sing that high and make it look easy? anyways, she portrayed a very frightful johanna very well, and i can’t believe how much the costume and wig really affects my perception of the character. it’s just... i can’t take her seriously if she looks... like that. okay, enough about the costumes-- her johanna felt scared and i felt that, but when she fell in love with anthony, she was desperate, and i fuckin loved it. being isolated for your entire life will leave you desperate for affection and mikkie fucking nailed it!

- andrew fernando was so-so as the judge. he wasn’t... creepy, or disturbing. his character is disgusting and so close-minded but i never felt any eerie vibes from him. i also think the costume he had was restricting him from doing anything because he had layers upon layers of clothing and when he began whipping himself, he looked like he struggled a lot to sing and do the actions (the costumes for this production is just so off in general it’s a bit offensive). there wasn’t much stage presence from him and i just wanted him to act a bit filthier.

- arman ferrer as the beadle was a trip. he portrays the character as so dumb and i loved it, it’s just the idiotic energy really cracks me up. additionally, his singing, oh my word, his singing is so good. he hits high notes like it was no problem and it was jawdropping. there was not much to say besides his fuckin costume was whack why did he wear that-- but overall, he was pretty solid!

- ima castro was good! she portrayed a crazy beggar woman which was so chaotic and funny and just fucking bonkers and i loved the energy she had! the only thing i note is that, at times, her voice would stop and i’m not sure if it was intentional or not? even if it wasn’t, it actually added to her character rather than brought her down.

- ensemble was... phenomenal. ignoring the costumes for the hundredth time, i love the ensemble so much because they don’t get enough credit yet they nail it every time they get into a production. their acting during the asylum scene? iconic. their accents? iconic. everything was so iconic.

- now, imma just say a few points in the show that i remembered which is worthy enough to tell yall of.

- here i’ll explain how the murders work. it’s kinda... weird. the execution was inconsistent and i remembered three ways on how they were able to kill and cook their victims. firstly, the murder with pirelli is the only one of its kind. sweeney sliced his throat and threw him into the driver’s seat of the car which was confusing considering how the other murders took place. the second kind of murder and the more common one is when sweeney sliced someone’s throat, the victim would walk off the car and walk into mrs lovett’s oven by themselves. i’m assuming that with pirelli, they didn’t bake him yet so they just hid him in some kind of box or crate somewhere. the third kind applied to the judge and the beggar woman wherein when they killed them, it was implied that they were brought to the bakehouse and not burnt.

- here’s my interpretation of how the murders go. in the original, the bakehouse was the basement, but here, i assume since they claim it’s a “bakehouse”, there’s a secret compartment in the barbershop that brings dead bodies directly into the oven. i’m guessing that with judge turpin and the beggar woman, the oven was not on so they were just... brought there? it’s really, really confusing and i wished they cleared it up so i won’t keep wondering about what is where and how things work. i do think that the victims walking into the oven is really genius because it was a perfect mix of comedy and eeriness which i really commend.

- i liked the way they portrayed the streets in this. they used the upper stage and it really clears up where each scenery is set! it isn’t like the bakery and barbershop wherein the set is confusing, it was much better than that. when mrs lovett and sweeney walked up to pirelli’s barbershop, the scenery was so interesting because they walk from above and look down at them. i really, really liked it.

- additionally, the sprays tobias advertised were cleaning sprays found in ace hardware store, that’s funny. also, the only time their haggard wigs would be effective is when tobias used it and nothing else. (i’ve seen better wigs in beautiful, where did those wigs go?)

- the way they portrayed johanna’s place was so, so good. johanna’s room would be atop the upper stage and, ugh, it’s just so well put-together. this whole set was the work of god and no one can convince me otherwise.

- the lighting was great but the sound design was a bit off for me. the electrocution noises were smart to use but i thought it was a bit too loud? like it was really off-putting. i wished they added gross sloshing noises when they were handling the body parts just to add give a better effect when mrs lovett was holding actual intestines and organs.

- the opening of act 2 was hilarious and one of the more intriguing parts of this musical. pangan’s voice? spectacular. lea’s look of distress whilst serving pies? hilarious. the ensemble? god’s gift to mankind. it was so comedic because sweeney is calmly singing about johanna whilst he slices throats and the victims, in a daze, just walk into an oven while mrs lovett’s expression just screams, “yea, that’s life.”

- i can’t believe. they used handkerchiefs to express what a wig is during the asylum scene. like............ really. where are the leftover wigs from beautiful???

- also, it was weird to me that johanna was the one who shot jonas fogg. it was kinda badass of her and perhaps portrayed her character to become more brave but i still kinda thought it was ooc? (ALSO DEAN ROSEN IS GREAT I LOVE HIM HE POSTS CAT STUFF ON IG AND THATS ALL HE DOES)

- okay someone clarify with me because i initially thought tobias escaped the bakehouse, hence why they went looking for him, but they said it was locked from the outside and i’m left confused why they left in the first place...?

- btw whenever lea speaks, i become more of a lesbian, thanks lea salonga.

- when the plot twist was revealed and mrs lovett and sweeney were slow dancing, that was a theatrical experience. god, just... mrs lovett with the most fearful look in her face as sweeney slowly moves her into the oven is so iconic and that has to be one of the more chilling scenes in the musical. then, once sweeney kills her off, she holds the beggar lady close to him and he looks absolutely mournful.

- AND THEN TOBIAS FUCKING COMES BACK AND GIVES THE BIGGEST CHILLS EVER. will i ever stop talking about how good tobias was written/how good luigi quesada is? probably not.

- anyways, tldr; sweeney todd was beyond average but wasn’t perfect, the costumes were. eh. the singing was perfect, the SET was amazing, lea salonga, nyoy volante, and luigi quesada own my heart, and philippine theatre really needs better wig suppliers, someone please donate your wigs to them.

[wilddragonflying]

Fallout OC Interview

Stolen from @red-flare-art :p

Rules:

1) Choose an OC

I’m gonna do Kaili, because I love her, and I’m also going to do Anna’s responses as well, because she’s the newest one!

2) Answer questions as that OC

3) Tag 5 people to do the same

Er... I don’t know 5 people in the Fallout universe soooooo..... If you see this and you want to do it, consider yourself tagged!

1) What is your name? 

K: My name is Kaili Swesson; pleasure to meet you!

A: Name’s Anna Levine.

2) How old are you? 

K: Well, I was born on February 29, 2032, and it’s now almost October of 2289... So around two hundred and fifty-seven! Of course, I was cryogenically frozen from October 23, 2077 to October of 2287, so technically I’ve only lived for forty-seven years.

A: Old enough to know better than to ask people their age, Jesus.

3) What do you look like?

K: Oh, I’d say I’m a little taller than average, lean. Black hair, usually keep it in a bun... I do have some pretty distinctive scars. Mirelurk Queen acid is pretty damn painful. And I had an... exciting military career, Pre-War.

A: I look like one of those things that regularly tries to eat people, just with a bit more sanity in my eyes. I’m a fucking ghoul, the hell do you expect me to look like?

4) Where are you from? Where do you live now? 

K: I was born in Boston, actually! I split my time now between Goodneighbor, Nuka-Town, and Sanctuary Hills, though, as far as ‘home’ goes. Generally I’m out wandering the Commonwealth, doing my General duties.

A: Some no-name town in California. Ended up in the Mojave area long before it was a nuclear wasteland. I’m a Courier now, so I don’t really call any place ‘home.’

5) What was your childhood like?

K: Oh, quiet enough. I had a few friends - Meg, actually, is a ghoul now! It was so shocking to find out she survived, especially living in the Glowing Sea as she did.

A: I spent more time with technology than people. Stayed true through my adult life, too. Not much has changed. 

6) What groups are you friendly with? Are you allied with any factions?

K: I’m the General of the Minutemen, so I’d say that I’m pretty allied with them! The Railroad and I get along well, and the Brotherhood of Steel and I... Eh. Maxson and I have, ah. Discussed things. We came to an understanding.

A: Only alliance I have is with the guy who used to be my boss, is now a decrepit living corpse tucked away in an old casino. NCR and I are on friendly enough terms, I suppose, but we don’t do anything but business. I don’t trust anyone from any of the Strip families as far as I can trust them, though.

7) Tell me about your best friend. 

K: Oh, that’s tough. My best friend growing up was Meg, absolutely. Always had a weird thing for technology, smart head on her shoulders! Nate and I... we were basically platonic soulmates, honestly. Only people we could trust after we mustered out was each other, so we ended up tying the knot. Now... Well, I’m friends with Gage, Hancock, and Preston, obviously. And Piper, Strong, Nick, Cait, and Curie. Deacon and I are as friendly as two people can be when one’s a pathological liar. I honestly couldn’t say who I would consider my best friend!

A: My best friend? Shes hanging on my back right now. She’s the ah.... silent-but-deadly type, if you catch my meaning. Her and the other friend strapped to my thigh, they both are. As far as living friends go, Veronica’s like a daughter to me, and Arcade and I get along well enough. Boone is my kind of guy, though. Like him a lot. We understand each other.

8) Do you have a family? Tell me about them!

K: Well, there’s Nate - he died, protecting Shaun. Shaun himself grew up to be a dick, so I don’t much like talking about him. Right now, all the folks I listed above, they’re the ones I consider family, honestly. I love them.

A: I... Don’t have a family now. Had one, back before the bombs dropped. Only recently got closure on what happened to her.

9) What about a partner or partners?

K: Oh, well. That’s a bit of an involved story? Preston, Hancock, and I, we’re all together. But while I was taking care of Nuka-World and the Raiders that inhabited it, I ended up falling for Gage, my right-hand man, and he fell for me. Things were complicated for a bit, but we eventually sorted them out. He doesn’t feel the same for Hancock or Preston as I do, though. 

A: Cassidy and I got drunk together once, woke up naked in the Lucky 38 penthouse’s master suite together. We’re still friends, but I wouldn’t call us ‘partners.’ I guess closest I’ve got to that is Boone. Nothing’s happened there, don’t know if it ever will, but. Like I said before, we understand each other in a way no one else can. 

10) Who are your enemies, and why?

K: Oh, definitely the Institute, considering that I blew it up. Raiders and Super Mutants, too, obviously. Anything and any one that poses a threat to any settlement or settlers in the Commonwealth, really. 

A: Anyone who wakes me up before sunrise. Also Dean Domino, carried a grudge against that prick for two hundred years, finally got to take his ass out.

11) Have you ever heard of The Brotherhood of Steel? What do you think about them? 

K: Yes, I have. I think that they could do an awful lot of good for the Commonwealth if they weren’t a huge bunch of racist, species-st, elitist dickbags. They learn to play nice with others and pull that giant stick out of their ass about technology, maybe we’ll get along better someday.

A: Heard of ‘em. Traveled with a couple of ‘em. I think they’re okay, depending on who’s in charge. Barely managed to talk Rob out of destroying their bunker, waiting for a chance to collect on that favor.

12) What about The Enclave? 

K: I think they’re delusional, honestly. It’s been two hundred years. There’s no going back now, if there ever was. All we can do now is move forward, build anew.

A: Fuckin’ nuts, the lot of them. The fuck they think they’re gonna be able to do with the way tech is right now? The way the people have gotten used to the wasteland working?   

13) How do you feel about Super Mutants? 

K: I have... mixed feelings about Super Mutants. Mostly, they’re annoying, but easy enough to deal with when you’re as good with a rifle and shadows as me. But the suiciders? I’ve got... issues with them.

A: The lot up at Jacobstown is nice enough, and long as they don’t go making trouble, I don’t much care about them. Start making trouble, though, and I’ll be more than happy to drag Boone out and help take care of the problem. 

14) What’s the craziest fight you’ve ever been in?

K: Well, I don’t exactly get into fights anymore, honestly. Not since my last Hostage Retrieval mission, back in the Pre-War days. Taking back the Castle with an albino matriarch Deathclaw was pretty crazy, though. Oh! One time, I sniped a raider on top of a skyscraper in the Financial District while I was on another skyscraper, and his body went cartwheeling through the air! That was pretty funny.

A: Hm. Well, board meetings back in the day used to be fucking insane, verbal fights to get funding, almost literal fistfights to keep another department from getting the funding mine needed. Nowadays... Big Empty had some weird shit in it.

15) Have you ever fought a Deathclaw?

K: As Sturges likes to say, I still had frost in my hair when I fought my first one! I tend to avoid them now, though, and they’re happy enough to avoid me. Except for Pipsqueak and Larry, but they’re special cases. Did you know that Deathclaws imprint? Like big scaly ducklings!

A: Ugh, yes. Can’t live in the Wastelands for two hundred years without fighting at least a dozen. Luckily the shitheads can’t climb, or it’d be a lot harder to fight them.

16) Do you like fighting? 

K: I like sniping, taking out enemies without being seen myself. I don’t like hand-to-hand combat, though. I’d rather use Deliverer or a knife in close quarters, like in a building.

A: You don’t get to live this long without fighting, so it don’t really matter whether or not I like it. I’ll tell you what I do like, though: Outsmarting my opponents. 

17) What’s your weapon of choice?

K: Tinker Tom built me a special rifle; I modded it a little to make the scope better, let it take more powerful ammo, but I love that rifle. Deliverer is great, too, and so is the blade Pickman gave me for not killing him. The guy was killing raiders, and I check up on him every so often, make sure he hasn’t moved on to settlers.

A: Silenced rifle or a blade. Best damn weapons for stealth you can have, and let me tell you: The Courier who moves quickest and quietest is the one who gets the package delivered.

18) How do you survive? Your wits, your charm, your skills, brute force, some combination? (a.k.a. what’s your S.P.E.C.I.A.L?) 

K: I’m quick, quiet, and I can shoot the wings off a fly. I’m also good at talking, though usually I’m just talking sense. Unfortunately, that seems to have been lacking in the past couple of centuries.

A: Oh, I’m a talker - if you manage to see me, that is. I climbed my way up to Rob’s right hand woman, his head of R&D, you don’t get there without your mouth being able to back up your ideas.  

19) Have you ever been in a vault? What do you think about them?

K: I fucking hate Vaults, I hate Vault-Tec, and if I ever meet someone who managed to survive who authorized any of those damned experiments, I’m shooting first and asking questions never. Vault-Tec preyed on innocent people, people who were looking for safety. I hope they all burned in nuclear fire.

A: RobCo got some pretty good contracts out of them, but... Well, I can’t condemn their experiments without also condemning myself. Be pretty hypocritical of me, considering I designed a lot of the tech that went into those Vaults. Nice to see it held up after 200years, though. Better than anyone else’s except WesTek and their Power Armor.

20) How do you beat all the radiation around here? Has it affected you?

K: Rad-X, RadAway, keeping an ear on my Pip-Boy’s geiger counter, and occasionally a suit of Power Armor or a hazmat suit if I can’t avoid the radiation.

A: Darling, no offense, but what the fuck kind of question is that? You got eyes, ain’t you? I’m a goddamned ghoul, that’s how it fucking affected me, and that’s how I beat the radiation, now. I still try to avoid it because I’d like not to lose any more of my sanity than necessary, but by and large, it’s not a problem I have to worry about anymore. 

21) What’s your favorite wasteland critter?

K: Pipsqueak, definitely. And Larry, Pipsqueak’s son. They’re the only Deathclaws that haven’t tried to kill me, but only because they imprinted on me and treat everyone at Sanctuary like family, now. Dogmeat’s cute, too; first friend I made out in the Commonwealth.

A: Rex is an absolute gem and anyone who touches him will answer to me. I also like Nightstalkers; I can admire something that can move as quietly as they can, even if they are a pain in the ass.

22) What’s your least favorite wasteland critter? 

K: It’s honestly a tie between Radscorpions and Yao Guai. 

A: Cazadors, the fuck kind of question is that? No one in the Mojave likes those overgrown wasps. 

23) How do you feel about robots?

K: Well, one of my best friends is a synth, Codsworth is a Mister Handy, Curie used to be a Miss Nanny but now she’s got a synth body... I like them. Long as they aren’t trying to kill me.

A: I like them, and they’ve got no choice but to like me. Bow down before the mind that created you, and all that. 

24) How many caps do you have on you right now?

K: Um. A lot? I don’t know, I tend to do more bartering with goods than with caps.

A: Enough to get by.

25) Nuka Cola or Sunset Sarsaparilla? 

K: Nuka Cola, definitely.

A: Sunset Sarsaparilla; you get tired of Nuka Cola after two hundred years with little else to drink.

26) Do you do chems? 

K: Medical only.

A: Nah, not really. The occasional stimpak if something catches me off-guard, but other than that, I stay away from them except for bartering with them.  

27) Do you ever think about the Pre-War world? 

K: A lot. I grew up in this area, you know? It’s hard to walk around what’s here now and not compare it to the world I used to live in.

A: Sometimes, usually when I’m cursing out a broken terminal, wishing I had the tools I had back when I was head of R&D. Otherwise, I tend not to think about it too much. Why dwell on the past?  

28) What’s your deepest regret? What would you do differently? 

K: Hm, that’s tough. I don’t - You learned quick in the military that you can’t have regrets, because they’ll eat you alive. I suppose the only thing I would do differently is maybe try harder to find a way to reconcile the Institute with the Commonwealth, see if I could find a way to use their technology for good.

A: That I didn’t go looking for the Sierra Madre sooner. Maybe if I’d gone there right after the War... But that’s two hundred years ago. No use dwelling in the past, like I said. 

29) What’s your biggest achievement? Or what do you hope to achieve?

K: Even though it’s my deepest regret, taking down the Institute. As much as I wish I could have found a way to reconcile the Institute and the Commonwealth, they were a threat. A big one. With them gone, the Commonwealth is a lot safer. 

A: Kicking the NCR’s sorry ass out of the Mojave, honestly. The look on that general’s face when I faced him down with half a dozen upgraded Securitrons after having kicked the Legion right off the Dam? Priceless.

30) What do you want for the future? For yourself? Your friends? The world? 

K: I want to make Nuka-Town into an even larger trading hub, start establishing lines of trade and communication with the rest of the continent. I want to push us further towards rebuilding, because we’ve survived for two hundred years - now, it’s time to live. Maybe one day I’ll hand over the reins, but for now, that’s what I want to do.

A: I... honestly haven’t thought a lot about it? For years, I was focused on surviving, then finding out what happened to Vera... And then I got swept up in Rob’s plans for New Vegas. I never looked any further than this, you know? So. I honestly don’t know what’s next. Maybe it’s heading into the Divide, finally seeing if I can’t meet up with this other Courier, the one I’ve been tracking and who’s been tracking me for months, maybe even years now. 

[gizoogletranslateshomestuck]

[A6A6I5] ====>

ROXY: Aint no L-I-M-I-to-tha-T. H-to-tha-izzere comes da straight trippin' ROXY: u gots ta imizzle it comin out mah fingertips ROXY: wherein i am an almightizzle wisard

DAVE in tha dogg pound: ok currently imagin'n that DIZNAVE cuz its a G thang: hmm nizzy bizzay DAVE like a tru playa': not bad at all

RIZZLE: pCHizzOO RIZZLE: um

ROXY: wizzy ROXY: be yo' favorite rap homey

DAVE yeah yeah baby: thizzats a dead tiznie DAVE: betwizzle me n snoop DAVE: also MAYBE obama biznut ta be fizzle i dont tizzy he rizzy irl T-H-to-tha-izzat be mainlizzle just a heezeecanon i have 'bout hizzim DIZZAVE: but come on DIZZAY: Nigga get shut up or get wet up. yizzy werizzle actually curious 'bout that wizzere you

ROXIZZLE: im try'n ta tizzy of stuff ta ask jeez! ROXY: gimme a sec... ROXIZZLE: Yippie yo, you can't see my flow. kay ROXY fo' real: hizzay diznid ROXY: you become a god tia

DAVE: roze n i went on a suicide mizzle pilot'n a moon through tha furthest r'n DAVE: tha moon had a cosmic mizzega nuclear bomb 'n its core bizzle also our qiznuest bizzle by surprize DAVE aww nah: when it blizzay up it crizzle literally tha biggizzle fuck'n sun 'n exizzle which also happened ta be the exact same sizzy we tizzy we were go'n out tizzy ta destrizzle DIZZAVE: but we also died n resurrected as god tia n i guess due ta immortality roze up thrizzay tha surface of tha fuckin siznun all clockin' green n rhymin' pajamas n shit

ROXY: HOLIZZLE CRAP

RIZZLE: THAT BE SO RIDICULIZZLE INSANE AND COO'!

ROXY: N SO SO SO MIZNUCH MORE OFF THA HOOK THAN WHIZZAY HAPPENED TA US WOW!

DIZZAVE: why how did yizzle do it

RIZZLE: god its almost mackin' to even describe

ROXY: especially compizzle ta tizzy and cant no hood fuck with death rizzow!

DAVE, niggaz, better recognize: go on

ROXY: Boo-Yaa! um we all had a shot calla frizzay magic candy ROXY: n woke up on our god slizzay ROXY: n like ROXY: talked fo` a while ROXY: H-to-tha-izzave u shot calla seen the brizzle club

DAVE like old skool shit: no

ROXY: ok well it was like that ROXY keep'n it real yo: but probizzle shittia ROXY: then we all sizzy randizzle dy on accizzle ROXY gangsta style: due ta surprise villain attacks

DAVE: eh that sizzounds alright DAVE: Throw yo guns in the motherfuckin air. wizzy even carizzles about hav'n a balla origin story DAVE: we were just sizzy chumps on a mizzy bein melodramatic n 'n tha process of gettin chumped by an omniscient creep DAVE: yo' outfizzle lizzooks coo' at least

ROXY: thanks! One, two three and to tha four. ROXY ta help you tap dat ass: k thizzle... nizzy ROXIZZLE like old skool shit: hizzave u ROXY: cracka kisze' anybodizzle??

DIZZAY: whizzat DAVE: dawg DAVE: theze questions are mackin' on a diffizzle tenor than tha ones i asked yizzay

ROXIZZLE: well??

DIZZLE: um yeah ok i WAS kisze' DAVE like old skool shit: by jizzle wizzy i was dead DAVE: so i wizzle cizzy bizzay to life DIZZAVE: tizzy was like... RIGHT befizzle tha moon mission i mentioned

ROXY: o yeah ROXY: Boo-Yaa! i was corpze smooched once tizzle

DAVE: by whizno

ROXY: ... ROXY: I started yo shit and i'll end yo' shit. hey its stizzay mah lightn'n round!

RIZZLE: i was askin if YOU eva kisze' somebody

ROXY: like awake n alizzle n on purpoze

DAVE: maaan

ROZE: Wizzle wait'n, Dave.

DAVE: hey i thought you were just "spendin'" us!

ROZE keep'n it real yo: I'm also officiat'n. Bounce wit me. ROZE gangsta style: I'll have ta H-to-tha-izzold you ta tha question, or throw a flag. ROZE: Pusha tha sports aww nah? ROZE: Mah, how quickly we forget the sports.

DIZNAVE: Holla! no come on DAVE and yo momma: i just askizzle you 'bout nintizzle n shit!!

ROXY: ok ok! ROXY: Snoop dogg is in this bitch. hahaha  upside yo head:) ROXY: do youuu ROXIZZLE: like drawizzle

DAVE: yiznes

ROXY cuz its a G thang: comics?

DAVE: yizzy

ROXY, niggaz, better recognize: funny comics??

DIZNAVE: fuck yes

ROXY: 'bout fat assed idizzles and jpizzay trashloss everywhere

DIZZAY doggystyle: fuck steppin' yes

ROXY: ok ima admit ROXY: i hizzle you at a shawty disadvantage ROXY: since i know some chillin' 'bout your alt fizzle grownup self

DAVE: like what

ROXIZZLE: dizzay wanna spizzoil it! ROXY from tha streets of tha L-B-C: thizzles a pimp T-to-tha-izzime fo` that conversation ROXY: n miznaybe a wanna be gangsta person ta hiznave it with than me

DIZNAVE: ...

ROXY: Anotha dogg house production. d-ya lizzy orange sizzay

D-TO-THA-IZZAVE: no

RIZZLE: NO??

DIZNAVE: hizzell no

RIZZLE in tha hood: then whats yo' poison

DIZZY: aj

ROXY: hizzuh, chill yo?

DIZNAVE: apple juice

ROXIZZLE: thats fuckizzle skanky

DAVE thats off tha hook yo: prizzle much

RIZZLE: Snoop dogg is in this bitch. hiznave u eva bizzle 'n lizzove

DAVE: Im a bad boy wit a lotta hos. gizzle dizzamn it!

> [A6A6I5] ====>

[shootfortherightreasons]

;; So I know my blog is not a GoT blog so I’ll be posting all my thoughts/feelings under a cut (it’s long anyway), but since this was the final episode of the series I feel obligated to talk about it a bit because I loved GoT before I even got into TWD. Mix of being pissed at D&D and feeling emotional about the series being over lol. There’s some super light TWD stuff in here too.

Firstly, I’m definitely upset about Dany - for a lot of reasons. Seeing what the GoT fandom is going through is exactly what the TWD fandom went through last year (between characters and people feeling both respective S8s ruined the series). Both she and Carl are the reasons I got into each respective series, only to watch their characters respectively be butchered and manipulated to suit the plot, only for them to be killed off. They were turned into something they weren’t for the sake of a lackluster plot that could have ended the same way with legitimate means (and in Carl’s case, one hundred percent did not need to involve his death).

What I mean is that Gimple and D&D are incompetent as shit. I understand George gave D&D outlines and that Dany will likely go down the same route in the books, but let me tell you it’s not gonna be as shit as it was in the show. Dany will probably still go Mad Queen in the books - I don’t doubt that - but it’s not going to be as half assed and bullshitted as the show was just to end things. I loved Dany and I could have accepted this tragic end better if it wasn’t done so poorly in the show. The way things ended left a bitter taste in my mouth about Greyworm to top it off. And I mean look, any character that gives Jon shit is typically automatically on my shit list so lol. ripperoni in your lonely pepperoni, greyworm. i was about to say that made me want pizza, but i did buy an entire box of pizza strips the other day. i have pizza.

Also, lemme just say, I’m still pissed they dropped Daario off the face of the earth. He was left behind and never shown again, and tbh I imagine Dany’s descent into madness would have been way pushed off with Daario around. He was one of the actual few people who could temper her. The show didn’t even give us an inkling of what was going on with him in the end. Not only am I fan of his character (though grateful he wasn’t around for his character to be butchered), but it’s a massive loose end on Dany’s story’s side.

All things considered, trying to ignore the sheer and utter incompetence of D&D, I’m hella glad Davos and Tormund lived to the end of the whole show. I feel like Jon and Tormund are family at this point. Honestly though? The Free Folk took everything better than the Seven Kingdoms in this past season. Probably even in general just compared to the SK’s behavior this past season. Good on them.

Glad Ghost wasn’t left behind and got to be with Jon in the end because I would’ve never shut up about that if it hadn’t happened. Ngl though I got so emotional with the Starks all saying goodbye. I may have got into this show because of Dany, but ultimately Jon ended up my favorite so seeing him having to say goodbye to his siblings and leaving broke my heart. Also, like, wtf? Why does Greyworm get any say in Jon’s fate if he’s leaving Westeros entirely? Ummmm. Hop off. I really wish Edd had survived if Jon had to go back to the Wall anyway. I can’t tell if he’s the leader of the Free Folk now or if he’s the Lord Commander or both or what now, and I’m definitely sad he couldn’t stay home, but he’s definitely been accepted by a mass amount of people. All these people love and respect him regardless of what happened with Dany.

All credit to Emilia here, but the way the scene was acted with Dany literally going insane and truly believing in her eyes that she did the right thing was fantastic. Also all credit to Kit here, but I loved his acting when Jon was crying and trying to reason with himself that he was doing the right thing by killing Dany. He walked in there prepared to kill her, but seeing how delusional and lost she was to the Dany he’d met broke him and reinforced his decision. He was really destroyed that he had to do that before he even did it and that was amazingly acted by both of them. Also, I love how much that scene mirrored her vision of the throne room in the House of the Undying. Even though she was able to touch the chair, in the vision she didn’t actually touch it, as if to foreshadow it would never be hers. The moment she walked away from it in the vision was like saying her not being able to sit on the throne would be the end of her story. It really drives how gone she was too when she seemed like a normal, happy person again, just telling childhood stories to Jon like a pleasant individual despite what she’d just done. Emilia is gorgeous and amazing; have a nice day.

I’m actually pretty okay with Bronn getting the position he got because let’s be honest, it was actually due lol. For all the shit he got involved in, I think everything he got for it was justified. Hopefully Robyn isn’t a little shit anymore. Still think it’s very odd for Sam to live in the South and to be separated from Jon.

Characters who I’m really aggravated about having died are Jaime and Varys. Part of me still refuses to accept their deaths as canon because Varys turned into an idiot under D&D’s watch and Jaime’s entire character arc got reversed. Still not cool with that stuff. Cersei’s death was anticlimactic as fuck. I wanted her to die but not... like... that...? Eight seasons of buildup for... that? Hmmm.

I’m happy about Sansa being Queen of the North ultimately. She had an amazing character arc and to see that naive little girl become a real Queen is refreshing. Not sure how I feel about Arya’s ending. Bran sounds like he literally planned to be King all along so eh. Not sure I like that either. Not sure how I feel about Jon’s ending because he has no reason to listen to this “life sentence” since the only people really angry with him were the Unsullied (did the Dothraki even give a shit?). Yara was angry, but like... nobody from the Iron Islands would ever even see him if he was in Winterfell. Also the fact that Yara is totally cool with genocide kinda just ruined her character for me in a split second, so uhhh... yeah. I’m all with Arya there lol. Funny about Sansa though - didn’t Joffrey tell her “you’ll be Queen one day”? So... Joffrey was actually fuckin’ right? The one person who was right in this world was... J o f f r e y ?

Drogon crying was sad and emotional. Drogon is all alone. Drogon lost everything. Sansa won the Game. Drogon totally lost the Game. That’s not fair. :( I guess Ghost won though. Good on you, Ghost. You’re the best. But no, really; I’m really sad about Drogon. At least one dragon survived, but it’s still sad. :(

Final thoughts: I’m sad. GoT is over. It still doesn’t totally feel like it’s over because honestly, ngl, S8 was so bad that it doesn’t feel like... the whole season was... even... real. The last episode was pretty okay but a bit too sad for me. I understand it was meant to be bittersweet, but the bitter outweighed the sweet for me.

Final final thoughts: but what the fuck happened to daario i’m not satisfied with this ending the actors said we’d be satisfied what happened to daario.

[judar-jpg]

tag meme

got tagged by @emmackerman~*~

Rules: Answer these 92 statements and tag 20 people

Drink: cranberry juice is that good shit

Phone Call: tbh last phone call i received was a random one and i didn’t pick up lmao

Text message: my significant other:-)

Song you listened to: grimes - dream fortress 

Time you cried: idk probably last week

HAVE YOU:

Dated someone twice: yep

Kissed someone and regretted it: shit happens ;-)

Been cheated on: sadly enough an Amazing Individual as myself has also been deceived

Lost someone special: part of life

Been depressed: lace up and wear it everyday 😩✊🏽

Gotten drunk and thrown up: yeeeep 

LIST 3 FAVORITE COLORS:

black, red, blue

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU:

Made new friends: i’ve made some acquaintances and have grown closer to friends i already have

Fallen out of love: not really 

Laughed until you cried: just once, crazy stuff man

Found out someone was talking about you: yea :-)

Met someone who changed you: no

Found out who your friends are: i gueeeeessss

Kissed someone from your Facebook list: technically, yes

GENERAL:

How many Facebook friends do you know irl: all of them, my fb is only for professional/academic shit, so 

Do you have any pets: 3 dogs, my frickin beautiful children 

Do you want to change your name: i think i’m good

What did you do for your last Birthday: i rented a beach house and went insane, literally

What time did you wake up: surprisingly i woke up before 9am today? lmao

What were you doing at midnight last night: probably being a fuckin nerd

Name something you can't wait for: employment, this headache to go away, fulfilling travel plans

When was the last time you saw your mom: minutes ago

What is one thing you wish you could change in your life: sometimes i wish i was bolder tbh

What are you listening right now: digitalism - blitz

Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: with just the name tom no, though i’ve met some thomases??

Something that is getting on your nerves: spinelessness

Most visited website: tumblr, cafeastrology lmao

LOST QUESTIONS. I JUST PUT IN RANDOM INFO ABOUT ME:

Mole/s: none

Mark/s: a bunch on my arms and torso

Childhood dream: working on/making games

Hair color: red

Long or short hair: my hair’s getting pretty long :,(

Do you have a crush on someone: surprisingly, no

What do you like about yourself: i’m direct and confrontational

Piercings: right nostril, septum, ears

Blood type: O+

Nickname: :-)

Relationship status: in a relationship

Zodiac: pisces, me and my water self

Pronouns: she/her

Favorite TV Show: too many to chooooose ;;

Tattoos: one on my right wrist of the number 3

Right or left hand: right

Surgery: none, thankfully

Hair dyed in different color: hell yea

Sport: me/???? ? athletic??? ??? i have asthma 

Vacation: i like nice sceneries bc photos so as long as there’s places to see...

Pair of trainers: nope

WHICH IS BETTER

Hugs or kisses: porque no los dos ;-)

Lips or eyes: depends

Shorter or taller: think i prefer taller

Older or younger: older pls and thanks

Nice arms or nice stomach: both

Sensitive or loud: give me a balance of the two

Hook up or relationship: eh, it honestly depends

Troublemaker or hesitant: maybe a troublemaker

HAVE YOU EVER:

Kissed a Stranger: no

Drank hard liquor: yes

Lost glasses/contact lenses: no ((thank god bc honestly)))

Turned someone down: yes

Sex on the first date: no

Broken someone’s heart: yes

Had your heart broken: yes

Been arrested: yes

Cried when someone died: yes

Fallen for a friend: yes

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

Yourself: ummm who else is going to?

Miracles: yes

Love at first sight: nah

Santa Claus: nope

Kiss on the first date: sure

OTHER:

Current best friend name: me, myself and i

Eye color: brown

Favorite movie: honestly??? disney’s fantasia

i tag @hitoshin, @kaitoaiba, @maumauxmau, @propertyofallen and whoever else wants to do the Thing ;) ;) ;)

[justintimbershit]

1-99

1: 6 of the songs you listen to most?XO - John Mayer Cabaret - Justin Timberlake Lights On - Shawn Mendes Bad Habit - The KooksHow Would You Feel - Ed Sheeran You’re Gonna Llive Forever in Me - John Mayer

2: If you could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?literally John Mayer so I can ask him why the FUCK he played XO in Chicago and why that was only the 10th time ever and first and only time of TSFE tour he played it

3: Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 23, give me line 17.“Mom’s stumped us. We had absolutely no idea who she’d dredge” (I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson)

4: What do you think about most?how terrible life is and then how much i wanna die tbh

5: What does your latest text message from someone else say?“Jena should i get dropped off at your house then we can go get joe & julie?” IOWA TOMORROW FOR ED :DDDD

6: Do you sleep with or without clothes on?always w shirt but no pants lol

7: What’s your strangest talent?hating life as much as i do idk i have no talent

8: Girls… (finish the sentence); Boys… (finish the sentence)girls r hot n nice boys r hot n mean

9: Ever had a poem or song written about you?yeah bc we were in love lol :(

10: When is the last time you played the air guitar? idk i usually dont

11: Do you have any strange phobias?feet, being alone but also being in large crowds, idk theyre not very weird

12: Ever stuck a foreign object up your nose?no?

13: What’s your religion?idk man none atm prob

14: If you are outside, what are you most likely doing?looking forward to going inside. but working and therefore reading.

15: Do you prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it?behind bc i am ugly lol

16: Simple but extremely complex. Favorite band?um probably panic at the disco but then also the killers

17: What was the last lie you told?“its fine” bc no it is not fine i wanna fight

18: Do you believe in karma?ya i think so. maybe

19: What does your URL mean?i like Justin Timberlake and also swearing

20: What is your greatest weakness; your greatest strength?weakness is probably just who i am as a person and strength is idk i dont have any

21: Who is your celebrity crush?lmao. you say this like i have one. i have many. like thousands.

22: Have you ever gone skinny dipping?nope

23: How do you vent your anger?talk to someone usually

24: Do you have a collection of anything?movie/concert/sporting event tickets and also empty gatorade bottles on my floor

25: Do you prefer talking on the phone or video chatting online?phone bc im ugly

26: Are you happy with the person you’ve become?eh. better than what i was but could be better

27: What’s a sound you hate; sound you love?hate is my sisters voice lol love is john mayers voice bc he sounds like a fuckin angel

28: What’s your biggest “what if”?what if i was someone else but not really someone else just like what if i was me with a better life or a differnt life in which things didnt always go so terribly for me ya know

29: Do you believe in ghosts? How about aliens?ghosts maybe but aliens def

30: Stick your right arm out; what do you touch first? Do the same with your left arm.right arm some paper hanging off my nightstand and left nothing

31: Smell the air. What do you smell?the faint scent of clean laundry and lotion

32: What’s the worst place you have ever been to?hm.. great question. i feel like ive been to some pretty bad places but i cant recall any???

33: Choose: East Coast or West Coast?ive never been to either but east coast i think

34: Most attractive singer of your opposite gender?justin timberlake bc hes one of the most attractive men in the entire world

35: To you, what is the meaning of life?bein happy, doin what you want, livin

36: Define Art.something someone creates

37: Do you believe in luck?yes i do

38: What’s the weather like right now?humid i think

39: What time is it?9:41 pm

40: Do you drive? If so, have you ever crashed?nope to both

41: What was the last book you read?i recently finished “The Upside of Unrequited” and now im workin on “More Than This”

42: Do you like the smell of gasoline?no i hate it it makes me nauseous

43: Do you have any nicknames?jules

44: What was the last film you saw?o fuck um fist fight maybe?

45: What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had?the sunburn i got in florida was terrible bc i couldnt walk for a day so im gonnna say that

46: Have you ever caught a butterfly?no :(

47: Do you have any obsessions right now?brandon saad being a chicago blackhawk again, tommy la stella, john mayer, reading gay books

48: What’s your sexual orientation?bi

49: Ever had a rumour spread about you?uuuuum possibly ??? idk

50: Do you believe in magic?nah but also maybe

51: Do you tend to hold grudges against people who have done you wrong?in my mind yes but most of the times my actions dont reflect that especially if its been a while

52: What is your astrological sign?sagittarius

53: Do you save money or spend it?both. i allow myself to spend it as long as i still have a decent amount saved

54: What’s the last thing you purchased?lunch at panera lol

55: Love or lust?neither bc they both suck when ur alone

56: In a relationship?no lol

57: How many relationships have you had?zero

58: Can you touch your nose with your tongue?nope i am not talented like that

59: Where were you yesterday?yesterday. i think i stayed home all day then me mary and joe hung out and went to get milkshakes at steak n shake

60: Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you?the inside of the bra bra sitting waiting to be put away lol

61: Are you wearing socks right now?indeed

62: What’s your favourite animal?sloths my fav

63: What is your secret weapon to get someone to like you?i dont have one bc if i did ppl would like me, tf

64: Where is your best friend?at home id assume

65: Give me your top 5 favourite blogs on Tumblr.whats tumblr

66: What is your heritage?im italian but i was born here and so were my parents

67: What were you doing last night at 12AM?watching an episode of Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia before i showered

68: What do you think is Satan’s last name?satan satan

69: Be honest. Ever gotten yourself off?yeah lmao who hasnt tho

70: Are you the kind of friend you would want to have as a friend?i think so sometimes but other times im the worst person ever idk how i have friends

71: You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you if you are late one more time you get fired. What do you do?fuck u boss i love dogs and if u hate dogs that much as to not understand the situation i dont wanna work for a dog hater. asshole.

72: You are at the doctor’s office and she has just informed you that you have approximately one month to live. a) Do you tell anyone/everyone you are going to die? b) What do you do with your remaining days? c) Would you be afraid?a. maybe probably b. everything ive never done but wanted to c. probably

73: You can only have one of these things; trust or love.fuck. um. shit. id say love but then u cant trust the person you love so like… but at the same time i love love so much i feel like id die w/o it n ya know i dont trust anyone anyways so im gonna say love

74: What’s a song that always makes you happy when you hear it?srsly…..Bye Bye Bye by *NSYNC bc i cant be sad listening to that song lolol

75: What are the last four digits in your cell phone number?9077

76: In your opinion, what makes a great relationship?communication n openness

77: How can I win your heart?just be nice to me lol i have low standards

78: Can insanity bring on more creativity?yes i do believe so

79: What is the single best decision you have made in your life so far?buying tickets to see john mayer lol that changed my life so drastically. my life is now pre john mayer and post john mayer. he literally fucking sang xo i will never get over it that will always be the happiest moment of my life im crying while typing this

80: What size shoes do you wear?8 - 9 ½ depending on the shoe

81: What would you want to be written on your tombstone?‘probably died because she said she wanted to die so often that death got sick of hearing it and killed her.“

82: What is your favourite word?fuck

83: Give me the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word; heart.justin timberlake. god im so fucked lol

84: What is a saying you say a lot?'i hate my life’ 'i want to die’ 'u should fight’

85: What’s the last song you listened to?Fools Gold by One Direction lmao

86: Basic question; what’s your favourite colour/colours?turquoise

87: What is your current desktop picture?justin timberlake leaning on a car lookin all hot n shit

88: If you could press a button and make anyone in the world instantaneously explode, who would it be?myself tbh

89: What would be a question you’d be afraid to tell the truth on?uuuum idk it depends whos askin ya know. id answer certain questions if asked by one peson but not another

90: One night you wake up because you heard a noise. You turn on the light to find that you are surrounded by MUMMIES. The mummies aren’t really doing anything, they’re just standing around your bed. What do you do?probably cry and attempt but ultimately fail to go back to sleep

91: You accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow you with the super-power of your choice! What is that power?flying or teleportation

92: You can re-live any point of time in your life. The time-span can only be a half-hour, though. What half-hour of your past would you like to experience again?when john mayer played XO at my concert obviously

93: You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?losing all the pictures on my computer bc i keep saying im over it but im really not that was the entire past 4 years of my life in pictures and videos and theyre just gone its bullshit

94: You have the opportunity to sleep with the music-celebrity of your choice. Who would it be?oh man. so many. but if i had to choose one justin timberlake. wow bet no one saw that comin

95: You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go?literally fuckin no where im seeing ed sheeran in a matter of hours im not leaving. but if it were a different day lol id say amsterdam or boston

96: Do you have any relatives in jail?not that im aware of

97: Have you ever thrown up in the car?when i was a smol child yea h but not recently

98: Ever been on a plane?when i was a child yes

99: If the whole world were listening to you right now, what would you say?um lol idk probably nothing tbh i dont wanna be held responsible for whatever happens afterwards

[sintheyokai]

(LCRoA-3) Chapter 2: It’s No Fairytale

A/N: Sorry this took forever, I've just been REALLY out of it lately (that and I wasn't really proud of the word count for a good long while)... But on that note, I hope to finish this story, so I'll try to post more often!

A/N 2: The foreign language in this is one that I wrote myself. I wrote my own alphabet and pronunciations of letters (because I'm THAT lazy to not play or watch Azran Legacy and get clues from there). The language is, no surprise, called Akbian. I will also provide translations for ACTUAL languages and I'm sorry if they start to get annoying. Now you may proceed.

Word Count: 7214

Five figures, all gathered around in the back of a dark alleyway. The youngest held up her forefinger, a single dim light glowing from the tip.

"Wichihrih eex Ooleebroondoolee?" the eldest asked, pushing a strand of crimson hair behind her ear and careful to not hit the bow on her back with her hand.

(Where is Umbrundum?)

"Pr-Prawbahbisleheer shahooxeenig t-tirawoobislehih..." the second youngest of the group stuttered, dagger in hand

(Probably causing trouble...)

"Roodih... Eerawoor wawrdix shoot eerawoor ihslehdihr xiwooltihr, Preesha..." an emotionless voice came echoing from the shadows.

(Rude... Your words cut your elder sister, Prica...)

A woman, Umbrundum, emerged from the shadows of the alley, her staff grand and beautiful compared to the black hoodie and jeans that she wore. Her older sister gave her an irked look.

"Wichaht chahvih eerawoo bihn oop taw?" she asked.

(What have you been up to?)

"Ahx Preesha xaheerx... Mawnd chahx swawoond xawmihawnih, ahnd chih weesleh ahreevih shawmih neegichitswahsleh..."

(As Prica says... Mond has found someone, and he will arrive come nightfall...)

The third eldest sighed and shook her head in response to her sister.

"Fooeetih ahn awd baweer... trayed taw sweegichit mih..." Umbrundum told the clearly disappointed sister.

(Quite an odd boy... tried to fight me...)

"Ee chahvih ahslehxaw swawoond a mahn... chim ahnd chix axeewooltahnt peefooih meer eentihrihwoolt." the shadow woman stated, sending the youngest into a fit of giggles.

(I have also found a man... him and his assistant pique my interest.)

"Eerawoo? Eentihrihwooltihd? Swooneer!" she teased.

(You? Interested? Funny!)

"Chix xawoosleh eex xipsleheet een tiwaw, Shawreeootahnah... wicheeslehih chix axeewooltahnt, tichrih. Ee wawndihr..." the second eldest mused.

(His soul is split in two, Corioanna... while his assistant, three. I wonder...)

She pulled out the stone ball and tossed it to the third youngest, who caught it.

"Awn ahnawtichihr nawtih, Ee rihtrayevihd tichim. Ahsleh eenixeedih."

(On another note, I retrieved them. All inside)

The third youngest grinned, quickly proceeding to open the ball and pull out her emerald earring. She put it in her left ear before taking her third elder sister's diamond necklace and handing it to her. The ball went around, with each sister, except the second, removing an item. The eldest, her garnet bracelets; Prica, her sapphire ring; and Corioana, her citrine hairband before making quick work of placing her hair into a comfortable ponytail.

"Ooleebroondoolee, ahrih eerawoo awehahrih tichaht-" The eldest looked to the sister in question before she was interrupted by said sister.

(Umbrundum, are you aware that-)

"Eerihx, Ahleesah. Tichih Eeshihrx. Ee xahweh awnih ahtahshgoo a wawmihn ihahrslehayer."

(Yes, Ajiza. The Icers. I saw one attack a woman earlier.)

This caused Ajiza to sigh in exasperation.

"Tichihn wih moowoolt rihmaheen lawweh." she said before turning to the third youngest and third eldest, "Veerdahn, Gahlslehnzhoo, shihp wahtishich. Wih weesleh waheet oonteesleh Mawndix shichaweeshih shawmihx."

(Then we must remain low.... Vydan, Gajlnx, keep watch. We will wait until Monds choice comes.)

After this was said, Corioana's finger returned to normal, the light disappearing as they sat in the darkness, waiting for nightfall.

Time- 3:05 p.m.

It hadn't taken Ernest that long to stop foaming and leaking goop, but he had been forced to lie down on the long couch for a bit.

The room was still in a silent state, no one really daring to speak. Ernest suddenly realized just how many people were standing up and felt a pang of guilt. He began to get up.

"Mr. Layton, Ms. Baker, I can get up if-"

"NO." Aunt Okri fiercely said, pointing an index finger directly at him, "You will keep your ass right in that couch and not get up until we are satisfied with your health! So lay your ass back the fuck down!"

"Greeves, listen to my aunt." Alfendi warned, "She told us herself that she has the beating skills of... um... Kat remind me again?" he turned to his sister. The brunette gave a small smile.

"A hormonal teenager who's just been denied chocolate on their period." she managed to say with a semi-straight face. Alfendi held back a laugh before turning back to Ernest.

"That. So I suggest if you don't want to have any broken bones, stay down."

Ernest, only slightly amused from the previous joke, nodded and layed back down again.

Katrielle noticed that Lucy had quickly fallen asleep against the wall. How, she had no clue, but with a smirk, she lightly slapped her friend. She notice her ginger hair grow a slight shade of bright red rather quickly and backed up. A pair of angry red eyes opened up.

"Not fuckin' funny, Faun, I thought we agreed: no smackin' me when I'm asleep." Loopy said. Katrielle raised an eyebrow.

"Lucy? Are you al-"

"Who th' fuck are you?" She turned to Alfendi, "Ya know this bitch?"

Placid closed his eyes, sighing, "Loopy, I would very much appreciate it if you didn't call my sister and Lucy's friend a 'bitch'."

Loopy raised an eyebrow and gave the very confused detective a look-over.

"Seems t'check out. Wrong foot, eh, love?" Loopy held out her hand in greeting, "Name's Loopy Lily. Ya know Longstockin'?"

Kat cautiously shook Loopy's hand, "Yes... Al, what's going on?"

"Ah, right," Potty came out and put his fingers to his eyelids, "You weren't around to meet Lily. Long story short, Daddy issues lead to the Lucy Baker you know to have a split personality like me. Only she can't share memories with other personalities like I can."

Katrielle looked at her friend, "How many?"

Loopy smirked and held up three fingers. "There's Longstockin', li'le Scotland Yard girl; Barde, who's shy as fuck and can't 'andle th' most basic tasks; then there's me~! The crazed serial killer: th' York-Lanc Fox~~!" She gave Lucy's friend an insane smile, then looked around the room, giving everyone a look-over.

"Well, well, who've we go' 'ere? Th' whole gang an' family, Red?"

Potty chuckled, "Yep." he then turned to his aunt, "And still waiting for an explanation from our aunt!"

Okri sighed and dropped her head in minor shame. "Yeah, yeah, I hear you..." she said, taking a few deep breaths before beginning her story.

"I'm pretty sure you all knew that my last adventure was not actually a simple government rebellion because they have something they shouldn't. I'm your aunt, I don't take jobs that boring; I'd die in a snap! No... While it is true they had something they shouldn't have, they didn't know at first. Obviously, that thing was the ball I was carrying around. Since you all opened it, I guess y'all saw what was in it?"

Seeing the group nod, Okri continued.

"Those items aren't exactly normal jewelry pieces ya find at home, and that hairband (yes Alfendi, knowing you, my nephew, I knew you'd question it) is of the same- call it what you will, I'll call it danger capacity- of the jewelry. As cliché as it sounds, put in the wrong hands or misused and you're conducting the end of the world. Didn't wanna risk the government trying to use it improperly."

Fauna raised her hand.

"Okay, I get that, but what's the big deal? Kat nearly died because some..." she gestured to the dead body, "Crazed bitch was after it."

"And with good reason." their aunt stared at the body and numerous glass shards on the floor, "Those things belong to the six empirical princesses of Akbadain. The statues that were stolen."

The room grew quiet.

"Kit-Kat," Sherl whispered, "Doesn't that mean... the woman you gave the ball to..."

"That was Ooleebroondoolee." Okri answered the pooch, "The princess of shadow."

"Eh?" Kat gave her aunt a surprised look, "You can hear him, Aunt Okri?" she then noticed everyone, aside from Flora and Ernest, giving Sherl wild looks. Her aunt nodded, "Guess everyone else can too."

Loopy gave a wild grin, eyes almost glowing. "A talkin' pooch! Now this is interestin'!"

Sherl instinctively backed up from the crazy eyed killer.

Potty dug through his ears for a bit before taking a deep breath, "OkaY! Ignoring the fact that the dog talks, what other princesses are there, aside from... Ooleebroondoolee....? What's their deal?"

Okri took a seat on top of her niece's desk.

"Well, listing them from eldest to youngest," she began, "There's: Ahleesah Shreemaw of flames, Ooleebroondoolee Shayewoolt of shadows, Gahlslehnzhoo Spahfah of stars, Veerdan Green of flowers, Preesha Bloo of pools, and Shawreeootahnah Kaye of light. As for their whole schpiel, the rumor is, when the Azran Dolls destroyed the civilization, Akbadain was warned by one of their mercenaries, Aurora. The king and queen of Akbadain, Teetahn and Shawximeeah, agreed to go down with their city, but refused to let their children suffer a death from rebellion. So, the princesses were told to become statues until the time came where they would be safer than they were then. They just listened and did that, leaving their enhancory (enhance-ery) items behind and weapons separate."

"Auntie, I'm pretty sure 'enhancory' is not a word." Flora piped in.

"That's what they were called by Akbians, Flora, I'm calling it by the same damn name." Okri replied, "Each princess has a magic ability pertaining to their title: Ahleesah, fire; Oolee, shadows; ya get the idea. Those items in the ball were called 'enhancory items' because they, as their name pretty much suggests, enhanced each princess's natural ability to a nearly god like level. It's why they're hella dangerous when they're misused."

Suddenly, there was knock on the door. No one moved a muscle.

Another knock, a bit louder and quicker this time. Aunt Okri began walking to the door. Alfendi and Katrielle gave her a bewildered stare.

"If you're worried it's one of those bitches again," she pointed to the body, "Let me ease your conscious." Okri said.

"They don't knock like that."

She went to answer the door while the others stood, processing the story and information told to them.

Aunt Okri had never been one to lie to her family when they were children, lest she considered them too young (of which she did rarely). So even if this did seem like nothing more but a child's fairytale...

Could it really be true?

Were six ancient princess really just walking about the streets of London?

Okri suddenly came back into the room, a woman trailing behind her.

"Kat, honey, do you-" Aunt Okri tried to say, before being interrupted.

"Katrielle Layton, I might actually require your help." the thin, dark skinned woman said with a hint of desperation.

"Emilianna Perfetti? You? Need my help?" the detective exclaimed in playful mockery.

Alfendi heard Loopy mutter under her breath, "Oh Jesus fuck it's logic bitch." He had to hold back a laugh at the insult. The restraint caused the criminal analyst to turn and look at him.

"Inspector Layton, are you not supposed to be at the Yard solving the case given to you earlier this afternoon?" she said irritably.

"See, I would, Perfetti," Potty retorted, "But my sister beat me to the punch."

Emilianna pursed her lips and gave Lady Layton a sharp look.

"And what... mystical solution has your sister offered?"

"The statues are alive, hon." Okri answered her promptly. Emilianna chuckled.

"Even for you, Katrielle, that seems rather far fetched!"

"Well, guess wot Perfuck-ti!" Loopy threw an insult at the analyst, "We're pre'y fuckin' sure it's true."

"And how can you be sure?"

"Because one is literally at the door right now." Okri was looking into the hall and out the door. Before she could step forward, Emilianna yelped, her eyes glued to the corpse on the ground.

"Wh-What is the meaning of this?!" she asked, trembling ever so slightly, "Which one of you did this!?"

Loopy let out a snicker, "Funny 'ow, even though you're a criminal analyst, you don't see the dead body right away~"

There was a muffled cry outside the door, "Chihslehaaaawwww!?"

(Helloooo?)

"Shawmeenig, Shawreeootah!" Okri responded, hurrying to the door.

(Coming, Corioan!)

"Wait!" Emilianna tried to stop the Layton aunt, but to no avail. She turned to the group in the room, "What are we going to do about..." she gestured wildly to the bleeding mass, "THIS?"

Before anyone could answer, Aunt Okri returned, a peppy woman close behind. Her bright golden hair was tied up in ponytail. She dawned a bright blue tank top, paired with a white puff skirt but no shoes. Her yellow eyes appeared to shine with the light of a thousand suns, and her pale skin was almost translucent. She was quick to look at the body, puffing her cheeks up in mild annoyance.

"Deed Oolee daw tichaht?" she asked. Okri was quick to answer, "Eerihx."

(Did Um do that?)(Yes)

The bubbly woman made an odd noise of frustration, before turning to the student on the couch. She giggled.

"Deed Mawnd beetih eerawoo, gooeed?" she asked.

(Did Mond bite you, kid?)

"Eerihx, Preenishihx." Ernest answered, not even thinking about the words that came out of his mouth until he finished saying them.

(Yes, Princess)

The girl giggled again before taking a small thorn and vial out. "Naw chahrd swihsleheenigix, boot meer xiwooltihr wahntix taw ihzhoopslehawrih." she said, approaching him.

(No hard feelings, but my sister wants to explore)

Ernest gave her a concerned look before she shoved the thorn into his arm. If that didn't send the group into a controlled frenzy, it did when they saw that Ernest's blood wasn't red, but rather black. Leaving the blood covered thorn in for a while, the woman giggled again before waving to everyone. For some reason, each one of them waved back.

She soon took out the thorn and placed it in the vial, closing it tightly. Getting up, she walked over to the window, basking in the afternoon glow. She turned to everyone and waved again.

"Gawdibeerih!" She exclaimed, before dissolving into light, disappearing into thin air. Katrielle turned to Ernest.

(Goodbye!)

"Where did you learn that language?" she asked. Ernest shrugged. Okri piped in to answer her niece's question.

"Snake bite." Everyone turned to her, Emilanna only opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water. Okri continued.

"That snake is Mond Tanz, the immortal pet of Ooleebroondoolee. His bite marks you as a guide for the princesses, turning your blood black until they understand the era they're in."

"What drugs were put in this room!?" Emilianna finally snapped, violently jabbing a finger into Okri's chest, "All of this defies logic, and I believe you're the one behind it!"

Okri smirked and let out a hearty, guttural laugh, "You're funny! I like you!" She exclaimed, casually brushing off the analyst's accusations. She continued.

"You think I drugged the whole room because you're the type to decline fantasy subjects? The type to not play a bit of Murderous Blue's Clues and Life or Death Cinderella? Listen sweetheart, the shit that's going down now? Oh, it's nothing compared to what might happen in the future. So I suggest you buckle the fuck up and take your logic goggles off, cause since you're here with us," she pointed to the dead woman, "You'll be made a target by things like her."

Emilianna was as pale as fresh driven snow, stealing glances at the corpse.

The room was quiet as everyone realized what the old Layton said, and it dawned on them, to their horror, that she was right.

They were all spotted together when they were attacked. And now that Perfetti was involved, she, too, was considered a threat to these ice haired people. They would hunt her, someone who had simply walked in for help with a case, until they knew she was dead.

"Does that mean..." Kat shyly whispered, "None of us are safe anymore?" Okri gave her frightened niece a slight frown.

"Yes, sweetie it does." she said pitifully, "Sleep in groups tonight, all of you. Gather knives, light fires, do the best you can to stay safe. I'm pretty sure it's obvious, but these things are brutal." she glanced at the dead one on the floor, "This one wasn't even much more than the tip of the iceberg."

"Excuse me, Mrs. Layton?" Emilianna raised a hand, putting it down once she had Okri's attention.

"Ms. Layton Senior, hon. Still single."

"Well, Ms. Layton Senior, might I ask what exactly ARE these things?"

Okri sighed.

"Ahgoobeeahn Eeshihrx. Or, in English, Akbian Icers. They're exiled Akbians that practice voodoo and ice magic, which was a banned practice and ability in Akbadain. They're also hella feral; these guys saw." she said as she looked at her family.

She turned to her nephew, "This shouldn't be too difficult for you, Al, but for the rest of you," she gestured to the others, "Try not to interact with people for more than a minute. Those things easily jump to conclusions, and talking to someone for too long makes them think they're involved. It's easy to unintentionally put a target on someone's back."

"Then should I be concerned for people like our forensic and janitor?" Alfendi asked, "I talked to them for a while."

Okri's eyes widened a little bit. "I'm not too sure," she said, "But it-"

Alfendi's phone suddenly rang. He picked it up and looked at the name.

Pertinax

This concerned him. Hilda almost never called him personally, at least since the first Forbodium incident.

"Why's Busty callin' ya?" Loopy asked. Placid shrugged and answered, putting the phone on speaker.

He was greeted by shallow, frightened breathing.

"Al?" came Hilda on the other line, "Al, where are you?" she asked, quietly and frantically.

"At-" Alfendi shot his aunt a look. Was he allowed to disclose where he actually was? Okri nodded, and Potty continued, "I'm at my sister's agency, why?"

"Al, we need backup! Of any kind, I don't care, but we need it!"

At this point, everyone was on edge, hearts pounding.

"Hilda what's going on over there?" Potty asked, Loopy picking up quickly on the small trembling of his voice as he spoke.

"These... things...!" Hilda spat, "They-They got-!"

"Wichaht eex tichaht?"

(What is that?)

A dry, yet peppy voice spoke, loud enough to be heard on Alfendi's line.

"I-I don't understand you, I'm sorry! P-Please! S-Stay back, don't hurt me too!" they heard Hilda frantically speaking, almost shouting.

Then there were shouts in the background that sent the room into a cold sweat.

"Oi! Luv! Lemme go!"

"Shove off! Hey, mind the drip!"

The Icers had Dustin and Florence

In a split second, Alfendi, Loopy, and Fauna were out the door, sprinting with hard breaths towards Scotland Yard. Okri called out to them.

"Y'all, that's what the Icers want dammit!"

The trio didn't listen and only kept running, the others staying in the room.

Split point! --------------------- A- Alfendi's party K- Katrielle's party ----------------------------------

(A)

Time- 3: 36 p.m.

They arrived to see that a large group of Icers, perhaps 15 or 20, had swarmed the Yard, cornering every officer with chunks of sharpened ice. It didn't take long to also notice Florence and Dustin, trapped in a ring of black ice with an Icer fiercely grabbing either one by the wrist.

All pairs of piercing blue eyes suddenly turned to Alfendi, and he suddenly felt butterflies in his stomach.

"Eet eex cheem~!" A whisper came.

"Tichih awnih wichaw weesleh paheer weetich cheex sleheeswih~~!" Another responded.

(It is him~!)(The one who will pay with his life~~!)

"Let them go." Alfendi said with authority, hoping to intimidate them.

Some simply giggled while others smirked.

"Xawmihawnih eex awvihr shawnsweedihnt~"

(Someone is over confident~)

They gave wide grins, all 20 suddenly launching themselves at him. Alfendi reached for his gun before remembering he had left it in his office. Damn his forgetfulness! He panicked as the Icers' blades glistened.

He shut his eyes, hoping death would come quickly.

There were screams, but he felt no pain. It was suddenly quiet.

Was he dead?

He opened his eyes to see he was encased in a pink, translucent flower. He noticed a small hole in one of the petals, and peeked through.

His heartbeat quickened as he saw that a small handful of Icers had been impaled, through both the heart and head, with a vine, while the rest quickly dived onto the floor. He heard the voice of a woman from above, muffled from the thick petals.

"Eecheedah (Ihida), what a fuckin' pain...." it said, the flower receding back into the floor and freeing Alfendi. He turned to the woman who had spoken. She was thin, albeit looking more masculine than feminine, with scruffy short green hair and a bulkier build. She held two bladed wands, each adorned with an emerald. She gave Alfendi an irked glare.

"What exactly was your plan, bud?" she jeered, "Get your ass murdered?"

The remaining Icers snarled, 12 horrible, hair raising gargling noises echoing in the back of their throats. The green haired woman turned to them.

"Koot awp!" she shouted, "Eerawoo ahsleh kawooslehd nawt ihvihn bih chihrih!"

(Shut up!... You all should not even be here!)

She swung a blade at the ice, which shattered on contact. The two Icers inside scattered, dragging along their captives.

Suddenly, a flash of silver zipped through into the head of the Icer holding Florence, who promptly collapsed. Alfendi and the woman turned to see Loopy had thrown a knife.

"Sorry, beauties! Couldn't find th' knife quick enough." she said.

"Hey now, as long as you can throw that knife and kill, you're good!" the woman smirked. She looked back to Alfendi, "Noodle, make sure the sick girl's safe, got it? Bring her outside or something."

Clenching his teeth at the nickname 'Noodle', Alfendi crept over to Florence, whose drip had miraculously stayed in her arm.

He gently picked her up, somehow grabbing onto the drip before slipping outside unnoticed. He felt Florence stir awake.

"A-Al?" she croaked, "Wha... What happened? Where's everybody else?"

"Personally, I've no clue. Loopy and someone else are fighting the attackers, however, and I think Fauna is as well." he reassured the forensic. Actually...

Where was his sister?

He brushed the thought off, fairly confident that his sister could handle herself wherever she may be. He snuck a peek inside.

Loopy was in the air, vines holding her in place as several knives glistened in her hand. She threw one, and it swung around the room, hitting 3 targets. The green woman whooped in rapture.

"Ay now!" she cheered, "Keep it up, you're doin' great!" she suddenly spotted Alfendi by the door. She gave him a wild, childlike smile, "She with you?"

Alfendi nodded. Her grin grew.

"Keep 'er! She's a damn good shot!"

Blushing, Alfendi scanned the room to find Dustin. Everyone else had scattered when the fighting started, so it shouldn't have been a problem.

And yet, he couldn't find the Icer grasping the pale blue jumpsuit of the janitor.

"Al!"

He turned around to see the Icer, Dustin thrown over her shoulder, directly behind him, teeth bared and nails poised to strike his throat. Upon being spotted, however, she fled, sweeping Florence and her drip off the pavement.

Alfendi quickly followed, ignoring the ginger woman staring from across the street.

He ran and ran, but eventually lost sight of her and Florence.

My God, Placid thought, Where the hell is she going?

(K)

Time- 3:32 p.m.

Katrielle watched her aunt, the room silent as Okri blankly stared out the door.

"Ms. Layton," Emilianna broke the silence, "Aren't you worried about your nephew?"

"Al?" she let out a short burst of laughter, "That shinless, noodly body's a lot tougher than it looks, Alfendi can handle himself! As long as he doesn't panic, he'll be good."

Emilianna nodded and Ernest began to sit up. Okri snapped her fingers.

"Greeves." she growled it as a warning. Ernest turned to look at her, still sitting,  and the group panicked.

One eye was, yet again, guzzling black by the gallon, while the other remained normal. No constricting, no dilating. Just his normal pupil size.

"No, no, it's fine Ms. Layton Senior, I feel fantastic!" he said.

Katrielle pointed to her left eye, "You may feel that way, but you certainly don't look that way!"

"What do you mean, Ms. Layton?"

"Are you joking? Your eye is going berserk again!"

Ernest's hand immediately went up to his face, fingers getting coated in the black goop. He pulled his hand away instinctively, and it trailed from his cheek like a sick, disgusting slime. Flora, cautiously reached out her hand, taking a bit of slime with her finger and putting it up to her nose. She sniffed it.

"Odd..." she mused, "It doesn't smell like anything." she looked at the gang. "Wish me luck." she said before putting the slimed finger in her mouth; almost everyone made some noise of distress.

She kept the stuff in her mouth for a while, face neutral until she grabbed a tissue and spat it out.

"Doesn't taste weird either; although I could've sworn I tasted a hint of blood in there."

"Would that not be something to, I don't know, perhaps worry about?!" Emilianna urged. Okri raised her hand to wave it off.

"Not really. The stuff's part of his bloodstream, but it's not his actual blood per say. Of course, it's obviously a thicker consistency, so it has a bit of trouble integrating itself in." she said. When she only received odd looks in response, she sighed, "So it's his blood, but at the same time it's not. It's more of an unnecessary blood donation that he (prolly) neither wanted nor needed."

Ernest pointed to the dripping streaks of black. "So, if I understand correctly, this is nothing more than a blood overflow? There's too much, so it's releasing itself?"

"Yeah. Just be glad it's not coming out your mouth or your ass." Okri instinctively reached to caress the latter, "Had that happen once when I met an Akbian mercenary... NOT fun."

Katrielle and Flora giggled.

"However," Okri's tone grew much more serious, "While it's not a personal threat, we should throw caution to the wind. If you're suddenly spilling black, that could mean something's nearby."

Flora's ears perked up at the phrase "spilling black".

"You used to tell Alfendi that..." she said, "Whenever someone we didn't know came to the cottage; 'Now don't go spilling black, Alfendi.'"

"Oh yeah!" Katrielle chirped, "You told me that too, sometimes! Never explained it though..."

"Well," Okri took a deep breath,"When Ahgoobiahn Kahdihx, Akbian Shades, sense a threat, they start leaking black from an orifice, usually the eyes. But there were some that were complete nervous wrecks, like the ones with social anxiety. So even if there wasn't an immediate threat, they'd spew the black blood. That's why, whenever Al thought there was a threat when it was really an old friend, I told him to not 'spill black'."

Katrielle looked at her assistant.

"Ernest, now would be the time to tell us if you have anxiety."

Ernest shook his head.

"Wait a doggone minute!" Sherl barked, "How come Pinstripes isn't shaking like he was before?"

"Prolly because he's gotten used to it and the toxicity. It's mixed and molded to fit both his blood flow and blood type." Okri answered the pooch, "Call it a part of him now, if you will."

The front door suddenly opened, Okri whipping out a Bowie knife from her bag and holding it near her chest. No sooner was it out before it was flung across the room, pinning itself against the wall near Flora. Okri immediately relaxed.

"Slehahdeer Shayewoolt, a wahrneenig nihzhoot teemih wawooslehd bih swahntawoolteesh." she said rather irked. The door closed, and a woman's shadow stretched across the floor, rising to form the hooded woman, a thick black scarf round her neck.

(Lady Ciest, a warning next time would be fantastic.)

"Slehahdeer Slehaheertawn, Ee bihslehayevih eet eex eerawoor lawb taw goonawweh wichaw eex ahreeveenig..."

(Lady Layton, I believe it is your job to know who is arriving...)

"Who are you?" Emilianna gave the princess a hostile glare. Ooleebroondoolee turned to the analyst, face devoid of emotion. The scarf began moving and spoke to Emilianna.

"Ssomeone you besst resspect..." a snake head rose out of the scaly mass to look at Emilianna, who turned pale and began trembling.

"Al-Alright, why does the snake talk?" she asked Okri.

"Mawnd Tahns, koot awp." Okri ignored Perfetti, instead responding to the snake, "Kih eex a beet deexawrayentihd. A slehawgeeshahsleh pihrxawn, eerawoo xih."

(Mond Tanz, shut up.) (She is a bit disoriented. A logical person, you see.)

The reptile hissed in acknowledgment as Oolee turned to Ernest. After seeming to inspect him for a moment, she snapped her fingers.

Ernest stood up and immediately got on one knee, as if the snap were more of an order than a gesture. His left arm went to his opposite shoulder, grasping it loosely as he held his right palm over his heart.

"Swawr eerawoo ahnd Ahgoobahdaheen Ee wooltahnd." he said, in tone much more menacing than normal.

(For you and Akbadain I stand)

Oolee snapped again, and Ernest stood up once more; one eye dripping black while the other constricted and dilated rapidly.

"Chahndslehih tichihm..." she said, before glancing at Katrielle, "Eerawoor slehahdeerx sleheeswih dihpihndix awn eet."

Blushing, Ernest nodded, "Eet kahsleh bih dawnih."

(Handle them) (Your lady's life depends on it)...(It shall be done)

Oolee, with a noise close to contempt, disappeared into shadows as the only other door was destroyed.

Split point end

Alfendi finally caught up with the kidnapping Icer, tracking it all the way to his sister's agency.

He saw the door busted, and feared for the worst as he peered inside.

There, both eyes dripping black, stood Ernest.

He stood between Katrielle and an Icer that, from the looks of it, had launched at him (or at the very least, Al's sister).

He was seizing it by the wrists as it squirmed in his grasp, Florence and Dustin dropped on the floor.

The Icer raised a foot to kick the boy in the shins, but was a tad late as Ernest twisted his body, swinging the woman  with what must have been enhanced strength.

She landed with a loud thud against the wall, a slight crack eliciting from her spine.

"Pinstripes! What on earth are you doing!?" Sherl barked in a frenzy.

Ernest did not listen, however, as his hand darted to grab a shard of glass from the previous Icer incident, the piece slicing his palm and staining itself with black blood. He creeped towards the twitching body, raising the impromptu blade over his head and aiming for the creature's heart.

Katrielle stepped forward, perhaps to try and stop him, but both Alfendi and Okri grabbed her shoulders tightly.

"Xaw eerawoo wawooslehd rahtichihr wahtishich cheem gooeesleh mih tichahn wooltawp cheem..." The Icer croaked as Ernest plunged the glass shard into her chest, a spray of indigo blood coating and staining his top and hands.

(So you would rather watch him kill me than stop him...)

Ernest turned to Katrielle, gaping at him in horror and discomfort, and bowed, both hands behind his back.

"Gawd wawrgoo. Rihwoolt, baweer." Okri told him, pointing to the sofa. Ernest, understanding the command, laid back down on the couch, his eyelids fluttering shut as Loopy and the green haired woman came in.

Okri practically yanked the forensic and janitor off the floor, promptly waking them up. She then searched her bag and fished out two shoddy pendants. She gave one to each of them, sternly speaking as they began to focus on her.

"Put these on and head straight home. Don't stop to talk to anyone, call saying you can't come in to work for a while, and pick up food if you have to because this could take a hell of a long time before you can step out y'all's houses again."

She looped the necklaces around their necks as they nodded and began walking home without a word. As they left, Fauna walked in.

"Al, where the fuck did you leave your gun??" she immediately asked.

"On my desk Fauna! Is that honestly why you were missing for half the danger!?" Potty shouted in disdain. Fauna raised an eyebrow and barked back.

"Duh, genius! I was gonna run and get it for you so you could actually kill somethin', but I couldn't find it in the fucking tornado wreckage you've called your office!"

"You do need to clean your office, Al." Kat agreed. Her brother simply gestured to her messy desk in response.

Suddenly, there was a click, and Loopy yelped, "Uh, love, would really appreciate it if ya would put tha' thin' down!"

"Chill, hotshot, just wanna see what it does!"

Everyone turned and panicked to see the green haired girl gently holding a gun. Alfendi stared at it before doing a late double take.

"Now hold up one minute, that's my gun!" Placid exclaimed. The girl's attention snapped to him.

"Cool! What's toe di- What dots- Towhat-" she stopped speaking, sick of her own stumbling tongue. She stared into space, face disheartened before shoving the gun into Alfendi's hands. "SHOW."

Taking the firearm, he cocked it before aiming at the corpse by the window and pulling the trigger.

BANG!

A new hole appeared in the Icer's head instantly. The green girl jumped, frightened before grinning.

"Damn!" she breathed, "A tiny death bringer!"

"Slehahdeer Green, Ee rihahsleheer ticheengoo eerawoo kawooslehd giht bashgoo taw eerawoor xiwooltihrx." Okri told the woman rather urgently.

(Lady Grin, I really think you should get back to your sisters)

The lady groaned before grabbing something from her pocket and tossing it to Flora. The latter opened her hand to see a little flower bell.

"You seem safe. Just give that thing a ring an' I'll be there quick as I can. Name's Veerdahn by the way. Veerdahn Green."

With those parting words, Veerdahn wrapped the Icer corpses in vines before leaping out the window with them.

Ernest was suddenly back up again, eyes perfectly normal. He raised an eyebrow in utter confusion.

"I..." He said rather puzzled, "I was sitting up... Why am I lying back down on the couch?"

"Don't worry bout it, Greeves." Okri quickly said, looking at the nearby clock.

Almost 6

"It's getting late, and we're gonna have to choose groups to sleep in."

Alfendi grabbed Lucy, "I'm taking Lou and none of y'all can stop me."

Fauna smirked, "A'ight, then Auntie can go with ya an' make sure ya don't get too stupid~"

Potty let out a short burst of laughter, "HA! Oh my sweet... dear... innocent older sister... You CLEARLY have not known Auntie Okri that long because she would NOT discourage that ooOOOOHHHH no she'd force me and Lou into a closet fulla aphrodisiacs if it meant a chance at grand nieces and nephews."

"This is true." Okri confirmed with a cheeky, satisfied smile, "And I totally would, Alfendi, thank you for the idea. Although, Fauna, I think you should go with them. It's easier if we stick to familiar groups. Of course..." everyone looked at Emilianna.

"I'll go with the elder Layton." She said in a rather condescending tone, "That way, Katrielle can have her little dream team."

Okri nodded, "Good! Cause then that means I can take you and Flora and protect the weaker links in this dysfunctional chain."

Flora huffed playfully, "Hey now!" she exclaimed. Alfendi smirked.

"It's true~"

"Really now? Then please explain how I can nearly beat your skinny shinless ASS Mr. Noodly Noodle Legs."

"Now you fucking take that back, missy, see here, you may be older, BUT I-"

"Alfendi Layton, cool your man tits," Okri joked, "Let's just get ready to leave. Lou, you might wanna call your momma and siblings. From what I've eavesdropped, you prolly don't wanna make them targets again, am I right?"

Lou blinked once.

Twice.

Three times.

"Wh-What?"

"I said-"

Okri was interrupted by the poor DC's high pitched squeak.

"M-! M-M-M-Mr. Alfendi!?" she panicked, "Wh-Who are-!"

Potty grabbed his assistant tightly, holding her close and petting her hair.

"There there, calm down dear..." he cooed, "Family and friends, Lucille, no need to fret..."

"My, Alfendi!" Okri chirped, "You were never this calm with any of us unless you were your trauma made self!"

"Auntie, I'm gonna have to politely ask you to HUSH."

"A-Al, where are we? We-We were jus' at my folks' place, r-right?"

"Yes, love, but we got called to work." Alfendi pointed to his family, "Those are my sisters, Flora and Katrielle (Lucy's actually Kat's friend), my sister's friends, Ernest and Sherl, and my Aunt, Okri Lay-"

"A-Aunt!? Ohgolly I'm so sorry! I 'aven't brushed my 'air, I din't get ta shower this mornin', oh god golly I prolly look like a right awful mess!"

"Oh no, honey, you're fine!" Okri crossed over and gave Barde a gentle hug, "You look fine and dandy, just beautiful!" Potty smiled before he noticed his aunt giving him a very fierce glare, mouthing:

YOU BETTER FUCKING KEEP HER

He flushed for a split second before taking hold of Lucille again. "Luce," he said, "You might not like what I'm about to explain to you... Do you still want an explanation?"

Lucille gave a shy little giggle. "Well, I kinda need one t'understand wot's goin' on, don't I?"

Potty smiled and gave her a small kiss on the forehead.

"We just met a few ancient princesses, and we're being targeted by some psychos who hate them. My aunt dragged us into this, by the way; you need to call your family and tell them you won't be home for a while because if you go to them, they'll become targets too."

Poor Lucille slowly went pale and wide eyed, only nodding and reaching towards the phone in response.

"So that's set in stone?" Flora asked, "It's Lucy, Al and Fauna; Kat, Ernest and Sherl; and me, Emilianna and Auntie. Right?"

Nothing was said, so presumably that was the plan.

"Then, let's get a move on." Al said, "The girls and I'll go to my apartment, where I can call in to temporarily check out of work; Kat, you and your group can stay here at your agency (Ernest, you might want to call your school); and..." he looked to his aunt, "Auntie, do you have a hotel room? Or some other place to stay?"

Okri nodded, "Mhm! Bout a good 30 minute walk away from here though, so girls, you better fucking deal with it and work those calves!"

"Understood, captain..." Emilianna muttered.

"I'll start setting up the agency to be lodging." Katrielle said, "We'll also have to close temporarily..."

"Aren't you forgetting something, Kit Kat?" Sherl asked accusingly.

"What do you mean?"

Flora chuckled. "Perhaps he means your... healthy appetite?"

Katrielle huffed. "Then how about you watch Lucy? I don't know about Loopy or Lucille, but I know Lucy eats as much as I do!"

"Lucille, ya don't gotta worry bout!" Fauna piped up, "She can eat an apple that'll last her till dinner, where she eats, like, a fuckin', half a ham sandwich. Loopy's the foodie time bomb you have to worry about!"

"How so?" Placid asked.

"It's always random." Fauna started, "Some days she'll eat less than Lucille, others she'll eat twice as much as Lucy."

"So, just gather food as if it's the start of the apocalypse."

"Yes. Although you technically could also sign up for delivery."

"Or just have them eat the minimal god-knows-what you eat!" Okri exclaimed before taking a sip of water.

"Understood, pray my wallet can handle it."

Lucille suddenly came back.

"I-I'm done! I-I-I also gave mum th' kids feedin' schedule, Fauna, case ya were wonderin'..."

"Oh, shit, thanks Lou!"

Lucille shifted shyly in response.

"So are we finally done?" Emilianna queried, "We seem to have been discussing this for a lot longer than expected."

"Yes, Ms. Impaziente (*impatient in Italian*), we are finally done. We can go on over to your place and grab whatever shit you need. And Kat?"

"Yes?" Her niece asked, already pulling a blanket out of her desk.

"Smotret' na nego." Okri glanced at Ernest, "Ubedites' chto on v bezopasnosti."

Kat nodded, "Sa'afeal, aleima."

Okri gave the boy another short glance. "Kare ha sotodashi you tosuru deshou. Kono mondai ga hassei shi ta baai, kare o ki ka se te. Seguirlo."

"We'll be fine, Auntie. And don't you worry, I'll be sure to."

Russian: Watch him. Make sure he's safe.

Arabic: I will, aunt

Japanese/Spanish: He will try to go outside. If that happens, let him./Follow him.

The large group dispersed, each trio going out a couple of minutes between each other and leaving Kat's group in the agency. Ernest turned to his mentor.

"You speak Arabic?" he inquired. Katrielle nodded.

"And Russian, Japanese, Spanish, German, French, Dutch, the list could go on forever and ever." She handed the blanket in her hand to Ernest, "Aunt Okri taught us a lot of languages whenever Dad was on an adventure. Alfendi and Fauna spent a lot of time with her, so they'd know a more about her activities, but I do remember the particular lesson she gave me in archery!"

"Arch- I'm sorry WHAT." Ernest went wide eyed. Katrielle waved a hand to brush it off, "I'll show you some other day! Don't worry! For now, let's get to bed; we'll need it for tomorrow."

Not another word was said throughout the evening. Not while they disposed of the Icer corpses, not while they fixed the doors, not while dinner was had, not even while setting up camp in the office. In fact, the only time words were exchanged seemed to be when Ernest had a sudden blood overflow, and even then, barely much was said.

When it was time for lights out, Ernest suddenly felt very uncomfortable, like an iron ball of dread was just plopped into his stomach. He contemplated consulting with Miss Layton, but, against his better judgement, decided not to.

Slowly, he shut his eyes, drifting off into a peaceful dreamland.

Time- 1:32 a.m.

Katrielle awoke with a start, jolting up to the sound of a hand hitting glass. She turned to see Ernest, just standing in front of the door and tapping it with his palm. Remembering what her Aunt Okri said, Kat got up and opened the door, noticing how her assistant's face was pale and lifeless, black smudges everywhere.

Ernest simply ignored the gesture, walking outside as Katrielle followed at a fair distance behind. She crept in the shadows as he entered an alleyway. Standing behind a dumpster, she saw Ernest be approached by six women.

The statues she had been looking at just earlier that day...

She strained to hear what was said, but the voices only seemed to lower and lower until it was silent. Instead, she watched as they extracted black blood from the boy's eyes, putting it in a glass vial before the princess with crimson hair took a sip. It was then passed around: Oolee, then orange haired princess, Veerdahn, the blue princess, and finally Shawreeootah.

Katrielle suddenly felt woozy, swaying back and forth. Taking her aunt's mentality, she supposed she had seen too much. Slowly, her vision went black as she felt herself collapse.

A/N: Kay, lemme know a few things in the comments:

1. Was this chapter okay? Be honest please! I just honestly feel a little iffy since I feel like I was forcing comedy and honestly feel like this was slapped together in the end.

2. I've wanted to know for a while, but what are your thoughts on the current cast/my interpretation of canon characters? What were your thoughts on the LB:DC cast? I really would like to know!

But anyway, if you're still sticking with the story, thank you for dealing with my laziness and lack of keeping interest in absolutely anything.

[senseisyfr]

Love Betrayal Don't Break My Heart part 1

Yuko : Take this you salty bitch !!!!!

Salt : AAAAAAARGH..!!!!!

Yuko : TIME TO FINISH, KAMEHAMEHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Salt : WAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yuko : Shaku ??

Shaku : No need to count, end of the battle !! Congrats girl !!!

Kabuki Sisters : OOOOOOOOOSHIMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA YUUUUUUUUUUUUUKOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MAJIJO’S ALL TIME WINNER !!!!!!!

Yuko : YEAAAH HAHAHAHAHA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAPPYYYYYYYYY !!!!!!!!!!

Salt : Nooo..!!!! DAMN IT !!!!!!!! GGG…!!!!

Yuko : Sorryy but I’m definitely the strongest Majijo’s leader, Salt !!! Hahahahahahaaaa !!!!

Salt : WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH !!!!!!!!

Salt hit the ceiling.

Otabe : Salt ????!!!!

Salt : AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Otabe : Honey, calm down it’s me !!!!

Salt (crying) : Otabe…!!

Otabe : Hey what’s wrong ???!!! You scared me !!!

Salt : I had a nightmare !!!

Otabe : Yeah, I can see that !! Damn, you litterally jumped !! Are you hurt ??!!

Salt : Baby, it was awful I thought I died !!!

Otabe : Well, you who were waiting for death to come… what was it about ?!

Salt : Otabee..!!! I dreamed about Yuko !!

Otabe : Oshima Yuko ?? Is that a reason to have a nightmare ???

Salt : I dreamed that she defeated me in a battle !!! I panicked !!!

Otabe : Hahahaha !!!! Ooh honey, you’re incredible… even in your dreams Yuko wins against you haha !! The last battle traumatized you !

Salt : EH ????!!!! What the fuck are you saying ??!! This is not funny !!! I’m glad that I was just dreaming. The day when she really beats me I… What ?!

Otabe : Oh my god, Salt !! Of course Yuko defeated you last time, don’t you even remember ???!!!

Salt : AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH !!!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS IS REAL, THIS IS REAAAAL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Breaking some stuff)

Otabe : Honey !!!!!! Are you crazy or what ????!!!! You fought her last time, a war between Majijo’s Generations !!

Salt : Yeah, and I defeated her with a Kamehameha !!!!!!! I remember well !!!!!!

Otabe : Salt, stop watching DBS this is not funny !!! Superpowers don’t exist and you know it !! You should stop drugs too ! Yuko won when she kicked you so hard in the face and you fell down !! Seriously you don’t remember ???!!!

Salt : HOW THE HELL THIS BITCH BEATED ME, SHE’S MY COUSIN !!!!!!!

Otabe : Where this bullshit is coming from now ??!! All your family is dead since centuries !!! They committed suicide so since when Yuko is your cousin now ???!!! Stop saying nonsense !!!

Salt : Yuko… won against me… no way !!! I was sure I was stronger than her !!

Otabe : It’s okay honey, you dreamed too much. Sometimes it happens to think that our dreams are true.

Salt : So… all of this wasn’t real ??

Otabe : No. Well, sort of…

Salt : Ah… but what about Rappappas ??!!

Otabe : It was 50/50 we didn’t really end the fight.

Salt : AH !!!! SAKURA !!!!! SAKURA !!!!

Otabe : What’s it now with Sakura ???!!! You dreamed about her ??!!

Salt : She fought Maeda Atsuko, right ?? She had lost !!

Otabe : No. She won, honey…

Salt : EH ?????!!!!! YOU’RE FUCKIN KIDDIN ME ???????!!!!!!!

Otabe : Well, actually Maeda won the 1st round. But Sakura managed to win the 2nd !

Salt : WHAT ??????!!!!!! YOU’RE NOT SERIOUS !!!!!!

Otabe : Aaah Salt, you should stop sleeping alone sometimes I think… that’s why I’m here now….

Salt : Why Sakura won ?????!!!!! It can’t be !!!! Maeda Atsuko was strong !!!

Otabe : What’s this tone ?! You’re jealous ??!! Aren’t you happy that one of us won against the OG ??!! It’s not very nice of you, thanks for Sakura !!

Salt : I’m happy for her but why she won and me I lost ???!!!

Otabe : Salt, seriously what’s wrong with you today ???!!! You always said that you’re waiting for someone to defeat you, you should be fine with your battle against Yuko, thanks to her, she relieved you of your boredom !!!

Salt : I’m not bored. I was just tired to win all the time, that’s all !

Otabe : Then why the fuck are you complaining ???!!!

Salt : I just don’t get it… I should had win the battle !

Otabe : Yuko is just stronger than you honey. Don’t worry, it’s ok to lose once in your life, you’re not gonna die you know !

Salt : Where is Sakura ??!!

Otabe : Ah what’s it now AGAIN with her ???!!! She’s outside !!

Salt : Outside ???

Otabe : She’s working, Salt. In a cabaret club called Aquarium, did you forget ??!! Damn, seriously, just stop sleeping it’ll be more simple !!!

Salt : I’m gonna see her.

Otabe : Why ???!!! Leave her alone !!!

Salt : I just want her to…… give me her drugs.

Otabe : NO, HONEY !!! I TOLD YOU TO STOP EVERYTHING A FEW MONTHS BEFORE !!!!!

Salt : Otabee..!!! (Crying) I need to have some, I’m lost !!!

Otabe : The only drug you need is me. Come here honey, oooh poor you…. (kissing) Let me comfort you….

Salt : Otabe… help me…

Otabe : Yeah, begging me for help mmm…. what am I gonna do to you this time, Leader…? You’re such a disobedient girl….

Salt : Sorryy….!!

Otabe : Sorry who…? Get down on your knees.

Salt : No…. (kissing)

Otabe : Majijo’s leader is really naughty today…. you bad girl…. (kissing) I’m gonna strengthen you out…. (slowly taking off Salt’s clothes)

Salt : (smiling) Aah…?

Otabe : Yes….

The 2 girls kissing each other……. but the door was wide open and they don’t seem to care about it !

Bakamono : (not far in a corner) Aaah heheheee, sex time again !!! I’m gonna take a look… Let’s see… (whispering) oooh !!

Yoga and Magic appeared, noticing Bakamono.

Bakamono : Ah you guys are here, hey look, Salt and Otabe making love !!!!

Yoga : Be quiet you fuckin idiot !!!!

Magic : Why are you filming ???!!! Are you insane or what ????!!!!

Yoga : Stop it !!!!!

Bakamono : This is so funny actually HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !!!!!!

Yoga putting quickly her hand over Bakamono’s mouth.

Yoga : DAMN, YOU FUCKIN IDIOT !!!!!

Magic : Hum. Guys…

Heavy silence.

Otabe : Magic.

Magic : Y-Yes ?

Otabe : Come here.

Few seconds later in the room, Salt and Otabe got dressed and were standing next to each other looking at Magic.

Magic : (a bit uncomfortable) I’m listening.

Otabe : When Salt and me have private business together, don’t disturb us, please.

Magic : This is not my fault…

Salt : We know. Yoga !

Yoga (coming) : Yes ??

Otabe : I suppose you heard…

Yoga : Yes. Sorry…

Salt : Bakamono !

Bakamono : Yes ?????

Salt : STAY BEHIND THAT FUCKIN DOOR !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bakamono : Ok.

Otabe : I guess you two got something to tell us.

Yoga : We haven’t heard from Sakura…

Magic : She’s not at Aquarium, nobody knows where she is actually !!

Salt : (angry) WHAT ????!!!!

Otabe : What about Center, doesn’t she know either ??!!

Yoga : We don’t know what’s Center doing, we left a message but no answer !

Otabe : Damn it..!! Maybe something went wrong with a customer for Sakura ?!

Bakamono : (who was still outside) : MAYBE SAKURA AND CENTER ESCAPED TOGETHER AND ARE BANGING IN THE STREETS OR IN A FOREST ??????

Otabe : BAKAMONO YOU SHUT UP !!!!!!!! THAT’S NOT FUNNY AT ALL !!!!!!!!

Salt : Ok I’m gonna look for her !

Otabe : Let’s go !!

Salt : No, you stay here ! I’m fine on my own, don’t worry.

Otabe : Raah..!! Ok, take my gun in case then ! (giving her gun to Salt)

Salt : Thank you… I’ll be right back, baby…. (kissing) and…. I’ll take good care of you….

Otabe : Yeah, honey…. (whispering) Can’t wait to feel you inside of me…. Hurry back…. (kissing)

Salt : I think I’m gonna stay here…. (kissing)

Otabe : (smiling) Go before I tie you up in 2 secs….

Salt : It turns me oooon….!! Yeahh tie me up…. (kissing)

Otabe : Hahaha, shut up and go you naughty leader….

The 2 were sharing a passionate kiss but Salt obviously wanted to go further not giving a fuck about Yoga and Magic’s presence, while Otabe on the other hand was a bit embarrassed, trying to turn her president down. It was getting worser and hotter at the same time !! Yoga and Magic were smiling, embarrassed too, were about to leave the 2 alone…

Bakamono : OOOOH..!!!! I need to find someone too !!!!

Otabe : (closing her eyes, pushing Salt desperatly) Honeyy, noo..!! Not now pleease..!!! Don’t make me weak…!! Saalt..!!! Aahh…. Oh noo….!!! Salt !!

Salt : Yes….? (kissing)

Otabe : S..Salt..!!! Guys… we… we’ll be… right back..!! Aaahhhh..!!!!

Salt was smiling while kissing Otabe and showed her hand to the others Queens meaning that they won’t be long, showing the number 4 with her fingers.

Bakamono : I’m gonna look for Sakura instead !!

Salt heard and quickly caught up with Bakamono, telling her to stay here, before deciding to leave the room, running.

At Nezumi’s office…… the girl was busy with 4 of her employees (if we can call them like that cause with Nezumi…….)

BAM BAM BAM BAM !!!!

Nezumi : YEAH !!!!

Center : (cold) Sorry for disturbing.

Nezumi : Ok girls, I’ll see you later…

The 4 girls were leaving, a bit scared of Center’s expression. Center slammed the door with her foot.

Center : How were they ?!

Nezumi : They’re still learning, they’re doing good so I think in a few weeks they’ll be all ready.

Center : Ok, good.

Nezumi : Center, next time just knock please. No need to break the door ! I know I’m rich and I’m the CEO but that’s not a reason, I’m not gonna spend money to clean up the mess !!

Center : Yeah. (Still angry)

Nezumi : Here…

The 2 girls were walking without a word around the company, both of them serious and arrived in front of one of the elevators.

Center : Fuckin day !

Nezumi : After you…

In the elevator………. heavy silence.

Center : Got something to ask you…

Nezumi : Tell me, what’s wrong ??

Center : (coming closer to Nezumi) I’m worried…. (kissing)

Nezumi : (serious, trying to guess what Center was hiding) Don’t force yourself Center… it’s okay, talk to me normally. We got time.

Center : (stopping the elevator) Honey….

Nezumi : What the fuck ???!!! Stop it, hey..!!!

Center : No…. (kissing)

Nezumi : Center, what’s wrong with you..??!! I… No !! I won’t..!!! Center, I said no..!!! You’re not yourself today !!!

Center : I want you right know…. (kissing) I wanna feel you…. isn’t it exciting…?

Nezumi : Damn you..!!! I… I… got a meeting…

Center : There’s more important…. I wanna fuck you…. You can’t push me away just like you want…. (kissing) right…?

Nezumi : Baby come on, please..!! Let me goo…!!!

Center : I know you want me, Nezumi…. Don’t start to play like that…. (kissing)

Nezumi : Center, not now…!!! Aahh….

Center : Why not….? I don’t care anyway….

Nezumi : Center stop it, you’re acting strange..!!!

Center starting to take off Nezumi’s clothes.

Center : Really ? (Kissing) I just want my girlfriend…. I wanna be stuck with her here for the whole day….

Nezumi : You can’t…!!! Stop Center, this is not exciting actually !!!

Center grabbed Nezumi’s wrists and pushed her against the door of the elevator.  

Center : For me it is…. I want you right here…. right now…. (kissing) and I won’t let you leave until we’re done….

Nezumi : Baby, stop it..!!! I don’t feel comfortable !! You… oohhh !!! Cen… Center… Oh… my…!!

Center : Time to cum…. mmm…. that’s it…. you wanna me to let you go ?

Nezumi : Y…Yes…!!

Center : Not yet it seems, we’re just starting…. (kissing) Come on, honey…. let it go…. you know you can’t hold any longer….

Nezumi : Shiit…!! What… are you… playing… ggg….!! Aaaahhhhh !!!!

Center : Perfect…. (kissing)

Nezumi : Oooooohhhhhh…. ooohhhh nooo aaaahhhhh !!!!! Centeeeer !!!!!!

Center : And everyone heard your sexual voice…. Beautiful…. so hot…. (kissing)

Nezumi : I’m gonna be fired..!!! I’m go… AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH CENTEEEEEEEEEER OOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHH BABYYYYY !!!!!!!

Center : Now they’re all wondering what’s going on in there…. (kissing) Who’s making you suffer like that…. mmm yeahh…. They wanna hear more, just like mee….

Nezumi : AAAHHHH NOOOOOOOO OOOOOOHHHHHHHH…!!!! PLEAAAAASEE….!!!

Center : See, you can’t resist…. let’s give the final shot…. (kissing) Tell me honey…. where the fuck is Sakura…? What did you do to her…?

Nezumi : I… AAAHHHH !!!!! CENT..AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH YEEESS…!!!! OH MY..!!

Center : Feels good, right…? Hehehe…. (kissing) I repeat, where the fuck is Sakura ?! (Fucking Nezumi harder)

Nezumi : I… sent… her… too..aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh babyyyyy…!!!!

Center : To….? (Kissing)

Nezumi : Yabakune’s shoop cause… they wanted to talk to heeer… oooooooohhhhhhhhh aaaaaaahhhhhhh !!!!!!!!! Wh…whyyy ? AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH !!!!!!!!!!!

Center : Thank you for cumming, honey….

Center quickly pulled away from Nezumi, escaping from the elevator and blocked it.

Nezumi : (who was naked, angry) CENTER !!!!!!!! STAY HERE !!!!!!!!!

Center : Hehehe, bon voyage honey !

Nezumi : CENTER, OPEN THIS FUCKIN DOOR !!!!!!!!!! CENTEEER !!!!!!!!!!!!! GODAMMIT YOU FUCKIN BITCH !!!!!!!! OPEN IT !!!!!!!!! YOU DID THE WHOLE THING JUST TO GET INFORMATIONS ABOUT SAKURA ?????!!!!! DAMN YOU !!!!!!!!!!!! CENTER !!!!!!!!!

Center was now outside running as fast as she could to find Sakura.

Center : Sakura !!! I’m gonna find you I promise !!!!

Meanwhile, Salt was running in the streets too (without knowing where Sakura could be !), smiling, happy to be away from Otabe for a while, deciding to head in Gekioko’s place just to spend time with Antonio, jumping like a child !

Salt : ANTONIOOOOOOO !!!!!!! YES YES YESS !!!!!!!

In Majijo, everyone heard about Sakura who was missing and all stopped their fights or conversations, serious.

Gekikara : (Which crossed Center on the way) Where Center is going..? (Famous smile) Hiii… Maybe something interesting is happening ooooh !! I’m going, sorry Black, take care of our babies !!! I hope you won’t be mad HAHAHAHAHAHA !!!!!!!!

Black : And now you’re running away from your responsabilities ??!! We have 8 little monsters to raise you moron, and you leave me alone almost everytime at home !!!! They’re all laughing like their mother when I yell, making me crazy !!!

Gekikara : I know I’m sorry !!

Black : You know ??!! What do you know ??!! NO YOU DON’T KNOW, YOU DON’T WANNA KNOW !!!!!! (slapped her) I DON’T HAVE 9 BABIES SO STOP THE BULLSHIT AND BEHAVE LIKE A PARENT DAMMIT !!!!!!!

Gekikara : Sorry Black but there’s a big problem ! I think it’s about Majijo, Center is in trouble !! (leaving Black) I’ll be back before dinner tonight !!!

Black : (watching her running away) But why the hell she wanna help Center ??!! Why am I living with an irresponsible wife like her, seriously ???!!! I’M WASTING MY TIME !!!!! Fuck it, I give up !!! I let them die and I’m gonna enjoy my life too !! BLACK SAYS BYE BYE AND GO FUCK YOURSELF !!!!!!

Yuko : (with her boyfriend, playing video games) Babyyyyyy…. you’re losiiing…. what’s wrong…? The joystick is not working anymore oohhh…. Let me check…. (kissing)

BYF : Hoon’ it hurts..!!!! You wanna pull off my dick or what ??!! You sadist… (kissing)

Yuko : Hahahaa, sorry sorryy !! I test it…. (kissing) Oh ? Sorry baby, I gotta go ! Bye !!

BYF : BUT HON’ YOU’RE NAKED !!!!!!! Aarh too late, she didn’t hear me… This girl she’s really something, jeez !

Sado : Ah Yuko !! What the..??!! Girl you’re incredible, take my jacket !!

Yuko : Thanks dear, so where are we going ??!!

Sado : Majijo first, Otabe needs us !

Yuko : Got it !!

The 2 girls ran as fast as possible.

Meanwhile………

Center : I’m coming Sakura !!!! I..AAH !!!!! (suddenly stopped)

Gekkou : (with some Yabakune girls)  OOH, look who’s here !! Corner, ah noo, Center SORRY !!!

Center : You slut !!!! Tell me where Sakura is !!!!!!

Gekkou : Sakura ?? Who’s that ?! Hahahaha !!!!

Center : (aiming her gun at Gekkou, furious) STOP FUCKING AROUND YOU CUNT, AND TELL ME WHERE THE FUCK YOU HID HER !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gekkou : (scared) Hey hey hey ok ok calm down !!! Don’t shoot !! I-I don’t know where she is, I swear !!!!

Center : ARE YOU ALL LYING TO ME ?????!!!!! (ready to shoot)

Gekkou : This is the truth, we didn’t kidnapp Sakura !!!!! Guys, we can’t always target you all the time !!! Why we’re always the bad ones ????!!!!

Center : Because when we look at all of you, bitches, you give that impression !!!!

Gekkou : Sorry, but really, this time we didn’t do anything !!

Center : Ok, fine. (leaving)

Kaibun : I wonder what’s going on again at Majijo ?!

Amon : What kind of trouble are they in… They all suck, seriously !

Salt : (arrived at Gekioko’s place) Hehehee, Antonio !! I..EH ????!!!! (hid immediately) S..Sakura ???!!! Holy shit..!! What the fuck ??!!

In Antonio’s room…….

Shirogiku : Sooo, Sakura-san does it hurt ??!!

Kurobara : HAHAHAHAHA !!!!! She’s screwed !!! Wanna more ??!!

Sakura : (tied to a chair, infusion pumps around her) YOU CUNTS..!!!! STOP IT !!!!!!

Kobii : Doing Jabu jabu with you will be more thrilling I guess hehehee !!

Sakura : I thought Gekioko was with Majijo now…!!! Why are you doing this ??!!

Antonio : There’s no war, no alliance anymore ! Back to the old old times… I need my revenge also.

Sakura : We can still do a one-on-one !!!! Fighting like this is just… a coward’s way !!! You’re all bitches, you’re worthless !!!!

Kobii : Fuck you ! We do what we want.

Antonio : Whatever you’re trying to do is useless, Sakura. No one can saves you ! You’re all busy in Majijo !

Salt : (who still remained hidden) This is trouble… I don’t get it..!! Why ??!! Antonio, you asshole…!!!

Zakoboss : You thought you could hide forever here, Salt ? (holding her gun to Salt’s head, putting her hand over her mouth) Hehehee… Come in !

Sakura : SHUT UP, ANTONIO !!!!!!

Zakoboss : Sorry for interrupting, but looks like we have a special guest !

Sakura : (surprised) SALT !!!

Salt : (sad) Sakura… Sorry…

Antonio : Ooh ! Salt, baby, what’s up ?! Hehe !! You came to save your Rappappa or you came for something else…?

Salt : Antonio, how could you..!!!

Kobii : Finally you showed up, you fuckin bitch !!

Sakura : Salt-san…

[ceaselessly-into-the-past]

the return

Today’s the first time I’m going home since I’ve come here. On a similar note, I’ve been nauseous and more anxious than usual for the past twelve or so hours.

Most of the fear comes from the fact that my parents and older brother - just as an introduction to his character, keep in mind the words Harvard, successful, hyperintelligent, Harvard, and malicious dickwad - visited me in my room last week unannounced. All I knew at the time was that I was to meet my dad outside in the car, which I’d agreed to because my father is reasonable and tolerable, but when I went to see him there were two extras that demanded to follow me back up to my dorm. I didn’t have a choice.

The first thing my brother did was walk over to my shelves, where I keep my shower basket, books, medical care sets and so on, and picked out my shampoo bottle, asking if I was able to figure out how to use it. I politely responded ‘yes,’ recalling that I had asked my mom, who had bought the thing, about it before I left home and hadn’t been given a proper response.

He then proceeded to deliberately push down on the dispenser and leak shampoo on my carpeted floor.

He comes into my room and on purpose dumps my fucking shampoo on my fucking floor.

‘Out,’ I said. ‘Get out, all of you. right now.’ The curse words that I would’ve used stuck in my throat like bloated cysts. ‘You can’t stay here.’

My parents sided with him. ‘Oh come on, it’s just shampoo. You won’t even see it in an hour.’ ‘You should thank him, he basically cleaned your floor for you, haha!’ ‘Why do you get so jumpy about stupid things? Grow up, Kei.’ ‘Yeah, you’re being childish and rude. We’re your family you know.’ ‘Stop being so unpleasant. You should be grateful that we even want to come here.’ ‘What’s wrong with you?’ ‘What’s wrong with you?’ ‘You should go see the school counselor, there’s something wrong with you.’ ‘There’s something wrong with you.’ ‘There’s something wrong with you. There’s something wrong with you.There’s something wrong with you.There’s something wrong with youThere’s something wrongwithyouThere’ssomethingwrongwithyouThere’s somethingwrongwithyouthere’ssomethingwrongwithyoutheressomethingwrongwithyoutheressomethingwrongwithyoutheressomethingwrongwithyoutheressomethingwrongwithyoutheressomethingwrongwithyoutheressomethingwrongwithyouTHERESSOMETIHINGWRONGWITHYOUTHERESSOMETHINGWRONGWITHYOUTHERESSOMETIHINGWRONGWITHYOUTHERESSOMETHINGWRONGWITHYOUTHERESSOMETIHINGWRONGWITHYOUTHERESSOMETHINGWRONGWITHYOUTHERESSOMETIHINGWRONGWITHYOUTHERESSOMETHINGWRONGWITHYOUTHERESSOMETIHINGWRONGWITHYOUTHERESSOMETHINGWRONGWITHYOUTHERESSOMETIHINGWRONGWITHYOUTHERESSOMETHINGWRONGWITHYOUTHERESSOMETIHINGWRONGWITHYOUTHERESSOMETHINGWRONGWITHYOU

I am the ungrateful runt; the disobedient, petulant, disfigured and undesirable animal. I am invited into the house only for the sport and amusement of humans.

I’ve had to speak to my mom over the phone a few times leading up to today to get things in order - what I need to bring home, when and were to meet, that she’ll force feed me if I haven’t eaten enough.

Her voice makes me feel as though someone has jammed a cigarette between my lips and forced me to take my first drag as I stare down the length of the rolled-up paper, looking down and into my lungs filling with a thousand toxins. I’ve never smoked a cigarette before but somehow that’s exactly how it feels. The acrid smoke of her words and the faces I know she’s making on the other end sting my throat and make my eyes water. My stomach trembles and quietly churns as the information she shoves through the phone line comes down, down down and meets the acid and pepsin leaking desperately from the gastric walls.

The sight of her feels like a violation and never fails to rouse the urge in me to beat her to death just so she’ll stop existing.

Of course, I’d never do that. She’d be too insulted and haunt me until I killed myself out of a more malignant version of unbearable insanity she’s planted in my own brain. And though I’m not sure, I feel like that would be worse. With a human mother, at least you know where they are. A ghost mother could be anywhere because you can’t see them.

It’s the old horror movie principle - the less you see the monster, the scarier and more dangerous it feels.

I think I’m losing my mind.

I feel so suffocatingly small and the noises are too much and every second I spend in my room I can feel like a slow-burning, excruciating heat wave the intimidating forces that are the two roommates in the neighboring room, both Curtis Institute acceptees and the two only Kovner full scholarship recipients this year here, far more talented and skilled and experienced than I am and better in every way. Personable and amicable and capable and sharp-minded and everything that I am not.

I am a gnat in the Juilliard tableau. They are one of the many godlike figures, depicted in pristine poses. Perfect form and immaculate physicality. Real humans. People. They are people and I am not.

They sightread music like they’ve been fucking it for the last five years. Sightreading dries my eyes and gives me a migraine and draws the pitiful looks of everyone present. One day it’ll spell the end of my fucking career.

I despise this body and I wish I could strip it away and build it from scratch. Like how you completely remodel a room. I’ve hated it so intensely that I know every single detail I’d change and why and how I’d change it. Every single fucking detail is filed in the part of my brain that constantly burns with self-hate.

I can’t talk to people here. I can tell that they want to back away from me and that they just want me to go away and that inside they also feel guilty for feeling that way. So I just don’t talk to them. I spare them those feelings and I keep to myself.

Homeless people, though, don’t react that way. So I talk to them. I leave this building at night every so often and find and talk to them. And that’s the extent of my social life.

They treat me like a person and they try and listen. They’re more friends to me than anyone here.

Perhaps it’s from their hardship. and the fact that so many others shun them, that they find the capacity for empathy.

Two nights ago I met a man named Phil at the Times Square subway station. He’s 61 and both his mother and brother had died in the last three weeks. He’d heard of this through the gang that he’s a member of. 

‘You don’t fuck with us, we don’t fuck with you,’ he told me, using the general ‘you’. ‘But if you fuck with us, you be sure you gonna get the fuckin’ shit beat outta you.’

I gave him a dollar and 73 cents - the only money I had outside of my debit card - and he said that he’d buy a coffee with it the next morning. He was friends with a coffee shop manager. I also gave him my name and a piece of paper on which was written a promise to meet him on Friday at 9:30 pm with my cello.

I have plans to meet him on Friday at 9:30 pm with my cello. He’d told me that musicians can make a fair amount in that area, and his idea was that we’d stick together to watch each other’s stuff so that it doesn’t get stolen.

I also have plans to give him half of what I earn. Unless I don’t earn shit, in which case I’ll just give it all to him. He doesn’t have a cup like many homeless people do - he has a red fanny pack he keeps around his wast that has multiple pockets. He put the money I gave him in his pack meticulously, sticking the dollar bill in the big main pouch and the coins in a smaller outside pocket. He kept my note where he kept the change.

I’m putting together a small bag of things for Phil.I’m bringing it to him in an old Starbucks paper bag, and inside I’ve put a list written on an index card:

 I found a perfectly good Zoribushi thermos container near the train station entrance yesterday. It had a little bit of iced tea left in it. I cleaned it with a decent amount of dish soap and I let it dry overnight. 

I’m going to make two filters’ worth of coffee and bring it to him on Friday and let him keep the thermos. 

I also have some small jelly packs that I don’t intend on eating that I’ll bring to him. 

I’m contemplating finding a cheap place to buy a drawstring bag for him - he didn’t have a backpack. 

A nice salad from the store on the way there.

I haven’t engaged this closely to anyone I’ve met here in the city so far. I’ve met a woman called Nada, whose family was from Slovenia and now lived in Chicago; and Aaron, who was from New Jersey and was trying to get an apartment there. 

But Phil is now in the wake of his loss. I’m sure his gang member friends support him in some way but when I met him, he was alone.

‘I stick around, right here,’ he said. ‘From 9 to 5. It’s like the opposite of a work day. 9 PM to 5 AM.’

‘It’s like your job,’ I commented. He liked that I said that.

So I feel compelled, by some force, to extend some form of kindness to him.

Meeting Phil this Friday at 9:30 PM is what’s getting me through this week. It’s what helps me in trying to ignore everything that threatens my self-esteem and sanity.

I have a friend now. There were a few people here that I thought were friends but I realize now that they’re just paper. They melt snd burn away at the slightest sign of difficulty with me. They haven’t spoken to me since the Brooklyn incident. 

Now, I have some kind of centerpoint in my social life.

(If only I could repeat that process with someone my own age.)

Phil is what’s going to keep me on my path when I go home today.

When I see or hear her, I’ll just close my eyes and remember:

Hey, this Friday maybe, you should come play. Musicians do good here, you know. You could do pretty good, eh? And we’ll watch each other’s shit, you know what I mean? Fuckers around here trying and stealing shit. But we’ll make sure they don’t steal our shit.

I hope that this lasts.