#whether they do help or whether they're even alive remains to be seen but we know for a fact that they're not getting out that day

[jollyreginaldrancher]

S3 E6 Spoilers on Natalie and what she did and

the hikers. I'm seeing a lot of people assume they lead to them getting rescued and it's all thanks to Natalie's actions...

We already know they don't get rescued here. They're stuck there 19 months. They wont get out before the second winter...

The hikers are probably not going to lead to them getting saved. And even if they do, yeah there's no guarantee they only found them cause of Natalie's actions. I think we're really snorting that copium to soften what Natalie did here…

but it's okay to admit she's not perfect guys. That she did a bad thing. It's okay to acknowledge when she does something wrong and when she's not being perfect. That's what makes her soooo…. that's what makes her Natalie. We can admit she's flawed, it's okay.

[saekkas]

𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐆-𝐖𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍

summary: in which you go camping with the blue lock boys whilst having to deal with their shenanigans and your own feelings towards them.

includes: isagi, nagi, reo, yukimiya, rin, sae, kunigami, kaiser, karasu, bachira, aiku.

notes: i had to take a break halfway into writing the second scenario. my heart couldn't take it.

𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐅𝐅 𝐀𝐒 𝐂𝐔𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐘 𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐌𝐒𝐘 and uses it to his advantage! is the type to forget packing his tent and sleeping bag (intentional or not? remains to be seen) but makes up for it by being super sweet and a complete gentleman.

isagi, reo, yukimiya.

"hey, here let me help carry that!"

"no. it's okay, i can-"

your words fall into deaf ears as he snatches the twigs and branches away from your hand. you watch with an exasperated sigh as he holds them in his left, his right holding fishing equipment that includes rods, nets, and bait. he's swaying on his feet, trying his best not to slip on the muddy landscape as it's just rained, and you hide a smile from his very sweet antics.

"you're going to fall if you keep this up."

the air is breezy, wind picking up the small leaves on the ground. small droplets of rain fall from high treetops as the birds start chirping, and the forest seemingly comes alive. looking at the sky above, you marvel at its colors, watching as the sun starts to set, leaving hues of orange, purple, and blue as its parting gift for the world.

up ahead is your campsite, one you've built just hours ago. it isn't much, built by two amateurs intent on spending a night away from the hustle-and-bustle of the city life. the wind blows against your face as you take in your little haven for the night: a medium sized tent that can fit up to three people decorated with fairy lights, and two foldable chairs sit upfront.

"no worries, i can do it. we're close anyway."

your eyes move to take him in, hair damp for the natural shower with beads of sweat rolling down the side of his head. he looks like a mess, breathtakingly so.

he sends you a blinding grin followed by a thumbs up as he surveys the pathway of stones you'll both have to climb to reach your designated spot. "oh man," he groans, swiping a hand across his forehead, "why did we set camp so far up?"

"because we want to be in a place far away from the bears and foxes?" you chuckle, using the same exact words he said only hours ago before sending him a look. "you wouldn't be so tired if you'd just let me help. c'mon. let me carry the fish, at least."

"the fish are slimy and they squirm a lot." he raises an eyebrow at your request, shaking his head with a frown. "you might fall."

"then let me hold onto the equipment. they aren't slimy and they don't move."

"yeah but they're long. you might trip over them."

"let me hold the firewood then," you offer with a hopeful smile, "they're still, they aren't slimy, and they fit right into my hands."

"you might poke an eye out if you hold onto them."

he's been like this the whole day. it started in the morning when you were just about to leave for the trip. at first, it was the little things. he offered to help carry things like snacks, luggage, or the portable stove. it got worse when you arrived. he insisted on doing every single thing, from setting up the tent to unloading the things from the car, refusing any of your help. he even offered to carry you when it started raining, not wanting you to get wet.

"okay. that's enough." the wind picks up and it's silent for a few moments until another light shower hits. you cross your hands in front of your chest, huffing as a strand falls onto your face. "either you let me help or we stay here under the rain until tomorrow."

he says your name with a shy mutter, quickly glancing over at your expression to determine whether you're being serious. "i- just don't want you to get hurt?" the answer comes out as more of a question and he winces at his own nervousness.

his eyes flicker back to yours for a second before he sighs, walking over to hand you the fishing equipment. "there," he sheepishly scratches the back of his neck. "we should go before you catch a cold."

"before we catch a cold," you correct, holding out a hand for him to hold.

"before we catch a cold," he mimics your words with a slight laugh, taking your hand before starting to climb the pathway. he mumbles be careful and watch your step, don't want you to slip several times as he keeps his eye on you the whole way back. when you finally reach the top, he tugs you into him to press a small kiss on your forehead.

"good job," he smiles shyly before he all but runs into the tent. "hurry up! before you catch a cold."

you dash under the tent and into his waiting arms with a mad grin.

"so what's with the princess treatment?" you ask with a quirked eyebrow as you pat yourself dry with a towel. "not that i mind but it's more than what i'm used to."

"ah. well. i just didn't want you hurting yourself," he says with a blush creeping up his neck as he runs a hand through his slightly wet hair. "and i- i still feel bad for this morning."

taking in his words, you fidget in your spot as butterflies start to flap in your belly, your heart warming from his intentions. "wait. this morning?" you ask with a tilt of your head, a curious expression your face. "what- oh! the sleeping bags, you mean?"

"yes." the blush intensifies further, crawling up his cheeks. "i still feel bad for forgetting my sleeping bag."

"well, i told you that i don't mind sharing mine." you shrug your shoulders, punching his shoulder playfully. "it isn't like we haven't slept in the same bed before."

"the last time we slept on the same bed was 10 years ago. in 3rd grade," he deadpans with a wince before turning around to face the opposite side of the tent.

you watch as he strips off his shirt, your eyes trailing down his bare back. he doesn't seem to notice, intent on changing into a fresh set of clothes. "well hey, who knows?" you add with a cheeky smile as you tease, "maybe you did it on purpose so that you can sleep with me again."

he groans, his blush threatening to envelop his whole face. "you're horrible. i told you, it was an accident. i left it by the door because i was in a rush to leave," he pouts.

"okay. i believe you." you giggle at him, watching with soft eyes as he zips up the tent, lighting the fairy lights surrounding the inside of your tent. "i'm just saying that i don't mind either way."

you listen to the sounds of nature, the soft chirping of crickets and the howls of the wind. you listen to the rustle of fabric as he prepares the sleeping bag. and you sigh, flustering as the thought of spending a night in the same sleeping bag as your childhood best friend and crush finally dawns on you.

"it's ready. do you want to slip in first?" he asks as he finally finishes dismantling the fabric, nodding at you with a shy smile. "it'll be a tight fit, though. are you sure-"

"yes." you cut him off as you shuffle into the sleeping bag, pinning him in place with your eyes. "i told you. i don't want you to freeze in your sleep, so please get into the bag with me and shut up."

"okay. okay," he chuckles as he raises his hands as a sign of surrender. "who knew you could be so bossy?"

you bite your lip and do your best to help him fit in by wrapping your hands around yourself. a minute later, he's in the sleeping bag with you, his arms and legs bent into awkward positions because of the tight fit.

"hold on," he mumbles as he starts to squirm around. "let me try something."

your heart is beating out of your chest at his proximity, your face warm as he finally settles into a position. he places his chin on your head, his hum reverberating through you. one of his hands lays itself under his head, the other on his hip. you close your eyes, trying to control your heart rate as he slots his feet with yours.

don't be nervous, he's just your childhood friend. your childhood best friend. he doesn't think of you as anything else. stop making this so weird.

"is this okay?"

you don't have the courage to see his face, blindly nodding against his chest. your heart lurches out of your chest, butterflies breaking out into a frenzy as he then wraps a hand around your waist timidly.

"you can tell me if it's not," he mumbles from on top your head, his thumb gently stroking the exposed skin of your hip. "i'll move if.. it's too much."

"no," you answer into his chest, slowly leaning in to press yourself into his warmth as the stiffness bleeds off your limbs. all traces of uncertainty and embarrassment fly out of your brain when he kisses the top of your head. "it's.. perfect. you're very warm."

"i am?" you feel his chest rumble underneath your hands. you feel his breathy laugh against your head. you feel his lips touch your forehead, your eyes closing at the intimacy of the moment. "we won't freeze in our sleep then."

"we won't."

he feels you nod against his chest, your hand gripping the material of his shirt. he stiffens for a moment when one of your hands move to his head, patting and playing with his hair.

he looks down at you, meeting your eyes.

"hi," he smiles shyly.

"hi," you giggle back, entranced by the soft hue reflecting off his face from the fairy lights. you watch as he slowly closes his eyes, leaning down before stopping just inches from your lips. giving you the option to sink or swim.

emboldened by his action, you lean in to reciprocate the kiss.

you both spend the night asleep in each other's arms, waking up the next morning with shy smiles, intertwined hands, and matching bedheads.

𝐒𝐔𝐂𝐇 𝐀 𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐂 but seems like the complete opposite. he looks bored out of his mind to even be participating, probably the type to have an emotionless expression the whole way through. grunts and sighs when asked to join any of the activities. don't be fooled though, he'd do anything just to spend a second alone with you.

RIN, sae, kunigami, nagi.

"thank you for the food!"

cheers ring out in the dining room of the villa, clinking glasses and plates heard throughout. meant as a friendly gathering, you watch with vivid amusement as the group of boys start to dig into their food.

"who knew they were such slobs." you look to your left as he scoffs the words, his eyes filled with poorly disguised annoyance. he ignores your curious eyes, instead choosing to focus on his own plate filled with baby back ribs, mashed potatoes, and grilled corn. "what?" he asks with a muted expression, boredom lacing his features. "do i have something on my face?"

"not at all," you laugh nervously with a shake of your head. internally, you're kicking yourself for staring too long. "was just curious about what you said."

he nods his head, picking up a fork to scoop the mashed potatoes into his mouth. there's a minutely silence, one you fill by eating your own share of food, still watching him from the corner of your eye. he's been nothing but quiet from the start, and you wonder if he's glad that the trip's coming to an end.

"do you have plans for the rest of the night?" you ask, nibbling at the cob. you hum in delight when the sweetness of the corn melts in your mouth.

he snorts at your happy expression, a shadow of a smile appearing on his face. "no," he answers bluntly, his bangs falling into his eyes as he shakes his head. "was planning to head in early."

"but they were planning on lighting the fireworks," you put down your corn, looking at him with a frown. "aren't you going to join? it's our last night here, after all."

he eyes the stray piece of corn in the corner of your lips, his hand itching by his side to swipe it off. "no." he angles his body away from you, stretching across the table to take two glasses of guava juice before he sits back down, placing one in front of you. "not a fan of explosions, you?"

"thank you." your chest warms at his gesture, smiling to show him your gratitude. you take the glass into your hand, lifting it to take a gulp. "me neither. i'm sitting out on this one."

you feel the pinpricks of his stare on the side of your face as you savor the flavor of the fruit. the ice cubes clink against your teeth, and you shiver at the coldness they spread through your body. gulping it down, you lick your lips at the sweetness of the fruit.

"wait," he calls your name in a low tone, and you look to him at the sound. your eyes widen when he leans in, his face right in front of yours, as he swipes his thumb across your bottom lip. your hand clenches into the seat below, trying to ground yourself as he slowly retreats, his eyes on your lips the entire time.

your eyes stray to his lips in return, only to flick up into his eyes. you see them fill with amusement and his lips spread into a small smirk. biting your bottom lip, you watch as he brings his thumb, the one that was just on your lips, into his mouth, tongue peeking out to lick the digit.

"you listening?" you break out of your stupor as he smiles slyly, his eyes glinting. his voice is low, and you feel a shiver run down as it caresses your heart, holding it in his palms with a tight grip, never intending to let go. "you went somewhere there. mind telling me what's on your mind?"

"sorry. i- i was just thinking about how good the food is," you stutter, your eyes locked onto his as the others fade away into a blur. "don't you agree?" you laugh nervously, pinching yourself when his eyes stray to your lips once more. "you were saying?"

"are you planning on sleeping after this?" he repeats himself, slowly turning back to his food with that godawful smirk still on his lips. "or were you thinking of doing something else?"

"i was going to stargaze. the sky should be clear since we're far away from the city." you place a hand on your thigh, pinching the skin, doing anything to stop your heart from beating so fast. you look away from him, trying to shake his gaze and previous words out of your head.

i think i'm going mad is the first thing you think to yourself as the night air blows in your face. it's chilly, yet comforting, guiding you deeper into its embrace. the sky is clear, a dark blue sea dotted with thousands of glimmering stars, twinkling as if saying hello. the ground of the roof you sit on is cold, sending goosebumps across the exposed skin of your legs.

"ah. should've brought a jacket." you sniff, the wind biting at your cheeks but there's a smile on your lips. one of content and happiness. "i'll miss this when we leave," you whisper into the night, tucking your feet into your chest and leaning your head on them.

"i'll miss this too." the sound of his voice startles you, and you look over your shoulder at his approaching frame. you take in the way he walks with his hands in his pockets, a warm, oversized jacket on his back. he nods his head in greeting before he sits himself next to you.

it's quiet for a few seconds and you can't bring yourself to look his way, his previous stunt and words still playing in your head like a broken radio. there's a sound of rustling before he places his sweater on your head. "hey!" you complain, still not looking at him as you take the jacket and cradle it into your chest. "i thought you were going to sleep."

"changed my mind." his reply is simple, short, and you think nothing of it until he adds in, "wanted to spend it with you."

squealing on the inside, you chuck the fabric at his face, which he evades with an amused glint in his eyes. he takes it from the floor, gently brushing off the dust before placing it around your shoulder. like a warm embrace.

you look at him, trying to ignore the heavy fabric on your shoulders that smells and feels exactly like he would.

he offers no explanation, his lips sealed shut as he takes in the view. the silence is calming, like a cup of hot chocolate after playing all day in the snow. it isn't long after that his hand comes to intertwine with yours, tugging you onto his lap like it's nothing. you feel him sigh into your neck, breathing in your scent. he places a soft kiss on your cheek, whispering three words that calls for your heart to do the same.

it feels like coming home.

𝐀 𝐅𝐀𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐒. has watched every summer rom com, which he forces you to watch along with him, and is desperate to at least recreate one scene from the classics. thinks that the best friends-to-lovers trope is the best one and is dying to make it happen in his own life.

kaiser, karasu, bachira, aiku.

there's nothing like feeling the air in your hair, the glide of water on your skin, and the smoothness of jagged rocks on the soles of your feet. a water gun is in your hands, and your chest heaves in exertion as you hide behind the bark of an old oak tree. you push your hair out of your face, annoyed by the looseness of your once tight bun, and listen to the pitter patter of feet against water.

"gotcha!" he practically yells as he throws multiple water filled balloons at you, most of them breaking against the tree. "you're horrible at this."

"i am not!" you giggle to match his laughs, running from your hiding spot with your gun pointed at his face. you take aim and smile in satisfaction when it hits straight on, laughing as his grumbles about water getting into his nose. "you're the one horrible at it. i win."

you walk towards him, face smug, with your gun pointed towards his chest. "ready to give up, criminal?"

"criminal, eh?" he asks with his hands raised in surrender, a twinkle in his eye that has you suspicious. you stand your ground, staring as he steps forward to press his chest to the muzzle of your gun. "guess that makes you the goody-two-shoes cop then?"

"it makes me the winner," you say with a raised eyebrow, eyes following the motion of his hand when it swoops down to caress your face. "what are you doing?"

the water from his hand drops onto your cheek and wets your hair as he swipes a fallen strand onto the back of your ear. a droplet slides onto your neck, running down the side of your body, and you shiver as he follows the motion with an unreadable expression on his face.

"sorry got distracted there for a sec." his grin appears just as fast as it disappeared, his eyes trailing down your body as he moves his hand to your hips, squeezing the fat around it. "you're pretty wet already, baby, and i haven't even done anything."

it takes you a minute to process his words. between the hand on your hip, drawing little hearts into your skin, and his pretty eyes, you're swept off to a place far away. at the same time, the wind sweeps down to envelop you both, caressing your bodies with a gentle kiss. if you close your eyes, you could imagine it was his.

"enjoying the view so much you can't speak, hm?" he looks at you with half-lidded eyes, and you watch them trail down from your eyes, down to your nose, and finally onto your lips. "can't blame you. mine's pretty good too." he leans in, eyes closing just a fraction, intent on making this the best moment of your life.

too bad something slimy makes its way past your foot, causing you to screech and jump towards him.

"hey! hey! woah!" the position you landed in isn't ideal. your legs are spread above his hips, making room for his body under yours. your faces are just inches apart, nose touching, and breath mingling with one another. "you okay?"

his hands are back on your hips, this time grounding as he wraps it around your waist. his eyes are filled with concern, his hair as wet as the rest of him is. he surveys your face, looking for signs of panic in your wide eyes. he sends you a sweet smile at last, one of his hands moving to rub gently against your back.

"it's okay. you're okay. you're with me." he lets you rest in the crook of his neck, stroking the back of your head. you can feel his heart beating through his chest, the organ racing against your palm. he tugs you back to meet his eyes, a hand cupping your cheek, as he looks you in the eyes. "that's it. that's better."

the stream is gentle under you. small fish swimming in pods start to gather near your bodies, curious of the two humans interrupting their peace. your body molds with his, your heart screaming to lean in and press a kiss.

"sorry," you mumble as you correct your stance, leaning back to straddle his thighs so he wouldn't be half submerged in water. his hand falls from your back, going back to its original position on your waist.

"it's fine." he brushes away with a chuckle, leaning back on his elbows as he looks at you. his heart is still beating irregularly fast, more so at the sight of you practically on his lap, the sun's halo against your head. you look like you're an angel. his angel.

your eyes go from his hand onto his face, your hand sliding up his chest to sweep away the water splashed onto his face. "you okay?" his silence bothers you, your expression turning into one of worry. "are you hurt?"

"not at all." he watches as you push off him, standing on your own feet. the warmth you exuded disappears with you, as if washed away by the stream, and he has to bite back a frown. this better not be what friend-zone feels like. "it feels nice to have you worry about me, though~"

he watches you roll your eyes with a tender expression. he eyes you, trying to sear this moment into his mind. his eyes linger before they catch onto the pine tree behind you, nervousness sparking as an idea comes to him.

"come with me." he doesn't give you time to react, hurriedly taking your wrist in his hand, and running towards the tree. he laughs when you shout in surprise. "just trust me!"

you're both panting when you reach it, the oak tree you hid behind just minutes ago. you turn your head, surprised at the distance you've covered from the start of the game. "okay," you say as you pant, hands on your knees. "tell me what you're up to or i'm dunking you in the water again."

"oh. so that was on purpose." a sweet grin appears on his face, his eyes misted over with a lovestruck haze. "and to think-" he stops when you pinch his cheek, laughing at the pout on your face. he misses the feeling of your hand when you turn away seconds later.

the tree stands by the waterline, tall and imposing, a testament to its age. you watch as he picks up a random rock, whistling as he starts to carve something onto the bark. you approach, gently leaning over his shoulder to see what he's made.

it's your initials. surrounded by a poorly drawn heart.

the sight has you giggling, shaking your head at his childish ways. "one of the scenes from your rom coms?" you ask, as you face him with your head still on his shoulder. you watch as the red gathers at his cheeks, his eyes fluttering at your close proximity. "ticked another off the list, then."

"not yet." he tries his best to remain nonchalant at your gaze, shrugging his one shoulder. "mind if i complete it now?"

"you don't have to as-"

his lips are pillowy and soft, the hand on your nape warm. there's a certain giddiness in his movements as he kisses you, his hand shaking where it's placed on your neck. you don't have the time to comment on it as he pulls away right after, his eyes alight with affection. you're sure you look at him the same way.

"i don't have to ask?" he asks as he strokes his thumb on your cheek, a grin on his lips. "got that."

this time, you chase his lips, shouting when he playfully runs away, "come back here, you thief!"

[momojedi]

Bad Batch: Season 3

My Predictions

The final countdown has started and I'm not ready at ALL! Here are some of my predictions for Season 3 and what I could imagine happening!

1. Tech will be back.

Yes, the trope of dead characters returning is incredibly overused. But as many others I have a good reason to believe that Tech might still be alive. Think about it. It’s pretty likely Hemlock managed to locate Tech’s body considering he left us a huge breadcrumb: his goggles.

Why would Hemlock get rid of a genetically enhanced super soldier, especially considering he likely knows how to properly brainwash someone?

I too like to think that Tech might be the black armoured soldier in the front. It’s the same, if not similar armour as Clone X. Maybe these are part of a special type of clone assassins or troopers? Could they be the prototype for the Dark or Death Trooper?

It’s pretty plain to say that Tech will likely come back, though probably not as the Tech we know.

2. Crosshair & Omega Dynamic

We've seen Omega genuinely bond with all of the Bad Batch - except for Crosshair. Despite her trying her best to get to him every time they had the chance to interact, he denied her any kind of response. Whether that would be because he's just too withdrawn or because he refuses to let anyone see his vulnerable side, we don't know so far.

What we do know however, both based on pure logic alone and the fact that we've heard them both involved in a heated debate in the leaked trailer from the Star Wars Celebration last year, is that they likely will spending a lot of time together on-screen now that they're both captives of the Empire.

Hopefully Omega will be able to lift Cross' spirits, he doesn't seem to be doing very well from what we've seen!

3. Ventress will be an enemy!

Asajj Ventress! We all know and love her, so naturally it's incredibly nice to find out that she'll be returning to the screens for the final season of the Bad Batch! Despite they're naturally being some raised eyebrows considering her fate in the Dark Disciple book, I'm curious to see in what way they'll connect the stories!

However, seeing as Ventress could rather be classified as an anti-hero rather than a full on hero, I believe that she won't be helping the Batch but rather fighting them in order to get to what she wants - as she likes to do.

Perhaps she'll end up cooperating when she realises there might be no other solution, but I strongly doubt she'll be any help to them when it comes to following their personal goals.

4. The Fall of the Clone Rebellion

It's sadly no secret that given the events of Rebels and the three remaining clones Rex, Gregor & Wolffe, it's very likely the rebellions aka rescue of the clones didn't go as initially planned.

I could imagine this being explained a bit clearer in the finale, perhaps even leading up to a great fight against the Empire in the end. We can't forget that the series mainly revolves around a rogue batch of clones, so the thought that it might also go out with a clone-centric subject, especially such a big one, isn't necessarily far-fetched.

5. The End of the Mission

And finally, my most tragic prediction: The end of the Bad Batch.

The writers have been making it very clear that season 3 will likely be the darkest season of the show which unfortunately leads me to think that, as much as I'd want it not to be the case, the finale will lead to the ultimate end of Clone Force 99.

I suspect the series to end with the batch ending up together in some way, as the original five, and landing in a tricky life-or-death situation. Perhaps they'll be stuck in a crashing ship with a one-person escape pod or maybe they'll be facing a threatening figure such as Sidious, leading to the decision to sacrifice themselves in order to protect Omega.

Either way, despite season 3 likely becoming a tragic rollercoaster of emotions, I'm glad we had the chance to experience the epic story of the Bad Batch. It's sad to see them go and although these characters have become like a family not only to me, but to many other fans, let's enjoy our last moments with them and let them go out with a bang!

[dungeonegg]

Congratulations on your recent return from the dead! As one of the lucky few who’ve achieved such a thing, you’ve earned some special little bonuses. Of course, there’s a second chance at life, though admittedly the paperwork will likely be a pain and reintegration isn’t always a smooth go, but also you’re now eligible to partake in Dungeons! And as we all know, that means getting to discover your own unique set of skills to aid in traversing the Dungeons.

Of course, stumbling into the mysteries of the Tragic Twelve was never part of the speel they gave you when you became a Player. Nor was the sudden contracts with the deceased members of Nilrex Guild, the Players whose massacre revealed a truth no one wanted: you only get two tries at life.

----------------

Play as a newly returned to life Player with necromatic abilities

Get adopted by a trouble magnet with floppy ears and a habit of stowing away in order to escape said trouble.

Figure out the mystery of the Tragic Twelve - a series of traumatic events that resulted in the involved Players 'retiring' and refusing to enter Dungeons, assuming they didn't end up ultimately vanishing from the face of the earth. The culmination of these tragedies, the Nilrex Guild Annihilation, was the first time anyone realized that Players who die die.

--------------------------------

This is my first attempt at IF. Things will change and honestly, I'm figuring things out along the way in terms of characters and whatnot. Honestly I'm not sure if there will be any elements of romance in this.

Updates are likely to be on the slower side. I work two jobs and don't have days off.

Honestly, I'm not entirely sure if this will be ChoiceScript or Twine. Since this is my first IF, I'm not at all familiar with how the coding process works on either platform so it'll be a matter of which one I understand in the end.

--------------------------------

CW: child death, more CW will be added as they arise!

-Danny Danny, as the sole survivor of Nilrex, has been deemed MIA by the public, leading to plenty of speculation as to whether or not they were involved in the massacre. However, when you find yourself in danger, it's Danny who keeps you alive. Does that mean they plan to stick around? No, not at all. But with your new allies refusing to let you leave Danny be, it's certain that Danny's going to be playing a role in your life. Whether that's something Danny wants or not remains to be seen.

-Rowe The mysterious guild leader of Nilrex, Rowe may have died twice already but that doesn't mean they're about to let that stop them. Despite their best efforts to appear the least of the guild, there's a reason they led so many whacky, frankly overpowered, Players without anyone staging an uprising. At least, a serious uprising. Apparently Fridays were 'stage a coup' days. Regardless, Rowe's leading you down a path, just like they did the guild. Where that path leads remains to be seen.

-Divondra The drag queen vice guild leader of Nilrex, even a second death won't stop Divondra. Wrangling the guild members may be what Divondra was best known for, but there's certainly more to them than just that. Divondra's always been Rowe's greatest help, whether that's been in terms of things with the guild or just in general life, but will they do the same for you?

-Tallulah Past, present, or future, Tallulah's the crankiest healer you'll ever meet. The oldest known Player, she's quite simply fed up. And quite frankly, she doesn't care to try and hide that in the least. Even so, without Tallulah, the guild would've been in trouble a whole lot more than they were. Because while Tallulah will gladly tell you how you messed up when you get injured, serious injuries are likely to get her attention, particularly if you manage to get on the short list of those she gives an ounce of care about. So will you make it onto that list?

Alouette -The peacemaker of Nilrex, Alouette is the calming influence, the patient ear, the shoulder to cry on, and the waiting hug for comfort. She's also five pounds of hidden craziness when someone messes with the guild. Alouette has a frustrating habit at being good, if not excellent, at most things she tries but she won't rub that in your face. No, instead she'll just encourage you to try all sorts of new things. Does that mean you'll get dragged along according to her whims at times? Yes, yes it does. But where exactly those whims lead? Well, that you'll have to tag along to find out.

Zykelle -Zykelle's probably the biggest doofus you'll find but he's got a good heart and will always step up to keep others safe. Part overgrown puppy, part personal cheer squad, Zykelle's always there when you need someone. Are his ideas always the best? Not necessarily. They've been known to blow up in his face at times. Does that bother him? Not in the least! Sometimes it's funnier even, once you're out of danger that is. And really, that smiling moment of peace is all Zykelle really needs. Care to find out how often he'll bring that about for you?

Aidan -Nilrex's resident chaos gremlin and trouble making prankster, Aidan is one you cannot take your eyes off of if you want things to go 'smooth' or 'peacefully'. But if you're looking for a fun time or a laugh? He's your guy. If there's any sort of mayhem to be found, you can bet Aidan's going to be smack dab in the middle of it. becoming Aidan's partner in crime however means you've got all the insanity he brings along on your side, rather than against you. So just how many people will the two of you drive nuts?

Addy -The baby sweetheart of Nilrex, Addy loves everyone she meets and is never seen without some kind of animal or creature near by. Addy always sees the best in everyone and everything. But it's best to remember that while Addy herself tends to be on the more harmless side, her 'friends' don't always fall into that same category. Addy's got a habit of opening people up to new experiences and you can bet that she'll be there with you through any aftermath of it too. Probably wanting nothing more than to snuggle with you throughout it all. C'mon, how many cuddle sessions can you get in?

Reveka -Reveka's sass, sarcasm, and smart assery all rolled up in one. Playing nice with others is a setting Reveka hasn't really turned on in years but they're not as cantankerous as Tallulah. Reveka's the one you go to for an adventure, to try something new. You can certainly bet that this one won't let you back down or chicken out. Don't be surprised if hanging around Reveka leads to a fight. Though, a bit of forewarning, Reveka's not exactly...great at physical combat. And yet, Reveka's one of the first to jump to the aid of those around them when it comes down to it. In other words, be prepared for more than a few bar brawls with Reveka around. Might want to take up the running tally the guild had going before.

Demo: TBA

[antianakin]

@theneutralmime

I think everybody has certain things where they prefer the fanon/headcanon version and certain things where they prefer canon. I know I do.

For example, I like to headcanon that, in a scenario where Anakin turns back earlier and he and Obi-Wan are both still alive but Order 66 still happened, that Obi-Wan would not and could not remain friends with him. He might forgive him, but that forgiveness would look more like choosing to let go of his own anger and do what he could to help Anakin let go of the darkness for the sake of the galaxy. In canon, we see Obi-Wan seem pretty happy to stand next to Anakin as a ghost, with the implication that he's decided bygones are bygones and he's just happy to have his brother back or whatever. But that doesn't work for me, so my headcanon is that the only reason he can do that is because they're both dead and still semi part of the Force at that point, so there are things Obi-Wan can let go of in death that he couldn't have done in life.

A LOT of my favorite ships are ships that don't exist in canon because I don't LIKE the ships that exist in canon, and I prefer to allow my faves to find happiness with characters I like better.

But I also prefer the way Lucas's canon handles the Jedi, their culture, their teachings, their position within the narrative, etc. I tend to HATE the way fandom treats the Jedi, I hate their headcanons about the Jedi being "dogmatic" or "old-fashioned", I hate the headcanons about their relationships with the clones most of the time because so often it treats the Jedi either like abusers or like children.

And there are some canon ships I absolutely ADORE and never want to change anything about them ever.

So I don't think it's inherently a bad thing for people to prefer their own headcanons or a popular fanon over canon. It's not even inherently bad for fanon to become so popular that people might not realize it's fanon sometimes. What gets frustrating is when people act like it's canon and get rude at people who don't adhere to a particular fanon/headcanon in their own interpretations, whether they prefer their OWN headcanon or canon itself. You see this primarily in the debate over the Jedi and the way this idea of the prequels being about how the Jedi were corrupt was always the intended message, and people are just SO attached to this that even when they're shown multiple quotes from Lucas himself saying otherwise, they'll refuse to believe it or they'll just dismiss Lucas's intentions and decide that their interpretation means more than the author's actual narrative. And like, if the only way someone is capable of enjoying Star Wars is to view the Jedi as abusive monsters, then fine, whatever, that's their deal. But it should be recognized AS A HEADCANON, as a personal interpretation of the media, and NOT peddled as the intended narrative of the story when it's so easy to find examples of the author saying otherwise.

Headcanons and fanon can be SO MUCH FUN, there's so many that I've seen people come up with that I have adored, I've come up with a lot of my own that I still really like and have fun playing with from time to time. But headcanons being fun doesn't make them canon. It never has.

[proton-wobbler]

Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis)

"I am submitting this while shaking, I have no idea if I'm gonna be the one who screws up whether they can be included or not and that terrifies me. Begging that they live in enough obscurity that no one else thought to submit then even with the more recent surge in interest with that maybe-footage 🙏🏼 ANYWAYS! This thing is like Schrodenger's Cat but a woodpecker, have you SEEN its description on wikipedia?? Possibly extinct, maybe still alive, people jeep thinking they have evidence + footage of it still being around but we can't ID it for sure, the government wants to try delighting it from the Endangered Species list as an extinct species but enthusiasts and conservationists are trying to stop that since their listing protects a lot of forests they would need to live in if they're still around etc etc etc. This woodpecker is like a cryptid, but like we know they existed recently and it's completely possible they're still out there just chilling. also when I look at photos of them they look like a Looney Tunes character. if they're still around, they're THE largest species of woodpecker in the US and one of the largest in the world, with a wingspan of ~30 inches and a length of ~21 in. Their range has been severely reduced by hunting and deforestation (has was done to many of our old-growth forests in the swamps/bottomlands for the logging industry 😭😭), but there are those who believe a population could still be out there, deep within the bottomland forests that still remain in the southeastern wetlands. there are entire memes with the X-files guy and that I Want To Belive poster. I'll share when either voting starts if they make it into the polls, or to your inbox directly if by some horrible twist they get more than one entry and fall out entirely 🥲 #IWantToBelieve"

I really can't think to add anything else, as this submitter really got their info down. My only addition is my personal statement that as much as I do want to believe there's a population hanging on, I don't think I can. The birds weren't very shy when they were still hanging on, and many of the birders who got the final photos and videos of them remember that they were easy birds to follow, if you were familiar with the area.

That aside, delisting a species that is helping to protect endangered habitat is always tricky, so even if they are truly extinct, we should still do what we can to keep that habitat protected. If keeping an extinct bird on the books is what we need to do so, I'm all for it.

Sources:

Image Source: eBird (Arthur A. Allen);

The source of the birders saying it was easy to follow comes from the National Geographic "Birds of Eastern America" identification guide's section on Ivory-billed Woodpecker.

[kiss-my-freckle]

Blasé Burrows

This is an interpretation post.

2x20: Panama

Michael and Lincoln have a Sara-induced argument in this episode. A confrontation that happens because Michael is upset that Sara isn't with them, and Lincoln basically expects him to just get over it. While it may be easy to overlook, trust believe Michael makes his point.

It starts out with Sara getting arrested while Michael and Lincoln watch from their ship. They're on their way to Panama, the last part of Michael's five-stage plan. He's clearly upset, and it's not just that he cares about Sara's safety. He fell in love with her.

While Lincoln enjoys the sights and smells of Panama, Michael plays the Debbie Downer. It's not just that he's separated from her, it's that he knows she's in danger - whether it be prison or the people that framed Lincoln.

Lincoln: Man, this country's amazing. It's beautiful. What's that smell, man? Michael: Bananas and sugar cane. That's Panama's biggest exports. Lincoln: Come on, man. You've been talking about Panama and bumpy bus rides ever since we broke out, and now that we're actually doing it… Michael: She should have been here with us. Lincoln: You got all the time in the world for that. Some ways down the track, you and Sara… Michael: Can we just get there, please? Lincoln: Sure.

Because Michael is dempening his mood, Lincoln feels the need to confront him about it. Having all the time in the world for that doesn't change their current situation. It certainly won't ease Michael's pain. It's as if Lincoln is ignoring the threat to Sara's safety for helping with their escape.

Lincoln: What the hell are you doing? Michael: Making a phone call. Lincoln: You can't. Michael: We don't even know if she's alive or dead, Linc. Lincoln: If Sara's in custody, they got her phone. You want to get caught?

They meet with Michael's contact for the boat he commissioned. As soon as Lincoln leaves to give them privacy, Michael tries to contact Sara by phone. While some may believe he's exaggerating, trust me that he isn't. Michael has every reason to worry for her safety. It's as if Lincoln is ignoring the fact that Mahone has been killing everyone involved in the escape, that he somehow forgot Kellerman already tried to kill Sara by leaving her to drown in a bathtub.

Lincoln: How much further? Michael: Not far. Lincoln: You know, for what it's worth, no one forced Sara to do what she did.

Rather than allow Michael time to process his pain, Lincoln pushes the issue. And he doesn't just bring up Sara, he shuts out the blame by placing it on her. So long as he makes it about the choice she made, he doesn't have to feel guilty for the situation she's in. Never mind the fact that she left the door unlocked because she believed in his innocence, that she's in danger now because she helped them specifically. He's not gonna let guilt stop him from enjoying Panama. This is something Michael isn't capable of doing. He can't shut out the pain and suffering the way Lincoln can. And more so with Sara because he's in love with her.

Michael: Whatever gets you through the night. Lincoln: What the hell does that mean? I didn't ask you to use her. Michael: It's not that simple. Lincoln: Whatever gets you through the night, buddy.

Michael references the sleep Lincoln is able to get at night because he shuts out the guilt, and it goes over his head. So Lincoln shifts from pushing the blame onto Sara to pushing the blame onto Michael.

Lincoln: You've seen the blueprints. Michael: Better than that. I've got 'em on me. Lincoln: How are WE doing it? Michael: The infirmary.

Never mind the fact that the moment Lincoln became part of the plan, he became just as responsible as Michael. Not just for the people that got hurt, but for Sara. He remained part of the plan despite knowing they had to go through her. Lincoln feels that so long as Michael was the one that got his hands dirty, the one that did all the work while he sat back and watched, that he has no reason to feel guilty. Again, his way of shutting it out. So long as he makes it about Michael using Sara, he doesn't have to feel guilty for the situation she's in. After all, he wasn't the one playing the diabetic.

Michael: You know what amazes me, Linc? Nothing ever registers with you. Ever. Just rolls right off your back, doesn't it? We ruined Sara's life, and it's like you don't even care.

Blasé Burrows.

Lincoln: Is that what you think? Michael: Well, we're here, and Sara's back there in prison. Does that seem fair to you?

Lincoln wants Michael to believe that he cares about Sara, expects him to believe it, though I'm not sure why. The way he's been acting and the crap he's been spewing says otherwise. He refuses to feel so much as an ounce of guilt for her situation, and he cares?

Lincoln: None of it's fair. Just don't make this about boy loses girl. Michael: Who should it be about, Linc? Westmoreland? Tweener? LJ? Lincoln: Let me stop you right there. Michael: Do you remember the name of the guard that was murdered because of the riot I started? Lincoln: Shut up, Michael. Michael: Do you even remember his name? I bet you remember Veronica's name, though, don't you? Lincoln: You mention her name again, I swear to God… Michael: What about T-Bag? Linc, he's out there now because of us! You and me! Every life he takes, that's blood on our hands. And for what?

Lincoln doesn't want Michael to make this about boy loses girl, but that's exactly what this is. He's basically minimizing Michael's love for her. Damn him for getting sad over a girl because it's cutting into Lincoln's fun time. He's so damn selfish, honestly. Michael's "And for what?" is hilarious to me. Exactly... And for what? A brother that clearly doesn't know and understand him? If Lincoln did, he wouldn't be spewing the crap he does in this episode. If he did, he'd expect from Michael exactly what he's getting.

Lincoln: I didn't ask you to do what you did. Michael: They were gonna kill you, Linc! Lincoln: Well, maybe you should've let them! Michael: Take that back.

Again, shifting blame to Michael. Lincoln didn't ask him to do what he did, but he certainly has no problem reaping the benefits. He has no problem enjoying the freedom they do have, and refuses to let guilt for Sara interfere with that. Lincoln's "Well, maybe you should've let them!" upsets Michael. Probably because he might as well be spitting on his grave. "The man you're talking about died the moment I stepped inside these walls." If Michael should've let them execute Lincoln, then Lincoln should've told Michael that he was guilty of murdering Steadman... because it could've been that easy.

Lincoln: Go easy, Michael. You didn't even know him. Michael: And that makes it okay? Michael: A man's down, you give him your hand. She'd roll over in her grave if she knew what I've become. Lincoln: She wouldn't. You've given me your hand, Michael. My son's out there with a bull's-eye on his back. Do whatever you gotta do to get us out of here. Please.

Michael isn't wrong. Nothing ever registers with Lincoln. It just rolls right off his back. This is the same man that told Michael not to feel for a kid he didn't even know, and in the very same conversation, to feel for a kid that he does know. Never mind the fact that Michael could've helped the kid, but didn't for the sake of protecting their plan. Lincoln told him to do whatever it took to get them out. Part of Michael doing "whatever it takes" IS protecting the plan. So he's to let a kid get raped by T-Bag for the sake of protecting the plan as long as Lincoln can get out to protect his kid. Apparently, Lincoln gets to choose who Michael does or doesn't care about, when Michael does or doesn't feel sad.

Lincoln: As bad as I feel about Sara, she had a choice. Veronica didn't.

Michael should've repeated his comment here. "Whatever gets you through the night." Veronica did have a choice. No one forced her either.

Not only was it something she chose to do, but she chose to do it despite the threatening phone call, and despite escaping death twice already. If Lincoln were being honest with himself, the guilt would've cosumed him. Lies to himself for the sake of shutting it out.

I mean, he's the one that told her, "You have your life now. I know that. But if what we had before meant anything to you, you'd find out the truth." She doesn't have her life now because she found out the truth.

Lincoln: I listened to her die, Michael. I listened to her die, and there was nothing I could do. Nothing.

A point Michael made in bringing up Veronica.

Michael: I bet you remember Veronica's name, though, don't you?

Because THIS is about boy loses girl.

"I listened to her die, and there was nothing I could do."

"Michael, you can't. There's nothing you can do."

For that split moment, Michael made Lincoln feel what he feels... because pain isn't something you just get over. Enjoy Panama now, Linc. Smile and have fun and just forget about your dead Veronica.

"Who should it be about, Linc?" The answer to Michael's question is simple: Linc. He wanted to be able to enjoy Panama without the pain of leaving Sara behind.

Michael: There's always something you can do. Lincoln: Not this time. Not this time. It's done.

Never mind the fact that he talked Michael into staying on the ship, so he brought this sad shit on himself. And it certainly mattered that it was Sara. Had it been LJ, both would've been off that ship. Linc talks about listening to Veronica die while on the phone with her, and he wouldn't even let Michael call Sara because god forbid it. "We don't even know if she's alive or dead, Linc."

[aikoiya]

Curse Shoulder Spirits: When Frisk finally arrives, do Undyne + Alphys + Sans + Asgore become better or worse (with their Spirits haunting them)?… Will Sans actually try to keep Toriel’s Protection Promise?… Does Mettaton still want to destroy Frisk, despite knowing that if he does, Frisk will become Mettaton’s personal Shoulder Spirit? 👻👻👻

Well... Undyne & Sans I see being very stubborn & resistant. Most likely getting worse in different ways rather than better. Probably thinking that they're lying.

Alphys, I see getting worse in a very different way, but also kinda better depending on your perspective. For her, she'd get worse in a feels guilty & hates herself way. We could say that part of the reason she became so depressed in the first place was having to see a miserable little 5-6 year old girl with mousy brown hair in adorable pigtails either weeping in a corner, screaming in pain, or just quietly sitting curled up in a ball of depression against a wall.

It'd very much be like an abused child trying to keep out quiet & not make problems for her abuser in hopes of being spared. As a result, I think that Alphys would be unable to experiment on Kindra's soul or body. So Sans would have to. However, Alphys would also be unable to stop him from doing so due to her cowardice. Kindra's thing's heart would break every time Alphys would dissect another human or extract DT from another soul. This would eventually lead to Alphys having to leave that stuff to Sans. However, she would be able to bring herself to inject DT into the fallen down monsters because she really, genuinely believes that she was helping them. Which would just further crush her when they started melting together. Kindra screaming in fear & sadness would not help either.

I see it going either way with Mettaton. Though, I think that it's more likely for him to try to find a way to unbind his Clarice from Undyne & to him, then try to convince Alphys to try & research a way to create a body for Clarice the way she created one for him. Doesn't mean it would work as I don't actually see ghost monsters as actual ghosts, more so monsters who heavily resemble ghosts as otherwise would indicate that they'd once been alive & human.

I feel the same way about skeleton monsters because if they were true skeletons then they wouldn't immediately crumble to dust after being killed, they'd simply fall inert, the bones still there.

In this way, ghost monsters are innately different from actual ghosts. However, I do believe that ghost monsters are keyed into, let's say... the same wavelength as actual ghosts.

Either way, it depends on you whether Alphys would make a change & try to befriend the girl. If she does, it'd take a long time but it's possible. Like, no matter what, I see her remaining a coward & being unable to tell anyone else about it because, at first, she's convinced that they'd call her crazy.

Asgore, however, I see becoming both better & worse too. And much like Alphys, he worse due to the guilt. However, I also see him being better because he's got a better relationship with her from the get-go. Now, the ones that were actively killed were, in order, Patience, Justice, Integrity, Bravery, & Perseverence & all of them were at least 12-13 at the times of their deaths. And, like I said before, at the time period when Patience was alive, that was considered being an adult.

Likewise, before the monsters were sealed, they too would likely have believed the same. As such, depending on whether this changed over time like it did with humans, the monsters might not have even considered them kids.

The only one that could've conceivably been seen as one was Kindness & that wasn't intentional. So, it's likely that both Asgore & Patience simply viewed that as a terrible tragedy. That doesn't excuse the fact that Asgore did not change the law or that Patience didn't try as hard as she should've to convince him to repeal it, but it goes a long way to explaining why they were able to let it keep happening.

In this way, I can see Patience getting uncomfortable with the fact that someone she considered a child had died. Asgore as well.

[strangebiology]

I'm working on a book about carcasses which is mostly just going to be factual answers to the question "What happens to a dead animal in variable situations?" ie a butchered animal, a pet put down at the vet, etc.

But also

I think it would be interesting to include a chapter on how handling and/or seeing dead animals affect people emotionally and morally. I recall a character in Texas Chainsaw morally justifying his chopping up of people alive by saying "We're all just flesh!"

Here are various anecdotes that make an argument against people seeing animals die, and knowing it intimately:

I recall two people who had beloved pets (a dog and a chicken) who their fathers killed in front of them, saying something like "You gotta learn the reality of life, everything dies." Idk how often that happens, maybe it does toughen people up in a good way most of the time, but, anecdotally, I only know those two stories because the kids grew up to murder people.

Nathan Winograd of the No Kill Advocacy Center argues against 4-H (where kids raise an animal and then sell it to slaughter) because "Quite simply, it teaches children to suppress their natural empathy in favor of financial gain – to turn off their hearts in a way that harms and diminishes them."

I also remember a person arguing very surely with me that "Ed Gein was in no way a bad guy." Ed Gein very famously non-consensually grave robbed all the time and also killed two people. I couldn't help but notice this person was arguing in an Oddities community, full of animal bones and very aware of animal death, and no one except me argued against him. I've seen lots of really nice people who enjoy bones but I couldn't help but wonder if some people forgot that rejecting certain aesthetic cultural standards doesn't have to lead to rejecting morality entirely. Like. I agree that having human remains in your house is not bad just because it's frightening to some people. It's the murdering that was the problem with Ed Gein. Did y'all forget that murder is objectively bad?

I know someone who had early experiences with death and who is WAY too blase about it now. To the point of truly believing that no animal should ever get veterinary care, they are never worth a single dollar, just kill them already, and if he had his way, he would have killed my personal beloved cat without even asking what is wrong with her.

Now, the opposite argument is hard to augment with examples because, well, how do you prove someone is emotionally and ethically stable because, or in spite of the fact that they saw something gross? That being said, hopefully I believe to some extent in showing the reality of animal death, as that's basically what my book does.

Generally, I believe you need information to make choices and changes. Here's a couple of examples in favor of seeing animal death:

I recall personally being at a consumer survey where a turkey company wanted to know what people like and don't like about their branding. One person said "I don't like that the product comes from animals that are 'humanely raised.'" Several agreed. I questioned why on earth someone would have a problem with treating animals humanely (disregarding whether the label is accurate, she was literally against treating animals humanely.) She said "I don't want to know about the animals. I don't want them to feel real. They're going to die anyway." So here we appear to have people so far away from agriculture that they actually prefer animal cruelty to the knowledge that animals exist before being made into meat. Maybe she should go on a farm and acquire some empathy.

Famously, Temple Grandin was able to make improvements to animal slaughter because she went to the slaughterhouses and learned about them. It wouldn't have happened if she decided "that's too gross." And we need people to inspect them all the time; I believe USDA reps need to be at every slaughter.

I go through a lot of similar hemming and hawing about the ethics of seeing blood/gore/death in this article I wrote called The Internet Has a Serious Problem with Murder Videos. The article hinges in part on the case of Luka Magnotta, who killed after becoming interested in murder videos, maybe or maybe not because of them, and he also got caught because people watched the animal and human murder videos he posted. It's not quite the same discussion but it's related. Any thoughts? Any famous examples I should consider?

[mrpenguinpants]

Spider’s Thread [Reverse AU]

Possessive Red Xiao x Reader

Word Count: 2.5k

Commissioned for: @profoundwitchsalad

Art Credit: @ruoyeahs

Warning: Unhealthy relationships.

Prompt:

“You’ve ruined my life because I have a warped idea of what love is and I can’t live without you. But now you’re trying to leave me and I won’t allow that. You left me alive. You have a duty to live for me and by me. I’m not letting you go.”

---

Xiao Semi Series

[ Friendship ] [ Falling in Love ] [ Cuddles ] [ Protective ] [ Affection ] [ Jealously ] [ Opposites Attract ] [ String Of Fate (Soulmate) ] [ Fainting ]

Link to original posts:  [Red! Xiao.] [Reverse AU]

[Masterlist]

Alatus was once told a story by his Master. A sinner who falls into hell is rewarded for his only good deed, choosing not to kill a spider. As his reward, a thread is lowered down for him to climb out of Hell. In the end, the sinner remains in Hell because he kicks aside others and the thread breaks. Alatus doesn't remember why his Master told him this story but he still empathizes with the sinner. He would have done the same or asked for this 'saviour' to extend their hand down instead. That way he could pull them down.

"Xiao? Are you okay?"

He slowly opens his jade eyes to see you hunch over, peering down above him, eyebrows furrowed together in concern as you reach down and softly tap his temple. He allows you to take a moment to do whatever you want with his face before he reaches up to grasp at your wrist gently, holding back on his want to rub circles into your skin. His reminiscing can wait for now.

"What is it?" he asks curtly, sitting up and resting his elbow on his raised knee. You pout at his curt tone but shrug it off as you take a seat next to him and lean your shoulder against his. You dig into your bag and pull out slips of commission papers and hand it over to him to read through what needed to be done today. A few Hilichurl camps needed to be taken care of, sabotaging a slime balloon, all tasks that seem mundane to someone who fought in a war. As he's preoccupied, you take a moment to look at Xiao's face. He's just the slightest bit unnerved whenever you do this because you always seem to know what's bothering someone.

"Were you dreaming of her again?" you ask quietly. The silence is a good enough answer but you nod understandingly. You never knew his Master personally but you did fight a long strenuous battle against her. From one look you could tell she was a manipulative and cruel woman. While it may not be very kind to say, you were glad that with her passing, Xiao would be free from her physically. But mentally...there were still some things to work out. But Xiao was a very reclusive person, especially with his emotions, so pushing him any further would only make him irritated and closed off.

"Venti and Zhongli are joining our party for a bit if that’s alright. They'll help out a lot with our commissions and travelling. I like Liyue a lot but climbing mountains stresses my shoulders out," you laugh as you change the subject to something less depressing. Standing up as you dust your clothes off before turning to Xiao and holding your hand out for him to take. He stares at it hard for a few moments before huffing and reaching over to clasp your hands together.

It has been so frustratingly peaceful since the war ended. He's not used to it and he can still feel the lick of cutting winds and the heavy pressure of rocks against his body when he sees the bard and funeral parlor consultant just on the horizon. If it were up to him, he wouldn't play nice with these two Archons but they're important to you so he bites his tongue until he tastes blood. He knows the Archons do the same. As soon as the two of them spot you both, Venti is already rushing and tackling you to the ground in his excitement.

"Traveler! I haven't seen you in ages. You need to come and visit Mondstadt more," Venti cried into your shoulder as you awkwardly patted him on his back. Always with the dramatics but you cared about Venti all the same. Xiao scoffed before flicking his jade eyes to meet gold as Zhongli stared down at him cautiously. Since the war ended, everyone seemed to have this warped idea that Alatus had some vendetta against the Gods and Celestia but he was fighting because he was told to.

"Xiao. It's good to see you again," Zhongli said to him. Xiao just nodded in acknowledgement. Even with this new mortal form, Morax never bothered to change his eyes. His gaze alone held the weight of the mountains he had thrown. If Xiao hadn’t been under one of them before, he might have crumbled under the pressure.

"Alright alright, Venti. I promise I'll drop by sometime this month but we still have commissions to do!" you laugh as you haul the bard onto his feet and swat his cape down from the speckles of dirt. He grins cheekily at you, linking pinkies with you to seal your promise, before suddenly lighting up as if he just remembered something.

"Actually! Before we start anything, I need to speak to Mr. Zhongli and Xiao. Super important archon things, you know?" Venti nodded to himself as the two mentioned people stared at him with varying levels of confusion. But Venti just waved their worries off and linked his arms with both men as he dragged them off to a more secluded corner with a surprising amount of strength, “We’ll be right back!”

"Do what you need to do but don't take too long," you called after the trio as you trailed off to the side, messing with your bag of commission papers and gear. Xiao hated that. He knows that these two Archons are your...friends.. but shouldn't you be a bit more cautious? Just because they have mortal forms doesn’t make them human, it doesn’t make him human either.

"Hey, there's no need to look so scary. There really is something important I wanted to talk to the two of you about," Venti speaks up as soon as you're out of earshot. It still gives Xiao whiplash whenever he drops the persona and switches back to Barbatos. "Since Morax is the only Archon I trust with this information and, while I don't trust you one bit, you're the one that's with her all the time you should also know. She's ascending to Celestia."

Barbatos gauges both of their reactions. Morax seems visibly surprised, his eyes slightly widened a fraction, while Xiao has no idea what that means. His Master didn’t exactly give him a history lesson on Celestia or Archons, just pointed to who was his enemy and dealt punishments when he failed.

"And what the hell does that mean?" Xiao asks as he crosses his arms. Venti appears for a second as the bard pouts before continuing.

"It's like I said. A mortal who performs great, heroic feats can ascend to Celestia and achieve godhood. Where they will watch over their people from above. I've only seen this once before so it took me a while to recognize the signs. But 1000 years ago, I helped a woman named Vennessa with her ascension and with the traveler's recent actions with winning the war. Well, you don't need me to explain the rest," Barbatos finishes. Zhongli simply hums as he cups his chin and absorbs what's just been heard. He doesn’t seem troubled by the news at all.

"Have you told her about this?" Zhongli questions as he looks towards the direction that you left. Venti shakes his head. “That would mean that she would vanish from this world."

“I know she loves this world. Whether she wishes to ascend or not isn’t my choice but I want her to continue her travels with that beloved smile on her face. But if she does choose to ascend, she will need our help," Venti stares at the two of them in a mix of pride, sadness, and determination. "Can I count on you two for your help?"

It's a complete white noise in Xiao's ears as his surroundings fade out. He thinks he can see Zhongli nod to Venti wishes, the ever calm smile on his face to match the cheery grin on Venti’s. What, now you want to become a God? Leave this world behind? That’s not funny. You made him give up everything. While in your eyes, your blinded hero syndrome, you think you've liberated him from a soulless conquest but he still has nothing. You still took everything away from him and your only compensation was to have him by your side until he left himself. But now you want to leave without a warning? That’s not fair. You don’t get to take back what you owe. He won't allow you to leave him behind.

“Did something happen? Did Venti say something unnecessary again?” you ask out of the blue. Zhongli and Venti had returned to their respective regions once your commissions were all finished. Since the three of them disappeared to talk Archon business, Xiao had seemed even more tense and aloof than usual. As if he was out of it? You knew that everyone was still suspicious of Xiao and they were angsty to leave you alone with him, but you knew Xiao would never do anything to hurt you. When he doesn't answer, you slowly reach over and you subtly nudge his head up onto your lap and look at him curiously. Before reaching down and cupping his cheek. He leans into your touch before turning his face into your palm and leaving a soft kiss. It makes you giggle at the ticklish feeling as you look at him so softly. It annoys him.

"You were never connected to the war and yet you fought against us anyways. Even when I killed so many people, why did you choose to spare me?" he asked as you blinked at him before giving it some serious thought. He went on a rampage and almost destroyed the world. It was fun. He doesn't have any regrets at all because he hated humanity. His own Master was human after all. But then you appeared and stopped him. A random outsider that wanted to play the hero. He thought it was cute. Perhaps he had underestimated the lengths someone would go to to save the world they loved but when he fell defeated at your feet. He said that this wouldn't change a single thing. He would still scorn humanity and what they did to him. He was so sure he would die there but you chose to extend your hand down to him instead despite what your companions felt. Even when the war ended and he had nowhere else to go, you offered him to travel with you. Nothing changed about his mentality, every person that chose to talk to him was quickly scared away with piercing eyes. Every conversation started would end in silence. Every touch would be met by the tip of his spear. But you would link your hands together with his and smile brightly, and he would always end up forgetting his trauma for a moment. You’ve... become precious to him.

"I love this world and everyone in it. You are a part of that world even if you tried to destroy it. It...didn't seem fair to leave you behind when you've suffered just as much," you finish but it only seemed to spark a wave of deep anger inside of Xiao. He quickly lurched up, almost knocking your forehead with his, before grabbing the scruff of your shirt collar and yanking you forward.

"Cut it out with that "love of everything" crap. It's revolting. So you're saying the people I killed weren't worth avenging? Do you think I'm so weak that I need protection? It's one thing to try and please everyone but at least have some awareness would you?" he snarled as he pushed you to the ground. He knew he was being harsh on you and you had every right to walk out and abandon him but you didn't. Of course, you wouldn't. You needed him as much as he needed you. You just reached over and tenderly reached your hand and placed it next to his. Damn it, why is he always the one stuck worrying about you.

"Then you want to protect me, right? Then don't break your promise. You left me alive which means you have a duty to live for me," he takes your hand in his and squeezes hard. Digging his nails into your own until crescents appear and tiny specks of blood appear so you know he's serious. He doesn't care how you interpret his words, just so long as you never leave him.

"Don't die on me, Hero."

It's been a few hours since the conversation so it's pitch black outside but Xiao was never one to sleep. Even if he could, his mind is too loud to fall asleep too. He's startled when you melt against him fully asleep. Honey smooth as you curl up to his warmth and cling to him like moss to a rock. He can feel his cheeks start to flush as his heart begins to pound against his chest. He can't breathe as his world is filtered through each beat that drums against his ears. He's not sure if there's actually something wrong with him or if it's just been a while since someone got so close and his instincts haven't left.

He's just realized it. He's feeling pain. The feeling in his chest is black but he can't claw it away. It's strange in a way that he can't explain it, that he's never felt before, that he's never felt the need to experience. His life had been warped by battle and a constant push to submit to his Master. They are all things he knows but the gentle words that come from your mouth, the bright eyes that hold the world, the horrible ice-hot feeling inside of him is so foreign yet too easy. He doesn't like it.

It makes him feel...clean in a way. Enlightened perhaps? His Master is long gone and it's like you said. He's free now. Free to make his own decisions and live his life how he wants to. He carefully turns over so as to not startle you away as he really looks at you. You look so peaceful in his arms, eyelids shut without worry, face slack without nightmares, breathing so softly against him. If you weren't so close to him that he couldn't feel the rise of your chest, he wonders if he would think you were dead. He stares at the lock of hair swaying back and forth with each breath like a starved man. The strange feeling doesn't stop. He hates it. It's everything that goes against him and what he knows and everything he should want. He's supposed to be the villain in your story, he should kill you right now-

"Xiao..." he hears you mumble beside him as you lean further into his arm. Damn it. How low is he going to go?

“What are you thinking about now? You just need to think about me. Don’t think about anything else...but me” Xiao sighs before he wraps his arms around you and pulls you into him until you're snug against his chest. Close to him, where he can touch you, where you belong. Not with Morax or Barbatos. Not with humans but beside him. He closes his eyes and nuzzles his head into your hair and he stares off into the distance. The feeling never leaves him for the remainder of the night.

"Ah! There you are. I was running around crazy looking for you," he turns his hair to see your flushed form pulling yourself up onto the mountain cliff, "When I woke up I couldn’t find you anywhere! You gave me a scare there."

He hates you. He hates you.

Words of his previous master ring in his ears, almost as if her very soul is wrapping around him as she whispers in his ear how weak he is. Ones with power that refuse to take what they want because they rather live in the comfort of nothing. Be greedier, take what belongs to you.

"Xiao?" you say as his piercing eyes stare directly through you. His Master always told him that she loved him. Even if he hated her he still clung to that false love. Of being wanted. Isn't love for a single person vile? Would feeling such emotions for one person instead of "everyone" bring you down to reality? It's not fair that you've crawled your way into his heart while you walk along in bliss. Now that he thinks about it. It was so simple. He just needs to monopolize your thoughts and love. This time it won't be as friends.

"I love you."

He'll pull you down to where he is. You extended your hand down to hell so it's your fault. He'll drag you down kicking and screaming if he has to. You left him alive. You have to live for him and by him. He's not letting go.

Reblogged for extra notes

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[tsarinatorment]

I see why people want plague!Will but I think he already has the potential to be dangerous.

Light has been weaponized against mortals and monsters multiple times-it's how Apollo kills Commodus. I'm particularly thinking of Hyperion and how his gaze was blinding and it hurt to even look at him, according to Percy. Light when concentrated enough still burns and bleaches. It leaves permanent damage.

Especially if Will's powers are revealed to be heliokinetic instead of just photokinetic? UV rays can give you all sorts of wounds and diseases. The sun is seen as a positive force, obviously associated with life and light and being good/healing/comforting for you- traits we also associate with Will- but as The Burning Maze highlights, it can also be deadly.

Oh, Will certainly has the potential to be dangerous with his current canonical skillset. Heck, we straight up see this in BOO - his ultrasonic whistle is not a cute, friendly ability, it's one that bursts eardrums and likely has the potential to permanently deafen people as well as the temporary stunning he uses it for (see the damage Michael's sonic arrows could do in TLO - Will can generate those sounds without any aid or godly gifted items.) We see Apollo himself literally kill Commodus with his voice in TTT - whether Will can go that far remains to be seen (admittedly unlikely considering it was something not even Apollo had done before that moment). Light, as you say, is also highly weaponisable, and it's implied that they know this - Nico specifically requests Will to glow at minimal level, which is still bright enough to light up an entire trog cavern, so his light can certainly get far, far brighter than that.

And of course, he's a healer. Don't mess with healers. Just don't. They're the ones that know how to take you apart in the fewest, most efficient moves possible. If you know how to fix things, you know how to un-fix things.

Will, just with his canon abilities, is incredibly dangerous, but that makes his general non-combative stance incredibly special, to me.

Because Will could be dangerous. He could stand on the front line and really wreck an opposing army. But he doesn't. Will choses to be kind, to help people, to heal, to not use his abilities as offensive despite the potential, but rather as defensive. Even the whistle he uses only as a last resort, and only to stun - again, it's canon that he can control the volume and effect of it because the two he uses in BOO are different, as Nico helpfully tells us.

There's a luxury in being able to choose non-violence, especially in his world. We can't deny that - most demigods are forced to kill or be killed, fight with everything they have just to stay alive. Will is able to choose non-violence because he has the love and support of the camp - mess with Will, and at least half the camp will be lining up to take their shot at you, so Will doesn't have to (and I'm not even including Nico and Apollo in this, but if those two get involved, good luck to the instigator).

But still, it says something about Will's character that he chooses peace. He doesn't stand down, he has his morals and he does not waver on them (and no, his morals are not always white - see Octavian, who he was willing to let die, and I know people point out about him listening to Nico, and Solangelo blah-blah-blah, but I'd like to point out that Octavian blamed Apollo for the war right in front of Will, and that got Will mad. Will's love, support, and faith in his father is strong - we see it in BOO, we see it all through TOA. He literally gets his father's symbol tattooed over his heart; that's a heck of a statement to make. Having Octavian desecrate Apollo's name... from everything we've seen of Will, it makes sense that in that moment he could take the excuse Nico was offering, that Michael Kahale provided, and let him die), but Will chooses non-violence.

Giving him another power that is so clearly destructive, so against the gentle, nurturing nature he's been shown to have until this point, would be worthless unless we're actively shown him to be struggling with it against his morals, and I don't think he'd ever willingly use it, in any situation, so it's a waste to make him have plague powers, quite frankly - hence why the only version of it I can personally find believable and acceptable is as I described in my previous post, where it's forced upon him and he has to struggle to rebuild who he is with this new piece (much like Nico has had to rebuild who he is, across the first three series).

[nofoundboy]

Idk how this works, but can I request some Boomerang x Polka-Dot man? Maybe some angst or hurt/comfort?

I feed of this, tysm 👀

Sweat made the thin blankets cling to Digger's back.

It was the cold sweat that accompanies fear, the one that was present every time he had a nightmare.

He had lived his whole life in torment but nothing even came close to the overwhelming feeling of being on the brink of death. That moment when you were everything and nothing all at once, just waiting for everything to go black.

But there it was, wasn't it? Battered and horribly scarred but still alive. Perhaps someone would think that, in fact, those scars were attractive.

He kicked the blankets aside. Beside him slept Harley peacefully, clutching her pillow and with a calm expression on her face. Digger couldn't help but smile, he was happy to be able to be with his friend again.

Everyone on the team, the remaining ones, seemed to be resting perfectly.

Except for the hunched figure who was shaking like a leaf in the wind, seeking to cling to the dusty wall, his expression lost and his own scars glowing in the moonlight that streamed through the stained window.

Digger carefully pulled himself up to stand beside it, dodging the rat girl and the big shark, who lay huddled on the ground taking up a large portion of the floor.

"They're shit, aren't they?" asked Digger, sliding his back down to sit beside Abner, who was holding his head in his hands.

He knew exactly what he meant, so he nodded. All his life he'd had them, with his mother. But that moment after the euphoria, the one where he felt himself being crushed by that gigantic creature, he even dared to fear not seeing his mother everywhere anymore. His nightmares became about that moment.

"I guess we couldn't get out of there intact," Digger pointed to his forehead. Up close, The scars on Abner were much more noticeable, probably like his own. He thought about the texture of them, how would it be to touch em'...and how would it be if Abner touched his scars.

"I've never been intact...from here" Abner replied in a whisper touching his own forehead.

"And? This is different than anything I would have felt before and I bet it's different for ya' too" Digger just wanted to talk to someone who had been through pretty much the same thing, to share the experience about what it had been like to be on the brink of death, feeling every part of your body aching while your mind didn't know whether to start projecting your life before your eyes or give you another chance.

"I still feel the way my bones were exposed as they collided inside my skin" a shiver ran down his spine. He hadn't seen it, but he had felt it and heard it. And that sound was the worst sound he could have ever heard.

Digger nodded softly.

"I still feel the propellers going through my flesh. Shit, I hear them every time I close my eyes" Digger didn't want to die, he wasn't ready for it to happen, and while he valued and cherished his life much more than he had before because of that, he had no idea what to do with it to make it worthwhile. He was a fucking criminal, a failed one and he didn't know how to do anything else, how could he even aspire to have a less horrible life, a life worth the second chance he had been given.

Abner seemed to follow his train of thought, glanced sideways at Digger, and let out the strangest sound he had ever heard. An abnormal mix between a sigh and a laugh.

"So now what should we do? If we're supposed to be using a second chance?" At first, he thought Abner was being sarcastic, but his tone had no sign of it. The situation, by itself and without needing a push from both of them, was already sarcastic enough. The jet's question was genuine.

Abner had been a superhero, Digger knew. In Abner's eyes, Digger had been one too a few years ago but their instability and backsliding into crime didn't help them to think that they did, in fact, contribute anything to the world.

There had to be something more, Digger knew it, he needed to know it.

Perhaps in the form of the new mission, they were about to undertake or else, in those sad, dark eyes that demanded answers from him.

"I guess live, shit" he sighed. Abner snorted, again in that sound he was halfway between a laugh and a sigh. Digger loved it.

Abner laid his head on Digger's shoulder, and the sudden warmth that began to spread sweetly in his gut made him immediately tense up. Abner tried to hide with success the way his body was trembling, 'cause finally, he was getting close to the only one he never saw as his mother. An actual crush.

"We're not going to go on like this, are we?" Digger had no idea what to say because deep down he knew something like this wasn't going away so easily. Neither the memories of how close and infinitely painful his death was, nor the certainty that they weren't doing enough after his forgiveness. It didn't matter how much of a son of a bitch Digger was, for he did feel a debt on his shoulders.

But maybe, they both ventured to think, everything was more tolerable if they had someone to share that burden with.

"Maybe you don't, maybe you do. But I guess you remember it really makes you a damn superhero" Abner couldn't see Digger completely not in that darkness, however, he watched the flash of his silver teeth in the moonlight, as if that sideways grin remarked his words to reassure him.

Digger no longer preferred to die rather than express what he felt, but even so, he didn't want to ruin anything that was happening at that moment with some retort that would probably end up being more than stupid.

In any case, he didn't need to, as Abner slipped his cold hand into Digger's. He briefly felt Digger's calluses on his hands. He briefly felt Digger's calluses with his fingertips in a fleeting, careful caress and kept his grip firm.

Digger did not respond, only let out a brief chuckle and stood there, biting his tongue so as not to ruin the idyllic peace he had so longed for.

In the company of that most desired and idyllic person.

[paversandplatters]

||𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚎𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚂𝚑𝚎𝚎𝚙|| (3/20)

Apocalypse! Au (TW! Minor gore and cussing)

Reader x multiple

Chapter 3: A Site to Behold

Nick manages a slow shake of his head as she looks up at the railings of the church choir loft, it’s about 20 feet above them. She reaches for the knife at her hip, pulling the bloodstain instrument from her belt keeping it at the ready. With a few hand signals motioning to follow.

With some great reluctance they begin to ascend the stairs with her cringing slightly as each wooden step creaks softly in protest. Once at the top she realizes that there are three doors two on the left hand wall, both a women's and men’s restroom and at the very end of the narrow walk way is a door slightly ajar leading into what they can assume is storage. With bated breath she listens silently noting that the sound seems to be coming from the women's restroom. loud rattling and scraping of metal against the floor, heavy footsteps marching back and forth; faster and not as clumsily as the cadavers below them were. Chains, she realizes, it sounds like chains.

With a few hand waves they position themselves around the doorway with their backs against the wall she reaches for the handle of the door slowly pushing it open. The rattling of chains and footsteps stop in time with the dull whine the door makes- silence returns. Heart pounding in her ears, she glances towards Nick and George seeing how both are white knuckling their guns In anticipation of the worst.

A moment passes ...

Then another ...

Nothing.

Not a sound.

They glanced between each other- a conversation carries on silently. Who is going to look in? Though the question isn't left unanswered for very long before she takes the first step to move into the doorway, craning her neck to peek at what hellish creature maybe waiting there.

Her breath is caught mid step,She'd been expecting this but somehow the site still caught her off guard. Perhaps it's just the sheer towering height of the thing stood there in the middle of the room- it's figure outlined in the dull orange morning light that’s managed to seep through the cracks and opening of the boarded up window in this dirty abandoned restroom... Or maybe that it’s the bulky metal chains connected to each appendage. Each end of chain is anchored to different areas of the room some to the ceiling, other to the walls and the floor very obviously meant to restrict the movement of this thing. But the most striking feature was the large circular mask on its face bearing no features save a simple smiley face. Much like the biters downstairs a large crudely made cage framed his head connecting to a heavy and equally crudely made metal collar around its neck.

She's frozen, examining the creature before her. The very presence of this thing is almost overwhelmingly terrifying. It's just standing there stock-still faced in the vague direction of the door, covered head to toe in caked blood and dirt. She almost doesn't notice it at first but… it’s shoulders are rising and falling in a slow rhythm. It's breathing. It’s ALIVE.

“Holy shit!”

She must have been caught in her trance too long as Nick’s reaction not only makes her jump but also the person before them suddenly starts to move and reel backwards, thrashing violently like a wild predatory animal trying to escape its bindings. He’s backed himself into a a corner pulling on the chain hard enough she sure his wrists have to have taken some sort damage but he makes no reaction to such. Nick unconsciously stumbles back crashing into George sending them both onto their asses, George whines at the Jostling of his still unattended wounds.

“Nick what the fuck-“ The thought is suddenly cut off as he catches site of the thing before them.

“What isI the fuck is that?!”

George squeals out now three shades paler, be it from the shock or loss of blood. Nick is the first to level his gun at the figure. Instinct takes over as she knocks the gun from his hand the single round missing its target and lodging itself into the rafters above.

“WAIT!” The proclamation is met with two very confused faces.

“He's alive! don't shoot hold your fire.” She doesn't so much ask, as much demands. They exchange a look of complete disbelief, truthfully she knows they can’t be blamed.

“Just hold on they're still alive and obviously being kept here forcibly.” she clarifies. The ominously large figure pauses in its violent thrashing to turn an look in her direction or well the direction of her voice. Can this thing even see? The tension in his posture is enough to let her know he still hasn't let his guard down but is obviously listening to her words. Lord only knows what he's seen and experienced in the time that he’s been shackled here.

Cautiously she steps forward.

“You are alive aren’t you…?” It takes a moment but she’s answered with a curt nod.

“Why are you being kept here…” nothing happens for a long moment before he shrugs. She moves to take another step.

“Can you speak…?” The knife in her hand is still raised and ready. A glance behind her assures that her two companions are poised and ready for back up.

Again he doesn’t speak but his body language tenses a bit more but he doesn't make a move to oppose her coming closer. Boots thump softly against the floor, his breathing sounds labored now, likely exhausted.

“You’re injured aren’t you..?” The massive figure takes a moment to tilt his head questioningly before nodding.

“I can help, I won’t hurt you unless you hurt me… understand?”

Another nod. Good this makes this much less complicated. When her hand finds his arm, it’s quickly yanked from her grip drawn backward away from her in protest.

“Woah hold on big guy it’s just me, I have to check you over… make sure you’re not infected or something. “

He slowly stills, allowing her hand to rest on his forearm.

She begins to narrate her next steps as she moves her hands to grab the bottom of his shirt. there's too much blood, dirt and grime on the garment to be able to tell the extent of the wounds there. The shirt ends up being peeled off, having been stuck to the skin with now long coagulated clumps of blood. It reveals a long gash that starts at the bottom of his ribcage curved down to just under his left hip. She has no idea how he still holding together- from the looks of it his guts should be spilling out onto the floor. She’s not sure whether or not to call this a miracle or some hellish punishment he’s meant to endure. Continuing on to check him over, there are numerous blossoming bruises and welts, all in different stages of healing. she swears she that one of his ribs is poking out at an odd angle. The more she inspects the more it sickens her to look at.

“You’ve really been through hell haven't you..” there is no response to her words.

“He’s clean. No bites just fucked up.” She calls out confirming her findings to party waiting in the doorway.

“That thing is really alive…?” the Brit mutters out still looking on with complete shock still settled into his features.

“So now what? He must have been chained for a reason, are you just gonna let him out..?” Nick questions voice obviously portraying his concern. Again she doesn’t blame him, there’s no evidence to suggest any of this is a good idea.

“He could’ve killed me already if he wanted… besides he knows he’s out numbered..”

“What- you’re not actually going to- y/n no absolutely not!” George squawks protest.

“I can’t just leave him here.” Y/n confirms, hands already in her pocket fishing for the one of the most invaluable items she owns: a hair pin.

“He could be a murder for all you know!”

“Like we aren’t..?” She mutters back. In the two years the worlds gone to shit, survival comes at any cost- even at the expense of other people lives. It’s a harsh reality sure, but what other choice is there? You do what you can to keep moving, if you’re lucky you find a party that’s willing to move with you for the sake of safety in numbers and a common goal. George of all people should be aware of that more than anything…

With out any further words of protest, she produces the pin from her pocket setting to work on freeing his arms and legs first. He keeps to himself but begins to tremble slightly. It’s takes some time and finessing, but shackles clatters to the ground one by one. The only thing that remains on his person is the cage and mask on his head.

“You’re too tall, lean down so I can get that stupid thing off you.”

He bows his head almost eagerly, nearly folding himself in half trying to grant her as much access as possible. The angle is awkward, making the task that much harder, none the less after a few minutes of fidgeting the collar pops open. Just as soon as it does his hands fly to his neck, desperate to remove the cage. He tosses it aside, and frantically his hands reach to the back of his head pulling the straps of the mask still stuck on his face. With sheer brute force it’s pulled free, joining the cage at the other end of the room.

Suddenly she’s met with wild green eyes that peek out under from long wavy dirty blonde hair. Just barely, able to make the faint marking of freckles on his face before he turns quickly to stare down at the two men guarding the doorway. The cloth gag in his mouth is pulled free as if were made of paper.

His voice rings out raw and cracked.

“they’ll be back soon.”

Let me know if your like to be added to the tag list!

@the-wandering-pan-ace

[ceescedasticity]

SFear Supplementals

I decided I'm not going to post any SFear supplementals on AO3 until the next chapter of Collateral has gone up, and anyway the fandom is... preoccupied... at the moment, but I did finish some stuff. Obviously will make zero sense without the main fic.

Supplemental #1: Reunion in the Land of Mist and Glowworms

When the sensation of being watched snapped back into place, Martin startled so badly he dropped a steel imp out the window directly on top of a hydrogen imp, and they both vanished into colored polygons.

"I'll just go get that grist for you," Peter said, and swooped out the window.

Martin let him go. The feeling wasn't as strong as it was in the Changed world, probably no worse than an average day in the Archives, but it was much more than anything he'd felt since the tunnels whited out around him, and he couldn't help but hope.

The two remaining steel imps were still busily destroying furniture, but it wasn't like he had any emotional connection to the strange little mock-lighthouse the Game had left him in. (Some of the furnishings were oddly reminiscent of childhood. That wasn't a plus.) The only thing he couldn't afford to lose was the laptop. He grabbed that and made for the stairs to the roof.

It wasn't a very tall mock-lighthouse, but it was the best vantage point around. There wasn't a lot to see, apart from a glimpse of the nearest "consort" village, and mist, and as always the eerie light of the glowworms in the sky. (What were they even hanging from?)

And… a spot of sickly green glow, on the other side of a hill, the opposite direction from the village.

It might have been wiser to be concerned, but…

Slamming the 'lighthouse' door open on the way out annihilated another imp, which he couldn't even feel bad about at this point. He circled the side of the building away from Peter and made for the hill at a run.

(There had been another ice ogre roaming around, but it seemed fairly slow. This should be fine.)

He saw the glowing green… Eyesprite before the human figure accompanying it, but Jon called, "Martin!" at almost the same time, and then Martin was skidding down the hill and then they were hugging. The laptop made it more difficult, but who cared.

The Eyesprite stared at them from three meters away.

"Sorry I couldn't get here sooner," Jon said, into his shoulder. "I was, ah, I lost consciousness for a little while after entry. Well, for several hours."

Martin pulled back, alarmed. "Are you okay?" Jon didn't look hurt — possibly a little manic, but not bad. A little more… Beholding-y than he'd looked in the tunnels, but much less than the post-apocalyptic standard. "Was it because of the fears being weaker?" He'd been a little worried about that—

"No," Jon said. "Well, yes. Partially. I mean — that's about whether it's because of Beholding being weaker. Whether I'm okay is yes. It's an adjustment, and Knowing is, uh, complicated, but— I'm okay." He smiled. "More okay than I've been in a while, I think. It's sort of a long story — the short version is that Skaia filled in the, the holes the Eye's weakening left, and that's had some complications but— It's good."

"That—" Martin stopped himself. Yes, the Eye was the devil they knew and Skaia the devil they didn't, but if Jon thought this was better and was glad about it Martin didn't have to push him now. "I'm glad."

Jon had been… slightly hopeful, when they'd discussed the Ritual of Skaia, back in the tunnels — but mostly desperate. His pitch for this alternative had focused on removing the Entities into a different pocket dimension and trapping them there, rather than unleashing them into the multiverse. He'd admitted it was more of a gamble than Annabelle's plan, and involved all of them jumping into the pocket dimension, too, and that was meant to be survivable in a successful ritual but there were no guarantees — and he'd all but begged them to do it anyway.

(It hadn't been too hard a sell, once it became evident that there really was a Ritual of Skaia and Jon wasn't suffering an overdue psychotic break but really had picked up something out of the Hilltop Road rift. Nobody had actually liked Annabelle's plan. This… had potential.)

(Martin had asked Jon if he thought he could survive this. Jon said he didn't know, but he could live with it.)

He was really hopeful, now. Like he actually thought things might turn out okay.

"I'm glad," Martin repeated, and hugged him again. Jon sighed, and leaned into the embrace.

Then he said, "We're about to be attacked by some sort of ogre. If you don't have any moral objections, I'll just destroy it."

"Oh, for—" The first ice ogre that showed up had trapped him on the roof for over two hours before Peter got annoyed and (probably) threw it into the Lonely. "Yes, get rid of it. Wait, you can still smite things?"

"If I Ask underlings what they are — ask imps or ogres, at least — they immediately dissolve into grist."

"Convenient." Martin didn't want to hunt underlings but he was really not a fan of underlings.

"Quite."

The smiting was much less dramatic than avatar-smiting had been — like Jon said, just a question and immediate disappearance. Unsurprisingly Jon looked more… Beholding-y while doing it, though far from the worst Martin had seen him.

The Eyesprite stared at them from three meters away.

"The, um… some of the, uh, eye cloud looked like they had funny pupils?" Martin ventured as Jon collected the grist. "Like a, um…"

"A stylized sun," Jon said. "Yes, that's the Light Aspect symbol. I hadn't noticed that before, but it's not surprising. There's a bit of a… territorial struggle going on in there."

A territorial struggle in his head? That didn't really fit with Martin's definition of okay, but fine. "Is that your Aspect? Mine's Blood, which according to the sprite has something to do with connections between people, but still."

"And Light has to do with information and knowing things," Jon said dryly. "And supposedly luck, although I don't think I got much of that part."

"Ah. Ouch."

"It does sound better than Blood, though. Glad you were able to get something useful out of your sprite."

"I noticed yours doesn't seem very, uh, talkative…"

"Well, not at the moment— Oh, Christ."

The Eyesprite was staring at them from one meter away.

"Back off," Jon ordered, and it drifted back a few feet. "Sorry. Is it making you feel too… beheld?"

"Not too bad. Though I suppose I have a fairly high tolerance by now." Hmm. "Mine got, uh, quite a bit less… Lonely-feeling after it, er…"

"Turned into Peter Lukas," Jon supplied. "Sorry, I took a look at how everyone was doing after I woke up. I could have tried to skip you, but…"

"I don't mind," Martin assured him.

"There wasn't too much detail."

"Really, it's fine. You said you looked at everyone, was everyone—"

"Peter," Elias — Jonah — interrupted, "is right on the other side of that hill, fighting the sprite instinct to come and talk to all of us."

Martin flinched violently; Jon looked sick, but immediately snapped "Not that one!" and the sprite went back to just being an Eye.

"Has it been doing that the whole time?" Martin asked, horrified.

"Not the — the whole time, it's, it's been trying out other people." Though he was still clearly shaken, Jon glared at the sprite, which… possibly looked chastened. "It hasn't been him for quite a while, actually, I thought it had gotten the point."

"Not something you can Know?"

"Well, I could try, but I couldn't verbalize it without doing a whole statement about it. Knowing is… complicated."

Huh. Well, they probably wanted to avoid that. "Maybe it wants to play mind games with Peter?"

"Not that Peter's very good at them," Jonah said smugly — not as Elias, this time, but definitely Jonah. It wasn't as much of a kick in the chest for Martin — different face, different voice despite the same way of speaking — but Jon looked just as sick.

"Don't. Be. Jonah," Jon snapped, and glared until the sprite went back to an Eye.

"Yeah, that's looking likely. Just a minute." Martin jogged back up the hill, and, yeah, Peter was hovering (figuratively and literally) just on the other side. "Peter, just… go away."

If Peter wanted to talk to Jonah again, too, it evidently wasn't enough to outweigh the desire not to be near anyone. Martin didn't have to say another word before Peter disappeared into the mist at high speed.

When Martin got back to Jon, the Eyesprite was still just an Eye. "Okay! That seems to be taken care of for now."

"For now," Jon said. "It's… I haven't tried to Know this, but this one insisted on following me when I left my planet. It's possible they can't go too far from us. In which case it will be near… your sprite again, and I need to get it to turn into something or it will upset everyone who isn't used to putting up with Beholding anyway…"

"It can find someone other than Jonah," Martin said firmly. "Come on, let's go back to the… 'house'." He offered a hand, and Jon took it, and they started up the hill. "I was going to ask, you said you checked on everyone? Melanie and Georgie and Basira, they're…?"

"When I checked they were all alive and unhurt and… no more out of their depth than we are, I think. Also, uh, I don't know if I managed to explain how I was filling out the roster to get players for all the Entities?"

"You… tried." No one had asked when Jon originally said they didn't need to scrape up nine more people somehow, and by the time someone had asked he'd been half in a trance and only intermittently responsive. "You said something about statements and contracts?"

"Yes. What that means is— No, wait, this is going to be a long story, so first—" Jon stopped, and turned, and caught Martin's face in his hands, and smiled. "I love you, Martin. I'm so glad we got this chance."

"I love you, Jon," Martin said, and kissed him. "You got us this chance."

[chidoroki]

TPN ch174

(spoiler alert: I'm in tears)

Okay, so remember how I thought someone was going to stop Peter from killing himself? Well, I was horribly wrong.. (and about one of the kids possibly being able to kill him too, oops)

Like, damn.. that isn't a pleasant sight to see, especially by young kids. They still try to save him too, despite all the trouble Peter caused for them. He may not have suffered the same way the kids have but he was still burdened with a cruel fate in this demon world. Being born into the Ratri clan, he had a duty to fulfill from the very beginning. He could have very well gone rogue like James and changes things for the better, but Peter decided to remain loyal to his family. He took pride in his work and occupied himself with whatever tasks were expected of him as the new clan head. All of that took place instead of him having a normal childhood. Well, as normal as one could get in this world anyways.

Peter's fantasy about a different and more carefree life right before he loses his own does make me hate him a little less. I have no doubt that he could've been friends with the rest of the Grace Field kids, even if he doesn't think so.. but he wasn't that lucky. Also demon god, why are you here? You know your appearance always stresses me out. “Well done for 1,000 years.” Was all of this just a source of entertainment for you? It sounds like Emma was successful in changing the promise at least but still, at what cost?

With all that aside, it's time to really get hit in the feels! Ever since it was revealed that Isabella was still alive, I feared how Ray would react to seeing her again and how the two of them would interact, if given the chance. And oh boy, we finally got that chance! Throughout the years we haven't seen Ray really think about Isabella in any way, unlike Emma who thought of her during Goldy Pond and when Musica helped her after she passed out from her fever back in the demon forest.

It's not until Ray and Emma went to the Seven Walls that we find out about how Ray feels about Isabella. When the duo was sent back to the fake GF house, Ray was mentally tormented by the siblings he couldn't save and Isabella herself. The situation alone is frightening, so it makes sense that he pushes her away after she gets close. He's still wary to her sudden presence and advances, having no clue whether or not this Isabella real, but it's still obvious he holds no trust in her or this illusion.

When Ray and the rest of the trio first see the real Isabella finally after these harsh years, they're all angry. It wasn't a surprise that they still hold some sort of grudge against her after the pain she put each one of them through. They were lucky to have outsmarted the woman who hurt them once already, now they have to do so again? Hell, I'd be mad too.

They probably felt that way right up until Isabella betrayed Peter. With the sudden amount of power and backup on their side, Emma accepts Isabella's help without question and the rest of the children follow suit. I assumed the kids forgave Isabella at that moment but I wasn't certain, nor was it brought up til now. Emma, of course, holds no grudge against her or the other ladies and tells them that the new promise will allow everyone to cross over into the human world. While the ladies are quite surprised to hear that, they're left speechless at the possibility of them being forgiven. Do they honestly deserve a bright future after all the selfish and hurtful things they've done?

They might not think so, but there is a certain someone who understands that feeling.. and that person is Ray. The fact that he can sympathize with his mother's feelings in such a way is wonderful, because we know he feels just as guilty. They both had no choice but to watch helplessly as all those children got shipped out over the years back at Grace Field and later accepted death as their own personal form of punishment. To finally see Ray not only talking with Isabella, but to hear him forgive her after everything she's done to him and the family he cares for so much? Oh my god, my heart is happy and I could honestly cry over it. As genuine (and blunt) as his words are, I do notice that he does keep a reasonable distance between him and his mother. Like I previously said, he probably didn't trust Isabella until very recently, so these feelings of forgiveness and love towards her are fairly new. He may not be completely there yet, but he's making a serious effort and seeing how much of an impact his words have on Isabella makes me tear up. (also, him? being happy he's alive?? after thinking his entire life was cursed?? aahhh, someone hold me, i'm soft)

We knew Isabella's true feelings about her precious children ever since the escape; how she wanted nothing more than to love them normally, for them to be safe and to never give up. These feelings have stayed with her all these years as we seen how caught off guard and choked up she gets when the kids still call her “mom” even after how poorly she treated them. We know how badly she wanted to apologize and praise them for all their hard work. To finally see Isabella get the love she deserves from these kids, the ones who never stopped loving her, from those who truly accept her despite her hurtful actions and words in the past, and her own son.. just this! This right here makes me cry!

“It should have been so painful. You must have been so shocked. You were betrayed by your mother in a most horrific way. Even now you're all trembling. But why? How could you forgive me? I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I've been sorry.. for so long!.. ”

Aahh, I love this series so much. Now both children and adults are finally working together. Isabella will take care of the chaos at Grace Field (which includes Phil btw! he was actually mentioned!) while Emma & the others are off to do.. something else? I'm not sure, but the imperial soldiers outside are on the move. They also received a message from the capital city.. which is where we last saw Sonju, Musica.. and Lewis. So, let the anxiety continue.

[emyume]

Eremika ♡  {Titanic AU + headcanons}

(Hi everyone! I decided to make something special for my birthday, which was on the 30th, but I couldn’t finish it until just now. So, this is kinda like a late birthday present to myself, and a new years gift to all my fellow eremika fans. This is my first time ever making something like this, so please bear with me if it’s kinda long, and I hope everyone has an amazing new year! ✿ ◡ ‿◡ )

The first time he ever sees Mikasa, he's hanging out with his friends on the 3rd class deck. As he looks up, he notices her walk towards the railing. With the sunlight scanning down her body, a cool ocean breeze gently waves her short hair and her delicately sewn dress side-to-side. Resting her hands on the railing as she watches the horizon. 

He slowly freezes in her presence; leaving him breathless. Asking himself whether or not he had just seen an angel due to how bright and iridescent the evening sun was, as it shined down on her. Like a fallen angeeeeelllll / *cough* red swan is best op *cough* 

It takes a while for him to notice that she had been giving him some hardcore death glares as if to say, "You know, I can see you staring right at me, you better not make me come down there!" (¯―¯٥) she ready to throw some hands xD

He always sits in the exact same spot at the exact same time on the boat deck where he first saw Mikasa, always looking forward to seeing her again, and again.

Armin and Jean constantly make fun of him anytime he stares at her or whenever his head is in the clouds. They always wave their arms, snap their fingers in front of him, or even try to say a few things to catch his attention such as, "Yoooo, lover boy!", or "If you're lucky you'll probably get married someday...if she's into guys like you, that is." Forcing him to snap back to reality.

they both notice him start to blush, his face glowing in a deep crimson red starting at his cheeks to the tips of his ears, all while he's trying to cover his face up with his arm. we love our blushy boi ٩(♡ε♡ )۶

On the night when she almost jumps off the ship, Eren notices her sobbing loudly with tears falling down her face as she scampers past him - sensing that something is wrong, he immediately gets to her aid. Being very patient, he convinces her not to jump and to get back on the ship. He reaches his arms out and offers her to take his hand. She finally surrenders, and they exchange their names with reassuring smiles. "I'm Eren Jaeger", she then replies a bit hesitantly, "M-Mikasa Ackerman".

The next morning, Mikasa looks for him down in the 3rd class steerage (even though it’s forbidden, she still goes anyway), finally getting the chance to thank him for saving her life. As they're both getting to know each other, she utters out how trapped she feels. Staying inside a world she can't escape. Being forced into an arranged marriage simply for money, not having any dreams of her own, all of it makes her feel completely powerless, and makes him fill up with remorse, feeling sympathetic towards her situation.

she’s always been desperate to do something different and out of the norm, without ever having to be judged for it. She can’t help but feel jealous whenever he talks about his travels and the places he's seen. Although he was poor, he was free. That in itself was something she couldn't attain so easily.

There's actually a deleted scene in the movie that I really love, where Jack and Rose are singing a song called, "Come Josephine In My Flying Machine". I could definitely see the two of them singing this together as they walk around the boat deck, happily swaying side-by-side.

Once Eren finds the courage in himself to confess his true feelings towards her, Mikasa tells him that it’s impossible for her to keep seeing him. He keeps on telling her that she’s gonna die if she doesn’t break free and wants to help her live. But she turns him down.

It takes her a while, but Mikasa reconsiders her choice and decides that she should go with Eren in the end. She finds him at the bow of the ship with slumped shoulders, as his body leans against the railing, looking down at the waves below, having a look of hopelessness in his eyes. 

He turns around as she walks up to him, she lets out a sigh of relief and finally declares her decision,“...I’ve changed my mind...” Feeling as if the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders, Eren gives her a sweet radiant smile, grinning from ear-to-ear. 

He takes her hands into his own, asking her to close her eyes and to carefully step up to the railing, never letting go. When she finally opens them, she witnesses an ombré sky filled with hues of dark purples, light pinks, and bright yellows. It was the most beautiful sunset she had ever seen. With the wind flowing beneath their arms and holding on to each other’s bodies, their fingers interlock together as he brings their arms down, and wraps them around her waist. Both watching the sun go down the horizon...the very last sunset they’ll ever get to see...

Resting his head on her shoulder, their faces start inching closer and closer towards each other. Mikasa turns her head a little, looking deeply in to his green eyes, their lips just inches away from coming into contact. Making the first move, he leans in gently and softly presses his lips against hers; making her heart jump against her chest. She lets go of his hand and reaches for his face. She grasps the back of his head, caressing and curling his hair tenderly with her fingers - pulling him deeper and deeper. She continues to press him close to her face, making sure he never pulls away from her. *insert My Heart Will Go On here*    ( ;__; )♡

The next following days, Eren would probably send some cute love letters to her, but obviously in secret. He would sneak himself into 1st class and try not to get himself caught by any of the officers. They also would probably go on dates where they just talk about their dreams about riding on horseback and traveling across the ocean in an airplane, while lying under the stars.

On the night of the sinking, she promises herself that she won’t get off the ship without him. Leaving her family behind, she stays on the ship gripping on to Eren for dear life, all the way till the very end.

Once they’re in the cold waters of the Atlantic, they find a door frame floating nearby that had been broken off from the ship. They both try to get on it, but they make it sink into the water. Realizing that it’s not big enough for the both of them, he tells to get on it instead. Desperately waiting for a rescue boat to come and find them.

The cries of the people around them slowly die down, the temperature finally beginning to take its toll on Eren’s numb body, losing his consciousness little by little. Fighting to stay alive, he keeps on withstanding the pain of it all, just to keep his head above the water. 

Trembling from hypothermia, he holds on to Mikasa’s frail hands, both breathing heavily, she quietly murmurs, “I love you, Eren.” Hearing those words escape her chapped lips, he faces her - his voice shaking uncontrollably, “Don’t you do that...don’t you say your goodbyes - not yet, do you understand me? Listen to m-me, Mikasa - you’re gonna get outta here...you’re gonna go on, and have a life of your own, and...you’re gonna live long life - and you’re gonna watch your children grow. Winning that ticket was the best thing, that ever happened to me...it brought me to you. You must p-promise me, that you’ll survive. That you won’t give up...n-no matter what happens...no matter, how hopeless. Promise me now, Mikasa...and never let go of that promise.”

Several moments go by, she feels her body steadily shutting down, practically upon death’s door, lying ever so still above the frozen waters. She notices a faint golden light flashing up and down out of the corner of her eye. She tries to shake Eren awake and tell him that there’s a boat floating nearby, but, no matter how hard she tried, his eyes remained shut tight, as ice slowly formed on top of his lashes. Mikasa freezes instantly...she can feel her heart sink in her chest, a sense of dread starts to crawl up her body...beginning to fear the worst, she rapidly grabs his arms and presses her fingers down and searches for his pulse. But alas, the only thing she could find was the sound of her own dying breath. 

When the truth settles in on her, she tries to yell at the lifeboat to come back, but the cold made her voice sound so fragile and hoarse, there was no way that they could ever hear her, let alone grab it’s full attention. Her mouth quivers as tears flow down to her lips, her voice starts to crack as she cries out in desperation. She lays her head down atop his hands, wanting to stay by his side and cry herself to sleep. 

Almost accepting defeat, she remembers the promise that she swore to him. The promise for her to keep on living. To live a life just the way her and Eren had always pictured in their minds. A life where they could do anything they wanted to their full heart’s content.

Mikasa refuses to give up hope and to let him die in vain. She kisses his hands lovingly, before finally letting him go. Her vision starts to blur more and more from her tears as she watches the ocean drag him further down in to the dark abyss. She slides herself off the door frame, falling in to the freezing water. Beating against the cold waves that try to engulf her, she snatches a whistle that had belonged to an officer of the ship, his body frozen in place. Placing the whistle between her lips, a high pitched sound pierces through the still, quiet night. Whistling louder and louder as she tries to grab the attention of the lifeboat.

Mikasa’s eyes flutter open and finds herself wrapped in all sorts of frayed and warm blankets. All the remaining survivors in the lifeboats head towards a nearby ship called, Carpathia. The ship would follow in the same route that the Titanic was also suppose to go, finishing it’s course as it arrives in New York. 

Day turns to night while the clouds turn to a dark grey. She remains unbothered as the rain falls down on top of her, reminiscing about her past while glancing up towards the symbol of freedom; standing tall and proud.

A steward of the ship calmly approaches her, holding a clipboard and pencil on one hand and holding his umbrella on the other, as he had been writing down all the names of the surviving passengers.

He politely asks her, “Can I take you name please, love?" She moves her head down and faces him, replying without hesitation, she says her name. “Jaeger...Mikasa Jaeger.”

(here's a little bonus eremika edit ♡)