#write original stories with scary baby humans

[catherinerandom-blog]

Guys, guys, guys.

Do you guys know about the 'Humans are Space Orcs' trope?

[bogleech]

ALSO ON STORENVY HERE

ONCE UPON A DARK TIME IN THE TERROR AGES SOME MORON SCARED THE WORLD TO DEATH (GEE THANKS PAL!!!!!!!) BY WRITING A STORY CALLED "THE DAY OF ALL THE BLOOD." THE STORY WAS SO DARK AND GROSS THAT ANYONE WHO READ IT GOT SCARED IN REAL LIFE ALSO.

NOW MANY CENTURIES LATER THE SAME TWISTEFIED AUTHOR IS PUTTING THE STORY IN REAL PAPER YOU CAN TOUCH ALTHOUGH THE STORY IS STILL FAKE (………OR IS IT…………..) ALONG WITH SEVERAL OF THE ORIGINAL RELATED STORIES AND A BUNCH OF BRAND NEW ONES TOO SCARY TO PUT ON THE INTERNET!! ALSo the new stories aren't entirely in caps lock anymore because that got old if they were LOUDER you would get scared so hard you would quite possibly die to death for all time. This small thin paperback prints and ships in time to ruin thanksgiving or maybe christmas!!!!!!!

BRAND NEW STORIES INCLUDE:

THE MOST MURDERED GIRL IN THE WORLD: One day a girl did not listen to her mother, and got murdered by all the murderers in the world at once. The power of almost 100 murders at once transformed her forever…but into what!? The clue is in the title, but you'll never guess. heh heh heh.

THE TRUEST CRIME: one day there was a crime so terrible you will not be able to read what the bad guy did without throwing up your guts at how evil it was. Let's just say it sends 100 MILLION BABIES to prison…and that's only the beginning………

THE BODYLESS DOG: what happens when a dog gets its body cut off and doesn't die!? Well he isn't happy about it I can tell you that much.

VAMPIRE HANDS: this story is about YOU and the time your hands turned into the hands of a vampire. Maybe you think having to keep your hands in tiny coffins all day long doesn't sound so bad but that is only one of the more than one things you have to do when you have vampire hands!!!!!!

THE INVISIBLEST KNIFE: in this story you accidentally kill everyone and everything you care about and even ruin a hot dog completely. Don't worry! There's no such thing as the invisiblest knife! I am looking around right now and I don't see it anywhere. Do you??

WHEN ALL THE STEEL TURNED INTO WORMS (and it was not my fault!!!) this is one of the LONGEST stories (more than two pages!) in the book and is about when one day all the steel in the world became worms that were scared of humans so if you even looked at a car it would fall apart from all the worms running away into the dirt. Again these are descriptions and not the whole stories so this is just one of the things that happens!

THE DAY IT RAINED THE HEADS FROM SPACE: what happens when a really sharp human space probe meets a planet where everyone is the same exact height and always stands in a line on a perfectly flat plane?!?!?!?!?!!?!!?? Well they aren't happy about it I can tell you that much.

THE DOG THAT WAS TOO LONG: you like dogs, do you??? Well sometimes wishes come true but sometimes…sometimes wishes suck and were stupid to make actually. Fool.

THE WEIRD GUY: don't worry, there's no such thing as a weird guy, and if there was, it would not turn out to have been you all along! Pretend you didn't read this massive spoiler.

THE GHOST'S GHOSTS: everyone knows a ghost is twice as scary as a regular person, but what about a ghost's ghost? Obviously that would be twice as scary as a regular ghost. A twisted tale of how the human race is exterminated several hundred times in a row.

DARKNESS MOM: the worst most awful most disgusting scariest monster in the WORLD!! You will TERRIFIED to read about this mom who is TOO TALL and has a GROSS TOO LONG TONGUE and SHARP MONSTER HANDS and if she GETS YOU she will make you be IN TROUBLE all the time for like NO reason!!! NOOOO!!!!!!

THE THINGS THAT DID THE WRONG THINGS: you better not read this secret government list of things that do the wrong stuff!! The secret guys will catch you and you'll have to go to secret jail so you don't go telling everyone about anomanolies such as THE WORST TURTLE (three words, FOOL: spikes on it) or THE CLOCK THAT TELLS TIM (tim is alright though this is not his fault)

THE HALF MURDERER: what if a normal person and a murderer had a baby? It's more likely than you think! Or shall we say…half more likely…mwa ha ha ha

THE REVENGE OF THE DAY OF ALL THE BLOOD: THE LONG FEARED SEQUEL (WARNING: this one is in capitol letters again, it is PULLING NO PUNCHES!)

…………AND MAYBE SOME MORE IF I FEEL LIKE IT! *actually some more are already in it I just might add a couple more than that even

[x-candy-guts-x]

Yautja x reader

Part two

Woooo another one baby

Again I suck ass at writing so this is gonna be yet another bucket of paint thrown at a wall and just hope to god it comes out coherent

OK ANYWAY

• you were originally abducted by another alien race. It started out just living your life going to work and coming home rinse, wash and repeat. But you started getting weird little signs that something wasn’t normal. Weird feelings in your head that turned into dizziness that lead to a particularly aggressive fainting spell in your own home.

• you woke up in a metal room. At first you were scared you had been drugged and kidnapped- not far from the truth but you thought it had at worst been traffickers not whatever the hell that thing was staring at you through the glass like door. It was slender small and gray with big eyes.

•you found out that they weren’t actually hostile and just wanted some info on you and some dna. They said they would bring you back home once they were done. But the universe had other plans. The ship was attacked and you among a few of the crew were taken hostage and thrown into cages. You had collars fashioned around your necks and were treated like pets. Or product.

•the ship landed on a strange planet with two suns. It felt arid but off behind the ship was a massive rainforest like place. And in front in a small distance was a city.

•taken into the city you were all being sold off. You tried to fight against the chain and you even bit the giant armored lizard fuck who dared to grab your chin to get a closer look. The kinder aliens who took you to begin with had give you a translator behind your ear. You were able to figure some things out. Like their species; the yautja and the planet.

•you were the last one who had yet to be sold. One yautja in particular came up and asked about you. He was about 7ft, leaner and had darker tones in his scales. Mostly muddied grays and black. The seller went and took off the chain. You still had the collar like mechanism however. As soon as he did you ran. You dodged between people and headed to the forest. They had tried to chase you down and even activated the collars shocking abilities but you kept going. Even after blood ran down your torso from the electric prongs digging into you.

It had been about a day and a half before you made it to an area that looked like a small calm village. There were some homes in the trees and some on the clearing. A cool river that ran maybe a hundred meters or so off to the side. And just up the hill past that river was a small cave. You didn’t know if these people were kind or trust worthy so you didn’t approach. Instead opting to stay in the cave. You fashioned yourself a blade with a very sharp obsidian like black stone, some wood for the handle and a vine to keep it together.

•it did okay. You were able to get small things down on the ground and even found a potato like root you could cook up and eat. The fires you made to cook needed to be small though. You didn’t want to alert anyone that you were there. Although you had a suspicion that they already knew.

•you took up wood carving to pass the time, making animals from your home planet. You went down to the river once and forgot your carving of a deer. When you went to retrieve it, a little yautja had already gotten to it and was inspecting it. It made a rapid little clicky noise and ran back to the village with what looked like excitement. Scared you ran back to your cave.

•unbeknownst to you there was a popular fairytale in the village. They told stories of humans to scare the little ones into behaving at night. And when the little one found the deer carving it certainly made the stories seem more vibrant. The kids made rumors about a big bad scary ooman in the forest. You- would sometimes sit behind rocks/trees and carve away while listening to them.

•they had concluded that the creature was a deer thanks to their parents. Buuut their imaginations went wild. Deer were now giant carnivores who impaled victims on their antlers and wore the corpses like rotting trophies. You giggled at that one. But suddenly everything went silent. Peeking between the two large stones that concealed you the oldest of the young ones was pointing in your direction. You abandoned your carving and very quickly but still quietly headed back to your cave.

•the found your carving. This time it was a fruit bat. Fruit bats can get pretty big on earth. Some with wing spans up to five feet! But they were so cute. They loved fruit and looked like puppies in your eyes. But the kids had once again made wild tales. Tales of giant fire breathing monsters. “Huh..” you sort of muttered under your breath. That one is actually pretty close to home. Not literally but it made you think about the tales of dragons on earth and how maybeeee that’s partially how they got started.

•you started leaving carvings more often. It made you happy to see them play with them and come up with fantastical tales. You would hide and carve and listen as they played. What you didn’t know was high up in the trees above you, was a certain masked individual watching your every move.

•your collar had been outfitted with a tracker. And it was just chance that you went right to the village the one who sought to buy you lived at. When you made it to the tree line they decided to not bother with the chasing. He paid and decided to hunt you. Maybe not kill you but he enjoyed the idea of toying with you. But once he saw you carving he stepped back. He watched. And he watched the children. He watched longer than he intended too.

•a month of this went by. The children now had maybe ten of your little carvings. All of different animals. Deer, bats, dogs, cats, horses, rams, weasels, giraffes, and all sorts. You were currently carving a T-Rex. You were in your cave carving it due to the heavy rain. Wondering where you should leave it for them to find you settled on the same place as the last two, perched on a big roundish but flat stone that was right on shore and in the middle of plain site. You figured you’d just leave it there again. When you placed it on the stone off to your left you heard a little shreek. The Rain was no more than a fine mist but rhe river water was sweeping away the little one. It wasn’t too strong but the rain didn’t help when it made the river just a bit deeper. You ran after the little one and dove in.

•Bringing the small but heavy child back to shore you sat him down. He was fine but startled. Wether it was from the river or you- the mysterious human in the hill everyone jokes about was anyones guess. When he just continued to ogle at you in silence you sighed. Being back and next to the stone you left the dinosaur on you picked it up and handed it to him. Then, hearing a noise in the tree line- you assumed it was his parents and bolted up the hill back to your cave.

•a couple days later you were awoken to some noises outside the cave. Afraid you grabbed your knife and jumped out. The poor little yautja that caused the commotion stumbled back and landed on his butt. Dropping the knife you squatted down to help him. He reached his chubby little hands out. In them was a little basket of fruit :)

•you were tired. So tired. Turns out whatever that fruit was made you extremely sleepy. So, after the little yautja left and the fruit was eaten you decided to take a nap. When you woke up it was dark. You felt around and concluded you were in a pile of furs. Wait- why was it so comfortable? The things you got to make your bed had been crude and hard, soft enough to sleep but not comfort. This was soft and plush. Sitting up quickly you realized you weren’t in your cave anymore.

Looking out the window, you were in the village. Oh boy.

Should I continue this? Is it baD

Please tell me how I could improve this I haven’t written anything since I was like 14 and making fuckin edgy ass creepypasta x reader fanfics on quiz quotev lmAO

[tobiasdrake]

It's no secret that I'm not very fond of MK1. Game design, story, roster choices, there's a lot to pick apart with regards to Mortal Kombat's second reboot.

But one thing I do hope gets carried on into the future of the franchise is the humanization of Mileena. Not the literal humanization, where her Tarkatan elements are Fantasy Leprosy. Let Mileena have teeth.

Like. All-a y'all writing Mortal Kombat stuff out there? Let Mileena have teeth. I don't know why it's been such a thing in recent years to try and pretty her face up. Let Mileena have teeth.

But I mean just... Like... The sisterly bond between Mileena and Kitana, and willingness to treat Mileena as a character and not just a scary monster. The first reboot trilogy was really bad about Mileena-as-scary-monster, and that's about all she ever amounts to in adaptation too.

Like. Mileena and Kitana's relationship is one of the most fascinating and constantly underserved pieces of Mortal Kombat background. These two characters should be the Marvel's Thor and Loki of Mortal Kombat.

Respectively.

The thing you need to understand about Mileena and Kitana as originally written is that Mileena is not complicit. And I need to specify this because their own source material doesn't seem aware of that. Mortal Kombat has always treated Mileena like she is as guilty as Shao Kahn for the crime of being made.

Multiversal colonizer Shao Kahn invaded Kitana's world when she was a baby. He killed her father and claimed her mother and herself as spoils of war. He took Kitana to raise as his daughter in the empire that butchered her people. And then, with sorcery and gene bullshit, made Mileena so he could have a version of Kitana that was his.

Mileena didn't know about that. She was a fetus in a test tube. She is not complicit in any of this.

For ten thousand years, ten thousand goddamn years, Kitana and Mileena were the twin daughters of Shao Kahn; A pair of deadly assassins who enforced Kahn's will and served in his conflicts.

Can you imagine loving someone for ten thousand years? They didn't know better. They were sisters.

Then Kitana learned the truth about her past and origin. Because the early games didn't have much story outside bios and endings, details on what went down between the sisters are fuzzy. But the language in MK3 seems to imply that Kitana struck first.

MK3 Mileena Bio: "Murdered by her twin sister Kitana, Mileena finds herself brought back to life by Shao Kahn himself...." MK3 Kitana Bio: "Kitana is accused of treason by the High Courts of the Outworld after murdering her evil twin Mileena...."

That's not really how you describe an act of self-defense. Why did this happen? Well, tensions must have escalated after Mileena became suspicious of Kitana's fraternization with the enemy.

MK2 Kitana Bio: Her beauty hides her true role as personal assassin for Shao Kahn. Seen talking to an earth-realm warrior, her motives have come under suspicion by her twin sister Mileena. But only Kitana knows her own true intentions. MK2 Mileena Bio: Serving as an assassin along with her twin sister Kitana, Mileena's dazzling appearance conceals her hideous intentions. At Shao Kahn's request, she is asked to watch for her twin's suspected dissension. She must put a stop to it at any cost.

After ten thousand years of sisterhood, Mileena discovered Kitana chatting with the Earthrealmers and tattled to her dad. Shao Kahn told Mileena to keep an eye on her and see if she's planning to betray them. Something went down. And then Kitana betrayed them and murdered Mileena.

This dynamic is fascinating. Because it's not hard to sympathize with Kitana. She's a stolen child raised by the man who razed her culture and who made his own twisted version of her to grow up alongside her. The shit that must be going through her head when she uncovers the truth about herself and Mileena? Can you even imagine?

But it's also not hard to sympathize with Mileena. Because this isn't about conquering Earthrealm or ensuring Shao Kahn reigns supreme. This is about, "We were sisters for ten thousand years, why are you betraying me?" This is personal.

There is so much about these two characters that is devastating and emotional and powerful, buried in the margins between the character bios of two old games from the 90's. It's never been given its proper due.

Partly because I don't think Midway, at the time, even realized what they had written here. The demonization of Mileena starts as early as MK3, which describes her as Kitana's "evil twin" in the same breath it uses to say Kitana "murdered" her.

By the time Deception came out, they were making wild-ass claims about what Mileena and Kitana's relationship really was.

Deception Mileena Bio: "I am a creation of sorcery, the hybrid of a Tarkatan warrior and the Princess of Edenia. My purpose was to eventually replace my... sister... Kitana, from whom I was cloned. Kitana regained her memories, however, and uncovered the plot to supplant her...."

Okay so now Mileena was actually supposed to replace Kitana post-Edenian conquest. But they needed to ease Mileena into Kitana's place gradually, over time, in the role of (checks notes) Shao Kahn's daughter and personal assassin.

Shang Tsung: Hey boss, why are we doing this? Like. If we just kill the baby Kitana and replace her with the baby Mileena, who's even going to notice? Shao Kahn: I WILL NOTICE. In order to ensure that I don't realize that my daughter has been replaced, I must raise them as twins for TEN THOUSAND YEARS.

This would work if Edenia was a place they were trying to invade through subterfuge, perhaps. But not with Edenia already conquered and merged with Outworld, and Kitana's history as an Edenian princess buried.

Yeah, the retcons to villify a character who is already basically Azula don't make a lot of sense, and further attempts have not gone any better.

Also Mileena has a secret boyfriend.

MK2 Mileena Ending (non-canon): ...She wins the tournament, and together with her secret companion, Baraka, they rule the world as king and queen. MK3 Mileena Ending (super non-canon): ...With the help of Baraka, she then takes both Sindel and her daughter Kitana hostage. Together they threaten Shao Kahn with their lives unless he lures the Earth-born warriors into a fourth Mortal Kombat where Baraka can return and regain his title as the Ultimate Mortal Kombat champion. Deception Mileena Bio: ...After Shinnok's invasion, [Kitana] cast me into her prison, where I remained until Baraka freed me.... Armageddon Baraka Ending (non-canon): ...Flinging [Shao Kahn and Onaga's] bodies down the side of the pyramid, Baraka turned his attention to a more important matter: who would be his queen? He gave Mileena a choice. She chose wisely.

Most of these aren't canon but when multiple endings are alluding to a secret romance between Baraka and Mileena and he does legitimately go out of his way to spring her from Elf Jail, there's probably something there. Mileena just wants to live her best Tarkatan life on the throne of Outworld with her sister and himbo boytoy by her side.

That has nothing to do with anything; I just thought it was neat.

This is one of the most interesting dynamics in Mortal Kombat and it's never been given its due because it was basically erased from canon as soon as it was conceived.

MK1 doesn't give it its due either, due to the great lengths it goes to erase the main point of contention between the sisters. But it comes closer than anybody ever has, so I hope it's a step in the right direction. I hope the series will continue to explore Mileena, not just as a villain but as an antagonistic character with thoughts and feelings and ideas of her own.

[goldeneyedgirl]

Ficmas24 Day 9: OG Hybrid Baby-verse

Is it normal for me to drop 8k of fic on Ficmas? It is not.

But I am so tired that I have tapped out tonight (my sister's dog expects very late nights and very early starts and I am not great company before 8am), and today's post will be edited and posted tomorrow.

So tonight I give you the OG Hybrid Baby-verse fic. The full draft clocks in at 22k, but this is the part that is okay being seen by human eyes for a bit of a laugh.

This original version is extremely different to what I've decided to go with. I changed a lot of things to better fit the characters and the plot - like, Jasper being around for the pregnancy, Maria being more aggressive towards Alice, and a lot of world-building that occurs in this section.

Honestly, this is just an example of how sometimes you can write 22k of something and none of it is usable for the project. But you learn so much about the character and the story that it was worth every single word.

So I hope you enjoy this throwback (it has to be at least 7+ years old), and I will see you tomorrow!

warning: some very mild sexual content.

Jasper was stunned when I told him, but it hadn’t taken much to convince him – there was a heartbeat, and my scent had changed slightly. He had… freaked out, trying to get away from me, pacing the room manically, muttered and babbled at me as I perched on the couch, waiting til he calmed down. Hopefully, sooner rather than later – I was starving again, and I’d actually lost weight despite the fact that I was eating everything within my eye line. It was lucky that I could sneak over to the Cullens and eat out of their fridge so that Dad and Simon had no clue exactly how much food I was putting away. Simon was still convinced he’d left a bag of groceries in the cart by accident.

“How?” Jasper looked at me desperately, running his hands through his hair.

“The usual way?” I shrugged, and Jasper moved closer to me, hovering, like he couldn’t touch me. “Carlisle thinks that the venom makes us compatible, and my humanity makes me fertile. Plus, my body is used to adapting to dramatic changes. Combine that with the ‘magical Saturday’ we drove your entire family out of the house? Voila.”

“Carlisle knows?” Jasper said urgently.

“I knew something was wrong, but I didn’t think it was this…” I gestured at my stomach. “He’s a doctor, and he understands my body has… quirks.”

“Good. Good. He can look after you,” Jasper was pacing again, looking exactly like a panicked teenage boy who’d just been given world-changing news. Take away the fact he’d fought in the Civil War, that’s exactly what he was. I was sorry I hadn’t filmed it for future teasing. “What did he say?”

“Congratulations, everything looks fine, if slightly more advanced. He wants to ‘monitor me’ closely,” I said, repeating Carlisle’s words. “At this rate, he estimates the pregnancy should last around sevenish months, but he’ll get a better idea when I hit the halfway point.”

“A baby.” Honestly, Jasper looked like a cat that had gotten an electric shock.

“A baby,” I agreed, unfolding my legs and lying on the couch.

“You’re seventeen, Alice,” Jasper moved closer to me. “What… how do you feel?”

“Freaked out, amused,” I said. “Worried and bewildered and waiting for someone else to make all the choices for me. Carlisle’s not convinced that… it’s too late to abort, and Carlisle thinks the baby is going to be strong. And I can’t put the baby up for adoption because it’s going to be the child of a vampire and a half-hybrid.”

“You don’t want the baby,” Jasper murmured, and I felt the stand of despair flow from him before he got control of his gift.

“No, that’s not what I meant. I’m eighteen in three weeks, this isn’t what I was expecting,” I said gently. “And there’s a part of me that still wants the freedom to be able to run if I need to. That wants this to go away because its permanent and scary.

“Would I get an abortion if it was an option? I’d give it serious consideration, with your input – and Carlisle’s, because he’d probably be the only one prepared to do the surgery. I would have liked to be older, out of high school and maybe college. Safer. But it’s happened now and I’m trying to get my head around it. I want to say you’re stuck with me, but if this is too much, too weird, I can go.”

“Alice, there is nothing you can do that will make me not want you at my side,” Jasper was pulling me up from the couch and into his arms. “Nothing in my mind. I love you, and that is never going to change. And I never, ever expected a family to be a possibility for us.

“But if this isn’t something you want, we can… can fix this. Rosalie and Emmett would give their left arms to raise a child. No one would think less of you if you chose that.”

I pressed against him and closed my eyes. “I know. But I don’t know if I could do that. Live watching my baby calling someone else Mommy. I… I never wanted a baby, but now I have this, I kind of want it, but only if you’re with me.”

“I ain’t going anywhere, darlin’,” he kissed my head, and I hid my smile as his hand slid down to my belly. A little firmer, but no visible bump yet. I snuggled in and for a moment, I was just wrapped in Jasper’s bubble of emotion – love and anticipation and nervousness.

When I finally pulled away, I was feeling better. “I hate to ruin this beautiful moment, but we have to work out how to tell the rest of your family, how to tell my family, how we’re going to approach it, and I am starving.”

Jasper laughed, and pulled me back. “Let’s find you food, and then we’ll discuss the rest.”

//

Our plan was simple. There was six weeks of school left before summer, and with careful wardrobe decisions, I could conceal my condition – I didn’t want anyone gossiping, and the Cullens preferred to fly under the radar. After the baby was born healthy, we’d make some decisions. Jasper, Edward and I were all seniors next year, whilst Emmett and Rose had formally graduated – meaning that we could call upon Esme, Rose and Emmett to baby sit whilst we were at school. Jasper was contemplating ‘graduating early’ under the guise of early acceptance, but I didn’t want to be left at school alone – and my patchy school record meant that there was no way I would be getting out before next June.

Jasper seemed pretty confident Rosalie would be happy to baby-sit, Esme too. After we graduated, they were already planning on moving to somewhere in New York state, and many of the art school options I was looking at were in the same area. It made sense that I would - could - go with them.

As for my family, we were going to lie and say that I was already three months along and I just hadn’t noticed anything amiss until recently. I didn’t know Dad and Simon well enough to predict their reaction – but Jasper assured me that Esme would cut off her own nose before she cast me out.

The circle of those in the know would be limited – the Cullens, my family and Bella Swan, simply because she was always at the house, and Edward wouldn’t keep a secret from her. I’d spend the summer going between the Cullens and my house – I already had a huge list of reasons to give Dad and Simon for my constant absence that would require constant monitoring from Carlisle.

I thought, when I told the Cullens, that I knew how they’d react. I thought Rose would throw a shit fit, Edward would be smug that he and Bella were above such ‘mistakes’, Emmett would make vulgar jokes, Esme would be delighted and Carlisle would be himself – steady yet cautious.

I was way off the mark.

“Pregnant?” Esme repeated, everyone gaping at me. “Oh my…”

Edward looked terrified, Emmett was imitating a fish and Rosalie… Rosalie looked liked I’d flash-fried a kitten in front of her. If possible, she was even paler and she looked like she was about to burst into tears.

“Whose is it?” Emmett said suddenly, seriously and Rosalie seemed to relax slightly.

“It’s mine,” Jasper’s response was gentle, and I realised he was feeling whatever Rosalie was, and it was bad.

“Alice’s unique genetic make-up allows her body to adapt to foreign material,” Carlisle broke in, and the compassion for his daughter was almost tangible. “This is completely unheard of – had Alice or Jasper come to me with concerns, I would have dismissed the idea.”

“A baby,” Rosalie was staring at a point on the floor, her face completely blank.

“Wow,” was all Emmett said, but his gaze was on Rosalie.

This was terrible. I had expected anger and scorn, maybe some happiness. But this was pure misery – from Rosalie, and from Esme, who looked quite small and sad next to Carlisle who was holding her hand.

And I stood there, trying to think of something to say that would help. That would explain that I hated myself for causing them this pain, but I needed them all to get me through this. That there was no way that Jasper and I could do this without the rest of them.

“I’m going to be sick,” I announced, and fled into the kitchen to empty my stomach – half a gallon of milk, two sandwiches and a muffin – into the sink. Ugh. I could hear the low hum of their voices in the lounge room, but was more focused on emptying my stomach of everything that had offended it so. Fuck, there was the half-can of tuna and the salad I’d scoffed, and the yoghurt… I was starving all the time, but having it all come back up was enough to convince me to stick to crackers and tea for the rest of my life.

Within a few moments, I’d pulled a can of ginger ale from the fridge, and was lying on the kitchen floor with the can pressed to my face. My stomach was absolutely empty, and I’d rinsed the disgusting mess down the drain.

My phone was buzzing in my pocket and I pulled it out.

“Hello?”

“Alice? It’s Simon. I’m headed home and wanted to know if you wanted a ride.”

“Please,” I said.

“Be there in ten minutes, kiddo.”

I dragged myself off the floor, and padded out to the lounge room. Rosalie was wrapped in Emmett’s arms, and Esme was sitting beside her, clasping both her hands.

“I’m going,” I said, offering a half-wave, and grabbing my bag from beside the couch.

“Alice,” Jasper was staring at me in horror, guiding me to a couch, Carlisle moving towards me with an equally concerned look.

“I’m fine, I just puked up everything I ate, and there was a lot,” I said as he pushed me down. Edward wordlessly offered me a mirror that he’d pulled from my bag – purple-black circles underscored both my eyes, my face was pale and waxy, and utterly colourless. I looked like a reanimated corpse.

“Do you feel okay?” Carlisle said seriously, as he checked my pulse.

“Tired and pukey,” I said, cradling my ginger ale. “Kind of warm, too. Simon’s about to pick me up.”

“This is a good lead in,” Edward interrupted. “She goes home looking sick, in a few days, give them the news. It’ll look natural and less of a set-up.”

“True,” Carlisle said, but his gaze was still concerned. Jasper was hovering around me as I practically swayed on the spot.

“I am fine, I swear. I’m going home to crawl into bed and sleep until tomorrow,” I said.

“Well, sit down now before you fall down,” Jasper said, manhandling me into a chair.

Simon was worried when he saw me, and sent me straight up to bed. I could barely stand up long enough to shower and crawl into bed, falling asleep in seconds and not waking up til late the next morning – nearly fifteen hours. Some of the colour had come back into my face, thankfully. And I was ravenous, though the previous day’s worth of puking had taught me to be cautious.

“A few of Cyn’s classmates have come down with the flu,” Dad said, watching me tentatively pick at my eggs. “You must be patient zero of the junior class.”

“You’re staying home today – no saliva swapping with young Mr Cullen,” Simon said, pointing his knife at me.

“Been swapping more than saliva,” Cyn muttered into her breakfast and I managed to summon the energy to throw a piece of toast at her.

“Hey, no throwing breakfast foods,” Dad said to me. “Cynthia, no running commentary at family meals, thank you.”

//

This was bad. This was not a conversation I ever thought I’d have to have. Ever. I could feel the gentle whisper of Jasper’s gift around me, but it wasn’t helping.

“Um, so,” I began, wringing my hands. “Um, I talked to Carlisle and stuff, and it turns out that I’m pregnant.”

Simon and Dad just stared at Jasper and I in horror, gaping.

“What did the Cullens say?” Dad asked, looking exhausted.

“They’re shocked, but supportive,” I said carefully. //

I sat with my back against the headboard, staring into space. Edward’s not unkind warning to give the Cullens some breathing room was a clear sign that my condition was causing some kind of unhappiness amongst the family. And Dad and Simon had pretty much just asked me to stay at the Cullens until they could get their head around this.

And now I was hearing noises about the Benoits rearing their ugly heads in Seattle.

I needed to get away. Give everyone some space for a while. As tempting as it was to throw money at a bus ticket until I was in New York or somewhere I could get lost easily – actually, California was a better choice, due to the abundant sunlight – I knew I wouldn’t go far.

I could go to Canada.

Not as a runaway. Mom had a few contacts up there, the Tibault clan. They had managed to elude or fight off the Order. The Benoits had told them everything about the Tibaults, so they were basically arch-enemies, which suited Mom just fine. The Benoit were a large family, of almost two hundred people.

These days, unbeknownst to the Order or the Benoits, the Tibaults numbered almost six hundred, scattered throughout Canada in all walks of life. And there could have been more – that’s just the information Mom and I were privy to.

My contacts were Lusa and her husband. Lusa had always been fairly aggressive and unpleasant towards my mother, but kind and welcoming to me. I had gotten along well with her three daughters Simone, Naomi and Elodie, and I knew Lusa would give me information and a place to stay for a few days, whilst we worked out what the Benoits were doing up in Washington. They had stayed on their side of the Mason-Dixon line my whole life, and now were venturing west the same time I did?

Something was brewing, and Lusa would know.

It took me about ten minutes to shove my things into a backpack. I’d only be gone a few days, a week at most, so it was mostly a few changes of clothing, money and the like. I had a couple of disposable cell phones stashed in my closet, and it took no time at all to set one up, leaving my own plugged in at home.

As far as cellphone records went, Mary-Alice Brandon never left Forks.

For the next week, I was Annie Bradley, a twenty-year old English student from Ottawa.

And hopefully by the end of the week, everyone was ready to deal with the baby thing.

//

Getting to Canada was fucking hideous without a car. A bus from Forks to Port Angeles, transfer to a bus to Seattle, and then a five-hour bus ride to Vancouver. Add in stress, nerves and morning sickness, and I didn’t even both going to find Simone when I got to Vancouver – I found a cheap motel and slept solidly for eighteen hours.

I dreamt pretty solidly. The Cullens thought I was at home, and my Dad and Simon thought I was at the Cullens. Jasper had called a few times, but my phone was still charging on my desk on silent. Missing a day of school hadn’t been unusual to anyone – after all, my favourite pastimes at the moment were puking and sleeping.

It wouldn’t be until tonight, when Jasper and Carlisle came over to check on me and speak with my Dad and Simon that they’d realise I’d vanished. And then everyone would be freaking out. Because I’d gone through so many bus stations, there would be no way to track my scent. It would be Simon who found my Bag of Tricks – fake I.Ds, passports, money and stuff like that – and that would scare him more than anything else.  

//

Lusa scowled at me as I sat down.

“You look like you belong on that show Elodie loves so much, with the dead people walking around all the time,” she said to me, in her accent. I always loved Lusa’s stories – she was a mix of Inuit, French-Canadian and Trinidadian. Her father had been an honest-to-god vampire hunter down in Venezuela, and she had grown up around all the monsters and magic. Her mother had been Yakone Tibault, one of the most respected members of the family – and powerful, though I had no idea what their powers were.

She handed me a plate of eggs and toast, and glared at me til I started eating.

“I heard bad things coming from your part of the world,” Lusa said, as she poured me a glass of milk and sat down in front of me. “How is your mama?”

“Mom was killed a few years back,” I said evenly.

“Really,” Lusa said, watching me carefully. “I’m sorry to hear that you lost your mama, girlie. No child should lose their mother.”

“I’m okay,” I shrugged. “I have my father and his partner, Simon, out there. I’m not alone.”

“Pfft, men,” she shook her head. “And they do not live in our world, ma petite. They do not understand. Though, your mother struggled greatly, too. You know, I told her to leave you in our care so many times. Raise you safe and normal and happy. Not running in the night from the shadows on the wall. But no, she refused, thought we’d use you as blackmail, that she’d never get to see you. We could have helped her too, allowed her to build a life. But no, she was too proud. Filled with too many terrible plans.”

I was stunned. Lusa was kind, but I never knew she’d offered to protect and raise me.

“But the past is gone, and you did not trek all the way to the mountains to hear about ancient history.”

I nodded in agreement. “I heard some noise from the Benoits,” I said slowly. “Snooping around Seattle. I’m based in that area, and there’s a not insignificant population of others there, but they’ve never come this far west. Is something going on?”

Lusa watched me. “What kind of others?” she asked.

“Shape-shifters, definitely. A native tribe,” I said. “I’d guess at least a dozen, but I could be wrong.”

“Hmm. The Benoits have always left the native people alone. They know that is not magic they should meddle in, and that it cannot be as easily stamped out,” Lusa mused.

“There are also vampires,” I said flatly, and she looked at me with shock. “Neutral party. They live amongst the human population, and feed only from wild animals. That was the trigger for the shape-shifting; to defend the tribe from vampires. There is an agreement, a treaty that the vampires may not cross into the tribe’s lands, and they will be left alone. Unless a human is bitten, and then the vampires will be destroyed.”

“Interesting. Not unlike the little posse up in Denali,” Lusa said. My eyes widened. “I’ve been buying my furniture from the same very nice Spanish couple for over seventy years, girlie. I’m not a fool.”

“How old are you?” I said, pushing my empty plate away.

“Ach, older than whichever upstart has just been granted a place on the Benoit Council,” she said, and I looked up at the portrait of Yakone Tibault on the wall. But was it Yakone?

Lusa was smiling at me. “You are quick-witted, Mary-Alice. And because the information from Washington may be useful in the future – not for barter, just for my own plans, girl – I will give you three pieces of advice. One, stay away from Italy. Your mother was always adamant about that, and it was the only bit of good advice Elena had in her.

“Two, be careful with who you ally yourself with. You stay this side of the Mason-Dixon line; there would be very many interested parties in you, should they find out about you. Had Elena lifted her head out of her rage, she would have realised she is not alone in this world. Hybrids are rare, and keep to themselves. And she spent your childhood trying to turn you into her so she wouldn’t be alone. But in all my years, I have never heard of a hybrid having a child. You are a prize to the wrong person, girlie. Choose your friends carefully.

“Three, everybody has a price that would convince them to do terrible things, the darkest of things,” Lusa shook her head. “Some people come cheaper than others, that is all.”

“You sound like a fortune cookie,” I said, propping my head on my hand.

“And yet, they offer free advice. Now, I know there has been a new legacy added to the Benoit council since Antoine Benoit kicked it last summer. Dana and Yancy Sumner burned for his death, and no one has heard from their daughter Clara since before then, but it isn’t looking good. Meanwhile, the worst kept secret is that Antoine died in the bed of Yancy’s stepsister, nothing suspicious about the old pervert’s death at all. But Celeste wanted heads to roll, and now the last of the crossdems are dead and gone unless Clara’s managed to stay safe.”

“Crossdems?” I repeated.

“Cross-Dimensional Awareness. Yancy’s gift. Drives most of them bonkers, but Yancy had a special affinity for it… actually, that might be how Clara vanished. If he managed to weft space around her, to protect her… but that would effectively be a one-way trip,” Lusa mused, tapping the table before looking at my wide-eyed gaze. “Never mind all that. But the legacy has joined, and is aggressive.

“Too aggressive. They’re going to antagonise Miss Moreno down in Monterrey, and I am too old to see another Southern War, though if she still had her second, it would have been a thing to see. Never thought of that before. Should have pointed the Benoits down there in her hey-day, when that boy of hers was still running her campaigns. Would have cleared the Benoit ranks quite efficiently. Anyway, they’re pushing the limits of Miss Moreno’s patience, and they’ll draw notice of the Volturi sooner than later.”

“But why so far west?” I repeated, ignoring the sinking feeling.

“They’re aggressive, not stupid. They know there is a risk pissing off Moreno, and they are still human, even with their gifts. I’d say they are testing the waters, to set up a second base, in case Louisiana becomes inhospitable in the coming months.” Lusa grinned at me. “The Benoits are starting a war on the word of the Order, and seeing who pops up. Whack-a-mole, essentially.”

//

The next morning, Lusa took me to see Kay.

Kay was my favourite of Mom’s friends. She was tall and skinny, with weatherbeaten skin and steel-grey hair that looked like fairy-floss, even though she was only in her fifties. She lived outside of Pemberton, in a rundown old house and kept to herself. I knew she had a son somewhere, and she kept a few dogs, but was always very solitary. And despite her rough exterior and her sharp manner, she was very kind and loving. She also had the most interesting power – the ability to see the present. It sounds stupid, but she just knew everything – if you were ill, telling a lie, growing, dying, hungry, tired. She once told me, as a child, that she only ever saw people as their essential truth - she’d had a trans cousin and as a child, had been very confused when everyone referred to her as ‘him’ because she was very clearly a girl.

She was waiting for us when we arrived, scowling darkly at Lusa’s presence, but nodding at me.

“Look at Little Miss Mary-Alice,” Kay said, pulling me into a hug. She was like a human preying-mantis, all long, bony limbs. And then she tensed, cussing under her breath.

“Take it off her, take it off her now,” she yelled at Lusa, who actually jumped.

“Take what off?” I said, as she grabbed Lusa’s arm.

“She needed it,” Lusa insisted, as Kay dragged her back to me.

“You silly old cow, she’s pregnant,” Kay hissed and Lusa’s eyes widened at me.

“I meant no harm to her,” Lusa managed. Kay snorted.

“Undo it, now,” she said. “Before I kill you to remove it.”

Lusa reached and traced a shape over my forehead and I gasped; it was like I’d been doused in cold water. My senses flared, my head spun and my stomach cramped suddenly, and I felt a wet warmth between my legs. Blood, seeping through my jeans.

Kay let out a string of swear words and swept me into her arms, banging into her house.

“I’m going to get Noma, she’ll sort you out. Don’t move, and don’t worry,” she reassured me. I still hadn’t said anything, my arms tight around my middle, Lusa fluttering in the background.

“It was nothing bad, just a ward to protect you,” she kept saying to me, and I privately willed the baby just to hold on.

“Oh, one of you,” Noma said disinterestedly as she and Kay returned, turning her nose up at Lusa before bestowing a kind smile on me. “Hello sweetheart. Let’s get you and your baby back to rights, okay?”

“I didn’t intend for harm to come to her,” Lusa said again and Kay whirled around.

“You didn’t ask. Those spells see anything aside from the person a danger, including an unborn child. It’s imperfect and dangerous magic, positively crude,” Kay snapped.

Meanwhile, Noma had me propped up on some pillows, and handed me some leaves to chew on. It was vile, with only the faintest taste of mint – like licking a swampy forest floor. But she placed her hands on my admittedly-still flat if firmer than normal stomach. The air around her hands went wavy, and I felt very tired for a second, but slowly the pains stopped.

“No harm done,” Noma said kindly, plucking the disgusting bundle of leaves out of my hand. “You need to rest for a day or two, and all will be well. Just the ward leaving your body.” She rested her hand against my forehead. “Sleep, Mary-Alice. All will be well.”

And I did.

//

It was dark when I woke up, still on Kay’s couch, with a dog looking at me. I was still wearing my blood smeared jeans, my sneakers and my coat, and the inside of my mouth felt a rainforest floor.

Clambering off the couch, sending the dog skittering deeper into the house, I padded into the kitchen, catching my reflection in a mirror.

The last four days had taken their toll, and I’d lost more weight. I looked gaunt, and pale, dark circles under my eyes. My skin looked like semi-translucent wax. I needed a shower, and food, and to go home. Suddenly, my flight from Forks, which had seemed so rational in my head, had become the panicked reaction of a child.

But I’d deal with that later.

“Mary-Alice.”

I looked up to see Kay in the doorway, looking at me with a faint smile on her face.

“Noma’s gone home for the night, but she’ll be back for breakfast,” Kay said. “You slept longer than she expected, but Lusa said you’d arrived exhausted. Sleep is a great healer. Anyhow, Noma didn’t think you deserved to suffer through my cooking, and thought you needed something to build you up, so she made dinner.”

Within seconds, I was seated at the table, with an enormous bowl of some kind of chicken, vegetable and rice dish that tasted heavenly. Kay had turned down a portion of Noma’s cooking, eating a pile of salad and vegetables that she’d dumped cold baked beans on.

By the end of my second helping, I felt better than I had in weeks. My vision was sharper, my head was clearer and I didn’t feel as tired or frail.

“Well, I owe Noma a twenty,” Kay said, as I washed up. “She said it would sort you out, but I thought it was a horrendous idea, and a waste of chicken.”

“What was?” I asked, as I plucked an apple out of the bowl and took my seat opposite her.

“The quart of animal blood she dumped in that food,” Kay said casually, and I froze. “Don’t look so shocked, love. Your mama used to pump you full of blood and venom. With her gone, you’ve been living as a human and it’s taken its toll on you. No different than depriving a human of calcium.”

Fuck.

“And before you lose it, Noma grew up with blood as an ingredient in food, so it was no different than cooking for her grandchildren. And she added a few herbs and spices for your health. I have always associated blood with vampires, which is short-sighted of me.”

“Still, it’s weird,” I said, looking at my apple.

“I doubt the baby’s father would feel the same way,” Kay said slyly, and I jumped. She really could see everything, couldn’t she?

“Was it consensual?” Kay asked, pushing her own plate away.

“Yes,” I said. “I love him very much.”

“And he knows?”

“Yes. That’s why I’m here, actually. Everyone was having a meltdown at home, about the baby, so I figured I’d check on the fact the Benoits are poking around Seattle. Give everyone some space.” At Kay’s look, I elaborated. “Jasper’s family – babies are a sore subject. Rosalie desperately wants a child, Esme lost a child, and I accidentally got pregnant even though I didn’t know I could. Mom told me I was sterile. They needed some time to grieve their own losses before dealing with me. And Dad and Simon are … I’m not sure if they’re angry or upset or both.”

“Jasper. That’s his name?” Kay said suddenly. “His surname?”

“Hale. Or Cullen,” I said warily.

“That’s a lie.”

“No, that’s what they go by at home. Whitlock, that was his surname when he was alive.”

“Let me guess, Major Jasper Whitlock,” Kat said, an evil grin spreading across her face. “Maria Moreno’s second in command, and the scourge of the South.” She started laughing, almost hysterically. “Oh, I’d love to see Lusa and your mother if you told them that. You’ve found a vampire mate, it happens to be the God of War who vanished in 1948 and hasn’t been heard of since, and you’re both having a baby. Lusa’s worrying about you getting caught up in the war, but you’ve got the best protection we could imagine. Jasper Whitlock and his ‘family’.”

I waited til she calmed down.

“I can’t imagine he was thrilled when you mentioned heading off to Canada,” Kay finally continued.

I took a bite of my apple, chewing slowly. “I may not have mentioned I was going. To anyone,” I said finally.

Kat looked at me.

“Everyone kept telling me they needed space! ‘Go stay with the Cullens’, ‘give us a couple of days before you come around again!’ Frankly, the only person who hasn’t freaked out about the baby is me. I am surrounded by a bunch of adults who are losing their collective shit over this, and the youngest of them is my father, a mere twenty-four years older than me. But me, I have to be sunshine and happiness, not ever acknowledging that this fucking terrifying for me on so many levels. I have to puke in the sink, whilst everyone else gets comforted. And I figured I needed to get the heads up about whatever dealings the Benoits were doing this far west. Let everyone get over themselves,” I slouched in my seat.

“Feel better?” Kay said kindly. I nodded.

“I’ll drive you back to Washington the day after tomorrow, gives you time to rest per Noma’s orders. We can discuss everything you need to know tomorrow, over breakfast. And I’ll be having words with both your family and the Cullens. About you and your reality, and about what is coming for everyone. It’s a fuckin’ baby, you aren’t turning Republican. I had my boy when I was fifteen, and he was a good kid. I was a good kid. It’s adults who fuck shit up.”

//

My dreams were clearer than normal. Dad and Simon had called Chief Swan about my disappearance, grudging agreeing with the Cullens’ request not to tell anyone I was pregnant. Simon had also called and visited every Planned Parenthood in our part of the state, mistakenly thinking I was freaking out about the baby.

The Cullens had tried to track me a few times, and knew I had headed towards Seattle, but nothing more. Jasper had pretty much shut down, pacing in his study, having already hacked into my phone and bank accounts, monitoring them for any signs of activity. Rosalie had sensibly hacked Child Services, in case I was picked up, tagging any mention of the names in any of my fake I.D.s I’d left behind.

Esme was frantic. Even when Carlisle had told her that the Denali clan couldn’t help us, she’d insisted on speaking with Tanya, explaining I was scared young girl who needed protection, if she kept an ear and eye out for me. But somehow Tanya managed to gently convince Esme that they were happy to come to Forks to help search for me, but there was a lot of land between Seattle and Alaska, and even then, they were assuming I had headed north.

But I woke up rested, having slept through the night. As I changed into leggings and a sweatshirt, I noticed there was colour in my face, my cheeks slightly rounder and I just looked healthier. Noma was definitely onto something with the animal blood. And I could probably stomach it, if it were mixed into human food, but the idea of sucking it warm from a freshly killed animal was enough to make me vomit.

//

Kay bundled me into the car for the trip back to Forks before dawn, letting me sleep until we crossed back into the U.S, when she bought me breakfast at the drive-through for breakfast, muttering about corporate America and preservatives, as I scoffed the unholy muffin and orange juice she’d chosen for me.

I ended up falling back asleep, my dreams swallowing me up. Dad and Simon in the kitchen, looking grim and tired. And old.

“Any calls?” Dad asked flatly and Simon shook his head.

“Nothing,” Simon said. “Not a damn thing. Jesus, I just cannot get over… why the hell does a seventeen year old have fake passports?”

“I don’t know. I hadn’t spoken to Elena for years - I couldn’t find her. I have no idea what she was involved in or what she got Alice mixed up in.”

//

I was getting out of the shower when the Cullens arrived, and I could hear Jasper on the stairs, moving far faster than any human had the ability to, and three annoyed yells from downstairs.

Whatever. Kay was about to clue my family in, and I was home, and Jasper was here. Heaven was clean leggings and an oversized t-shirt.

“Alice.” Jasper hit my room like a tornado, pulling me into his arm and kissing me hard in one sweeping move. “Where the hell were you?”

“Went to see some of Mom’s friends,” I said, clinging to him, pressing my face against his chest. “Give everyone a couple of days to deal with everything. Being a dumb teenager.”

“You should have told me. I would have taken you myself,” he said, his arms tight around me, one hand sliding up under my t-shirt to rest on my stomach.

“You needed to be with your family,” I said. “Dad and Simon, they wanted some space to get their head around the baby. I think they’ve been trying to have another kid for a few years, but surrogacy is expensive, and adoption is difficult for a gay mixed race couple in this part of the country. So, me coming home accidentally pregnant brought up some complex emotions, I get it. But I know Esme and Rose were going through something similar at your place, so I figured a road trip was a solution,” I shrugged, just breathing in his scent.

“You are my family. Both of you,” Jasper said sternly. “And my entire family would chew off their own faces that turn you away.” He pulled away to inspect me. “You should let Carlisle check you out.”

“I will,” I said, stepping over to the dresser to brush out my hair. “Though I suspect that it will be the only way I’ll be visiting for awhile. Dad and Simon are going to murder me. But…” I frowned.

“But…”

“Kay’s downstairs. She’s… gifted, and she knows everything,” I said. “She’s going to tell everyone everything and hopefully, once they understand, they won’t try to seperate us.”

Jasper took the brush from my hair and took over. I closed my eyes in pleasure at his gentle touch. “Not possible. Besides, we haven’t had any time alone,” he said in a low voice, a whisper of heat building in my lower stomach, “since before we found out. And I would very much like some time alone with you.”

I smiled as he put down the brush and pulled me back into his arms. For a moment, I had no body - I was just love and desire and contentment. “Alone would be good,” I murmured.

Jasper leant down and I stood on my toes to be taken into a deep, slow kiss that was the prelude to something we wouldn’t start now, with our parents downstairs. Having any one of the adults downstairs walk in on Jasper and I would be beyond mortifying, no matter how good this felt.

Jasper pulled away, his eyes dark. “They want us to join them,” he murmured.

“Inevitable,” I sighed, pressing against him suggestively. “Later?”

“Later - if I have to smuggle you out myself,” he muttered, and I giggled.

Dad and Simon looked positively stricken when I came back downstairs, Carlisle and Esme looking tired, and Kay looking smug.

“I had… no idea,” Dad began, looking about ten years older than he was. “Elena was…”

“A monster,” I said flatly, Jasper’s hands on my shoulders. I never spoke much about Mom.

“Obviously, I will be monitoring Alice’s pregnancy extremely closely,” Carlisle said, “since this is entirely unprecedented. And your advice regarding her diet is sound, but if Simon and David are uncomfortable with that element, Esme and I can certainly make arrangements…”

“Diet?” Jasper looked down at me.

“Animal blood,” I shrugged, “you get to take me hunting.”

I jumped at the lust that Jasper emitted, and he smirked at me. “Well, now I have some questions,” I said.

“Is this something we need to consider with Cynthia as well?” Simon finally spoke, worry on his face.

“Cynthia?” Kay jumped on that.

“My sister. Mom had a baby for Dad and Simon when I was younger,” I said. “And no, she’s human enough. Mom pumped me full of venom to try and make me a full hybrid.”

“Money was involved, I supposed?” Kay said and Dad nodded.

“Elena said she needed the money,” he said.

“Hmmm,” Kay tapped her chin. “Cynthia’s existence isn’t well known, so we’ll all keep that under our hats. And you, Major Whitlock, would be wise to keep Alice and her condition quiet. The last thing we need is Ms Moreno getting jealous.”

Jasper looked stunned. “Maria and I haven’t spoken in years,” he said. “How…?”

“Oh, you have quite the reputation,” Kay said. “And you are telling me that Maria Moreno wouldn’t march her way to Forks if she heard the news? Carve the baby out of Mary-Alice’s body and then kill Mary-Alice? She always was terribly spiteful.”

If possible, Jasper would have paled at the image Kay painted of Maria harming me. There was no love lost, but Maria would never be finished punishing Jasper for leaving her.

//

We both realised pretty quickly that there wouldn’t be any sneaking out or Cullen house visits for the imminent future, so we settled for the next best thing: Jasper sneaking in. It was after midnight when he slipped into my bed next to me, waking me up with deep kisses, hitching my leg over his hip.

“Mmm, what a wake-up call,” I said sleepily, letting him peel off my camisole. “You think we can stay quiet enough Dad and Simon don’t wake up?”

“We will,” he said, his hand slipping into my pyjama pants, and I wasn’t sure if it was the hormones or how long it had been or if his gift was working overtime, but I was more than ready for him, my hands going to work on his belt as he worked me over with surprising efficiency, kissing me hard to swallow up my cries as I came down.

Moments later, he was naked on his back, his hands on my hips with me aside him, working us both into a very quiet frenzy; Jasper’s eyes were as black as I’d seen them, and he keep purring at me, egging me on to take what I needed from him. The flashes I caught from my mirror showed us as utterly obscene; he looked inhuman, the way he was gazing at me, guiding my hips, and I looked drunk as I tried to find the sweet spot for both of us.

I was going to have to blame baby hormones on this, because it was ridiculous, and intense; we’d never been together this urgently.

He left in the early hours of dawn, tucking me back into bed with a deep kiss and reassurance that he’d be back later. I passed out, sated and exhausted, with the lingering thought that perhaps this would be our new normal, this desperate and intense love-making.

//

The intensity didn’t wane over the last few weeks of school and into the summer. Neither of us could resist it; more than once I found myself in the very back of the library with Jasper’s hand up my skirt - he used my emotions to get himself off, and I spent the rest of the school day with shaky legs. He used his gift more than once to give us both some relief in an unused classroom, his knee between both my legs as I grinded against him, my face buried in his neck.

We were a walking biological disaster, and I have no idea how we managed not to get caught. Edward was fairly repulsed by us, but Emmett thought it was hilarious, high-fiving Jas every time he caught us in the afterglow.

Most of my time at the Cullens was awkward, mostly because I spent it climbing Jasper like a tree. I would walk in, greet everyone, and give minutes later, I was bare-assed on Jasper’s desk, with his lips on my throat, and my hands down his… well, he wasn’t wearing any pants by then.

Most of the family tried not to acknowledge how bad we were - we were definitely headed towards Rosalie and Emmett levels of indecency - but Edward made his disgust with our lack of restraint clear, and Emmett was apparently keeping a score card of some description that I made Jasper promise to destroy.

So far, only two people had walked in on us - Rosalie and Cynthia. Rose had walked into the garage to find Jasper on top of me in the backseat of the Lexus convertible, both of us too far gone to give a shit if someone was selling tickets. Rose had been pissed we’d defiled one of her cars, and I wasn’t entirely sure what Jasper had said or bought her to pacify her, she never said anything about it to me.

Cynthia had barged into my bedroom one afternoon after school to ask me something, only to find Jasper going down on me like a god-damned professional, my hands tangled in his hair, and my leg over his shoulder. Cynthia had shrieked, I had shrieked, and Jasper had tried not to simultaneously die of embarrassment, and then amusement when Cynthia had expressed her complete shock that ‘guys actually did that’.

Cynthia had stood there looking completely baffled for a second before looking me in the eye. “Does it feel good?” she asked, with no clear plans to leave the room.

Jasper snorted with laughter and I resisted the urge to murder my sister.

“Yes, it feels very nice,” I said slowly. “Now, go away so he can finish.”

“Oh,” Cynthia turned bright red and slipped out the room. “Dad will be home in like 30 minutes!” she bellowed as she disappeared into her own bedroom.

Jasper was still sniggering at my idiot sister, and I smacked him with a pillow.

“I need to get a lock put on that door,” I muttered before looking at my boyfriend, who was smirking at me. “Now, are you going to finish what you started or am I going to have to do it myself?”

Jasper snorted and gave me a deep kiss, before sliding back down the bed. “Yes, ma’am.”

//

Jasper left within moments of the parental units arriving home. I managed to grab a quick shower, and Cynthia was waiting for me outside.

“I have questions,” she said, following me downstairs.

“Try Google,” I said.

“What does it feel like? Is it weird?” Cynthia began asking me, as I hurried towards the kitchen, hoping Dad and Simon’s presence would stop the barrage of questions.

“Wait, do you do oral sex on him?”

That was the question Cynthia settled on as we burst into the kitchen, that our parents clearly heard. Dad was choking on his drink, and Simon dropped the yoghurt he was holding.

“Kill me, please,” I pleaded with my fathers. Cynthia appeared to have no shame, with laser-like focus on me.

“I have so many questions,” Simon managed, as my father cleaned up the mess.

“Me too!” Cynthia said enthusiastically.

“No you don’t,” I said, holding up my hand. “Question time is over.”

“You didn’t answer any,” Cynthia pouted.

“Oh my god,” Dad looked like he was having a mental breakdown and Simon had gotten out a bottle of whiskey.

“This is so beyond the realm of okay,” I said. “And you two are doing nothing.”

“I find myself fascinated by your answers, Alice,” Simon said, as my father took a long swig of the drink Simon had poured him. “Answer the questions and then we can all pretend this never happened - after you explain how we got on this topic of conversation.”

“She doesn’t knock,” I hissed.

//

[beefros-sin-bin]

Goodbye 2023!

Thank you to everyone who sent in submissions - I have so much reading to catch up on now! 🥩💜🥩

If you have more fics to recommend for the SinBin, keep sending them my way.

I was originally going to break everything by category into the various P-boys, but the majority are one specific character. So we have two categories:

Joel Miller Fics

Other P-boy Fics.

I've included the comments (if there was one) for each fic submitted, but kept the submitter anonymous.

Beefro & the SinBin 🚮🥩💜

Joel Miller Fics (in no specific order)

Left in Lincoln - @toxicanonymity

Left in Lincoln. It's no secret my love for this series, and for my favorite Joelkémon, but this story is one I love not only for the slow burn sexiness but the horror elements in general. The balance of fear and horror with the soft, beautiful descriptions of the characters and setting make it one I return to over and over. The musical references and influence on the story is just the icing on the cake 🖤 Or ice cream on the pie, in this case 🍑🌸 Ty for the beautiful stories Toxy, and community to obsess over our mutual obsessions 🥰🖤

Scarecrow & Fear Thy Neighbor by @xdaddysprincessxx

So my first rec is @xdaddysprincessxx and her Farmer Joel series 🚜 All of her work is amazing but this one is so fun and soooo hot! (Heed the warnings though if you choose to read) I'm biased because I got to hear about her writing process and contribute some of my own thots 🤭 But it's not only sexy af (just like her!) but scary too!!! Be sure to read the sequel too 😉 She's not only a talented writer but a wonderful human in general 🖤

Help I’m Stuck! By @nosesitter

Reader gets “stuck” in the dryer. Luckily her father in law Joel just so happens to find her and helps 😉 her. When I read this I finally got the whole “oh no I’m stuck!” sex scenario lmao I always found it kinda funny bc in porn they’d be stuck in ridiculous spots but this fic? Fucking hot as hell. I get it now 🤷🏻‍♀️

I can be your pretty girl by @walkintotheriveranddisappear

Okay so I’m almost positive she is tired of me recc’ing & talking about this series lol it’s the hottest fucking fic ever. I genuinely am obsessed. It has everything. She deserves a Nobel peace prize for this idc idc.

A Secret Worth Keeping by @multiversed-daydreamer

Vamp Joel. I repeat Vamp. Joel. 🥵 and his vampirism is a secret and readers blood is his krptonite and she has to keep what they do hush hush. It’s so goddamn delicious 🤤

Fall into Temptation by @joelsgreys

Whew okay where do I start? Reader is the pastors daughter. Joel is Joel. 😏 they end up falling for each other and having a beautiful love affair. That has to be a secret bc her father would forbid it! Duh! It’s spicy, they have to sneak around to meet up with each other (again I am paraphrasing ish I don’t wanna spoil lol) and the religious tones in it? My baby is feeding me. This heals my religious trauma. Feeds my daddy issues and desire to fuck this old man.

Deliver Me From Nowhere by @atinylittlepain

It is beautifully written, touching a delicate topic with such care, it is truly an amazing work.

Just This Once by @talaok

Okay hear me out: this one brings the angst. The emotion. I felt so bad for reader, bby girl just wanted love. It tore me up inside. I had tears.

Self Indulgent Tendencies by @strang3lov3

So this was actually the first fic of Bugs I ever read. And. I. LOVED. IT. I’m trying not to spoil anything but long story short; Joel catches reader and fucks her to teach her a lesson. (I am extremely paraphrasing this lol) it still lives in my damn brain 🥵

Meet Me in the Back by @atticrissfinch

Sleazy gas station Joel. That’s it. That’s all. He is so sleazy and ugh I need his dick. And so does reader after she gets it. And she keeps coming. Back for more that is 😉

All You Wanna Do by @atticrissfinch

Now I am an angst queen. And boy this one is not for the weak. It is dark, please please please heed the warnings on this one. But personally I love this one. She has truly ripped my heart out, made my chest physically hurt. She invokes emotion so well.

No One But Me by @koshkamartell

This is a small blog's series that deserves to be promoted!

The Wrong Way by @romana-after-dark

Raider!Joel Miller and Raider!Tommy Miller x fem!Reader

Other P-boy Fics (in no specific order)

Dirty Uncle Ezra by @bonezone44

😏 yea I said it. Dirty Uncle Ezra. Hottest fucking concept I’ve ever heard. He’s so dirty and sleazy and ngh I’m already moaning. Also this beautiful human is an amazing artist so plz check out their art work 💜 (a note from Beefro: the fact that the age tag on this is 56+ made me laugh out loud)

Pascals Pursuit of Love! by @elvinaa (all the P-Boys!)

The innovation! It has all the P boys Bachelorette style. It’s so much like the show, it’s got twists and turns, there’s funny moments, cute moments. I look forward to each week aka each chapter lol I love it so much.

Apple by @romana-after-dark

Bisexual!Dark!Santiago Garcia, Bisexual!Dark!Frankie Morales, and Bisexual!Dark!William Miller x fem!Reader

[yandere-wishes]

⋆  ⋆ 𝕐𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕋𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤//𝔻𝕣𝕒𝕓𝕓𝕝𝕖𝕤 ⋆  ⋆

Yandere drabbles (not fics, but equally as sweet)

Just shorter yandere ideas that me and the anons have come up with. If you're not in the mood to read long format 'x reader' stories then these goodies are perfect for you! Feel free to add/further discuss any ideas you may have regarding these snippets. Full Masterlists Here and Here

💜General

Genie's clothing brand (Melancholy and Pitch)

Yandere x Reader X Platonic!Yandere

Marry Me

If evil why husband?

Why did you start writing Yandere?

The darling with no attention span

Is he mentally unhinged?

They're perfect!!

My favorite Disney prince

My spirit is in the 70's

And now I have become her

My two types

💋💋💋

Just say I love you!!

This one is for the hot girlies

My aesthetic

How I write a resume

Nostalgia

I chose violence

I need more...

I have QUESTIONS

Men...

Fav Authors

Transformers terminology

The sons of sand😍🤩😍🤩

Tanjiro moodboard

Literal "bloodbath"

💜Genshin impact

▹▹General 

Just a dream

▹▹ Wriothesley

Yandere Werewolf Wriothesley

Yandere Werewolf Wriothesley part 2

Wriothesley's cute housewife

Making out with Wriothesley

You're so perfect. You're so scary

Wriothesley's cheerleader

▹▹Neuvillette

Neuvillette and darling at a ball

▹▹Scaramouch

Fluffy Scaramouch

Scaramouche x Ballarina!Reader

💜Barbie

Kens w/ self-harming reader

Kens w/ a Barbie who liked them before

How to love a Ken

Ken w/ a reader who has intrusive thoughts

Ken kidnapping a human

KEN-cerning

Fate

💜Star Wars

▹▹General 

💞Mandalorians💞

Anakin Skywalker and Darth Maul sharing a darling

🥰Head Empty Just Them🥰

An idea (ft. Maul, Anakin and Baby Luke and Leia)

Spoiled sith lords

Domestic life with Darth Maul and Anakin Skywalker

Future Sith lords drabbles

Maul's robotic legs and Grievous' body

A random cheerleader Au (read the comments)

Star Wars Prequel Analysis

Kiss the Mask (Yandere! Sith Lords)

Ancient Sith Lords(Marka Ragnos and Tulak Hord)

▹▹Anakin Skywalker

Anakin falling for his Padawan

Ghostface Anakin

Ghostface! Anakin future ideas

▹▹Darth Maul

Darth Maul taking a Nightsister as his queen

Darth Maul origins

Extracts from Darth Maul's journal

Pain and Pleasure ft. Darth Maul

▹▹Obi Wan Kenobi

"I'm staying with Obi Wan"

▹▹General Grievous

Cyborg lovers unite

The Bride of Grievous

▹▹Boba Fett

Yandere! Boba Fett x reader (Ft. Fennec Shand)

▹▹Clones

Yandere Fives

The clones sharing their lover

▹▹Savage Opress

Yandere!Savage and nightsister darling

▹▹Luke Skywalker

Luke my prince 😍

▹▹Revan

General yandere Revan headcanons

Revan w/ an unwilling and willing darling

▹▹Sol

Sol repressing his emotions

💜Dune

▹▹General

Paul and Feyd being cousins

Feyd my babyboi!!

Chase scene

Emperor Paul Atreides

💜Twisted Wonderland

General

Leona Kingscholar vs Fellow Honest

Dorm Leaders as french expressions

▹▹Fellow Honest

Fellow Honest feeding his darling sweets

Fellow Honest and his Darling (first/initial take)

Fellow Honest buying his darling luxurious gifts

Fellow Honest and his foxy nature

💜Marvel

▹▹ Tony Stark (Ironman)

Do it for HIM!

▹▹ Miles Morales

The prowler and 42!Spidergirl

▹▹Megneto

Megneto my love

💜Important/social commentary

Iranians and the Occupation of Palestine

💜Tokyo Revengers

Bonten!Baji

💜Jujutsu Kaisen

How to get an obsession

💜Honkai Star Rail

Boothill x Housewife!Darling

Never disrupt Boothill's naptime

Yandere!Boothill x Nihility Reader

Yandere!Sunday feeding his darling ice cream

💜Marvel

Yandere! Bucky Barnes moodboard

💜Wuthering waves

Somehow, this blew up🤷🏽‍♀️

[altocat]

The OG “Sephiroth should forever be a mysterious scary villain with no elaboration on his human side” fans are being so frustrating lol. Guys he has been “super mysterious” for 26 years now, let’s get to know him a bit better finally. Especially in this modern day where people like to explore villain motivations better and not fall into the trap of dehumanizing them to separate ourselves from their “monstrosity.”

If millions of people could be heavily moved and made to think about say, the Joker of all characters, because of one well-written movie about his story, then we can do the same with our anime katana villains.

And actually, let’s also just admit that Sephiroth has always been the same character, but these fans truly did not know it, as EC insists on saying. Insightful fans did and yet they were accused of “woobifiying” his character by doing that. Now the one-dimensional Sephiroth fans are accusing Square of doing the same thing lmao.

What did they think was happening or being imploed about Sephiroth with the remnants in Advent Children? What did they think Crisis Core showed for Sephiroth? What did they think Sephiroth’s very specific obsession with his “mother” even as a villain implied? Or what DOC was doing when it showed how Lucrecia lost her baby after committing to a horrible experiment surrounding his birth?

Even OG FF7 Sephiroth in Nibelheim, cold as he was, implied he had no hometown, that he had parental issues and Hojo issues. This character was always the same. We are just having it more clearly spelled out and it hurts even worse than we anticipated. But it’s not ruining Sephiroth by any means. Those “fans” don’t know him at all.

All of this!

Hate to say it...but the Compilation is mostly what is currently drawing in new fans. And fans are the blood of keeping a fanbase alive. More content. More analysis. Etc. If more people are drawn to Sephiroth because he's now more compelling and relatable, that's a good thing. And he WAS always like this. Even as far back as the OG, lots of his unused dialogue paints a really different picture that what we'd come to expect.

I completely understand OG fans' frustration, but these are the original writers and creators of the OG working on the Compilation. It's their characters. They can flesh them out into whatever they want. Sure, there's going to be some clunky writing and some no-so-great retcons. Hell, I'm PREPPING for ones that will seriously piss me off. But making a villain more complex and less cliche? I'm all for that. Pure evil villains are boring. There's nothing in there. Seph has always been sympathetic. We're just finding out why. 26 years is enough time in between to wait before we finally dig into it.

[moonlitscales]

Do you have any Oc’s?

OMGOMGOMG!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!

I'll start this w/ I have a blog just for my OCs/art!!! (I promise I'm not self promoting 💀)

Okay this will now be a mini rant on my OCs bc I've been WAAAITING to answer this!!!!1!!1!1!!!! (tweaking while writing this)

My current biggest OCs with a story are Sia, Nova, Diana, and Annie. Their story centers around a cult (motivation currently unknown), that is following Sia and Nova every town they move. Nova is Sia's older sister and raised her from a baby when Nova was only around 7-8 years old. The sister move towns almost every year, yet Diana appears in almost every one.

Diana is Sia's closest friend and secret stalker. Annie doesn't come up much, but has a history with Nova that isn't the best. Sia is unaware but suspicious of the cult, Nova does her best to stay as far away from any signs of it, and Diana and Annie and members said cult.

These are all their designs and a few things about them!!!

Sia Kitlen:

-She is a Siamese cat (surprise) with a liking more towards the scene style and listens to music a lot. She's pretty sociable and loves making friends even if she wont see them for long. She is a demigirl (she/they) and a Omnisexual with a preference for women.

I have a whole post just for her!!

Tid-bits about her I was asked!

Nova Kitlen:

-A black cat and Sias older sister with a TOUGH backstory. She's cold and barely talks to anyone besides her sister. She strives to be a fashion designed since it was what her papa wanted to be before he passed. She is aroace, but has had a romantic history. (not too open to relationships now though) She's almost missing her ring finger on her left hand and has the sigil of the cult branded on her back bc why not 😋

Diana:

-A soft/cutecore bunny who seems to follow the sisters at every town they move to; whether she shows herself or not. She's more soft spoken and gentle with a passion for photography, but is actually a HEAVY stalker and border line yandere. She's apart of the cult (I just don't have a name for them yet 💀) and her purpose is to follow Nova and give updates but really only pays attention to Sia. She's a raging lesbian btw, she thinks everyone's super icky but especially men

Annie:

(okay so I don't actually have a full working design for her yet but shes going be a "scary" or tough dog breed like a pitbull I just need to finish designing it bc she was originally 'human' 💀)

-Annie is a mechanic/inventor who works in her mothers/family business: "Annie and Bells" (her mother). Her family comes first, which was unfortunate when she fell for Nova only to have her pushed away because of the cult. She was originally supposed to only get close to her to get her back into the cults hands but fell for her instead. She a bisexual who really REALLY misses her ex.

Also if you've gotten down to this part that means you've paid enough attention to care and you deserve to know: Sia and Annie were old Welcome home Ocs 😓 I eventually separated them from it, but deAR GOD do I have a scary amount of art shipping Sia and a Wally AU T-T (also here's the cult sigil or something)

(spider :3)

But yeah! Those are my current biggest and most important ocs!!! I do have a few others but those are the ones I'm currently hyperfixating on :333

Here's a few extra just because and i'm bored

Clara is an old Hazbin hotel oc overlord own owns a makeup company and shipped with Velvette bc why not

Kai is literally just a chill beach girl. Made her from an OC challenge w/ my bestie lol

[borathae]

Chapter 23 LETS GOOO

bro get the fuck out lemme sleep zzzzzzzzz This man has no manners, none, nada.FR MY SLEEP BITCHES

one blood bag each and a cup of coffee. It is a peculiar combination, but if they like it then you won’t question it.😭😭

“Why are you asking me?” “Cause you’re the oldest here?” “And? Does this automatically make me the leader or something?” “Well…yeah?” Hoseok cocks an eyebrow up, “unless you want me to take over.” they really havent planned their boyband well

It’s after one of my grandmother’s recipes, WTF HE LIVED THAT LONG AND STILL RMEMBERS SHIT? my vampire ass would be a disappointment

“You’re adorable. A vampire with red ears, that’s a sight to see” fr TELL HIM SIS

This means he hasn’t returned home yet.  SHIT is he hurt or did he hurt someone else???

“Okay bro I was going through something?” Hoseok squeaks. “And ended up with a tummy ache”, Seokjin teases. so ur not safe from tummy ache even as a vampire great

perhaps it is because of the tension he is always walking around with, you’re sure this will develop muscle as well. STOP THE ATTACK tho he fully deserves it MY BLANKIE MY ZZZZZZZ

Is that your feel good face?” yeah -_- -ㅅ-

“Dead. Again. Congrats, you died four times already”, this made me laugh and extra pissed YOONGLES WHAT ARE U TRYING TO DO WARM HER UP TO BOILING OR WHAT??

ok she went berserk ... like a human would GOOD REMEMBER THOSE POINTS GO HARDER BABY U CAN DO IT

ok now WTF IS HIS PROBLEM AAAAAAAH ok we get it she fucked up, she went to talk to him and it escalated and neither knew consequences ok mr genius jjang jjang man boong boong

wtf hobi are u ok whats going on now shit

“Blood…uhm I just realised that this sounds very disgusting to a human”, he laughs awkwardly, “sorry.” its ok pookie, just took me off guard 💀💀

ok guys we are really in hobari's room and getting to see past his mask yall, slightly nervous idk what im expecting ahaha

that’s like my eight one. Those fuckers are amazing”, they dont have overdose issues?? wow nice wait how did hobi get tummy issues then??

Hoseok stops laughing, fidgeting in his chair rather nervously. His smile stays on his face however, never reaching his eyes and looking like a mask he can’t seem to shake off. slightly scary with description, but its really funny u can pass off everyones questions with this smile, just answer the are u ok question properly and smile, or else u look like hobi right now haha

“I’m kinda sad that I didn’t die today.” oh that was slightly out of pocket half expected it but also didnt expect it

We have Yoongi, who fought god knows how many battles. Then Jungkook, a high ranking military dude. And Seokjin, who had the nerve to serve in both world wars just for fun. wow jin really said imma fight ww1 & 2 for shits and giggles

“Because I feel like an imposter”, he confesses, “I’m a vampire, that can’t even control minds, has never been faux killed before, has zero fighting experience and whose origin story is being killed by a blowjob. How pathetic can you be?” ur just simply a vampire, not all have to go through shit to be a vampire, its just they lived that long so the probability of going through shit is higher, u got lucky. its ok ur not a clown. youre a great friend for real

WE GOT HIM HAPPY YAYA

bro get the fuck out lemme sleep zzzzzzzzz This man has no manners, none, nada.FR MY SLEEP BITCHES

me actually I hate being woken up early :/

“Why are you asking me?” “Cause you’re the oldest here?” “And? Does this automatically make me the leader or something?” “Well…yeah?” Hoseok cocks an eyebrow up, “unless you want me to take over.” they really havent planned their boyband well

lmaooa they're so chaotic i fucking hate them (i love them with all my heart)

It’s after one of my grandmother’s recipes, WTF HE LIVED THAT LONG AND STILL RMEMBERS SHIT? my vampire ass would be a disappointment

LIKE HE IS SO <3 okay but in his defense, he writes down yummy recipes sooo

This means he hasn’t returned home yet.  SHIT is he hurt or did he hurt someone else???

LIKE I'M SCARED

“Okay bro I was going through something?” Hoseok squeaks. “And ended up with a tummy ache”, Seokjin teases. so ur not safe from tummy ache even as a vampire great

hahahah they're so chaotic dhfahs

Is that your feel good face?” yeah -_- -ㅅ-

i love him :D

“Dead. Again. Congrats, you died four times already”, this made me laugh and extra pissed YOONGLES WHAT ARE U TRYING TO DO WARM HER UP TO BOILING OR WHAT??

HAHHAHA he is so rude like I love him sm <3

ok guys we are really in hobari's room and getting to see past his mask yall, slightly nervous idk what im expecting ahaha

no but I actually love this scene a lot <3

that’s like my eight one. Those fuckers are amazing”, they dont have overdose issues?? wow nice wait how did hobi get tummy issues then??

overdose can't happen for vampires, it's more of a blinded by bloodlust where they can't control themselves anymore and go feral but he is very far away from that state

Hoseok stops laughing, fidgeting in his chair rather nervously. His smile stays on his face however, never reaching his eyes and looking like a mask he can’t seem to shake off. slightly scary with description, but its really funny u can pass off everyones questions with this smile, just answer the are u ok question properly and smile, or else u look like hobi right now haha

no but I'm actually so sad for him :( I hate that he thinks he needs to pretend to be happy :( like hobi :( you're allowed to be sad too :(

We have Yoongi, who fought god knows how many battles. Then Jungkook, a high ranking military dude. And Seokjin, who had the nerve to serve in both world wars just for fun. wow jin really said imma fight ww1 & 2 for shits and giggles

i feel like it was an honour thing for him where he was all like "i have a duty as a man" 😑

“Because I feel like an imposter”, he confesses, “I’m a vampire, that can’t even control minds, has never been faux killed before, has zero fighting experience and whose origin story is being killed by a blowjob. How pathetic can you be?” ur just simply a vampire, not all have to go through shit to be a vampire, its just they lived that long so the probability of going through shit is higher, u got lucky. its ok ur not a clown. youre a great friend for real

YES THANK YOU !!! i love this agenda!!!

[oozmium]

Hidden Relics and The Man Who Hid (Them) - Translation

This is a translation of Hallelujah's side story found in the SMTIVA artbook. There used to be a translation floating around for this a couple years ago, although it appears to have been taken down. So I've asked a good friend of mine to translate the story and I looked over it for lore accuracy.

A direct link to the translation hosted on their blog can be found here. But if you'd like to read it on tumblr, click the read more. Please enjoy your read!

One more thing: PLEASE DO NOT REPOST THIS TRANSLATION ANYWHERE ELSE. Instead, link back to either this tumblr post or my friend's blog if you wish to share it.

Hidden Relics and the Man who Hid Them

Original Writer: Mito Yoko

Translator: VerdantGrove

ENG Proofer: Elegy

note: translation notes can be found at the bottom.

— 

A single notebook rests in the man’s hand. That aged notebook is just one of the relics the man found in his former residence…it’s the memoir of a certain woman. The man places his fingers atop the warped cover just as he always does, and sets foot into the world of the memoir…

— 

Feb 12

Hallelujah found a pen and a notebook. He said it was a present for Mama. I used this when I was study-ing¹ with Angel. How long ago was that again? Hallelujah’s four now, so… No, no. I don’t wanna think about it.

Angel complimented my handwriting. He said “it’s not very well done, but repetition is key.”

Writing a diary so he compliments me again.

Feb 13

Three visitors. Ashura Kai came to collect the money, and give us food rashions². A little more than usual, thanks to the work I did. Mama will work hard for Hallelujah.

Feb 14

Zero visitors. Big fire in Shibuya. Scary. 

Humans are scarier than demons. Angel…

Feb 15

Four visitors. Tired.

Feb 16

Visito

May 2

Forgot about the diary. Writing every day is hard.

Jun 13

Ashura Kai came to collect the money. Guy in charge is annoying.

Luckily visitors were nice today.

Jun 15

We got canned food from the guests³. Hallelujah was super happy. But… I didn’t know what to say when he asked me “what’s a backblue⁴?”. If Angel were here, he would have told him. Have to study.

Jun 20th⁵

Hallelujah keeps yelling about wanting to go outside. Even though it’s dangerous up there. Even though I’m doing my best to live down here for him.

Jul 4th

Hallelujah and I talked about Papa. “Samyaza”... I get shy just saying his name. I’ll keep what really happened a secret for now.

He asked me, “why isn’t he with us?”

Why, I wonder?

Jul 15th

Ashura Kai came to collect the money.

Seems grades are good. Oh dear.

August⁶ 15th

The Ashura Kai⁷ came to collect the money. I ranted to a friendly guest, and their response was “poor thing.” They said I was such a poor thing, having to work and take care of a child at the same time.

Am I really a poor thing?

August 16th

Was all guests I hated today. But have to stay strong. For Hallelujah.

Sep 9⁸

Wrong. Something, wrong. Head spinning. Get mad when I look at Hallelujah. How can he laugh when I’m suffering this much? 

But all this suffering is for his sake.

He looks just like me and I hate it. Hate everything.

September 15th

Collected the money.

I’m mad. Can’t even look at Hallelujah.

September 2

September 21st

I hit Hallelujah yesterday.

He kept asking questions about my work, and I said “you know it’s all your fault” and hit him.

I even blurted out “it’s your fault Angel went away too.”

I’m awful.

September 30th

Hallelujah threw up.

While I was cleaning it up, he cried “sorry, sorry.” I said “you’re a lot more serious than you were when you were a baby,” and it made me laugh. 

I felt like that was the first time I’d laughed in a long time.

Then Hallelujah laughed too.

He laughed for me, even though I’d done something so horrible.

For some reason, it made me want to cry.

October 1st

I’m thinking as I watch Hallelujah sleep.

Hallelujah’s name was given to him by Angel.

It means “gratitude.”

I was really happy, so I tried my best to remember how to write it, even though it’s hard to spell⁹.

How the hell did I forget that? I’m such an idiot.

October 3rd

I hit Hallelujah and managed to say “sorry.”

He forgave me with an “it’s all righty.”

He patted me with his tiny little hands.

Sorry. Love you.

October 15th

That guest again. Always telling me I’m a “poor thing,” so annoying.

October 21st

I still have a lot of mixed feelings about Hallelujah.

But I’m not angry at him. Luckily.

Nov 15¹⁰

What am I gonna do? Hallelujah hit the man who collects the money. I got hit, then Hallelujah, he turned into something not human, got scary strong, then that guy, he wouldn’t move. Ashura Kai—no, oh my God, this isn’t what you should write in a diary.

But I want to calm down.

Hallelujah can’t stop shaking even though I’m hugging him tight.

Hallelujah was just helping me. He didn’t do anything wrong. That’s it, Hallelujah didn’t do anything wrong.

Hallelujah did not do anything wrong.

Hallelujah cried himself to sleep. Thank God.

It was hard, but I made up my mind.

We’re going to leave the Underground. I thought I wouldn’t survive if I wasn’t here. But that’s wrong.

I have everything Angel has taught me. It’ll be okay.

Leaving before the stores open is a matter of life or death.

I’ll keep Hallelujah safe.

—

“They sure do change easily, these ‘humans.’”

The man's cold and emotionless words reflect his hardened features as he emerges from the glow of the streetlights. And yet, for some reason he couldn’t place, when his eyes catch sight of these words of determination written in smudged letters, his hand stops. The man had never once thought about why that was.

Just as his hand stopped, he checked his smartphone for new notifications, but… The name which he hoped to see was still not there. Ignoring the many voices seeking out his direction, the man turns his attention to the rest of the memoir.

This memoir tells the tale of a mother and child desperately searching for a way to survive. Silently, the man continues to read…

—

May 19th

Our life on the surface has been going smoothly, thanks to us handing out Reds. I’m less worried about the demons. Hallelujah will be 10 soon. Seems like he’s made a friend called Chiro. I wonder what kind of kid they are?

June 12th

We got canned food as payment for the Reds!

Hallelujah was on the edge of his seat before we even opened it. He looks happy eating the fruit. I’m glad.

June 13th

Hallelujah fell asleep hugging the empty can.

It made him that happy?

June 15th

Studying with Hallelujah. I want to tell him everything Angel taught me.

June 28th

Hallelujah made me mad. It was because he took out that empty can when we were collecting relics. Is that thing his prized possession…?

June 29th

Making up with Hallelujah. I promised I wouldn’t put my hands on him without thinking anymore. Sorry, Hallelujah.

July 10th

I know what Hallelujah’s friend is now. It was a shock.

July 12th

I ran into that guest from our time underground. I wished they’d shut up about wanting me to come back to the city or wanting to look after me. Not to mention they told me how sorry they are for me again. I’m mad.

July 18th

Hallelujah has gotten good at looking for relics.

I told him “you’d be fine doing this on your own at this point” to praise him, but that made him extremely grumpy. Why??

July 20th

That guy’s here again. Ugh.

Even though Hallelujah’s forgotten what happened that day.

July 22nd

Hallelujah doesn’t seem to like studying. He said it was because he was gonna play with his friend, then ran off. Where’d this come from?

If only Angel were here at a time like this…

August 22nd

Had a conversation with a grumpy Hallelujah.

Studying is essential for proper judgment.

It’s essential in order to decide for yourself what’s important to you. Just like how I decided to believe Angel. …I wonder if I got through to him?

September 2nd

I found out why Hallelujah was acting so strange.

That man told him things. Things like “it’s my fault you got driven above ground” and “they want to get rid of me.” What the hell? Sure enough, humans are the worst. Way, way worse than demons!!

I want to explain. But what should I say?

September 5th

That guy has been loitering around us again.

Hallelujah is still feeling down too… Worried.

September 30th

I was debating whether or not to do this, but I’m going to tell Hallelujah.

That Angel really is an angel.

That he’s not human.

And… about what happened that day.

Tomorrow I will tell him. Angel, give me courage.

October 1st

The conversation went awful. “You’ve been giving me special treatment ‘cause I’m not human,” and “I can tell my dad was more important to you.” …I had thought it’d go like that.

October 3rd

Hallelujah’s in his room with Chiro, and he won’t come out.

If I was Angel, what would I do? …Maybe It’s because I’m always like this that it seemed like his dad was more important to me.

I have. To think.

October 4th

I’m rereading through this diary and thinking. I’ve written everything here, whether it’s the things that made me happy or the things that caused me pain. It’s really true that I hated that child. It’s really true that I loved him, too.

All of it. It’s all true.

October 5th

Received a summons from that man. I’m scared, so I’m bringing that weapon I snatched back then. I wonder; can I use it?

I want to talk with Hallelujah when I get home.

I’ve finally settled on what I want to say.

I like Hallelujah.

I love Hallelujah, because he’s Hallelujah!

I didn’t ask for us to make someone I could cherish other than myself just so I could abandon him.

When I had a chance encounter with Angel and was blessed with Hallelujah, I was really, truly happy.

I just wanted to do a good job of getting this happiness across to him, too.

…Can I even get that across to him? I’m an idiot, so I doubt I can.

But I’ll tell him as many times as it takes. Angel told me that repetition is key, after all.

Well, I should head out soon. …I know you probably wouldn’t give me a reply to this, so I’ll write it here.

See you later, Hallelujah.

—

The memoir ends there, and the aged notebook does not speak further. But the man knew. He knew of both the woman’s abrupt and miserable end and of the whereabouts of the child who lost his mother’s protection…

“Mr. Abe, it’s an emergency!!”

The man who was called—Abe, furrowing his brow, would go to respond to the insolent trespasser.

“Understood. The ‘final battle,’ yeah?”

Yes, at last, the curtain has risen on the battle between God’s Chariot and the Demon King. As Acting Chairman, it is his duty to finish this play, and yet…

“...Not a word from him.”

There were still no notifications from the person he longed to see—from Hallelujah.

That made one thing apparent—estrangement.

“Guess ya found yer angel… Eh, Ayako?”

Abe—the fallen angel who was once called an ‘angel’—imagined a future in which he would stand opposite his own son…and laughed.

&lt;Fin>

TL Notes:

Studying is written in katakana here. It shows unfamiliarity with the written word.

Half of the word is written in katakana here, and the other half in kanji. I chose to portray this as a misspelling, as someone new to writing would be just as likely to misspell the word “rations” in English as they would be not to know the first kanji of the word haikyuu (rations) in Japanese.

Mama writes the word okyaku (visitors/guests) in kanji for the first time here. I marked this with a switch from “visitors” (neutral connotation) to “guests” (more respectful connotation of welcomeness).

Hallelujah seems to have flipped the kanji in the word “blueback (fish)”（青魚 lit. blue fish）to 魚青 (lit. fish blue); I had him flip the word “blueback” to “backblue” in the same manner. He likely read it left to right instead of right to left.

Before this date, the days were written in hiragana. This marks the switch to the use of kanji for each day. I decided to portray this by typing the numbers in proper date format (e.g. 20th instead of 20).

Before this date, the months were written in hiragana. This marks the switch to the use of kanji for each month. I decided to portray this by typing the months spelled out instead of abbreviated.

Rather than writing the “Ashura” in “Ashura Kai” entirely in hiragana as she had been doing previously, Mama writes the first kanji in “Ashura” here for the first time. I decided to portray this by using the article “the” to make it a more complete sentence, thus similarly showing a progression of education.

Mama returns to writing the date entirely in hiragana here in her distress.

Referring to it being difficult to write the kanji for gratitude (感謝). I paralleled this to spelling the word.

Same as TL note 8.

[mageofseven]

Repressed Love: A DiaLuci Love Story

Chapter 39

Tag list: @astroseuss @zarakem @brielle043 @missloserqueen

•▪︎▪︎◇°●♡●°◇▪︎▪︎•

Lucifer knocked on his son's door.

The blonde was awake earlier and usually doesn't leave his room much so the father was more or less sure of his whereabouts.

However, didn't answer. The father knocked again.

"Satan?"

"I just wanna be alone right now..."

The blonde responded, sound like he was right against the door.

"MC is--"

The younger man swung open the door.

"I--Satan?"

Despite the warning, the sight of her boyfriend with white wings was still odd to her.

Satan's face was red as he stood frozen in place. He...he felt like he has changed a lot during the months she was with her family. Were these changes she could accept though?

The woman threw her arms around him.

"I missed you so much!"

The angel sighed in relief and held her close.

Despite all of the change he has gone through, at least MC seems to be the same as always.

He kissed her head before nuzzling his face in her hair.

"I miss you too, Kitten."

And at that, the father quietly retreated from the couple, accepting that after so long of being apart that the two needed some time to themselves to catch up.

Devil knows they have a lot to talk about.

As the days went by, MC brought some much needed cheer to the castle. Satan began leaving his room more, though still wasn't too comfortable leaving the castle in his new form.

MC also spent a lot of time with Diavolo, to the pregnant woman's joy. It was difficult to see the black, inky Rot on the princess at first, but the human quickly adapted and did her best to keep the other woman's mind off of it.

Honestly, this was probably the happiest Lucifer has seen his fiancée in a while and it was all thanks to the human. MC...she has this beautiful knack for raising his family's spirits; it's been this way since the beginning and the pride demon couldn't be more grateful for her.

Sadly, the happiness couldn't stay for long.

Diavolo's condition continued to resist her medicine; the Rot spread down over her belly, a scary sight to the expecting mother.

Despite this, the Rot still had no direct impact on the baby. It was for the same reason the Rot wasn't contagious; despite the physical symptom of the spreading ooze, Magick Rot was an illness of the soul and only focused on the soul it originally infected.

The baby will not catch the Rot because of it's focus on Dia's soul, but also because the baby does not even have a soul quite yet; right now, the child is in the process of collecting dark magick that will solidify into a soul after birth.

The baby was safe for now, but the visual of the dark ooze over her belly was still too much for the mother.

The woman panicked, causing the Rot to continue to spread.

Lucifer held her close, trying to calm her as Barbatos rushed to get the doctor.

The doctor arrived after a few minutes later, rushing inside before quickly checking the spread process. It had descended to her thighs; her panick had pushed it farther.

The doctor quickly turned to Lucifer, syringe in hand.

"I need permission. We've already discussed--"

"Just do it."

Lucifer knew fully well that this decision will upset his fiancée later, but this was an emergency and this man was not going to lose them both.

The doctor nodded and injected it into one of her forearms, the origin point of the Rot.

Slowly, the dark ooze receded, stopping at just below her navel.

Whatever potion was in the syringe also calmed the woman, putting her in a trance-like state.

Both men in the room stared at the doctor, anxious for his explanation.

"She'll be fine." The older man assured. "I will write her a prescription for this in bottle form and hopefully by the end of the week, this will all be resolved."

"Will the potions always put her in this state?"

In truth, the look in her eyes worried her fiancé. Diavolo...she felt so unresponsive in his arms. Not a single muscle reacted to his touch. And her stare...the woman just stared into space, occasionally blinking but...she didn't truly feel present and the pride demon wasn't expecting this at all.

"Not at all." The doctor assured. "There was a sedative mixed in the fast-acting version to keep her emotions from fighting the potion. She'll be plenty responsive while taking the oral treatment."

"Pardon for the interruption," Barbatos chimed in, frowning. "But is my lady truly alright in this state?"

"Her brain is a bit foggy, but with time, the sedative should clear out of her system; she'll probably remember very little of this, which is for the best when you take her condition in account."

"How long until it wears off?"

"A couple hours, no more than four." The doctor insisted. "The princess will come out of this feeling like she had the best nap of her life."

The older man took out a notepad and wrote down the prescription before ripping it off and handing it to Barb.

"Make these for the princess and make sure your lady drinks them twice a day till the Rot has fully dissolved and has disappeared completely from the forearms."

After thanking the doctor, Barbatos walked him out. Lucifer stayed back and held his love tightly.

The Avatar of Pride made the best decision he could in the moment; he made the choice that saved both his love and their child's life

But he also made the decision that could hurt his child in the long run, a decision that Diavolo may never forgive him for.

Lucifer hid his face in her neck, his nose brushing against her red hair as some silent tears slid from his eyes.

"I did it to protect you both." He whispered, tightening the embrace. "I'm sorry I let this all happen in the first place. I wasn't here when you and Satan needed me. You got sick because I wasn't there for you both when you needed me the most."

There wasn't much point in the man saying all of this to her now. Even if Diavolo could hear him while in this state, she'll forget his words once she 'wakes up'.

But he couldn't hold them in. Not the apology, not the guilt. Not even the tears

And he knew there was just more to come. He knew when the sedative wears off later in the day that he would have to explain what happened and what medicine she was given...and what it did. And somehow convince her to keep drinking the potion to remove the Rot from her very being despite what it might be doing to their child.

He still remembered the doctor's words from a few days ago; this medicine will save her life, but could cause some defects in their child.

Diavolo will never forgive him if their child is hurt from this. In truth...Lucifer will never forgive himself.

The father gave a loving stroke to his fiancée's belly, staring at it will all of the love, guilt, and pain he felt in this moment.

No matter what happens...they'll be alive. Both his love and their new child will be alive; that was the only solace the father had in this situation.

Lucifer leaned down and pressed a kiss to her belly.

"You'll be perfect to me no matter what." He whispered. "Just being able to keep you and your mother with me, that is enough; that is all I can beg the world for at this point."

The father's heart was crushed...but still, he'd crush it a thousand times over if it meant he could keep this woman and their child.

[catluver3]

Wed. 9/4/2024 pt2

Writing is so fun! Well, I've written stuff in the past before.. From small snippets of my original characters to almost full blown stories!! I wish I had finished them but just like my art and everything in my life, I loose the motivation eventually. 

I'm at work now and it's a bit earlier than I would like to be here. My head hurts and I honestly just want to be back home, watching those 'lost media' documentaries on youtube. Recently finished one about some weirdo, I say 'I would never fall for something like that!' But the internet is just an endless spiderweb that grows with each second.. It's scary to think about it in a way.. It's cool, almost like space!
Talking about space, Sunday, I went to movies with my mom, sister, and my friend! We went to go watch the alien movie and it was so good. I definitely recommend it to anyone who still is indecisive about watching it!! It had the perfect amount of thriller in it and I absolutely fell in love with Andy, something about robots in movies squeeze at my heartstrings! The human/alien baby thing was honestly just disturbing... Had me on the edge of my seat ahah! 

It's slow once again at work, that's why I'm able to write another entry:3! I feel so tired if I'm being honest, I feel tired all the time after 3 pm. I just want my boyfriend if I'm honest, I want him to come by my work, to take me away to his house and just lay on his bed while I pet away at his cute little cat. 

The cat is so shy yet so cute to me, his fur is so soft like a silk blanket and his face is like a LPS toy head. Round and small with big eyes that just seem to stare into your soul! He rarely lets me pet him.. Always hiding away on the second floor or meowing away at the top of stairs, all I can do it coo at him. He also has a dog, such a big dog with the whitest fur. I'm not a big fan of dogs and if I'm honest.. I'm kinda eh on him after incident I had with him. 

I was laying face down on the bed and the dog jumped up, the nail went straight into my nose and cut the inside. I bled and cried to my boyfriend... I don't know why I cried? I mean it didn't hurt much but it did surprise me, my boyfriend was sweet to me after. Rolling me up in his blue blanket and cuddling me!! I love that, I love being babied and sometimes babying him!

If I didn't have to work, I would be the happiest girl ever! Well, I don't mind working. I just hate the customers.. I need to get my drivers license soon!! I've had so many weird encounters with people at work, mostly old men that just don't know how to shut their mouths! I've had one ask me if I could kiss my boyfriend with them? Like excuse me? I just didn't answer him but I did laugh awkwardly. Fuckers kept trying to find me the entire time they were sat down here! Like just eat your food, pay, and get out! 
My brain is currently working up so many things to talk about yet I can't seem to put everything into text! If I did, this would be like 20+ pages long! 
I wouldn't mind talking about my childhood but even then, I'm just now starting to actually remember it! I cried in front of my therapist talking about it and I still feel embarrassed just thinking about it.. I've always been such a big cry baby. Sucks but it makes me, me! 

See you tomorrow. :)

[all-souls-matinee]

A Ghost Story for Christmas

Throughout the 1970s the BBC ran a holiday special that adapted the works of M.R. James into made-for-TV-movies; celebrating the ‘tradition’ of telling scary ghost stories at Christmastime. They later included a few exceptions to the James rule, and then rebooted it for limited releases in 2005. James is a horror staple; even if you haven’t read his stuff you would recognize the setups and themes of his stories because he was widely publicized in 1910s Cambridge and came to have a ton of influence on the genre. I’ve always been pretty indifferent towards his writing, only familiar with ‘Casting the Runes’ and ‘Rats’ (neither adapted here), but was so charmed by this thing’s existence that I picked out seven episodes that sounded the most interesting and watched in a randomly generated order. All of them are available for free on YouTube/Tubi and run from 30-60 minutes if you’d like to check it out for yourself.

A View from a Hill (2005), story by M.R. James

An archeologist visits a bankrupt squire at a country estate to assess his family’s collection of local archeological finds. Against the protests of his servant, the squire lends our protag a pair of binoculars from the collection.

The editing on this one sucks so hard. There’s a ton of potential in using binoculars as a kind of adder stone that allows you see both shadowy figures and an entire building that isn’t there, and it’s too bad that it’s just flashing images and jump-cut edits. We do get a taste of James’ penchant for stories within stories, usually conveyed by a wise old man, which I love. A certain je ne sais quoi in inviting the unpaid manservant to sit down and talk about how the local weird guy was gallows-robbing and boiling skeletons in a big pot and then went crazy, made a pair of magic binoculars, and got killed by ghosts. Respective reactions to this were to take a long drag on a cigarette say “that didn’t happen” and take a sip of wine and say “it’s an interesting story.” Thank you British people for my life.

The Ice House (1978), original teleplay by John Bowen

A man vacationing to cope with the death of his wife begins to suspect brother-and-sister resort owners are up to something when they show him a mysterious vine growing on their property.

The concept of gothic horror set at one of the country health clubs that were popular in 70s England is honestly very clever. A forbidden room, a mysterious object, the image of a middle aged man wandering around at night with a candle instead of a young woman, it all mostly works, but doesn’t ever quite get anywhere. These are simple stories intended for sharing around a hearth or at a sleepover so shouldn’t want for things like character development or complex filming, but because this one was so ambitious you can feel how lacking it is. Gothic horror also isn’t my thing even at its best, and here its definitely... not (tw for incest.) The biggest point in its favor is the ending, which is at least a natural resolution to the story Bowen was trying to tell.

The Ash Tree (1975), story by M.R. James

Squire Richard inherits a beautiful estate from his distant uncle Matthew, only to be troubled by the sins of Matthew’s past as a ruthless employer of witch hunters. 

The framing of Richard-as-Matthew was confusing, the lighting and editing off, and I really dislike the witch genre so was predisposed against this one. I did like the wise old man character (the mild affect he has while explaining that anyone who touched Matthew’s body was physically wounded in bizarre ways??), and will give it credit for going from the most boring to the most insane one of the bunch. All of these are pretty tame so it was kind of a shock to have them cut to a topless witch torture scene and then to have an ending where he’s mauled by, um, spiders made from human baby heads. The titular cursed tree does burn down at the end, so that’s all good then.

Whistle and I’ll Come to You (2010), story by M.R. James

Pressured to take space from his wife’s care home, an old man goes to stay at a seaside hotel and finds a mysterious object™ while beach combing.

John Hurt is putting in such a powerhouse performance that it almost feels unfair to compare this to the cheaper 70s stuff. Cinematography and set dressing convey a subtype of loneliness that feels like scum on glass, and tension is built up wonderfully with nasty audio, a scary statue, the image of a pillow slowly dragged under a door. A figure on the beach is made frightening only through film techniques. It also strays much further from the source material than other adaptations, but that’s not without purpose. Hurt’s aside that losing someone to dementia is the opposite of our concept of a ‘ghost’ is more chilling than any of these goofy little vignettes have a right to be; no wonder they replaced the whistle with a wedding ring.

Stigma (1977), original teleplay by Clive Exton

Katherine and her teenage daughter take a trip out to their summer cottage, stopping to watch a team of workers attempt to remove a boulder from the property. Katherine is exasperated with her family, distracted by the workmen, and while cooking dinner finds her hand covered in blood. Only problem is she hasn’t cut herself.

This one was so fucked up and bizarre and I really liked it. As a kid one of my favorite ‘true’ stories was about a house in the Southern U.S. that inexplicably dripped blood from its walls, and this reminded me of that with an added human element. There’s a lot packed into the runtime and characterization considering how simple the plot is. Something both very charming and very chilling about amateur acting and grainy film stock that’s then transformed by moments of pure pathos and truly beautiful shots. The image of blood welling from skin with no visible wounds made me physically shudder; my only issue is that it over-explains itself at the end. So close.

Lost Hearts (1973), story by M.R. James

A preteen named Steven is sent off to live with a distant relation, an eccentric, kindhearted old man obsessed with the occult, and keeps seeing mysterious children around the grounds of his estate.

This one surprised me because I can’t stand the premise, but it really grew on me with time. Even though there’s no mystery (’those children you’re seeing definitely Aren’t little dead ghost children, why, the old man loves kids he adopted two orphans that mysteriously vanished’), it had the best pacing out of any episode I watched. There are some truly arresting and memorable shots like Steven’s benefactor clipping a flower with garden shears and grazing over a cherub statue, or his untimely demise filmed entirely in silhouette. The ghost children’s makeup has them in grey body paint with long vampire fingernails (and, later, open rib cages), which would have terrified me as a child. Even as an adult the image of them tapping on glass windows and humming a leitmotif is memorably creepy.

The Mezzotint (2021), story by M.R. James

Curator Edward Williams comes into possession of a print, a mezzotint, depicting a country estate. When a friend takes a look at it there’s something ever-so-slightly different about the image. Maybe Williams simply missed the moon peeking between the clouds and the figure stepping onto the lawn (spoiler alert: he didn’t.)

The prosthetics that traumatized so many kids who watched The Witches in the 90s never bothered me growing up, but that painting in the beginning gave me nightmares for months, ergo The Mezzotint is the most compelling of any James story. A deep-seated fear of something moving when you can’t see it is just so deliciously scary; I wish it hadn’t had such an unimpressive filming style (Mark Gatiss wrote/directed, and you may remember him from another show), but the pacing, the acting, and the mezzotint itself were great. The wise old man in this one is even played by an old woman- #feminism!

[eternalsawake]

the umbrella academy and video games they would play - mini drabble

argue with the wall

luther, number one: honestly minecraft. it was originally stardew valley but he rage quit after getting rejected at the flower dance. has a huge hardcore world, has the best weapons, but gets scared of cave noises.

diego, number two: valorant. absolutely a jett main, but secretly loves playing fade. would definitely bait his team just to “get a clutch ace”, he dies by the bottom frag sova. taunts the top frag of the enemy team each time he kills them. “gg ez” is ingrained into his vocabulary

allison, number three: hers is really tricky but i think call of duty, specifically on xbox. she had rly horrible teammates and rumored them to hit their shots. best idea she’s ever had. has insanely good aim, been accused of hacking on multiple occasions. t bags toxic enemies.

klaus, number four: resident evil. he saw carlos oliveira and chris redfield and was hooked. screamed his ass off when he saw the baby from re8. absolutely LOVES dead by daylight as well. mains the trickster when playing killer and mains mikaela & claudette when playing survivor.

five, number five: has no interest in video games. HOWEVER klaus tried to get him into roblox, and made him play 2 games; arsenal and the mimic. he got into an argument with who he didn’t know was a dev. got banned after telling them they live in their mothers basement. tried playing the mimic, said it wasn’t scary, threw the controller into the screen after dying and left the room.

ben, number six: in his younger years, he enjoyed the sonic franchise. his favorite character is defo knuckles and/or tails. after his death, he always watched klaus play detroit become human. all the siblings watched klaus play and yelled at him when he missed the buttons. bens favorite character is markus, but alice comes second.

viktor, number seven: into more story games (twd, last of us, etc) but his favorite has to be life is strange, true colors to be exact. secretly is really into slime rancher, it helps keep their mind at bay since it’s peaceful. likes the calming music (:

bonus!!

and if the family happens to all play together, their playing mario kart, just dance, or smash bros.

“who the hell plays as their own mii?” - luther

“I DO YOU BASTARD.” - five

-

a/n: i thought this was rly fun to write 😁😁

[aquillaac3]

Nyahahahah, I was tagged!!!!

Are you named after anyone?

Oh yeah, I was named after a french random woman my dad met at a meeting at his work, my dad was so fond of that name that he decided stick it on me.

When was the last time you've cried?

(Warning | Daddy Issues)

From what I can remember it happened on 2021, I was moving to Guatemala and I had to buy some masks due to the profession that I chose requires it. So to keep the story short, my parents and I went through a nasty argument (yeah the 3 of us) and my dad was so bitter to take me to the pharmacy and started to degrade me during the whole trip, saying that me and my mom are the worst thing on his life, how we are wasting his money on medical issues and blah blah blah. Disappointment and anger filled on me, I couldn't contained myself, I broke down in front of him for the first time. My dad being an ass started to compare me to my mom saying, "Stop being a crybaby, you're just like your mom!" I looked up at him and asked if he ever made his sons cry, he immediately and without a doubt said no and that where I bawled my eyes out, "Then why do you always make me cry???"

Yeah my dad is huge asshole, plus he has a lover and three sons living in the same town as we. Fuck you, dad.

Do you have kids?

No, but I have my cat Bon bon, does that count?

Do you use sarcasm?

Lmao I was born AND raised with sarcasm

What's the first thing you notice about people?

WHY ARE THEY NOT WEARING MASKSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!

What's your eye color?

Brown UwU (ugh)

Scary Movies or Happy Endings?

I prefer happy endings, I wanna see my fav characters live a happy life overcoming their trauma.

Any special talents?

Ah yes, I was very good at playing the violin, I can nurse a poor animal and human back to health and I'm very good at drawing.

Where were you born?

I was born in Cancun, Mexico (Lol don't bother searching for me there since I no longer live there since 2007)🥴

What are your hobbies?

Baking, cooking, drawing, writing fanfics and original stories, do a little gardening and playing video games.

Have you any pets?

Yeah I can a pet cat named Bonnie. She's named after one of my mom's pet rabbit. We adopted her from an animal shelter last year, poor thing she was a nervous mess but now she's a healthy loving lil cat. When my friend Lee came for a visit and met Bon bon, I expected her to scram out of fear but that never happened, she just purred at their touch when they pet her head, gosh, you have no idea how happy I was. That's were I knew that my baby was no longer afraid anymore.😭😭😭😭

Here she is💖

What sports do you play/have played?

Nah, I don't like doing sports.🙄🤚

How tall are you?

5'7 😈😈😈

Favorite subject in school?

Ooooh I truly enjoy history class, it's the assassin's creed's fault for making a sucker for history😫also I enjoy literature, I was always a bookworm eating out a whole book in just one day skksksks

Dream Job???

To become a veterinarian😩Gosh I love animals and I have a pure talent in caring for them, nursing is a wonderful profession but I want to expand my knowledge, when I finish my career I WILL study to become a vet!

Gosh I hope these ppl who I'm gonna tag is still active 😅

@leediddis @tiredcatsblog @pumpkinpowder @sin1039

15 Questions, 15 Mutuals

I was tagged by @tc-doherty to share my answers. Thank you for the tag!

Are you named after anyone?  Not that I know of…

When was the last time you cried?  It was on February 8th of this year.  Because of some work stuff.  Sometimes my job is hard lol.

Do you have kids?  No.  But I hope to adopt one day.

Do you use sarcasm?  All the time.  Some might say too much.

What’s the first thing you notice about people? Good question.  Probably general demeanor and basic politeness/manors.

What’s your eye color? Hazel :)

Scary movies or happy endings? Are these two mutually exclusive?  What if I like both? ;-;

Any special talents?  Ummmm… no.

Where were you born? Pennsylvania, USA.

What are your hobbies? Writing, reading, music, videogames, photography, and I’ve recently taken up origami, too!

Have you any pets? Not anymore :( my beagle, Chase, passed away last January.

What sports do you play/have played? I haven’t played anything officially since high school, but I used to play basketball and softball.  And I played flag football and soccer for one or two seasons, too.

How tall are you? 5ft. 3in.

Favorite subject in school? Honestly, this always depended on my teachers.  But generally, it was English or history or both.  I also greatly enjoyed my sociology and macro social work classes when I got to college.

Dream job? Idk, man.  A job that would let me dismantle the mental health system in America from the ground up :)

Tagging: @lilithfairen, @emelkae, @my-writblr, @dysphorie, @gracemlachakwrites, @pathsofoak, @bowl-of-shortness, @asher-orion-writes, @italiangothicwriteblr, @papercutsunset, @up-in-flames-writing, @writingpotato07, @sleepyowlwrites, @dallonm