#NOT KNOWING WHAT THE FUCK 'TWILIGHT FAREWELL' MEANS
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this torture we're going through with the anime must be divine karma for slandering Bones all this time...... they said "oh, you don't like how we adapt things? you say the manga does it better?? okay then, well now there is no more manga. it's Bones or bust, bitches."
#bungou stray dogs#they really said now either you get the story from us or you don't get it at all 😭😭😭😭💀#screaming crying throwing up shaking HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CARRY ON FOR THE NEXT WEEK LIKE EVERYTHING IS NORMAL#NOT KNOWING WHAT THE FUCK 'TWILIGHT FAREWELL' MEANS#NOT EVEN A FULL WEEK BUT FIVE DAYS CAUSE THE PV ALONE WILL END ME#seriously though how can i be okay with getting canon content for the first time in the ANIME#they already do terribly with content that ALREADY EXISTS#HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO FEEL GETTING /NEW CONTENT/ THROUGH /BONES/#i guess looking at it another way though...... i should be glad if they deliver me some fucking hope a few weeks early#like obviously i'd rather none of this have happened and have gotten to this point in the last episode in the manga first#but since it did turn out this way....... if good things happen i'll take it i can't complain at this point just GIVE ME HOPE#mexican standoff with bones now that there's (basically) no manga content left like 'so it is down to you and it is down to me'#bones at the end of the fucking bsd world: 'never thought i'd be fighting side by side with a bsd anime hater'#me: 'how about side by side with a friend?'#bones: 'aye i can do that'
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Gallow Walker
Fandom: Hazbin Hotel
Rating: T
Pairing(s): Charlie/Vaggie, HuskerDust
Drade’s presence in the hotel was quickly becoming like the waves lapping at the shore before the arrival of a storm. Sticking her nose in every bit of business she could find while simultaneously remaining mostly disinterested in the goings on in said hotel, today was no different with the group seemingly running around like chickens with their heads cut off meanwhile Drade just tended to her own affairs in her room until a familiar voice caught her attention from downstairs. Moving to the top of the staircase where sure enough she caught sight of Lucifer chatting with Charlie in the main lobby.
“Lucifer?” Drade spoke up instantly drawing everyone’s attention in her direction, but most of all Lucifer turned to regard the smooth velvety tone that had said his name.
“Drade? Is that really you? Fuck, how long’s it been?” Lucifer questioned moving in Drade’s direction to meet her at the bottom of the staircase.
“Too long, my old friend,” Drade retorted, embracing Lucifer despite having to lean down due to their height difference.
“Agreed, glad to see you’re the same as ever,” Lucifer chuckled pulling from the hug.
“Yep, business as always…I heard about you and Lilith, condolences,” Drade explained offering a sympathetic smile.
“Oh, right, thank you.” Lucifer retorted.
“Anyway pleasure to see you again, I’ve got business to attend too and I’m sure Charlie can’t wait to show you around the hotel, but we really must catch up sometime real soon,” Drade declared heading back up the stairs towards her room.
The red heads mind raced as she attempted to focus, closing her bedroom door as she strode to a large ornate vanity that sat opposite her four poster bed. A frown settled upon Drade’s features, a wave of her hand revealing a contract upon silver parchment with the words ‘Gallow walker’ written near the top and a blank signature space below. Brow furrowed she looked upon the parchment, releasing a heavy indecisive sigh after a few moments indicating there was an internal debate taking place. The parchment drifted to the vanity’s surface where Drade ran a hand over it before turning to go sit in one of the high back chairs near the window, pulling out her phone to continue with the business she’d started that morning.
Sometime later, a ruckus erupted outside causing Drade to stand up and glance out her window just in time to witness Alastor in his demon form feeding on some foolish loan sharks. Chuckling to herself, Drade enjoyed the short show only to hear her phone go off just as Alastor finished his little tirade. Glancing over to the small table beside her high back chair where said phone sat with a message on the screen stating a deposit of money had been made to her leading to the pensive look returning to her features. Casually folding her arms over one another Drade watched the sun dip low into twilight when a knock at her door drew the red heads attention.
“Enter,” Drade permitted not moving from the window.
“Hey, figured I’d drop in for a final farewell,” Lucifer stated entering the room.
“I appreciate that,” Drade stated.
“Still haven’t accepted that contract, huh?” Lucifer asked gesturing to the silver parchment sitting upon Drade’s vanity.
“You know I’ve never had a reason to do so,” Drade responded, following the gesture with her eyes.
“Yeah, I remember. Still you pulled that out must mean you’re giving it some serious consideration,” Lucifer retorted.
“Charlie is renewing my conviction, perhaps if hell is willing to listen even if their the only ones…it might make it worth it,” Drade admitted.
“Is that why you haven’t high tailed it out of here?” Lucifer inquired with a cheeky smirk.
“What do you mean?” Drade asked in turn, turning around to face Lucifer.
“Please, you don’t think I don’t know what’s going on in my own kingdom? You came here looking for a soul related to your latest…endeavors,” Lucifer explained, twirling his staff.
“Humph, fair enough. Yes, I completed my task a couple days ago and today I got my payment for his demise,” Drade confirmed with a soft chuckle.
“Yet you’re still here and…looking at your contract,” Lucifer persisted, tapping his staff on the floor to lean on it with both hands.
“Are you really encouraging me to be responsible?” Drade inquired with a quarrying eyebrow raise and a smirk.
“Touche,” Lucifer chuckled.
“Perhaps it is time…either way it was nice to see you again,” Drade finished shooting a sincere smile towards Lucifer.
“That it was, farewell…till next time,” Lucifer bowed with a wink then vanished.
A couple hours of contemplation led Drade to leave her room, moving to the lobby downstairs where she found Charlie sitting on the couch staring into the fireplace. Drade moved to sit in the armchair across from the couch with Charlie wearily watching her.
“You look tired,” Drade commented upon sitting in the chair, crossing one leg over the other.
“I am…but I can’t sleep,” Charlie answered, resting her chin on her hand while returning her gaze to the fireplace.
“Hmm, what troubles you young one?” Drade inquired, tone gentle as she leaned back.
“Dad said he’d get me a meeting with heaven tomorrow…which I want! But…I’m scared…” Charlie confessed.
“I see…you still wish to try to get heaven to listen,” Drade commented.
“I know it sounds insane…despite what everyone thinks though I’m not naïve, I understand there are some souls that cannot be saved and that’s fine, but…there are so many souls who’ve made one small mistake or one little misstep, we all make mistakes…they don’t deserve damnation for that,” Charlie explained, head lowering as she gestured with her hands absently.
“Humph, do you know how I met your parents?” Drade inquired with a small smile.
“N-No, Dad mentioned on occasion he knew you from his days in heaven, but nothing specific,” Charlie answered.
“I did know them in heaven, I would visit on occasion for various reasons and during those days’ things were…nicer…better…however as time went on the other angels grew selfish, discouraging Lucifer’s dreams as it wasn’t ‘their’ ideal,” Drade began.
“Were you part of that?” Charlie asked curiously.
“I defended Lucifer, trying time and time again to get the angels to listen only to have them turn def ears on us. I grew weary of trying to get them to listen eventually turning my sights on hell as at the time it wasn’t a terrible place however it too refused to listen,” Drade continued seemingly growing more solemn the longer she told her story.
“So, what happened?” Charlie asked, eager to hear the story in full.
“As you said, everyone makes mistakes and Lucifer and Lilith made theirs resulting in them being cast into hell. Until that moment I had been considering a very important and powerful decision however with that I denied it, after all why would I bother sticking my neck out for anyone unwilling to listen and with that I situated myself on earth,” Drade finished explaining her story.
“Wow, what was the decision?” Charlie quarried.
“To become the new Gallow Walker,” Drade simply answered.
“Wait…aren’t Gallow Walkers one of the most powerful beings in all the universe?” Charlie asked, eyes growing wide as the information sunk in.
“So, they say,” Drade confirmed casually.
“You’re…are you…?” Charlie stammered uncertain how to ask the millions of questions running through her mind.
“I have the Gallow Walker contract, but I’ve never signed it because I never saw reason too however YOU, Charlie have given me the first glimmer of reason to do so,” Drade explained.
“Me?” Charlie questioned gesturing to herself.
“Yes, now let me ask you this, are you really willing to fight for this dream of yours?” Drade asked, bringing her hands up to form a pyramid in front of herself.
“Yes! I want this more then anything! Everyone makes mistakes and those who do should have that chance to redeem themselves,” Charlie declared, tone resolute in a manner Drade hadn’t seen since Lilith.
“Very well. Guess it’s time for the Gallow Walker to rise once more,” Drade declared.
“Does this mean you’ll help me convince heaven? Will you be a Gallow Walker by the time tomorrow comes?” Charlie wondered.
“Yes, I’ll accept the contract tonight and everything will happen in turn,” Drade briefly explained, pushing up from the chair she was sitting in.
“Thank you,” Charlie quietly stated as Drade brushed past her heading for the staircase.
A small nod was the last thing Drade offered before heading up the stairs back to her bedroom. Moonlight shown through Drade’s window promptly illuminating the entire room, a flick of her wrist revealed the silver parchment contract floating in mid air and with a resolute breath Drade pricked her finger with one of her own nails. The blood smeared across the blank signature space of the contract reshaped into a crimson signature right before the contract faded into a silver aura that wrapped around Drade. Pain racked the red head’s form causing her to double over, arms crossing over her chest as her hands grasped at her upper arms with a cry of agony. The sickening sound of taring flesh resounded through the room from two large bat like wings emerging from Drade’s back, the cry she released fading into a dragon’s scream while the silver aura formed new clothing. A long flowing coat like shirt with short sleeves and shoulder guards did up in the center while a pair of dark colored jeans wrapped around her legs coupled with a pair of gold leather bracers on her forearms and her boots remained. Pain faded, the aura seeped into Drade’s form, and she was able to stand up while all the knowledge of the past Gallow Walkers resonated in her mind.
“Show me the scales,” Drade whispered into the darkness, raising a hand with her palm facing upwards. A pair of scales appeared, one was heaven, another was hell, and the final was earth. Drade gasped, she knew the scales would be out of balance from the absence of a Gallow Walker for so long, but she didn’t anticipate just how out of balance they were. Heaven’s scale was tipping dangerously to one side promptly throwing the delicate balance of all three scales out of sorts.
“I’ve waited too long…I must fix this,” Drade declared, pinching her fingers together causing the scales to vanish.
#Humor#Angst#Drama#Action#Hazbin Hotel#Husk#Angel Dust#Alastor#Charlie Morningstar#Lucifer Morningstar#Original Female Character
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sighs... i adore the finale of mlp: friendship is magic so much. there was clearly a lot of love put into those last three episodes, and you can just feel the writers and the artists fondly bidding these characters one last farewell, y’know? it’s the (bitter)sweet ending this special show deserved.
but also, while the writers bring twilight and her friends’ story to a very clear end, they (pretty masterfully, if i do say so myself) leave room for equestria’s story to continue. everything was set up for generation 5 to showcase how equestria and the lands beyond have evolved and how twilight’s legacy lives on!
so i’m just kind of flummoxed by how it’s... not.
like. generation 5 wants to be its own thing, and that’s fine. but it also desperately wants to be this seamless continuation of generation 4 and it’s like. um. you can’t be both, man. in its attempt to juggle both of these ideas, it just completely fuckin’ retcons 9 seasons of worldbuilding and development.
where are the winter spirits (not using their canon name because Naur)? you know, the ones that feed off of animosity and fighting? where are the dragons? the hippogriffs/sea ponies? the changelings? the griffins? the yaks? where is the crystal empire? how have 0 records of twilight’s literal School Of Friendship survived? how are there not even simple legends about nightmare moon and her defeat, or tirek and his defeat(s), or chrysalis, or anything?? how has all that world-defining history just been lost?
where is star swirl and the other pillars? ... ok granted they’re probably not immortal but again: not even a whisper of their legacy has remained?? what about celestia and luna? or starlight glimmer’s!?!? out of all the most powerful ponies equestria has ever seen, you mean to tell me only the image of twilight and her friends has stuck around . and that like Two ponies (sunny and her dad) are familiar with them.
where the fuck is discord*
(* comics i have not read are not being acknowledged atm. because really - a character with literally unlimited magic who is deeply tied to the mane 6 and would have been dedicated to maintaining their legacy and protecting equestria for eons to come should have come up in the movie/show by now)
why am i supposed to care about opaline when season 9 of fim ends with two of the most spiteful, interesting antagonists the show has ever introduced (i love cozy glow and i think she’s a fascinating character and i wish the show had more time to dive into why she’s like that, but i’m reluctant to put her on tirek and chrysalsis’ level. she’s like 11) are encased in stone, and since we know that sort of magic-stone-imprisonment is not permanent...? like ??? get this random (and frankly, Ugly) alicorn out of my face i want to know what happened with THAT before you go trying to establish any new Big Baddies
i wouldn’t have as many issues with a new generation/make your mark if it wasn’t determined to cling to fim as its foundation. but since it is.......... what the fuck is going on. why are you paying homage to one of the best iterations of my little pony when you can’t even keep the worldbuilding straight for 2 minutes
#welcome to your bimonthly Millie Talks About Rainbow Horses For 10 Minutes For No Reason session#LIKE. LISTEN. mlp will always be special to me and i am trying to find it in me to love generation 5 and i CAN'T BECAUSE ??!?!?!!?#i may be extremely biased to fim. but on an objective level generation 5's writing is a fucking mess#i watched make your mark like last month and OHH MY GOD. THE PACING IS A NIGHTMARE.#the basic plot lines and ideas for character development are sound! and i enjoy the ideas for exploring magic and cutie marks#i'm admittedly intrigued by misty and her lack of a cutie mark and her relationship with opaline would be a good commentary#but the execution of everything is FUCKED#like even if i set aside all my grievances with the major retconning. they are breaking like every basic rule of writing ever#i don't understand what direction they're trying to take this thing in and i don't think they know either 😭#anyway. see y'all again in march
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phoebe bridgers // elliott smith parallels
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4BEfu6YZ7XbdHFZBXthIpN?si=6bf8fc460eba4d33
E - Riot Coming - “Sat down in jail with this friend of mine/Who'd never close both his eyes/But one was shut all the time/To cover the thing he was scared of”
E - Stupidity Tries “To sail across the sea of trash”
E - Going nowhere - “The old records are sitting on the floor/The ones I can’t put on anymore”
E - Clementine - “Anything to pass the time/And keep that song out of your mind”
P - Smoke Signals - “One of your eyes is always half-shut/Something happened when you were a kid” - “burning trash out on the beach” - “You said that song'll creep you out until you're dead”
E - Miss Misery - (music videos on the same street)
E - Easy way out - “While I watch you making mistakes/I wish you luck I really do” “I heard you found another audience to bore”
E - Looking Over My Shoulder - “Another sick rock ‘n’ roller acting like a dick”
E - Placeholder - “I'm the person you'll never need/The biggest loser on sixteenth street” - “Just like my favourite song/Some pretty words that didn't last that long”
P - Motion Sickness - “I'll be glad that I made it out/And sorry that it all went down like it did” “You said when you met me, you were bored” - “Hey, why do you sing with an English accent?/I guess it's too late to change it now”
E - Some Song - “Help me kill my time cause I'll never be fine”
P - Funeral - “Jesus Christ i'm so blue all the time/And that's just how i feel/Always have and i always will ”
E - Bled White - “Happy and sad come in quick succession/I’m never going to become what you became”
P - Demi Moore - “I got a good feeling/It doesn't happen very often”
E - St Ides Heaven - “With an open container from 7/11”
E - A Fond Farewell - “A fond farewell to a friend”
P - Scott Street - “With an open heart, open container” - “Anyway, don’t be a stranger / don’t be a stranger”
E - Last Call - “And I think I’m all done, you can switch me off safely/While i’m lying here for sleep to overtake me”
E - Roman Candle - “I’m a roman candle/My head is full of flames ”
P - Killer - “But when I’m sick and tired/And when my mind is barely there/When a machine keeps me alive/And I’m losing all my hair/I hope you kiss my rotten head/And pull the plug” - “Tame the fire in you”
E - Georgia Georgia
P - Georgia - “Georgia, Georgia, I love your son”
E - Twilight - “That you are already somebody’s baby”
E - See you later - “Made out of a night train”
E - King’s Crossing - “Instruments shine on a silver tray”
P - Chelsea - “You are somebody’s baby” - “For a chemical imbalance/You sure know how to ride a train” - “With a needle on a tray”
E - Christian Brothers - “No bad dream fucker's gonna boss me around/Christian brothers gonna take him down”
P - Would you rather - “Quarantined in a bad dream/He's half the man and you're twice as tall”
E - Son of Sam - “Son of Sam, son of a doctors love a nurses touch/Acting under orders from above”
P - You Missed My Heart - “A feeling of relief came over my soul/I couldn't take it any longer, and I lost control”
E - Bye - (instrumental)
E - New Monkey (Instrumental)
P - DVD Menu - (instrumental)
E - Coming up roses - “And you're coming up roses everywhere you go/Red roses follow”
E - Rose Parade - “Said, Won't you follow me down to the Rose Parade?”
P - Garden Song “They're gluing roses on a flatbed/You should see it, I mean thousands”
E - Condor Ave - “I don’t know what to do with your clothes or your letters”
E - Baby Britain - “Fights problems with bigger problems/Sees the ocean fall and rise/Counts the waves that somehow didn’t hit her/Water pouring from her eyes/Alcoholic and very bitter”
E - Say Yes - “I'm in love with the world/Through the eyes of a girl/Who's still around the morning after”
E - Seen How Things Are Hard - “You just didn't care/You were off getting drunk instead”
E - The Biggest Lie - "Oh, I just told the biggest lie/ I just told the biggest lie/The biggest lie"
P - Kyoto - “And you wrote me a letter/But I don't have to read it” - “I wanted to see the world/Then I flew over the ocean/And I changed my mind” - “I wanted to see the world/Through your eyes until it happened/Then I changed my mind” - “I'm gonna kill you/If you don't beat me to it” - "Guess I lied/I'm a liar/Who lies/'Cause I'm a liar"
E - Memory Lane - “Your little house on memory lane ”
E - Angel in the Snow - “Angel in the snow/all crushed out on the way you are”
E - Last Call - “And I wanted her to tell me that she would never wake me”
E - New Monkey - “For the millions of fans ignoring the bands”
E - Waltz #2 - “I'm never gonna know you now/But I'm gonna love you anyhow”
E - Amity - “I'm a neon sign and I stay open all the time”
P - Punisher - “The house where you lived with Snow White” - “But never not sweet to the trust funds and punishers” - “What if I told you/I feel like I know you?/But we never met” - “The drugstores are open all night/The only real reason I moved to the east side”
E - Some Song - “Yeah it's halloween tonight and every night”
E - Pitseleh - “I got a joke I've been dying to tell you/A silent kid is looking down the barrel/To make the noise that I kept so quiet”
P - Halloween - “Baby, it's Halloween” - “I hate living by the hospital/The sirens go all night/I used to joke that if they woke you up/Somebody better be dying”
E - Shooting Star - “So bad, so far/You made me sad/Shooting star/You're distant and cold/And a sight to behold/Everybody just sighs”
E - Satellite - “When they call it a lover's moon, the satellite/'Cause it acts just like lovers do, the satellite/A burned-out world you know/Staying up all night/The satellite”
E - Everything Reminds Me of Her - “Why are you staring into outer space, crying?/Just because you came across it and lost it”
P - Chinese Satellite - “Took a tour to see the stars/But they weren't out tonight/So I wished hard on a Chinese satellite” - “Sometimes, when I can't sleep/It's just a matter of time before I'm hearing things” b- “Instead, I look at the sky and I feel nothing/You know I hate to be alone/I want to be wrong”
E - Coast to Coast - “Still you're keeping me around/'Til I finally drag us both down (Gonna drag us both down)”
E - Little one - “The moonlight tonight/Seems to belong to me” - “One more/Little one, I love you”
E - Coming up Roses - “The moon is a sickle cell/It'll kill you in time” “While the moon does its division/You're buried below”
E - Everything Means Nothing to Me - “At attention, looking backward in a pool of water/Wishes with a blue songbird on his shoulder/Who keeps singing over everything”
E - Pretty Mary K (Other Version) - “oh Mary K, I can see your face/down there in the waves, painted and erased/but I know it's just a reflection of the moon”
P - Moon song - (52) “You asked to walk me home/But I had to carry you” - (53) “And if I could give you the moon/I would give you the moon” - (54) “You are sick and you're married/And you might be dying” - (55/56) “And you pushed me in/And now my feet can't touch the bottom of you” “But you're holding me like water in your hands/When you saw the dead little bird”
E - New Disaster - “Everybody is the same in this long no-win game/Where every new blood/Gets time to become resigned” - “Until everyone knows that your smile is just a ghost/The ghost of your smile was seen on a body in the park”
P - Savior Complex - “Baby, you're a vampire/You want blood and I promised” - “All the bad dreams that you hide/Show me yours, I'll show you mine”
E - Oh well, Ok - “If you get a feeling next time you see me/Do me a favor and let me know/Cause it's hard to tell, it's hard to say 'oh well, Ok'”
E - Last Call - “You're a tongueless talker/You don't care what you say”
E - Angel in the Snow - “Only a cold still life/ that fell down here to lay beside you”
P - ICU - (58) “But I feel something when I see you now/I feel something when I see you” - (59) “I hate your mom/I hate it when she opens her mouth/It's amazing to me/How much you can say/When you don't know what you're talking about” - “laying down on the lawn” “if you’re a work of art/I’m standing too close/I can see the brush strokes”
E - Happiness / The Gondola Man - “What I used to be/Will pass away and then you'll see/That all I want now/Is happiness for you and me”
E - Whatever (Folk Song in C) - “Whatever you're doing now would probably suit me fine/If you're all done, like you said you'd be/What are you doing hanging out with me?”
E - Big Ballad of Nothing - “You can do what you want to whenever you want to/You can do what you want to there's no one to stop you”
P - Graceland too - “Said she knows she lived through it to get to this moment” - “Whatever she wants (Whatever you want)”
E - Bottle up and Explode “Bottle up and go/I can make it outside”
E - A Distorted Reality is Now a Necessity to be Free - “God knows why my country don't give a fuck” - “Shine on me baby, because it's raining in my heart”
E - Alphabet Town - “Alphabet City is haunted”
P - I Know The End - “There's no place like my room” - “To some America First rap country song” “Driving out into the sun/Let the ultraviolet cover me up”- “I'll find a new place to be from/A haunted house with a picket fence”
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The Way to Hell - Part 8
Summary: Post Mi6, Alternate Canon. August escapes Ethan Hunt with his face intact and is currently the most dangerous man alive. Unwilling to back down from his murderous agenda, he plots to continue where he stopped, unaware of the trained assassin who is sent to bring him down.
Chapters: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 |
Part 9 | Part 10| Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Completed.
Pairing: August Walker x OFC (Ingvild)
Word count: 5.5k
Warnings: Smut, blood, violence, gunfight, choking, rough, angry, unprotected sex, foul language, bodily fluids.
A/N: Okaaaay, it’s time to fuck shit up. The moment you’ve been waiting for. I lost sleep over this chapter, writing action sequences is HARD!!! So please leave feedback!
Thanks, @agniavateira for editing my work and being my muse.💖
*No permission is given for reposting my work, copying it or parts of the source material and claiming it as your own*
Title: Maw of the beast
Following the coordinates given to him by Knight, August steps through the muddy ground in the darkening evening sky. He listens to the squelching sound as his shoes sink into the moist mud, making sure the steps are his and his alone. His hand pushes a curled-up cooper fence that blocks the way and ignores the warning sign as he continues forward, following a man-made path of wooden planks.
A monstrous abandoned building towers in front of him, looking like something out of an Italian horror film. Scaffoldings and metal bars surround the dark concrete brick of what appears to be a spire or a gothic opera house of some sort, construction not nearly halfway finished.
August narrows his eyes with deep suspicion, making careful hesitant steps while looking around him. His hand reaches for the gun holster beneath the long beige jacket, ticking the clasp off in preparation of whatever awaits him tonight.
The entrance is guarded by two large gargoyles, leering at him from above a large archway. He stares back at the sculptures, focusing on their empty eyes before stepping through the open gate.
A great hallway welcomes him, accompanied by large pillars that guide the way inside. They’re engraved by winged creatures-angels or demons, he cannot tell. The corridor is showered by red construction lights chained to the floor, laid next to each tall column.
Bright enough to determine shadow from light, yet not strong enough to conclude if the deconstructed hall is a church, an opera house, or the gateway to hell itself.
Only one thing is certain: it’s most probably a trap.
August’s own steps echo in the acoustics of the tall ceiling. Marble shines on the floor through the wooden debris, and large sheets of nylons huddled on the floor. His soiled shoes step between them carefully, trying to listen to whomever walks with him among the darkness.
There in the umbra, a stalking predator moves behind the pillars. August pauses, his right hand resting on the grip of his gun while his ears capture the tapping sounds of small steps. An odd sensation spreads through each of his nerves, it almost feels like deja vu yet not as quiet. His heartbeat accelerates, her name rolling on the tip of his tongue even before the outline of her petite figure becomes clear.
‘How the fuck…?’
He might as well have summoned her into appearing by his endless thoughts of her. He can almost see her face as she moves with him with a succubus grin and shining eyes. She can tell he sees her, yet she does not bother hiding.
This is a game.
Aggravated, August sighs and moves to seclude himself behind one of the pillars. His gestures are nearly graceful, displaying a lack of panic even though the blood in his veins begins to boil. This will be the second time she is messing up his plans.
The petite woman moves through the columns like a playful ghost; she is silent yet in his mind, he swears he can hear her demonic giggles. August begins to slowly mimic her behaviour, stalking behind the opposing pillars like a large feline creature, watching her face and learning her movement methodically.
There is a loud drum in her heart, her muscles slightly quivering beneath the skin from the thrill of finally seeing him. The chase was prolonged, and even now where they’re finally sharing the same air, there is an unforgiving distance between them.
‘I will kill him with my own hands if I have to.’
Perhaps that’s the intimacy he deserves.
“You really value your life so little, princess?” August's deep voice finally graces her ears, and the baritone makes her heart flutter. Not out of fear, but the rush of having him close after days of chasing him with sick intent.
“On the contrary, Mr. Walker,” she replies with a smile on her soft-spoken voice, her eyes alternating between his figure and the path which is nearing its end. Arriving at the last wide column, she pauses, half-hidden behind the angels and demons that embellish the pale stone. August does the same, staring directly into her eyes from the other side.
No festive facade this time, just plain jeans and a black t-shirt. She grips her gun low to the side of her hip, her finger circling the trigger while her eyes stalk down his suited form, trying to learn as many details as possible. This time there will be no surprises, no hidden knives, or sins of vanity and arrogance which made her fail in the past.
“I told you, I will keep coming for you.”
“And I promised you, I won’t be merciful.”
A gun would be quicker, yet he would very much love to kill her using his bare hands. For a week the ghost of her face haunted him and now as her vision appears in the flesh all he fancies is to mount her small body and have his hands around her throat, squeezing hard until the breaking sound of her hyoid bone will fill his ears.
‘I wonder how many people know that it happens while choking someone to death.’
“I finally read your manifesto.”
The many images of him pinning her to the floor fade by the softness of her voice. His gaze pierces through hers. A shimmering glint sparkles in her eyes which are now painted twilight red by the lighting of the room.
“Do not mock me,” he warns while sliding his gun out from its holster. The sound of hard metal scratching against boiled leather makes her shiver with anticipation.
“I’m not. It’s beautiful, I mean it,” she replies with sincerity. Her eyes focus on August’s long index finger as it ticks the safety off. “The suffering I bring you is the bridge to ultimate peace.”
August scoffs as she recites his own words to him, mesmerized by how her voice speaks his own written vows.
“Are you trying to get me hard, princess? Because I’m halfway there.”
She offers him a slight chuckle, her mind tempting her with visions of his naked form, yet she brushes them away, her smile quickly fading. “Too bad, you have to die.”
“Too bad,” he answers back, his eyes drinking her pleasing sight one last time before a final farewell. He takes a hasty mental photograph of the facility, planning his strategy carefully, memorizing every exit route and possible guarding point.
“Well then, do we do this like in the American western films?” she taunts with a grin on her voice. “We count to four and draw? ”
He chuckles and shakes his head with amusement.
“However you wish to die, babycakes.”
“Alright then, on four,” she answers and turns to lean against the pillar with her back while cocking her gun, now switching to hold it between her hands while they are folded up, the barrel pointing to the ceiling.
“One…”
Stripping his jacket off quickly and throwing it on the ground, August prepares himself for the assault. With his back shoved against the thick column, he holds the gun close to his chest and glances at her from the corner of his eye. One eyebrow crooks up as determination paints his chiselled face.
“Two…”
The sounds of shots being fired shudder through the hall and ring painfully in their ears. Too loud to be able to hear the expensive stone blasting and falling apart at the floor. There is a high-pitched hum buzzing in Ingvild's ear as she crouches down to defend herself. Her hearing becomes somewhat impaired from the loud blast, making it near impossible to hear his movement.
He counts two shots from her weapon and sneaks on his knees to switch positions. Now hiding behind the doorless frame, which leads to another room. The lighting of the facility makes it difficult to see movement, and the gunshots have temporarily damaged their ears. He wants to praise her for selecting such a perfect location for a showdown, but he knows she won’t hear a damn thing if he will.
Breathing slowly, Ingvild sticks her head out carefully, just enough to seek his location. A whiff of violent wind grazes her cheek as a shot is fired too close to her face. She crawls back to her hiding position, glancing at the bullet that is pierced through the wall. Quickly, she sneaks out from her hiding place and sprints as fast as possible to stand at the same row of columns that August previously occupied.
He spots her movement and empties his gun four times, trying to hit her before she makes it to a barricade.
“Fuck!” he yells, missing her on all four shots. Her slender limbs and small figure make her far too agile for long-range combat, and he already spent 5 bullets. Chewing on the inside of his cheek, he quietly slides down the wall and disappears into the back room. His eyes quickly run through the next corridor, finding nothing but construction equipment, the scaffolding that holds the wall, and a half-exposed wooden floor that seems unstable as it creaks beneath his shoes.
There is a disturbing silence coming from August’s frontier. Leaning her head back and closing her eyes, she attempts to sense his presence, trying to remember Liam’s training. Yet her heart pounds too fast in her chest making her forget everything she ever knew. She had endless successful terminations since she was 14, yet fighting August is like fighting Lucifer himself.
For the first time in her life, she feels doubt.
Grabbing a rock that fell from one of the pillars, she throws it into the room, hoping the movement will fool him and evoke him to shoot yet there is no reaction from him, which makes her conclude he escaped to another room.
Taking a deep breath and trying to keep silent, she presses against the wall, smoothly advancing toward what seems like a crooked door frame. Her hands reach inside first, her head turning back for a swift second to make sure he is not lurking behind in her dead-zone.
She makes her way into an unfinished hallway of some sort, her eyes seeking for August in desperation, trying to determine movement, her feet nearly floating in the air as she hopes to remain unseen. The stern silence is needling and pricking her skin.
The hunter is caught by her own trap.
Cold sweat covers her forehead, and a sharp intake of air is forced by her lungs as she feels his presence behind her. She attempts to turn and face him, but something hard hits her on the back of her head. Her knees lose the battle to the physical trauma, her gun falling from her shocked fingers as pain blooms through her head like an electric shock.
Feeling triumphant for a split second, August seizes her by the neck with incredible force, eliciting a distressed scream from her lips.
“Shush now, beautiful angel.” he coos at her and points the gun beneath her jaw. “You already died before, you know what awaits you.”
‘Nothing.’
August watches as she stares at him, helpless. Her big eyes reflect his face in cherry hues. She is drenched with fear, even her sweat is soaked with it. Darn. Doesn't it smell amazing, combined with her natural body odour.
It’s an aphrodisiac, making him semi-hard, drawing him to smell it.
Ingvild scowls with shock as he nuzzles her neck, his moustache scratching at her skin. A terrifying chill flutters through her spine, adding to the harrowing sensation of death’s welcoming invitation.
She is not accepting it yet, though.
Her hands grab onto his and struggle to hold the gun away from her face. She claws her nails onto his fingers, leaving bloody trails across his fists.
The gun fires five more times, emptied into the ceiling until it runs dry, shooting desolated clicks again and again until August grunts with wrath. Still holding her neck, he shoves her toward the wall and slams himself against her back. The wooden floor creaks beneath them, its foundations starting to become unstable beneath their chaotic dance.
“Why did you have to make this so fucking complicated?!” he barks at her, his hand lacing itself with her hair, pulling her head back against his chest. She can hear the stark sound of a knife being pulled from its sheath and watches as her eyes reflect on the sharp silver.
“Why do you have to be such a fucking cunt?!”
August rasps at her, attempting to anchor the knife against her throat. Bracing a leg against the wall, she counters herself and pushes both of them back, also managing to knock the knife out of his hand and set herself free of his grasp.
August’s shirt is stained with circles of sweat as she turns to face him; he is trying to catch his breath while glaring at her with blazing eyes. His infuriated gaze begins to travel lower, falling to the corner next to her and fixating on the floor. Bemused, she follows the direction in which his eyes are staring, finding her lost handgun resting on a pile of nylons.
Their eyes meet together in a piercing glare, trying to read each other’s thoughts and calculate their next move. There is nothing between them but their loud breaths and the throbbing in their ears as their hearts pound heavily.
Arrogant as ever, August is the first to make his move, lunging forward with ferocious speed. Infuriated, she moves to block him, her knee lifting high enough to kick his chest. Coughing violently he stumbles on his feet, his ankle thudding back through the rotten wooden flooring, causing the planks to fall through the basement level.
Ingvild stares horrified as the floor crumbles as if Hellmouth has opened in the ground. She attempts to step back, watching August fling his hands in the air as he loses his balance. His hand grasps the collar of her shirt, pulling both of them through the pit in the ground.
~*~
The air jolts from his lungs at once as his back hits the ground with incredible force and a twinge in his spine rips through his body, letting him know he is still alive. The sound of his own husky grunt is a plea in the darkness as his body remains stiff and immobilized.
A sharp chill prickles his skin, moments of distilled fear are cold on his sweat. His mind begs to move yet his muscles ignore it.
Somewhere in the eclipse of the room, he hears Ingvild’s suffering grunts. Small movements catch his attention from the corner of his eyes. Attempting to find her, he slightly sticks his head up, watching her crawl on the floor with immense effort. Her black jeans are torn at the knees, blood and dust cake her chafed flesh. She coughs, holding one hand over her chest while the other supports her weight on the basement floor.
Scratches and blood stain her once porcelain face, her hair is a mess while her eyes are glossy from both the struggle to breathe and the burning hatred that boils within her. Dragging her limbs, she breathes so loudly every exhale comes out as a shrieking mutter.
“You look so beautiful.” August mocks and chuckles in a rusty voice, his laughter melting into a pitiful cough. He manages to regain some of his motoric abilities, turning on one side, yet his body betrays him, every muscle screams with exhaustion as he attempts to get up.
While watching August trying to get back on his knees, the bile rises in her throat. A spike of adrenaline shoots through her heart, and like a screeching cat, she lunges at him. Her hands push him back down on the dusty ground, securing his neck. She thrusts his head down and tightens her grip, strangling him while screaming with despair.
She never hated anyone in her life as much as she hated him right now.
August stares at her maddened face as she lies on top of him. Tiny wrinkles from between her brows as savage cries tear from her mouth. Her thumbs suppress his intake of air and force at his jugular. All the while, tears seam at her beautiful grey eyes, he can see his own reflection in the translucent glass. His lips are parted open, face turning purple. It almost feels like falling asleep.
As his mind nearly drifts away, he thinks of Lacey.
‘Was I the last thing on her mind?’
Aching as they are, his hands find their strength, reaching around Ingvild’s delicate throat. She hisses in disdain, trying to lift her upper body away from his reach yet he pulls her flat against him with all that remains in him.
Tiny spasms shock through her entire body as his lips crush against hers.
Her whimpers are divine, so gentle and delicate. He hums as if he is eating the most decadent desserts and devours every angelic sound her body produces. His hands are large and stark, restraining her head. Coarse fingers latch around her jaw, tethering her every movement while he dominates her mouth.
The scent of his own blood fills his nostrils as her claws paint his jawline threads of crimson, a pathetic attempt to resist him. Gory trails sear his skin, yet he is distracted by sugary-sweet lips. Capturing her, he suckles hungrily, flirting between the south and north of her maw while his thick moustache leaves the skin above her upper lip red and irritated.
The devil’s kiss leaves her in daze, the touch of his lips made her heart beat to an irrational speed, fuming in her ears and between her thighs.
It’s as if her nightmare came to being in order to haunt her, or perhaps the pit they fell through is hell itself.
Fruitlessly she tries to pull away. Yet his grip is iron, her small breasts mash against his chest as he holds her and entangles their legs together. Somewhere amidst her impossible attempt to escape a dangerous throb awakens between her thighs.
‘No, I don’t want this.’
August’s sharp teeth nip at her succulent flesh, his tongue stubbornly fights to exhaust her defiance. Yet it’s not his mouth that tricks her into submission but a rogue gasp that rudely forces her mouth open as she feels him bumping his hips and grinding his rock-hard erection against her torso.
August smirks in vanity and exploits her disarray. Penetrating the hot velvet cavern of her mouth and groaning at the sweet cinnamon of her tongue. He licks and swallows every tender whimper while molten bliss dances through his tendons.
Fear of death is replaced by a whole new strain of terror, making her squirm as August conquers her mouth. Ingvild’s mind whispers dark words, keenly reminding her that August Walker will not settle for just a kiss. The thought of his Adonis-like naked body pressed against hers sets a wild shiver in her arms. Horrified, she releases his neck and begins hitting his chest, exploiting the last drops of strength that still stream in her muscles. Her fist ploughs at him, seeking for that weakness until finally, his punishing mouth tears away from hers with guttural growl.
Ingvild inhales sharply. Rage is hot and loud on her breath as she glances down on the man who violated her mouth. His unforgiving hands slide from her nape to her shoulders, caging her forcefully while his tongue flicks to clean himself from her taste provokingly.
A malicious smirks sparks his face as he watches her grey eyes turn into crimson. The sight of her mouth engorged and glistening from his abuse is enough to make his cock twitch with sheer anticipation. He wonders how hot and wet she is for him down below, how wonderful she will sound taking the entire length of his cock.
“I bet your cunt tastes even better.”
The blood seethes in her. Any coherent thought is lost, there is nothing but hatred as she bestows him a sharp smack across the face, causing him to turn his head aside from the force of her slap.
Iron caresses his tongue as he tips it at the small gash that formed in his lower lip.
‘Just like Lacey.’
He growls at her dangerously, his eyes narrowing and his grip tightening. He readies himself to hit her back but is stopped by delicate lips that smear blood across each corner of their mouths.
Like an animal licking her prey, she drinks him.
For a moment she feels weightless, floating feather-like, anchored by nothing but the gravity of his strong body beneath her. But the yearning to brutalize him grounds her back to reality. She bites and sucks, her fangs creasing small cuts at his chin and the apex of his lips before moving to torment his mouth which kisses back at her in a wet synergy.
‘I knew it’d be fun to break her.’
August's hands travel south her spine, capturing her taut ass and squeezing it tightly. The heartless succubus tries greatly to be aggressive, yet he finds her kisses delicate as butterfly wings flapping on his flesh. The warm hums of her voice tickles his throat and her taste, a fear and lust mixed elixir.
He could swear he has never been this hard in his entire life.
Unrelenting desire flows through him, having had enough with letting her explore. He takes the reins and flips her down into submission. His tongue writhes into her mouth, snake-like and slippery while his hands ravage her body. He kneads and gropes, making sure to be as crude and ruthless. He hopes to hurt her every possible way.
She wriggles beneath him, legs locked, entwined between his, her boots kicking the ground helplessly. Sharp talons tug at her shirt and her bra at once, huddling it up beneath her chin. Just enough to expose her perky breasts to feast upon. August breaks away from her lips, staring at her naked chest while his teeth chew at the gash in his bottom lip.
A rosy blush spreads down her naked torso, the cries that leave her mouth speak of just as much pain as they tell of pleasure. August’s fingers thread between her peaked nipples before reaching to kiss and nip at her breasts. Ingvild shakes beneath him, exclaiming small hisses as his teeth leave purple marks across her body.
“Remember how I promised I’d fuck you, princess?” He asks darkly, a twisted fascination marking his face as his finger traces the stitches on the wound he gave her.
“I wish you’d die.” she bites back with loathing to which he replies with a cold smirk.
“You can’t even get that right, little girl.”
Snarling like a possessed thing, she finds herself clawing at him. Berserk, mind twisted, sick with desperation, her hands seek through the shadows, nails ripping and yanking at fabric and skin, shredding at whatever she can find until his battered body is exposed to her.
August huffs at her, his nostrils flaring. The small vixen beneath him awakens his every primal instinct; he wants to gnaw at her bones, to reduce her to nothing as he fucks her through her tears.
The violent scuffle to remove her jeans takes seconds. Sturdy fingers tug at both her undergarments and her trousers, pulling them down the bones of her hips in sheer brutality while she snakes her hips and kicks her feet. Exposed to the chill of the room and to August’s darkest needs.
Alarm spikes in her chest, beating with anxiety as his hand runs smoothly up and down her creamy limbs. Her legs shut together instinctively yet the beast shoves his knees between her thighs, starved to enter the warmth of her body. He fumbles with his belt, and the noise of the buckle clicking makes her jostle with fright. She attempts to catch that whimper before it leaves her mouth yet fails. August sneers, pulling out his large erect cock and letting the base grind against the wetness of her slit.
One hand cradles her skull, his thumb pressing against her lips, holding her head in place. The horror feeds him, stupendous panic, making her shiver beneath his large body.
The frozen girl who never feared death is afraid of him.
Feasting on her sight, he reaches his fingers to his mouth, letting his slippery tongue flake the tips. His thick saliva coats them before he sends his hand down to lubricate her inviting slit.
Ingvild’s breath suspends as scenes of her nightmare come to life. August hovers above her like a great incubus, and she muses if this is all but a dream, yet the brush of his wet fingers between her petals proves to be the only thing that feels real in her existence. There is a pulsating void in her chest and between her thighs, aching at his touch.
“Fuck.” he calls out ecstatic as the tip of his fingers finds her sleek and hot. Unable to wait anymore, he immediately grips at his cock and positions himself in her narrow slit. ”You’re soaked, you want this.”
Frozen in time, her breath takes away as the hard velvet of his manhood breaches her entrance, desecrating her with sin. His invasion into her body is brutal, ripping through her fresh core, while chanting moans of the most divine pleasure.
Every sensation becomes vivid inside her as he is buried in her depth, the astonishing, overwhelmingly tight grip around him, the nails that bite into his biceps, the small body that shudders unstoppably.
It almost feels as if he just broke something inside her.
“Oh…”
Realization seeps into his mind as she remains still but for the twitch in her muscles. Frowning bemused, he tilts his head down, noticing the quiver in her lip and the wetness beneath her glassy eyes. Ingvild watches silently, white with shame as August reaches his fingers to the space where they’re connected and returns them stained in crimson.
“Huh,” he exclaims, playing with the blood between his fingers before landing his palm next to her head. Sick pride poisons his beautiful blue eyes, his tarred heart singing of great victories. He didn’t think it was possible to be even more aroused, having wanted her for so long, but the fact that he just stole something from her that she will never gain back drives the degenerate feral animal inside him wild.
“Did I just pop your cherry, princess?”
Ingvild answers with silence, ignoring the arrogance that beams on his face and the searing pain inside her. She feels the warmth of her blood and the righteousness of her walls trying to defend her lost honour while his manhood throbs inside her with excitement.
Ever so slowly, he pulls out, his mouth ghosts over hers, aphrodisia coursing through his veins, fueled by the despaired gasp that leaves her mouth.
“Aww…” he coos at her yips and cries with false sweetness, his hand snapping at her inner thigh, handling it against his hip to force another punishing thrust. Pain surges through her cervix as he hits too deep. His low groans are languished, guttural melodies of pleasure.
“You feel so good, princess.”
Unwilling to succumb to his cruelty, she growls in anger. As he pulls back for the third time, she pushes hard to meet his thrust, taking his thick cock all the way into her chasm. Still raw, her muscles scream with protest yet she grits her teeth and smiles twistedly, unwilling to let him triumph over her.
August closes his eyes with delight, an onslaught of curses spilling from his lips at the sensation of her succulent walls engulfing him with woven warmth. He couldn’t be gentle with her even if he wanted to. His entire existence calls to shred her, to see her lips parting to small pathetic sobs of pain and pleasure as he conquers her.
Pain still spasms in her core as he drives into her in a lewd manner, yet the odd sensation of fullness achieved with the reach of his cock to the pit of her cervix evokes a new pleasant tingle in her essence. Like a gentle chord it vibrates, playing the sweetest music and blooming within.
Every time he pulls away, she suddenly grows desperate for his return.
‘More please, more.’
Deep whimpers and laboured groans fill the empty spaces between the shadows, creating a violent harmony as August fucks into her in a wild, primal rhythm, ending every thrust with a slam which makes her arch against him and tear his skin with her nails.
They can feel themselves pulsating in rage against one another, flesh slapping into flesh, blood and fluids, hot, savage like animals, reduced to nothing but their carnal lust. Their bodies move in unison, lips and tongues collide, teeth nipping at each other.
“You like that?” August rasps, his voice cracking into groans as he continues to pump in and out mercilessly, feeling her walls growing tighter, milking his cock in demand to drain him from his generous offering.
A hazed memory of a long time ago brushes through his mind. There’s a familiar sensation to this, surging through his ribcage, a desire to unload all his anger and hatred into someone else, to be baptized by her essence. It makes him fuck her harder, mistaking the thought that he could experience the slightest moments of redemption.
‘She doesn’t feel like that ungrateful bitch, nothing about her does.’
Ingvild bites her lip tightly, withholding from crying his name. There is a wholeness in her she never felt before. Tears well in her eyes, loving and hating the way his body fits inside her, making every sensation she ever felt in her life become insignificant. All that matters is his lips, heart, and cock as it sinks into her in an unstoppable pace until the colours and tunes dance in her heart, and a burst of white flames explode within her.
For the first time in her life, she comes around something, feeling complete.
‘She looks beautiful when she comes.’
“I’m going to come inside that virgin pussy of yours.”
August gasps a threat as he rocks above her, astonished by the sight of ecstasy on her face. His balls clench against the seam of her cunt, and his cocks swell between her clutching muscles. Spiralling out of control his fingers snap at her feeble throat, choking tightly as he’s thrown beyond rapture. Ignoring her desperate fight for air, his orgasm takes him by force. He moans deeply and spills his seed into her virginal womb.
Sobbing gasps leave her mouth as he strangles her. Tears roll from the corners of her eyes, falling down to her dusty hair in the dim light. Too meek to fight him off, she watches as his stare turns black, lost in some trance.
‘What are you doing to the girl, August?’
As if waking up from a dream, he snaps back and gazes down on her, surprised by the vulnerability and fright in her grey eyes as his hand holds her down.
‘End this.’
He frowns at himself, nearly frustrated, his hands releasing her slowly, backing away in the air, allowing her to breathe once again.
‘You fucking idiot.’
August watches her heave, sobbing beneath him silently. Her skin trembles beneath his heavy body. Shock and grief storm in her eyes at her lost innocence. As his knuckle grazes her cheek, she suddenly flinches and looks at him oddly.
The blue ocean in his glance shows no emotion, yet he croons at her and comforts her with the soft hush of his lips. His coarse thumb dries her tears, wiping them away and stroking her hair to cease her from shaking.
“Shhh… it’s okay. It’s okay.”
His touch is tender, almost relaxing. But the more she stares at him, the more chaos charges in her chest, making her want to scratch her own eyes in anguish. Pushing him away, she forces him off, guilt-ridden and ashamed. She tugs her shirt back down and fumbles for her pants desperately. A pink mixture trickles down her inner thigh as she pulls her jeans up.
Her blood, his semen.
His cock is coated by her innocence as well, tainted by a thin layer of blood. He chuckles to himself, coldly while sitting up and holding himself from making a humiliating joke about it while she moves around between shadow and twilight.
Unaware of what to say or do, he pulls his trousers back up and stands on his feet, trying to find his remaining piece of clothing before deciding what to do with her.
The sharp sound of a gun’s barrel being stretched pauses his musings before they even begin to take shape. His glare lifts up slowly to meet hers. There she stands, the untrustworthy whore, her gun gripped between her hands. A distressed look on her tortured bleeding face.
‘Just like the rest of them.’
Her lips tremble as she speaks, her brow rising up as if out of mercy.
“I have to kill you.”
A burst of light flashes in the room, making her grey eyes shine so bright they glisten like stars in the darkest skies.
It’s the last thing he sees before his world goes black.
_____________________________________________
Disclaimer: I don’t own Mission Impossible franchise and/or August Walker
#Henry Cavill#August Walker#Henry Cavill Fanfiction#August Walker Fanfiction#mission impossible fallout#Mi6#Mission Impossible Fanfiction#Fanfiction: August Walker#August Walker x OFC
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Febuwhump 2021
Here is the link to my febuwhump fic on AO3.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/29163078/chapters/71597028
Day 1
An ominous feeling hung in the air, putting all nine heroes on edge, especially Wild.
The group had just shifted to Wild's Hyrule, but instead of feeling happy to be home, he immediately felt a sense of dread.
"Something's wrong," fretted Wild as he looked around. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as he glanced around nervously, expecting something to jump out from the treeline and attack.
The group stayed close together, their eyes scanning the surrounding area for any signs of an ambush.
Hyrule leaned towards Legend as he continued to scan the area. "Do you sense that?" he asked nervously.
Legend nodded slowly as the rest of the group glanced at them curiously.
"It's magic, but it feels...wrong," the vet said, his voice faltering slightly.
"This is dark magic," Hyrule added. "Powerful, dark magic."
Twilight saw Time glance his way, and he knew the older hero was wondering if he recognized this magic.
Twilight shrugged. This was no magic that he had ever sensed before. All he knew is, whatever it was, it made the air feel heavy.
A flash of red caught the heroes' attention, and they all drew their weapons as they turned to see a hooded figure step out from the treeline.
The figure wore tattered, dark purple sorcerors robes with a dark purple cloak with yellow detailing. The stranger kept his head low, his hood obscuring his face.
Wild gasped. This person had what looked to be a great ancient core in his hand; only this one looked like it was infected with malice.
Warriors glanced over at Wild and could tell that, whoever this person was, he was not an ally of the champion.
"Who are you?" Time demanded, his grip on his sword tightening.
The figure slowly raised his head, his yellow eyes looking towards the core in his hand.
"I am a seer, hero of Time," the man sneered as he glanced at the older hero. "My name is Astor."
Time's eye widened in shock. How did this person know who he was?
"I had a vision of a great Calamity befalling the land of Hyrule," he began, and Wild felt his breath catch in his throat.
"I did all that was in my power to make sure that the vision would come to pass, but no matter what I did, YOU were always in the way," he growled and pointed towards Wild.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Wild demanded, the confusion apparent in his voice. He might not have all of his memories, but he was confident he never encountered this person before.
Astor looked around for a moment before his eyes went wide, and he turned back to Wild.
"This is the Hyrule from my vision," he stated. "This is the Hyrule that fell to the Calamity!"
"What do you mean 'this is the Hyrule from your vision'?" Wild demanded, his voice sounding more distressed as the seer spoke.
Astor ignored Wild's question. "This can't be right," he said almost to himself. "If the Calamity was successful, why can't I sense his presence?'
"If you're talking about Ganon, I killed him!" jeered Wild.
The seer's eyes flashed dangerously as he stared at Wild.
"So it would seem," Astor said dangerously.
"I must admit, when I attempted to travel back through time, I didn't expect to end up in a completely different timeline," the seer mused.
"I might not be able to take my revenge out on the hero of my time, but I will take satisfaction in knowing that not only did I kill you," he gloated as he pointed at Wild, "but that I will use you to take out all the heroes of Hyrule's history!"
Before anyone could fully comprehend what the seer had said, Astor raised the corrupted core into the air.
The core began pulsing brightly before a beam shot out and hit Wild directly.
Wild let out a pained cry as he dropped hard to his knees, his whole body consumed by the bright red energy from the corrupted core.
Twilight immediately ran to Wild to help him, but as soon as he reached out to touch him, the red aura surrounding the champion flashed brightly and knocked him back.
Warriors and Legend made a beeline straight for Astor, but suddenly a small, black mechanical device crawled out from behind the trees. If Legend didn't know any better, he would say it looked like a tiny version of a guardian.
The mechanical device quickly emitted a red, glowing pulse that swept across the field, knocking the heroes off their feet.
Astor laughed maniacally as the group struggled to get back on their feet.
"You might have defeated Ganon, but I take great pleasure in knowing that you will bring the demise of all the heroes that came before you. Farewell, Hero of Hyrule."
Suddenly the black, mini guardian began playing a song, and Time felt his heart skip. Suddenly, a portal appeared, and Astor and the little guardian quickly stepped through it, disappearing as the portal vanished.
Sky stared in disbelief. The portal reminded him so much of the Timeshift Stones of his era.
Twilight's distressed shouts snapped him from his daze.
"Wild, are you ok?" he yelled, careful not to touch him.
Wild was on all fours, his hands gripping the ground desperately as he tried to fight off whatever magical attack the seer unleased.
He knew what this was, and he knew he could not let it infect him.
Twilight looked up desperately at Time. "What do we do?" he pleaded.
Time stared at Wild. He had no idea what was happening or how to stop it. "I don't know," he finally answered.
He turned to Hyrule. "Have you ever seen magic like this before?"
Hyrule shook his head. "Never. I can try to see if I can repel it."
Legend quickly grabbed Hyrule's arm. "Don't be stupid. We have no fucking clue what kind of magic that is. For all we know, it will attack you if you try to mess with it."
Wild let out another distressed cry as he continued to fight against the aura surrounding him, sweat beginning to drip from his forehead.
Hyrule quickly pulled his arm away from Legend. "I can't just sit here and do nothing!" he yelled.
He quickly dropped next to Wild. The evil energy pouring off the champion made Hyrule hesitate. He swallowed thickly and slowly raised his hands so that they were hovering just over Wild.
Hyrule closed his eyes and concentrated. The others held their breath as they looked on.
Suddenly, Hyrule yelped and pulled his hands away as if he had been burned.
He stumbled back into Legend, who let out a low curse as he reached out to catch him.
"What happened?!" Time demanded, unable to hide the worry in his voice.
"This is Ganon's magic," Hyrule finally said after a moment.
"You mean like malice?" Sky asked.
Hyrule nodded. "We can't touch him; we can only hope he can fight it off."
Just then, the red aura that had surrounded Wild faded away, leaving Wild panting on the ground.
Hyrule scooted towards Wild again and carefully placed his hand on his shoulder.
When nothing happened, he quickly put his other hand on Wild's shoulder, pink light emitting from his hands as he tried to heal whatever damage the malice had done to him.
He could feel Wild tense up, but he was so focused on healing him he didn't notice the champion's hand grasped his sword.
The movement caught Legend's attention. The vet lunged for Hyrule and pulled him away just as Wild swung out with his sword.
The blade sliced across Legend's arm but he didn't' dare release Hyrule.
The others froze where they stood, unable to process what they had just seen.
Slowly, Wild stood up; his sword gripped tightly in his hand.
Wild looked up at them, his normally teal blue eyes glowing a dangerous red.
"Shit..." Time breathed.
"Wild...?" Twilight called out hesitantly as he stood behind his protégé.
Time saw Wild tense up.
"Twi, get back!!" Time shouted just as Wild spun on his heels, his sword arcing up towards his mentor.
Twilight barely got his sword up in time to parry the attack.
Wild began feverishly slashing at Twilight, pushing the older hero back on his heels as he tried desperately to block the assault.
Twilight stumbled on a branch and momentarily lost his balance. It was all the time Wild needed to deliver a fatal strike.
Twilight watched helplessly as Wild prepared to strike him.
He was sure the look in Wild's eyes would haunt him for the rest of his days.
Just then, Time came out of nowhere and tacked Wild to the ground.
Wild was able to roll away the second his body hit the floor and get some distance between him and the older hero.
Time was already up in a crouched position, waiting for Wild to make his move.
"Wild, you have to fight this!" he pleaded as the two stared each other down.
"I know you are in there. You are stronger than Ganon. Fight this!"
Wild growled ferally and rushed Time, but not before something snagged his legs, causing him to crash into the ground.
Time looked up and saw Sky, whip in hand.
Wild recovered quickly, a bow materializing in his hands as he turned to face Sky.
Sky lunged out of the way, the arrow barely missing him.
"What the hell do we do?" Wind yelled in frustration. He's gonna kill one of us at this rate!"
Wild loosed another arrow, causing Four to almost crash into Twilight as he dove for cover.
Four looked at Twilight as an idea suddenly hit him.
"How were you able to lift the twili curse?" Four asked quickly.
"The Master Sword broke the curse," Twilight answered, noting how Four's eyes looked almost purple in color.
"If the Master Sword can banish dark magic, it should be able to work on Wild," Four offered.
"We don't know that for sure," Twilight doubted.
"We have to try. It's the only option we have."
Twilight growled. Four wasn't wrong. They had to try.
Twilight waited for an opening before he took off towards Sky.
Four saw Wild turn towards Twilight, so he stepped out and threw his boomerang towards him.
It was enough to distract Wild, who easily dodged the weapon before firing an arrow back at Four, catching him in the shoulder.
The force of the arrow knocked Four off balance, but before Wild could get off another shot, Time appeared, shield at the ready, and blocked the volley of arrows as they took cover.
"Are you ok?!" Time asked anxiously.
"I'll live," Four grunted. He reached up to grab the arrow but Time grabbed his hand. If Time noticed the flash of vibrant blue in Four's eyes, he didn't say anything.
"I don't have any potions, and we are not in a safe area for me to wrap that," Time pointed out. "We have to get this situation under control first."
"We have a plan," Four suggested.
Time narrowed his eye. "What plan?"
_________________________________________-
Twilight was able to reach Sky before Wild realized where he had gone.
Twilight looked at Sky. "Four thinks we should use the Mast Sword."
Sky furrowed his brow. "Use it how? I can't attack him with it. Possessed or not, Fi will not let me attack him."
"Remember when we had to help Legend that one time?" Twilight noted.
How could Sky forget? It wasn't every day one of your friends transforms into a pink bunny.
"We are dealing with malice. Even if it works, it's not going to be as simple as it was with Legend."
"We have to do something, and I can't think of a better idea," Twilight argued.
Sky nervously ran his hand through his hair. "Alright, but how are we going to get close enough to him?"
"I'll distract him; you make sure you stay out of his sight. When I get an opening, I'll grab him."
Sky shook his head. He did not like this plan, but Twilight was right; they had to at least try.
"Be careful," Sky cautioned. "Malice is powerful, and right now that is not Wild..."
Twilight nodded. He took a steady breath, pulled out his shield, and started to advance towards his protégé.
Legend saw Twilight step out into the open, his shield at the ready. He also noticed Sky start creeping around through the treeline as if positioning himself to come at Wild from behind, Master Sword in hand.
Legend cursed, drawing Hyrule's attention.
Hyrule narrowed his eyes. "What's wrong?"
"I think I know what those idiots are planning," Legend declared.
"What are you talking about," Hyrule began, but Legend stopped him.
"We need to keep Wild distracted at all costs. Keep his attention away from Sky!"
Hyrule wasn't sure what was going on, but he trusted the vet. He nodded, and the two split up.
__________________________________________
Twilight took about four steps before Wild turned towards him, an arrow already notched, but he didn't release it.
Twilight noticed the hesitation. "You're stronger than this Wild!" he shouted as he continued to walk forward slowly. "You have to fight it!"
Wild didn't react, and for a second, Twilight thought he was getting through to him, but then he saw Wild's eyes flash, the red intensifying as it did.
Twilight saw Wild reach for his slate, his arrow replaced with one crackling with electricity.
"Damnit," Twilight growled, realizing his metallic shield wasn't going to protect him.
Just then, a fireball hit the ground directly in front of Wild, making him jump back.
Twilight turned and saw Legend, fire rod in hand.
The second Wild recovered and went to aim at Legend, another fireball shot towards him, putting Wild on the defensive again.
Twilight turned to the other side and saw Hyrule, his sword engulfed in magical flames.
"Move, ranch boy!" he heard Legend shout as the vet fired off another fireball. "We've got this!"
Between Hyrulel and Legend's attacks, Wild couldn't get a shot off. He growled in frustration as he was forced to stay on the defensive.
Legend started to think that maybe this would work, but that was before he saw a very familiar blue bomb soaring through the air right in his direction.
He barely got behind a bolder before the bomb exploded, causing dirt and debris to rain down on him.
"That's dirty fuckin' pool, Wild!" Legend snarled as he popped back out from the bolder and shot another fireball his way.
Twilight knew this was his chance. Wild was currently unarmed and wouldn't be able to use his sheikah ruins for a while.
He changed at Wild while he was distracted by Legend's attack and managed to get up behind him and grab him from under his arms, making it so Wild couldn't move his arms.
Wild yelled as he fought against his hold, and Twilight found it hard to keep his grip.
Just then, Wild froze, and Twilight looked up to see Sky in front of them holding Master Sword.
He could feel Wild's body tense up at the sight of the sword. Maybe this could work. The malice inside Wild was clearly reacting to the sword's presence. It could be enough to force it out of him.
Twilight was knocked out of his thoughts, literally, when Wild flung his head back and head-butted him.
Twilight cursed as he tried to shake off the pain radiating from his face. He felt Wild pull free from his grasp, and suddenly he found himself falling towards the ground.
Wild had dropped down and kicked out Twilight's legs, sending the older hero falling hard to the ground.
Sky went to grab Wild but noticed the last bits of blue fade away as Wild spun on him with a sword in hand.
Sky tried to spin out of the way, but he wasn't quick enough, and the blade Wild had sliced through his side.
Sky hissed as he stumbled backward, holding his side.
Wild took a threatening step towards him but paused when his eyes saw the red seeping through Sky's tunic.
Wild looked Sky right in the eyes, and for a second, the chosen hero thought he saw a look of concern flash across the champion's face.
Sky seized the opportunity and dashed towards Wild, but the malice quickly took back control, and suddenly the air felt heavy.
Sky had experienced this feeling before.
Before Sky could even register the implications of what he was sensing, he found himself flat on his back, the Master Sword no longer in his hand. He gasped as the laceration on his side flared in pain.
Wild had managed to dodge at precisely the right moment, slowing time down as he did. He spun under Sky's outstretched arm, knocking the Master Sword from his hand and sweeping his leg to knock him to the ground.
He stood above Sky, an Eightfold blade in his hand.
Sky looked up at Wild, his eyes wide. He could see the malice coursing brightly through Wild's eyes. Whatever control the champion had over it earlier was gone.
Sky's breath caught in his throat. Was this really how Hylia was going to let this end?
A figure suddenly appeared behind Wild. Sky saw him tense, and he knew he could sense whoever was behind him.
Wild spun, blade already arcing out, but Twilight anticipated the move. He quickly dodged the blade before bringing the Master Sword up, piercing Wild through the shoulder.
Twilight hissed as the pommel immediately burned his hand, but he didn't dare let go.
"Forgive me cub," he muttered as he gripped the Master Sword tighter.
Wild let his weapon drop as he tried to grab the blade, but the Master Sword flashed brightly, illuminating the whole area.
Wild cried out and dropped to his knees, but the Master Sword continued to shine brightly.
Sky could only watch, too stunned to do anything else. He suddenly noticed red flakes begin to float out from where the blade had pierced Wild.
Twilight noticed too, and he kept his resolve as he watched the malice being forced out Wild, the red flakes disintegrating in the air like ash.
As soon as Twilight saw the last remnants of malice disappear into the air, he pulled back the Master Sword and tossed it to the ground.
Wild immediately collapsed, but Twilight managed to catch him before he hit the ground.
He slowly lowered himself down, careful not to jostle Wild's shoulder as he did.
He pressed his hand on the wound in an attempt to slow the bleeding.
He only looked up when he could sense the others around him.
Sky was half propped up off the ground, his arm still clutching his side.
Time, Wind, and Four were quickly making their way over to them just as Legend and Hyrule got there.
Hyrule's eyes darted to the three injured heroes. Four looked like he would be ok with just a potion, but Sky and Wild were another story.
"I'll be fine," Sky assured. "Help Wild,"
__________________________________________
Time had the other's set up camp and gather supplies while Hyrule tended to Wild and Sky.
Despite Sky's protests, Hyrule insisted he heal him, explaining that the quicker they could get the wound to close, the better the chance that it didn't become infected.
By the time evening arrived, both heroes were patched up. Sky was sitting up, the combination of Hyrule's healing and a health potion healing his wound to the point that it was only slightly tender to the touch.
Wild's shoulder had also healed nicely, but he had yet to wake up.
As soon as Hyrule assured the group that Wild was physically ok, Twilight got up. He made a quick mention of patrolling before disappearing into the treeline.
Legend gave Time a worried glance. Normally, when Wild was injured, they had to pry Twilight away from him.
Time seemed to share the same concern because he got up almost immediately after Twilight left.
"I'll talk to him; just let us know when Wild wakes up," he said before walking in the direction he saw Twilight heading.
Time didn't have to go far. He found Twilight sitting against a tree, staring off across a small stream.
"Everything ok, pup?" Time asked cautiously.
When Twilight didn't answer, he walked up and took a seat next to him.
Time didn't need to be a mind-reader to know what was bothering his protégé.
"You did the right thing," Time finally offered. That seemed to get Twilight's attention.
"Yeah?! Doesn't feel like it," Twilight snapped.
"No? Ok, then what do you think Wild would rather us do?" Time countered. "Do you think he would want us to allow him to continue to attack and possibly kill us, or do you think he would want us to stop him and release him from the control the malice had over him?"
Twilight didn't answer at first.
"I thought...I thought I could get through to him, Twilight muttered. "There were moments where it looked like he was trying to fight it, maybe if I had given it more time..."
"If you had waited any longer, Sky would probably be dead," Time declared, causing Twilight to look up at him.
"Malice is powerful magic," Time continued. "Honestly, I think Wild fought it the whole time. He is a fierce fighter, and with malice granting him more power, I'm surprised we walked away from that fight."
Time's expression darkened. "I know that if it were me that got possessed, I would hope you would put an end to it as quickly as possible, with whatever means possible."
Twilight looked away, briefly flexing his hand as if it were uncomfortable.
Time furrowed his brow. "Let me see your hand."
Twilight startled slightly at the request. "It's fine," he said dismissively, but Time just reached over and grabbed his hand, causing Twilight to hiss painfully.
"Why didn't you tell us you were injured?" Time demanded when he saw the burns on Twilight's hand.
Twilight quickly pulled his hand back. "It's nothing," he said.
Time sighed. "Even though he was possessed, she still burned you?"
"It's the price for using her against one of her wielders," Twilight stated.
"You need to let Hyrule look at that. It's going to get infected."
"You either tell Hyrule to look at your hand, or I will tell him, and then I will tell Wild that you tried to hide it because you feel that you somehow deserve it as punishment for saving him.".
Twilight shot Time a dirty look, feeling a bit betrayed by his mentor, but he knew better than to argue with him.
The two heard footsteps quickly coming up from behind them.
"Wild's awake," they heard Legend say.
__________________________________________
Wild was sitting up, bookended by Wind and Sky. Besides his shoulder being sore and suffering from a pretty intense headache, Wild seemed to escape his possession relatively unscathed.
The last thing he remembered was seeing a stranged, cloaked man approach them.
It was decided that Sky would be the one to recount what had happened that day.
Sky was careful with the details, purposely omitting the parts where Wild shot Four and stabbed him, but Wild wasn't dumb. He could see the bandages that Four and Sky had, and the somber looks they were giving him.
"I hurt you guys, didn't I" Wild finally said when the realization hit him.
"It wasn't you," Four insisted. "Nothing about today was your fault."
"I can't believe I let myself be used like that," Wild blurted.
"Stop that," Legend scolded. "Didn't you tell us that one of the dragon spirits got possessed by malice? If a damn spirit dragon couldn't fight that stuff, what makes you think you could?"
Wild scoffed and shook his head. As much as he wanted to argue, he couldn't think of a way to counter Legend's point.
"How did you all stop me?" Wild finally asked. He didn't miss the way the others seemed to look away as he asked.
"I stabbed you with the Master Sword," Twilight confessed.
Everyone's eyes landed on Twilight, who was starting at Wild, bracing himself for whatever response was going to be thrown his way.
Wild stared, unblinking, at Twilight for a moment, his fingers unconsciously ghosting over his now healed shoulder.
"H-How did you know that would work?" he finally asked.
"We didn't," Twilight stated. "All we knew was the Master Sword could ward off dark magic, and we knew that she was powerful against malice...it was the only option we had."
Wild suddenly stood up, pausing for a second to let the dizziness subside.
Twilight watched, wide-eyed, as his protégé walked up towards him.
Wild got right in front of Twilight before dropping to his knees and wrapping the older hero in a tight hug.
Twilight froze in place, unsure what was happening.
"Thank you," Wild said.
Twilight stayed frozen in place for a moment longer before slowly returning the hug.
He understood why Wild was thanking him. It was for the same reasons Time gave him earlier, and for the same reasons, Twilight would be thanking Wild had the roles been reversed.
Twilight knew that he would rather die than hurt any of his brothers, and he knew that's precisely how Wild felt too; how they all felt.
#febuwhump#febuwhump 2021#febuwhumpday1#linked universe#linked universe wild#linked universe twilight#linked universe time#linked universe legend#linked universe warriors#linked universe hyrule#linked universe wind#linked universe sky
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Chapter 2, I guess?
Part one, also it`s on AO3.
So, he`s falling, cold mountain wind punching him in the face, irritating his eyes and making them water, goosebumps raising all over his torso for the apparent lack of clothing on his upper body. For humans, jumping off the cliff is a ticket straight to the end of the journey that is their life.
He was not a human, thankfully.
Jaskier`s not afraid of squashing his face into a bloody mess on the next best rock his head can find, because he knows that just can`t happen. The reason why he was so sure begun to reveal itself, and he moaned and bit his lower lip as the sensation similar to pain starts gnawing at his skin in the area of his shoulder blades.
Magic purrs to him again, and in that instant moment, two massive wings brake out from his spine in a fast, almost painless spurt. They make a few firm flaps, and Jaskier is soaring.
He didn`t fly for so long; he almost forgot the sheer joy of it. Jaskier`s crying from experiencing all those old-new feelings all over again, and there are too many different emotions burling inside him that he can`t quite put his finger on any of them.
Then, he hears magic`s soft call once more, the same sensation prickles at his whole face, and two long horns emerge from the edge of his hairline, repeating their elegant spiral in their way up, his cheekbones become a lot more prominent, his ears pointier, more rhomb-like. Now there are two pairs of canines in his upper row of teeth, and they are a lot more sharper, too. For the last of his inhuman features, a thick flexible scaly tail appears in his right leg pant, and it`s much longer than his legs, so the new anatomy part just hangs from it awkwardly and slightly unnerves him.
It feels like hours passed since the jump, but in reality, he knows it was mere seconds.
The bard looks at the mesmerizing view of Dragon Mountains, and he would`ve enjoyed it if it weren`t the same view he was looking at while being a target of witcher`s misplaced fury. They seem to him downright nauseating, for now, at least.
Not expecting any new bodyparts, Jaskier flaps his wings and sets in the direction of the mountain`s foot, where Roach was left, to retrieve the other bag with his belongings. He gives himself a mental pat on the back for not forgetting about it and clears all the thoughts from his head.
----
By the time Jaskier nears the clearing where everyone left their horses, it is late evening, and cicadas have already begun their twilight's song, accompanying fireflies' sparkling light show. He decides to land not very far from the edge of the meadow as a precaution in case someone might see him. Well, not just him, but his true form. ‘Can`t have anyone know I`m a fae, right?’
After waiting for a couple of minutes, the bard finally emerges from behind the trees and strolls to the chestnut mare. He almost steps on his tail, not used to it for twenty years of its absence, and curses then moves it up the leg pant and circles around his waist a couple of times so that it won`t get in the way.
"Hello, sweetheart," he greets his dear companion, " I came to say goodbye."
He pats her white striped muzzle, and she headbutts him affectionately. It seems Roach is not repelled by his unusual for her appearance, and Jaskier is not surprised, to be honest. Animals always loved his kind a lot more than humans.
"It's time for us to part ways again," his hand reached to the horse's mane and started to comb it with his fingers," for the last time, it seems."
She neighs quietly and nuzzles at his neck as if to say she'll miss him. "I'll miss you too, my dear heart." The bard wraps his arm around mare`s neck and hugs her closer, feeling his tears start to fall on her mane. And Roach, the amazing lady that she is, rubs her head against his and his heart breaks that he has to take himself off her master`s hands.
Jaskier pats her once more and begins to untether the bag with his clothes from the saddle. Then, he decides it would be a lot more convenient just to put his smaller bag that he took for the track up the mountain into the second, bigger one.
“You`re a fae.” A sudden comment startles him as he didn`t hear anyone approaching. He looks up and meets the gaze of an older man. ‘Shit, that`s just brilliant.’ Jaskier thought.
“ And you`re a dragon. Are we going to point out some more obvious facts?” he bites back, his eyebrows meeting in a frown. ‘So much for not letting anyone know.’
Borch seems absolutely unfazed by his comment and stares at the bard as if he were a particularly amusing child. “ I didn`t feel any residual magic on you. How did you manage to hide it so well? The witcher doesn`t know, I assume.”
The fae scowls at him some more and breaks the silence, “ I have my secrets. I also much preferred this,” he gestures to himself,” to be a secret. So yes, the witcher doesn`t know.” Jaskier folds his arms on his chest then,” You`re a dragon, as we so helpfully established a few moments ago, the rarest dragon. So unique that the White Wolf himself thought you were a myth. Surely,” he huffs,” you must know fuck-all to figure out how I hid it so well.”
“Contrary to popular beliefs,” Villentretenmerth smiles at him,” the fact that I am an ancient being does not mean I know, as you said, fuck-all.” The dragon keeps his facial expressions quite pleasant to show the other man that he is not a threat and that he has the purest of intentions, but this annoys him a big deal for obvious reasons. The bard sighs.
“What`s the point of this conversation? What do you want from me? I`m in a hurry here,” Jaskier questions and pointedly puts his lute on the right shoulder and the bag on his left.
“All I want to do,” the older man sighs too,” is to give you an advice-
“No,” the fae doesn`t let him finish his thoughts, feeling outraged once more at the dragon`s blatant audacity,” no! I have had enough of your advices!” Jaskier points his finger at the creature before him,” What good did your advices do for Geralt? For Yennefer? For me? Hm?” He gestures openly, his fingers pointing somewhere at the sky.
“ Nothing good, as you can see!” He almost screams, electric blue eyes stare stubbornly at Borch`s brown. Then, the musician takes a deep breath and adds quietly,” I`m done here. Farewell.”
And before Borch can say something else, Jaskier spreads his massive wings and flies up in a quick spurt, shocking even the dragon with his speed.
#the witcher netflix#the witcher#geralt/jaskier#dandelion/geralt#geraskier#angst#fae jaskier#creature jaskier#jaskier#geralt x jaskier#geralt of rivia
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Spoilers for this weeks Mandalorian Episode but I’m mad, and this is also really long going in depth of the Star Wars timeline and why I’m mad. Enjoy.
I was really hype about Ahsoka being in Mandalorian, and how it would tie in with everything else. Unfortunately It seems yet again writers don’t pay the fuck attention to current canon material and don’t know how to keep characters in character.
When Ahsoka said she couldn’t teach Grodu because he was ‘too emotionally attached to Din’ and how ‘she’s seen what that can do to a jedi first hand’ and the whole ‘I’m a jedi!’ thing was? Wrong?
I’m sure there’s folks who don’t know the timeline of things, but here we go fuckers I’m gonna set some things straight!
Mandalorian is set in 9ABY. To put that into perspective, Return of the Jedi is in 4ABY. Now, Star Wars: Rebels, which Ahsoka is a big main character in, is set in 5BBY to 0BBY.
Mando-Ahsoka’s character really contradicts Rebel-Ahsoka’s character by a lot. Especially seeing as in 3BBY, episode Twilight of the Apprentice, Ahsoka faces Anakin as Lord Vader. She stays to fight him, to “avenge anakin’s death” to which Vader replies “revenge isn’t the way of the jedi” And Ahsoka’s iconic “I am no jedi” line follows. Ahsoka goes down with Anakin, claiming she won’t leave him again, which displays her security in her emotions and letting them guide her. She didn’t run from them, ignore them, and save herself. She knew that what she needed to do was appeal to Anakin’s emtions by showing her own. Showing him that being emotional and a force user doesn’t mean you have to be a sith.
While Ahsoka has taught Ezra not to let his emotions cloud his judgement (as did Kanan) the verdict was, for the modern Jedi, emotions fuck, actually. Lets use them and learn how to control them healthily instead of being void of them to prevent people from turning into Sith. (Of course, the most recent trilogy fucked that whole shebang up and turned Luke into a shitty traditionalist jedi who thinks emotion scary and bad, but again, just as dumb.)
Ahsoka isn’t a Jedi, for one. She isn’t a traditionalist Jedi, for two. And she would have absolutely have had no problem helping Din teach Grodu! None of the reasons she gave Din actually make sense with her character!
Now what would have made sense was the following excuses:
“I’m tracking Admiral Thrawn and another pupil of mine, Ezra. I don’t think it would be safe to bring Grodu on such a perilous journey.”
“I can’t take Grodu and teach him without you. You’ve become a staple in his life, and while old Jedi would have no problem with that, that’s just not how I roll. I wouldn’t want to rip a family apart, I’ve seen what it does to people.”
“Since I’m not a Jedi, I may not be able to teach him properly. You need to take him to this temple to find another teacher. If there is one. There aren’t many Jedi left.”
How hard would that have been to write? It wouldn’t have messed with anything at all, to actually write her properly. She doesn’t have a problem with force users being emotional, she never has. Despite being Anakin’s apprentice and friend, and seeing him spiral. She of all people knows exactly why Anakin spiraled, knows how the suppression of emotions in the Jedi league caused a lot more problems than they solved, and left Anakin vulnerable to manipulation because Jedi don’t have the proper training to healthily deal with emotions vs logic. Ahsoka loved, despite losing. Ahsoka cared, and created attachments and felt anger and sadness and channeled that to better herself as a person and a force user.
It just doesn’t make any sense to me, at all. I’m really let down by this writing.
Also, small gripe that’s just personal opinion, but they really did a bad job with Ahsoka’s montrals. Really didn’t like that part of the costume. Rest was damn good, but her montrals looked so odd, being what part of the timeline it was. Just having them be longer and pointier would have been nice.
REFERENCES
Twilight of the Apprentice
A Jedi Night
A World Between Worlds
A Family Reunion and Farewell
Chapter 13: The Jedi
Ezra Bridger’s Legacy
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Title: The visions of the Gnawed.
Pairings: gen
Words: 1.5k
Summary: MonProm VtM AU. WARNINGS- blood magic, buried alive; Vicky has dreams she shouldn't be having in the first place.
She was surrounded by an oppressive darkness. Was she a shovelhead, doomed to dig her way out of a shallow grave and become fodder for the Sabbat? Was she captured by hunters and tied with a tarp?
Was there a stake in her chest, only narrowly missing her heart?
She palpated her chest, free of stakes, and reached up above her. Her hands came to a cushy interior of silk.
Was she in a casket?
Vicky felt fear.
Was she found slumbering in her Haven, ruled dead, and buried?
Her hands slammed against the lid. "Help," she squealed, her chest tight, "help. Help! Help me!" Vicky slammed her fists against it. It didn't even rattle. Only muted thumps from her banging. "Somebody, please help me! Get me out of here! Get me out!"
---
Vicky's eyes opened. She bolted from her bed and fell onto the floor, shrieking like her eyes were plucked out. The stainless steel table toppled over with a crash, reverberating off the walls.
Bracing herself on the floor, she sat on her legs and looked around. She was still in her Haven. Was that a dream?
Did Kindred even dream?
Vicky righted the table and looked around. Her skin was covered in a thin film of blood- she was so scared she was sweating.
Did Kindred even fucking dream? Never before did Vicky dream. Whispers, epiphanies, but nothing visual. Nothing like that.
The wheels landed on the floor. Vicky heard something clatter onto the linoleum. She crouched and retrieved something odd. A piece of wood, stripped of bark, with thirteen knots. It was wet with blood.
Vicky whimpered. She immediately checked the door. Locked. The windows still nailed shut. Her mind raced. What the fuck was that? And how did someone break into her Haven?
She paused midstep. The Tremere, and by extension, the Camarilla.
Someone needed to be told. Vicky pocketed the fetish and ran from her Haven. It was still light outside, but twilight made it easier to stick to the shadows, avoiding the vestiges of burning rays.
Vicky holed up behind the bar. She held her legs and rocked.
Was she found? Was the bloodhunt ongoing? Would the Vegas Camarilla stop until they found her? Would she be staked and left to sunrise?
If she had a heart, would it fail because of her fear?
The door opened. Vicky vanished and peered over the counter. It was Amira and Vera. Vicky's Obfuscation was cut short and she raced to them. Vera caught her by her shoulders.
"Vicky, what the fuck?"
"I had the most terrible dream, and I found this in my Haven! Under my bed!"
Vera peered at the wooden fetish Vicky presented. She frowned. "It's nothing I recognize," she explained. "I'll give some Tremere I know a call. I doubt they'll give you anything substantial, given how they hoard their magic, but they might give you why it could've been made, and that could give you a lead." She turned to Amira then. "Accompany her."
Amira nodded. "Of course."
He fetched a towel from behind the bar and wiped off Vicky's skin. "You're covered in blood..." he remarked.
"I-I was so scared, I started sweating."
"I see." Amira hummed. "Let's get you washed up when Vera finishes, then we can check this shit out. Give you some dignity before we see those witches."
Vicky nodded. "Thank you. You're all such good friends."
He shrugged. "This Barony is mostly made of misfits like you and me, thanks to the Baron. He's more like a father to many of us. Jyhad isn't as extreme here because of it."
"I see." Vicky sniffed. She was grateful for that. The Camarilla was so cut-throat, so self-serving. It was like treading rapids there, and all she got out of it was her sire assassinated and existential fear.
Some minutes later, Vera returned. "I have to stay here. But some Tremere is willing to meet us."
"And they're willing to go against the fucking Camarilla?" Amira snorted. "Sounds like a trap."
Vera crossed her arms. "I never said to trust them. But I don't have any better ideas. God knows the Tremere cling to power in the Camarilla for self-preservation. An additional safety net to hide their Thaumaturgy."
"O-okay. I can see them," Vicky said. Who knows. They might be the very ones behind it.
Amira sighed and scratched the back of his head. "Okay. Where are we meeting them?"
"Parthi Park an hour from now. There are three of them. Hope and Joy are Tremere. The third, named Faith, is Lasombra. Don't expect the area to be cleared, however. It is a public park. The Masquerade holds."
They nodded.
When they came to Parthi Park, Amira and Vicky took a seat beside one another. He leaned back and kept an eye out with a cigarette between his lips.
Vicky sniffed. "Do you know these guys?" she asked.
"I know of them, and I've seen Faith with Polly over the years. They're not a part of my coterie, though."
She smiled. "How opportune then."
"Hardly. I'm not interested in politics and coteries and shit. I get why they're needed, but they're a pain. I don't think I'd give a Tremere the time of day anyway. They're creepier than Nagaraja and suck Cammy dick on top of it."
"Point taken."
Amira said, "In your shoes, though, I'd consider it. You're... feeble. All due respect. Feeble and unhinged. Almost to the point of being Gnawed. You need all the help you can get."
Vicky scowled. "I don't trust people Vera and Polly don't. I can't have people I don't trust in my coterie."
"I get that," he replied. "Just know we may not be around forever."
Vicky shook the memory of her dream. Of imagining Vera or Polly or Amira underground and scratching at a coffin.
It gave her goosebumps.
From the shadows emerged a trio of women. Witches. Vicky stood. "Hi... are you Joy, Hope, and Faith?"
"Ironic names for Kindred, no?" said the woman in the center. Height-wise, she was unimpressive, but otherwise gorgeous, with full lips painted black, and even fuller thighs.
Nonetheless, Vicky nodded to them. "Shalom."
Their company smiled at Vicky. "It's rare to find Kindred who cling to their old faith."
"I'm not a very good Jew," she replied.
"No matter," she smiled. "I'm Joy. These are Hope," Joy gestured to her right, where a small woman stood, black hair cut short, "and Faith." To her left was a tall, slender woman with hair white as snow and thick glasses. They nodded to Vicky and Amira.
"I must cut to the chase, however. Time is of the essence."
Vicky pulled the fetish from her pocket. The blood was drying by that time, and she presented it to them.
Joy took hold of it, delicately balancing it between her fingers, tasting the blood. "A wooden artifact covered in vitae, shaved, thirteen knots..." Her head cocked. "Hope, you're more familiar with ritualism. What do you make of it?"
"Easy. It's devoted to the thirteen clans." Hope was passed the fetish. She glanced at the bottom. Her eyebrows raised. "Interesting."
"What is?" Amira asked.
"A crown is carved on the bottom."
"What does that mean?"
Hope said, "It could be used to influence visions, manipulating the blood the right way."
"Then why is there a crown carved on it?" Vicky asked.
"I have a theory," Faith chirped. "There are Gehenna cults, Kindred who seek to cause the Final Nights." She held up the fetish. "This wasn't just meant to influence visions. This connected you to the Antediluvian."
Amira frowned. "The Antediluvians who haven't met Final Death are in torpor.
"Yeah," Vicky said. "And my nightmare... my nightmare was violent. Trying to escape a coffin."
"A silk-lined sarcophagus?" Faith asked.
Vicky's heart thumped. "How did you know that?"
In perfect unison, the mages said, "We know things."
"See things,"
"hear things,"
"feel things." Joy splayed her hand in front of her face. Blood, glowing like embers, made a web between her fingers. "The blood gives us many gifts, Vicky. You need only to learn."
Vicky understood why Amira disliked Tremere. They were creepy.
Amira said, "How do we trust y'all aren't part of the cult? The Camarilla doesn't believe in this shit."
"We are Kindred first, foremost, and lastly," Joy replied. "Our only allegiances are for self-preservation. You know that well, don't you?"
Her chest squeezed as she thought back to her escape from the Camarilla, and her arrival to the Barony. If she hadn't sided with the Barony, would she have been executed?
What a frightening thought.
Vicky bowed her head. "What now? Why me?"
"Your visions are famous. Someone may be reaching out for help. Who, I haven't the slightest, but that's the most rational conclusion." Joy folded her arms. "We're keeping the fetish regardless."
"Take it away." Far away. Vicky didn't want it. All she wanted was to board up her home.
They bid their farewells. Amira guided Vicky back to Vera's club.
And Vicky felt dread for the coming nights.
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Oh, shit... Did I write something? Woops, those demons, eh? Always possessing your fingies and making you write.
“I ain't a sinner, ain't a saint, just the result 'a my brother's choice wrapped up in barbed wire and regretful survival, and I wondah, if 'e saw me 'gain, would 'e call me Lazarus? 'E put me down and spected me ta stay, but I ain't da kinda man dat dies so easy.” - Anthony Burningsky
“Lacin' a lie with sugar is da only way ta convince a man ta consume it, mate.” - Anthony Burningsky
“We're all scars, memories and graves, wonderin' a wasteland 'a sin. And I'v found, dat redemption is a small price ta pay when you're wookin' at eternal damnation.” - Anthony Burningsky
“I can't be the only one with a loaded gun, certainties and doubts in every chamber. All I can do is spin the chamber and pray I find certainty and stable ground, but only bullets of doubt and misery pierce my skull and bleed my mind.” - Pryella Burningham
“I'm looking for the map to hope, cause I heard it's a journey, but here I am, fucking lost. In me, in doubt and everything in between, because I fear that with a family tree this sinful, I'm bound to become the very thing that scares me the most. My father.” - Pryella Burningham
“I fear the forest, yet I hide in it's shade, playing my game of Russian Roulette all on my lonesome. The ground shakes beneath me, as if it wishes to swallow me whole. And perhaps, when the dirt brings me into it's maw, and the grass waves above me, and I stand with no tomorrow, no yesterday and no today, is when I'll be at peace. Because with these memories? With these hauntings of my father's yellow smile? I fear death is my only release, and perhaps Russian Roulette with a fully loaded gun is the only form of rest I'll ever receive.” - Pryella Burningham
“I have reason, the world has madness, but perhaps that is only my perception of it, slaying he who is mad only giving myself madness in return. If you have reason to your madness you're still mad, after all.” - Weston Sardisco
“This is a war of a different kind, and all I require is a six shooter followed by my wit.” - Weston Sardisco
“I'll lay my hand on the bible and say a prayer for all who lost themselves in the brutality of this world, because I, intend to find them. For I care not who you were, only who you are, and if you see me on the horizon, please, remember, do not bring up your rights, in the midst of all your wrongs. Because one hundred twenty two rights does not make a life time of wrongs, holy.” - Weston Sardisco
“You will sooner find the dirt than my forgiveness, tired sinner.” - Weston Sardisco
“I am a creature of the night, drunk on the light of the moon, dancing under it's harsh glow with the blood of the fallen spilling crimson at my feet.” - Valentin Ogarzia
“Tell me, do you fear the howl or the wolf? The man or the blade? The gun, or the bullet? Or shall you simply fear all? Because I, am a devil, dressed in robes of false silken intentions, but you don't fear the crimson on these robes, for you simply believe them to be threaded embroidery and design.” - Valentin Ogarzia
“I have romanticized the art of murder, and you should fear the man who's built a masterpiece of scarred corpses and slashed throats.” - Valentin Ogarzia
“Beg and plead, wail and confess, every road ends with me. Every life ends with me. I am a moon drunk creature, howling under the blanket of shade and stars, and you should learn, that to fear me, my friend, is a choice, but to die, is not.” - Valentin Ogarzia
“I was born in the shadows of the pine, with the world’s darkness in my mind, wondering how oh how can a man stray from his family tree, when all he could ever do is crawl? But all I did was fall into my own shadow.” - Faustina Cordoba
“If the light from the sun had a choice, it wouldn't shine upon me.” - Faustina Cordoba
“I realized I had to say goodbye to who I was, because that isn’t who I am. Farewell, young man, dapper child, you fought so bravely, but I’ll take the battles from here on out. It's tiring, being who you're not, because you're always actin', and the mask is heavy, cripplin'. So farewell to every past version of myself, you did the best you could, and I'll bleed out for you, if only ta achieve the dreams we've held so dearly but hidden for so long.” - Kadel Smith
“I've spent my life battlin' myself, and though it wasn't 'a war 'a the trenches, or bullets cuttin' the air, it was a war 'a the skin, 'a the mind. As my old pal Duke would say, "It's a daunting task, wrestlin' with oneself," and I suppose I would know the feelin. Cause that's all I's ever done.” - Kadel Smith
“If life is a war, then I've been hit by a dozen bullets, but I'll continue to walk the path with this blood in my lungs and soul, cause though I've spent so long in this world's ugliness, I can still find the beauty all around me. Like the twilight fallin' of snow whilst you're sat with an old friend on two rusted pairs 'a swings. I can find beauty in that, in life, and most importantly, in me.” - Kadel Smith
“To the world, I am cannon fodder, I suppose my purpose is to continue to drop in sprays of red and sorrow, if only for the powerful to charge in leaps and bounds, clapping for all they’ve won, and all we’ve lost. To the powerful, the rich, the world is their home and I'm just an uninvited guest, suppose in a world that doesn't care for the weak, I'll always be God damn trespassing.” - Gabriella Vaxwington
“When I come for you, with my glock, my rage and my mother's eyes, you will see all the fury she hid, you will watch the sky fall and heaven's gates shake like thunder. Cause brother, my mother's up there, with her wings and her pain, and when your blood spills on the dirt, the angels will fuckin' sing, cause my ma weren't meant ta join their ranks by your hand. But you? You're meant to join the devil, by MY, hands, and that, is fate. Or 'ow did you put it? Karma always pays her dues, and I suppose that makes me, karma.” - Gabriella Vaxwington
“Execution, the act of killing a man for a damning transgression, sometimes it takes a guillotine, or a bullet point blank range, but usually, all it takes is a single word.” - Beautler De Niro
“You can get any barking dog to bite if you threaten it's existence or the life of another, and any man in anonymity will commit the egregious deeds they'd never dream of while under the spotlight. All you have to do to put a man under your control is to put him in the dark, take a dog's feeding bowl and he'll bite anyone for a morsel, all but the hand that feeds him.” - Beautler De Niro
“You give a man half truth and he'll dive through hell to find the other half, even if it means he must burn.” - Beautler De Niro
“I am an untrustworthy man, but anyone will trust a man with a firm handshake and the same opinion as they. Trust is so easy to gain in a world of fools and cheats.” - Beautler De Niro
“All who stand up to me, fall, because they trust too easy and crumble upon the truth revealing who the villain was all along. But I propose to them a single question, if it was you who trusted the man who undid you, then who's hands was it dropping the guillotine's rope? Him, or your falsely placed trust?” - Beautler De Niro
“I do not enjoy the fight nor the battle, and though I end up victorious, it brings grief to he who loses. I would rather not fight, I would much rather offer a helping hand, but life tells me not to. It shoves a rifle in my hand and says, "By God, Bertil, by God, pull the trigger and spare yourself a moment of grief!" But I never can, not when my bullets indirectly harm those I never aimed for.” - Bertil O’Day
“To a paranoid man, every word spoken is a crime against God, and every dead end is a cliff-side. Some men pray, other's drink, me? I sit here, in my little corner 'a nowhere, and I leave well enough alone.” - Theodore Holymann
“How terrible, to ruin someone's life with your memory.” - Theodore Holymann
“I'm guilty, with cuffs round my wrists and a rope 'round my throat, so oh gravedigger, pull the lever and watch me swing, cause I'm sure as all the air leaves my lungs the last thing I'll hear is a melody 'a cheers for the damned preacher.” - Theodore Holymann
“I'm paranoid, terrified that my past'll catch up to me God damn swingin. And maybe these days, I'd take the hit and drop.” - Theodore Holymann
“Oh heavenly father above, give me salvation or death, either way I rest.” - Theodore Holymann
“Someone took a dagger to this silk heart of mine, and I guess I'm nothing but a torn curtain, these days, only small rays of light passing through me.” Alice Sharenburg
“Who would've imagined, with our Halloween masks and toy guns, that we'd be marching into war? How could it have been, that in all our childhood wonder, we found darkness?” - Alice Sharenburg
“Draw the curtains, kill the fucking lights and let us bow to the crowd. Throw your roses and cheer for the lost boys and girls, but in the end, as the story wraps up in tragedy, just remember.... When the curtains draw, and the lights dim... That's all, folks.” - Alice Sharenburg
“I stand sturdy, smelling of ash and smoke, but zis is no after affect of var. I vas destroyed by no fire of war, but a fire of ze heart, a fire wrought with passion and love. I allowed it to consume me, to burn my whole state of being and make me anew.” - Gregory Kizerfretzen
“Vhen it scares jou to jour very core, and jou feel it in jour heart, zat's vhen you know it's real. Because as long as you haz love, and as long as you haz family, blood, or no blood, var can nezah vin.” - Gregory Kizerfretzen
“Oh fazah, I know I followed ze path jou would never want for me, but I followed in jour blood-stained footprints, and I learned ze same lesson jou did. Ve are all human, even if we stand on ze opposing side.: - Gregory Kizerfretzen
“Someone once told me, that when your demons are silent, listen for your angels. But what do ya do when all ya hear is radio static and your sins echoed in the buzz?” - Octavio Claytor
“I held onto my faith, but I guess I got butterfingers, cause my faith, my sense of self and my love tumbled from my fingers like ash and cinders.” - Octavio Claytor
“God ain't dead, he just damn well ain't here.” - Octavio Claytor
“Only the dead know a glory greater than the gods.” - Alistair Von Alisworth
“A king will always find himself crushed under the weight of his decisions unless he has blood black enough to make them.” - Alistair Von Alisworth
“Stand up to me, try to steal this crown reigning over my head, but all you'll ever find is that the crown was never intended for good men. The crown is for those who can handle it, the crown is for those who will enjoy the lives ended to earn it. I am death, and for all those who rise up, I am here to deliver.” - Alistair Von Alisworth
“Perhaps every church is Eden, there's bound to be shade somewhere between the flowers.” - Alders Holymann
“My heart's been capsized, and it ain't rowing to shore these days. I pray, and I pray for a rowboat, but all God ever gives me is a single broken paddle. What am I to do when all the signs lead to death?” - Alders Holymann
“God, please forgive me for doubting you, I pray and I pray, but the only answer I get are my own thoughts. Is that all a prophet ever hears? I say amen, I say grace, but all I hear is the emptiness in my heart. I fear I never heard God, it was only ever me.” - Alders Holymann
“I wear this cross around my neck and it's become a rope, stealing all my air.” - Alders Holymann
“My lord, my loving father above, I ask one question. Is it better to be crushed under the weight of your trembling faith, or to go forth with no faith at all?” - Alders Holymann
“Rev this motorcycle, and send me spiralin' down the damn highway, cause if I'm meant ta crash, so fuckin' be it. Give me a grave by the road, give me a wreath and a name etched onta wood, so long as I'm underneath the dirt, hearin' the engines roar and the traffic stand still. Cause brother, my whole life's been on the road, 'spose ta me, the revvin' 'a the engine and the screech 'a the wheels is a symphony. My own broke symphony 'a burnin' track and dead ends.” - Alessandro Bones
“I live life on repeat these days, the same mile, day in, day out. And once I close my eyes, I put my engine in reverse, and wake up at the beginnin' 'a the damn highway, preparin' to rev my engines for a single mile, yet again. I don't trust myself ta go a mile further, I'd have ta face myself, and with all that anger and regret, I'd fear he'd gun me right the fuck down. I deserve it, anyway. But I ain't never had the courage to go careenin' off the side 'a this road. Don't got the courage to die burnin', prayin' ta every God. All I want, is ta die quiet in the night, empty bottle in my hand, nuthin' but a mess 'a blankets and sheets on the damn bed.” - Allesandro Bones
“I am lost, travelin' the same mile, again, and a God damn gain, cuz it's the only path I can take without resistance. And I fear resistance, cause that means a fight, and that's all I's ever done. Give me no more riots 'a the self, give me no more wars 'a the road, give me peace, or give me death.” - Allesandro Bones
“I've always told myself I was Rumpelstiltskin, spinning hay into gold, but alas, alas, the old crone has fooled himself, and he only spins hay into more hay while Rumpelstiltskin dances and laughs, holding in his arms the old crone once had.” - Peragrin Hufflesburg
“We've only ever fooled ourselves, it's funny how other's can catch our lies but we can never catch the ones we tell ourselves.” - Peragrin Hufflesburg
“If I had a dollar for every time I prayed and got an honest to God answer, I'd be begging on the fucking streets.” - Peragrin Hufflesburg
“I ask to be forgiven, but why? What would being forgiven do for those I have hurt? Would they look at me and say, "Oh, look at that changed man, his hay has turned to gold and his sin to faith!" Or would they simply pull the trigger?” - Peragrin Hufflesburg
“I sit here with my wheel, spinning all this hay, praying one day, I'll have a pile of gold. But all I ever do is drown in more God damn hay.” - Peragrin Hufflesburg
“We're stars shining in the night sky, lighting up the dark knowing we too, one day will end, we'll implode upon ourselves as stars do. But perhaps, it isn't the end of the journey that matters, but the miles we walk.” - Melinda Myers
“Life can be pain, it can be cruel, but there's strength to be found in that grief.” - Melinda Myers
“I've spent my life surrounded by love, my two sons are the light of my life, they're my stars in the night sky, and I know it's my job to watch over them. To implode before them. But perhaps I'll create a galaxy in my wake, and whenever they look to the sky, and see the stars and the beautiful silence of the night, they'll smile.” - Melinda Myers
“If he's a sinner for loving that man, then let me have a talk with God. Because if someone can look at a love that beautiful, and say, "God condemns you," then they need to realize, they condemn them, God, does not.” - Melinda Myers
“If ever I returned to those I love they would call me changeling, fearing that the fairies had stolen me away in the night and swapped me with an eldritch beast that knew only the vileness of nature. But oh, can't you see? I'm crawling, ever crawling, with broken fingers and battered knees, scraping against the bloodied flowers and roses of all I'll ever be.” - Richard Notorangelo
“Legends are realities we forgot, often twisted by those in power so the common folk fear what was never real. Does that make me a myth? Or another victim of it?” - Richard Notorangelo
“I met evil when I was only a child, and oh, how I wish it hadn't been me.” - Richard Notorangelo
“My daughter, oh my beautiful little girl, if ever I crawl my way out of this garden, this maze of my own lies, throw me back in. For it's what I deserve. Shout at me, throw me to the fairies from whence I came, for I fear I am a changeling, a twisted shadow of myself, vile and cruel, sick and diseased.” - Richard Notorangelo
“I do not deserve death, for that is peace. With all this blood on my hands and these wicked deeds in my memory, I imagine, the single thing I deserve, is life.” - Richard Notorangelo
“In the end we're all by ourselves, no one follows us into the dark, not even our shadow dares.” - Tricia Jenefine
“I can't remember the intricacies of her smile, the melody of her laugh, or the beat of her heart when I laid my head on her chest. I was hers' and she was mine. Not only do I miss her, I miss the parts of myself that left with her. My heart is a wisp without her, she was supposed to be my eternity, but now life is a curse, without her.” - Tricia Jenefine
“I could have a roof over my head and the rain would still find a way in.” - Tricia Jenefine
“The only pieces of me that remain are the parts that remember her, and the parts that remember pain.” - Tricia Jenefine
“When the sun forgets to shine on you, and your shadow slinks back to it's kin, all you have is yourself and the memories that once brought smiles, but will only ever bring tears.” - Tricia Jenefine
“I'm the damsel, the dragon and the knight, and some day, I'll burn myself to cinders.” - Priscilla Sage
“I am a witch on the stake and the farmer with a torch, perhaps I too, am the flame. Of hatred, of grief, of pain, no matter what I am made of I still end only in ashes.” - Priscilla Sage
“Perhaps one day, I'll be free of myself, perhaps one day I shall be the raven, soaring through the air, singing my own happy song. And though no one but the sun shall hear me, perhaps she'll smile down at me. If only I could feel the wind rush past me as I leave everything behind. Oh how I would love to be free. But I am a cage, and what can I do when I don't have the key?” - Priscilla Sage
“I am rottin' bark and fallin' leaves, I flutter ta the soil as if it weren't my demise, and oh how I wonder why it is, always am I crushed 'neath the damn boot.” - Levina Rainbolt
“We're all guilty in some way, that's life. We lie, we cheat and we steal, but we love a helluva lot better than we hate.” - Levina Rainbolt
“Perhaps I am rottin' bark and fallin' leaves, perhaps I've been crushed under the boot more times than I can count. But I've found, that whenever I fall ta the soil, someone I love picks me up, and puts me in their favorite story book. Perhaps it ain't bout how many times ya fall, maybe it's bout who picks ya back up everytime.” - Levina Rainbolt
“I will stand at the edge of my doom and leap. From these heights I shall fall until it is my demise I receive, because it's all I deserve.” - Albus Kirk
“I am wrapped and bound in silken secrets and forbidden treasures, speaking from the tongue of a mad man, for only a mad man hides secrets from himself.” - Albus Kirk
“I could compare myself to a beast, I could give you metaphors, I could give you lies. But at the end of the day, I'm human and mad, it's what makes me so ugly and twisted, I suppose.” - Albus Kirk
“My father always told me I was meant for great things, I would build fortunes but all I built was my own misfortune.” - Albus Kirk
“We're trapped in Pandora's box, and perhaps, we're the horror they wish to keep at bay. We're a plague, an illness, but we poison ourselves. This world we live in is quite simply put, Pandora's box, harboring the horror and shade others wish not to deal with. We are the price of tranquility for others, our suffering is the price they paid to forever live in peace. We are the soldiers, we are the sheep walking to the butcher, we are the testing subjects and the victim. We are a price, meant only to be paid. So what can we ever do, but stand at the edge of our doom and leap?” - Albus Kirk
“I am the one who pulls the trigger, the one who knocks on your door and gives you only the gift of death. Peace is a double edged blade, my friend, for with true peace, comes death. And I am simply here to give you, true peace.” - Palazzo Bullet
“Most men live and die in a single day, they stay stagnant, they're a grave before they've ever stopped walking.” - Palazzo Bullet
“You should fear the man dressed in black, who has your grave freshly dug, gun in one hand, bible in the other.” - Palazzo Bullet
“Look up to the sky one last time as the dirt covers you. Pray to the fucking stars. All they'll do is continue to shine, because the world never needed you. Watch from heaven as the sun rises, without you, and watch as it sinks. Because you, aren't important, and the world simply goes on, without you.” - Palazzo Bullet
“So dance, my marionette, twist and spin, avoiding the bullets coming your way. Stay focused on the threat at hand, only to realize you weren't saving your life. You were saving it for me.” - Palazzo Bullet
“You can never stain the river crimson, the stream always runs itself clear. Life goes on, it always does, the sun sinks, the moon rises, but we still have light.” - Jameth Waterbrood
“War does not bring peace, it brings pain. A battle does not make heroes, it makes survivors. The only true thing that can bring peace, is love.” - Jameth Waterbrood
“I intend to live life as if I was meant to, because perhaps, our destiny was never grand, maybe our destiny was never war, or some higher purpose. Perhaps, our destiny was always to simply live, love, and be loved. Because that, no matter what way you put it, is a destiny worth fighting for, a destiny worth laughing for, and a destiny worth living for.” - Jameth Waterbrood
“You can think yourself high and mighty, king 'a the hill and master 'a the crop, but there's always a man willin' ta take you down. Cause there ain't nuthin' mightier than the man who watches the crown tumble from the head of the king but doesn't take the throne. The strongest message 'a all is ta kill a man, and give no reason.” - Justice Hansell
“You, my friend, are the cigarette, I'll crush you under my boot once you've lost my interest. The echoes of wolves echo in my heart, their howls ricochet in my ribcage, I am a beast by heart, and you should fear the man standin' at his own grave. Cause he don't fear death. Which means he don't fuckin' fear you.” - Justice Hansell
“My threats are promises I keep, and I fear if you try ta snag this crown from my head, all you'll find is one 'a my promises ripped inta fruition.” - Justice Hansell
“You can't swim 'gainst my tide, you will drown far before you ever reach the source 'a your damn misery.” - Justice Hansell
“I just want the rights of my corpse, to be free, to be still, to be me, to be me, to be me. But all I've learned, is that a millions scars makes me the man I'm not.” - Rin Otishiro
“My father always said hard work always pays off, good friends never grow old, and good always prosper, and oh how I wish that was true. Because my hard work has led to pain, every good friend I had is a corpse, and the good never prospered.” - Rin Otishiro
“The good ol' days vanish when the bad times come, how can I smile, when every good memory I had, is tainted with the tragic outcome that followed?” - Rin Otishiro
“Why the hell do we fear the dark when all the monsters stand in the light? They don't fucking hide anymore, man. They've come from the shadows and claimed the light.” - Rin Otishiro
“I guess I've always lived just between the valley of death and the shadows of my past.” - Rin Otishiro
“You wanna know me? Walk a mile in my shoes, but don't you dare walk two, because you don't want to see what I've been through.” - Rin Otishiro
“The past exists to remind us that we’re not there anymore, we’re here, and that’s what matters.” - Renna Forbes
“My aunt has always said, she doesn't pick favorites, and maybe that's because in love, there is no favorites. Love doesn't choose who it touches, it doesn't envy those who hold more of it. It just is. It always forgives and it doesn't remember wrongs. It just exists despite the overbearing weight.” - Renna Forbes
“Cut out my heart and serve it on a silver platter for all who wish to choke on its' darkness.” - Mortley Dekruiful
“One day you'll learn there are more miles of darkness than there are stars, just because there is light, does not mean the darkness has not won.” - Mortley Dekruiful
“I am a clown, the lion leaping through the ring of fire, fearing the burns he may receive on his pelt. I, am a man of the circus, a sinner at heart, and though we are all sinners, not many take it to a higher degree.” - Mortley Dekruiful
“I fear myself, no thoughts nor prayers could save me, for if they can't save those I've killed, why should they save me?” - Mortley Dekruiful
“If I were to serve my heart on a silver platter to myself, would I choke and sputter on the shade? Would I finally be able to swallow this darkness within?” - Mortley Dekruiful
“All I can ever do is crawl away from the spotlight whilst it burns my back, and pray that the shade will bring me what little refuge it can. At least it is less blinding, but alas, just as cruel.” - Mortley Dekruiful
“We are our own beasts, and we bow to no man.” - Bortley Dekruiful
"Maybe life is a series of consequences good and bad, or maybe I'm just blind to all the dark. I don't know. All I know, is that we're only human, and placing blame only gets fingers pointed in the wrong damn direction." - Jake Bonefire
"My silence has been a chamber for too long." - Jake Bonefire
"Gods above, witness my blood spill, hear my prayers, for if the afterlife, is a cell, I, am the key." - Starburden Vaganbrok
"All it takes is one bad day, and I intend to give you a year of them in a matter of hours." - Hugo Valritten
"They say life is whatever we make it, they pump their fists in the air and cry, "We are in control of our own destinies! We are our own fate!" But then they look men like me in the eye, they laugh in my face and they say, "Get off the tracks, boy. This is a revolution, and you're in our damn way." - Corvo Crinklewick
"Da hares wage war against da dogs and ask why dey are losing." Brickylda Hildengarde
"Peace and death are not the same thing." - Gunhild Brokldottir
"Ow am I ta be 'eard if my screams sink to da bottom 'a my silence?" - Archie Upperton
"I'm just the same, brother, just because I was a dream, damn well don't mean I can't be a nightmare." - Zafavri Holts
"This is my end, Madusius? I believe you mistook my beginning for my reckoning, my rebellion for my downfall. You're a tyrant, and I suppose I'm the snake that crumbles the Garden of Eden." - Dayvella Ma'Vayar
“Get away with it? My boy, no one in history has ever gotten away with it! Jack the ripper's name is tarnished, Julius Caesar lies dead with a thousand knife wounds in his back! We're all doomed, creatures vying for a throne no one can ever have. I'm not here, to get away with it. I'm here, to go down in history.” - Madusius Crudelis
"I shoot and stride for the throne, I am the king above kings, the man above God. I, in of myself, am a dynasty, both a relic and the future, an idea, that cannot be killed." - Madusius Crudelis
"You, can crush, my dynasty, but you can never, destroy the idea of it." - Madusius Crudelis
"You can run from your debts, my friend, but you cannot run from me." - Lorcan O'Venefrives
"Nothing good was ever done by force." - Mortley Dekruiful
"They say you are dead to me Rolf, you are dead. But I say, I am alive, I am alive! And isn't that what frightens you?" - Rolf Lambs
"I look inside me, and see a devil's dog, howlin' at the darkest side of his own moon." - Zafavri Holts
"The sun ain't gonna rise for you buddy, you just watched it sink one last time only for you to fade along with it." - Eddy Lambs
"We're in the circus, dancing, jerking and twisting away from the spotlight because the shade was always more comforting than the blinding light." - Mortley Dekruiful
"You will face a thousand tragedies before the sun fucking rises, and you ain't lucky enough for your death ta be one of em." - Zafavri Holts
"I, am where myth starts, and legend begins, but you, my friend, are where history starts." - Defforest Van Patten
"Life will hang ya from a tree and call ya three heads taller simply cause your feet are three feet off the damn ground." - Sampson O'Connel
"Soldiers? Soldiers?! We're the civilians of a foreign country hiding from the fucking gunfire! But they don't care, brother, they don't FUCKING care! They'll drag us out anyway. To a firing squad, everyone is cattle." - Burasbley Highersman
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Years ago I might have rated Skyward Sword higher, but I replayed it recently and while I might rate it higher than you it's definitely not one of my favorites. Personally I wish they would have focused on more actually clever things with the motion (I will always remember spinning the spider around to expose it's weakness! I loved that!) and like most people wish they stopped at one Imprisoned fight. What did you feel were its weaknesses?
The gameplay. 100%. Skyward Sword is unplayable for me.
I love everything else about it. The music is gorgeous, the characters are wonderful, the art style is beautiful, and the story (aside from not calling Hylia a demigoddess like she should be) is fantastic. There is so much about it to love . . .
. . . if it was an anime, or a manga. But as a game? It fails horribly.
1.) The motion controls are NOT 1:1, even with Wii Motion Plus. And if Skyward Sword were designed like any other Zelda game, where you could hit monsters any way you pleased and they would take damage, that would be fine! But because Nintendo was so confident that they had 1:1 motion controls, they decided to make every monster—even ones as basic as Deku Babas—into puzzle monsters where you had to hit them a precise way at a precise time or your attack did no damage. And you know what? That’s bad game design even if you have absolutely perfect motion controls. Because let’s pretend, for the sake of argument, that the controls were 1:1 with the Wii Motion Plus, as advertised, and my problem was that my coordination was poor. In that case, the game is still unplayable, because it means that people without perfect coordination for whatever reason (maybe they just never developed those skills, maybe they’re disabled in some way) can’t play the game. For a series as wide-reaching as Zelda, it’s a problem if you’re cutting off a huge portion of players from being able to enjoy it. And on that note . . .
1.5.) The motion controls were MANDATORY. I understand that Nintendo has been in love with motion controls for a long time, and I accept that. But you should be able to turn them off. Like, they’ve put them into just about every big budget game they’ve released the past couple of decades. The Splatoon games have them, Breath of the Wild had them, and so on. But in each game, you can turn them off. Hell, even though Breath of the Wild does require them in a couple shrines, those shrines aren’t required to beat the game. To 100% it, sure, but not to beat it and get a full experience out of it regardless. So for Skyward Sword to require the motion controls to the point where you’re not even given the option to turn them off (which, again, makes sense given that they based even insignificant monsters around them) is terrible. It’s terrible for people who don’t like them, but it’s absolutely HORRIBLE for people who are disabled and thus can’t use the motion controls. Skyward Sword’s motion controls are a huge middle finger to disabled folk, and that sucks.
As a side note? I was much younger when I played Skyward Sword than I am now, and in much better health. But even back then, I could only play for a couple hours before I got winded because of all the damn sword swinging I had to do and whatnot. This is why I think it’d be unplayable to me now; I’m not healthy enough for a damn video game and that sounds like it should be an oxymoron, but it’s not.
2.) Once again, the dungeons are too damn long. This was a complaint I had about Twilight Princess as well, but it bears repeating here. Whether it’s because of my ADHD or otherwise, I just can’t handle dungeons that take hours to complete. Breath of the Wild was, pardon the wordplay, a breath of fresh air in that sense. Finally, the dungeons were a reasonable length again. But in Skyward Sword they were not. They were insanely long and full of goddamn motion control puzzles, which made them feel like a chore x2 (because they would already be a chore due to the length, but the miserable motion controls made it even worse). Games should not feel like a chore to play, but Skyward Sword still did.
3.) Fucking EVERYTHING was a puzzle, though. So I’m going to elaborate on this a little more in a second, but basically Skyward Sword didn’t have an overworld. Skyward Sword had a hub area (the sky), and then several puzzle dungeons that led to even longer puzzle dungeons on the surface. The Faron, Eldin, and Lanayru areas were extremely small areas filled with puzzles that you had to complete just so you could get to a dungeon with more puzzles. There was nothing to explore in these areas, nothing to see, because you were too busy solving puzzles so that you could go solve more puzzles. And I hate that! I get that puzzles are a big part of Zelda, but you know what, exploration should be too. Exploration is what the series was literally founded on, even if the limitations of the NES meant there really wasn’t that much to find. So to have a game basically be nothing but dungeons, especially for a person like me who isn’t jazzed about dungeons in the first place, was a huge buzzkill.
4.) There really was NOTHING to explore. So, to elaborate on what I mentioned in the previous point: Aside from the surface area basically being nothing but dungeons (dungeons that you had to backtrack through five billion times), the sky was empty. It was just completely empty. There was nothing there. You had Skyloft, the Pumpkin island, the roulette island, Beedle’s ship . . . and that was it. Oh sure, there were other floating rocks here or there, but there was nothing on them. There was nothing to do. And considering this followed Wind Waker, where there was so much to discover in the ocean, so many different islands that had secrets and people and cabanas and minigames and whatnot, it was a massive disappointment. Nintendo showed us that they could give us huge areas to explore, they just deliberately chose not to for a 25th anniversary title. What this meant is that you had nothing to give you any breathing room between dungeons. Because again, the surface areas before the actual temples were basically little mini dungeons. So whereas in past Zelda games you’d have little sidequests and places to explore in-between dungeon crawling, in Skyward Sword you really didn’t have that. So not only could I not breathe because of all the physical exertion, but I also couldn’t breathe because the game gave you no time to rest. Goddess Din give me strength.
5.) The backtracking was INSANE. My god, another reason this game could have benefited from more areas was so that you wouldn’t have to keep exploring the same damn areas again, and again, and again, and again, AND AGAIN. The Imprisoned fight you mentioned was bad enough, because that wasn’t a fun fight and so to have to do it something like three separate times was miserable. But it was also miserable that there was literally nothing to this game below the clouds or above them, so they just had to keep inventing fetch quests to send you back to the same areas time and time again. Seriously Nintendo? At least Twilight Princess had more places for us to go, even if they looked boring. You couldn’t even give us that for the 25th anniversary title. Smh.
All in all, the gameplay experience of Skyward Sword is just absolutely miserable. From the forced motion controls to the fact that it’s nothing but dungeons pretending to be a map, I had to force myself to keep picking up the Wiimote because playing it felt like doing a chore akin to mowing the lawn. Which sucks, because as I said, I love the story and the characters to pieces. Fi’s farewell makes me cry every time I rewatch the scene on YouTube. But while story and characters do carry weight and are important to when it comes to Zelda games, ultimately, Zelda games are still games and therefore gameplay is paramount. If a game is not fun to play, then it has failed as a game. And unfortunately, Skyward Sword is one that failed as a game, perhaps because Nintendo invested so much time in the story and characters that they forgot they were supposed to be making a video game instead of an anime. It is what it is.
#people keep talking about a Skyward Sword remaster but nah#what it needs is a reMAKE#from the ground up#keep the story and characters the same#change EVERYTHING about the gameplay#change the whole surface#actually put shit in the sky to explore#otherwise it's a hard pass#because I'm not going to buy a game that's not fun to play#when I can just watch all the cutscenes on YT for none of the pain#Anonymous
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BREAKING DAWN Part 1 & Part 2
an updated, more modern take on the original soundtrack.
(TWILIGHT)
(NEW MOON)
(ECLIPSE)
spotify link — BD pt1
spotify link — BD pt2
[track list and commentary under the cut]
Part One
Endtapes — The Joy Formidable ➼ ➼ ➼ I Will Be Waiting — Let’s Eat Grandma
This soundtrack starts off so strongly that I had no choice but to pick one that can kick it off just as well. Let’s Eat Grandma might be my favorite band I’ve found this year. Their genre-bending is exquisite.
Love Will Take You — Angus & Julia Stone ➼ ➼ ➼ Need Ur Luv (Japanese Wallpaper Remix) — Charli XCX
Talk to me a year ago and tell me I was going to be putting Charli on a Twilight soundtrack recreation and I would’ve stared blankly and asked “fucking how?” Well, with this incredible Japanese Wallpaper remix, that’s how.
It Will Rain — Bruno Mars ➼ ➼ ➼ In My Blood — Shawn Mendes
And how do you replace baby Bruno? Well, only with today’s romantic power-balad singing baby, Shawn Mendes. It’s a perfect replacement, if you ask me.
Turning Page — Sleeping at Last ➼ ➼ ➼ For Now - Reimagined — Kina Grannis
Any other 2009-era Kina Grannis stans? Message From Your Heart? All those YouTube covers? No, just me? Whatever. Kina belonged on those soundtracks back then, and this is setting things right.
From Now On — The Features ➼ ➼ ➼ Cliffs Edge — Hayley Kiyoko
One of Hayley’s older songs, so it’s not too new, but I felt that is matched From Now On’s mood fantastically.
A Thousand Years — Christina Perri ➼ ➼ ➼ human — Christina Perri
No, this isn’t cheating. But only Christina Perri can truly replace Christina Perri. It’s also a perfect pre-change Bella song. I’m sure you heard this song everywhere at the end of the saga when everyone took to YouTube to make their cathartic recap videos. 2012-13 was a great (but weird) year to be a Twilight stan.
Neighbors — Theophilus London ➼ ➼ ➼ FACE — BROCKHAMPTON
Whether you like BROCKHAMPTON or not means little to me. They were absolutely ending up on one of these soundtracks. And as replacement to Neighbors, it’s like they belong. “Tell me what you’re waiting for? I just want to love you.” Ouch. Harsh Jacob vibes.
I Didn’t Mean It — The Belle Brigade ➼ ➼ ➼ All out of Tears — Z Berg
Z Berg created a song that sounded like it was made for one of these soundtracks. It’s insane. And one of my fucking favorites.
Sister Rosetta — Noisettes ➼ ➼ ➼ Digital Witness — St. Vincent
The Twilight soundtracks (and also Sufjan Stevens himself) are responsible for introducing me to St. Vincent. Now, years later, she’s consistently been one of my favorite artists. She has the range, y’all.
Northern Lights — Cider Sky ➼ ➼ ➼ Pool — Paramore
Of course I was putting Paramore back on one of these lists, you crazies. (And this isn’t the last you’ll see of them, either.)
Flightless Bird, American Mouth (Wedding Version) — Iron & Wine ➼ ➼ ➼ New America Classic — Vitamin String Quartet
There isn’t a wedding version of New American classic, but there is a Vitamin String Quartet version! (And no offense Iron & Wine, but it sounds so much more like an actual wedding song.) Any OG Twilight stans know that in this house, we love and cherish the Vitamin String Quartet. They were like our musical savior back in the day. Couldn’t find a decent quality soundtrack upload? No worries. Odds are, they’d already recorded an insane strings cover already.
Requiem on — Imperial Mammoth ➼ ➼ ➼ Waste — Oh Wonder
I unashamedly adore this song by Oh Wonder. Their dual vocals always put me in a damn trance. It’s so beautiful to describe. Just listen.
Cold — Aqualung & Lucy Schwartz ➼ ➼ ➼ Willow (feat. Robert Pattinson) — Tindersticks
Told you I’d stick him back on the soundtracks eventually. This song is so hauntingly perfect. When I first heard it it reminded me why I was so in love with Robert back in the day. That voice, man. Talent leapt!
Lloverá — Mía Maestro ➼ ➼ ➼ Silence II — Son Lux
It’s not as beautiful as the Carmen actress’ ballad, but it’s just as haunting.
Love Death Birth — Carter Burwell ➼ ➼ ➼ Sæglópur — Sigur Rós
When I went through my Sigur Rós phase way back when (pre-Twilight) Sæglópur was my favorite song for ages. It takes you through the whole spectrum of emotion, just as Carter Burwell’s music does. I thought it was an ideal way to end this first half.
You still get bonus tracks! Here’s two for the first movie:
Otherside — Perfume Genius
Simple. Powerful. Emotional. All you need at this point in the saga.
Everything In Its Right Place — Radiohead
A song that feels like waking up from a dream. Perfect for Bella’s dramatic change. (And of course I had to actually add Radiohead to one of these.)
Part Two
Where I Come From — Passion Pit ➼ ➼ ➼ Manchester — Kishi Bashi
Bella deserves to see the world for the first time with vampire eyes while Kishi Bashi magically transforms the scene in the background. It’s *chef’s kiss* literal perfection.
Bittersweet — Ellie Goulding ➼ ➼ ➼ Warrior — AURORA
Can I go off topic for half a second and tell you guys that I cried when I saw AURORA featured on the new Frozen song? No one deserves that wide recognition as much as she does. And no one does mystical pop better than AURORA (not even Ellie Goulding).
The Forgotten — Green Day ➼ ➼ ➼ Warm Winds (feat. Isaiah Rashad) — SZA
SZA deserves this spot and don’t even question why. SZA’s first album was so iconically emo. She’s another artist I’m convinced would’ve been reached out to for a track if she’d been making music just a little bit earlier.
Fire In The Water — Feist ➼ ➼ ➼ Carry Me Out — Mitski
Even though I’ve been a Feist fan since I got my first vocal comparison to her pre-Twilight (so I was ecstatic when she was featured here) I think Mitski really encapsulates everything a Twilight soundtrack needs.
Everything and Nothing — The Boom Circuits ➼ ➼ ➼ Highspeeds — Elliot Moss
I can’t not give Elliot Moss a spot. And that's it.
The Antidote — St. Vincent ➼ ➼ ➼ Unholy Trinity — Von Grey
I needed a harder song for this replacement and Von Grey’s music does the trick. This is the band of an old Tumblr friend that goes fucking hard, y’all. She and her sisters know how to bang out the tunes.
Speak Up — POP ETC ➼ ➼ ➼ Reasons Not To Die (Demo) — Ryn Weaver
This girl just knows how to fucking get me. Her second and final appearance on the soundtrack, here to just make you want to laugh and cry all at once. And as a replacement to another top favorite, it works well.
Heart of Stone — Iko ➼ ➼ ➼ Smother — Daughter
Heart of Stone actually made my end of year top tracks playlist for 2018. I knew I needed a solid replacement. And you can never go wrong with a Daughter track.
Cover Your Tracks — A Boy and His Kite ➼ ➼ ➼ In The Mourning — Paramore
We bid farewell to Paramore with their final appearance here. In The Mourning is another long-time favorite. It’s beautiful. And sad! We love it.
Ghosts — James Vincent McMorrow ➼ ➼ ➼ Weight — Crywolf
You need that late Breaking Dawn depressing shit? I got you that late Breaking Dawn depressing shit. “Bless me with just one kiss before you leave me here with my heart.”
All I've Ever Needed — Paul McDonald & Nikki Reed ➼ ➼ ➼ Beetroot (What If I Was 1?) — Blue Americans
I can’t describe how double-sad I get when I remember that Paul McDonald & Nikki Reed divorced not long after the saga wrapped. (Not that I ever had an attachment to him, but this song is so nice!) So that’s why Beetroot is a little sadder than All I’ve Ever Needed. Still a great song though.
New for You — Reeve Carney ➼ ➼ ➼ Black Hole — HANA
Black Hole is a little more pop than New For You. But it’s beautiful and nice and lovely and I am also In Love with HANA. So you get her here.
A Thousand Years (Part 2) — Christina Perri (feat. Steve Kazee) ➼ ➼ ➼ I Get To Love You — Ruelle
Had had had to put this incredible, romantic, hopeful song at the end of this soundtrack specifically. Just listen and tell me you don’t get emotional over their future with this.
Plus Que Ma Propre Vie (More Than My Own Life) — Carter Burwell ➼ ➼ ➼ Half Life - Instrumental Version — Imogen Heap
How are you supposed to pick a song to end the soundtracks? Thankfully, Imogen Heap had the foresight to release instrumental versions of each song on her Ellipse album. Such a thoughtful queen. We thank her by giving her the final word.
What’s this? No more? It’s okay. You do get bonus tracks, but not here.
I’ll be posting one more soundtrack, full of all the extras and little gems that I couldn’t quite place in any specific spot on the soundtracks. A whole other playlist full of Twilight-vibey songs for your listening enjoyment! Look out for that next week. Happy New Year!
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The Dumbest Inning of Baseball
Whenever my friends who don’t follow sports ask me who to root for, I tell them to root for chaos. Outside of my favorite teams, I will always root for something ridiculous to happen during a game. 4 overtime periods, obscure rules violations, and large men carrying a football when they shouldn’t are the best, most absurd moments in sports that everyone can enjoy.
My favorite sport, baseball, has its own share of chaotic moments, and I’d argue it has the most chaotic moments out of any American sport. There’s just so much baseball out there. 162+ games every year for every team means that there’s so much more potential for chaos to take the wheel. And in a winner-take-all playoff game 5 years ago, we were subjected to the most ridiculous inning of baseball I have ever seen.
A bit of background: it’s game 5 of the American League division series, Toronto Blue Jays vs. the Texas Rangers. The series is tied 2-2, and it’s win or go home. Toronto is the home team, and the game is tied 2-2 going into the 7th inning. Rangers player Rougned Odor is on 3rd base with two outs in the top of the inning, and Shin-Soo Choo take ball 2 from Aaron Sanchez. And then this happens:
Doink! On the throw back to the pitcher, catcher Russell Martin hits Choo’s bat and the ball dribbles down the 3rd base line. Seeing an opportunity and actually knowing the rules of baseball, Odor takes off for home and scores to give the Rangers the lead.
Catchers throw about 320 pitches back to the pitcher every game when accounting for both teams. If you spread that out over an entire season, that’s over 750,000 pitches thrown back to the pitcher every year. I’ve watched baseball for over twenty years, and I’ve seen this happen maybe two other times.
If there’s no runner on base, no problem. The ball is retrieved, and you end up on a baseball oddities compilation on Youtube. But if there are runners on, the ball is live and the runners can advance if they desire. I was taught this when playing little league, when catchers weren’t as good at throwing and pitchers weren’t as good at catching.
So the rarity of this moment has everyone confused, including the umpires. Both managers come out to clarify the call. The umpires are asked to review the play and see if there was any batter’s interference on the throw back. The announcers are watching the replay over and over, saying the same thing to kill time. Overall, this delay takes 20 minutes. Meanwhile, the Toronto fans are pissed and they’re throwing garbage onto the field.
Fun times. Either way, the call stands, and the Rangers are now up 3-2. The Blue Jays have declared that they are playing the game under protest. They’re also not too happy at their fans.
And then, after the angriest 7th inning stretch, the bottom half of the 7th comes.
Oh jeez, where to begin.
Well, Russell Martin starts off the inning trying to redeem himself. He hits a weak grounder to Elvis Andrus, the Rangers’ shortstop, and Andrus misses it. Andrus is by no means a bad defender. In fact, he’s an above average defender in just about every season. Seems like he just got a case of the yips. This should have been out number 1. It’s a huge break for the Blue Jays, and Martin doesn’t have to do the walk of shame back to the dugout.
Next batter grounds out to first base. First baseman Mitch Moreland throws to second to get a forceout, but he throws it in the dirt and Andrus can’t catch it. Error #2 in two batters. Something weird is going on. The next batter comes up to bunt, literally saying “I’m sacrificing an out to move the runners up.” Third basemen Adrian Beltre fields it and throws to 3rd to try to get the forceout there. Andrus is at third ready to catch the ball. Andrus drops the ball. All runners are safe, Andrus has been at the center of all three of these mishaps, and if no errors were committed, the inning would already be over. Instead, the bases are loaded and nobody’s out. The inning has been sucked into the Twilight Zone.
A groundout and a run-scoring forceout later, the Blue Jays have tied the game, but there are two outs. They were gifted a perfect run-scoring situation, and only getting one run out of this would have been deflating for the team and their fans. The announcer casually says, “What next?”
Jose Bautista was next.
Boom. A huge 3-run home run puts the Blue Jays in the lead. Bautista tosses hit bat away in celebration. It’s one of the most majestic bat flips I’ve ever seen. The gif doesn’t do it justice. Just look at this.
Image credit: Getty Images
Loooook at it. Bautista looks like he’s saying farewell to an old friend. “You have done your job,” he might say. “The baseball has been obliterated, and now it’s time for you to be free.” The bat soars into the night sky. It’s flying to bat heaven where it can crush all the baseballs it wants. There were probably angels singing as it flew through the sky, but they were drowned out by the sound of everyone in the Rogers Centre losing their minds.
Watch the video too. It’s just too glorious.
Just imagine all the tension and anger the fans had about this game, and Bautista made that all turn into unbridled jubilation. I can’t imagine how that feels, but it must have been incredible.
Then the fans start throwing trash onto the field in…celebration? Sure, why not. The broadcast doesn’t show it, but the announcers commented on fans running on the field and trash all over the outfield. The game is delayed again. In this delay, the two teams start to get into an argument and the dugouts clear.
Image credit: Getty Images
Because how the hell do you recover from this as a Rangers player? Hell, even as a Blue Jays player? It’s been the most exhausting inning, wrestling with obscure rules, dealing with errors on three consecutive plays, and a capacity crowd that’s taken an emotional rollercoaster to the moon and back.
In the end, the Rangers didn’t recover. They lost the game and the series. The Blue Jays went on to the ALCS, where they were beat in 6 games by the soon-to-be-champion Kansas City Royals. And even though the Blue Jays’ season may have ended in disappointment, they will always have this. A moment where the baseball gods got drunk and destroyed the heavens and the earth. A moment of pure sports joy and catharsis. This will be the most memorable sports moment for Toronto baseball until their next championship.
So. Let’s recap: a freak accident invokes a rule that’s so obscure that even the umpires are confused about and gives the visiting team a lead in a sudden death baseball game. The game is delayed, fans are pissed, chaos ensues, and then the home crowd riots as much as they can without getting the game forfeited. Then in the home half of the inning, a generally sure-handed defense fucks up 3 plays in a row, which leads to a Blue Jays fan’s dream scenario: a big, huge, stupid home run to take the lead. The inning, after all the delays, took 53 minutes to complete. Incredible.
I love baseball. It can be so dumb.
In May of the following year, the Rangers and Blue Jays played each other again. The Rangers wanted revenge. This is what happened.
Odor got the punch that all Rangers fans needed to see to start the healing process. It was a stupid brawl, because all baseball brawls are stupid. But it felt like a proper epilogue for what was the craziest inning I have ever seen of baseball.
Here’s a video detailing the doink that started the chaos.
Here’s a video showing the entire bottom half of the inning in all of its messy glory.
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Two Sides, Same Coin
Summary: Since the beginning of Quirks, Yokohama has announced independence from Japan and closed itself from the rest of the world.
To this day and age, no one knows what lies within the city of Yokohama—or that was what the public was made to believe. In reality, Yokohama has long fallen into the control of the world’s largest criminal organization known as the Port Mafia.
Follow Class 1-A as their principal organized a field trip to Yokohama! In their short trip there, they must change their perspectives and learn exactly what it means to be justice and what it means to be villains.
Rating: T
Genre: Crossover, hint of shounen-ai (boy love)
Pairing: Contains mild Soukoku (Dazai x Chuuya) and Shin Soukoku (Akutagawa x Atsushi) if you squint
Author: Canna / Yellow Canna
Available on AO3!!
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CHAPTER 12
TWILIGHT DOOR (DAY 3: TUESDAY)
This story has been beta'd by Momentary_Flight
It was a typical Tuesday afternoon in Yokohama.
The sky was clear, prompting people to come out and enjoy the sunlight before winter comes.
Two housewives were walking down the sidewalk with groceries in their hands when they stopped at the sight of a young boy coming up to them.
“Hello!” The boy greeted with a warm smile, nearly causing the two women to swoon at the adorable freckled child. “If you have any trouble, please visit the Armed Detective Agency!”
He held out flyers which the two women took before bidding him farewell and continuing on their days.
After they left, Midoriya looked down at the stack of flyers in his hand and sighed. At the rate he was going, it would take forever to hand them all out.
“What do you have there, lad?” A voice asked from behind, causing Midoriya to quickly turn around with another flyer ready in his hand, stretched out to the speaker.
"I'm from the Armed Detective Agency! If you have any trouble, please visit the Agency and we will help you with your request!" He spoke out the standard greeting he had been using for the past three hours.
“Oh?” The man accepted the flyer.
It was then that Midoriya lifted his head to take a good look at this man and was immediately stunned. The man was not Japanese. The blond hair, blue eyes, and his obvious western facial structure immediately gave him away. However, despite being surrounded by Asians, he seemed completely at ease, wearing a creamy yellow suit and trousers with multiple shopping bags on each of his arms.
“The Armed Detective Agency flyer?” The blond man hummed, eyes twinkling in curiosity as he stared at the flyer with great interest. “Interesting! I didn’t know they used flyers for promotions as well!”
Midoriya’s mouth opened, but no words came out. A foreigner in a city that’s been sealed off for centuries? According to everything he’s learned since entering Yokohama, that wasn’t possible, unless…
“Tell me, young lad, how is the Agency?" The man suddenly asked, turning to Midoriya.
“They’re doing well…?” Midoriya replied unsurely—wary even. The first thought that came to his mind was Lucy. He remembered the older girl mentioning that she had come into Yokohama with her old companions…could he be one of them? But if this man was…then wasn’t he a terrorist?!
“Do you know the Armed Detective Agency?” Midoriya asked carefully.
“Well now, I don’t believe anyone who lives in Yokohama hasn't heard of them,” the man laughed. “But if you’re asking on a more personal level, then yes, I do know them. So tell me, how is it working at their place?”
“It’s uh…it's good.” Midoriya nodded slowly, silently wishing for this man to leave. He really wasn’t sure what else he was supposed to say.
“I see! And are you enjoying your time here in Yokohama?”
“Yes, I—” Midoriya lost his voice as he realized just what this man had asked. He must be wearing a look of horror right now, since the man began to laugh after taking in his expression.
“Why so shocked? You were quite the center of attention at the Sports Festival!” He said loudly, gaining brief looks from the people passing by.
Midoriya’s jaw dropped.
How could he have forgotten?! The people here have access to the outside channels!
Then…
What point was there in hiding their identities at all?! Considering their encounters with the locals so far…their covers had already been blown three times now!
Loud laughter boomed into the boy’s eardrums, startling him as he looked up to see the man…well…laughing. At him.
Midoriya flushed in embarrassment, wondering just what face he had made to have the other laugh like that.
“Allow me to tell you something, young lad!” The man chuckled as he patted Midoriya on the shoulder. “If you want to tell apart Altered Humans and Old Humans, look at their hands. Altered Humans generally have larger hands.”
Altered Human?
This was a term Midoriya had never heard before. Was this referring to them? During his stay, whenever the outside world was mentioned, everyone just referred to it as outside, or outsider for the people living outside.
They’ve never used any terms like this…
“Francis-sama!”
Midoriya turned to see a woman with light brown hair running up to them.
“Ah, Louisa-kun! Perfect timing!” The man beamed. “Come along! The bargain sale is going to begin in six minutes!”
“B-bargain?!” The girl paled, but the blond-haired man didn't even wait for her response and was already charging off like a wild bull. The girl frantically ran after him, and the two of them soon disappeared from the boy’s sight.
Midoriya blinked, not sure what exactly happened. However, if he saw correctly, that girl just now wasn’t Japanese either. Who are they? Could they really be terrorists?
But what kind of terrorist would rush off like that to a bargain sale?!
Midoriya felt like he would get a headache if he kept on thinking. Everything around here was just too weird for him to understand…
“Deku-kun!” Midoriya looked up to see Uraraka and Asui waving at him as they walked over.
“Uraraka-san, Tsuyu-san,” he greeted.
“Are you done handing out the flyers?” Uraraka asked cheerfully.
“No…I still have a lot to go,” Midoriya laughed weakly while scratching the back of his head. “Are you two done with your jobs?”
“Yep!” Uraraka pumped her fist into the air. “Door to door delivery is pretty easy since it’s all apartments here! Let me help you, Deku-kun!”
“Ah, no, that’s alright!” Deku said, clutching the flyers tighter. After all, he can’t make someone else help him with his work.
“It’s fine, gero,” Asui insisted, “the sooner we finish, the sooner we can go back—”
“HEY!”
Midoriya jumped at the familiar voice booming across the street. Everyone around them stopped and turned to see a group of teenagers on the other side of the road.
“Oh dear, another gang fight,” a woman behind Midoriya muttered to her male companion. “Should we call the police?”
“Kacchan?!” Midoriya cried.
On the other end of the street stood three boys looking around eighteen and dressed in the shaggiest clothes Midoriya had ever seen. And standing before those three boys was none other than Bakugou and Kirishima.
There were flyers scattered all around the two, and Bakugou looked beyond pissed.
“Pick them up, you fuckers!” Bakugou snarled at the thugs.
The thugs took a glance at the flyers scattered over the ground before they burst into laughter. That rubbed Bakugou the wrong way as, the next moment, the blond shoved his stack of flyers to Kirishima and stomped up to the gangsters. Kirishima grabbed his shoulder to stop him, but Bakugou shrugged him off.
“PICK. THEM. UP!”
“Hah?” The thug at the front used his pinky to dig into his ear and started scratching. “What’s it to you, poster boy?”
“What did you call me?!”
“What? Are your ears stuffed with earwax, punk?” The thug sneered, pulling out his pinky and rolling what seemed to be earwax between his fingers before flicking it at Bakugou. While he had dodged the filth, the action further enraged him.
This was bad!
Midoriya could tell he was about to explode!
“Going around handing out lame ass posters, you must be a mama’s boy!” Another yelled mockingly.
“Don’t go crying to your moms once I beat your ass into the ground!” Bakugou roared with a murderous smile as his hands rolled into fists.
The thugs laughed as they began to approach Bakugou. Both sides looked like they were seriously about to get into a fight in the middle of the street!
“Bakugou! Just ignore these people!” Kirishima couldn’t care about the flyers anymore. He dumped them aside and ran up to hook both of his arms under Bakugou’s to restrain him.
“FUCKING LET GO!”
“What’s wrong, mama’s boy? Weren’t you gonna teach us a lesson?” The thugs seemed extremely amused by Bakugou being restrained like that and continued to throw snide remarks to further fuel the flames.
“We have to stop him!” Midoriya gasped, dropping his flyers as he broke into a run with Uraraka and Asui following behind. They ran to the crossing, impatiently waiting for the light to turn red, before darting across the street and towards Bakugou and Kirishima.
At the same time, Iida also came charging out from around the corner behind Bakugou with Todoroki and Yaoyorozu—also having heard Bakugou’s loud voice.
“Calm down, Kacchan!”
“Bakugou-kun! Stop that this instant!”
“Bakugou, man, cut it out!!”
“FUCK OFF! I’M GOING TO KILL THEM!”
And that was how they all found themselves in the office half an hour later, kneeling on the green tile floor as they listened to Kunikida’s long lecture.
The rest of the students—at least the ones that were deemed too unique to go outside—were glancing over to the detention area every now and then. They were scattered around the office, helping out the staff with organizing documents and photocopying files.
Aizawa and Toshinori were sitting on the couch as they looked over to the kids in the group. Toshinori just sighed, looking as if he had a headache, while Aizawa looked like he was going to burst the veins in his dried-up eyes.
“I never asked to hand out those damn flyers!” Bakugou finally couldn’t hold it in anymore and talked back to the man.
“Oh? Then you prefer sorting out the documents?” Kunikida pointed to a stack of documents that were currently being sorted out by Kouda and Ojiro.
Bakugou opened his mouth, obviously wanting to continue arguing, but Aizawa had had enough.
“Enough, Bakugou!” His raven hair was floating upwards, revealing those bloodshot eyes glaring down at his student. Bakugou snapped his mouth shut, but the defiant look in his eyes was clear for everyone to see.
It was obvious that Bakugou did not think he did anything wrong. In many ways, the students that had witnessed the scene didn’t think Bakugou had done much wrong either. Sure he was in the wrong for trying to initiate a fight, but other than that he did nothing wrong in standing up for his friend.
“I’m sorry!” Kirishima bowed deeply, gaining the attention of their teachers and Kunikida. “It was my fault! Bakugou was just defending me! Those guys—”
“This isn’t about how this matter started.” Kunikida cut the redhead off. “The fact is that you,” glared at Bakugou, “attempted to start a fight in the middle of the street. I don’t know how Japan handles these kinds of situations, but here in Yokohama, that alone warrants you to spend the night in the nearest police station.”
All the students stared at Kunikida in shock, even the ones that were working.
Was it that serious?
Back in Japan, fights like those were a common occurrence, especially among teenagers. The most that would happen when they got caught was the police calling their parents to give them a stern talking to.
With one look at Bakugou’s eyes, Kunikida snapped his notebook shut and tucked it away with great care.
“All of you, come with me,” he said to everyone in the office.
The U.A students looked at each other before setting aside their work and following Kunikida out.
Toshinori stood up as he and Aizawa prepared to follow them outside, only to be stopped by Ranpo who was sitting on his desk while munching on a rice cracker.
“Just leave it to Kunikida-kun,” the young detective said. “He has a soft spot for kids. He won’t be too hard on them.”
“But—” Toshinori looked like he wanted to argued, but decided against it. They had agreed to let the Armed Detective Agency look over their students, after all. While Aizawa was still a bit concerned and wanted to follow, he knew that as well and sat down. If they were going to stay for a week, then it’s best to cooperate with the Armed Detective Agency.
Kunikida led the group of teenagers down the long stairs and exited through the back door of the building, coming to a small parking lot with no one in sight. There weren’t even any cars parked.
The kids were looking around, confused as to why the blond had brought them here, when Kunikida turned around.
“Come at me.”
“…Huh?”
They all just stood there, staring at Kunikida.
“I’m telling you all to come at me as you would in a real fight—without the activation of your Quirks,” Kunikida clarified, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
“A fight?!” Kaminari gasped.
“What, have you never been in a fight?” Kunikida questioned.
“No, we have, but…” Yaoyorozu was hesitant. After all, how were any of them supposed to fight without their Quirks?
“What are you all standing there for?” Bakugou, who had been holding back his rage for the last couple hours, finally found an outlet. He smirked as he smashed his fists together. “Just surround him and beat him up!”
“Is this a street brawl?” Sato muttered. It was meant to be rhetorical, but the moment he spoke, everyone froze.
No…this is a street brawl!
“Yeah! Let’s do this!” Kirishima joined in, excited. “Real men should only talk with their fists!”
“We’re not men though…” Jirou muttered with a small shudder. Are they seriously going to fight barehanded? How were they even going to do that?!
Sure they have combat experience and had even encountered Villains before…but this…this felt different from anything they've gone through. Something about this just felt more raw, more…primal.
After all, in the age of Quirks, something like a brawl that involves only bare fists and no Quirk exists only in old textbooks. Nowadays, fights—be it for entertainment or otherwise—all involved Quirks in one way or the other. Something like a simple fist fight doesn’t exist anymore.
"I'm very busy," Kunikida said as he glanced down at his watch. "So if none of you are going to come at me, I will go to you.”
Suddenly, the blond man came running at them. The first to react were the people that have some skills in fighting barehanded—people such as Bakugou, Kirishima, Midoriya, Shouji, Sato, Ojiro and even Uraraka.
The rest of the class became an immediate mess. They staggered back, accidentally bumping into one another and, at that moment, forgot all the training they've gone through in the face of the restrictions on their Quirks.
Bakugou was the first to charge out, meeting Kunikida and throwing a first at his face. Unfortunately for him, Kunikida swiftly grabbed him by the wrist and threw the boy over his shoulder. The entire process had happened within a split second and, what’s more, Kunikida didn’t even slow down in the slightest. He didn’t even look back after tossing Bakugou away and kept running towards the group.
“That move…!” Uraraka gaped, recognizing it from her internship.
Kirishima and Sato both jumped out to strike, the redhead coming at Kunikida from the left while Sato took the right. Kunikida quickly paused in his steps. He crouched down, arms crossed in front of him before his palms thrust out—slamming the boys right beneath their chins. The force almost made the two of them black out, losing control of their limbs as they wobbled on their feet before dropping onto the ground.
Next up was Ojiro.
Ojiro was the only one that had any real and extensive practice in close combat. He managed to throw two kicks at the adult…though both attacks were blocked. When he tried to throw in a third kick, Kunikida grabbed him by the ankle and, with a spin, he swept Ojiro off his foot before throwing him into Shouji, knocking the two of them down.
While Kunikida’s attention has yet to move on from Ojiro, Midoriya tried to use this chance to tackle the man from behind. But without the power of his Quirk, he was as powerless as the rest of his classmates and went down with a fist to his gut. The boy collapsed over Ojiro and Shouji while Kunikida darted for Uraraka.
The girl tried to grab his arm to throw him over like what he had done to Bakugou. She had succeeded in grabbing onto him, but Kunikida easily broke free of her grip with a twist of his arm. With a simple push and a kick to the back of her knee, she stumbled and fell onto the ground.
If Ojiro’s attack was on the level of an amateur, then needless to say Uraraka was way below that. Despite knowing how to use the technique, Uraraka was much too inexperienced to execute it on a real martial artist. There was no possible way the technique she had only practiced for a single week could be used on an experienced martial artist who had practiced for years.
The rest of the students went down in a matter of seconds. None of them were even given the chance to even strike at the man. Before they could even lift their hands, their world was already flipped upside-down.
“Gyaaaaa!” The last student remaining was none other than Mineta.
The petite boy was lifted in the air by the back of his shirt, screaming, punching, and kicking, yet his short limbs were nowhere near reaching Kunikida. His image right now looked like a wet cat hissing and baring its nonexistent fangs and claws.
The man seemed to be pondering what to do with this last one when he took a step to the side, dodging the fist that came flying at him from behind.
Tossing Mineta aside, Kunikida grabbed Bakugou’s forearm. Instead of throwing him over his shoulder like before, he spun Bakugou around and easily pinned him down onto the ground. Bakugou immediately tried to get up, but he found that he couldn’t with one hand twisted behind his back and the weight of the adult sitting on top of him.
“Thirty-four seconds,” Kunikida said as he glanced down at his watch.
Yes, the fight had only taken a little over half a minute. Most of the students went down in just a second. The one who held on the longest was Ojiro due to the slight advantage over his classmates.
This was with Kunikida holding his strength back and going easy on the students. Despite how he may have seemed a bit too rough with some over others, the children were all unscathed. None of the damage he did would last more than a couple of seconds.
By now, all the students were getting up—even Kirishima and Sato were coming out of their momentary shock.
“You’re all weak.” Kunikida stated bluntly. "Perhaps it is due to your world being focused on Quirks that you've all grown to rely on them and neglect an actual workout. Of the twenty of you, only two have properly learned how to fight. Yet the fighting moves that you know are only basic movements that severely lack training.”
After that, the man looked down at Bakugou, tightening his grip on the boy’s arm when he attempted to struggle.
“Get off!” Bakugou snarled, humiliated at being pinned down for so long. Damn it! If only he could use his Quirk, then this guy would—
“Right now, you’re thinking that if only you could use your Quirk, you could easily throw me off, aren't you?" Kunikida asked, narrowing his eyes at Bakugou who was glaring up at him. “If I use my Ability, you will all be dead. Have you thought about that?”
That caused the boy’s struggling to stop as everyone stared at Kunikida. It's almost as if they just remembered that the entire Armed Detective Agency was made up of Ability users, and Kunikida was one of them.
“Kunikida-san, what is your Ability?” Midoriya asked, unable to hide his curiosity.
Kunikida reached into his shirt to pull out the notebook all of them were way too familiar with.
“My Ability allows me to manifest anything I write in my notebook.” Kunikida explained. "So long as the object I write is no larger than the size of the notebook."
“How is that going to beat us?!” Bakugou yelled out what everyone was thinking.
Kunikida’s Ability did indeed sound amazing, but if it’s limited to the size of his notebook, what could he do?
“Guns, bombs, gas, poison…” Kunikida listed out all the dangerous weapons he could create in just that notebook. "Human bodies are more vulnerable than you think. Don't assume that you're unbeatable just because of your Quirks. Here in Yokohama, we don't just battle with our Abilities. You may be considered elite in your world, but your explosive powers don’t mean a thing here. You will only get your whole class killed if you continue this reckless behavior.”
With that, Kunikida released Bakugou’s sore arm and stood up. He straightened his clothes before looking to the rest of the kids.
“I’m sure you all haven’t forgotten your encounter with Lucy Maud Montgomery.” Kunikida reminded them. “The lady came from a strong organization, but she is neither a fighter nor is her Ability made to fight. Up until now, none of you have witnessed the extent of what an Ability can do nor do you understand the power of what an offensive Ability is capable of. In the world of Ability users, only the strong can afford to be arrogant.”
The man paused, allowing them to absorb everything he said before continuing.
“Remember this: if you want to live, never pick a fight with someone in Yokohama. Any of them could turn out to be an Ability user. Even if they aren’t, there is a high chance that they belong to a gang. The next time you run into trouble, call the police like what any ordinary person would do, understand?"
The students nodded slowly, all of them wearing lost or dumbfounded expressions. Seeing them like this, Kunikida heaved out a small sigh. He wouldn’t expect these children to understand in a single day anyways.
He opened his notebook and wrote something down. Then with great pain, he ripped the page out and handed it to the nearest student, who happened to be Aoyama.
“Your work today is finished. This is the location of the Chinatown in Yokohama, go there to clear your heads. Just remember to return to your dorms before curfew.”
With that, Kunikida walked away, heading back into the building and leaving the kids outside.
For a moment, none of them spoke.
They just looked at one another, then to the piece of paper with Kunikida’s hand-drawn map.
◤◢◣◥◤◢◣◥◤◢◣◥◤◢◣◥
“Woah!!! Look at that!!” Hagakure jumped up and down as the group of twenty students stood in front of the gate to Yokohama’s Chinatown.
They stared at the huge Chinese styled gate and all the different stores beyond it. The style of the entire street looked so different from the rest of the city, it was as if they were going to walk into a completely different world.
“Hmm…they have exquisite style~” Aoyama said approvingly while striking a pose.
“This is freakin’ awesome!” Kirishima gasped.
"I-it's amazing," Koda said in awe.
“Gero!” Asui agreed.
“I wonder how big it is!” Uraraka squealed. “I can’t even see the end!”
“Tch…it's alright," Bakugou muttered, but the way he stared at the huge gate intensely said otherwise.
“This would have been a perfect place for a group pic!” Ashido sighed in disappointment.
“I’ve…I’ve never been to a Chinatown before…!” Yaoyorzu was literally shaking. Anyone could tell just how hard she was trying to suppress her excitement.
“I’ve never been to one either.” Midoriya agreed, also barely containing his joy. Todoroki, who stood beside him, nodded, showing how it was also his first time.
“Do you guys smell that?” Sato swallowed his saliva with his stomach already growling.
“Hey! We could get tons of souvenirs from this place!” Sero suggested. “As long as it doesn’t say it’s from Yokohama, we should be able to bring home!”
"I have a feeling this street will look even better within the darkness," Tokoyami noted.
“Cute girls in Chinese outfits!” Mineta shouted and did a high-five with Kaminari.
“It’s certainly rare to see such traditional settings nowadays.” Shoji admired, taking in the structure of the street.
"Well, yeah...our lifestyles right now are heavily influenced by the West. It's rare to see something so traditional," Ojiro nodded.
"Maybe I should have exchanged a bit more money," Jirou said unsurely as she checked her wallet.
“Everyone!” Iida called, standing in front of the group to gather their attention. “Since Chinatown seems really crowded, it would be better for us to move in smaller groups! We’ll split up according to our dorms since there’s only one phone per room! It is three o’clock right now, so let’s meet up back here in front of this gate at six o’clock sharp!”
With that, they split up into their groups and ventured into Yokohama’s Chinatown. The countless stalls and stores in the street almost made them dizzy as they stared at so many things that they’ve never even seen before.
There were buns made to resemble cute animals and different types of steam buns on a skewer! Despite being a closed-off city, the food and the flavors offered were extremely authentic.
There were a lot of souvenir shops, which was odd considering the lack of tourism, yet the locals flocked to them regardless. There was even a souvenir shop selling only panda merchandise!
There were huge, elaborate Chinese temples and also a side street that mimicked Hong Kong!
As the sky slowly darkened behind a thick covering of clouds, more and more people came swarming in. It wasn’t long before the kids found themselves swept away by the incoming crowd. An hour before the meetup, every store within Chinatown lit up, giving the street a festive feel to it. Tokoyami had been right in saying that this street would look better after dark.
It was already almost time to meet up when the scattered students remembered and began trying to find the gate…only to find out that there were multiple gates to Chinatown.
They tried asking for directions, but soon realized that they have no idea how to explain which entrance they came from since they didn’t know any of the street names.
It was at that moment that they heard a loud drum and the sound of firecrackers.
When they followed the sound, they found that a Lion Dance was going on. As part of Yokohama Chinatown tradition, tonight was one of the nights during which a Lion Dance would be performed. As they gathered to watch, they met up with their classmates one after another. It was a funny coincidence when they discovered that the performance was taking place near the gate all of them had been frantically looking for.
Everyone chattered in excitement, telling each other where they’ve been and what they’ve bought. They walked out of Chinatown together, each of them with a bag hanging from their arm and steaming hot food in their hands.
It didn’t matter which souvenir shops they went into. After making purchases, they were all given a large reusable bag free of charge once asked if they have any bags to carry it. Despite having gone into different stores, the reusable bags they were given were all the same with the image of the Chinatown printed on it.
They didn't notice before, but after meeting up and seeing everyone else's bags, they understood now. These weren't given to them out of the kindness of the workers; this was simply part of Chinatown's policy.
“Hey Bakugou, what did you get?” Kirishima called out to Bakugou, wanting to take a peek at the other boy’s bag only for Bakugou to push his face away.
“None of your business!” Bakugou hollered.
“Ah! This is sooo cute!” Hagakure squealed as she hugged a fluffy panda doll Yaoyorozu had gotten.
"Hagakure-san's collection is adorable as well!" The pony-tailed girl exclaimed over the other's entire bag of plush dolls.
“This egg tart is amazing!" Sato licked his lips as he savoured the last tart in his hand.
“Deku-kun! What did you get?” Uraraka asked as she hopped over to Midoriya’s side. “N-not that you have to tell me! I’m just curious is all!” She stuttered and quickly backed away a bit when she realized she was asking something personal.
"I got these," Midoriya replied happily, not even noticing the girl’s odd behavior as he showed Uraraka his bag. There were t-shirts, snacks, and all kinds of souvenir items from different stores. It was like looking into the typical bag of a tourist.
"Listen up everyone!" Mineta suddenly shouted.
Everyone turned to Kaminari and Mineta who were both standing there proudly with their hands on their hips. Ojiro was standing behind the two with his face buried in his hand like he couldn’t bother anymore.
“We have a very important announcement to make!” Kaminari exclaimed. “Since you’ve all eaten, no one’s hungry, right?”
“Well…yeah?” Ashido looked down to the half-eaten steam bun in her hand.
“Then let’s keep exploring!” Mineta insisted.
“Back to Chinatown?” Sero looked back to the gate they had walked out from.
“No, dude!” Kaminari laughed. “Mineta and I found this great place when asking around the locals! We should all go there!"
“Okay?” Jiro arched a brow, eyeing the two suspiciously. “And? Where is this place?”
“It’s a surprise! Come on guys, let’s go!”
With that, the petite boy and the blond hurried off. Everyone followed hesitantly. While they didn't trust these two not to bring them to some weird place, it wasn’t like they had anything better to do.
As Kaminari said, they’ve been eating all kinds of food and were pretty full.
It wouldn’t hurt to further explore the city. After all, what could possibly go wrong?
Trailing behind the group, Ojiro heaved out a long sigh.
The walk took about an hour.
None of them had minded. All of them were interested in taking in the different styles of the building and the people here. No matter how much they looked at the Old Humans, they couldn’t help but feel fascinated. It was still odd to them at how these people were all born with the exact same body structures.
It was then that Midoriya recounted the weird encounter with the foreigner he had this morning. Due to everything that had happened, he had forgotten until now. Everyone listened, each giving their own thoughts, yet no one could be sure who that strange man could be. What caught their attention, though, was the man’s explanation of their different hand sizes.
They began looking at the Old Humans around them and compared their hand sizes. To their surprise, the man was right. Their hands were bigger than these Old Humans’.
No, not just their hands. It was more like their bones were just thicker and wider, resulting in their hands being larger. The size difference wasn’t significant enough for any of them to notice if they hadn’t been told, yet now that they did realize it, it became plainly obvious. At this discovery, everyone began trying to compare their own hand size with anyone that passed by them.
This went on for until they began to notice fewer and fewer people as they walked. Eventually, there was not a single soul in sight and the sky was already darkening. When they walked by the narrow alleyways, the students swallowed nervously upon seeing wild dogs sitting in the shadow staring at them.
“Kaminari-kun, Mineta-kun, how far is this place?” Iida questioned.
“It should be around here!” Kaminari answered, looking at a small piece of paper with yet another hand-drawn map.
“There!” Mineta pointed to a building a couple blocks away. “A plain building with a black door!”
And by plain, he really meant plain.
It was just a simple building made of red bricks. There were no decorations, no graffiti, no signs…nothing. Not even a window. There was nothing but a metallic black door that was rusted on the sides.
The two boys ran over with the rest following behind. Since Mineta got to the door first, he tried to push it open only to find that the door wasn’t even budging!
“It’s locked?!” He gasped in horror as Kaminari came up behind him.
“That can’t be! Those people said it’ll be open tonight.” The blond instinctively looked for a handle, thinking that perhaps they were supposed to pull it, only to find that there was no handle on this door.
"I think it's just heavy," Yaoyorozu said as she placed her palm against the door and feel the cold texture of the metal. “It seems like this door is made purely of iron.”
“Which means…” Jirou trailed off as she gave Mineta a pointed look.
“W-what?! It’s not my fault that my body is small!” Mineta shrilled defensively as Kirishima stepped forward and placed his hands against the door. With a hard push, the door opened without too much trouble
The moment the door opened the sound of music that was trapped behind the door escaped and reached the children's ears. This made them curious about what the place was as they walked inside one after the other.
The door didn't stay open long. Just as Aoyama was walking through, the door slammed shut. Had Shouji not pulled him out of the way in time, he would have been caught in the doorway.
“Seriously, what—!" Aoyama’s complaint was cut off as lights flickered across them, followed by the roaring sound of cheers.
Everyone stood there, completely shocked at the people walking around, bobbing to the music, and waiters carrying trays of alcohol.
“T-t-t-t-t-this is?!” Iida spluttered as another flash of light swept by them. “WE’RE GOING BACK! THIS INSTANT!”
“Come on!” Kaminari whined. "This is once in a lifetime!"
“IT’S ILLEGAL!! WE CAN’T BE IN A N-NIGHTCLUB!” And then, Iida turned to Ojiro who had been quiet the entire trip. “Ojiro-kun!”
“Sorry, they made me not tell you guys.” Ojiro groaned. He knew things would turn out this way.
“It’s not illegal!” Mineta argued. “Remember what that guy said? We’re sixteen! It’s perfectly legal in Yokohama!”
It took a moment for the others to remember that weird man they’ve met in the spider lily field.
“Yeah! We even asked around to make sure we’re legal!” Kaminari pipped in. "People here come to age at sixteen, so we’re all adults here!"
“No, we are not!” Iida rebuked. “We’re leaving!”
“We can even drink alcohol!” Mineta added. “Beer! Wine! Sake! Come on! Don’t tell me none of you ever thought of trying it!”
That successfully pipped their classmates’ interest.
Be it boys or girls, all of them had at least wanted to try drinking alcohol once…well, except Iida.
"Do you think any of us will be swayed by something like that?!” Iida huffed with his arms crossed over his chest. He had a rightful look on his face as he turned to his fellow classmates, only for his jaw to drop when more than half of them were unable to meet his eyes.
“You guys!” The class president uttered in disbelief.
“I mean…if we’re legal…” Sero began as he scratched the side of his cheek.
Before Iida could say anything else, the hard sound of electric guitar echoed throughout the club. It happened only for a moment before the sound disappeared along with the music that had been previously playing. However, despite the sudden silence, excited screams of people began to echo throughout the club.
“What’s going on?!” Aoyama yelped.
The guitar sound came again, then stopped.
The crowds were going wild as they cheered.
Curious, the students decided to walk deeper into the club.
No one paid them any mind or even spared them a glance. The guitar sound came back, stopped for a split second before returning. Instead of coming to another pause like before, it went on, soon accompanied by the heavy sounds of drums.
They soon stopped at a handrail made with dark iron like the door to the club. Beyond this handrail, at a level lower than where they stood, was a huge dance floor crowded with people. They were all screaming and waving their hands into the air as colourful spotlights flickered across them.
“Over there!” Jirou gasped, eyes sparkling as a euphonious voice began to sing to the music.
“The beating sounds high
To an irreplaceable resonance
Incompletion upon incompletion
Moving towards the approaching abyss
Woah oh oh~!”
There, on the over side of the dance floor, was a stage.
There was a group of five people on the stage, four of them playing different instruments and one figure standing in the center with spotlight shining down at him from different angles, causing his shadows to stretch across the stage.
The singer was a slender man wearing a black with fedora with a red ribbon and wavy pumpkin orange hair brushed over his shoulder.
“Today as a virtual image
The visible scene bright red
I wanted to create it.
An improved self
Something's missing
Something I want to grasp!”
As the man sang, his hands that were covered in red fingerless gloves slid up to cradle the vintage microphone, pulling it closer to his lips. The red nail paint on his fingers created a strong contrast with the cold metallic glint of the mic.
“The instant I look into the mirror
All I expect is my pathetic face
Yet somehow, I still hope that I stand dignified
Living in continuous instants
But there's no such thing as impartial time
So that one moment is crazy
Aim for the light Deadly Drive!”
On the man's neck was a sparkling silver choker with a silver ring and black leather edge—identical in style to the belt he wore loosely on his hips. He wore duo tank tops, the outer tank top being white with black leopard prints while the one underneath was maroon red. A black leather jacket pooled around his elbows and showed off the lean muscles underneath the fair skin of his shoulders.
“Traces of it remain
The vestiges of tears
It burns faintly
The dappled sunlight of life
It merely spills over the melody of sorrow
I have no prayers on my left wrist
I'm fine disappearing like this
I just want to go to the end of the universe!”
The students’ hearts were beating faster and faster, as if their heartbeat was attempting to match the beat of the music and become one with it. None of them even realized how they became lost in a trance from the man's music and the strong aura being expelled from his body as he sang.
When they stared into the man’s icy blue eyes, it was as if their souls were sucked into them—unable and unwilling to pull themselves free. At this moment, they wanted nothing but to drown in that beautiful voice and the powerful music taking over their entire being.
The singer ripped the mic off the mic stand and kicked it aside. The wire of the mic flew up into the air from the violent pull, twirling around the man as if the two were engaged in a graceful dance. He brought the mic up to his lips as if to place a delicate lover’s kiss to it.
“The restraint in not kissing is akin to
The flowers concealing paradise
If the scars still hurt
Then break the chains and go forth
Yet the shadows left behind do not move
In disappointment, remember
Victory that brings forth truth and love!”
He reached a hand out towards the crowd.
It was a gesture that looked like a gentleman offering to take a lady’s hand, but the man’s fingers curled inward as his open hand curled up into a tight fist as he sang out the final part of the song.
“Prosperous immorality
Towards a darkness more beautiful than: Deadly Drive
Aim for a worthy light
Stray Dogs!”
The crowd roared.
Screams, claps, whistles…the massive jumble of noises snapped the teens back to reality. Affected by the atmosphere and truly having enjoyed the performance, they all were clapping and cheering for the singer as well.
“See?! I told you guys this is an awesome place!” Kaminari crowed to his classmates over the noise. Even Iida couldn’t find any more excuses to say no considering how he was just as into the song as the rest of them.
Class 1-A waited for the man to continue singing, but the redhead just tossed the mic to another person before jumping off the stage and vanishing into the wild crowds. While disappointed, they decided to look for a place where they could all sit down.
The club was way bigger than they had initially thought when they looked at the plain building from the outside. From what they could see, there were three levels to this club. The ground level, which is where they were at, the lower level consisting of the dance floor and stage, and the upper level.
As curious as some of them were, none of them could get close to the glass staircase, as it was guarded by two men in black suits. It was obvious that they were the security here, so they concluded that the upper level must be for VIPs. They couldn’t see anything due to the glass railing reflecting the light from the dance floor, but whoever’s up there must be important.
There weren’t any tables large enough to fit twenty people, so the group found three booths in the corner of the club. Since this corner was further away from the dance floor and the bar, there were very few people that would come over.
“Don’t you guys think that singer was super handsome?!” Ashido was beaming as the girls discussed the singer on the stage. “And that voice of his was so smooth! I’ve never heard anything like it!!”
“Did you hear how he hit those high notes?” Jirou praised, heart still hammering from the music.
“I did!” Uraraka was almost bouncing in her seat, unable to contain her excitement. “I wish we had something to record it on, it was so good!”
“Hey, let’s go to the dance floor later to see if he’s going to sing again!” Hagakure suggested.
“That’s a good idea!” Asui agreed happily.
“Yes!” Yaoyorozu nodded as well.
“Tch…guys with handsome faces should all die," Mineta mumbled while chewing the fingernail of his thumb.
The rest of the guys, on the other hand, were all absorbed by the drink menu.
“Hey, look, doesn’t this one look awesome?” Sero asked, flipping his menu around to show the others the picture of a cocktail. The vibrant colourful drinks greatly appealed to them and soon everyone agreed to try out the cocktails instead of the classic alcohols.
When Midoriya flipped to the cocktail page, he couldn’t help but be impressed by all the beautiful pictures. These cocktails came in all sorts of colours and glasses. Each one of them was decorated so beautifully that it's practically art, not a drink.
“It doesn’t say the price, it could be expensive.” Shoji frowned, not seeing the price written anywhere on the page.
“It should be fine! This is a once in a lifetime chance!” Kaminari reminded him. “We’re all just getting one drink so it shouldn’t hurt!”
"That is a very dangerous thought.” Tokoyami sweat-dropped, unable to understand the blond’s logic.
“Everyone, please feel at ease to order! I’ve brought enough money so if you don’t have enough, I can cover for you!” Yaoyorozu called from her table, immediately erasing the worries of money.
“YAO-MOMO!!” Ashido and Kaminari cheered.
“Thank you, I’ll definitely pay you back!” Jirou said gracefully as she looked down at her flattened wallet. She really should have brought more money.
With the cost now out of the way, everyone began to look over their menu earnestly.
“There are a lot of options though, what are you guys getting?” Sato questioned as he looked around the table.
“I’ve decided!” Hagakure’s gloved hand pointed at the drink she chose. “Isn’t this pretty? Doesn’t it look like it’s sparkling?!”
“The Sakura Martini!” Yaoyorozu smiled. “That’s a beautiful choice, Hagakure-san! For me, I think I’ll try the Sake Blossom.”
“That one sounds really elegant!” Uraraka gushed. “I think I’ll get the Peach Fuzz!”
“Hmm…the Tangerine Ginger Sake Sangria," Jirou said as she eyed the orange and leafy drink.
“Gero! I like the Matcha highball.” Asui smiled happily.
“You guys already decided?!” Kirishima gaped at the girls’ speed.
“Yep!” Ashido smirked proudly. “I’m going with the Raspberry Sake Tea! Don’t tell me you guys haven’t decided yet!”
“Of course we did!” Bakugou snapped before a nasty smirk appeared over his lips. “I’m taking the Sake Bomb!”
“Sake Bomb?!”
Everyone looked at a certain picture of a tiny cup being balanced by two chopsticks over a glass. Be it the name or the picture…wasn't this dangerous?! And moreover, that's not even juice anymore! It’s just one type of alcohol going into another type of alcohol!
“Alright!” Kirishima announced. “I don’t know what any of these are but I’m going for the Red Eye!”
“You just chose that because of the name and colour!” Sero snorted before deciding his own as well. “I’ll get the Umetini!”
“Cassis Grape!” Mineta didn’t even need to think to decide on his drink.
“Then the Lychee Martini for me!” Kaminari snapped his finger.
“Fuzzy Navel looks pretty good," Ojiro said.
“Mango Margarita for me!” Sato decided.
“Doesn’t the Samurai Caeser look perfect for me?” Aoyama hummed as he flipped his hair.
“I’ll have the Ginza Mary," Shouji stated.
“I…I want to try the Lemon Drop," Koda said shyly.
“Hmm…I suppose I’ll take the Sake Mojito.” Tokoyami said after a while of looking.
“Japanese Sling.” Iida decided firmly.
“Then…Shochu Melon Citrus.” Midoriya finally decided after some hard thinking.
“Pfft, what a pussy!” Baukgou cackled at the green-haired boy’s choice of drink.
“…Sake.”
“EH?!” Everyone, even the girls, turned to look at Todoroki who had his head down and his eye still on the drink menu.
“Dude, why are you only getting sake?!” Kaminari all but screamed as if Todoroki had done something that greatly offended him.
“…I can’t really decide.” Todoroki replied honestly. He blinked up in confusion, not sure why everyone was staring at him as if he had grown another head.
“Are you stupid?” Bakugou roared, snatching his drink menu to take a glance before slapping it down onto the table. "Just get the Umeshu, that looks perfect for you!"
“I see…thank you, Bakugou.” Todoroki thanked the hot head so sincerely that it made veins pop all over Bakugou.
“I’m fucking insulting you, you stupid half and half! Don’t thank me! It’s gross!”
“Pfft, that sounds like the line of some tsundere!” Kaminari snorted, only for his shirt to be grabbed with Bakugou just that close to beating him up. Fortunately for him, a person came up to interrupt them.
“Excuse me.”
Everyone gawked at the man in a waiter uniform who had just…appeared.
“Would you like me to get those orders right now?”
All of the kids stared blankly, unable to react yet. When did this person get here? How long had he been here?
“Just long enough to hear all of your orders. Please do not worry.” The waiter replied professionally as if somehow reading their thoughts.
“Would you like me to order them?” He inquired politely.
Midoriya noticed how this man wasn’t even holding a notepad or anything to record their order. It can’t be that he memorized all of their drinks…can it?
“Ah, yes—” Iida began, only to be interrupted by a loud shout.
“Hey! You kids over there!”
The U.A students all but jumped.
For a moment, they thought they were caught, but then remembered that they’re allowed to be here. They weren’t breaking any laws, so there’s no need to be scared. Despite trying to convince themselves so, they still couldn’t help but feel guilty.
They turned to the source of the call and their jaws nearly hit the floor at the sight of a familiar redhead walking up to them.
“I-it’s him!” Hagakure was barely containing her squeal as she shook Ashido who was sitting beside her.
There, standing in front of them, was the singer that they had seen on the stage just minutes ago. He looked exactly the same, except his leather jacket was hung around his shoulders instead of wearing it like he had done on the stage. This allowed the teens to see the silver handcuff on his left wrist that had been hidden when he had the jacket on.
Instantly, all of them remembered that strange man that had lied to them about using handcuffs as wedding rings. They quickly shook that weird memory out of their heads. This was a nightclub, maybe it’s a style here?
What was it called?
Punk fashion?
“Since when were kids allowed into a club?” The man spoke in his deep, husky voice as he approached them, blue eyes gleaming in the dim lighting.
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“This is the place?” The man asked as he slowly walked out of the dark alley and stopped before the building with the black, metallic door.
“According to the information we’ve gathered, this is the club that he will be in.” A voice spoke from the mass of dark purple fog. “I suggest you rethink your plan, Shigaraki Tomura. It is too risky for us to—”
“Did I ask for your opinion, Kurogiri?” The man snapped at the person standing by his side, successfully silencing the other.
“Hey, can we go in now? I’m seriously bored~!”
One by one, people began to walk out of the alley, joining the two men in the middle of the street.
“Are you stupid, we need to approach with caution!" The green-skinned lizardman hissed to the girl with ash-blonde hair that had just declared her boredom.
“Spinner is right!” A man in tight bodysuit had his arms crossed, nodding to his companion's words before his attitude completely flipped. “To hell with that, let’s just charge in and show ‘em who’s boss!”
The raven-haired man beside him didn't say a word and just stared at the plain-looking building.
“These Yokohama citizens are all really good looking~” The muscular redhead hummed. “I wonder if there’ll be handsome guys in the club!”
“Shall we, Shigaraki?” Asked the man with a mask covering his face and a magician's hat.
Dry lips cracked open in a large smirk as blood-red eyes focused intensely on that black door.
“Yeah.”
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The invitation arrives on Louis’ desk one Monday morning, innocuously placed on top of some tax forms and a bunch of papers Louis needs to look over. It’s quite large, made of thick, fancy, scented paper, with a little red bow wrapped around it, and the instant Louis spots it, he knows exactly what it is.
So he does the logical thing to do. He drops a stack of papers on top of it and promptly ignores its existence.
---
Of course, like all logical plans, this one fails, simply because of Louis’ failure to consider external things. Or in this case, the presence of one, rather annoying best-mate-slash-office-mate.
“Did you see it?” Liam demands as he enters the room at lunch, no pretenses whatsoever. “I made sure to personally leave it on your table.”
“Why hello, Liam,” Louis replies, all faux-brightness and cheer. “It’s so nice to see you on this wonderful day. How are you? I, myself, am doing well—I had a really good sleep last night, and look,” he says, gesturing to the succulent on his table. “Katniss bloomed a flower.”
Liam stops. “I thought its name was ‘Protractus’.”
“Well, I decided that ‘it’ was a ‘she’, and that she was a strong independent woman who didn’t need no man.” Louis declares, touching the flower lightly. “Or a Peeta, for that matter.”
Liam looks confused. “Whatever,” he says. “But did you see it?”
“You mean did I see your handsome face today? Yes, I did, thank you for stopping by.”
“No,” Liam says, crossing his arms. “Although…thanks. But no, I was talking about the invitation.”
Louis plays dumb. “What invitation? Wait, are you finally going to stop wearing that weird chain? Are you inviting me to your place for a ‘Farewell, Liam Payne’s Chain’ party?”
Liam rolls his eyes. “Stop changing the subject.” He marches over to Louis’ desk, and starts ruffling through the papers on there. “I know I put it here somewhere.”
“Oi, Payno,” Louis snaps, trying to shove Liam away. “That is my work you’re disturbing, and as you know I take my work very seriously—”
“—Aha!” Liam says, pulling out the invitation from under Louis’ work forms. “Here it is! You put all your stupid shit on top of it!”
“I did not,” Louis snipes, gathering up all his paper. “I thought it was a tax form.”
“What an incredibly fancy tax form,” Liam deadpans. It’s actually quite a good deadpan; Louis would be proud if it was in any other situation. “Here.”
“No.”
“What do you mean, ‘no’? Open it, Louis.”
“I said, no.” The words come out much more emotionally than Louis intended them to, and he clamps his mouth shut, shakes his head. “I mean, I don’t need to, Liam, I already know what’s in it. Wedding invitations all say the same thing.”
“Yeah, but this isn’t just any wedding invitation,” Liam says. “This is Zayn’s.”
“All the more reason not to open it, don’t you think?”
“Louis,” Liam says, his voice taking on a gentle tone. “You promised you wouldn’t be bitter about this. You promised you would go.”
And yeah, Louis did. But that was a promise he made at a shitty time in his life, under shitty circumstances. He was sad. And sad people make stupid promises, especially to people they’re in love with.
“Open it,” Liam urges, handing the envelope to Louis. Louis takes a moment to look at the calligraphy of Mr. L. Tomlinson at the back, takes in the thick, fancy, iridescent envelope and the big red ribbon around it.
He hates it immediately.
Still, he opens it, simply because Liam is still there and watching him. The stupid ribbon falls off easily, and the inside is exactly as he expected.
We are cordially inviting you to the wedding of Jelena Noura Hadid and Zayn Javaad Malik on Sunday, March twenty-fifth, ten o’clock in the morning.
And on the right, a little post-it note stuck on the stupid, scented paper.
See you there, best man! – Zayn
The thing is, distantly, he knew that. He knew that Zayn’s getting married, knew that he was going to be Zayn’s best man. But seeing it on paper just made it more real, more permanent. It’s too much, all at once. Louis wants to burn the invitation and crawl into a hole and never come out.
Still, he forces himself to stay calm, to tear his eyes away from the invitation, enough to smile at Liam. “There,” he says, and even he can hear the sudden shakiness in his voice. “I opened it. Happy, now?”
Liam, however, isn’t looking at him. “No,” he says his eyes stuck on the post-it note. “Fuck, I told him not to push through with you being his best man. It’s not fair to you.”
“It’s fine, Liam,” Louis says, even though it is really, decidedly not. “I mean, I did promise.”
“But it’s not fair to you,” Liam repeats, growing heated. “Fuck, I’m going to call him right now and tell him—”
“No, Liam, it’s fine,” Louis insists. “Really. I promised I’d be his best man, and I am. Or at least, I will be.”
Liam pins him with a look. “Even with all the shit?”
Louis blows out a breath. No, he wants to say, but it’s been three years, and he’s moved on by now. Or at least, he should have moved on by now. “Well I promised I’d do it, and I will. How I feel doesn’t matter here.”
“But it should matter,” Liam says. “Fuck, just last week, you got piss drunk and were still crying about—”
“I know, Liam, I know,” Louis interrupts. “But it is what it is. I mean, you were the one going on and on about how I promised I’d go to the wedding.”
“As a guest,” Liam emphasizes. “I didn’t know he would really go and make you his best man.”
“Well, he did.” Louis shrugs. “It’s not his fault, though. I really did promise.”
“You know you don’t have to keep promises like that if it’s detrimental to your well-being, right?”
“I’m aware, Liam.” Louis deadpans. “But I’m also aware that I promised, and, well. I don’t want to break Zayn’s trust in me.”
It’s stupid—stupid and shitty and ridiculous of him, but. He thinks he’s just cursed to be this way, forever weak for a boy who is now getting married to someone else, that he can’t even break a stupid promise he’s made while drunk and crying.
And Louis knows that Liam knows this all this; Liam was there for the entire thing, for the downfall and the crying and the desperation and the begging and the final, quiet acceptance. He’s been there since the beginning and he’s still here now, even though it’s been three years and any normal, sane person would’ve moved on. But Liam, annoying as he is most of the time, is also incredibly perceptive, and right now he doesn’t say anything, doesn’t put into words what he’s thinking.
“You know if you let yourself, you’ll find someone else eventually,” he just says.
“I don’t need anyone,” Louis insists stubbornly. He strokes the Katniss’ flower with a finger. “I’m a strong, independent person and I don’t need to find anyone else.”
---
See, here’s a few things people should know about Louis and Zayn’s relationship:
One, Louis has known (well, known of) Zayn since the beginning of sixth form, when he was going about playing football and trying to get a good education. He’d always been intrigued by the dark-haired, middle-eastern boy who liked to lean against the old brick walls of their school and smoke cigarettes, while still being able to get good grades in all of his classes. The two of them had first exchanged words in their final year of sixth form, immediately hitting it off—so much so that when they found out they’d be going to the same uni, Zayn had automatically asked if Louis wanted to be his roommate.
Two, Louis and Zayn dated for two years. It had started off as an accident—a kiss when they had both been drunk and high, during a party in their last year of uni. They hadn’t spoke of it after, but it just kept happening again and again, that one day, in their shared flat, Zayn had said, “fuck it”, and turned to ask Louis if he wanted to go out on a date. Louis, not knowing what possessed him, had said “yes”, and, well. The rest was history.
And three, Louis is still pathetically, hopelessly, irrevocably in love with Zayn. Even though it’s been three years since their break up. Even though they remained friends, best mates even. Even though one night, when he was smashed, Zayn pulled him aside, eyes sparkling, and said “Fuck, Lou, she’s perfect. I think I’m going to ask her to marry me. Will you be my best man?”
And Louis, who had been just as smashed as Zayn was, and was willing to do anything Zayn asked him, teared up and said, “Yeah, of course!”
Which is why he’s here now, stuck in this predicament.
Louis is aware, of course, that all this makes him sound like a Twilight novel, but it’s just. It’s been three years, that’s all. Three years and not once does Louis think that he’s moved on, not once has he met someone who made him feel how Zayn did. Who made his heart race with excitement, with euphoria. Who made him feel high without drugs, like he was walking around on a cloud. Who made Louis feel everything—all the highs and the lows—with startling, vivid clarity.
Which means that there must be some merit to his feelings, considering that it’s been three years and they’ve just consistently been…there. Unchanging. Unwavering.
And whereas before he could ignore them, pretend they weren’t there, he can’t now because Zayn’s getting fucking married. He’s getting hitched. He’s entering into a lifelong commitment with another person, one that’s going to kill all of Louis’ hopes with Zayn and probably his last, only shot at love.
So there really is no choice. Louis has to stop the wedding, confess to Zayn, and ultimately win Zayn back.
---
Of course, sometime during the next day, it occurs to Louis that in order to get his plan to work, he’s going to need some back-up. Someone who’ll support him throughout this crazy, hare-brained plan. Someone who’ll have his back. Someone who’ll be there for him at the end, just in case things don’t work out as planned.
And it can’t be Liam, because Liam being the stickler that he is, will probably not allow Louis to try and stop the wedding. He’ll just end up telling Louis that he’s sorry and that he should move on and other weird shit like if you love him, let him go, which he probably got from those hipster Tumblr photos. And it can’t be Niall either, because no matter how easygoing he is, the whole debacle of Louis and Zayn is a sensitive issue for him, and he’ll probably go running to Liam about it the instant Louis tells him about his plan. No, for this, Liam and Niall are definitely out.
The problem, though, is that aside from them, Louis hasn’t really got anyone else. Sure, he’s got work friends, but Liam will immediately be suspicious if Louis takes one of them to the wedding, as he’s been trying to set him up with the people in the company to no avail. He could take his sister, but Lottie would probably just judge him for his pathetic-ness, and he doesn’t want her thinking that he’s pathetic. He could ask a random stranger on the street, but he might be slapped or punched for that.
Unless.
He’s reaching for his phone before he even realizes it, opening the contacts app and scrolling all the way down. It takes a second for him to spot the name he’s looking for, and although they’ve kept in touch these past few years—texting almost every day and engaging in random conversation—it’s really kind of a crazy idea. Louis has no idea if he’s busy at work, or if they’re at that level of friendship, or if he’s even willing to fly all the way to London.
But he’s all Louis’ got, and, well. It can’t hurt to try, can it?
The phone rings once, twice, thrice, before someone picks it up. “Hello?” A deep, raspy, familiar voice says, on the other end of the line, and Louis steels himself, takes a deep breath.
“Harry?” He says. “Hi, um. I was wondering if you’d do me a favour.”
#heyyyyyyyy#guess who's back#not me bc idk if im sustaining this#i just ran out of things to do so i started randomly writing#and uh#im actually liking it so far so i wanted to share but#idk!#i dont wanna pressure myself to finish things but ya#i like it#my writing
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Great Minds Think Alike (Riverdale - Jughead x OC) Finale
Pairing : Jughead x OC
Synopsis : A new girl arrives in town around the time of Jason Blossom’s accident. That alone makes her suspicious and unlikeable to most people. Jughead has every reason to investigate on her, the timing is too perfect, right? And it has nothing to do with the young girl’s odd yet charming way of always seeming to find her way back to him, no matter the situation.
Word Count : 6.2k
MASTERLIST
Part 10 <<<
She was surprised to realize that she remembered how to get to Jughead's house without using her GPS, and soon parked her car in front of the old house, her heart playing the maracas in her chest. There was a huge lump in her throat, making her wonder if she would even be able to talk at all. Iris caught her reflection in the rear view mirror and winced.
Veronica had made wonders with her, there was nothing wrong with her appearance per se, but she looked so unlike herself that for a second she wanted to go home and change, take off the makeup, undo her hair. Had this entire situation turned her into something she wasn't?
A tired sigh fell from her lips – one more, one less, who was counting at this point? Iris kicked open her door before she could chicken out of this and put the contact on again. It was now or never, she was already ditching school, she was already feeling like utter shit, so really what more could Jughead do to her? She would end up getting a lecture from her dad, and feel miserable in any case.
Worst pep talk ever, she thought to herself, and smiled a little. She used to be funny. Who had sucked the joy out of her? Could she only joke around the one Jughead and no one else? If feelings weren't so wild and out of control, Iris would have chosen to swing the other way and live her happy ever after with Ronnie. Now she groaned. She was pathetic.
Her feet lead her to the front door and her hand raised on its own to knock, the gesture being so natural that she could do all of that on autopilot. And she was thankful, because her brains was on overdrive and it didn’t help think clearly.
As soon as she had knocked, Iris began to panic good and proper. What was she going to say? Where to start? She should be calm, or scream at him for behaving the way he did? Did she have to apologize? Would he? And what if he slammed the door to her face and refused to listen? Had they reached that point? It wasn't the first time in her life that Iris lost a friend to a grief, but it burnt like acid in her stomach each time.
The door remained closed for the longest time – or perhaps it was only long due to Iris' distorted perception of time. When it did swing open, her heart nearly dropped in apprehension.
“Hello? What can I do for you?” An old lady greeted her, only opening the door enough to peek through the crack.
Iris breathed again.
“I- euh- I'm sorry to bother you, I'm looking for Jughead? Jughead Jones? He lives here,” she stuttered out, feeling like an intruder suddenly.
The old lady smiled a little and opened the door wider.
“Jughead!” The lady said. “Oh my dear the boy doesn't live here! He helps me take care of my garden sometimes, you see I'm getting too old to mow the lawn, so I give him a little something and he does it for me.”
“This... is not his house?”
Iris' mind was a mess. All sorts of red flags raised at this revelation, and her brain glitched altogether. What was going on? She was absolutely certain that she had picked Jughead up right here. She couldn't be mistaken, she remembered the roses next to the door, the wooden beams, the flowery garden.
The more she thought about it, the less this house looked like a teenager lived here, or anyone under the age of sixty for that matter. This was an old lady's house, with an old lady's garden full of peonies, roses, and gardenias. This was not Jughead's house – he had lied. He gave her a wrong address.
Why did he do that? Was Iris to high on his list of suspects that he refused to let her know where he lived? Did he mistrust her so much? Was their entire friendship a scam? If she didn't get out of here right now she was going to cry right in front of the woman, who now looked at her with concern in her eyes.
“No, darling. I don't have his address but I can give you his phone number if you want?” She offered, in an obvious attempt to stop the tears from welling up in Iris' eyes.
“I already have it, but thank you. And sorry for bothering you, have a good day ma'am,” Iris bit her farewell and walked away.
She had lost the purpose in her stride and didn't know where to go now. She entertained the idea that Jughead hadn't just hid where he lives from her, and if that was true then there was no point in asking Betty, or Archie where Jughead lived because they would give her this very address.
Cheryl only said that Jughead didn't come to class today, it didn't necessarily mean that he was home, wherever that might be. And if Jughead wasn't home, or at school, then there was only a very limited number of other places he would most likely be.
Iris' got in her car again and started the engine. Her first stop was Pop's – an obvious place to start with, but it turned out being fruitless. At this early hour the diner wasn't even open yet. Her phone buzzed just when she was going to exit the parking lot.
“Cheryl?” Iris said in her phone.
“In the flesh,” Cheryl chirped on the other end of the call. “Where are you honey? You've been MIA since I talked to you this morning, don't tell me you left to look for this brooding wannabe Shakespeare.”
“I found Betty, or rather Betty found me,” she said with a sigh. “She told me something vague about how she pretended to be into Jughead, but then she refused to tell me why and insisted I go find Jughead because he was the only one who could give me the answer,” she explained as concisely as she could.
“Well dear me, this sounds dramatic and ominous, I wonder what could make someone pretend to like this edgy teen cliché,” she said, not sounding surprised at all. Then again dramatic behavior was Cheryl's signature, so maybe she lost the ability to be surprised by it. “Anyway, did you find him?” She added right before Iris could take offense, because he actually liked this edgy teen cliché – albeit against her better judgment – and there was nothing wrong with it.
“No...” She hesitated, not wanting to admit Jughead pretended to live at a random house because he didn't want to tell her where he lives – regardless of the reasons, that was a fact. “I'm going everywhere he might hand out for now.”
“Try that crumpling, old car park cinema, he can't shut up about it being a part of Riverdale's history and that it needs to be saved from the bulldozers,” Cheryl nearly yawned as if it bored her just to talk about Jughead and the Twilight. She was right though, and it was Iris' next destination anyway.
“I'll do that,” she told her ginger friend – at this point there was really no use in pretending they weren't friends. “See you Cheryl.”
The ginger girl did not say goodby and simply hung up, as her usual. Despite herself, Iris smiled, because among all this emotional chaos, she had made a friend – a very unlikely one but a good one, she mused. Somehow, when she drove away, her heart wasn't as heavy anymore.
It came as a shock to see that Cheryl had been right, and the Twilight was not abandoned as it should be. The Godfather was playing on the giant screen, though the parking lot was empty. Iris hadn't expected to find him to be honest. A part of her even thought Jughead was gone – finally having had his fill with Riverdale's drama and tragedy.
She couldn't blame him, Iris would do the same in a heartbeat it the opportunity arose. But he was here, she knew it, and once again bracing herself, this time even taking the time to give herself a real pep talk, Iris got out of the car, and climbed the stairs leading up to the local where Jughead worked before the Twilight shut down.
What better telltale sign of Jughead's presence here than the fact that the movie stopped the moment Iris knocked on the door – and he didn't even know who it was yet. She laughed bitterly, not looking forward to this conversation but knowing it had to happen.
When he opened the door, Iris almost wished he were a friendly old lady. As soon as their eyes met, Iris' anger from the past few weeks of being ignored, looked down upon, frowned at, and generally badly treated rose up to the surface, and her mouth opened without her brain's permission, and started speaking.
“I went to your house,” she said.
Jughead, who was about to ask her what she was doing here, closed his mouth again, and looked away.
“You know the one you made me pick you up from, even though you don't live there,” she said, unable to hold back from sounding reproachful and mad. Hell! She was mad. “I met the nice old lady who assured me that no Jughead Jones lives in this house. Care to explain?”
“I-” he opened and closed his mouth a few times, taken aback both by the question and Iris' tone of voice. He distinctly remembered her as being jovial and teasing, but never harsh, not to him anyway. Unless he deserved it, like that night in the woods. After reflection, he deserved it. “It's none of your business.”
If she hated him already what was the point in telling her? He might as well keep his secret well hidden and keep Iris' at arms' length at the same time.
“None of my business,” she repeated to herself in a hushed tone. “Right.” She clicked her tongue against her cheek. “And I suppose it isn't any of my business either that you used me for your goddamn book? That you kept from me that Kevin's dad had a file on me? That I am, and always was your prime suspect in this fucking Jason Blossom case you try so hard to solve? Was it also none of my business when you pretended to be my friend to keep an eye on me, or try to dig out some deep, dark secret you think I have? And maybe it wasn't my business either when you continued where we left our investigation with Betty? And when you and her pretended to have a thing for each other? Speak up Jughead, I'm curious.”
Iris glared so hard she thought she might set him on fire if she tried hard enough, and while Jughead wasn't screaming in agony yet, he also wasn't comfortable. His hands fidgeted, his eyes averted from her like he feared she might read the truth in his eyes. He still stood in the doorway and pondered what to do when Iris took the reins and pushed him inside. If he wasn't going to invite her in to talk, she would do it herself.
“Wait!” He called but she was already inside, and she stopped in her tracks. Not because of what he said but because of what she saw.
What she saw was a bed of fortune, his school bag, a few cans of perishable goods, a toothbrush and toothpaste next to the small sink, a bag of clothes sitting in a corner. There was a pregnant pause.
“What the hell Jughead?!” Iris exploded. “You better start explaining right this second or you'll see what happens when I'm done sulking an start acting!”
This time her anger was mixed with confusion – and perhaps a dash of concern, but first and foremost anger. Her incomprehension was painted all over her features, and while her tone was still harsh and demanding, her demeanor changed altogether. Her shoulders slumped down, her eyes begged him to come clean, to tell her the truth of what was happening.
“I can't stay in the dark anymore, just tell me what's going on or I'll go crazy,” she added, seeing his resolve waver in his eyes.
He looked terrible. Had he always looked so unkempt and tired? She couldn't remember the last time she looked his way and didn't catch him staring holes into her skull, immediately looking away. Because if she didn't see him glare at her, then she could pretend he wasn't.
“Fucking say something!” She shouted when he still didn't speak.
“Okay! Okay...” Jughead finally said, gesturing her to keep the volume down. “I'll talk, just please calm down. I'll answer all your questions, but you have to promise me this stays between us.”
“Like I told any of your secrets to anyone before,” Iris spat at him, sitting on the makeshift bed. It creaked under her weigh. After a second of hesitation, and after wiping his palms on his thighs, Jughead joined on.
For the first time in what felt like an eternity, they were sitting next to each other like before, about to have a somewhat civil conversation, looking in each other's eyes and not just trying to mentally kill each other. Iris felt a tinge in her heart and flinched.
“This is the part where you apologize for estranging me without telling why and making me feel miserable,” Iris told him in a much more even voice.
It hurt a lot more to hear her say that in such a flat, factual tone, as if she didn't trust herself to let filter any emotion at all. Jughead felt terrible. Even more terrible than he had over the last few weeks, when he distanced himself from Iris for reasons that Betty qualified as ridiculous and undignified.
“How did you learn about the file?” Jughead asked – he figured he had to start somewhere. Iris' expression immediately darkened and she leaned back, squinting her eyes at him.
He took a second to look at her and found she looked rather strange. She was dressed up, which was unusual, and it clashed with how worn out she looked. Like she wasn't sleep too well.
“That doesn't sound like excuses to me,” she seethed.
“Right, sorry,” Jughead said, blushing in embarrassment. What was he thinking? She was right of course, he had behaved abominably and now he reaped the fruit of his actions. “I have never pretended to be your friend, you know I can't fake that. If I don't like someone it's pretty obvious.”
“Yeah, I noticed that,” Iris snapped, making him feel even worse about himself. He truly hadn't rightly evaluated the extent of the damage he's done to their friendship.
“When we started meeting up at Pop's to write I hadn't heard about Sheriff Keller's file on you, I swear your meeting isn't some ploy.” Jughead raised his hands to show that they were clean in that matter. “It's true Kevin spoke about the file he saw in his dad's office when we pressed him about why he didn't like you. I admit I was curious but at this point I already knew you, and no matter what this file said I knew you were not a suspect. You were never on my list to start with.”
“Right, save it. You said it yourself that everyone is a suspect until proven otherwise. Getting to know me over burgers is not a proof, not even in my book, and it's nowhere near as strict as yours,” Iris fired back, unimpressed with Jughead's attempt to explain himself.
It was all good that he finally spilled the beans, but that still didn't even remotely resemble an apology. Iris could lie to Jughead but not to herself. True she wanted to get answers, but the main reason for her presence here was not enlightenment. She wanted Jughead to acknowledge that he hurt her, that he behaved like a caveman and that he was in the wrong. She wanted an apology, a genuine, heartfelt apology, and if it wasn't good enough she might have to actually scratch Jughead out of her life.
“I don't know what you want to hear Iris!” Jughead burst out, feeling more and more frustrated with the girl.
“You're not supposed to say what I want to hear, you fucking idiot!” She shouted back. “Say something you mean!”
“I'm sorry! I'm sorry I went about it the way I did, I realize it was dumb and hurtful! There you have it! I apologize.”
There was another long silence.
“You really can't admit your faults, can you?” Iris asked softly. “You say sorry but all I hear is excuses. I'm not your lapdog Jughead, I won't come back with a waggling tail because you scratch my ears. If what you said about being my friend is true, then by all that is holy, I'm begging you to make an effort, because I'm tired of running after you. If you think you can't be my friend anymore you need to tell me, I can live with that. I just want to clear the air between us, because I can't have you be mad at me forever without explanation.”
“I'm not mad at you,” he sighed, rubbing his face with both hands. “I'm mad at myself.”
Jughead angrily ran his hand through his hair, tossing aside his beanie and groaning as he leaned back and fell on the bed.
“So what? You take it out on me? My, my, it keeps getting better!”
“Will you stop being so sarcastic? You picked that up from Cheryl!” Jughead accused. “Everything isn't about you, Iris! I have other problems than our little argument at the river that night.”
“Anything to do with you sleeping at a drive in that's about to get demolished?” Iris asked to get this conversation back on track – they would never go anywhere it they kept throwing around the hot potato.
“It's a long story...” Jughead elided the question. “I know I shouldn't have given you a fake address but I panicked when you insisted on picking me up. I've been living here for a while now, no one knows and I'd appreciate if it stayed that way.”
“I won't tell anyone, you know that,” Iris promised, looking at him. Jughead, despite lying down, looked up to meet her eyes. Of course she wouldn't snitch, she never did.
“Now if you want answers you'll have to ask your questions again, but slowly this time. I never heard anyone ask so many questions at once, you made me dizzy,” he said in a snicker, prompting the same sound to come out of her throat.
It wasn't a laugh but it was damn near one, and for now it would do – an improvement is an improvement.
“I don't even remember what I asked,” she admitted, still laughing humorlessly, somewhat at a loss now that her anger had faded a bit. “I guess I just want to know what's been going on in that head of yours since our argument.”
“A lot, actually. I regretted what I said that night almost as soon as I said it. But once the words were out there I could hardly take them back, so I figured I'd stand by my word and hope for the best. Except it didn't turn out how I'd hoped, it went completely astray, and we stopped talking altogether.”
“You mean it wasn't your intention?” She asked for clarification.
“Not at all, I knew you were right, and I as the one who took the wrong decision when I left the river the night Kevin and Moose found Jason's body. I- I just don't like being wrong, so I kept quiet. Part of me wished you just dismissed what I said and blamed it on the situation, that you'd just come talk to me the next day like always.”
“But I didn't, because I'm not an idiot and I know what I'm worth,” Iris pointed out, earning a groan as sole answer.
He didn't need a reminded.
“You really hurt me, Jug.”
“I know.”
“If I had any sense of self-preservation I wouldn't be here in the first place. I should want you out of my life.”
“I know.”
“Then why am I here?”
“I don't know.” He sat up again. “But I'm not going to waste this chance. I'll tell you everything you want to know. I swear I never intended to hurt you. I know I did and I regret it, but there's nothing I can do about it now, can I? If you want to find out if I'm sincere about being sorry, you'll have to risk being disappointed again.”
“If that's how you try to convince me to listen to your poor excuse of an apology, I have to tell you it sucks.” He cracked a smile, rubbing his hands together in uneasiness. “It really does, you need to work on that.”
“I'll jot that down,” he snorted. “For now, what about I take it from the start?”
“That would be great.”
Iris shot him her first heartfelt smile in over two weeks, and gently bumped her shoulder against his. And just like that the floodgates opened, letting out a flow of revelations she was more or less prepared to hear.
*
Veronica and Betty were in a corner making casual conversation while stretching when Better confessed to having maybe made things worse yesterday by telling Iris something she shouldn't have.
“But after you left Pop's the other day I realized how tense things were between all of us, and Iris looked so hurt when Jug and I became all touchy feely,” she told her. “I felt bad, I couldn't keep up the act.”
“What do you mean 'an act'?” Veronica questioned her.
“Well, Jug was going about it the wrong way, so I suggested we give Iris a little push so she would finally take the first step and talk to him.”
“I don't understand anything you're saying,” Ronnie said with a confused and somewhat nervous laugh. “What are you saying Betty?”
“Jughead obviously likes Iris, you must have noticed.”
“Well... yes, but since their argument-” She started, frowning a big, not sure where Betty was going with this but she was interrupted mid-sentence.
“He's a mess, he does all the wrong things, he can't think clearly anymore. And if he doesn't get it together, than I had to find a way to make Iris be the mature one and talk things out.”
“Let me recap. You pretended to be into Jughead because you were playing Cupid for these two?” Veronica repeated just to make sure she hadn't gotten it all wrong, because it sounded so ludicrous and to be fair, quite sketchy for a plan made by Riverdale's very own Nancy Drew. “You scheming little match-maker!”
“I'm sorry but I couldn't bear it anymore, the tension...” Betty rolled her eyes. “But I haven't seen Iris this morning, and now I'm worried I made things worse by meddling, I hope nothing terrible happened. Oh Ronnie, what if I messed with the natural course of life?”
“Breathe, Betty!” Veronica laughed, feeling lighter and happier herself after hearing that Betty wasn't really in a secret relationship with Jughead. “She's a big, capable girl! If anything happened it's not to her, trust me... The girl has rage.”
“Please, I'd feel bad if Jughead came back with a black eye too,” Betty said with a wince, second guessing everything she did or said the day before. Curse her meddling nature.
“If you're so worried I'll go ask Cheryl,” Ronnie offered.
“Cheryl?” Betty frowned in distaste. “What would Cheryl know?”
“She's friends with Iris,” Veronica said, purposely omitting to add that she too had lowered her weapons in presence of the ginger force of nature.
So now Cheryl stared Veronica up and down in a rather judgmental way for having disturbed her lecture.
“Dismissed,” she said, and immediately the two girls she was ripping to shred for messing up a step during practice hurried off like two scared rabbits. “What can I do for you?” She asked, not as harshly as per usual.
“Have you seen Iris?” Ronnie asked Cheryl, who looked up as if thinking about it really hard.
“I called her yesterday and she was looking for her favorite charity case around town,” she very helpfully informed Veronica. “Haven't talked to her since, but if she's not here she must have found him.”
With that she twirled around, nearly whipping Veronica with her long hair, and walked away. Stunned but happy with her answer, Ronnie joined Betty again.
“So?”
“She was looking for Jughead last she heard of her,” she told Betty. “But she's right, if Iris isn't here today, it might just be because she found him. Maybe they are still working things out,” she mused. Betty stared ahead of her and hummed as sole answer, obviously not entirely convinced. “Or maybe they are boning it out?” Ronnie offered, not helpfully at all.
She smiled and rolled her eyes at that.
“Oh please! I can't vouch for Iris, but Jughead wouldn't... he's never... you know...” she trailed off, rubbing the back of her neck and blushing.
“Had sex, Betty. The words you're looking for are 'had sex',” Veronica laughed. “Wait a minute! You haven't... either?”
“So who can't say 'have sex' now?” Betty retorted smarty. Ronnie scoffed.
“Oh come on! Not even foreplay?” Veronica insisted, which increased the blush on Betty's cheek and made her stutter out a vague answer about 'being busy' and 'not having the opportunity', to which Ronnie only smiled before grabbing Betty's arm to begin practice.
*
“Jughead and Iris have been MIA since yesterday, does anyone know what's going on? Where the hell are they?” Archie asked the moment he set his lunch tray on the table in the cafeteria.
“Don't you worry Archikins,” Ronnie said, tapping his shoulder.
“Ronnie-” Betty started but she was cut off.
“They are probably making up for lost time! Before we hear from them, let's just assume the best, wadya think?” She chirped happily, spooning her yogurt.
“No I mean, Ronnie look! They are coming this way!” Betty pointed to the door, making everyone at the table, even Kevin, turn around to have a look.
Surely enough there were the two class skippers, walking side by side and looking like they were in the middle of an animated conversation, what with Iris making big hand gestures to the point where Jughead had to catch her arm before she accidentally hit someone it the face.
“What on earth...?” Kevin whispered to himself.
“Do you all see the same thing?” Betty asked and was answered by a round of silent, stunned nods. “I'm so relieve I didn't mess things up!”
“What do you mean?” Archie shook his head and focused on Betty.
“Oh nothing!” Veronica answered before Betty could spill out the truth. “Betty here just likes to give a little push to destiny once in a while.”
Archie frowned because he didn't understand anything Veronica just said but figured it wasn't all that important if everything worked out fine in the end.
“Should we call them?” Betty asked.
“No!” Ronnie's hand shot out and took hers as if to stop her. “Let's give them some alone time. We know they're fine now.”
And so they turned around again, and continued eating, the topic shifting to something else.
“Don't look behind you,” Jughead started, “but all our friends are staring at us very obviously and insistently,” he told Iris who smirked at the thought.
“Right, I haven't really talked to them since I left class yesterday morning. I sort of told Veronica that I'd call her in the evening,” she suddenly remembered.
Jughead and her had talked away the entire day once they managed to stop blaming the fault for their argument on each other. It wasn't as easy as one might think when you take into account that Iris and Jughead were both stubborn people who liked to have the last word. But after some more yelling, swearing, and sighing, they got around to both apologizing to each other for the harm done, on purpose or not.
When he finished explaining that he felt too bogged down in his own mess to simply say sorry and go back to how things were before he said those hurtful words at the river, the conversation shifted to what prompted Iris to come search for him in the first place. The whole thing with Betty.
He stammered and blushed and avoided her eyes, making it hard for Iris to recognize the Jughead she knew and loved, the stoic, sarcastic movie buff who talked pop culture references and had a five foot tall brick wall surrounding his heart. She wasn't entirely convinced that was the whole reason for this act of his, but he told her that Betty was trying to make Veronica jealous – or at the very least see if she got jealous, because apparently Ronnie's crush on her wasn't obvious to her.
Iris decided to accept the explanation because she hoped for Ronnie that it was true, and she figured she had squeezed out enough information from Jughead for one day.
“Go figure, maybe they signaled us missing to Sheriff Keller,” Jughead snickered, peeking over Iris' shoulder. “They are not looking anymore.”
Iris turned around too and saw their friends chatting over their lunch – nothing unusual. She exhaled and leaned against Jughead.
“I should go say something at least, otherwise they'll spy on us until they know more,” she decided, and Jughead approved, telling her that he would be getting lunch and waiting for her at their usual spot.
She walked away and she hadn't even crossed half the distance to the table that Betty spotted her and jumped off her seat to meet her halfway.
“Sooo?” She whispered with a conniving smile on her face, as if she was waiting great news she had participated in making true.
“Please don't smile like that, it's a bit freaky,” Iris chuckled. “Everything's fine, we talked it all out. Cold war is officially over, you no longer need to pick sides.”
Iris' humorous yet dramatic announcement wasn't what Betty was referring to though, and the blonde girl made it known.
“No! I was talking about the other thing! About Jug and I pretending to flirt and all that...” she specified.
With a crooked smirk, Iris leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest. She knew what Betty wanted to hear, but she was building up the tension.
“He told me too. You could've just said it that it was for Veronica, instead of making me chase Jughead around town,” Iris said, and Betty nearly jumped to her throat, putting her hand over Iris' mouth. “What-?”
“Shhh!” Betty shushed her. “Not so loud! And what do you even mean? I'm not trying to make Ronnie jealous, wh- why would I- I-” she stuttered out.
“Don't bother, I know you two have a thing for each other,” Iris said, making Betty blush and sigh in relief, somehow both at the same time.
“Yeah, okay, alright, cool...” she said in the least laid back manner Iris ever heard. “But it's still not why we put up this act. “It wasn't me who was trying to making someone jealous. It's Jug. I mean, it was my idea, the blame is on me for this one, but we did it to make you jealous of me for being with Jug.”
Iris' eyebrows went up and down and frowned and arched a few times during this confusing explanation that was a little far fetched and hard to believe, but way too strange to be a lie. If Betty wanted to lie, she would come up with something more convincing.
“Me?” She said, astounded. Betty nodded. “The fuck?” Iris exclaimed, having lost her ability to speak properly over this piece of news.
“You like Jughead Iris, you said so yourself. What's so strange about Jug liking you back?” She said softly, speaking low so no one could overhear.
“Do you hear yourself? The person I like liking me back? Unrealistic,” Iris dismissed the sheer though, waving it off. “He must have thought you wanted to make Veronica jealous and rolled with it while you thought you did it for him, classic misunderstanding.”
“We're not in a teenage drama,” Betty argued, grabbing Iris' arm before she could walk away. “And trust me, there was no misunderstanding. Jughead wanted you back.”
“He never had me!”
“Yes he had! Iris, come on!” Betty was this close to begging her. “Just go ask him if you don't believe me!”
“I will!” Iris replied, as if Betty just threw her a challenge. “I'm sure he'll laugh at me for even asking!”
“I'll be waiting right here if you feel like saying hi to the others and, I don't know, telling me I was right?” Betty smiled one last time and shooed Iris away and towards her and Jug's spot under the tree.
Iris marched with purpose and confidence, standing right in front of Jughead who was sitting against the tree like always, blinking at her because of the sun behind her back, and looking at her questiongly.
“I'm almost scared to ask, but: what's going on?” He asked.
“Betty told you something interesting, I'd like your input,” Iris said, and Jughead swallowed thickly, easily guessing what it was about – if only thanks to Iris' tone and demeanor, the girl liked to have to upper hand in a conversation and she used it mercilessly. “You know about this whole making Ronnie jealous scheme...” She trailed off, giving him a chance to explain before she got to the best part.
But he kept quiet and stood up, as if he had tied springs to his shoes, grabbing Iris' arm and dragging her away from prying ears and eyes, leaving their lunch on the ground. Iris followed him a winning smile on her face – so Betty was right after all! She couldn't believe it! She was ecstatic but she couldn't believe it! Jughead was so red in the face she could hardly recognize him.
When he finally deemed they were far enough he stopped in his tracks, and Iris shortly avoided walking straight into him, Jughead reaching for her so she wouldn't lose balance.
They stared at each other, both flustered, happy, and a nervous. He didn't remove his hand immediately, only realizing he was still holding her when she cleared her throat, and withdrawing his hands.
“I- euh, I thought-” He started, having no idea whatsoever what he was going to say, he just started talking on instinct, having no clue where he was going with this. “Betty said- and then I... I wasn't sure, and maybe it was... I don't know,” he mumbled.
It seemed Iris had unlocked the secret to making a future author lose all of his vocabulary, and it made her smile to big she thought she must have looked silly, but she couldn’t help it.
“You thought what, Jug?” Iris pressed him, having no mercy for the stuttering mess he had become.
“You know what,” he accused her, recomposing himself a bit. “Making me say it would be sadism.”
“I can live with being a sadist. Please enlighten me, I want to know what you thought,” she insisted, enjoyed herself oh-so much. “I'm enjoying this a lot, by the way.”
She took a step forward, and while Jughead was still nervous about his lie being exposed, he didn't step back and that was a good sign, right? She took it as a good sign anyway, and before he could come up with another way to dodge her inquiries, she reached up for his neck, and pulled him into a kiss.
Damn it all, they thought. Jughead might have forgotten how to use his brain but his body still functioned, and he answered the kiss right away, his hands holding onto Iris like it was natural. She expected him to pull back in surprise, but was glad to feel him reciprocate, and for a brief moment they both forgot the pain they inflicted themselves and each other the past weeks.
That is, until a round of cheers and enthusiastic whistles interrupted their moment. Archie, Betty, Veronica, Kevin, and even Cheryl stood uphill and showed their support in the most ostentatious manner imaginable while Iris and Jughead stood there, holding each other, smiling embarrassingly, and wishing their friends were a bit more subtle.
“All is well that ends well,” Cheryl declared, winking at Iris and stealing a glance at Veronica who was leaning against Betty.
A/N: Apologies for being the slowest updater in the history of fanfic writers, but at long last here it is, the finale of GMTA. It’s twice as long as tee other chapters to make up for the time it took me to write it - which was exactly 12h, because yes I suddenly woke up and decided to finally write that bitch, so I sat down and typed all day until my arms hurt and posted it without proof reading because I was SO HAPPY this is behind me, I feel so accomplished today. It’s nothing like I picutred it when I first started this series, and it damn nearly ended up being a Cheryl x OC because I hate season 2 Jughead (which is why I didn’t feel like writing this anymore) but I forced myself anyway, because this story deserved an ending, and you and I deserve CLOSURE.
Wow, longest author’s note ever
TAGLIST: @bathshebaa @deanackles67 @myteenwolf-world @mumblr-of-tumbir @devilishcloe @bettysreid @angelicawastaken @rebellioncass @adorableninja @scattered-glances @ri-verdale @ice-wolfie @bubblegumcat229 @murderyoursoul @morixeddu @emptyporsche @lucifer-the-cuddler @challenge-accep-ted @scattered-glances @fantiomaticsupertolkienlover @-episkey- @golden-guide @pass-me-jeez-it
#riverdale#riverdale imagine#jughead#cole sprouse#jughead imagine#jughead fanfic#jughead jones#jughead jones III#jughead jones the third#riverdale fanfic#great minds think alike#series update#finale#fanfic#fanfiction#fanfictions#writing is hard#wattpad#ao3#update#jug#juggie#betty cooper#veronica lodge#cheryl blossom
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