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pastelwitchling · 2 years

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The Last Avenger: Alex Manes Appreciation Week Day 4

Michael was getting antsy. Alex had barely managed to ask Kyle and the rest of their friends to join his team this one time before they were all stepping forward and volunteering themselves. That had been a week ago, though it felt like years.

Everyone worked tirelessly. Liz and Kyle studied DNA they’d gathered from Jones and how to use it against Iasi, Isobel and Maria sparred half the time and worked on entering and exiting mindscapes the other, eager to try to break through the aliens’ heads during the next attack and find out where they were reporting to, Max had been given a wristband that would simultaneously monitor the weather and his heart patterns so that his lightning powers were in prime effect, and Michael had been given technology so advanced that his body thrummed with the potential, inventions came to mind and tracking systems were finished in hours as oppose to days.

But it meant nothing because Alex was away in what Michael had been promised was Steve Rogers’s favorite training room, reacquainting himself with his shield. He was relentless, fighting steel soldiers again and again and again until the shield came back to him like it was part of his arm. Like he’d never been without it.

Michael wasn’t just antsy, he decided, he was afraid. Alex spent so much time apart from them, decoding transmissions and fighting, that it was starting to feel a lot like it used to; like Alex was away, fighting bad guys behind the scenes, in a world that had held no place for Michael. He hated it. Every time he looked out onto that sea of clouds outside the windows, he hated it. Every time agents whispered or murmured about how cool or amazing it was to have their captain back, he hated it. Alex didn’t belong to them. He didn’t belong to anyone but Michael.

It had been bordering on nine days without touching Alex, without Alex’s hands on him, when Michael couldn’t take it anymore, and he left his lab and his half-made inventions, too distracted to focus after three hours had passed with no work done.

He found Alex in the training room, catching the shield just as it came back to him at full force. He stood, panting, his chest heaving, his entire body glistening in sweat and making his tight, white t-shirt see-through. Michael watched as beads of sweat rolled down Alex’s jaw, his strong neck, and disappeared under his shirt. The muscles on his arms bulged, his cheeks were red and his damp hair fell over his dark eyes. He was so perfect, it hurt.

Michael swallowed. It really had been way too long since they’d last had sex.

He leaned against the doorframe, smirking at Alex’s form and trying to push down the feeling of being pushed away, to ignore the fact that Alex had been too busy to even talk to him since they’d started here.

“Looking good, Private,” he said.

When Alex’s eyes met Michael’s, Michael’s heart did an embarrassing flip in his chest that he decided never to mention to anybody ever.

Alex scoffed, but there was no humor in his voice. “Most people just call me Cap now.”

He threw the shield with a growl that betrayed his own pent up frustrations, and caught it easily.

Michael shrugged a shoulder and stepped inside. “You’ll always be Private to me. My Private.”

Alex raised a brow and gave half a smile as Michael approached him that felt a lot more real. He smelled like sweat and vanilla and oh, Michael was going to die.

“I take it you’ve heard the whispers,” he said, going across the room to pick up the dummies that had fallen. He bent over and lifted steel with ease and Michael swallowed. He wished Alex would stop moving away from him. He followed.

“They’re wrong,” he said. “You’re mine. All mine.”

Alex laughed, shaking his head. “Wow,” he said. “I guess my hard work paid off then.”

Michael was still smiling at the sound of Alex’s laughter. “What do you mean?”

“Just that . . .,” he shook his head. “No, forget I said anything. Where are the others?”

“Working,” Michael said, that same dread he’d felt all week building back, knocking on his heart and reminding him that it was there. He reached for Alex’s hand. “You’ve done enough, you should take a break.”

Alex’s eyes followed hungrily as Michael lifted his hand to his lips and kissed his fingers, holding his gaze. Alex started to lean in when he seemed to realize something, and he blinked, shaking his head.

“N-No,” he said. “Not yet, I’d just have to come back to it anyway –”

Michael tugged at his hips, effectively silencing him. “I missed you,” he murmured against Alex’s lips, and reveled in the way Alex’s eyes shut, the way his chin tilted to catch Michael’s mouth. “I need you, baby.”

Alex’s eyes were half-lidded, hazed. “Yeah?”

Michael tugged at the hem of his white shirt and slowly pulled it up, peeling it as it clung to Alex’s muscles with sweat. “Didn’t you say,” he breathed, “you’d do anything for me?”

Alex nodded and raised his arms for Michael to pull his shirt off. “Anything.”

Michael lowered his head as Alex’s lips pressed to his forehead, and he stared, mesmerized at Alex’s sweaty chest, his stomach, the way the wiry hair followed the path made by his fingers.

Behind them, the door shut and locked on its own. “No one comes in here, do they?” he breathed, not caring one way or the other.

Alex seemed able to hear his thoughts and his grin widened as he shook his head. Michael couldn’t take it anymore. He closed the distance between them and kissed Alex long and slow, swallowing his moans eagerly.

“Baby,” Michael groaned, reaching around to claw down Alex’s deliciously smooth back. Alex hissed, and Michael caught his lips again, kissing him harder.

Alex tugged hungrily at Michael’s flannel. “Take this off,” he breathed, and Michael did.

Michael wanted to drag Alex down to the ground and take him right there, but Alex must’ve still been a little more shy than he led on because he dragged Michael to the corner where they wouldn’t be seen by anyone passing outside the door. He stuck a hand down Michael’s pants and Michael’s mouth hung open.

The next hour after that was a haze of warm fingers and clawing and moans and gasps and hickeys and kisses in wiry hair. Alex was unwilling to let Michael move off him after he’d collapsed, and Michael was unwilling to stop grinding their hips together even as they shuddered.

“That . . . was . . .”

“Again,” Michael begged, kissing Alex’s chest and reveling in his laughter. “Please. Now.”

“I can’t,” Alex said, and kissed the top of Michael’s head, then his forehead, then his cheek. “I have to keep training.”

“What?” Michael very nearly dragged Alex back to his side as he pulled his prosthetic on. “Alex, I saw you, you were perfect.”

“Not yet,” Alex insisted, grabbing his clothes. Despite it being the last thing he wanted to do, Michael did the same.

“Private, you don’t have to work so hard,” he said. “I get why you’re afraid, but –”

“No, you don’t, Guerin.”

Michael should’ve let it go. Should’ve taken it back. But Alex was so quiet and it felt like they were reaching a climax here, something Alex had been keeping in his chest just as Michael had kept his dread. It needed to come out.

“I love you,” he said, and Alex stopped just as his shirt was back on. “You’re not fighting alone here, Alex.”

Alex turned to face him. He was watching Michael warily, like afraid of where this was going. “Okay.”

Michael frowned. “You – are you scared of me?”

“What?” Alex huffed a weak laugh. It sounded like a cry. “No.”

“Alex . . .,” Michael shook his head. What was happening?

“Can we please just drop it?” Alex turned away, looking for his shield. “I’m fine. You should get back to your alien tech.”

“Screw the alien tech, Alex,” Michael said almost angrily now. “I don’t care about that, I care about you!”

Alex said nothing for a long moment. Then he looked back to Michael, his smile gone, his voice hoarse, “You mean like you cared when you left me chained to a radiator? Or when I spent a year cleaning my father’s messes to keep you safe, and you didn’t even welcome me back?” He inhaled slowly, shakily. “Or when I almost killed myself because of that machine, and not an hour later, you still wanted me to work on it?”

“Alex –”

“And it’s okay,” Alex said at once. “Because it was important, and I wanted to do whatever I could to help you, but, Guerin, I’m scared all the time. I feel like the second I actually stop, the second I put myself first, you’ll leave me again. I dedicated every second of two years to doing everything there was to do for you, and I just barely got you back. You fight for so many reasons,” Alex smiled despite the tears in his eyes, “and I fight for one, and that’s you. I guess I just have a hard time being more in love with you than you could ever be with me.” He shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You know what, maybe it’s not fear, maybe it’s just a stupid ego thing, just – just forget I said anything.”

Michael was staring, horrified. What this really what Alex thought of him? Of his love? That it was conditional? He searched their past for anything that would prove different, he thought of the bomb he’d built for Alex . . . and then the people he’d left him with who’d forced him to make it in the first place. He thought of going to Deep Sky . . . and pushing Alex back in front of that machine after barely having saved him from the insanity it had caused. He thought about the morning days after Alex had really started to recover, when he wouldn’t even give him another kiss because more important alien business had come up.

“I love you more than anything,” Alex told him, his smile sad but honest. “And I don’t do this because I expect anything back. It just . . . it just gets a little tiring sometimes. So please, don’t tell me that I can stop when we both know I can’t.”

He sniffled, and wiped his face with the back of his hand. “I’m going to go check the decoding system, see if it got anything on the aliens’ location.” He took one look at Michael’s face and must’ve misread it in the worst way because he squeezed Michael’s shoulder and said, “Don’t worry. I’ll find them.”

He turned and left, and Michael felt a single tear roll down his cheek, unable to do anything but murmur Alex’s name.

This was worse than being separated from Alex for a few days. So much worse.

@alexmanesappreciation

#alexweek21 #alexappreciation21 #alex manes #michael guerin #malex #malex fic #malex fanfic #malex fanfiction #roswell new mexico #roswell nm #malex angst #malex fluff #tyler blackburn #michael vlamis

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whativewritten · 3 years

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I Won’t Be Silent (Not Even For You)

They claw for the surface, the masks of their brethren breaking against the force of their desperate bid for escape. They can feel the darkness of the void around them, an oppressive weight that saps their strength far more than their frantic attempts to reach the top of the sea of bodies they’re buried under.

Finally, finally, one of their arms breaks the surface, and they pull themself out.

No cost too great.

The words reverberate in their mind as they stand tall atop the discarded shells of their siblings.

At the summit, finally. Desperately scrabbling for purchase against the smooth steel of the platform, they face Him.

He glows, a pale light like nothing they’ve ever seen, and His presence seems almost a magnet to them, like His very existence pulls at parts of them they didn’t know they had, and they look up at Him with awe, incapable of tearing their eyes away.

The Wyrm turns, and leaves them alone on the platform just as one of their siblings leaps not quite far enough, gripping tight to the very tip.

No mind to think.

Some of the only words they’ve ever heard, the meaning seared into their conscious just as the shining brand was seared upon their Creator, just as His beauty was seared into their being, and they turn their head, just for a moment, to regard the vessel behind them.

For a single moment, they wonder what would happen, if they reached out a hand and pulled the vessel up. If they disregarded the five sentences that give their life purpose. If they made a choice that was completely their own, and helped someone.

But moments are ephemeral as the summer breeze, and this one shatters just as quickly as it occurred when they turn away, leaving their sibling to fall down to the abyss just as those who came before did.

The Hollow Knight stops dead in the middle of practicing with their nail, and the weapon clatters to the ground as their hands loosen from exhaustion.

They sway slightly, their heavy armor only making the slight motion more pronounced. Their knees feel weak, as if they’ll give out at any moment, and their vision swims just slightly.

They know they are to be raised and trained to prime form, the discipline instilled by their skill with a nail helping them to become stronger, to be powerful enough to safely contain the Radiance, but they are oh-so tired and they’ve only made it halfway through the exercise.

They sink to a kneeling position for a moment, their knees meeting the cold marble of the palace floor at a speed high enough to hurt just slightly. They know they must continue, but they are not certain if they can.

No will to break.

The phrase from so many years ago flits briefly through the mind they wish they did not have, and with it comes the resolve to be what their King needs from them.

They pick up their nail once more and use it to force themself up to their feet, before continuing their practice.

The chains are like ice against their shell, and there are sores where the Radiance has forced their body to struggle against their confinement.

The pain is blinding, but it is nothing compared to the knowledge that they’ve failed, the knowledge that for all their effort, the world would have been better off if they had tumbled into the abyss, if they had been just another corpse to push aside as some better, more hollow vessel struggled to ascend.

Something inside them breaks, then. Some fundamental part of them shatters, never again to be whole.

For the first time in an eternity, the Radiance manages to make progress in Her quest to make them bow to her will.

Their mask cracks, the first sound they’ve heard aside from the rattling of the chains since they were sealed away. An orange light fills their eyes, and She raises their head high, triumph flooding the mindscape they share.

No voice to cry suffering.

As they remember the words from their birth, the words they’ve built their whole life around, the words that were the first domino on a long path to where they hang now, suspended by seals that weren’t even made for them, merely the God they were built to contain, for the first time they make a conscious choice to disregard their Father.

The Radiance can control their body, but they too are able to briefly take Her powers for their own use, and they use what little will they have left to take her voice, just for a moment.

The Hollow Knight screams, because if they’re to die a failure, they’ll die having demanded from the world at least one thing.

If they are to die a failure, if they are to die with their purpose unfulfilled, they demand that the world hear them.

They demand that someone hear them, just once.

#writing #my writing #angst #hollow knight #the hollow knight #hk thk

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crystalk17 · 4 years

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What’s His Problem?/ Sander Sides G/T AU with Animal Shifters!

THis is my first fan fiction on here. If something is wrong, want to comment, or have advice please tell me! There will be more chapters to this story. The series will be called Mouse of a Time.

There will be very little G/T in this chapter, but next chapter I promise there will be. This is an AU were Sander Sides are Animal Shifters. Got the idea from anonymous asks from @delimeful page. Warning I did change Patton into a dog and Roman into the cat instead of the other way around. I just though it fit a bit better. Roman can turn into a grey and white cat, Patton into a Golden Retriever, and Logan can change into a White Cockatoo. The Light Sides think Dark sides just can’t shape shift. In reality Virgil can transform too. Just into a tiny/ defenseless mouse. Any of those animal his fellow sides can turn into can harm him in anyway...and doesn't help not all Light sides are that friendly with a Dark side hanging around. All Virgil can do for now is hope Thomas does not tell his fellow sides his secret, none of them catch him, and stay hidden. In human form he can talk to any of them. He’s actually pretty close to Patton and getting there with the other two, but once he sees the animals his mouse instincts come into play and he gets anxious.

Warning: Treating humans like animals and Anxiety

The setting is set. Living room. A crowded living room at that. Standing in the middle of the living room was a normal looking brown haired guy, well except for the Disney shirt he was rocking today.

For an outsider, the scene present would seem odd, but normal. He was a normal guy that loved animals. Outsiders would know he loved animals, because he was throwing a light blue ball for a Golden Retriever who was excitedly retrieving and bringing it back like it was his goal in life. There was a white and grey mixed cat curled up in a ball on the couch, just letting out a long and exaggerated yawn, before placing it’s head back down to sleep and giving off the feeling he does not want to be bothered the rest of the day. Lastly, there was a beautiful and primed up pure white Cockatoo who was, for some reason, perched up on the back of a wooden dining room chair...looking at a book?

From an outside perspective, anyone could see this was just a normal home for a very self entertaining guy who surrounded himself with companions of the animal persuasion. To some it was odd, for others it was normal.

But if one continued to look around, they would notice one small thing out of place. Just sitting up on the steps, peering through the bars was an emo boy. Wait. Sorry. An emo guy. He wore a black sweatshirt that had purple, obviously sewn on, patches that probably hid holes in the plain black material, or was just for decoration. Who could know. He wore a purple shirt underneath the sweater, just to have something on underneath, then, to tie up the whole ensemble were torn and ripped up dark jeans. If one looked closer, he had black circles under his eyes that one could mistake as really badly smeared mascara. If one looked even closer, then looked at the guy playing with the Golden Retriever they would notice beside the descriptions given, they looked exactly the same...just one was very on edge. He was especially staring down the cat who was nowhere near his body like he was angry...no... scared.

In all reality, he was not scared or angered by the cat...just apprehensive and cautious...more on edge. Honestly, he was apprehensive with all the animals...just no one knew why exactly, not even the animals.

But in fact, there was one person who knew why he was like this with the other animals. Thomas.

Thomas knew exactly why he was nervous and cautious around the other animals.

The plain fact was all these animals were not just animals, but parts of him. A long time ago, four people who looked exactly like him showed up in his living room and just never left.

There was Roman who was supposedly his creative side, Patton his morality, Logan his logical side, then last but not least, Virgil his anxiety.

To help conceal the fact these were all a part of Thomas, and fit into the real world, all the sides had animal forms they grew accustomed to and loved. Well...except for Virgil. Roman could shift into a cat, Patton a Golden retriever, and Logan was obviously the white cockatoo. Thomas just had to tell people Virgil was a twin who lived in another country if he was ever seen, but really, unless he was summoned, he never left the house or hung out with his fellow sides.

Roman always thought Virgil could never animal shift because he was technically a Dark side who turned light. That Dark sides would never have the capability or encouragement to shift into a cuddly animal at will. There was no use for it.

Patton once again ran over to Thomas with a slobbery, mucky ball full of excitement. Thomas laid his hand out, gesturing for Patton to drop it. He did very excitedly and instantly. He circled three times in front of Thomas ,then sat down begging for Thomas to throw it one more time. Thomas petted his head, ruffling up his ears and making Patton stick his tongue out. Thomas threw the ball one more time, causing Patton to bark and chase after it just like the other ten times he’s done before. Thomas, at this point. knew what each side liked and how they liked to be treated. He knew Patton loved the full effect of being a dog and didn’t care if he was treated as one, to an extent, as long as he got the affection and pets he deserved when he was done. Logan, on the other hand, would bite Thomas if he was ever treated like a real bird. He learned that a long time ago. Thomas also knew all three wanted to be treated as people and like equals when they were human, not like Thomas would treat them any differently anyway.

As Thomas threw the ball for Patton, he looked over, noticing Virgil sitting on his own, again. He sighed. He made sure to make the ball fly threw the air exceptionally far to occupy Patton for the meantime. Once Patton was out of sigh, but barking up a storm, he walked over to Virgil and sat down in front of him on the stairs.

“ You know you're staring again. Right?”

Virgil shook his head for a moment and looked down at the sitting creator. “ In all honesty, I did not know. I’m sorry.”

“ You realize this is getting ridiculous right? We are family. They are going to find out eventually.”

“ I know. I’m just...I’m not ready. Not all have even accepted me...so why would they accept this?”

Thomas sighed and looked down at the ground. “ Look. If I found out-” He was abruptly caught off guard when Patton ran up to the both of them. He could just feel Virgil tense up and get nervous with just Patton’s presence. Thomas slid his hand on Virgil’s leg and patted him a bit, trying to calm him down and make sure nothing happened right in the living room.

Virgil was just so tense. His whole body kept getting uncomfortable, and the closer the dog got, the tighter he could feel his body react. He knew in his head this was just Patton, but...his instincts told him differently. His whole body was telling him to run. Run for dear life, please.

Patton sat down, dropping the ball at Thomas and Virgil’s feet. Even he could sense how uncomfortable Virgil was the closer he got. He decided to try and help by sitting down at their feet and tilting his head. He was trying to be as cute as he could be to make the tension disappear. He stuck his tongue out, panting, then barked once.

Virgil’s body tensed up immediately and disappeared. Literally. He disappeared and reappeared in his mindscape...away from the danger.

Thomas could just hear Patton sigh and transform right in front of him. He was told their transformations were instant and quick. There would be either a flash or smoke to cover their bodies that matched their coordinated color, then they would appear human.

Patton sighed, then there was a light blue smoke bomb that went off right beside Thomas.

When this happened, usually Thomas had to look away for an instant to collect himself.

Thomas looked over and Patton was sitting on the steps wearing his usual light blue shirt and grey sweatshirt that was tied around his shoulders. “ Why does he do that? He talks with us while we are normal.” Patton said with a soft and sad tone.

“ He just doesn’t like animals very much.” Thomas remarked while staring at the spot Virgil disappeared from.

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Inside of Virgil’s mindscape there was no Virgil. One would look around and would have sworn he went back to the living room. He had to...but in reality, if one looks closer, they would notice the blankets on his bed were disturbed and rolled up.

Inside was not a crying human Virgil, but a little grey mouse with tears in his eyes.

“ Why can’t I trust them?”

Chapter: 2

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genaleah · 4 years

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I can give the full context! It's going under a cut though because there's a lot to it 👍

So here we go....

TMA!AU

Aka AU², the Nightmare Boogaloo!

So right off the bat, this an AU-within-an-AU of the Wildcards becoming living embodiments of fear ala The Magnus Archives podcast. Here's a list of the Entities on the wiki, though obvious warning for spoilers. (Granted, I've only just started season 4!)

In this AU offshoot, each character becomes a monster tied to a different entity of fear. Nelson with The Eye, Guybrush with The Spiral, Eddie with The Desolation, Manny with The End, and Sam and Max with The Hunt.

Guybrush gets hit first + worst. It starts off very slowly, at first he just feels a little confused/dissociated, but then he starts to have increasing difficulty figuring out when he's asleep or awake, and whether he's in reality or the mindscape. Doorways that exist in reality will suddenly lead him into his dreams with no way out, and then suddenly he's back in reality with no warning. Eventually this crescendos to a point in which he can't find his way OUT of his mind at all, and it all starts warping more and more into something unrecognizable. What feels like months of sleepless, ceaseless wandering is only a single day that he's gone missing. This slip through reality is also what ends up transforming his own body, he changes himself into a reflection of his own state of mind.

When he comes back out, he unwittingly transforms the Motherlobe into another maze. Not everyone experiences this or even realizes that anything is wrong. The victims who get trapped in it become fellow reflections of The Spiral, albeit with their own fears/nightmares influencing how they turn out. The Psychonauts as a whole is being purposefully targeted as a breeding ground of fear & new avatars for the Spiral, and Guybrush was chosen as its architect against his will. He just had the right combination of powers and pain to create a smooth, seamless transition.

Simultaneously, other agents who don't encounter this are being changed by other Fears who don't want to lose their share of influence in the world. Psychics are PRIME fodder.

Manny and Eddie get infected by their respective Fears while they're away from the Motherlobe, just out and about doing their own things.

Manny doesn't even engage with his directly to begin with, other people start becoming increasingly fearful of him until the change in role suddenly overtakes him. People try to make bids for their own immortality, and whoop, suddenly he's got the dice or playing cards or what-have-you, and he always knows that he's going to win in the end. The losers die immediately in front of him. Sometimes he can be more of a direct reaper and make the offer first, but he's not totally comfortable doing that unless he REALLY thinks someone/something deserves it.

Eddie has probably the worst situation. If he touches anybody they will die a painful burning death. A single touch can cause 2nd or 3rd degree burns, prolonged contact will set the victim in flames. But worse than that is the fact that his alignment with the Desolation makes him want to destroy things and people of worth- so that he creates an acute fear of loss and pain to those who would miss them. He’s the most physically dangerous to be around, so he’s taken to wearing a full-body motorcycle get up so that no one can touch him accidentally. He's safe to the touch now, technically, but it doesn't stop him from being ultra careful. He’s trying to abide by some ghost-rider morals here and primarily target bad people or other monsters, but there’s always going to be some collateral damage.

As for Sam & Max... They take a while to really notice the shift happening, but their final stage can best be described as this: Imagine if Noir Sam enjoyed it. That's basically how both of them would behave. They've always loved hunting down perps, but now their chases are a little more... intense. Frantic. If they've had a good one they're satiated for a while, but going too long without it makes them more antsy and violent. The hunting is fun and fulfilling for them!

Sometimes it can ramp up into killing, but considering that the whole gang is out looking for answers, that means a lot of capture and kidnapping instead, with the intent of interrogation (thanks to Nelson). And some monster hunting on the side!

Nelson is one of the last to change, but he gets caught up in the shenanigans pretty early on after first finding Guybrush in his noodley eldritch state. He starts trying to figure out some way to undo all of their conditions and bring them back to normal. Well, "normal".

But slowly he shifts from "I need to know how to help my friends" to "I need to understand what's happening" to "I NEED to know as many deep dark secrets as possible in order to live". With the change in his behavior, he basically becomes a textbook supernatural Man in Black entity, and his clothing starts reflecting that. His eyes become bloodshot and light-sensitive, so he takes to wearing shades while trying to appear normal.

Which also brings me to the next character! @zeroodd came up with a great story for Elaine, so I will c/p it here :

What if her and Nelson had teamed up in the beginning for a solution.

Just one night they're both working hard on it and Nelson starts asking about what they've found so far

but then he

keeps asking questions

and Elaine looks over and he's just got a tape recorder right up to her face

"Do you know he's gone for good?"

Course he'd try to backtrack and apologize but Elaine has to face facts that Nelson is as much of a threat as any of them now.

She leaves the group for a while in order to study this fear stuff on her own, and comes to the conclusion that she needs to willingly get in on it if she wants any hope of surviving this increasingly dangerous world. She eventually joins The Web. She starts out feeling nervous about things being out of her control and scary, which suddenly shifts to her wanting to control more things and oh cool, these spiders help me do that! By the time she rejoins with the group everyone is full-blown monster mash so there’s very little to hide from anyone. (Manny still HATES bugs though, and would like the spiders far far away from him, por favor.)

So, how do they all go back to normal? Well... They don't. After hitting dead end after dead end, realizing they're definitely not human anymore, and learning the true nature of the fears as a whole, they're forced to accept it and try to maintain themselves as best they can.

The thing that would make the changes so insidious is that it would all gel with who they are as people. By the time they're at that final point, it would feel like fate that they wound up that way, like it's everything they're supposed to be.

The power of friendship possibly even added to this, because rather than struggling alone and possibly fighting back against it, they understood and cared for each other through the worst of it, which made accepting their new selves a lot easier.

BUT WAIT! There are a few more links left in this story:

How did all of this start, really? Well, consider the fact that in the normal Wildcard AU (???), LeChuck is responsible for a lot of trauma in Guybrush’s past that make his hold on reality a little rough. Add to that his ability to create very life-like illusions, and the poor pirate becomes the perfect conduit for the Spiral to take hold. In this AU, LeChuck was the one who got the ball rolling on his transformation out of hopes that he could control the Spiral itself by making his brother the primary avatar, and then bringing about a new world of madness in which he is the sole, sane ruler. Guybrush hasn’t lost his sense of self yet, but as more and more chaos and fear builds throughout the world as a whole, he’s losing track of himself more often.

After all of his work and research, Nelson decides to try and bargain with the Fears directly. Dealing with supernatural forces hands-on has worked so far! (I'm not sure if he would have to find other fear avatars to work this out with, or if he could try to ritualistically communicate with the fear entity as a whole, but he figures something out.) His bargain is this:

He offers to lessen the burden of the Spiral off of Guybrush a bit. In exchange for LeChuck being removed as a threat, Nelson will let go of the last vestiges of humanity, and become a full-on fear entity to work for both The Eye AND The Spiral. The Spiral gets all of the knowledge he collects as a watcher for the Eye, The Eye gets to know that someone reasonable is helping to keep the Spiral in check a bit. Diplomacy!

The deal works out, Lechuck gets trapped in the PUZZLE ZONE and Guybrush gets to reclaim a bit of his sanity/sense of self again. In the aftermath, Nelson's got a permanent tape-recorder effect to his voice, but on actual recordings he sounds as clear as if he were right there, with little or no effect where it should be. The pupil of his left eye has become a spiral, while Guybrush's solidified into a round one. Nelson's blending of roles works even better as a MIB: He creates the uncanny feeling of being monitored, and you get the sense that he's always lying about his motives.

This new situation works out even better than expected, and he tries it again in order to help Eddie. Not that he could possibly take on a third fear responsibility, but at least he's living proof that giving the avatars of fear what they want can work out for the best, and make them more effective at being monsters!

Essentially: Give👏us👏work👏benefits👏

The deal between the Desolation and The End gives these boons: Manny can sometimes take a human form (better for targeting victims), and Eddie gets a lot more control over the heat and can turn it down to a low simmer. They get to work in tandem to create a NEW kind of fear, the burning loss of everything you've ever cared about, and the knowledge that at the end of all that suffering is an infinite, inescapable end.

Now the gang lives on a haunted ship (Philadelphia Experiment??) that they use to travel around the world and hunt down worse monsters / evil humans. And maybe save the world if need be? But mostly they just terrorize people and feed off their fear.

In summary: everybody's awful monsters but it worked out fine in the end. For some reason the Magnus Archives made me go "But what if this was a found family story and they unionized and lived on a boat??" I can't do aus normally anymore, maybe I never could.

#wildcards au #tma!au #final pam voice: GOD FORGIVE ME

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cyb-by-lang · 6 years

Text

Shell Game (14/?)

Kei and friends do some field work.

While wearing her ANBU outfit, Kei took the train to Hosu on Tuesday night. Not openly—once again, the Transformation jutsu was earning its keep—but she disappeared into back alleys and dark corners as soon as she could get away from the crowds. Skittering up brick or concrete walls like some kind of malformed frog honestly felt like a return to form. Almost like slipping on an old, well-loved sweater, though the armored uniform wasn’t acquainted with sleeves as such.

Still, standing on a roof, in the middle of a real city with real skyscrapers, kind of made her feel like Batman. Hosu was no art deco nightmare, but Kei hardly needed a gargoyle to dangle from. She had a whole skyline and plenty of air conditioning units.

The air split open on her lonely rooftop, and two similarly-uniformed shapes tumbled out in front of Kei.

It was kind of funny how much “tech” was being sneaked back into Konoha through Obito’s constant prowling. In much the same way as a tourist buying up crap for resale didn’t make waves, Obito’s half of the discretionary budget was mainly materials nobody in Tokyo cared much about. His penchant for disguises and vocal mimicry meant he could go anywhere, be anyone, and buy his own weight in kevlar.

Kei already saw the first results of that exploration when she took a look at Kakashi’s ANBU uniform. His armguards were different from Obito’s or Kei’s, even leaving aside how Kei had taken her personal pair from home. Lighter, somehow. Tight black material flattened his white hair to his head, leaving him nearly anonymous. His light gray vest settled differently against his body, betraying anti-stab armor under the cloth. Interlocking plates, apparently.

And no more open-toed shoes.

Konoha learned fast.

“Crane, Wolf, welcome to Hosu,” Kei said, while her teammates sorted themselves out.

“It stinks of smoke,” Kakashi commented almost immediately, and Kei didn’t blame him. City air was just weird after growing up in Konoha. Even the largest cities in the Land of Fire didn’t have fossil fuel dependency anything like this. His wolf mask and the skintight one underneath didn’t filter that much.

Obito patted his shoulder before quickly being brushed off. “You get used to it.”

Kakashi grunted, then his mask angled toward Kei. His left eye-slit gleamed red. “Any patrol rules, Turtle?”

“Avoid everyone.” Kei adjusted her Isobu-patterned mask for a second, just to fidget, then added, “Treat it like infiltrating Suna. The second an alarm goes up, ditch.”

“Easy enough,” Obito remarked, and Kei gave him a sharp look he ignored. The right eye-hole on his mask was also faintly glowing.

“Take the lead,” Kakashi prompted, and the three of them made their way through Hosu’s backstreets.

Though Kei hadn’t really explored this chunk of Tokyo with any intent last time, she’d been reading newspapers and checking maps in her spare time. She knew where major landmarks were, broadly speaking, and heading back to the apartment after this patrol exercise wouldn’t be difficult. If Hosu was known for anything, at the moment, it was a minor rise in violent crime.

Heroes were dying and that had everyone worried.

Kei wasn’t emotionally invested in the hero scene the way the locals were. Whenever caught up in a dangerous situation, Kei tended to rely on her own power first and only look to fellow shinobi after everything progressed past the point of no return. The idea that she could be saved by a hero, paid by the Japanese government to do good, was still a foreign one. Her experience at the USJ did show her the value of heroes as symbols of hope, at least once Obito and other people filled her in on how everyone reacted to All Might popping into the building. However, her concern about the Hero Killer had more to do with the fact that he was a serial killer than anything to do with who he was targeting.

Still, the principal had asked for a quick check-in, and here Kei was. Poking Hosu with reinforcements and a stick to see if the hornets were awake.

And we cannot even justify killing a multiple-murderer if he becomes too much of a threat to contain.

Kei slid down the outside wall of a nightclub, feeling heavy bass rumble up through her gloved fingertips. Law enforcement doesn’t work the same way here.

Of course it does not. Humans in this world depend so heavily on their technology and their heroes that they have made their world safe. Isobu growled in frustration, tails lashing around in the mindscape.

We’ve had this talk before, Isobu. Besides, from what the survivors have said? He’s not exactly in a jinchūriki’s weight class.

Barely anyone ever is.

Kei let him have the last word. Instead, she held a hand up as soon as she heard a sound around the corner of a roof, feeling her teammates freeze before making any extra noise. Kei crept closer to the edge, channeling chakra carefully toward her ears and concentrating on what she was hearing.

Across from her, Kakashi made several hand signals. Fire. Man. He paused for a second to listen to the same footsteps Kei heard, then added, Big.

Obito signed a question and Kakashi shook his head. Probably asking how big, but the angle wasn’t the best and Kei didn’t like splitting her attention.

“Nothing, again. Heading back now.”

Heroes patrolled, too. Just their bad luck that, when Kei poked her head up just before the man walked of easy view, she recognized Endeavor’s hulking frame. Of all the people who “Big, uses fire, and is a man” fit, the Number Two of all Japan’s heroes was a rather unfortunate find. His Quirk was called Hellfire, and Kei had seen footage of him channeling so much heat through his limbs that he could melt handholds into nominally-solid concrete.

Kei signalled a retreat. Her boys followed her for almost ten blocks before she stopped on a somewhat taller rooftop, crowded with ventilation units, ducts, and antennae.

“Endeavor’s not stationed here normally,” Kei said quietly, retrieving her phone from a pocket. She fiddled with it until she brought up Endeavor’s profile on some official site or other. Probably his. Then she handed her phone to Kakashi. “Stain really must be causing a panic.”

Obito hung back, Sharingan bright behind his mask as he kept alert, and Kakashi settled next to Kei’s left side.

“If a man with his face on fire wants to catch a killer,” Kakashi said after scanning the somewhat-dim screen, “he’s welcome to him. But for him to be here? Those unsuccessful hunts must really be burning him up inside.”

Obito muttered something uncharitable about puns.

Kei shoved Kakashi’s shoulder playfully and snatched her phone back. “We’ll poke around a little longer.”

Truthfully, the patrol didn’t turn up much despite GPS help and rumor-chasing. While Kakashi was primed to detect blood, city scents were overwhelming on a good day. The trio did find an old bloodstain outlined by police tape and blocked by a patrol car, but it appeared the Hero Killer didn’t actually hunt every night. He was an asshole, a murderer, and probably equipped with a dangerous Quirk if he’d managed to overpower so many pro heroes already. But he wasn’t, apparently, all that easy to find.

Besides, cigarette smoke got really bad around crime scenes. Kakashi had signed a No when asked if he could detect anything past that kind of interference. If he’d been a little less disciplined, Kei imagined he might’ve had more to say. Most of it rude.

“One more pass,” Kei said, and they hopped to it.

Between Kei’s phone and Obito’s, as well as Obito’s street-level knowledge of some of the familiar heroes who operated in the area, they managed to make a game out of spotting familiar faces. Fin-helmeted Manual, the Normal Hero, patrolled more during the daytime and seemed to be about in the same weight class as the bank robber from the weekend. Kei managed to find another hero, apparently called Native, whose costume and lack of any notable Quirk just made all three of them scratch their heads.

Well, Obito and Kei did. Kakashi didn’t know or care enough.

Most of the heroes who operated in Hosu, including famous Team Idaten—run by Ingenium and his sidekicks—seemed to be pretty secure in their positions. Maybe that was why Stain kept picking them off, because she couldn’t quite see someone higher on the hero lists getting axed by someone whose modus operandi relied heavily on ambushes. A lot of the higher-ranking heroes were there for power and skill, not just popularity.

“You know, I’m not really seeing anyone who could, like, go toe to toe with us.” Obito commented after they’d passed by a hero patrol. Moving across the city three stories up from ground level had a way of keeping them out of trouble. For now. “Maybe that Endeavor guy. But all of their Quirks are public. Does no one ever do thought exercises about that kind of thing? I mean, you fought Sensei and if you’d been anybody else he’d’ve flattened you inside of four seconds.”

“Sometimes I wonder,” Kei replied. The fact that she, better than almost anyone bar Kushina or Jiraiya, knew all of Namikaze Minato’s jutsu and his preferred fighting styles meant she’d been probably in a unique position during their spar. The idea of anybody else getting that close was a disturbing one.

There was kind of a reason it was illegal to teach non-shinobi the majority of their techniques. Shinobi from other villages, too.

Maybe that lopsided information was also why underground heroes were a thing.

After a few more rooftops, Kakashi remarked, “Maybe that’s why the firebug is here.”

Obito cartwheeled instead of landing normally as they crossed another roof. “You think?”

“Probably. But he’s having the same trouble we are.” As all three of them slowed to a stop on top of what appeared to be a four-story apartment building, Kakashi went on, “I’m willing to assume that this person we’re looking for is notorious. Distinctive to the point of having a fanclub, apparently. But I don’t think that we’re the first ones with detection abilities who’ve been called in to try and find him. He might genuinely not be here at the moment.”

Kei glanced across the way, toward the nearest train station. She scratched under the edge of her mask, recalling the discussion she’d had with Hayate about technology. Mass transit was a curse sometimes. “You’re probably right. And if he took a train, he could be anywhere by now.”

“There’s probably a way to track him with local methods, but those aren’t workable from our positions.” Kakashi tilted his head back to check the angle of the moon, or perhaps just out of curiosity. Then, “This patrol is effectively over.”

A disappointing result for Team Minato’s first reunion patrol, but there it was.

“I wish we had other agents to hand this off to,” Obito complained, as they changed into more civilian-friendly clothes inside Kamui. The pocket dimension’s obsession with white, squared-off blocks and bizarre lighting meant finding their clothing stashes was a cinch even without Obito’s help. “It feels like we’re leaving a job half-finished.”

“That’s what heroes are for,” Kei told him. Then her head finally popped out of her sweater collar and she started fussing with the neckline and sleeves. Really, throwing on street clothes over her uniform was a bit lazy, but there wasn’t anyone around to criticise her fashion choices. “And a police department. Though I don’t know how much headway they’re gonna make.”

“Not our jurisdiction.” Kakashi reappeared from behind a distant pillar, sporting a cheap medical mask with ear loops. His black turtleneck and jeans were like Tokyo versions of his jōnin uniform. Perhaps not wanting to match Obito, he’d just styled his unruly hair down over his left eye and omitted the eyepatch. When he noticed the other two staring at him, he said, “I’m not due back for another eighteen hours.”

“Oh, oh!” Obito bounced over to his teammates, grinning. “Kakashi, this place has so much weird stuff. It’s great!”

Kakashi blinked slowly at him. There was a slight edge of dawning dread in what Kei could see of his expression. His chakra flickered slightly. Then he managed to say in an even voice, “Such as?”

Obito and Kei grinned at each other. Kakashi was the newbie here.

Kei said, “Well, I know you like the Icha-Icha series, but there are like a million more options here. And there’s about five thousand types of manga. We need to hit up a bookstore, now.”

“Akihabara?” Obito suggested, his Sharingan shifting to its Mangekyō form. He’d been around Tokyo a few times by now, since he didn’t need to actually attend school.

Kei gave him a Gai-style thumbs-up. “Definitely! It’s not past curfew yet.”

“This place has a curfew,” Kakashi repeated incredulously.

“Just transform into Raidō or something if it ends up being a problem,” Kei suggested as Obito held out a hand, swirling vortex in the middle of his palm. “Anybody older than eighteenish. Twenty, maybe?”

Kakashi waited until Obito had neatly deposited them in an abandoned side-street to answer, “I think I’m fine for now.”

“Good!” Kei ushered them out into the street. “Now, let’s go find the bookstore. There has to be one still open.”

In the end, Kakashi got a new three-part romance series from a writer who obviously published under a pseudonym and a pair of truly terrible joke books. Obito bought a tourist’s guide to Tokyo and a multipack of study aids (sticky notes, highlighters, and so on), just before spotting a novel about Yoshitsune and snatching it up, too.

Kei didn’t buy anything, but she did have both of them stay overnight.

While they were sleeping, Kakashi somehow stole the comforter he’d been sharing with Obito, Obito cuddled up to Kakashi like he was some kind of pillow, and Kei woke up with her head propped up on Kakashi’s side and a crick in her neck. And none of them got up before Kei’s alarm clock.

Some things never changed.

#Shell Game #Keisuke Gekko #Obito Uchiha #Kakashi Hatake #Isobu #my hero academia #crossover

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mister-maiden · 5 years

Text

Layers of Fear: I Wish I Could Paint Like That...

You've walked through countless hallways of revolting images that were simply unexplainable to describe. As you walk through the next door, you come across yet another room, this time with a painting easel and blank portrait in the center. Windows line the right wall as well as beautiful decor of aristocratic color. Closed cabinets lay in the back right corner while several drawers lay dormant in the far center. To your left lay beautiful portraits of women and children...all smiling with the most haunting of guises, their eyes following every movement. You make your way to the front of the easel and notice the paper now had small blots of red paint in the center, a brush with crimson dripping off the bristles lay on the table to your left. Without thinking, you take your instrument, and begin your downwards spiral into madness as you paint your magnum opus of insanity while the room slowly fades to nothingness.This is Layers of Fear. Developed by Bloober Team.

You step in the shoes of an unnamed painter only known as The Artist. You are renowned as an amazing artist who has stolen the heart of a beautiful musician. Together, you began a family and had a little girl. With an enormous fortune, you purchased an incredible mansion and you lived as a happy family. Of course, happiness never lasts, and the darkness slowly consumes all as misfortune falls upon the house. Without spoiling anything, The Artist dives deep into his sub-conscious as he works on his magnum opus in his painting room. The story takes place within the shattered mind of The Artist as he works his way through reality bending horrors. It's the player's job to find and piece together everything that has happened within the time span between marrying The Musician and now. The question lingers of what has happened to force The Artist to see and hear such horror terrors of schizophrenia?

The visuals are amazing. Absolutely incredible. As a game that focuses entirely on the visuals and story, I can say without a doubt the images are by far what you play the game for. Horrific paintings can be seen lining the walls of every hallway. Blood seeps down from the ceiling as the sound of screams fill your ears. Everything simply becomes horrific because of the past trauma that follows The Artist through his life. Ups become downs, apples become rats that scurry at the touch, and more...Though this is also its downfall.

With only being able to rely on visuals, the game loses out on game play, sound, and story. Placing a boundary between what the player knows vs what has happen creates a strange parallel that makes me think no matter what I do, the trauma has already happened. What's the point of traveling through a broken mindscape and looking at what has happened vs looking at what I could possibly do? Horror is all about the illusion of choice, or facing something that is nigh unstoppable. It's the illusion of choice that forces us to realize something is coming and there's nothing we can do to stop it. For example, Alien Isolation has you run through a ship and attempt to escape an unstoppable alien with several obstacles...but what's the point if everything has happened already and there are no obstacles to go through? Which brings me to my next gripe.

The game isn't fun. It simply isn't. In Amnesia you have puzzles and running from a creature to occupy you. Even in Deadly Premonition you have story obstacles, objectives, and more. The game feels empty. All you do is walk. It's like a press W simulator and click to go through doors and check notes at times. I like games that give me a choice, or at least the illusion of choice. If I have no choices, what's the point of trying? I go into one room, wait for something to happen, go into the next room, repeat. It's a bleak outlook, but it consistently happens in every room which really draws its potential back. The ending changes based on what you looked at in regards of notes and doors, but since there is no real way to know that without looking at a wiki, it feels like it's fake. Visual wise, the game is absolutely beautiful. Game play? Not so much.

The story is pretty good and definitely something to have PTSD about. As you travel through the hallways of the broken home in your mind, you find notes and newspaper clippings scattered across the foundations that describe in pieces what has happened. To be honest, it can be a bit confusing since you can possibly miss a few notes here and there and miss out on what has happened; but, if you're persistent and constantly looking for the notes, you'll find that the story is laid rich with dreadful accidents and abuse.

I can't discuss most of this game in the beginning segment of my review because I try to wait discussing the story and spoilers until my discussion and experience section. Since this game is mostly story, it's impossible to talk about it without spoiling. If you wish to know more about the game, check out the discussion section.

7/10 Paintings. The visuals and story are absolutely stunning. You will be incredibly immersed and very enthralled by what happens on screen, but you may feel bored constantly being scared and having nothing else to do but press W to walk forward and press the mouse button. Since there was no actual game play but looking around, I give it a 6 out of 10. If the game had offered some other form of interaction with the surroundings, I would have absolutely loved the game, but I felt tired just walking through halls and seeing something that scared me. Sure it was spooky, but it was boring.

----------------------------------------------------Spoilers--------------------------------------------

My Experience/Discussion: I got this game for free since I owned Twitch Prime and it was given out as a gift. I didn't know what to expect as I made my way through the abandoned hallways and was half expectingly waiting for some form of evil to come at me which never happened. There was no physical manifestation of The Artist's feelings other than how twisted the world around him became. I went in completely blind and felt myself become bored in a few hours because of how lacking the game was in keeping my attention. The only thing I could hope for was getting a new type of scare as I opened each wooden door. I wasn't disappointed in the scares, but boy did I get tired and have to take breaks.

The story basically is about the loving couple and their child coming upon turmoil. The husband begins to become stressed from his work of constantly having to produce brand new paintings and having critics breathe down his neck. He spends more and more time in his painting room attempting to make even more beauty...but can only find himself creating crafts of blood and gore as his mind slowly begins to break from the stress. He begins to go on and on about rats and places them in his paintings. He calls exterminators constantly about the rats in his home but they can't find a single one after their first few visits, so I believe the rats are in his head and are the first sign of his breaking psyche. As time goes on, it appears he has been very negligent to his child and wife and bought them a dog. As all dogs seem to have it rough in horror, the dog is neglected and muzzled after bothering The Artist one too many times. It is unknown if the dog survived...but I like to believe it's just in a better place than that hellhole of a house.

The Musician destroys the paintings of The Artist because she feels he is putting too much time into his art and no time into their family which only feeds into The Artist's breaking mind. With depression and schizophrenia forming, he begins drinking and finally abuses his wife and daughter. Both leave him...but a horrible accident occurs. Fire sparks embers which create chaos. The Musician is left scarred and burned from the fire and lay wheel-chair ridden. Her hands nearly unusable for music. I believe this fire is simply a ways of an end for her love. Her love was always within the music, but with this fire, she is left unable to play the melodies she so loved. The fire also left The Artist unable to truly love the Musician as her deformities prove too much for his shattered mind. He constantly says he loves her through small audio clips and notes, but it is obvious he is never going to be able to see her in the same light...And as the abuse became worse and worse from The Artist trying to deny his own feelings...The Musician committed suicide by cutting her wrists, thus concreting The Artist's descent into insanity. You then later learn he began using her body parts for the paint of the magnum opus. The child is taken by child services, and you're left alone.

You learn the entire story through the notes and items strewn about your nightmare, and remnants of events are presented through the images on the walls and the house's shapes. It seems that notes being left around is becoming a strange staple in horror games. Personally, I have never met someone who writes notes and puts them in random places, but perhaps I'm looking too much into it.

Most areas are unique other than hallways that seem to repetitively appear. That's the one thing that I can remember clearly. When I entered a door, I was disappointed to be met with more normal halls when my senses were assaulted in the last room I was just in. I'm not saying level design was boring because there were many areas that were unique. I think I may just be complaining about the amount of times I went into a normal hallway just to go into another hallway and repeat the action. The areas themselves gives you hints at what has happened. Entering a white bathroom, you can see a knife with blood thrown in the sink, or you can see the affect of fire along the walls.

I think the game definitely nailed what they were going for. Showing the effects of schizophrenia and PTSD in a visual form of entertainment is very difficult and Bloober Team did an excellent job. I'm just disappointed at the lack of things to do. I don't want to just look through memories. I want to experience them! Make them my own. There should be a mixture of what I should know and what I don't, not simply going through what has already happened and not being able to change what happened.

At the end, you are met with your magnum opus which has three different forms.The bad ending: You reveal your grand painting and see it as your beautiful wife. Her gorgeous smile and eyes stare at you, and you let out a sigh of content...only to be shocked in horror as her beauty melts away into a face of burned deformity. You cringe in rage as you grab your painting and leave your room. Your beautiful mansion is torn to pieces, the lights extinguished, the floorboards coming apart. It seems you have been in your painting room for longer than anticipated. You rush to a room and shove your painting inside and see The Artist has been doing this for a long time. The room is completely filled with the exact same picture of his burned wife. He simply can't get over it. He goes back to the room, and begin once more, marveling in his madness.

Middle ending: The same as before, but you also include your daughter in the picture. As you drop the painting in the room with the rest, you light a match and start a fire, burning the portraits along with the home and yourself.

Good ending...?: You have drawn yourself! It seems you have finally broken out of your obsession with your wife and now shall be focused on your work! The camera pans out on the same portrait of yourself and we end with that...Yeah. I mean out of all three endings, this is probably the best one. Sure he's still an abuser, but at least he will be focused on his work?

The game did a fantastic job by showing the slow and gradual deformation of his mind as time goes on. It begins with a small haunting here, and ends with the entire screen going absolutely bonkers. I loved my experience with the game, but I feel as though it could have been different in SOME way.

#layers of fear #horror games #scary games #painting games #cult review

0 notes

astridianmayfly · 7 years

Text

So You Want to Go to Gravity Falls [4/?]

ELISHA DIDN’T HAVE THE FAINTEST IDEA WHAT WAS GOING ON.

She vaguely remembered Thomas saying something about how, “they were going to limit their electronic use,” on their getaway (after she had witnessed him putting a game into his backpack!) but wasn’t really sure to what extent “no electronics” was put to use. So Thomas and his friends could possibly be chased by gnomes or attacked by a horde of imps, and she’d have absolutely no idea whatsoever.

She was invited to come on their trip, of course; her fiance wouldn’t ever have been so rude as to not, but she had politely declined. It was for the best, she supposed; while she was comfortable with Thomas’ group of college friends, this particular get-together was drawn on the lines of a reunion. She would have felt awkward and intrusive to accept his invitation.

And it wasn’t like she didn’t have anything to do, really! It’s just, well, August was an awfully boring month. And she would have called up her girlfriends to hang out, but Lilah was in Paris with her family, Jessica was also travelling, and Caren had to study for their M-CAT exam….

That was how Elisha found herself walking to the post office.

She could very well just request her post electronically, but she convinced herself it would be worth her while to get out of the house and stretch her legs a bit, take a stroll through town…

When she reached the small building, she came to the realization that she had never actually been inside before. Was there even anything inside besides the robots that did the transportation and packaging?

No time for doubts now. She was already here.

Hesitantly, she grabbed the brass door handle (how obsolete!) and walked inside the tiny building. She was immediately questioned by a small robot if she would like anything to be sent or wrapped. She declined.

Declining was something she was doing a lot of these days.

Observing her surroundings proved her wrong about the office. She found it to be more.. modern than expected. With its busy robots and elves at work in the office gave it a welcoming, workshop- like feel. She walked tentatively to wait in the line for her mail, marked by a small, rusty sign indicating where it was.

There was one other person in line, who had glanced at her when she walked in. She gave them a tentative smile before standing in line behind them.

But damnit. She felt awkward now. And why did they keep glancing back and staring at her? Did she have something on her face??

To break the ice (and stop the weird staring) she stuck her hand out and offered it to the waiting person. They stared at her hand as if they had never seen one before.

“Hi! I’m Elisha Mckenzie!”

Why did she say her full name, that was the stupidest thing she could’ve done, for all she knew this person could be a cultist-

“Ohh. Are you Thomas’ fiance?” Her cheeks flushed immediately when she realized the creepiness of her inquiry.

Elisha’s instincts were screaming. She was teetering between saying the more polite, How on earth do you know my name and my fiance? Or the blunt, What the actual fuck? None of these questions actually exited her mouth. Instead she said something along the lines of, “How- what- are-’

“Okay, look,” The girl hurriedly went on to explain her strange accusation, and Elisha didn’t care if she was interrupted, as long as she could hear her. “I’m friends- well, sort of friends, I mean- I knew Thomas from college, you know demonology? Anyway, I’mnotstalkingyouIpromise, just you know, Tyrone hangs out with me on date night and so I kinda know you? Indirectly, though?” There was a faint tinge of red on her cheeks from her bubbly explanation.

“Oh. Tyrone. That explains a lot. Sorry for jumping to conclusions. What’s your name?”

“I’m Elisabeth. Elisabeth Adams,” the girl said. Her hand flew up. Elisha thought that she would offer to shake it, but instead, her hand held a card.

“My card. In case you need something to be exorcised, killed or abolished. Helping with problematic demons is what I do. Or you know, when Tyrone gets particularly annoying.”

“Thanks, I’ll, uh, call you if I need you?”

The girl nodded, still a bit flustered. “Sure. See you around, I guess.”

Elisha walked out of the office, forgetting to take her mail. But she couldn’t help but feel but lighter than from before she stepped in.

She almost closed the door before opening it again to ask Elisabeth a question.

“Oh hey, just wondering, are you and Tyrone a thing? I mean, you said something about a ‘date night,’ so-”

Judging from the girl’s exhasparated expression, she could easily tell that the answer was no.

----

ELISABETH HAD PLENTY OF FRIENDS.

She was NOT lonely.

Still. After meeting that girl, she couldn't help but feel that she’d made a friend.

Maybe Elisha would call her later.

----

You have two options.

You aren’t going like them.

Fine. I'll tell you.

Your soul is being ripped from you. And well, me, because I own it. After this is done- I'm probably going to have a power fissure.

I’ll get to the point. Sorry.

I can take your life, in exchange for your soul to be returned to you. I’ll still own it, but your soul will be working and whole. You will reincarnate. You will live again.

But yes. You will die.

This is the only way.

I don't want it to be like this, either, Mabel!

Mabel is no one. Don't worry about who she is. I'm sorry I called you

I called you that… for reasons. They aren't important. My prime concern is saving your life.

Am I mad?

Oh, that's a funny question.

See you soon, Mizar.

Don't worry about him. From him, they’ll be HELL TO PAY for what he’s do-

I have to do it now

HE’S destRoyIng yoUR soUL

Please- stop this-

DON’t yoU GEt iT

YoU’Re KILLinG heR

AnD Me

G Oo D

By e

-S U P E R N O V A-

-I'm so sorry

----

RADIO INTERCEPT FROM NASA DATABASE

ADMINISTRATOR: Jenkins, Dale

ASTRONAUT: Gray, Lucy

TIME: 23:01:04, 05, 06...

-Houston, we have a problem.

-That’s never a good sign. What seems to be the issue?

-And that’s not a very professional way to answer the space phone, Jenkins. Be careful there.

-Yeah, yeah. Well you don’t exactly seem like the type to have a real problem if you’re bothering to waste time ridiculing my professionalism.

-Fair enough.

-The, issue, Gray?

-Right. Not a huge matter. Just wanted to inform base that twin Mizar has gone nova. It’s not in our path. Just thought I should tell nasa. Wondering if hydrogen might possibly affect our reactors.

-...Did you just say that Mizar went nova?

-I know it’s weird. It happened all at once, too. Base should be getting hold of explosion in T minus three seconds.

-I guess that explains why Hode is practically screaming next to me. Satellite readings must’ve just come in. Will keep crew posted on effect of the rogue star to the shuttle.

-Roger tha-

-What the?

-What’s wrong? Are the gases problematic?

-Not to you.

-That sounds ominous. What’s going on down there?

-The gases...they’re moving..

-Where? Where are they moving?

-A little patch of Oregon..Hang on, checking Hode’s system…

-And?

-Oh come on.

-Hurry it up. The suspense is going to kill me faster than the lack of oxygen up here.

-Goddamnit. It’s in Gravity Freaking Falls… of all the places-

-What are they doing?

-I’m not sure exactly. But from Hode’s summarizing… Nothing good.

-What’s he saying?

-That the gases from the star’s explosion are mingling with magic. Of demonic origin. And forming a barrier around the falls. No one can get in or out.

-....

-The people. They’re trapped.

----

-MiCor5eva has joined-

MiCor5eva: Hi everybody!!!!!!!!!!!

Reidorread: The next time you use that many exclamation points in a sentence is the moment I will kill you.

MiCor5eva: That’s my little ray of sunshine.

Reidorread: Please just change your username before you get beat up. Please.

42frank24: Can I get an Amen?

___Dope___: nah son, MiCor for LIFE!

___Dope___: Hey MiCor, can I get a virtual high five pretty plz

MiCor5eva: *high-five*

___Dope___: So, let’s get on with like the real stuff

Reidorread: Not Twin Souls. Please.

___Dope___: No I’m being for real tho

___Dope___: Did u hear about that thing happening in Oregon

___Dope___: Like Mizar just eXPLODed!! And basically the gases are kinda heading for the falls lol

___Dope___: That town gets too much shit XD

Reidorread: lmao im there now

___Dope___: damn r u really???

Reidorread: It’s kinda sketchy, there’s this bubble headed right for us

Reidorread: IT’s like rainbow haha

Reidorread: Wait fuck

Reidorread: SHiT IM FUCKeD SomeOne THe THINGS SWALLOWINg PEOPLE SOMEONE HELp aklefhklsdahfas

MiCor5eva: Are you OK?

-Reidorread has left-

___Dope___: What just happened?

----

THOMAS WAS CHASING A HORDE OF GNOMES.

His story will be heard later. Of how this crazy thing happened.

There are several things that Thomas knows about what is going on:

Gnomes live in packs.

They have currently captured Eduardo.

Unfortunately, he does not know many things. And not knowing could be a fatal mistake.

The things he does not know:

He is on the barrier of Gravity Falls.

There is a unknown magic source in the epicenter of the city.

The magic is blooming. And it is forming a barrier.

This barrier ensures no one can enter.

Or leave.

Inside the bubble lies the mindscape of demonic origin.

It is still blooming.

He is headed right towards it.

He is now in the bubble’s grasp.

He may never escape.

#transcendence au #taufic #thomas strange #dipper pines #shit just got real #let the angst commence #This is only the beginning of the conflict sorry #gravity falls

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setsunatama3 · 4 years

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AN/ so if you read the announcement then you knew my sister was pregnant well there is excellent news my family is welcoming home a new baby boy. it put me in a rather good mood so here is a new chapter for you guys.I also hope that you all are doing well and staying safe during this covid-19 pandemic. don't forget to wash your hands and practice social distancing. Don't follow me on twitter for any updates. Also, I have put the poll on my twitter as well as my (p) atreon posing whether i should genderbend ren. now those of you who are like but ren is a man well i have this to Say I will develop some backstory on him and i figure why not add in a bit of og mulan to. like i intend to do for nora as well. And so vote would you kindly... don't forget to check me out on twitter at /setsunatama3 for any announcements from now on. notice I also post on the following sites Wattpad at 773701195-the-maelstrom-of-remnant-chapter-one-exile Archive of Our Own at /works/20596958?view_full_work=true deviant art at: setsunatama3/gallery fanfiction at: s/13280840/1/the-Maelstrom-of-remnant Tumblr at blog/setsunatama3 ficwad at /story/279918 due note that i post on my patreon first and they get early access to my work.

Chapter 22: bonds

When Cinder came to, she felt empty yet whole. Complete for the first time in years. Her eyes widened when a surge of power all her own. Had flowed in her veins. Yet it was not the distinct thrum of power that a maiden held. That was a sensation she knew intimately. It was unforgettable, even though she had only had half. Almost addicting in its allure. So subtle had she not given up the power, she shuddered at what it would have made her become.

While focusing on the new power she felt within herself. Cinder couldn’t help but wonder why it felt so familiar. Like a part of herself she had forgotten. Yet she knew it was a part of herself she would never have willingly forgotten about. Her familiarity with it was such that it was like it the last time she had used it was yesterday.

With just a thought, Cinder had brought the power flowing to the surface. She was so caught up in the experience. She jumped from shock when Naruto placed his hand on her bare shoulder.

“Don’t,” Naruto said, having sensed her power rising. Yet to his mild surprise it felt like chakra mix of and Aura at the same time. Just like the ANBU he had fought earlier. Yet he could tell it was so much more than that. And knew it bore investigation at a later time.

Blinking away her shock, Cinder wondered just how much time had passed. “Naruto, what time is it?”

“It’s eleven PM. while inside a mindscape time passes differently only about an hour has passed Cinder.” Naruto explained.

Cinder couldn’t help but let out a meek, “oh” in response.

“Lay down, I am going to form your seal.” Naruto informed her.

As cinder did as she was told. She couldn’t help but flush from embarrassment. Exposed and naked as the blonde focused on her form. It was as if he was looking through her very being and into her soul. Such was his concentration.

Even as his brush trailed up and down her body, Naruto never lost focus as he channeled his chakra into her. Cinder could feel his power flowing into her form with each stroke of his brush. It was an indescribable ecstasy.

While Naruto maintained his focus on forming and priming the seal with his chakra. Kurama fulfilled his own part. While communing with the other bijū along with Naruto and Sarada, they all channeled a small portion of chakra through Kurama. While he did the same shaping and moulding his chakra and the gifted portions melding them into one form.

With his task done, Kurama did not need to wait long. Naruto was done moments after him.

The two then worked in concert with one another. Their power reached its peak as Naruto burst into a golden cloak of fire like energy. His eyes shone a verdant red with concentric rings and nine tomoe. While a slit pupil rested in the center of each eye. And at his back were the famous nine truth-seeking orbs. Made of an obsidian black so dark they seemed to absorb light.

In the moments before his transformation, Cinder felt his power before she could see it. It was all-consuming power at the surface. Yet comforting and like a warm embrace in its totality. It was a terrifying juxtaposition.

Then the sealing script that covered her body from head to toe glowed a bright red as Naruto raised his hands palm up. Orbs of flame sparked to life in each hand. One an azure blue, the other a vibrant red. As he started the ritual that would change this world forever. With one goal in mind to give this world guardians that would rise. Should anything happen to him or Sarada.

As he brought his hands together he spoke aloud, “Banbutsu Sōzō no Jutsu,” when they met there was a flash of light and in place of the flame was a small black fox wreathed in blue flames with nine tails. About the size of a kitten.

The flames surged forth, consuming Cinder yet not burning her. but seeping into her form as warmth filled her chest. It was only when the diminutive fox kit lept from Naruto’s hands and onto her chest. Where it gazed directly into her eyes. She felt Naruto place his hands on her abdomen, four fingers on each side of the spiral seal on her navel.

Unable to move or react save for the widening of her eyes, it shocked Cinder. When the newborn Bijū kit spoke. In a deep voice. “So father she is to be my bonded partner?!” it was a statement filled with excitement and curiosity rather than a question.

“How odd, one in your situation would show a bit of fear under these circumstances. Are you not afraid of me, human.” the Bijū inquired.

The mere question filled Cinder with a sense of indignant ire.

With a widening of those animalistic eyes and a smile that showed rows of teeth. The kit barked with laughter. “Hahaha, I like you, human!” the kit exclaimed as its deep voice softened to a soft feminine lilt. Revealing it to be female.

Cinder’s eyes hardened, her ire rising. As the Bijū shook with laughter. Her resolve hardened into diamond. And the Bijū ceased its laughter, quirking a single brow. As if to say really now.

“Ah, now I see that is a fine resolve you have there. With a desire to protect those who you care for.while you have faltered on your path. Worry not with me on your side, you will never falter again. Together we shall embark on a path of discovery and truths.” the Bijū kit declared.

Her eyes widened as the fox was reading her like a book. And with that damnable grin, she spoke to Cinder. “Figured it out, have you? Yes, I Can read the minds of the weak willed and sense negative emotions. But in your case it is because of our forming a bond that your thoughts are so clear to me.”

As the script rapidly crept closer to the seal on her stomach, the fox kit spoke up one last time before Naruto finalized their bond. “However, we don’t have long before father ties your fate with my own. Remember, this father brought me into this world to be your guiding light. You will never be alone again.”

With those words, the flames disappeared. Soaked into Cinder’s flesh as the bijū’s tails merged into one tail tipped with an azure hue Almost fire like in its vibrant color. And Naruto placed one hand over the other, hovering over the spiral seal.

With a twist of his wrist he chanted, “Hakke no Fūin Shiki seal!” completing the culmination of his and his father’s work a new version of the Hakke no Fūin Shiki. It’s most important component is the ability for the Bijū to leave the seal without risk to the host. It was no longer a prison meant to contain Bijū. But a tool to help a bond form.

As Cinder stared down at the fox kit on top of her, a dozen emotions flashing through her mind. Her eyes widened once more. As thoughts that were not her own invaded her mind.

“So human now that we are bonded. I suppose I shall grant you the honor of bestowing. One as mighty as I with a name.” the newborn bijū communicated telepathically through their bond.

Naruto picked up the kit by the scruff of her neck and scolded her like the recalcitrant child she was acting. “Oi, stop that.”

Trying and failing to give her most innocent look. With puppy dog eyes included for added measure. But under the glare Naruto was giving his child, she soon folded. With a pouting and huffed out, “yes sir.”

It was at this point Cinder passed out, her last fading thoughts despite being garbled were heard loud and clear by her bonded partner.

It took her a moment to understand just what cinder said. while Naruto covered Cinder in her robe and took her back to her room. And it brought a grin to the kitsunes face. As she thought. “Oh, I think we will be the best of friends.”

]|[

As she was sitting down for dinner with her closest allies. While discussing the latest developments in the world. All felt a tremor of power in the room. It was small yet notable. Had Salem not given her most trusted followers her blessing. It was likely that even as attuned with the land as she was. Even she would have missed it. Had it not been for the constant draw yet small on their aura that her blessed gave in exchange for greater power and more abilities. It was this connection to her blessed, her pillars of power that allowed her to deepen her connection to the world itself.

It was this connection that allowed Salem to feel that it was a battle raging between two powers so close to vale. Yet the two were covered in shadows of interference produced by the stronger of the two. What made this even more galling was that she couldn’t tell if it was intentional or not. The presence covered all of Vale in a shroud of power, blocking out her ability to tell precisely what was going on in the kingdom.

Such an occurrence had never happened before, ever. Not even when Oz was at his full power and she could feel him like a beacon. A brilliant flame she could practically see even from the depths of her prison. The power felt like an inescapable inferno that she could feel in her very bones. And seemed like she was standing next to it.

Then it just blinked out of existence like it was never there a scant ten minutes after it disappeared. Salem blinked blankly for a moment, then she scowled. Feeling this presence then losing it before she could even track it down was concerning.

Looking to her blessed, who were all collectively waiting for her opinion on the power they all felt.

Salem directed her attention to her most devoted. “My Slagter, where is Intrygant and Laruam?” she asked.

With golden eyes that spoke of only pain, madness, and a devotion to the woman he considered being his god. He gave Salem his answer. “I believe that they are in a village just outside of Vales borders, along with their knights. Lower Carn is what I believe they called it.”

“And just what are they doing so close to Vale?” quirking a brow out of curiosity, Salem asked. “And why was I not informed of their departure?” she added.

While she knew she did not need to control all of her blessed pillars actions and movement. Salem felt that, at the very least. They should have informed her when they left the castle. She knew they were just here a mere two days ago.

“Ah, that would be our fault my lady.” Salem's blessed pillar of knowledge answered. Adjusting his glasses, he continued his explanation. “Tisserande and I recently came across a breakthrough in our joint research project. And it has reached the stage where field testing was required. And they volunteered to monitor the testing. As they were free, and it was a last-minute request.”

Needless to say that Salem was surprised. The project the two had been working on for the better half of six years with no signs of success. Had finally bore positive results.

From what she knew of it, the project code named cursed mud. Was an attempt at a new breed of Grimm that could adapt rapidly to combat and by absorbing biomass. It could not only mimic beings and objects. But reproduce more of its kind.

It brought a small smile to her face. Seeing in how this oversight was not on their part but her own. Salem gave a nod of her head. “I see, well inform them that when the testing is over to return, and report the results to the collective. After that we will need to adjust our plans and find out just what the power we felt was.” she informed everyone.

As everyone went back to what they were doing before. Salem rested her head in her hand as she leaned back in her chair. Propping up the limb on the armrest. Pondering that surge of power. While knowing there was nothing that could be done at the moment.

It would not be until later that she would realise that the surge of power she felt. Would birth another great power from what seemed like the ether itself.

]|[

On board his flagship, the general walked down the halls to the labs of one of the pair of top scientists. His normally placid face bearing a frown. And a building headache. After he had read the report from the men, he had escorted Penny into town.

Somehow they allowed the girl to slip away. And yes, it brought a smile to his face when he thought of her that way. Despite the method of her “birth”. To him and so many others, she was just a girl. Not a machine. Penny was born into this world to bring hope.

Those were the thoughts that made him change how this conversation would go. As he swiped his access card and stepped into the lab. Where he was met by the chaos that was teenagers.

“Honestly just what were you thinking Penny?”

Sitting idly on a couch fiddling “Bah, quit being such a stick in the mud chase. Our girl here did a fucken bang-up job. If yah ask me. Right, Kazoo?”

Waving an errant hand, “well Cammie, it could have been worse. I think she did well under the circumstances.”' Kazu said, then went back to his guitar.

It was a pleasant change seeing the teens not even take notice of him. It was honestly a pleasant change of pace for James. Anywhere else, whenever the general entered a room. Every one focused their attention on him. Pandering to him, seeking any advantage they could get. It is why he hated politicians. And preferred the company of his men in the military.

But abruptly all conversation ended when winter noticed him. Saluting him with an exclamation of, “General Ironwood, sir!”

Everyone dropped what they were doing and gave a brief salute.

James gave them a small smirk as he said, “at ease.”

As he walked into the room, he directed his attention to Penny. “Penny, while I disapprove of your actions. Sneaking away from your escort was dangerous. I however realise that this was your first time away from Atlas. Places like Vale have dangers of their own. Please don’t let it happen again.”

Now thoroughly abashed and chastised by the disapproval of the General, Penny couldn’t help but let out a meek, “yes sir.” her gaze shifting to her feet.

The general then pulled his scroll out of his pocket. Pulling up the files he needed and had them displayed on the large screen in the room. “However, thanks to your actions, Penny. We have confirmation that the rumors of this Kitsune are true. And also, there are those of his kind that are opposing him.”

On the screen it displayed all the information on the ever elusive Kitsune and Ryu.

And below what information they knew about the pair was a detailed list of their suspected involvement.

From an analysis of a Warehouse fire, in which the Vale P.D. found the melted remains of Atlas military grade hardware. And human shaped scorch marks.

What seemed like a failed ambush by members of the White Fang in a book store turned into a bloodbath.

“The reason I have had you brought to Vale is because of Kitsune and Ryu.” the general explained. “Take this time to analyse the footage captured at the docks. Learn his fighting style and quirks.” James explained as he pocketed his scroll.

“Your goal is to if at all possible capture one of them. If not, then when contact is made, give them this encoded scroll. I know what I Am asking of you is a lot. But you are all the best of the best that Atlas has to offer. You are all specialists in the ace ops division.”

“Penny if you would follow me.” the general said as he turned to leave. Penny quickly followed him.

“All right everyone let's get to work,” Winter said as she took command and her squad studied. Everything they had on Kitsune.

It was not long before the ever curious penny noticed that they were headed to the hangar. “Sir, Why are we heading to the hanger.?” Penny asked Unable to hold back her building questions.

“We are heading there to meet your new teammates. They should arrive soon.” The general answered.

After they had made it to the hangar of the Prydwen. The two did not have to wait long as a manta airship landed in the hanger.

The general stepped forwards as the side doors on the craft opened. And three girls stepped out of the airship.

Stepping to the side to give Penny a clear view of her new team. The general introduced them.

“Penny, I would like you to meet your new teammates.”

As Ironwood introduced her teammates, Penny took note that all three of her new teammates were dressed in the atlas academy uniform. Comprising a white blazer, jacket and blouse. With a blue skirt.

“This is your team leader Rosaria Tempestade.” when the general introduced her leader to the girl. Her most noticeable feature, aside from her long white hair tied into a ponytail, was her heteroaromatic eyes. One blue, the other silver. She waved a hand in greeting.

“And these ladies are Violet Evergarden and Ciel Soleil.” James said as he introduced them to Penny.

“Salutations, I’m Penny!” she said, holding out her hand in introduction. “And I think we are going to be the best of friends.”

As she shook hands with each of them with a smile on her face.

]|[

When Cinder awoke, it was morning, and the sun was shining in through the window. Next to her was the small fox kit that had been born yesterday.

She turned her head to look towards the two other presences she sensed in the room. Naruto was resting in the chair next to the door and Emerald was in the bed next to hers.

She did not know whether it was the slight fluctuation in her aura when she woke up. Or something else. But the moment she sat up in bed, the kitsune next to her awoke as well.

And its voice reverberated through her head, “ah, human, you're awake.”

“It’s good that you recovered so soon, human.” the kitsune said.

Cinder gave the Biju one of her most withering glares. Her annoyance plain as day to see. Her ire only grew as a sense of growing amusement was transmitted. Through the bond the two shared.

“What do you not like being called human? It is what you are, after all, human.” the kit goaded.

“I have a name, use it!” Cinder hissed aloud.

“Ah, so you do human. But we have yet to be introduced. And what's worse is this noble one has yet to be gifted a name.” the Biju mocked. Taking on a haughty expression, her nose held high in the air.

It was that sudden revelation that made Cinder feel stupid. The only reason her bonded partner was acting the way she was. Was because she felt slighted that she had yet to be given a name.

Such a simple concept as a name was one of the few things a Biju guarded with zealous fervor. From what she knew of Naruto’s past. A name is one of the few things that was never and could never be taken from them.

There were so many choices to make. That for a moment Cinder was at a loss. At least until she remembered just what the being before her promised. To be a guiding light. The phrase sparked a memory.

Cinder and her mother were lying on the roof of their home observing the stars. Her mother pointed to the brightest northernmost star in the night sky. “Dear, do you know what star that is? She asked.”

The young girl shook her head. “No mama, what is it?”

With a small smile, her mother snuggled closer to her daughter. As she told her, “that is Polaris. It gets the name from being the star closest to the northern celestial pole. In the times before modern technology, we used it to aid in navigation. A guiding light if you will.”

A small smile graced Cinder's face as she decided.

“You said to me you would be a guiding light and you should have a name to reflect that.” Cinder said, picking up the kit and holding her in a gentle embrace.

“Polaris, that is your name. My guiding light.” she whispered, yet it might as well have been a shout to the now named Polaris.

Squirming in the embrace, Polaris wiggled free. Flushed with a mixture of embarrassment and joy, she fidgeted awkwardly for a moment. Before settling down and looking Cinder in the eyes. “I would like to introduce myself to you, my bonded. In a manner befitting the first-born Biju of this generation.”

With a nod and a small smile, Cinder gave her approval.

Straightening her posture, Polaris began her introduction as her tail split into nine once more. “I Am Polaris, first-born daughter of Kurama and Naruto, the nine tailed Biju and as such I Am the strongest of the nine.”

With a tender smile on her face, Cinder replies. “It is a pleasure to meet you Polaris, I am Cinder Fall. and I hope our bond will only continue to grow.”

It was a tender moment for the pair that ended all too soon when Naruto awoke. In truth, he had awoken when he felt their shared energies shift ever so slightly. But did not want to disturb the pair.

Naruto made a show of stretching out his limbs. To show he had just awoken. And with a grumbled, “morning” he left to get ready for the day. Leaving the pair to wake up Emerald.

It was not long after this that the ladies in his care. Followed the delightful smell of food as they headed into the kitchen.

To find three copies of the blond in his true form. No longer feeling the need to hide his appearance from them.

Emerald was immediately on guard the moment she made eye contact with the blonde. Immediately drawing her weapons, the Thief's Respite, “who are you?” she growled.

When she did not get an immediate answer from said blonde as he went back to work. She felt her next actions were appropriate. A crack of gunfire rent the air. As she shot him.

“Poof”

She blinked blankly at the spot where the blonde once stood in disbelief. Where the blonde had once stood was a quickly clearing cloud of smoke. No blonde to be seen at all.

The other two blondes came to the table, hands laden with food for the table.

It was not until the small fox that had been trailing Cinder spoke, “you know that was a rather rude thing to do to your host.” that Emerald felt like she was truly losing it.

“Em, I think you should take a seat.” Cinder said, directing her to a vacant seat at the table. And taking the one next to her. “We have a lot to discuss. And you need to be caught up on some things.”

All she could do was nod and take the offered seat.

Once Naruto had sat down, Polaris leapt into his lap, snuggling into her father’s embrace.

Upon seeing the sight, Cinder couldn’t help but let a grin grace her delicate features. As she thought to herself. “Daddy’s girl,” knowing that her bonded would hear it loud and clear.

Proven when Polaris gave her a withering glare from across the table.

It was amidst the silent air, filled with non-verbal communication and posturing. that Emerald finally lost her cool, “would somebody please just tell me what is going on!!? And who in the hell are YOU!” she blurted out.

With a grin, Cinder took a small bit of joy in the fact of being one of the few in the know. As she introduced the blonde. “This is Naruto Uzumaki, he is also our benefactor Kitsune.”

And to prove that fact, his eyes flashed that vivid purple. As Cinder added, “and there is much we have to discuss Em”

Rubbing the back of his head nervously, Naruto before they added, “ah, before we begin I Am a clone. So don’t pop me, the boss had other things to deal with.”

It was needless to say that the collective, “what!” did not surprise him.

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mister-maiden · 4 years

Text

Layers Of Fear: I Wish I could Paint like that

Rating: 5/10 Genre: Adventure/Horror Difficulty: Easy

TIME SPENT COMPLETING: 3-4 hours

This is Layers of Fear. Developed by Bloober Team.

5/10 Paintings. The visuals and story are absolutely stunning. You will be incredibly immersed and very enthralled by what happens on screen, but you may feel bored constantly being scared and having nothing else to do but press W to walk forward and press the mouse button. Since there was no actual game play but looking around, I give it a 5 out of 10. If the game had offered some other form of interaction with the surroundings, I would have absolutely loved the game, but I felt tired just walking through halls and seeing something that scared me. Sure it was spooky, but it was boring. There has to be some way to engage me rather than throw random crazy visuals at my face.

Now you may say “Cultist, that IS what horror games are!” True. It is a horror game..but I just didn’t have fun with this one. Even writing this now, I can only remember how mind numbing it was to walk around a room until something happened and the door unlocked. There should have been moments of silence. Those moments of bliss where the scares and stimuli stopped...but this one just continually tossed it in your face, and I don’t enjoy that. Studio did an excellent job in visuals though!

----------------------------------------------------Spoilers-------------------------------------

At the end, you are met with your magnum opus which has three different forms.

The bad ending: You reveal your grand painting and see it as your beautiful wife. Her gorgeous smile and eyes stare at you, and you let out a sigh of content...only to be shocked in horror as her beauty melts away into a face of burned deformity. You cringe in rage as you grab your painting and leave your room. Your beautiful mansion is torn to pieces, the lights extinguished, the floorboards coming apart. It seems you have been in your painting room for longer than anticipated. You rush to a room and shove your painting inside and see The Artist has been doing this for a long time. The room is completely filled with the exact same picture of his burned wife. He simply can't get over it. He goes back to the room, and begin once more, marveling in his madness.

VERDICT: Buy on a sale. The game goes on sale often at a very low price. It’s good for what it is.

#Horror game review #Horror game #Scary game #Cultists #Occult #Cult Chief #game review

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