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glitchyred · 1 year

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Hi so Baby Hotline (aka the Bad Egg/PokeSpe Horror fic for those who have been following me longer) has gotten a lot more attention/praise than I was expecting LMFAO but people are starting to ask how the Bad Egg works. I did have a lore dump about it in the rough draft (it was written in the format of an email a researcher was writing) but ultimately scrapped it because it felt too clunky and I also realized that even if I offhandedly mentioned Gold surviving people still might not think he would've like recovered, so I decided to stick with Silver's POV through the ending

HOWEVER since people are interested here's a giant infodump about some of the lore I came up with, warning it will be long and also include gross alien anatomy/parasite stuff as well as descriptions of dead animals (pokemon), and of course massive warning for Horror. Viewer discretion advised and all that

So the first question on a lot people's minds is probably "where did they come from", which uhh. Doesn't really have an answer! Silver's assessment of the situation, "someone somewhere is fucking with something" is about as clear as it gets. These things are being created because something is going horribly wrong and the universe might be collapsing a little tiny bit. The Bad Eggs are hardly the only sign of this that exists (if I write sequels you'll see what I mean) but they are the most immediately alarming because they 1. Are very good at killing things and 2. Reproduce quickly. Who exactly is causing their appearance is a story for another day (aka I haven't gotten there yet LMAO)

... okay, so fair warning in advance, you will really need suspension of disbelief on this one. It's hard making glitch Pokémon "make sense" when glitches are pretty much just code not being able to make sense of itself. Additionally this will probably be pretty "why you shouldn't explain The Horrors"-y but I think the implications of this thing are terrifying enough on their own for it to be okay to ruin the reader's imagination a bit. It's all optional info anyways

Initially, as mentioned in the fic, these seemed to only affect wild egg-laying Pokémon, and began to randomly pop up throughout Japan, with the most condensed populations in Hoenn and Kanto. Bird-like Pokémon in these areas were seemingly dropping like flies and locals would report living specimens acting strangely, like they were disoriented or hallucinating. Dead ones would be found with wounds littering their legs and undersides with a majority of their blood drained.

It took researchers a while to figure out what was happening here, for a variety of reasons. Mainly, nobody really thought to check if the eggs Themselves were you know. Blood-sucking parasites because who would think that initially. They just seemed like duds, and researchers were chalking everything up to some other form of undiscovered parasite that they couldn't find any evidence of. It wasn't until someone (with alarming difficulty) managed to cut one of the "dud" eggs in half (after noticing they couldnt be cracked), revealing the whole thing to be a living organism with a stomach where the baby should be, that scientists went "Oh. Oh no."

While scientists were figuring that out, they figured they had no reason to worry about this happening to capitve-bred Eggs. "Eggs" (capital E) aren't the same thing as "eggs". While there's a lot of scientific theories about them, the best explanation anyone has for how they actually work is Johto myths about them being literal gifts from gods delivered by Celebi which is. Amusingly enough probably accurate, because it's Pokémon. So when Elm's colleague found an unhatchable Egg and one of the people working with it fell ill after staying with it a few days, nobody had any reason to assume it was much more than a coincidence. And then the events of Baby Hotline happened.

As for how these things work, their anatomy is very . Alien JDJQJDJ

They're very, very overly literal versions of the term "brood parasite" (a bird that lays its eggs in the nests of other birds species, leaving them to feed its chick(s)). They pretend to be eggs (or Eggs) to feed on a host's blood so they can reproduce. For the first day or so a Bad Egg is in a nest, it puts out a pheromone that makes it incredibly appealing to nearby Pokémon. This usually makes the mother of the brood pay special attention to it, but can also cause egg-eating Pokémon to fall victim to its bullshit. Once the egg has chosen a host and fed for the first time, it shifts gears into the opposite - it willingly repulses other Pokémon away, preventing anything else from attempting to harm its now-vulnerable host. (This doesn't work out great for Eggy because a Trainer's Pokémon tend to you know. Defend them from things they find threatening)

Bad Eggs are capable of breaking and manipulating their own shell, which is significantly thicker than an actual Egg's. Using Struggle, their only move, they can slice small wounds into their host's skin. On and under the surface of their shells is a thin layer of toxin they basically inject into their host's body during this process - on the surface, its pretty much Just an anticoagulant with some muscle relaxing properties, making feeding easier and keeping the host complacent, and it's even fairly mild. However, it stays in the host's body for a good while, meaning repeated feedings inject more and more of this stuff in them, eventually resulting in more side effects - excessive fatigue, headaches, nausea, and eventually delirium and hallucinations. Victims usually don't actually die from blood loss alone, but from the compounded effects of the venom along with eventual dehydration/starvation.

Once the shell is fully broken, it reveals what's functionally its "mouth" - it looks exactly like the shell and takes up the whole "body", but instead of hard and smooth, it's soft and absorbent. Underneath that layer is the egg's very gross alien anatomy; to skim over that, it's got some very primitive vocal chords it uses to (somewhat poorly) imitate the sounds of a baby bird, and some muscles for rocking itself more effectively. All three of those layers are extremely difficult to cause physically damage to and heal quickly if any harm is successfully enacted. The rest of its body from there is just Stomach. It feeds as much as it can until it's host dies, so it's stomach can actually expand if necessary (hence it endlessly getting heavier). It can regrow the shell at any time to maintain appearances, but usually stops doing this by the time the host is too far gone to care.

Fortunately for their victims, if the host at any point gets dragged away from the Egg for extended periods of time, the Egg is basically powerless and the host can usually recover. Physically, anyway, because they're probably Super traumatized after that experience.

I've mentioned a few times that these things reproduce. The problem is that nobody knows how this happens, given nobody has seen actual evidence of it happening, just that it Does. Shortly after the host dies or leaves, the Egg goes dormant for about half an hour before suddenly returning to the state it was in before it ever had a host. It's stomach empties completely, and about a week later, with little more warning, there's more reports of Bad Eggs and dead birds - and given that when Elm returns to confiscate and dispose of Eggy it seems like the reproduction process already occurred, there's... probably going to be some dead Humans in the not-too-far future , too.

And thats about it on the Bad Egg lore like comment and subscribe happy November 1st I'm focusing on other things nowJDJQJSJWJJE

#putting this on this blog for Horror even though i advetised the fic on main lmao #btw while you cant relaly stab them or anything they are susceptible to Burning to theyre usually disposed of by being burned alive #unauthorized fucking thing blow it up NOW #txt #horror tw #gore tw #blood tw #parasite tw #dead animal tw #fuck it eggy gets a tag on the pokepasga blog #bad egg

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imogenleewriter · 1 year

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Hii can you tell me the premises of both your WIPs? Isn’t one coming out in the 17/3??

Well, given it's officially the 17th (here), I suppose I can!

The one that is coming out starting later today is a birthday present for @nooradeservedbetter . I'll go more into the series of events that led to it in the author's notes, but I will say that I asked for a prompt for a smutty 'one-shot' that I could keep under 5k words just to practice smut. The gave me one that they were very passionate about (lol) and then it slowly went from a 5k one-shot to a "Maybe this could be like a 20k fic to explore the dynamics and add some depth" to "Actually I think this could be an actual fic so it might be more like 100k words". The first 1/4 of the fic is basically written and just needs editing (as opposed to entire re-writing like my other drafts) and is over 40k so my guess is we're going to be a fair bit over 100k. I haven't written out the summary yet but essentially it's NOT a slow-burn, Dom/sub under(over)tones, Top Harry/bottom Louis (bold move, I know), but weirdly one of the more wholesome fics I've written, lol. Some angst (obviously because I'm still me) - but not as extreme as usual, OT5, a destination wedding, secret relationship. I've spent three hours trying to get a Tiktok done just for this comment but I still haven't achieved it yet lol.

I assume the other one you mean is one I've mentioned a few times. It's literally going to be the death of me, and it's entirely my fault. It's an exes (kind of) to lovers. But... the plot is complicated - for me, not the readers, I'd say I've done at least 20-30 hours PREP so far and haven't actually... written anything. No, I think I've gotten about 10 thousand words down. I'm excited about it, I think. But yeah, a lot of work. I'm actually probably at the point where I could start writing it, to be honest.

Anyway, the first one will be out in the next... 10 hours or so - probably sooner.

And I'll keep you updated on the second one. It'll probably be on hold for a while since I'll have two WIPs going.

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whoiskt · 1 year

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2022 draws to a close... it is time now... the questions...

1: What did you do in 2022 that you’d never done before?

WENT TO THE OCEAN!!! BABEY WE FINALLY MADE IT!

Also wrote a TV pilot script which has altered the course of my future in ways that are yet to be determined....

I did some other things, of course, but nothing as big as those. Like, I went to the renaissance faire, and tried hot pot, poisoned myself with mold. Just a tastes of some firsts.

2: Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I made... so many. It was too much.

Read 10 books--- Yeah, I technically have started and failed to complete many books. This does include Dracula -_- I’m so bad at finishing things. I’m trying to finish one before New Years.

Go to an event I wouldn’t normally attend--- I mean, I did go to the ren faire... so I want to count this.

Run a mile in less than 12 minutes outdoors--- I didn’t try lmao once it was warm enough to run outdoors I had completely forgotten.

Apply for at least 4 jobs a week----

I was trying to film a second a day too and that ended in... February.

Yeah, anyways, I don’t know. I got to be more reasonable.

3: Did anyone close to you give birth?

Nay! Least you count all the girlies at work.

4: Did anyone close to you die?

Nay!

5: What countries did you visit?

I’m still working on that ok?

6: What would you like to have in 2023 that you lacked in 2022?

Watch as KT chooses “career” for the fourth year in a row... Honestly, no. I’m going to say a feeling of community. That’s what I really want.

7: What dates from 2022 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

I will probably forget everything. I still remember the queen died on the 8th of September. I don’t know why I remember that but I doubt it will last.

8: What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Writing the script. I mean, it has changed a bit, and will continue to, but it was a big step in this journey I’m on. And as you know, I rarely finish things I start, so this was a big deal. Even if it never sees the light of day.

I read it to my family at Christmas and my oldest bro-in-law told me to keep making it because he likes it.... HUGE compliment coming from him.

I have also written the outlines for several other episodes for this not-real TV show of mine. I think I’m up to 5 outlines, in addition to the script. So, yeah. Even if it never gets to TV I might make it into a webcomic. Like, I'll make a pact that if I haven't gotten it made by the time I'm 30, I'll start making it into a webcomic instead.

Plus, I’ve been working a lot on my portfolio. I need to finish that up in January and then I’ll be applying for grad school! Scary but exciting.

9: What was your biggest failure?

My biggest failure of the year was probably whenever I applied and interviewed for that broadcasting job. I was really bummed that I didn’t get the job because of the following reasons:

1) It was “the perfect” job for me, I was perfectly qualified and it was in the perfect place, as close as I could get to my “dream job” without leaving the state.

2) There was three (3!) openings. The odds should have been in my favor

3) I knew someone who was already working there. Just embarrassing to me like, ok, so he knows I didn’t get the position. We went to school together our resumes were VERY similar ya know? How did I not get it?

But my biggest failure did lead me to self-reflect. The job search the last few years has been so hard. Getting this rejection was a very big “I can’t do this anymore” moment, so I was thinking, what has brought me satisfaction in all this? The answer was the TV show I write in my notes app.

And because I believe in that enough, I guess I’m going to go do that now instead. Either way, it’s been really fucking nice since then to have just completely given up on the job search. Just so nice.

10: Did you suffer illness or injury?

Yes, first I was sick... idk some time in Spring. Then I drank mold and became poisoned that way, so that was fun. And this last week I’ve had a stomach bug so wooo! I look forward to being well again.

11: What was the best thing you bought?

I bought the new tablet. It is really nice. But it would really only be useable thanks to Will, letting me borrow his computer all the time these days.

12: Whose behavior merited celebration?

I respect all my friends for their behavior and growth or dealing with challenges. It was tough ages 18-24 dealing with losing friends, but now the people I choose to surround myself never worry me, or shock me, or even come close to disgusting me. That’s not something I could have said when I was younger (sadly). But now all my friends are super solid and I am proud to know them.

13: Whose behavior made you appalled?

I don’t know... sometimes my coworkers do stuff but I wouldn’t call it outright appalling? At worst it’s petty drama or bootlicking. But I’m very good at leaving things at work so I don’t care.

14: Where did most of your money go?

They keep increasing the gd rent grrrrr

15: What did you get really, really, really excited about?

The ocean and the beach and the accompanying aura was really cool. I was so excited in general for summer and warm weather, which I think I’m just thinking about because I want it really bad right now.

Chainsaw Man anime! It’s been great showing it to Will, now he knows who tf I’m talking about.

16: What song will always remind you of 2022?

I really don’t listen to pop songs anymore but on our drive to the east coast we discovered Brick + Motar which has become a staple in our home, so pretty much all their songs.

17: Compared to this time last year, are you: (a) happier or sadder? (b) thinner or fatter? Richer or poorer?

I’m probably in all ways about the same. This is what I talk about when I say all the last few years have been a blur because things really don’t get better or worse they just stay the same.

18: What do you wish you’d done more of?

Focusing on finishing things I started. Running theme here, I know, lmao

19: What do you wish you’d done less of?

Play stupid little games on my phone. I seriously get addicted to these things.

20: How did you spend Christmas?

Went home. It was really brief this year. I'll make sure my visit next year is an extended stay.

21: Did you fall in love in 2022?

Never stopped.

22: What was your favorite TV program?

Some things I enjoyed this year: Severance, What We Do in the Shadows, Arcane, Chainsaw Man, Spy x Family, Jojo Part 6, Bee and Puppycat: Lazy in Space, Fringe, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Gravity Falls, and many docs.

23: Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

Nah.

24: What was the best book you read?

I have been and should be finished reading “The Song of Achilles” soon. I enjoy it because before I played Hades, and as a former greek mythology kid, I hadn’t heard of Patroclus, and I enjoy learning more about him..

25: What was your greatest musical discovery?

I did a lot of musical discovery this year. Like, more than usual, probably not a lot compared to most people. First off, I discovered Of Montreal (not from Montreal sus) TV on the Radio, and of course my Spotify top song of the year: “Heart It Races” by Architecture in Helsinki (I have yet to listen to a single other song of theirs because I just know nothing can top this).

Will discovered Brick + Mortar, and Fish in a Birdcage, which I have coveted.

I have also enjoyed That Handsome Devil and Spoon. Although there is more diving to do with them.

26: What did you want and get?

New drawing tablet.

27: What did you want and not get?

New laptop. My tastes are just too expensive and so I ended up using the money for other things.

28: What was your favorite film of this year?

EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE!

29: What one thing that made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Writing things for myself and then reading them off to Will. Oh, yeah, my TV show has a fan! Just greenlight me baby!

30: How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2022?

Visions from higher powers. But mostly I don’t wear pants at home. I’m not wearing pants as I write this.

31: What kept you sane?

Socializing. Going outside. Going for walks. Music. My notes app.

32: Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

I don’t care about celebrities but I do care about Aki Hayakawa.

33: What political issue stirred you the most?

I lost rights this year so..... oof.

34: Who did you miss?

My kitty cat.

35: Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2022.

I learned not to compromise on quality of life? Life is filled with dreams. You gotta follow the string of satisfaction.

It’s easy to get caught up in a stream of “well I have to do this, and then that, and then I’ll be happy.” Which is pretty much how I have lived my life up to this point. I went to college because I thought it was a step to happiness. I wasn’t happy while doing it. I should have done something else, I think. It was unhappy times.

Like, I don’t really like my job, it’s not what I want to do for the rest of my life, or even a year more, but it’s something I can do now, while pursuing other things that DO satisfy me... and THAT’S the satisfaction I have in my life. Before, it was just a step while I waited for something better. But I realize that’s not a good way to live life.

36: Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

#lifeblogging #Tl;dr of this is that I wrote a script and didn't read any books lmaooo #year in review

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nekolistener · 6 months

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trying when it'll still probably be bad

PART 1

it’s my birthday today!!!

i’m 22. it’s not over or anything

but I'm feeling really alone right now

last year i wrote some shit about how if things hadn't changed by now I would kill myself

i cringe thinking about it. i didn't stick to the promise either, went to the mental hospital twice since

putting it off was a good mindset for a while but i feel no allegiance to it now

i've been making a lot of progress: i started ketamine treatment, i started going to a social event regularly (i haven't really made any friends yet but I'm trying), and i've had a pretty noticeable decline in my suicidal thinking…this has all been in the last two month or so

i've gotten better. i'm only 22: i have a whole lot of time. things have to get better

but i don't believe that anymore, I know things change and bad stuff goes away to the base line at least, but i just can't believe it

i'm not totally alone:

i have my family. I'm lucky enough to know i'll always have them; they do all they can to be supportive, but i really have no idea how to talk to them. i think i just need to get out of my parent's house before they can become anything other than a source of stress

i have some online friends. They've really been my world for the past couple of years. i can say for sure, with no sillies or hahas, that without them i would have killed myself in florida but i'm still behind the curve, it's not 2020 anymore, it's my birthday and they're all invited to real parties; things can't stay the same forever…

oh i get it now…

i'm going to make one last list.

fair warnings though: usually i make these lists for other people, to calm them or let them know it's all going to be ok, but this one is mine (you can have the other two; they don't matter to me), and i have lied in my lists before, i don't think I'm doing that this time, but i didn't quite think so then either

this year i will: save 3000$, read and write, and finally move out of here.

i know i can do that. i've done those things before, and I'm tried of trying to do things i can't. i don't need college, or relationship, or a good job to not kill myself. i just needed ketamine, and to write about something else for a little while... i hope

i can be alone next year and it won't feel so bad as long as it's somewhere else…

maybe i'll even get around to the silence, exile, and cunning I've heard so much about

…and even if it's not, i'll use this when i need to get through the year.

i can keep putting one foot in front of the other, i know that now

but i would really like one of those good jobs, or relationships or colleges at some point

who knows tho, maybe i won't want those things again

"These last few____" have been really hard on me

it's gotten so lonely

but i won't let that stop whatever comes next from being whatever it wants to be

PART 2: a song written by someone who i think was similarly sad at the time of conception.

Last week I threw a pie at someone's Momma,

Last night I threw a party for my mind,

Last thing I knew that 6:02 was screaming' over my head,

Or it might've been th' 11:59...

Too many chain-link fences in the evening,

Too many people shivering' in the rain,

They tell me that you finally got around to have your baby,

And it don't look like I'll see your face again.

Sometimes I wanna go back north, to Humboldt County--

Sometimes I think I'll go back east, to see my kin...

There's times I think I almost could be happy,

If I knew you thought about me, now and then....

PART 3

This "three" thing, you've probably noticed by now, isn't actually that important. It doesn't matter. I think it's bad actually. I didn't mean to do it there. I didn't think about it, but I might be doing it by accident (okay that's kind of a lie, I wrote the first two sentences first, then everything that's after this, then went back and wrote a sentence to replace the second and realized I had made three again and then wanted to keep all of them. I'm a lair.) I have this really bad habit in my writing where I get fixated on things that don't actually add much. After I wrote the first three lines, I realized it was 3, and I can get really anxious about my writing being disjointed so I get fixated on things like "three" so if everything is three then that means that it's connected and that means that it's good, but it doesn't. I did try to do something with it: basically the first, in whatever the "three" is, was meant to mean temporary things in different senses, the second represented some unceasing, overbearing loneliness or something like it, and the third represented some dashing of the first thing, but I really don't think I got across what I was trying to: either in this attempt or in the first one. I really don't think I can say what the "three" thing was meant to mean other than just by trying to do it in the first part, no matter how inadequate it may be. So this whole thing probably would have been better without this one actually. I spent my whole birthday working on this thing and i can't throw the whole thing out now cause I don't like the last part.

#birthday #writing #writers on tumblr #writers and poets #writerscommunity

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aminiatureworld · 2 years

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i haven't dropped by in months so hi, how are you? i' m sorry if i haven't written in a bit (i'm a bad penpal ngl) but here i am :D

honestly, i haven't been playing a lot of genshin impact because of burnout but my interest has been coming back because of the new characters/storylines! and funnily enough, i actually cosplayed Venti in a recent convention so that's pretty nice <3

from what I last remember, I think you mentioned completing research or project? how did that go? are you even still in school? what have you been ip to recently? that is a lot of questions in one sentence oml

i'm in my last year of highschool before i go to college and its pretty nervewrecking! no one told me that you have to consider a lot of things when preparing for it,,, if anyone asked if i was coping well, i'm certainly not lmao

anyways, i think that's all! i really hope youre okay, take care of yourself <3

- 🍪

Hiii!!

Sorry you sent me an ask and then I fell off the map for a good, week or two. And don't worry about being a bad penpal, I appreciate every ask.

Also yeah, I also haven't been playing much Genshin. In fact I have been playing so little Gesnhin that when I logged in two days ago I had the "wow you're back!" event lol. Whoops. To be fair I was prolly gone three weeks. Not looking forward to the grinding to finish the events in the next two days but, y'know, whoops. And ohh how lovely! I hope you had a good time at the convention! Cosplaying is so awesome, I'm glad you had a chance to do it. I'm sure your Venti was 11/10 flawless.

And yeah I have gotten more motivated hearing Scaramouche might come out in about two or so big updates. Scaramouche if you're playable you WILL be mine. Mwahaha.

And yeah that research project was uh, interesting. It sorted itself out thankfully. Shout out to the book in my closet I need to return. And now a new school year! A new, much busier school year (complicated pandemic gap year stuff etc)...

And oh good luck! I know that applying for colleges (if you haven't done that yet) can be very stressful but remember that you can handle it and that all will be well. Also make sure to talk to any teachers/councilors you can. They really are indispensable. Also know sometimes you may mess up or feel a bit of a mess, but all will come out right in the end. You'll get through it. And college will be wonderful.

I hope that you can find good ways to cope! No one should be stressed 24/7 for a good half of the year. Make sure that you also take care of yourself, and that you're patient with yourself. Be honest when something's not going well, knowing that doesn't mean everything is going terribly.

I hope you have a wonderful day/night, and a wonderful week! Thank you again for your ask and enjoy the end of your summer! (Unless you live in the southern hemisphere in which case enjoy the end of winter - although my winter-loving self is a bit jealous).

#asks #anon #🍪 anon

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cowboymantis · 3 years

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Let's talk about Kazuto Arase

Yakuza / Yakuza Kiwami , Yakuza 3 side content spoilers. Later on Yakuza LaD too, but I'll give a warning before that especially since a lot of people haven't played that yet.

So I have a lot of thoughts about Yakuza on my mind and just want to scream into the void about it somewhere to write 'em all down somewhere! I'm starting with... Arase.

Yeah, I know, a mostly very hated character (personality and battle-wise) that has so little screen time on top of it all too, is the first thing I'll be talking about.

Hear me out, I actually really love this character and only really started to appreciate him after I went for the Yakuza 3 platinum trophy... I've replayed this game so many times, I didn't mind it when I played through it first but seeing all the hate it has gotten, I went to replay it just in case and with that replayed it again and again because I just somehow loved it so much-

And you know, one part of Yakuza 3, also completion related so there was no way I could've missed it, were the Hitman missions. In general, after playing through all the main games I started to come back to a lot of characters I didn't like or minded the first time playing that are now some of my favourites (other examples are Tamashiro or Lau Ka Long, hell even Katsuragi)!

To come back to Arase, let's start with, well, the start: Yakuza / Yakuza Kiwami.

Introduced already in the very first Yakuza game, Arase is just there for a brief moment in the game, yet has a heavy impact on the game's story and Kiryu. It starts with Arase's oath brother Shinji being shot by Arases subordinate, Mochizuki, at least it looks like it. Shinji came here to rescue Reina, whose corpse then gets dragged on the roof of the Dragon Palace by Arase, Sergeant of the Nishikiyama Family. Now that's a pretty... heavy and sadistic first image for a character introduction, and honestly, his strong personality like that seemed also to be the reason he wasn't exactly loved by other members of the Family.

His battle theme in the first Yakuza game is called "Turning Point" which also puts more emphasis on how important this scene is, Kiryu breaking down, his scream when he sees Reina's body... It's really a turning point in the story.

In Kiwami, his new theme "Virtical Point" is also used as the intro song (or at least, the intro song "Vertical Point" is similar and shortened). Which also once again shows the importance of this piece.

Of course, he's not the most important character in the story, but it's still interesting to see how much there is around him other than his rather short appearance.

Then, his fighting style. Yeah, most hate this too and also the fact that starting from there, other bosses also sometimes use his moveset or a similar one. Like, take Jiro or Jo Amon or Andre Richardson... Basically just the usual dual wielding guns while being an athlete on crack - layout. It is actually not that bad, it's even less bad when you've got the right equipment but I have to admit I didn't really have that much good equipment when I first played all the games and basically just rushed through them because I just couldn't stop!

Arase's goal here of course was also to beat Kiryu but well, just like every other character ever, he couldn't do it and got beat instead.

And that's the end of that... The end of his part in the story and also the end of his part in the Nishikiyama Family, because he got disowned right after his failure.

Which is so... hmm... It makes me think. Many others have tried to take Kiryu down, too. And I mean, Arase was normally a very successful assassin, right? Yet this one failed attempt, at which everyone else too failed, got him disowned? Seems to me like they didn't like him and gave him an impossible task to have a reason to throw him out, huh?

And with that wonderful transition, let's get into his appearance in Yakuza 3.

You get introduced to the concept of the Honest Living Association, in short the HLA pretty much after Kashiwagis death. An association, founded by Kashiwagi to help Yakuza / former Yakuza who weren't meant for this life or just wanted out but just couldn't do in it on their own. For some, all they knew was the criminal life, so having a thing like this is especially helpful. Although, I'm kinda sad this was never a thing anymore after Yakuza 3. The whole concept of it was very cool.

Kiryu gets asked by Ibuki to help the HLA because there is an organisation of hitmen, also known as The Reapers (or The Avengers on PS3) whose goal was a different one than the HLA's, it was to kill Yakuza. The Reapers consisted of former criminals, mainly Yakuza, who were wronged by their superiours and expelled, disowned, you name it. Basically what happened to Arase.

Apprehending those hitmen is a totally optional part of the game and I have to admit, I didn't finish it my first time playing. Which is such a shame because it goes by so fast too when you play it after finishing the game! And the individual stories are all so interesting too, I've really enjoyed this side content and also replayed those missions already. You don't really expect someone like Arase to be behind all of it when it turns out to be him who is the founder and the leader of it all. I was already taken aback by Shinzaki being the lieutenant, or part of it at all. I often stopped by to listen to his guitar playing and talked to him, often asking myself is there's anything else up with him.

And once this one hitman contract came in and guitar playing was mentioned, I was just thinking "It can't be him...?", god, this whole side storyline just was so good. And here people come and say Yakuza 3 was a bad game.

The whole build-up to then reveal Arase was just so cool, honestly. It made me start to look more into his character after this confrontation. The fight was really cool too, just having to fight Shinzaki so many times wasn't really necessary, but Arase seems to like to fight alongside others, so fair enough.

And his theme "End Point" is also just so good. It's more similar to Turning Point than Virtical Point was. The name is also again fitting, since this is the end for The Reapers and Arases power.

It is made clear here that Arase has a strong hatred against the Yakuza and especially holds a strong grudge against Kiryu. He sees Kiryu as the reason he got wronged and had to leave the Yakuza behind, while also seeming to be very aware of the fact that the others there probably didn't like him at all.

He's so angry at him, he holds this whole speech and talks about revenge while Kiryu tries to talk some sense into him, eventually Ibuki also joins and tries to reason with Arase too. Telling him how that's what Kashiwagi wanted, even for Arase to find a new, honest life.

Arase is too strongly lead on by his grudges, so even though it seems like he might be thinking about turning his life around, he decided to not let them help him. Then he goes on about how he will definetly return to take revenge on Kiryu... Well. That's the end of that.

It becomes clear that Arases stubborn way of thinking is kind of childish. Not taking responsibility for any of his actions, thinking that his vile personality and actions are in fact the reason he got disowned. Failing to beat Kiryu was just the final puzzle piece to have a solid reason to throw him out. He's clearly unstable, doesn't think twice before shooting someone, he could turn on anyone and wouldn't be sorry for it. Just, he doesn't seem to really think about what he does.

I guess he probably thinks he's strong enough, he doesn't need to be careful. Also fitting for that is his fighting style in Dead Souls, how when he gets low on HP, he pretty much fends for himself, disregarding orders and just charging head first with full strength.

His Dead Souls appearance is also interesting. Okay, we all know, this game isn't canon, it's a spin-off and just doesn't fit in to the story. But it is interesting how he teams up with Kiryu for a bit and then leaves again. The game itself takes place after the events of Yakuza 4, meaning at this point RGG did remember that hey, they have a rival that swore to beat Kiryu one day. But after that... radio silence.

Really, this is such a shame. Just alone from his short appearances I can talk so much about Arase because he really is an interesting character with so much more potential! The only thing that's good about it is that he didn't die, making him technically one of the longest surviving characters in Yakuza which really is a great achievement.

Okay, we don't exactly know that he's still alive, but assuming due to there not being a mention of him being dead, he's probably alive. He might be, might not. Schrödinger's Arase.

One other thing I thought about is Jo Amon. I mean, his outfit and fight style is also similar to Arase, but that's not what I'm mainly thinking about. So the name Amon is for the greatest assassins, right? And they have a strong hatred against Kiryu at the beginning too.

So, putting those things together, Arase being a former assassin in the Nishikiyama Family, then the leader of a dangerous hitman organisation... Then, to fight Jo Amon in Yakuza 3 you also need to do all the hitman missions other than the substories and the IF7 fights. And to start the search for Amon, you also need to go to Ibuki again, where you got all the other hitman missions.

Yeah, it's a bit far fetched, but ... not too far fetched to think that maybe Arase and at least Jo Amon could know each other. I'd say, they could team up in a future game but. Well... Yeah.

Now some more things I thought about, I'll put a warning here though.

Yakuza LaD spoilers ahead!

Soooo, in this game we've gotten a couple of characters "back" ... Some more real than others... Thinking about Joon Gi's body double.

But one character that survived is Kashiwagi! Now the bartender of a bar named Survive. What a fitting name. After surviving such a heavy attack and believed dead by, well, everyone, it was the best approach to keep a low profile, start a new life. Also, he doesn't seem to be fit for any fighting after the incident.

So Kashiwagi is still there. And, now I just thought about, what if there was a possible redemption arc for Arase? Kiryu is believed dead now too, alone the fact that it seems that Kiryu never met Kashiwagi while being in the same area is kinda sad. I like to imagine they met each other...

I think it could go either way, Arase somehow got information on Kiryu being in Ijincho. He is a professional after all. Plus, by now Kiryu is also, well, not really working with... but. You know, not fighting with the Amon Clan anymore, even having Shin Amon to help determine Ichibans strength with the (True) Final Millennium Tower.

And, now, maybe there can be some other comnecting inside the Amon Clan and some info got out to Arase, ah, hell, I don't know, it's all so far fetched but I just like to have those possible headcanons of Arase somehow coming back!

Another possibility could also be Arase thinking Kiryu has died, just per chance being in the area and just going to the Survive bar? He'd probably be way more open about the thought of redemption and with Kashiwagi probably being pretty good at talking former Yakuza into that, given how the whole HLA was his doing.

Just... Thinking about possible things.

Yakuza LaD spoilers end here!

Well. That's that.

At the end of the day, the chances of Arase returning are pretty much 0, other characters you never thought of reappearing sometimes appear in one way or another, so it can be possible, but probably won't.

But one thing is clear, looking more into this character made me really appreciate him more. I guess that's the fact with a lot of characters, not just in Yakuza, but in general.

The characters in Yakuza are just so well written and even though it has some very weird and silly plot points and plot twists, I just love this game so much and looking more into it and replaying it is just so much fun.

I even started to like the minigames in Yakuza 3, even though I got very hopeless at the last pool opponent and the goddamn Mahjong completion, ugh. But at the end of the day it's all just really fun once you get the hang of it. It hasn't aged too well when you play it after the other Yakuza games, but replaying it on all the difficulties and then casually, then trying to beat it as fast as I can just made me love the game more and more every time.

So, uh... I don't know if it's a blessing or curse for me to often really like the characters that either everyone hates or have almost to screen time. Because well... there's such a lack of content and appreciation but hey that's what I'm writing this for!

I hope maybe someone starts to appreciate Arase more after this - if anyone even reads further after learning that I love this character. :D' I swear I tried to write it with as little bias as possible. I do know he's a morally very very grey character but after all, it's a video game character. (...There's no way I'll ever like characters like Yoneda...Ogita...Or Kume though... ugh)

Well anyway, with that, I go!

#ryu ga gotoku #yakuza #yakuza 1 #yakuza kiwami #yakuza 3 #yakuza lad #kazuto arase #yakuza arase #rgg #yakuza dead souls

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leahseclipse · 3 years

Text

The Reichenbach Fall: Aftermath - Chapter Two: So, What Did We Miss?

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Sherlock Holmes x GN!Reader (With some Fem mentions)

Warnings: S2 FINALE SHERLOCK SPOILERS, Major character death; death topic, mourning, suicide mentions, depression mentions., terrorist attack brief mention (lemme know if I missed stuff.)

Summary: Now that Sherlock is back, explanations are due.

Word Count: 4.6K

A/N: Here's chapter two! As always- if you prefer AO3, click here :)

The weather had even gotten better, as if it only rained to have a full dramatic effect, there was only wind, which didn’t seem to announce a storm, for now. The sound of the leaves being crushed by my feet as I walked was to be heard, as no other sounds were around, it was very quiet today.

The silence did feel weird, I never liked it.

Not when it caused me to think of…

“Got time to spare for me?”

...him.

“Sherlock.”

“I’m not quite into this, usually- but in movies, the scene usually goes like; they stare, probably cry a bit, and run down in each other’s arms. But...the ‘stare part’ is a bit long, is it normal?” Sherlock asked.

“I would like to remind you that you were dead for two years. Hell, you’re still supposed to be dead, I just talked to a grave for the past hour, doing as if you could hear me from wherever!”

“I don’t think it works like tha- oh, imagination.” Sherlock acknowledged, raising his index. “Forgot, sorry.”

“What do you think I’ve been doing if ‘imagining’ doesn’t exist?”

“Being crazy?” He asked. “Sorry, first thought. Doesn’t mean you...actually are, you’re not crazy. Quite the clever kind actually, a tad smarter than-”

“I didn’t ask to be...praised. We’re kind of in the middle of an argument, and also in a cemetery. Which I realize now, and I doubt the dead people here would like to hear us yelling.”

“Probably.” He agreed, as he frowned.

He’s thinking.

“Can I just ask a small favor? I know that’s quite rare for me to do that, but I’m doing that because it’s you.”

“If that’s asking to keep the secret about you not-being-dead-anymore, I don’t know.”

“This could be this too, but it’s not.” He tilted his head, briefly looking down. “Promise not to kill me in the car? It’s just that, dying in a car, and ‘dying’ again would be quite an unfortunate way to decease, if you…”

“...fine. But I can’t promise I will keep that...promise, once we’re somewhere not outside.”

“That’s...fair, I guess. Thank you for...half respecting-” He stopped in his sentence as I gave him the start of a death stare. “...respecting my favor. Sorry, stutter.”

“That’s better...I guess.” I repeated, hearing a small hum from him as we started to walk out the sinister place.

I didn’t even get myself at this moment. Even though he was there, as I wished, it still hurt. He was here, right in front of me, so wasn’t it fine?

“Why do you have dried blood and bruises on your face though?”

“...John hit me.”

“John did?”

“He...did.”

Well that’s new.

“Guess you said something bad to upset him, I never thought he’d ever punch you, you guys are like kindergarten buddies’.”

Sherlock chuckled. “He had a good reason, though. I faked being dead, let him mourn, miss me. I’m even surprised you haven't done that...yet.” He said, looking at me.

“Don’t tempt me.”

“Right. Got it, no...tempting.” He nodded, turning his head back in front of him.

Sherlock’s lucky I have an ounce of good in me. I would have given him more than a punch considering what he did. If he wasn’t the famous, amazing detective, and my...friend-crush, he’d be dead and put in the grave he was supposed to be in all that time.

Speaking of that, I wonder if they just left it empty, or if someone was actually there all the time. I hope it’s empty, though. It would creep me out to find out I’ve been threatening an innocent person- considering they didn’t put some random criminal in there.

At least, the positive point of all this is that he won’t have to pay for another grave, which is...a good deal, for a guy like him.

I hope he has a good explanation for this, it’d be a shame to bury him again.

As I opened the front door of the apartment- Sherlock stepping behind me, I walked towards the blinds, pulling them open to let light in. I turned towards him, looking around the room.

“Yeah, by the way, I cleaned the place.” I pointed out. “Everyday. I know you never wanted anyone to touch it, do anything at all, but I did. I guess that was me hoping you’d come back, and I realize that I...kinda hurt myself by coming back here, hoping you’d be in there, or come through the door any second, but you didn’t, for two years. And even if two years seemed enough to realize that you were really dead- I, and probably others, hoped for a miracle. We didn’t stop at all.”

“I do realize I will never be sorry enough, because no amount of apologies would ever make up for two years, or even a month, or a week.” He listed. “I left you, I acknowledge it. But, even if my next words might anger you more...I did it so you wouldn’t be the ones that’d end up dead. Even if I didn’t die, I did make the person after me believe that, I think. And, don’t hit me for that either- but I’d do it again if a great risk was to put you all in danger. Even you. I know that I haven’t been the nicest, which made you believe you were just a girl working with me, but you’re like everyone I’m always with- a friend, that I also consider family, and you still are, you’ll ever be, if building back our relationship happens to take time.” He admitted.

“I don’t even know what I feel about you...about your death, and you...being here, after a whole lot of time. I mean- we all felt your death deep inside us, it wasn’t just ‘wow, we’ve been real sad , but now we can move on and be better, just as no important person if our life didn’t just die!’, you really couldn’t have...let us know without letting anyone know that we knew?”

“You know I would have if I could have!” Sherlock yelled. “I tried to think this through, and this seemed like the only way to solve this without damage. For you guys, mostly.”

“Oh, so, letting John witness his best friend committing suicide, letting him see his body on the bloodied pavement, his head kinda blown out, literally his friend being dead- was ‘without damage’ to you?”

“It seemed like, at the moment.”

“Well guess what, it wasn’t!” I exclaimed loudly.

“Gosh, try to understand, I don’t know, do as if you were a stranger, I don’t know! If a psychopath threatened to kill you, and your friends, or kill your friends to throw the blame on you, what would you do? Because someone would have known if I ever told it. And they would have killed you, all.”

“I could have done it. You know it wouldn’t have been as bad as it was with you, if it had been me.”

“Please don’t say that.” He plastered a saddened look on his face. “You couldn’t have done it instead. No one else could.”

“I could have, if you had let me. You didn’t deserve this.”

“Neither did you.” Sherlock quietly said.

The both of us glanced at the other, not one word coming out of someone’s mouth. Neither of us knew what to do.

He let out a breath, walking to the window, next to me. “...you’re making it feel like you’re not important.”

“That’s because no one is as important as you.”

“That’s not true. You are.”

“You know it wouldn’t have caused this much chaos with me. We needed you more, you weren’t some stupid detective, you were the most qualified, hell, everyone needed you. Lestrade didn’t need us as much as he needed you.”

“He did need you. you know that. You two were qualified enough to function without me. Don’t act as if you’re not smart, please.” He pleaded. “It was mine to deal with, this was between Moriarty...other people...and me, so not even some kind of FBI agent training for 40 years could have done it, or you, or John.” He explained. “I even had to plan how I’d die, how I’d set it up, how I’d hide, not let my presence slip out- I’m not saying you’re imcompetent, but all of this was mine to handle. I wouldn’t have been able to let anyone carry that. And if I had really died, that would have been fine either, because I would have died protecting the ones that mattered.”

“We would have still felt guilty. There’s always heavy consequences in that kind of event. We all searched what went wrong, if we missed anything leading to that, if we let an important detail slip that caused you to do that, or anything else that could have been blamed upon us. We all thought that was our fault.”

“I know. I thought of that. I do regret it, but I had to...jump off that building. If they wouldn’t have seen me die, they would have killed you all. And the same goes for the actual situation now. If they had seen me dead earlier, they would have killed you too.” Sherlock said. “Look, I wish I could have given up being dead and contacted you in some way, but I had to stay hidden until I could come back without risk, without you getting killed.” He specified. “I would have been the one filled with guilt if I risked your lives.”

“You wouldn’t have deserved to die. You still don’t” I quietly said, resting against the wall. “Do you even know how important you are to us? You’re more than a guy we work with.”

“...and I’m grateful for that. But all I’m asking you is to let me explain what happened; see it as a way to show how much you matter to me, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Moriarty wanted me to die. He summoned me to the rooftop, and...after I found an ‘arrangement’, he killed himself first, leaving me to be the only choice to save my friends . So, I had to jump as I was being watched, and if I hadn’t jumped, they would have killed Lestrade, John, Mrs.Hudson...and you.” He insisted on the last word, looking at me. “So this was better, what was supposed to happen, and the two years weren’t planned. I came back because there probably was...a literal terrorist attack.”

My eyes widened. “What? Aren’t you supposed to…”

“It’s being handled, forget it. It was probably a false alarm”

“We were on the road, Sherlock.”

“It’s far from here.”

“Why aren’t we there, though?”

“Day-off. I’m technically still dead.”

“Not really if people saw you. Plus, I doubt it’s a false alarm if it’s bad enough for you to come back.”

“Other people are handling it. Look, are you worried about them? I’ll send a text right in front of you.” He took his phone out, typing a few characters before hitting the ‘send’ button. “Just wait.” He looked to his right, as his phone emited a sound. “There…”we’re still alive.”

“Better, yeah.” I nodded. “...two years was really long, though. I started to believe you had really died, so I guess it worked.” I exclaimed with a shaky voice.

“Glad to know my plan turned out to be successful. Thanks for giving your review.”

“Quite rare of you to be polite. I do suppose you say ‘please’, and ‘thanks’, but I think you forget to say them out loud.”

“Sometimes, yeah. But I do think of them.” He confessed.

“Hm. But...what led Moriarty to do all of this? I’m not quite sure I have all the details.”

“Oh, that. It began a while ago, before you fully worked with me. The criminal network he was headed for was vast, he was practically everywhere, like a ‘cancer’, so we came up with a plan. Mycroft had...fed him information about me, and in turn he gave us hints, as to the extent of his web.” He explained. “And as you know, we let him go, so he’d acknowledge having the upper hand, which led him to destroy my reputation. But...I had to let him believe he had ‘won’, so he could reveal himself, in a way.” He informed, as he moved around the room. “Once we were on that roof, there were at least 13 likely scenarios, which were rigorously worked out and given code names. But, even if I said that he destroyed my reputation, it wasn’t what he truly needed. What he needed...was for me to die.”

“And then, what?”

“He...basically told me that whatever I’d do with him, nothing would prevent the assassins he had hired to kill you, unless…”

“You’d die.”

“And complete his story.” He added. “But the thing I wasn’t able to know was how far Moriarty was prepared to go. I guess that was my fault, on this one. Our first meeting at the swimming pool should have been enough.”

“What did he tell you, back then?”

“He told me about his death wish. And, realized it. He killed himself in front of me when we were on the roof as I told you, and I didn’t have long until the assassins would arrive, most likely. I contacted my brother, and the whole scene started. Each person around was part of the plan, even the pedestrians.”

“You hired...pedestrians?”

“I needed the scene to look real.”

“This street is always empty, this couldn’t have worked?”

“Um...not really. This had to look real, plus they kinda contributed.” He detailed. “Oh and if, them getting killed is part of your concerns, they didn’t. The three of you, and me, were the real targets, they would have only killed anyone trying to fail their mission. And also, if that’s also a concern, the whole street was closed off, like a scene from a play. No accidental arrivals.”

“I didn’t even know all of this was staged. Even the paramedics were?”

“Even them. They’re the ones who faked checking on me so John wouldn’t reach me once I hit the ground.”

“How did he not see, though?” I questionned.

“Before I jumped?” He asked, as I nodded. “I made sure he stayed behind the building situated in front of the hospital. That way, he couldn’t see that I hadn’t actually fallen on the ground, but on an airbag. From that moment, the airbag needed to be cleared out of the way as John came, and as he needed to see a body, a fake one was thrown out of the window.”

“And...what refrained him from running to the body?”

“A well-timed cyclist. He ran into him, giving me the time I needed to exchange places with the corpse, and the rest was only ‘makeup’, I couldn’t be white as a sheet, there had to be blood because of how hard I fell. And, before you ask, what refrained him from feeling my pulse once he had reached me was simply a squash ball under the armpit.”

“You made it sound so…”

“Emotionless? Easy? You could say that.”

“I’d say it’s that. But the moment must have been...I don’t know, between you hearing John, and him feeling helpless upon seeing you.” I said. “Be glad I wasn’t there, because you know I wouldn’t have stayed, the plan would have failed because of me.”

“I know you would have listened, anyway. Don’t underestimate yourself, you’re smarter than you think you are, actually.”

“Compared to you, not really close.”

“If Sherlock Holmes himself tells you that you are smart, it’s not a joke, especially if I say it more than once.”

“Promise you’re not lying?”

“Always.” He promised.

“If you’re always going to be this nice, I might even give up on killing you.”

“Oh, please. Killing me. That’s so two years ago.” He stated, looking right at me as a small grin drew across his face.

“Careful, that can always stay an option. I said that I might, not that I will.”

“I’ll sleep with one eye from now on, then.”

“Then be it, I guess.” I defied, letting my eyes fall on the ground after a few seconds. “I missed having you around.” I admitted with a small voice.

“I’m sorry I made you sad, that wasn’t my intention. I swore that it’d never hurt anyone else other than me, and yet- look at us now.”

“We’re kind of broken, isn’t it?”

“You could say that.”

“Do you think we’ll ever fix it?” I asked, with teary eyes.

“Most likely. Even if that takes years.” He walked towards me, taking a breath before fixing his gaze on me. “I hope that’s the case, I don’t want to keep hurting you.” He confessed, gently taking my hand.

“And I hate not having you around.” I responded, getting up from my spot as I enlaced my arms around his waist, holding tight.

“I’ll do my best to not disappear again.” He spoke out, putting one arm across my back, while the other went on the back of my head, slowly, as if he wasn’t totally at ease with it. “This shows how much you count, I’d never do that usually.”

“I appreciate it, but don’t ruin the moment.”

“You’re even taking your behavior from mine, what’s next? My job?”

“Who knows? I’ve been doing a lot these last two years.”

“I’m sure you’re capable of becoming better than me in less time, and before you throw back the compliment, don’t. This is me...trying to be nice.” He explained, lightly tapping my head before we broke off.

“Thank you for...explaining. I’m glad you’re back.”

“Thank you for…not killing me?” He thanked me, slightly unsure.

“You’re welcome, Holmes.”

“Have you been doing well...lately? I figured we haven’t talked much about your feelings.”

“Oh, that.”

I wish he could be more precise, but he doesn't even know of the ‘other’ feelings, which are more of the love kind.

“...I don’t even know if there’s much, to be honest.” I admitted, looking at him. “I mainly wished it could have been me. A world without you seemed impossible, a great loss, almost unfixable. There was no one else like you, and I...even thought about dying, myself. I was in a really bad place. I even started to do as you weren’t dead, I’d go to your apartment and unconsciously wait for you to return, everyday.”

It seemed like the right thing to do at the time.

“And if you hadn’t come back for another two or three years, I would have believed it, fully- even if a part of me would think it wasn’t possible. Nothing can kill you, you’ve basically survived everything, and I do know you have moments of weakness like everyone, but you’ve always done your best to stay strong, no matter how difficult it was. And me...I’m not like that. I always have a hard time with some cases, and I always stand behind John and you so by the time you look at me, I’m good as new, as if I didn’t start to cry.” I detailed, fidgeting with my hands. “But...when you died, I didn’t cry, I kept all my feelings in a bottle, most of the time. I attempted to keep my head straight, for you, which was after a bit of time. I mostly wish it had been me...instead of you, and I’m aware of what I could have done, to make the pain go away.”

“I really caused a lot of damage, which seems pretty difficult to chug down for now, I lied about a big thing, and I can’t be sorry enough. I know that we can’t make life go back to normal, because nothing will erase this, or make it get forgotten- considered it’s all over the internet now.”

“You’re trending on Twitter?”

“Pretty much...seems like it- the press must have seen me. This will make things quite unpleasant, they’ll probably harass you guys as well, gosh.” He complained, running his hands through his hair.

“What’s ten more journalists? I’m used to it anyway. Besides, we’ve already got a lot of stuff in our hands, and will probably have more. Lestrade is gonna blow your phone again.”

“We do have a lot, including having a talk with him. There’s no way he’s getting away with that, you two are the best I have ever worked with.”

“I was going to say it’s quite rare from you but, I’ll just take the compliment.”

“I mean it, so it’s a good one.” He quietly chuckled. “Is our fight over...or?”

“I’d say so? I mean, there’s gonna be some ‘getting-used-to-you-again’ moments, of course, and some explainings, but I’d say we’re cool, yeah.”

“Then um...is it a good moment to announce that John and Mary are getting engaged? I didn’t want to announce it in the middle of a...death, well- fake death topic.”

“They are? When did they even-”

“Oh, at the visit I paid them. He was most likely about to do it, but then we talked, I said a ‘joke-y’ thing…”

“And he punched you.”

“Right.” He confirmed.

“Let me guess, you don’t have anyone to go to the wedding with?”

“Exactly.”

“And I guess that the person that’d fill the vacant spot to go with you...is me? “

“Correct? I mean, if you’d be okay with it.”

“Well I’ve never been to a wedding so...that’d be a great experience.” I admitted.

“As we say, ‘there’s a first for everything’. Plus, I can call Mary now.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“You see, she had to stay with John, to talk him out of killing me, and other stuff that bores me, and she asked me to talk to you, and ask if you wanted to be her wedding attendant...and you said yes.”

“Did you ask me just because Mary asked you to? I feel like there’s another reason for that.”

“Is this really necessary?” He complained.

“I’m asking so...yeah. I guess.” I assumed.

“Fine, I wanted to have you with me. The thought of being with a friend of hers for a whole day annoys me, and I don’t want to have to pretend to have a good time, only to disappoint her at the end of the day.” He sighed. “And yes, I do have a small amount of compassion for people, even if they are all infuriating to the root.”

“Work on it, because people tend to think you’re embarrassed, or have no interest in having a conversation with them.” I advised. “But...I’m glad you thought of me. I’ll be attending this event with you with immeasurable pleasure, Holmes.”

“You just saved the day, I appreciate it. Call me by my name, though. I know you use Holmes as a nickname, but you have the ‘close associate privilege’, use it.”

“Did you just invent this?”

“Probably. Probably not, who knows. Invent your own words, it’s not forbidden by the law, plus who is going to stop us? The queen? Pff, let her try to catch me.”

“Hm, fair enough.” I agreed. “Although, I don’t get why you dislike ‘Holmes’, I’ll attempt to use it less to please you then, Sherlock.”

“It's very kind of you, Detective.”

“Pff, you’re a child.”

“A grown child then, I’d even say I’m superior, whether I’m speaking of now or when I used to be like them.”

“They’re children, chill.”

“That is quite a complicated task to ask, I do not accept being inferior to a toddler.”

“Come on, it’s a child, don’t be so harsh.”

“Quite complicated, once again.”

“Is there anything that’s not complicated? Something?”

“You.”

“What do you mean...by ‘you’?”

“You know it, you’re nice to be with, easy to talk to, understand, I’ve never had issues when it comes to being with you.”

“Woah, that’s...surprising?”

“I do agree that I’m not that open with everyone, you’re simply part of the few people that I can talk more deeply with. The others just get their whole behavior analysed along with harsh critics, you guys are lucky...even if I used to do that when I met you.”

“I still remember it. You don’t take criticism from a renowned detective in a good way, usually.”

“It’s not really to be taken in a mean way, mainly to be honest so I don’t hurt any feelings later on.”

“People actually tend to see it in a mean way.” I confessed.

“Do they?” He questioned.

“Yes.”

“I wasn’t aware of it.”

“And you’re most likely going to erase that from your memory because you don’t like it.”

“Correct, again. I prefer to be honest, always.”

“I know you do. But you weren’t harsh enough to push us away, we’re still supporting you, years after. You’re gonna have to try harder than this.”

“Is this a challenge?”

“If you’d like to see it that way, it can be.” I offered.

“Then I accept it, dear Detective.”

Even if I would like to ask him to call him by my name as I don’t get to do that with ‘Holmes’, I do like when he calls me detective.

It does give me a special feeling, and I miss smiling at that.

“You do know it’s nearly impossible?”

“Oh, please. Did I ever step down because it was ‘impossible’? I’m not anyone.”

“I do know. It’s just that it’s not going to be easy, you tried doing it when we met, and I’m still here.”

“It was just a small joke, this one is more real.”

“Is it? You’ve been failing for years, are you going to make it now?”

“One-hundred percent sure.” He informed me.

“Well then, I wish you good luck on this task, Sherlock.” I wished.

“I appreciate the kind gesture, Detective.”

“So do I.” I answered. “Anyway...what now?”

“We can either go see John again, hoping he won’t punch me- or we can stay here and talk about anything, even come back on my fake death, you can play the role of a journalist- whatever, I guess.” He said, seeming either embarrassed, or out of ideas.

“I say we let him lose his temper, we’ll see tomorrow.”

“I’d hope you’d not choose to see him, thank god. That’s why I like working with you, you always make the right choices.”

“I told you I was special.”

“And years later, you’re still right.” He agreed. “Can you take some water though? I talked a lot, you see.”

“I knew it. It was so weird that you didn’t ask for something for me to do.” I complained, walking to the kitchen.

“Don’t be mad, you have to drink too.”

I quickly came out of the kitchen, letting my bust stick out. “Yeah but who’s getting the glasses? Not you.” I pointed out, getting back inside.

“Strangely I do not have anything to say. You beat me this time.”

“Told you I’m the best!” I yelled, grabbing the glasses as I exited the room. “Man, I get to tell everyone I beat you, isn’t that great?”

“It’s a pretty good thing to brag about. You can be proud.” He offered a smile, settling into a seat. “Come on, we still have a lot to catch up on.” He said, as I set down the glasses on the low table, sitting down. “So, what did I miss?”

I don’t even know if I ever said it today, but; it’s good to have you back home, Sherlock.

|Chapter Three|

#lexies sherlock #sherlock #sherlock holmes #sherlock holmes fic #sherlock holmes fanfiction #sherlock holmes x reader #sherlock fic #sherlock bbc #john watson #mycroft holmes #james moriarty

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sophroniaa · 4 years

Text

Perfectly Lovable

(just quickly wanted to say a huge thank you for the love on "Admiring", it honestly means the world to me. 🖤 & aaaalso, this might turn into a two parter if you like it?? idk)

Word count: 1,3k

Trigger warnings: Mentions of alcohol, being hungover

You wake up the next day, hungover to say the least, trying to deny the real reason as to why you got so drunk in the first place.

It had struck later in the afternoon and you were sitting in the backyard with Rook, enjoying the afternoon sun before it would set and the degrees would start dropping for the night. You had all been having a lazy day. A few of the guys even just starting to come back to life after last night's party. It hadn't been too long since you'd gotten out of bed yourself, feeling too hungover to move. Your thoughts wandered back to the night before, trying to remember what had happened past midnight… you came to the conclusion that the night could be rounded up very easily, as you'd been way too drunk since most of the night came up as a thick fog. The throbbing headache only proving your mental point further.

"It's been a while since I drank that much…" You mumbled to Rook, which only gained a snort in return. "Tell me about it." He chuckled as an answer to your statement, also thinking back to the events of the night before. "Have to say you took me by surprise when you challenged me to a tequila race." He said after a few seconds of silence, the images from the night before playing clearly in his mind.

The new information caused you to push your sunnies further down your nose to look at him, eyeing his facial expressions trying to see if he was fucking with you. You covered your face with your hands in slight embarrassment when you realized he wasn't. "No fucking wonder we feel like absolute shit today." You said shaking your head, no longer finding the aching body & foggy memories strange.

"Don't think I've ever seen you that drunk." He stated before taking another sip of his pedialyte. You leaned over and took the plastic bottle from him before taking a gulp of your own. A grimace quickly spreading across your face once the taste hit your tastebuds, holding out the bottle to read the flavor.

"Euw, you willingly drink the mixed fruit flavor?" You exclaimed, more than happy to give him the bottle back.

He burst out laughing at your reaction. "So you're able to down multiple shots of tequila with a straight face but pedialyte gets you?" He teased, smirking so big that his eyes squinted a little.

"Shut up asshat…" You mumbled before offering him a playful smile.

"You seen Kells today?" You asked instead, not sure if you dare hear anything else about your drunken state from the night before. You leaned your head back, letting the sunshine rest on your tired face.

Rook only shook his head in response. You could see from the corner of your eye that he sneaked a peek at you trying to read your feelings. "So…" He started to say before falling quiet, like he was debating whether or not to bring it up. "We gonna talk about why you got so fucked up last night?"

You leaned your head back again to enjoy the warmth of the sun whilst hiding away behind your dark sunglasses. "I'm good, Rookie." You said flatly, knowing exactly what he was trying to get at. "Not like I haven't seen him with other girls before."

Not like you hadn't seen him with other girls before wishing it was you in their place.

"I'm just saying… Even an idiot would connect the dots, he brings over his "new girl" & you, who normally don't drink much, gets absolutely trashed."

"That's not why!" You protested.

"Oh yeah, then why did you get so drunk?" He was quick to ask. "Enlighten me." His voice letting you know just how much he believed you, which would be about approximately zero procent. Deep inside, you knew you were crushing so incredibly hard on Colson. It was just easier pretending like you didn't. The palms of your hands would start to sweat just by the simple thought of actually telling him. You could only imagine standing right before him trying to explain the situation, to you that sounds like nothing but a bulletproof plan for a break down.

This caused you to sit in silence for a while, trying to come up with something smart to say… Reaching for anything, really. So far you'd been doing a horrible job at trying to convince him. To be fair, you were probably the one needing the convincing. However it fooled neither of you, no matter how hard you tried to deny stuff. When you came up shorthanded you sighed loudly, signaling that he'd won this time around as well.

Fuck models, switch condoms. You felt your heart thug a little, thinking about the constant variation of girls in his life. As of right now he was seeing a brunette model that you honestly couldn't remember the name of, not too long before that it had been a blonde.

You hated it.

How they would stride into his life chasing that bad boy fantasy, wanting a taste of the exciting celebrity world, being MGK's center of attention for a short while.

Something you hated even more was how they knew exactly what they got themselves into, only to become disappointed when he immediately didn't change his ways and grant their wishes by becoming a whole other person for them.

"You've got that look on your face again." Rook pointed out only to sigh dramatically when he realized you'd slipped deep in thought about Colson, again.

"Sorry, what?" You sat up, straightening out in your seat, coming back to reality after he had nudged your leg with his.

"I said, you've got that look on your face again." Rook repeated. You looked at him dumbfounded.

"You get a bothered look on ya face when you think of the constant switching of girls." Rook explained in a matter of factly tone. Trying to even out your furrowed forehead with his thumb to further prove his point. You were quick to shake your head.

"It's not that… " You said while hating how well he could read you, always knowing exactly what's on your mind. Part of you knew there really was no point in denying it, he could read you like a book at this point. In a desperate attempt at keeping your mouth shut you started to chew on the insides of your cheek, but unfortunately it didn't take long before you spoke again.

"I just hate how they exactly know what they're getting themselves into and yet still have the nerves to act disappointed, demanding this and that, ultimatums left and right… " You mumbled, picking at your nails. "Leaving him to blame it all on himself thinking he's a complicated man to love."

When in reality it was the complete opposite, perfectly lovable the way he is. He was in no way complicated if you saw him for who he was instead of trying to change him into what you thought best fit. Understanding how the things he had been through shaped him into his whole existence. He still had his struggles, but who doesn't? He put on a tough act a lot of the time, acting like nothing could get to him, sometimes even talking a big game, sure thing, but underneath all that was a mushy lil' Colson. A side to him he wouldn't show to just anyone, you had to connect with him. Vibe with him. Almost like he needed to make sure your intentions were good before he could let his walls down a little. He wasn't just an angry guy, shouting into the microphone at an impressive pace. There was so much more to him than the established MGK image.

Never had you met a more genuine or kind-hearted guy, so naturally your heart ached when you oh so clearly could see people taking advantage of that.

Bitches, news flash, this ain't build-a-man factory.

"Dude, just fucking tell him already!" Rook exclaimed, clearly becoming impatient with how you acted like you only saw him as a good friend. "You the type of girl he should be with. These toxic models ain't doing him no good."

"Someone to date him for who he really is, shows him patience and acceptance. Understands his issues and encourage him to get better." He saw the hint of uncertainty spreading across your face as he talked. "Stop that, I honestly think that equals you." He said, putting his palm on the left side of his chest. "You just need a little encouragement to get over your nerves." He teased.

You couldn't help but smile at Rook's encouraging words, loving how he always rooted for you no matter what. You reached your arms out to embrace him in a big hug, a way of showing your appreciation towards him. "Everyone needs a Rook in their life." You mumbled into his chest.

#mgk x reader #mgk imagine #mgk #Rook #Rookxx #machinegunkelly imagine #machinegunkelly #machine gun kelly #colson baker #colsonbaker

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mycatshuman · 4 years

Text

A Risky Mystery

This is heavily based on an ask on @the-officially-kat 's blog about how prinxiety got together in their Scooby-Doo au. You can find that ask here

Art by @the-officially-kat

Colored by me

Masterlist | More

Warnings: There is a moment when the others think Thomas and Virgil have gotten seriously hurt, so look out for that. Let me know if I missed any.

Thank you to @icequeenoriginal for reading through this for me!

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

A lone van drove along the twisted road into the town of Letchworth. The people of the town watched the van through their curtains as it passed by while on it's way to the town's only hotel, Brooks Inn. The town was on fear induced lockdown during the night. But the people in the van couldn't possibly know that.

The people in the van were actually kind of professional sleuths. They had handled countless different mysteries before. Each one ranging from predictable to bizarre with various different monsters as the cause of each one. Of course, the townspeople couldn't possibly know that. So they watched with fear-filled eyes as the van pulled into the Inn's parking lot.

Out of the van came a small odd little group consisting of two glasses-wearing figures, a princely looking fellow, a fellow with dark eyeshadows under his eyes, and a dog. Together, they walked inside the Inn and the townspeople lost sight of them.

-------

An older woman sat at the front desk to the Brooks Inn. The inn was empty, not a guest laid in her rooms. It was to be expected, the recent events have scared away any previous guest and most others left after one night. The old woman, whose name was Agatha, sighed. She wasn't sure why she didn't just close the inn. After all, it was late and recent circumstances provided a bit of a risk in staying open at night. Just as she decided to close the inn, a small group walked in. She quickly put on a small, reserved smile and greeted them. "Hello, welcome to Brooks Inn."

The one in darker blues and glasses stepped forward. "Yes, hello. We would like two rooms for the night please."

The woman nodded. "That will be $75," she said as she moved to grab two keys for each room. She placed the keys on the counter and took the money the man in front of her had placed down. "Can I have a name for the records?"

One of the others spoke up, "Virgil Rogers."

The woman frowned a little before filling out the information on the computer. "Alright," she said. Let me take you to your rooms. She led the group up the stairs and then to their rooms. "Here we are." She handed the keys over. "Rooms 2B and 3B."

"Thank you!" One of the group called. He had glasses and lighter colored clothes.

The one from earlier, Virgil, spoke up as he glanced around suspiciously. "This town seems awfully empty."

The woman bit her lip. "Oh, that." The group became alert and they all turned their attention to her. "Um, recently, we've been having some trouble in town."

"What kind of trouble?" The last human of the group asked. His look seemed to consist of colors one would associate with a prince.

"Well.." The woman hesitated. She didn't want to sound crazy but she decided to just tell the group, it wouldn't be right to keep it from them, they were at risk too, even if they didn't know it. "A phantom has been terrorizing the town recently. They scared off my last paying guest."

The bubbly one's eyes lit up as Virgil groaned. "Well gang, it looks like we've got a mystery to solve!" The woman's eyes widened in surprise. The first one of the group, the one wearing the ascot, spoke up. "We are sleuths. We've solved a few mysteries before. This one will be a breeze. And I assure you, there is most definitely a logical explanation for this."

The woman nodded slowly, not quite believing them. "Well, enjoy your stay," she responded before turning and leaving to go shut down the Inn.

The group watched her go before turning to each other. "Alright, we'll see you tomorrow. Sleep well!" The bubbly one exclaimed and took one of the rooms with the other glasses-wearing figure following him after giving his own good night.

The other two and the dog turned to their own room and closed the door.

--------

The next morning, the gang gathered in the inns dining room to discuss their next move to begin their investigation. "Alright, let's start by looking around for any clues and if we find anyone willing to be interviewed, we'll interview them," Logan explained.

"Sounds like a plan," Patton agreed.

"We're not going to split up, right?" Virgil asked as he scratched behind Thomas's ear.

"Not, yet," Logan answered and pulled a journal out of his bag. "I've written down a few questions and things we should look out for while we're investigating."

Roman rolled his eyes. "Come on, Logan we've been through this a million times. We know what to look out for and what kind of questions to ask. Let's just get going already."

"Be nice," Patton chided.

The group got up and left the Inn and began walking around town. They found it a little weird that the town now seemed so lively. When they had arrived last night, it was still fairly early, far too early for everyone in town to be all locked up in their homes. After walking for a fair amount of time, the gang noticed a few people walking around as if they were on eggshells. Virgil bit his lip before jerking his head at one of them. "Maybe we should ask one of them."

"Alright." Logan walked over to ask if they could interview them while the rest of the gang waited. Soon Logan waved them over. The gang approached as the person before they inspected them carefully. "You said you saw the Phantom," Logan started. "Would you mind telling us about that?"

The person bit their lip and glanced around. "Well," they started. "I was just taking my evening walk. When I started to hear this loud wailing." The person before them shivered. "It was really unsettling, so I turned to go home only to run into the Phantom. It looked like they had stepped straight out of a scary movie. They had pale bluish-grey, ghastly skin and it terrified me." The person sighed. "Ever since then, the Phantom has walked around every night. And two nights ago, they nearly pushed someone off the roof of the library."

The gang shared a glance, they had never dealt with a mystery like this. Sure there were some terrifying monsters they had to deal with but none of them ever put people’s lives at risk. "Did the Phantom say anything to you?" Patton asked.

They nodded. "Yeah, they told me to leave and never return before I regretted it."

Roman's nose wrinkled. "That's interesting. Is there anything else you can tell us about the Phantom?"

The person shook their head. "Nope, I'm sorry."

"That's okay, thank you for your help," Patton said and the gang walked away.

"Do you guys think whatever this phantom wants is something that involves getting all of the people in town to leave?" Roman asked.

Virgil shrugged. "I mean, it seems like it, but why?"

"Let's head back to the Inn for lunch and then I'll do some research on the town and see what I can dig up."

"Sounds like a plan," Virgil said as he ruffled Thomas's head. The gang head back to the Inn. Patton ordered a pizza while Logan went to get his tablet. Roman, Virgil, and Thomas wandered into the dining room to wait for their friends. Soon they were joined by Logan who immediately began working on pulling up the town records, recent articles, the most recent town map, and an older town map. By the time Patton came in with the pizza, Logan had about three different theories about why the town was being haunted and a few different suspects.

"So, what have you discovered, Logan?" Patton asked as the group ate.

"Well," Logan began. "I have found that recently, a wealthy business owner had offered to buy the whole town. But they refused. So he offered to buy single bits of land at a time."

"I thought it might be something like that," Roman piped up.

Logan nodded. "Yeah, I think our most likely suspect is Carl Livingking. He's the business owner. Although why he would want to buy up the town, I haven't a clue."

Virgil bit his lip, "I have to agree, that seems like the most likely situation. But why would he go to the lengths of risking people's lives to get the town? I mean, it seems like he's trying to scare people off, and you can do that without putting people's lives at risk so why is he doing it?"

Logan shrugged. "That's what I can't seem to find anything on. The land isn't even that good. But something tells me that we're missing out on an important clue."

"Hey, L," Virgil started. "Can I borrow your tablet for a minute?"

"Sure."

Virgil quickly opened a new tab and did a quick google search. Soon he found something that looked promising. "Maybe you can't find anything, because this town is fairly new." He spun the tablet around to face the rest of the table. Thomas hopped up on a chair to get a closer look. "It says here that apparently, the land that this town sits on is part of a larger area that is said to be the hiding grounds of the legendary Sanderson Gang."

"Oh, I've read about them!" Logan exclaimed. "They were train robbers. They stole over two million dollars worth of coins and precious stones. But they were never caught. No one knows where the loot went. Rumors spread that it was somewhere in this area but most people thought the gang had fled the country with their treasures and settled down on a remote island somewhere in the Pacific. Eventually, the rumors died down and some people settled down here and started a town. Since then, the Sanderson Gang faded into legend and most people forgot they were real people."

"So Mr. Livingking must be trying to find the treasure," Patton exclaimed.

"And what better way than to buy up all the land, evict the town and start a massive expedition."

"He could keep people out and avoid anyone trying to steal the loot."

Logan nodded. "Yes. It seems so, he isn't doing a good job of covering his tracks. He was actually able to buy a nearby abandoned factory."

The gang went silent as they looked between each other. "Should we set up a trap?"

Roman asked.

Logan bit his lip. "It would be wise. During my research, I found that the Phantom has put two people in the hospital with near-death experiences. Even if it's not him, the Phantom is clearing trying to scare people out of the town so they should still turn up if we are out at night."

"Yeah, I'd rather have a trap for the most likely culprit already then not have one and risk someone else getting hurt," Patton agreed.

"Alright, so what's the plan?" Virgil asked as Thomas hopped up on the chair beside him.

Logan quickly opened the drawing app on his tablet and began to sketch out a plan.

"Okay, Patton, Roman and I will set up a trap in the town square-"

"Oh don't tell me," Virgil started. "Thomas and I are gonna be the bait."

"Well, you two are the faster runners out of all of us," Logan explained. "It's only logical." Virgil and Thomas pouted. Logan rolled his eyes.

"Would you do it for a Thomas Treat?" Patton asked Thomas. The dog's ears perked up a bit but he stayed still.

Roman poked Virgil with his foot. "Do it or you're straight."

Virgil sputtered. "Don't threaten me!"

Roman snorted. "Then do it."

Logan rolled his eyes at the two childhood friends. As Patton finally convinced Thomas. And it only took ten Thomas Treats. "Okay, I need you two to go on a walk around town. Virgil, I need you to talk out loud about buying the whole town with Thomas. It'll be like you surveying what you're going to buy while taking your dog for a walk." Virgil cringed, not likely the idea of acting like one of those rich people. "I want you to eventually end up at the abandoned factory and if you happen across the Phantom, lure him back to the square. Okay?"

Virgil groaned. "Yeah, I guess."

"Great," Logan said and the gang continued to flush out their plan. In the end, they came up with an elaborate trap, one of the few things Logan allowed himself to be elaborate in, that included the entire town square. They were to block off all other entrances into the square except for the one leading to the factory. Virgil and Thomas would lead the Phantom into the square where they jump on a trampoline in front of the town hall and jump up onto the balcony and when the Phantom tried to jump on it, Logan would click a button to release the mechanism which would cause the trampoline to be pulled along a track and drive him right into a giant ball out in front of an apartment building where Patton and Roman would drop a large net over from the top of the building. The plan was flawless.

-------

Virgil and Thomas walked through the old factory apprehensively. "I don't know about you, Thomas, but this place is really too scary." Thomas nodded his head in agreement as they walked. "Like, I think there's no one here, so let's go." Just as Virgil and Thomas turned to go, a loud wailing sounded throughout the factory, bouncing off old machinery and creating a terrifying echo.

"Get out!!!!!" Virgil and Thomas froze. The wailing got louder until the Phantom stood right in front of them. "GET OUT!!!" It screeched.

"Don't worry, we are!" Virgil shouted and he turned tail and ran with Thomas running along beside him. The Phantom chased after them with a terrible that grated at their ears. They raced through town but ended up getting turned around. Eventually they scaled up a fire escape and ended up on the roof of Town Hall. They skidded to a stop as they got to the edge. They gulped as they looked down at the trampoline below them, a jump from this height would still be risky. But soon the Phantom was behind them. And before anyone could blink, Thomas and Virgil jumped.

--------

Roman groaned as he waited. "Where are they?" He asked Patton. The other shrugged. Just then, as he glanced around the square, he noticed Thomas and Virgil on the opposite roof with the Phantom close behind. Roman's eyes widened in fear. Before he could say anything, the two jumped off. "Virgil!!" Roman screamed.

It all happened in a blur. The Phantom jumped off too and bounced right back into the air after landing on the trampoline. They flew in an arch and landed into the ball pit. Roman and Patton dropped the blanket in shock and raced off the building quickly as they could. Meanwhile, Logan raced over to the ball pit with the police. The Phantom was indeed trapped. "Just hold on," Logan told them before meeting up with Roman and Patton. "What exactly happened?"

Tears streamed down Roman's face as he answered. "They jumped off the roof!"

"What?!?!!?" Logan exclaimed. "Where are they????" Roman went to answer only for a shout to draw their attention.

The gang turned to find Thomas and Virgil stumbling out of the doors of town hall. The world around Roman stopped. The noises and flashing lights of the police cars fading into the background. Images flashed through Roman's mind. They have been best friends since birth. This was the boy who dyed his hair neon green on a date, the boy who ran to his house to show him his new dog, the boy who continuously jumped into terrifying situations willingly for his friends despite his fear. And suddenly the realization that he was so irreversibly and incredibly in love with.

Roman marched as fast as he could to Virgil without running. His hands cupped Virgil's face as soon as he reached him. He slowly leaned in and kissed the other softly. Virgil returned the kiss without hesitation. It was so much better than either could have imagined.

Thomas howled approvingly as Patton and Logan clapped. Eventually the two pulled away. "How did you-"

"I found some rope and tied it around my waist and a hook on the roof before I jumped and we swung down into the open window."

"I was so worried."

"I'm okay. I'm okay."

"I think we should just hurry up and wrap this mystery up and get out of here," Patton said.

"Agreed," Roman and Virgil said in sync. The gang moved over to where the police handcuffed the Phantom. Roman clung to Virgil, which made it a little difficult for them to move, but they managed.

Logan walked over and grabbed the mask. "This is none other than Carl Livingking!" He exclaimed.

"What?" The sheriff asked.

"Carl had learned about the legend of the Sanderson Gang's loot and decided to look for it. So he offered to buy up the town. But when he was refused he decided to try and scare everyone out so he could begin looking for the treasure."

Carl huffed. "Yeah, and I would have gotten away with it too if it weren't for you meddling kids and your dog."

----------

Roman sighed as he laid in the back with Virgil, clinging to him like a kola. "I'm sorry again, Thomas." Thomas turned his head back to face them from his spot in the front seat as if to say it was okay. Roman smiled and nudged his face into Virgil's chest. Virgil pulled him closer and they slowly fell asleep. Content being in each other's arms.

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

Taglist: @spxced-oxt @superwholocked-for-life @mirror2thespirit @aroundofapplesauce @lyditist @little-euro-girl @unicornofdarknessstuff @maryann-draws @odette-ssbu

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ms-loki-loves-nikki · 6 years

Note

(Lane from your association! Hi! It was hard to talk over SC and I really want to have a convo with /someone/ about this. If you'd rather not, ignore this!) Out of curiosity, do you think there's no merit to the boycott at all? I don't agree with any of the methods being used, but the idea of not spending money on things during the event isn't too bad an idea in my head. My issue isn't anyone getting the suit (I haven't wanted any ranking suits so far) but the people who might be spending (/p1)

Okay so first of all thank you so much for being so polite and civil because I’ve gotten some.. less than savoury asks about the subject lol And I’m all for discussing this!

So guys, if you read this, please keep things civil or I will delete this post. A lot of us are adults here, let’s act like them.

Below a read more because of length

BOYCOTT MERIT:

To answer your first question, I actually DO think there is SOME merit to the boycott. It’s not rude or violent or abusive and it’s an organized stand for something you believe in.

To a point.

I guess I could say if someone is boycotting because they genuinely believe the events to be harmful or such (as you seem to) there is merit to it. However, on various medias (Reddit, Tumblr, Facebook, etc) I’ve seen a lot of people who... don’t seem to actually care about that. I’ve seen a lot of jealousy towards the people who could potentially afford the exclusive suit, and they grab on to the legitimate arguments as a way to justify their jealousy.

I’ve been actually discussing thing with another member of our association who wishes to remain anonymous, but they brought up the point that many of these protesters are showing no concern for those who DO have spending or money problems, and are only arguing for themselves or things that apply to THEM.

As I’ve stated before, I strongly DO NOT believe that “I can’t get it so nobody should” is a valid argument.

I don’t care if 2 people on the server get it, it just.. isn’t. Fair? No, definitely, but I mean... prizes like this are not uncommon, in mobile games OR real life! We can’t have everything, and in the world we live in “exclusive” items are desirable. Is that right or fair? ..No, not really.

But I don’t see protest against any of those things. Nobody brings them up when they’re arguing against these events. No examples.Just Ranking Events.

OVER-SPENDING

As for the spending, here’s some direct quotes from my friend that puts it, I think, perfectly:

““People spend hundreds of dollars and might not get the full suit!!” Then treat it and think of it as a $4,500 recharge suit (which is very unreasonable) so that it will deter any urge for spending. You don’t have to get the suit if you don’t want it and if you don’t agree with it’s price point. But if you do want it, I’m sorry but there’s plenty of other nice and pretty suits in the game aside from the ranked one. ”

“In the game there are plenty of ways for people to go overboard with spending all the events, all the recharge suits, packs, temptation from the pavilions, the way to obtain the Crystal Rose dress and yet those things have caused people to spend more than what they should, but some how people have not protested those things as intensely as this. With those things listed there’s even the issue that people don’t realize that they are spending so much either. It can be predatory for those with poor impulse, addiction, gambling issues. If you are one of these people or you know someone who is, seek professional help! But even so, the people who have those issues had them even before the ranking event. Yet somehow this issue wasn’t as hugely and thoroughly brought to attention as it is now ”

So if you have poor impulse control, there are ways to help protect yourself. And this is coming from someone who HAS AN IMPULSE SPENDING PROBLEM:

Don’t save any of your payment info on your phone, if you have to input it separately each time it gives you more time to think about what you’re doing.

Talk to someone you care about and trust before buying anything. Someone who will talk it through with you. The cost, the reward, the longevity, your financial situation. It’ll help you figure out if you REALLY want it, or they can help talk you out of it if that’s what you need. Again, this delay can also ride out the impulse to buy.

Use gift cards exclusively. You have to go out of your way to get them and again, they take longer to get and it can ride out the impulse. You can also physically see what you’re spending when a giant “$50″ is staring you at the face when you look at the card, or if you look down and you have a hand full of thin plastic nothing.

If you still have a spending problem you probably shouldn’t be playing a game with microtransactions OR you should find a way to disable your ability to purchase them entirely. I say that in genuine concern, it’s the same as a gambling problem. Take care of yourselves, please.

OTHER

I don’t believe that just because most people can’t get the suit they have the right to take it away from EVERYONE.

First of all people need to stop saying “just 300 people” no, that’s with the background, and it’s even MORE people if you don’t count the POSED version.

In the end there will be a few thousand people with the full suit (counting the unposed version) and a few thousand more with pieces from the suit.

But it becomes 0 when the suit is taken away forever.

Also I’d like to add that there are several hundred suits in the game, as I’ve learned from ripping them.

5 are ranking.

On top of that, another great point my friend and I discussed:

ALMOST NOBODY IS TALKING ABOUT HOW TO MAKE RANKING EVENTS MORE FAIR, OR HOW TO OBTAIN THE SUIT BY OTHER MEANS.

Some are, most aren’t. Almost everyone jumped IMMEDIATELY to “remove the events from the game completely” and, ya gotta try and understand, it leaves a really bad taste in the mouths of a lot of people who aren’t for that. It just makes it sound more like jealousy and less like arguing for a valid reason EVEN IF THEY ARE arguing for a valid reason.

We should be telling the devs to bring the events back annually, or increase the tier sizes, etc. before we call for a hard stop.

Also, just a general thing, and not applied to you, some people (mainly seen on Reddit) have been expressing guilt over spending money on Cosmos Tide (several people seem to have gotten that pack today/yesterday) or on wanting to buy Alice Spacetime/the St. Patrick’s Day suit. That.. that’s just not cool, guys, c’mon.

TL;DR

I see more arguments against Ranking Events born out of jealousy and anger than out of genuine concern for the game and/or the financial situation of others, even if those are the arguments they are using, and it makes the whole “cause” seem tainted. The unwillingness to compromise and hate messages to devs also are not helping. I do not agree with taking beautiful illustrations that artists spent a lot of time on out of the game completely just because they are exclusive/expensive.

However, I see and understand your point of view and do believe there is merit to it.

Everyone please calm down.

#ranking event discourse #Anonymous

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kiribakus · 7 years

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hi! so i've been debating on who to message since yknow not wanting to be a bother BUT i noticed that you and hina retweet a lot of enstarts and i was wondering where did you find all the information since i thought it was neat? like how do you guys know so much about it i've been searching since thursday and haven't been able to find anything :o oh wow this got really long; sorry about that i hope you have a nice day!

oh!! yes, absolutely, you’re not a bother at all!

well, enstars is mobile game based so TECHNICALLY all the content comes from the game. HOWEVER, it’s all in japanese (no eng version yet) and the game is...a pain, to put it frankly.

hina and i have gotten into enstars almost solely from the translations of events on the enstars wiki. they have a main story, scout stories, and event stories. i would highly, HIGHLY recommend starting with event stories rather than trying to blast through main story...i was bored to tears trying main story. you might want to read up on the setting and who MC (anzu) is before diving in, but yeah, it was the event stories that got me into it.

if you want a recommendation specifically, hina and i read together ‘marionette’ and ‘milky way’ that are the valkyrie-centric stories because, uh, we love shumika. we haven’t actually read more, but we’re planning on moving through event stories of groups we like before tackling the main story.

however, this may be shit advice bc to be fair, hina had my back giving me info on the world of enstars and the personalities of characters since she’s already read through stuff. good luck! it’s tough to get into but...really worth it imo!

#meowwow01

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kuriboo · 5 years

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Hey I haven't really cared about Hunter x Hunter for a few years now but I just saw your Leorio for President post and like. What???? The fuck??????????

i don’t think i’m super far into this arc. i’ve never read the manga or watched the other anime, my brother and i are watching the dub on toonami as it airs (we dvr and watch a fair amount of toonami) (he has read a good portion of hunterxhunter though, and knows some things that are coming that i haven’t seen yet. he hasn’t really spoiled me on anything.) so because of that there might be more to this whole leorio for president thing that i haven’t gotten to yet. so this might be an incomplete explanation. but i’ll do my best. i’m not sure what you haven’t or have seen but i’ll try to be thorough on the relevant facts

probably some of your confusion on that is sometimes when i’m talking about the plot for a show or a game i get kinda shitposty about it and refer to certain things as something else. like. i called killua’s one sibling shenron from dragon ball z, but that character isn’t actually shenron from dragon ball z. which is fun for me. but for people who read/hear me talk like this and don’t have the full context of what’s going on, that can be confusing, i’m sure. i apologize.

so way back in hunterxhunter, like, gon’s whole thing is he wants to meet his dad. that’s why he becomes a hunter. and along the way meets good friends kurapika and leorio and killua. that’s the cast of main characters i meant whenever i refer to “our group of main characters”. kurapika and leorio are kinda in and out. kurapika’s busy trying to get revenge for his clan’s death or something like that, and he’s still a main character but disappears for long periods of time (which, he’s not really around in the “leorio for president” arc or the arc before, the chimera ant arc). leorio’s studying to be a doctor so he’s kinda in and out too but i think has been showing up more often than kurapika. killua’s like “i only came here to make a friend and i made a friend so i’ll just hang out with gon” and gon wants to find his dad so killua has been hanging out with gon and helping gon find his dad. the states of these characters in the leorio for president post is: leorio’s sticking kinda around gon (which i’ll get into more detail about in a bit), kurapika’s probably doing something, and killua went home and is on his way back from being home to help gon with something (which will get some more detail).

gon and killua ended up playing this game called greed island because it would maybe help them find gon’s dad, ging. they won the game or whatever and got a way to meet gon’s dad in the form of a transportation spell that would send them to wherever ging is now (which is a mechanic of that game they were allowed to take outside the game). but because ging is an asshole who apparently doesn’t want anything to do with his son, he made it so the spell would instead them to this guy named kite, who ging knew awhile ago. and gon and killua ended up hanging out with kite for awhile which got them involved with the chimera ants.

the chimera ants arc is this big whole long thing but i’ll try to just stick to stuff strictly relevant to leorio for president. neither kurapika nor leorio really do anything here either. but. the chimera ants were these super dangerous bugs that got really powerful, ate people, and wanted to kill a bunch of people, which was like, super bad. gon and killua got involved through this whole thing through kite, who was researching the ants when they met him. the whole ant thing gets so dangerous and crazy though that more powerful hunters and people in general get sent down to deal with them. this includes the chairman of the hunter organization. if you’ve seen anything of the chairman from when the gang was taking the hunter examination thing, it’s the same guy. really old super powerful guy. as part of the effort to stop the chimera ants, the chairman nuked the chimera ants’ leader. literally nuked. but the chairman had had the nuke implanted inside of him so he could set it off so this killed the chairman, too. the chairman of the hunter organization is dead, so we need a new chairman! so it’s time for an election! that’s what the chairman wanted to decide the new chairman, which he let everyone know in a video he made for if he died.

at the same time, gon, killua, and kite were also fighting the chimera ants so. there’s a point where the three of them were fighting them but kite let himself get captured to save the other two. the chimera ants then killed him and turned him into some kind of puppet thing to fight people. once they stopped using him as a puppet he was dead. i’m not really sure how kite got turned into a small child? i don’t think anyone in the show knows how that happened at this point. but gon was super pissed about this because of what they did to kite, and how they were only able to capture kite and do that because kite was protecting him. so gon was like, yeah, the chimera ant who specifically grabbed kite and did this? i’m gonna kill ‘em. that ant was one of the really powerful ones. so gon ended up doing something that made him extremely powerful, something strong enough to make him able to defeat that ant, but at the extent of i believe his own lifespan? or maybe just his life in general? but either way doing that super destroyed him. gon’s been liking barely clinging onto life in a hospital since, super unconscious, and no one’s been able to do anything yet. killua’s sibling alluka has the ability to grant wishes, with a large set of rules and consequences involved. so killua wants alluka to use that wish power to help gon get back to normal. but because of the consequences + rules involved, killua’s older brother is pretty sure that that a lot of people are going to die, including killua, himself (killua’s older brother), and hisoka (because hisoka is friends with killua’s older brother, kinda). so there’s a lot of stuff going on with killua trying to get alluka to the hospital to help save gon but other people being like, nope! so that’s the gon situation that i kinda referenced a couple of times.

back to the election, though.

the chairman of the hunter organization is dead, so they need a new one. so it’s time for an election, because that’s what the chairman wanted. there’s a group of people in the organization called the zodiacs who are pretty high up and are helping to run the whole thing. gon’s dad, ging, is one of the zodiacs. he’s kinda helping the whole thing. some of them are candidates to be the next chairman, some of them not really. but as far as the election goes. every hunter can vote, and every hunter can be considered. you can vote for anyone. but for the results to be counted, a certain percentage of hunters need to vote. once that percentage is reached, the winner of the election needs to have a certain percentage of the votes. if not enough people vote, the whole vote is redone. if the winner doesn’t get enough votes, the votes are redone, but now you can only vote for the top however many people that got votes from the previous election. so you get a lot of people who are voting for some really popular powerful well-known hunters. and then there’s a few characters like gon getting a couple of votes for some reason. two people voted for hisoka once.

ging is apparently universally a piece of shit. not just like not spending time with his own son even when his son might be dying. no one likes ging. leorio, after the chimera ant arc, is back because gon’s in the hospital! holy fuck!! and he’s really pissed! and trying to figure out what happened and what’s going on. he’s stressed. which is understandable. since ging, gon’s actual dad, has nothing to do with him, leorio and kurapika might as well be gon’s dads at this point. leorio cares a lot and just wants gon to be okay and also know what the fuck happened and why certain people aren’t here at the hospital when gon is not well. so he figures out ging is going to be at this public event and bitches him out and punches him and everyone loves it. because ging refuses to go see gon even when leorio confronts him about it. and everyone hates ging.

this happened after a few votes where not enough people voted for the results to count. the next vote after this happened, enough people voted. implying that leorio’s brutal takedown of ging inspired a lot more people to vote. the person with the most votes didn’t get enough of a majority to win, so now people can only vote for the top 16 people. ging just barely squeezed himself in there but i’m pretty sure he also doesn’t care about winning or not winning, so that’s whatever. gon just barely got less points than his dad but i’m still losing my mind that people are voting for gon at all. he’s in the hospital. he’s unconscious. but the thing is, leorio got the third most votes in the election for chairman of the hunter organization. leorio i don’t think really got any votes before that. he’s super unknown. he’s only there because of gon. so people hate ging so much and were so glad to see leorio just brutally take ging down, that they voted for leorio. leorio got in 3rd place, which is in the top 16, which means he’s still in the running to become the chairman for the next vote that takes place. he’s a lot more popular than ging and is currently more popular than a lot of hunters who have been around, doing things, for quite awhile. leorio’s been a hunter for like....a year or so maybe in the show now? he’s not trying to run any kind of campaign. he’s just trying to become a doctor and be there for his friend in the hospital and do what he can to help. leorio probably doesn’t even want to be the next chairman. but he’s gotten a lot of votes and support for it, it seems. killua watched the video of leorio punching ging on loop and sat in his car like “holy shit this is incredible”. killua still hasn’t voted in any of these votes he’s very busy right now.

but anyway, yeah. leorio might become the next chairman of the hunter organization and i far one am all for it.

#the whole thing with killua and alluka is sort of getting more focus than the political election stuff #but i'm living for the politics that are happening in this it's so funny #long post 235 #tater.txt #anon #inbox

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