Psycho-Pass Providence Review (with Major Spoilers!!! Don’t Read If You Don’t Want Spoilers!!)

I found a company called “Frantic Meerkat” who makes journals whose sole purpose is to call me out

Case 3: Kogami and the parenting adventures of taking care of a teen who’s very much as reckless as himself

Stars Make Firework Supplies!

The next time you see fireworks, take a moment to celebrate the cosmic pyrotechnics that made them possible. From the oxygen and potassium that help fireworks burn to the aluminum that makes sparklers sparkle, most of the elements in the universe wouldn’t be here without stars.

From the time the universe was only a few minutes old until it was about 400 million years old, the cosmos was made of just hydrogen, helium and a teensy bit of lithium. It took some stellar activity to produce the rest of the elements!

Stars are element factories

Even after more than 13 billion years, the hydrogen and helium that formed soon after the big bang still make up over 90 percent of the atoms in the cosmos. Most of the other elements come from stars.

Stars began popping into the universe about 400 million years after the big bang. That sounds like a long time, but it’s only about 3% of the universe’s current age!

Our Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will study the universe’s early days to help us learn more about how we went from a hot, soupy sea of atoms to the bigger cosmic structures we see today. We know hydrogen and helium atoms gravitated together to form stars, where atoms could fuse together to make new elements, but we're not sure when it began happening. Roman will help us find out.

The central parts of atoms, called nuclei, are super antisocial – it takes a lot of heat and pressure to force them close together. Strong gravity in the fiery cores of the first stars provided just the right conditions for hydrogen and helium atoms to combine to form more elements and generate energy. The same process continues today in stars like our Sun and provides some special firework supplies.

Carbon makes fireworks explode, helps launch them into the sky, and is even an ingredient in the “black snakes” that seem to grow out of tiny pellets. Fireworks glow pink with help from the element lithium. Both of these elements are created by average, Sun-like stars as they cycle from normal stars to red giants to white dwarfs.

Eventually stars release their elements into the cosmos, where they can be recycled into later generations of stars and planets. Sometimes they encounter cosmic rays, which are nuclei that have been boosted to high speed by the most energetic events in the universe. When cosmic rays collide with atoms, the impact can break them apart, forming simpler elements. That’s how we get boron, which can make fireworks green, and beryllium, which can make them silver or white!

Since massive stars have even stronger gravity in their cores, they can fuse more elements – all the way up to iron. (The process stops there because instead of producing energy, fusing iron is so hard to do that it uses up energy.)

That means the sodium that makes fireworks yellow, the aluminum that produces silver sparks (like in sparklers), and even the oxygen that helps fireworks ignite were all first made in stars, too! A lot of these more complex elements that we take for granted are actually pretty rare throughout the cosmos, adding up to less than 10 percent of the atoms in the universe combined!

Fusion in stars only got us through iron on the periodic table, so where do the rest of our elements come from? It’s what happens next in massive stars that produces some of the even more exotic elements.

Dying stars make elements too!

Once a star many times the Sun’s mass burns through its fuel, gravity is no longer held in check, and its core collapses under its own weight. There, atoms are crushed extremely close together – and they don’t like that! Eventually it reaches a breaking point and the star explodes as a brilliant supernova. Talk about fireworks! These exploding stars make elements like copper, which makes fireworks blue, and zinc, which creates a smoky effect.

Something similar can happen when a white dwarf star – the small, dense core left behind after a Sun-like star runs out of fuel – steals material from a neighboring star. These white dwarfs can explode as supernovae too, spewing elements like the calcium that makes fireworks orange into the cosmos.

When stars collide

White dwarfs aren’t the only “dead” stars that can shower their surroundings with new elements. Stars that are too massive to leave behind white dwarfs but not massive enough to create black holes end up as neutron stars.

If two of these extremely dense stellar skeletons collide, they can produce all kinds of elements, including the barium that makes fireworks bright green and the antimony that creates a glitter effect. Reading this on a phone or computer? You can thank crashing dead stars for some of the metals that make up your device, too!

As for most of the remaining elements we know of, we've only seen them in labs on Earth so far.

Sounds like we’ve got it all figured out, right? But there are still lots of open questions. Our Roman Space Telescope will help us learn more about how elements were created and distributed throughout galaxies. That’s important because the right materials had to come together to form the air we breathe, our bodies, the planet we live on, and yes – even fireworks!

So when you’re watching fireworks, think about their cosmic origins!

Learn more about the Roman Space Telescope at: https://roman.gsfc.nasa.gov/

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

An Analysis of ShinKane in Psycho-Pass: The Movie

After streaming through Psycho Pass S1 and Psycho Pass: The Movie, one cannot deny the fact that there most certainly is a relationship worth bringing up between Kogami Shinya and Tsunemori Akane, be it platonic or romantic. Although the author has explicitly said that their relationship is viewed more as one that is grounded by “trust that surpasses romantic love,” their dynamic throughout the series still makes the ship worth the emotional investment, or in fandom jargon: it has the potential to sail.

The interaction between Akane and Kogami in Psycho-Pass: The Movie basically supported, if not confirmed, our suspicion of a romance between the two. The main giveaway was their tension, and how they made the most out of their time together. At this point, Akane’s attachment to Kogami, more than that of seeking justice, is clear as day. She most certainly had intentions of meddling into the matters between the government and SEAUn, but needless to say, she also saw it as a leeway to “catch” Kogami. What I love about the movie is that “catch” could have meant two things – to catch a man who has gone to the other side of the law, or/and simply to see and talk to him after his long absence. Kogami was still the gentleman that he is when they met – recklessly putting his life on the line by shielding her from the drone’s wrath. I’d like to think that he knew it was Akane at the start of their spar, because for a second, you could see his face hit a realization.

I’d also like to think that if his encounter was really a threat, he would have done more. Akane was then firm with her resolve to arrest Kogami, but ended up teaming up with him. Perhaps she sensed, as philosophically close as they were, that Kogami was fighting against her supposed party, for greater and more rational reasons. It is important to note, that despite having been separated for quite some time, their trust is still bulletproof as ever. Not once have they thought that the other is with malicious intent.

The fan that I am, here are some notable scenes from the movie that screamed ShinKane:

1) Trust without hints of hesitation: he agreed to the team up without any question, saved her from the drone, drove her to their HQ, and lent her his military jacket to hide her involvement with the government.

2) She offers him her pack of Spinel. The over-thinkers that we females are, it would be nice to know what ran into his mind when he saw she had a pack of Spinel. The answers can go a lot of ways, but I love how it implies that she hasn’t forgotten him.

3) They both couldn’t sleep. We don’t exactly know the reason. Yes, it may be due to their predicament; sensing that something ominous was at bay, or perhaps because they had a lot of things in their mind that they wanted to say to each other, but assume that the other is asleep. As Kogami sensed her walk her way to the balcony, he followed soon after. Akane then started talking to him without even looking behind her, also sensing that he couldn’t get the sleep they both needed.

4) Akane’s opinion mattered to him. My favorite conversation between the two was when Akane compared and contrasted him to Makishima. It just means that all throughout the years of trying to understand him, she has come up with a moving analysis. I’d like to think that Kogami, in the momentary calm of the night, may have realized that Akane most certainly is one of the few people who knows him more than he may even know himself.

5) Parting ways. The first thought that crossed his mind was to make her escape. They were rather raw with their camaraderie here – Kogami tells her to escape and do her fair share of investigation, but really, it’s also because the HQ was going to be a warzone, and he wouldn’t want Akane killed in action. Better him than her, the martyr that he is. It’s almost as though the movie wanted us to feel like all these were more than just their superficial and dutiful intentions. I took the case to solve it but also to see you. You need to escape to investigate the chairman, and because it’s going to be dangerous here. Lastly, at that moment, it was as though Kogami sensed the reason for Akane’s strong disapproval of leaving without him and said “Don’t worry. Do you really think I’ll die that easily? If we both survive this, come try to catch me again.” Because it mattered to her that he would live. Moreover, the last statement played around with their cat and mouse game, be it with the intention of arresting him, or just simply seeing him. Kogami exhausted his reassurance in this scene, because he knew just how much Akane wanted him to stay alive.

6) Smile of relief. Following their last encounter and the dangers he put her into as she went back to Shamballa unattended by him, he smiles when he sees her alive and well. Even after being heavily tortured, it mattered to him that she stays alive as well.

7) Last look at each other. After Kogami fires a bullet to free her from her handcuffs and tells her to go after the Chairman, they paused for a glance at each other, almost as though they knew it would be their last encounter in who knows how long.

       She can’t change him. He thinks she realized that a long time ago. Maybe when they first met and she was forced to shoot him. Or maybe when he murdered Makishima. Or maybe when he ran with his tail between his legs – ran from her love, from her softness, from her.

He doesn’t expect to see her so soon. But she’s there – she’s smiling at him and sweaty and flushed like she came running. And she probably did. There is a chance to push her away, to say no, but he doesn’t try.

With her thin arms, with her pretty smile, she whispers, “Found you.”

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       She’s a force to be reckon with.

Even the men within the base know that. When Akane trains with them, shows them how to take apart a gun and put it back together, wipes sweat off her brow and work from dawn until night. They respect her, Kougami can tell.

He can’t blame them.

She’s also pretty good with the kids. They immediately gravitate towards her, wide smiles and bright eyes. She picks one up and holds the child against her. Before long, she’s pointing a finger over towards where Kougami sits and watches.

He blinks.

The two both smile at him. He can’t help but give a smile back, no matter how tired it may be.

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       He loves her. He loves her so fucking much.

Touching her feels like a sin. Just being in her presence is enough to make him want to drop to his knees.

She says it all the time, “I love you, I love you, I love you.”

And he loves her too. He’s not sure how to respond. He gives her a quick kiss, he offers a smile, he wraps his arms around her. They could stay up all night, it can range from talking to fucking. Sometimes it turns into lovemaking – his hands dragging down her body slowly, testing the softness of her breasts and the firmness of her arms – sometimes it’s desperate ( he feels like he can’t breathe without her, he feels like he’ll drown, like he’s going too fast down a street but he doesn’t want to stop because the thrill of her makes him feel alive. )

He feels her heart race against his as they press together, sweaty and sticky and panting.

“What’re you so afraid of?” She whispers, the sun breaking through the window, highlighting the different colors within her hair.

He swallows ( you, you, us ), “I don’t know.”

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       They both have nightmares.

His are vivid. His always seem real. He’s running. Or he’s chasing someone, he’s not too sure. Other times, he has blood on his hands. Sometimes on his clothes. Other times Makishima is there. And a few times, he remembers seeing Sasayama.

Akane cries sometimes when she wakes up, shaking like a leaf in a storm, arms wrapped around herself and teeth worrying her lip. She tries to keep it in – she’s a lot like him in that regard. But it’s spilling out too fast, and if she doesn’t stop, she’ll overflow.

So he holds her. Not only for her, but himself too.

She’s delicate in his arms. Hot tears soak through his shirt. He knows they’ve done so much to get to where they were, he can’t blame her for letting it out once in awhile.

He wish he could do the same.

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       He has to be strong.

Hell, Kougami has had to be strong his entire life. For his team, for Akane, for his men.

As the war wraps up, as blood is shed and cleaned from hands, he looks onward. There is no turning back – that ship sailed a long time ago.

He looks up, eyes immediately falling onto the graceful curve of her back, her slender neck, and her brown hair matted to her forehead. She was talking with one of the guys - Deshi, he’d lost his arm a couple months ago, but that didn’t seem to stop him from having a smile on his face.

As if feeling his stare, Akane turns her head slightly to the side and offers a smile of her own. It was blinding in its own way, his shoulders relaxing by instinct.

She really had no idea how much he needed her now.

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       She didn’t tell him at first.

To be completely honest, he could understand why.

He paces back and forth across the small space they had. His shin bangs against the side of the end table, but that didn’t break him from his thoughts. Akane watches him with large, amber eyes. Finally, he stops in the middle of the room, arms instinctively crossing over his chest.

“How…How long have you known?”

Akane drops her gaze. There was an ache in his chest, “A month, at least.”

He nods, even though it takes awhile for his brain to process the words. He almost wants to laugh at the irony. God - if there fucking was one, which he seriously doubts - really doesn’t like him. Even though things are calmer now, with not only the chairman but the SEAUn as well, there is still too much danger.

Way too much to even consider – to even think of that.

But this doesn’t stop him. This doesn’t stop him from slowly crossing the room until he’s in front of her. Akane blinks, hands nervously curled in front of her as he crouches down. This doesn’t stop him from leaning towards her, face close to hers for a few seconds.

Finally, he breathes, “I want it to look like you.”

Not like him. Nothing like him.

Akane blinks, and then blinks again. Her lips are parted into an O shape and so he leans in and steals a kiss. Finally, she smiles, “That’s funny. I was thinking the same thing.”

.

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       He doesn’t tell anyone she’s pregnant. It’s not only no one’s business but their own, but also a dangerous thing to know. What could he possibly do if the word got out? Any enemies would probably jump at a chance to get their hands on Akane.

Kougami grits his teeth at the thought, hands twitching by his sides. He hasn’t had a cigarette in over an hour. One thing he also has to improve on - smoking around a baby was a big, fat no apparently.

When Akane had stopped smoking all-together, she made it look so easy. It was not only frustrating, but something admirable about her. Once she set her mind to something, it was impossible to stop her from achieving it.

From underneath the protection of a small roof, Kougami watches the rain fall.

“Kougami?”

He turns his head towards the voice to see Cho-Sun, watching him curiously. Kougami merely grunts in reply, pushing himself up off the wall.

“Everyone’s inside eating,” the man continues.

Kougami merely nods. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t the least bit annoyed. His hands are twitching so much to delve into his pocket and take out his pack that he’s forced to cross his arms over his chest. “I’m not that hungry.”

Not only was the large group they had short on food, but medicine as well. Kougami could go a couple days without eating - Akane used to do the same thing, but now she didn’t have much of a choice.

“Is that right?”

“Mm.”

“You said the same thing yesterday.”

Kougami feels his lips twitch, “Did I?”

There is silence between them, the rain deafening.

Drip. Drop. Drip.

“You should take a break.”

Kougami glances at him.

“Me and the guys were talking and – well, there’s a temple about a day away from here, farther up the hill. That’d be a nice play for you and Tsunemori to relax. She seems more tired lately.”

Kougami stays quiet, considering it. For the last couple weeks, things had been relatively peaceful. No shootings, no surprise attacks, etc. Still, peace only seems to drive Kougami up the wall even more than violence. But the mere thought of quiet and being alone with Akane is enough to make his shoulders relax.

“Mm. I’ll look into it.”

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       “Be careful.”

“I am being careful, worrywart.”

Kougami snorts, hands deep within his pockets. Now, she was calling him names? “Don’t blame me if you fall.” It isn’t like he won’t be able to catch her.

Akane balances herself on an overturned tree trunk, arms spread out on her sides. She looks as if she is flying - it makes him stare.

“How far away is the temple again?”

This time, he really does laugh, even though it was just a breath of laughter - she’s asked this around three times already. “I did offer to carry you, you know.”

Akane turns her head slightly, an impish grin there, “You would have to catch me first.”

“I’m always up for a good challenge.”

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       This love scares him. He already knows this.

This love makes him reckless. This love makes him frustrated. This love makes him crazy.

Touching her is an addiction in itself. Her soft body molds against his, pliant while his is unyielding. Now, the slight bump in her stomach makes it a bit more difficult to press together, but he doesn’t mind it. In fact, he enjoys it more than he originally thought he would.

As she lays back, hand lazily tracing over his thigh, he presses a warm hand against her stomach. The area is firm and swollen, a slight redness to it. He curves his palm around and she sighs.

There is life here. Something they created together. Something that was meant to be. Kougami wasn’t really one to believe in fate, but he’d also believe he couldn’t be happy either.

For the first time in a long time, he gave her a smile, eyes crinkling at the edges. It reminds them both of better times, simpler times. It reminds them that now - they are no longer Inspector and Enforcer.

They’re just two people in love.

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       For seven more months, he stays by her side. He never leaves her for longer than a couple hours. Her stomach grows big, the women within the base help her around, and she is given full meals every day.

She feels selfish, he can tell. He is quick to reassure her though.

He’s scared again. When his hands slightly shake when they press against her stomach, against the life they created, she smiles softly at him, holding them steady for him - like she does all the time, “I love you, Shinya.”

Deep down, he hopes that is enough.

Things are easier between them. He can kiss her without feeling like his lungs will burst at any second, he can touch her without flinching, he can look at her without glancing away just a second later. There is still that guilt - unrelenting and thick within his stomach. It will not leave him, he knows it won’t leave until the day he dies.

Love stings. Love is frightening. But, fucking hell, he would do anything at this point to stay with her. To build this future with her. For once, there is light at the end of the tunnel and he is climbing towards it desperately.

He wants this. He wants her. He wants them - us.

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       “…What do you think it’ll be?”

He looks up from his book - he’s read it so many times that the pages are worn now. Kougami feels his lips tilt upwards - nowadays, it seems he is unable to control his smile. Something that only happens around her, “You’re asking me.”

She was sitting up, eyes playful and already smiling, hand resting upon her swollen stomach. “Yes, I’m asking you.”

The former Enforcer stares at her - he cannot help it. Simply having her presence beside him, it makes his body feel weightless. As selfish as he is, a part of him wants to understand why he can’t let her go. If things had gone differently, if he’d told her to stay away, would she still have come?

He wants to laugh outloud at the thought. Of course she would.

Her eyes are warm, patient.

Finally, he sits up, “Aren’t you supposed to have a feeling? I’ve heard that before - mothers usually know the gender before they’re born.”

“Maybe I’m an exception.” She is only saying that - she probably had a good feel of what it would be, she just wanted to hear what he was going to say.

Slowly, he moves towards her, and she opens her arms for him, allowing him to press his ear against her stomach quietly.

Here, with her and their child, he feels at peace. Things seem to evaporate around them - while the acute awareness of what happens around them is still there, her presence seems to blanket over him. He does not deserve her, he does not deserve this small sliver of happiness. He knows that, he knows that in some ways, he has ruined her.

As if noticing his change in thoughts, she places a hand on Kougami’s head, smoothing down his hair and fingers touching his cheek. He breathes in deep, her scent causing his stomach to tighten.

“I think it’ll be a girl.”

In reply, Akane gives him her biggest, prettiest smile, “Me, too.”

There is peace within him.

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       It all ends on a sunny day.

The summer is ending - things are dwindling down once again. Kougami hasn’t heard the alarm sound away in what seems like months. Children and women are sometimes allowed to walk around during daylight, allowing the kids to dance and sing and smile as much as they want as they play.

Laughter this free is foreign to Kougami, but he basks in it anyway.

Even so, he does not stop what he is so used to. He trains with his men every day, he eats small meals, he watches the edges of their base for any type of trouble. None comes. Sweating and tense, Kougami glances over, his eyes immediately soughting her out to soothe away the itching feeling.

Akane sits on the steps, eyes bright and smile even brighter. Familiarly, she cups a hand over her stomach, and the other lifts to wave at him. He doesn’t respond, head tilts curiously and a drop of sweat rolling down her temple. She is getting bigger - besides her stomach, Akane hasn’t grown much. Not only is the infant inside her weighing her down, he worries if she will be able to deliver it naturally.

But today is peaceful, he decides. He should not worry about small things that are yet to come.

He hasn’t told her. He probably won’t. When she reaches eight months, he intends for her to leave here. He has a few contacts, fortunately, that’ll be able to help her find somewhere safe to stay and to deliver the baby. Being born on a battlefield - he wouldn’t ever want that.

He knows she will argue, but there won’t be much point to it. She also knows he has a duty, and his burdens isn’t hers to carry. Once things have wrapped up here, he will follow after her. And he will gladly start a new life with her. He wants quiet mornings, wrapped around each other within the blankets. He wants to teach his child all he knows, watching them crawl and then walk. She wants to hold the woman he loves against him, to feel her heart against his as they finally allow their bodies to relax.

He wants happiness. It’s a normal human reaction, he knows. Even though he doesn’t deserve it, he wants it.

His thoughts are broken, however, when the signal for the alarm goes off.

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      Chaos.

It is to be expected.

The women and children are rushing, some screaming and others crying. Fumbling to find their mothers and their sons and daughters. His eyes sweep the area, searching for her, but her image is blocked and swept along with the rest of the crowd.

He curses.

Now he is able to hear it - gunshots. They are a familiar sound, and his instinct kicks in, beats into him. He must never forget - he is a dog, a hound, a wolf. It is his job to survive, no matter what the consequences. His tongue feels heavy within his mouth, but this doesn’t stop him, “Bayani! Chenglei!!”

The two men nod, and take off towards their positions, two groups of soldiers following the two wherever they may go. Guerrillas learn fast, they move fast, and there is no room for error. He follows swiftly - fortunately, it’s probably a rival base that simply want his head. With their clumsy infiltration, hopefully, things will be resolved soon.

The area is mostly clear. He is able to draw his weapon without worries. This is what he trained himself to do, this is how he survives, after all.

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       There is destruction. There is blood. There is sweat.

Vaguely, he hears screaming.

His head is ringing, and he can’t feel his left leg. It takes a moment to realize what happened - a bomb had gone off, apparently. It knocked him off his feet and the air out of his lungs. The men that had been following behind him hadn’t been so lucky.

He is unsure of how long he has been out – but it couldn’t have been more than five to ten minutes. The fires created had yet to burn out, and the bodies were still fresh. Frustrated, he turns his face away the gruesome scene.

His leg is still there - but a fresh gash is embedded into the side. He bleeds profusely, but this doesn’t stop him. Survival sometimes comes easy to him - somehow, he is still alive. There must be a reason for it, and so he stands, ignoring the pain shooting up his leg and moves. His enemies must sometimes get frustrated that he won’t die so easily.

He shoots down whoever he sees. The enemy’s reflexes are slow and clumsy, and he has plenty of time to take them down. Even though running takes a toll on his leg, even though he is forced to see the remains of men, he still moves. And he keeps surviving.

She is at the forefront of his mind. Getting back to her is the only thing that makes sense to him now.

As he breaks through the trees, his eyes fall onto the sight of a young boy. He remembers seeing his face around the base before, he has a younger sister as well ( and her body lays a few feet away ).

His stomach is suddenly filled with ice.

The women and children…!

He sees more bodies thrown around - three women and five children, so far. Some with overwhelming burns, others with bullets within their bodies. His grinds his teeth, pushes himself to move faster.

Panic isn’t something he does normally. Not since–

He rounds the corner - an elder woman is crouched on the ground, praying. He moves past her swiftly. His men are there, armed. Though it is a smaller number than before, they have still successfully kept the grounds safe and he almost falls to his knees at the relief.

It is short-lived, however.

For when they see him, the looks on their faces tell him enough.

Apparently, his world is able to shatter fairly easily.

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        She suffered two bullets to the back - one directly hit her mid-spine and the other made it through her chest.

She didn’t die instantly.

It turns out they were right.

It was a girl.

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       Years pass in a blur.

There are many times where he asks himself - how am I still alive and she is not? Was this punishment - some type of punishment for the many wrongs he’d done? He can’t particularly blame the higher ups for that, then.

No, he blames himself.

He always blames himself.

There are many nights where he lay in bed, unable to sleep. Where he is unable to even force food into his mouth without growing sick at the taste. Where his gaze falls onto the pistol on his bedside and suddenly he has it in his mouth, aiming upwards.

He’s forcing himself to suffer, isn’t he?

He deserves this. I deserve this, I deserve this.

He tries not to think of her often. He isn’t very good at that. He is also unsure whether or not to call the dreams she’s in nightmares. Do they count as nightmares if he strives every night - if only he can get a few minutes of rest - to see her face?

It’s torture.

I deserve this. I deserve this.

He doesn’t even give into the hallucinations anymore. She touches his back, right over where his heart is - it’s still beating, why? She kisses his jaw, feather light and ghostly. She sits on his stomach while he’s laying there, watching her lips move. He doesn’t try to touch her ( she’s not real, she’s not fucking real ).

Slowly, his eyes flicker over to the gun sitting on his bedside table.

I deserve this.

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       He keeps himself busy, because what else is there to do.

A gun in his hand, smoke leaving his mouth, liquor within his stomach. How he has survived this long, he will never know. He is reckless with his life - he even starts fights only to give up in the middle and allow them free reign.

Nothing is as painful. Not even broke ribs and a punctured lung.

They can probably tell he wants death from looking into his eyes. Which is why they won’t give it to him. They’re sadists, they beat him half to death and then leave him. His body will not quit, it won’t give up from any of it.

It does what it knows. It survives.

Whether he likes it or not.

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       Every morning, he remembers her.

He remembers her touch, he remembers her smile, he remembers her eyes.

She was protective. She was determined. She was generous.

She was everything he was not - she could see the beauty in things. Even in him.

She was a girl who wanted to save the world. But not save herself.

He loved ( hated ) that about her.

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       “You’ll die like this. It’s a pity.”

Kougami ignores the voice - for it inside his head. Pointedly, he looks away from the person in front of him, the smile, the familiar slouch of shoulders.

“It’s really a shame.”

His hands tighten into fists between his legs.

Makishima smiles again. “Is this how you want to die? Here?”

In the middle of nowhere. Where no one would find his body. Yeah, it sounded pretty good to him.

“I never thought I’d see something like this. For someone such as yourself to fall here.”

Heh.

Kougami closes his eyes.

A few seconds later, he distinctly hears the Illusion walk away. He will not talk to the dead - he decided that a long time ago.

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       Four years.

When he looks at the calendar for the first time, he realizes it’s been four years.

There is this dull throb that resonates through him. But he’s starting to realize it will always be there.

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       “You look like shit.”

“…I feel like shit.”

His voice is rough, but soft. He has not spoken aloud in so long, it feels foreign. The woman in front of him pushes back her long hair, eyeing him for a few moments, “…Are you sure you’re up for this?”

He can do nothing but stare at her.

She releases a sign, but moves out of the doorway to let him through. There is clear hesitation in his steps, mouth tilted down in a grimace as he steps inside. The apartment is clean, even though the neighborhood wasn’t as good as he would prefer. He was starting to realize - the rest of the world could probably never be as stable as Japan.

He’s glad he will never have to go back there.

She is probably waiting for him to take a seat, but instead, he stays standing, shoving hands within his pockets. He looks a mess - he knows it. Five o’clock shadow, hair strewn every which way across his head, shirt wrinkled. Still, she says nothing about it.

“I’ll go and get her. Don’t worry - she’s quiet. And she loves new people.”

He doesn’t say anything.

She leaves the room and he is left alone.

A few minutes later, the door to the kitchen opens again.

He looks up and stares.

.

.

       Vaguely, he wonders how many times his world can break and restart ( over and over and over and over and over again ).

.

.

       The small girl stares back. Her hair is short, barely reaching her shoulders. She is still wearing pajamas, but her expression is curious and open.

His heart was slamming so hard against his ribcage, he thinks it will bruise.

Slowly, she steps further into the room, the door closing behind her. There is three feet between them, she is small and delicate and he is large and unyielding.

His hand reaches up on its own record and rubs down the expanse of his jaw, the action made out of pure instinct. He felt like he would bolt at any second - he didn’t know the face of his demons would look this way.

His eyes were beginning to sting.

.

.

        He hesitates. There is tension between them. She tilts her head slightly to the side, chin up to look at him fully.

“Aoi-chan, don’t be rude. Say hello,” Says the woman behind her - she’d stepped into the room to watch.

The young girl blinks, as though she was being broken from her thoughts. Quickly, she bows to him, “Hello, my name is Aoi.” Her voice - fuck, her voice is small, words slightly slurred and thick from her age.

This really is torture. His heart felt like it would burst out of his chest any minute. His eyes wouldn’t stop stinging. The impossible weight of the world was holding him down. Scars - new and old - burned on his body.

He opens his mouth to say something - anything - but nothing comes out and he is forced to close it. He’s pretty sure his throat is closed up pretty tightly at this point.

“What’s your name?”

He stares. Her large amber eyes stare up at him. It takes him a few seconds - probably ten. But she waits, patient. “Kougami Shinya.”

Her lips mouth the name a couple times, as though to commit it to memory. He does not move for a long time, but when he does, his knees feel weak and he is forced to crouch in front of her.

He doesn’t touch her. He doesn’t want to ruin something else - not her.

Her eyes are alight with questions, thick lashes fluttering when she blinks. Her hair is messy. They hold eye contact for what seems like hours, her head still tilted slightly to the side as though she was trying to figure him out.

Finally, she smiled.

In that same instant, his breath was stolen away from him.

“Kougami Shinya, it’s nice to meet you.”

.

.

       She looks just like her mom.

When it’s 3am and you have school tomorrow but you just found an amazing fanfic series….

Kogami Shinya (Psycho-Pass Season 3)

I performed my first ever CPR on a dummy this week! *u* I couldn’t stop grinning during the lecture and demo; I never expected I’d be putting to good use my research for this part in my WIP (which was based from this prompt list) one year later. XD Since I’m not sure I’ll ever finish it, might as well post this draft to commemorate a successful CPR return demo~

11. With a shuddering gasp

It’ll be fine, Mai.

“…Twenty-six. Twenty-seven. Twenty-eight. Twenty-nine. Thirty.”

You trained for this. Got certified specifically for this.

Head tilt-chin lift.

And the ambulance is en route.

Rescue breathing: first rescue breath. Naru’s chest rose. Second rescue breath.

“One. Two. Three. Four. Five. I threw a wish in the well. Don’t ask me I’ll never tell…” Mai hummed to keep the beat. “…Twenty-six. Twenty-seven. Twenty-eight. Twenty-nine. Thirty.”

Head tilt-chin lift.

First rescue breath. Second rescue breath.

She maintained the pacing, cycle after cycle.

Back when she was training to get certified for occupational first aid, her trainers had enumerated only three valid reasons to stop CPR: when the ambulance arrives, when the person wakes up, or when the first responder can no longer continue.

Mai heavily banked on either of the first two options because the third one was absolutely not an option right now.

Twenty-six. Twenty-seven. Twenty-eight. Twenty-nine. Thirty.

Head tilt-chin lift.

First rescue breath. Second rescue breath.

Naru had always had the perfect timing when fainting from using his PK on his own. Like during Chiaki-senpai’s case. Or the Yoshimi case. This time, his body—his heart and lungs, to be specific—chose to stop working in a traditional house on the outskirts of Kyoto. Unequipped with an automated external defibrillator. In the middle of rush hour.

Though she wanted to cry her frustration out, she’d really rather use that energy to revive. This. Idiot. Twenty-nine. Thirty.

And once he was revived…

What then?

Head tilt-chin lift.

First rescue breath. Second rescue breath.

Naru let out a shuddering gasp.

Everyone released the collective breath they’d been holding. While Lin-san kept Naru reclined on his side and Mai monitored him, the rest of SPR burst into action: Ayako called the nearest hospital for updates on the ambulance; Bou-san and John concluded the investigation; Masako and Yasu updated the clients of Naru’s status.

Mai observed him. His chest rose and fell in erratic rhythm, and his pulse tapped weakly against her finger. But a breath and a pulse—those were all she needed to be assured of his survival.

Adrenaline released its hold on her, and she allowed herself to slump sideward in exhaustion.

Lin-san started. “Taniyama-san!”

“I’m fine, Lin-san,” she said, her attention never straying from Naru. He was just a few inches from her now. So close.

As she stared at his pallid face, the silent question returned: Once Naru revived, what would she do?

His eyes fluttered open and gradually focused on hers.

“Naru.”

Once he revived…

I’ll spend the rest of my life by his side, even if that meant being his assistant forever.

She held his gaze, unheeding of the crescendo of sirens announcing the ambulance’s arrival.

Even if she couldn’t take his breath away, she damn well could return it to him.

Unmute this