#(at worst I was annoying but I'm also young enough to get away with it)

[erudipitous]

I'm trying so hard not to obsess over every social interaction I had last weekend

[stonegoldsxcrxt]

Ah, Star Wars fans. Once again perpetuating the Draco in Leather Pants trope to the point where we're all sick of it. Do I have to beat someone with the 'He's-Supposed-To-Be-Evil' Stick or something?

yeah. the acolyte itself as a show is straddling a line right now that, I'm sorry, I kind of don't think the Star Wars fandom at large is media literate enough to understand.

I've already seen a number of tiktoks and tumblr posts saying, "omg now I understand reylos," which besides being exhausting and annoying, immediately proves my point. There's obviously some differences between reylo and whatever osha/qimir is called within both production and the narrative, but overall what I'm baffled by every. single. time. is how weirdly everyone in the star wars fandom reacts to an attractive male villain blatantly manipulating a young woman.

I think the acolyte is clearly aiming for us to see and understand that Qimir is manipulating Osha. We know Qimir is clever. We saw him successfully worm his way out of being caught by the Jedi by playing up the "quirky sidekick" shtick. What I don't think a lot of the audience picks up on is just how smart he is. During one of his and Osha's conversations, he lets her suggest things and make assumptions, ie:

Osha: Where’d you get that scar?

Qimir: How do you think I got it?

Osha: Looks like someone stabbed you in the back.

Qimir: Someone who threw me away.

Osha: Your Jedi Master?

And then he doesn't correct her or elaborate. He lets her assume the worst. He lets her imagination wander. He's not interested in explaining because he knows the real story, whatever it may be, doesn't make him look as favorable as her idea. It's exchanges like that that are subtle examples of his manipulation, less obvious than the outright goading he uses against her when he gets her to admit she thinks of herself as a failure and that's why she left the Jedi.

There's also the earlier exchange:

Osha: He’s found me before, and his strength in the Force is very powerful.

Qimir: You think that’s his strength? That’s your strength in the Force, Osha. Someone ought to teach you that.

To a lot of people, that sounds like a compliment. But it isn't. Qimir makes a statement vague enough that successfully implies the Jedi have been lying to Osha about her own strength in the Force while also keeping just enough information to himself that he knows Osha will stick around to find out what he meant, instead of swimming to the ship he points out to her right after. And she does exactly that, continues to follow and engage in argument and conversation with him.

In fact, Qimir knows the more Osha talks to him, the more Osha even entertains the idea of talking to him instead of leaving, the more he can get inside her head. His naked swimming jaunt isn't him flaunting or showing off for Osha in some genuinely romantic way– it's yet another manipulation tactic. Though, if she is seduced, that helps him too.

Qimir purposefully makes himself into a vulnerable state in front of her to lull her into a false sense of security. He leaves his weapon with his clothes so she has the opportunity to take it; he is signalling to her that he is "completely" disarmed, though that is not true, since we know he is far stronger in the Force and in combat, and, perhaps, more cunning than Osha. His nudity forces Osha to acknowledge he is human, and Qimir benefits from Osha thinking of him as just a quirky, charming loner who's the victim of the Jedi, who offers her soup and disrobes in front of her.

The reason I know that none of this is genuine is simple. He goes back and forth between flat out acting as if he pities Osha ("Why do you love people who can only go so far?") but that doesn't get him the reaction he's looking for, so he bounces back to antagonizing her ("Why aren’t you a Jedi, Osha?) to finally, convincing her that she is similar to him ("I understand.") None of these things are actually Qimir trying to get to know Osha. Sure, he needs to understand her to manipulate her, but he'd do or say anything to get her to stick around and allow him to corrupt her further.

to me, Qimir is kind of the Star Wars equivalent to like a mimic species in the animal world. He's smart enough to know that in order to get what he wants, he has to act a certain way that isn't necessarily his real personality, and he can exploit Osha's (and anyone else's, for that matter) feelings by molding his personality and actions to achieve his goals so his victims are less likely to notice that he's using them.

The problem is that a big portion of the audience doesn't appear to recognize it, either. We know the rules of the Star Wars universe very well by now. Force Users this deep in the Dark Side cannot actually love someone. Sure, they can be obsessed with someone, but they cannot actually reciprocate feelings as the Dark Side corrupts them.

I've come to the conclusion that the majority of people watching Star Wars are not watching with the intention of picking up on any of this, despite the fact that the acolyte is actually doing it quite masterfully. They are paying attention to Manny Jacinto's muscles, and little else. You cannot argue or convince people who do not want to listen. They did not want to listen in 2017, when the reddest of red flags "You're nothing, but not to me," line was delivered, which had all the subtlety of being hit over the head with an anvil, and they are not listening now. If people are able to be gaslit by Kylo Ren into believing his victim card was validated, they will certainly and inevitably be gaslit by Qimir, who, so far, is much more cunning.

the acolyte even *plans* for this though, deliberately and suddenly cutting to the scene of Jecki's lifeless body, reminding the audience that Qimir is not the quirky, charming, harmless loner who he presents himself to be, but actually a man who we know to be capable of unspeakable acts of violence towards even children. at this point, I can't actually see any reason why the fandom continues to act like he is in love with Osha in any kind of genuine manner when it's so mind-blowingly obvious that he is male manipulator #1.

I think does a huge disservice to the story the acolyte seems to be trying to present at this point to be so blind with lust or whatever it is the fandom feels towards this guy that his own tactics have begun to work on them. it's actually so incredible that it makes me a bit ill. they may find him hot all they want, but for the love of Leia Organa's Star Wars at least recognize his tactics for what they are instead of also allowing yourself to be fooled!!

[dissociacrip]

this turned into a long adhd rant whoopsie

it really does suck how people seem to downplay autism and adhd now lol. autism has been reduced to people who can mask and have low support needs and adhd hasn't really changed from its status as a joke.

i don't talk about adhd much but it probably gets in the way of me being able to function just as much, if not more than autism does (in my personal situation) when it comes to mental disability. not showering enough. not cooking. not cleaning my living space properly. forgetting to brush my teeth. dishes sitting in the sink for so long they start getting moldy. only being able to maybe do 1-3 tasks a day maximum because my brain can't organize itself enough to do more than that. difficulty committing to things and being consistent in overarching ways. being late to things a lot. highly impaired verbal recall so i forget things people say to me, forget verbal instructions, etc. on top of the other acutely stressful situations that come with memory and regulating my attention span (e.g. locking my keys in my car or locking myself out of my house when i have a very limited support network to remediate those situations.)

my meds barely touch this stuff for me and i'm not especially inclined to increase the dosage after bordering on psychosis when i was taking 40mg of vyvanse. i've just become so accustomed to living the way that i do (because my case is pretty bad afaik) so i can't just will myself to be another way. any efforts i make to change or be more organized and routine and consistent end up getting dashed away because i just cannot do it lol. my shit just doesn't work. adhd is a massive barrier between me and being a functioning person or being able to take care of myself. i'm pretty sure would still be a "gross" and unpalatable disabled person even if my muscles worked and i didn't have POTS/etc. that also get in the way of my hygiene and the cleanliness of my living space.

that doesn't even go into how other people react to it. a good chunk of physical and verbal abuse i faced from my family as a child was related to my adhd symptoms. i was diagnosed at a young age but my parents "forgot" it happened and it was never addressed otherwise. i got constantly called disgusting for my hygiene problems and was threatened with violence over it (on top of the times where i was actually getting assaulted.) people take my impaired verbal recall and lack of impulse control irt accidentally cutting people off or interrupting them personally, accusing me of not caring enough when it's something that is extremely difficult to be aware of or manage when adhd is a condition that distinctly involves impaired awareness of your own behavior.

so when i see shit like "just set alarms" or anything else that amounts to "you're not trying hard enough" or adhd not very much being a disability, especially when it's coming from other people w/ adhd, it kinda makes me wanna stab things with knives.

sure, it's not the worst condition ever, but just like most other disabilities, the way it affects everyone who is it is different and some are gonna be able to manage it better than others. sure, there a lot of really fucking annoying people (usually able-bodied) w/ adhd on social media that have large platforms and who very often profit from or encourage liberal pop psych bullshit when it comes to adhd, but it's still very much a disability. it can affect hygiene. it can affect employment or otherwise means of earning an income. it can affect our social lives and whether we have a support system. it can affect whether someone can keep their house from getting infested with bugs or mold. it is very much something that causes dysfunction in ways that aren't nearly as cutesy as the little comics you might see on instagram are drawn.

just remember that.

[shenrickyz]

seojun the lovesick fool (ft. nct dream)

oh seojun is so in love it's disgusting | when?: nct dream smoothie studio choom behind

"i think that's enough photos, seojunie".

just as those words are said, seojun snaps another photo with camera in his hands. the 02 liner looks up and blinks at na jaemin, who simply gives a teasing smile. "did i get carried away?" he asks obliviously.

"carried away taking photos of jisung maybe".

seojun gasps in offense at the statement. yeah it's true but who is donghyuck to tell him that? he narrows his eyes at his older member, readying his defense for the day. "i was not! it's not my fault he looks exceptionally pretty in every photo and that the camera kept focusing on him!"

"i think that's one of your worst excuses".

seojun's eras redden, and he frowns slightly at the laughs which sound from his fellow members. jaemin throws an arm around him, giving another teasing smile. "you two are so cute! i can't believe it! young love blossoming at it's finest!"

"what are you talking about?" renjun questions judgmentally, looking jaemin up and down.

"he's crazy".

"not as crazy as seojun is for jisu—"

"stop!" seojun whines, his face probably redder than it ever has been in his life. he uses his hands to cover his red face, and jaemin giggles in victory. "this is embarrassing.." he mutters into his own hands, trying his best not to make eye contact with any of his members.

"it's not! nothing's embarrassing about being in love!"

seojun gently pushes jaemin away from him, trying his best to ignore the older's teasings and focusing on the many photos he'd taken on the camera. of course, most of them were focused on jisung. he's pretty, okay? can you blame seojun for taking so many pictures of him?

"jisung looks so pretty here.."

"yah, chenle is in the photos too" jeno scolds playfully, nudging him in the shoulder. seojun blinks, and laughs silently.

"i know! i didn't say chenle wasn't pretty jisung is just.. i'm not explaining it to you!"

"seojun is picking favorites!"

"i am not you guys always say this—!"

as seojun was busy trying to clear his name to his older members, jisung finally turns around to see what the yelling is all about, coming across a red faced seojun whose arguing with jeno and jaemin about.. something. he laughs lightly at the sight, because seojun is trying so hard to get his point across.

"so how did the photos turn out?"

"ah! oh my god you have to stop doing that!" the maknae allows for himself to giggle at seojun's newly startled expression. "seriously, jisung".

"okay okay i'm sorry" jisung hides his giggle behind his hand, laughing even harder at the frown from the older. "ignoring that, the photos, how did they turn out?"

seojun quickly looks back down at the camera in his hands, then looks back at jisung with a smile. "they turned out nice, you looked so pretty in all of them.."

the formerly giggling jisung is quickly reduced to a blushing, stuttering mess as he tries his best to register the other's words. the two are left awkwardly staring at each other for a moment, flustered out of their mind, but seojun breaks the silence by laughing lightly. "what? why are you so silent?"

"you're so— you're so annoying" jisung mutters under his breath, arms crossed and cheeks dusted red.

seojun pokes his cheek, and the youngest pretends to be annoyed by the gesture. "and you are so cute".

"that's not fair".

"um.. yes it is! you can't argue with me, i'm older, so i'm right".

"that is also not fai— hiki tell seojun he's wrong!"

"i am not wrong! you're wrong!"

and just like that, the lovebirds begin arguing. what are they arguing about exactly? the rest of the dreamies have absolutely no idea, but they're equally as flustered as the other.

"ah, young love" jaemin muses humorously, smiling proudly at the sight of the two. renjun, again, gives him another judgmental look, nudging him lightly.

"you're acting like you raised them".

"um because i literally did? i'm the only reason they're even together!"

"that's more of a bad thing than a good thing right now.."

jaemin lets out a snicker, listening to the two youngest argue over something unintelligible as jeno rolls his eyes at their stupid shouting.

[00lari00]

An unexpected phone call (Part 1)

Hello!!! ^^ This story may be a little heavy and sad for some readers because it involves issues such as abandonment and family problems. Some of these things are actually things that my mother has said to me, so this is a bit of a… real event (I am okay now!).

But I hope you like my fic!!! It's the first time I've posted a story like this!!! If you find any grammatical mistakes I apologize!!! I'm doing my best since English isn't my first language.

Characters used:

The intellect trio (Burt, Sven and Pollo) are characters from THSC but from the version of @capturecharlesau and Danny (mentioned) also belongs to her

Brutus belongs to @smoresthehalloweenqueen

A phone rang in the middle of the experiments that Burt and Pollo were doing with Brutus. They were in the clan laboratory, Pollo, Burt and Sven were always there working and building things as usual for the Toppats. It's as if they grew up there, at least that's how it was for Pollo. The laboratory is very large with many boxes and machines spread around, other members of the clan also use the place sometimes but the trio were the ones who were there the most. Brutus is sitting on a stretcher while Pollo and Burt were doing some scientific experiments with him, studying and analyzing, this was a normal thing for them.

Obviously at this point in the tests they wouldn't want to be disturbed, but the phone kept ringing, it was Pollo's phone.

Someone calling him at that moment? Why? 

"Can you see who's calling, Brutus? I have to put some stuff away" Pollo said as he put some medical equipment and chemical flasks away with Burt. Brutus got up to get the cell phone and check who it might be; there were three missed calls from an unknown number. Pollo and Burt seemed visibly annoyed that they had to stop the tests.

"Damn... We were almost at the best part" said Burt, putting the scalpel away. 

After Brutus has analyzed a bit, he picks up the phone, expecting it to be someone selling something and that he could just ignore it later.

A desperate but serious female voice spoke on the other side of the phone, she had an accent, it seems that English is not her first language, but she made a great effort to speak in English.

"Hello, could I speak to someone called Pollo Miller?"

Brutus was visibly confused, someone wanting to talk to his cousin. It didn't sound like anyone he knew, there was something wrong. "Primo... someone wants to talk to you" he said as he handed the cell phone to his cousin, without questioning anything.

The young scientist didn't seem interested in whatever this call was about, at least his face didn't show any emotion as usual. He picked up his cell phone and spoke in the same disinterested and unconcerned tone as always. 

"Hello?" Pollo said into the phone, waiting for an answer.

"Pollo my dear... Is that you?" The female voice spoke with a sad and desperate tone. 

"Who is this?" 

"Pollo, it's me. Your mother, your... Your father is dying" 

Time stopped for Pollo. 

Pollo had expected anything but that, there was no way it could be true, he didn't want to believe it was her. The only thing Pollo could do in this moment of shock was whisper to himself, "M-mom...?", enough for Brutus at least to understand the situation and he looks at the scientist with concern, it seems to have come as a shock to his cousin. He, who had always known exactly what to do and was in control of everything in any situation... Now he knew nothing at all. It's VERY rare to see Pollo in this state.

After so long... After saying the worst things to him; "You're not my son anymore and I'm no longer your mother" and kicking him out of the house just because he wanted to follow his dream career of becoming a famous scientist; "Do you really want to help other people first rather than your own family?! Don't you like us too?! Why do you have to be so unfair to us?!". She put him as a traitor to his family and didn't even try to look for him when he was kidnapped by Terrence. She called him "Ungrateful" or "Insensitive" when he wanted to live his own life, and was NEVER satisfied with what he did... She was too proud to admit she was wrong. He hadn't seen or spoken to her for years because he'd been thrown out of the house.

She came back... and seemed desperate for help.

"Pollo? Who is it? Are you alright?" Burt asked with a confused but also worried expression, why his friend seemed so shocked so suddenly? He wasn't saying anything. Pollo stayed quiet until he snapped out of his thoughts and spoke quickly to Brutus and Burt. "I'll be right back, I need a moment."

He said, quickly leaving with his cell phone to an empty room with no one around, so that no one would be able to hear his conversation.

Brutus and Burt look at each other, both agreeing that something odd has just happened. Better stop the experiments for today.

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

40 minutes of Pollo's cell phone conversation with his mother. 

Brutus outside the room didn't dare interfere or listen to any part of the conversation. He knew it was too personal for Pollo... The scientist left the room visibly devastated, looking angry but also very... Sad, he'd heard things he didn't want to hear. And it looked like he was going somewhere, he put his cell phone in his pocket and walked past his cousin as if he hadn't even seen him there, he didn't want to care or see anything around him, and he picked up the teleporter on the table and put some coordinates into the device.

Brutus hurried over to him, wanting to know what had happened, coming up behind him and grabbing Pollo's shoulder. "Primo? Where are you going? Why did your mother call...?"

He asked, expecting Pollo to give him a straight answer. 

But Pollo immediately pulls away and pushes Brutus's arm, looking as if he almost wants to cry and trying to control it. Pollo obviously wants to feel in control of the situation, even when he's not. Emotions have always been a problem for him, he's never known how to control them and it makes him panic. He grew up like that... not speaking about what he was feeling. He takes a deep breath, not wanting to tell the truth. "Nothing happened... I'm going out for a while to take care of an unfinished business about my past..."; He said as he typed a few things into the device, in a rough and frustrated voice.

"But alone?!"

"Yes, it's none of your business, and PLEASE... Just please... Don't tell Danny where I'm going, I don't want him to worry about me for anything... I don't want him to know that I'm going to see my biological mother because I don't want to see him be devastated and think negative things...I just want to protect him from this headache...

don't you dare follow me... For once do what I ask for once. I don't want anyone to worry about me... there's nothing to worry about. I just... can't take it anymore." 

He immediately clicks the button on the teleporter, and with a flash of green light, he suddenly disappears without even looking into Brutus' eyes.

[metisket]

book recs request ❤🖤❤🖤 🙏🙏🙏 in this case, book recs that you feel have inspired your writing style, or inspired your fics somehow?

Hmmm...this is a fun one but a tough one, because I'm not sure I'm really self-aware enough to know the true answer here. But I'll try! A lot of books/authors I believe shaped my writing style did it when I was pretty young, so we're getting some YA over here.

Robin McKinley

I must have read The Outlaws of Sherwood a dozen times between ages 10 and 15. I love me a hero who literally doesn't want to be here and got conned into this by pushy, well-meaning friends. Marian was the most badass Marian I'd ever encountered. Random, complicated, weird side-characters, my beloved. Cecily somehow speaking directly to whatever was unhinged about my own childhood feelings about my gender. Flawless, 10/10, should really re-read to see if it holds up.

This is not to minimize the ridiculous number of times I read The Hero and The Crown, The Blue Sword, Beauty, and Deerskin, because I also read them So Many Times that they've probably become a part of my psyche. Literally none of her heroes want to be heroes. But they've been informed that they are. Apparently. Ugh. Love to hate that for them.

Lloyd Alexander

I also re-read The Chronicles of Prydain at least once a year for many years. It has almost certainly messed with my mind. I was especially unhinged about The Castle of Llyr, because Princess Eilonwy. The best, the worst, the angriest princess. Love and respect. Taran I could take or leave, particularly during his Taran Wanderer phase (I was less sympathetic to his growing pains than I was to Eilonwy's), but The High King was a fantastic payoff, loved everything, no notes.

...Damn, I need to reread this series, also.

Lois McMaster Bujold

I didn't read The Vorkosigan Saga until college, but it immediately hit my brain hard. Fantastic characterization. The way she writes trauma and recovery from trauma, amazing.

Miles. What a character. What a mess. What a problem. He is only a little guy, literally and figuratively, and he's going to do his best to convince you that he didn't mean to offend that guy, set that building on fire, or end that empire. You know. Like a liar.

Sarah Rees Brennan

My number one fanfic influence--her style of writing is so delightful that, particularly when writing Harry Potter fic, I'd sometimes find myself paraphrasing her. I had to Sarah Rees Brennan-proof my fic to make sure I wasn't being an accidentally plagiarist, because her turns of phrase would just go subliminal in my brain. This honestly may still be happening, and if it is, I'm so sorry, Sarah, it's not on purpose.

My favorite of her books is In Other Lands, the story of a boy who is whisked away to magic school in magic land and is extremely annoyed to find himself there. Like why. Why is the plumbing medieval. Why don't phones work. Why is this magical Sparta.

...He's not wrong, is the thing. But he won't bend and he won't break and he won't leave, so apparently he's just going to have to fix the world himself. God help everyone! Love him. Love his friends. Love the entire world and setup and every single side character.

Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

I have been informed that you can see the Pratchett and Gaiman influences in my writing. I think this is a lie people have told me to make me feel better, but you know, I Want To Believe. So I'll include them.

Pratchett: Love for virtually the entire Discworld series, with an especially fondness for the Watch books and Susan. Still obsessed with Vetinari after all these years. What if Machiavelli but chill, though.

Gaiman: Lost track of how many times I've reread Sandman. The characters, the coolness, the weirdness, the meta! Especially obsessed with Death. Just someone being very calm and collected in the face of all kinds of horrifying nonsense. I admire that. Love nearly all of his books, but my favorite is probably Anansi Boys. Bet your stupid family drama doesn't involve gods. Or at least. I hope it doesn't.

Erin Morgenstern

I'm cheating by including her, because she didn't actually influence my writing, I just WISH SHE HAD. She can't, sadly, because my outline game will never be that strong. I know my limits. But DAMN. ENVY.

Both of her books are without flaw, but I did love The Night Circus just that little bit more, probably because I am weak to a circus. I firmly recommend The Starless Sea also, though, because it features an Unhinged Library. The characters and settings and descriptions--delightful.

But the best part is the WAY the stories are told. They're not chronological--they're like little intricate puzzle-boxes, where you open one panel, and there's a story, and you open another panel, and there's a different story, and by the fifth panel, there's a story that connected to the first panel, but also a little to the third panel, and--

LOOK, I CAN'T EVEN DESCRIBE IT. It should be confusing, but it isn't. It's perfect. Just the right amount of information at the perfect time connecting to other pieces of information in a complex, interesting, deeply satisfying way. I would kill to be able to do this. Kill. I actually tried to do this in 'Mirror Image', and I had to give it up, because the level of incoherence was off the charts. ffffffffffff howwwww does she dooooo eeeeeet.

Anyway, I think those are the big ones. Special mentions to: Tom Holt, a deeply weird writer who strongly influenced one fic in particular (Some Confusion, DGM), Patricia C. Wrede, because Dealing with Dragons in general and Cimorene in particular got to me, and Dennis Lehane, because a) his historical fiction is inspiring, and b) I love his handling of The Unhinged Friend in the Patrick and Angie books. The best unhinged friend. He booby traps his own home. Love him. What is wrong with him? We'll never know.

[nerves-nebula]

Thinking abt alternate time line Leo

Abt how the abuse became so much worse after the others got away

Or maybe just more noticeable?

Reminds me of how I thought I wasn’t neglected, just poor, until I was the last one left. Half my siblings ran away, the other moved for school. My parents had gotten promotions, raises and even better jobs since when I was little. I didn’t ask for much, aside from having a part time job by then I also just never asked for stuff, wanted or needed. Yet we were suddenly running out of food in our fridge, suddenly they weren’t paying for the one field trip they always set aside money for, suddenly I was getting a winter coat as my only Christmas present instead of as a necessary expense at the beginning of winter since I didn’t have one

We couldn’t see the neglect bc the worst of it was mitigated by our siblings. But when they were gone and things should’ve gotten better (by our parent’s logic) it got so much worse

I didn’t ask for much so I got nothing

Leo followed the rules so he got broken

I didn’t ask for much so I got nothing

um ow haha same ow ow ow. so like why would u do this to me.

no but fr. I ALSO learned that being quiet and obedient and trying to make ur parents lives easier by not being a burden is how you get NOTHING EVER and grow BITTER about it and end up so severely emotionally neglected that no normal relationship ever feels like enough. but then again im young so, there's still time. no need to be defeatist about it i suppose!

but yeah idk it's like. guh. idk. it's not exactly the same on my end but it was always weird that even once she had less and less kids to support things never seemed to get better around our house, like, physically. even though mom worked just as much as always. i thought it was cuz of like The Economy and Money Being Hard but now im not so sure.

and it certainly was strange that despite there being half as many kids at home she didn't make any more of an effort to like. spend time with the ones who still had, heff.

then again this is a woman who's so uninterested in her kids lives outside of what they can do for her, that she just kind of let one of her kids be homeless for a few years. she also doesn't know where I live (this was intentional on my part) but she isn't really concerned about that??? at most she's annoyed I don't want her knowing where I RESIDE. but it's not like parental concern hah, it's like, indigence that I won't reveal my location to her.

ok now i'm rambling, this is making me feel things :')

[adickaboutspoons]

book emoji! (sorry i'm on desktop) (also sorry for stalking your inbox today haha hope you're well, have a lovely weekend! <3)

Technically a WIP since I have about 3.5K words written about it already, but it's been sitting there for... a while now. This is another banger from the Stede Bonnet Defense Squad late night collective storytelling files, so special thanks to @nicnacsnonsense and @poetic----nonsense for bouncing around ideas on this one with me. I'm just including my bits, though I should point out nicnac was the one to first suggest Ed & CJ as fuck buddies and Papa Bonnet's cost-benefit analysis of ransoming Stede factoring in the arrangements he's been brokering with Mary's parents behind Stede's back.

AU where Young Adult Ed meets Young Adult Stede (when Stede is down daydreaming at the docks) and decides to take him hostage and convince Hornigold to hold him for ransom. Ed is in charge of guarding the prisoner while Hornigold starts the process of negotiating. Stede is chatty in the brig. Wants to know all about the kinds of knots that have been used to tie him up, and how long Ed has been at sea and how he got his start and just all sorts of things. Ed is low-key annoyed to have been given this duty and kind of gruff about it, but kind of won over eventually by Stede's enthusiasm and also is shocked that Stede kind of doesn't WANT to go back to his cushy life. And by the way he gets all quiet and sad when Ed says that Hornigold's negotiating with his dad, because he's pretty sure his father would rather start from scratch trying to produce a new heir than bother trying to get Stede back.

And just when Ed and Stede are really starting to bond, CJ shows up, and Stede is like ugh. It's hate at first sight for the two of them, sniping and bickering and abuse and the hey-hey.

Ed & CJ are fuck buddies, and, CJ, consumate reader-of-rooms can see that Stede likes Ed, and worse, that Ed likes Stede. And that in spite of his best (worst) efforst, the two of them keep growing closer and closer.

Stede is asleep at first when CJ comes to seduce Ed. Part of CJ's wheedling is because Ed tries to say they can't "because of the prisoner" and CJ says that he's gonna have to learn about the birds and the bees soon anyway if he's gonna get married (because he knows that's a sore spot for Ed, who is aware of the negotiations enough to know that a big motivator for Papa Bonnet is that he's already started brokering Stede's arranged marriage). (CJ's extra loud and obnoxious about going to town on Ed, too, so Stede can't even block it out, even closing his eyes and covering his ears.) That's the first Stede hears about anything to do with him and marriage. Stede doesn't find out it's a done deal until Ed jealously brings up Mary when Stede is trying to talk to him about how he deserves better than CJ. And Stede is not only crushed that this is the only reason his father is bothering to negotiate for him, he also thinks Ed was purposely hiding it from him and that he and CJ have been laughing at him behind his back.

Eventually negotiations wrap and Stede is supposed to go back to his father. And Stede is trying to be all stoic and dutiful, but Ed hears him crying (and berating himself for crying) when he thinks that Ed is asleep. And Ed is rowing him back, and is all "what if I didn't row you back? What if I just keep rowing? What if we run away?"

And Stede wants to, more than anything, but CJ snuck down one time when Ed was relieved of duty, and "casually" mentioned how Ed is already on thin ice with Hornigold (he's not. he's actively being groomed to take captaincy of the next ship they capture), and Hornigold just needs the slightest provocation to kill Ed in some very exciting and creatively awful ways. And he doesn't want to be the cause of bringing Hornigold's wrath down on Ed's head. So he says no.

There's an exciting third act, but I'm not the one who came up with it, so I'll just leave it there.

[sageandred]

* jotting down some thoughts from old wtFock, seasons 1-3 .... (part 1)

1. Jana

Pros- Jana + Robbe (Belgium Eva + Isak); Girlsquad minus Amber; Zoe + Jana/Zoe + Yasmina/Luca + Yasmina; the first appearance of Senne/Senne + Zoe scenes

Cons- Jana + Jens (Belgium Eva + Jonas), lol

*couldn't remember anything from this og season and the first few eps were fun, then I got annoyed at how the main couple story seemed to drag on; overall it was average-i don't think they changed much and the story was fine, but nothing really blew me away

2. Zoe

*I don't remember much from this og season (gonna be honest, before this, I don't think I finished Noora's season ever, because I can't stand William, lol, and I didn't realize until now).

Pros- Senne feels like a more likeable version of William to me [basing even off of the earlier episodes before both Senne/William's development]. (+ Senne at the beginning of wtFOCK is even still better than William at the end of Skam OG).

Cons- I LOVE Zoe + Senne, but the early ep conflict of her going on a date with him and being in denial is honestly so stupid. It seems like such a simple issue in the world of Skam in comparison to the other seasons for every reimagination. (But I know the later conflicts are gonna break me).

More in depth appreciation of Senne and Zoe

Senne: There were only a few moments in season 1 + early season 2 where I questioned him, but there's just charm and development to Senne that fleshes him out and actually made me love this couple by the end. They don't water down parts of "Senne" that are truly important to his whole "bad boy" personality-like later on (s3) his instinctual crutch of violence towards his brother or his smart-ass comments in season 1, but they also don't make him just a terrible boyfriend like og.

Zoe: could throw water in someone's face for no reason and I would still love her (I'm watching s4 rn although she doesn't do that, so this is kind of in line). She's not perfect and a lot of her push-back with Senne (mainly) can be really unreasonable, but that's what makes her her. I feel like she comes off as more stubborn than og Noora, but I honestly love it and there's subtle changes to her characterization that back it up. She's one of the most headstrong Nooras (obv all of them have this trait), and she's someone that is gonna move in a way that seems proactive to her (ex: her taking the plan B pill before even knowing what happened to her). The only minor thing I thought at one point is that we didn't get enough of Zoe's perspective on things (there are a lot of characters and it's great to see them, but sometimes certain interactions felt it took away in some way, idk). She was just a character I knew I would love immediately in season 1 [& she's great, but as I go on, I do think the writers kind of diminish her potential in some way (even certain choices in s2), but idk how to explain it-although it doesn't ruin her character at all for me, there's just minor minor differences than how she seemed].

Zoenne: I love how they are so different in their points of view; they each are strong in their opinions and it's not resolved too quickly. I honestly see both povs, which is how it should be. And in season 3, I wasn't even mad at the break up (even though it didn't last long)-they are the only Noorhelm imo to address the problem between them (with them being so young + why love's not enough), not make it the end of the world, and still get back together at a later time.

wtFOCK likes to dramatize a lot of their scenes, but for me it works in Zoe's season.

Examples: 1) the text from Senne's brother at the end of the episode revealing the pictures he took per the glass drop; 2) the Senne finds out scene I felt was better directed and acted than the og scene, giving a more emotional feel and lead up to the hallway confrontation in ep 10

other things: Amber is one of the worst Vildes in terms of ignorance, however they've done well with her development and not resolving her problems too quickly [I just know I'll eat my words come season 4/5]. Her seemingly heightened naivety against the other "Vildes" makes so much sense in this scenario.

2 is definitely my fav wtFock season

...not sure I'll watch Season 4, cause I know it's gonna piss me off more than Imane's, but maybe I'll continue for Yasmina only

^ update-started it; I hate it

[compassionatereminders]

my sister is really bugging me lately. My dad says that I shouldn't let the way she treats him bug me, but it pisses me the fuck off tbh. She's fourteen and I recognize that that's young and that she's still growing up and she's not an adult, but it still feels like she's old enough to know better than to treat people with complete disrespect. The worst part is that when she gets herself into fights with someone else or causes a new problem or does something rude, she genuinely seems to think she's in the right and if you try to have a conversation she gets pissed off. She's so bad that when my dad went to talk to her a week ago, my eight year old sister literally said "i'm worried about daddy" and when I asked why she said it was because other sister gets in fights a lot and she was scared she was gonna hurt my dad. (She didn't, though she did yell at my dad who has never once hit any of us to hit her because he was confronting her about something she did and I think she wanted an excuse to say she'd call the cops? That's the literal only explanation I can think of, because I've heard her tell her to hit him so she could call the cops before, a few years ago.) Anyway that's not entirely relevant but it's just like she gets mad if someone wont do something for her and acts like no one loves her and I do feel bad for her because I know she's had breakdowns feeling like no one loves her from fights happening or from someone not wanting to be around her or hang out with her but the thing is while I do feel bad, no one owes her their time and when she acts like that, she can't really expect it. Like the eight year old, who she loves to flat out yell at when the eight year old just says something rude, and then defends herself by saying that she should be allowed to defend herself (which is not what anyone is saying when they point it out, we're just pointing out that her full on yelling at an eight year old who is much younger and wasn't screaming at her anyway isn't okay), will walk away from her because she's being rude and 14 year old will start yelling and complain to dad that no one likes her. But I feel like if even my 8 year old sister is realizing to just walk away from the situations instead of engaging because she's just so tired of it, that really says something about the consistency of these things. But anyway, all that said, basically I don't want to be in my sisters life at all (14 year old). Like she has redeeming moments but it's not enough with everything else. The other day she was rude to me and like 40 minutes later when we saw each other again, she said "name, I love you," I guess to move on from it and that's more maturity than she normally has, but I just feel like that's not enough. Like it's reaching out and it's nice but it's sure as hell not an apology or even an admission of guilt and since then she's caused more problems, with me and in general. So yeah I just genuinely don't want to be around her. Like I'm at a point where I'm like, maybe in a few years if she's a better person, I could forge a good relationship with her, but even if she became a million times better over night, being aound her and trying to be super friendly (I can be decently nice just fine even if it's a little annoying when things go unaddressed) right now or any time soon isn't something I want. Like I legitamately don't think she deserves my time and also she just makes me so miserable and I can't really explain this next part but just being around her doesn't FEEL nice even when she's being nice or better (which never last past the first slight disagreement. but even if it did).

But I'm legitamately afraid, too, because I know that most of my other sisters are also at that point with her (I have a lot of sisters, and 2 of them I don't think are done with her, one goes back and forth and the other I think is chill with her but I don't think they talk much) and I know that that adds to her feelings of isolation and feeling unloved and unwanted but like the thing is it's her actions that caused it and I feel like I shouldn't have to feel bad for her because she's created the situation she's in but she seems to legitamately not see that and I'm just fucking terrified because I know she has issues with depression and I know that she has self harmed before and I'm afraid that the isolation and those negative feelings could lead to something really bad. So I feel like telling people yeah it's okay to distance yourself from her and doing it myself could end badly and that just worries me because I don't want that for anyone and at the end of the day I do care about her and also I wouldn't want to see how that would affect my dad because he loves her so much but I also don't want to be around her and I don't think it's wrong to say to my sisters who have distanced themselves from her that they're not doing anything wrong and I am going to tell my eight year old sister that it's okay to walk away when she's being mean (not from the whole relationship, she wouldn't want to anyway, but just from the fights) even if it upsets 14 year old sister more. But about my distancing myself and what I feel like is holding a grudge which also makes me feel bad, I feel like a bad person for doing it when I know how she's feeling. And I know that she genuinely feels the way she does but at the same time I also feel like my dad keeps getting manipulated by it bc she does feel that way but she brings it up any time she's in trouble and then all of the sudden he's comforting her and feeling bad for saying anything. She also jokingly says 'oh so you don't love me' when she asks for something and my dad says no and that would be fine but she keeps insisting about whatever she wants after she says that and it'd be so much less annoying if it wasn't for how often she says it and for all the background information about her saying similar things in situations that I'm sure she does feel them but that make him feel bad for just parenting. But anyway sorry for the rant I know that's ridiculously wrong and you don't have to respond but I needed to get that out lol

I think your frustration and anger and hurt is completely valid, but I also don't think we can disregard that she is 14 and having mental health issues. So avoid her when you can and call her out when you have the energy and try not to feel bad about it, because you are allowed to have limits and boundaries. But maybe don't write her off completely while she is still in the early stages of puberty. There's a good chance this is a phase or at least something she can grow out of at a later point. Not that you are obligated to be there with zero concerns if she does. Being 14 excuses a lot of things, but not this level of consistent manipulation and disregard

[fox-buried-in-maple-leaves]

all of these for frozen shadow :D

What were their first impressions of one another?

Honestly? Decord sort of found Galin annoying. They were too friendly and too.. helpful. Given his trust issues when the team is first formed, their behaviour didn't sit well with him.

Galin saw Decord as a powerful ally! There's a game to be played here, stupidity to hide brains. So Galin definitely saw Decord as a pawn at first.

What was their first date like? If they haven’t been on a date yet, how would it go?

It was sort of chaotic… It also ended up with the waiter getting punched by Decord. But it's fine! So their dinner date went from running away from the restaurant to taking a walk along the pond in Liyue. (,:

It’s late at night and your characters want food, what do they order/find in the fridge?

Galin is most likely to suggest ordering something. Decord will end up cooking though. Most likely something comforting from Snezhnaya or Fontaine. Though sometimes if Galin bats their eyelashes enough, he'll order their favourites.

What’s a typical Sunday like for them?

Depends if Sandrone needs them for something. If he doesn't. They can be found in Galin's room. with Decord reading out loud in their bed, Galin sprawled across his torso. It's time to themselves, yk?

What’s their love language like? Are they compatible with one another?

Decord, R: Quality Time, Words of Affirmation Decord, G: Acts of Service, Gifts Galin, R: Quality Time, Physical Touch Galin, G: Physical Touch, Gifts

Do they have any pet names/nicknames for eachother?

Decord: Ma moitie, Mon étoile, darling. Galin: Love of my life, my better half, sweetheart, bab(e/y), habibi.

What do they argue about?

Death mostly lol. But more seriously; their work, who they want to be, where they want to go in life. Galin is young and Decord is exhausted. And their positions are not easy.

Who does what chores, and why?

Decord cooks and does the laundry, Galin does pretty much every other chore. But thats because they claim he does it 'wrong' lmfao.

What’s the most difficult thing they’ve been through together?

They died in one another's arms so there's that. Or when Galin had to kill him. The latter really shook their relationship and it took a bit to recover from that.

How do they make up after a fight?

Sex and takeout.

Who causes the most arguments?

Outside factors will start arguments and then Decord will get agitated which will cause Galin to get anxious. If that makes sense lol?

What would they say each other’s worst quality is?

Galin, abt Decord: Flakyyyyy Decord, about Galin: Never quite tells the truth.

What would they say each other’s best quality is?

Galin, abt Decord: Loyalty! Decord, about Galin: They'll always show up when it matters.

How would they describe one another if asked?

You can have Decord's VL about Galin and a new one from Galin abt Decord:

Decord: “They have given up their title for the Fatui, but they’re too naive to understand what this organisation will take from them. I do my best but… Forget it.”

Galin: "He's overprotective and always by my side, but I can't very well complain! He's always telling me I deserve more than the Fatui, I'm so young and all that. But how can I leave him here, you know?"

What names are they saved as on each other’s phone?

Dec: Ice Prince Galin: <3<3<3 Ghost Boy <3<3<3

What would they consider quality time?

Galin laying on Decord's chest while the latter reads out loud and/or cooking together. And by cooking together I mean Galin sat on the counter while Dec cooks.

Who decides which movies to watch?

Galin, lmao. Dec isn't too picky with movies. He just wants them to be happy.

How are they like on a road trip together?

THEY NEVER STOP FIGHTING OVER THE TUNES

It’s raining, did either of your OCs bring an umbrella? If so, who, and do they share it?

They both forgot. But Decord uses his coat to cover Galin's head.

What are they like when sharing a bed?

Galin is a huge cuddler and Decord gets so embarrassed he sometimes just.. whooshes away. Ghost things.. But its fine. he always comes back!

Who is better at games? Does the loser take it graciously?

Decord is better and Galin HATES it. Lin is such a sore loser its so funny i love them.

Do they ever share clothes?

Dec doesn't fit in Galin's clothes, but they steal the fuck out of his shit thats for sure. THOUGH, Decord does STEAL Galin's clothes. For when he misses them.

Your OCs are on a trip and there’s only one bed! What do they do?

Cuddle, probably fuck LMAO- uh h word aside, they'll probably also just talk? sometimes sitting down and catching up is necessary, especially with their line of work.

What do your characters think about marriage? Are they for or against it?

They're for it cause they both wanna spite their respective noble families lmao… But for a long time, Decord never saw himself getting married. He didn't think he deserved that sort of happiness.

Pick a physical attribute that they love about each other.

Galin loves Decord's scars, they'll trace them and whisper sweet nothings to him. Decord loves Galin's hair, he'll spend hours playing with it.

Do any of them have bad habits that the other can’t stand?

Oh my god Decord hates that Galin j eats peppers out of the jar in front of him. not even a plate, or a bowl, or in the kitchen. Just ANYWHERE AND FROM THE JAR. IT'S SO GROSS. Galin hates when Decord gets them kicked out of places for just stealing things. Babe you didn't need to take that, I know you literally cannot help it but we gotta get u some therapy this is Ridiculous. Who is more down to earth?

Galin Maher babyyyyy Are they affectionate in public? Is it too much?

They tend to interlock pinkies or Galin will lean on Decord. Small acts of affection that can be easily passed off. Decord doesn't really do PDA, and especially not in their line of work, it's too dangerous in his opinion. How are they affectionate in private?

Decord still gets embarrassed even if their friends see, but he's better about it. Sometimes will walk around the bunker with Galin clinging to his chest or back lol.. How does your OC react to being broken up with?

Galin would cry on the SPOT and beg to know why, beg for him to tell them what they did wrong because they can't not know. Decord however would just nod and woosh away, only to cry the moment he knows he's alone. Do they fall in love easily?

Galin fell very quickly for Decord, whereas Decord didn't know he had fallen in love at all until he was DOWN HORRENDOUS. Your character is in love, do they confess? If not, how long do they wait?

Galin confesses through tears clinging to a recently came back to life Decord. They'd known for a while but were afraid and unsure of how to tell him. And then they watched him die, unaware of his nature. And they nearly lost him, they felt him die, and they got lucky, he came back. And so through quivering lips and tears streaking down their face, they tell him, with a bleeding heart. Decord planned on never saying a thing. Who was the first to say ‘I love you’?

Oh spoiled this one. Galin! Who is more stubborn?

Decord lmao. What moment did they realise that they were in love?

Decord handed Galin his skeleton key one day without really thinking about it and that was it. He didn't know why, wasn't sure what compelled him. Galin however? When the cold hearted ghost who always prefers to be alone ties up his hair and bakes a cake because its Khris' birthday and everybody else is too busy and he's going to try and make their day anyways, and that ghost isn't so cold, he's just lonely. And they get it. They get him. How long have they been friends? Would they consider each other best friends?

Galin has been trying to get close to Decord since day one in order to use him. Decord however kept his distance for a while. But iirc Galin joined Razvedka at 17? and they started dating when they were 19 so. How did they become friends?

Comrades in arms! Who’s more ticklish?

GALIN. If your OCs has/had a child, who would be the stricter parent?

Decord, 100%. He doesn't even mean to be, he just is. What do they do when they miss one another? Is one more needy than the other/s?

Galin is needier but Decord acts more on his feelings. Galin will hug a pillow and wail while pretending its Decord. Decord will show up wherever Galin is and cuddle them outta the blue lmao. What green flags do they have for one another?

Galin watches Decord claim he hates getting close, and then watches the way he throws himself in front of Sandrone, or watches the way he comforts Khris, or watches the way he mutters to himself about this being a fabric Kisa might like, and the way he gives Inessa a part of his pay so she can get extra money back home for her family and wow his loyalty and attention to detail..

Despite their age, Galin knows what they want and knows how to ask for it. They're vulnerable and open and they communicate their needs to him. Despite their inability to fully tell the truth at times, their needs are never ever hidden. And Decord greatly appreciates that, he wants to know what to do. Have they ever been jealous?

Decord is the most jealous mf wtf. "you know other men?" lookin ass. Is one more introverted/extroverted than the other?

Introverted x Extroverted the OTP. Who’s the better cook?

DECORD. Do NOT let Galin anywhere near an oven please oh my god. Are they good at comforting one another? Does someone hide their feelings usually?

Mm both really bad at it at first. But surprisingly its Decord who opens up a little bit, it's Decord who misses Emil and sits there and holds Galin and pets their hair the way he used to do for him, who whispers there's more for them out there than this, like he used to do. Would they have been friends with each other in school?

Galin would have been the popular kid who befriended him accidentally during a school project. Who made the first move?

Galin! Do they get on well with each other’s family? Is family important to them?

Well Galin doesn't know where their family is... And everyone but Marquis Harcourt from Dec's side likes them so! Win. And yes, family is important, but not necessarily just their blood family. Do they tease each other? What about?

Galin loves to tease Decord about the fact sometimes he just disappears when he gets too flustered. And Decord loves to tease Galin in uh. usually very nsfw ways. He doesn't often tease them for other things? Some light banter maybe, but that's about it. Is there anything that scares them about their friendship/relationship?

Decord wasn't sure what he was gonna do once Galin died. He was so scared. But uhm.. He sort of ruined that for them. And he feels bad about it.

[justanintrovertedweirdo]

The Angel and the Imp

(THIS IS REALLY LONG YOU DO NOT HAVE TO READ ALL OF IT. I just wanted to share this introduction to some of my ocs that I did a while ago. I'm honestly really proud of it! Anyway, hope you enjoy if you are gonna read it!)

Hell. Some believe in it, some don’t. But all know it’s a wasteland of nothing but suffering and agony. And they wouldn’t be wrong. But a lot more happens in hell than most people know of. You see, mortals aren’t the only ones who suffer in hell. Down below the Earth’s surface, close to its core, is where the barren wasteland known as hell resides. And also where sinners, demons, and the deadly sins themselves call home. But there’s one specific demon that will be the focus of this story we tell today, some don’t even see them as demons. These are the little creatures known as imps. Inside the temples and homes in hell, they serve their masters, even through the severe abuse they are put through day after day. Other than mortals, imps have the worst lives in hell. And of course, when there are conditions like these, there are going to be some who rebel, and those who do are either severely punished, killed, or kicked out. Those who are lucky enough to be kicked out or to escape hide away in the parts of hell where no one looks. There are little communities of these rebellious imps scattered all over hell, where no one will find them. And in one of those little communities, is where one side of our story begins.

This certain community is hidden in a part of a town that has been long forgotten. It is one of the more improved communities, each of the residents has their own place to sleep, there’s a small pub in the middle where everyone gets their food, and most of them even have a make-shift roof to put over their heads when the weather gets bad. The imp we will be following in this story is an imp with many piercings, and a giant scar from his shoulder and across his torso called Cyrill. He was currently sitting in his make-shift hut which was made up from the rubble of the old buildings around them. The walls were made of old broken pieces of stone, the ceiling was made some-what functional thanks to some old wooden planks, and a large piece of cloth was used as a door. It was small, and it wasn’t comfortable, but it was something. He sat on the pile of straw that he used as a bed and held a small poorly made doll in his clawed hands. It was made of simple brown fabric, like his clothing was, and was stuffed with straw, just like his bed. It didn’t have many discernible features, aside from its poorly sewn in button eyes and its strange looking stitched mouth. The doll was his little brother’s, before he got separated from him at a young age due to him being sold off to a different master. His little brother gave it to him so he would remember him, not that he could ever forget him. It is the only thing he has left of his family, so he keeps it hidden in his straw bed so no one ever steals it or it gets ruined. He looks at it longingly as he gently holds it, it’s in even worse condition than when his brother gave it to him. He doesn’t know how to sew so he’s afraid if it breaks he’ll never be able to fix it. He stays on his bed holding the doll until suddenly his cloth door swings open.

“Hey! We’re start’in the party soon. You come’in or not?” It was Brutus, a strong imp that had many tattoos along his arms and legs. He was bigger than most imps, mostly because of his muscle. Out of all the imps in the community, he was some of the few who had the most scars.

Cyrill nearly jumped to his hooves at the large imp’s rude entrance. He instantly hid the doll back in his straw bed and looked at Brutus, clearly annoyed.

“For the love of Satan! When will you learn not to do that!” he exclaimed.

“Look, you come’in or not?” Brutus said, promptly ignoring him.

Cyrill sighed and stretched as he got up from his bed. “Alright, alright. I’m com’in.”

Brutus smiled, showing his sharp fangs as he held open the cloth door for him. “Good! Come on, they just got out the piano!”

They both walked past many other small huts, most of which looked the same, until they got to the center of their little village. It was built inside the least deprecated building and looked better than the rest of the village, which was saying a lot. This was where the imps in this little community got their food, which was all mostly stolen. It was also where they all gathered for meetings or parties, such as tonight. It was basically a small pub. The beverages they served were all stolen, much like the food. Lanterns were placed on the walls to light up the place, and there were a few tables, and a small bar, which is where an imp called Adonis worked. It’s not like he made a salary, he basically was there all the time in order to serve the imps any food or beverage they currently had. You could say he was the leader of this small community. He knew all the imps and everyone listened to his word more than anyone else’s. Nearly every imp was in this small pub tonight. As he and Brutus walked in, Cyrill could see many had already started to eat and drink as they talked and joked with their friends. There were a few that were taking turns playfully playing the piano, a very prized pession of theirs. When they walked in, a group of imps immediately called Brutus over to join them at their table.

“Oh, that’s me! Gotta go. You go have fun, alright.” Brutus patted Cyrill on the back and smiled at him again before going off to join the other group of imps. Cyrill smiled a little back at him before heading straight to the bar and sitting down on a stool. Adonis, seeing him sit down, walked over to him.

“You want the usual?” he asked in his usual gruff voice. Adonis tended to look very unaproachable, but he actually cared a lot about all the imps here. He knew a lot about them all too, since he was the one everyone usually came to talk to. No one knew a lot about where he came from or how he ended up here, but everyone knows that he despises demons more than anyone, and never wants to get involved with them ever again. Thanks to his injuries, it was clear why he didn’t want to. His broken horn, the worst kind of injury for imps, told them all they needed to know.

“Yeah, thanks” Cyrill rested his head on his hand and got more comfortable in his seat.

Adonis nodded and went off to get his drink. While he waited, Cyrill looked around at the other imps as the party really started off. Brutus looked like he was already making bets with his friends, probably about how much he could drink. He was someone that always had a big toothy grin on his face. It’s said he used to help make weapons for a demon, but when he rebelled and refused to do any more work for them, he was scalded with hot metal and thrown out onto the streets. He bears the scar proudly on his upper arm, he never seems to let anything bring him down. He always takes any bad thing as a lesson and gets right back up after. Another imp, Damian, was being the usual social butterfly he was and was chatting up everyone at his table. He was a skinny imp with lighter skin that didn’t have too many scars. His tall horns were a bit scratched up though. He said that he had worked for a demon under Asmodeus, the embodiment of lust. They used him mostly for chores and errands, though sometimes they’d sharpen things using his horns, just to show how little he meant to them. They abandoned him in this realm when they deemed he wasn’t useful to them anymore. He’s now gotten better but he’s still not fully recovered. Cyrill knows that he still doesn’t believe he’s worth much of anything. But he is getting better. Slowly, but surely. Before Cyrill could watch much more of what the other imps were doing, a scarred imp with an eyepatch sat next to him and started to talk.

“Hey! If it isn’t Cyrill! I thought you weren’t gonna show!” The imp was already holding a small drink in his hand as he leaned his body on the bar counter. His name was Atlas, and he was the most rebellious imp in this village. He was also some of the few who had the most scars, like Brutus. His most defining feature of all though, was his eyepatch that he wore over his left eye. Or at least his left socket. Atlas had once worked under a very brutal demon, not a day went by without him punishing any of the imps that worked for him. After finally having enough, Atlas lashed out at the demon, which responded by clawing his eye out. He then threw him out onto the streets and left him to die. Even so, his rebellious spirit never faltered, and he continues to want to get back at the demons who had all wronged them. It’s the reason he usually leads groups of imps when they go out to steal supplies.

“I wasn’t, but then Brutus practically forced me to.” Cyrill responded with some annoyance.

“Well, now that you’re here, you should lighten up a bit! Come on, let’s go have some fun!” Even though Cyrill was clearly not interested in doing anything right now, that didn’t stop Atlas from trying his hardest to get him to join in. He always wanted Cyrill to have fun since he barely looked happy most of the time.

“I think he’d just like to have a few drinks” Atlas and Cyrill turned to see that Adonis had returned with Cyrill’s drink. He sat it down in front of Cyrill who quickly took a hold of it and gave Adonis a thankful look. Atlas could see that Cyrill wasn’t interested but he still tried one last time.

“Aw, really? Come on, at least watch Brutus drown himself in beer” He gestured to Brutus who seemed to already be on his second glass. He was cheered on by the imps around him as he continued to down his drink.

“Really, I’m fine. Go ahead, have fun. You don’t have to worry about me” Cyrill waved his hand and gave Atlas a reassuring smile.

Atlas sighed, “Alright. But seriously, this is a party! At least try to have some kind of fun.” With that, Atlas got up and walked over to the table Brutus was at, where he had just finished downing his second beer, to the delight of everyone watching on.

“Atlas is right you know.” Adonis spoke up again and Cyrill turned to face him. “I’ll get you whatever you want but don’t just sit here look’in sad all evening.” He left Cyrill alone at that and headed off to serve someone else.

Cyrill sighed again and drank his beverage. He knew they were all right but he felt like he couldn’t have fun after everything that’s happened to him. He felt so guilty for not trying to find his brother after they got separated. He felt like he could never really help anyone. Someone started to play an actual song on the piano, which slowly caught everyone’s attention. Some listened, some danced, and some even sang along. With that, the whole pub got even more lively. There was laughing, singing, dancing, and cheering. Even though their living conditions were some of the worst in all of hell, they all knew this was so much better than living under any demon. Here they were free. And they were happy. Cyrill genuinely smiled as he watched the mood become even lighter, even starting to tap his finger on the bar counter along to the music. The rickety door of the pub then swung open and the voice of a small imp echoed through the room. All the chatter, laughing, and music stopped instantly.

“The angels are coming!” the small imp shouted, as loud as he possibly could.

The whole pub went dead silent. No one said anything in response. The small imp then calmed himself down and spoke again, more quietly this time.

“The angels are coming” fear could be seen all across his body.

Adonis walked over to the imp with a serious look on his face. “How long do we have?”

“An hour. I overheard some demons talking about it in the streets.” The imp was obviously holding back how frightened he was.

And he was right to be frightened, angels are extremely powerful beings. They’re more powerful than any demon or any of the deadly sins. They’re so powerful they could kill Lucifer himself, not that it would be easy, but they could, and that scares those in hell, demon or not. They come down to hell every month or so to either deliver a message to or to talk with one of the deadly sins. No one is to come close to them when they arrive, or they risk getting slashed with one of their spears. Every angel in heaven’s army has one. They were made with the intent to kill beings of hell, so most know better than to get in their way. Imps know they could easily be killed by an angel, it would be like simply killing a pest for them. That’s why all imps stay hidden when angels arrive. It’s the safest way to ensure they won’t be killed.

Adonis raised his voice in order to make sure everyone in the pub could hear him, “Everyone needs to go back to their huts. I’ll inform all of those who weren’t here with us tonight.”

There was a slight sadness in the pub from the party ending early, but they still immediately followed Adonis’ instructions. Everyone quickly left the pub, nothing was really cleaned up but that didn’t matter, they could clean up after the angels had gone. They were in an abandoned part of their town, so there wasn’t much of a chance that the angels would come anywhere close to them. Still, they were angels, and they were imps, it was much better to be safe than sorry. Cyrill heard a lot of chatter among all the imps as he quickly got back to his hut. While some showed it and some didn’t, they clearly were all afraid. It made since. He was too. He entered into his hut and plopped down onto his bed. He knew they were very safe here, but he couldn’t help but feel terrified whenever the angels came. And he hated that feeling. He hated feeling terrified of those who were stronger than him, it made him feel so weak. It couldn’t really be helped much, he was an imp after all. He pulled out the raggedy doll from his bed and held it close to him.

“Stay safe little brother,” he said.

Heaven, once again, it’s a place where most are not sure exist. But it’s where they would like to go to meet their loved ones, and live the rest of their afterlife in peace. Peace, you would think heaven is full of it, and it mostly is, but even so, it has the strongest army in all of creation. All who oppose it have fallen beneath it. The only time this army has ever come close to losing, was when its own soldiers fought against it, rebels that were led by Lucifer. But that happened a long time ago, and Lucifer and all those who fought with him have long since fallen. Even so, heaven’s army still stays strong, awaiting their next attack. Irene, a young angel with yellow eyes, is a part of this army. She is a second rank, as seen by her two pairs of wings. Every angel earns their own wings at different parts of their life, but when an angel joins heaven’s army, their wings double in size. Everytime they get promoted, they gain a new pair of wings. The stronger the angel, the more wings it has. Irene has had four wings for a while now, she is hoping she will get a new pair soon. They were currently practicing their stances with their spear before another angel came up to them.

“You about ready to go, Irene?”

It was Alexis, a third ranked angel with purple eyes. Her and Irene had known each other for some time now.

Irene steadied herself with her spear before turning to look at Alexis. “Yes ma’am.”

“Good, let’s join the others.” Alexis motioned with her hand for Irene to follow, and they did.

They walked through the training fields, neither of them talked much with each other. The fields were green and the sun was warm, just like always. The buildings were clean, it seemed like even the training grounds for an army were perfect in heaven.

“Are you nervous?” Alexis asked, breaking the silence between them.

“Yes. But I believe I’m ready” Irene looked at Alexis with a confident smile as they said this.

“I believe you are too,” Alexis responded.

This was Irene’s first mission in hell. She was going with Alexis and two other angles in order to deliver a message to Beelzebub, the embodiment of gluttony. Luckily, Alexis was going to do the talking, but Irene was still very nervous. They arrived at the point where they could enter hell and joined the other two angels that were waiting for them. Both of them were second ranks, like Irene. Only second ranks and above were allowed to go on missions to hell. Most say you had truly dedicated yourself to heaven’s army when you became a second rank. The four of them were extremely high up, they were at one of the highest places in heaven.

“Alright, all of you are going to follow my lead. Irene, you follow behind me. Apollo, you follow us and Eros will follow last. Got it?” Alexis explained, pointing to each of them appropriately as she said their names.

“Understood ma’am” they all said in unison.

With that, Alexis nodded and turned toward the edge, revealing the clouds that held heaven. She spread her six wings and took off before diving down toward the earth. Irene followed after her, then Apollo, then Eros, just like Alexis had told them to. They dived head first with their wings tucked in tight. They kept going faster, and faster, until heat washed over them and they spread their wings, safely landing in hell. Only an angel is able to do this, they have to reach a certain speed while they dive down to earth in order to reach hell. It’s the only way for angels, while for anyone else, it’s death. They looked around where they had landed, their white skin, clothes, wings, and weapons were a great contrast with the rest of their surroundings. Alexis and Eros looked around for any danger while Irene and Apollo did the same but mostly gazed at their surroundings. This was the first time these two had been to hell after all. It was exciting, but also extremely terrifying. This was the domain of all of the fallen angels, of Lucifer. This was where all demons were born and where all sinners on earth were brought to be tortured for their sins. It truly was a terrifying place.

“Alright, the cost is clear, let’s start moving to her domain. Be sure to stay on your guard.” Alexis told the group, showing just how many times she had been down here.

The group followed Alexis’ lead as they walked through bloodied stone streets lined with houses and temples. Irene could feel how unsafe this place was, she even swore she could hear screaming every now and then in the distance. There was no sky, no sun, just stone and thick air. Irene almost felt bad for all the beings that were trapped here, but she stopped herself, they knew every single being down here deserved to be here, it was their rightful place. Irene shouldn’t feel bad for what she couldn’t change. They all continued to walk through the strangely quiet and empty streets. It came as a surprise to Irene to not see any living creature in sight, even though they were told that hell’s citizens usually hid away when they came down to their domain. Irene found it a little strange, but she wasn’t about to start asking for a fight in hell of all places. But as if it had read her mind, a flying creature then swooped down and scratched her wrist, seeming to try and snatch her bracelet. The scratch felt like it was burning through her skin. She winced and looked toward the creature and then to Alexis for confirmation. They were told if they were ever attacked by anything in hell, they should kill it immediately.

“Go ahead, we’ll continue forward” Alexis said to her.

Irene nodded and flew up into the air and began to chase after the creature. It was small, which meant it was weak, but it also meant that it was quick. But it only had two wings, and Irene had four, which were also much bigger. They both flew quickly past and through many buildings and strange plants until they got to a more ruined part of the town they were currently in. Irene was about to catch this small demon until she accidentally bumped into a ruined building, which made her pause the chase. The demon quickly flew away and before Irene could resume chasing it, she heard movement behind her. Her eyes widened as a big piece of rubble began to fall right on top of her.

Chatter and arguments filled up the air in the pub. Everyone was worried, not because of the angels, they were told they had left hours ago, they were worried about their supplies. Atonis had just announced to everyone that they were running low on food and some imps would need to go in search of more. This was by far the most dangerous part of living here. Homeless imps had to steal food from demons, and if they were caught, they’d most certainly be killed. It was a risky task, but it was necessary in order to keep everyone fed. Atonis stayed in his place on top of the bar counter and raised his voice once again so everyone could hear him.

“Everyone, listen! The unexpected visit from the angels has delayed this restocking of our food much more than I would’ve liked. At least four of us are going to have to go out and find as much food as they can.”

“You know I’m always glad to go, Atonis” Atlas stepped forward, not unusual of him in the slightest.

“I’ll also go, Atonis” Brutus stepped forward soon after Atlas. Brutus was very good at protecting others, so it was a relief to everyone to hear him volunteer.

“I’ll go as well” A young imp stepped forward as he raised his clawed hand.

No one else proceeded to step forward after that. The room was silent as everyone anxiously awaited for just one more imp to volunteer.

“We need one more imp. I’m afraid we can’t do this supply run without at least four.” Atonis said, growing impatient.

Cyrill raised his clawed hand and stepped forward, “I’ll go.”

Everyone looked at him as walked next to the three other imps. Cyrill hadn’t gone on a supply run for sometime now. Everyone was surprised but also very grateful when he stepped up. The other three imps gave him friendly smiles as he stood next to them, Brutus once again giving him a light pat on the back.

“Good, thank you Cyrill. Now, you all know the drill, find as much food wherever you can and make sure to stay together if you can. Above all, stay safe, your lives are much more important than food.” Atonis got down from the bar counter as he talked to them. He had said this many times to many imps but he still meant every word. He’d much rather have everyone come back alive than have them sacrifice themselves for food. With that he took out four bags and handed them to each of them.

The four imps took the bags and all nodded to what Atonis said and after waving farewell to all the others, they left. When they got to the outskirts of their little village, Cyrill started to walk in a different direction than the other three were. The three imps noticed this and Brutus called out to him.

“Hey! Where do you think you’re going?”

Cyrill turned his head to face them, “I’m going to the ruins east of here. There should be some good food growing there that I can bring back.”

The other three looked at each other, concerned.

“Are you sure you don’t wanna come with us?” Atlas asked.

“Are you sure you don’t wanna come with me?” Cyrill asked back.

The other three thought about their response. They were going further into town, they needed to stick with each other there. No one was usually in the ruins, and they could bring back more food if they all weren’t together. Due to how much food they needed, the other three agreed that Cyrill could go to the ruins on his own.

“Be careful alright?” Atlas said, still looking a little worried for Cyrill.

Cyrill nodded and they went their separate ways. The three imps went further into town as Cyrill headed east into the more desolate parts of this domain. The streets were still pretty empty from the angel’s visit a couple of hours ago, but there were some demons around. Luckily, Cyrill had done this many times in the past and he easily and quickly snuck past the demons. He walked past what looked like a demon couple as they interlocked their arms and silently walked the streets, seeming to enjoy the rare calmness. It wasn’t long until the buildings started to get more ruined and less and less demons could be seen roaming around. Vegetation started to replace stone as Cyrill went further into the ruins. He wandered around for a bit until he found a group of mushrooms nested in the ground. Cyrill was able to tell they were safe to eat thanks to how long he’d been on his own. You learn a lot when you’re forced to survive off of everything around you. He put them in his bag and wandered around a bit more until he found a berry bush that he happily picked the berries from and placed them into the pouch with the mushrooms. He was feeling good about how much food he was finding until a strange noise made him stop in his tracks. It sounded like grunting, or at least it sounded like someone was struggling. There was also a sound of metal scraping against stone. Cyrill hesitated for a moment, but in the end decided to investigate. He thought that he’d just quietly take a peek to see what it was. If it was another imp, he’d help them, if it was anything else, he’d just leave it alone. Cyrill got closer to some old ruins as the sounds got louder. He quietly crept around to a hole in the wall where he could see what was making the sounds. He then instantly ducked back behind the wall as he did. He didn’t really believe what he had just seen. It had looked like an angel, but that was impossible, the angels had left hours ago. Cyrill froze as a voice called out to him.

“I know you’re there. Are you gonna come out or leave?”

The voice sounded stern, and powerful. Cyrill felt his blood run cold at the sound of it. He was about to run but something made him stay. And that same something made him look through the hole in the wall again, despite every single instinct in his body telling him to run for the hills. As his eyes laid on it again, he knew he had indeed seen what he thought he saw. It was an angel. Cyrill had never seen one this up close before. He got even more terrified just looking at it. It’s many sharp yellow eyes met his. Cyrill had felt weak before, but this was something entirely different. No demon in hell could make him feel the fear he was feeling in this moment. Its large wings were half folded out at its sides, it looked like it was about ready to attack him. Cyrill questioned why it didn’t, but then he realized. Its bottom right wing was trapped under a large piece of rubble. It looked like it was trying to lift the stone off its wing by pushing its spear under it and pushing on it. It didn’t seem like it was working too well.

“Are you just going to keep staring at me?” the angel spoke again, its voice just as stern and cold.

Cyrill’s ability to speak seemed to have abandoned him. He couldn’t find or get out a single word in this moment. What was he supposed to say? As he continued to not say anything, the angel sighed heavily and once again tried to push the piece of rubble off its wing with its spear. Cyrill stayed where he was, not daring to get anywhere near it.

“Are you… trapped?” Cyrill was finally able to form a sentence. His voice was quiet and fearful, but also curious.

The angel looked back at him, an extreme hate filled its eyes. “Of course I am. What does it look like?”

Cyrill stepped back a bit in fear. It was strange for him to see such a powerful creature like an angel trapped like this. “I was just asking,” he said, still very fearful.

“Look, just leave me alone” the angel already seemed to be tense, and it seemed Cyrill’s presence wasn’t helping.

Cyrill continued to watch the angel before he did something he never thought he would ever do. He climbed through the hole in the wall and got closer to the angel. He kept his distance from it, making sure even with its spear it couldn’t touch him. Cyrill had always seen angels as these untouchable beings. But now that he saw one trapped, he felt like he could approach it. He wondered if an angel could be trapped this easily, how easily could they be hurt? He’d never seen an angel get injured before. Maybe when they do get injured, it makes them incredibly vulnerable. Cyrill’s thoughts were broken when the angel spoke again.

“What are you doing?” It sounded more like a command than a question. The angel was fully tensed up now, it tightened its grip on its spear, looking ready to attack.

Cyrill couldn’t find a good answer no matter how hard he tried. “I don’t know” was all he could muster out.

The angel was obviously not happy with this answer. It brandished its spear, staring him down. “If you get any closer to me, I won’t hesitate to kill you” it said boldly.

Its many eyes felt like they were searing through Cyrill’s body. Even though this was the worst fear he had ever felt in his life, he felt like he couldn’t back down. When was he going to come across another chance like this again? When was he going to find an angel in such a vulnerable state again? Despite his better judgment, he took a step closer. He then quickly dodged out of the way as the angel threw its spear at him with no hesitation. The spear lodged itself into the wall behind him with incredible force. Cyrill looked at the spear, then back to the angel with intense fear. The angel looked back at him, annoyed that it had missed. It then looked back at its spear and realized something as it let out a groan and put a hand to its face. It took a second for Cyrill to also realize this, but when he did most of the fear left his body. The angel had thrown away its only weapon, and there was no way it could get it back. Cyrill began to laugh when he realized this, which only made the angel more aggravated.

“Shut it! I can still kill you even without my spear!” It tried to lean closer to Cyrill but stopped when the piece of ruin pulled on its wing painfully.

Cyrill stopped laughing but still smiled at it as he saw just how helpless this angel was. For once in his life, he finally felt like he had the upper hand on a being that could usually crush him with ease. He then looked back at the spear and smiled more as he got an idea. He got up and walked toward the angelic spear in the wall.

“Don’t you dare touch that!” The angel was furious now.

Cyrill looked back at it, grinning as moved his hand closer to the spear. “And what are you gonna do about it?” With that he placed his clawed hand on the spear. It felt strange. It felt like he was touching metal, but it was warm. It wasn’t warm from its surroundings, it was emitting the warmth by itself. It looked like it slightly glowed from his touch. His thoughts were once again interrupted when the angel spoke again.

“You can touch it?” the volume of its voice had lowered. It now sounded more confused than aggravated.

Cyrill turned back to the angel, his hand still on the spear. “Yeah. What do you mean?”

The angel’s words came as a surprise to Cyrill. He had heard it felt like your wound was burning when you were struck by an angelic weapon, but he found it a little strange how the angel thought it would burn him just by touching it. Cyrill then placed both of his hands on the spear and began pulling it out of the wall, its warmth emanating from itself to his hands. The angel watched him, confused.

“What are you doing?” it said, tilting its head slightly.

Cyrill let go of the spear to take a breath before trying to pull it out again. “I’m gonna try to hold it,” he said, grabbing onto the spear again.

The angel narrowed its eyes at him, “are you going to try to steal it from me?” it said.

“Maybe, I guess we’ll see.” Cyrill said as he continued pulling on the spear.

He kept pulling on the spear until finally he pulled it out of the wall. He then quickly fell backwards underneath the weight of the spear. The angel held back a small laugh when he did. Cyrill tried to pick up the spear again but it was obvious that a small imp like him wasn’t going to be able to pick up a spear carried by an angel trained in heaven’s army.

“Well, guess that’s not happening,” he said, giving up on the spear.

“You tried,” the angel said, seeming to enjoy how Cyrill struggled with its spear.

Cyrill looked to the spear and then to the angel and back again. He sighed.

“I guess you can have it back,” Cyrill said as he reluctantly dragged the spear across the ground before sliding it back to the angel.

The angel quickly grabbed the spear again, though it looked a bit confused as it did. It looked at its spear, and then back to Cyrill.

“Why did you do that?” it asked.

“I’m not sure,” Cyrill said, as he sat down on the ground.

“You seem to not be sure about a lot of things,” the angel said back to him.

Cyrill chuckled a little, “that sounds about right.”

The angel still looked confused but it wasn’t about to question him further. It went back to trying to lift the piece of ruin off its wing with the spear, it still didn’t work. Cyrill watched as the angel tried and failed once again.

“You need more weight,” he said.

The angel let out an annoyed sigh, “thanks for pointing out the obvious.”

Cyrill paused for a moment before getting up and slowly making his way towards the angel. “Why don’t I try-”

Before he could get anything else out the angel quickly removed its spear from under the rubble and pointed it right at him. Cyrill had thought the angel had calmed down but it was obvious he was wrong. The angel had its spear back, and it was ready to try and skewer him a second time if needed. Cyrill put his hands up and tried to look as unaggressive as possible.

“I’m not gonna hurt you” he said, trying his best to make the angel believe it.

“And why should I believe what you say?” the angel asked, its spear never faltering.

“I guess you can't,” Cyrill said. “But how bad could I really hurt you? I’m only an imp after all.”

The angel lowered its spear a little. “That’s right. You are.” It then cocked its head, “what are you doing here anyway? Shouldn’t you be serving your master?”

Cyrill grimaced slightly as the angel said this. “I don’t have a master. I haven’t had a master for years.”

The angel’s eyes widened, it now looked more confused than ever. “What? But how? Isn’t that a whole imp’s purpose?”

Cyrill snickered, trying to hide how much those words hurt him. “Guess I’m pretty useless then, huh? Which only further proves my point. How badly could a useless, masterless imp like me hurt you?” He held back his anger as he grimaced and clenched his fists.

The angel almost felt sorry for the imp. It stopped itself before it actually could, though. This was a being of hell, the first being to ever be made in hell for that matter. It didn’t deserve sympathy.

The angel sighed, “alright, you can help me. But if you try anything, I won’t hesitate to kill you” it made that last part very clear as it pointed its spear at him one last time before lowering it, still keeping a tight grip on it.

Cyrill slowly walked over to the angel, making sure to not show any signs of aggression. His heart beat got quicker as he got to the point where the angel could attack him and quicker still as he got closer. The angel was so much bigger than him, that was only made more abundantly clear as he got closer to it. Even when sitting down it was still taller than him. The angel never stopped looking at him. It took a second for him to find his voice when he got close enough to it.

“Okay, I’ll push down on your spear with you when you have it under the rubble. Maybe then it’ll be enough to lift it off your wing” Cyrill explained.

The angel nodded and put its spear under the rubble once again. Cyrill cautiously put his hands on the spear, feeling its warmth on his hands once again. They both began to push down on the spear. Cyrill needed to put his whole body weight on the spear before it actually started to lift the large piece of ruin off of the angel’s wing. They kept pushing and as soon as it could, the angel pulled its wing out from under the rubble with a pained expression. The angel quickly pulled off its weight from the spear once its wing was no longer trapped, and Cyrill quickly followed suit. They both looked at the wing. It was definitely broken. There wasn’t blood, but it was clear some bones were broken. After examining its wing, the angel stood up, making Cyrill be at about waist height of it. There was silence between them for some time before the angel spoke up.

“Thank you” it said, almost sounding reluctant.

“You’re welcome” Cyrill was surprised to hear this angel thank him, but he still received the angel’s thanks.

There was silence again before the angel said something else, “what is your name?”

Cyrill didn’t know exactly what to say for a second. Was this angel really asking for his name? “Cyrill,” He said finally.

The angel gently put its hand to its chest, “Irene” it said.

Silence fell over them again. Neither of them ever thought that they would be exchanging names with someone like this.

“It was… interesting to meet you, Cyrill,” Irene said as she turned to leave.

Cyrill didn’t know what to say back. He didn’t know what to say about any of this. “Yeah, you too” was all he could get out.

After that, Irene took off with her one remaining pair of wings, blowing some dust against Cyrill as she did. Strangely, Cyrill didn’t seem to mind. He watched as Irene flew away, confused about the interaction he had just had, much like her. Both of them were asking questions, and both of them were wanting answers. But neither of them were sure if they wanted them answered.

[j-ut-da-e]

Heart of Hearts

Chapter 3 (2/2) - Memories思い出

Summary - To cap off the worst year of her life, Kutsuki Hotaru is thrown into an unknown world where everyone in Tokyo has disappeared. She's forced to play games to survive and dark memories catch up to her. Can some coincidental encounters with someone from her real life help her escape from the Borderlands?

Pairing - Chishiya Shuntaro x FEM!OC

Word Count - 915

Warnings - minimal editing, slow burn, aib warnings (blood, murder, fear, etc), cursing, panic attack, lmk if I missed anything

A/N - beach beach beach beach beach

Masterlist

"I remember her, she could talk through an entire six-hour surgery."

Hotaru laughs genuinely for the first time in a long while, "That's her specialty. She wouldn't shut up about you for a while actually. It was pretty annoying."

"Most of what she talked about to me was you as well."

"At that point, I was avoiding you out of spite," she lets out a dry laugh, "Pretty ironic that this is where we'd finally meet. I was even going to medical school to work with her."

"You would've had to have covered your tattoos then."

"How do you think I even got into medical school?"

His eyes stay forward but she can see a smile creep onto his face. A silence settles over them, "Why are you alone?" He asks finally.

There's a pang of grief in her stomach as she looks away, "Imai, my friend, he died during the tag game."

"Ah, I see," there's another pause, "Did you know each other in the real world?"

"Why are you asking so many questions?"

His eyes lower to the floor, "No reason, I guess I'm just curious. Or bored," his expression is unreadable.

Her eyes follow as he stands, "You're bored. I'm not a very interesting person."

"We'll probably see each other again," he says, his back to her, "So, I'll see you then, Kutsuki."

"Is that a promise or a threat?" 

Without another word, Chishiya disappears into the alley. 

🃏

The building, as it turned out was a cafe in the real world. Now rotten food sat on the tables, but there was still bottled water and other drinks behind the counter. She also found some packaged food that was safe enough to eat. 

After eating, Hotaru’s body all but shuts down. Her limbs are heavy and her eyes keep shutting. She goes to the back of the cafe and clears out one of the cabinets in the kitchen, laying a tablecloth in it. Shutting the door behind her, she sleeps. 

Hotaru sleeps until the sun is setting the next day. Her body screams in protest as she climbs out of her hiding spot. She stretches and almost every one of her joints pop. Groaning, she fills up a tote bag with food and water. Those bastards from yesterday had taken her backpack and the pack on her belt didn’t hold much.

With her visa still at six days, she wants to take a break from playing games.  She wasn't sure what she wanted to do, but she knew she wouldn’t make it if she didn't give her body a break. After a lot of thought, she decides to explore the city. She’d lived in Tokyo for most of her life, but when would she get the chance to explore it without thousands of people around?

First is her favorite spot in Tokyo, luckily it was nearby. Hotaru had always been a sort of strange child. There were many reasons, but her father always said that the weirdest thing about her was that her favorite place in Tokyo was the Hachiko statue at Shibuya station. 

Hotaru sits on the warm concrete in front of the bronze sculpture. She didn't remember why the statue was so special to her. Her mother said that when she first heard about Hachiko as a young child she became obsessed with him. Apparently, she would drag her family to Shibuya at least once a week, even when her mom lived outside of Tokyo.

As an adult, it was just comforting. It was such a big part of her childhood due to her hyper fixation. His cute face staring at her made her almost feel safe. 

She undoes the last of her braid, running her fingers through her now-wavy hair. A low rumble makes her head snap around. It continually grows louder, until she can see headlights coming toward her. She scrambles to collect her things and hides behind the statue. 

A car pulls into the crossing, and she can see at least five men inside. Two of them hung out the window and she couldn't help but notice the large guns they carried. She shrinks back and clutches her bag to her chest. Car doors slam and she can hear the men talking to each other excitedly.

She shuts her eyes and breathes deeply, "Now what are you doing here all alone?"

Hotaru freezes, ice shooting through her veins. She slowly opens her eyes and turns to the source of the voice. A man stood over her, an assault rifle over his shoulder. His shoulder-length black hair was half tied up and he had a nose and eyebrow piercing. 

He yanks her up by her arm and calls out to the other men, "Look what I found!" The two men outside of the car walk forward to meet them in the middle.

"She looks in good shape," one of them says, looking her up and down.

Her heart races but she keeps her body still, "Do you have any cards, honey?" The first man asks, throwing his arm over her shoulders.

She gives him a steely glare, "Cards?"

Another car door opens before a familiar voice calls out, "Kutsuki,"

She turns and the feeling of seeing a familiar face overwhelms her, "Hatter?" Before she knows it, she's wrapping her arms around the man. Something she never thought she would do.

He wraps one arm around her, "She's coming with us," he announces, "Welcome back to the beach, Kutsuki."

[pedgito]

Could you do a love triangle between reader, Steve and Eddie? Like she can't decide who she's more attracted too and spin the bottle goes south really quick. Because they're jealous when someone dares the reader to kiss the other or someone else.

author's note: uh, yeah...i got carried away. this took on a life of it's own. i also got halfway through and tumblr deleted it and i had retype all of it, so if it seems a little disjointed, i'm sorry. hopefully it isn't too noticeable

cw: 18+ (to be safe), background!ronance, lots of making out and some suggestive touching, but nothing too crazy. there's not any interaction outside of the reader between steve & eddie, other than talking, ect, but i tried leaving the ending a little ambiguous for a reason :p

word count: 3.6k

You weren’t entirely too sure how you ended up in this situation—scratch that—you were definitely aware of how, but why was the real issue. A small group of teenagers huddled around a fire during of those infamous senior year parties, drinking until you couldn’t see straight and making far too many irrational decisions—which is the how on you ending up here, staring directly at the two boys you couldn’t stop thinking about, sans the few other kids who didn’t really matter—not to you, anyways. You hadn’t spoke to half these kids the entire school year, but spin the bottle was harmless, practically child’s play. What was the worst thing that could happen?

“So, how are we doing this?” Steve asks after a long silence. Everyone shares a glance around the circle, not a single word spoken. “Come on, at least one of you has to have some idea of how to play.”

You sigh, taking the bait. “Let’s do—spinner chooses the person to kiss for whoever it lands on. Fair enough?” There’s a collective shrug from everyone in response. “Great—I’ll go first.” No one argues against it.

It lands on Nancy first, who takes a small sip of her beer—liquid courage, maybe? Though, she already looked like she been through a few by the slight flush in her face. You glance over at your quirky, fast talking friend and an idea strikes you.

“Robin.” You grin, staring Nancy down. Part of you expects Nancy to back out, but she crosses the path to Robin, who sitting beside you. It’s a quick kiss—close mouthed and simple. Nancy offered a comforting smile to her friend before turning on her heels and returning to her seat—and if it weren’t for the four beers Robin had consumed in the time you had been here, she’d be shaking in her converse after being kissed—and by Nancy Wheeler, of all people. You nudge her shoulder comfortingly, watching the blush creep up her neck toward her face. “Alright, who’s next?” Robin asks, desperately hoping to avert the attention away from her.

A young blonde girl who’s name you couldn’t remember spun the bottle, landing on Jason, and to no surprise—she picked herself. You’ve never been more happy that Chrissy wasn’t much of a partier, she didn’t deserve this—Jason really didn’t deserve her. You couldn’t be bothered to watch, eyes averting to Eddie who was just as equally uncomfortable, but it didn’t seem like it was for the same reason. He rarely ever took part in group stuff or socialized outside of his D&D club—but he had you, Nancy, Robin, and Steve to thank for finally helping him branch out—even if it was against his own will most of the time.

Jason took the next turn, spinning the bottle. It spun and spun, lasting for what felt like hours until it stopped on you. You looked at Jason, bracing for whatever stupid choice he was about to.

“Harrington.” He says smugly, smirk covering his annoying face. “You get to kiss Harrington.”

Steve eyes you wearily, immediately feeling uncomfortable with all eyes on him. Luckily, it wasn’t that big of a deal. Had he been the Steve of two years ago, he would’ve had no shame, kissing you square on the mouth in front of the entire school if he needed to, just to prove a point. But this Steve, he was hesitant. You had been through a lot, together and apart.

“Lucky me.” You joke, flashing a sweet smile in Steve’s direction. You chug the rest of the beer, throwing the bottle off toward the other growing pile of empty bottles. You contemplate whether a simple kiss was enough, but the way Jason was staring you down—you just had to stick it to him, shove it right in his face.

Steve’s leg spread slightly as you moved forward, allowing you the space you needed to take a careful seat on his leg, one arm hung loosely around his back. “You can hate me later.” You whisper, hand coming up to cradle the side of his face before leaning in, pressing you lips against his own with all the confidence in the world.

You really don’t expect the pressure the Steve returns, parting your lips slightly. But, he seems to catch on to why you were putting on such a show—he would play along either way. And even if you did have the teensiest of crushes on Steve, you would never find the courage to act on it alone. Steve spent all of his time talking about girls that there was no reason for you to be anywhere on his radar. He sighs quietly, bring you in closer, hand gripping onto your waist gently.

Jason clears his throat awkwardly, “If you two want to get a room that’s fine.” Of course the jerk couldn’t take what he wanted to dish out. You pull away slowly, eyes immediately connecting with his.

“Sorry. Who’s next?” You ask simply, standing to smooth out your shirt where it had ridden up from Steve’s hand. “Robin?”

“Me?” She asks, voice shaken. Robin was always so inherently nervous, but it was part of her charm. "I, uh--Okay."

You could hear a pin drop as soon as it landed on Eddie, the entire group snapping their attention in his direction. He was fiddling with the neck of the bottle, not realizing everyone was staring at him until Steve nudges him.

He laughs lightly, not even the slightest bit uncomfortable. You would never understand how easily he brushed everything off. "Choose wisely, Robin." He teases, pointing a tantalizing finger her direction. Robin forces a laugh, eyes wandering around the group slowly, categorizing every person.

Not Jason, not Nancy, not to mention all the other kids who were vehemently making an effort to avoid Robin's gaze. She stops on Steve for half a second, considering--before she snaps to you. She mumbles a sheepish, "Sorry--I love you, please don't hate me."

But, there wasn't any reason to hate her. It was a game--a silly, stupid little game, right? You shrug, throwing your arms up in the air. "Rules are rules." You assure her, "Pucker up, Munson."

Much similar to your approach to Steve, Eddie widens his legs. But, he's perched higher, allowing his head to be level with you while he sat. "It's an honor, sweetheart." His voice dripping with honey, warm and entirely too welcoming--and now you really can't ignore the shiver that runs down your spine. It wasn't the alcohol this time, not even in the slightest.

He yanks you toward him gently, fingers carding their way through the hair at nape of your neck, pulling you in for a slow, searing kiss. You yelp quietly at the action, caught off guard by the way Eddie manhandled you into place--not that you were complaining.

The kiss quickly turns into something else, a mess of tongues and not much else. It was probably time to cut off the alcohol. Robin whistles loudly from behind you, the rest of the teenagers joining in quickly, pulling you both out of whatever trance you had both entered. You quickly stepped back from Eddie, pointedly avoiding his eyes--unfortunately, locking right onto Steve's. Except he's not looking back, he's staring directly at Eddie. And it's then, in the midst of all your drunkenness, that your existential crisis hits you.

Steve was jealous and Eddie wanted to make Steve jealous. It had worked perfectly, assuming by the look on Steve's face. But, what doesn't make sense, is why Steve couldn't bare to look at you now. Eddie coughs softly, causing you to separate further. "Sorry, sweetheart. Kinda got ahead of myself." You wanted to blame it on the alcohol, but it couldn't have been more obvious--the problem was literally staring you directly in the face.

They were both jealous. They couldn't even share a glance with each other anymore, after an entire night of pointless chatting, it was like they couldn't be on further points of the universe, all over a harmless game.

"Well, I think that's enough for one night." Nancy finally says, breaking the tension that had been created between the three of you. "Robin?" She asks, making an effort to hope she would catch on.

"Yep!" She claps, standing up from her spot and immediately snatching Nancy away from the group. "God, please fill me in on whatever is going on with those two." Robin whispers into your ear before she finally flees, following Nancy toward the drink table, against her better judgement.

.ೃ࿐

After a few minutes of silence and stolen glances between each other, no one speaks. You sigh loudly, hands thrown out to your side. "I'm not dealing with you two. I'm not--I'm just gonna go find somewhere to sober up." You weren't sure what had brought out the behavior from Steve--well, Eddie had--but, you hadn't done a single thing to him. And Eddie, he couldn't even be bothered to look Steve's way.

You turn, stomping off into the deep brush of forest, desperate to escape the chaos of the party and calm your nerves. "Wait!" You hear Steve call out, but you don't stop. To no one's surprise, Steve trails closely behind--a quiet Eddie sticking behind, staring at the dirty, scuffed white sneakers he wore.

"Wait, please," Steve's voice is softer this time, but louder, void of all the loud music and chatter. He's staring at you with his soft, brown eyes--the type of look that would make any girl melt. But not you, not now, "stuff got weird back there, I'm sorry."

"Stuff got weird? Is that the excuse you're using?" You ask, entirely unconvinced by what he was telling you. "So, you staring down Eddie like you wanted to murder him isn't important? I shouldn't be worried about that?"

Steve looks away, jaw clenching. "I didn't think it would feel weird. But, I couldn't help it." He replies lamely, still not looking your way.

"Couldn't help what?" You ask, arms crossing over your chest, "Acting like a complete douche? It was a game, Steve." But, you were far past the point of it just being a game--you knew it was more to Steve, maybe not before, but definitely now.

"Just a game? So when you had your tongue shoved down Eddie's throat, that was just a game?" Steve turns toward you, eyes narrowing. You set yourself, brows furrowing in anger.

"So, you are jealous." Steve shakes his head in frustration, back turned toward you. "You're jealous that I kissed Eddie? Steve, I kissed you too, how does that make any sense?" He didn't even have the courage to look at you now, even after being so confrontational. "Steve, seriously?"

"Fuck this." He snaps, turning on his heels and stalking toward you, legs hitting the back of the worn out picnic table, sending you stumbling back, arm extended out in an effort to catch yourself, but Steve's hands are around you before you can even think, pulling you into him.

You hesitate for a split second, seeing his eyes scan over the expanse of your face, silently checking if you were okay--you were furious, but you couldn't help but want to lean in further, the tingle of alcohol filling your body. You sigh into Steve's mouth the moment it touches yours, immediately wrapping your arms around the expanse of his neck, allowing his hands to slip under your thighs and force you to be fully seated on the table now, wrapping your legs around his hips.

His tongue traces a line against your top lip, idle hand squeezing at the soft flesh of your waist, before delving into your mouth like he was a man dying of thirst, ready to bleed you dry. You fight back, lips pressing against his in an effort to gain an upper hand, fingers gently pulling at his hair. Steve moans outwardly, a filthy laugh slipping from his lips at the effort you were giving. "I guess I had a reason to be jealous, yeah?" He asks teasingly, his voice low and soft, only for your ears.

"Shut up." You bite back, pulling him back in for another kiss, leaving you practically breathless.

"Well, seems you two had a couple issues to work through." A voice bleeds through the trees, the familiar crackle of leaves coming closer and closer until..."Didn't think you had it in you, Harrington."

"Eddie." It's a warning. He knows it.

Eddie throws his hands up in defeat before resting them behind his back, slowly stepping closer. Steve was still pressed between your legs, but both of you were glued on Eddie and that stupid smirk he had.

"Don't act so innocent, sweetheart." He chides, his voice soft but condescending in it's tone. "You knew exactly what you were doing."

A step closer, than another, until he's practically kneeling on the bench beside you both, only a few inches away. "Steve's definitely got it out for you--problem is, I do too."

It couldn't have been more obvious, but the reality of hearing it fall from Eddie's mouth has your heart skipping a beat. Two of you bestfriends, two people you loved--it should feel wrong.

Eddie lets out a short chuckle, eyes dark, not soft like they usually are. He wasn't mad, you've known him long enough to understand what that looks like, but this--it was something else entirely. He leans in slowly, lips brushing the shell of your ear.

You were too hyperaware of your position now--Steve crowded over you, Eddie pushed in beside you. Steve hadn't even bothered to move, to enraptured by the show Eddie was putting on, almost like he was amused by it. You glance over at Steve, his mouth hung open slightly, still caught up in all the emotion of the moment, his grip never faltering.

"You think Harrington likes to watch? Or maybe he'll join in?" Eddie asks teasingly, eyes glancing toward Steve. Steve's eyes flit toward Eddie quickly, before returning to your own, eyes glossing over slightly. "He does get a little feisty when he drinks, doesn't he?"

"Eddie, just get to the point." You beg tiredly, glancing up toward him now. Eddie smiles, but it's slight, barely noticeable at all. He's thinking, contemplating. But, it doesn't take long before Eddie's leaning forward, chin grasped between his fingers in an effort to maneuver your face toward him. It's surprisingly gentle, despite how aggressive it would look to anyone passing by, luckily you three were completely alone.

"Just couldn't resist another taste, sweetheart." Eddie flirted entirely to well, it was one of his more annoying traits. He flirted with everyone, anything, it wasn't something you ever put much thought into. But, this--this was dirty, this was real. "I'll let myself regret it in the morning."

But, it's you who closes that gap, hand reaching up to graze the side of Eddie's face, fingers catching in one of his curls. Steve's grip on your waist tightens, but he doesn't move, doesn't let go. He hasn't even made a sound. Eddie licks into your mouth, desperate for more of you, teeth grazing against your bottom lip, nipping gently. Eddie was messy with passion in the way that Steve was slightly more coordinated--and the idea that you were even comparing the two was insane, but that was a thought for a later time. There were more pressing issues at hand--like, Eddie pulling away to suck at a particular spot on your neck, allowing you to finally lock eyes with Steve again.

"Can I kiss you?" His voice was rough, eyes drawn to where Eddie was sucking along your neck. You couldn't even be bothered to answer, nodding quickly in response. He pulls you in carefully, the hand that wasn't holding your waist a featherlight touch against your thigh, pulling your leg higher up his hip. He didn't seem to mind that Eddie wanted to join in, but he wanted to make sure his presence was still known. Not like you could forget it--this would be burned into your mind forever.

You sigh, desperate for more and more touch, from either of them. It was driving you wild, the way Eddie was whispering in your ear, taking the time to claim up your skin with his own mouth, all while being devoured by Steve’s, his tongue breaching past your lips, desperate to pull any little sound he could out of you. Words were pointless, you couldn’t even form one. It wasn’t like you were drunk enough to the point where you couldn’t make a rational decision, not that anything was making sense right now, but you were definitely aware.

“Switch me, Harrington.” Eddie sighs out, hand reaching around to grip at the thigh that Steve wasn’t occupying, squeezing at the sensitive flesh. You whine softly, the cold sting of his rings a very prominent reminder. This was Eddie, your best friend, and Steve—also your best friend—how were you going to recover from this?

Steve doesn’t put up a fight, surprisingly, switching with Eddie quickly, hand wandering up your chest, slipping under the thin material of your shirt. “This okay?” He asks into crown of your head, mouth buried into your hair, squeezing at your breast, over the flimsy bralette that covered them.

“So okay. So much better than okay.” You confess, pleasure having taken over your rational thinking completely. You catch the glance that Eddie sends Steve's way, watching his hand disappear under your shirt. And for a split second, Steve locks eyes with him. They could've buried you six feet under at this point, not even feeling like you were in control of yourself anymore. But, the feeling of Eddie's lips brushing against your own has you jolting back to reality, your hand coming up to push his hair out of his face, delving into his mouth, a sloppy mess of tongue and spit, just like before.

It was a stark contrast, the way Eddie was ready to devour you whole, compared to Steve, who was sure of himself, but never taking a step too far without checking in with you. It had you reeling, two of the boys you care about most, drawing sounds out of you that you had no idea existed. You had to stop this at some point, before you three woke up the next morning, unable to look at each other.

You sighed, reaching back to rub tenderly at Steve's arm, pulling his attention away from where his face was buried in your neck, barely grazing Eddie's, but it's enough to interrupt him. He pulls back, eyes softer now.

"We have to stop." You say, regretfully. As much as you wanted to let the alcohol think for you, some things just couldn't get out of control, not this. "We can't do this."

They both pull back slowly, slightly dejected. "Sorry." Steve says softly, attempting to subtly adjust the front of his pants, but he fails.

"Damn, Harrington." Eddie laughs, finally pulling back, fishing his pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. "You just keep surprising me."

"Shut up." Steve shoots back, but there's no real emotion behind it. He almost laughs at the absurdity of the situation, not having fully processed everything either.

"I need to get back before Robin comes looking for me." You tell them both, the flick of Eddie's lighter louder in the silence that had settled.

"Eh, I don't know about that." Eddie gives you a playful look, taking a long drag from the cigarette. "She might be a little busy."

"With?" You ask, eyeing him carefully.

"Let's just say, Wheeler was pretty eager to run off with her earlier," He glances over at Steve, then back at you, "and I definitely didn't catch them making out over by the parking lot."

"Damn, I didn't think Robin had it in her." Steve comments offhandedly, seemingly proud of his friend.

"God," You sigh, rubbing your hands over your face tiredly, "this is the last party I'm ever tagging along on."

"Probably a good idea," Eddie says, smiling down at you, "you might end up falling in love with us." It's a lame attempt at a joke, but the way your heart flutters scares you.

"Yeah." You force a laugh, pushing yourself off the table and attempting to walk back toward the wild group of drunk teenagers. The boys trail closely behind, exchanging glances between each other unbeknownst you. Steve shakes his head in disbelief.

"Hey!" You hear Robin yells, jogging toward you. Nancy was close behind her, an obvious pep in her step. You gave Robin a suspicious look, eyeing her up and down. "So, these two ever stop acting so grumpy?"

"Yeah." You say slowly, glancing over at Nancy, who was forcing herself to hide the obvious smile on her face. "They'll be okay, we talked it out."

"Good, at least they finally figured their shit out." Robin whispers to you, glancing up at the two boys who were both wearing the same pair of shit-eating grins on their face at the sight of their other two friends.

"I could say the same for you."

The look on Robin's face is priceless, sending you running in the direction of Steve's car at the startled yell of your name. "She's gonna kill you for that." Eddie comments, gasping for breath when you finally come to a stop, arm draped over your shoulder gently.

"I told you, she just needed a nudge." Steve smirks, jingling the keys to his car in front of you. "Need a ride?"

It didn't matter if you three ended up in the back of Steve's car that night, somehow in the same situation as earlier, you could regret it in the morning. But truthfully, that wasn't the last time—and none of you ever regretted it.

[weirdmorefics]

Hi if not to much trouble could you do a brigeton x brother reader where the brother gets into a fight and all of the family are really worried thank you, you're writing is absolutely amazing.

Bloody Gossip

A/N- Eek thank you so much for liking my writing. I appreciate it so much! I apologize for the long wait my computer is being a butt. It is from 2013 and I should probably get a new one lol.

Warnings- Blood 

Pronouns- He/Him

Word Count- 751

Summary- The Bridgerton’s are featured in Lady Whistledown’s newest paper due to some shocking events at last night's ball.

Eloise and I have always been the closest among our siblings. Mainly because I help her sneak out of events much to Mother's dismay. However, Mother threatened to put us in this season if we snuck out of this ball because she was tired of us skipping out on our social duties. So here we are me and Eloise hiding by the refreshments.

“You two couldn’t be more antisocial,” Benedict laughs at us.

“And you couldn’t be more annoying,” Eloise rolls her eyes.

“Could we stop arguing before Mother scolds us?” I ask.

“We are not arguing!” They say in unison. 

I raise my hands, “Of course, of course. Now if you don’t mind me I am going to try to find some lady to dance with me so Mother does not chastise me.”

“May we all pray for that young woman’s soul,” Benedict puts his hands in the prayer position.

“Ha ha, you are soooo funny,” I fake laugh and walk away.

Once I step away from my sibling's a man about Benedict’s age bumps into me. He quickly apologizes but seems to be happy once he realizes who I am.

“You’re Y/N Bridgerton, right?” The man asks and I nod hesitantly. “So you’re Eloise’s brother right?”

“Yes, that would be why we have the same last name and Mother,” I say sarcastically.

He ignores my comment, “Well, good! Then maybe you can give me a few tips on how to tame her.” I gag at his comment but he still continues. “I love the wild ones they’re so fun to break.”

“You do realize you are talking about my sister,” I say through gritted teeth.

“Of course I do! That’s why I’m talking to you, for tips. God, I hope your sister isn’t this dense. However, the denser the girl the easier she is to fool. I was going to go for Daphne but she seemed too dense it must run in the family.” He mocks.

That was my last straw how dare he insult my family. “I implore you to take that back. I will not stand for you to talk down about my family.” I respond and try to stand my ground.

“You do not seem to be the brightest out of your family. I suppose I’ll ask Anthony, maybe I can give him some tips on how to hide his rake tendencies in exchange.” 

I have had enough of this man so I give in and sucker punch him in the face. Sadly this does not go well for me because I have never been the strongest out of my brothers. The man returns my punch in the stomach and knocks me down. Then he proceeds to kick me while I'm down and I swear I see stars until my vision fades to nothing.

--------

I wake up very disoriented and see my very fuzzy siblings sleeping on the bed, chairs, and floor. I try to get up and a sore groan leaves my mouth. Next thing I knew my siblings are all waking up and rushing to get me things.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. You all can relax,” I groan.

“Yeah, you sure look fine,” Anthony says sarcastically.

I roll my eyes as but am interrupted by Eloise jumping onto the bed causing me to groan and Eloise to quickly apologize.

“Thanks to you Brother of mine we know that Lady Whistledown was at the ball and she was close enough to know to hear all the atrocious things that man was saying he shall never find a suitor now!” She laughs

“That also means everyone knows you stink at fighting,” Benedict laughs.

“Do not listen to them we were so worried never start a fight like that ever again. We could not sleep the whole night! We weren’t sure if you were going to make it! If you had just told me none of this would have happened.” Anthony says making me feel like the worst brother ever but he probably feels the same.

I assure Anthony I’m fine but he bosses me around and tells me I’m on bed rest. I’m lucky though that Eloise kept me up to date on all the drama and Gregory play many card games with me to keep me entertained. However, I am not sure I will ever be left alone again. I just have to remind myself that they do it out of love or else I think I may strangle them for their constant hovering.

Support Me Here

[dawnscall]

to say that it gave him great pleasure to see a harbinger so woefully underprepared to receive his wrath was both satisfying an disappointing, even if seeing said harbinger reduced to a crumbled shell of his usual self was rather pathetic in his book. diluc couldn't help but feel a pang of regret when he watched those eyes look so far into the distance, that he couldn't comprehend what it was that he was truly thinking of or worrying about. had he taken care of the business that had worried him enough to ask his rival to safeguard his family? in any case, it would seem that things had settled enough for him to at least pay a visit. diluc was certain that his younger siblings would be ecstatic to see childe again after the months of his absence.

his arms would fold across his chest, terse expression lingering even when he's told all about how his worries were less pervasive under his watchful eye, even as he's told he's a good man— even as he's told that if he wished never to see the shameless harbinger ever again, it would be so. that's what diluc had wanted all along, right? just his peace and quiet to return to him so he wouldn't have to raise his blade every time the depths of the ocean stared right back at him with a playful little smirk on his face. oh, how the the waters had muddied. diluc could no longer confidently say that he wished never to see that unfortunately handsome face anymore, even if he constantly tempts his ire. the worst part is that since childe had all but vanished, the young master had grown quite fond of his family, even going as far as taking his younger siblings to the city to celebrate ludi harpastum. just how was he supposed to sever those ties now that the only reason for them to remain promised that he wouldn't ever show his face again?

' you can be so insufferable. ' rhetorical. ' why would you let me drag you away like this? i've never once seen you so.. sentimental. ' also notably rhetorical. he's well aware that lord tartaglia was severely capable of fighting back his aggravated battery, and part of him was annoyed that he didn't, instead returning his disdain with patience and understanding. it perplexed diluc in ways he locked away, never allowing such indiscriminate toils to see the light of day. perhaps he even felt slightly remorseful for allowing his anger to get the better of him in the first place if this is the response he's met with. ' i... '

maybe, just maybe, his expression gave hint to that remorse, and maybe his hand flexed like he wanted to reach out and touch the newly blooming and surely aching skin, but he refrained, preferring to maintain whatever was left of his composure. the hardest part of being told he'd never have to see his face again after childe took his family back to snezhnaya was pushing past the laurels he rested on in order to admit he didn't want that. ' if you don't bring your siblings to the next ludi harpastum, i'm sure they'll be disappointed. i made a promise on your behalf, so you'd better not let them down. '

' that being said... ' crimson gaze settles on the crate childe's leaned against— anything but that disgruntled expression, especially when diluc offered his hand to help him rise to his feet. ' if you do anything you won't regret again, i'm sure you can imagine that the consequences will be far more.. just don't do that again. '

As soon as the door opened is when some of Tartaglia's near endless confidence began to waver. He could see the shift in Diluc's eyes where something unreadable quickly made way for the anger the Harbinger had expected. This wasn't a new look, not really. He'd seen that fiery rage in those carmine eyes many a time that he'd found himself in Mondstadt facing the other's blade, and all Tartaglia could think was that he definitely deserved it this time.

Despite every fiber of his being protesting to being dragged along like cattle to the side of the mansion, but how could he really fight back against the man who he had greedily taken so much kindness from and yet still tried to take more that he never deserved? Diluc, for all that he hated his guts, had taken on the burden of safeguarding what little he could still say he loved, so he'd take his punishment without complaint as it was dealt even if he was nearly bowled over from the force of the hand which made sharp contact with the side of his face.

"Actually, I think I've been made well aware how much you'd love to reduce me to ashes." A hand raised to rub at his stinging skin and aching jaw that would no doubt bruise nastily in no time. The only saving grace he truly had was that Diluc's hand had remained on his face and hadn't reached further back to rupture his eardrum and add to the already present disorientation he felt as he staggered toward the wall of the mansion in search of something solid to lean on while he found his bearings.

"Ngh... I guess I deserved that though." Shifting so his back hit the wall he slowly lowered himself to the ground, head still reeling but not enough that Tartaglia couldn't put on a lazy grin for the stubborn protector of Mondstadt to see. "My intention back then wasn't to embarrass or offend you, but I don't regret anything. I know I've taken more from you than I can every repay, but I'm grateful you've kept them safe for me because you're the only one who could. It was easy not to worry too much about my family knowing they were under your protection, and now I've mostly taken care of everything that needed my immediate attention."

"You're a good man, Diluc..." A pause, smile beginning to falter as Tartaglia's empty, ocean gaze fell and he released a long, exhausted sigh. Everything was over now, or at least brought to a point it was manageable. Now came the part he hadn't expected to be perhaps even more difficult than taking on one of his stronger comrades. "If you asked- now that everything's starting to settle- once I take my family back to Snezhnaya you'll never find me coming to your door ever again."