#AT SHOWING THAT HE WAS SLOWLY AGING HIMSELF HAHAHA

[alittlebitofsainz]

a place in this world (carlos’ version)

chapter 3: the other side of the door

summary: what’s a team celebration party without a little drama?

pairing: carlos sainz x f!reader, slow burn colleagues to friends to lovers, a lil’ bit of angst

warnings: swearing, alcohol consumption, allusions to sex but nothing explicit

a/n: the cheese room of a club just plays cheesy music, think abba or anything from the 00s. also carlos’ phone background is a picture of him and piñón, but it cropped weirdly hahaha

masterlist | chapter 1 | chapter 2 | chapter 3 | chapter 4

6th September, 2020

Italian Grand Prix, P2

second place. your first time ever being hosed down in champagne. carlos swore that he wasn’t aiming for you, but the way that he smirked when he saw you absolutely drenched head to toe told you that he may have been lying. if it wasn’t for that adorably goofy grin, that wild, mischevious sparkle in his eye, and the way he’d let you fix his hair when he came back into the garage, you would’ve been cursing him right now, as you rinsed shampoo and champagne out of your hair for the third time this evening, trying desperately to get the stubborn stickiness out of your roots. but you couldn’t be mad at him. not at carlos.

you picked up the message when you got out of the shower. shit. you didn’t realise how long you’d spent trying to get champagne out of every orifice, and now you were running late - very late. hair, makeup and outfit in just ten minutes? the feat had never been accomplished before, and you weren’t sure it was going to be done now either. plus you’d wanted to look nice for this one - you couldn’t show up to the team celebrations for carlos’ second place podium looking like you’d just been dragged through a hedge backwards. the ensuing fifteen minutes were like a whirlwind, blasting a hairdryer through your hair, shimmying into your dress and finally turning your attention to makeup, your hotel room looking like a bombsite in your wake. you were considerably late by the time you’d finished everything. you hoped carlos didn’t mind.

carlos did mind. until he saw her walking across the lobby towards him, all apologetic smiles and fluttering lashes. and then he didn’t mind so much anymore.

“you look…” he struggled to find a word appropriate for a colleague to call another colleague. gorgeous, stunning, beautiful, they all seemed like too much, but they also all seemed to fall short. almost sensing his inner turmoil, she cut him off, putting him out of his misery.

“you too.” she replied with a knowing smile. “and sorry I’m late, took ages to wash that damnedchampagne out of my hair.”

“oh so now it’s my fault that you’re late?” it was carlos’ time to flash that knowing smile in her direction, and she rolled her eyes in reply.

“well it’s not my fault.” she retorted, taking the arm that he was offering out to her, as a gentle reminder that they were already late and they needed to get a move on.

“nothing’s ever your fault.” carlos muttered, tone still playful as he stepped back to let her exit the hotel lobby before him. she chuckled in reply, spinning round on her heel to watch him come through the door after her.

“you’re learning, carlos. slowly, but you’re learning.”

it took carlos an embarrassing ten minutes to realise why she wasn’t texting him back. he’d found her phone: she’d left it at the bar, the case slightly sticky where someone had spilled tequila on it (it may or may not have been carlos himself, but she didn’t need to know that). he’d messaged her several times to let her know that he’d found it, and was increasingly worried why she wasn’t replying, only realising when he felt her phone vibrate in his pocket immediately after sending the second message why she wasn’t answering her phone… that she’d lost… that was in his pocket…

okay, so maybe he’d had a few too many tonight, but looking around the dancing mass of people in underground bar of the club, who hadn’t? still, his mind wasn’t clouded enough for him to forget her. where was she? it must be over an hour since he’d last seen her, disappearing off to the toilets in a huddle of giggling girls. and now she was without her phone as well.

“have you seen y/n?”

lando shook his head, frowning slightly at his teammate’s question before his face broke into a boyish grin.

“no, mate, sorry. why? you wanna take her home?” he teased, earning a grunt from a frowning carlos, who wasn’t in the mood for this.

“knock it off, cabrón.” he huffed, eyes darting around behind lando’s head, still constantly on the lookout for her. “I have her phone, but I can’t find her to give it back.”

lando’s features softened, even he couldn’t bring himself to tease carlos further, and ever since shehad joined the team lando enjoyed nothing more than reminding his teammate of his little crush on his race engineer, despite how much carlos denied it. we’re just friends, he’d say. just friends my ass, lando would say in return.

“this place is a maze, mate. it’ll take you ages to find her.” lando replied, “she’s probably fine though, she’s got loads of friends. if I see her, I’ll let her know you’re looking for her.”

carlos nodded gratefully, although still emitting a low growl from the back of his throat at the frustration of not being able to find her.

“thanks, mate.” he gave lando an appreciative pat on the shoulder before moving off in a direction of the club that he hadn’t searched in yet.

he couldn’t help but admire her, just for a moment.

he’d found her in one of the side rooms, and he mentally cursed himself. the cheese room should’ve been the first place he’d searched - of course he’d find her singing her heart out to gimme! gimme! gimme! it hadn’t taken carlos long to learn that wherever abba could be found, she wouldn’t be far away.

in the low light of the club, she’d captured him. the way she twirled under the arm of her friends, giggling as she nearly overbalanced on her heels. the way her head was tilted back, singing out the words of the song to the ceiling, every lyric on point despite the number of drinks she’d had. the way she locked eyes with him across the room, her face immediately breaking into a grin as she pushed her way through the crowd towards him.

“hey stranger!” she had to lean in close so he could hear her above the bass of the music.

“I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” he replied, a hand on her shoulder to steady himself as he spoke into her ear.

“and you didn’t think to check the cheese room first?”

he shook his head, chuckling to himself, before remembering why he’d even been looking for her in the first place.

“I found your phone, on the bar upstairs. someone spilled tequila on it, sorry about that.” 

she took her phone from his outstretched hand with raised eyebrows.

“I didn’t even realise I’d lost it! you’re a lifesaver, carlito, thank you.” 

she tucked it away in her handbag, securing it in a zipped pocket so she didn’t lose it again, before turning her face back up towards carlos.

“you should come dance with us!” 

she held out her hand, fingers outstretched. carlos wasn’t sure whether it was the beer, the tequila, the abba song, or his pure desire to hold her hand, but he grabbed it, interlacing their fingers together as she pulled him through the crowded dancefloor back to her group of friends.

carlos wasn’t sure at what point he’d let go of her hand that night, but he knew that it hadn’t been for a very, very long time.

carlos sainz didn’t know much about what had happened last night, but he knew his head hurt. and his mouth was dry. and… and someone was in bed beside him? 

oh jesus, ohhhhhh jesus. his eyes widened, rolling over in bed. he tried to scan back through his hazy memories of last night. of doing the tequila shots, of finding her phone on the bar, of holding her hand on the dancefloor. he’d wanted to do things properly, take her out to a nice restaurant, tell her how much she meant to him, have their first kiss under the stars, and now she would just think she was a one night stand!? god, he really hoped it wasn’t…

it wasn’t her. was that a good or bad thing? he thought he’d been hoping it wasn’t her, so why did his heart have that sinking feeling? why did he feel so disappointed? and who was this woman in bed with him? as he lay there, silently, staring at the mystery woman’s sleeping figure, his memories came flooding back to him, almost making him dizzy as it all hit him like a tidal wave. he’d gone to the bar to buy her a drink, but as he’d been waiting to be served, a rather striking blonde girl had started a conversation with him. she was a model, she’d said. or was it an actress? carlos couldn’t quite remember the details. all he knew was that she’d ordered a round of shots for everyone waiting at the bar, and then another, and then… maybe another? for carlos, that’s when it all started to drift into a hazy fog. 

but he couldn’t shake one memory - one moment of clarity. he’d had his arms round someone; yes, it must’ve been the woman from the bar, the blonde that was currently in his bed. they’d been making out in a way that was borderline inappropriate for the middle of a dancefloor, but several shots of tequila down and neither of them had cared. until carlos had opened his eyes, only for a moment, to see herwalking past, on her way out of the club. her head had turned for just a moment, their eyes locking in the same way they had several hours earlier across the dancefloor, but there was no smile that could light up a room, no glint of mischief or playfulness in her eyes. no warmth in her expression. she stared at him, and for the first time since he’d known her, carlos felt like he couldn’t read her expression. maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was because he’d never seen that expression on her before. as quickly as she’d appeared, she was gone, heading towards the door of the club. the blonde woman had kissed him again, and he’d forgotten all about everything else.

you resisted the urge to throw your phone at the wall. instead you stared at it, face screwing up slightly at how sticky it still was to the touch, the smell of tequila still lingering on it. you reread the message twice, three times, the way you used to when carlos had first started texting you. but there were no butterflies in your stomach this time. just a sinking feeling.

you couldn’t put your finger on why you were so upset. you and carlos were colleagues, at most very good friends, nothing more. it shouldn’t bother you one way or the other who he took back to his hotel room last night; you weren’t in a relationship with him or anything, he was completely free to do what he liked with whoever he liked. but you couldn’t deny the way your heart had done a backflip when he’d taken your hand, gripping it so tightly as you’d lead him across the dancefloor. he’d made you laugh over and over and over until you could barely catch your breath at the way he fumbled over all the lyrics, and with his completely outrageous (read: outrageously awful) dance moves. when he said he was going to buy you a drink, you could’ve sworn you’d felt something in the air, like this was the beginning of something. when you’d walked past him several hours later, latched onto another girl like a limpet, the feeling had dissipated.

you’d called him special, once. you made the mistake of believing that you were special too.

she had never been the fastest replier, but three hours was the longest she’d ever left one of his messages unanswered. he checked his phone again. at least she hadn’t left him on read.

the blonde girl was long gone from his room, gathering her clothes up once carlos had made it clear that no, he wasn’t interested in going for brunch with her, thank you very much. despite the pounding in his head, and the feeling that he was still possibly slightly drunk, he’d dragged himself out of bed and into the shower, trying to wash away the feeling of guilt and embarrassment, and failing miserably. brushing his teeth didn’t help, nor did styling his hair or putting on the only uncreased polo shirt he had left. no, he knew that the only way he could make himself feel better was to talk to the one person that didn’t want talk to him right now.

he sighed, sinking down onto the bed and resting his head in his hands momentarily, before picking up his phone to check it again. still nothing.

with all the resolve he could muster whilst still feeling very sorry for himself, he found himself outside her hotel room door. it felt a little desperate, to go to someone’s physical location just because they hadn’t answered his message, but hell, carlos sainz was a pretty desperate man right now.

she didn’t even need to ask who it was outside her door before she called back that she was busy. carlos bit his lip.

“I’m sorry.” he said flatly, voice just loud enough for her to hear it through the thick fire door of her hotel room. he heard the click of a bolt on the other side, and shuffled back a few paces when the door swung open, revealing her stood on the other side. she looked tired, but not as tired as he did. a different sort of tired - she didn’t look hungover, or like she hadn’t gotten enough sleep. it was something else. for the second time in 24 hours, carlos couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

“sorry for what?” she replied, her voice sharp, as if she didn’t have the time for this interaction. carlos drew in a breath, as if to speak, but then he just simply let out a long sigh instead.

what was he sorry for? technically, he hadn’t actually done anything wrong, so why did he feel so guilty? sure, it was a bit harsh to promise that he was going to get her a drink and then end up forgetting about it when one pretty blonde lady offered him a shot of tequila, but she’d been surrounded by friends, it wasn’t as if he’d just abandoned her on her own in a club. and they weren’t dating or anything, he hadn’t cheated on anyone, hadn’t broken anyone’s heart or anything daft like that. carlos and her were just friends, right? lando’s voice came into his head momentarily. just friends my ass.

his thoughts were interrupted by a loud sigh. her arms were folded across her chest, still waiting, but there was something else mixed into her expression now, something carlos could read this time. he couldn’t put a name to it, not exactly, but it was almost like confusion, mixed with understanding, if that was even a possible combination.

“I don’t know.” carlos eventually replied. he knew in that moment that the correct answer was the honest answer. from the way her arms uncrossed and she opened the door slightly further, he knew he was right.

“me neither.” she sighed, “I mean, I don’t know why I’m upset. I guess I just…” she trailed off, her eyes flicking up to meet carlos’ before resting on the floor. “… no, I don’t know.”

he opened his mouth to ask what she was going to say, to push her, before deciding against it and merely nodding his head in agreement.

“do you want to go get brunch?” she asked quietly after a moment, looking up at him through lashes that still had tiny traces of mascara clinging to them from the night before. he let a faint smile creep up onto his face, before nodding.

“yeah, that would be nice.”

as it turned out, brunch fixes everything, a fact which carlos was very, very grateful for.

27th September, 2020

Russian Grand Prix, DNF

brunch fixes everything. even if the ‘everything’ trying to be fixed is the crushing disappointment of hitting the barrier whilst trying to rejoin the track on turn one, and the ‘brunch’ is one lukewarm croissant shared between two whilst sat in front of a computer screen.

you brushed the pastry crumbs off your fingers before pointing at the computer screen.

“I mean, you don’t need me to tell you that that’s the line you should’ve taken.”

carlos shook his head, eyeing up the last mouthful of the croissant before flicking his eyes up back to the screen, following your gaze.

“argh, I’m such a fucking idiot.” he growled as he was forced to watch the way he clipped the wall for the umpteenth time in the span of the past twenty minutes. you shot him an apologetic look - as much as you’d love to disagree with him, you really couldn’t. it had been a pretty daft move, you knew it, carlos certainly knew it, there was no getting round it.

“do you want the last piece of croissant?”

was the only way you could think to cheer him up. his shoulders shook slightly with a small chuckle.

“are you sure?”

“I think you need it more than I do.” 

you slid the plate towards him with a smile, one which he mirrored as he accepted the croissant, tossing it into his mouth and licking the pastry off his fingers. you shook your head, chuckling to yourself. you looked back at the screen for a moment, and when you turned back to look at carlos, he was gazing out the window. he seemed a million miles away.

“you alright?”

your head cocked to one side slightly as you asked him, observing the way his features creased into an expression of frustration and disappointment. he let out a heavy sigh, his eyes still focused on something in the distance.

“I’ve been thinking-“

“uh oh.”

carlos shot you a look, trying to hide a smile as he attempted a look that said ‘don’t interrupt, I’m trying to be serious right now’, but ended up delivering one that was closer to ‘you think you’re so funny, and you’re right, but shut up for a moment’.

“I’ve been thinking,” he paused for any offhand comments again, raising an eyebrow at you before continuing. “I really don’t know what I would do without you.”

you opened your mouth to say something that toed the line between sincere and pure outright teasing at how soppy he was being, but carlos continued before you had the chance.

“which is why I want to ask ferrari if you can come with me. next year. to be my race engineer at ferrari.”

the more he spelled it out for you, the more confused your expression became. it took a few moments to sink in, for you to process what you had just heard. a race engineer at ferrari? mclaren was an incredible starting point for your career, and you owed them a lot for taking a chance on you, but ferrari? isn’t it everyone’s dream to work for the ferrari? carlos must have read your expression like a book, because he let out a low chuckle, the noise vibrating in his chest.

“I didn’t want to go ahead with it before asking you. but it looks like I might already have your answer.”

your mouth hung open for a moment, the first time carlos had ever seen you lost for words.

“don’t get your hopes up.” he added, gently, “there’s still a high chance they could say no. it’s just- well, I would feel better knowing that you’re still on my team.”

you nodded, still slightly dumbfounded.

“I- that would be, well, yes!” you eventually managed to stammer out, earning another deep chuckle from carlos, and a broad grin that made your heart do backflips in your chest.

taglist: @itsjustkhaos @bicchaan

comment/message if you want to be added!

[corpsebasil]

Short Drabble of !Dragon Rider reader and Sir Nikolai

Allow me to indulge myself because I love dragons

Sir Dominik, your elder brother, had been the only true authority in your life since birth.

Your brother, Sir Dominik, who taught you the ways of dragon riding. Of bonding with the beasts that legends were made of.

When you were sixteen and you rode your first dragon you screamed, terrified for your life, but soon instinct kicked in and you were screaming out of pure joy, hands high in the air as your dragon roared beneath you. Surprisingly, your dragon was the same age as you. A gorgeous creature that seemed as much of a teenager as you were, often playing fetch with tree branches or mocking you with hide and seek.

WAIT WAIT— SORRY A CUTE SCENE JUST CAME TO MIND WHILE EDITING—

^thats who your dragon thinks he is HAHAHA

“Come out, come out, wherever you are..” You cooed, pretending not to see the giant dragon hiding behind the skinniest tree in the entire forest. The beast was almost comically still, wings tucked in as if that would help. “Where arrrre you, sweetheart?”

The nickname sweetheart made the dragon grumble lowly. He was not a sweetheart he was a—

“GOTCHA!” You yelled and your dragon growled loudly in protest as it scrambled away.

Silly beast.

ANYWAYS

Dominik who, when battle struck Ravka, chose you as his second in command of the few riders that existed. Barely enough to count on one hand but still, the results were devastating.

Until you’d entered the final battle over the seas, your eyes meeting his for a fraction of a second before a bolt hit his dragon, then him, sending two of the most precious beings in your life tumbling dead into the ocean.

…yeah

And the scream you let out was so loud and anguished that your own dragon let out a roar in response, your face streaked with tears as you burned the rest of the enemy’s army to the ground.

They never found his body.

Sir Nikolai was the first to approach after the tragedy, his presence one of the only you’d allow after what had happened.

“My lady,” he greeted you, even if you weren’t titled. “Dominik was…is…the best friend I ever had. A brother to me. If there’s anything I can—”

“He was my brother.” You snapped, turning that gorgon gaze of yours to his. “Mine.”

“I understand.” He said after a brief pause, his expression tight. “But I’m still here for you.”

You ignored him, turning to stare out the window at the far distant sea, recalling the shouts and cries of battle, of your own reaction to your sibling’s death.

You’d ran that night. Ran for what felt like miles before you finally tripped, rolling several times along the ground before you crouched, fingers digging into the earth, and wailed your pain out into the open air until you thought your lungs would cave. The sound was so awful you couldn’t recreate it if you tried.

(Cue IM IN THE WIND IM IN THE WAAATER NOBODIES SON NOBODIES DAAAAU)

Years passed—three exactly—before you gave Nikolai the time of day. You slowly taught him how to ride a dragon, the beast frightened of the intimidating knight’s lethal armor until you convinced him to lose it, stating that the armor wouldn’t help him if he fell anyways.

Months after that he was as skilled as you not and accompanied you for morning and evening rides, the two of you just gliding and swapping stories until the sun went down. You grew to trust him, albeit only a bit, and ventured to spend more and more time with the knight.

Then came the evening of the summer solstice when dragon riders famously performed night shows, blasting fire into the skies and racing one another. Nikolai, for the first time in his life, found himself invited to the ceremony. He himself rode the brother to Dominik’s dragon, the beast having had seemed to bond almost instinctively to the knight.

Afterwards, once the two of you were sweaty and exhausted from performing for the crowd along with your fellow riders, you let the dragons into their (rather expensive) nesting areas and let yourselves dance.

And boy did you dance.

While he never kissed you—had never tried to—you found yourself wishing more and more for that touch as Sir Nikolai spun you from dance to dance, the night sky and the warm breeze wrapping around the both of you like a acción.

Coaccioné

WHAT THE FUCK IS THE WORD

sorry Author’s Note it’s cocoon* but I’m too lazy to edit that much and my keyboard is not English LMAO

Anyways

ANYWAYS so that night if anyone saw him kiss you outside the castle before you went to your gorgeous cottage in the village, no they didn’t.

If anyone saw you take him home, no they didn’t.

If anyone witnessed the two of you married a year later, yes they did.

[murderluv23]

Time to give my Lucifer's son headcanons because they've been stewing in my head for years and now having solid material for canon everything can be fresh and consistent. No. I don't have self control. Let's go.

He's shorter than Lucifer. Like just below his shoulder.

Right now, banking on his name being Azazel. (Can change, though.)

Azazel is far more stoic and stern than both Lucifer and Charlie.

Most people are terrified of him due to his unreadable expression and general quiet nature.

Plus this freakish thing he does with his eyes where they go all black and he stares coldly ahead. It makes people feel like their heart is being swallowed by a black hole. He's silent and frozen to the spot every time and so are the people who have the misfortune of seeing it.

Azazel has the "family red cheeks" and is the spitting image of Lucifer. People mistake him for his father all the time and can only tell the difference from the fact Azazel is smaller.

And the dark circles. Azazel constantly has dark circles under his eyes and wearing a frown. He is consistently stressed and overworked.

Azazel takes the duties to his family and Hell very seriously. He refuses to budge on it.

Azazel was the golden boy of the family.

Despite his moodiness, him and Lucifer have always gotten along.

Lucifer has been frightened of interacting with Azazel. Like he freaks out with Charlie. Surprise, surprise he's a mess. But it's more due to how strict he is.

Lucifer doted on Azazel since he was a baby and gave him a lot of attention. He had him on his lap to exhaustion. To the point he panicked and thought he lost his only son if he couldn't see him there.

Spoilers: He was either on Lucifer's back or with Lilith.

Lucifer showered Azazel with fatherly kisses whenever he "found" him.

Azazel kept Lucifer's first ever made duck and refused to go anywhere without it. Azazel still has it and keeps it on his person.

Fuck around and find out by trying to take it or damage it. Go ahead.

Azazel crafted himself a duck onesie to wear when he was younger and rushed to Lucifer to show him. Saying and I quote "This duckie you made was perfect".

Lucifer was deceased for like two weeks minimum. He couldn't function. He had to be moved manually. Calls to Lilith were either dead silence with Lucifer staring at the ceiling or Lucifer crying and squealing incoherently about it. Lilith's and Charlie's phone were blown up with countless photos of Azazel with edits of anything cutesy he could find.

Azazel spent most of it in his onesie and sitting on Lucifer's chest to make sure he wasn't dead.

Azazel struggles with depression and paranoia.

Lucifer took it upon himself to pacify him every time.

They had a close relationship but Lucifer had difficulty touching Azazel because he would freak out via violent demonic outbursts because of Azazel's difficulty with conceptualizing anyone approaching him for affection rather than danger. Lucifer going for a hug or any simple touch was an uphill battle of trial and error.

Lucifer had to craft things that trained Azazel's responses to understand the situation. Lucifer had little polkadotted bean bags in his hands and made them visible so Azazel understood he was going for a hug and there was no danger.

This was after countless times Lucifer had to just slowly inch towards Azazel before he got a positive response and Azazel came to hug him on his own accord.

Azazel had breakdowns bad enough to shake all of Hell. Most of them happened due to Charlie.

Lucifer was quick to go in the danger zone to sooth him after asking Charlie what she did that time.

"Whoa! That was close! Have you been practicing, sweetie? That's so great. Hahaha."- Lucifer, after dodging countless knives and angel spears Azazel aimed every which way at him, including his head.

Azazel always was in a ball crying his eyes out in Lucifer's arms after ages of him destroying everything.

Azazel hasn't cried since he was little.

Azazel can travel through dimensions and provides knowledge to humanity. It's a role he plays.

Azazel can shapeshift into anything. But he has a wolf form with a snake tail.

Lucifer has described Azazel as sweet as a puppy, both as a pun and because he genuinely finds his son to be a sweetheart. No one believes him. That boy has never cracked a smile in front of anyone.

Azazel genuinely wishes the best for his father and does everything he does because he's seen how the years have weighed on him.

Azazel is loyal to a fault and does everything within his power just to make Lucifer happy. That includes workload.

Lucifer regrets how some of his habits as a parent has made Azazel so overly disciplined and serious.

Azazel and Charlie have a strained relationship. Really strained.

Azazel believes the Hazbin Hotel is childish and shaming their family. While also giving Lucifer unnecessary stress. Azazel doesn't appreciate Charlie calling Lucifer to ramble about her playing in a sandbox.

Charlie, when asked about her younger brother, says he creeps her out. Majorly. Like- The Shining twins level of creeps her out.

Him possibly entering the Hazbin Hotel is her worst nightmare.

Basically, Azazel is like what people expected Lucifer to be like.

Azazel is highly polite in speech and mannerisms. But that is just more nerve wracking

There's always this air of "if you have one eyelash out of place, you're dead".

Charlie still has her people pleasing attitude with him. In fact, she doubles down.

Unfortunately, Azazel is never amused and sees through any attempts to pacify him. He's short and cold as ice.

Charlie can't comprehend why, despite them being siblings, Azazel feels like a stranger who couldn't care less is some random demon ate her or something. As long as it didn't inconvenience their father.

Azazel and Charlie never sat down for a conversation when they were younger.

Charlie has only seen Lucifer doting on him from afar.

Azazel resents Charlie for how she's treated him.

Azazel is a teen.

Azazel shares musical talent with his family.

Lucifer says he has a phenomenal voice and encourages him to actually get into singing and dancing. But Azazel always turned it down out of shame.

Lucifer always sung Azazel lullabies. Especially when he had nightmares and cried for him.

Lucifer still does. What? He wants his baby boy to get good sleep. He won't do it himself.

Azazel acquired his talent for singing through memorizing Lucifer's tones when he sung him to sleep.

Azazel hums his favorite lullaby from Lucifer to calm himself.

Azazel's favorite food is macarons and chocolate cakes. Though he doesn't eat them because they are unhealthy.

Lucifer spoiled him with them when he was small.

Azazel loves teas. So long as they are plain or natural without any sugars or added things.

Azazel believes Charlie is fake.

Azazel exclusively calls his sister Charlotte.

[utskushii-hito]

Ram'tha Laran, my swtor OC!

This character is tied to @psychomusic 's oc and story! Check her out you won't regret it! She's slowly sharing her creations and they are very very well written and cool hehe

Profile: Ram'tha Laran, also known as Lord Loathe, is known among the sith for his montrous physical strength and for his mysterious character. Always calm, barely talking... he never managed to gain sympathy from his colleagues. Despite his appearance (which made him look cold to others), he met a few people he learned to open up to, and to whom he showed his true colours: shyness aside, when he isn't busy with work he likes to study bioanalysis and take care of his house. His soft personality always shock the people who get to know him, and it makes them question how did he get such a reputation among the sith.

Backstory - Part 1:

(sorry my english sucks)

Ram'tha was only six years old when a sith noticed him and decided to take him to Korriban. He showed a good ability with the Force, but since the departure from his homeplanet Iridonia, the sith quickly grew tired of the kid's innate calm and uninterest in proving himself worthy. Ram'tha only liked to touch and connect with the objects around him (he had a predisposition to psychometry), and barely communicated with the sith. After a couple of weeks the sith abandoned Ram'tha, leaving him to the dangers of Korriban. The quiet boy wandered without showing any fear, until Darth Thenn Gavir saw him. He thought the child's bravery was admirable and became interested in training him, so Thenn brought the kid home and introduced him to his wife and daughter, who was only 1 year older than Ram'tha. Thenn's wife, Sotiy, didn't want to raise him, but since she noticed his inner strength she gave a condition to Thenn to accept the child: he should have been raised and trained only to become their daughter Akiri's husband. That way, they ensured a life of success for their daughter who would have had constant protection in her rise to power in the empire. The husband accepted without telling Ram'tha.

He learned a lot in the years with the Gavir family, and even thought he never got along with Sotiy (who was very hard on him, almost treating him as a mere servant), he liked Thenn and Akiri. Thanks to Darth Thenn, he was able to pursue his new hobbies, such as learning about plants (and he will end up studying bioanalysis) and cooking. He liked to take care of the Gavir family and doing chores for them, since he felt very grateful for the help they gave him, and his relationship with Akiri grew deeper even without her parents to force it onto them.

At the age of 11 the two kids started visibly liking each other and so Sotiy decided it was the right moment to tell them about the pact. She was going to make them marry soon, because she didn't want them to become too old and strong to oppose. And, as expected, the naive kids only thought it was cute and didn't raise any opposition. Things went smoothly and the date was set one year after that conversation. Each day they got closer to the date, Ram'tha and Akiri dreamed of their adult life together, in which they did the things they loved together. In this year, the two kids wondered if peace was really a lie...(to be continued)

-> If you managed to arrived here then Imk what you think! (and ty for reading hahaha!) I'd love to discuss about it and receive criticism, too.

[siremasterlawrence]

The Package

District Attorney Anderson Lyle Lawrence is the official man of the hour after his love life blew up in brewing storm of craziness blows in the wind, the television screen is running wild as reporters hit the grounds of his giant house in massive droves encircling the place as he hid in silence.The man is sitting behind his bed as whispering at himself and his own thoughts of his infidelity blur the lines of his reality and much like his friend Andrew his life will be transformed as a brown paper bag package flew at the window breaking in to his bedroom. By the extreme impact of the stainless and clear glass it smashes through the window shattering before him as it all falls to the floor and the package automatically in a heat of beauty unravels before him and he explodes. The box completely explodes shooting multi colored air covering the room in bold and neon colored bright powder hitting him in the face as he falls to the ground back of his head first and he shook convulsively out of control. Anderson could not believe his eyes as all of the power consumes all of the things around him as he backs up in excitement as he is in depth of a psychological break down he yell broadly across the room you can see his reflection. Finally in pain as rose to his feet stained in dried powder and he is mindlessly froze in time as television static spirals away in his eyes as the room fading in to the back of the room he frays in to the background of utter darkness all that is left is a mirror.The sound of transformation is can be heard loudly through the speakers bouncing from ever more forward on and off through the room forcing a whole new world and views on to that fool as his mind waste away he widdels in to a state and he stares deeply in to the mirror across from him as his world disappears.A man enters the chat stepping in to the ole space grabbing his shoulders tightly in the back of the area rubbing him deeply getting closer and closer to he neck as he steps a bit back when his ass meets with my cock and he cannot react. The man slid his hand to his cock grasping him as he gropes him in so many ways getting tighter and tighter ever more creative then before his world falls apart and slowly kisses from his cheeks down to his neck.

Sorry my dear District Attorney”

“You have been obstructing my life for far too long.”

“I know soon enough you will see it “

“My way of course”

“I can see your cock rising”

“Growing steadily “

“Bursting up “

“Showcasing in its glory “

“You want to cum”

“Exploding in your underwear “

“Place your hand on your cock”

“YYYYYYEEEEEESSSSSS!”

“I have always found you intriguing “

“Quite handsome “

“Like a fine wine you age”

“So good looking”

“Stop playing with yourself “

“CUM!”

“Remove your shirt”

“Your under shirt “

“Belt, jeans and under pants “

“Stark naked now “

“Turn around”

“Walk in to the closet “

“Shake your head in agreement “

“Pick up the clothes provide”

“Get dressed “

“Take a seat”

“Pose baby”

“Haha”

“I love you “

“Take a knee”

“Take my hand “

“Usurp my control”

“Lean in a bit “

“Kiss it”

“Lick it”

“Suck it”

“Enjoy every drop of it “

“Undo my shirt “

“Unzip my pants”

“Worship me”

“Let your arms lift “

“The sweat swirls “

“The scent hits the air “

“You love the scent “

“The aroma drives you crazy”

“I can see your struggle “

“The aroma fills you up “

“Hitting the fan”

“The air brush past him”

“I can see your smile “

“Teeth showing “

“So sexy”

“Your body gives in”

“Your arm pits land in to my palms”

“I bet you are ticklish”

“No…hahahaha “

“What bitch?”

“Stop hahaha”

The end

[ferperss]

Loved reading your lore so thank you for the tag!! @sportsthoughts

I spent waaaay too much time writing this but once I started I felt like I couldn’t stop lmao, so I’m applauding anyone that gets through it!

The story of how I ended up where I am today is a long and winding road lmao. But I think I should start by prefacing with the fact that hockey has been a part of my life since I was born essentially. There are pictures of me on a pair of skates at around age 2 when my dad first tried to teach me! Then I played consistently from age 6 to 14 but quit when they wanted me to leave the “girls” team and play with the women because I was intimidated haha. Besides playing myself I’ve also spent many hours with my dad on the couch watching Sweden play in any and all kinds of tournaments, worlds, Olympics you name it, and since he never really rooted for any other team in Sweden or outside of it I just kind of slowly fell into that same thing. I knew there was a hockey league overseas that a lot of our own players were shipped off to but I never really had any interest in rooting for a team that wasn’t team Sweden at the time.

In the winter of 2014, I was at the ripe age of 15 and I did not play hockey anymore nor did I care about any teams really, but two of my best friends at the time became OBSESSED with this one junior player and kept talking about him. This man was none other than Thee Mr Willy Nylander himself. This led to the three of us obsessing over him and we watched him play in the world juniors over our winter break. It got to the point of us picking fights with people on twitter that said he was a bad player and really anyone that said anything negative about our Swedish players hahaha. We had a group chat named after him and everything. We eventually lost interest and forgot about him but this story is important because it comes back later.

Flash forward to May 2023! Before I entered my hockey era again I had an eight month long absolutely crushing obsession with the TV show 9-1-1 that was airing on Fox at the time (ABC now thank god, I still keep track) that came to a screeching halt when the season 6 finale aired and I hated it. I swore up and down that I was never ever going to watch that show again and now that the one thing I had been so fixated on for so long was gone I did not know what to do with myself. Which sounds so dramatic but honestly sometimes I don’t know who I am if I have nothing to obsess over. So naturally I needed entertainment and as I looked up through the haze of firefighters and network drama I found that the 2023 IIHF World Championship in Tampere and Riga was on! And I had no choice! There was hockey to be watched and I sure did watch it. Now, it did not go too well for the Swedish team last year, which is okay. But one thing that happened was the constant debate on wether Willy Nylander was going to join in. His brother was there and his teammate Timothy Liljegren also joined in. But there was no word on Willy himself. And it was all they talked about. He obviously did not end up joining but all the talk had made me nostalgic. And naturally I had to revisit the old object of obsession and see how he was doing over the Atlantic and turns out he was doing quite well indeed. And because I am a sucker for team dynamics and narratives (who could ever believe I studied film for five years) I desperately clung onto the Toronto Maple Leafs like my life depended on it. What I didn’t know was that these were also transformative times, and once I’d gotten into the team and the organization, I was bewildered when Kyle Dubas all of a sudden was going to another team??? How could that be?? The Penguins?? And that’s when I found my way to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the power of Dubas’ cardigans and Sidney Crosby’s fat ass gripped me and now I split my time between my equally cursed teams like they’re my divorced parents. And here we are.

Naturally there are a lot of nuances left out of here, I’ve covered the key points but I think that there are probably so many reasons that it was the perfect time for me to get into hockey again and here we are almost a year later and there’s no going back now!! I’m stuck here forever. And I would not have it any other way <3

This is the end of ramblings and I’ll say if there’s anything I love more than hockey, it’s being dramatic, and also I didn’t spell check this at all so if it’s not perfect I’m sorry (I’d love to blame it on English not being my first language but it’s the only subject I’ve always had straight A’s in so it’s not really applicable it’s just me being lazy)

[the-quackeroos]

so, I held my promise, and here's the fic, which is under the cut! ^^ a second part is in the works right now.

cw: some scenes may be of a suggestive nature. reader discretion is advised.

A new shop had opened just outside of Arlesburgh. Duck and Donald previously agreed that they should have some time for themselves, and that was the chance for him to think about creating the best cozy atmosphere as he did his work routines on the Railway. 5:00 came and it was the time for Duck to clock out. He picked up his card and… click… punched the time clock on the wall when he got into the main building. Duck kept his eye on the signs leading to the new shop that opened, as he walked along the streets of Arlesburgh.

The shop was in an old small cottage that was left abandoned for a few years. Whenever Duck would pass by while at work, the cottage was boarded up, and weeds surrounded every corner. By now, it was restored by a new owner and bore a cozy pinkish color to tell every customer that it was a boutique. Duck came by the shop, humming a little tune, and stopped to behold.

So, this is the new shop, he thought, …Seems nice enough.

Duck continued humming as he entered the new boutique. The interior of the shop had a red-pink hue painted along the walls and the smell of many sensual-scented candles on display shelves struck his nose. Duck quickly noticed the smell and exhaled greatly soon after he inhaled.

“Now, a bath should be nice to start our night…” said Duck, out loud as he picked two candles, one thick lavender and a trio of vanilla, “But what candles should I choose?”

“Hello!” Someone called out from the cash register.

Duck turned around. There watching him was a woman, just about his age.

“You seem to be wanting a romantic bath with your partner right?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Duck blushed, “How did y’ know?”

“You were talking to yourself,” answered the woman, shrugging.

Duck paused for a moment.

“Oh… Ohhh… Hahaha, I’m sorry,” he chuckled, “It’s a weird habit o’ mine.”

“You’re fine, sir, you’re fine,” said the woman. “So, what do you need help with?”

Duck proceeded to explain his dilemma about which candle to get. The woman recommended Duck get the trio of vanilla candles since vanilla is also used as a natural aphrodisiac, yet had a relaxing sensation. Duck proceeded to buy a gallon-sized jug full of bubble bath soap as well as rose petals to decorate the bed with. When everything was all said and done… Kaching! … he left the shop, feeling confident about himself.

***

Donald’s schedule is different than Duck’s, as he was the first man to return home after a long day. 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM was his schedule. He was watching the telly as Duck entered the front door.

“Hullo, love,” Donald gave Duck a small peck on the cheek as he stood up from his couch, “Ur we huvin’ oor tea outdoors noo?”

“Soon,” Duck said, noticing his boyfriend in a black suit with a navy kilt, “I gotta change, too, y’ know. Judgin’ by th’ way yer dressed, I’d say yer ready to go!”

Donald chuckled as he saw Duck climb upstairs. It took several minutes for Donald to wait, but Duck soon came back down donning a dark green suit and an orange tie.

“Now, we can go,” smiled Duck, opening the door.

***

What took an hour or two at the restaurant Duck and Donald went to felt like minutes. The restaurant had the best seafood caught from the Irish Sea, which the couple gladly ate. The restaurant also had romantic live music, which Duck and Donald slowly danced to. The restaurant was close to the seaside, which is a place that Duck adored the most if he were to choose to go on holiday. The sun was soon starting to set as Donald and Duck returned back home.

“Y’ know, Donald,” Duck smirked as he closed the door, “Th’ night’s not over.”

“Oh?”

“C’mon. Lemme show you,” Duck winked to Donald.

The two men walked upstairs and Duck lead the way to the bedroom. With a sing-song “ta-daaa”, Duck opened his arm wide as Donald gazed in awe at the bed. It wasn’t much, but the rose petals sprinkled along the sheets was enough to let Donald know what was to come. Donald examined closer at the bed.

“Och, mah god,” blushed Donald with excitement, “Mon, dinnae tell me we're huvin oor bonnie moment noo!”

“ ‘Ee should see th’ bathroom, too, Donald,” said Duck, beckoning Donald to follow him. “I bought some candles to light up and bubbles to fill th’ tub with.”

Duck lead Donald the way to the bathroom. Donald beheld the unlit candles and a bottle of shampoo on the table beside the bathtub. The gallon-sized jug of bubble bath soap was placed at the end of the tub where the faucet was placed. Donald knew that the atmosphere would be sensual for sure, and he smelled the relaxing scent of the three vanilla candles. He moaned softly with a closed smile.

“ ‘Ee like that?” asked Duck.

“Absolutely, me Duck.”

Duck chuckled as he turned the faucet on to warm and plugged the drain. It took about ten minutes until the water was almost to the brim, but while the water was starting to fill, Duck did fill half of the gallon of bubble bath soap into the tub. The suds foamed as he stirred the soap into the water. When the bubbling water almost reached the brim of the tub, Duck turned off the faucet. It slowly stopped pouring the water until the water became quietly still. Duck soon lit the three vanilla candles on the table, and closed the shades of every window in the bathroom.

Donald grew more eager.

“God, I cannae wait.” He huffed. “Let’s see that fluffy body o’yers, Monty.”

“Heh. I wants t’ see yer young an’ thin body, too,” giggled Duck.

Soon enough, Duck and Donald landed on each other’s lips, and suckled before moving away. Donald was the first to pull Duck’s suit jacket away from his partner’s shoulders. His hands crept up to Duck’s tie and slowly loosened it. Duck did the same as Donald unbuckled his belt, letting Duck’s pants fall to the floor and leaving his buttocks bare. Donald unbuttoned Duck’s shirt. When the shirt was off, Donald impatiently placed his hands and rubbed Duck’s hairy pecs and round belly.

“ ‘Ee really like me fluffy pecs, don’t ya?” Duck proceeded to unbutton his boyfriend’s shirt and pull down his boyfriend’s kilt. Donald soon stopped rubbing Duck’s chest and stomach. “Hold still. I gotta take these off an’ put me cover on.”

Donald wasn’t wearing anything under his kilt, as to him, because it all worked perfectly. When Duck finished stripping Donald off his kilt and shirt, Duck bit his lip and blushed at the sight of Donald’s slim, short, and nude body.

“Och, c’moan,” sighed Donald, rolling his eyes. “Juist pat yer damn cover oan. Efter ye, though.”

Duck cleared his throat and scurried to the cabinet above the sink. He quickly put his cover on and walked back to Donald.

“Efter ye, Duck,” Donald said again.

“Right,” Duck grinned with a blush.

Duck stepped over the brim of the tub and sat down. He felt the warm sudsy water embrace his skin all over. He sighed with a big smile as he wiggled as if he was adjusting himself in bed. Duck turned his head to Donald. Donald climbed into the tub soon after and straddled Duck’s lap, being the small spoon. Duck wrapped his arms around Donald, his hands slowly caressing his bare chest.

“Urr ye aff tae wash me or nae?” Donald turned his head.

“Ooh arr, I’m gettin’ there,” laughed Duck, reaching for the shampoo. “I just like rubbin’ yer chest.”

Duck squeezed the shampoo bottle. A clear liquid oozed onto Duck’s hand, and he placed it onto Donald’s scalp. His fingertips dug deep into his boyfriend’s hair, and rubbed it every way until the soap of the shampoo foamed up. Donald felt Duck stroke against his head and he hummed in gentle bliss. After a while, Duck cupped his hands and scooped some of the clear water in the tub. The water slid right off his palms and spread all onto Donald’s hair. Donald felt the water run down, and he flinched a little. Duck scooped more water and poured it onto Donald again. It wasn’t long until Donald just had a small bubble on the tip of his hair after Duck finished shampooing.

“Awww,” the burly man chuckled, “ ‘Ee looks kinda cute with that.”

“Huh? Whit dae ye mean?” Donald turned around to Duck, who bore a wide grin.

“ ‘Ee have a small little bubble on yer hair,” said Duck, his finger picking up the sud and showing it. “See, love?”

Donald’s eyes looked up and then to the bubble. Then Donald blushed.

“Shut up…” he cooed.

“No, I’m serious,” replied Duck. “ “Ee look so cute with that bubble. It do remind me of a babber in a bath.”

“Hah,” laughed Donald, grabbing some of the bubbles floating on the water, “Ah jalouse ah keek youthful enough.”

Duck chuckled.

“We could adopt one sometime. I’ve been eyein’ this kid named Skiff.”

“Ehh, mibbie, Monty,” shrugged Donald.

“Alright.” Duck picked up a patch of soap floating on the water and placed onto Donald’s shoulders. Donald felt the warm water at first, but soon felt his joyfriend’s firm hands. Donald hummed and softly moaned, feeling his shoulder muscles relax and move with ease.

“Hooohh, Monty, yer hauns ur sae magical!”

“I try me best,” said Duck.

Duck scooped another patch on the water. He rubbed the soap lower along Donald’s back. Donald rolled up his eyes, feeling his joyfriend’s fingertips work inch by inch. That is until…

“A-awright, Mon,” told Donald. “Ye cuid wirk oan mah pecs, noo.”

“With pleasure,” Duck winked.

Duck scooped the last patch of bubbles for the bath. He looked at it on his palm, and he knew it had to be worth it until they could move on to the bedroom. So, he mixed the soap with more water and landed his hands on Donald’s chest. Duck’s palms snaked around the pecs, and despite how flat they looked, Donald moaned softly to the soft touch. Donald bit his lip as he turned his head to see Duck’s focused look.

“Jings, ah cannae wait ‘til we git tae oor bloody kip,” cooed Donald with a giggle. “Ye ken howfur tae loue me, Duck.”

“An’ you, Donald, knows ‘ow to love me, too,” Duck gave Donald a small kiss on the forehead.

Donald soon started to feel flushed. He could feel more of himself perk up. Duck smirked as he noticed his boyfriend physically grow unstable with stroke along the chest. Donald squirmed against Duck’s pelvis, causing the water in the tub to splash around a little. Duck soon started to feel flushed and perk up as well. He squeezed Donald’s pecs for a good thirty seconds before wrapping his muscular arms around him.

“Feelin’ good over there, Donald?” Duck asked.

“Och, aye,” Donald felt his heart beat faster as he got out of the tub, “let’s dae this. Ah juist wantae be hugged ‘n’ squeezed by ye richt noo.”

Donald unplugged the drain and helped Duck get out of the tub. The two quickly dried themselves off sharing a towel. The clothes that were stripped off were soon put into the laundry basket outside the doorway to the bedroom. As soon as they entered the bedroom, Donald languidly lay against the bed, and Duck watched him with his tongue licking his lip.

“ ‘Ee ready for our journey to th’ stars, Donald?” purred Duck.

Donald could only nod and beckon Duck to come closer. Duck closed the door and did what his boyfriend could tell him.

made another intimate piece with Donald and Duck. Donald's being washed with care before they can do anything else. ;3

I might reblog this with a brief fic.

[airanke]

This is based on the whole concept of how powerful our characters in WoW are slowly getting and the fact that I see Malfurion as growing complacent with his power, and therefore stopping the “learning” process.

Also Amita can turn into a dragon so. She like. Wins. //BRICKED

Flowers: baby’s breath (meaning innocence), orchids (meaning maturity or mature charm), and atom hardy gladiolus (meaning strength of character).

In Fieschada, Malfurion likes to weave flowers into Amita’s hair as he braids it. I thought it would be rather significant if the last shot had the braid coming undone, to further push the narrative that Amita has surpassed him (or outgrown him, as it were, in that there was nothing more he could teach her. I’M SORRY I’M RAMBLING AT THIS POINT AND I’LL STOP, LOR’THEMAR IS COMING SOON TO A BLOG / TWITTER NEAR YOU).

[002yb]

Dickjay Thoughts #3 ft. SuperBat-Family Shenanigans (note:  the dickjay is somehow far, far below (੭ु´͈ ᐜ `͈)੭ु⁾⁾)

Alright, here me out.  The Batfam going to the Kent family farm for a little summer/autumn bbq ahhhhh.  With Bruce playing corn hole with Jon and Damian.  It’d be a very ?? experience for Damian because like...you’re throwing a bag of corn kernels into a hole?  Where’s the challenge and fun in that??  And Bruce would try to explain that it’s just a fun group activity, which, ‘tt’.  Not to worry though, because Kon would make it a challenge.  Switching the game up to ‘who has the best long distance aim’ and ‘how far can Batman throw??’ 

Just sweet kiddy shenanigans and Bruce being a good parent and humoring it.  And Jon just understanding Damian and adjusting the game so that Damian can have fun, too. (*꒦ິㅂ꒦ີ)

And FFFFFFF Conner and Tim just chilling on the roof--watching the kids run around and playing an increasingly dangerous game because Bruce can’t say no when Damian is actually acting his age. OTL  But I digress, Conner and Tim.  Sitting on the roof.  It’d absolutely be golden hour.  Just gorgeousness as they watch their family down below.

Only Conner’s attention would be drawn to one of the bales of hay they set out for extra seating.  Where Jason would be laying, a book held casually over his face and Dick laid right over top of him.  Full on smothering himself in Jason’s pecs.  Like, maybe Dick went to the bbq directly after a long shift and he’s just shattered, so he uses Jason’s bosom as a pillow and he’s out until dinner hahaha.

And Kon would just marvel it, because leave it to Dick to pull another busty beauty.  Like.  He doesn’t think he’s ever been so jealous of Dick than in this moment, ngl.  Which of course Kon would tell Tim and just.  They’re not dating or anything, but Tim would be so affronted.  Just looking to Jason and then holding his own pecs as he looks down at them and ahhhhhhahahah.  Because Kon would absolutely notice and there’d be teasing and it would be sweet.

(Alternative:  Kon tackling Tim and smushing his face into the flat of Tim’s chest wwwwwww and Tim being all ‘omg stop’ but also laughing about it because it’s Kon being dumb and silly and endearing and (๑°艸°๑))

But back to dickjay because they’re my ship.  So Dick would be seemingly passed out, head pillowed on Jason’s tits.  Only not really because Dick would have the worst fomo hahaha.  So despite Jason telling him to just sleep, Dick would be awake.  And just.  Them two.  Having a quiet conversation.  And Dick making Jason laugh and feeling the thrum and vibration of it straight from Jason’s chest.

Maybe Jason would notice Kon staring at them, too.  And when Bruce is otherwise indisposed with the kids, would tell Dick to motorboat him real quick to give Tim’s not-bf a show.  Which like.  You don’t have to tell Dick twice hahaha.  So he’d do it, of course.  And Jason would cackle because Kon would visibly startle.  Dick would look, too, and be just as humored.

Only then Dick would look forward to resettle himself and--there.  Just a few feet away.  Clark tending to the bbq.  Watching him.  And Clark would be very (: because he thinks the open affection is sweet, but Dick would just щ(゜ロ゜щ) before slowly lowering himself back to Jason’s chest to really smother himself just omg.

[stargazer-balladeer]

Adopting a Child [Genshin Impact]

Characters Included: Albedo, La Signora & Scaramouche

Notes: All of the character’s I have least experienced with all in one post :D alright— let’s see how this’ll go- also,, hope they aren’t too OOC ;;w;; (and yes,, i made this whole hc bc of la signora- got a problem with it? HAHAHA) hope ya’ll like this!

Additional Information: You aren’t their kid. Just a random kid they found in the street who decided to follow them until they adopted you as their own :D

Reader’s Gender: Neutral

Warning: me cursing like usual 😃

Dedicated to: @meepmonster7 :D

Albedo

For some reason, I can see him knowing how to handle a child, since he takes care of Klee as well- so when it comes to taking care of you, he’s practically a natural at it.

At first, he’ll be a bit turned off by you since he sees you as a bit of a nuisance. But over time, you’ll grow on him. He’ll come to love you as his own-

As an artist man himself, He teaches you how to draw. From plant, to animal, to people. He teaches you the techniques he used for drawing. You bet that he loves every drawing you gave to him, even if its a stickman, this man’ll treasure and cherish it with his life-

This man loves spoiling you with things, it got to the point where you didn’t know how to use all of the things he’s given to you. Sometimes, Jean and Sucrose has come in and told him to stop spoiling you too much-

Albedo’s a scientist right? Head scientist, alchemist, whatever. So you bet your ass that he’ll be teaching you some alchemy at such a young age- bro,, u can be the next einstein with how complicated things he’s teaching you-

Whenever he has free time, he loves spending it with you. He would share his findings with you, even though you can’t understand what he’s saying, he would still tell you. Sometimes, he would put on a show for you while telling stories using his vision and alchemy- he would always smile at your awestruck face as he tells the tale.

Playdates with Klee is a must- he would sometimes leave you under the Knights of Favonius’ care and you’ll be found playing with Klee. At first, he’s worried since he knew what Klee’s like. But if Jean decided its okay, then its okay.

If ever you were attack or gone missing, Albedo would be furious and immediately go to you or search for you. The ones who stole you away or attack you no longer exist btw 👀

Overall, even though you suddenly came to his life and became his unexpected child, he would love you as his own.

La Signora

La Signora is a fucking natural at taking care of a child, change my mind 🤧🙃. Like if a child is crying and can’t be tame, just drag her over and that child would stop crying- maybe its bc she has a motherly aura around her (besides the fact that she almost kills Venti- 😃)

I think she willingly adopts you, not bc she’s obligated. She would guess that it’s because of her motherly instinct inside her when she finds you following her- she takes you in without any hesitation-

“But.. La Signora-“

“Even if you beg in front of me, my answer will not change. I will take this child as my own and none of you can stop me-“

La Signora would take you everywhere with her, but if its a mission that requires some.. blood, that’s the time where she wouldn’t bring you. She would drop you in the Northland Bank for a while before coming back to pick you up. She would let you explore the area since she knows that children likes to venture around new areas-

As much as La Signora is ruthless to the people around her, she would undoubtedly be soft towards you. Like she’ll be like medusa one second then the next she’ll be gushing at you-

She is the kind of woman that shields you from the world, who would protect your innocence than destroy it. So, in order to protect it, she wouldn’t tell you about her profession. All she would say is, “Mother is doing some secret business work.”

La Signora would spoil you rotten, whether from gifts or affections. If you want something, it would be given to you. She’s really rich, ya know? 👀 she loves carrying you, especially during times where she can cover your eyes- 👀

Even though she spoils you, doesn’t mean she wouldn’t be hard on you. If you do something she doesn’t like, she would punish you. She would also train you with your desired weapon, stating that it would help to protect yourself when she can’t-

I feel like she would let you meet her fellow Fatui Harbingers, but its not like their close with one another- 👀 but Childe is one Harbinger that you often play with. Even though he hates La Signora, he wouldn’t deny that he enjoy playing with you- so you can be found either with La Signora or with Childe-

If you ever get attack or was taken away, you can bet that La Signora is livid- furious- and she’ll hunt down whoever attacked you or decided to kidnap you. And she would NOT show mercy.

Overall, she would treat you as her own and would give you the world if she could- she would protect you from the darkness of the world. Whatever it takes..

Scaramouche

Ha! Scaramouche with a child? Everyone is doubtful at best. He was already a whiny bitch. It’s not a wise decision to give him a kid- he can hardly care for his subordinate, what about a fucking kid-?!

You can tell Scaramouche despised your presence just from his face alone. Even as days and months go by, he would still despise you. But if you manage to rub off on him by staying with him for a year or two, he would start accepting your presence… slowly. He would still make that disgusted face whenever you’re around, but you can tell he’s soften around you and acknowledges your presence-

Scaramouche would be hard towards you, even if you’re a kid, he would still treat you just like he treats everyone. But to those people who knew him well (like Childe, Signora and other Harbingers-), they could tell Scaramouche is going easy with you-

Scaramouche isn’t that affectionate so he wouldn’t spoil you with affections or gifts, but he tries. He’ll leave some trinkets he found while he’s out and about in front of you before leaving promptly- (i swear he’s a tsun-tsun :3-) this cycle would continue even as years go by.

Scaramouche would train you harshly and isn’t afraid to force open your eyes to the harshness of reality- just bc ur a kid doesn’t mean ur an exception to the rules of reality. (“You’ve got no choice but to accept it as it is.” Scaramouche said, almost sadly while staring as someone was killed in front of you two-).

He would let you play with Childe (Childe is good with kids, okay? He has siblings for Teyvat’s sake-). He might as well give you to Childe with how often you are seem with the hydro-user instead of the 6th Harbinger- but you would always go back to Scaramouche.

Everyone would always ask you how you handle the harshness of Scaramouche (it’s no secret that he’s the least liked Harbinger-), but your response is always the same- “because I love him! He’s my older brother!” (Whilst Scaramouche is blushing behind the wall-).

Scaramouche is protective of you, believe it or not. So if you are with him while he’s outside, he’ll keep you close with him and doesn’t allow you to wander off. If you do wander off, he would panic as he searches for you. He would most definitely scream at you before hugging you- (he’s relieved that you’re unharm- 👀)

If you’re being attacked or taken away, everyone in the Fatui would be so scared of him as he goes out to search for you. If you’re kidnapped, he would let out a search party. And they aren’t allowed to be back unless you are with them (unless they want to get some beating from him-). He would immediately kill whoever attacked you or kidnapped you, even if you’re there to witness it, he would still kill them.

Scaramouche, overall, isn’t perfect. Afterall, he still despised you even after years go by- but he’s grown attached to you. Just,, be patient with him and continue to love him.

[x] Main Page || [x] Mondstadt Page || [x] Fatui Harbingers Page

[faegirly]

A Heart to Come Home To - Thoma x Gender Neutral Reader - Platonic Oneshot

as a bounty hunter for the Kamisato Estate, being away from your best friend Thoma is inevitable, but this you've been gone for longer than usual, and Thoma heart is beginning to weigh down with the ache of you not being at his side...

in celebration of his coming home last night, here is a cute reunion oneshot featuring the best househusband, Thoma 💫

~

"Haha alright everyone, are you gonna behave this time? You remember how upset you were when your excitement made me drop some of your meal right? So, this time, an orderly li-" Thoma started, only to be promptly cut off by a chorus of elated barking and yapping from the dogs that gathered around the tree at the entrance to Inazuma City. Shibas and huskies and shepherd dogs all swarmed him with lolling tongues and batting tails, rising up on their hinds legs to reach the tray of meat he carried with him.

the sight brought a bubbling laugh up from within him, the warmth he felt from seeing the dogs he cared for filling his body even as he had to lift the tray over his head so their noses wouldn't tilt it out of his grip again.

"oh my hahaha... okok easy, easy all of you." the fixer of Inazuma laughed as he stepped between the bounding dogs before finally kneeling beside the tree and whistling throug his teeth to get the dogs attention.

immediately they all got into a line and sat, just like he'd trained them to, slowly but surely, and seeing all five dogs sat panting with wagging tails only made Thoma's heart race with pride all the more.

/if only you were here to see them./ he thought, but like the countless times he'd longed for you in the weeks since your departure, he reluctantly shook the thought away to focus on his work.

"Now, look how good you all are." he beamed, hands on his hips as he looked up and down the row. "What good pups you are, hm? You've grown so much haven't you?"

the gold furred shiba on the end barked in agreement and the housekeeper chuckled before kneeling to portion out their meat.

"thankfully, Master Ayato has increased my allowance so I was able to get better cuts for you guys. I hope you enjoy th-" the blonde started, only to be cut off by the gold shiba barking once more.

resting his forearm on his knee, Thoma looked to the dog with warm eyes as he asked, gently, "Now, don't you remember what I taught you? Politeness is the key to- oh!" but his words fell away when he looked down just a little and found a small puppy, identical to it's mother, hiding at her side.

"Oh my." Thoma sighed, cheeks flushing as he set the tongs down on the pile of meat, wiped his hands and carefully took the puppy into his hands. "Hello there little one. Goodness, what a handsome pup you are. I must apologise for nearly telling off your mother when she just wanted me to meet you. You know my friend would-" butt then Thoma caught himself again, the memory of your face in his mind making his chest twist and tighten, but again, he swallowed through it and continued quickly, "I... There's alot of people here who are very proud of you, me included."

the golden pup yapped weakly as Thoma scratched behind his ear, then did the same to the mother dog as he set the little one down.

"I apologise, ma'am, and to show my sincerity, you'll get the largest cut. for you and your pup. How does that sound?"

and when both dogs barked with delight, tails batting against the dusty ground, Thoma chuckled and went back to serving their food.

the blonde housekeeper hummed as he reclined against the tree, finding so much bliss and fulfilment in watching the shiba and her pup take to the meat he'd brought for them. as they ate, he absentmindedly petted the black and white shepherd dog that had moved to his side, smiling as the warm, late autumn sun shone down through the aged branches of the sakura tree behind him.

cherry blossom petals fluttered down around this quiet part at the entrance to Inazuma City, nothing but the gentle and distant gurgling of the nearby river and the light conversation of the few who lived on the city's edge lifting into the air. it was so easy to get lost in the stillness of this place, to forget his duties and his loneliness, especially now that the dogs were fed and resting, the mother tending to her dozy pup who was now curled into her side, and the shepherd dog had laid down beside his outstretched leg.

"Oh, look at you all, tempting me to stay here and forget my duties." Thoma mused, his hand on the black and white dog's head, lazily drawing circles through his fur. "You were all so good today, so next time, I'll bring a treat as well as your lunch. Would you like tha-"

a sliver of a melody rising from a handmade bamboo flute sliced through the blurry peace of the afternoon and every hair on Thoma's body stood on end. his heart stopped as his breath caught in his throat, green eyes widening as he trembled and froze where he sat.

his paused motion drew the attention of the dog at his side, who whined quietly as he lifted his head and his ears perked up to look at the young man who cared for him, but Thoma couldnt breathe, couldnt move, couldn't think of anything but... you. the bounty hunter for the Kamisato Estate, Ayato's best scout and personal attendant, his best friend.

it had been so long since that tender, skipping flutesong broke the creeping silence of Thoma's routine, through the hollow winds that fell down from the peaks of the island, limply spilling out of the everglowing Great Narukami Shrine whenever he went to pray for your safe return from Tsurumi Island, and now...

Thoma gasped a tight breath, blinking quickly and finding tears in his eyes. the dogs around him were alerted to his distress, the Shiba mother rising to her feet and bumping her nose against Thoma's trembling hand, and when he shuddered back into his body, just as he found the strength to gather himself again, the melody came once more.

the blonde housekeeper shuddered deeper, bone deep, and the shock and want for what he was hearing to be true and not another nightmare pushed him to stand on shaky feet, leaning against the tree for support as he turned to the dusty road out of this little village and nearly fell to his knees when he found you, silhouetted against the plains beyond.

you kept the flute to your lips and eyes down, steadying your own shaky breath by focusing on the song of you and your best friend, only to pull it away, lift your eyes and see him standing amidst the dogs you'd both raised from puppies.

"... You..." Thoma rasped, hardly hearing the dogs around him barking loudly with recognition. "Y-You're home... you're- YOU'RE HOME!" he finally cried out, a surge of adrenaline shooting into his blood and propelling him towards you. you felt the same urge and charged towards him, arms open wide and a wide smile burning into your cheeks until you and Thoma finally crashed together, arms locking around one another's bodies as ou fell to the dirt and laughed tears into each other's necks, clinging to one another as your hearts raced in unison once more.

the dogs weren't far behind, bounding away from the tree and towards you, the anemo hunter, theri friend, who had now returned. but you were weeping into Thoma, hardly believing you were holding him again until you pulled back with a sniff and looked into those etheral, emerald eyes.

"You're back. I knew you'd be back, I... Oh I've missed you... so badly." Thoma confessed, holding your cheek in his palm to wipe your tears and as you did the same, he leant into your touch, exhaling so deeply he felt weightless.

"Thoma..." you whispered, leaning forward to rest your forehead against his own, breathing slow and steady until the warmth of the sun, and the warmth of him reached you. "Thoma..." you repeated and looking into his eyes again, you smiled and wrapped your arms around him. "Yeah... I'm back."

the housekeeper sighed a laugh and embraced you back, not caring or thinking about anything else until the dogs excitement at your return pushed them into him and knocked you both on your side.

"Oh my goodness!" you laughed as the gold furred shiba jumped onto you chest, quickly followed by her excited new puppy. "Oh my goodness, you had a puppy!" you gasped, sitting up to take them both in your arms. "Oh congratulations, mama. Look at him. Oh he's beautiful, isn't he?"

"Right?" Thoma laughed as the shepherd dog lapped at his cheek. "I was just feeding them when she brought him forward. And he's just as kind as she is."

"Is that so. Well, I hope you all enjoyed your meal, and thanked Thoma for bringing it for you." you smiled as at the dogs smothering you both, and when they all barked in delight, your heart glowed brighter than the sun above your head.

"Hey..." Thoma's gentle voice danced into your ear and pulled your attention from the puppy in your lap, and when you met his eyes, the peace that came over you was one long missed. "You're ok, right? The mission wasn't.... you're not hurt... are you?"

the sincerity in his voice twisted your heart a little, but you smiled gently, placed your hand on his own, and answered softly, "I'm ok. I am, I promise, but we can talk details when we get back to the Estate. for now though, let's just be here... together... just for a while before we go back to business."

the housekeeper's cheeks flushed softly as he watched you be so gentle with the dogs around your knees. now, at last, after so long he felt at peace and content. the hollowness he'd tried to full with more work faded as he smiled wide, nodded and said, "yeah, let's do that." and bumping his shoulder to yours, Thoma took the black and white shepherd dog and the husky in his arms while you cooed over the mother shiba and her pup, forgetting all the heartache for a moment of perfect bliss.

end

[reverse-moon]

Hello I'm back with another "I was reminded of this AU and now I wanna flesh more out" hour courtesy of @djbead123. Shout out for resparking this bullshit 🤣

Monster AU XD

WE'VE GOT

Patton Moon - 24, brand new vampire, literally just turnt about a month and a half before the storyline starts. Poor man be starving when he meets the others because "I might hurt someone!!" so he would have been doomed without the help of the rest. Runs into...

Virgil Nyx - 208 years old, vampire. He has been in the same place as Patton (turnt then abandoned [not traditionally how that process goes]), so he's like "nah you're with us now" and kinda low key kidnaps him but also got permission to??? Anyway, Virgil's really chill and does everything needed to help Patton out.

Roman and Remus Manchester - 30 both, twin eldritch monsters (or werewolves, not sure yet). Roman is literally head over heels for Virgil and from what he can tell it's most likely mutual??? Remus is just Remus but with way more desire for cuddles.

Janus Drake - 100, Naga. He's kinda cold but it's because most everyone is cold to Nagas. He's thankfully been with Virgil long enough to have gotten used to a form of affection/kindness. "Aquired" the mansion they all live in, he calls the time he got it the "dark ages"

Thomas Sanders - 33, witch. Closest monster to human. He's also technically not an actual monster, just a human with a deeper connection to magic. He doesn't live with the rest, just visits at random and stays for long periods of time. Good friend to all of them :)

Logan Harlow - 29, human. He got off because Remus liked his smell and him, and now he lives with them and studies/researches them bc he wants to slowly work on helping monsters integrate with humanity (and preferably not have to hide). He also may or may not have screwed Remus, Janus and Virgil. For research. No other reason.👀

So basically Patton meets Virgil because he gets to the point where he literally can't control himself and goes after the first human he sees (which just happened to be a vampire who learned how to conceal his vampire scent) and naturally fails to get blood bc Virgil is small but he's fast and strong and way more used to this than Pat

Takes pat to the mansion, invites him in

And they get him some good blood and calmed.

Logan's going past after coming back from work, and is "cold" to Patton bc hahaha nerd be anxious round new people and doesn't at all miss that this new person is a newly fed vamp then goes to his room.

Janus is mad bc "I really did not agree to foster monsters, and the last time I fostered monsters, Remus and Roman became attached and got me attached."

But ya know, he knows vampire laws and rules and stuff, so he's letting Patton stay for that shit.

After about a month, Thomas shows up and is like "yeah, there is apparently a big witch convention and I uh I'm kinda having to attend but I ain't got a place to stay"

And Janus is like "your room has not been touched, just like last time"

I'm pretty sure I want Prinxiety but idk for the other four (I'm leaning towards DLMR, but idk man)

Big conflict has to do with monster hunters

:|

And that's all I got.

[demonslayedher]

Buriko-Senpai! This is such a wonderful blog to read, and I love your art so much! It's so nice to see other traditional artists out there! What's your thoughts on the demon slayer marks and their affects after Muzan's defeat? Do you think they're a purely physical effect, or a supernatural curse like Ubuyashiki's? It seems like in the latter case it would be lifted? In Tanjiro's status report, he mentions wanting everyone to be happy "when he's gone", and hints of preparation for the future...

Thank you for the kind words on my art! (≧◡≦) Glad to know people like the style, I like the feel of trad art both for the final product and how the pen feels in my hand, haha~. I love all the additional possibilities in digital art, but will leave that to the people who are good at it. Glad you find my blog a good read too, because we’ve got another lengthy read ahead.

As for the mark and whether it works in a purely physical sense or a curse sense, I'm ok thinking of it in either way, depending on its purposes in post-canon fanwork (but of course, you can do whatever you want in fanwork totally inventing the mark or completely ignoring it too). As Gotouge never states exactly what becomes of Tanjiro, Giyuu, and Sanemi, I don’t feel we can declare it working one way or another. We'll consider it from both angles, but in general, I think canon evidence leans toward an avoidable physical impact. Even that, however, leaves room for interpretation on strict "25" might be or not.

If we approach the curse direction first, the worldbuilding surrounding the Ubuyashiki curse gives a lot of framework for the mark being a curse. The second fanbook even gives us more circumstance and age-related perimeters that seem very arbitrary, like how only one male will survive each generation and how the daughters will also die young by sudden illness or accident if they don’t marry out. As the curse is tied to Muzan’s/demons existence, it is completely lifted once Muzan is eradicated, but Kiriya still anticipates dying in his 20’s and does not feel relieved that it’s gone until he’s in his 30’s. This would put Giyuu and Sanemi in their 50’s if they’re still around, and with their own curses effectively gone, they’d probably have spent the past couple decades insisting to Kiriya that he can relax.

If the rebound of the mark is a supernatural curse, there are a couple other things that make sense about this to me, in the light of cosmic justice at play in this universe. First, it’s a general rule in a lot of philosophies and other works of fiction that to gain something powerful, you must pay the price and sacrifice something. Second, the Ubuyashiki family is cursed to carry the sins of one of its members until they can stop that demon member. While Demon Slayers may not necessarily be carrying the sins of demons, we see demon marks at play in this series first, though its effects are not clear until we see how Nezuko is stronger when her vines appear. A Demon Slayer also gaining extra strength like this is, perhaps, taboo.

As for the mark being a purely physical effect, I think the emphasis on physical effects of the mark (especially how in Chapter 129 Muichiro analyzes its effects on body temperature and the heart), and how throughout the manga it is continually stressed that the Demon Slayers are mere humans even if Breath helps them push the natural limits of human ability, lend to a more physical interpretation that in order to push so far past normal limits, it has to borrow against the natural human lifespan. This is how the characters in-universe also interpret its effects. If we look more into what Muichiro says:

Muichiro: The anger was too strong for me to have any handle on my emotions. I believe that in that moment, my heartrate exceeded 200 beats, and my body felt as hot as though it was burning. My temperature would had measured at least 39 degrees or more. Shinobu: !? Could you move like that? That would be life-threatening. Muichiro: Right. That’s why I think it’s a matter of falling into one category or another. Whether you die or survive that moment is what determines whether a mark will appear or not. Amane: A heartrate of over 200, and why a temperature of 39 degrees? Muichiro: That’s because when I was received treatment at Kocho-san’s place I was running a fever. When my temperature was taken, the thermometer read 39 degrees. At the time I would have been said to have a mark appear, my body was just as feverish.

(For reference, according to searching with the same terms used in the original text, your top heartrate is 220 minus your age, making Muichiro's 206 beats per minute. The average for someone in their 20's is 120~140, somewhat hard exercise would put it at 150, and hard exercise puts it at 170, according to the Borg scale. Normal body temperature in Celsius is 37 degrees; while 39 C = 102.2 F.)

If we look back at when Tanjiro is first facing off against Daki, he considers how he gets more power out of Hinokami Kagura than from Water Breathing because it suits his body better, but he is not yet physically capable of the switch between them. As he psyches himself out in Chapter 77, we see that he has physically been trying to prepare himself for this, and he’s shouting at himself to set his heart ablaze. Clearly, Tanjiro is leaning into that advice from Rengoku-san, and if he’s on his way to getting the mark, he’s been taking that advice somewhat literally.

In Chapter 78, as he purposely raises his own temperature to fight the side effects of switching to Hinokami Kagura, we get a flashback that Kiyo-chan was very worried that Tanjiro was running a temperature of 38 degrees (100.4 F) for three days, but Tanjiro begged her not to tell Shinobu yet because he felt fine in that sustained feverish state, and was able to put more power into Hinokami Kagura that way. (This may also be part of why the mark seems to have a different effect on Sun Breath users, as their body draws from this power in a more sustained way.)

We can probably think of most of the other Breath Users who attained the mark as having gotten it in a similar way to Muichiro. In a fit of high emotion and desperate battle, their body pulled from its natural reserves, and similar to a human and/or demon being exposed to lots of Muzan’s cells all at once and either dying or quickly adapting, they attained a mark and relied on that temporary extra burst of strength. While it either happens or doesn’t happen for the others (Muichiro plainly states he was unaware of a mark’s appearance) based on being the flow of tense battle, Himejima seemed to have gained enough ability that he could choose when he wanted to tap into that power. When we’re first left not knowing what else Amane told the Pillars, Himejima openly wonders what would happen in his case (seeing as he is over the age of 25). In the third light novel, we get a brief scene of Himejima pulling Muichiro aside after that meeting to ask if he’s alright with this, since he’s just found out that he has no chance already of living a long life. Muichiro is fine and wonders about Himejima, who is also fine with this. They both are willing to do whatever it takes to fight Upper Moons and know their survival has never been assured. Himejima goes on to say similar things to Kokushibo in Chapters 169 and 170, when we the readers are finally told about the limited life expectancy. The two of them both sort of expect Himejima to drop dead that night because of his limited stores to draw from. Himejima would had preferred to not raise his temperature so much until facing Muzan (seeing as he knows he’ll be racing against time), but knows he has no choice but to start while facing Kokushibo. Kokushibo is somewhat impressed with his control of getting a mark and his preparation to die, and he finds it a waste of Himejima’s ability and likewise is like, “why not preserve your flesh as a demon” because, as we find out in Kokushibo’s flashbacks in Chapter 178, this was part of what motivated him to accept Muzan’s blood. He couldn’t handle the frustration of his polished techniques being wiped out by a short life span, especially since it would mean he was soon out of time to match or best Yoriichi. If we go back to that conversation between Himejima and Kokushibo, Kokushibo loses his cool (hahaha, that feels like a bit of a pun here) the moment Himejima is like, “there was one exception to the rule though, wasn’t there?” I suspect that Yoriichi was the exception partly due to Sun Breathing being a more perfected, sustained form of pushing the limits of human capability, and Yoriichi being born naturally perfect at it, so his body didn’t need to scramble looking for extras sources of power like hastily (or slowly) borrowing against his lifespan. What’s very interesting about Kokushibo is that he also regularly sustained his mark, so perhaps it’s possible he could had lived past 25? Here's what really key: We also don’t know about these early marked users. Did they regularly sustain their marks, or did they only show up regularly when they battled demons, repeatedly borrowing against their future lifespan? Or was it a one-off thing for each of them, like it was for Giyuu and Sanemi? It’s possible that even if Giyuu and Sanemi are doomed to shorter lives, since they both only had the marks for relatively short periods of time on a single night, they might well exceed 25 years. The fact that Gotouge gave them descendants (as opposed to only implied reincarnations), and because they are both characters generally written as dense in the ways of love and close personal relationships, that sort of implies they needed some time before leaving behind offspring, and I hear a lot of voices in the fandom displeased with the idea of them leaving children behind when they know they won't be around to raise them. Since we don't know any canon details on this, let's cut the boys some slack and say they took a chance on being happy. After all, all their time in the Corp already teaches them tomorrow is never assured.

Side note while we’re on the Sanemi topic, he attains his mark right after Himejima brings his own forth (because Himejima is a badass who can just be like, “ok, now”). While he comments to Himejima what a good idea it was to do Pillar Training so he could attain that powerful state, it’s also possible that being in the presence of someone who already had one was part of what triggered Sanemi’s body to access that state as well. The nature of the mark’s spread from person to person is another tick in the “supernatural curse” box if people like that interpretation more.

Let’s take a look back at Tanjiro, though.

Tanjiro, our special Hinokami Kagura boy, was already a special case for his own knowledge of Sun Breathing (however imperfect), and his own sustained mark (though as Genya notes in Chapter 134, it tends to transform slowly, and as Tanjiro remarks in response to Shinjuro’s comments in Chapter 81, his mark was not something he was born with like the original Sun Breath user was, it was but a childhood injury which took on a different shape when he was injured at the Final Selection). While Amane cites him as the one who started the trickle of marks appearing again, we know in the Pleasure Quarter arc than Tanjiro was been unknowingly training himself to make the mark appear, like the Pillars later tried to do in training.

Tanjiro also, however, has the very unique experience of undergoing repeated cruel and unusual suffering in battle against Muzan, basically dying, turning into a demon with more of Muzan’s cells than any other demon in history, and turning human again with man-made medicine all in the span of about two hours.

We can’t really compare Tanjiro’s case to Giyuu’s and Sanemi’s very easily. Besides the slightly different nature of his mark (which Muzan says will still kill him anyway if he becomes human again, but whether he says that based on a cosmic rule or historical precident, we don't know), we simply don’t know all the details of how Tanjiro's flesh has been affected by everything that happened to him in that two hour period. It seems safe to say that becoming a demon is what saved his life since it rebuilt his flesh and supercharged life back into him, but since he wasn’t a demon long enough to have fully integrated those new cells, the entirely reconstructed parts of him (his left arm and right eye) are essentially lifeless. However, there may still be some amount of reclaiming that his body did during his demon minutes, for the whole right side of his face should be paralyzed (yet he can still use it expressively), and there was probably internal damage throughout his entire body and other various injuries (like stabbing himself) which were repaired enough for him to survive. Had he been a demon longer (long enough that his body with Muzan’s memories likely would had broken down the medicine Kanao gave him), my guess is that he would had fully integrated these body parts, like how Nezuko gets to keep her legs despite all the times they were blown or chopped off.

But we also know that Tanjiro had to take a few months to recover (his visitors looked like they waited the whole three months before getting permission to see him), and that his condition allows him to live and work, but he generally is in a weakened state. Again, rather than only having borrowed (on multiple occasions) against his own lifespan, we don't know the extent of the damage and repair he's undergone.

While he’s got 25 as a historical benchmark to anticipate, and as you mention, he does seem to fully anticipate that early demise, his case is so unique that it could go in any direction. Tanjiro might live longer than 25, as this would give him time to pass on Hinokami Kagura to at least his eldest son, but like Tanjuro, he’d probably have a pretty weak constitution for the rest of his dwindling life. But also worth noting, the phrase is that they die by at least age 25. That means some of the Warring States era swordsmen probably died before that age. (｡•́︿•̀｡) I don't feel this is likely for Tanjiro, Giyuu, and Sanemi, but it is worth noting as a possibility.

[shijiujun]

Time for some BL/Danmei novel recs! 

You guys have probably (maybe) seen my novels list here - [X] - but it’s more for my own tracking than anything else, so here’s a brief list (I’ll probably do full ones of the ones I really love in another post, probably on Minmo).

The ones elaborated on below with the asterisks are the novels I’ve actually finished reading.

*since everyone more or less knows MXTX’s works - TGCF, MDZS and SVSSS, I’ll skip those!

1. SCI 迷案集 | SCI Mystery Series by 耳雅*

Summary: Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao are childhood friends and rivals that end up working together under the newly established SCI unit as co-leads, with Bai Yutang providing the brawn as Captain and Zhan Zhao the brains as Vice Captain and the team’s resident genius psychologist. They solve cases together and slowly unravel a wider conspiracy that involves their parents’ generation and beyond. At the same time they also realize that they’re meant for each other!

Other CPs: Bai Jintang (Bai Yutang’s older brother) & the medical examiner, Gongsun Ce, Bai Chi (Bai Yutang’s younger cousin) & magician Zhao Zhen, and at least three other gay pairings, one of which is considered another main couple of sorts from Vol. 2 onwards

Status: Incomplete (Began in 2010, author is still going on strong with one chapter every one or two months, we’re halfway through Vol. 5 right now and it’s been 10 years ;-; Love that the author is going on strong!! Everyone on JJWXC are like “please author it’s okay if you go slow as long as you keep going we’re here for you” and jfc I understand the fear of this not completing, also when will Vol. 5 be completed and printed?!! I need to complete the collection)

Translations: Unfortunately, only the first volume has been translated well so far on novel updates. The one on Wattpad seems to have caught up, but I would not recommend that one.

Drama/Live-Action: Season 1 was filmed and released in 2018 under the same name with slightly changed names for the characters. Season 2 was supposed to start filming this month but... oh well. First season basically covered Vol. 1 novel from start to end.

*I love this one only because it was my very first danmei and so it’ll forever have a special place in my heart, and also because it’s still ongoing so ya know, I relive how much I love this every month

2. 成化十四年 | Cheng Hua’s Fourteenth Year (The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty) by 梦溪石*

Summary: Tang Fan, a prefectural judge, and Sui Zhou, a high ranking officer in the Embroidered Uniform Guards, meet while trying to solve a murder case. Both of them end up partnering very well together, Sui Zhou ends up inviting Tang Fan to live with him, and the rest is history. Through their days living together and solving cases + a larger conspiracy involving the royal palace, they fall in love. Adding to this mix is also Wang Zhi, a powerful, young eunuch who befriends the pair, and the three of them basically help the crown prince to overcome challenges and his enemies to become the next Emperor

Other CPs: None XD

Status: Complete!

Translations: Ongoing on several websites. I’m only translating relationship highlights, but here’s an introduction post I did for it, if you guys would like somewhere to start without getting too invested - [X]

Drama/Live-Action: The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty was released earlier this year, directed by Jackie Chan and starring Darren Chen and Paul Fu, but cases are a little different and there are new characters in the show that weren’t from the novel etc.

3. 杀破狼 | Shapolang by Priest*

Summary: Set in a steampunk universe where flying boats named ‘kites’ and flying armour exist. Young teenager Chang Geng lives with his mother and stepfather - the former abuses him and the latter neglects him, and the only person that he cares about (and cares about him) is Shen Shiliu, his (very young) godfather. He realizes his identity as a royal prince when the Man tribe invades his city and Shen Shiliu, whose real name is Gu Yun, turns out to be an army general whose duty was to protect Chang Geng in secret (among other things). 

Chang Geng has been critically poisoned by his mother (who’s not actually his birth mother, if I recall she’s an aunt) which leads to him getting terrible dreams frequently with the end result of him being driven into insanity, while Gu Yun is half blind, half deaf due to poisoning + injury when he was much younger, and he can only regain his hearing and sight fully when he takes a medicine that is slowly losing its effectiveness with every dosage he has.

The both of them navigate learning about each other again, falling in love a few years later when Chang Geng is all grown up and also unravel conspiracies and fight bad guys (both external threats and internal as in the current Emperor and other parties) XD

*Note: The age old debate is that Gu Yun ‘preyed’ on and also ‘groomed’ Chang Geng, but I disagree and stand by the fact that Gu Yun was 90% of the time not around while Chang Geng grew from a teenager to a young adult as he was fighting wars elsewhere, while Chang Geng refused to stay at the Gu manor and insisted on running around, travelling on his own and seeing the world for a few years before they met again. And it was Chang Geng who’d always loved Gu Yun and devoted himself to caring about him, making advances on him etc. when he became an adult

Other CPs: Shen Yi (Gu Yun’s second-in-command) & Chen Qingxu (a renowned physician who ends up healing both Chang Geng and Gu Yun of their ailments) 

Status: Complete!

Translations: Fully translated the last I heard, it’s up there in the list of holy grail BL/danmei novels, so I’m sure it’s done hahaha.

Drama/Live-Action: Filming in progress!

*This is up there in the hall of fame for danmei novels for more than just the amazing content and writing - It’s also famous for being one of the most complex novels ever. I don’t know how the translations team did it because DAMN it was complex and I read all my novels in Chinese without much issues but I was honestly STRUGGLING WITH this one and I went through some existential crisis while reading because I was like ‘did I ever learn Chinese, am I even Chinese’ XD

4. 默读 | Silent Reading by Priest*

Summary: Luo Wenzhou, a police captain, and his team including best friend and partner Tao Ran, face a few challenging cases that end up being small parts of a larger conspiracy, and end up having to consult with Fei Du, a flamboyant, charming and flirty, young and rich CEO, who Luo Wenzhou describes as someone who is an expert at ‘crimes’. Not deduction, not solving crimes, but someone who is familiar with how the murderer or culprits would commit crimes. Both Luo Wenzhou and Tao Ran know Fei Du well, because they first met when Fei Du was in high school, when he called the police because his mother had hanged herself in the house, and since then Tao Ran and Luo Wenzhou look out for him, spending holidays with him, giving him presents here and there. Luo Wenzhou and Fei Du overcome their misunderstandings of each other and fall in love while solving all the cases and the larger conspiracy behind it.

Other CPs: Tao Ran and someone he knew first from his school days or was a neighbour when he was younger, I can’t remember, but they meet again at a blind date and end up living in the same building on different floors XD

Status: Complete!

Translations: Complete!! There’s a huge post floating around on Tumblr with all the links (I can’t find it right now) and on Twitter you can also find the collated, epub versions etc.

Drama/Live-Action: Rights for a live-action was signed, no casting confirmation or set dates yet

5. 犯罪心理 | Criminal Psychology by 长洱*

Summary: Police captain Xing Conglian drags psychologist Lin Chen out of seclusion/hiding to solve a case that is indirectly tied to him. Lin Chen was involved in a case a few years ago that led to four deaths - these four victims were the sons/daughters of four of the five huge old-money (super rich) families in the country and these family members sought to make Lin Chen’s life very difficult for him afterwards by making him lose all the jobs he can find, by surveilling his every move and ensuring that he’s not happy etc. Because of that, he backed out of the police force as well and quietly lived as a school dorm administrator, which is where Xing Conglian finds him a few years later. Lin Chen fakes his death after the first case (not deliberately but kind of a by-the-way thing), but as fate would have it, he ends up meeting Xing Conglian on another case, and he decides that he’ll move in with him and also involve himself again, consequences be damned, and they fall in love!

Other CPs: None XD

Status: Complete!

Translations: I think it’s not complete yet.

Drama/Live-Action: None that I know of.

6. 死亡万花筒 | Kaleidoscope of Death by 西子绪* (MY ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE)

Summary: Supernatural setting where people who are about to die get a second chance to live. These individuals are either in the midst of a dangerous situation (for e.g. a shootout or a deadly mugging incident) or are about to get into accidents (for e.g. an entire bus going off a bridge or a chandelier dropping from above and crushing the person underneath) or are ill (recently diagnosed with cancer or are terminally ill with a condition for e.g.) - The list is endless, and in the situation between life and death, 12 doors will appear before them. 

It is said that once these individuals finish all 12 doors, they will truly get a second chance at life and survive whatever cause of death they were imminently facing. 

Each door represents a creepy, supernatural mystery, and Lin Qiushi finds himself in a strange place after opening a door when he was trying to enter his apartment one day. He meets Ruan Baijie, a beautiful, tall woman who he happens to meet, and they realize that in this strange world, he and other individuals who came through the door have to complete a given task, find a key and an exit door, and make it out alive. The others in the team (some of which have already gone through several doors) explain to Lin Qiushi, who is a first-timer, what the doors are about. 

The catch is, if they die inside the door, in the real world, they’ll die immediately, by accident, throwing themselves off a building, or just throwing up blood until they die (just to name a few)

On the first night, however, three people are slaughtered and eaten by a long-haired ghost/creature. The good news is, Ruan Baijie isn’t all that she seems to be (for one, she’s not exactly a woman) and she takes a liking to Lin Qiushi immediately.

Other CPs: None XD

Status: Complete!

Translations: I think it’s not complete yet!

Drama/Live-Action: None that I know of, but honestly, this novel would be fricking EPIC as a live-action, and really creepy, but this is my all-time favourite novel, I kid you not!!!!

*I’m definitely doing a longer and more detailed to-read for KOD on my translation account, gosh you guys have no idea how much I love this.

7. 当年万里觅封侯 | Those Years in Quest of Honor Mine by 漫漫何其多

Summary: Yu She and Gu Wan were close friends for a short period of time when they were younger, but unfortunately their identities and positions meant that they were opponents. Yu She’s family was for the Second Prince and Gu Wan was taken in by the Sixth Prince’s family, but in the end it was the Second Prince who ended up getting to the throne, while the Sixth Prince was accused of treason and died somewhere far away at war after being captured. Gu Wan’s only wish was to keep the Fifth Prince’s children - Xuan Rui and a pair of twins, Xuan Yu and Xuan Congxin safe, and so he moves them to another province and asks the Emperor (the Second Prince) to demote Xuan Rui’s status to prove that they are no threat to the Emperor, if only to stay alive for another day.

However, their days of hardship have only just begun, and Gu Wan decides to namedrop Yu She, whose family is so powerful now, and claims that Yu She loves him and that he was wooing Gu Wan back in the days they knew each other so that officials and others would treat the children under his care better. A few years pass and Yu She doesn’t expose Gu Wan. Gu Wan thinks they can go on like this forever, until the Emperor asks Xuan Rui and the twins to head back to the palace for a visit.

Gu Wan meets Yu She again, but the boy he knew, who was gentle, a stickler for rules and a proper, well-mannered person, has changed almost completely. Cue palace conspiracies again, brothers fighting for the throne, scheming consorts etc. XD 

Other CPs: None XD

Status: Complete!

Translations: I think it’s not complete yet but I’m not super sure on this

Drama/Live-Action: None that I know of!

*They came out with a new reprint edition three days ago and it’s gorgeous! And comes with amazing freebies, and I am a sucker and read it on the day of the printed novel release because I saw the art and loved it, wanted to see if the story was any good, and damn after chapter 2 I WAS GONE and then I checked out two copies from different stores for the two different sets of freebies 

--

A list of those I haven’t read but I see are highly raved about:

1. 二哈和他的白猫师尊 | The Husky & His White Cat Shizun by Meatbun

- I’ve already been spoiled and I know what goes on mostly, and there are a lot of warnings for a reason, but I’m still a fan, and let’s not get into the debate on the content, I know I have to read this but the angst level is apparently ridiculous, so I need like some mental preparation before I sit down for it.

2. 千秋 | A Thousand Autumns by 梦溪石

3. 烈火浇愁 | Lie Huo Jiao Chou by Priest

4. 将进酒 | Qiang Jing Jiu by 唐酒卿

- A really good group of translators picked this up initially on Twitter, but then assholes were complaining that they were being too slow and insisting that machine translation (MTL) did an equally good and faster job, so the OG dropped it, and then another nice team picked it up, but MTL team is still being an asshole XD I’ve heard really good things about this one, it’s apparently quite complex as well, I’d liken it to Shapolang level? But it might be even more complex (with a lot of politics and stuff), so much so that apparently the printed novel comes with a relationship/character chart so readers are at any point in time clear on the characters which is like amazing XD

[ellana-ravenwood]

“You...have kids ? AND A WIFE ?!” - Fem!Reader (Batmom) x Bruce Wayne x Justice League

Synopsis : No one in the Justice League would’ve ever guessed that the stoic Batman had kids nor that he was...married ?! 

Just a lighthearted shorter fic (I know, must be surprising, haven’t posted one of those in ages hahaha) because I need it. Slowly getting back into a regular writing funk. And ya know I’m here to write the League interact with Batmom and co haha. Hope you’ll like it : 

My master list blog : @ella-ravenwood-archives

__________________________________________________

The Big Bad Bat that never smiles.

That’s the picture Barry had in his head when thinking of him...

It had been a few months now, since this “Justice League” had become an actual thing. And Flash was still not sure if it was reality or just a fever dream.

Of course, before they truly decided to gather all together to protect this Earth, Barry knew about his “colleagues”. Duh. Who, in America, never heard about the mighty Superman ? The Goddess of Truth Wonder Woman ? The fearless, and fear inducing Batman ? 

And here he was, amongst those legends. Was it making him a legend too, to have been selected to be one of the founder of this “little” team ? 

Barry just couldn’t admit that. What he could admit, though, was that it felt very nice to be part of something like this initiative ! 

It also felt nice that he wasn’t alone anymore. He had the support of people who were like him. “Different”, and with a purpose to make the world a better and safer place ! 

Well, up until now Barry was mainly focusing on Central City, but hey, some of his colleagues only had one city too ! 

And now, they took it further, leveled up in the protective business, and became, Barry would like to say, kind of like a family ! 

Ok, maybe not just yet, but at least they were all good friends. 

Well, “all”. Not quite. 

There was one who still refused to partake in their gaming nights for example, or in any discussions that weren’t work related. There was one whom Barry never saw smile, not even a little twitch at the corner of his mouth ! One who, it seemed, had no intention to bond with his new partners. 

Yes. Batman kept himself guarded from everyone else, which was odd to Barry because he heard that the bat sort of was the one who had the idea for this little world saving team. 

Flash just couldn’t figure out what was the deal with that man ! And Batman wasn’t letting him come close at all. Not reacting to his jokes or anything. While they were hilarious ! The only time Batman seemed to care about what Barry had to say, was when he was starting to speak forensics.

There was one person though, who seemed closer to the bat than all the others. Well, actually make that two. Two persons. 

Superman, and Wonder Woman. 

Almost as if they knew who Batman really was. Maybe they did ? After all, they’re really the one that started this little hero club. 

And so one day, Flash, sitting in the common room of their brand new space headquarters, was staring at Batman (who was making himself a cup of coffee) and without giving much context, he turned to Clark and Diana (who were...arm wrestling ?) and asked :

"Have you ever seen him, ya know, smile ?"

“Huh ?”

Superman turned his head toward Barry, and this two second loss of focus allowed Diana to throw him down. 

Quite literally. For a split moment, unfocused because Flash addressed him and his Ma’ always told him that ignoring people was impolite, Clark released a little pressure in his arm, and of course Diana took advantage of this to strategically put all her force in, and slam the mighty Superman down. 

Barry gave a worried look towards Batman. The last thing he wanted, was for him to come over and see what the ruckus was about. But, still at the coffee station, he just looked at both meta humans, frowned, shook his head, and left the room, visibly grumbling something under his breath. 

With a sigh of relief, Barry turned back towards them, and as Clark was getting back up, giving an annoyed (and slightly vexed) look at Diana, who was showing him her most beautiful smug expression, he asked again : 

“I was wondering, have you ever seen him smile ?”

Massaging his wrist, still a little sour about his defeat, Clark asked, a little absentmindedly : 

“Who ?” 

Flash, looking around, lowered his voice and said : 

“You know...his name rhymes with cancan ?” 

There was a short pause, before Diana says : 

“...A lot of our names rhyme with Cancan.”

“But only one of you never smiles !”

“Oooooh, you’re talking about Batman ?” 

Flash shook his head positively, looking around nervously one more time to make sure said Batman wasn’t there. Diana smiled widely (not a rare occurence in her case) and turned to look at Clark knowingly. And Superman laughed heartily, of his clear and a little childish laugh, and said : 

“No. No I don’t think I ever did...Wait, actually, there was that one time when-" 

"Wonder Woman. Superman. Flash. Hello." 

The big bad Bat himself was right next to them, and Barry couldn’t help but wonder how the hell did he arrive so fast ?! 

Bruce was looking straight at Clark, staring intently at him, and why was he ? It made the man of steel uncomfortable, especially when- Oh. Oh but of course. That one time Clark saw Batman smile was when... 

After a short awkward silence, Clark spoke up again : 

“No. No I never saw what, um, what you asked me I saw. Diana ?” 

“Nope, never.” 

Batman nodded, which mortified Barry as he realized that he knew what they were talking about, and left once again. And from this day on, The Flash couldn’t help but wonder...What was it, that made the Batman smile ? 

Because given the “trinity”’s reaction, it was clear both meta-humans saw him do that once...His curiosity intensely piqued, Barry kept this info about Clark and Diana knowing in the corner of his mind. 

************

Of course, no one would expect such a thing from the Batman. Who, in their right mind, could guess that the stoic, always so serious and harsh hero had a...

Yes. 

Even now, faced with the fact this was reality, Barry couldn’t quite believe his eyes ! It was just so surreal ! And he had a costume, too !! 

Out of nowhere, the man he had tried to make laugh or smile for years came out of the zeta tube with a little boy, who couldn’t be more than nine years old, and acted as if nothing happened !!

Understandingly so, everyone but Superman and Wonder Woman, stopped what they were doing and stared at them. 

Green Lantern is the one that said what everyone was thinking but didn’t dare to ask : 

“What the...Who’s that, Batman ?!”

The sudden exclamation didn’t seem to phase Bruce much, but the little boy stiffened and sort of hid behind Batman’s cape, looking shyly at everyone from behind it. They were all staring at them. It was a little scary.

Bruce turned to Hal, and calmly and matter of factly said : 

“My son. D-Robin.” 

Which made everyone but Clark and Diana unable to stop their : “WHAT ?!”. And to little Dick, it was quite something to witness all his favorite heroes freak out like that, and looking in total shock. 

That’s when Bruce, clearly annoyed, and a little mad as he noticed his usual extroverted boy looking unsure and shy, and hiding behind him (and no one made his kiddo feel like that without repercussions !), said : 

“Get a grip, everyone. You’re making him think you’re all completely nuts. It’s embarrassing, I brought him up here because he was excited to meet all of you, and now you’re acting like mad men.”

The big bad bat then squatted down to put himself at the boy’s level and asked, his voice taking a complete different tone, one that Barry never heard him have. 

“Are you ok, buddy ?"

No one was quite sure what was the most shocking. That Batman had a kid, or that he just took the softest voice ever to talk to said kid, and showed an entirely different persona ?

The young boy nodded, and Bruce turned back towards everyone, putting a reassuring hand on his son’s shoulder. 

“Please, handle yourself better in his presence. You’re intimidating him.” 

Barry had a thought about how odd it was, that this kid was intimidated by him and his friends, while apparently totally ok with Batman. Because in his eyes, Batman was the most intimidating guy he ever met ! Yet that boy seemed to cling to his cape for dear life, as everyone kept staring at him. 

The worry in the boy’s look, and the “mama goose” stance Batman suddenly took, made Barry snap out of it first and, smiling, he said : 

“Well, welcome to the Justice League of America’s headquarters, Robin ! Want a tour of it ?”

And this warm feeling that irradiated from Flash seemed to unlock something in the boy, and, smiling widely, he shook his head yes enthusiastically and slowly walked out of his father’s shadow.

That’s when the zeta tube emitted the sound it does when someone comes through, and someone nobody saw before came from it. She was wearing an unknown costume, and her sudden appearance and the fact she was a stranger made everyone take a fighting stance ! Everyone, but Batman and his son. 

“Hey mom ! Flash is gonna show me around ! It’s Flash !! The real one !” 

Wait...”mom” ? Did that...mean...SOMEONE ACTUALLY MARRIED THE BATMAN ?! 

************

It was quit a shock, the day everyone discovered that Bruce had a family. 

Granted, it was all fairly recent as he only met you a few years back, and Dick had been adopted only a little bit more than a year ago (he only recently started to call you mom, after certain events happening (you can read about it in this story : clickclickclick), and wasn’t quite yet calling Bruce “dad” but it was just a matter of time, really. In Bruce’s eyes, the boy was most definitely his son, now).

But what was the most shocking of all, was how whenever you or the boy would be around, it felt like they were discovering another Batman ! 

Whenever Dick said something smart, he would praise him. Whenever his look would cross yours, his expression would become incredibly soft (”lovesick puppy” was not words Barry thought he’d ever associate with “Batman”). It wasn’t particularly a noticeable difference for the untrained eyes, but it was most definitely there. 

His “soft” expressions were all very fleeting. But someone like Flash ? He definitely saw them. 

The Batman was still this serious, stoic and unwavering man, but as soon as they all discovered he had a family, he became a little more human. 

His “legend” wasn’t broken by the fact he could feel emotions, on the contrary. Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Green ARrow, Black Canary...Everyone. They just realized what Superman and Wonder Woman discovered a while ago now. 

There was two Batman. 

The working one, the superhero, the unforgiving one, who was strategic and pragmatic. 

And the family man. 

And as he observed those two Batmen, Barry realized more and more that they weren’t actually two different persons like it could seem to certain people. They were just different facets of the same man. Two sides of the same coin. 

Of course, Flash should’ve known. Just like in his day time work, just like in forensics and such...Things weren’t always that simple. People, weren’t that simple. Real people weren’t “one dimensional”. 

His theory was confirmed one day when you said that Batman could most definitely be a total jerk towards you or your son (or Alfred), in his “dark moments”. And that you fully accepted it, because you did not love him conditionally. 

Because you understood him, and that in your opinion, nobody was perfect. Hell, you admitted, with a little laugh, that you could be very obnoxious at times...And if he could forgive your bitchy moments, then you could most definitely forgive his dark ones. 

Especially when you knew why he was like that. 

Sometimes, Barry felt jealous, that Batman found such an understanding and loving wife. But then he just had to take one look at how said Batman was looking at you, and he realized that both of you were lucky. 

************

It turned out that Dick wasn’t a shy kid at all. He just got a little overwhelmed at first, to be stared at by Earth’s mightiest hero. But as soon as he relaxed himself and finally opened up, he was a rather talkative little dude. 

Full of energy. And all of a sudden, Barry truly understood why Batman could look so fondly at his boy, or at you. 

The kid clearly was a little ray of sunshine. Although, if we believed you and Bruce, he could sometimes throw terrible fits of anger and...Well, once again, people were more complicated that they can first appear to be. It’s not because you have mostly a joyful nature, that you’re always that way. And Barry could see this whenever Dick would partake in missions. 

The boy was serious too, and resembled his father a lot in those moments. 

However, he was still mostly very extroverted and curious while at the League’s headquarter, and Barry could see how the arrival of such a burst of light in Batman’s life could brighten him indeed.  

It was difficult, to look at you and Dick and not smile. 

Barry wondered, if neither you nor Dick came into his life, how Batman would be now. Probably still cold and seeming unemotional. Maybe even worst than what they experienced so far ? 

There actually wasn’t a doubt in Barry’s mind, that you and your son’s presence in the Big Bad Bat’s life radically changed him.

************ 

Flash could see there was something wrong with Bruce when he came up the League’s headquarter that day. 

He was much grumpier than usual. And when Barry joked : 

“Gee, where’s your boy, I think you need to cheer up.” 

Batman gave him the most murderous look he ever saw, stood up, and quietly left the room, leaving behind him a very cold and scary atmosphere. 

You got up from the zeta tube barely two minutes later, looking both distressed and annoyed, and ask Flash where Bruce was. 

Still sort of in shock, Barry gave a timid gesture towards where the Bat went, and watched as you went there in a hurry. 

Later on, Barry would learn that Bruce and his son got in a fight, which resulted in his beloved boy leaving to join the Teen Titans, and ah, all of a sudden, everything made sense to The Flash. 

************

Jason’s first introduction to the League was quite different from his older brother’s. The Leaguers were less surprised, and therefor more welcoming immediately. 

Jason was a shy kid, who would often whisper things in his dad’s ear before doing it. 

Like for example, the boy didn’t dare, at first, asking Flash how fast he could truly run. So he went to Bruce, and asked him, murmuring in his ear and hiding his mouth. Which made Batman, THE Batman, stand up from the computer on which he worked on, and walk with his son towards Barry. 

“Go ahead, ask him, don’t worry, I’m here.” 

He said, pushing Jason a little forward. And the boy was playing with his hands nervously, before he dared to ask : 

“Howfastcanyoureallygo?” 

And the fond smile Batman had as he stood there, behind his son, silently encouraging him, made Barry feel like he was understanding him more and more. Smiling, The Flash answered : 

“Well, what’s sure is that I’m not going as fast as you asked this question !”

Which made little Jay widely smile and chuckle. Just like Bruce discovered, Jason could be a little “wild” yet “reserved” at first, but it only took a little push for him to become an overly enthusiastic little boy, eager to please and to learn.

It was obvious Jason had a tough childhood, which make him afraid to bother people and be in their way. Which sometimes made him want to be fiercely independent. It was obvious that Jason didn’t have an easy life up until now...

And that he was embracing fully this new chance at being happy and having a family. He’d follow Bruce like he was his shadow. He’d cling to you often. He’d talk about his older brother Dick regularly. 

Little Jason was home with you all, and it was a heartfelt thing to witness for each members of the League. 

It was yet another proof that Batman most definitely had a heart.  

************

Years passed, and nothing much changed. 

Batman was still good old himself, with that softer change when you or his sons were around (fortunately, things with the first Robin, or “Nightwing” now, as he called himself, greatly improved, and although Dick stayed with the Teens Titans still, him and Bruce were speaking again. Of course they were). 

He was still that man who had difficulties to say “thank you” (yet he improved on that front), who was strategic and pragmatic, but now, the members of the League knew better than to judge him just for that.

His children came from times to times to the League’s headquarter, mainly to hang out with their dad, as it was extremely rare they’d take part in League’s mission (Batman was surprisingly protective of his children). 

You’d come up too, a little more often, actively participating in monitoring the universe. And you and the Leaguers became fast friends (he’d never admit it, but the Bat surely wasn’t always happy about that). 

And whenever you or/and your kids were present, Batman most definitely seemed to be in a better mood. 

And things seemed to go normally, albeit for, you know, the moments they had to save the World and sometimes almost died during so !

But yes. Everything as more or less normal up until...

************

For months, the League didn’t see much of neither you nor Bruce. 

When Bruce came back up, the news he lost youngest his son was known by all of them, but of course, they knew better than to mention it. 

Barry knew he wouldn’t smile again in a long time, if he could ever even smile again. 

You and Dick were still there. But you lost a son too. Dick lost his little brother. And if the only people that could always turn Batman’s frown upside down were sad and hurt too, how could he get out of that dark pit ?

It didn’t feel right, to not see your nor Dick ever smiling either. 

It felt, when Jason died, that this nice and warm new family Bruce build for himself, that his new chance at being happy, sort of crumbled. 

Yes. You, him and Dick were still here and alive. Were still supporting each others. But there was nothing worst than to lose a child. A brother. 

Once again, it became clear to Barry that the Batman moods truly became tied to his family. And it didn’t surprise Flash when the man threw himself, mind and body, into his vigilante activities even more...

For a long time, they did not see you, nor Bruce. 

And when Bruce finally came back to League’s affair, it didn’t seem like you’d ever come up again...Or like he would smile ever again.

************

And then one day, a while after Jason’s disappearance, Batman came up accompanied once more. 

It was neither you nor Dick, but someone they never saw before. 

A little boy, who claimed to be “Robin”. One more that the Batman adopted.

And once again, Barry could see a slow shift in Bruce’s mood. 

Ever since Jason died, it felt like something irreparable broke in the man. It felt like he was regretting ever coming close to people again, putting you, his children, in danger. 

As if he thought he was cursed to lose everything he loved...

Ever since Jason died, things have been very difficult, in your family. You and Bruce had each others, but the pain was often too grand to handle and it was difficult to mourn your lost son...

Bruce felt it was his fault, you felt it was your fault, neither of you blamed the other...It was a vicious circle. In those years, you almost broke up because of how everything was tough. 

But in the end, your love got only stronger, and you realized that without the other, you could’ve never come back from this dark times. 

The arrival of a new kid most definitely helped, too. 

The first that came out of this sad funk that surrounded everything was Dick. Nightwing. Barry noticed, he went back to be a little more cheerful again, and didn’t fully turn like Batman was. 

It was thanks to Tim. Thanks to being a big brother again, and having to set an example. Something he didn’t quite do in the beginning, with Jason, as he felt jealous at times...One of his greatest regret. He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. 

The first time Tim came up the tower, he ran into it and started to ramble about everything, asking questions faster than anyone could answer, and touching everything on his way ! 

“Wooooow look at that it’s the best telescope I’ve ever seen !! Hey Green Lantern is it true my dad beat you multiple time and that without your ring you’re nothing ? It’s what he said...OH HEY ! Uncle Superman, how are you today ? WOOOOOW you guys have cookies here ?! -bites into a cookie- Mm, not as good as Alfred’s...AH WHAT’S THAT ?! Hey hey, Black Canary, how high can your voice get ? Oh wow what is that, what does it do ? OH HI AUNT DIANA !! Can you breathe in space ? If I went in space without a spacesuit I would freeze and all my blood vessels would explose. Sounds like a painful death right ? Woooow daaaad look at that !!” 

And that was it. Right there. The first smile Flash saw the Batman have in a very long time, as the man looked at his son running everywhere and be excited about everything. 

It was very easy to understand that this new Robin, little Tim, was an extremely smart child. Curious of everything in a way his brothers weren’t, as he needed detailed explanations about stuffs, not just a simple answer. 

It appeared as he was understanding even complicated notions, and would even give his opinion in the matters ! 

Later on, Flash would learn that at first, Bruce refused to take Tim as the new Robin. Because he still had parents (albeit shitty ones), because he didn’t want another Jason to happen, because...Because he couldn’t have his broken once more. 

But the boy was persistant. And he crawled his way in in Dick’s heart first. Then yours. And finally Bruce’s, who just couldn’t resist. Especially when the boy lost his biological parents too...

When Tim was on the Space Station, you’d be most often there too. It seemed like ever since you lost Jason, you became even more protective of your sons. Like you had difficulties letting them out of your sight. 

Tim didn’t seem to mind. His parents never cared enough about him...So it felt nice, to be loved in that way. 

Quickly, this new little Robin brought back a certain balance to his new family. Of course, no one would ever forget Jason. That’s one of the reason why there was a glass case filled with his costume throning in the midle of the Batcave. 

Jason was unforgettable. The love you all had for him, even now that he was gone, would never die. But the mourning was finally reaching its last step. 

Acceptance. 

And in big part, it was because of that young and smart new Robin, whom the League immediately loved. And were quite thankful for. 

After all, they were Batman’s friends. His pain and struggles, over the years, reached them too. They could understand the pain of losing a loved one. Martian Manhunter, who lost his family, for example, truly was empathetic. 

And slowly, without realizing, all of them sort of got used to dark, cold and harsh Batman being soft around his family ! It didn’t feel right, that he would only be dark, cold and harsh...

That day, that first day Tim got up the Headquarter and got overly excited about everything. That day Batman was again seen with a small smile on his face. A smile he couldn’t hush or hide...

It felt right again. 

************

Cassandra emerged from the zeta tube, getting a piggy back ride from her older brother Dick, a calm day at the League’s headquarter. 

She wasn’t very talkative, but she had an aura that was both impressive and sweet. Just like Jason, Barry could see that this young child went through a lot...But it didn’t seem to dim her light. 

It didn’t take a genius to know she went through years of abuse. That her life most definitely hadn't been easy. Maybe even worst than young Jason’s...

Later, Barry would indeed discover the reason why she didn’t speak much, and would be heartbroken for her...Except. 

Except he slowly witnessed her evolution. 

How having a family, a loving and caring and protective one, made her bloom. 

From that first time she came through the zeta tube, on the back of her brother, who then proceeded to give her a piggy back ride all across the Headquarter, to now...

Flash slowly witnessed her change. 

She was quiet at first, but interested in everything. She would listen to whatever ramblings her brothers would tell her, or to her father explaining things. 

She was probably the one that they sheltered all the most, even you, who were usually a rather chill mother. It felt like you all tried to catch up for the lost years where all she felt was pain, mental and physical, and fear. 

“You. Flash.” 

She once said to Barry, and it was the first time he heard her spoke, so he got a little excited and exclaimed : 

“Yes I am !” 

Before going on on rambles about things, of which Cass’ reply was pointing at him, laughing, and saying : 

“Funny.”

When her father came to tell her it was time to leave, Cass pointed at Flash again and repeated “funny”, which made Bruce...Laugh ?! 

Sure, Barry saw him smile and he thought that once, he heard him chuckle at a joke you made (but he wasn’t certain), but to hear him full on laugh like so ?

Once more, Flash was faced with the fact that Batman really was a man. Whose family would uncover the best part of him. The kind and warm part. Barry would only wish though, that this confirmation in his feelings wouldn’t be at his depend. 

Because clearly, Batman was mocking him, right now. But at the same time, the Big Bad Bat turned to him, smiled at him, and...winked ? 

That day, Barry felt that Bruce truly was warming up to him. That maybe, just maybe, he was letting more than just his family in. 

And when he ruffled his daughter’s hair, and confirmed Flash was one of the only funny one, it took Barry a while to come back from it. 

************

Cass made incredible progress in her speech, helped by her family. She loved to come up the tower and often asked anyone who was up there too to tell her stories of their missions. 

She loved stories. 

She’d listen and give them detailed feedbacks about their way of telling stories, and every single time, it’d warm everyone’s heart. But the heart her presence warmed the most was definitely the Batman’s. 

************

One day, a man wearing a red helmet and a leather jacket came up with Batman. He walked in, looked around as people were sort of staring at him, wondering if Batman had adopted yet another kid (who was  grown ass man..), and he said : 

“Wow, didn’t change one bit. Lame.”

When he took his helmet off, he still had a mask under, and...

“Jason ?” 

Clark is the first one that recognized him. And as Barry turned around, looking curiously at this person he thought to be a stranger, he realized...It was most definitely little Jason Todd ! Except, he wasn’t so little anymore. 

Actually, he was taller than his older brother, Dick. 

Barry recognized that slightly mischievous spark Jason always had in his eyes, as if he knew something you didn’t (Jason was the one most similar to you, always quick to have a sassy come back and make clever jokes). 

“I’m back bitches.” 

The shift in Jason’s personality was quite an obvious one, but somehow, Barry knew it was all for show. That deep down, the man was still that little boy full of enthusiasm and curiosity that worshipped his father and mother. 

In fact, Barry quickly understood that Jason’s reason for this so called shift in his personality, was how much he loved his parents, how much he trusted them, and how Bruce not killing the Joker felt like a betrayal. How much it hurt him. 

Yet. Yet “Red Hood” was back in his family now. 

Barry couldn’t help but think about how incredibly strong that boy (man) was. Able to overcome such pain and feeling of betrayal, to forgive his father. To try and understand his point of view, and why he did what he did. 

The Flash was certain that you were for something in this new recovery Jason went through, but also the Bat himself...It was clear Bruce had lived years feeling guilty and regretful. And now he had another chance, and he wouldn’t let it go. 

His persistance in showing what Jason meant is what brought him back. The love you gave him, is what brought him back. 

Jason was finally home again. 

************

When Damian first came up the Justice League’s watchtower, he seemed unimpressed and like he did not care about whatever was happening. 

But Barry hung out with Batman long enough to now “feel” when someone was protecting themselves behind a shield of arrogance. 

And that little boy ? That little boy clearly took this trait after his father. And Barry wasn’t fooled anymore, by this icy sort of exterior. 

Behind Damian’s eyes, he could see curiosity, and wanting to ask many questions, but not asking in fear of appearing too childish. Behind Damian’s eyes, eyes that clearly already saw too much for their age, Flash could still see the kid he wanted to be. 

Barry’s first impression of Damian was right. As confirmed when you emerged from the zeta tube, and the boy rushed to you to give you a hug, and then excitedly tell you everything he saw on the Space Station. 

When Damian took your hand and made you run along with him because he wanted to show you something, which triggered this small and fleeting smile Batman would have whenever his family would be around, Barry knew. 

He knew that there was more to Damian than that pesky arrogant child who acted like nothing touched him personally. And he was right.

Damian had an odd and painful childhood, raised by people who warped his vision of the World. But with yours and Bruce’s love, with the protection and love his siblings gave him, he “healed”. There was, often, a glimpse at the child he was supposed to be. 

And just like with his father, this “glimpse” would only be triggered by him being with his family. 

************

Barry’s suspicions where confirmed the day Superman brought his son, Jon, up with him. Here was another proof Damian was, in the end, just a kid. 

He first took a smug look because he came up there first, but then excitedly showed his friend around, and the two boys went off and had typical kids’ conversations. 

Like wether the mega-computer could play video games, or who was the strongest in the League (at first they didn’t agree, both saying it was their fathers...until they settled on “Aunt Diana” being the best). 

Damian could still, sometimes, be a little arrogant and such (just like his father), but there was a clear shift when he was surrounded by his loving family.

************

Barry might’ve never realize how you were truly the corner stone of the family up until tragedy took you away from them (in this quite old story : clickclickclick). 

Batman quitted the League, and your children were lost. 

It’s only when you disappeared, that he could truly have a grasp of the importance you had in this family. Without you, things could be drastically different for sure. And your loss was felt by everyone. 

The League’s members were your friends. 

Diana, Clark, Hal, Barry himself, J’onn, Dinah, Oliver...

They all felt the loss. 

You had also became a vital member of the League. 

And when you were gone.....

Barry felt his heart regain color, when he heard about what your sons’ went through to get you back. And when you came up to the Headquarters, a warm welcome is what greeted you. 

Batman didn’t even try to hide his smile, or, for the first time since everyone discovered he was married, didn’t shy away from PDA. 

Flash does not think that there was one moment when Bruce didn’t at least hold your hand. And when at least one of your children would cling to you. No matter how old. 

Yes. It became truly apparent that day, that you were the center of it all. The sun around which they all gravitated. But without them, you also had no purpose but to burn out all alone. You were all linked, forever. 

There was no you without them, and them without you. 

************

It was clear Duke wasn’t quite used yet to all the craziness that came with becoming a vigilante. 

When he arrived at the League’s headquarters, he was rather shy and reserved, and Barry saw his “what the fuck ?” face often as Damian and Cass showed him around headquarters. 

Both Damian and Cassandra were born in a specific environment which made it easy for them to assimilate how everything was absolutely nuts. It was the same with Dick, Tim and Jason. From a very early age they were thrown into that world ! 

But Duke ? Sure, he was used to all the shenanigans that happened in Gotham. But he had a pretty normal childhood. So things could often appear completely crazy or him ! He really tried though, to slowly get used to it.

It was actually quite adorable, to see both Cass and Damian explaining things carefully to a Duke who was trying to assimilate everything. Their bond was obviously strong, it didn’t take a genius to realize that.

Bruce had brought Duke up for a particular reason, which was : getting to know other meta-humans and talk to people who went through the same things he did. 

His talks with Superman and Flash himself seemed to help the boy a lot, to grasp and understand his feelings. It wasn’t easy, to suddenly discover you were different. To suddenly have to control abilities you never had before. 

From afar, you and Bruce kept a close eye on what was happening, making sure Duke was alright and comfortable. And clearly, the boy was actually having a really good time here, finally able to talk with people who truly understood the struggle and loneliness that could come with being a meta human. 

It seemed to Barry, that this newest member of “who manages to make Batman smiles without trying or realizing it” club was on the right track to become quite the hero. 

************

Sometimes, Barry would notice that, when he wasn’t doing something “work” related, Batman’s face would suddenly soften and relax, and a small smirk would appear. 

The big bad bat, in moments of calm, not working on the computer or anything, for example as he made himself a cup of coffee, would suddenly let go of that icy marble-carved expression, and give place for a brief expression full of fondness. Of course, it would always be very fleeting, but it was definitely there.

Barry liked to think that in those short moments, Bruce was thinking of his family. That he would catch a glimpse of the loving and sensitive man hid under the scary costume.

And Barry was right. 

************

The big bad Bat that never smiles (unless with family). 

That’s the picture Barry has now when he thinks of him. 

As he was looking at the baby Batman was holding in his arms, and proudly showing the League members, Flash was reminisced of his first impression of the man, years and years ago. 

Cold, harsh, arrogant, “need no help and doesn’t say thank you”. How Barry was almost sure that “The Batman” wasn’t actually a real man at all. He never showed emotions, never showed weakness or anything, was entirely focused on his work. 

But the truth was, and it was clear at the expression of his face was one full of fondness and love as the baby cooed at him, that Bruce was actually like any other man. 

It’s just that, in the League’s early days, he didn’t have another chance at having a family yet. In the League’s early days, he was wary of making strong connections, new friends and what not, afraid to lose them and feel the pain to continue on leaving without a loved one. 

However, as the years’ went by, Flash saw the changes. Thanks to you, to his children. How he trusted his friends of the League’s more. To the point of bringing up his one month old son to present him to them. 

When there was a time Bruce used to scold little Dick for using his real name at times, it was difficult to imagine what things would become. 

Yes. Over the years, Barry realize he greatly misjudge the Batman. 

He was not that cold, unfeeling and unemotional man. He was the opposite. It just took him taking a chance at being happy again to show it. It just took a loving family once more, for him to smile. 

Of course, when they weren’t there, Batman still had that scary persona. But now. Now Barry new better. Because he saw the fondness and love on his face.

 The softness that even the Bat himself, didn’t realize was painting his every feature.

The End.

__________________________________________________

Here we are, a new story haha. Sorry if it’s meh, I’m really slowly getting in a new writing rhythm, and writing  about the Bats again. I hope you still liked it ! :) I honestly have no idea why I ended up going with writing mostly in sort-of Barry’s POV ! But I hope you liked that...Haha I posted it RIGHT in time, it’s 11:53 pm, I said I’d post it at the latest on Monday, pfffeew what a ride. 

As usual, feedbacks and reblogs are extremely welcomed. Like, really beyond appreciated. Thanks in advance, and see you soon with a new story <3. 

PS : In case you’re wondering, the baby mentioned at the end of the story is the one appearing in those fics : The Great Mall adventure, Master of Diaper, Shaky steps and bad teaching, Polichinelle, “Go away, you’re confusing my baby”, How do you make babies ?, What it means to be a big brother,  Wild Child 2, “We want them back” and After Batmom’s death

[wishonastar7]

Timely Fate6

Starting the Paid Service(5)

The panicking started immediately as soon as the clear box hit the floor with a loud thud and the remaining crickets jumped out. Yoo Sangah looked a bit concerned as she watched the commotion, wiping her hands with the wet wipe, while Kim Dokja looked as if he had expected something like this to happen.

Our eyes met. I stared straight at him in the eyes, daring him to question my actions but he stared back and nodded his head. Of course, he would agree, I did almost the same thing that he had in the original novel of 'Omniscient reader's Viewpoint.'

"H-hey why would you do such a thing-"

Some turned their heads to glare at me while the others immediately scurried forward.

"You son of a bitch."

"You better start looking for them quickly, there are only three minutes left." Dokja intervened, crossing his arms as he confronted the small group of people that had started walking towards me.

His words were a signal for the people to start looking everywhere on the subway train. They crouched down to look under seats and in between cracks.

"Yes! I got one! Aaaack! N-no...stop-!"

The joy that the more fortunate ones gained after finding an insect quickly dissipated as they also became targets of the others and their malicious attacks. The carriage quickly became chaotic.

"Hey, why'd you do that? Shouldn't you have just given them the insects?"

Looking back, I saw that Kim Namwoon had directed his gaze towards me and had finally decided to quit being silent. I looked at the silver-haired teen, annoyance creeping up my neck, but I responded calmly.

"There are twelve people left."

"What?" He tilted his head to the side, confused.

"Only three insects were remaining inside the net."

He frowned, quickly mulling over my words, before he quickly put on an ear-splitting grin. "Kekekeke, twelve to three? Not all of them will be able to survive, right? So you threw the net and the lucky ones would find the remaining three?"

"Yea,"

"Don't make me laugh!"

"...." He was starting to piss me off.

"A normal person with common sense wouldn't do that sort of thing without a reason." He grinned, as he looked up at me with a sadistic gleam in his eyes. "Tell me honestly...You just wanted to see this scene, didn't you?"

And there was the question. [Exclusive skill, Character List is activated] a message rang in my ear. Though I was surprised, I made sure not to show it.

[Character Information]

[Name: Kim Namwoon

Age: 19

Constellation Support: None (Two constellations are showing interest in this person)

Private Attribute: Chunnibyou (General)

Exclusive Skills: Unusual Adaptability lv. 3, Knife Fighting lv.1, Blackening lv.1

Overall Stats: Stamina lv.3, Strength lv.4, Agility lv.6, Magic Power lv.4

Overall Rating: A chuunibiyou who was blackened by a special occasion. It is recommended that you don't get involved with him.]

Kim Namwoon wasn't like most chuunibiyous. Unlike the others that had decided to end their own suffering because they couldn't endure the nightmare that had become a reality, Kim Namwoon became know as the Delusional Demon.

He had been waiting for the destruction of the world the entire time and had adapted at an 'unusual speed.'

He looked from me to Dokja and back. "Why don't you two team up with me?" There was a few seconds of silence as Dokja and I met eyes.

[The character 'Kim Namwoon' has a favorable impression of you]

[Your understanding of the character 'Kim Namwoon' has now increased]

I looked at the notification that had popped up in front of me, my face not betraying anything. I closed my eyes, pretending to be mulling through the idea. I opened my eyes to see Dokja was staring at me.

I smiled at him, tilting my head to the side. He stared at me before grinning. We looked at Kim Namwoon, who had been watching our little play, before speaking at the same time.

"No."

Immediately, his face contorted a bit before returning to that annoying smirk. "Ah, what a shame. I mean it. Then can you step aside? I have something to do with that old lady behind you." I could feel Yoo Sangah stiffen behind me. Gilyoung's hand on my hoodie tightened.

"What do you want?" Dokja asked, crossing his arms as he looked down at the arrogant chuunibyou.

The other leaned his head back, "Do you have to ask?"

"You aren't catching the insects?"

I held my breath. "Insects? Why would I catch that? I've already caught one in front of me." He grinned down at the old lady who was struggling to breathe and was bleeding.

Yoo Sangah immediately moved in front of the grandma, fear prominent in her eyes but radiating a protective aura. I couldn't help but feel proud of her.

I looked back at Kim Namwoon. He had a murderous aura.

He was every bit the person I had always imagined him to be.

[The character 'Kim Namwoon' has a slight decrease in favor towards you and your companion 'Kim Dokja']

He stared right at Kim Dokja, his eyes occasionally moving onto me. "Well, aren't you going to move aside?"

Kim Dokja crossed his arms and tilted his head, his eyes closing as he feigned a serious thinking expression. I snorted, turning the other way when Kim Namwoon's slightly confused by slowly reddening eyes turned towards me, oops, he was getting angry.

"Hah...it's really a tough decision." Kim Dokja muttered to himself, yet speaking loud enough for those around him to hear.

Kim Namwoon stared at him. "What?"

Kim Dokja smiled, looking at the white-haired boy as if he was looking at the eyes of an innocent child that wouldn't grow to be a young man obsessed with blood and murder. "I won't move aside." He said in an almost doting tone.

"Haha," Kim Namwoon chuckled darkly, "Are you two going to imitate the Apostle of Justice? Hey, do you have multiple personalities? Fuck you."

He looked at me directly in the eyes, completely ignoring the taller man in front of me. "Who cares what the others go through, the type of place this country has regressed to is nothing that can be saved with a bit of compassion."

He looked at me, his dark eyes seemed to be glowing when he spoke. The words he had spoken weren't in the official novel or the novel based off of the original, 'Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint.'

But there was truth in his words, I knew it. Still, I couldn't think about what he said, my mind was focused on one word.

Regressed.

I knew that Dokja would be focused on the fact that his words hadn't been in the original novel but the fact that, during this life, I knew Yoo Jonghyuk on a personal level only the realization that he had regressed three times already, made my heart stutter. It all felt real now.

Kim Dokja, Yoo Sangah, and Lee Gilyoung weren't just characters from a book. Now they were real. The years of interactions I had had with the 'characters' of a novel felt like years I had gone through in befriending people.

Not that they weren't people before, because they were.

They were all people just like me only, I hadn't thought of them that way. I had thought of them as lesser than what they were.

I felt hot tears prick the corner of my eyes, I hurriedly rushed to wipe them, thankful for the fact that no one had caught me in the act.

Kim Namwoon's cackle brought me out of my musing. "No, wait a minute. It couldn't have been, could it?" He cackled, holding his stomach. "Did you throw over the net just to do this from the beginning? Really?"

His question was directed to me. I leveled myself, fatigued and unwilling to answer him "...".

"You wanted to save the grandma? Hahaha! Amazing! Really fucking amazing! No? Yes?" What the hell was this idiot saying.

"Ah..." He sighed, shuffling. "It turns out the two of you are the type of people I hate the most."

'Hah....you're the type of person I hate the most too, ok?' I thought to myself silently, readying myself to block the first hit sent my way.

[The character 'Kim Namwoon' despises you and your companion 'Kim Dokja']

"What did you say?"

Dokja lowered his head, seemingly casually avoiding the punch that flew over his head eve before Kim Namwoon's words were over.

"Oh? Not bad.." He said as he sent a right cross in my direction. I stepped aside, watching the fist move towards me and back. There was a hint of heat as his fist moved, proving that it wasn't any ordinary punch.

[Blackening Lv.1]

"Oh~ You too?"

"Not bad, not bad at all." The grin that had formed on his face turned maniacal.

A dark aura rose from his body, enveloping him from head to toe. He looked at me in the eye, I stared right back only to be met with glowing pupils. I couldn't help but shiver.

This was an exclusive skill of his 'chuunibyou' trait. It was rare rough to release an exclusive skill before the end of the first scenario, but Kim Namwoon was already showing one. It was expected of him though, after all, there was a reason who he had been recruited by the main character.

Hah... this was really starting to get too predictable. I really didn't want to but-

Peeok! I felt my shoulder spasm where he hit me, with my mixed martial arts experience I might be able to go against him.

[Your understanding of the character 'Kim Namwoon' has increased]

[You and your companion 'Kim Dokja' are close to the conditions of use for the exclusive skill 'Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint' Lv. 1]

Here it was.

[The conditions of use for the exclusive skill 'Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint' Lv. 1 has been reached for you and your companion 'Kim Dokja!']

Kim Dokja sent me a look of surprise, Kim Namwoon struck again.

His fist narrowly missed Dokja, who had been distracted, and came my way once more. I pulled on his arm and sent him towards the ground.

"Haha, what's this?" He turned to look at me from the ground he had been pushed towards and..unlodged his fist from the ground. A faint fist mark remained, he was realizing this newfound strength of his little by little.

Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!

"Haven't I become stronger?" He grinned, the fist that could break bones with a single blow kept on hitting the ground. Kim Namwoon let out a frustrated growl.

"Ah, why can't I hit you?"

Of course, he couldn't hit us. Thanks to 'Omniscient reader's Viewpoint' we could observe Kim Namwoon's attack direction like we were reading his thoughts.

[Right side]

Dokja moved away from the direction of the attack.

[Left eye]

I bent down to avoid the fist and sent a fist towards his gut, his attention immediately moved towards me.

"You're a little different aren't you Princess?" I glared at the nickname, disgust welling up in the back of my throat as his attention.

I held my hands up in front of me and sent a jab towards him, I hit him square in the eye. He grinned at me as he sent a sidekick towards my waist. I caught his leg, and twisted it, he yelped in both shock and pain.

"You-!"

I grinned, grabbing his collar and hitting him square in the jaw and then in the same eye. Dokja came up behind him and threw him to the ground, his head banging loudly against it.

"Are you ok?" He asked me, taking my clenched fists into his hands and rubbing my knuckles lightly.

"Yeah," I smiled. "I'm ok."

Kim Namwoon got back up, a frustrated snarl on his face as he hurriedly sent a punch towards Dokja, face grimacing in pain as he stood on the twisted leg.

I jumped away and towards the grandmother and the others, I pointed to the timer that had been slowly decreasing. "There are less than two minutes left kid, you better hurry." I stood in a protective stance if Kim Namwoon killed anyone he would be able to pass this scenario.

He grinned, knocking himself into Kim Doja and pushing the older man to the ground. He pulled something out of his bag. A blade shone in the fluorescent light. It was-

"-a portable MacGyver Knife." Dammit, I had forgotten. This kid was a diehard military otaku.

Swiiiik-

There was an obvious link between the technical skill 'Knife Fighting' and the strengthening skill 'Blackening'. It was obvious to which direction the knife was pointing.

[Heart]

It was an unavoidable attack but I had to do some quick thinking, I changed the direction my body pointed towards, and instead of my heart, the knife pierced my shoulder. The deep cut on my shoulder immediately spilled red.

I gritted my teeth, pain searing on my skin as my vision shook.

"Ha-Neul!" I heard the voices of others call out as I struggled to keep my attention on Kim Namwoon.

"Hahahaha! Now die."

Less than a minute and thirty seconds left. I pitied the grandmother, I swear I really did, but it was time to use 'that'.

"Chungil High School, 2nd Year, Kim Namwoon. I have one question for you." I stated, reciting the same lines Kim Dokja had said to Kim Namwoon from the novel.

"...What?"

"I wonder....do you think an insect egg is a living thing?" I took out the cricket I had killed earlier from my pocket. Its egg-sac was abundant, then the sound of popping as fluid trailed down my hand. The disgusting feeling spread over my hand and I felt bile rising in my throat as I heard a message.

.

.

.

[You have killed a living thing]

[100 coins have been earned as additional compensation]

[You have killed a living thing]

[100 coins have been earned as additional compensation]

[You have killed a living thing]

.

.

.

Multiple messages bombarded my ears.

He frowned, "Insect eggs? Are you trying to waste time?"

I chuckled, shrugging. "I guess so."

"How would I know something like that? I've always slept during bio." He looked at my bloody shoulder, face contorting into a happy laugh. "But there is something that I'm sure of. Wanna know what?"

"...What is it?"

"You will die right now!" He moved the swiss knife before I could answer in an attack that was hard to avoid.

[A large number of coins have been acquired! Do you wish to check the coin usage tips?]

I snorted, omitting the explanation that entered my ears as I snarled at the teen, there was no need to listen when I already knew the contents.

"Hah! Me dying? No, it's you who will die!" I spat out, muttering something else quietly.

[2.700 coins have been invested into 'stamina']

[Stamina Lv. 20 → Stamina Lv. 30]

I would think about that later.

[Your stamina has increased dramatically!]

[The durability of your body has greatly increased!]

Kim Namwoon's knife penetrated my heart, to be exact, it looked as if it was penetrating my heart.

My skin had turned rock solid, not even a scratch remained. His eyes widened in astonishment.

"H-how?" His eyes moved from the stab wound in my shoulder to the knife that should've been lodged directly into my heart.

"Let me tell you the correct answer to my question: Yes. An egg is a living thing."

"W-what?"

"And in spawning season, female crickets can lay over 100 eggs, sometimes over 200 eggs.

"What are you saying?"

"There's no need to understand. Since there's barely a minute left."

Finally, fear appeared over Kim Namwoon's face. "Aaaaaah! Die! Die! Diediediediedie!"

The knife moved towards my neck, there was no reason to move.

Kakakang

It must've been since the area was more vulnerable than the chest. There was a slight scratch this time, nothing to be worried about though.

"Kim Namwoon."

Behind us, people were crawling around that section of the train, searching for crickets. Some had already given up, others were still searching and once they suspected someone already laying hold of one, they attacked.

"You were right about one thing. I am the same type of human as you."

Maybe I could've saved some of those people.

"Shit! Fuck! Why won't you die?! JUST FUCKING DIE ALREADY!"

50, 45, 40...

The knife barely left any scratches, small beads of blood bled from a few of the scratches. 45 seconds left when Kim Namwoon opened his mouth, dropping the knife and kneeling in front of me.

"S-save me...p-please."

30...

"Save me! Please! Please!"

I grinned, "Why should I?"

[You are close to the conditions of the exclusive skill 'Capture the Target' Lv. 1]

[The conditions of the exclusive skill 'Capture the Target' Lv. 1 have been met]

[Do you wish to 'Capture the Target → Kim Namwoon?']

Oh? What a pleasant surprise.

[Accept or Decline]

25 seconds left.

"People's lives are important! Th-that's obvious!"

"That is the rule of the old rule. This is a new world, just as you said. A new world requires new laws."

20 seconds.

"I don't want to die! Please! I don't want to die!!"

His face contorted as he wailed, tears and snot covering his face.

I smiled down at him, my face gentle and showing a fond look. He continued wailing, closing his eyes.

15 seconds left.

"Then.." He looked up at me, desperation in his eyes.

10 seconds.

"Be a good boy from now on, ok?" He nodded frantically, grasping at the ends of my hoodie. "Accept," I said quietly, a golden light forming like a bracelet on my wrist. A golden 'string' of light trailing down from the bracelet to the neck of Kim Namwoon.

5 seconds.

A notification appeared from my [Companions] 'tab' as gasped sounded around me. Kim Namwoon stared at the golden light that had slowly disappeared into nothingness, a confused look appearing in his eyes before he caught sight of the timer.

He wailed out in fear, desperately searching for his knife that had been kicked away by Dokja at some point.

[The given time has run out]

Throughout the train, the sound of heads exploding came like a chain reaction.

[Paid settlement will begin]

One head, two, three, four...

They were like bloody fireworks introducing us to a new era. I watched the scene with joy, a bit of guilt, and an unidentifiable feeling swarming n my gut.

It was unnerving how calm I was.

[You have killed 156 living things.]

[Kill History: 1 cricket, 155 cricket eggs]

[You have killed non-resistant living things. The numbers of coins you have acquired is now reduced by half]

[7,800 coins have been acquired]

[The number of coins used towards stats level up is automatically subtracted]

[The 'Mass Murder' achievement has been gained through excessive killing]

I looked up towards the mirror and saw a streak of blood on my face, I didn't bother wiping it away, knowing the blood was on the window.

Kkiiiik.

There was a lurching feeling as the train started moving once more, making the familiar sound of the train.

Soon, light-flooded in, and the darkness was finally lifted from the windows. We had arrived at the surface ground section of Line 3 between Apgujeong and Oksu.

From the outside of the window, we could see the Han River and Seoul.

Ahhh, someone let out a moan of relief.

It didn't take long for the moan of relief to change to one of both terror and disbelief. The landscape outside the window was no longer the one of the Seoul and Han River we had all became familiar with as children.

Smoke and dust rose from the ruined city, my heart pierced at the sight of the devastated city.

The Han River bridges had collapsed, its waters dyes red from the blood of fallen soldiers as a monster, while amongst the fallen buildings, trampled on a K1 tank like it was a Christmas toy.

[Main Scenario #1-- Proof of Value has ended.]

[300 coins have been acquired as a basic clearance reward]

[100 coins have been reduced for the channel usage fee]

[Additional compensation settlement will now begin]

One world was destroyed and a new world was born.

Dokja and I looked at each other, our eyes reflecting the mess that the other ad become.

...I was the only reader who knew the true outcome of this world.

[Accepted]

[You have now become 'Kim Namwoon's master, in place of his constellation]

I looked down at the white-haired teen who was looking down at his hands, obvious shock on his face.

There was still this kid to deal with.

[The character 'Kim Namwoon' had a favorable impression of you'

[The character 'Kim Namwoon's favorability had increased]

[The character 'Kim Namwoon's favorability had increased]

[The character 'Kim Namwoon's favorability had increased]

[The character 'Kim Namwoon's favorability had increased]

I sighed. This child.

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