#But that really cemented the fact that I love what I've written so far

[verdantglow]

So I realized a few months back that I may have been overreacting a little (read: a lot) when I moved my Prosaic Wonders AU (aka smalletho Mall Employee AU) over to an adults only blog & made a bunch of rules about minors interacting with it. I was really worried about getting mobbed by antis & weirdos who might accuse me of Corrupting The Youth or whatever when I just don't actually have the energy to deal with that kind of nonsense.

But since then, my energy stores have straight up plummeted to the point where I give zero fucks & I don't want to have to be off in a secluded corner to talk about my fic. I've always held that having friends of a variety of ages is A Good Thing Actually, & I don't want to lose that. Plus I've decided to make some changes to how I write & post the fic that'll drag the rating back down to T, maybe M at most. If I do end up writing any E content for it, it'll be posted about on my other account & most likely put up on AO3 as bonus content in a separate work.

So yeah. Prosaic Wonders moving back to this blog.

Whatever age you are, you are welcome to be here & to talk to me about it. Just like. Don't make shit weird if you're a minor. **shrug**

(Also I think I need a new name for this AU. 'Cause like. You ever look back at something you titled & just totally cringe?)

(Maybe I'll just change the tag to the name of the fic. Considering how many spoons I get lately, it'll probably be a whole thing just to get through this one, not really anticipating managing to write any additional fics for the AU anytime soon.)

[always-andromeda]

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ 𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐀𝐋𝐋, 𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐘𝐄𝐃

𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐇𝐎𝐄𝐃𝐎��𝐍

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 ✯ Father Paul Hill x Fem!Reader

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 ✯ 2925

𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐭 ✯ taboo au + "Everything I've done...every atrocity, it's been for you."

𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 ✯ okay, I haven't exactly finished a piece in a good while. so this one is sort of serving as a warm-up and if it's terrible (which I have a good feeling it is lmao), I'm gonna have to ask y'all to be gentle on me. I've loved this man for a while now and this is sort of experimental. tl;dr: I am a sensitive little baby right now so treat me as such.

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 ✯ smut (minors, do not interact), obviously a pretty massive gap in both age and power, depictions of blood and death, could be read as dub con at first (if you squint really hard) but firmly lands on the side of full con, a lot of religious mumbo jumbo (lmao let's ignore the fact that I know almost nothing about Catholicism <3), so much blasphemy, oral (female receiving), a twinge of sub!Paul, and that's all I can think of!! let me know if more is needed!!

(mdni banner template credit goes to @cafekitsune!!)

Behind closed eyelids, all you saw was darkness. And through that darkness came white hot agony. It was practically blinding as it shot up your spine before detonating in your brain. Those little fragments of pain speckled across the inside of your skull.

You wanted to scream, hurl, cry, something. Anything to physically release the intense pain assaulted your nerves. But you wouldn't be granted that mercy. No.

For now, your suffering was confined to this unending darkness. For now, you waited in the void of your own being for the tragedy to subside.

For weeks you anxiously waited for the return of Monsignor Pruitt from his mission trip. Though spending your afternoons looking after the dementia ridden clergyman wasn't exactly your idea of a good time, it was far better than slumming it with Beverly Keane. After all, you were 99% sure that whatever Bev heard managed to make its way all around the island.

Crockett Island was a melting pot of rumors. By now you'd heard the stories; the mythology of the island's residents had woven together to form a complex tapestry. And the longer you stayed, the more you realized how little you desired to be a part of it all.

But you didn't have a choice. Whether you liked it or not, Crockett's citizens had already spun your narrative.

Everyone knew how your mother had taken you away from the island at the ripe age of five years old; saving you the heartache of being raised by an alcoholic father. Part of you had always been grateful for it despite how tough it had been being raised by a single mother who hardly had anything to her name. Yet you couldn't help the guilt that poured into your lungs like cement whenever someone mentioned how much your father had suffered before he died.

Because that was the only way you would've gone back to the island that lived in the shadows of your memory: death. And upon meeting Monsignor Pruitt, it became clear that death would also be the only way you'd want to leave.

The relationship that had bloomed between you and him was a humble one. He'd offered to talk you through your grief which you'd promptly denied. Though you attended services, you weren't much for religion and you weren't about to embrace it fresh off of the death of a father who was practically a stranger. It felt disingenuous.

Finding God is reserved for real tragedies, right?

You'd asked the question like it was a joke.

Monsignor Pruitt had merely tilted his head before replying in that lilting, raspy voice of his: Depends on what you think qualifies as a tragedy.

With a quick eye roll, you'd written the answer off as one of those unbalanced moments of his. Over the course of a few months, you'd become well acquainted with them. Going to services and keeping him company was something to do. Something other than rifling through decades of your father's clutter and further entangling yourself with the community. Something other than being reminded of your own wasted potential.

Strangely, the monsignor felt less like an all seeing eye and more like...a friend. And now, faced with his "temporary" replacement, you were finally certain of what qualified as a tragedy to you.

From the moment Father Paul had addressed the church, you were unsettled. He may have been perfectly kind and personable enough, but his mannerisms edged on the uncanny valley. It was the way he spoke during sermons and how that tone rarely changed during one-on-one conversations. Though he couldn't have been older than thirty, he often held himself as if he'd been around the block more times than anyone could fathom. It was easy to chalk it up to his nature. Of course the man of God had an eerie way of making you feel like a puny mortal.

But Monsignor Pruitt had never made you feel like that. You couldn't brush the thought of the old man out of your mind.

Every time Father Paul attempted to placate your worries, it only pushed you deeper into the depths of distrust. Somehow you just knew he was lying.

And for all of Father Paul's wisdom and mystique, he wasn't a good liar. His tone would shift as he glossed over your concerns with a quick reassurance that Monsignor Pruitt was recovering just fine on the mainland. When you felt brave enough to press him for more, he'd wring his hands or squeeze them into fists. Almost as if he had to physically stop himself from reprimanding you. After all, who were you to question him?

When your eyes finally opened, your vision was overwhelmed by the light. Softly, slowly, the light haloed around the head of a figure that carefully came into view. As your sight sharpened, you quickly realized who stood over you. 

The man you held the most wariness for was kneeling over you. His long face wrought with concern, the alarm bells were already blaring in your muddled mind. But as much as you tried to force the air from your lungs to scream, you could only let out a pathetic, strangled squeak.

That was when he spoke. His voice shook with what sounded like uncertainty, "You mustn't overexert yourself. You're still coming back. But don't worry, you'll be yourself again soon. All in due time."

No matter how much you tried to speak, to move, neither of the actions came to you. All you could do is watch as Father Paul pulled your paralyzed body into his arms and cradled you. And as the potency of your helplessness settled in, you vaguely felt tears prick at your waterline. 

Normally, you would've rather died than allowing yourself to cry in front of someone, especially in front of the father. This time you couldn't control the few tears that slid freely down your cheeks, landing on the father's hand where he gripped your still aching shoulder.

He noticed them immediately and let you out of his grasp long enough to stare into your glossy eyes.

You couldn't quite decipher the intent behind the softness of his gaze. But somehow it was enough to allow the nausea that had slowly been rising in your chest to subside.

Father Paul raised a hand to cup your face. His thumb carefully stroked your cheek, sweeping away the wet trails left by your despair. And whether it was from your sensitivity or the intimacy of the act, you didn't know. But your skin shivered. 

As you gradually regained the feeling in your body, you realized that the first thing you felt after the pain was him. The inherent warmth of his embrace. And in some fucked up way, it was comforting. Feeling like prey, you blinked back the rest of your tears and allowed yourself to soak up as much of him as you could; anything to get rid of the dull pain that plagued your nerves.

You noticed there were tears brimming his own eyes as he smiled softly. "There, you mustn't cry. You've been so brave and in return you've been blessed."

It was then that you began to regain enough cognizance to question what was happening.

Flashes of memory played each time you blinked.

That damned question had been on the tip of your tongue again.

So you found him in the recreational center. There he’d been, on his knees, praying fervently.

Hopefully you're praying for the monsignor's return.

You regretted the words almost as soon as you'd said them. Because as soon as Paul turned, he gave you that dark look that rarely graced his features. This time he hadn't even tried to hide it with his usual discretion.

He merely stared right past you with his eyes wide and pleading. 

You hadn't had the chance to see the thing that attacked you fully. But you felt its teeth at your neck. You felt your own blood dripping from your neck in such a thick stream that the dizziness came almost as soon as you hit the ground. You felt the rough, pale skin of the creature as it smothered you, greedily devouring every ounce of your life.

Of course you were surprised to find yourself lying on the sheets of Paul's bed in his modest home, but that shock was the least of your worries. How were you still alive?

He told his tale as your body mended itself. You didn't know how much time passed. All you knew is that you were enraptured with the sticky sense of dread that was growing in your stomach as he spoke.

You were acutely aware of just how much it sounded like a sermon. How, whether he was aware of it or not, he was pulling out every stop in the preacher's handbook to try and convince you. And if he didn’t sound so convinced himself, you would swear this was deliberate manipulation. But nothing else could possibly explain his youthful appearance and all that he knew. He could recite your history right back to you despite the fact that you’d never once trusted him nearly enough to give it. Only the monsignor knew your deepest fears and your darkest secrets. But this wasn’t your monsignor.

Father Paul was some new beast; an amalgamation of the sweet old man you’d once known, the deceptive preacher who took his place, and some other supernatural force that you couldn’t quite name.

Though you’d only caught half a glimpse of the creature, you attempted to express your terror. That only spurred him on further as he contended that when an angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds upon the birth of Jesus, it deliberately told them to not be afraid.

But none of that explained himself. None of it allowed you to comprehend how Monsignor Pruitt could've shed decades of life; how the old man could now stand there, blood drying on the bottom half of his face, and look at you as if you were something he could have.

You didn't have to ask. You knew by then that when the creature had had its fill of your blood, Father Paul had pulled the scraps of you away for himself. The thought hit you dangerously and made something deep inside you rumble. Like a natural disaster, this had unearthed a litany of complications that you never could’ve anticipated.

“We are at a crossroads," Father Paul said gently before letting his conviction surge again, “Now, you once said that finding God was reserved for those experiencing tragedy, correct?”

You nodded sagely. 

Father Paul grasped your trembling hands in his own, “Have you not experienced one of life’s greatest tragedies? The ending of it? You fell right over the edge of life and before the waters of death could claim you, He brought you back. Hebrought us together.”

You shook your head in defiance.

“This was meant to happen. This was part of His plan, for our faiths — our lives — to be renewed.”

With your throat still stiff and dry, you croaked angrily, “There was nothing wrong with my life! There was nothing that needed to supposedly be renewed!” 

He raised his voice suddenly, “Why did you come to this island?”

“Because my father died.”

“A father who was no better than a stranger to you,” he recalled your own words quickly. If the monsignor had been wise, Father Paul was as sharp as a knife, taking his jabs at you with complete accuracy. “You didn’t have to come here. You didn't have to make friends with a crazy old man. By the grace of God, you were led here. You were led here so you could be shown this truth; this gift. And you are denying this gift."

You had to admit that your draw to Crockett had been strange. At first you'd attested it to some childhood curiosity. But you'd deliberately put off taking care of your father's run down property, instead opting to spend time walking in the light of Pruitt. In truth, his companionship had been a breath of fresh air. 

Though the people of Crockett adored him, it was always tinged with pity. You'd never pitied him; only admired him for his wisdom and his resilience. 

Paul's expression softened as he held your face in his hands. "Everything I've done...every atrocity, it's been for you." That was when you saw the edges of his wisdom begin to lift and fall away like a second skin he'd crafted over his own vulnerability.

Underneath it...he was simply a man. A man who wanted to save you. 

“Let me give you more. Let me show you how you can trust me," he whispered.

The first kiss inspired an odd mix of emotions in your chest. There was the coppery tang of dried blood on your tongue, strong enough that it took everything in you not to flinch away from his hold on you. But you remembered his reference to the angel and the shepherds.

Do not be afraid.

So you continued, deepening the kiss with a turn of your head. And for all of the worldly experiences Paul had, you became acutely aware that this sort of connection was not among them.

Whether there'd been any true romantic feelings for the aging monsignor, you couldn't quite say. But your fondness of him had transferred to the man before you. Granted, the transfer wasn't smooth, but it was there nonetheless. Somehow it was stronger than ever as he took your hand and brought it to his lips. The kiss he pressed against your palm was slightly tacky with your own half dried blood still lingering.

You brushed a lock of his wavy, dark hair back so you could properly meet his gaze. With the shroud of time having fallen away from his features you could see just how handsome the man was. It was a hesitant sort of attractiveness; as if the banner of God had prevented him from seeing his full potential.

He'd fed on your life and made himself new. And the thought of your monsignor living on in that small way...all because of you? The electric twinges that sparked in your chest were almost too much to bear.

Without fear you devoured him in another kiss. Quickly the mood turned from reverent to ravenous as Paul attempted to keep up with your fervency.

He couldn't remember the last time sin had overpowered his sense of morality. Because he knew in the traditional sense, this was pure sin. No matter how wrong he believed it might have been to let his hands roam your figure, in his bones it was a temptation that finally felt correct. There was none of that hesitance or shame or fear that he'd felt before. The pendulum had shifted on morality and he knew exactly what he needed to do.

Hardly a moment was spared as he tore into the long skirt and the underwear that had kept you modest for far too long. Perfect beauty like this had to be cherished.

So that is what he did. Planted firmly between your legs, he stared up at you with eyes that gently pleaded for permission; for salvation. With your own half lidded eyes, you nodded before spreading yourself open for him.

Like a flower, you bloomed beautifully and Paul groaned at the sight. He could practically feel the thrumming pulse before him as it waited to indulge him. His hot breath teased you and made sparks dance right beneath the surface of your skin. Still you stayed in place, patiently allowing him time to drink in the sight of your folds already puffing and glistening with slick.

Quietly, you heard him mumble something that you only caught the tail end of.

“–forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

It wasn't too long after that when his tongue found a home in that tight, warm crevice. Your hand knitted itself into his dark hair as you searched for something to ground yourself from the overpowering sensation. Something about this new condition of yours heightened every aspect of pleasure.

If you were in your right mind, it would make sense logically considering you'd felt the unbearable pain of your spine shattering and being put back together again. But this was overwhelming in the entirely opposite direction.

You experienced the pleasure on a cellular level as your climax rushed through your limbs. You seemed to feel the vibrancy of every emotion and atom that comprised your being. Nothing was spared from the glory of this blessing. Not your spasming cunt as it contracted around Paul's blessed tongue. Not your heart that was firmly on the track of restoration. And not your mind as it all at once fell apart in time with your quivering thighs. Blood pulsing, every single one of your pores felt more alive than ever as you finally embraced the higher power that had been waiting for you in the shadows all along.

At that moment, you believed it all. From the Angel to Father Paul's divine transformation to the euphoric paradise that enveloped your entire being...it was all real. And most of all, it was all yours. Thanks to the father's grace and generosity, you would create paradise with him. And that seemed possible. After all, with his head between your thighs, you’d both already created one.

[voxofthevoid]

Random, what are your top favorite fics that you've written (feel free how much that you want to list)? Why they're special to you? Is there a specific inspiration when you wrote them?

Oh, this is gonna be dominated by JJK 😂. I'm always more aware, let's say, of things I wrote more recently. On top of that, with JJK fics, I've tried new things and challenged myself (successfully) a lot more than I have with my previous fandoms.

I've picked 7: five from JJK, plus one each from Bleach and MCU.

1. (let me be clear) every version of the story ends with you being slaughtered

JJK, goyuu: When told to choose his hell, Itadori Yuuji picks the easier one—a clean death, then and there. He couldn’t have known that it was never really a choice. Or, Gojou Satoru kidnaps a teenager, supposedly for his own good.

This is the work I'm most proud of among all my stories, and I'm sure that'd be the case even without recency bias. Not only is it the first canon rewrite I completed, it's also a story that tackles a lot of themes and tropes I find highly compelling, in general and with regard to JJK in particular. Plotting and executing it was a fun challenge; I worked with an extensive outline, but the plot and characters evolved significantly during the writing process. It was fun from the beginning to the end (there's a reason I finished this in less than two months), and the final result is something I'm immensely satisfied with.

2. bloodstains on the collar means just don't ask

JJK, sukuita and goyuu: Yuuji has a type. Unfortunately, his uncle and his teacher embody that type.

This was my first no-powers AU for JJK, and I ended up liking it way more than I expected. Transposing Yuuji, Gojou, and Sukuna to a mundane setting while keeping their relationships twisted really helped me get a deeper and better understanding of their characters and relationships. In particular, I'm now far more comfortable writing sukuita and utterly in love with their uncle/nephew dynamic. I write or intend to write plenty of incest for JJK, but most of those didn't really delve into the implications of the blood relation (due to canon circumstances), but this story is explicitly and excruciatingly clear on how Sukuna's known and (in his own fucked-up way) cared for Yuuji since he was an infant. It's a flavor I hadn't tackled before but enjoyed immensely.

3. little lamb to the slaughter

JJK, goyuu: Gojou offers to blow Yuuji as part of his training; it escalates from there.

It's rare that I fill in canon missing moments like this, but I just couldn't resist the basement era. I'm so fond and proud of this because this is the fic that cemented my grasp on Yuuji's character, in addition to helping me flesh out Gojou and Yuuji's canon dynamic. Hilariously, back when I came up with this, I figured this would be my most imbalanced, unhealthy dynamic for JJK/goyuu, but not only did this fic turn out pretty wholesome (...aside from the statutory rape aspect that goes ignored in-verse), but the bulk of my subsequent ideas for this ship makes this fic look like puppies and unicorns in comparison. I guess that impression came because it'd been quite a while since I tackled adult/minor, so it felt taboo in a way I took time to adjust to—now I thrive here.

4. the brute fact of flesh awaiting our teeth

JJK, fem!goyuu: Satoru embarks on a quest to seduce her hot giant of a teacher and continuously bites off more than she can chew.

I started this because I wanted to write filthy femlash porn, which I absolutely did do and enjoy immensely, but the reason this ended up so high on my list of favorite children fics is because exploring the role reversal dynamic and the genderbending one in tandem helped me better flesh out adult!Yuuji, especially one that lived with Sukuna for years and eventually subsumed him (her, in this case), and get a good handle on how I want to work in the gender changes while retaining their canon traits. I've tried at my hand both dynamics before, separately, but the length and depth of this fic solidified both. Also, I go wild for tits and pussy, and it shows.

5. i could keep your bed warm, otherwise i'm useless

JJK, goyuu and sukuita: Sukuna in Megumi’s body rapes Yuuji to break Megumi’s spirit, and Gojou rescues him but isn’t very sane afterward.

This is going to sound demented, but I like this one so much because it has the most viscerally uncomfortable rape scene I've ever written. It's not the sukuita; that's straightforward violent rape. But the goyuu that follows features a specific flavor of intimate violence framed as tenderness: someone who cares about you pushing your boundaries and actively retraumatizing you—not in spite of the love or even from a lack of love but because of the love.

6. and you cried, love's like watching someone die

Bleach, grimmichi: Repeat reincarnation cycle AU where Ichigo never remembers and Grimmjow never forgets.

This is a total angst train that was something of an ambitious project, in terms of technique, characterization and the general mood I wanted to evoke. Judging by my post-fic analysis and my readers' reactions, I succeeded. Writing such a heavy emotional story from Grimmjow's PoV wasn't easy, and the non-linear sequence was a bitch to sort out, but I'm very happy with how it turned out.

7. here is the repeated image of the lover destroyed

MCU, stucky: Steve's helpless not to love his ghosts.

Memory, identity, and associated manifestations of love and grief are themes that have haunted me for years now, including in the JJK fandom, but these two stories are my best takes on it, in my view. Said themes are already intrinsically present in Steve and Bucky's relationship, and this series recasts their past and their present to prod at questions of how much of us is our memories and experiences and how much is something there in core—a soul, so to speak. This is a fundamentally romantic take on the topic, so the outcome is obvious, but I'd like to say the answers are a little complicated.

[whumpbug]

If you're still doing prompts for your guys...

How about used as bait? Make of that what you will! I would love to learn more about your OCs :D

-- @whumperofworlds

thank you very much for the prompt!!! i must say, i've never really written anything like this but omg. being used as bait/its a trap/kidnapping is truly an underrated trope, at least on this blog

i know i said i wouldn't write hurt/no comfort but HEAR ME OUT. this isnt no comfort. its SUSPENSE. i will most likely be writing a part 2 for this during the whumperless whump event so TRUST ME these boys will get comforted.

also bear with me, writing whumper stuff/situations like this isn't my strong suit and i feel like there are definitely plot holes at certain points.. (-｡-;)

onto the fic!

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

This was just Simon’s luck.

He really should be used to getting himself into these situations. This was the second time in only two months that he’d been harassed by Archie’s enemies.

They have just.. never taken it this far before. He’d never been kidnapped before.

Simon was starting to worry. From the way his arms were tied behind him, it was getting hard to take a full breath. He needed to force himself to calm down. Hyperventilating would only make things worse. He needed to analyze the situation at hand.

He was bound to a chair in the middle of a dusty, abandoned warehouse.

Well, at least, he thinks it’s a warehouse.

Truthfully, he’d been blindfolded and gagged since they shoved him into the back of the van and sped away from the city.

He only assumed it was a warehouse from the way the doors sounded as they were being opened and the echo of the chair being dragged toward him. Also, the air around him felt vacant and cold. It smelled of wet cement.

Also, there was the matter of his restraints. Sure, the rope around his wrists were itchy and his back was beginning to ache from the angle he was forced to sit at, but he silently chose to count his blessings. 

His captors hadn’t hurt him, save for the initial bonk on the head to subdue him. No, he was relatively unscathed, which was.. odd.

Usually the lackeys tried to beat information about Archie out of him, to no avail of course. He found it strange that no one had come around to yell at him or intimidate him with half-empty threats. In fact, Simon was fairly sure he was completely alone in the building. He hadn’t heard the shuffling and breathing of bodies around him since they first tied him up. The whole situation was abnormal.

Still, he needed to focus on a way out, and therein lies the reason he was beginning to panic. When the guys first knocked him out, they took his phone, wallet, and every accessory he had on him, including the emergency signal bracelet he had to communicate with Archie.

Without it, Archie had no way of knowing where he was or that he was even in trouble. Considering the time of night, Archie would be on patrol. There was at least a chance that he’d get injured enough to pay a visit to Simon’s apartment, but even that could take hours.

Hours Simon wasn’t sure he had.

What game were these guys trying to play? 

If they wanted information, they weren’t doing a very good job of getting it. If they wanted to kill him, they surely would have done so already. What was their goal?

Just when Simon was almost sure they had forgotten about him, the sound of a metal door scraping open reverberated throughout the building. He heard slow, deliberate footsteps make their way towards him, and then felt a calloused hand yank off his blindfold. He squinted.

The man bent at the waist to meet Simon’s gaze. “Rise and shine.” 

His breath was uncomfortably warm, and if Simon could have told him to give him some personal space, he would have. Instead, he narrowed his eyes.

“Oh, someone doesn’t seem too happy,” The man sing-songed, harshly grabbing Simon by the chin and forcing his gaze up. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt you. Not yet, at least.”

Simon swallowed convulsively against the gag.

“You’re probably wondering what we all plan on doing to you,” He said, motioning to the door off to the side of the building. Simon could only assume that that was where the rest of the men that kidnapped him were.

“Well, patience is a virtue, my friend. I promise that all will be answered. But until then, if you wish to see this through with your life, you’ll have to do a little something for me.” He explained, thumbing saliva away from where it was pooling down Simon’s chin.

He glared. We’ll see about that.

The man pulled out a camera.

“I have a guy on the inside, who will feed whatever I want directly into Vigil’s not-so-secret little broadcast channel. As soon as he knows his precious nurse is in trouble, he’ll come for you right away,” he chirped. “All I need from you is a video proving your wellbeing, just so the brat knows we haven’t killed you yet and knows to tread carefully. You’ll do that, won’t you?”

Simon blinked. 

Did he really think he and his 4 other cronies would be able to handle a pissed-off Archie? Simon didn’t notice any of the tell-tale signs that they were hopped up on enhancers, so for all intents and purposes, it was just.. five regular humans against one livid superhuman.

Simon stifled a snort.  

If a video was what the man wanted, a video was what he would get! He was practically giving Simon the keys to his freedom!

The man pointed his camera at Simon and grinned.

“All you have to say is that you’re uninjured, and that if he doesn’t come within one hour, that won’t remain the case. Nothing more, nothing less, got it?”

The man reached around Simon’s head and pulled off the gag, to which Simon gasped for air. He shot a glare at him, and saw the camera light flick on. He cleared his throat.

“Oh Vigil. Oh please come save me. I am uninjured and terrified and these men will hurt me if you are not here in one hour. Whatever will I do without my knight in shining armor,” He deadpanned, tone dripping in sarcasm. He hoped Archie would appreciate his joke.

The man scowled and replaced the gag, taking extra care to tie it even tighter, and disappeared into the side room. Simon was alone once again. 

God, no one told him being kidnapped would be so boring. 

He wasn’t sure how long he sat there. It could have been three minutes, it could have been thirty, but he felt a pang of relief when he heard a window breaking from outside.

Finally. Things could get moving.

He saw Archie’s blonde hair peeking over the sill of one of the high windows, and a soft smile spread across his face. Not that he had any doubt, but it felt nice to know someone would always come to rescue him.

When Archie pulled himself up and over, landing on the cement floor in a low crouch, Simon saw it.

Resting in the slit of the door he had seen earlier, was the end of a rifle.

It was with a sickening lurch of his stomach that Simon realized this whole thing was a trap.

Looking back, he had no idea how he hadn’t noticed earlier. Why else would they be trying to draw Archie to them?

He saw Archie rear up for a fight. He jerked against the restraints in the chair, but it was no use. Simon tried to scream. He tried to warn him, tell him to turn back and go, but no words would make it past the gag.

He watched as the tranquilizer dart stuck Archie right in the neck.

Archie froze. He locked eyes with Simon as if confirming his worst fears. Simon’s heart sank.

He saw Archie take a step. Then another, this one more unsteady. Finally, Archie’s eyes rolled back in his head and his knees buckled as he dropped into a heap on the cold floor.

When Simon saw the captors approach his body with boxes of medical instruments, he could only be silently grateful that Archie wasn’t awake to see the size of the needles.

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

[robo-dino-puppies]

ok I finally finished Inquisition and… well I'll try to be brief(er... just kidding, I'm incapable of being brief) - I was interested in the story buuuuuut it was by far the least ~*fun*~ of all three for me to play, mostly because I was playing an elf and and due to dialogue choices (or lack thereof) it ended up feeling frustrating compared to previous games. knowing what I know now about the story, I really wish I'd gone with a human instead. however I enjoyed Jaws of Hakkon and Trespasser quite a bit more than the base game and I'm interested in seeing what happens next!

attempting (hah) not to spend fifty paragraphs on it I'll just say that it was A Trial to try to play an elf the way I wanted to, which I expected to be able to do because I had a great time with it in Origins? it seemed like most companions reacted to me saying "hey, you know I have my own beliefs, right?" (if the game even gave me the chance to do so) with "that's cute. ANYWAY-" and I ended up spending much of the game full of resentment on behalf of my poor doomed Lavellan.

I remember a convo I had with Leliana in Origins where I was able to challenge her on her preconceptions about elves, and I'm pretty sure there were times when characters challenged me about my biases against humans, and I just thought that was very cool! but I'm struggling to think of any times where that happened in Inquisition… it felt like it was written very shallowly with the ability to play a non-Andrastian/non-human, and that was… uh. frustrating.

my Lavellan basically knew her life as not-the-Herald was over when the camp started singing after Haven, and it never really got much better for her from there. I liked the cast of characters, but they felt more like... work friends? vs the previous two games' dysfunctional families (beloved). and the fact that Lavellan was reluctant about her role/an outsider made romances feel a bit squicky to me, because so few of the characters seemed to recognize that! I thought Josephine was adorable, but then during the balcony cutscene she called me "your worship" after I chose a flirt - despite me taking every opportunity to say I wasn't sure I was divinely chosen etc. - and I was like "welp I guess we're done with that." (I don't fault her for it because she's the ambassador and it makes sense in-character, and I still think she's adorable! but it just... felt bad.)

it's possible the dialogue options I wanted were there, I guess, just hidden behind paraphrasing? but I hhhhhate playing dialogue wheel roulette SO MUCH - I don't find it fun when it makes you sound like a real idiot or an asshole. I didn't actually want to disrespect my companions' personal beliefs (Lavellan was open-minded! she just didn't like the Chantry as an organization), and some of the "aggressive"-sounding options seemed like they would be too rude, so I avoided them unless I was really pissed off. but given how wildly the spoken line can vary from the paraphrase, maybe I should have chosen more?

(let's just say my Opinions on the Chantry - which I've seen no further evidence to revise - were cemented in Origins when the dude in Orzammar asked me, an obviously Dalish elf, to help him build a chantry and convert dwarves. I am a perennial and compulsive quest-completer, but I purposefully abandoned that quest with great prejudice. which is literally the first time I've ever done that in any game. so.)

then there were a bunch of gameplay/technical things that were small when looked at individually but when piled together with that lingering feeling of resentment just made the experience feel like a chore.

OH and as much as I personally love Morrigan, Lavellan was getting reallllll annoyed at having her human-splain Dalish culture in the temple. my face was basically a permanent >:[ for that whole section. (I don't care if the Dalish are "wrong" about their history - my character still would have at least known who Mythal was. and not asked about it. like an idiot.) partially for this reason I did not hesitate to have Lavellan do a cannonball into the well, good idea or not lmao.

also. I didn't even get a puppy this time. Cullen got a puppy. why didn't I get a puppy?! couldn't even let me summon a wolf like in Origins? uncool.

I think Cassandra (and her [disgusted noise]s) and Dorian were my favorites. (Dorian was the other person I flirted with, which obviously didn't work out for me for a different reason than Josephine lmao, but I appreciated that it let me say "no hard feelings/we can keep flirting" and then the game actually carried through with continuing to give me flirt options. perhaps I felt like Lavellan could bond a bit with him being an outsider too, and I loved the end slides in Trespasser that said they communicated all the time through a crystal awwww that's cute.)

all that said I had fun playing Jaws of Hakkon and Trespasser. I was very interested in all the spirit stuff with the Avvar, VINDICATIONNNNN learning that Ameridan was both an elf and a mage, and of course learning more about Solas/what is actually going on with the history of the elves. (The Descent started out interesting and I was excited because dwarves! more dwarves yay! gimme the dwarf lore!!! but I felt like it just sort of fizzled out at the end? and it felt weird to just say "ok cool see ya never probably" to Valta and just... not follow up on anything? also I hated the final boss even on super easy baby mode. T_T)

I angrily disbanded the Inquisition and gave a big middle finger (singular since I only have one left *pffff*) to Orlais/Ferelden/the Chantry, which was somewhat satisfying.

it probably would have been a less depressing experience if I had played as an at-least-marginally-Andrastian human… but. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ oh well. and even though I knew there was Something Up with Solas I didn't know exactly what so it was fun finding that out along with my character. (I made a lot of decisions that he agreed with so we were good friends - or I thought we were - and I felt like the final confrontation was quite impactful, and it was satisfying to say "watch out because I'm coming to stop you.") I do think having my Warden and Inquisitor both be Dalish makes for an interesting perspective on the elf stuff.

[spectralharvest]

20 Questions for Fic Authors

Thanks for tagging me @sunhatllama although I only have 2 posted fics so this is gonna be kind of sad

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

2, although I used to have a lot more that I orphaned because I wrote them when I was 12 and was ashamed of myself lmao

2. What is your AO3 wordcount?

2,242

3. What fandoms do you write for?

I've posted things for Spy x Family and The Longing, although I've been sporadically working on something for South Park

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

I only have two but I'll put them here anyway

1.) Happy Endings - My Spy x Family fic about Twilight's mom that I based off of a fan animation. Ironically, a couple months after I posted this, Chapter 62 came out which basically dealt with the same thing lmao

2.) Counting the Seconds - My fic for The Longing, an idle game that I really really love. It's not very popular fic wise though, so it makes sense why it has less kudos.

5. Do you respond to comments?

I keep meaning to, but I get nervous and then forget and by the time I remember, it's way too late to respond. Or at least it feels like it's not socially acceptable anymore.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

None of mine so far have had angsty endings, but I'd probably go with Happy Endings just because there's some canonical character death.

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Counting the Seconds? It's just me going through my favorite ending of the game and what The Shade might have been thinking.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No, I don't post enough to get that kind of engagement lol.

9. Do you write smut? If so, which kind?

Nope, I just haven't seen a reason to.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest crossover you’ve ever written?

I have not written crossovers, I like to keep my fandoms separate.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nah, like I said, I haven't done anything notable enough to get my things stolen.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

^^^

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, but it does sound kind of appealing. I would worry about dragging down someone else's work though since my work ethic is so goddamn terrible.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Creek!! I actually wasn't all that into them the first time I watched South Park, but when I came back to it years later the Post Covid special had come out and the fact that they were still together 40 years later really cemented them in my heart. I <3 old man yaoi.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I have a Creek-focused South Park 60's au that I've been trying to write since June, but I went to work one day with a bunch of ideas and then I left my shift feeling so drained and I haven't been able to get that spark back. I also have a Damianya-focused Spy x Family royalty au based on that one line from chapter 88 but I got too carried away with the planning instead of actually writing.

16. What are your writing strengths?

My roommate (@sunhatllama) says that I conveyed emotions pretty well so I guess I can do that

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

My work ethic :(

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I've certainly tried it before with some of the fics I orphaned, and I feel like it can be fine. Nowadays, I'd just rather have it be like "character said something in a different language". idk i don't feel strongly either way

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Gravity Falls! My ff.net account is still up with them but they're BAD. I wrote them when I was like 10 and I don't remember the account info so I can't go and delete them.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Probably Happy Endings, just because I wasn't expecting a lot of engagement but the creator of the fan animation that I based it off of actually found it and left a comment about it! It made me so happy and I was so goddamn happy when I went to high school the next day lmao.

I'm tagging no one because I have no friends heehee

[alchemicon]

Who is your favorite character from bsd?

Hello!!! GREAT question hahahahahaha (pretending this question doesn't keep me up at night). i have a few to say the least. Here's them in random order (except for dazai)

-Osamu Dazai: for me dazai is like a life changing character. I can confidently say he changed my brain structure and chemistry permanently. maybe it's how he struggles with being genuinely good and how hard he tries. maybe it's how he masks his inner turmoil with a clown facade. maybe it's because, despite all the grief and all the pointlessness he sees in life, he tries so hard to stay alive, to do good and to honor the promise he made to his friend. he's a character that was written for people like me, he's a babygirl, i want to hug him and i want to see him suffer and i want to study him under a microscope

-Sakunosuke Oda: i was really drawn to him in the anime but what cemented him as one of my favourites was reading the dark era ln. His internal monologue is so bizarre and whimsical and genuinely funny and so charming. I'm enamored with him and i understand why dazai loved him as much as he did as well. In the end I really love a well executed tragedy too and oda's story is a beautiful tragedy.

-Nikolai Gogol: guess i have a thing for entps being one myself but I'm head over heels for kolya. I've genuinely never seen a character like him before. he's so unpredictable and while he's seemingly unhinged and violent, i think the glimpses of the person behind that behaviour are fascinating. I genuinely consider his interaction with atsushi where he tells him that he has guilt and feels emotions just like everybody else and how he craves freedom, one of the best character moments in the whole manga tbh. His character design is beautiful too, very hard not to love

-Ryonousuke Akutagawa: there's so much pain in akutagawa, it is impossible for me to not like him. he's so lost, so far away from the path of the light. he begins by trying to prove himself to dazai and he's so so hurt and so alone. and he finds atsushi... their rp is the heart and lungs and soul of the manga I'm so serious about this. and specifically the way they influence eachother to become better versions of themselves. akutagawa being the only one atsushi can be the most genuine version of himself with. the way he honors his promise to not kill anyone until their fight. his character is still developing and I'm SEATED to watch it all the way which also brings me to .....

-Atsushi Nakajima: i adore atsushi. I've never seen such a raw and visceral portrayal of trauma, the long term consequences it comes with and the issues it leaves people with. he feels worthless and insecure and we see how much this impacts him. he deals with things that are considered scary and he's just a great example of the fact that mental illness affects primarily the people who have it and doesn't cause them to be violent or whatever ( the fact that he canonically hallucinates is also so so so important i just love these things about his character). Same thing as aku, his rp w aku is the heart and soul of bsd as a story. I specifically love how he impacts aku in such a positive way, but also how we see his more snappy and sassy side with aku that he usually hides from others. Lovely protagonist too, atsushi you will always be famous

-Chuuya Nakahara: i love chuuya to death. Like it's concerning sometimes. I used to be a bit unsettled by him because i couldn't understand how a person like him who seems like a person with morals and loyalty and so much love in him, ended up in the horrific world of the mafia. And then i read fifteen and stormbringer. And my heart broke for this boy. I'm rooting for him to find another path tbh but idk how that will go. He's made for the world of the light and I'll die on this hill. Soukoku is also like a brain chemistry altering ship. The way they trust each other and the way they bicker like an old couple and the way he brings out dazai's protective side (stormbringer rooftop scene and fifteen arcade scene you'll always be famous). Chuuya is a storm, you can't look away, he's so beautiful and I'm just as obsessed with him as dazai is. Just like everything else i really love how he isn't scared to call dazai out on his bs, how kind he is to aku and how much he cares about people. It's so hard not to love chuuya

-Sigma: I'm still waiting for more information to be revealed about sigma but from what I've seen he's up there with the rest of them. He's similar to atsushi in some regards which makes him easily lovable to me. He also regards himself lowly because he believes that amongst these superhumans around him, he's painfully average and ordinary. That's a very relatable sentiment even if you're not surrounded be people with superpowers. Combined with the fact that he's desperately looking for a place to belong, it's so hard not to love sigma. I really hope he gets to join the agency, that would be wonderful for his character.

Thanks for the question and sorry for dumping all of this on you!

[starredeclipse]

Accidental Father: Day 1

(Oh my gosh a post? From me? I forget when I posted last but I have been busy. I've got art of my newest OC Api Biru, he doesn't show up quite yet in the story accidental father but he will along with many other characters. I'm currently still writing this story so I don't know if warnings will be needed, basically it has the usual Warrior cat stuff in it but it's not focused so much on the Clan and is instead about a Loner in the kittyplace. Well that's it for a introduction, enjoy the story I've written so far!)

Hercules finished his meeting with that old friend, plans were being set into motion, plans that could be life changing, he did all this just to ruin his brothers life….but when did it become more than just that? He's already done the unrepairable damage there wasn't much else that was needed to cement this fact into history. Yet here he was, planning a raid against DuskClan, he acted like it wouldn't affect him at all, just as long as his revenge got satisfied, it didn't matter if he had found love or potentially felt alive for the first time since his death, just as long as he could fulfill his revenge….nothing mattered.

Nothing mattered.

Nothing mattered.

She mattered…..

The cat that threw a monkey wrench into the lions den.

A child that had been through a lot, Hercules recognized the jagged pattern, a wound where her leg should be. It was sewn and patched up but whoever she belonged….had just left her out in the cold. He sniffed her wound, it looks like the kit torn off the bandages, the scraps smelled too, infection…that's what this was. She opened her eyes and stared at him "You're eyes are funny" she meowed tiredly at him.

That's what she said to him when they first met "My eyes?" He said tilting his head "What about my eyes?" She thought really hard concentrating on what exactly was funny about them "They keep changing color, there blue and green and then suddenly they turn shades of red" she stated.

It was such a silly thing to say, such a silly observation that most adults don't even notice. "You're observant" he said with a smile that he wasn't even sure why had suddenly formed.

"I guess" she shrugged which caused her to flinch due to where her wound was. Hercules sat down "Why did you tear your bandages off?" He asked in a tone that was suddenly more quiet. "They smelled, I didn't like it, so I took them off" she said it so simply.

"They smell because you're wound is sick, how did you end up like this anyways?" He asked it despite already knowing the answer.

"A dog took my leg sir" the moment it was said out loud, it just hit different for Hercules. He was rough around the edges, held a grudge and had a thirst for revenge. He's dealt with a dog feral and rabid before…it took his life so he stole the body of his brother, if Hercules could he would launched war against the mutt that killed him but alas…that mangy flea bag bit the dust not long after its rampage. Even still, even now, dogs were the enemy and they continued to prove such things. "No child should have had to gone through this…." he said stuck in his own head.

The child laid confused at that, what did he mean? "Well everyone goes through hardship sir, this is just mine" she stated it as if the world was uncomplicated like that but nothing was that simple. "How can you be so positive about this?" He couldn't wrap his mind around what this child was saying, how could she be okay with this?

"Well…what's the point of being negative about things? It's not going to fix anything, it's just going to create more problems" she shivered from the cold as she spoke and Hercules eyes became soft. They just stared at eachother, letting the minutes pass before anybody said anything "Hey….you got a place to live?" The question even surprised him, it came on so suddenly and caught everyone involved off guard…..even Titan, who had been quiet throughout the whole day.

The child glanced back at the house, she rarely lived in the house, the twoleg said she was a outdoor cat after all….a outdoor cat stays outdoors. She only went in to eat and drink but today the door was shut and she had been left alone, this place never really felt like home to her…."I guess, not really, there's nobody here I can call my home so…I suppose I don't got one." She looked back at him and watched the color of his eyes dance with a fascination.

"Well…I guess you have one now? Then" his words came out as a question, one he never planned on saying, the child's eyes got wide "Really?" She replied and he nodded more to himself. What was he….agreeing to? He didn't, he didn't know but as he picked the kit up by her scruff he found himself walking away with the child.

She gave no protests or complaints, no she just felt a curiosity within her…but the sickness also plagued her, it made her tired and weak yet…she still had the energy to stay positive despite Hercules not understanding how she can be. The tom went to the edge of the kittyplace, in a area overgrown and covered with trees that the twolegs didn't bother to cut down sat a area where a house…it looked well kept despite it being abandoned. This was the place Hercules called home now, he really wasn't kittypet material nor was he clan or rouge…no, he had become more of a loner now that all the fun had calmed down. He found a place he could be alone and away from the clans grasp, a place he could be comfortable and almost content existing in.

Hercules went through the doggy door and padded into the living room where he sat the little she kit on the couch and wrapped her in a blanket, the house had a chill to it but it wasn't as cold as the outside world was. The blanket itself was already a improvement considering how she has been living, Hercules left and came back with a small plastic storage container that had some food pellets in it, he had snatched it from someone yesterday…he just hadn't bothered to eat all of it.

He placed it on the couch next to the kit, watching as she gobbled the remaining food up without question. She was hungry and being offered food was just the greatest thing to happen right now for her. Hercules doesn't really know what he's been doing for the next few days, he had plans to execute, things to do…but it was like…he suddenly just put those things on hold, it was almost like those things weren't as important anymore….today Hercules took the kit to Mint, the she cat of his eye and what made up his world as a whole.

She was a pet Serval but he didn't care, her breed didn't matter to him, only her as a person. Not many toms were like this…some just liked you because you were exotic. So why wasn't he just the same? Why did he feel differently? Was it love or just the beginning of something more?

He brought the child to her "The infection isn't getting any better, what should I do?" Hercules felt lost, he feared if he took her to the vet then they would take her away because he's not a queen. "Oh…oh that smells too familiar, there's a cabinet with a red circle on it, open it up and take the medicine in the yellow container out of it. It's a antibiotic that will clear this up, I'll help you figure out the dosage. My owner keeps them in because of his pet collection, he prefers treating his own animals after all." Mint meowed as she looked at the kit with endless love.

"The fact you're familiar with this surprises me honestly" Hercules expressed his surprise but she just smiled warmly at him "You're not the only cat that manages to sneak in here, most find out about my owners medicine stash and come to steal some without knowing exactly what they need. I've helped with a few wounds, been taught a few things" she said liking the surprise, she enjoyed keeping him on his toes at times, Just because she was a house cat didn't mean she didn't have knowledge of things.

Mint was a huge help in providing the medicine and helping him understand what dosage the kit needed. He wished he could stay there forever with her but soon the owner would be home to chase them out, so with a heavy sigh he took the child away, found another truck to make it his personal uber and together they sat in a tire and enjoyed the ride.

The little she kit smiled brightly as things went past them so fast it was blurry but to her it was exciting "Monster ride! Monster ride!" She chirped enjoying the wind on her fur, the feeling was the same one dogs felt when they hung there head out the window.

Hercules seemed rather unfazed by the truck ride, the wind and overall he seemed just confused on why the kit was excited about all this "Have you never been in a car before?" He asked as they waited at a light. "I don't really get out much" she said looking towards the field and staring at the cows with wide eyes and a gasp.

[B]"What are those???"

She squeaked really loud, loud enough to be piercing that caused Hercules to flinch. The tom looked over as he kept his ears flat to stop the few minutes of ringing "That's a cow, they go moo and make milk" he said to her, he didn't get the need for all the excitement but he would entertain her questions with simple answers.

The little kit gasped again "Moo Moo's!" She squeaked before the truck started going down the road again "Noooo! I wanted to meet the Moo Moo's!" She squeaked with protest when the truck started moving, she looked up at Hercules with sadness in her eyes. He raised a eyebrow, was he supposed to do something about this? "Uhm, we can come back to see the cows another time?" He offered wondering if that was the right answer and while she pouted, she nodded "Fine" she meowed finally as she watched the fields just roll on by. "Bye bye Moo Moo's" she mumbled to herself mostly.

As the drive went on the field turned into forest and more rocky terrain, the cars went by more frequently and soon they had reached the kittyplace that Hercules lived, at the next red light the tom grabbed the kit by the scruff and carefully got out of the truck, he padded to a place he claimed as his own. It looked lived in but was actually abandoned, it was the farthest from the kittyplace you could go while still being considered part of it. There was trees that hid the house and the shed that stood farther away, it was overgrown with bushes and when Leaf-bare left there would probably be other plants to join the overgrowth.

Hercules padded through the pet door and entered the livingroom, it was warmer in here but still cold for a kit and even a adult over a period of time. He's managed though so far, he set the child on the couch. She shivered as she looked at stuff with curiosity "I'll go see if I have a blanket and maybe some food" he muttered before walking off to one of the other rooms, it was a bedroom that still had some cloth materials that got left behind by twolegs once upon a time.

The brown tom with the blazing markings started tugging off the blankets and sheets from the bed, the pillow flopped to the ground ungracefully but Hercules paid it no mind as he dragged the thickest blanket back into the livingroom, it was heavy and wasn't really ideal to try to haul onto the couch, he sighed and dragged it to a random spot he deemed fine before he just put it into a sloppy nest shape. "That will have to do" he meowed going back to the kit and putting her on the blanket.

She looked at it, it was comfortable enough I guess but the child was still shaking with cold, she looked up at Hercules, her eyes saying 'what now.'

He paused "Alright more blankets I guess…" he said watching the kit a few moments more as if she was just going to stop shaking the moment she was in the presence of a blanket. He padded away and grabbed the other blanket and sheet, they were lighter, more likely made out of a different material but whatever…they would do for now. He plopped them on the kit, she squeaked at suddenly having blankets dropped on her. Hercules watched before he stuck his head under the blanket and came face first with the child that looked at him in confusion "You warm yet?" He asked her and they kind of just looked at eachother in silence before she seemed to decide "I'm warmer, it's still chilly though but I'll be fine." She chirped positively as she settled down with no complaints, this was weird to her…being taken care of that is. She wasn't sure what to ask for to improve her comfort or if she even should ask for anything, the adult seemed to know stuff so she just let him decide.

Hercules laid down his head just watching the kit watch him, he wondered what he had gotten himself into, he was not equipped for caring for children but yet here he was, a tom clearly out of his mind…probably. He booped her nose with his paw and she squeaked before laughing as he pulled away "I think I'll call you….SunRise" a fitting name he thought, she blinked at him ears perked at his words "Are you renaming me?" She asked almost offended like but not really. "Yup, deal with it, you live with me you get a new name." He meowed with a neutral tone.

She let out a fake offended gasp and bapped him in the muzzle with her front paw "Then you get a new name then! You shall be Dad, no objections!" She meowed as if that was that.

He stared at her, his eye color shifting as if he was contemplating this "Yeah No" he said getting out of the blanket and shaking off his fur. "Hey I said no objections!" She squeaked as he walked off to the kitchen and all she heard him say in response was "Deal with it" which made her cheeks puff up frustrated like.

Hercules was out of food pellets so he left to go catch a mouse or something, the idea he shouldn't leave her alone never crossed his mind as he padded around his property.

The place was nice, if he needed to make dens he could here but he didn't feel the need to do that so he just kept on walking until he tracked down a mouse and caught it without any trouble, on his walk back to the house he could have sworn he saw a snake but upon further investigating he realized it was a old garden hose, left hidden in the snow to spook someone as they walked past, he slapped the hose with a paw before he went inside, stupid hose gave him a fright but at the same time thinking snakes would be awake in Leaf-bare was a ridiculous thought to begin with.

The tom dropped the prey off next to the sloppy blanket nest and SunRise stuck her head out "What's that?" She said it as if the dead critter was a appalling offering of some sort. "Its food, I've seen you already have you're meat teeth, dig in" he muttered before he went and laid lazily on the couch.

SunRise looked at him, her expression read 'you can't be serious.' Obviously the child didn't know you were supposed to eat mice if you were a cat. He closed his eyes, the house had a fireplace but neither one of the blazing brothers actually knew how to start a fire, it seemed like something they should know given cats did call them the blazing brothers but that name was because the two toms had orange in there pelt.

So the house remained at its colder temperature, his ears flicked at the sounds of the child munching on the prey, her first taste of real food from what Hercules could tell with the sounds of it being scarfed down "Eat slow or you'll choke" he muttered simply and a few minutes later his eyes shot upon to the sound of coughing "I'm fine! It went down wrong" she meowed and the tom grumbled "I told you to eat slow" before he lifted his head to look at her like I told you so.

She puffed her cheeks in a frustrated manner "I was hungry!" SunRise meowed trying to defend her decision. "Well choking certainly won't help then" he said like a smart ass would and rolled onto his back. He hated this chill and the thought of being pinned up for the rest of the day in a cold house didn't sound ideal to him, he paused staring at the ceiling when his stomach suddenly growled and he found it the perfect excuse to go out again. "You stay here, I'm going to go find more food and uhm other stuff I guess." Hercules said with a shrug before he rolled onto his paws, stood up and got off the couch. "Okay, I'll be here" SunRise meowed watching as he left the house again, she licked her muzzle and wiggled out of the blankets.

She was still a bit unsteady given she only had three legs but she was working on it, she hobbled through the different rooms as her desire to explore her new maybe home became something she couldn't get out of her mind. She went into the bedroom that Hercules got the blankets from and explored it for its contents, there wasn't a whole lot in the room but there was still random stuff on the floor and in hidden places.

SunRise saw stuff in the closet, she looked at all of it before she dragged a shirt out and took a look at it, it wasn't really all that soft but it was cloth thus it qualified for suitable nesting material to her. The child brought it into the livingroom and dropped it on the blankets hoping that it might make things more comfortable for her.

The kit did this a few times, she found towels and pieces of clothing like shorts, sweaters, and jackets. The nest didn't look nice or anything fancy but it probably was more comfortable now at least. She settled down after she went and dragged a small teddy bear over, she's never had toys before and she like this one. SunRise settled down in her nest, resting her head on the teddy bear before she heard a sound followed by someone going through the cat door more than once. She looked and saw Hercules with a pellet food bag in his mouth as he walked into the livingroom, two male kits followed on his heels practically and SunRise looked at him with a question within her eyes, he dropped the bag "Don't look at me like that, these two just followed me home" the adult meowed. The two new kits were both tailess but it more looks like they lost them instead of just being born that way, two new dog attack victims SunRise would find out later on.

The she kit looked between the two kits and Hercules "So what did you rename them?" SunRise asked him as the two new kits explored the house "Lava and Magma" he muttered tearing the bag open and munching some because he had to eat something.

"Huh, original, I sense a theme here" she muttered as her eyes located Magma who had located a small ball and was moving it around.

Hercules looked at her "I didn't say I was good at coming up with names you" he grumbled with a sigh, he felt he was being judged by the child.

[ofstormsandwolves]

Hi hello! What are your top 3 btvs quotations? :))

Oh, wow. So I've been mulling this over for the past few days, because I'm honestly having a hard time picking three quotations (as opposed to say, scenes, or moments). But I think I've finally narrowed it down. (Having said that, I’m sure there are some quotes that completely skipped my mind, and I’ve totally gone for quotes I love that aren’t necessarily applicable to everyday situations, but more quotes from the show that I love)

Giles's "She's a hero, see. She's not like us." from The Gift. 

Mostly because I remember seeing that for the first time and already being suspicious by how calm Giles was, and then when he said that line it cemented it for me that he was 100% gonna kill Ben. But not only that, but the fact that Giles holds Buffy in such high regard, which is so painful given how their relationship turns out. I have a big chunk of meta written about this quote and the 'a miracle' 'but then I always thought so' scenes from Flooded, because I think they're so telling of just how Giles sees Buffy. He's fully aware that he has made mistakes, that he has made terrible decisions. And his belief that Buffy is a hero is so powerful in this moment, particularly as he's taking the responsibility of killing Ben so that Buffy doesn't have to carry that burden, but it's also ultimately why she falls so far from his graces in season 7. He's convinced that this young woman is so much more than him, so much better, hasn't made the mistakes he made in his youth. So when he eventually gets proven wrong in season 7 and she screws up big time, it's extra awful for him, because he was convinced that she was so much better than he was.

Buffy’s “I don’t want to protect you from the world. I want to show it to you.” from Grave. 

It’s such a great explanation of how Buffy feels about Dawn, and how difficult she’s been finding it parenting her little sister. She’s always been wanting to keep her safe, to shield her from everything possible, because she’s her big sister. But keeping somebody safe doesn’t mean shielding them from everything, and there are so many things they could do together- that Buffy wants to do together. Dawn can be kept safe and also do things with Buffy, Buffy just couldn’t see it before because she was so determined to not lose Dawn.

I'm not asking you for anything. When I say, "I love you," it's not because I want you or because I can't have you. It has nothing to do with me. I love what you are, what you do, how you try. I've seen your kindness and your strength. I've seen the best and the worst of you. And I understand with perfect clarity exactly what you are. You're a hell of a woman. You're the one, Buffy. (Spike, Touched)

Honestly this is just... I love this moment with Spike. I think it’s one of the most honest moments Buffy has had with any of her love interests (though she does have some great scenes with Angel) and while I’m not exactly a Spuffy shipper (nor a Bangel shipper- I’m very much neutral and both love and dislike parts about both ships), the moments when Spike is so gentle with Buffy are some of my favourites. This is up there with the scene at the end of After Life when she tells him where she was. And he’s saying all this without expecting anything in return- it’s not him trying to win her over, or convince her to be with him, or to get anything out of this moment. He’s doing it because she’s lacking confidence, because she’s seemingly lost her friends and family, and because she needs to hear from just one person how great she is, given how everybody else is telling her all about her mistakes. And yes, she’s really screwed up at this point. But that’s Spike’s reason; he’s seen her do amazing things, and awful things, and she isn’t the hero that Giles and Willow and Xander want her to be, because she’s human. And unlike everyone else, he isn’t asking her to be perfect, because he is under no illusion about himself or her. But she’s also the slayer. She’s done so much good, and now she’s wavering at the worst possible time. So he reminds her of her strength.

[nordic-language-love]

hi! i tried to look for an faq to see if you've answered this question before, bcuz im sure im not the first one to ask, but i'm curious as to how you got to the level you are in norwegian? i've been studying it for years and just found that im only A1 in listening, and A2 in everything else. feeling pretty gutted and frustrated, and I remembered seeing in your bio that you're like solid B1. So, yea any tips that have got u where u r would be super helpful! takk :)

Oh I understand that frustration - the first time I took a Norwegian proficiency test I was certain I was at least A2, maybe even verging on B1… came back as A1 for everything. My poor ego took quite a battering that day.

(This got kinda long and I’m really sorry about that :| hope it’s all helpful! Gonna put it under a ‘read more’ so it doesn’t clog up people’s dashes)

I think the most important thing when pushing myself from A2 to B1 was to try and use or expose myself to the language as much as possible. My phone is in Norwegian. I always had a Norwegian CD in my car. I’d listen to audiobooks, podcasts or the radio while I’m doing menial tasks (and when I say ‘listen to’ I mean I’d desperately try and pick out words here and there, never mind whole phrases). I’d try to read at least the headlines on NRK every day, even if I never got as far as reading any articles (sometimes I’d just read the first paragraph of one). I’d talk to my cats in bad, broken Norwegian. I’d sing in the shower. I’d watch a grammar explanation on youtube (Norsklærer Karense is my favourite). I’d write snippets of my thoughts or a bit about my day, even if I ended up just deleting it. Basically, even if I wasn’t sitting down to study properly, I was still doing something - that way I got used to sentence structure and prepositions and other grammar, and the most common vocab got cemented in my head because I was exposed to it so much. I also make sure to ask for clarification when I’m unsure, and when I do post things in Norwegian I always try to use at least one word or sentence structure I’m unsure of and ask for feedback, because if I never push myself and get that feedback I’ll never be able to write in a natural way.

Some things you can do specifically to improve your listening:

1. Listen to Norwegian songs with the lyrics in front of you. This will especially help with learning to recognise words even when they’re spoken in dialect, as a lot of Norwegian sing in their dialect too. When I do this as a learning exercise I usually listen to the song once without lyrics to see what I can pick out, then with the lyrics, then I’ll translate the lyrics (always try to translate them yourself first, then double-check with online translations), listen again a few times with the lyrics in front of me and then I’ll try without the lyrics to see what I recognise and what I’m still missing. Here’s a spotify playlist if you’re stuck for songs!

2. If you use Duolingo - close your eyes or look away from the screen while the sentence is being read and try to understand what’s being said as best you can. Then look at the sentence and replay the audio while reading it. Again, this helps you to match the sounds to the words so you’ll understand better in future.

3. Take advantage of youtube teachers - Torill Høiby offers grammar explanations with text onscreen and Norskkurset by Anne-Beate Stenstøen can be viewed with subtitles. Norsklærer Karense speaks very slowly and clearly, and she often uses written aids. Again, these will help with matching the sounds of the words to their written equivalent.

4. Have the radio, podcasts or audiobooks on in the background while you’re studying or doing housework. This will help you get used to the natural rhythm of the language, even if you don’t pay a lot of attention and can’t understand much. Radio can be found on the NRK website or the app and audiobooks can be found on youtube (just type the Norwegian title + lydbok into the search bar).

5. Watch Norwegian TV shows on NRK with subtitles. Again, you may not understand everything, but you’ll expose yourself to different dialects and you’ll start to pick out more common words (if an unfamiliar word or a phrase that doesn’t quite make sense keeps popping up, look it up then go back and rewatch things again and see if it helps give context to other words).

I also made a post of Norwegian Listening That Doesn’t Feel Impossible - check it out!

@kjaerekrake made a masterpost of Norwegian youtube which you should check out too :)

For your other skills:

A decent textbook is a good investment if you’re looking to improve your level. The Mystery Of Nils is great, and I really like Norwegian Tutor as well (Mystery Of Nils has audio files available online as well as awesome grammar explanations and short vocab lists too; Norwegian Tutor is more grammar-based and comes with a lot of exercises to help push you to the next level. Plus you’ll learn lots of new and more difficult vocab, which is important when you’re looking to reach intermediate level).

Reading articles about things you’re interested in is a good idea too. NRK and Aftenposten are good news sites - try browsing articles related to your interests (I love cooking, so I spent an obscene amount of time reading recipes). Wikipedia’s a good shout too - maybe look up your favourite sport or your favourite animal or a subject you know a lot about.

Write a journal - you don’t have to share it with anyone, but I’ve found keeping a journal reinforces vocab I’ve learnt and has improved my confidence with using the language. You can also look back and spot your own mistakes as you get more advanced, which is kinda cringey because omg did I really write that but also awesome because you realise you’ve improved.

I hope that helps! Learning a language is really difficult, and Norwegian listening in particular is very tricky because of all the different dialects and the fact Norwegians tend not to pronounce half the letters in any given word (I’ve had nowhere near as much trouble with Spanish listening!) But you will pick it up - even if it takes you a bit longer than some people, you’re more than capable. Just don’t give up

[kingofthewilderwest]

I know you're not big on HTTYD ships, but what are your opinions on Hiccami and Hiccstrid? P. S. I've yet to read the books and I'm trying to avoid spoilers!

Also perhaps relevant:

Comparing Astrid and Camicazi

Does Hiccup marry Camicazi? (involves commentary of the final books)

Thanks for letting me know you’re my anon friend who’s been watching spoilers for the books! Your P.S. makes it slightly harder to talk about Hiccami at all, to be honest, but I’ll respond without any spoiler references, discussion of the end of the book series, or talk of where Cowell may be headed with a potential new HTTYD series.

I think I’ll plop in this post to give my quick overarching perspective of Hiccstrid. Don’t worry, it’s not just an answer “Do you or don’t you ship Hiccstrid” - I give some explanation of my perspective about the ship as a whole.

As far as Hiccami is concerned, it’s honestly something I’d rather do without. It’s not that it’s a bad ship, but what’s so refreshing about the How to Train Your Dragon books is that they’re written with an emphasis on platonic and familial love. It’s not about the main protagonist male falling in love with the lead female character. The adults - Stoick and Valhallarama, for instance - are written with romantic emotions, but the children in the series interact with one another through friendships. And I absolutely adore the fact that the HTTYD books are about a friendship trio - Hiccup, Fishlegs, Camicazi - and I prefer the trio to be the platonic triangle they are. It’s just so nice to have an adventure without some sort of romantic entanglement between the lead characters.

And that’s really the biggest critical difference between Hiccstrid and Hiccami for me. Hiccstrid is written to be a romance from the start; the filmmakers even talk in the commentary about the “get the girl” trope they realize. But Hiccami is something that is firmly established as a friendship, and which is written through the lens of a friendship, and which consequently I so far much prefer to be a friendship. I will be honest... I would HUGELY prefer if Hiccup and Camicazi never hooked up. Not saying where my suspicions are with Cowell (and I do have my suspicions), but I’d be slightly disappointed if Cowell hooked them up as a couple in any future books she could write. XD As I said in the Hiccami marriage analysis from three years ago:

In a world where girls expect to see the main supporting female hook up with the main protagonist, it’s healthy to see that does not have to be the case. Even in action movies, after all, the action-oriented female character is often very romantically involved in the plot.

A little variety would be nice, and I hope that the author of the HTTYD novels realizes that making Camicazi purely platonic with Hiccup brings out something too frequently forgotten in modern society.

I consequently believe it is critically important that there are more female characters in literature and other media who have zero romantic roles in stories - not because romance is bad - but because female characters are too quickly mentally reduced in readers’ mind as the character central to the romantic part of a plot. The fact she and Hiccup are purely platonic is glorious, fun, and refreshing. A story where none of the main characters enter into a romance *IS* refreshing, after all, and important to readers.

I personally believe we need more stories that purely focus on the meaningfulness of platonic friendships. How platonic relationships are just as important and just as meaningful without ever, ever, ever turning into something romantic later down the road. Thus far, How to Train Your Dragon has done that by keeping Camicazi, Fishlegs, and Hiccup clear from any sort of serious romances. They are shown to be content with the relationships we have. I honestly feel, then, that Camicazi and Hiccup coming together at a later time reduces that message HTTYD thus far has given. Literarily, it is a bad idea to hook them up.

So I’m someone who isn’t invested in Hiccami, but is actually someone who wishes it doesn’t happen - regardless of the direction Cowell would choose to take it. However, I’m also not in some sort of NOTP zone with this, and if Cowell chooses to take that route and hook them up, I’ll give enormous respect to the author’s desires, too. There’s nothing about it I hate. I just have my preferences that these two remain friends. I like their friendship.

Because Hiccstrid was always written to be a canonical romance, I look at it very differently. I am someone who almost always prefers, supports, and gives credit to the canonical ships in a story. Therefore, you’ll notice that I’ll talk about Hiccstrid from the positive analytical lens of someone who’s fully accepted that romantic Hiccstrid is integral to the DreamWorks Dragons universe, and talk about the good elements that their relationship inspires. The casual closeness they have in HTTYD 2 is special and rare, for instance - we’re beyond the butterflies stage and into something cemented, which is so cool to see on screen. 

So essentially, I see Hiccstrid as “They’re supposed to be together in a romance” but Hiccami as “They’re so great together as friends!”

[ficswithluv]

Dear Author,

As you know, your fic was randomly selected to be this past week’s Bookclub fic. Thank you for letting us discuss your fic! Below is the feedback we’ve received:

@freekyegg: “ I only had to read half of this fic to suddenly have a renewed love for candles and scents, and I most definitely lit a candle while reading the second half. This piece of writing did not stray too far from the plot by giving me a numerous account of candle descriptions; so much so I could actually begin to smell the candle itself. When scripting a blossoming romance, we must never be moved too much from the initial plot: that being the fact that a candle-branding serial killer is on the loose. I always felt aware of the crimes presence, even in the protagonists throes of passion, and this feeling was only intensified as the plot thickened in such a gradual way it put me on the edge of my seat. I’m not kidding, when it came to the scene where Namjoon was in possible jeopardy, I felt so emotionally attached to the character to the point it was hard to read on. Nevertheless, I did, and was thrilled by its flowery ending. Namjoon’s character is something I’m so fond of, and the fic concept really was ingenious I feel on the verge of adding this to my favourite reads.”

@hobisgorgeousass: “I'm going to try to not include spoilers for those that want a review but don't want to know everything that happens. I still remember when Sora was starting out this fic and told me about her idea shortly (?) after she had begun writing. I fell in love with it at first listen/first read and I've never looked back. Namjoon and Seokjin's personalities are perfectly entwined in their Ambergris counterparts and I never get tired of picking up on little tidbits that point to their real life selves in Sora's fics. Whilst Ambergris in and of itself is also a romance, its primary theme is a mystery/thriller fic and I was so, so happy to see that the romance didn't take away from the most prominent themes, but it wasn't like romance took a back burner either. Miss Sora weaved these two genres perfectly so that neither one was overshadowing the other in only the way that she can, and that's one of the reasons why I loved it so much. The moment I read the fic in its entirety, it cemented its place in my all-time-favourites list and it's definitely never going to be replaced. The idea of using candles as a sign-off is something I'd never even thought of before, yet Sora was able to do so with ease (or at least that's what it seemed like). All in all, this was such a wonderful fic, and I can't wait to read it”

@basketofverbiage: “I am in love with candle maker Joon. Like seriously. This fic perfectly encompasses the gentle, meticulous intelligence he possesses in a whole new way. The description of the shop was amazing and the details of the candle scents are glorious. (I desperately need a Winter Bear candle!) The pacing of the fic was amazing and the suspense built up perfectly to the climax. Jin makes a wonderful police captain too. The love story element was soft and warm, making a lovely companion to the action scenes. I definitely want to re-read it again and savor it a bit more. It’s just lovely all around!”

@jhspetitegf: “This story was incredibly well written, and the PLOT !!!! so well thought out I could literally never 😭 the way all the murders linked so well to the candles and the back stories of the victims I am literally speechless! the level of detail that sora has put into this fic I am so overwhelmed, plus the fluff!!! the relationship between namjoon and the reader was so tender and loving, I felt like jumping up and down when they kissed finally, and the swoon worthy dialogue given by namjoon !!!!! bruh!!! a true romantic!! we stan candle maker joon 🥺”

@no-stranger-could-it-be: “I loved this story so much!!! First off, I loved the candles being used as a calling card. That was really cool, and them also being used to describe the way the victim was murdered was really cool! I love candle maker Joon, and all of the detail used to describe the candles was amazing! The relationship between Joon and the reader was so sweet, and this entire fic was just so cute!!! I loved it!!!”

@spoopysoph: “This is the first ever crime fic i read and oh my god?? Sora has outdone herself once again!!! All the details that went into it, the linking of the murders with the candles, the way the murders were done. Everything was just so perfectly well thought through I'm incredibly amazed!! And the romance was so natural and progressed so well!! I also love the fact that reader didn't abandon her job for love and that Namjoon respected her professional life and they both waited to be with each other!! Really really love this story 🥺🥺”

@blondenamjin: “I am literally having so many emotions happen at once omg Namjoon is such a wonderful character who I absolutely love! I love the details written about the different scenes. I can totally picture his house/workshop and even the smell of the candles! I’m not gonna lie there was a point where I started getting concerned that big sweet Joonie could be a suspect because of how normal and well put together he was lol Overall this whole story kept me on edge and it radiated big Joonie energy which is what I live for!”

@thinksshesawolf: “First off, can we start off by giving miss sora boop a round of applause for not only how well thought out and detailed the plot was, but also the candles? Reading about the smells and backgrounds of each candle was almost better than someone just sitting it in front of you and that is impressive, especially as they were such a big part of the story. I also love how the mystery plays out here. You learn and pick up on clues when the characters do, its a complete mystery and not predictable in the slightest. *Nothing* about this story is predictable, not even how the romance plays out. The romance fits the characters (and I gotta say that these characters are so well characterized) in that there's no "let's run away and live with just our love" because that's not something they would do. The fact that they're both confident in both their own and each other's feelings, enough to do it the right way and wait, to me, that just rounds up the whole story.”

@tinysweetscrown: “This was such a lovely fic! The murders were so creative and unlike something I've ever read before. And the descriptions of the candles both the scent and names of BTS songs were so cute, and I felt like I could really smell them! The characterization of Namjoon was also so spot on, like I loved how you included his small quirks and habits. Thank you for writing such a beautiful fic, i loved it!”

@spookitokki: ““oooKAY FOLKS👏 GET READY FOR A FRICKEN MASTERPIECE! I’ve given Sora a play by play when I was first reading it sO this is just to say that absolutely everyone should read it. Sora has a great talent for creating characters that are so dynamic and yet incredibly endearing. Every one of her fics has that Special Sauce that is a mark of her craft and this piece definitely has it. Namjoon is so sweet and charming and the reader has a great depth. Her inner conflict between falling for him and keeping up professional pretenses is done so well. And then there’s the movie worthy plot. The candle element was so cool and unique and then the way they tied into the mystery and romance was amazing. I cannot get enough of this or Sora. I love it so much. Also did I mention I was on the edge of my seat near the end, gritting my teeth and reading at the speed of light? The thriller element was THERE folks and it ain’t come to play. Okay I’m writing this on the way to work but I love you Sora!!!”

𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 namjoon x reader ~ 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 18k 

𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘳𝘦 fluff, thriller ~ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦 crime!au, detective!reader, candle shop owner!knj

𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘺 with a serial killer on the loose that uses artisan scented candles as inspiration for murders, now is not the time to be falling in love with the man who made them.

𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 non-explicit descriptions of murders. one incident of injury, and mentions of blood. cursing. while this involves a serial killer and the causes of death are mentioned, there’s no scenes involving actual murders taking place, or crime scenes. extremely long discussions of scented candles because i can’t help myself. make-out scene but no smut.

𝘈/𝘕 dedicated to the darling @mind-of-a-hardstan​. it’s been a pleasure being your secret santa, and from the bottom of my heart i hope you enjoy <3 thank you to my dedicated team of supporters: my beta reader @honey-boyyoongi​, my partner in crime @hobisgorgeousass​, my resident namjoon stan @jamaisjoons​ and finally the first person to read it in all its entirety and my amazing friend @but-kimnamjoonpersona​. you’re all magnificent and i love you.

Kim Namjoon looks guilty.

That much is immediately clear to you, but it’s not the type of guilt from someone who’s done something wrong. More so, it’s the type of guilt you hold for something out of control, the empathy you feel for others. You can see that it tears him up inside that someone this evil and twisted has drawn inspiration from his store.

The police force didn’t know it was a serial killer. At least, not at first. At the beginning, the murders were so far apart that nobody ever thought to connect them. Almost seasonal, there was one in April, another in late August, one in September and, most recently, the middle of November, last weekend.

You were the one who initially noticed something strange. Perhaps it was your bad habit of lumping all your unsolved cases into one pile of failure, but the more you thought about them together, the more you realised something was odd about them.

In each location, there was a single candle, sometimes melted down to the base, sometimes still burning, and the different causes of death seemed to relate pretty directly to the scent or name of the candle.

And all those candles came from one store. Moni’s Candle Shop, the boutique store that exclusively sold handmade candles. The store owned by one Kim Namjoon.

“It’s so awful that all of these are connected, I… I don’t understand why my candles have anything to do with this.”

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