#I spent so much time coming up with some kind of plot because I cannot simply draw a sprite without a backstory

[wisteriasonthemoon]

I found this poll really fun to think about. I spent a long time wondering if I could justify picking any of these options as Kokichi's core motivation

eventually I concluded that, for my way of thinking, the question was a false premise. Kokichi *is* his Ultimate Supreme Leader "guise" - a mystery box of motivation, the appearance of the lion and the lamb, always obscuring what is the truth and what is a lie. all interpretations of his character spring from there, that's his core. any motivation assigned to him atop that is purely the preference of the DRV3 reader

an important factor in my arrival at this point of view is that I don't have any assumptions about what "outside the killing game" means in terms of DRV3's world. what's beyond the wall encircling The Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles? Team Danganronpa's live set, the apocalypse, the code of the virtual world?

I'm not done sorting out my own theory of the game, and tbh, I still have no idea what common fandom belief is about Tsumugi's version of events. do people fully believe them, partially believe them or what. how did they come to their conclusion. people don't post theory much these days

(I'm aware you don't believe her. I don't exactly believe her either but that's neither here nor there for the sake of this post)

because of that, I can only assess Kokichi's actions and dialogue that happened in game for his motivations or I will otherwise go down a long line of "okay but what if we believe X is true" scenarios. and when I do this, I'm equally inclined against choosing a particular motivation because there are so many possibilities and my preference changes depending on what assumption I'm making. skill issue on my part I guess

so!! I don't feel strongly about any of the options being more true than the others. I could believe any of them. and in fanfic, I could like any of them ... depending on execution, and some more or less, ofc, an unfortunate drawback of existing as a human with taste

maybe all of that is a dodge of the question. but I feel adding more "I'm open to different interpretations of Kokichi" opinions into the fandom can only do it good lol. or at least bring that energy towards meeeee. please. please!!

I can contribute a motivation I like that wasn't listed. it's the kind of, but not exactly, the opposite of your pick, interrelational: self-identity. I just enjoy depictions of Kokichi where he feels the need or want to be the Ultimate Supreme Leader and cannot or will not give it up. I may or may not be a little bit allergic to Kokichi Secretly Yearns to Stop Lying and Be Vulnerable fanfic plots

I'm making a more detailed Google form with these options so I thought I'd run a Tumblr poll on them first :0

Also if the description of a '(category)' doesn't fit but the category does, pick that one anyway but note it in the tags

[alena-draws]

I was thinking I'd like to do some nice clean sprite drawings for my portfolio, kind of like Ace Attorney style. So I had the idea of a Vashwood Dating Sim game where you play Wolfwood who thinks he's in some kind of story/detective game until he realizes he's the protagonist of a dating sim. I think that could be hilarious BUT then I didn't want to do a school setting...So now I thought about a new setting, more mystery style, where Vash and Nai search for Tesla, with the help of Wolfwood. So I'll try my hand at drawing some pretty sprites now!

[kyri45]

Not me abusing the asks to both share my love for the bioparents AU AND rant about the panels because none of my friends are in the LMK fandom and I'm suffering here so TAKE MY LOVE AND APPRECIATION ABOUT YOUR ART I guess x)

So first of all

I am a SUCKER for that kind of leaning in frames I'm going to print that and plaster it on my wall THEY ARE EVERYTHING /hj

I almost jumped of my chair when this one popped up YOU FED US GOOD its so worth the angst train incoming. Of course the panels before and after were equally as amazing but if I start going about every single panel we're still here in three days AT THE VERY LEAST LOL

Of course this one made me laugh like please their little faces

Using that to point out how much I love ALLLLLLL the silly faces you put in your comics I'm munching on them every single time they're crushy like chips or something just. Nom nom. Yummy.

Poor Nesha (Nesha? Nezha? Neja? I have no idea on how to write his name I already forgor LMAO) needs to be payed more. He tries to save MK and ends up dealing with two lovesick teenagers demons who have no concept of time/place/occasion apparently. Poor him. He gets a pat on the head for his troubles

And of course just the "NOPE I'M KEEPING HIM" mode and honestly we should have seen it coming- Red son was planning to courtnap him and didn't sleep in the past 5 days so he's not having any bullshit YOU'RE NOT TAKING HIS NOODLE BOY AWAY-

Could bet he spent so long thinking about the cournapping in the 5 past days his brain just cannot process that yeah maybe you need to let him down you're just going to drag him in more troubles- Either that or he's just going full protective mode. Both options are good anyways sooooo :)

We stan a protective boyfriend in this house.

---

And finally I'm SOOOOO hyped about whatever is coming next like I know that technically we're supposed to suffer but please I climbed up the angst train so many times now I'm just enjoying it by that point lol. It'll just make the following fluff even more worth it

Also I cannot wait to see MK's plan about the contract I'm so curious I'm dying I love you boys but I really want the plot to progress you can go back to kissing later lol

Finally, thank you for creating this AU. It's stumbling randomly upon it on my tik tok fyp that dragged me into watching Lego Monkie Kid and really THANK YOU FOR THAT. It's such an amazing show I CANNOT BELIEVE I didn't discovered it sooner so really thank for having created this comic because else I could have missed LMK and that would be just saaaad

Fun fact: since I had never interacted with LMK the first time I read your comic, I for some reason thought Macaque was a female (and I probably would have thought the same of Wukong if he wasn't called... well, Wukong because I randomly stumbled upon the myth's Wikipedia page at some point in my life XD). The shock I felt when I heard Macaque for the first time in the show because his voice was soooooo not what I expected x) I'm still laughing at myself to this day

So yeah, from the bottom of my heart, thank you, and I can't wait to see what you're going to pull next :D Wish you allllll the best <3

(I can totally wait, of course, it's just a figure of speech. Take your time, I could wait forever for the next chapter)

ahaha thank you for such a lovely comment!! Glad the scene gived "MINE" vibes as I was planning ahah.

Youu're welcome! It's an honor to serve this fandom. *bows*

[katakaluptastrophy]

Continuing to think about the horror of what happens to John, and the horrors of love...

When Alecto has first been created, she says to him "I picked you to change, and this is how you repay me?" and "What have you done to me?"

They're heartbreaking questions she has every right to ask, but there's something awful and ironic about them too. Because John also might have asked "what have you done to me?"

It's easy to get distracted by the cartoonish awfulness of John's own narration: "talk about police abuse", "come on, love. Guys as careful as me don't have accidents," "love a working tram system." But all of these comments come after moments where John has unwittingly come into proximity with violent death, an experience he repeatedly likens to having drugs forcibly injected into him; an omniscient, dream-like, out of body experience that seems to propel him forward through his basest impulses. The first time this happens, he's brought back from "the verge of something insane" by being shaken violently by P-. Lines like these aren't revealing John's diabolical plotting. They're a man who would rather own atrocities as premeditated than admit that he was losing his grip.

The second is when he encounters the soul of the earth. His human mind makes contact with the incoherent, furious soul of a planet. In any other context, this would be straightforwardly Lovecraftian. And everything he describes after that is full of elipses, jumbled, and detached. His friends are shot by gun-toting cultists and he says it was like a dream.

Hearing the earth screaming, feeling his friends' deaths under his skin like a drug, he might well have asked "what have you done to me?"

Alecto said to him, "I picked you to change, and this is how you repay me?" But as everything collapses, John says:

"I thought you were going to take me, somehow. Purge me. Use me as an instrument. But you didn't say anything...I was babbling, Show me. Come on. I'm ready. You kept screaming and screaming..."

John has spent months becoming something terrifying, an entity with yellow eyes and uncanny powers. He's discovered that death has an overwhelming impact on him that he cannot fully control. Everyone was relying on him to do something. And he did so many things: well-meaning things and stupid things and things that were lashing out in rage and frustration. Hundreds of people have died because of him. His friends have died because of him. Surely, surely there was a point to this. Surely there was meaning. Surely whatever did this to him, made him into this, had a greater plan.

But there is no plan. There is no great revelation. He tries to hurt the earth, to provoke some kind of answer, but the screaming continues. And when P dies, the person who snapped him out of it the last time, John lets go and the whole world dies.

John is kneeling on the grass vomiting up dirt and tearing out his own ribs, saying "there was still too much of me that was just a human being...", trying to swallow the soul of the earth. And by the end, the one shred he has to hold onto is a memory of playing with a doll as a child. That, and his anger...

The earth tried to reach out in the only way it could, amidst its incoherent suffering. And John tried to use the abilities it gave him, but he was only human. Fallible and proud and angry.

She said, "I still love you." And the horror; the horror of love, the horror of this story, is that to begin with they did this to each other.

To be clear: I don't mean to diminish the awfulness or the very specific forms that John's violence against Alecto takes, and continues to take across the story. I don't mean to excuse his own self-mythologisation. I certainly don't think he's blameless for the decisions he made and the agenda he pursued. But if there's one thing that happens over and over again in TLT, it's that the horror of love is not a one-way street.

And I wonder, in light of what we now know about the permeability of the soul, quite where John ends and Alecto begins. And when that blurring began...

[yutahoes]

Depth

gif by @yutaslaugh I'm a huge fan of your gifs.

A little birthday project for our favorite rockstar and the cause of this blog. Inspired by the songs in his first solo album. Happy Birthday, Yuta Nakamoto. (even if you cannot read this)

characters: demon! incubus! Yuta x human! female! Y/N (feat, little devils! Yu and Uta) word count: 16k words (I'm sorry) genre: smut, fluff, angst summary: He's a demon. She's a human. What makes her so special? warnings: (please bare with me because this is too much) demon theme, hell, prisoner, chains, cage, adoption, mentions of gambling, mentions of killing, mentions of death, arson, self-exits, death, suicidal thoughts, blood, summoning a demon (kind of), description of demons, kissing a stranger, boob sucking, riding, penetrative sex, public sex, giant wings, vivid horny dreams, orgasm, mention of pill, crazy hallucinations, finger sucking, fingering, pussy eating, semi-public sex, standing sex, quickie, nightmares, mentioned blowjob, a little fat shaming, violence, suspected pregnancy, accident, drowning, stabbing

a/n: Since this is loosely based on the songs in the album, please know that I'm pushing some scenes and concepts. The whole fic might not as coherent as I wanted it to be. I'm sorry for the fast-paced plot. Also, the preface of the story is based on the manga titled Hana's Demons of Lust so please don't call me out on some similarities. I swear, I tried. I tried editing this before posting but as usual, there might be some errors. Please just let me know. Feedbacks are highly appreciated, please just comment anything. Thank you for reading this fic. 🥰

PROLOGUE: HOPE

Hell had always been hell.

A hot place full of agony. An evil place full of torment. 

There’s certainly no joy without torment. 

And Yuta had always despised this place.

It was a scorching hot place filled with ear-piercing screams of tortured souls. Evil souls that doesn’t need mercy. 

Souls that had done the worst in mankind. 

Like him. 

A prisoner, chained and caged, in hell. 

There’s really no hope for him.   

Hell is such a bad place. 

I. LAST SONG

Y/N had always had a very different life. 

Even at a young age, she knew that she was adopted. Her adoptive mom would always tell her the story of how she and her husband had a hard time conceiving a child so they asked a psychic for advice. The woman just gave them an address and there was Y/N’s mother, giving birth on the floor, on her own. Growing up, she didn’t know whether to believe in that story. Isn’t it too coincidental? They could just tell her that her birth mother gave her up for adoption instead of concocting an absurd tale like this. 

Yet, Y/N had always felt the love of her adoptive parents. 

They shower her with guidance and love no daughter could ever imagine. They sent her to some of the prestigious schools, even spending lavish amounts of money just on her. Then it all drained down when the father of the house started getting addicted to gambling. 

It was a hard transition in their life. 

Instead of attending college abroad, Y/N had to work all these part-time jobs for both her parents who only keep on fighting non-stop. In the morning, she would work in a small coffee shop near their home. During lunch, she would serve tables at a diner. Then at night, she would work until midnight in a local gas station. She might get lucky if she got enough sleep rather than worrying about her father’s whereabouts and her mother’s repeatedly crying.  

A lot of times she had thought about ending it all. 

If only she died with her birth mother when she was a newborn, this wouldn’t even have happened. 

Because obviously, the problem had been her all along. 

The couple shouldn’t have spent so much on a stranger living in their home, they might have saved a lot of money to spend lavishly on their own. 

Clearly, the problem is her appearing in their life. 

Maybe it is truly better to end it all. 

But the worst is yet to come. 

She was heading to her last part-time job of the day when her phone rang with an unknown number. The second time it called, she answered with a confused hello before a male voice answered, “Are you Ms. Y/N Y/LN?” The girl only hummed in answer, “I’m from the Fire Department. We’re sorry but your house was set on fire.” The shock in her system almost deafened her. What? A fire? But the house was fine when she left that morning. “We’re also sorry, we cannot save your parents.”

It was all so unfair. She’s the one who wants to die. Why would they race her to it? Why would they even hug each other after setting their own house on fire? Her parents must be out of their minds. 

They should have waited for her so they could end this misery together. 

It was the longest week of her life. She had to hold a funeral ceremony for her parents alone. She had to look for a place to stay. She had to look for money to get by. Even if their property was charred from the fire and her parents died, she cannot receive any insurance since it was their doing in the first place. Since she was adopted, no one in her parents’ relatives wanted to take her in. 

Maybe she’s really meant to be alone in life. 

Y/N didn’t know how she reached this part of the forest. She was just looking for a place to put her parents’ ashes and maybe move on with her life. How? She still isn’t sure. She isn’t even sure if she wants to move on with her life. But as she walked closer to the dark path of tall trees, she felt her steps heavier. 

She doesn’t want to live alone.

Maybe she should just die. 

Here. 

Where no one could see her. 

As she looked around, seated on the dirt, she started thinking of ways to die in this place. This is dark and secluded. Surely, no one would dare to come here. She isn’t even sure why she was here in the first place. If she keeps walking, she’ll surely be lost. 

Maybe she could die of hunger. She doesn’t know about the plants and trees around. Maybe she could eat something and wait for it to be poisonous for a quick death. 

Or maybe she could die from being eaten by an animal. She wished there was a lion or a bear around that could just ravish her. She knew she didn't have to run, she didn’t even have the energy to do so. But all she could hear were cricket sounds. 

Then it hit her, seeing a sharp stone nearby. If she wanted a quick death, she could just kill herself. Like her parents. She didn’t care if she’d be sent to hell because of this. Maybe it was a better place than here. 

As she took the sharp stone, she grazed her finger earning a cut that amused her. Blood flowed out of the wound, dropping on the ground. How pathetic. 

Before she could take the stone and cut herself once again, she felt the ground shaking. Is it an earthquake? A mountain of dirt started forming in front of her which made her move backward. What the hell is this? Black birds started flying and an ear-piercing screech could be heard. She covered her ear almost immediately but noticed a red light started coming out of the hole from the mountain of dirt. 

Y/N’s eyes widened in surprise as a mist of something black started coming out from the source of the red light. A beast-like image started to form, making her rub her eyes in disbelief. Is she dreaming right now? Is this a hallucination? Eyes started forming on the ghoulish creature: bright, red eyes that scared the hell out of her. “A young maiden,” the image in front of her started saying in that deep voice. She wanted to run but her feet were stuck on the ground so she fell down in fright. “I’ll have my fill of you tonight.” 

When she said that she wanted to be eaten by an animal, she meant an animal she could see in the zoo. An animal she’s familiar with. Not this scary-looking creature which seemed like an apparition. Maybe this is her real death. As the image started forming horns, she thought of what it might be. A demon. Maybe she’s already in hell. 

A tear fell from her eyes as she stared at the ground. She’s alone and will soon be eaten by this scary yet strange unknown creature. Isn’t this what she wanted all along? 

But as she felt her feet getting colder, she started thinking of a birthday party she’d have to attend. She hasn't bought a gift for her co-worker’s four-year-old child. And she insisted that Y/N would come because the kid was rather fond of her. 

As the cold feeling crept up on her legs, she remembered a promise she made to one of the patrons in the coffee shop - that she’d always make his coffee. As it reached her waist, she started apologizing to her parents for being a bad daughter and wishing that they were still here with her. 

She doesn’t want to die just yet. “Please,” she whispered, feeling half of her body already freezing cold. “I want to live.” 

She remembered what her father would always tell her when she felt helpless in any situation, “I’m not alone. I’m not alone.” She kept on chanting. 

“Lift your head.” It was a male voice. Closer than the voice from before. She doesn’t know why she was compelled to lift her head and come eye-to-eye with a young man. Big dark eyes stared at her. “Kiss me.” 

What? Is he a pervert? She’s here dying in the hands of what seemed like a demon and he wants her to kiss him. “Hurry up so I can save you.” 

Again, she didn’t know why she complied with his perverted request and just placed her lips on his. His hands held her cheeks as he slipped a tongue into her mouth, surprising her. Slowly, her body started feeling warm. Is it the kiss? What is happening to her body? 

Y/N was breathless when the unknown man broke the kiss. He stood up and then faced the demon-looking creature. “You should be in jail, aren’t you?” The beast claimed making the young man snicker. Y/N was just confused about what was happening. Who is this man? Where did he come from? And why is her body feeling so hot as if running a fever? 

In a swift motion, the human started swinging his arm, slicing the beast-like creature. There was gray smoke before another red light could be seen, illuminating the whole darkness. Y/N had to cover her eyes because of the intense light then heard a small thump beside her as the place darkened once again. The young man was lying on the ground, blood gushing on his shoulder. “Oh my God,” she exclaimed as she started panicking. “What should I do?” She should have listened to those first aid classes her dad would always ask her to go. 

“Fuck me.” She froze. What? Did she hear him correctly? “Fuck me.” 

There was urgency in his voice, as well as despair in his eyes. If he was a pervert, he could just push her on the ground and do what he wanted. Her body felt so hot, her insides tingling. Maybe she is the perverted one. Why is she horny? In the middle of the forest? Because of a man she just met? But he did save her life, right? 

With a heavy breath, Y/N leaned in to place a kiss on his lips but his strong arms held her waist to pull her closer. 

Just for this moment, she doesn’t want to feel so alone. 

II. OFF THE MASK

It’s crazy. Somehow Yuta finds himself getting crazy. 

And it isn't the good kind.

Her mouth was hot, saliva like a drug pulling him in. As her tongue wrestled with his, he could feel her warm fingertips against the cold skin inside his ripped sweater. Everywhere she touched felt so hot, burning. But maybe this was the desire he had missed all these years. Her lips trailed on his jaw, south to his neck. Her fingers started pulling his shirt, removing it from his body, exposing his naked torso in the open air. She kept on pressing butterfly kisses on his exposed skin, lightly sucking, earning purple marks on his skin. 

He wanted to fuck her earlier, eager to regain some of his power back. But now, it feels like she needs him more than he needs her. Yuta removed her shirt and then her brassiere, throwing it to the ground. His mouth came in contact with her breasts, tongue licking her nipples which made the girl moan. Those sweet moans.

He missed this feeling. To be able to give a woman pleasure.

The girl kept on grinding her hips on his arousal. “Please, fuck me.” 

And Yuta was weak. 

Clothes were easily discarded on the ground. The woman’s pleas repeatedly echoed on the empty night. The sweet scent of her arousal made Yuta drunk in his own sense of arousal. “Please, I need you.” But he needs her more. She kept on riding him, her fingernails digging against his skin. A pleasurable pain. He was sure she wasn’t a virgin, evidence was the way she rolled her hips to push him deeper inside her. Yet Yuta can’t help but be too pleased with how her tight pussy could clench on his girth. His hands grabbed her breasts, rubbing her nipples earning loud mewls from her. His mouth would keep on kissing her lips and then suck the skin of her neck when he feels like she can’t breathe. She’s truly an addicting taste.  

The taste of despair and hope. Yuta could easily taste those emotions in the girl in his arms. How long was it since he last felt this liberating feeling? Her melodious voice moaning for him to go deeper, her sweet scent that overwhelms his senses, her warm skin in contrast to the chilling cold, and the tight feeling of her pussy gripping his cock makes him crazy. 

The moment Yuta smelled the sweet maiden’s blood, he knew something stirred inside him. Feeling her cumming for the third time, he realized what it was. She unleashed the lust demon inside him. 

His inner incubus.

And an incubus needs sex, amazing sex, to regain their power. To regain their strength. 

“Fuck me some more,” The girl kept on whispering in her pleasured state. Eyes almost rolling on the back of her head, lips agape. Yuta had to deliver. What kind of an incubus would he be if he left this girl wanting more? As he drilled his cock deeper into her, he started recalling the last time he had this feeling. 

It’s been years. With that person. 

All demons had their own sins. However, being the son of one of the greatest demons in hell, Yuta had already exhibited all sins presented to a demon even at a young age. Being an envious demon, his father was scared of the lengths his son could potentially go to. That and the fact that he made a mortal sin against humans earned him a place in the pits of hell.

For years, Yuta had been chained and caged in agony for a mistake he never wanted, he never meant to do. 

A crazy demon. That was what he would hear when they talked about him. A criminal who made a grave mistake in the demon world. 

And he already accepted his fate. Maybe this is just his purpose. Maybe this is what he was meant to do. Maybe this was his end.  

He had lost all his hope. As well as his power. 

Left in the pits of hell, bound by chains and caged. 

Not until a sweet scent of blood woke him up. 

Yuta kissed the maiden’s lips, tongue slipping past her mouth as he tasted all he could from her. Something about her is addicting. Invigorating. 

After being locked in hell for years, Yuta didn’t know if he had the strength to fight a demon. Especially a flesh-eating one. They’re normally more powerful and with his diminishing skills, he knew he could not save this girl. Yet when her lips made contact with him, he felt recharged. More powerful. 

She isn’t an ordinary girl, no doubt. If he wanted to survive the human world, he needed her. Yuta needs to recharge as much as he can.       

The girl kept on panting, begging for his touch. The scent of her arousal didn’t leave his senses even if he had already felt her orgasm a few times. If possible, it only heightened. How far can this girl go? Because he could go on, even if the sun starts rising. Yet he had to remind himself that she was a mere human. He might just kill her. And with the special scent she possessed, she couldn’t bear doing that. 

If he needs to survive in the human world, he’ll definitely need her. 

He probably pushed her too hard that she’s now passed out on the ground. Yuta stared at the tip of his fingers. This is probably enough to sustain him for weeks. His huge black wings appeared making him smile. True, he’s a demon but he cannot just leave her alone in this place especially if she’s this special. Her scent could easily attract other demons and he cannot just risk that. 

Yuta never believed in the entity opposite them. He was even startled when she announced a heavenly being’s name earlier but he decided to shrug it off. It’s not like he would disintegrate in the presence of that being. Gently placing her on the bed while she’s sleeping soundly, he might just believe that angels do exist. How can this measly human look so calm and beautiful? 

This is crazy. 

He had definitely gone crazy.

The man snapped his fingers as two winged figures started appearing on the foot of the bed. “Yu. Uta.” Yuta called. “I’ll leave her to the two of you. Protect her at all costs.”

“Yes, master.” The two younger devils saluted at the older one.  

He held her cheeks, placing a soft kiss on her agape lips. “I’ll see you soon,” he whispered, taking one last look at her. “Y/N.” 

III. SAVE YOU

“You feel amazing, Y/N.” The toned man started whispering as he was balls deep inside her. She could feel his whole length deep inside her, earning repeated screams and moans from her. “Now, cum in my cock.” He didn’t need to say it twice as she let go. 

Then there’s a knock on the door. 

Y/N woke up, sweating hard at the intense dream she had. Her sheets were wet with her orgasm and sweat. That was all a dream? How intense. How vivid. Another knock made her annoyed as she stood up to answer the door. 

It feels weird, all of a sudden. 

What is this place? This isn’t the house where she lived with her parents. Not a friend’s house. It feels foreign. Is she even in the right place? Was it a one-night stand? There was an incessant knock on the door but she surveyed the whole living room of the house where she just woke up. There are pictures of her, as well as her parents. On one side of the room was a small table with two urns and fresh flowers. Is this her place? 

The knock on the door continued and she opened it to see what the commotion was about. Two kids, a boy and a girl, were staring at her with their wide round eyes. “Took you so long to answer the door,” the younger girl in a pink hoodie claimed as she entered the door. The young boy in a gray hoodie handed her a brown paper bag. 

Wait, who are these kids?  

“Noona, you’ll be late for your job.” The male claimed as he sat on the couch and opened the television. “We’ll take care of your place. Go to your job.” 

Y/N lightly glanced at the clock and saw that she only had an hour for work. 

It feels bizarre. Her feet knew where to go but her eyes were so unfamiliar with the surroundings that she felt as if she was still dreaming. Wait, is she still in a dream? The girl had to try and pinch her arm but it hurt. This must be real. Yet, she feels so weird. 

“I’m glad you’re back,” her co-worker from the coffee shop claimed. She placed her bag in the cabinet and then put on her apron before checking on what she should do. The usual customers came, as well as the old man who kept on ordering drinks from her. It was a peaceful shift not until the manager came to her and tapped her shoulder, “You’re doing well. I’m glad you’re feeling better.” 

The walk to her next job was a familiar one. Maybe it was the shock she had after the death of her parents that she felt weird earlier. Maybe she’s still unsure of the course of her life, that's why she’s feeling rather odd. Her co-worker from the diner had been excitedly telling her about the preparations for her daughter’s birthday party and Y/N just remembered that she doesn’t have any gift for her yet. “You should bring Yu and Uta to the party. I’m sure they would love the bubble show.” The other commented that confused her. 

“Yu? Uta?”  

The girl laughed as if she was joking. “Y/N, they’re the kids you usually bring here.” She cleared up and then stared at her worryingly. “Are you alright? Do you need to rest?” 

She shook her head. This feels so bizarre. What the hell is happening to her? 

“Maybe it’s the effect of the medicine you’re taking,” one of her co-workers from the gasoline station claimed as she shared the weird feeling creeping up on her since the early morning. “You’re still taking them right?” You blinked at that. Were you? “You need it, Y/N. That was such a traumatic event in your life.” She noted that made her nod. She doesn’t need to spell it out for her but somehow she understood it so well. “Do you want to talk to a psychiatrist I know?” 

Y/N shook her head. That was the last thing on her mind - to think that she was crazy in the head. 

The moment she came home, the television was still playing as the two kids slept on the couch. What are they still doing here? She lightly shook them to wake up but only the male opened his eyes, greeting her with a “Welcome home, noona”.  

“What are you still doing here?” She asked, closing the television. Did they stay here the whole day? Is there food in her house? Have they eaten something? “Should I call your parents?” 

The younger girl stirred in her sleep, hugging the boy. “Master is still on a trip, he won't come home just yet.” She whispered then snored. Master? What was that term? Are they slaves? What about their parents? Aren’t they worried for them?  

Y/N had to give the boy a confused look, “Sorry noona.” He claimed with a toothed smile. She noticed how his teeth had little fangs on them. How adorable. “Can Uta and I stay here tonight? We won’t bother you, I promise.” 

Uta? The young girl is Uta? So this young boy’s name is Yu? She cannot just leave them outside this late at night, right? She only nodded, telling them to just sleep in her room. Fortunately, she changed the sheets early that morning so the kids slept soundly on her bed. What are these two doing here? Why can’t she remember them? Is it really the medicine’s fault? 

After drinking a pill, she decided to just sleep on the couch. But first, she had to check if she could make breakfast for the kids tomorrow. Although she could call child services on their parents, she doesn’t want to be the one accused of neglecting the kids. The fridge was fully stocked, which surprised her. She knew how to cook but she surely wouldn’t buy this much on grocery runs. 

Is she only staying at Yu and Uta’s family house? And who are their parents? 

It was pitch dark but Y/N could make up the silhouette of a man approaching her on the couch. The girl’s instinct is to shout and alert the neighbors that someone is in their home but her voice cannot come out of her lips. As the man approached, she could smell him. His muscular scent filled her nose, arousing all the system in Y/N’s body. The girl’s body felt hot as if lava started flowing in her veins instead of blood. Her nether regions felt wet. Tingly.

“Naughty, Y/N.” The man teased in his low erotic voice before leaning in close to whisper in her ear, “I can smell your arousal for me.” 

“Please,” she moaned, hands reaching out for the man. “I need you.” From the darkness, she could see a smirk on his face before his hand cupped her clothed pussy and started rubbing her throbbing wetness. “Please.” One hand slipped inside her pajama pants to make contact with her clit, rubbing it with his thumb. The other hand pushed a thumb inside her mouth to prevent her from making a sound. 

Y/N sucked his thumb as the man slipped his middle finger inside her core. A sound came out from her throat. “You don’t want to wake up the kids, right?” He whispered, removing his thumb from her mouth and replacing it with two fingers. Another finger slipped into her core, making her body squirm. She held the headrest of the couch, another hand clawing at the man’s arm playing with her pussy. 

It feels good. So fucking good. 

The man found the spot pushing her off the edge. Y/N’s toes started curling in pleasure, head lolling back that his fingers inside her mouth almost gagged her. The girl started wrapping both her hands on the man’s wrist with his fingers on her mouth. Her tongue lapped his two fingers, gently sucking. Yet, she doesn’t want anything to stop. She’s close to her orgasm. She wanted this man to give her that pleasure. 

Y/N jerked her hips as if begging the man to push his fingers deeper inside her. She could feel him curling his fingers in her core, scissoring his fingers for intense pleasure. The wave of orgasm rippled against her skin, her body trembling at how intense it was. 

Then she opened her eyes, panting loudly as sweat beads appeared on her forehead. What the hell? That was a dream? Why is she so horny lately? And what was that wet dream? Is she a teenager? Why is it so vivid? Why does it feel so real? And why is she so wet as if she did have an orgasm? 

Because of a dream. Really? 

Maybe she’s too sex-starved lately. 

Y/N would always cook breakfast for the kids, even leaving lunch or small snacks for them. It had been days that the kids had become a part of her routine. She found out that they are twins but Yu, the younger boy, is the older one. A very cool kid who loves nothing but eating. Uta, the younger sister, was a very cheerful kid who hated being teased by her brother and kept on munching as if her life depended on it. They never speak anything about their family or if they go to school. They kept on playing all day, watching television, and just eating. 

But one day, when she came home, with doughnuts for the kids, they were nowhere to be seen. Maybe their parents had taken them already. But they should have told her. Their parents should have thanked her for taking care of the kids. 

The next day had been typical. Routinary. She just wanted to go home and rest her body. It’s been nights that she had dreamt of a man giving her intense pleasure and it’s been taking a huge toll on her. She’s tired yet she’s very aroused. She was so horny because of the dream that she feared she might just fuck the first man who will show her kindness tonight. A scary thought that made her shiver as she walked home. She should stop these thoughts. She’s walking alone for crying out loud. 

A shiver ran up her spine. An eerie feeling came that someone was following her. Cautiously, she stopped to tie her shoelaces tighter. If he’s not following her, he could walk ahead of her. But the person stopped as well. He’s obviously following her. Shit, she does attract all these negative thoughts. From a closed shop window, she saw an image of a tall man but with red eyes and a long tongue slithering out of his lips. 

What the hell was that?    

It was a wrong turn. She didn’t know that the usual shortcut she walked to get home would be closed tonight. She was stuck in a dead end. Before she could turn back to the lighted street, a huge shadow approached her. Y/N had to walk backward to avoid the man turning her way. A smirk can be seen on his face, red eyes glaring at her. “You smell so good,” He licked his lips with his snake-like tongue. “You’ll probably taste as good.” 

The man grabbed her arm, fingers digging into her flesh and creating half-moon cuts that seeped blood. “Even your blood smells so good.” 

“No!” she shouted, squirming to get out of his hold. “Let me go. I’ll call the police.” A menacing laugh escaped his lips. “Please, don’t do this.” Tears started stinging her eyes in despair. No one is going to save her even if she screams, it’s so late in the night. And didn’t she just wish to be fucked earlier? Maybe this is her karma for thinking of those nasty things. “Please,” she whispered, tears springing from her eyes. “Save me.” 

“Noona!” she heard someone call as she fell with a loud thud. From her tear-stained eyes, she saw Yu biting the man’s leg with his little fangs. Quickly, the man pulled his gray hoodie and threw the young kid on a nearby wall. Uta came, skin red in anger while shouting “Do not hurt my brother!” She scratched the man’s arms using her long nails but like her brother, she was immediately thrown to the ground. 

A shadow appeared on the floor, lifting both the kids’ bodies. “So you were the minions?” The man asked, which made Y/N startled. Minions? And what is happening? “Where is your master? Did he abandon you, little devils?”   

What? Y/N weakly stood up, her ankle hurting because of the sudden fall earlier. “Don’t hurt them.” She shouted but the two kids were just gasping for air as if they were being choked. Yet Y/N can only see their body wrapped in a shadow and floating.  

The man’s red eyes stared back at her, “Let me indulge in your sweetness, human.” What the hell is happening?

Y/N tried to move back but her ankle hurt so much that she started limping. Her back could feel the wall before the man was kicked on the head from behind. She saw the shadow gone as the two kids fell down to the ground. At the speed that she could do with her sprained ankle, she walked to both of them asking them if they were alright. Both their eyes focused on the guy towering above the man who hurt them, stepping on the other’s crotch. “What is a lust demon doing here in the human world?” The man standing asked then stepped harder making the man lying on the floor grunting in pain. 

“You’re also a lust demon…”

In a quick motion, the man standing leaned in to hold the lying man’s neck and carried him while choking him. “Do you really think we’re the same?” The man being choked started coughing, blood coming out of its mouth. “You hurt Yu and Uta.” He claimed, “And you have some guts thinking that you can have this girl,” Y/N furrowed her eyebrows in confusion at that statement. “She’s mine.” He growled before throwing the guy on the nearby wall.    

What the hell is happening? Is this a dream? Is this a hallucination? It’s the medicine, isn’t it? Or worse, has she finally gone mad? The man swung his arm, slicing the other guy that red light started illuminating from his body. 

Wait a minute, she had witnessed it before. At the forest. With the beast-looking shadow. But that was a dream. 

Right? 

The man turned around to face her and she blinked in fright. Both kids were behind him now, apologizing to him which startled her. Do the kids know him? Is he the master they were talking about? Then, Yu and Uta aren’t human? A hand was extended to her but she refused to take it. “What are you?” She asked in terror, voice shaking. “Please don’t hurt me.” 

“After saving you, you’re begging me to not hurt you?” 

“Master!” Yu shouted. “I could just erase her memory like the last time.” Erase what? Y/N stared at the young boy then at the older man standing next to him.

“No,” Y/N shouted, standing up abruptly which made her dizzy all of a sudden. “Do not touch me.” Uta stepped forward to approach her but she stopped her as well, “Even the two of you.” The young girl pouted. “What are you? What the hell are you?” She asked then covered her body with her arms, “Are you going to hurt me?” Tears fell from her eyes, “Please don’t.” 

The man had a stoic look on his face before he spoke up, “Yu. Uta. You could go first.” The two kids bowed and then muttered in unison, “Yes, master.” Y/N regretted it the moment the only familiar faces were gone. But how? Where did they go? The man turned to her and she was momentarily stunned. Now that she was staring, he looked really handsome. Bright dark big eyes as if they were sparkling boba, fair skin, a high bridge nose, and red juicy lips. Why is he so attractive? Is he human? 

He lent a hand, palm up, for her to take but she shook her head. “I saved your life twice, don’t you trust me enough?” So that time in the forest wasn’t a dream? And here he is, saving her once again? But why? All the questions on her mind were clouding her thoughts that she took his hand. If she wants answers, she should come to this person. He pulled her close, placing both her hands around his neck. “We’re going to fly. You’re not scared of heights, aren’t you?” 

“What?” Huge dark wings appeared on his back as she scooped her in his arms. Y/N could feel the cold breeze before seeing the tops of the high-rise buildings. Was she tripping? She’s really in the air. They are flying. “Wait, wait. Don’t drop me.” She whispered in panic. 

“It’s alright. It’s alright. I won’t let you fall.” he whispered in a calm voice. “You asked what I am and I’m just showing it to you.”   

The girl wrapped her arms around his neck tight, eyes focused on the black wings moving across the wind. “Are you an angel?” 

A hearty laugh escaped the man’s lips that startled Y/N. He’s truly handsome. She shouldn’t have doubted those religious folks when they stated that angels look very heavenly. “Quite the contrary.” He’s not an angel? But he saved her twice. Contrary? Then a demon? 

“Why me?” She whispered just as a realization came. “Are you here to kill me and bring me to hell?” 

The man’s feet landed on the balcony of her house, large wings disappearing almost immediately. He gently put her down, making sure that she could stand although her ankle was sprained very badly. “Because from now on, you’re mine.” Her eyes widened in surprise. She heard the same words earlier but it clearly didn’t mean anything earlier. 

Right? 

“I’ll save you, no matter if I live or die, Y/N.” 

IV. BAD EUPHORIA

This shouldn’t happen. 

Maybe Yuta had really become crazy. He should have learned from his past mistakes. This would only bring him back to the same place where he was before. Maybe it was better that he rot in person instead of this creeping feeling inside him. 

“Your little sunglasses are so cute, Yu.” Y/N complimented, making the little devil smile coolly. The twins should know that showing your demon self to a human is illegal. But what does he know? He even flew her in the air. Besides, they are demons. Evil creatures. They're meant to break the rules. “These little pigtails are so adorable, Uta.” She squealed, making the younger girl giggle. 

She should be scared of them. They could hurt her now that she knows a lot. Why did Yuta have to promise those things to her? He should have killed her the first time instead of keeping her even if she tasted so sweet. Even if she smelled so good. How pathetic of him.  

“So these are your demon forms?” The twins nodded, flying around her with their little wings. “And you have specific powers?” 

Yu nodded, “I can erase memories.” 

“And I can heal anything.” Uta continued, sounding proud of herself. The girl glanced at the healed wound on her arm and then her ankle. “It’s pretty cool, isn’t it?” 

The girl had to scrunch her nose, nodding at the younger girl. Yuta squinted his eyes at that. What was that? Is she showing affection to the demons? How weird. And why are the twins liking her attention so much? He shouldn’t have left them with her. “And that man is your…” She squinted her eyes before continuing, “Father?” 

Yuta glared at the younger boy who chuckled nervously. He shouldn’t have taken the twins in his care. But what could he do if this was the only thing he could do seeing two wide-eyed kids entering the demon world? Besides, Yu and Uta had been great entertainment and companions to him when he was still chained back there. Now that they have the taste of the human world, he probably cannot bring those two back to hell. Even he, an older demon, doesn’t want to return to that place. 

“Mister,” she called, which made Yuta look at Y/N. “Are you planning to kick me out of your house?” 

“And where would you go?” The girl shrugged, “Didn’t I tell you that I should always see you? The demons had shown a liking to your scent.” Y/N rolled her eyes which annoyed Yuta. He did explain earlier that the smell of her blood had awakened some demons from hell and now, they’re roaming the human world just to look for her. If she wanted to stay alive, he should keep a close eye on her. It was a simple concept yet she had a hard time grasping that fact. How stupid. Humans are so stupid. 

“And master needs you to regain his power,” Uta claimed in a high-pitched voice that made Yuta surprised. Why would she say that? Yu stopped his sister and seeing the glare Yuta had given them, the two little devils disappeared. This is getting really annoying.

“You need me to regain your power?” Yuta stood up from his chair and then shook his head, walking to the fridge and taking a bottle of water. “Do you want me to do something to help you regain your power?” He had to grasp the bottle rather tightly. 

Is she seriously asking that question?     

Maybe Yu’s powers had evolved so much that she doesn’t remember what they did in the forest. Yuta smiled, he knew that kid would do wonders in the future. “Mister,” she called once again that made him hiss, “Should I do…” When he turned around to face her, she was standing behind him. Her scent is stronger now that she’s closer. Yuta could easily hold her by the waist and kiss her. “...something for you?” She asked in a soft voice, eyes staring at his lips. 

This is fucking dangerous. He might just hurt her again and the twins aren’t here to erase her memory or heal her. Yuta leaned in, “I’m not interested in the well-behaved you, baby.” The girl puffed her cheeks, squinting her eyes at him. 

“I’m not flirting with you, stupid.” Yuta chuckled as she stomped off inside the room, closing the door with a loud thud. 

How cute. 

Even if he was lying on the couch and she was sleeping in the room, with the door locked shut, Yuta could smell the scent of her arousal. It was way stronger than earlier that bothered him. If this continues on, another demon could smell her and this will be trouble once again. This was his fault. She did awaken something inside him but he didn't need to awaken her sexual desires. 

He should have stopped that night in the forest. 

Like the other nights, he approached her in her own wet dream. A mirage that only he can create. She was squirming in bed, panting hard while sweating. Her shirt was pushed up to reveal her breasts. A wet spot was visible on the material of her shorts. 

Yuta clenched his fist tight. He cannot do this to her once again. And if this continues, he might just make the same mistake he made. He shook his head, he wouldn’t do it to her. 

“Please,” she whispered, heavy breaths coming out of her agape lips. But he’s a demon and there are only some temptations that he can resist. Obviously one of them isn't her. Even if her eyes were closed, tears were streaming down her face. She might be in pain. And who is he to deny her the cure she needed? “Please, fuck me.” 

He held her cheek. “Ssh, my angel.” He mumbled as if she could hear him. “I’ll make you feel real good, hmm?” Yuta didn’t waste time to pull down her shorts, revealing her sopping cunt. She smelled so divine, so erotic. He could feel his body getting energized just from smelling her. How perverted can he actually get? Truly, a lust demon. 

He leaned down to give a quick kiss on her pubic bone, a moan escaping her lips. All his inhibitions are gone. The self-control he had been keeping to himself was gone when his lips came in contact with her clit. Her addicting taste in his lips only made him want her more. He slipped his tongue inside her core, the taste of her arousal making him dizzy in lust. Her body kept on moving so Yuta had to hold both her legs, parting them, to have easier access. 

Y/N’s moans filled the room, echoing through the walls, which only heightened his want to pleasure this girl. By now, Yuta knows her pleasure spots. The exact spot in her core that makes her let go. With the tip of his tongue, he started hitting that spot earning muffled cries from her. She’s close, he could feel it. Yuta’s tongue kept on abusing her pussy, making sure that he could explore every inch of her. 

And it was the most rewarding feeling when she released everything. Yuta made sure to lap everything that she could release, not missing a single drop of her sweetness. 

The guy sat on the foot of the bed, just watching her calm sleeping face. She’s very beautiful. And Yuta knew that he couldn’t fall with these beautiful things. That would be his literal downfall for sure. Yet he had felt like he had become a possessive man, not wanting to share her with anyone. He should start putting scent blockers on her so a demon wouldn’t chase after her. 

But putting scent blockers on her meant being a prisoner in her chains. A mistake he had made a long time ago and regretted big time. 

He shouldn’t make the same mistake twice. 

“They said bittersweet is life but it’s not that sweet, honestly it’s bitter.,” Yuta claimed, holding his cup of coffee. “Like this coffee.” 

The girl rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Why can’t you just ask for cream and sugar like a normal person?” She asked, putting down the jar of cream and sugar above the table with a loud sound. 

“Because master is not a normal person,” Yu claimed, drinking his chocolate milkshake. 

Uta was munching on her waffles when she said in a mouth filled with food, “Shouldn’t we call him dad now?” The girl giggled, wiping the younger girl’s mouth. To avoid some questions, Y/N forced him to introduce himself as Yu and Uta’s dad. Surprisingly, her co-workers believed that lie. Yuta shook his head, humans truly are gullible. “Can I order some more waffles?” 

Y/N smiled. “Of course, baby girl.” She claimed while rubbing the younger girl’s cheek. “Do you want anything else, Yu?” She asked softly as the younger boy asked for the same meal as his sister. “And you?” she faced Yuta with an uninterested look that annoyed him. Where is her happy caring tone? Why is she so cold when facing him?   

“Nothing else.” She rolled her eyes before leaving to the counter where her co-workers were looking at her and then at him with wide smiles on their faces. Yuta didn’t know what they were talking about but she made a disgusted face while shaking her head after looking at him. 

How adorable. 

Maybe it was her time of the month. But Yuta shrugged it off, she wasn’t bleeding when he ate her out last night. Did it start today perhaps? But she clearly showed her distaste at him. Is that normal? A normal female reaction, perhaps?

Even at the diner, she kept on rolling her eyes at him while showing great gentleness to the two kids. Once again, she introduced him to her co-workers as the twins’ dad and he even earned an invite to a child’s birthday party. Yu and Uta both had a blast with their non-stop eating, making the older demon amused. They surely are gluttonous demons. 

Y/N was just pacing around doing her job, making Yuta watch her every move. She would smile at every customer, making sure to give them her utmost service. Now he understood it when Yu reported that she’s hardworking. A male co-worker called for her and she obediently walked to where he was. He showed her a spoon with something white and the girl immediately parted her lips to taste what was on the spoon. She nodded, making the man smile warmly at her. He swiped a thumb on her bottom lip before licking the cream on his finger which made her giggle. 

What the hell was that? Is she flirting with that co-worker? A boyfriend? But the twins never mentioned a male companion in their reports. Who the hell was that? 

The girl was busy serving on the tables when a young kid wearing roller skates started zooming in the middle of the diner. He zoomed past Y/N who almost fell if not for Yuta holding her waist and pulling her to sit on his lap. “Are you alright?” He realized how near she was now that she was seated on his lap and it didn’t help that he was feeling something cold seeping on his shirt. 

“Oh shit,” she cursed, standing up immediately and then wiping the dark liquid with a towel. She stopped when she felt his abdomen before staring at his face with a lot of surprise in her eyes. Y/N cleared her throat before heading south to wipe his leg. Slowly, Yuta could start smelling her sweet scent. She’s getting aroused. And maybe it was because she was too close that his senses were so stimulated, he wanted to reach out to her and fuck her mercilessly in this diner. 

Her co-worker muttered an 'Oh My God' at the mess that happened as Y/N apologized. She was instructed to bring Yuta to the staff room since there was an extra change of clothes that he could wear, even volunteering to look after the twins as they finished their meal. She should have declined. Doesn’t she know that he and her inside a confined space is dangerous? And with his evil dirty thoughts and her emanating sweet scent, he could just lose himself. 

Yuta was right. The staff room was located at a somehow secluded part of the diner and too small to stop his raging dirty thoughts. He quickly removed the shirt that was getting slowly drenched with the cola as the girl reached for the extra clothes on the upper cabinet. When she turned around, her eyes just widened while staring straight at his naked torso. The scent was now heightened along with her biting her bottom lip. With a heavy breath, she handed the shirt and then turned around, reaching down to look for drawers on the bottom layer. The simple action created a small contact between their bodies, making Yuta hiss. 

“Y/N, you could just ask.” The girl turned to him in confusion. Yuta stepped forward and she stepped back, “I can smell your arousal.” 

“What?” Her eyes widened in surprise which made Yuta smirk. She’s like a deer caught in headlights. “I’m not…” 

Yuta moved another step forward that their bodies were almost touching. He grabbed her wrist, placing her hand on his torso. Her cold fingers trailed to his chest down to his abdomen. “You’re probably lacking excitement, right?” Her fingers moved to the waistband of his jeans then back to his abdomen. “Do you already know the ending, Y/N?” Yuta whispered in her ear. A heavy breath as he takes in her lovely aroused scent. He guided her hand to the front of his jeans, “A little teaser.”     

The girl pulled him closer, placing her lips on his. It was an invigorating feeling, a sign that he should stop himself and just let go. “Mister…” she called in her erotic voice. 

“Yuta,” he immediately corrected. “Call me Yuta.” 

“Yuta.” The name came off as a whimper, a sexy moan that he wanted to repeat. “Yuta, please.”  

He didn’t care if the name wasn’t his anymore, as long as it kept coming out of her lips. Yuta turned her around, pulling her waist closer to him as she hiked her skirt up. “Yes, baby. I only want my name coming out of your lips.” 

“Yuta.” Fuck. This is bad. But why is he so elated? How could something this fucking good be considered bad? “Yuta,” Y/N called once again which made Yuta hiss. 

This will surely be his downfall. 

V. PRISONER

Y/N felt as if she had done something morally and ethically wrong. 

Maybe she’s a criminal who deserves to be in jail. A prisoner. 

She couldn’t even look at her co-workers the moment she left the staff room. She can’t even look at both Yu and Uta even if she knew that Yuta isn’t their father. Even looking at Yuta’s eyes was very difficult for her and it’s not like his cock didn’t keep ramming on her earlier. 

His cold hand was grabbing her breast, pinching her nipples using his fingers. The other hand kept rubbing her clit as he kept thrusting into her from behind. His breathing was warm against her ear as she could hear him panting, gently moaning in his low voice. It was so hot. 

All the horny nights were easily forgotten because of this quick sexual session. And with what she considers a stranger whom she just found out his name? How is she suddenly so reckless and rebellious? 

Y/N started fixing her skirt but Yuta wrapped his arms around her from behind, fixing the buttons of her blouse. “Skip your gasoline gig,” he whispered, which made her confused. What? “I’m going to ask the twins to leave so we can continue this at home. I’ll wait for you.” 

What the hell? 

How could Y/N find a horny guy who gives amazing pleasure? As she was walking home, she started realizing why. He did claim that he’s a lust demon, an incubus. That means it was his sin, right? So he must be really a horny demon. But what else can he do during sex? Does he have an intense stamina that could kill her? Can he shapeshift? Maybe grow a tentacles or grow his cock bigger? She lightly giggled at the thought. Why is she getting excited all of a sudden? This is dangerous. She’s getting very wet at the thought. 

Before she could put the key to the doorknob, the door opened. She expected Yu to greet her and Uta, being the cooler among the twins, would just be munching something while staring at the television. But to her surprise, Yuta opened the door without any clothes on. Immediately, she came in the door and closed it behind her. “Are you crazy?” She asked, “What if the neighbors see you?” 

“I could smell you coming.” 

He pulled the girl closer, letting her fingers trail on his broad shoulder. “And the kids?” 

Yuta placed a wet kiss on her neck, “I sent them far away to do something.” The girl giggled which was replaced by a small squeal when the man scooped her up in his arms. “I hope you’re ready for me.” Y/N grinned. She’s more than ready for him. 

He took his time kissing her lips, tongue slipping past her lips and into her mouth. Y/N could only moan at that. His tongue game was so amazing that she could easily imagine herself in an intense orgasm if he eats her out. His fingers slowly undo the button of her blouse, kissing the skin getting exposed. Losing her patience, she discarded her bra while he left supple kiss marks on her abdomen. 

Yuta���s lips were quickly on her exposed breast, kissing the underside before sucking the nipple. His tongue played with the little nub as his fingers rubbed the other. Thread of curses and moans kept coming out of her lips. “Oh My God, Yuta.” She could feel him chuckling at that. 

Y/N had to grab his hair, raising his head to look at her. “Please, put it inside me.” He gave her a smile. A warm smile that made her swoon. God, he is so attractive. She might just orgasm if she keeps staring at him. 

Yuta pushed up her skirt and pulled down her underwear. Licking his lips at the sight of her wetness. He held his cock, lightly rubbing the tip on her pussy lips that made Y/N raise her hip. The guy’s chuckle can be heard before he pushes himself into her. The girl screamed, fingers digging into Yuta’s back at how big he was. Fuck, he’s filling her up. And when Yuta placed a pillow under her hips, she could see the outline of his cock on her abdomen. 

It was a surreal feeling. It felt foreign yet familiar at the same time. Maybe Y/N is getting crazy. Too cock crazy. She had never had a cock this good. And she knew it would be hard to find another, specifically a human, who would fuck her up this good. His thrusts were hard, deep, and rhythmic at a pace that made her lose her mind. She can even feel his balls hitting her ass cheeks. Yuta is too good at this. It’s making her crazy.

She had never cummed that much in her life. Even her vivid dreams weren’t as good as the real thing. The sheets were wet because of her sweat and juice but she refused to move, her body feeling so sore from the intense sex she just received. 

That was really amazing. He’s undoubtedly a lust demon. 

But how real are demons? Isn’t that just something that the religious people made up to distinguish good from evil? And how evil could they be? 

“Yuta,” she called while lying next to him in bed. Y/N knew that she shouldn’t be doing this pillow talk with him but they’re not even cuddling. It’s just pure lust between them, no strings attached. Yet she needed some answers. The man hummed, facing to look at her. She rolled on her stomach, “You said I’ll be in danger if I disappear from your sight because the demons will come for me, right?” The man nonchalantly nodded. “Is there any way to stop that?” 

She could feel Yuta stiffen at that question. Did he not expect that? But that isn’t the normal conversation one has after intense sex. From his reaction, she gathered that there must be something that could stop this. “What is it?” she asked, gently rising from the bed to fully look at him. “Can I do something?” 

“A contract.” She raised an eyebrow at that. What contract? “A binding contract between a demon and human.” Y/N sat up to signal that she was interested which made Yuta hiss in annoyance. “You should understand that the contract would chain us to each other. So no, Y/N.” 

“What?” The girl asked in confusion. “But it was you who brought the contract up and it doesn’t seem that hard.” 

Y/N rolled her eyes at his lack of response. “Besides, I’m not that possessive. Even if we’re chained to each other, I’ll still let you wander alone.” Yuta visibly stiffened at those words that confused her. Maybe it was a touchy subject for him. She should probably stop. 

“I don’t trust your words,” Yuta whispered. 

Y/N huffed at that. “I’m not a perfect person but I’m also not an evil person. Why don’t you believe me?” She revolted. “Why don’t you want to do the binding contract with me? Tell me what is wrong with me?” 

Yuta had to roll over to face her body, parting her legs that confused her. “Nothing, Y/N,” he claimed before placing a soft kiss on her pussy lips. “But I won’t do it with you.” 

The girl had to cover her mouth to prevent the scream coming out of her lips when he pushed a tongue between her moist pussy folds. The neighbors had already obviously heard her voice, they didn't need to know that they weren’t done with the sexual action yet. “Yuta,” she moaned. “Have you ever been in a contract with someone before?” He only answered with a flick of the tongue in her most sensitive spot. 

“You’re a poison, Yuta. I shouldn’t have trusted you.” The female voice shouted, making the demon’s heart bleed. “For my last wish, let me go."

"Let me leave this world.” 

He shouldn’t have trusted her words. He shouldn’t have believed that she wasn’t an evil person. What has she done to her? 

A binding contract has its pros and cons. True, he can save the person he cares for. But a loose chain is still a chain. And chains tend to hurt in the long run. A terribly twisted love’s prison. 

“Twins?” Yuta called, towering above two little cages to look for both Yu and Uta. It confused him that they weren't here. This is the only place they could go. A safe place for his little devils. Not too hot and not too cold for their comfort.

He had always thought that hell was always so burning hot, tormenting people who came here. Evil people. He had always stayed here all his life so he wouldn’t know the difference. 

The only coldness in this scorching world was the cage he was locked in for years. The cuffs were stone cold against his skin, exhausting all his energy. As he brushed his fingers on the steel bars, he smiled to himself. 

He remembered tiring himself the first few months. “I’m not a criminal!” he shouted. “Set me free!” A statement he knew wasn’t true. He is a criminal and he deserves to be in this prison, bound with chains. He is a dangerous man. 

And he might be doing it again. 

He started walking some more, spotting the two winged little devils with someone very familiar. He wished he would never bump into him again. Hell is a huge place for the two of them to see each other. But as he called for the twins’ attention, he turned to him as well. Uta called him ‘Dad’ while running to grab his arm in fright. It’s been years and the twins have grown up yet they exhibit the same terrifying expression when faced by him. 

“Dad?” He repeated in his booming voice, looking in confusion at the man who only raised an eyebrow. Yu muttered an apology, pulling his sister behind Yuta. “You’re playing house in the human world? You should have known better.” 

Yuta had to turn around, “Let’s go, kids.” He mumbled before stopping at what the old man said, 

“Don’t kill another human again, Yuta.” 

VI. GOODBYE

“Let me go!” Yuta kept shouting which made Y/N look at him in surprise. His eyes were closed shut, sweat beads forming on his eyebrows. Was he dreaming? “Let me go!” 

The girl had to shake him aggressively to wake him up from his deep sleep. “Yuta, are you alright?” She asked once assured that he had regained consciousness. Y/N started wiping his forehead with the blanket to dry off his sweat. “You’re having a bad dream.” 

But Y/N was startled when he pulled her closer, hugging her body. His breathing was harsh against her skin, tightly holding onto her with shaking fingers. He might be scared. But what was the dream about? Why does he keep shouting to let him go? The girl threaded her fingers on his hair, hushing him up. Her other hand rubbed his back in a calming manner. 

She was relieved that he got calmer over the simple action. 

But what is wrong with him? 

Even in the morning, he was just quietly staring at the two kids who were huddled on the table while watching a caterpillar they got outside. “It looks ugly,” Uta claimed, which made the older girl laugh, handing them the small container filled with twigs and leaves where they could keep the caterpillar. “It looks like Yu’s horns.” 

The older boy glared at his sister. “But when a caterpillar grows up, it will be a very pretty butterfly.” The older girl explained, picking up the caterpillar and placing it inside the container. 

“Will it grow wings?” Y/N nodded at the younger girl. “Like our wings?” 

Yu shook his head, “Different wings. Prettier than yours.” Uta pouted with a huff, making the older laugh at her cuteness. Her eyes gazed at Yuta who was just looking at them with a stoic face. Was he not amused at how cute Yu and Uta are? Or was it because of his dream earlier? Should she ask about it? 

Since it was her day off and she needed to buy a gift for her co-worker’s daughter, she asked the three to come with her to the mall. She had gotten her pay the day before and could buy something for the three of them. Maybe a new sunglass for Yu, a pretty ribbon for Uta, and a tank top for Yuta. He had been wearing sleeved shirts lately and she was annoyed, she loved seeing his exposed arms around the house. Those thick arms that she loved to claw on. Y/N stared at his arms before gazing at his face. To her surprise, Yuta had been looking straight at her. 

Oh shit. The arousal. He could smell her. 

In the end, Y/N cannot force Yuta to come out and the kids promise the older man that they’ll behave in the mall. She was giggling to himself at how he looked like a dad scolding his kids. Yu and Uta are so hyperactive outside that she’s already tired the moment they step foot inside the mall. The two kept on buying different kinds of stuff: shirts, shoes, and dresses. Luckily, Yuta had given her a card to spend on the kids. 

Where did he get all the money? But then Yu was the one who explained that Yuta was the son of a higher demon, like an heir in a human world. So when the three decided to stay in the human world, his assets in hell became assets in the human world. “So Yuta is rich?” She innocently asked. 

“Super rich,” Uta claimed, biting on her fried chicken. 

Y/N was astounded at that fact. He’s handsome and he’s rich? She cannot deny that he’s also hot and so great in bed. “Is he still single?” The question came out before she could even process it in her mind. That was so wrong to ask. But she’s so curious. Yu gave her a knowing smile but she shook her head, wanting to tell him that what he was thinking was wrong. But that would be so defensive of her. 

“The first time we met Master Yuta, he was heartbroken from his first love.” Uta shared. Y/N’s ears perked up at that. First love? “He was caged by his father for killing that person.” She gasped in surprise. Maybe that’s why he was saying those words in his dream. But Yuta killed his first love? 

Yu hissed at his sister for talking too much. “But master claims that it wasn’t his doing.” He shared calmly, “Killing a human is a grave sin in hell and the other demons believe that Master is the only one who could do it.” 

That was heartbreaking. But Y/N doesn’t know Yuta enough to judge him. She saw him kill twice but those were all demons and he promised that he’d save her, even if he lived or died. Surely, Yuta cannot kill a human. Especially a person he once loved. “Yu, can you erase his memory of his first love?” The younger boy shook his head, claiming that he could not erase a demon’s memory. 

Y/N nodded. If Yu or Uta cannot, then she should help him. But how could she do that? How could she stop the nightmares when he obviously can’t move on from his life in hell? How could one measly human help a somewhat higher demon? “Do you think I could do something to help him?” 

Uta nodded but Yu glared at her. At her prodding, the younger girl answered. “Help him regain his powers so he can turn back time. That was his goal.” 

“Regain his powers?” They did mention it before. “How can I help regain his powers?” The two kids shrugged, busy eating their meal. Should she ask Yuta instead? Is it a demon thing? “Then, how do the two of you regain your powers?” 

“Eating,” they muttered in unison which made her smile. Obviously. Yuta calls them gluttonous demons so maybe that’s why. Should she cook for Yuta to regain his power? 

Y/N had to cover her mouth at the sudden realization. Yuta is a lust demon. He cannot regain power just by a simple meal. He needed sex.

She shook her head to divert her attention as Uta looked at her in worry. “Then how did the two of you end up in the demon world?” 

The girl dropped her fork and she wanted to quickly apologize for asking something so insensitive. “We both light our house on fire, killing us and our family.” That’s so familiar and tragic. “Master explained that we killed ourselves, that's why we’re in hell, a grave sin like his.” Yu continued. 

Y/N held the top of Uta’s head. “I think the two of you are great kids.” She claimed then smiled at the younger girl. “If ever I get married and have kids, I hope they’re as lovely and clever as the two of you.” She continued, even staring at Yu who looked shy at what she was saying. “I bet your parents are very proud of the two of you.” 

“Your parents are also proud of you, unnie,” Uta claimed, which confused her. “We met them in the demon world.” 

“We’re home!” Uta shouted, bursting to the door and then showing off her pink glittery bow. Yu helped put down the paper bags on the couch as Y/N went straight to the kitchen while chuckling at the younger girl’s cute antics. Yu showed his new sunglasses making Yuta hiss. They spend all his money on these useless things? They’re such kids. 

Yuta carefully glanced at the different paper bags full of fabric and accessories. “Did you say thank you to Y/N?” The two kids nodded while taking out toys from one paper bag. He shook his head, such kids. The guy had to bite his bottom lip, smelling a very familiar scent coming from the kitchen. What is she doing? 

Y/N was standing by the stove as he wrapped his arms around her waist, “Smells good.” 

“I’m heating the pasta we bought…” 

“I meant you,” His hand that was resting on her stomach trailed to her breast, grabbing one boob from the material of her blouse. “Why are you so aroused? I can smell you.” He pulled her closer, kissing the side of her neck.

Small giggles came out of her lips, “I’m not the only aroused one.” She teased before rubbing her ass on his bulge. Yuta laughed at that action. Y/N turned around to face him after turning off the stove. “Do you want to try something new, Yuta?”

Something new? His eyebrow raised at that. The girl started tying her tail to a ponytail, licking her lips in the process. Yuta lightly chuckled when she started kneeling on the floor. A blowjob? Did someone replace Y/N in the store? What is happening to her? Her fingers were undoing the zipper of his pants when he claimed, “Right now? With the kids outside?” 

The girl grinned. “Look at you being a dad,” she teased before gazing at him with lust-hooded eyes. “Daddy.” 

“Yu! Uta!” Yuta shouted. “Could the two of you deliver a message?” 

If Yuta thought hell was full of chaos, the demons should attend a kid’s birthday party. Kids were all running, high-pitched squeals and laugh echoed throughout the whole venue. It's utterly chaos.

All the moms were staring at him, whispering things to other moms. He doesn’t know what it was but he had been called a lot of distasteful names before so their words wouldn’t have to bother him. But when they started talking to Y/N, laughing with her while pointing at him, Yuta felt curious. It was like they were watching his every move and for them to not suspect something, he was attentive to the twins. They kept on running around, playing with the human kids as if they weren’t demons. They looked so fascinated at the clown’s magic tricks and when the bubble show came, they kept squealing in delight. 

Yuta had to smile at that. At least they had the experience of being kids in the human world. “He’s so attractive,” he overheard one of the moms say to her husband. He remembered her as one of Y/N’s co-workers in the diner. Was she talking about him? “He takes care of his kids so well.” Wait, was he doing too much? “No wonder Y/N looks so happy lately.” 

His gaze fell on the girl seated on the floor and taking pictures of the twins inside the huge bubble. “They already look like a small family.” Yuta smiled. That wasn’t a bad thought. 

After the bubble show, came desserts. Yu was careful about eating too much but Uta kept on coming the second time to the cake table, even taking a huge piece. “You should stop, Uta.” Yuta reprimanded, making the young girl pout. “Your dress will pop off if you eat another bite.” Y/N had to take the discarded plate filled with cake and hand it to the younger girl who went running to her brother. “Y/N!” 

“You cannot stop a girl from eating, Yuta.” She claimed, “Besides, Uta is still cute even if she eats too much.” 

“She’s my daughter.” A gasp can be heard nearby from a mom overhearing their conversation. 

The girl rolled her eyes at that. “I know. But that is my baby girl,” Yuta smirked. That’s her revolt? “You cannot tell my baby what she can’t or can eat.” She claimed before taking another slice of cake, “Even Yu.” She claimed before feeding him a piece of cake and walking away.

Yuta could only laugh in disbelief, wiping his lips to remove the icing. Are they playing bad cop, good cop now? Yeah, he’ll be the bad parent. He’s a demon, for crying out loud. That’s his nature. And obviously, that is exactly the reason why Yu and Uta like her so much. She's always the good parent. Spoiling them with everything.

The two of them as parents? Yuta timidly smiled at the thought before shaking his head. What the heck is this light, mushy feeling creeping into his body? “She makes you weak?” The mom eavesdropping on them asked that confused Yuta. “You shouldn’t let go of a girl that loves your children like that.” She had a knowing smile on her face as she stared at Y/N talking to the two kids while eating cake. “You should never let Y/N go.”  

Yuta shouldn’t. Even if he had encountered these things before, he knew Y/N had shown him a very different feeling. He had always thought hell was the hottest place in existence but why does he feel warmer in her arms? And these mushy feelings? Why would his heart beat so much whenever he sees Y/N smile? She makes him weak and strong at the same time. It’s crazy. 

Yuta might be crazy. 

Has he finally moved on? Is this not a mistake if he pursued it further? Should he ask her once again to have a binding contract with her? Because right now, he’s sure that he would be willing and more than happy to be chained to her if it meant staying with her. 

“Oh, the father of the birthday girl is here!” The clown claimed making all the kids look at the man coming into the party venue carrying a huge dollhouse. 

The sound of broken plates echoed throughout the place but Yuta’s gaze didn’t leave the man who was now looking at him, as well as all the guests. Y/N was quick to stand up, looking at him with worry but the other man was quicker on his feet to land a punch on Yuta’s face. “You!” he shouted, face filled with rage. “I’m going to kill you, motherfucker!” 

Yuta didn’t make a move and let the man take blows on his face. Anything to ease his anger. He could feel some people stopping the man repeatedly punching him and kids crying at how scary the scene was. Some mothers also gasped calling for Y/N’s name and from his bleeding eye, Yuta saw Y/N seated on top of the broken plates he had created. 

Once again, Yuta reminded himself that this will be a huge mistake. He really shouldn’t pursue this much longer. 

Yuta kept on hissing as Y/N put medicine on the cuts on his face. Since Uta cannot heal him, he let the older girl tend to his wounds. He cannot go to the hospital. He doesn’t really deserve it. The man should have killed him and he would easily let him. 

An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. A life for a life. 

He lightly glanced at Y/N’s palm, “Aren’t you hurt as well?” 

She lightly glanced at the faint white lines across her palm. “Uta did her best to heal me and Yu had to erase everyone’s memory.” She shared in a soft voice, “They said they’ll go back to hell to rest for a while.” Yuta nodded. He could also do that. “Was he related to your first love?” 

Yuta had to look her straight in the eye. How did she know that? “The twins told you?” 

“I asked them. So please don’t be mad at them.” He hissed, closing his eyes at that. “Did you really kill her?” The way she said those words was so calculated, so quiet. As if she was scared. Of him? Of the fact that he killed someone? He wasn’t entirely sure. 

“I did.” The shift in her eyes broke Yuta. “That was her final wish, to leave the world.” 

She stared at him in confusion. How much did the twins tell her? “Final wish?” 

“From the binding contract,” he started. “She was my human and I’m bound to her.” Even saying those words felt like thorns digging into Yuta’s heart. “I became too obsessed with her, too possessive, that she grew mad.” 

“Her last wish was to end her life and I have to make it happen as her demon.”

Y/N’s eyes softened at that. Now that she heard it straight from Yuta, she realized that it wasn't all that bad. He had to do what he promised to do. Is this the reason why he was locked in hell? The grave sin he committed to the demon world? 

He’s just a man who fell in love. That’s the risk someone has to take whenever they fall in love.  Ain’t no joy, ain’t no torment. 

His dark brown eyes bore through hers, making her hitch a breath. “And I’m almost making the same mistake the second time.” 

Her eyes widened at those words. She was thinking the same thing as he was thinking right? “Then Yuta, let’s do the binding contract…”

“No, Y/N.” 

It was a strong no. But Y/N isn’t even disheartened. She could always ask him again and maybe he could crack and say yes. There’s always a flaw in every contract and she just needed to look for it so she could help Yuta be free from the memory of his first love. So he wouldn’t have a chance to make the same mistake to her. 

She stretched her arms seeing the two kids snoring on both sides of the bed. When she glanced at the far end, Yuta was nowhere in sight. The house sounds so quiet. Was he away? Maybe he came back to their world. It had been an exhausting feat for him, she completely understood why he would go out. Maybe she should cook for the kids and regain their powers. Maybe she should think of horny thoughts so Yuta could come back quickly. 

As she stepped outside the room, she saw a piece of paper on top of the table. That’s odd. Yuta doesn’t leave notes when he’s going out. But as she read the letters scribbled on the paper, her tears fell from her eyes. She had to read the same sentences repeatedly for it to make sense. 

I didn’t know I would feel this way again. 

It’s because I love you that I say this, 

Eternally, goodbye. 

Yuta didn’t just go out. He already left. 

VII. BUTTERFLY

It must be a dream. 

A crazy dream. 

She didn’t even know what reality was from a dream. As she stared at the cocoon inside the container, she wanted to believe that everything was real - that she met two adorable kids, Yu and Uta. Yet whenever she would share that fact with her co-workers, they would just make her crazy by claiming that they had never seen her with two kids before. Even at the party, she was alone and nothing scandalous happened. 

Then, they might not be real. 

It must be the medicine making her crazy like this. Should she stop taking it? Should she continue taking it? But as she tried to swallow one pill, she felt something kicking in her stomach.  

It’s been days, turned into weeks that this strange phenomenon happened to her. Something kept on kicking inside her, giving sharp pain to her abdomen. Some of her female co-workers told her to get it checked but her male co-workers beg to differ. “You’ve been non-stop talking about twins and something is in your stomach,” they would narrate, “Maybe you’re pregnant, Y/N.” 

That isn’t plausible. The female doctor asked her the last time she had some sexual activity and she just didn’t know what to say. Are all those vivid horny dreams real? Was that gorgeous demon named Yuta even real? She ruled out the idea of her being pregnant and suggested eating full healthy meals and to stop stressing herself out.  

Maybe that was it. She can’t possibly be pregnant. That would be crazy. 

But then, everything in her life had gone crazy. 

Cold seasons meant Christmas was coming soon. She quit her gasoline station gig, mainly because of her co-worker's worried advice that she lives alone and being outside late at night would be very dangerous for her. On her days off, a friend from the said gasoline gig would always ask her to come out at Christmas fairs and just buy gifts and trinkets. Y/N would always pout, there was no one she could give gifts to except her co-workers who had everything they needed. 

At one stall, her eyes focused on gray sunglasses with sparkling stones on the frame. Uta would really love that. On another stall selling ponytails, she saw a pastel pink that would look really good on Uta’s twin pigtails. Then there are different colored female tank tops that would look so sexy on Yuta’s body. 

A small chuckle escaped her lips. 

She’s indeed a crazy woman. 

As she was walking around, she spotted a picture of a horned creature on one of the tents. Demons should look like that, right? Not cute, not lovable, not handsome. Maybe she had really gone mad thinking that she had met demons. The tent had different colored trinkets, fairy lights illuminated the outline of the small slit of an entrance. On the side says ‘Psychic’ which made her smile. Who would even believe in these things? The woman inside spotted her and welcomed her with a smile on her face. “How are you, Y/N?” The girl’s eyes widened in surprise. How did she know her name? “Were you living alright? Do you honestly think everything is just a dream?” 

Maybe it was her strategy but how did she find out her name? She only gave the girl a warm smile as she sat down in front of her, “I should be careful with my words or they would come after me.” She started that confused her. What? The psychic, a middle-aged woman, started telling her about her life, That she was adopted after her birth mother died while giving birth to her. That she lived a mostly lavish life but gambling ended everything. Y/N’s mind was mind-blown. How does she know so much? “Your parents are great people, my dear child.” 

“My parents?” 

“I know you blame them for their death but it was inevitable. It doesn’t mean that they didn’t love you. They said goodbye because they love you so much.” The older woman smiled, “Even that man.” 

It’s because I love you that I say this, eternally, goodbye. 

The wonder was laced with confusion at her words. How did she know so much about her life? Is she being her crazy self again? “Be careful of wings, dear Y/N.” Wings? “This will bring you to those looking after you.”

Instead of clarity, she only got confusion. Why did she even enter that tent? Who the hell would even believe a so-called psychic who kept on spouting nonsense? Only a crazy person would. 

And she’s a crazy person. 

Some of her co-workers invited her for their family Christmas party but Y/N remained at home, watching television and eating leftover pizza. She kept on watching the little cocoon inside the container but it was a boring activity. Nothing much is happening. 

Before the New Year came, a male co-worker asked her to hike a mountain with his friends. The sharp stinging pain in her abdomen doesn’t hinder her from walking to the slippery trail. She’s willing to forget everything about this change of the year. To move on with her life with the image of the sunrise. 

She’ll start thinking of herself more. 

Even in the dark, her sense of sight was heightened. The males in the group started setting up the tent and she was just standing by the edge, taking in the landscape in front of her. In just a few hours, the sunrise will come and everything will be illuminated with its beauty. 

She’ll finally forget about them: Yu, Uta, and especially Yuta. 

A small fluttering wing came into her sight. The little butterfly flew in front of her as if asking for her attention. Its wings had a shade of gray and pink, a lovely combination. Will that little cocoon in her home reveal a butterfly this pretty? She tried to reach for the small creature, eager to feel it on her fingertips. But she took a wrong step and felt a cold breeze. 

She could only hear the collective sounds of her name being called and saw the butterfly fluttering its wings to land on her nose. She finally felt its wings. 

Be careful of wings, dear Y/N. Wings? Butterflies have wings. Yu and Uta have wings. Yuta has wings. This will bring you back to those looking after you. Then this will be her death, isn’t it? 

She felt the impact of the water behind her before the feeling of falling. Funny she was already falling from the cliff earlier yet she could only feel that sensation now that she was in the water. She knew how to swim and could easily make her way to the shore but she lost all will to survive. Isn’t this better? Isn’t this what she wanted all along? 

Y/N closed her eyes letting the water engulf her. 

A red light made her open her eyes. An image of two small creatures coming to her, swimming to reach her, blocking the red light. She doesn’t want to be saved now. Yet, when they reached her, she was startled that they were very familiar. Yu and Uta. 

Uta was coughing, complaining that she had never swam that deep before. Y/N had to apologize before seeing herself lying on the rocky shore. That is her lifeless body, right? Then why is she watching over herself? “Am I dead?” 

Yu shook his head. “You’re in the middle,” He explained which confused her. Middle? “You have two options: to remain living in the human world or go up.” Both Yu and Uta looked up as if stressing that option. 

“Go up?” she asked. “Up where?” 

“To heaven and be an angel,” Uta claimed. Was she allowed to say those words? 

And her? An angel? Maybe these two are the crazy ones. “But I don’t deserve to go there and be an angel.”

“Dad thinks you are one.” Uta started before Yu continued, “He even calls you his angel.” 

That sentence seemed to shut you down. You knew the dad they were talking about. But why? Really, an angel? Maybe Yuta was the crazy one. 

The older twin showed his dark pitchfork, “If you take this, your soul will return to your body and you could keep continue living in the human world.” The younger twin revealed her bright pink pitchfork, “If you take Uta’s, you’ll go to heaven and be an angel.”   

But none of the choices even enticed her. Going back to her life feels like hell and going to heaven means she won’t be seeing them again. She wanted to go where they were. Wanted to be where Yuta is. But how? 

Then it hit her. Conversations about people in the demon world came to her like a wave. The way Yu and Uta were brought to hell. How her parents were in hell based on the twins. How Yuta was caged in that place all this time. 

She had probably gone crazy.  

In a desperate attempt, she took both pitchforks that startled the young devils. Quickly, she struck her lifeless body’s chest, digging the pitchforks so deep that blood started seeping into her drenched clothes. “I wish to be with Yuta in hell.” 

Then everything went black. 

Y/N opened her eyes in a blinding red light. It feels so hot that she’s almost sweating hard. And when she glanced at where she was lying, it was covered with something red. Rose petals. A bed of roses? Everything was red. Surely this wouldn’t be heaven. The closest that it could be would be a brothel. Then is she back to her own body? But why a brothel?

The wide doors opened, cold breeze started coming in that made her shiver. What the hell even is this place?

Then it struck her. 

Hell. 

A shadow of a tall man, in a long coat with huge dark wings, was walking to her. The smell of musk filled the air. “What the hell, Y/N?” he shouted, staring at her in fury.   

She knew it before he could even speak but why is he hotter in hell? Is she really in hell right now? A smirk left her lips, “I think what you wanted to say was welcome to hell.” she claimed, staring straight at him. “And nice to see you again, Yuta.” 

The man chuckled in disbelief, sitting beside her on the bed. Her instinct was to touch his feathered wings. They’re so soft and warm. “You’re crazy. Do you know that?” 

She rolled her eyes at that. “I know. I know.” Then squinted her eyes at him, “You’ve been playing with my mind all these times. I’m not even surprised I’ll get crazy.” 

Yuta smiled timidly. “You do realize you’re now stuck in hell with me, right?” 

Y/N nodded. She realized that when he came to the door. But why? “How?” Yu and Uta just gave her two options. And killing herself doesn’t guarantee a spot in hell. How did she manage to come to this place? 

“Because of your final wish.”

Final wish? That she stayed with Yuta in hell? But Y/N only heard that with the topic of the binding contract. “We’re not in a binding…” 

“We are,” he claimed, surprising her. “I put a bead inside you so the demons wouldn’t smell you even if I’m away.” A bead? Unconsciously, she touched her abdomen. The kicking inside her. That was the bead. The stinging pain whenever she would talk to guys. That was the bead. The bead Yuta put inside her. A binding contract. His chain on her. 

The girl squinted her eyes at him. Now it all makes sense. “Possessive freak.” 

Yuta was just laughing, a hearty laugh that made her stare. She isn’t fazed by the fact that Yuta is here in front of her, she’s more astounded at the fact that he is real. That everything was real. “You’ll have to adjust well living here in hell, can you take it Y/N?” Glancing around, she could say that hell isn’t that bad. The demon world is even better than the human world. “You’re going to stay with me, can you do that Y/N?” 

“And the twins?” Yuta had to groan, claiming that she liked them so much it was annoying. “Well, I do love them more than I love you.” 

“You love me?” he raised an eyebrow. 

Y/N laughed wholeheartedly, standing up from the bed. “I went to hell for you, stupid.” Before she could move away from him, Yuta had pulled her back into his arms. His wings wrapped around her. She knew hell was hot but the way his arms and his wings wrapped around her made her feel so warm. “Besides, hell smells so good.” The guy looked surprised, inquiring her what it was. “It smells musky, a manly man smell.” Yuta had a confused look on his face which made her giggle. “You’re emitting that scent now.” She leaned in to sniff his neck as his fingers dug on her waist. “It smells so good.” 

The guy had to laugh at that. A musky scent? Right now? “Y/N,” he called which made her hum, “You haven't been here for long and I already knew what kind of a demon you are.” The girl gave him a puzzled look. “And I’m glad we’re the same kind of demon.” He licked his lips at the realization in her face. “Shall we start regaining our powers together?” 

Before she could speak, Yuta had pushed her to bed making her squeal in surprise. 

EPILOGUE: DEPTH

Hell had always been hell. 

A hot place full of agony. An evil place full of torment. 

There’s no joy without torment. But there’s no torment without joy. 

Yuta had never thought that the place he despised the most would be the place where he’d be the happiest.

All because of this human girl who chose to be with him. 

Uta was the one who said that her ‘mom’ was in the receiving room with her parents. Yu even reported that they had a long talk with Y/N apologizing and thanking them a lot. He wished he was there to at least hold her hand and stop her from crying. But Yuta promised that he wouldn’t meddle in her affairs the same way she didn’t meddle in his.

Because of her egging and warm attitude, Yuta had a chance to talk to his father. He cleared his name, explaining that it wasn’t his fault that a human died. The greater demon apologized to him for the years he had made him a prisoner. He even warmed up to the twins, even calling them his grandkids and promising the two to give them more powers as their grandfather. 

Yuta was just flabbergasted. Who’s playing house now? 

He opened the huge doors of the receiving area, Y/N staring at him in surprise as she stood by the huge windows. “My angel,” he called making her parents giggle. They excused themselves to leave and when they closed the door, Yuta wrapped his arms on the girl’s waist. “I miss you, angel.” 

“I told you not to call me that,” But Yuta only pouted. “Besides, it hasn’t been that long since we last saw each other.” 

Yuta kissed her neck, “But I’m getting powerless.” She hissed at that. “I need to regain my strength.” 

“Having a lust demon as a husband is so hard.” 

“You’re a lust demon yourself.” he revolted. “We’ll be quick,” he started carrying her to the ledge of the window, parting her legs to move closer to her. “And I can smell that you also need this.” 

Before he could lean in to kiss her, the doors opened with a loud thud. “Mommy!” Uta called. Yuta leaned his head on Y/N’s shoulder, hissing at the cockblocker. “I’m hungry.” 

“You promised to cook a meal for us. We missed your burger patties.” Yu claimed as the older girl stood up, instructing the two to wait for her in the kitchen. 

Yuta had a defeated look on his face. Should he ship those two little devils somewhere far away? Maybe he can have a moment with his wife alone. “I’ll be quick,” she claimed, kissing Yuta’s cheeks. “When I get back I’ll prepare your most favorite meal.” 

“And what is that?” 

“Me, of course.” 

His laugh echoed through the whole room making the girl giggle. “I hate to say this but you adapted in this place very well.” Y/N had to giggle, kissing his other cheek. The two kids called for her, shouting mommy which made Yuta laugh. “Hurry up and go to your kids. I’ll wait for you in our room, mommy.”  

“Be ready for me, daddy.” She claimed with a wink. 

“Sure thing, angel.” 

“Don’t call me that!” she shouted from outside making Yuta laugh. 

Maybe there’s still hope for him. 

Hell wasn’t that bad, actually. 

Hell is such a good place. Hell is such a great place. 

Especially with her.

[clockwards]

Have some Gempearl minific bits because I don't think I'll ever write a proper one (although I am writing a longer, weirder, Gem-centric fic)

Gem likes being a deer. She used to say it was because people underestimated her, but those days have long since passed. Her antlers hold her a little taller than Joel's curled horns, something she gleefully thinks about but does not say aloud when he forms hills to be higher - she'd rather blame his mountain goat instincts than listen to his blustering excuses.

They are out of their element with the current base of operations, anyway. Deer need trees to run between, goats need cliffs to scale, but this is a wide, open space. It screams danger on all sides, even with the little walls they'd constructed. None of which was helped by the swathes of people (friends, friends, something caustic and fearful) that gathered around her barn. A piece of her loves it: there is safety in numbers, safety in the herd when they hear the ticking clock. This time more than ever there is a tug of confusion on her heartstrings when they circle her, yellow and aching, mangy wolves around a faun.

The wolves kind of suck at killing her though, so she mostly ignores them.

And in her periphery, Pearl flits. It’s in her nature, as a moth. To circle around a light source and tempt fire, to see a beautiful spot of colour and want to suck it dry. She teases at the edge of her vision, goading death and friendship, pressing at the soft centre of Gem’s back and whispering.

“I want that life, doe. I bet it’d taste delicious.”

She rolls her eyes. “Come take it yourself, my dear.”

Privately, she thinks of the whole ordeal as a particularly bad Disney movie plot. Like Bambi, if his first interaction with the butterflies was to be mildly threatened. She’s generally easy to ward away, a soft shoo-ing off from herself or Scott. Out of earshot, she jokes about needing bug spray, and Joel cackles. Together they are a bright, glowing green and the whole world tastes like pepper and lemongrass under their tongues.

They’ve gotten rather collaborative in the past few hours, the flying trivia game causing people to run screeching for answers. She watches, a genial smile on her face, as Pearl’s alights in her yard.

“Who, oh, who opened the End portal in secret life?”

Gem blinks.

“I don’t know, I don’t know who put the last Eye in, I wasn’t-”

She stops listening. That secret had burnt the nerves from her hand to forehead, that secret made her who she was. It felt like water trickling the wrong way up her arm as she set it in the frame, cracking open a hole in the world and in turn, her body. She’d spent the rest of that life with a numb, twitching shield hand, the spots on her shoulder bright with some odd, false light. She hadn’t even won. She hadn’t won, because-

“I think it was me.”

Her head snaps back to the present. And truly, she could have corrected her. She could have shouted ‘me, me!’ the second the question was asked and saved them both a world of pain. Spite and hope hold her tongue like a hostage, and she finds spite has much better reason. Pearl is laughing nervously as the robot puts the microphone down, and Gem is reassuring her, Watcher knows why. She finds her vision is blurred a little, everything coming in and out of focus, until Joel laughs so hard and loud he bleats a little, calling,

“Gem! Gem, she sounds like a robot! Pearl, talk, say something, come on!”

She’s slapping her hand over her mouth repeatedly as if it will system reset her, words coming out as garbled beeps. She catches Gem’s gaze and speaks louder, as if she could solve this for her.

“You know.” She walks backwards and Pearl follows, beeping askance, gesturing wildly. She grins. “You know, I think we can finally have a conversation like this, Pearly.”

It’s a ridiculous punishment. She cannot help but feel it was hand-picked for her pleasure, though, watching those wings flare out in annoyance with every word.

“You’d do anything for me, I know.”

The frown on her face and bucket of lava in her hand say otherwise, but it’s just too easy to put words in her mouth this way. To hear what she wants to hear. It’s laughable, and pitiful, but her left shoulder aches with phantom pain and she remembered nothing of it.

“Oh, my…my poor red Pearl.” Schooling her expression, she turns to blink consideringly up at her. “When I’m red, and you’re still here…I’m sure we can have some fun. Again”

When she nods eagerly, glitching sounds of joy spilling from her, Gem smiles for real. It’s a promise. It is, maybe, a threat.

*

In the middle of the next (typically chaotic) day, Pearl drifts behind her calling plaintive compliments.

“You’re gorgeous, you’re amazing, Gem, come on,”

“Uh huh.”

“You- you’re like a flower!”

“And you’re a bug,” she snorts, grinding her heel over the freshly shoveled dirt. Pearl sputters, antennae flexing dramatically.

“That, that-” she mutters to herself, before jumping triumphantly, “that means, that we are meant to go together!”

Gem cocks her head to the side, smiling at the ground. From Pearl’s vantage, she's certain the moth cannot see it. It’s silly to be pleased at something like that, and anyway, she’s much too far into her game to give it up now.

“Uh huh, Pearl, if you say so,” she hums, tune ever sweeter with her companion competition’s indignation.

[zoomzooml]

Dragons:TNR Jörmungandr redesign (rework?) concept

(Also I know that my design pushes beyond limits of TNR animation in more than one way but here I just had fun lol)

I feel like he is not intimidating enough in original. He is very small for an "Apex predator of all dragons" (and let's remember that TNR has Giants Realm so-). I expected him to slide way longer when he was escaping his prison. He also had a lot of troubles with catching dragons (it was honestly sad to watch) And yes, as far as I know snakes are expecionally challenging to rig and animate and TNR doesn't have movie-level budget, but c'mon. It's The Final Boss. (*I think that in concept art he actually is longer so perhaps they shortened him to make animation easier (and cheaper??) considering mad speed seasons were coming out)

Sidenote - that poor danger noodle had so little of any kind of build up. It's really sad. And the first time we see him live he: did shitty jumpscare (build up was actually decent imo, but sound effect and bad animation humbled it), had short, off-screen fight with Sky Torcher after which he didn't even kill him (though he did at least leave some nasty scars and broke Torchie's tooth), and then fucked away. For me it was very underhelming.

Low quality clip for those who didn't watch (I hope Tumblr won't take it down).

Coming back to the design. I really don't like his colors. He got wings but to compensate I decided that he's not a good flier. In my mind he is an ambush hunter. And I know that THE Jörmungandr, the spawn of Loki from the myths, did not have wings, and this is pretty consistent as far as I know, but it is not THE Jörmungandr, so yeah

He is in some way mix between King Cobra, Moray Eel and sea snakes (Yellow-Lipped Sea Krait mostly). I changed his hood to be more similar in construction to a king cobra. In short, it is a bit of loose skin and ribs with the ability to move. In my design, the tips of some of the ribs poke through the skin. Now I don't think TNR would be able to animate it (But i'm not very familiar with 3D animation, especially for shows) so in show he probably would just have hood always flared. His head and sail are inspired by mooray eel because they are dope and I love them. I feel that aspects of sea snakes have died in design - they have a paddle at the end of the tail, but this has already been included in the OG design, so I don't feel the need to talk about it. However, like Sea Krait, Jörmungandr is semi-aquatic. He is much slower on land than in the water, but the difference is not as great as with Sea Krait.

I increased his size - and if he wasn't inprisoned he probably would be about 15-25% longer by now. He's old enough to be a Titan Wing but he isn't normal size - he stopped growing a bit after outgrowing average dragon of his species (let's remember that Red Death is Titan Wing as well!).

*Jörmungandr is longer but Red Death is more massive. Avarage serpents are slightly shorter than Red Death as well.

To be honest, I'm not sure if I didn't overkill it with his size. On the one hand he is large, on the other hand he is mostly long and not that massive. Idk

In addition to the scars, I think Jörmungandr would also be covered with small amounts of moss and other vegetation that started growing on him when he wasn't really active (his cave is very wet/moisty). To survive he spent almost his entire life in a state of brumation, being more active when he sensed meal approaching his reach.

Now, in my mind The Jörmungandr is the name of this particular dragon, not the whole species (Midgard Serpents? IDK), and at the same time he is not a "real" Jörmungandr from the myths. Because words cannot describe how I hate that plot.

I don't know how exactly he got his name but I think it was not because of how big he is, but because of his intelligence and mischievous soul. Again, idk.

Jörmungandr is a tragic dragon. In my version he was not trapped by Hiccup (in my version Hiccup never come back to Hidden World, because c'mon. I don't really like THW but if TNR is continity to that franchise they should follow established canon and not wreck last movie and make it completely insignificant. It loses all it's value if Hiccup, his family and perhaps other vikings, just come back and maybe even lived in the Hidden World anyway! If we have to have human marks and structures, etc. in the Hidden World, I would do it more in the style of “Haddock's Cycle” than “Hiccup and Tom.” Essentially, the creator of these changes is perhaps one of Hiccup's descendants, Tom's ancestors - the "soul of the dragon" that Hiccup and before him his mother had, summoning them to the world of dragons to see "Is it finally time? ”, but it never is, not yet anyway. Idk, I'm trying lol)

I have two concepts: There was once a main entrance to his part of the Dark Realm accompanianed by the waterfalls of magma, but now there's only basalt wall. This would make the closure possible for natural reasons and give Tom an opportunity to show off his geoligical knowledge some more.

Or he was caged in human-build prison, but not by Hiccup. I did that little sketch of how his page in Dragon Book could look in this scenario. Clearly different artstyle than Hiccup's to show that he was not the one to write about this individual (tho in show there's already different styles so--) But at the second thought it can be just illustration for species as whole, so anyway

In both cases, there are ways to enter his personal prison but he is too large to use them. They are still usefull as this is the only way prey will come to his reach. Not many dragons can escape his jaws.

He has spent most of his life in a rather hostile environment to which he was not adapted, which has left scars on his body and psyche. When he's not hunting, he sleeps. Hunger has halted his growth.

Jörmungandr is a damaged, dangerous dragon, the victim of fate and unknown past.

The psychological damage has made him hyper-aggressive, even by the standards of an already aggressive species. I don't think he could ever satiate his hunger either - if he could he would hunt and eat until he consumed everything in range or died of overeating.

For this dragon, it seems too late for a happy ending, unfortunately.

Now about the Midgard Serpents (placeholdern name, I have no idea how to name them) as a whole. Apex Predator may be a bit much, given the existence of dragons like Red Death, Purple Death or Bewilderbeast. However, Midgard Serpents remain one of the dragons that feed almost exclusively on other dragons (and sometimes even other members of their own species - they're cannibalistic), and they're damn good at it. When they feel best in the water, they can follow their prey in the sky or on land. They grow quite large and still are able to take down prey more massive than themselves (mostly thanks to venom and poisonous gas).

I think they are the main predators of 'Deaths and Bewilderbeasts (and other equally large dragons) in the earlier stages of life.

[agoodflyting]

A lot of Thoughts about Enver Gortash and the text of Richard III

Ok so William Shakespeare's character of Richard of Gloucester is very much the archetype for the Tyrant in western literature and I just have SO MANY THOUGHTS about the way Enver Gortash wears that particular crown... (Not to mention how the fangirl in me just loves some of Richard's dialogue and could easily see it coming out of Gortash's mouth, and I'm trying so hard NOT to write a whole ass fic just so I can get Gortash to say, "I am not made of stone.")

WHO IS RICHARD III?

In real life, he was the last Plantagenet king of England, and a controversial figure, but I'm just talking about how he's depicted as a character in William Shakespeare's play Richard III (and to a lesser degree in Henry VI) . In Shakespeare's plays he is written as the quintessential scheming, backstabbing, duplicitous tyrant who will stop at nothing to gain and keep power. He concocts a massive plan in which he will manipulate the whole of the English aristocracy into crowning him king, by creating a situation in which they will be so desperate and angry at an imagined enemy that they will beg him to assume power over them. Sound familiar?

"Since I cannot prove a lover (...) I am determined to prove a villain." They have different backgrounds, but with both Richard of Gloucester and Enver Gortash there's a driving current of otherness compared to the ranks of the nobility that they're manipulating. Gortash is from a working class family but clawed his way up to join the ranks of the well-bred elite through cunning and ingenuity (and lots of crime). Richard was born into a noble family, but is physically disabled and is often mocked or insulted for it. In context, Richard uses the phrase 'since I cannot prove a lover' less as a complaint about his love life and more as a general example of how he has doesn't fit in with his peers. Basically, "You don't accept me? I'll make that everyone's problem."

"How sweet a thing it is to wear a crown..." Both of them survived trauma and violence, which was directed at them by people against whom they were powerless at the time. Gortash was sold to Raphael as a child and spent years as a target of every kind of abuse his master deigned to throw at him. Richard saw his father and brother brutally tortured, then murdered by the queen of their country, while he could do nothing to stop it. In both cases they internalized at a young age that violence = power = safety.

"Was ever woman in this humour won? (...) I, that kill'd her husband and his father, to take her in her heart's extremest hate (...) and yet to win her, all the world to nothing!" Both Richard and Gortash are platinum-tier smooth-talkers, who are skilled at getting other people to act the way they want through use of charming words. Richard shoots his shot with Anne despite the fact that she knows full well he murdered her last husband and she literally spent the first half of the scene wishing death on him. But by the end of the scene he's convinced her to marry him. Gortash, similarly, can talk the player character around to siding with him against the Elder Brain in spite of having just spent the first 2 act of the games trying to unravel his evil plots. Why? Because they're both just. that. smooth. They both have a way of manipulating others with a smile and good cheer - they sound so reasonable, even when you KNOW you shouldn't listen to them.

"Why strew'st thou sugar on that bottled spider, whose deadly web ensnareth thee about? Fool, fool! thou whet'st a knife to kill thyself." Both of them have are underestimated partly because of their ability to be charming, and partly because of their status as outsiders. Gortash because of his working class background, and Richard because of his disabilities. In both cases, there are people who find them repulsive but generally toothless (Queen Elizabeth and Ulder Ravengard respectively) who live to regret it. In both cases there are also people who ring the alarm bell that this creep is up to no good, but who aren't heeded soon enough.

"And thou unfit for any place but hell." "Yes, one place else, if you will hear me name it." "Some dungeon." "Your bed-chamber." They both have a little bit of that freak in them and seem to get off on trying to fuck people who want them dead. See: Richard with Anne. Durgetash in general.

"I'll be at charges for a looking-glass, and entertain some score or two of tailors." Gortash and Richard are both exceptionally well-dressed, to the point of vanity. Gortash is described as handsome in the game, but even fans who dig him can admit that he has a very unconventional style of attractiveness. His teeth are discolored, his skin is blotchy, he's pushing late middle age, and he's got the sort of flat features that other fans have pointed out are typical of boxers and other people who've gotten punched in the face a lot. Similarly, Richard is described as hunchbacked and with features so deformed that 'dogs bark at (him) as (he) passes by'. Yet, despite not being conventionally pretty, both of them seem to spend a lot of money on their clothes. ... this is getting long, so I'm going to end this here. Might do a part 2 later if the brainrot is still upon me.

[its-time-to-write]

Hiiii, I’d love to see Jamie and the reader having to randomly babysit Phoebe - happy for you to decide where the plot goes from there! ❤️

Here it is! A little bit of comedy, a little bit of angst. For reference, Molly is Roy’s sister. I read a fic once that called her that, and it’s been the name that’s stuck. Oh, and this references Phoebe’s dad and he’s a tool, so be aware of that. Thanks for requesting!

stick together like glitter

Jamie doesn’t have training because Roy has to watch Phoebe, and you don’t have work because of some random furlough day. This means it’s your first real break together in a very long time. All his extra training has meant that you two haven’t spent as much time together as either of you would like, but you two have plans today. 

You had spent the night at Jamie’s last night since he didn’t have to be up at 3, and so you could stay up late and sleep in. You’re both passed out, Jamie’s arm thrown around your waist, when there’s a knock at the door.

You and Jamie jolt up and he lets out a raspy, “What the hell?”

He rolls over to go answer the door.

“Pants!” you call before he reaches the top of the stairs. He backtracks and picks his plaid pajama bottoms off a chair. He thumps bleary-eyed down the stairs to see who’s there.

You hear muffled voices for a few minutes, then the door shuts and Jamie calls, “Babe! Can you come here a minute?”

You grab a pair of Jamie’s sweats out of a drawer and pad down the stairs, where you are met by Jamie and Phoebe of all people. 

“Hey Pheebs!” you say, surprise waking you up a little. “What’re you doing here?”

“Mum’s at work and Uncle Roy was supposed to watch me, but something came up so he brought me here. Jamie said it was ok if I spent the day with you.”

You smile at Phoebe and look up at Jamie. He shrugs sheepishly. “Can’t say no, could I? Look at her.”

He and Phoebe grin at you angelically.

You try to sigh, but it comes out sounding like a laugh. “Alright, come on. Have you had breakfast yet?”

Phoebe shakes her head. “Uncle Roy was just starting the toast when he got the phone call. I don’t mind though, because today does not feel like a toast kind of day.”

��I agree,” Jamie says to Phoebe, “today doesn’t feel like a toast kind of day. Lucky for you, I’ve been told my pancake recipe is better than-” he catches himself, “Well, they’re really fucking good. Won’t take long.”

He holds out his hand for Phoebe to take, and he leads her to the kitchen.

—

That’s how you ended up in Jamie’s kitchen, still in your pajamas, while Phoebe chatters on about the book Roy is reading her as Jamie flips pancakes and drops chocolate chips to make smiley faces.

It’s weirdly domestic in a way you two have never been before, and you’re not sure how you feel about it. You certainly don’t have negative feelings, that’s for sure.

“What do you want to do today, Phoebe?” you ask. 

She shrugs. “Uncle Roy was going to take me to the library and then to pick up flowers for Keeley, and then we were going to get ice cream. I wanted to play Princesses and Dragons, because I got new dragon claws. They’re in my backpack, want to see?”

“I do!” Jamie says.

You laugh. “I would love to! I think we can still do a lot of that today, ice cream included. None for Jamie though, he hates ice cream.” Phoebe gasps, and Jamie turns from the stove, offended. 

“Babe,” he says in a scandalized tone, “you’d lie to a child? I fucking love ice cream!”

You raise an eyebrow and deadpan, “You do not, you said you’d rather eat that disgusting pureed spinach.”

“Babe,” he replies, “I literally cannot believe you right now.” He turns to Phoebe. “Pheebs, you believe me, yeah? What kind of monster don’t like ice cream?”

Phoebe looks from you to Jamie. You’re doing your absolute best to maintain a straight face, and Jamie’s comedic beseeching look is not helping.

Phoebe squints at you in such a Roy-like manner that you break, dissolving into giggles. She joins in, and Jamie lets out a faux sigh of relief. Today’s going to be fun.

—

It’s late in the afternoon now, and you, Jamie, and Phoebe have been all over Richmond. Phoebe checked out three large books from the library while Jamie followed you to the murder mystery section. You whispered the plots to him until Phoebe tapped your elbow to let you know she was ready to go. 

You stopped at the flower shop, and Jamie bought one flower for you and one of Phoebe. She loved it, and twirled it as she walked. 

Your last stop was for ice cream, where she explained the pros and cons of each flavor, and why Uncle Roy believes any flavor other than cherry chip should be illegal. 

Now, you’re walking back to Jamie’s house, holding Phoebe’s hands in between you. Her flower is safely poking out of her backpack. 

“Jamie,” she says, “why does Uncle Roy think you’re a prick?”

Jamie chokes on air and you’re doubled over from laughter. That question came out of nowhere

“Well,” Jamie says, trying (and failing) to speak normally, “when I met your Uncle Roy, I was very young and very fit and much, much better than him at football. He didn’t like that so much, and I thought it was fuckin funny, so I just made fun of him for it. And me dad was kind of mean to me a lot, so I s’pose it was just easier to be a prick to everyone. Pretty sure he likes me know though.” Jamie pauses. “I’m less prickish now that this one came along.” He grins at you and winks, and you’re blushing like you’re a teenager. 

Phoebe is digesting all of this, and your footsteps slow as you approach Jamie’s doorstep. Finally she says, “If we play Princesses and Dragons, will you be the princess?”

“Only if I get a sparkly crown,” Jamie replies. 

Phoebe seems satisfied by this answer so she turns to you and asks if you want to be a dragon like her or a knight. 

“Knight,” you reply, no hesitation. 

“Aw, babe, you gonna rescue me?” Jamie asks, pushing open the door for you and Phoebe. 

You playfully pat his cheek as you walk by, not missing the way his eyes wander from yours to your lips. 

“Come on!” Phoebe shouts. She’s already at the door to the backyard. “We have to hurry before Uncle Roy gets back!”

—

It turns out that there is no need to hurry. Roy texted Jamie with a simple going to be longer than fucking expected, and a sorry to ruin your date night to you. 

Not a problem! you replied. Hope everything’s alright, and let Molly know that we can keep Phoebe overnight if she needs. 

Roy responds with a simple x, which is more than Jamie got, but he doesn’t care because Phoebe’s explaining to him the difference between a crocodile and an alligator in great detail over dinner.

You’re a little worried. Jamie is too, you can tell. His forehead gained a slight crease when he read Roy’s text. Neither Roy nor Phoebe have offered any explanation as to what had come up, and you just hope everything’s all right. You’re relatively certain it has to do with Keeley, especially because she hasn’t texted either of you all day. Phoebe is (you hope) oblivious, although she’s incredibly observant, so she’s probably already pieced together more than you and Jamie have.  

It’s a little past 8pm now, and Phoebe is beginning to yawn in your lap. Jamie’s sitting next to you on the couch, one arm around your shoulders as he hums along to Tangled. Phoebe’s wearing one of your t-shirts, and it’s long enough to be a dress on her. After an especially big yawn, you stand up and carry her to one of the guest rooms, a perk of Jamie’s fucking enormous house.

“Jaim and I will be in that door right over there,” you whisper. “The night light will stay on all night, and we’ll keep on the light in the hall. If you wake up and need anything, you can yell for us. We’ll be awake watching tv for a while, and I’m a light sleeper anyway, so don’t be afraid to shout if you need something.”

Phoebe nods sleepily, and you kiss her on the forehead. You pull the blanket up to her chin as Jamie says softly, “Goodnight, kid.”

“‘Night Jamie,” Phoebe whispers back.

You and Jamie get up and slip out the door, shutting it behind you softly. You pause in the hall, back to the door. Jamie’s close to you, and both of you have concern written on your faces.

You really had a wonderful time with Phoebe today, and you don’t mind the fact that she’s spending the night. Jamie has extra toothbrushes and Phoebe thinks it’s fun to wear your shirt to bed, but this is nowhere near how you thought the day was going to go. It’s just not like Roy or Molly not to call or to be out this late. 

Strike that; it’s not like Roy or Molly to be out this late for a reason that makes you feel especially joyous.

Your brows are knit together so tight that Jamie has to physically smooth them with his thumb.

“I’m worried too, love,” he says softly.

—

You’re both wide awake in bed, listening for Phoebe (she’s snoring) and checking your respective phones (still nothing). It’s not until 10:30pm that Jamie’s phone lights up with a call from Roy. He’s out of bed and down the stairs in an instant, just in case Phoebe can hear him.  

You’re still in bed picking at your nails, when your phone dings. It’s Molly.

She’s sent a long paragraph but the gist of it is what you’re sure Roy is telling Jamie on the phone:

I had an extra long shift today, which is why Roy was supposed to watch Phoebe. When he showed up to the house, Phoebe’s dad was outside, lurking in his car. I didn’t like it and neither did Roy, so he dropped her off with you to find out why he was coming ‘round. 

You shiver. You haven’t heard a lot about Phoebe’s dad, but you know that she and Jamie have shitty fathers in common. They had been talking about it earlier that afternoon, her expressing frustration and him gently explaining that none of it was her fault.

You go back to Molly’s text.

Turns out the bastard was here to take Phoebe. He got high and decided to just grab her, I guess. He and Roy got into it, so then Keeley had to bail Roy out of jail for assault and it became this whole thing because Roy wanted to make sure that prick was never allowed to be near Phoebe. He’s been pulling strings all day, filling out restraining orders and shit. Phoebe doesn’t know any of this, and I don’t want her to, but it sounds like her dad’s going away for a long time. Roy and Keeley have been at it all day. They know a lot of the right people, between the two of them.

Three bubbles appear, then disappear. You type, You’re more than welcome to come over and spend the night, Molls.

She replies, Only if I can borrow your toothbrush. 

Despite yourself, you smile. You and Molly grew up together and got even closer after Roy was recruited for football, so you both understand that when the other offers something, they mean it. 

She says, Be over in fifteen. Love you, so you send her a heart. You hear footsteps and look up to see Jamie in the doorway. “That was Roy,” he says, face somber.

You lift your phone slightly. “Heard from Molly,” you reply. “She’ll be here in fifteen minutes. She’s spending the night.”

Jamie nods and settles heavily into bed next to you. 

He blows out a breath. “Fuckin hell.”

“Yeah,” you agree.

“Poor Pheebs,” he continues. “I know how she’s gonna feel when she finds out.”

You rest your head on his shoulder. “Do you think that Molly and Roy should handle it differently?”

“Fuck no,” Jamie responds, “wish my mum had a brother like Roy to lock up my piece-of-shit dad. Still, he’s her dad, isn’t he? Doesn’t matter how much of a prick he is, she’s still gonna fucking love him.”

You’re silent for a moment. “Jamie,” you say finally, “d’you think she’ll be alright?”

Jamie turns his head to you. “‘Course she’ll be alright,” he says. “It ain’t easy, but she’s got an amazing mum, plus Roy and Keeley. I fucking made it, and I only had me mum.”

He can tell you’re still not satisfied. “Look, babe- as shitty as Phoebe’s dad is, she’ll be alright. It won’t happen overnight, but she’s a tough kid. She’s got people who fuckin love her and who want to protect her. She’ll make it through.”

You nod. You two sit in silence until there’s a light knock on the door. It’s Molly.

You wrap her in a tight hug, a million unspoken words lingering between you two. You take her to Phoebe’s room and hand her an extra pair of your clean pajamas.

Phoebe says a sleepy, “Mum?” so you sneak out the door and shut it silently.

You head back to Jamie, and now it’s your turn to flop onto the bed. It’s been a long day, and you have a feeling tomorrow is going to be even longer. Jamie pulls you onto his chest in a tight hug, and you finally fall asleep to the steady beat of his heart.

[cosmerelists]

If the Stormlight Archive Novels Were Rewritten From a New Perspective...

I'm thinking here of, like, a Secret History type thing where the same events that are detailed in the regular SA novels are rewritten from the perspective of a character who didn't previously narrate them. Like a fun little set of novellas that Sanderson could probably write on his coffee break or something...

[Warning: Big Stormlight Archive spoilers throughout!!]

1. Way of Kings...as told by Sadeas

I don't think we really got any POV from Sadeas in Way of Kings, since that would have spoiled the whole "planning-to-betray-Dalinar" thing. So I think it would be pretty nifty to see those events from a Sadeas' POV. We'd get to see what kind of info was filtering up about Kaladin and Bridge 4--like, what DID Sadeas think when he heard that the random bridgeman tied up in the storm survived? What was the scene like after Kaladin's side carry ruined that battle and Sadeas decided to execute the lighteyes in charge?

And what was Sadeas' inner monologue like during his every interaction with Dalinar? I want to see Sadeas and Ialai plotting before every feast, and then hear Sadeas inwardly rolling his eyes while pretending that he's just working for the good of the kingdom, totally not undermining Dalinar, nope nope.

And I'd love to see Sadeas' thoughts during the scenes post-betrayal with, like, Navani coming into Sadeas' camp to set fire to the giant Justice glyph and Dalinar showing up to trade his shardeblade for the bridgemen. Give me the Sadeas/Ialai scene that evening plz.

2. Words of Radiance...as told by Renarin

Here again, we have a book where a POV must be omitted in order not to spoil the ending: in this case, the late-book reveal that Renarin is a Knight Radiant as well. And I'm sure I'm not alone in wanting to know what that whole book was like for Renarin!

How and when did Renarin meet Glys? What was the bonding like? How hard was it for Renarin to put on his armor & grab the screaming shardblade to join the 4 v. 1 duel to save his brother? Give me the angst of Renarin being convinced there there is something wrong with him, that he literally cannot fight the way he wants to even while he becomes a Radiant.

And um, what about scrawling the words on the walls during his dad's visions? I still want to know just how Renarin pulled that off without being noticed and also what the hell was he thinking?? I'd like to see him grapple with the angst of being a prophet in a world where that's sacrilegious, yet trying to pass the message anyway.

And just as a tiny note, does anybody else remember when Dalinar, Kaladin, and Shallan are having their We Are The Knights Radiant meeting at the top of Urithiru and then Renarin just like appears out of the shadows to be like "me too?" I kinda want to again know what he was thinking, lurking behind them literally all the way to the top before revealing himself at the most dramatic moment.

Anyway. I bet we'll get some of this in the Renarin book in the back half of Stormlight -- or at least, I hope so!

3. Oathbringer...as told by Jasnah

I bet you all are seeing the pattern here, ha ha! I think Jasnah's POV is restricted in Oathbringer because (a) she's supposed to be dead and (b) she knows about the humans being the actual Voidbringers and that can't be revealed immediately. But in a retelling, I'd love to see her tell-all.

What was that journey to Urithiru like with Wit? If we could get some flashbacks to her time in Shadesmar, that would be great, even though that's technically WOR again.

What was her inner monologue interacting with Shallan again? We know how it was for Shallan (suuuper awkward), but what did Jasnah think? What was it like to get to see Urithiru after she'd spent so much time researching it?

And it would be super interesting to get more of the relationship between Jasnah and her cousin Renarin. Like, when did Jasnah figure out that Renarin's spren was corrupted? When did she decide to kill him?

I think any and all extra Jasnah POVs from this period would be fascinating.

4. Rhythm of War...as told by Rlain

I was torn as to whether to have Rlain for Oathbringer or for Rhythm of War, but ultimately went with the latter. To be fair, we do get Rlain POV sections in ROW, but I want MORE.

If I remember correctly (it's been a minute since I last read ROW), we get a lot of Rlain's narrative from other characters' POV: like Kaladin or Venli interacting with Rlain and hearing about what he's been up to. Like "Oh yeah I've been spying and I found these maps" or "Oh yeah I've been working here with your family for a few days" and I want all of that to be told in long-form narrative please. ESPECIALLY Rlain hanging out with Kaladin's parents and little brother. I can't even remember anymore if him and Hesina being best friends is canon or fanon but I'd like to see it, plz.

I want to see more of Rlain being a spy, his angst about being in between Listeners and Humans, and his double agent heroism. I'd like to see more of his thoughts about Venli, maybe some flashbacks to his interactions among the Listeners back in the day.

And while I don't know if Renarin and Rlain interact at all really in ROW, I'll take any and all of Rlain's thoughts on Renarin and any scrap of interaction that could be woven in.

5. Bonus: Any Book...as told by Hesina

Honestly, I think a Hesina retelling of any of the 4 books would be awesome.

Way of Kings? We're gonna see the family interactions and the Roshone conflict from Hesina's perspective, not to mention the probably horrible aftermath of both of her sons being sent to war and then dying.

Words of Radiance? Uh...honestly I don't know what Hesina was up to during the events of that book but she had baby Oroden and I bet she was doing other stuff too.

Oathbringer? We get to see Kaladin's return from Hesina's perspective--Lirin was grumpy about him being a "killer" now, but I seem to recall that Hesina had awespren around her.

Rhythm of War? Let's see the move to Urithiru, settling in, her teasing Lirin about him worrying that surgeons won't be needed anymore... Plus, PLEASE give me Hesina's perspective on Kaladin's actions, on the invasion, on her very real and deep friendship with Rlain!

Yeah!

[quantum1mmortality]

leans into the mic ... period sex with kenshi ..... ? /nf

blind or not, either works; do what you want, comrade i j- i just need him very badly PFFJNRHJFJ

here's a pic of your favorite pookie shmookie wookie bookie boo beekeeper btw (wheezed typing it but i am, in fact, putting respect on his name bestie)

Oh em geee

How could I resist when you add such a breedable pic of pookie shmookie wookie bookie boo of who is also a beekeeper???? I simply cannot

I've been kind of into Kenshi as of recently,,, most fics with him are poly with Johnny and that's cool and all but Johnnys just not for me 4 realz

Tw/cw: AFAB reader, blind Kenshi it's relevant to the plot, you guys are dating but it's only mentioned like twice, humongous blood kink(it's Kenshis), pet names (princess, beautiful), smiley Kenshi, he's just happy to be there, probably incorrect sento usage, finger fucking, cursing, piv, pwp ish, reader is embarrassed bc period blood smells, Kenshi is a man tho so he doesnt care

Not proofread get over it

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kenshi has always been a loving and compassionate person. Given that you're his girlfriend, he's shown a side of himself that he's shown very few others. He's a man who loves date nights and taking things slowly just as much as he loves doing things in the heat of the moment.

Period sex was something he was more than willing to do. If he thought he could help your pain by outweighing it with pleasure, he'd be on his knees in mere seconds. As much as he loves seeing you squirm underneath him, he'd be more than willing to just cuddle you until it was over. At the end of the day, the choice was always yours.

He couldn't help but want to take you in those moments, however. Something about you bleeding for days on end did something to him. While he knew that you must hurt, your cramps have been killing you all day and you can't walk because of them, some part of him just wanted to have your blood dripping from him as he made love to you.

In short, dating you was how Kenshi realized he had a blood kink. It's mild to the point he doesn't think about it often, but when you're on your period, he practically goes insane. All he wants to do is be near you, to touch you, all that good stuff.

Kenshi wouldn't even realize he had a blood kink for the longest time. He'd be so overwhelmed by the feeling of his hands and cock covered in blood and practically getting high off the smell he couldn't focus on anything but finishing. It was only until later when he was laying in the bath tub with you that he'd realize that he's never felt like this with anyone, just you. He'd eventually come to the realization that period sex gets him so turned on because of his blood kink and ends up embracing it more.

That being said, when you got the news Kenshi was blinded due to a series of unfortunate events, you had spent sleepless days and nights waiting for him to come home.

And he did.

It took you both a while to get used to his new living condition, but you made it work. Since one of his senses got removed, this meant his other senses were heightened. Taste, hearing, touch, but most importantly, smell.

His sense of smell got much stronger than he'd expected, he could smell practically anything, but he had specifically made it a point to familiarize himself with your scent. Your perfumes, body wash, shampoo, just you in general. He made sure he knew what you smelled like, that way he knew it was you.

So when you got on your period, he could tell before you did. You and him were sleeping together, cuddling as usual. He woke up first and upon waking up, he was hit with a smell he hadn't noticed the night before. It was a familiar one, just much stronger than what he's used to.

He was practically stunned. He didn't really know what to do, considering you guys haven't done much since his premature blinding. He felt like waking you up, telling you that he needs you as he began to feel the familiar feeling of his cock straining in his boxers.

But he resisted. He had to, would you really want to be woken up over this? He was able to watch you slightly through sento, being mounted on your wall in front of your shared bed, he could see you both decently enough. You didn't show any signs of movement, nor signs you were awake.

He could feel your soft breaths puff onto his collar bone as he could feel his cock twitch. He could feel you shifting in the bed as he watched you through sento. He could see you were starting to wake up, and cuddled into his chest more.

You placed small kisses on what he thought was your face (it was the top of your head but don't tell him) as you woke up more from the feeling. Your small giggles filled the room as you playfully pushed back, locking him into a sweet kiss before laying your head next to his.

"Morning Kenshi," was all you currently had the strength to say. "Morning beautiful" He replies back with his usual smile. He always loved calling you pet names, specifically in the morning, so this wasn't out of the usual.

What was unusual, however, was his heavy breathing. It was slightly faster than usual, and specifically through his nose... You found this odd, obviously, and you began to think about what could be different. It was obvious enough that he was soaking in your scent, he always has, but nothing was out of the usual. Nothing that you knew yet, at least.

You had thought back to last night when you and Kenshi had bathed together, you always had taken showers and baths together, but due to the fact he can no longer see anything, you've decided to help him with such. You used the same body wash, the same shampoo, conditioner... Nothing that he hasn't smelled already.

Then, it hit you. You were on your period. Of course you were, your body just had to choose the worst possible time for you to get your period. You internally sigh as you now understand why Kenshis been acting odd.

Kenshi could see you contemplating through sento, he could see how embarrassed you were. He felt bad for thinking such dirty things, maybe he shouldn't have been feeling like this, but he couldn't help it.

It wasn't that you were embarrassed by the fact you were on your period, it was that fact that he had an enhanced smell now. You knew that Kenshi was into period sex, it's just you thought it'd be embarrassing with the smell. You sigh aloud and get disappointed in how your precious pair of panties that you liked oh so much now have to be period panties.

Kenshi knew that you were upset by this, he just didn't know what to say. Should he come out and just say how the smell turned him on? It smells like you, just, enhanced. That's what he liked about it. It smelled like you, the pussy that he'd give his life for, THATS what he was into.

"I'm- sorry. It must smell bad-" he cut you off.

"It doesn't. It smells like you. Not your hair products, not your perfume, you. It's amazing to be able to know what you smell like, this is just enhancing it. I like it, honestly."

Although sweet, it was weird. You just didn't exactly expect a man to understand this sort of thing. You felt somewhat relieved, just a bit weird about the situation. He could tell by your facial expressions that you were. He took your hands in his and continued speaking.

"Your scent, knowing you're here with me throughout everything I'm going through, it brings me comfort. You bring me comfort. Knowing you're here, next to me, fills me with a joy you wouldn't believe. So no, waking up to the scent of you would never disgust me."

How poetic. He pulled you into a small kiss, relishing in how amazing you taste. He could smell a small bit of arousal form in you, panties getting some how wetter as he puts his thighs between your legs, prodding at your heat.

You whimper at the feeling, opening your mouth slightly in the process. Kenshi takes this opportunity to slip his tongue into your mouth, exploring it as he felt you grind on his thigh.

His hands unclasp themselves from yours as he took one and dragged it to your panties. Slipping his hand inside, he can feel the heat radiate off of your pussy, practically begging him to touch you. He gathers your wetness on his fingers, pushing one inside you as his thumb plays with your clit.

You moan out and break the kiss in the process. You lay your head next to his as your breathing became harsh, gripping the bedsheets as he continued his motions. "God I wish I could see you, I know you look beautiful like this." He bit his lip as he could feel you clench from the praise.

He slips in another finger and earns another moan from you. Kenshi could feel his cock twitching in its confines, begging to be inside you, but he needed to wait till you were properly stretched. You, however, had different plans. You could see the tent in his pants, and you were practically drooling over it. You placed your hand on his bulge, Kenshi lets out a surprised moan from it.

"Princess,, you're goin' to make me cum if you touch me like that. Good girls keep their hands to themselves, yes?" He questioned you as he continued his pace of finger fucking and clit rubbing.

You try your hardest to stifle your moans, but your back arching to the feeling of Kenshis fingers curling inside you wasn't something you could ignore. Your chest pressed against his as your soft hand squeezed his forearm.

Your whines and begs for release made Kenshi go faster, making you cum harshly in his fingers. He placed his fingers in his mouth, swirling his tongue around them and letting out a moan at the taste.

"Delicious as always, you treat me so well." He laughs as he climbs on top of you. He takes off his boxers and you make quick work of stripping yourself as well. He gives his hard cock a few strokes, he can feel you staring at him as he does.

"Look what you do to me princess, all for you." He gives you a cheeky grin before aligning his tip with your opening. He pushes himself inside you at a slow pace, taking in how your walls cling to him.

As he began to thrust into you, he could feel your blood painting his lower abdomen. He felt lightheaded as he could smell you on himself, small droplets of your blood fell down his thigh and he can feel himself cumming.

Luckily, he can control himself. Not when it comes to thrusting into you, though. Kenshi hooks both your legs onto his shoulders, his hands place themselves on your waist as he lifts you up enough to where his thighs are below you, keeping you elevated at all times. Hes thrusting into you at a high pace, high enough for your body to be shaking with every thrust but not enough for you to be overwhelmed.

His harsh pace continues as his hands angle you slightly lower, making him repeatedly hit your g-spot. You cry out his name and your hands fly to his head, tugging on his hair as he feels himself get closer.

"Close- Kenshi- I'm so-" you moan again as his grip on your waist tightens. Kenshi has to use sento to see you, but luckily, he was able to move the sword to a different position. He was able to see just how painted he was- how you both were painted in blood. His hips begin to falter as he gets lightheaded with pleasure once again.

He was also lucky enough to see your back arch as your head fell back in pleasure, coming on his cock in the process. "You did so good for me princess, I, ugh, I'm goin' to cum so hard for you," and seconds later, he lets out a deep groan before collapsing onto you, cum leaking out of your now abused hole.

It took you both a few minutes to get your breath back. Once you did, you just laid with each other for a bit. As you played with Kenshis hair, he rolls over, exposing his lower abdomen to you.

"You're covered in blood." You giggle out. Using sento again, he was able to see himself. He was actually, and within seconds he had turned back to you.

"Up for another round?" He asked with a smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/n: to everyone who's been using my asks to say they appreciate my fics and the videos I use for headers, I love you. Except for that one person that said size kinks were disguised pedophilia, please stay far away from me

[yellowocaballero]

What are your thoughts on dan da dan?

Catching up on asks in the airport after a holiday yet again. I have so many to answer but I'll get to them, promise!

I love Dandadan!!! It's so much fun. I'm not completely caught up (I spent the holiday watching the Netflix One Piece (Love it, it's so cute???) and Kolchak the Night Stalker (Chicago themed media that takes place in the already Chicago themed Chicago)). But I enjoy about two anime a year, and Dandadan was one of them! This was actually a rich year of enjoying three anime - Dungeon Meshi, Frieren, and Dandadan.

I'm just very weak for 'plucky teens form a monster of the week ghost hunting club' anime. Haruhi-induced brain damage from an early age. But what I usually end up really liking is when the spirits/ghosts/yokai are used to convey something about the characters and about being human. Teen action media is best when it's about externalizing the horrors of being a teen into a physical conflict, and ghosts can be a very pathos-filled way of showing physical danger as a result of emotional pain. I think good Ghost/Yokai/Spirit hunting media also gets creative with the resolution of the conflict - if the conflict is the result of some sort of externalized suffering, then the monster cannot be fought purely by physical means and usually requires some level of resolution of a character's personal arc. It's pretty common plot-wise for characters to need to grow in order to solve the problem (that's how stories work.), but in shonen that emotional growth is very commonly directly linked with physical strength and the resolution is purely in Winning The Fight. In good Hip Teen Ghost Hunting Media, that growth is about reaching a level of empathy and kindness required to heal others and resolve the pain of an enemy. Good Hip Teen Ghost Hunting Media is kind, and is about showing kindness.

Dandadan is good Hip Teen Ghost Hunting Media. It gets this. It's more action focused than some others, but it stays very solidly in touch with an emotional heart. Because the story is REALLY about Momo and Otakun, and making a friend when you've been very lonely, and being kind of a dick when you really don't mean to be. Intimacy as achieved through ghost hunting and losing all of your clothes all the time. The show's momentum so far is entirely on the relationship between Momo and Otakun, to the extent where it's actually remarkably focused, but that relationship is strong enough to carry the show. Just entirely on the basis that the two kids want to be together when they're apart, and they want to share themselves with each other, and they're afraid that they love the other person more than the other person loves them. Good ghost hunting shows are about empathy and learning to care about others, and Momo and Otakun pour all of that into each other. It's also a very insane mix of being very sexual without being erotic, which is a big part of its general vibes of 'the messiness and stupidity and awkwardness of teenage first love'. Overall, Dandadan comes off as a very sincere show because it is so honest in showing first love as a teenager.

Fight scenes also extremely good, partly because I love seeing Momo and Otakun (whose battle forme is so banger) be such a seamless team. And partly because fight scenes are very good. Love the music and animation. All round very good 8/10, lots of affection for it, will be reading the manga after the anime S1 wraps up.

[letteredlettered]

Continuing after this post, which is my list of changes CQL made from MDZS that I did not like, changes from MDZS in CQL that I liked:

I really liked that Wen Ning and Wen Qing come to the Lan Sect lectures for the opening scenes. I think establishing them early both makes for a rounder story, because this way WN and WQ don't just show up when necessary for the plot but are people in their own right from the very beginning. I love WQ in the book, and I felt that the expansion of her character for the drama was very true to her character and made me love her that much more. I also really liked the WQ/JC relationship. I really think that you could have introduced these Wen characters early on, as the drama did, without using the stupid Yin Iron plot to get there. Just have them study at Cloud Recesses and then show the archery competition.

This is pertinent to the expansion of WQ's character and also to the point I'm about to make below about Jiang Yanli's character, but I appreciated how the drama expanded the roles of these two female characters. The women in MDZS are really interesting, complex characters, and yet for some reason they are not given the page-time and attention that the much larger cast of male characters gets. I'm frustrated that the drama does not show what happened to WQ, but at least they gave her a bigger part.

I also really liked that Jiang Yanli was at the Lan Sect lectures. Honestly, I felt there wasn't enough of her in the book for her death to really have the necessary impact. What was there was beautiful--but she wasn't just very present.

In fact, in general, I feel like you can feel the relationship between WWX and the Jiang family a lot better in the drama. You can really feel how close these people are and why WWX feels such a responsibility toward them. There's just a lot more time spent showing the three of them being together rather than just telling you about it.

On that note, I think that the days WWX spends at WQ's in the drama, searching for a solution to JC's core, really helps you understand just how desperate WWX is at this point. I also think it does a really good job of showing that WWX can actually be very scholarly if he is interested, which the fact that he wrote dissertations on demonic cultivation in the book also shows. (I really hate the fanon!WWX who cannot be an intellectual even if he wants it; he only studies if he's interested is all.)

No rape, which for me was a plus

I think it was helpful that there was a lot of NHS hanging out with WWX in the drama. It really establishes his character and you do care about him. I think that if I had read the book without the drama I'd keep forgetting who NHS even was.

For me, Xiao Zhan made WWX a lot sweeter, kinder, and more serious than the book, which in general was a good thing. I don't really need WWX to be nice, but there were honestly times when I felt like he was impossible to know in the novel because he was always joking around, teasing, being smart-mouthed, being sarcastic, or if he was sincere, he was angry. And that's a very interesting thing for a character to have going on! But I really felt like the author also could not really dwell inside his head, so it's kind of bizarre to me that it feels like the actor did, in fact, do so; there are so many moments in the drama where you can see that WWX feels hurt or affectionate or regretful or upset, and you can see him decide to adopt a joking persona. And that's different than the WWX of the novel, who seems like he doesn't decide and can't actually help himself, but at least I know what CQL!WWX is thinking more of the time. (One of the best WWX parts in the novel was when he told Jin Ling he was sorry for the comment about Jin Ling's mother, because it was one of the only moments he really felt deeply sincere, no jokes.)

Similarly, I for the most part found LWJ more dimensional in the drama, for similar reasons. You can see what LWJ feels in WYB's microexpressions, but since most of the book is from WWX's pov and WWX can't read LWJ, LWJ kind of seems like a tree for large portions. Thank goodness that LXC can read him, and that once or twice, MXTX does at least show us what LWJ does when people aren't looking, even if she still doesn't jump into his head.

Anyway, in the end, the characters and relationships in the book are very strong, but so much is told rather than shown, whereas the drama really shows a lot of those characters and relationships. You would think the fact that a drama shows and a novel tells is a somewhat tautological observation, but honestly, I find that many live action adaptations of books are in fact bad at showing. It helps that the drama has 50+ episodes. Meanwhile, the parts that should be told imo in the book (such as more interiority for everyone overall) are shown in the drama. I think you can use the book to clarify lots of the plot and fill in certain character details that are left out of the drama, but you can use the drama to (for lack of a better word) really dramatize who these people are and how they felt.

I was surprised that in the end, I didn't actually feel these two stories were as vastly different as I expected. The biggest change besides the gay is, of course, the fact that the drama is unwilling to let WWX be as much of a villain as he becomes in MDZS, which is something I'll save for another post, maybe.

[krizariel]

Inspired on an episode from HIMYM - because is my background noise show:

Tim hooking up with Jason thinking he is a hooker because whoever introduced them (probably OG Bernard) was playing a prank on Tim for being a prude/too puritan and is not like Tim had much time to find a date for the wedding he had to go to. He is still friends with his ex but it hasn't been that long since the break-up and its awkward and now they have to go to the same wedding since they are within the same group of friends.

Bernard: You should totally bring a date

Tim: what? who am I gonna bring? I'm too busy as it is and I'm not going to bring a random guy from grindr

Bernard: Eh, just bring an escort

Tim: I'm not THAT desperate.

Bernard: Pfft, what's the big deal, no strings attached, get to show everyone you are doing just fine, no one has to know, you leave with your dignity AND a good time

Tim: You cannot be serious.

Bernard: Oh I'm so serious. What, Tim Drake can't hook up with a hooker now?

Tim: Just no, and seriously shut up. I'll see if I can find someone and I have nothing to prove I don't care to make Steph jealous. Plus I'm sure she won't bring a date.

Wedding comes, Tim shows up and Bernard is with his date and another very handsome man.

Tim pulls Bernard to the side because what?!

Tim: Who is that?

Bernard: Oh, you know, found you a date *wink*, thank me later.

Tim: With a hooker!?

Bernard: What, too handsome to be a hooker uh? No one would ever suspect anything

Tim: That's beside the point! I had said no-

Bernard: Geez, give it a try no one said to sleep or do anything with him? He is just a companion tonight, whatever else happens is up to you

Tim: I know that! But-

Steph: You guys ok there?

Steph and her date had joined Jason and Ariana (Bernard's date) and they had come looking for Bernard and Tim.

Jason: Hey, you are way cuter than described.

And he winked at Tim. He was way too handsome, towering the whole group.

Tim at first is kind of forced to go along but it would be awkward to reject Jason since he was already there, and it was not his fault plus damn he looked stunning. They hit it off just fine, in fact it was great, Jay was a total nerd, they spent most of the night talking, drinking and flirting, and Tim started to feel all giddy and more emboldened to just flirt back. Is not like he will see him again right?

The event was at a hotel and they were going to leave their own ways. At first Tim was reluctant because well, he has never done this before and maybe this is going to be really expensive but… what the hell, he hasn't been with anyone for some time and he really finds he likes Jason even if he is a hooker and might not actually like Tim. So he invited Jason to his room to which Jason just said: Was starting to think you were not going to ask. That would have been no fun.

They hook up, sex is amazing, 100/10 would do it again … , and Tim leaves a few $100 bills by the table and just leaves a note with his number saying call me. Tim thinks well… at least maybe this way he knows Tim is still interested to see him again. Tim feels crazy because what has his life come to… and no, is not like this will be a Pretty Woman kind of plot, Jason probably has other people to see and WHAT IS WRONG WITH HIM!? He will totally not tell anyone about this and certainly won't tell Bernard how did it go.

Well, Jason never calls him, Tim doesn't have his number, so he can't call him. Not long afterwards Tim has an accident on his bike, the paramedics come get him and Tim sees Jason there. At first Tim thinks maybe he is hallucinating because he totally has a concussion but-

Tim: Jason? what are you doing here?!

Jason: My job?? Didn't Bernard tell you I was a paramedic?

Tim: WHAT? AREN'T YOU A HOOKER!?!?

Jason: What.

Jason has half the mind to not punch Tim because he is having flashbacks of having such an amazing time with this rich kid that seemed nothing like the rest but then he wakes up alone and with money by the bed table. So insulting.

Jason: I'm a fucking PARAMEDIC… now shut the fuck up before I fucking make your injuries worse and lose my license.

Anyway, they clear things up (and Tim cant look at any of the nurses in the eye because they start giggling). Bernard, Ariana and Jason work at the same hospital and Ariana and Jason are good friends. Bernard invited Jason with them, telling him he had a good friend of his who is really cute but pretty lonely and can't find a date since he barely has any time to get himself out there. Jason shot him down at first with thanks but no thanks, but Ariana (Bernard's gf) told him Tim is actually really nice. Since Jason didn't have any plans he ended up accepting.

Jason: So you slept with me…thinking I was a hooker?!

Tim: …. Listen I wasn't going to do any of it, I swear but you were so funny, witty, smart, loved talking to you and in just a few hours I found I really was starting to like you, you were amazing… and didn't matter what you did for a living. I genuinely wanted to see you again and now I'm babbling and not making any sense I'm sorry-

Jason: The fuck is wrong with ya?… after another string of curses

Tim: I- … I'm sorry, I know this is a mess and I understand if you don't want to see me again-

Jason: No, I was talking to myself because for whatever reason I find ya oddly sweet.

Jason: But first, I'm going to do something for myself and slash Bernard's bike tires :)

Tim: Oh, can I join you?

Jason: Sure. It's a date Timbit ;)

[stagefoureddiediaz]

Costume Meta 6x13

Was that real - did that episode actually happen or was it all a collective fever dream?!! I”m still sat here with my jaw on the floor trying to process all of the epic goodies we got in that episode, and the costumes were no exception!!!

I’ve spent far too long trying to figure out how to assemble my meta this week, but I’ve just gone with the flow and seen where it take me! Also this beast did not want to be wrangled and my ADHD decided side quests were far more fun and so getting this written has been a real struggle (I came out victorious though which is all that matters) and why its a bit later than normal (we’re not going to talk about my laptop deciding to crash and rebooting to a document that was missing half of what I had written - I couldn’t get it back so sad times!)!!

its under the cut - because as always - its a loooonnnnggggg post!!

We’re starting with the Wilson family (and Chimneys first costume!) because they actually sit separately from the rest of the characters from a costuming perspective this week!

There are a couple of things to note for the opening Wilson family scene which are kind of overarching things. Firstly the fact that Chim and Denny are both dressed in black and grey - a really clever choice when you consider their topic of conversation - fathers and things that have happened that cannot be undone - the grey acts as a form of fade out - kind of like a greyed out button on a computer screen - preventing you from clicking on it. Both Chimneys semi resolved arc (the decision to make his peace with his father and he reality of the situation) and Denny’s current arc echo each other up to this point in time - Chim’s father came back into his life and he made peace with it, Denny’s father is currently (and unknown to everyone) back in his life. 

Both Chim and Denny are also wearing chack pattern - chims more hidden and Denny’s down the side - but Hen is also wearing a very loud and bright check pattern - she is the nly one in colour and the test card patterning of her jumper says so mcuh about both check theory and the fact that at this moment in time, she is not active in the plot - not in the conversation Denny and Chim have just had, and not in the Nathaniel of it all either. We know Denny is in danger later on so his check is also foreshadowing that, Hen is also in danger (emotional danger is just as vaild as physical danger) and Chimneys danger is more low key - its closer to his chest - his home being ‘invaded’.

However when Hen does come into play, we get a much more muted tones and we get these, whites, dusty pinks, lilacs and dusty purples, along with teal green trousers. Karen is in a black silk blouse with lilacs in a lilac colour on - this pairs her and Hen up in their respective styles and shows us they are on the same page. Lilacs are an interesting choice of floral and colour - it symbolises youth and innocence as well as love and purity. However Lilacs also mean old love and were often given to and worn by widows in the victorian era as a symbol of lost love and lost innocence! so the black paired with the prolifferation of lilacs (both colour and flowers) are telling that Hen and Karen are no longer ‘innocent’ (by which I mean they have gained knowledge) and they are also mourning the loss of the stable family life they thought they had created.

the choice to have Denny in army green continues a theme we’ve seen with him so far this season - the use of camouflage and army colour-ways to show him as sneaking around going undetected, and now the full on army green reads as an act of aggression - to the family life Hen and Karen have created, as well as to the agreement they had put into place with Nathaniel back in season 2.

I found the choice to have Karen in black with some yellow in her trousers and Hen in very bright emerald green (also with some yellow in her trousers) very interesting. Karens black is carrying on that theme of mourning, but its also a power colour - so its Karen still angry and grieving, but its also her pushing forward. the yellow is her communicating (on a low level) her anger and upset over what has happened.

Hen meanwhile is going full out into jealousy mode - we are seeing a Hen who is feeling threatened by Nathaniel and is jealous of the relationship her son has secretly been building with his bio father. THis is the culmination of all those little hints about the role Hen fills in Denny’s life - that she has been the one supporting and encouraging his sporting interests - thats why we saw Eddie and her throwing a baseball - so she could continue to share a sporting connection and interest wit her son. Hen feels threatened and jealous of Nathaniel’s stepping into that area she previously filled.

The wardrobe department just keep knocking it out of the park with the kids clothes this season. Denny’s mushroom shirt is amazing. Mushrooms are about duality - they represent both decay and deterioration, but also transformation and growth in the darkness. so Denny wearing this shirt here is perfect - he is going through puberty - a time of transformation and his acting out in his sneaking around etc is a symbol of that transformative time. His relationship with his mothers has deteriorated and decayed - they no longer feel like they can trust him, but his conversation with Toni brings him hope and the opportunity for all to grow through this dark time. its a really clever piece of costuming and I love it so much.

Karens dark teal green is interesting - there was actually quite a bit of teal at play in this episode. teal is a colour of clarity  the darkness of it here suggests that clarity is coming but not fully in place yet - that Karen is more aware, but not yet fully accepting of the new reality she lives in. 

Hens black and beige jumper is a wonderful choice as well - the beige representing neutrality and its being a soothing colour is important - accompanied by the black spots it has the affect of suggesting that the initial anger is passing and giving way to a more open time - one where calmness and the ability to see things more clearly come into play. the fact that this jumper has runs and frayed edges still maintains that idea that this has damaged Hen - that she is scared from this turn of events, even if she is more open to moving forward and accepting of Denny’s desire to have a relationship with his father. 

Here we have a Denny in navy blue shirt and a yellow and green palm frond pattern - I thought originally they were bird of paradise flowers when I was watching live, but they are more obvious in the stills! palm fronds are an iinteresting and perfect choice - they are a symbol of peace and triumph - exactly what Denny is experiencing here - triumph in being allowed to see and build a relationship with his father and the resulting peace in his family dynamic that will come as a result.

I know I talk a lot about yellow being a colour of communication - and that still holds - but it is also a colour of anxiety and that very much matches up wit the look on Hens face. Her patchwork camouflage trousers hint at her uncertainty about the situation - she is trying to mask her nervousness and misgivings. These trousers are the same ones she was wearing at her leaving the 118 party - a time when she was also feeling nervous and had misgivings about becoming a doctor. Karen being in a navy jumpsuit with a variety of headdresses on is, again, an interesting choice - headdresses like those depicted are ceremonial (for the most part) and are a symbol of leadership, strength and bravery - perfect for Karen in this moment (and in general).

Just a quick aside before we move onto the ret of the mains! I don’t normally focus on the side and guest characters, but the guy whose wife got a vibrator lodged inside her is wearing the shirt Buck was wearing in his coma dream and that has me both cackling and wide eyed! 

The scene in Bucks coma dream where he is wearing this shirt is one of mostly confusion and uncertainty for him - loosely speaking - its when he’s really trying to understand what exactly is going on in this world his mind has built for him - one where after that initial confusion we see him essentially embrace this new reality where he has what he thinks he wants - but what actually turns out to be something else - something that he doesn’t want/need. And here in this scene we have a guy going through the sexual version of the same thing - thinking that this different version of his sex life with his wife will be better - make things better and make her happy, when the reality is that if he’d had an actual conversation with her about it things would more than likely turned out differently. So major props to the wardrobe team for this little gem of a costume reuse!

Maddie rocking the layers here in Black, grey and red - very telling for this scene. layering is generally about protection - in an attempt to deflect something that is making you uncertain or causing anxiety. This is very much what is going on with Maddie here. the red top being the one closest to her skin - the bottom layer, shows that she is happy, in love and in a good place - the red of romance and passion, but it can also be a sign of danger and I think its is a combination of these two meanings here - the danger element coming from the fact that this new neighbour has got Maddie’s spidey senses tingling. The grey hoodie is a little bit of foreshadowing for her later silver top - the grey transforms into silver and becomes reflective (more on that in a moment). Then there is the black blazer - power and mystery. the mystery element is connected to who this woman is/ actually is while the power element is connected to Maddie having the power to control her own destiny in this moment - her returning the muffin tray is about her attempting to assert some authority over the situation. it is worth mentioning that aside from the Black blazer, they have Rhonda dressed in slightly darker versions of the the same colours when she gets caught - red high neck top with a darker grey jacket than Maddie’s hoodie!  

Maddie in silver and being reflective is actually kind of a jarring outfit for her -and thats rather the point. Its not a colour we see her in and she wears greys infrequently as well - she tends towards a warmer and brighter palette with the accompanying blacks, so this is out of place for her - it highlights her discomfort and actually there is something in the reflecting of that discomfort towards Athena - the one person who knows exactly what Maddie means about not feeling safe or comfortable in ones own home. The metallic top is also reminiscent of plate armour and suggests Maddie is arming her self - getting ready to protect herself iff needed. Its a top that represents her trauma response bubbling beneath the surface ready to reassert itself if needed.

Buck in yet another grey jumper! honestly I’m beginning to wonder how many more grey jumpers they can find for him to wear!! This one is a much lighter grey than we saw him wear in season 5, and its also lighter than any we’ve seen him in so far in season 6. It follows on nicely from the one we saw him in in 6x12 when he was sleeping on Eddies couch and having meaningful conversations in the kitchen late at night! but it is also tv static grey - it has that fuzzy appearance, which in Buck terms means uncertainty and confusion. This is such an interesting choice for this scene and its vitally important for it as well. 

This is Buck outright parenting Chris - completely on his own with no Eddie to be seen. The only other times we’ve seen this happen are during the shooting arc and in 4x08 when Chris runs to Buck after Eddie reveals to Chris he has a girlfriend. Before you all shout at me about the tsunami it doesn’t count because Eddie actively sets up that Buck and Chris time on screen, so his influence remains a part of the scene even if he isn’t present (It is also a trauma event and that means it sits separately). The shooting arc sits separately from this new scene and the 4x08 one by virtue of it being a trauma event - like the tsunami. We also know that Buck looking after Chris like this is a common thing from the canon text, however this is one of the few times we’ve seen it on screen and the first time we see it where Eddie is not even remotely present - making it a step up from the 4x08 scene where he is present via the tail end of a phone conversation. 

The grey fuzzy jacket Buck wears in the 4x08 scene is darker and the fact the cookie scene has lighter grey is telling about the level of uncertainty Buck is feeling. this scene is one fraught with potential danger for Buck - his choices could anger or alienate Eddie and erode their relationship if he gets it wrong - he could get accused of stepping in where he doesn’t belong. It could also land a critical blow to his relationship with Chris - what he says could upset him or make Chris feel like Buck isn’t supportive etc, it is a fine line Buck has to tread and he does it masterfully here - giving him the confidence going forward. WE see the results of that in the cookie kitchen scene - Buck bantering with Chris and successfully parenting him - and not being good cop! So here we have costume highlighting the development of Buck and Christophers father son relationship!

The Poker Game!!!!

This gets its own little section because there is a lot going on! to start with I’m going to link to this meta about Bucks costume and this one about Eddies costume, because they still, for the most part, ring true. getting the full scene hasn’t really altered my opinions on their costumes per-say. I’ll add a bit more to them once you get to the stills of them!

We have Chief Miranda Williams in a black sequin and slightly sheer waterfall front top with gold jewellery, and Captain Jeshan Mehta in all black with this dark plum striped tie. A very deliberate choice to have the both of them in full black (except the tie). All of the characters wear black in this scene (Julie only has black shoes so kind of doesn’t count and I’ll explain why when we get to her) Both Buck and Eddie are wearing black shirts/turtlenecks and they are the ones with the power in the game (thanks to Bucks new found math skills) while Chief W and Captain M both have seniority in the real world and therefore power of a different kind. I’d even argue that Chief W has the ultimate power because she wises up and allows the boys to have their fun and thus the power remains with her regardless! the use of a waterfall front top is just another subtle reference to the water theme. the purple tie is also a deliberate choice - purple is the combination of the two jackets Buck and Eddie are wearing - red and blue! Purple is a colour of mystery (much like the black they’re all wearing is) but it’s also a colour of enlightenment and understanding our inner most thoughts and feelings. It being worn by Mehta connects this concept to the shooting and Buck and Eddie finally coming to terms with the realities of it and what it means going forward - them acknowledging their feelings etc and what it means for them, both individually and together.

Julie Rosen in a dark teal asymmetric dress with a high front slit and silver jewellery. Ok so things to focus on with this costume are the asymmetry and the colour teal. Asymmetry represents unbalance (for obvious reasons) and there are a couple of ways to interpret that in this scene - obviously things are unbalanced because Buck has an advantage with his math skills. there is also the fact that Julie is in on the hustle (her comment about Buck being bad at math is deliberate and pointed!) which pits the 3 members of the 118 against Chief Williams and Captain Mehta so its 3v2. 

Then there is the teal - a colour of clarity, objectivity, support, earnestness and of being true to oneself. the other thing about teal is that it is a combination of blue and green - a combination of Buck and Eddie’s colours! As a side character and one who is in on the hustle, her costume is supposed to give us more information about our main characters and her dress is really doing that!

So here we have a scene centred on them where we have a connected character wearing a colour that is a combination of their individual colours and one which means clarity etc, the return of Captain Mehta whose name literally means crystal clear and Chief Williams - whose first name is Miranda - which means to be wondered at - can they make it any louder that Buddie is happening if they tried???

Well yes actually they can - because I seem to be doing nearly all of the non main characters tonight, lets talk about the croupier as well! Firstly we need to note her location at the table in relation to Buck and Eddie - she sits opposite them and directly in between them. She is wearing a black shirt with a rusty orangey brown rope pattern woven across it. 

I know its not red, but this is yet another example of the show making use of what it can to keep the red string of fate metaphor active. Here we have the rope/string twisted and looped, suggesting things are being tied together and because of her location and the implication is that this poker game is ting Buck and Eddie even more closely together (it really is a date even if neither of them actually realise it!!)

 We’ve had so many game, cards and fate metaphors thrown at us across the series, but especially this season, now we’re getting to the business end of things. We have all of the metaphors at play in this one scene - the universe screaming at you (as represented by Mehtas presence), the idea of playing a game to win - when you can’t lose, making the most of the hand you’ve been dealt, the gaining of knowledge and it all being tied up together by the red string of fate - represented by the croupier - who is, like I said, sat in front of and between Buck and Eddie - in front of being the operative point (the future)!

Do you want me to go on with all the subtext in this scene?!! 

Then we get to Buck and Eddie - Buck sticking to type and rolling up his long sleeves - taking off his jacket and dressing himself down (a nice touch to add to the mini dressing down he gets from Chief Williams!) but him removing the red jacket is symbolic of him stepping back into himself and his normal role - cracking dumb jokes, being a golden retriever and also reasserts his uncertainty about his future - his desire to become a captain - the theme that has been bubbling along all season. 

I will make a more full meta post specifically about Buck and Eddies watches, but for now - we get a better still to scream over! The watch that had been more or less hidden under Bucks sleeves for the duration of the poker game, is now revealed to us once Buck has won his steaks. black leather strap and a white face. black and white - things are black and white - time is black and white - its telling us that Buck is no longer in the dark (all his watches have been fully black up to now) and also that there are no grey areas!

Also they just look epically good so why wouldn’t I add in extra pictures of them for us all to appreciate!!

Everything I said about the choice to have Eddie in a turtleneck holds true - thanks to Joaquin Sedillio telling us that they were inspired by George Clooneys look in oceans 11 - a look that was inspired by golden age Hollywood.  

I do want to mention the use of texture in the poker scene and this connects into Bucks burgundy velvet jacket. the scene uses texture very deliberately, only Buck and Chief Williams are wearing anything textured - her texture is rough, while Bucks is soft and smooth (as long as you brush it the right way!) they also contrast each other in terms of look - velvet is a very flat texture - its matt and absorbs light, unlike the sequins which bounce light around and sparkle, drawing the eye and reflecting light. it is the absorbing/ reflection aspect that is the mist interesting because it lays into the idea of showy versus understated - and that is actually giving us hints of Bucks growth - before he was all about being showy - bright and bold and going through the whole fake it till you make it thing and seemingly lacking substance. Now though we see a Buck who is more considered - his brush with death has made him less flashy and more internalised. (I also love that this absorbing concept plays on the fact that he ‘absorbed’ a lightning bolt and lived to tell the tale!!). the other thing about the velvet being absorbing is that it places the focus onto Buck - this scene is all about him and he is absorbing the attention (and revealing in it!)

I’ve put the photo above where I have because of the Athena and Buck connection. Athena wearing a reverse of Bucks poker suit - burgundy top black jacket. The Burgundy has the same meaning that we get with Bucks jacket - the deep love and passion and romance - it is telling us that Bathena are very happy and very in love - that its a deep love. The black leather jacket contrasts with Buck as well - it has a more reflective surface - this scene isn’t about Athena, its about Madney. 

So we have a reverse parallel going on between Buck and Athena - something we’ve seen at play many times throughout the seasons combined with Bobby wearing a very Eddie shade of green - that khaki shirt is straight out of the Eddie Diaz playbook and isn’t a shade we see Bobby in that often - he’s often dressed in similarly muted shades to Eddie, but they are never that much of an army colour like this one is. In an episode that shows us Bobby and Athena being in love and happy and finding new things out about each other without any children being a part of the narrative. the show is being pretty on the nose about asking us to draw the parallel - especially when we’ve seen Christopher seeking his own independence.

The blue and green of it all 

Honestly the amount of blue and green paralleling going on in this episode was insane! I spent a long time uhming and ahhing about how to present this - to put all the green together followed by the blue, or to keep the coupes together! I’m going to keep this fairly brief as this post is already reaching epic proportions (I write in a very scattered manner so thats how its already super long!!)

Green

First thing to note is that the greens get darker as the episode goes on - we start with Eddie in his khaki olive green, only this one is a much lighter shade and tonally has a lot more yellow going on which actually helps connect him to the first dining table scene and his yellow shirt. Its also important to note that he has his blue face watch on - which I’ve started calling his Christopher watch

This henley is the same one we see him wearing when he is at the Grant Nash house talking to Athena about his Abeula and her being taken advantage of - such a choice by the wardrobe team - foreshadowing the poker game hustle as well as playing on the theme of being taken advantage of and of cards (tarot cards!) they really are going to town with very deliberate repeat costumes since 5b! 

We should remember that Hen is also sporting green in this episode - a very bright emerald green as well as Denny in army green and Karen in teal green at various points - they all darken within their own separate arc as well as fitting into the wider arc of the episode (see the Wilson family section at the beginning if you want a reminder).

Chimney wearing army green is showing us that he is ready to fight for his family - for Maddie - so that she can feel safe in her home. 

And Bobby rounds out the green in a bottle green tee and jacket combo which is verdant and shows that his relationship with Athena is in full bloom.

This use of green getting increasingly darker is something we’ve been seeing at play throughout the season - we’ve had it with Buck, particularly in relation to the sperm donor storyline, but also in connection with Hen as well as its abundance in the coma dream. Like I’ve said a million times  green is generally symbolic of growth and what we’re getting with its use in this episode and more widely this season is a deliberate choice to make that growth even more explicit - whatever story arc its connected to - Buck adn the sperm Donor, Hen and her attempts to connect with Denny so she can be a good parent to him and be supportive, or Bobby and his relationship with Athena and how he is getting a better understanding of her and how that is growing his love for her even more.

Blue

The blue doesn’t follow the same linear trajectory as the green - the colour starts dark, lightens up and then heads dark again in the most general sense, but it also brightens as the episode progresses, .

Athena is in both light blue and dark blue here 

while in the same scene Bobby is also in dark blue - they are matching and complimenting each other. Dressing them both in blue at the same time is an indicator of shared trust and loyalty.

Chimney has on a blue jumper here,

which he is wearing over this blue check shirt that we see him in later on, so again dark heading slightly lighter. Check theory was working over time with Chimney in this episode - the only time we see him without check is when he’s in green. That is interesting to me - its making me think that the check is telling us that Chimneys home life is stable and happy, but that his work life might be less so - the blue and the fact that we’ve seen him in check in connection with various members of the firefam in the last couple of episodes - Buck post coma, Hen in this episode, and now Bobby when He and Athena come over for dinner.

Bobby is wearing this dusty blue polo after Rhonda has been caught. 

I should point out here that Maddie is wearing a dark khaki green tee underneath her bright blue shirt which is a clever hint at the fact that this playdate she has set up is a trap - Maddie is waging war - fighting for her home and the ability to live in it without fear. The bright cobalt blue indicates ingenuity and enlightenment - playing into the trap that has been set for Rhonda. It is also a happy shade of blue - bright and cheerful it ties into the idea of comfort and contentment and indicates Maddie being able to return to feeling happy and secure in her home.

And finally we have Athena in this cobalt blue running tee and gilet - its a brighter blue than the cobalt of Maddie’s shirt, almost royal blue - it still shares the meaning though - enlightenment and happiness. Its telling us that Athena is finding joy in discovering both her enjoyment of running and her enjoyment of haring an activity with her husband. The otehr thing to note is a contniation of Buck and Athena being paralleled - here we have her in a blue gilet when she flirts and insitgates shower sexy times shortly after we’ve seen Buck attend the sex gone wrong call - wearing a gilet - with him then checking in on his previous relationships and hook ups to see if they were satisfied sexually with him - the loudness is getting louder! 

Blue is a colour that has been slowly increasing in frequency for Buck and I have a theory about it - bear with me here because we need to look at when he wears the colour - I’m not going to include them all or I’d be her all day - the ones i’ve excluded are either denim shirts/jackets or where blue is one of the colours rather than the only colour of a top!!

Season 1 - Buck and Abby go on a date - the only time we see Buck wear blue in season 1 and its his blue suit (with a white shirt) Season 2 - Buck wears blue 7 times in season 2 but the two key moments we need to look at come early on in the season 2x01 - the blue henley he’s wearing when he finds Maddie in his apartment - its the first non uniform outfit we see him post Abby leaving and comes after Eddie has been introduced (coincidentally this is the same henley we know we’re going to see Eddie wearing later in the season!). the second one comes in 2x04, when Buck talks to Maddie about Eddie struggling with paperwork to get Chris the help and support he needs (its the boy crush conversation!) Season 3 - Buck also wears blue 7 times in season 3. The 3 we need to focus on are; 3x04 Bucky talks to Chase Mackey and sues the city, 3x06 Bucks return to the 118 post lawsuit and 3x16 - Buck goes to a bar and meets Red. Season 4 - the number of blue shirts goes up dramatically to 10 (especially as its a short season) and we’re interested in 6 of them. 4x03 - games night at he Diaz house when Eddie is dismantling technology and Buck has to do some parenting. 4x05 we have 2 - Peru Buck and the blue jacket he wears when Maddie gives him the postcards he sent her over the years. 4x07 Buck tries dating Veronica. 4x12 Buck, Eddie and Taylor discuss the treasure hunt at Bucks loft (petty Eddie drinking beer scene). 4x14 Buck sleeps on Eddies couch and parents Chris after the shooting. Season 5 Buck wears blue 9 times in season 5 and we’re looking at 5 of them, 5x09 Buck washing up in the loft while Taylor is being distant (pink marigolds scene). 5x11 Buck and Taylor have dinner at the Diaz house - Buck and Eddie argue. 5x13 Maddie’s return from Boston and also Buck breaks down Eddies door and was in the room! 5x18 the blue suit he wears to HenRen’s vow renewal. Season 6, we’re just over half way through and are already up to 19 blue buck outfits!! the key ones are 6x01 - the lasagne kitchen scene. 6x02 post convention locker room talk with Hen, 6x04 Madney apartment Buck tells Maddie about the year of yes, a second one is the navy top he wears when getting drunk with Hen and then the blue striped shirt when he tells C&K he’ll be their donor. 6x07 there are 3 blue shirts when he fails to donate sperm, 6x09 when he tells the firefam that his sperm has helped C&K get pregnant. 6x11 when he comes home from the hospital post lightning strike. 6x12 while he’s trying to recover at his loft and then a second one when he has is appointment with Dr Salazar. 6x13 the superpowers scene.

Eddie also wears Blue at some key moments

Season 3 - 3x03 post tsunami ‘theres no one in the world I trust more with my son than you’ scene. 3x4 - chris wakes from a nightmare. 3x09 therapy with frank. 3x12 Chris has his skateboarding accident and Eddie shouts at Ana.  Season 4 - 4x08 Eddie introduces Ana to Chris as his girlfriend. 4x14 - the will reveal. Season 5 - 5x10 Chris has a nightmare. 5x14 dream Eddie in the kitchen serving Chris breakfast. 5x17 talks to Buck about his family - while in Christophers bedroom. 5x18 the suit he wears to HenRen’s vow renewal. Season 6 - 6x08 dressing Chris for his school dance. 6x09, sleeping on the sofa. 6x13 poker night.

Why have I written all of this out you ask - well because I want to show you how all of these scenes (and the ones I’ve not included in the list also fit the theme) are water finding its level related. They are all very key moments when either Buck or Eddie are finding a new level or at turning points - not only in their relationship with each other, but also with Christopher. 

All of Eddies wearing of blue connects to Christopher, until the one from this episode - the first time we see Eddie wearing blue while doing something not related to Christopher. I included the dream sequence Eddie in the list because he literally starts coughing up water. 

As for Buck - again most of the scenes (even the ones with Maddie) are connected to Eddie and Chris in some way, even if indirectly (lawsuit I’m looking at you) There are a few exceptions - such as Maddies return from Boston, the vow renewal suit, Buck washing up or the sperm donor ones and obviously the one from season 1! I included the Abby date one because Buck chokes on water in that scene and the Taylor washing up scene - Buck literally has his hands in water. The vow renewal is Buck breaking freed of his bad relationship. As for the sperm donor arc, while not directly connected to Eddie or Chris, the parenting connection is a key one - after all much of Bucks journey to finding his level is connected to the idea of parenthood and dad not donor v donor not dad.

As for the lighter blue specifically - which is a post Taylor exclusive colour for Buck and ties into the theme of deepening ones understanding of self and the growth that comes from that - the idea of choosing to be happy. Buck choosing to break free of his depressing relationship was him choosing himself, choosing to be happy. The post Lev dying conversation Buck has with hen in the locker room is about Bucks search for happiness - about him wanting to be happy for himself. The phone call where he reveals that C&K are pregnant - that is him being happy for his friends, but also him feeling the glow of happiness from being able to help them achieve that pregnancy. The blue top we had him wearing in MacArthur park in last weeks episode is showing him choosing to move on from his brush with death - accepting it for what it is and choosing to be happy (whether that s just happy to be alive - something he was clearly grappling with, or a more generalised happiness remains to be seen) that is why we see him looking contemplative - he is choosing to put that life changing event away and accept it for what it is and the chance it has given him to be happy going forward. This theming holds true for other characters too - Athena in light blue is about her happiness - getting her parents sorted in the aftermath of her fathers stroke is making her happy.

So this new light blue top we have Buck wearing (which is the most reminiscent of the one Lev is wearing) is very much about him being happy - we see the joy he feels at being good at something, the happiness he gets from being with his Diaz boys and sharing in happy banter with them and basking in the glow of being part of a family.

Christopher 

I’ve saved Christopher for last this week because he also plays into the Blue and green theming - in fact he straddles across the two colours and that makes him interesting. 

Firstly we have this seafoam green tee with a pineapple on the pocket. Not only do we have a pineapple though - no we have a pineapple with a sunset scene in the fruit section. Yes you read that right - it is an actual sunset!!! So here we have a physical embodiment of the sunset theme that has been in play since season 4 - a theme that Christopher has always been connected to indirectly - construction on sunset or Bucks heart drawing with sunset colouring and misunderstanding the assignment - both times when Buck has been babysitting and both in some way connected to Christophers homework -  Ana teaching Eddie Math in connection to the first one - making the whole Ana being construction on the way to Buck metaphor even more obvious, especially now in light of this new homework scene with a sunset incorporated in it!

The pineapple itself is also interesting - there are a couple of meaning we can attach to its use here. Historically, pineapples were status symbols - they were a show of wealth due to the difficulty in growing them. those who could afford them would display them prominently at dinner parties and the like to show their wealth. Here Christopher is the wealth - he is the thing both Buck and Eddie place most highly. and the scene we see this top in proves that - Christopher being an active part of their conversation about Bucks newfound superpowers - his opinions and comments are a valuable pat of the conversation to both Eddie and Buck. Christophers inclusion, comfort and confidence in this dynamic is being highlighted here - showing the difference to how he was treated in the dynamic between Eddie Chris and Ana. 

The modern pineapple meaning is as an emoji - where it is an indicator of relationship status - meaning ‘its complicated’ Need I say more!!!!

Then we have the blue tee from the kitchen cookie scene. A tee with little surfing skeletons on! I’ve said it many times before and I’ll say it again. This show is just so so good at using the kids costumes to tell us things. first up the blue - Bucks colour and its important that Chris is wearing it in this scene where he is alone with Buck. I talked about the buck in grey in both the two scenes where he is parenting with out Eddie, well the same rings true for Chris here - he is in blue for both of the scenes (a pale blue long sleeve tee with the dinosaur wearing sunglasses which show space ships in their reflection). then there is the fact that we have surfboards reappearing on Christophers clothing - the surfing thing has always been connected to Buck in some way - both overtly and covertly. Chris was wearing a shirt with surfers on at Bucks recertification party and the last time he wore something surf related (for definite) was in 4x13 - when Carla returned to the Diaz’s and told Eddie to make sure he was following his heart and not Christophers. The other thing to note is that both of those incidents proceeded a major event - the Tsunami and the shooting. this one has skeletons on and thats making me both nervous and excited. We’ve been saying all season that Chris is due some sort of trauma or incident and I’m now very much expecting it to happen in the next two episodes and for it to be something that pushes Buddie even closer together. those Skeletons are (to me at least) suggesting that the current set up of Bucks relationship with Christopher is about to change - that it will become the old version - a dead version and that post event they will have a new and different form of relationship (as in the father-son thing will become more concrete in the same way that Buck and Bobbys has this season) because all of the surfing theming has been used at moments that have really pushed Buck and Christophers dynamic forward and increased the parent-child bond! 

The thing with these to colours is that this season especially, we’ve seen Chris wearing shirts that contain both colours a couple of times - both in and out of dream sequences and both connected to parenting. 

We have Chris breaking his punishment and Eddie being an amazing dad. This one is especially close in terms of colours to the two shades from this episode and now I have more context for it, the smashing and merging of the two colours would appear to be foreshadowing the merging of Buck and Eddie as coparents.

And coma Chris - who Buck has to chose to ignore/ leave behind. leaving him feeling guilty, but actually showing that he is a good parent to Chris because he recognises that he can only get back to the real one if he abandons this Chris (a chris who is a representation of Bucks own childhood abandonment issues - and therefore it is showing us Buck breaking the cycle)

In summation - the use of costume and colour was so much more out there in terms of helping with the storytelling and ensuring the Buck and Eddie as a couple message was made loud and clear - more than we’ve ever seen before - its been slowly ramping up and now they’ve taken the breaks off!!

Thank you as always for reading  - it really does mean the world to me that you're interested in the costuming of our wee woo show!! I’ll shut up now and let you have your lives back. If you’ve made it through the whole thing then you are my MVP and you get this trophy! 🏆 I’m off to rock in the corner now I’ve finished this epic. 

I would tag below but it won’t let me (maybe i wrote too many words 😂 so I’ll be reblogging with the tag list!

Until the next episode! 💜💜💜

[purble-turble]

For fun and because your prince red au is horribly underrated

Have any unshared head canons, plot ideas, ect about the au in general.

what stories lines would you have explored

Sure! I have lots of thoughts about the Prince Red AU that I either haven’t had a chance to share here or just I didn’t deem interesting enough to ever bring up.

My first thought is about Prince Red and his relationship with his parents.. a big part of his character is that he has all but broken ties with his mother from the very beginning of the show, and so when he is forced to interact with them again, it genuinely scares him. He’s afraid of his parents in a way that they probably don’t even understand.. My intent was to use his fear of them as a way for him to continue to do their bidding despite being so against their plans for world domination, and eventually I came to the conclusion that him having this deep seeded fear of them probably has more to do with himself than it does them.

You see, he’s spent so long in the company of Celestials and other Buddhists that he has kind of adopted their negative opinions about demons (despite the fact that he is one himself) and it’s crept into how he feels about his parents too. DBK and PIF in this version are not so different from canon.. they’re harsh and can be cruel at times, but they love their son and want their family to be whole again. The biggest problem there is that they have a hard time communicating that in a way that seems genuine because they’re afraid of being vulnerable or showing weakness. So this misunderstanding within the DBK fam goes on for quite awhile in the Prince Red AU.

My thoughts about how it ends are that, in season 3, when they need to get the ring from the Demon Bull King, that is probably where a confrontation happens and they finally have a heart to heart about their differences. I imagine it wasn’t long after that ceremony to remove the Samadhi Fire from him happened that Red Boy was removed from his parents and taken in by Guanyin, so the whole Samadhi Fire rings quest and the memories that brings up for all of them are a pretty good kickstarter for an emotional conversation, to be sure.. In any case, that gets cut short when MK and Mei steal the ring and all of them make a run for it, Prince Red included.

They meet again after the Lady Bone Demon is defeated, though this time I think Prince Red seeks them out.. he’s been avoiding them for so long out of fear and that brief interaction he had with them makes him realize that was unfounded. He learned they weren’t angry at him them so much as they were sad that their family was broken… though they were loathe to admit it, he still understood that to be the case, so he decides to take that first step to fix things.

Anyway, it works out pretty well, and by the end of season 4, DBK and PIF are invited to the beach party, just like in canon. 🎉

Some other little headcanons for Prince Red… well I don’t think it’s ever come up, but in this AU I like to make Prince Red trans as well. Not for any particular reason except to switch things up a bit. Plus both him and MK being trans is kinda fun.. or if we go with MK being cis in this AU then we can make Red have the fanbabies and give MK a break lol

Also, MK finding Prince Red in the scroll in season 4 is extremely harrowing for him because Prince Red reverts back into Red Boy, who is a chaotic little gremlin, and yes this version also wants to marry his pretty boy 🤣

There are probably some more little tidbits I’ve thought of but I cannot remember them right now.. I’m also happy to field any specific questions about how Prince Red being a permanent member of the Monkie Kid gang affects the plot of the previous seasons because I think that’s fun~