#I'd rather wish that he finds out before anything really progresses. so if he is upset then we can assure him that there's nothing going on

[no-one-hears-me]

I don't have a vocabulary extensive enough to describe how much I want this man

[varpusvaras]

New note

Marked five files/reports so far for further reading

All groups that have previously operated on the area do not match by their motive or by what they are delivering; cannot be striked through yet

Strava -> possible operator? name repeats in many reports, need further information

Need to find out if

The door slid open. Fox wasn't fast enough to shut the datapad before whoever it was had already seen the glow of the screen in the dark.

"Really?" It was Thire. Fox didn't need to turn his head to see.

"Really", he answered, and turned to look anyway. Thire hadn't switched the lights on in the room yet, but even against the light coming from the hallway behind him, Fox could see that he looked kind of disappointed. "Did Stone make you come here?"

"Stone, Thorn, Index, who didn't?" Thire asked. He hadn't yet stepped in, and despite the expression on his face and the tone of his voice, Fox could see that he was a bit nervous. It made sense. Thire had not been made a Commander yet, even thought the promotion was pretty much imminent, which meant that Fox was still his superior officer in a way that he wasn't for Thorn and Stone.

Which meant that Fox needed to make the decision for him.

"Come in and shut the door", he said. "And switch on the lights."

He squinted his eyes when the bright, yellow-tinted light flickered on. It didn't hurt as much as it did a couple of days ago, at the very least, so there was some progress. Fox decided not to say that out loud, though.

Thire took the one chair they had in their bunk room, and positioned it right in front of Fox's cot.

"Have you found anything?" He asked. Either he didn't feel comfortable admonishing Fox further, or he wanted to get to the point. Either option was good right now in Fox's book.

"Not too much", Fox admitted. "Though that's not a surprise, I've barely made a dent to the files. There's a lot of them."

Thire nodded, and then hesitated for a second, before speaking again.

"Can I help?" He asked. "I've done my work for the night, and Index told me that I need to take a sleep shift today, so I don't have anything better to do."

"A sleep shift means you should be sleeping."

"And having a concussions means you shouldn't be working." Thire looked almost suprised at this own words. "Sorry, Sir."

"No, you're correct", Fox said. "I'd much rather take that from you than from Thorn or Stone. Is Thorn back yet?"

"No." Thire shook his head. "I talked with him maybe an hour ago. He was still a bit...grumpy?"

"I see." Perhaps Index should call Thorn in for a sleep shift as well. It wasn't that Fox expected him to be in a good mood all the time, but he had been tense and annoyed at pretty much everything for the past two days. Fox really needed to get back to work, if having to take on his duties as well caused this to happen to his Commanders.

Thire cleared his throat.

"Can I get the files?" He asked.

"Right. I'll send them over." Fox opened up his messages. "I've marked the ones I have already read, so you don't need to bother with those."

"Thank you." They lapsed into a silence as the files transferred to Thire's datapad, and it continued as they both got into reading. It wasn't a bad silence, though. Fox could see that Thire was just tired, and didn't wish to speak, and Fox felt very much the same. It was still nice, to have someone in the same room working with him. Fox had never done too well with just silence, but that was the case for most of the clones. It just happened when you grew up having someone around you constantly.

He briefly thought of Cody and the others. Did they ever have to do things like this? Most likely, though Fox assumed it was reading over old battle reports and strategies, more than combing through reports of crimes from the past few decades. The former was something they were all familiar with, at the very least. Fox had not been trained to be a Security Officer, as there had been no demand for such while they had been in training, as far as he had understood it. The Guard was something that had been created precisely at the moment the war had started, and Fox had been pushed into the role.

Fox did understand why: the Chancellor and the Senate wanted a good defense force on the Capital, and they had picked the troopers that had the highest marks for the job. Understanding that still didn't erase the feeling of him being wasted.

His train of thought was interrupted with Thire making a noise. Fox lifted his eyes to see him grimace at this datapad.

"What is it?" He asked. Thire glanced at Fox, then back at whatever he was reading.

"Nothing", he said. "This report is just...a bit unsettling? Sounds more like some horror story than a report."

Fox wasn't exactly suprised. The Guard had just barely started to move down to the lower levels, and they had all already seen pretty gruesome things. There was bound to be more of that in the reports.

"Was there anything relevant for this case?" He asked.

Thire scowled at his screen.

"Not that I saw", he said. "...can I share this with Here and the others? They've started to collect whatever creepy stories they have heard. They would love this."

Thire didn't sound overtly enthusiastic himself, which was a bit surprising. Fox had not taken him for someone who was spooked easily.

"Sure", he said. "But tell them that they cannot spread any personal information of anyone mentioned in the report."

"Of course", Thire said. He typed something quickly, and then seemed to move on to the next report, if the slight loosening of his expression meant anything.

The silence lasted for a few minutes more.

Then both of their commlinks went off.

Thire reached his first.

"It's an emergency notification", he said. "From the medbay."

Concussion be damned. Index wasn't someone who used the emergency notifications for no good reason. Fox got out of his cot, and grabbed his boots.

"Let's go", he said. Thire didn't need to be told twice.

[nostromo13]

Fandom: Fairy Tail

Pairing: Nalu

Rating: T

Summary: Following the Alvarez war, Natsu has to come to terms with a new reality.

Merry Christmas! I did this one for @endragoneel and I loved their prompts. I wish I'd had more time for it, but other commitments got in the way. I hope you love it regardless, Ever. I definitely want to write more on this topic in the future. Also a big thank you to @allaboutnalu for the mountain of effort that went into organizing the whole gift exchange <3

A little additional info: Cymorth, the title, is a Welsh word that translates to support/aid (thank you to the anonymous person who corrected me on what I previously thought it was! I really appreciated it as I’m rusty on my Welsh)

AO3 Link

Cymorth

“No, dipshit, side K should be on side 296. Wait, that can’t be right.” Gray grumbled, snatching up the instructions to take another look.

Natsu groaned. His hands hadn’t hurt this much since he’d thrown Zeref through the wall of the guildhall. Or maybe since waking up on Tenrou island and the sleep state had preserved not only him but all the cuts and bruises of the fight with Hades too. They’d been at this table and its gibberish instructions for hours, doing their part in the post Alvarez war rebuild by shaping up Magnolia’s library. The whole rebuild process taking way too long for his liking and aching palms were just adding to his impatience.

When Gray began to grumble again, he’d decided he’d had enough. He let the pieces he was holding together at a weird 79 degree angle drop to the floor, creating a loud bang that displeased his entire team and earned him a few choice words as he made his way over to Lucy’s bedroom.

He spied his girlfriend as he poked his head through her doorway, seeing that she was busy sorting through the piles of books torn down from the library shelves in the tremors caused by Acnologia’s attacks. The rest of their teammates had set up base in her living room, arguing through the instructions to build a new book returns table, the noise of which had sent her out to, as she put it, concentrate. He’d sat back from that argument for once, finding more enjoyment in observing since constructing things was not one of his strengths.

Feeling like she was a little too comfortable he readied himself for a sneak attack. Legs set to pounce, fingers ready to poke her relentlessly into annoyance and muscles primed to hold on until she either paid attention to him or Lucy kicked him for pestering her.

He took one step towards her, then another. Her back faced him and with every move closer he could feel the anticipation of how delicious this attack was going to be. Listening to Erza and Gray bark orders at Wendy, Carla and Happy all afternoon had his attention well and truly fried and more importantly his Lucy quota was severely deficient.

His attack progression paused for a moment as he caught himself up in the excitement of it. His partner was in front of him. Alive and safe, busy kneeled in a mountain of books that he was sure to be her happy place. He let out a quiet laugh to himself, foolishly giving the game away and attracting her attention.

Lucy turned her head to pay him a quick glance before returning to her work, speaking to him. “Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to help me?”

“I’m bored.” He complained, rather like an impatient child. Or dragon slayer.

He joined her anyway, nudging a space for himself with his foot in the book pile with more carelessness than Lucy would appreciate. “If the table is done you could see what they’re doing at the guildhall. I have a few more hours of work before I’m done here tonight and I’m not sure how much fun you’ll find this, sorry.”

He gave her bedroom a glance for anything to distract himself while she worked, but nothing took his fancy after so many hours of a tedious task. His attention only really fell on who he’d come in here to distract. His girlfriend enjoyed little organisation jobs and appeared entirely content in the little book nest she’d messied the bedroom floor with.

In the few hours he hadn’t seen her Lucy had tied her hair up. It lay in a braid down her back, and pieces were slipping out each time she moved her head from the absentminded attempt to get her hair out of her face while trying to continue working at the same time.

With an audible “Hmph” Natsu sat himself down behind her. He tugged the hair tie gently so it fell into his hand and he got to work combing out any tangles with his fingers.

He felt her tilt her head slightly into his fidgeting, glad she hadn’t put up a protest and possibly gladder that he hadn’t gone through with his first approach of distracting her. As he worked through her hair and began braiding her features released the tense expression that she usually wore when she needed to concentrate. Lucy always looked a little upset when she did that and he could never quite wrap his head around the idea that she was perfectly okay, She had agreed that her resting face was one that did appear quite frowny, but she’d assured him she wasn’t really thinking of anything when she was like that.

“I’m bored.” Her brow creased as she held two books in her hand, looking between them, but she didn’t acknowledge his statement. “And I’m hungry.”

“Gray said he was going on a food run in a bit. Why don’t you go with him?”

“Don’t wanna go with him. He’s smelly.”

She chuckled a little, not wanting to encourage his insult. “I have too much to do. Go get food and I’ll join you when it’s here.”

He tied the end of her new braid off, letting it fall flat against her back and shuffled closer so his chin could rest on her shoulder, pressing a kiss to the fabric of one of his hoodies that lived here. “Take a break with me.”

She smiled, shaking her head.

“C’mon, you’ll strain your eyes.”

With a little huff of her own she began to stretch her legs, leaning against his chest comfortably as she did so. He tucked her head under his chin, meeting her eyes at an angle that made her giggle. “Pizza or Pad see ew?”

“Why do you get to choose?”

He stood as she moved, offering her a hand up off the floor. “Because it’s my turn. And only a few take out places have passed the damage checks.” Her eyes narrowed on him. “I want crepes.”

He hadn’t gathered the heart to tell her nowhere would be open at this time that did them when Gray dropped an agitated f-bomb from the adjoining room. Natsu laughed loudly with Lucy, hoping the ice freak could hear him through the wall.

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

With a quick goodbye and collection of orders from their teammates, they set off down the canal streets to the centre of town where more food options were available. Lucy had opted for a jacket as the September air was now turning frigid and Lucy was the sort that if she didn’t have a hundred layers on in the colder months she’d complain until her fingers fell off. Except he’d never let that happen.

Her fingers met his as they walked, her pale hand clasping his tanned one together in an easy swing between them. It was a short walk to the town centre, and a small debate between the two ended them up at a small dumpling place being run out of the back of a pizza restaurant in an agreement made by two neighbourly owners for the time it took for Magnolia to rebuild.

“I’ve got Wendy some mango pudding.” She told him as she joined him standing outside the restaurant for their order to be prepared. “She liked it here last time, but it can be hit and miss.”

Natsu nodded, taking her hand back. Her skin felt cool in his, contrary to her having been inside moments ago, although his warmer temperature made it hard to tell sometimes. “Are you cold?”

“No, I’m fine. It’s just chilly.”

She didn’t need to ask. He ran his arms up and down hers, pulling her closer so she could benefit off his body heat.

“It’s only 50 degrees.”

He laughed at her trying to pretend it wasn’t a big deal. It always felt like a big deal to him when she couldn’t handle the winter months as well as him. He hated the way it made her slow in the mornings and shower ten minutes longer each time. It was nice that it made her cuddle up to him more. She was less of a physically affectionate person, whereas he naturally drifted towards it. At least with her anyway. He’d identified a similar thought sometime around her birthday just before the war.

She gave into his warmth, thinking they probably appeared silly to anyone that looked at them both rubbing her arms.

“After the heat from your book everything just feels a bit mediocre in comparison.” She admitted jokingly between them. “Don’t look at me like that, Natsu. I didn’t mean it to worry you.”

“I always worry about you.” His eyes dropped from hers, looking at the thick coat on her shoulders. He’d ceased warming her arms, stopped her biceps.

“Food order for Lucy.” A waiter called out from the restaurant doors, holding out two full paper bags.

Natsu dropped his hold, grabbing the food with a “Thanks” before they set off back.

The roads were quiet this time of night, and the currently displaced citizens temporarily living in Onibus meant the place was even less populated. Magnolia wasn’t meant to be quiet. Natsu was used to there being a hundred different sounds to choose from every time they walked down the main streets. Now all he could hear was the canal beneath their feet under the bridge and Lucy struggling to adjust her hold on the dumplings.

“Give it here.” Liberating the bag, he paused as she protested. She glared, pouting unconscious of where the streetlights managed to shadow the top portion of her face, making it all the more funny to him.

“What?”

He smirked, showing a cheeky canine. “Nothing.”

“Can we go home then. I’m freezing my butt off out here.” She waddled on the spot in a little Lucy-warming-up dance, trying to produce some friction between her hands. He only responded by watching, making a face that didn’t require him to verbalise to call her a weirdo. “Natsu please it’s practically Baltic.”

“I wanna sit for a bit.”

“The food will get cold.”

He ignored her, dumping the bags by the bridge side and sitting on the stone ledge, letting his legs dangle freely. She may have huffed and puffed behind him in annoyance, but knowing if she had would have required him to put in the effort to turn around. “I’ll warm it up later.” He excused when she finally joined him.

They sat for a small while, taking in the pleasures of a calm September night. The rebuild effort was taking a lot out of everyone at the guild and sometimes Natsu just needed a moment. He thought that after the war forced their lives to stop as it raged through everything they called home he could take a few moments to appreciate it occasionally. Even if it meant food would wait five minutes.

Beside him Lucy swung her legs, leaning back to watch the stars, her teeth absentmindedly chewing on her lip. He hadn’t meant to start watching her, but she had a way of capturing his attention sometimes, and it surprised him when she suddenly spoke.

“Do you think about END?” Lucy asked, eyes still buried in the night sky.

He felt himself frown. It was a valid question; he just never knew where she got them from when she came up with stuff like this. Normally it was more along the lines of ‘What do you think sheep count to go to sleep?’ and not the existential sort. He nodded. “Not so much when I’m in the shower, but when I’m hungry I know he needs feeding.”

She smiled. “I get it if you don’t want to talk about it.”

Actually, she really didn’t get it. She’d analysed every bit of her life since they found out her partner was END to see any way she could relate to what he was going through. Finding out something so big so far down the line felt earthshattering to her.

“I guess it answered some questions for me.” He shrugged and she turned, listening with care. “I didn’t know there was a part of me out there in some book, but it doesn’t feel strange.” He paused before he continued with a new thought. “Like when they said I’ve got that dysleck- dyslexic what’s-it.”

“Dyslexia.”

“Yeah. And I didn’t know letters weren’t meant to look like that because that’s all I know. It’s not as if dragons get dyslexia, so how was Igneel supposed to have spotted it when he was teaching me.”

She hummed, understanding better.

“END doesn’t feel separate to me. I just feel a little less tied down.” Natsu corrected himself when worry graced her features. “Not tied down. Just… I think it’s the knowing now that I was tied to that thing, tied to Zeref when he’s the bastard that’s been causing us trouble for so long. I’m happy I got to pound his face into the ground.”

“Without him I never would have met you.” Lucy spoke with a small smile. “I know it’s wrong for me to think about it like that when the whole of Fiore has been affected by what he’s done. I can’t help but want to be a little selfish. Without you I-”

“I get it.” He interrupted accidentally in his eagerness to agree. “I haven’t exactly processed what he did or what he is meant to mean to me. I don’t care about rushing on that. It gave me a chance to meet you, and Happy and everyone else. I wouldn’t be me without ya.”

He gathered her into his hold, her arms holding tight around his neck. She pressed her nose into Natsu’s collar, inhaling his warmth as he stroked her hair. They sat like that for a few minutes. The only presence around them on the cold street whatever wildlife hadn’t been scared off or killed in the war.

Finally, he pulled away. “Did you find the book after you lost it?”

Lucy shook her head. “It disintegrated, Natsu. It shouldn’t be possible for it to turn up again.”

He didn’t like the way her mouth had settled into a sharp line. His skin pricked with anxiety as a wave of stress washed over him. “Does me being END bother you? Like, dating me?”

“What?” She didn’t drop the line, instead directing it more towards him. “Why would you think that? I-” She allowed herself to breathe, refocusing herself on the conversation. “I love you. I love every part of you.”

“Every part?” He grinned into an innuendo, achieving the look of dismay he sought from his girlfriend.

“If I do break up with you it’ll be over you saying stuff like that in public. Maybe I’ll shack up with Cana.” She quickly backtracked. “No actually, she’d be worse.”

“Like you making gooey eyes at my chest when we’re at the guildhall is any different? Besides,” He leaned in closer, his breath meltingly warm against her lips. “We’re not in public. There’s no one here.”

She felt a warm hand place on her thigh, stroking above her jeans, the surprise of it sparking the same feeling Natsu could always elicit from her. Lips pressed to her own, paying particular attention to where she abused the skin frequently as he continued kissing her. Lucy pressed her chest closer to his with a tug on his jacket. His hand came up to stroke her cheek, taking his lips away to smile down at her. She felt herself getting enchanted, and it took a good effort for her to steel herself, brushing his hand off and standing up, too aware of the sharp drop into water 2 inches of a footstep wrong. “If you’re going to do that it’s not going to be where any peeping Tom can get a free show from their curtains. We’ve got food to deliver, come on.”

He followed her off the edge, picking up their food before slinging an arm around her shoulders. Their delay in grabbing dinner had meant a very hangry Gray and several apologies from Lucy, but they did eventually get a Natsu-rewarmed meal.

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

Natsu yawned as he shuffled out of bed, stretching his arms over his head as he made his way to the bathroom in the dark. He’d heard the hour beep on Lucy’s bedside alarm clock, and by his guess it was about 2 AM. Erza, Gray, Wendy and the exceeds had left around 10, leaving him to distract Lucy from the hundred more books she insisted needed sorting tonight. He had managed to coax her into another rewatch of How to Train Your Dragon. A movie he insisted was a cinematic marvel and later when Lucy had introduced the books to him a literary marvel too.

Upon leaving the bathroom he glanced over to his girlfriend passed out in the bed. She’d encroached onto his side in the few minutes he had taken to pee and, worrying it might’ve meant she was seeking his heat, he decided on fetching another blanket to throw on top of the small mountain she required.

He opened her chest of drawers first, finding none of the thicker sort she preferred, before opening her wardrobe. He lifted the first of the fluffy ones, gathering the large monstrosity over his shoulder as his eye caught on the object that had sat beneath the blanket.

It was a book. One with worn brown leather bound to a thick manuscript of papers. It had a patiently decorated boarder with a small sun facing down from the top. If he’d analysed it closely he maybe could have seen that it had been read and re-read many times, but his attention lay solely on the front cover, and the black painted-on font that read ‘E.N.D’.

[mageofseven]

When Heat Cools: A MephistoMC Love Story

Chapter 9

Taglist: @astroseuss @fcxyviixen @jar-of-moondust @marvelous-maniac @ghost-mint @darkflowerav @missloserqueen

TW: implied r*pe and a scene that, despite not showing it, heavily implies that it comes (or came, since it happened in the past) after that for the character.

If this is an especially triggering topic for you, please either skip the chapter or skip the section written in

Xxxxxxx

the format type shown above.

Oh and snakes. If you are afraid of snakes, the same section won't be to your liking.

It was the next day that MC had gotten a call from Mephisto.

"Hey..." She murmured into the phone. "I'm sorry I fell asleep on you the other day."

"...MC, you literally had another man reach into and manipulate your soul in order to read it's properties." The nobleman spoke in disbelief.

Does the woman really not understand how dangerous and extreme what she went through was? Was it better that she didn't?

"Yeah, I know but..." The human's voice trailed of as she laid a hand of her belly.

In truth...she was just feeling self-conscious about having to be taken care of and knew as her pregnancy progressed, this apparently very special pregnancy, that she will likely have more times when she will have to lean on him when she is more used to having him lean on her.

Mephisto huffed and shook his head on the other line.

"Look, just don't worry about it." He told her before pursing his lips. "I...listen, I need you to come to my home after dinner today."

MC raised her eyebrows. Despite their long, weird friendship, the human has never been to their boyfriend's home before.

"Uh...why exactly...?"

"My parents...have received Lord Diavolo's message and wish to speak with both of us." He explained. "Though I do believe they have ulterior motives, I also believe they do want to meet the woman I am risking so much for more."

Oh. Oh devil. I mean, meeting your partner's parents for the first time is often not the easiest thing in the world, but when they already hate you and blame everything going wrong on you and literally wanted you dead but MC doesn't know this?

This was honestly really scary for the woman.

"Mi corazón, it will be alright." He cajoled. "I will be right beside you; you'll be safe."

"What if they grow to hate me more?" She asked. "I don't want to be at odds with your parents forever."

These people wanted to kill her and she is worried about their opinion? Okay, he realizes she doesn't know that, but the man still finds her words a bit ridiculous.

"Now is not the time to worry about how they feel." Mep tugged her back down to reality. "Just...I need you to come, listen to what they have to say and then we will get you a safe distance away from them."

"Do you really think they would hurt me?"

In truth, Dia's message has bound their hands somewhat, but Mephisto didn't want to chance anything, especially with his mother; just like the snakes she controlled, you never knew when she was going to strike.

"I don't know," He spoke truthfully. "But I'd rather take no chances, alright? Now, I'll send a car to pick you up around 6:30pm (18:30) later, alright?"

The human nodded into the phone.

"Alright..."

~

The car came around later that evening, just as Mephisto said it was. She stepped inside and rode in silence, arm around her belly as she stared out the window.

Was it...stupid that she wanted Mephisto's parents' approval? In truth, she just didn't want anymore fighting. She didn't want Mephisto to deal with his parents' anger and disapproval, didn't want her babies to grow up without grandparents or around drama and hostility.

If only she could just fix things...yet she was at a loss. How could she when in their eyes, MC and her children were the very problem? This is a problem that the human just can't see herself getting passed.

Once the car pulled up in front of a mansion--a mansion that could easily rival Diavolo's castle in size. MC stared at the building from her seat, suddenly intimidated.

Like yeah, she knew her boyfriend and his family were wealthy because because let's face it, Mephisto used to make his family's money a big part of his personality. Still, this wealthy? Like, Diavolo?

The driver opened her door for her, knocking the pregnant human out of her thoughts.

This was the first time MC had really focused on the man who drove her all this way.

This man looked to be in his early twenties by human standards and had medium reddish-brown hair long enough to tie in a tidy ponytail that laid against his shoulder. His horns looked like twigs and were angled in a waysl that the dark brown sticks hid within his hair.

He wore half-frame glasses over warm brown eyes and wore a professional outfit; black slacks, a long sleeve dress shirt, and a dark maroon vest with a bow tie on his somewhat scrawny figure. To top off the look, he had a tail the same color as his vest wrapped around his waist, whether for practicality, as a pretend belt or a constant hug, who knows.

He extended a gloved hand and a polite smile to her.

"Please allow me."

MC hesitated and stared at that the giant mansion behind him, causing the man's eyes to soften.

"You will be with my master; I promise you will have nothing to fear."

The human bit her lip, but accepted his hand.

Suddenly, her vision went bright just as it had in the past and all external sound silenced before the scene filled in.

The man who was originally in from of her and smiling so kindly at her was now at the bottom of what looked to be a snake pit. The man was younger than he appeared outside the vision and was screaming as various snakes coiled around him and bit him till eventually he was paralyzed where he laid.

The man couldn't even blink, but tears still slid down his cheeks as he listened to something big slither from down the dark tunnel in front of him.

From dark emerged a woman, long violet hair, dark eyes that glowed the same violet shade, part of the top an impressive tall figure, the more humanoid half. The bottom half was a long snake-like tail that dissipated into smoke before showing off her long legs.

The woman cut through the pile of snakes like it was the most natural thing in the world and approached the paralyzed man, who was practically a boy in comparison to her.

She leaned in and whispered into his ear.

"Let's see how long you can survive with me."

She takes a long fingernail down his ripped shirt, tracing a line all the way down to his clothed waist.

Her eyes stare down into his, holding a gaze that only be described by MC as evil and mischievous, before gently grabbing at the man's pants and leaning into his neck with her fangs for a bite--

"My lady? My lady?"

The vision was over and MC was back in front of the mansion, her hand in the servant's as she panted and cried from what she just saw.

The human looked up at this poor man, the same man she watched suffer in her vision, and noticed the scarring on his neck, some puncture marks looking like the bite she saw him receive.

It happened. That happened to this man. Oh devil. He couldn't have been more than what? Eighteen? Nineteen physically when that happened to him? That's how he appeared in the vision anyway.

The man in front of her put a gloved hand on her cheek guiding her to look up at his warm brown orbs.

"What is wrong? My lady, are you hurt?" His voice was soft and his hand her cheek was incredibly gentle. Who could ever hurt a man like this? "If have offended you in someway, I do sincerely apologize, truly."

And he did sound so genuine, despite having done not a single thing wrong. He was such a kind and sensitive man...

"No...no..." MC tried to steady her breathing as she wiped the tears from her face. "I...I-Its been hard lately and I guess it just randomly overflowed. I...I'm so sorry; you shouldn't have to see this."

This was the best excuse the woman could give in the moment and in truth, it was a plausible one. After all, no unexpected pregnancy is easy, let alone one where you are recreating the first generation of humankind and having visions of the past--apparently even others' personal pasts.

The man drop his hand from her cheek and stared in pity for a moment.

"I apologize. Do you need a moment alone before we go inside?"

MC took a deep breath before shaking her head.

"I'm fine. Really." MC extended her hand out to him, hoping he would take it again so they could proceed.

The man stared at her for a moment before softly nodding and taking her hand once more.

He carefully helped her out of the car and wrapped another around her back as they climbed the stairs to the front door. It was a protective touch, one out of necessity. After that surprise outburst in the car, the man worried that his master's girlfriend might not be at her best today and did not want her hurting herself. He was respectful with it and the touch ended as soon as they were safely at the top by the door.

Once here, he led her into the foyer where Mephisto waited for her.

The nobleman had stopped pacing just in time not to be caught by his girlfriend; something she surely would have scolded him for if she noticed. Such excessive movement really wasn't good on his bad leg, but it was all he could do to release the nervous energy in situations like this.

As soon as he noticed them walk in, he quickly approached his love, meeting both her and the servant in the middle of the foyer.

"There you are." He took her hand. "Did you eat dinner before you came?"

MC shook her head, refusing to look at him.

"I...didn't really have much of an appetite, if I'm honest..."

Mephisto huffed.

"Those stupid--" The nobleman cut himself off; he can't allow himself to say things that will just upset her right now. "The brothers should have made sure you did. They love to brag how they take care of you, but now that you are eating for more than just yourself, they seem to be slacking."

"Mep--"

Her boyfriend let go of her hand and instead wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close.

"I'll make sure you and the babies eat after this." He promised, rubbing her small belly. "You are not going without, alright?"

Despite everything, his words brought just a little peace to her heart. No matter how much chaos it felt like was filling her day, from her worries about her kids, to her visions, to her impending meeting with her in-laws (she and Mephisto weren't married, but she was carrying his parents' grandchildren so they were pretty much her in-laws), his words gave her feelings of stability and comfort.

Mephisto looked to his servant, the man who drove her here.

"I assume there was no issues? That her ride was comfortable?"

The younger man leaned in and whispered into his master's ear.

Mephisto suddenly had a pained look on his face.

"I...thank you for letting me know, Dorian. I appreciate it." He told his servant.

"Can I do anything else for you two, master?"

"No. We are at risk for running late as it is. Just...thank you again for your help."

The servant, Dorian, gave a small bow before leaving the couple.

Mephisto leaned in and kissed his girlfriend.

"I'm sorry you're having such a hard day." He told her. "Hopefully...hopefully this will be quick and we can move on."

"D...Did he tell you about what happened in the car?" She asked softly.

He nodded.

"It's perfectly fine to be stressed out about everything--"

"It's a bit more than that." She explained. "But like...we'll have to wait till later to talk about it."

Mep pressed his lips to her forehead.

"Alright." He agreed before speaking firmly. "Now I need you to listen to me before we go in there; we need to establish some ground rules before you even step into the same room as my parents."

"Mep...you make me feel as if I just stepped foot into a mafia boss headquarters."

The worst part about that comparison was that what very little Mephisto knew about various human mafia groups did not conflict much with his own family so he could not deny it.

Instead, he pursed his lips for a moment before he continued.

"First, stay next to me; behind me preferably." He began. "Second, do not speak unless spoken to and even then, keep your responses short. I will try to answer most of their questions."

Devil, her heart was pounding and the human couldn't tell if it was all from the situation she was about to walk into or if some of it was still from the vision she had out in the car.

Regardless, she had to move forward.

With his arm still wrapped around her, the nobleman takes his girlfriend down the east hall and into the second room down on the right, into the drawing room.

Here his parents waited for the couple, standing with their gaze towards the door.

MC froze in the doorway as soon as her eyes fell on her mother-in-law.

Tall. Long purple hair. Dark abyssal purple eyes.

She was the woman from her vision. The one...the one who hurt Dorian.

"Mi corazón?" Mep called out to her, but the human couldn't hear him.

Luckily, her boyfriend already had an arm around her so when the human passed out, Mephisto caught her easily enough.

"Well isn't she dramatic?" His mother spit out venomously

And that, along with her boyfriend's pleads, were the last things she heard before the world went dark.

[carpememes]

Oban Star Racers Starters (part 2)

"Good thing I ate light."

"How was today's training?"

"They're making good progress. You'll be very happy."

"Me, me, me. A simple 'good luck' would be nice just once."

"Thinking about your dad again?"

"Now's the time to show Daddy what you're really made of."

"Unfortunately my dad happens to be a complete jerk."

"Keep digging. Remember I don't like surprises."

"Out of my way! I need this victory!"

"Cut her some slack, you're just gonna freak her out."

"I asked you to coach them, not me."

"What do you think I'm doing? Knitting you a sweater?"

"You did the best you could to stop them, but they still won the race."

"Maybe it's time you got a life."

"My life is perfectly fine as it is, thank you."

"I'd sure hate to be your son. Or for that matter, your daughter."

"You really have no sense of adventure."

"We're racing. Or was that not obvious enough for you?"

"I cut all links to my past in order to survive."

"I can't believe you managed to keep this from me all these years."

"Let's get out there and kick some alien butt!"

"You'd think I'd be more relaxed by now, but it's just the opposite."

"The higher we climb, the more I fear our fall."

"I don't make a habit of befriending opponents. It can lead to disappointment."

"I'm counting on you, my darling."

"Have you ever known me to be careless, honey?"

"I know that wicked creature."

"If we don't get him, he'll get us!"

"This creature is evil. We have to get rid of him, trust me."

"I'm asking you for the last time! Come to your senses!"

"I know who you are. You're not alone in life."

"I wish you would never have left me."

"Your optimism is commendable but I find that unlikely."

"Our relationship has always been rather tense, wouldn't you say?"

"If I was your daughter, I'd never want to see you again!"

"I just wanted to cheer on the kids."

"This is much better than being in the hospital."

"I do this under protest."

"Not even I could have pulled that stunt."

"Please don't look at me this way. It only makes it harder."

"It's time for me to think about my new life."

"You could sleep through anything."

"They've not been locked in. We've simply been locked out."

"I could stay here forever."

"Don't even breathe. Run for your life when I say go."

"I'm told he won't bite."

"On my planet, when you make a promise you keep it."

"Any attempt of a competitor's life is strictly forbidden!"

"If you're ready, we're off to the races!"

"I'm just keeping an eye on him. There's no law against that is there?"

"We don't need a dad to come along."

"I hope you're pleased with yourself. I was scared, you know!"

"Next time you're thinking of going on a little stroll, you're on your own."

"Where on earth have you been? We've been worried sick!"

"I'd advise you not to take my authority lightly."

"So long, pretty boy, I'll send you a card."

"I refuse to believe it's the end of the world."

"Oh great. Let them eat somebody else."

"That man is totally heartless."

"I never miss a music recital. Would you care to join. me?"

"No need to worry. ___'s in good hands."

"Oh, brilliant shortcut. We should just announce ourselves."

"You'll find heaters in the storage area."

"What'd she do? Steal from your shop? Leave her hotel room without paying for it?"

"She was up all night waiting for your call."

"I'm gonna win the race today!"

"I knew today was my day."

"So many possibilities... It's beautiful."

"The day a tin can gets the better of me I quit."

"Looks like we have a clear night tonight."

"I've never had a chance to ask you much about your life."

"I see. An only child. Your parents must've smothered you."

"If I were your daughter, you'd know it immediately."

"I hope you haven't forgotten our special date."

"Tonight's our anniversary. How could I forget that?"

"You really pulled out all the stops tonight, haven't you?"

"You married a racer, not a dancer."

"I've never actually waltzed before."

"I wish every night could be like this."

"Why, look who's here. It's my little champion."

"My poor baby. It's okay now, we're back."

"You've made me the happiest man in the world."

"Space would be a terrible place for me to die."

"Have you gone mad? We cannot stop half way."

"Stay away from me. For your own protection."

"Forget we were ever friends."

"Let's stick to the official theories, if you don't mind."

"I've wanted to tell you this for a long time, but something always seems to get in the way."

"Of course, if you don't feel the same way, I totally understand."

"You don't have to say anything. I'll just leave these flowers here and wait outside."

"Why did you change?!"

[pure-garbage]

Quest To Find God! Belief And Heretical Pride!

Skypeia was wondrous until it was terrifying. In that sense, it was just like everywhere else Lana had been with her crew. At least, it seemed that way until Nami came within a hair's breadth of what she claimed was the very wrath of god himself.

Given the extent to which Nami was shaken up, Lana was inclined to believe her. Skepticism was the main force keeping her own sense of existential horror at bay as the progression of events quickly spiraled out of control.

By now, Lana was used to everything being completely out of control all the time. Death was a distinct and looming possibility, but death was hardly enough to make her work up a sweat after all she'd been through with the other straw hats.

"I hope Luffy snags me a pair of those air skates on his way to save us," she sighed, nonchalant as she trekked through the jungle with Robin, Nami and Zoro. "Those things are so cool! I wonder if they would work forever if we brought them back down with us."

"How can you be worried about a silly gadget at a time like this?!" Nami demanded. "I told you what I saw! You should be scared out of your mind!"

"I'm not sure what you saw," Lana admitted. "Until we get some answers, I'm not going to let some faceless boogeyman scare me."

"It's not a faceless boogeyman! It's literally GOD!"

"I won't believe it until I see it," Lana insisted.

"Boogyeman, god... in the end, it doesn't really matter," Zoro put in. "Whoever it is, they're going to pay for hassling us."

"It's hopeless!" Nami wept. "This lunatic really thinks he can cut down god!"

Lana turned briefly to appraise him, bringing up the rear with his hands deep in his pockets.

"If anyone could, it would be Zoro," she observed.

The comment tickled the swordsman's pride and piqued his interest.

"I take it you're not buying this god crap either," he noted.

"Well... I guess... at this point I'm just hoping it's not true," Lana sighed.

"Why? You a believer? Scared your god will judge you?" Zoro pressed, goading.

"You're half right," Lana allowed, intentionally ignoring the snide bite in his tone. "I do believe in a higher power, but I'm not convinced it lives on this island."

"Why not?"

God or no, Zoro was excited to challenge anything with the gall to claim the title. Lana paused, missing one step. That was enough to put her side-by-side with Zoro, trailing their crewmates.

"There's no point believing in a wrathful god," Lana said contemplatively. "This world is full of violence already. If power alone was enough to command my worship, I'd never stop bowing."

"So you'd rather rely on wishful thinking than or logic or popular consensus?"

"Ha, it sounds silly when you put it like that," she shrugged. "I don't know, I spent a lot of time praying when I was younger. Mostly to be set free. I never really stopped to think who I might be praying to."

"Did any of that praying ever do you a lick of good?" Zoro challenged.

"I've heard you say things like that before. I'm not surprised you're not a fan of praying. Let me guess, you prefer to solve your problems yourself," Lana guessed.

"Isn't that more practical?"

"It is. I feel like my prayers were answered through."

"That so?"

"Yeah. I didn't have any control over what happened at Whiskey Peak, but it worked out for me well enough, didn't it?"

"Whiskey Peak, huh? I remember Whiskey Peak. That's where your prayers were answered?"

"Yup. All that fighting gave me the opportunity I needed to escape."

"All that fighting was me. Or did you forget?"

"I didn't."

"Then by that logic, shouldn't I be your new god? Seeing as I was the one who answered your prayers," Zoro grinned, far too pleased with himself for cornering her. Lana wrinkled her nose at him.

"Nice try, but I'm not gonna be the first disciple of the church of the world's sweatiest swordsman," Lana chuckled. "So... what about you then?"

"Me?"

"Yeah. You don't seem like the type to follow a compassionate deity," Lana pressed.

Lana expected him to name a patron of the art he'd devoted his life to mastering, or perhaps a god of war or chaos. Zoro was a force of nature in his own right, a harbinger of destruction and terror for anyone wise enough to take him as the omen he was.

"I bow before no god," he declared instead. The answer stunned her, five simple, steadfast words that threw all her expectations and predictions out the window.

Lana spent a second being starstruck at the bold statement, then fixed her face and chuckled softly to hide that fact that he'd flustered her a little.

"I might have known. I would expect no less from the world's greatest swordsman," she smiled. Zoro smirked back at her, clearly pleased with her response.

'I have to stop stroking this guy's ego. It's too big as it is,' Lana lamented internally.

Ahead, Nami tripped with a shriek.

"I'd better help her," Lana sighed.

"Heels weren't the best choice if she was gonna tag along," Zoro grumbled.

"Cut her some slack. I didn't want to be left alone on that altar either. Kinda wish I would have changed out of this skirt, but it's too late to go back now."

___________________________________

<== Previous Chapter

Next Chapter ==>

== First Chapter ==

[we-pay-for-everything]

The Middle season 8 would be much better without all the romance. It's gotten absurd. Can no one be single for more than one episode? As the seasons progressed, the show became less about Frankie and more about Sue and Axl; which was good, in a way, since they're both arguably more likable than Frankie, their relationship is adorable, and unlike Frankie, Mike, and Brick, they've had some positive character development (Frankie and Mike regressed). However, relatable nerd Sue stopped being relatable around 4 seasons ago when the girl who never made anything became the girl everything magically happened to. And although Axl hasn't truly changed in many ways, he's become more sensitive and level-headed, and, sadly, less interesting. I think Frankie's the most charismatic character on the show, but she, along with Sue, have become too much. Sue's ignorance and naivete aren't cure anymore now she's an adult, and Frankie's awful parenting and craziness are less charming and more appalling. Still, Frankie remains the most well-rounded and compelling character of The Middle, and the show should go back to being mainly about her. It's weird that the current narrative is that Brick is the neglected youngest child when, in the beginning, the show was all about Frankie's hardships raising Brick and their special bond, and, if anything, Sue was the neglected middle child. Speaking of Brick, I wish his relationship with Cindy was less "he's weird, she's weird, it's not like they're going to find someone better" and more "everyone is different, there's someone out there for all of us; if we try to understand and respect each other, we can find the good in them". Why are Brick and Cindy in love? What are Cindy's qualities? Why are they together? It's like they gave Brick Cindy to show he's grown and has become more "normal", so no one has to worry about him anymore. I wish Brick got better storylines.

Back to the romance, I'm fine with Axl and Sue not finding "the one". In fact, I never expected them to. The show used to be about Frankie and her average, white, low middle class, American family, but now it's practically become a teen drama. I'd rather watch Axl and Sue naturally stumble through relationships than have all this drama. Are they really going to make Sue and Sean date? That happened out of nowhere. And whatever happened to Darrin? He was Sean and Axl's bestie. It's not that Lexie is a bad match for Axl, but he was super in love with April and all of a sudden he stopped? It's hard to imagine anyone being "the one" after that. Just leave them alone. They don't need to find their spouses before the show ends. Mike and Frankie are all the romance the show needs and are by far the best couple. Since I didn't say anything about Mike, I liked him less and less as the seasons progressed, and, like Brick, he needed way better storylines.

Wait, there's season 9 lmao, but what I said still stands.

[grapenehifics]

Chapter 61

Link

Just like the juxtaposition of the birth of the twins and Satine's death, I also really like the combo of very-recently widowed Obi-Wan attending a wedding.

This chapter contains a loving homage to Sallah's line, "Life goes on, Indy. There is the proof," from Raiders of the Lost Ark. (God, I wish we could get John Rhys Davies in Star Wars...)

Drinking until you lose feeling in your fingertips is something Legolas said in Return of the King (I think maybe only the extended editions?)

The name of the mother of the classmate of Ahsoka's who found weed in her room is an in-joke to myself and anyone who went to high school with me; we showed up one morning to find out the cops had come the day before and searched a bunch of lockers and had a list of people who were being suspended for possession. (I was in band; that basically meant we couldn't rehearse for the next three days because half our people were out LOL). Weed was not my particular bugaboo (and if it was, I hope I would have been smart enough not to bring it to school?), but I was a little nervous because I did have almost $100 cash in my locker because I was running an underground betting pool on our football team at the time.

Obviously different people have different preferences, but for my money, Einstein's in the best large-scale chain bagel place.

Obviously, Obi-Wan mixing alcohol and pills - and Anakin handing out his own prescription medication - is very much a 'don't try this at home' scenario. But I did want to make it clear that Anakin's not worried about drug interaction because he knows Obi-Wan's prescriptions as well as he knows his own, and that he's well aware he shouldn't be doing it, but he's so desperate to help Obi-Wan feel better he'll try just about anything. (This is also the boy who was dealing Xanax in high school, after all.)

Not that I should really be admitting this on the internet - and if you're a cop than I'm a fiction writer and this story is totally made up - but I am very much from a family where not sharing your pills would be, frankly, deeply rude. I kind of thought all families had a communal stash of muscle relaxants, honestly. Like, sure they might be a little expired, but if I ever had a headache I couldn't shake I'd have three aunts and a cousin all offering me the 'good' pain meds. I have one family member who went to pharmaceutical school because she figured it would be a shame to let all that knowledge about potential drug interactions go to waste. This was how we showed love!

Just before I left for college one of those aunts finally went to therapy, and she came back after her first session and was like, huge news, everybody, we all have something called generational trauma! Also, I flushed all my Vicodin down the garbage disposal. It took a while, but you can, actually, change family culture in a generation, and now we (well, most of us) are getting better about dealing with pain rather hiding it in alcohol and prescriptions. Or it's a work in progress, at least.

[kyrodo]

We... sussed out kaskat's group XD of all people. I never expected him to pull me away to another room lol when I turned on player pick up. Even stranger still I never expected to hop off kaskat's instance early to watch kirby. And uhhh we're being shipped together again in places I didn't expect xD choskey has been sweeter with me, and I can feel my heart melting when we're around each other. And Red is getting jealous unfortunately >.> tbh I don't know how things will progress from here. I'm more focused on the journey than the destination at this point, because the journey has been really fun. I have so many things to think about. Small things here and there that C himself has initiated and videos he's shared that relate to us. It would be difficult at this point to say I'm not his crush. And I'm really happy being around him. Petting him. Helping him understand programming. Planning out projects we'll work on together. Or things to play and watch. Helping him find his identity in the furry fandom. Helping him grow. I've helped him in so many ways and had gratitude expressed for it. And thinking back now I think cho wanted the same thing I did from vrchat. A default. Not just random people to visit now and then but someone to plan out things to do with. And that's what I became. People keep saying we're cute together. People keep matching us together onsite in public lobbies even when we're not even doing anything. Just for showing up in our avatars. But it perfectly reflects how I feel inside. I don't want to cheat or hurt Red and I don't think cho wants that either but I do love him a lot. I feel the fire burning inside with so much more weight to it than random fantasies I've had for Twitter mutuals and the like. Memories. Expressions. Identity. Personality. Interactions. Fantasies. This constant study of everything we share and do together and what he could be thinking from them. It is a much more proper crush than all the times I've admired anyone from afar. And one where I know for a fact we get along really well. The problem as always is the destination. Where can love grow when I'm already mated. And I am much more comfortable with the concept of polyamory than I was before, I didn't think I'd actually get anywhere close to it being a reality. I didn't think I'd ever meet anyone that would make me seriously consider it. Though I've certainly been in this hole a lot over the past few years. Red is unfortunately not enough to fulfill my social needs. Gaming wise or activity wise or even sexually if I want to think that far. Red always stops things early. Or regrets the recreational time we share when he'd rather be productive. Or is hyper picky about food, bright lights, socializing etc. I don't fully embrace his worship for emergency services, especially police. I get no assistance finding things to actually do together. So I think a part of me is constantly looking for someone to fill in the gaps that he leaves behind. And maybe that's why I keep falling in love. I desperately need something that I'm not getting sitting still. But I have to be very careful about it. I can't start relationships with people other than Red. I don't want to be known for that. So I'm basically trying to get as close as I can to one without actually making that final step. But again there's no final goal beyond spending as much time as I can with my crush. A situation I never seem to escape but learned to navigate better and safer.

I genuinely and deeply care for choskey. I want to see him happy. I want to see him grow. And I want to spend as much time as I can with him. Because it makes me feel extremely happy. A part of me constantly wishes I could be so much more for him. But maybe this is all I need.

And I know a part of it is to also make up for my trauma, my social and romantic failings. But there's so much more depth to it than that now. Cho's personality and presence is baked into my life now, my daily thoughts, my dreams and wishes. There are very good reasons for me to feel the way I do, reasons even people on the outside would have to respect I think. I mostly wish I had always been this respectful. I would never have gotten hurt at the very least, or at least it would have hurt quieter and without any added drama. Even though I keep falling in love, I'm proud of who I am now, and I don't feel as ashamed about it.

[aikoiya]

Eeee... Maybe not tell OoT about how he does return... He returns as WW in the Adult Timeline & as TP in the Child Timeline. He fails to succeed then, either.

Or that even in the timeline where he does succeed, he becomes a blue bipedal boar monster, killed & his essence sealed away.

Then, he's resurrected, like, 6 times (7, if you count Zelda III Curse of Ganon, though I know nothing about it) in the Downfall Timeline & with each subsequent resurrection, he progressively loses more of his persondom until, in Zelda II, he's reduced to little more than a bipedal suilline shadow no longer even capable of speech. Reduced to a feral, rabid animal lashing out at anything & everything around him...

I... would not wish his fate on even my worst, most hated enemy. And, it's not anything put on him by others, either. It's pretty apparent that death doesn't actually have as little of an effect upon him as he might like to think. Because, every time he's brought back, he seems to lose something vital of himself.

And by refusing to change or improve or let go of his hatred, that eventually becomes all he is.

It's REALLY freaking sad if you think about it.

And, TotK didn't even just die. He gave up his personhood in a desperate attempt to succeed, thereby proving that he isn't even a true Social Darwinist of the Struggler archetype. Because, if he were, then he'd have accepted his defeat with the grace expected of a king.

Though, his decision to devest himself of his persondom in a desperate attempt to win might, in a way, be like a twisted reflection of the Bushidō code's Yasushi Shi Fukutsu precept. Meaning, "better die than compromise." Which is the reason for the Seppuku or ritualistic suicide via disembowelment by a sword or knife that was expected of a warrior who had faced disgrace, failure, or dishonor.

However, considering the other precepts of the Bushidō code, I find it difficult to believe that what it eventually became was what it originally meant.

Because, over time, it became twisted into a sort of thinking that gave rise to a belief that those who surrendered were little more than animals. Though, I would argue that they saw them as even less than that, as the types of atrocities that a specific Japanese unit has been documented to have committed against those who were defeated was... Let's just say that even the Nazis viewed it as cruel & leave it at that...

Regardless, it's possible that if a Struggler archetype were to become infected with a twisted version of Yasushi Shi Fukutsu, then it might result in the sort of situation where TotK gave up his humanity & sense of self for the vague possibility of a victory that he wouldn't even get to enjoy.

Regardless, the only true victory for him would've only come before the moment he swallowed the Secret Stone, because the moment he did, it was his swan song.

... Basically, Ganondorf's victories... well, it always appears to be Pyhhric in nature. That being that, yes, he succeeds, but at a cost too high to have been a worthwhile venture. It leaves no possibility for growth or betterment or progress. Neither for him nor his new kingdom. Little more than a downward spiral as he loses more of who he was as a person to his own ambition.

Meaning that... honestly, there is no real victory, no honor, no dignity, no glory, no point, to be had in it.

The one that I'd say who did was actually Manga TP, as at least upon learning that he, himself, was little more than a pawn or puppet in the cycle, he at least had the self-respect to off himself so that he could no longer be used as a tool.

Though, it was more in a "if I'm gonna destroy Hyrule, it'll be MY CHOICE!!" Which, you know what? I can respect that sort of self-determination. And even in his in-game death, he still did so with a degree of self-respect by facing head-on rather than struggling like a fish on a hook & dude even died with his head high & on his feat. So, even if I characterize TP as... in a lot of ways, exemplifying some of the worst traits of Ganondorf, as an entity, I can at least give him that.

But that... That's the best it gets.

How would the Ganondorfs (Wind Waker, Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess, Hyrule Warriors, and Tears of the Kingdom) & Demise react to seeing their death scene in game? Like they are shown a TV, playing out their Deaths?

Here’s how each Ganondorf and Demise might react to witnessing their own death scenes from the games:

Ganondorf (Wind Waker)

Reaction: Wind Waker Ganondorf, known for his reflective and somewhat tragic nature, would likely watch his death scene with a mix of sadness and acceptance. Seeing himself defeated by the Hero of Winds, he might feel a sense of inevitability and a deep melancholy over his failure to reclaim Hyrule.

Small Scene: Ganondorf stands before the TV, watching the final moments of his life play out. As he sees the Master Sword plunge into his skull, he remains silent, his expression unreadable. The waves crash around his stone form, and he can almost feel the weight of the ocean pulling him down.

He lets out a slow, resigned sigh. “So, this is how it ends…” he murmurs, his voice carrying a hint of sorrow. “All my efforts… reduced to nothing.” He turns away from the screen, a faint smile of acceptance on his lips. “But perhaps, in another time, I will find peace.”

Ganondorf (Ocarina of Time)

Reaction: Ocarina of Time Ganondorf, with his pride and ambition, would likely react with anger and frustration upon seeing his defeat. The scene of his transformation into Ganon and subsequent sealing away would provoke a fierce response, as he loathes the idea of being bested by the Hero of Time.

Small Scene: Ganondorf watches as his monstrous form is defeated and sealed away in the Sacred Realm. His fists clench, and his eyes burn with fury. “Sealed away… like a common beast!” he snarls, his voice filled with venom.

He glares at the screen, the image of the Sacred Realm’s door closing in his face. “This is not the end! I will return, and when I do, no hero, no goddess, will stand in my way!” His voice echoes with determination, a vow to break free from his eternal prison.

Ganondorf (Twilight Princess)

Reaction: Twilight Princess Ganondorf, who is more composed and calculating, would watch his death with a mix of disbelief and anger. Seeing himself impaled by the Master Sword and dying on his feet, he would be filled with a burning desire for revenge, though a part of him might grudgingly respect the hero’s strength.

Small Scene: Ganondorf’s eyes narrow as he watches the Hero of Twilight plunge the Master Sword into his chest. The light fades from his eyes as he stands tall, refusing to kneel even in death. “So… this is how it ends…” he mutters, his voice cold and filled with anger.

He watches his own death with a clenched jaw, his gaze fixated on the screen. “But know this,” he says softly, his voice dripping with malice, “I will return, and when I do, I will crush anyone who dares to stand in my way.”

Ganondorf (Hyrule Warriors)

Reaction: Hyrule Warriors Ganondorf, known for his sheer power and aggressive nature, would likely watch his death with a mixture of outrage and disbelief. His pride would be deeply wounded, and he would be filled with an intense desire to exact revenge on those who brought him down.

Small Scene: Ganondorf watches as his defeat plays out on the screen, his eyes narrowing in anger. He sees himself overwhelmed by the combined forces of the heroes, and a low growl escapes his throat. “This… this is unacceptable!” he roars, his fists slamming into the armrests of his throne.

He rises from his seat, his body trembling with rage. “I am the King of Evil! I will not be defeated so easily!” He turns away from the screen, a dark aura surrounding him. “Let them enjoy their victory… for now. They will soon learn that I am not so easily destroyed.”

Ganondorf (Tears of the Kingdom)

Reaction: Tears of the Kingdom Ganondorf, with his more layered and introspective personality, would likely watch his death with a deep, simmering rage but also a sense of understanding. He might see it as a tragic end to his ambitions but also recognize the hero’s strength in overcoming him.

Small Scene: Ganondorf watches as the final battle unfolds, his heart sinking as he sees himself fall to the Hero of the Wilds. The darkness around him fades, and he sees the light return to Hyrule. His expression hardens, a deep scowl forming on his face.

“So, this is the end of my reign…” he mutters, his voice low and filled with bitterness. He turns away from the screen, a dark determination in his eyes. “But mark my words… I will rise again, stronger than before. And this time, I will not be defeated.”

Demise (Skyward Sword)

Reaction: Demise, the embodiment of hatred and malice, would watch his death with cold detachment and a sense of inevitability. He might acknowledge the hero’s strength but would be more focused on the curse he places upon Link and Zelda, ensuring that his malice would persist through the ages.

Small Scene: Demise watches his final battle, seeing the Hero of the Sky deliver the finishing blow. His expression remains cold and unfeeling as his form is swallowed by darkness. “So… the hero wins this time,” he says, his voice devoid of emotion.

But as he sees himself place the curse upon the hero and his descendants, a cruel smile forms on his lips. “But my hatred will never die… it will be reborn again and again, until the end of time.” He turns away from the screen, satisfied with the knowledge that his legacy of hatred will endure.

[therealnuclearplatypus]

MALECTOBER 2022 DAY 21 + EXTRA 3—CURSE & BREATH

@malectober

"Did he ... leave anything behind?"

Magnus looked at his youngest son. "What on earth do you mean?"

Max swallowed. "I mean, like ... notebooks, journals. Something. A part of him, somewhere."

Magnus sighed. "He's everywhere. In the walls, outside the windows, in every room. I rather wish he wasn't. It would be easier to cope ..."

"Would you rather erase all the good memories just so you won't be having this bad one?" Rafe asked sharply. "Would you rather you'd never had met him, so you wouldn't have had to see him—"

Magnus quickly covered his ears. "Rafe, don't!"

"—die? Papa, he's dead. There's nothing—" A funny look came over Rafael's face then, as if he'd just realized what he'd said. "Nothing ..." He looked at his father, tears suddenly pooling in his eyes. "Oh, my god. Papa, Papa, he's dead—"

Magnus got up from his chair and ran to him, holding him close. His own suffering would have to wait. His children were in pain.

"Oh, honey," he said as soothingly as he could, "he is ..." He wrapped an arm around Max, too. "And you're right, there's nothing we can do about it. You remember what I'd told you, what happened to Malcolm and Annabel: we can't try to bring him back. He's somewhere we can't reach." He stifled a sob. "And no, Rafe. Even if I'd had to do this all again, I'd have chosen him anyways. Always him. This pain is the price we pay for being blessed with such great love."

"I did love him," Rafe said, trying not to sob, "I still do. I—Pa, we were arguing before he—he said—he wanted to keep me safe. And I got angry at him for it. The last words I said to him were angry ones!"

"Sweetest," his father whispered, "he wouldn't have cared. You could have cursed him to die yourself and he'd still have loved you till his last breath. You know he did. Nothing can deter your father from being a living miracle."

"He isn't living anymore, though," Max put in with a sniffle. "And you didn't answer my question."

Magnus looked at him. "What?"

"My question. Did he leave something behind? I just ... want to feel closer to him again. I want to pretend he's still here and complaining about his hot chocolate being too hot."

They all chuckled sadly at that. Magnus shrugged. "He used to write a lot of poetry, believe it or not. I read some of it once ... it was actually quite good. He seemed like a wall of stone sometimes but he was such a tender person underneath all that." He stroked Max's hair. "And I think that was his form of keeping a diary. It helped him let out a lot of inexpressible emotions."

"Do you ... know where it is?" Rafe asked in a small voice. "Can we read it?"

"I'll look for it, because I'm genuinely not sure where it is," Magnus admitted. "But I'll be the one reading aloud, so I'll know which parts to skip."

"Why would you wanna skip anything?" Max asked, starting to scowl.

"Well. He's been writing for as long as I can remember. Some may not be entirely PG, if you know what I mean. Do you really wanna know what your 19-year-old father thought of me when I—"

"Okay, okay, okay, you can keep those entries to yourself, thank you." Max covered his ears. "Now go find it. I want Dad."

___

They were sat in the bedroom, Magnus on his side of the bed, Max and Rafe at the foot of the bed. They left Alec's side empty. It didn't feel right.

They'd already read a few. Turns out he'd been writing for much longer than he'd known Magnus. It had always been his private form of self-expression. The poetry wasn't always good in the beginning, but as they progressed they got better and deeper.

Magnus turned a page. Alec never bothered to title the entries. They were just page after page of pure emotion, and it made his heart ache to know Alec felt all of that. The good, the bad, the confusing. A complete human experience, documented by the finest example of a human.

He cleared his throat to read the next one:

"It's hard to breathe but it's getting easier,

I thought it'd always be a struggle.

You're my oxygen and I've never felt so light.

This shivering pen in the grip of my fingers,

you lie beside me, silent and still.

The night outside is dark and cold

but with you here I don't fear its blackness.

Your breathing is steady and that calms my ever-frantic heart;

my erratic pace slows to match your serenity

and I've never felt so at home.

I thought I was cursed forever, until my dying breath,

but you've changed my mind and you've changed my heart

and my soul is free of its everlasting curse

because I've found something even more everlasting.

Thank you for helping me find it."

Magnus almost couldn't finish it. His voice cracked. He was trying not to cry, but Max and Rafe had noticed and were crawling over to him. They hugged him and Magnus finally allowed himself to truly cry.

"Did you hear that, Pa?" Rafe whispered. "He felt cursed. You freed him. He could breathe easily because of you."

[astro-rain]

delicate; b.barnes

chapter fourteen - “pinky promise”

delicate masterlist

word count: 2.1k

synopsis: bucky and the reader reconvene after the events of the previous night, figuring out what they need to do from there. pinky promises are endearing but they don’t prevent the effects of distressed regret & emotional frustration.

pairings: bucky barnes x fem!reader

She awoke with wet regret staining her cheeks. She remembered falling asleep with shame, liquid guilt seeping out of her eyes. Slowly and silently weeping herself to sleep while drunk. What a colossal fucking mistake she made. She felt terrible, and she could only imagine how Bucky felt. She needed to apologize. Immediately.

She found that her shoes were still on when she got out of bed.

"Oh, Christ," she huffed at her messiness.

Regardless, she grabbed a jacket for protection from the chilly Wakandan morning air before rushing to the door, determined to find Bucky as soon as possible and apologize profusely for the previous night.

She opened the door but before she could dash out, she smacked directly into what felt like hard wood. Wait, no. The "hard wood" was a chest, and that chest belonged to a person... it was Bucky. Damn it.

"Sorry!" the two exclaimed simultaneously.

They both backed up.

"Y/N..."

"Bucky."

"Can we talk?"

"Yes. Please."

They awkwardly made their way into the room, eventually sitting side by side on the end of her bed. The air was quiet and void of their usual content and lighthearted atmosphere. Both of them sat staring straight forward.

"Bucky, I... I am so sorry about last night. I know being drunk isn't an excuse for being unprofessional, but I really have no other explanation as to why I'd ever do something so inappropriate. I feel awful and I can't imagine how uncomfortable I've made you. I will completely understand if you don't want to work with me anymore. I can talk to Shuri or T'Challa and we can find someone else to take my place if—"

"Woah," he turned to her, slightly alarmed. "Slow down, slow down. Who said anything about replacing you?"

"Well, I just thought after...last night, you'd rather have someone else work with you. It probably wouldn't be wise to continue treatment with me after certain... professional boundaries have been damaged."

"I'm not working with anyone else."

She looked at him bewildered, but he looked dead serious.

Y/N shook her head. "I—"

"Look, I'm not a therapist and I don't know the criteria of your 'professional boundaries'... But you were drunk. It happens. I don't think any less of you because you had a little too much. Believe me, I've been there."

"I know, but it's not necessarily the drinking that was the problem. It was... my actions."

"Right. And I don't think leaning a couple inches is really grounds for leaving Wakanda."

It was more than just "leaning a couple inches," and she knew that. She was humiliated by her drunken errors, but it was seductively dizzying to be that close to him. In the moment, she relished in every second, every atom of hers that was touching him. However, it was the afterthought that was the problem, the realization of what she had done and how wrong it was.

"Bucky..."

"I'm not working with anyone else."

"I'm not the only good therapist, you know."

"But you're my therapist. I don't want a new one."

"And I don't want to disrupt your progress, but there's no way I can keep treating you after last night."

"Why not? What's gonna happen if you do? Nothing."

"It's not that simple."

"Nobody was here. No one knows but us. There's no way you can get into trouble."

"It's not entirely about getting in trouble. It's about the nature of our relationship and how that change can impact how effectively and ethically I can treat you."

He was quiet for a minute, thinking.

He shook his head, looking down at his feet. "We can work something out..."

"I don't think so, Buck..."

"So you're just gonna leave then?"

"I think that's what needs to happen."

He turned his head to her, making deliberate eye contact.

"Y/N, please."

"All I wanna do is do right by you, and I can't do that after I've compromised our relationship."

"But you didn't compromise—"

"Bucky," she exasperated, "Can you please try to understand?"

"Can you please try not to be so hasty about things? Our relationship is fine. You don't need to leave."

Stubborn. He was being stubborn. But, all she could see was strong will and passion. That was the problem. All his faults morphed into aptitudes when they filtered through her perception.

"I really care about you, Buck. I just want you to have access to the help you need, and as much as I hate to say it, I don't know if I can be that help anymore."

"Can't we just try?"

"Try what?"

"Just... hear me out. We can continue the sessions as if nothing happened, and if everything is fine, then great, but if not, then you can go."

Is that what it would take for him to be okay with her leaving? Is that what it would take to make her departure less of a complete upheaval? There was no way this would work, she thought. But what were the lengths to which she would go to make the transition smoother? Was she willing to make sacrifices to help ease his hardships? She reflected for a minute.

For him, she would. For him, she considered, she'd do most anything.

"Okay," she said after brief contemplation. "We can try. But you have to keep in mind, the entire time, that I still might have to leave in the end."

He smiled, sincerity almost suffocating her. "Thank you."

"Promise me you won't be disappointed if I end up having to leave."

"You want a pinky, blood oath, or spit shake?" he asked, jokingly.

"Bucky," Y/N deadpanned.

"Well, it's not like we need to promise, because you won't have to leave... 'cause everything will be fine."

God, she hoped so.

"Promise me anyway. Just in case."

"Fine. I promise. You have my word."

She held out her hand to him, pinky finger raised high.

"Make it official."

"You know I was kidding?" he asked.

"I know. But you brought it up, so now you're payin' the price," she smiled, feeling herself momentarily slipping back into their dynamic. "Officially promise me with your pinky, James."

In acquiescence, he lifted his hand up to hers, pinky extended, and wrapped their fingers together. As it turned out, her hand had desires of its own and begged for additional contact. It yearned to smooth over the skin of Bucky's hand and press their palms together. Her hand wanted to intertwine the rest of their fingers and hold on ever so tightly. It wanted to hold on and never leave Wakanda, never leave his side.

As it also turned out, the hand is not the mind. These were surely not Y/N thoughts. Definitely not... Desires were kept repressed and no actions were taken. Sorry hand.

Their fingers stayed connected for just a few brief seconds of silence. Not nearly long enough for it to be awkward or for them to get second thoughts about the integrity of their agreement. Their fingers disconnected.

"So..." Bucky started, "are things gonna be weird now? With us?"

"They don't have to be, but I guess it depends."

"On what?"

"I don't know. Whether you're upset with me over what happened - which you have every right to be."

"Upset with you? No! Not at all. It seems like you're more upset than I ever was."

"I'm only upset because of what I did!"

"Well, I'm only upset because you're upset, so... stop being upset."

"I-..." she sighed. "Okay. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too. Are we good?"

"You don't have anything to be sorry for..."

"Just say we're good."

She let out a nervous laugh.

"Fine, we're good. I'm just surprised at how you're so cool with this."

"Well, friends bounce back quick, right?"

Her demeanor changed. The mood sunk.

"Bucky..."

"No, no. Don't sit there and tell me that now we aren't friends. You just pinky swore with me," he said with a meek smile, attempting to lift her mood back up. "C'mon, that counts for something."

She looked down at her hands, suddenly missing the skin-to-skin contact. "I just think it might be better to be more professional and less... personal."

"Better for who exactly? 'Cause I know it wouldn't be for me."

She turned her head to look at him, face earnest and contrite. He only looked confused and a little mentally disheveled.

"I want to make this new... plan thing work. If you don't want me to have to leave, we have to reinstate some sort of boundaries, Buck."

"So boundaries means throwing away being friends?"

"I'm not throwing it away. I want to make sure we can be successful, and to be successful we have to be a little more..." she took a breath in, hating how much she kept bringing up this word, "professional. We gotta have more good days than bad, you know?"

A few beats of silence passed them by. Bucky's expression softened to a dangerous level of sincerity.

"I think you are my good days..."

Y/N tore her gaze away. She couldn't do this. She wished he wouldn't say such gentle things; she was trying so hard. The tension in her heart began to frustrate her. And it was because of him. She wished her emotions weren't always so escalated in his proximity.

"How long were you outside for?" she changed the subject.

"All night."

"What?!"

"Just kidding. Only for a couple minutes. Why are you changing the subject?"

"I'm not."

"You really are. And you're uneasy."

Trying to deny feelings was harder when someone else called them out.

"Stop trying to analyze me."

"M'not analyzing. I'm just reading you."

Reading her?

"Reading me?"

"Yeah. You were looking at me, but now you turned away. You're bouncing your leg but otherwise you're completely still, tense, like you are when you're nervous. You're also turned away from me... kinda like you don't wanna be near me."

Yeah, because her heart felt like it was going to burst.

She stood up, walking away from him and his infuriating correctness. How dare he know her like that? Anger bubbled in her stomach. She faced him, arms crossed over her chest, as if shielding herself from his prying efforts to understand her personality. How dare he decipher her.

"Really?" she huffed, amped up nervousness morphing into irritation. "You barely slept last night, and it's not just noticeable because of the bags under your eyes. You do this thing when you're tired - you blink really slowly and then rub your eyes. It's subtle. How's that for reading? Oh, and you're more uncomfortable about having one arm than you let on. When you sit next to me, you always make sure to sit so that your arm is on my side. In fact, you're so bad at tolerating uncomfortable that you refuse to even think about getting a new therapist - even though it's the right thing to do - because you don't want to deal with the change."

She took a breath after expelling her vexation. Bucky stared at her with wide eyes, never before hearing her angry, much less at him.

"That's not why..." he all but whispered.

"You know I can tell when you're lying, right?"

"Apparently not," he rolled his eyes. "And I thought we made a deal."

"I think you should leave."

He looked up at her. "Y/N.."

She turned away from him, deciding she couldn't handle looking him in the eyes.

Glancing at the door, she muttered, "I'll see you at our next session."

"But— I thought..."

"A deal's a deal. I'll see you, Bucky."

The room was eerily silent until Bucky decided to move. She could feel his eyes on her, searching for something, anything out of her. Perhaps she was hasty, but there was no room for second thoughts, second emotions. She completely steeled herself. Feeling around him was just... a lot. A lot to deal with. Maybe too much.

"Okay," he said, voice quiet. "I'll see you... I guess."

With that, he left. He left her in an empty room with empty feelings and an empty hand. She looked down at that hand, the very same one that wrapped its finger around his in the lighthearted simplicity of a juvenile gesture. Joy with Bucky was like that - simple. Being happy was effortless with him. Yet, it was so troublesome to be displeased with him. She could sense another distressed night sleep coming her way.

delicate taglist: @bakugouswh0r3 @thefridgeismybestie @strivingforelegance @ilovespideyyy @xpurpleglitter @bluelakeee @darkacademic2 @nickkie1129 @eclipsedplanet @paradisedixon @crazy-beautiful @coffee--writes @lauxrens @lilithknight1111 @buckybarnesishot310 @softladyhours @alwayssandy @quxxnxfhxll @those-sea-green-eyes @hero-ically @devilswaldorf @cc13723things @buckys1thiccbih @maravderofthephoenix

[animeyanderelover]

I'd love to see prompt 125. “I could have easily murdered you without hesitation. But those angelic eyes made me dizzy and weak.” with Kimimaro!

It’s been a long time since I wrote anything about him so I’m happy to fulfill that wish.

Tw: Yandere themes, unhealthy mindset, unhealthy relationship, possessiveness, overprotectiveness, delusions, violence, blood, death, killing

Prompt 125: “I could have easily murdered you without hesitation. But those angelic eyes made me dizzy and weak.”

"You don't have to be scared of me. I won't hurt you." It was funny that you were the one saying that when the stranger in front of you was pointing something that reminded you awfully lot of a bone at your throat, looking at you with a warily look in his green eyes. You had never seen him before in here, making you suspect that he was from elsewhere. And judging from his dirtied and slightly torn clothes as well as the fact that he seemed to be a bit too skinny for his own health, you felt confident in believing that he was a stray, maybe even a rogue.

He didn't strike you as the very talkative type. Since he had sneaked from you up behind, he hadn't said a single word, only staring at you with those haunting green eyes of his at you. From the way they moved slowly up and down, you knew he was judging how much of a threat you were and from the way he seemed to loosen up a bit you guessed, he didn't think of you as too much of troubles. But he was still smart enough to not let his guard down.

You were quite good in reading people, maybe because you were a medic. He hadn't had any reason to attack you, you hadn't even sensed him before he had held that sword made of bones at you. And he didn't seem like someone who would kill just everyone, especially if they hadn't even sensed his presence. He just seemed like someone who had a strange dignity around himself, making him not a mindless killer. No, you had met people a bit similar to him before. They killed for a reason. To survive.

"You want this, don't you?", you asked politely, lifting a small box which contained food, the lid had already been opened since this had actually been your lunch. He didn't answer, but the way his eyes constantly glanced at the lunchbox told you enough. You let out an amused huff. "You didn't have to threaten me just for food. You could have just asked me and I would have given you some. But I guess if I would have been in your situation, I would have done the same. Only living from what you find in the forest is not really enough to give you enough energy."

You couldn't move too hastily or he would slit your throat, so you lifted very slowly your hands, offering him your lunch. "You can have it. I think you need it more than me. I can just skip lunch and eat something later when I'm back home." His eyebrow seemed to move a few milimeters, telling you that he was a bit surprised by this sudden act of yours. Was he seriously suspecting you because you were kind?

"It's impolite to reject my offer, especially considering the fact that this is what you threatened me for in the first place. I really don't plan on hurting you or attacking you. I think it's obvious who from us both is the more experienced one when it comes to fighting. I'm merely a small medic. I only came here in the first place to collect some herbs. I sadly couldn't collect all the ones I wanted. The ones on the small mountains nearby are hard to find...But back to you. Here, I really just want to help you."

Your voice had gone more softer, stretching your arms even farther out until you were nearly nudging his chest with the food, giving him a small, but warm smile. For a while he looked back and forth between you and the small box until he slowly removed the thing from your throat and to your surprise, and slight disturbance, the bone seemed to slowly crack itself down in his body, making you doubt your vision for a moment before you felt him grabbing the food out of your hands, his own fingers brushing gently against yours before he took finally your lunch from you.

"Finally. Took you long enough. Enjoy and please be careful around here. We tend to have some dangerous boars around here. They are very easily agitated and there were even cases where people already got nearly killed and suffered fatal wounds."

The man seemed to stare at you for a while, you were almost sure that he was somewhat touched from your concern and kindness, looking down at the bento box before back at you, the cold green eyes from before starting to twinkle with somethig new inside of them. "Thank you."

That was all he said before quickly disappearing in the forest, you curiously watching his white figure moving away farther and farther until you couldn't see him anymore. "I didn't even ask for his name or told him mine..."

You were quite a bit dumbfounded when later that day you were surprised by a knock on your door since your house was a bit isolated from the village and closer to the forest, only to find no one standing in front of it. That was until you glanced down and noticed two things. The first one was your bento box which you had given the mysterious stranger earlier today. The second was a huge bouquet made of herbs and wildflowers. You bent astonished down, grabbing the box and all the herbs and flowers, examining all of them and realizing with joy that there were many you hadn' been able to find yourself today.

But where was he? Had he just knocked, put the things down and left again? You hoped not, you wanted to say 'thank you' for this serve of gratitude he had showed you, going through all the troubles of collecting you all of this. But due to the darkness you sadly couldn't see much and there was still the chance he wasn't even here anymore. You felt your shoulders slumping down a bit at this thought. But you didn't know for sure if he was already gone. "Thank you a lot for this! It's really thoughtful of you! If you should stay a bit longer here, consider me as your caretaker regarding food and wounds you might get whilst being here!"

It was kind of embarrassing to just shout in the dark like this, especially if not being sure if the person for whom those words were meant wasn't even here anymore. You tried to listen intensely in the dakness to make out any noises which would confirm he was still there. And shortly after a rustling sound from one of the trees made you snap your head in it's direction, you barely making out the figure of a human disappearing in the dark which made you smile a bit. So he had been listening and watching.

"So you considered my offer, hmm?" He was keeping a lot of distance between you two, but you considered the fact that he had this time approached you instead of sneaking and threatening you like yesterday as a huge progress. He still seemed to be a bit more cautious, you guessed he hadn't really had contact with a person for quite some time.

"You know, I don't bite or anything like this. You can come without any worries closer.", you tried to beckon him closer, tilting your head a bit at him. He slightly narrowed his eyes, not in a suspecting way. More in a considering way, thinking whether to trust you or not. "You of course don't have to do so if you don't want to.", you added with a small and understanding nod, stepping back to show him that you were willing to give him space.

"No." The short answer confused you and made you halt in your tracks, giving him a questioning look. A short moment of hesitation, then he finally stepped out of the forest and closer to your small house, eyes focusing on you with a certain intensity that managed to intimidate you a bit.

"I'm honored that you seem to trust me that much despite only knowing me since yesterday. I also wanted to thank you personally once again for all the herbs and flowers you brought me. They are not that easily to find. I appreciate the effort."

"I'm glad to hear you liked it. It was the least I could do." You cracked a small smile. "I'm (y/n) (l/n). Can I know your name too?" For just a short moment you thought you saw something in his eyes, as if he felt touched to be asked for his name. It made you wonder just how long he had been wandering lonely around. "Kimimaro Kaguya."

"Kimimaro...", you repeated, letting the name flow over your tongue and Kimimaro himself seemed to perk the tiniest bit up when hearing you speaking his name. "That's a very pretty name."

The corner of his mouth seemed to twitch a bit upwards, you guessed it was the smallest sign of a smile on his face. "(y/n) is a pretty name too."

The following two weeks he visited you every day, you waiting for him outside until he showed himself. You always shared your meals with him and had also given him the luxery of fresh clothes and using your bathroom for showering. And every evening he seemed to get you small presents he collected from the forests, be that herbs, beautiful wild flowers or even going as far as hunting small animals down for you. You had told him after the second day that he didn't have to do this. And he had said with a very neutral and yet somewhat demanding voice that he owed you a lot and that at the very least he could do this for you.

He wasn't the talkative type as you noticed. Most of the times his sentences weren't longer than necessary and he seemed to much rather prefer to listen to you. And stare at you. And be near you. You couldn't really blame him. He hadn't told you his complete past, but he had briefly mentioned that his entire clan had been rottten out and that he had been wandering around for a very long time.

Another fascinating thing was his ability to harden his bones and manipulate them like he wanted to, making them stick out or even firing them out of his body. It was gruesome as much as it was amazing and you had found yourself asking him quite often to demonstrate it to you. And Kimimaro seemed to relish in the feeling that you found this so amazing. Maybe the fact that you were a medic played a part in it, you wanted to understand and you couldn't remember getting him to talk longer than during his explanations how his kekkai genkai, the Shikotsumyaku, worked. He had even gifted you a small part of his bones which had been thoughtful as much as it had been disturbing for you. But you had reluctantly excepted after noticing how hurt, as hurt as he could seem to be, he had been.

He was always lingering somewhere near your house and by now you had understood why. He repaid your kindness and nurturing with the small presents and his protection which was of course just him being grateful, but it also was a bit unnerving. But that was all it was...for a short while at least.

"Kimimaro." He seemed to flinch when hearing your sudden firm voice calling him like this and as soon as you stepped into the room, he was already by your side, examining you with slightly worried eyes. "What happened? Are you angry with me?" His voice, despite sounding calm, was a bit too rushed which hinted you that he was nervous, all attention hooked on you even more than usually.

"Did you kill it?" You just went straight to the point, crossing your arms before your chest and giving him a strict and expecting look. Luckily he seemed to understand immediatly what you meant, confirming it with a firm nod. "Yes, I killed the boar if that is what you meant." At least he was bluntly honest with you.

"May I ask why?" Kimimaro blinked, almost as if he couldn't get why you were asking such an obvious question. "It was too close to your house. You told me yourself that they are very aggressive. I didn't want it anywhere near you and risking the chance of you getting hurt."

Your mouth was slightly opened, staring nonbelieving at him. "Kimimaro! The villagers found the poor animal on the border of the forest whilst hunting! A clean strike through the throat and the it's stomach! The poor thing drowned in it's own blood! It was nowhere near my house, it was most likely moving away from it! Did you hear me? The border of of the forest!"

You were bewildered and it was audible due to you nearly shouting at him. If he was hurt because of it, this time he managed to hide it. "As I said,", he told you in a serious voice,"too close to you. I can't risk anything potentially dangerous near you."

From there on it seemed to only get worse with his rapidly increasing protective-...No. With his rapidly increasing overprotectiveness which started to horrify you more and more.

"Who was that guy talking to you in the village?" You nearly let the plate you were currently cleaning fall onto the ground if it wouldn't have been for Kimimaro catching it and laying it back down in the sink. "Be careful. You might cut yourself on the broken pieces of it."

He was worrying about that, you on the other hand felt horror washing over you like the water just minutes ago over the plate. The knowledge that he was standing right behind you, so close that you could feel his chest pressing against yours, added only up to the horror shaking you up.

"Kimimaro...", you couldn't suppress the slight quivering in your voice. You felt him jolting up a bit when hearing his name, making him lean even closer to you until you could feel him trapping you between the sink and his slender yet also very muscular body. "Yes?"

You tried your hardest to not shake now that he would be able to feel it. "Did...did you follow me the whole time whilst I was in the city?"

"I did. I was watching over you so I could protect you. And that man there...He was walking behind you and gave you weird and disgusting looks. I didn't like it. And he constantly tried to talk to you despite you obviously not liking. He made you uncomfortable. Should I kill him for you?"

Your body snapped in a painful way around, your nosetip instantly meeting his and your wide and panicking eyes in his. "Killing him?! Are you serious?!" The stern and stoic expression he gave you, made your heart sink in your stomach. "It's your safety I'm talking about. It's the most important thing for me. It's the only thing that matters. I am serious."

You felt sweat starting to collect on your forehead, eyes shooting quickly around in hopes of finding a way to prevent him from killing someone. He meant it, you just felt it. But even without looking at him, you could feel his eyes still on yours.

"You don't have to do this! That guy is a shameless playboy, he does this to everyone!" You hoped to calm him down a bit by telling him this, but his facial expression didn't change one bit.

"It doesn't matter to me that he does this to everyone. I only care about that he does it to you. He even attempted to touch you." His one hand brushed your arm up and down, eyes seemingly deep in thoughts for a moment whilst doing so and you gained almost the expression that he looked dreamy before his eyes returned to it's cold-hearted look. "And I have to remove everyone and everything that threatens to hurt or do as much as touch a strand of your hair."

"You have to?" Why did he make it sound like it was his duty. "Yes. I have to. I have to protect you under all means necessary. And I'm thinking that it would be the best if you would just start staying in and let me do everything. I'll get you everything you need and you just stay in this house. It's the best thing to do for your safety."

You wanted to say something, but for a moment were too shocked and flabbergasted to do so. That was before anger started bubbling up in your stomach.

"Excuse you?! Who do you think you are to order me to stay inside like this? I've been living in here far more longer than you have and I-" You were interrupted by him putting his index finger over your lips, hushing you during your starting scolding. "(y/n). Let me look after you. I have to guarantee your safety. It's the best for you, even if you are unhappy with it now, you'll understand it very soon. So don't leave this house anymore. Understood?"

"You don't have to be scared of me. I won't hurt you." A choked sob escaped your lips, remembering that you had been the one saying the same words to him the first time you had met him. But now he used those same words whilst having a tight hold on you with one of his bones being pressed against your throat. His one arm had a strong hold on your waist and as soon as you even moved a muscle, his grip tightened even more to the extent where it almost, but only almost, hurt. He seemed to still be careful to not hurt you too much.

Trying to escape hadn't been too much of a smart idea whilst he had been gone, you had maybe spent too much time freeing yourself from the ropes and breaking the door open. But still, you had taken a road that only you knew because you didn't want to risk endangering the villagers. And despite him being the faster one, you had a good head start and had even erased your traces by moving the biggest part through a river.

"How did you even find me?", you asked in a quiet voice, sounding and looking discouraged. "Your bracelet. You have a piece of my bone as a tag. And I can track my bones down wherever I want to. That's how I found you."

You glanced at your bracelet, to be specific at the small white bone of it, next to many other small and pretty tags you had on it. It had been a present from your deceased grandparents which was why you always wore it. "Did you plan this beforehand so you could find me wherever I go?", you asked, still in the same quiet voice. You couldn't see his face since he was standing behind you, but you thought that there was slight disappointment and sadness in his voice. "I did, but I actually hoped I wouldn't have to use it. I was hoping you would understand my intentions to keep you safe and comply."

"Do you expect me to just sit down and do nothing whilst I'm being isolated from the outside plan. And the final blow was when you informed me a yesterday that we would move somewhere 'safe'. What is that supposed to mean? Somewhere where no one will find me and you can keep me for yourself? Far away from any other humans? Is that what you mean? I have family here Kimimaro. Friends. Patients. You can't just take me like this. And why would you even do this? Why go so far for me? What did I do?"

The moment you felt the slight pricking of the sharp bone being removed from you, you let a long breath out which you had seemed to have hold for the whole time until now. But the relief was short-lived because in the next moment you were turned around, forced to face Kimimaro.

Your first reflex was to push him away, both of your hands pressing against his chest and trying to push him away. But it was from no use, not with his other arm now sliding around your waist as well and pulling you so close to him that your chest was pushed against his. And all your struggling suddenly stopped when he leaned closer to you and pressed his forehead against your slightly sweaty and wet one, green eyes drilling themselves into you with a mindblowing fondness and affection which you had never seen before on his face.

It became quiet, the silence only being interrupted by the swooshing of the water, the random noises of the forest and the breathing of you two, his relaxed and slow whilst yours was slightly erratic. But being forced to feel his chest rising and falling with every breath he took, led you subconsciously to start breathing with him. But despite his calm breathing, you clearly felt his increased heart beat, swiftly hammering against his rib cage and against your fingertips resting on his chest.

"You did everything for me. You changed everything for me." His voice was slightly shaking as well, but not out of fear or nervousness. It was out of joy and pure affection. "You gave my life a meaning again. Thanks to you my name has a meaning again. It's been such a long time since someone called me by it, I almost forgot who I was. But you...you said my name and suddenly I knew again who I am and who I am meant to be. You gave it and me a purpose again. On that day when we first met...I could have easily murdered you without hesitation. But those angelic eyes made me dizzy and weak."

It was unbelievable that it had barely been more than a month since then. And now look at where you two were. With you running away from the man you had so kindly invited in your house and had given him kindness and friendliness whilst no one else had. And what had it led to? Him forming a sick and obsessive infatuation with you and now wanting to kidnap you to 'protect' you.

"You might never be able to understand just how much you did for me and how much you mean to me. But you don't have to. You only have to understand that I can simply not effort to lose you or let as much as a scratch on you. You're my reason to live, to continue fighting and breathing. I will never be able to repay everything you did for me, but I can and will give my all to you. My endless protection, my infinite loyalty, my undying love. It's all yours. I'm all yours. And I'll always be."

And before you cold reply, not like you could think of anything in that moment, you felt a soft and warm pair of lips being gently pressed against yours.

[the-paris-of-people]

Hi. This is really not a question but more of a rant. A really really long one. I apologize in advance. I honestly care waaaaayyyy too much about this show than I should. Clearly too bored🙈.

After reading people's comments on this show and the ships, there are so many things that irk me and I thought I'd share even if I might get crap for it. So here goes:

1. "Ben only wants Devi when she is with Paxton." I.e. it's about Paxton. Lol people are funny. As though Ben thinks he can compete with Paxton on a social level. He's not stupid, he knows full well he can't. It's about Devi and in part her obsession with Paxton. People don't like thinking about things from Ben's perspective because they just don't like him. He's the one that finds out Devi is cheating, she runs after Paxton at the party ( now granted before she runs out, she's intensely staring at Ben and then realises Paxton is leaving but Ben's not gonna remember that) and she was busy chumming it up with Paxton in episode 3 in front of Ben with absolute disregard for him. So his natural defence is to guard himself and have his walls go up. It is a valid response. He burries his pain (exactly what Samberg said). And does not let his guard down around her romantically until episode 10 when Paxton literally rejects her at school. At the school dance, sparks are flying between those 2. Is Paxton around at the time...Uhm no (I'll get into the whole Aneesa thing). In his mind Paxton is out of the picture and it's like he can almost trust her again. And then when Paxton shows up with Devi, he basically feels like a fool for ever thinking that he was ever something more than 2nd best or sometimes anything at all ( especially considering Devi still wants Paxton after Devi and Paxton's last public interaction that Ben witnessed- I mean he does not get to see the shit behind closed doors). But then when Eleanor spills the tea, that look on his face is disbelief, yes a little bit of jealousy but overwhelmingly heartbreak. He is essentially watching the chance he never knew he had go away. Now you could argue that he should have known that she wanted him back but she broke his trust and does not explicitly say, " I want you back". Ben's not trying to get burnt again based on some assumption/hunch. He has been wrong before.

2. "How dare Ben be upset that Devi is with Paxton when he is with Aneesa". Fair point. Just like how dare Devi be upset and lose her shit over Ben and Aneesa. But yet it still happend. Devi gets 5 episodes allowing her to be upset and Ben can't even have one moment when a firkken bomb gets dropped on him.

Aneesa and Ben should have never date. Everyone knows that. He was never over Devi. He just pushed those feelings down to make him believe he was over her. I obviously don't agree with this. Aneesa doesn't deserve that. Ben needs to go to therapy. He needs an outlet. He is similar to Devi in that he doesn't want to process what happened and would rather move on and react. However, his reactions are far less impulsive/severe as Devi's. Him dating Aneesa is unfortunately a reaction. He didn't give himself time to really process how he feels. People say he dated Aneesa solely to spite Devi which is not true. Is there an element of " you never wanted me but someone else does"... absolutely but Aneesa is also very kind to Ben, they get along really well and she puts him first. Technically what's not to like. I mean if it was just to spite Devi, could he have not tried to hustle his way back in with Shira?? Problem is that dumb dumb didn't work through his Devi feelings and let's just be honest, the same spark and chemistry he has with Devi, is missing with Aneesa. It often feels forced, especially in regards to the pace of the relationship. I so wished Aneesa remained friends with Ben. That's what he needed...not another relationship.

3. "Aneesa is so amazing, she doesn't deserve to get hurt." I agree. She absolutely doesn't deserve to get hurt just like Ben and Paxton didn't deserve that crap Devi pulled. I think Aneesa is a great addition and I like that Devi has someone within her community to connect to. I'm South Asian myself and I genuinely value this aspect of my own life. I mean she is pretty great, kind and the anorexia rumour Devi unintentionally started was pretty heartbreaking. That scene where she talks to Devi at the relay about it, is so sad (especially coz we as viewers know Devi messed up). Now that being said is Aneesa also low key shady? YES. And it's not because she dated her friend's ex. It's because she started dating him knowing that Devi started the rumour about her because she was jealous about Ben and her. How does she think Devi would go from being so jealous that she starts a rumour, to the next week becoming their biggest "Stan". Come on girl. But there was no way Devi could say no after the crap she pulled with Aneesa. Ben did ask her out so if there is blame, he absolutely gets it too but he didn't know why Devi started that rumour (based on his surprised AF face when Eleanor spills the tea). Which leads me to my next question. Why didn't Aneesa tell him? Aneesa said Ben was supporting her through the rumour. She probably told him Devi started the rumour but didn't tell him why? That is odd? Clearly if Ben had known, he may changed his perspective on Devi actually wanting him instead of ignoring his feelings.

Lastly Aneesa knows there are unresolved feelings between Devi and Ben. This is evident from that dance scene. She literally runs to cut in their pretty intense conversation. Like why you running girl? I didn't think much of it at first but coupled with another moment, it makes a lot of sense. When Ben agrees to dance with Aneesa, he looks back at Devi and lingers and Aneesa picks up on this and pulls him away. It's a blink and you will miss it moment but it is there.

Now all of this doesn't mean she needs to get hurt but they probably need to break up. Ben needs to be single for a while and work through how he feels about Devi, Aneesa and most importantly himself. Whilst I don't particularly enjoy their relationship, you never get to see it from either of their perspectives. Maybe that could change things but honestly I just prefer Ben and Devi.

Also can everyone stop acting like Ben is dating Devi's best friend. Being brown doesn't make you automatically best friends and Ben and Devi met Aneesa the same week. People are acting like he is dating Eleanor.

4. "Devi chose Paxton". Please! The only thought through decision that girl made in regards to these 2 boys is when she chose herself and decided not to be Paxton's little secret. I mean in episode 1 and 2 she can't decide so she dates both. In episode 3, she interacts with Paxton because of the whole tutoring thing. He says they don't makes sense. While she seems a bit sad she doesn't seem too upset like she is season 1 and she isn't looking for any opportunity to spend time with him (unlike season 1). Episode 4,5,6,7 and 8 she is losing her mind over Ben. Half way through 8 she knows she has no choice but to let him go. But even after that she doesn't pursue Paxton. He does that at the end of episode 9 when in all honesty she hasn't really thought about him in a while. Then of course Paxton does what he does and she finally choose herself, issuing an ultimatum essentially. Paxton does eventually show up...but it's a choice by default. She just yo-yo's between them. She also needs to be single, deal with her loss, love herself and think about what she wants.

5. "Devi loves Paxton". Sure bud. Does have Devi have feeling for Paxton? Duh! But is it love. Nope. People like to confuse infatuation for love. She has been infatuated with this boy this the 3rd (she knew squat about him). When her dad died, she turns that infatuation into an obsession. It like becomes a full time hobby in season 1. She ruins relationships over it. In season 2 you can argue there is more depth to it and Paxton does grow in Season 2. But somehow she is still fixated on the fact that it's Paxton Hall-Yoshida. I mean she smells him (totally normal), Mc Enroe's comment at the relay was, "did this hunk of beef just say he likes spending time with her", when she breaks up him she says , "you are very good at kissing" not possibly any of his other good qualities. And at the end she says , "I guess I'm Paxton Hall Yoshida's girlfriend now". This boy is so far up a pedestal that if he fell of it, he'd break something. Now granted if he fell of it in Season 1, he'd be dead. So progress I guess...

Maybe the relationship will change in Season 3 and she genuinely falls in love with him. I mean Id be sad but obviously a real possibility. But also that relationship needs to move on from being just the "Paxton project" which it was basically all of season 2. Maybe actually talk about her every once in a while.

Also people who find the ending so amazing because he shows up...bare minimum bro. I understand his perspective, how does it look to go back with someone who cheated on you. Fair point 💯. However she didn't start this shit up again. He did. He liked her so much that he had to make out with her In the middle of the night out of the blue but not enough to respect her publically. That's some BS right there. If he started it, he should have thought it through instead of guilt tripping her. But he is a teenager and ALL of them make incredibly stupid decisions (we all have). Devi messed up big time too and she apologized. The same compassion must extend to him but in no way is it a grand gesture, it's the bare minimum...like her apologies

6. "Paxton forgave Devi forgave Devi so quickly whilst Ben didn't and was so mean". He did forgive her pretty quickly. Good for him. However let's not act like circumstance didn't carve the way for that. They were pushed together because of the whole tutoring thing and he knows that they have to see each other all the time. So logically just makes sense to keep the peace. But still mature oh his part. Also he wasn't as emotionally invested as Ben. Did he have feelings? Yes. However, based on his inner monologue (Gigi Hadid) his ego took more of a hit because how could Devi, the "weirdest girl" he ever liked two time him with Ben Gross. Did his feelings deepen by the end? Yes. But at the start...it isn't that deep.

Also it's great and all that he "forgave" her so quickly but he sure did like bringing it up a lot. Like at the relay guilting her, upset at the end of 6 because he failed...I mean wtf girl you owe me- I don't really care what else is going on in your life, again in episode 8 in the car and finally we all know the mess that is episode 10.

In regards to Ben. His anger is justified for reasons stated in point 1. In fact his reaction seems more real because he is deeply hurt by Devi. Do I like some of his reaction (i.e. nose piercing-will discuss this further) ...nope but she only sincerely apologises to him in episode 8 vs 3 for Paxton. He accepts it. People acting like they would be so calm and chill about being cheated on. And yes he did cheat on Shira. He tries to kiss Devi at party twice but apologises that day and the following week. He doesn't try anything with Devi the whole of episode 10 until she kisses him. He acknowledges that it was wrong and immediately breaks up with Shira. Although cheating is not something we should condone can we actually acknowledge that Shira was the worst and doesn't even remember Ben's name. Compare that to Devi's premeditated cheating. Her Eleanor are literally laughing at how amazing they are for pulling it off and Devi didn't care about either of their feelings cause she was going to be India. Sorry but that is far worse. She also thinks she can bullshit her apology with Ben. He isn't here for that...which is fine! He kept trying his level best to avoid her but even that she wouldn't let him do.

7. "Ben is Horrible". Has Ben done some shitty things. Absolutely. People complain that he has never apologised for anything. Fair enough. He needs to apologize for the UN comment and the psychosomatic comment. It was incredibly hurtful. However, no one does call him out of it. Now you could argue he should just do it. Please... have you watched these particular set of teenagers? None of them apologise without being called out on it first(except maybe Fabiola). And you only get called out my your support system ... which Ben does not have. He practically looks like he raised himself. He doesn't have parents to put him back in line or a sister to call him out on his shit. Devi has her mom, cousin, grandmum , Elanor, Fabiola and her therapist. Does she ever listen to them the first time? Nope. And her first time apologies are such messes. She only gets it right the 2nd or 3rd time. All of them have some form of support but not really him. And it is heartbreaking. It's why I genuinely believe he needs to go to therapy. He needs an outlet to express everything he feels. He also needs to be held accountable for those comments and understand the root of it (ok let's be honest Devi even in their rivalry was probably the most constant person in his life, and fighting with her meant she stayed close by- it's a subconscious thing). He should apologize to her and also find better ways to communicate what he is feeling. The nose ring thing was manipulative. I agree. He should apologize. But I'm not gonna lie, it doesn't piss me off as much because I think it's pretty messed that it took that for her to realise how much she hurt him. Also tbh if you were willing to alter your body on a 2 minute thought out dare, you wanted to do it anyway. But again not a healthy way to emote on Ben's part. The David thing doesn't upset me because he knows how to pronounce her actual name. It's not like he doesn't know how and doesn't bother to try. It was part of their rivalry to irritate her. I honestly find it quite endearing as part of their friendship and think Devi does. I may be wrong and she may not like it and in that case he needs to stop and apologize.

I am not upset by him coming over to her house and calling her out about Aneesa. She deserved it. Also if she was that uncomfortable she could have taken him outside to talk like she did with Paxton. She is clearly comfortable enough to have him in the house. And her therapist agrees with Ben. If he hadn't, she wouldnt have known that Aneesa was leaving. Her mom took away her phone. And even then her first attempt at an apology was soooooo bad. And I don't think Ben did it solely to get Aneesa to stay so he could date her. This is Ben, he was willing to do long distance with Devi from India, I think he could have done the same with Aneesa from like the same town 🙄

I genuinely like Ben because he is a good kid. He makes mistakes like they all do. His personality is hilarious to watch but also his and Devi's relationship is so special. Me liking Ben and Devi has nothing to do with what Paxton has or has not done. I just like the dynamic between the two. They obviously care deeply for each other. Their conversations are hilarious. I love their banter. I love how comfortable they are with each and am sometimes surprised by the depth of their conversations. But also they have amazing chemistry. All the jealous looks and angst are between these two idiots pining for each other. I think she does have chemistry with Paxton but it's more because he is PHY, school Adonis. I mean let's be honest, he'd probably have chemistry with Fabiola solely cause he is PHY. The two nerds just match each other and it's so funny how often they are in sync. It's honestly adorable. They just get each other. That bathroom scene was the sweetest thing and also proves he's not this terrible person. She only comes out of the stall because of his support. He is genuinely hurt for her when technically it should have been a great moment for him.

I do believe the two have to be single for a bit before admitting their feelings for one another and moving forward. That's why my main thing for season 3 is that he absolutely cannot interfere in her relationship with Paxton. He needs to give her the space to figure that. Do I think there will be moments between them... absolutely but no cheating please. Everyone needs to move on from that. If they do it...I honestly think il be done with the show.

Anyways sorry for the really long ramble. If you made it to the end thanks for your patience 😌

Thank you for this beautiful masterpiece, I pretty much agree with everything and need to put it out there for the world to see

[mageofseven]

The Undateables version! Here's the Brothers' post~

Also:

Not Obey Me related, but I recently found this picture and felt is was fitting lol

~

Diavolo:

His Queen had only been living with him for a few days at this point.

The couple had been dating for two years and the prince had finally decided to bring up the subject of MC moving in with him.

He had wanted to for a while now, but was a afraid to seem too pushy with his Sweetheart.

Plus, part of him worried that they wouldn't want to. After all, there's always something fun going on at House of Lamentation. In comparison, his castle is a quiet, cold place.

That only made the prince want his human to live with him even more though

So when the two discussed the idea and MC said yes, the man was overjoyed.

It's been three days since his Sweetheart moved in though and they seemed rather anxious.

This night, the prince had been working late and was finally ready to retreat to his room for the night, but upon seeing his bed empty and Queen missing, the man grew concerned.

Diavolo stopped his butler in the hall, who was also retreating for the night, to ask where MC was.

Barbatos had informed his lord that the human was in the kitchen, baking some sort of cookie-brownie hybrid treat.

Diavolo raised an eyebrow before thanking his friend and heading to the kitchen.

Just as the other demon said, MC was in the kitchen. The human sat on the floor in front of the stove, watching the treats bake.

"My Queen?"

The human jumped, but upon noticing it was their boyfriend, gave an anxious smile.

"Oh... hi Sweetie."

The prince sat on the floor next to the human, laying his hand on their leg.

"What's wrong? Why are you sitting on the floor at this time of night?"

The human didn't answer, just went back to staring at the stove and wrapping their arms around themselves.

The big demon pulled them into his arms, embracing his Sweetheart.

"MC, you know you can talk to me."

The human buried their face in his chest, breathing in their boyfriend's scent and letting themselves find peace from it.

"I just...please don't be upset..."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Why would I be upset?"

The human sighed and explained it to their boyfriend.

When Diavolo had asked them if they wanted to move in with him, the human became anxious. They weren't really good with change and didn't wanna leave the Brothers, who had become family to them

But they also felt pressured to. Not by Diavolo, but by unspoken expectations. Wasn't two years a long time to date without moving in together? They didn't have anything to compare it to, but they assumed so.

They worried that by saying no, they'd be halting the progression of their relationship and acknowledged that even if they loved living at House of Lamentation that surely they couldn't do so forever.

MC agreed because it felt like it was inevitable that it would happen at some point.

For the first two nights, MC could push through because they got to cuddle their boyfriend as they fell asleep, but since he worked late tonight, MC became so unbearably lonely

And all they could think about was how if they still lived at House of Lamentation that they could have gone to Levi's room to play games or head to the kitchen with Beel and chat as he ate or be comforted by Asmo when gets back from a party or stop in to check up on Lucifer and bring him coffee

But they couldn't because they weren't there and that made the human incredibly anxious and sad.

The human knew it wasn't as if they'd never see the Brothers again, that it was just that they were restricted to the daytime

But their anxiety about the change was still enough to push the human into keeping busy, hence the baking.

The prince felt so guilty. He kissed his Queen's forehead.

"I'm so sorry, my Sweetheart. I did not know that this would be such a difficult adjustment for you."

"I...I didn't say anything so of course you didn't know. Please don't blame yourself."

Diavolo kept his human close and stroked their hair.

"What can I do for you? Would you...would rather move back in with Lucifer and his brothers?"

MC pulled back and gave a small smile to their boyfriend.

"You're too sweet." The human leaned in and kissed their boyfriend. "Dia...thank you. I want stay here with you though; I want to give this a chance because...I know if I can adapt that we're going to be so very happy."

Diavolo smiled back at his Sweetheart and pulled them back in for a tight hug

...then starting smelled something burning.

After handling the now charcoal-looking treats, the prince carried his Queen bridal style back to their room, loving his human so deeply and cherishing this time with them as they both fell asleep.

Barbatos:

MC was staying the night at the castle with him. It was the first time the two of them have ever slept in the same bed

And ever done some...others things.

Tonight was definitely a milestone for the couple.

After the nights activities, the two had fallen asleep.

At some point though, Barbatos woke up with a sudden gnawing feeling as if something was wrong

And glanced at the other side of the bed to find that the human was gone.

After getting dressed, the man wandered the castle in search of them and found MC in the kitchen.

"My Dear?" The butler stepped inside just in time to see them pull the pie out of the oven.

The human smiled nervously at him.

"Oh...hi." They looked away. "Sorry, I just...yeah."

Barbatos raised an eyebrow.

"Is there something on your mind?" He approached the human as they set the pie on the on the counter.

MC stared down into the pie.

"Barb...are you really okay with settling for me?"

The man pursed his lips and stared at them for a moment before laying his hand on their cheek.

"I am sorry I that ever made you believe such a thing was worth asking, my Pet. I assure you, 'settling' is not the case. Life has gifted me with you and I treasure you above all else."

"E...Even though I'm human?"

"MC, I have no issues with your race. You are a person, same as I, and a lovely one at that."

The human launched at the man, pulling him into a hug. Eyes wide, Barb started stroking their hair.

"Is this why you're out of bed and...baking in the middle of the night?"

"Mhmm." His Dear mumbled from against his chest. "I just...I couldn't sleep after...you know...and these thoughts filled my head and I just wanted to keep busy so I didn't have to focus on them."

"Do you regret it, my Dear? Did we move too fast?"

"No!" MC pushed back. "I was ready...I was so happy. I just...afterwards, it just felt kinda scary. You make me feel so incredibly loved and it's overwhelming since I don't feel as if I deserve it."

The human took his hand and squeezed it.

"I love you. This...this is just me. This is my issue and you help just by loving me despite it, okay?"

Barbatos leaned in and kissed their forehead.

"Alright, my Dear." He told them. "Now, is there anything you need?"

MC glanced at the pie then smiled shyly.

"...Wanna eat some cherry pie with me?"

He gave them a small smile in return.

"If that is what you wish, my Dear."

Solomon:

MC was spending the night at Purgatory Hall with their boyfriend.

It was around 1am when Solomon felt the other human slip out of bed.

Assuming they just needed to use the restroom, the man didn't think much of it and let himself drift back to sleep.

About an hour later, the man turned on his side and reached out to hold his little Minx to his chest, just to find the space next to him still empty.

The sorcerer frowned, not able to fall back asleep with MC unaccounted for.

He gave a sleepy groan before kicking off the blankets and rising from the bed, heading towards his door.

He found the other human in the kitchen with the counter covered with peanut butter cookies and a plate of their own with them at the table with a glass of milk.

"Little Minx, was this really necessary at 2am?" He asked, smiling at them in a mild amusement.

The other human jumped at his voice and accidentally dropped their cookie in their milk, causing a splash and small drops of milk to spill on the table.

MC pouted, causing their boyfriend to give a small chuckle.

The sorcerer took a seat next to them and grabbed a cookie for himself, taking a bite as he watched MC try to fish their own cookie out of their milk.

"Why are you awake?" MC asked him softly.

Solomon raised an eyebrow.

"I believe that's my question for you, little Minx."

Silence. MC stared down into their milk, giving up and letting the cookie somewhat float inside.

The man frowned.

"I cannot help if you don't talk to me, MC."

"W...What's going to happen to us?" MC started to fidget in their seat. "I mean...summer is coming and...the school year is ending..."

Solomon watched the other human, letting them continue since he could tell they were trying to find their words in order to continue.

"Are you...is there..." MC bit their lip. "Are we gonna be invited back next year as exchange students? If not...are we...can we still be together? Or do we have to...ya know..."

"Do you honestly think I'd break up with you if we couldn't attend RAD anymore?"

"....."

The man sighed and pulled his Minx into a hug.

"This relationship isn't just something to past the time during my stay here. If that was all it was, I wouldn't have dated you or anyone." He told them. "I'm with you because...it's simply what I want to do. There's something here with you that I never had with others. Something I don't think I could ever let go of."

"Really?"

"Really, little Minx." He smiled at them. "I may not be sure when or if we'll be invited back here, but that will not be a factor in our relationship. We'll simply be happy in the Human realm for a while."

He pulled them in and gave them a long, sweet kiss.

"Now, let's finish off a few cookies and get back to sleep, alright, little Minx?"

Simeon:

MC was spending the night at Purgatory Hall after a game night. Lucifer allowed it, thinking MC would sleep in the extra room in Purgatory Hall, the one that originally would have been theirs anyway if Diavolo hadn't decided that they were safer at House of Lamentation.

Of course, MC was actually in bed with their boyfriend; the other two housemates knew of their relationship at this point and wouldn't tell others their secret.

At some point during the night, Simeon jolted awake. Did he have a bad dream? The man honestly didn't know since whatever he might have dreamt faded quickly as he focused on his breathing and reached out for his Feather--to find that they were no longer laying next to him.

For whatever reason, he had this sickening feeling in him as if something was wrong. He rushed out of bed and went in search of the human.

He found them in the kitchen, asleep on the floor in front of the oven

Which had smoke coming out of it.

The angel ran over and picked up the human, waking them in the process as he sat them by the entry way and went back to deal with the small fire in the oven.

"S-Simeon?" The human called him, sleepy and confused.

With the fire out, the man sighed in relief and returned to his Lamb's side, lowering himself to the floor and pulling them into his arms.

"Oh, my Feather..." He said softly, not losening the embrace.

MC's sleepy brain had finally caught up with the situation.

"Oh my...I'm sorry! I didn't mean to, I swear!"

"You're okay." The man pulled back and eyed them up and down. "You are okay, yes?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

Simeon pulled them back in and held them for a minute more before kissing their forehead.

"Now what were you doing, my Lamb? Why were you out of bed?"

"I was...baking."

"...MC, it's 2am."

The human looked away.

"I know..."

With a pained expression on their face, the human spoke of the bad anxiety they have been feeling as of late, how they were hoping that by staying the night here and sleeping by his side that such anxiety would dissipate, but all it actually did was remind them of all they are scared of.

This relationship...it's so delicate. They cannot openly be with each other without risking ruin. If the wrong person hears, if the Celestial realm even suspects it...everything could fall apart.

"I've just been scared of losing you and it's hard no being able to confide in Lucifer or Mammon or Beel or any of them like I usually do...so the anxiety I've been feeling just built up and I couldn't sleep so I decide get up and I eventually just thought I could bake a few cookies and just busy myself so I don't have to think about it, at least for the time being...but I guess I fell asleep anyway."

"My Feather...you should have told me." He wiped a tear from their cheek, one MC never knew had fallen till then. "I'm so sorry for the stress this has put on you."

"I couldn't...I...I'm scared. I was worried that if I told you how I felt, you'd leave me thinking it was best for me, but in reality, it would crush me."

"MC, I would never. This...you are everything to me. I love you so deeply that I simply wouldn't have the strength to do that."

"You promise?"

"I swear on my very soul that I will do all within my power to stay by your side."

The two stayed huddled together on the floor for awhile, taking comfort in the closeness.

"Well, this...ordeal explains my sudden consciousness earlier."

The angel explained his sudden jolt of panic as he searched for them in bed. When MC asked what he meant, the man continue.

"We seem to have an...unofficial covenant though I'm not quite sure how."

"What's a covenant?"

"It's...I suppose you could compare them to your pacts with the brothers. A covenant is the binding agreement with an angel and a human when they seek protection and Celestial blessings in their life, in exchange for them to serve and help the angel in the Celestial realm for a time after their death. It's to help humans while also serving as another way of expanding the Angelic population." He explained. "However, we have not made such a covenant nor could we if we wanted to...such an agreement cannot be made with those who have made pacts with demons. Still...somehow my soul is reacting to you as if we had made one."

The couple had more questions than answers about their lives together, but it was nothing they could solve that night.

The two talked for a while before Simeon picked his Lamb up and carried them back to bed.

The two fell asleep in an embrace, all worries still in place, but both still feeling that regardless of it all, where they truly belonged was right next to each other.

[penwieldingdreamer]

Dante's Prayer - Chapter 3

The 2nd part of the Ball, hope you guys will like it. Let me know what you think about this. A big thanks to my beta @fortheloveoffanfic for keeping me on track with the characters 😉

Warnings: cursing

Words: 2094

"Mrs. Gray, why don't we retreat to the parlour for a drink and leave the men to talk their business." Helene suggested linking her satin gloved arm with Polly's and led her away from Thomas and her husband, nodding at the two men in parting. 

"Lady McCann, please call me Polly, after all, we'll be family soon once the wedding is done." the Shelby matriarch told her nephews soon-to-be mother in law with a smile, the two women nearly gliding over to the smaller parlour of Castletown House. 

Returning the smile, the duchess nodded her head. "By all means, then I'm Helene. We will be family soon, given that my daughter won't bail on us." A soft sigh left her lips, knowing Saoirse could be difficult. "Your nephew will have his work cut out for him, I reckon." 

"Oh he'll learn how to deal with it. I have a good feeling that once they'll get to know each other they'll find common ground." The words were reassuring, yet both women knew that it would take a while for their children - in Polly's case she felt like her brother's children were just like her own - to warm up to the idea of sharing a life together. 

Arriving at the doors separating the sitting room from the grand ballroom, Helene nodded at the butler, who let them enter. They sat down at the round table, plush armchairs providing comfort as the Birmingham resident looked around the room. Polly thought back to the time when she had to work hard to provide for her family and be there for Ada and Finn during the war, and all she could feel was gratefulness toward Tommy who was able to give them the life they led now. 

"Has Thomas told you what he wants his wedding to be like?" the mother of three inquired, nodding at the butler in thanks for bringing them both refreshments and leaned back into the high-backed armchair. "I gather now that it is his second wedding he might want to change a few things." 

Taking a sip from the champagne, the gypsy lightly shook her head. "So far, he hasn't said anything. He only does this out of duty to the family. I told him it was a good deal, but other than that he's not going to object to anything. All I can ask of you is considering a custom my family on my mother's side has partook in every time during a wedding." Polly wasn't too sure, the duchess would agree to traditions of the travelling folks but the soft smile on her face and the light nod gave her hope. 

"I haven't always been a duchess, Polly." the blonde lady started, holding the Flute glas in her hand and watching the champagne sparkle in the soft glow of the lamps. "My mother originated from Germany, her cousin married the emperor of Austria and she was made Empress of Austria and Hungary. I often visited her when I was still a child and Sisi would visit the travelling folks of Hungary. Not all is as it seems, my daughter has the same spirit in her as Elizabeth did. Headstrong, modern, loyal to a fault, kind and with a childish wonder the war has snuffed out in many people. I do hope that Thomas won't try to do what the war hasn't been able to do. Despite me agreeing to this arrangement without her consent, she is still my little angel and I will grant you your customs just like we have ours, but should your nephew hurt her in any way, he will wish for war to take him again."

Nodding her head, Polly grinned at Helene, knowing they would get along splendidly. Protective of her family, just like herself, the Shelby matriarch knew that there was a good future ahead, bright was still to be questioned, but good at least. 

Just then the decorated glass doors of the light coloured parlour flew open, a disheveled looking Arthur standing there, eyes ablaze and his face red from anger. 

"Did ya know, Pol?" he asked storming over to his aunt, hands already grabbing for her arms. "Did ya know 'bout 'er, hm?" 

Polly had never been someone to be frightened or threatened, especially not by her family, so she wouldn't start now and still Arthur always had a soft spot in her heart. Delivering a hard slap, she pushed the eldest of the brothers away from her, regret shining in her eyes. "What the fuck are ya talkin' about, Arthur?" 

"I'm fuckin' talking about Niamh." he glared, his cheeks already turning a darker shade of red from anger and the hit he received. "She's been here all them years, pregnant with ma son, so 'm askin' again: did ya know 'bout it?" 

Wide eyed, Polly felt the wheels in her head turning, remembering the girl Arthur had left behind to marry Linda, the redheaded beauty in the back of the church. "She was at the wedding, didn't say a thing, just left when it was over. That's all I know." 

Letting out a heavy sigh, Arthur stumbled back into the armchair on the other side of his aunt, closing his eyes to order the thoughts in his head flitting about like butterflies. "What am I gonna do now?" Polly moved over to him, pulling Arthur into a tight hug because she knew it was hard on him. 

Even though she wasn't a fan of Linda, her nephew loved her and she had to live with that. Now he needed to make a decision on what to do with the mother of his first child. "You need to talk to her, that much is clear. And get to know him, too." 

Nodding his head against his aunt's belly, Arthur felt a small portion of the weight lifting of his shoulders. Linda would be furious, she already was with him leaving for Ireland to be part of the wedding preparations. Nothing had been decided yet, but the eldest Shelby had a distinct feeling, that Lady McCann would want the ceremony to take place in their home and he already dreaded the day the whole family would again sit on Tommy's side of the church and Linda coming face to face with his former lover and mother of his first son.

"I thought you'd have ta greet guests." he said, a cigarette perched between his lips as he watched his wife-to-be gazing at the sky. 

"And I thought you would talk about business with my father." she replied, a smirk grazing her features and might he say it looked more like a small smile than a smirk. 

Her body leaned against the banister and Tommy couldn't help but let his eyes roam over it, breathing in the smoke of the cigarette he had missed all evening. "There's not much business to talk about when there's a wedding about to take place." 

Nodding her head, Saoirse turned her face towards his own as he leaned against the stone parapet next to her. "I hope Arthur has calmed down again after his encounter with Niamh when I left." she said after a moment of silence.

"Ach, he's fine. Needs to talk to her, though." Tommy shrugged, his stormy blues void of emotion as he stubbed out the cigarette on the banister. "His wife's goin' to have his hide, but he'll get over it." 

Shaking her head, Saoirse looked away from the gang leader, feeling like the little progress they had made went up in smoke just like the cigarette. "You shouldn't be so indifferent to the feelings of others, one day you might not have anyone left to turn to." 

"Often enough you only have yourself to rely on." he replied before he stood again, running a hand through his short hair and holding the other out to her. "We shouldn't make your guests believe that we hate each other, it's bad for business." 

Snorting, the youngest of three took his hand, feeling the warmth of Tommy's skin through the satin of her glove as he led her inside to the ballroom. "Who said anything about me liking you? I don't really care what my guests think, mother's guests on the other hand, that would be a shame. After all, they came all the way from Austria and London." 

"I see, you're not going to make it easy for me, are you?" he wondered, twirling her around so they could dance to the waltz the orchestra started to play. "What is this marriage going to look like, hm?" 

Putting her left hand on his shoulder, Saoirse mentally thanked her mother for making her take the dance lessons in Vienna or else the future bride of Birmingham's most known gangster would have been an embarrassment. Her right hand delicately laid in his left and she couldn't help but wonder if they could do more than just hold a gun and kill. "I believe you'd like me to play the obedient wife, staying at your house and doing nothing, what with your fortune now. I heard you have a son, so probably be a mother to him, while you go out and do whatever you do." 

"So, ya do know something 'bout me." he smirked, leading her across the grand room, unaware of the other dancers and their families. The pair danced in their own world and voiced their opinion on the upcoming union. "And here I thought ya didn't know anything." 

"My sisters talk, Mister Shelby, although I didn't know which one my husband-to-be was, I still heard their opinions on you loud and clear." 

The smirk on his lips widened at the thought of what Amalie and Louise had told their sister. "An' what pray tell did they tell ya?" 

"Oh, you know, that you're a gangster, cold as ice, a former war hero and would do anything to get money." Saoirse shrugged, trying to rile him up as she saw his blue eyes darken. Tommy knew that he had to keep it cool. It wouldn't do him good to drag her off and…no, he wouldn't yell at her and make a scene, that would break the deal he made with her mother. He'd rather enjoy the rest of his life while it lasted. 

Pulling her tighter into his body, he felt a satisfied grin make its way onto his face at her gasp. "You'd do well to keep those comments to a minimum. That money you so kindly brought up will grant you safety among Birmingham and the rest of England and Scotland. I don't want another of me wife killed because she wouldn't listen and had a mind of her own."

"Well then, you'd better look for another wife because I can be just as stubborn as you, Mister Shelby." 

"I'd rather not. You're more than enough." Wincing at the thought of having to go through that process again, Tommy shook his head. The music had changed and another waltz was played. "Besides, finding a good woman that freely accepts my son is quite rare in these times."

Pursing her lips, Saoirse looked up into his stormy blue eyes. "I couldn't imagine someone not liking your son. Judging by what Louise told me about him, I take it he's a ray of sunshine." 

"Are you really trying to make me hate you right now? But yes, Charlie is in fact a ray of sunshine despite having me as his father." Before the youngest daughter of the Duke could say anything, Tommy had twirled her outward, keeping his eyes on her face as he read the delight written all over it. 

He couldn't help but enjoy these moments, couldn't remember the last time he danced like this with anyone that hadn't been Grace. When Saoirse had returned to his arms, she sent him a grin, a genuine one at that. "I'm not trying to make you hate me, I was stating a fact and to be honest I can't wait to meet your son." 

Nodding his head at her answer, he led her around the ballroom for one final dance. "In two weeks you will meet him, so I do hope you won't change your mind about this arrangement." 

"Don't do anything to make me change it and I'll be there." she answered him, her right hand squeezing his left tighter than before and Tommy couldn't help but grin at her attempt to threaten him. Life would be a lot more interesting once the wedding was over. 

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