#I've said it before but to avoid starting a war: there's nothing serious about this post

[cobbssecondbelt]

Bo-Katan looks a Din once and they're basically confirmed married,

Meanwhile, this dude:

[mythicmanuscripts]

oh my goodness! okay, first and foremost -- thank you for all the stuff you write, it is SO hard to get good sub!HOTD boys content, you are literally an oasis in the desert. i've binge read and then reread all you stuff and it is FANTASTIC!!

what about sweet, sensitive sub!jace already in subspace or even in subdrop? maybe you find him that way when you walk in, and you give him all the cuddles and comfort and touch him how he needs with all the love?

I love this idea!! I’m so so glad to hear that you like my stuff, I started this blog specifically because I was struggling to find sub!hotd characters content so I am very happy to hear you’re liking my stuff.

This idea is brilliant and I definitely would love to discuss Jace in subspace and subdrop more so if anyone has any ideas let me know!! For now I’m gonna write you walking in on Jace in subspace and teetering on the edge of subdrop. So angsty NSFW sub!jace below the cut! But I don’t worry, there’s a happy ending!!

So firstly, as we’ve said before, Jace wouldn’t like jerking off at all. Sure it felt good and he went through being a horny teenager, but he didn’t like it because of how sensitive and overwhelmed he got afterwards. Jerking off always resulted in him crying himself to sleep and trying desperately to make sure nothing touches cock.

Of course this all changes when he meets you and he experiences how good things can feel and how safe he can be when there’s someone there to help him. He can hide in your chest every time he cums and you’ll hold his hand afterwards and you’ll never ever be disappointed in him for not being able to continue.

All of this is to say that after he married you he masturbated even less than before. Now that he knows how it is with you, he never wants to experience it alone again.

So even if you were away for weeks, I don’t think Jace would be able to bring himself to do more than grind against your pillow until you return.

However, I think this scenario could happen if you get called away? Like maybe you and Jace are spending the morning in bed, having a very rare relaxed moment together. You’ve been kissing for a while, hands wondering all over each other’s body. Jace is so plaint in your arms, letting you do whatever you want and trying his best to actually kiss you back instead of just whining into your mouth.

You start to palm him through his briefs then, listening to the way he whimpers your name. You’re gentle with it, because you don’t want to overwhelm him. You stick to just softly palming his bulge and praising him for being so so good for you.

He’s starting to get really worked up when a messenger knocks on the door. You know it must be serious because Jace told everyone not to either you two that morning unless absolutely necessary. You go talk to the person at the door, and they tell you something has happened that needs you or Jace, or preferably both.

Jace is in absolutely no state to be in public whatsoever, so sending him or coming with him are both out of the question. But you can’t avoid this, someone needs to handle this.

So as much as it pains you to do, you go back to Jace and explain what happened, telling him that you’re going to go sort it out and that he doesn’t need to move or do anything at all. Jace, bless him, is as understanding as he can be. He knows this is a war and any of you could be called upon at any time, but damnit he was so enjoying the slow morning make out session.

You give him a kiss on the forehead and tell him that you’ll be be back as soon as you can. You also tell him that he can cum on his own or just jerk off on his own because you don’t want Jace to become too desperate to stop himself and then he feels like he’s done something very bad even when he really hasn’t.

So with all that done, you race off to handle the chaos, and when you rerun the sight that greets you is heartbreaking.

You realise pretty quickly that Jace jacked off and came, not only because of how you found him but also because he didn’t have his underclothes on anymore.

He’s curled up on the bed, hugging your pillow with tears down his cheeks. Every now and then his hips will twitch and his poor cock will be subjected to even more stimulation, causing him to whine and shake even more.

When you call his name, his head shoots up and instantly he’s sitting up and holding his arms out to show he wants you to join him. You can see by the look in his eyes that he must have gone into subspace at some point.

You were sure he wasn’t in subspace when you left, but you realise he must have been on the brink of subspace when you had to leave and that jerking off is probably what made him go into subspace.

Jace is always needy in subspace, and just feels everything so much. He’s so sweet and giggly and playing when he feels safe in your arms, but he’s prone to spiralling if you aren’t there.

You’re quick to sit on the bed and motion Jace to sit with you. He all but dives into you lap, his legs dangling over your lap with his torso leaning sideways against you.

You just stroke him and kiss his head not promise him that you’re right here. When he calms downs, he looks up at you and whispers that he touched himself while you were gone. By this point there’s no point in trying to remind him that you gave him permission to do it, right now he won’t listen to reason and just needs comfort.

He’s so close to subdrop and he’s so overwhelmed and he feels so so bad that he couldn’t even wait for you today to finish your duties and instead had to touch himself when you left because he was too worked up not to.

You manage to just about keep him in subspace and not in subdrop by ensuring he knows you’re not angry with him and he’s still so so so good for you.

In the end he ends up sliding down the bed to eat you out, and just floats there for a while.

[mysterious-gizem]

𝐎𝐝𝐝 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐎𝐮𝐭

Warning/s: ???

Taglist: @da3dm, @gt-mcyt, @coolest-moon

Chapters: Ch1 | Ch2

〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️

"Puffy get out here!"

Schlatt...

The sheep hybrid tumbled down the stairs as she raced towards her front door, she flung her front door open as she was met with her very serious, and rather furious, older brother. The ram hybrid sighed as he stared her down.

"Hey JJ- what brings you here, shouldn't you be with Dream at the docks?" She chuckled trepidatiously, her brother pursed his lips before he began to speak. "The elders are scolding him...he may have crushed some of the wood we were going to use."

The ram let out an exasperated sigh, "Look Puffy, I love my nephew, but..." His words trailed off as he stared at her sister's wide, soft eyes. "I can't keep defending him...Everyone's getting pretty..." Another sigh escaped his lips, "Well- everyone is getting pretty scared; I've heard that he almost stepped on some old lady!" Schlatt was about to continue but Puffy spoke first.

"What am I supposed to do Schlatt? He can't control what's happening to him- and it wasn't my decision for him to be going around doing chores! He's a kid, he should be out playing in the fields, not working in them..." Puffy was tired, she was tired of seeing her son come home exhausted; not exhausted from playing, but rather tired from working.

It hurt her as she watched her child lay on his bedroom floor, having to get rid of his bed and furniture for the sake that he would still fit in his room. She remembered the nights her son would cry relentlessly, begging to be held; yet all she could do was gently hug his leg as fat tears rolled down his face.

Now her brother—one of the few people who caused this to happen to her son—stood in front of her criticizing his mistakes once more, how dare her brother have the audacity to take away his childhood and still complain!?

Schlatt let out another sigh, it snapped the sheep hybrid out of her daze. Both stood in awkward silence as the ram hybrid stared down at her with gentle eyes, while she was resistant to meet his own. The two were having a silent war; that they barely noticed another presence arrive, until they were startled by a shadow looming over them.

"Uhm- Uncle Schlatt? We're—we're done with the docks and they told me to go on break..." Dream sheepishly announced as he avoided eye contact, Puffy's heart broke, her boy, despite the fact he towered over everyone in the flock; looked so, so small. The ram hybrid's lips pursed as Puffy began to speak. "Hey duckling, you hungry?" The blond gave a shy nod, still unwilling to meet her eyes.

"There's food in the dining room, I made it all for you so don't worry duckling." She reassured, Dream muttered a grateful 'thank you' as he ushered himself inside the house; needing to bend down to walk around the house. The sheep hybrid turned around to face her brother again, "Look Schlatt- if you have nothing else to say I have stuff I need to do..." He sighed and shook his head.

"Goodbye JJ."

•~☆~•

"Dream can you get the tools over there?" A disheveled middle-aged man gently commanded the blond which he complied too, "Yes sir..." The child simply responded as he took a few strides and bent down to pick up a box full of tools.

It was another day for Dream, he was helping rebuild the town fountain at the core of their little village; which got damaged after some rogue hybrid went into their village and started throwing bombs, luckily another group of hunters came and escorted the hybrid away before anyone got hurt—the blond was especially lucky he wasn't there to be spotted by the said hunters—he stood at his full height and stared at his surroundings, taking in how much damage the bombs did.

A few patches of the streets were affected due to the obvious holes in the ground, and he expected to fix them sooner or later, it was sadly turning into his new normal, barely anything about this was normal. Another abrupt command made his head snap back toward the ram hybrid, "Go get the bricks over there, it's like laying on a wooden platform so get it all." Dream nodded and spotted the bricks atop a wooden pallet, he quickly rushed over and picked up the crates with his two hands.

He was slowly walking back to the fountain, being extremely cautious with the bricks; he was halfway there when he heard a loud feminine voice let out a commanding yell, "Jack! Elliott! Come back here!" Suddenly two children came running his way he lost his footing as the two children were seemingly playing tag, he yelped as one of them ran in front of him and he almost stepped on them.

He panicked as he tripped backward dropping the bricks in the process, shrill shrieks were heard coming from all over the place as bricks flew in every direction. Dust encompassed the area, in all of the chaos he prayed no one got hurt; a cough escaped his lips, as the dust settled down, the two other kids; who were probably around his age were huddled up together, covered in dust and debris themselves.

He watched as numerous amounts of rams and sheep hybrids ran to the duo's aid, a familiar stinging sensation made itself known; yet in the midst of all the chaos he couldn't even focus on anything, everything felt hazy as he sat there with his head limp and arms shaking. And the weird feeling spreading all over his body.

He felt something protruding in his gums and as the chaos began to settle down he grew.

He cried alongside the townsfolk as they all scrambled to get away from him, at that moment he silently thanked his mom and Bad that they put a spell on his clothing to adjust to his size, no matter how tall he was. Pain shot throughout his body, he could barely comprehend whatever the people were yelling.

Suddenly he ceased his movements and dropped to the ground.

•~☆~•

"Captain Puffy!"

Puffy was having a light conversation with Bad that day, they were simply talking about events of the week, trying to have a good time; keyword: trying.

"Oh Samuel? Why are you in such a rush." The sheep hybrid asked as Bad stood beside her respectfully waiting for them to finish. The panicked ram hybrid who was apparently named Samuel was catching his breath, Puffy patiently waited for the other to speak.

"Your son-" He heaved and took a big gulp of air, "He grew right before our eyes! And—and he fainted, Mayor Schlatt told me to get you." As he finished his sentence Puffy bolted from her spot not even saying a proper farewell to the demon hybrid. She almost tripped a few times as she took one step after another.

Other members of the herd who were oblivious of the situation happening at the core of the town gave her weird looks; some even attempted to follow her. More and more people began gathering to see what all the commotion was about. Puffy's thoughts were scattered everywhere as she yelled at people to move to the side.

All of a sudden she crashed against another figure which she quickly realized was her brother, "Schlatt let me go! I need to see him!" Tears began to form at the corner of her eyes as Schlatt held her back. "Please JJ..." Her voice began to grow quiet as Schlatt quietly huffed. "Puffy...I don't—I don't think you should see him right now."

The sheep hybrid was now letting on soft sobs whilst weakly grasping her brother's arm, she could only register the fact more people kept rushing behind them; she so desperately wanted to see what they were up to, what were they doing to her baby?

•~☆~•

Puffy sat at the foot of her bed, she sobbed so much she started to choke; she began to cough and gag as fat tears kept rolling down her face, earlier that day she waved her son goodbye as he left with a bright smile on his face. Now the day turned gloomy and dreadful.

"M-Mom?"

Her son's broken worried voice forced her to lift her head, for a moment she was scared startled to see a luminous emerald green eye stare at her through her window, she quickly pushed down her fear sorrow and walked over to the window, Dream backed up so she could see his face more clearly as she pushed the window open. It was obvious the poor boy had been crying; his eye's were puffy and red, and he was seemingly trembling.

"Oh baby- what's wrong?" She tried reaching out her hand to touch his face, however he stayed put; unmoving and silent. Puffy had no idea what to do at this moment, she could barely see his face as the sun took cover behind the horizons. The last remaining streaks of light highlighting the saddened features of the blond's face.

His mouth opened hesitantly as he stumbled over his words, "Are you okay mama? I-I'm sorry..." Puffy quickly gestured for him to come closer, "You did nothing wrong duckling, it's okay." Tears came back at full force as the now giant leaned against their house, the sheep hybrid could only reach the strands of his hair as she softly touched it—the blond probably didn't even feel it.

Puffy watched as stars began to twinkle in the sky, both simply fell into the haze of comfort and calm as they simply basked in the feeling of each other's comfort; the sheep hybrid gently felt the blond's soft breaths. She quietly went back to her bed and let the child sleep in peace.

With that thought she laid down and slowly drifted off to sleep aswell.

•~☆~•

"Woah dude! I'm sorry- but you look so cool right now!" Sapnap was gawking at the blond boy's new height, they finally got another chance to hang out and they were more than grateful. Dream sheepishly grinned at Sapnap's antics, he felt elated that the other treated him no differently than he did before, no matter what happened.

"I'm guessing you'll only wear one pair of clothes for now?" The blond nodded along as he tapped his fingers against the grass below him, "Y-Yea Mom said until she and your dad figure something out this is my clothes for now." The hybrid simply shrugged and an idea quickly popped up in his head.

"How about hide and seek?" He grinned widely, "We can even go in the forest so it's fair!" The taller hastily nodded and mustered up the courage to stand at his full height; vertigo smacked him as he stared at the difference of the size of his house to himself. Sapnap quickly snapped him out of his thought with the prompt of a race. The blond happily obliged and carefully sprinted towards the ravenette; albeit the blond being as careful as possible Sapnap could still feel the ground softly shake yet he shook his head and thought nothing of it.

As the two now stood in the midst of the forest, Dream was more fixated on the few small scrapes around his legs caused by the branches, it just gave him another reminder on how tall he was at the moment. Sapnap was the first to break the oddly awkward tension, "How about you hide and I seek?", He chuckled at his suggestion yet meekly nodded along.

In the blink of an eye Sapnap was now propped against a tree with his arm covering his two eyes and began to count down, for a moment the green eyed giant stood completely and utterly still, why? He couldn't exactly say, maybe it was the fact he couldn't exactly think of a place to hide or was it the strange noises her could hear, it heard like other people chatting?

Oh he was definitely losing it now.

He suddenly remembered what he was supposed to be doing and sprinted deeper into the forest to the direction of the mountains, he knew he should watch on how far he was going but surely the small caves and taverns he would spot on the way would be a better hiding spot.

The blond quickly halted as he spotted an opening to a cave on the forest floor, somehow he could hear Sapnap's counts getting closer to zero and he bolted inside the cage; he crawled his way in and situated himself—the cramped space gave him a familiar feeling, instead of uncomfort and uneasiness he felt...safe and warm(he couldn't exactly pinpoint why, his thoughts were pretty jumbled up right now)

Dream felt tranquil, his eyes slid shut and purely embraced the feeling. A heavy sigh escaped his lips, his body fell slack as he leaned in closer to the cavern walls.

It was like he felt truly at peace.

An ear-splitting cry broke his valuable silence, in his groggy state of mind he could barely comprehend where the scream came from; until another wail erupted once more. His eyes shot open and his body jumped at the sound as everything became slightly clearer.

Sapnap?

A rush of memories and emotions overwhelmed him, he was torn between remembering the moment a similar instance happened or rush to see the ravenette; it was like his body was on auto-pilot, none of the movements were his, like a foggy cloud sheilding away his sight.

As his hulking figure reached the sound of Sapnap's screams, he watched as a group of hunters were trying to chain the nether-born as he emerged from the forest all the hunters heads snapped towards him, seemingly just spotting their new prey.

"Stop it you shits those are my horns!"

As if history was repeating itself, his movements were dazed, downright feral.

That day blood coated the forest floors and a giant left the forest with a slightly traumatized hybrid.

•~☆~•

"Dream, you okay?" Sapnap asked as he stood before the giant in the drizzling rain, the blond slowly lifted his head, tears mixed with the rain, the only reason the nether-born was sure the giant was crying was the constant hiccups and sobs he would stutter out as he tried to suppress them. Even with the thunderous claps and heavy winds accompanied with the earth's very tears; it felt so, so silent. Sapnap began walking closer, he was greatly startled when the other scrambled away.

"No—no I don't wanna 'urt you..." The giant was shaking his head side to side while mumbling incoherent sentences with pain and panic laced with every word, his lips trembled as he spoke, "Uncle Schlatt a-and the elders said I should stay away from the flock for a while till—till they solve stuff." Without any thought Sapnap walked closer and held his hand out to touch the other.

"Good thing I'm not part of the flock then." He grinned with pride, Dream thought for a moment. He's right, Bad and Sapnap were never welcomed to the flock nor did they try and be part of it; or atleast that's what he thinks.

Even if his body wasn't as tense as before Sapnap sighed and sat beside blond. "For what it's worth I'll always be by your side bud."

"Pandas..."

The ravenette took a moment to cringe at his own words but kept his attention on the other, "Maybe it's best if I leave you know?" He muttered, "Ever since- well this happened to me, everything just...sucks." the nether-born was slightly taken a back with the sudden mature aura the giant gave, maybe he was spending to much time with the elders...

Sapnap was expecting this, he knew Dream was never truly at peace with the town, he thought long and hard before speaking again.

"Well if you do, I'll—I'll join you."

Was he serious? A soft grin made it's way on the taller's face.

"Thanks Sap."

[griseldabanks]

I've been seriously considering participating in SlowMoWriNo, a variation on NaNoWriMo where, instead of writing 50k of a story in a single month, the goal is to write for approximately 15 minutes a day for a year, starting this November, and hopefully have a novel done in a year's time. It's a challenge for those who are busy and/or burnt out, which perfectly describes me right now. I'm getting pretty close to finishing the first draft of my current WIP, and while I should probably just take a break from any sort of organized writing for the rest of the year to avoid a complete burnout, I also really like the idea of SlowMoWriNo.

So I think I'm going to do it. I can push myself for fifteen minutes a day, right? In order to still be giving myself a break from the hefty fanfic project I've been focusing on for the past four years or so, I'd like to use SlowMoWriNo to work on one of my woefully neglected original stories. Even if all I have to show for my work after a year is an outline or notes rather than 50k of readable story, it will be more than I've got right now!

I've got quite a few story ideas that have been gathering dust in my mind for years now, so which one should I dust off and take a poke at? I'll describe each one below the poll. Basically, you're voting for which story you'd like to hear updates on and potentially get excerpts from, because I'll be doing that for accountability purposes in the year ahead.

The Ambassadors - Sean is scrubbing the floor of his village's chapel when the village is attacked by a rampaging dragon. Before he knows what's happening, the dragon smashes through the chapel and dies. With her last breath, she places a dragon egg at his feet. The egg hatches in his hands, revealing a baby dragon with black scales. Though he has heard all his life about how evil and dangerous dragons are, Sean just can't bring himself to let any harm come to the baby dragon. So, changing his name to Shard, he runs away to find a place where he and his new dragon friend can live in peace. Medieval fantasy, dragon rider story, lots of angst and lots of fluff, no romance but lots of friendship with an emphasis on brotherly love between the main character and his dragon, strong Christian themes (complete with my own barely-disguised fantasy Christian religion :P). The first draft is written, but I need to completely rewrite it because I've reworked and refined a lot of the plot and worldbuilding.

The Arcblade - Aiden Averrod, captain of the airship Robin, is just about broke and looking for work for his crew when a mysterious noblewoman hires him to give her transport on her quest for the fabled Arcblade, a mystical weapon said to bring peace to their war-torn land when it is unsheathed. Reluctantly, because he has no other choice and because the young lady has a fat purse with promise of another one forthcoming when the quest is achieved, Aiden agrees and sets off on a quest that will completely upend his life. Eighteenth century-ish fantasy, steampunk (crystalpunk? is that a thing?), serious laced with humor, swashbuckling, includes a romance between major characters. So far, I've written a grand total of two scenes and then realized I needed to revisit the worldbuilding -_-

bartender story (unnamed) - Bob is the friendly, rotund third-generation owner of the town's tavern. All is going well in his life until a band of heroes comes through and...well, one thing leads to another, and in the end, Bob's tavern is just a pile of ashes. Demanding repayment for damages, Bob tags along with the band of misfits as they continue their quest to save the world from the Dark Lord. Medieval fantasy, satire with a heart, tongue-in-cheek poking fun at fantasy cliches, probably no romance but we'll see. Nothing written for this so far.

broken heart story (unnamed) - Annie has had a crush on [unnamed heartthrob] for years, but would never dare tell him. After all, she's ugly. She's fat. She has terrible acne. She's cripplingly shy, and she's been picked on and bullied her whole life. There's nothing he would ever find attractive about her. But one day she happens to witness [unnamed girl] cast a spell on him that turns his heart into an origami heart made of many separate pieces of paper folded in on each other, which she pulls apart and scatters to the winds. Without his heart, [unnamed heartthrob] has no emotions, no personality, and his so-called friends start avoiding him because he's acting so weird. Taking pity on him, Annie decides to get his heart back. Even if it might break her own heart in the process. Modern-day urban fantasy, probably some kind of magical school setting (maybe university-level?), angsty drama, romance, basically a reverse Beauty and the Beast about true love looking past the surface. Nothing written for this so far.

clone sister story (unnamed) - [Older sister] is struggling to accept the clone of her deceased younger sister, who has just been completed and come home from the lab. The decision to clone [younger sister] was a snap decision her mother made in the throes of her grief after the accident, but since then the whole family has come to grips with the knowledge that [younger sister] is gone forever. But the cloning process was already started, and her mother was unwilling to pull the plug, because she believed that clone was a real person, a real little girl who needed a mommy. Now that little girl is coming home, and they all have to remember that, just because she looks exactly like [younger sister], she is a different person. [Older sister] isn't sure what to think. Near-future sci-fi, family drama, angst and grief, family relationships with a focus on the sisters, strong Christian and pro-life themes. Nothing written for this so far.

The Family - The Shiwaga family is a wealthy, well-respected clan that has been a pillar of the town of Avalanche for generations. What no one realizes is that they're also secretly a mafia-like organization working to sabotage the government, believing it was usurped from the rightful ruler - someone Shiwaga hopes to be able to influence once they have been returned to power. (This story is actually kind of hard to summarize, both because it's currently a mess and because there's at least a dozen main characters who are all supposed to be equally important.) Meiji Japan-inspired epic fantasy, huge cast of characters with opposing motivations, family drama as well as world-threatening crises, romances as well as friendship/familial relationships are front-and-center, currently the ending is more bitter than sweet but I want to reevaluate that. This was the story I worked on the two times I've done NaNoWriMo before, so two of three parts are written, but in a very slapdash fashion that's basically just a fleshed-out outline that will probably have to be completely rewritten anyway. The original thought was to make this a trilogy.

The Four - Timor was found as a small child, abandoned in the forest and somehow managing to eke out an animal-like survival. Since then, he has been raised in the home of Avadris, a one-time counselor to the High King, who has been dead for years. As Timor grows older, Avadris slowly puts two and two together and begins to suspect Timor is actually the High King's son that everyone thought was killed the same night the king and queen were. In the hopes of restoring the order and prosperity they enjoyed under the High King's reign, Avadris announces Timor as the heir to the throne when he turns twelve. Though he asked for none of this, Timor suddenly finds himself running for his life from those who want nothing to do with a new High King, accompanied by strangers who may become friends - or may end up killing him. Medieval epic fantasy, adventure/quest, non-traditional fantasy races/peoples, no romance but various platonic relationships among the impromptu band of companions. This is what I consider to be my first "real" story idea, but even though I came up with it when I was twelve and still believe in its potential, I've never finished a draft and don't really know how it ends anymore ^^' Probably needs to be started over from scratch for the...fourth or fifth time.

four siblings story (unnamed) - Jack, Sophie, Rebecca, and Grace are recently orphaned siblings who know they have to stick together to survive. The good news is, they all have superpowers that have manifested as they struggle with their grief over their parents. As they try to gain control over their powers and figure out how to balance them with the serious side effects those powers bring, they are taken in by the wealthy Dr. Clementine, a jovial old philanthropist who promises to be like a grandfather to them while also giving them opportunities and resources to hone their supernatural skills to the fullest. But it's not long before the four siblings begin to suspect his motives are more sinister than they seemed at first. Modern-day urban fantasy, children's/YA fiction, adventure, no romance but a heck-ton of positive sibling relationships and eventually found family, standalone with possible sequel potential. Meant to evoke some combination of Escape to Witch Mountain, The Girl Who Could Fly, and E. Nesbit (Five Children and It)/Edward Eager (Half Magic) books.

[the-writer-nerd-ro]

Louie and Gosalyn, maybe?? I always wanted to see their dynamic :D

I love these two they're so devious, I had to write the start of their friendship

Send me asks pairing two of the Ducktales good guys and I will write a short fic with them interacting. Not for Ships. Based on this post.

Fic below:

"Dewey's not here today," Louie said, having opened the door to reveal a very serious, expectant looking Gosalyn.

"Shoot. What about Huey?"

"No, they're all off on a thing." Another adventure that Louie had just narrowly avoided.

"Even Webby?"

"Mm-hm."

"What about your ghost butler?"

"He does what he wants. What's up?"

"Nothing."

"Oh come on, I'm not even your last resort? That's offensive. I thought we were friends."

"Name one time we've hung out."

Louie opened his mouth.

"Webby's birthday party doesn't count."

Louie closed his mouth, sulking a little.

"I am just as good as Huey or Dewey," Louie insisted.

"What about Webby?"

"I'm not delusional, but she's not here so take it or leave it."

Gosalyn let out a frustrated sigh.

"Fine."

"No need to be grateful or anything. What's the problem?"

"I think my dad- er, Drake, is being scammed. I want to give the scammer a taste of their own medicine."

Louie's eyes lit up. He loved scamming scammers. This would be the perfect way to kill an afternoon.

Twenty minutes later they had set up a war room in the den, beginning to pull up everything they could on this con artist.

"Oh, I've dealt with this loser before. His schemes are so see-through, how is your dad falling for these?"

"Drake is an excellent hero and he's very smart in very specific areas. But he's not always the sharpest in the business sense."

"Well then he needs someone like us. Let's destroy this fool."

They made short work of it from there, another scheme becoming apparent to Louie as the pair celebrated their victory with popcorn and cans of Pep!

"You knew the others weren't here today, didn't you?"

"Maybe."

"You knew I'd only help you if I thought you didn't want my help. I can't believe I fell for that."

"To be fair, I think I was pretty convincing."

Louie drew a business card from his hoodie pocket.

"Louie Inc. is always looking to hire sharp minds like you."

"Maybe we could become friends before we become business partners?" Gosalyn suggested.

"Alright, alright. Do you like Ottoman Empire?"

"I've never seen it."

Louie's eyes widened in surprise and excitement.

"You're going to love it."

[fanatic-freakshow]

Jack&Joker are the newest parents on the block!

I have a bone to pick with episode 10 of JJ. I've seen tons of comments about Jack and Joke being at odds again and who is going to die or not. I think enough has been said in that regard. But regarding their adoption, I've seen fewer comments.

Let me start by saying that I love how Yin and War are trying to fight the preconceptions we have regarding gay love and relationships, many of them pushed on by BL industry. And I ab.so.lu.te.ly love to see adoption, in this case, gay adoption being portrayed on television.

But (there is always one with me, isn't there?). Let's get into my unpopular opinion.

Look... Yes, I love it. Yes, it's cute. Yes, Cookie screamed in many of these parts where they affirmed themselves as a family. But.

We do have a notion they started being a couple the day before they decided to adopt a child, right?

I don't care about how long they all know each other (which, by the way, is not that long, except for Jack and Toi Ting). Or oh, but they say she's just like their kid, not actually their kid. No. Come on! Gay adoption is not even legal. You are giving yourself and the child titles that bring a meaningful social role regardless.

This was a decision made right away after her biological (idiot) father abandoned her. Without talking, without thinking. Like it was nothing! I've seen people spend more time choosing a latte or cappuccino than they did here.

I've already talked briefly about the fast pace of Thai BLs, namely in my Long Beans' review. But that was about marriage. If you want to get a divorce tomorrow, go ahead. Nobody's business. Adoption is different. It is between two (in this case) consenting adults and a child. There's no turning back.

You are in this together even if you don't want to be together.

I know that none of them will have any regrets. But let's not "banalise" adoption like this. Everything could have happened the same way in this episode, even the hospital scene. People don't need to have labels - boyfriend, father, daughter, whatever - to feel big feelings for others. The reactions in the hospital would only prove that they really love her, being her fathers or not.

Then, in episode 12 (counting with everyone being alive by then), they could make that decision together with feet and head (which is a Portuguese expression that means "with brain") and not in the spur of the moment. Just as if this decision was actually something serious (which it is).

Maybe I can think of a few reasons why this adoption was so "light" that you almost went through it without seeing it. I just don't want the very very few representations we have of gay adoption to be done so lightly.

Moral of the story: For Lord's sake, if you can avoid, don't adopt/have a child one day after starting dating someone. You guys are not Jack and Joker -- destined lovers xD!

PS. Regardless, this was one of my favourite episodes so far. Can't wait for Monday!

[cutekittenlady]

Tbh I think the whole Delphi incident warmed him up to Drift. At least subconsciously.

(Spoilers for More Than Meets the EYE under the cut. If you havent read it yet and dont wanna be spoiled then go read Issues #4 and #5 on readcomiconline or something. Stories too good to be spoiled.)

Theres this moment, of course, but theres an important context here. And its that, at least a little bit, Drift is lying. And I think on some level Ratchet knows it?

Like Drift claims he wouldnt be there if the DJD actually bothered him but in the next issue, after hes infected with the rust plague and is out of the fight we get this interaction.

Drift starts trying to ask Ratchet to "put him out of his [misery]" rather than risk falling into the hands of the DJD.

Its not that the DJD and the fact that hes one of his targets doesnt effect Drift at all. The fact that hes on their hit list and hes within their territority DOES frighten him, probably a lot. But the key thing here is, the really key thing, is Drift came to Delphi with Ratchet anyway. He, out of everyone on the Lost Light, had the biggest reason to avoid accompanying Ratchet to this place but he did it anyway.

If anything hammers home to Ratchet that Drift is a serious ally its not his seeming fearlessness but his bravery.

And just because you brought it up;

The context for this scene and Ratchets line "I'm miles away from anyone I truly care about" ending on "I've got nothing else to lose" is important since hes talking to Pharma. Someone who used to be his friend and fellow doctor. Ratchet really has no relationship with Drift at this point. Their allies and so far through this issue Drift has likely earned his respect, but in this moment Ratchet is drawing on his own post war issues and feeling betrayed by Pharmas actions.

I mean before the full reveal of the extent of Pharmas actions, Ratchet was looking forward to seeing him! He was going to make him his successor!

He was someone whose skill he respected enough to make him the new Chief Medical Officer of the autobots. But then he gets to Delphi and finds out not only that he had a deal going with the DJD but that he murdered his own patients to maintain that deal.

And I honestly think the former effected him more than the later given what he says when he turns his back on a dangling precariously over the edge Pharma on the roof.

Quoting almost exactly what Pharma had said earlier about how he'd picked which of his patients to kill initially.

So you got Ratchet on Delphi. Forced to fight a former friend and colleague who he'd respected A LOT. Someone who some in the fanbase think he mightve even had feelings for (I dont subscribe to that thought myself but hey I can see the appeal), and hes forced to see how depraved hes become.

I mean, Ratchets winning here and hes not even really that happy about it. As he turns away from Pharma he just looks so tired and miserable. (I mean the part of that could be the rust plague) Which opens him up for attack.

And who should show up at this point, when Ratchet is both physical and emotionally vulnerable?

Who should show up in the nick of time when Pharma literally has Ratchet in the sights of his gun and is about to blow his head off?

The way he reaches for Drift in the last panel paired with his earlier statement that he has nothing left to lose...

Yeah Ratch I think you were wrong about that.

All that to say...

Yeah I definitely think Delphi played a role in Ratchets opinion on Drift.

This was the moment when Ratchet fall in love!

After this he literaly says -"I'm miles away from anyone I truly care about." And after this chapter he started to act nice towards Drift.

He was literaly gagged. Like they are on DJD territory, and during the war there were times when the autobots captured decepticons and they literaly begged Ratchet to kill them. Because they rather die by autobot hands than by the DJD. AND THEN THERES DRIFT WHO'S ON THE LIST! HE STANDS ON DJD TERRITORY BUT HE DOESEN'T GIVE A 💩! HE'S THERE AND RISKS HIS OWN LIFE JUST TO HELP RATCHET AND AUTOBOTS HE MAYBE NEVER EVER MET BEFORE!!! (except Ambulon ofc)

[corpsebasil]

Easily Replaced | Part 4

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

You’d let Pekka Rollins live.

    After years of planning, of seeing his face in dark corners and cobwebs and in your worst nightmares you’d finally, finally had a knife to his throat. And you’d let him go.

"This is bullshit." You grumbled, pacing around the entrance to the Slat with a frown on your face.

The guards refused to let you in and your window had been bolted shut. Kaz was serious—he wanted you out and you still knew nothing about the heist, nothing about how you were going to cross the Fold, and nothing about how your mental health was going to stay well during the kind of stress Kaz was putting you through.

"Mrs. (Y/L/N)," a voice murmured and you whirled, one knife clutched tightly in your fingers as you glared at the messenger boy across from you. To his credit, he hardly flinched. "Vivi has a job for you—"

"Tell Vivi to kiss my ass." You grumbled, kicking dirt at the Slat once more before spinning on your heel and walking away. The messenger scrambled after you, tugging his hood higher over his hair as you both crossed under lamplight.

"She said it's important. It's about someone who can get you across the Fold.

You paused and the messenger almost knocked into you.

"Cross the Fold?" You asked, looking at him, and he nodded once, shoving a paper towards you.

"This is the address. She said you might have some...competition. You ought to hurry."

     You thought you ought to strangle the messenger boy if he wanted to rush you, but you turned away and slipped into the shadows anyways.

~

This had to be a joke.

You eyed the paper in your hands and then glanced back up at the house, raising an eyebrow. This was the home of the elusive 'Conductor', the man Vivi swore would take you across the Fold to get...whatever you were supposed to be getting?

Should you knock, or—

"Hello?" A male voice called out and you ducked, practically diving into the rose bushes to avoid his stare out the front windows.

After a moment he disappeared from view and you huffed, taking a quieter window route to sneak in the house. You’d been expecting something grander for a criminal mastermind that had crossed the Fold too many times to count. Maybe a manor, or a small castle, but this—you sniffed and wrinkled your nose as you slid the window shut behind you, slinking your way through the darkened hallways.

Was that mold in the corner?

You adjusted your mask and pulled out a knife, wondering absently how you were going to play this one. You could see him in a parlor-like area, counting papers and skimming book logs with an awkward humming tendency. The whole house smelled like stew—you thought that maybe he'd share if you were nice.

"Seventeen, twelve, uh...thirteen-point-five," the man continued. He was stout and resembled a librarian with a horrific mustache, but you didn't think that was anything you couldn't fix. "Nope, sorry Anatov, no room for you."

You stepped forward, rolling your wrist to stretch, when a figure streaked out of the darkness and socked Conductor in the face. You crouched, eyes widened, and stared at the cloaked figure. Competition.

"I need him too," you called out, tightening your grip on your knife, and seconds later the figure whirled.

You heard the zing of a knife seconds before it hit you and you gasped, lurching to the left. A snarl left your throat and your cheek was on fire. That bitch.

"I don't want to kill—" the figure, the girl, started, but you were already on top of her.

The two of you rolled, knives and teeth and shouting, both of you highly trained fighters and both of you abandoning all sense of reason. The girl managed to get a good grip on you and straddle you, pinning you to the floor with one hand on your throat.

"Who are you?" The girl demanded, glaring down at you, and you realized two things:

One, the Suli girl on top of you was absolutely stunning.

Two, it was a shame you had to kill her.

"I was just wondering the same thing." You gritted out, slipping a knife from your waistband and aiming it for the girl's thigh. All it would take was one deep cut to the femoral artery and—

"Don't." A voice broke through the tension and two knives went sailing for the doorframe. Kaz froze in surprise and the girl jolted, whirling to face him. "She's just here for him." He pressed, stepping cautiously over to you both, and you briskly knocked the shorter girl off of you.

"What the Saints is going on, Brekker?" You demanded as you leapt to your feet, rolling another throwing blade over your fingers just in case the Suli girl wanted to straddle you again. You weren’t sure you’d be entirely opposed.

"She's—"

"Oh my god. This is—" your head whipped around and you glared daggers at the girl, the dots connecting faster and faster. "sweet Saints, I'm going to murder you."

"Try me—"

"No one is killing anyone." Kaz spat, stepping forward between you two. You thought he looked a bit worse for wear, his eyes gathering shadows underneath them like greedy wraiths. "You two are the best spies I have—" you snorted, "—and I'd like to keep you both in one piece."

"Not an hour ago you wanted me gone. Now I'm the best spy you—"

"You're Sankta Riipka." The girl interrupted, Inej, apparently, and you shot her an annoyed glance. "How can you allow yourself to be called that? You're not a Saint."

"Do you think I asked for that title, ma'am?"

"What is going on?" A voice huffed and Inej and you both whirled, irritated glares on your faces.

"Can you shut up—" you started, at the same time Inej began with, "You sold children to brothels—"

"He's the Conductor, Inej." Kaz seemed unusually ruffled and you ignored him, casting a surprised look in Inej's direction.

"He sold children to brothels?"

"He sold people to the White Rose."

"I liberate families fleeing the war—!"

"Inej, (Y/N), stop." Kaz strode further and smacked the tip of his cane onto the Conductor's chest, a sneer on his handsome face. "This man is our way to Alina Starkov. Inej, Heleen was using you to sabotage our mission. (Y/N), I'm assuming Vivi was doing the same. But this man is worth more to us alive—and you both are worth more alive than at each other's throats."

"You'd choose him over my freedom?" Inej demanded, and your heart-rate sped at the implication.

"You assume it's one or the other." Kaz said, severe gaze on hers, and you felt a sliver of something green and cold run down your spine.

"Party's over." You snapped and slipped past them both, yanking the conductor to his feet. "Sir, I've got a job for you. Get me across the Fold."

"You'll go with us." Kaz said, eyeing you, and you wanted to say no.

     You should've said no—all he'd been doing the past several hours had been him begging you to leave. Now, he wanted you to stay. But if this meant you’d get across the Fold on his coin, searching for Alina Starkov—whoever she was—then you were just that much closer to buying your own freedom.

Freedom Inej was clearly being promised over your own.

"Fine." You mumbled, eyeing the Conductor with a feral grin. "Let's cross."

PLEASE COMMENT

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[chiliiscereal]

I hate you

Daryl’s adopted daughter

Chapter 1

Summary: Diana is a girl on the run in the apocalypse. Her past chases her no matter where she goes. One day, by chance, she meets Daryl Dixon. Thinking she’s a walker, he shoots her and brings her back to their camp. Shane strikes a deal with her: she has to stay for two weeks before she can decide if she wants to stay. But Diana is determined to keep her past in the past, and never make the same mistake again

Season 1 - I’m not sure yet

—————

Diana sat in a circle with her family. Blood dripped down her neck from her lips.

Everything was red.

 Red

       Red

 Red

How could everything have gone so wrong so quickly?

Her eyes never left the blond man she once knew. She watched him as her fury and fear grew louder and louder, echoing off her skull.

That was, until Negan stepped out of the van. He walked about the circle, until his eyes landed on her.

"Fancy seein' you again, Darlin'."

                               ————————

    Rick stumbled into the street, a hospital gown draping his skin. He knew there was something wrong. There was something off. Maybe it was intuition...

  Or maybe it was the woman, chopped in half, chomping her teeth to get at his ankles.

    He rubbed his eyes, the sun glaring right into his vision. It had been a week and a half since the start, and a day since his IV ran dry. It had been even longer since he last saw the sun.

   Where was everyone?

 Why hadn't he waken up to nurses and doctors?

  Or his family's familiar faces?

  He spotted bodies. Bodies walking. Maybe three.

  He couldn't understand... he couldn't understand any of it...

  The light off a gun reflected into his eyes. He blocked it and moved to see where it was coming from.

  The revolver was placed in the holster on the side of a walker. The man... or whatever he was now... shuffled toward Rick.

 He was deathly pale.

  "Sir," Rick's voice cracked, "sir, are you okay?" He held his hand out, trying to make it a comforting gesture to someone possibly in need.

  Edging closer, the man stared at him with hungry dead eyes. His clothes were torn and draped off his skinny frame, his eyes laid sunken in his face.

   "Sir?" He asked again, stumbling back.

   The man growled and advanced further.

   "Are you-?"

   With a blur, the man was down.

  Nearly tripping over his own feet, Rick let out a horrified gasp.

  On the ground was a little girl, around Carl's age, placing her knife in the mans forehead. Her light blond hair, tucked under her baseball cap, clung to her dirty face. The crunch echoed in Ricks head, reverberating off his skull.

 That was the first walker he had ever seen killed.

  She quickly wiped her knife on the walkers shirt and snatched his revolver. She opened the back to check how much ammo was left. Satisfied, she clicked it shut and began patting the double dead man down.

  "W-why did you do that?" Rick found his voice again.

  She leaped back, her bright blue eyes finding his.

   Quickly, she pulled herself up and began to dash away. If Rick hadn't lunged out and caught the back of her shirt she would have disappeared as soon as she apparated into his line of sight.

  "No. You can't leave yet." He spun her around to face him. It was evident how terrified she was. Especially with her eyes as wide as dinner plates and hands clawing at his arm. "Why did you kill that man?"

  She glared at him and wriggled harder. "Man?" She gasped, "that... that wasn't a man!" Her hands fought to unclamp Ricks grip. "That's a Walker! He would have eaten you if I hadn't stopped him!" She grunted with effort. "Didn't even see you. You already look dead."

  "What do you mean by dead?" Rick questioned, holding tighter.

  "Gone. Deceased. vamosed. Perished." With each word she struggled. "Now let me go!"

  Rick was about to question again, when he felt the stitches on his side rip. With a grunt, he let her go and fell to the ground. His hand cupped his side.

  "Please.." he stopped to breathe heavily as the girl watched him warily. "I don't know what's happening. I woke up in the- in the hospital." He glanced down at his side to eye the bleeding. "The sun will be setting soon... and I need help."

The girl glanced at the lowering sun. Tapping her foot, she glowered at the ground. "How can I trust you." It wasn't a question. It was as if she was challenging him to be wrong.

Rick attempted to stand, only to find himself back in the ground. "I was a cop. My job was to protect the people. ALL people. And I like to think I did a good job of that."

She stuck the revolver in her holster (which was clearly stolen based on how big it was). "Prove it."

"I don't have my badge or my hat. That's at my house. But I'm officer Rick Grimes. I've been on the force for seven years. My partner was Shane Walsh. I was in my car when we got a call about a run away car. I was shot in action and hospitalized." His eyes seemed to beg her to help him.

Diana tried to fight the raging war in her head.

She knew better.

She knew to trust no one.

Her father and mother both betrayed her trust.

Why trust again?

But... she could tell when people were lying. All people have tells. Her fathers tell was him avoiding eye contact. He always looked at the ground. For her mother, she always played with her wedding ring.

But this Cop... sheriff... man... was not lying.

He looked her dead in the eye.

"Fine. Come with me." She hadn't known that she was gripping her new revolver until she released it. "I have a place in the sewers. I know... in most movies that's where walkers would be. But how would someone get down there in the first place? You'd have to move the lid." She walked over to Rick and slung his arm over her shoulder to help him stand in any way. "And most walkers," she grunted "are pretty stupid."

"Thank you...for helping me." Rick stated gratefully.

"I have some house rules, you know."

"Name them." He said confidently as they shuffled down the street.

"One: you're gone when you can walk."

"You don't want someone to watch your back?" Rick was surprised. Usually, kids jumped at the chance for safety. The ones he has worked with in cases of violence had immediately decided he was trustworthy.

"the worlds changed. You can't trust people." He noted the grim expression on her face. He wanted to ask why, but he figured it was better to stay silent.

"I'd argue about that, but I'll hear out your other rules." He wrapped his arm around his side again, fingering the broken stitches.

"Two: you do as I say or you die."

"Yes ma'am."

Rick couldn't help but like her spunk. She was serious, but it wasn't much of a threat coming from an eleven year old girl.

"3: ..." she started only to trail off.

"...3?"

She cleared her throat and resituated Ricks arm. "You repay my kindness if we ever cross paths again. I don't care how."

"Was already planning on it." He grinned. He could feel the conversation beginning to die, so he started it back up again. "What's your name, kid?"

She hesitated, eyes staying on the road. "Diana." She spoke softly. "My mother named me after the Roman goddess of the night."

Rick smiled. "Pretty name."

Diana's thoughts drifted to her mother. Her mother with her honey brown hair and warm chocolate eyes. She stopped her thoughts there. "Well... what about you, officer friendly? You got a name?"

Rick laughed. "My names Rick Grimes. I ain't named after the moon goddess, but I think it has a nice ring to it. Don't you?"

She forced down a smile. "Pretty name."

He chuckled. "Well, Diana, I am glad I ran into you."

~~~~~

They arrived at the sewer lid.

"Here we are. I've been camped out here since early yesterday morning." She slipped under Ricks arm and got down to lift the lid. With a couple tries, and an offer from Rick for assistance, she lifted the lid.

She stood up and dusted off her hands. "I'll go down first and scope out the area. Need to make sure it's still clear. Then I'll help you down."

She began her descent.

Rick watched the top of her light haired head fade into the darkness with each step. He briefly thought she would try and make a run for it. Escape through the sewers.

He immediately dismissed it. Why would she waste daylight by helping him? The sound of her footsteps hitting the water at the bottom and echoing as she walked down the tunnels set him on edge.

Especially when they began to fade.

He sat patiently for over ten minutes, watching the sunlight tick by. He looked down into the darkness, listening for any sound. There was nothing... not even a whisper.

Maybe she did leave.

"Alright, Sheriff, get down here! It's clear!" Her voice reverberated loudly from the tunnels so suddenly, that Rick stumbled back.

"I don't have all day! Unless you wanted to be walker chow, get down here!"

Rick chuckled as he began to shuffle his way down the tunnel.

"Any day now, Deputy Fossil!" She shouted.

"Hold your horses, kid." He slowly lowered himself into the dark. He looked down to see where his feet were going to land, spotting the flashlight that Diana held. Her light hazel eyes reflected impatience.

"Nice place." He said, clearly biting back his truth.

"Don't be fake." She said as she kicked at the water. "It smells like a pig ate dirty gym socks, farted, and died."

"I was trying to spare your feelings."

"Don't bother. I'm leaving this place as soon as you're ready."

Rick finally landed on the bottom of the sewer. "You got a place you're headed to?"

Diana shook her head. "No. Just a place I never want to see again."

Rick stopped moving to look at her. "Troubled home life?"

She thought about it and shrugged. "I guess you could call it troubled home life. It was home once. But this apocalypse changes people."

"I'm sorry kid."

"Don't be. That's just life."

Rick opened his mouth to say more, but Diana beat him to it.  

  "Alright, lets move." She motioned for him to follow.

           The place she had holed up in was dryer than most spaces. There were a couple of dirty blankets placed on the ground and a first aid kit. Some batteries were sprinkled on top.

     "You can sit there. I can stitch you back up." Diana pointed at the wall. Their part of the sewer was a dead end so they wouldn't be surprised.

     "Thank you."

Diana hadn't stitched wounds before, but she did well enough.

 Rick tried starting a conversation again but she told him she needed silence to focus.

                                         ~~~~

    "Are you sure you want to travel by yourself?"

  Diana nodded as she packed her things. "Very sure. You're nice and all, but you don't want to travel with me."

 The Georgia sun had risen already and they both were preparing for departure in the street

   "Do you have any family to find?" Rick questioned.

"I already know where they are. And they don't want me either." The girl looked down, avoiding eye contact.

"If we ever meet again, you better give me more details." Rick narrowed his eyes and pointed at her. "I deserve to know more about the little girl who saved me."

"Once a cop always a cop I guess." Diana said slyly. She looked back at him. "What about you? Any family?"

 She eyed a walker down the street but decided it was too far away to pursue.

"I got a son and a wife. My son's your age actually. 11." Rick looked through the neighborhoods. "I don't know where they are, but I'll protect them. They need me."

Diana squinted in the direction he was looking at, seeing nothing. "You'll find them, chief." She patted his shoulder, having to reach up very high.

"It was nice to meet you, Diana." Rick said, a little sad that they were parting. Possibly that he would no longer have company. Maybe that he didn't have enough time to get to know her well. "I don't know if I'll see you again, but you helped me without anything to gain."

Diana scoffed. "I'm not a good kid."

"You're right."

Diana looked up, confused.

"You're one of the best."

She wrinkled her nose at him. "Go. You have people to find."

"From the looks of thangs, so do you."

"I don't have people."

"You'll find them. Just a matter of where and when." He stuck his hand out for her to shake.

She placed a brown bag in his hand instead. "It's for the road. There's batteries, water, a flashlight, food, bandages, antibiotics, and one more thing..." she unbuckled her holster and handed it to him, along with the revolver. "You need these more than I do."

Rick tried to push it back to the little girl. "No I can't take this. You need it."

"No, you do. You're gonna help people, Rick. You're gonna help so many. You gotta find your people." She pushed it back to him. "I'm gonna be fine. I spotted a gun down the road that I'm gonna check out later."

Rick gave her a solemn look before accepting it. "If you can, head to Atlanta. The CDC is near there and there's bound to be survivors."

"I don't need survivors."she rolled her eyes.

"They may need you, kid. Ever think about that?"

She stayed silent for a moment. "Stay safe, sherif fun sponge." She shook his hand, even though he hadn't offered it yet. "I hope we meet again."

"We will." He smiled. "I don't know how or when, but we will. I have a debt to pay."

She wanted to return the smile but couldn't. "I hope you find them."

"You to."

With that, they went separate ways.

Next fifty chapters posted on noandisaidno on wattpad!

[downwiththemutantnjnjaturtles]

We Met Within This Screen [chapt. 7]

[Donnie x reader]

chapter 6 here

"Nothing gets past me, especially not you and your nervous habits, Donatello," Splinter's voice bounced around Donnie's head. 

The brothers all looked at each other incredulously, Donnie's anxiousness replaced by complete bafflement. Everyone was wondering the same thing: How did he know?

"You wonder how I knew," Splinter said pointedly, "as if you four are any good at keeping a secret."

They waited for him to go on, but instead there was another uncomfortable pause, Splinter assumedly expecting them to say something. It was Mikey who finally broke the silence. "Are you gonna, like...tell us what we did wrong? How you knew? So next you can't—"

Splinter scoffed and brought his staff down on the youngest's foot. Mikey yelped, bouncing away on one leg. "Teach you how to lie? I have taught you many skills, but one that will always elude you is how to keep something from me. Parents have a sixth sense, you know." He turned to Donnie, regarding the rest of them with a dismissive wave of his hand, "You three, to your rooms. Come to the dojo with me, Donatello." 

The three were quick to scatter, Mikey whining into Raph's ear about being sent to their rooms so early, and Raph huffing that he'd been dragged in too. 

Swallowing, Donnie followed behind him a few paces, not sure what to expect but nervous all the same. He was lead in and instructed to sit down on the floor, Splinter settling down in front of him. Donnie's fingers brushed along the ridges of the knuckles of his other hand again and again as he tried to find something to occupy them with. 

Resting his palms in his hands, Splinter began to talk, voice less harsh than Donnie had anticipated. "I know that we lead a very isolated life, my son. But you must keep your priorities in perspective. You four need each other, and betraying one another's trust does not help that case."

"I'm sorry, Master Splinter," Donnie apologized and hung his head. 

"Perhaps you should apologize to your brothers, just as they should to you." 

I did put them on the spot, especially Leo, thought Donnie, considering now that he had put him and Raph in a weird position. They had to choose between ratting on him to Splinter and keeping it under wraps for the sake of not stirring up the pot needlessly. As much as Leo was a stickler for the rules, he didn't want to create dissension between him and Donnie. So, they chose the latter option, and now all four were in trouble with their father. 

"Okay. I guess...but, Master Splinter, how did you know?" 

"About your secret antics?" 

Donnie let out a humorless chortle, feeling a twinge of embarrassment that he had actually thought at some point, he was getting away with anything. "Yeah, it...it wasn't very much of a secret."

Stroking his chin, Splinter plainly said, "It was only a suspicion, until you confirmed it."

That night a few weeks ago when Splinter came to him in his lab. The way he squeaked when he was confronted just prior to them going to talk alone. Why didn't I think of that? It was a classic trick, one their father had deployed quite a few times on them. He'd been baited into giving himself away. None of them could tell when he was bluffing or if he actually knew. Save for Leo, who managed only twice in their time to make heads or tails of it. 

"I really walked right into that one," Donnie whimpered under his breath, palms pressing down on his knees. 

"You did. But," his tone turned more serious, looking him dead in the eye, "you must fix your mistakes, son." 

 "How?" asked Donnie softly, searching for his father's guidance, but it would find no purchase. He was hard pressed to find a solution immediately. 

Splinter shut his eyes and thought. It was a tricky situation, indeed. He gathered that if anything, this was an excellent lesson for Donnie, as well as the others. Under his own supervision, of course; there wasn't room for any more blundering. 

Standing up, he placed his staff under his hand. "I trust that you will find a way. You have a brilliant mind, Donatello. Use it well," he told him, and went to leave the training room. 

Donnie was still sat on the floor contemplating Splinter's words, honored yet uneasy at the same time that he was being entrusted to fix things. How, he didn't know. Truly. He was at war with himself trying to balance his logic with his emotions, trying to make the two meet gracefully, but it felt impossible. Whichever road he chose, it was a betrayal to the other. One left behind while the other took the wheel. And thoughtlessly, he blurted out, "What if your heart is telling you something completely different, Sensei? What if everything feels contradictory, and—and like there's no right answer, even though you do have this mind, you just can't seem to…" 

Donnie's voice tapered. Slightly surprised, Splinter stopped in his tracks, brows high as he looked back at him, who was so clearly riddled with a deeper kind of conflict. Critically discouraged, but still the sliver of will in those eyes of his. His heart went out to him. 

Splinter had known that Donnie was interacting with a human. What he hadn't known was that he was in love with the human. 

There was a moment of understanding, and Splinter realized that Donnie could not do this on his own. It reminded him of the times the turtles had all been children, the way Donnie looked to him for wisdom as he grappled with himself. Sighing, Splinter sat back down, this time close to him. Donnie was despondent, reverting to staring at the edge of the mat he sat on. "I know your struggles, my son. It seems like there's a sacrifice no matter what you choose, does it not?" 

"I don't want to let you guys down. But, I...you know, I'm sorry, Master Splinter, but you don't understand." 

He didn't want to say bluntly that he wanted to think of himself and his needs, unlike usual. He knew Splinter would probably not approve of that. None of them had much of a chance to make a selfish decision, aside from everyday things such tucking into the pizza before it even made it back to the Lair. So far, the number of times he could recall making a consequential choice for the sole purpose of indulging himself, was an astounding zero. 

"What makes you think I would not understand?" questioned Splinter, and Donnie regretted that he'd said it. He didn't miss how Donnie looked to be becoming mildly sour (among other things), though not at him specifically.

It was then Donnie clammed up, shut down the conversation, he was not going to say it. "It" being what he assumed Splinter wasn't privy to, that he had undoubtedly fallen hard for his friend. But knowing his father, he could totally have had a clue. Splinter didn't always need the details to make an assessment when it came to his sons, whom he knew all too well.

Letting out a crestfallen huff, Donnie rested his chin on his knee, arm obstructing the better half of his face. "It doesn't matter," he mumbled. 

Splinter stayed quiet. He didn't want to drive Donnie off—not when he was in such a turmoil. The atmosphere changed to a cold one. Donnie didn't acknowledge him until he put his hand on his forearm, giving it a gentle squeeze and saying, "I will tell you again: I trust that you will figure it out." 

What if I make the wrong decision? 

"For all of our sakes, I hope you're right, Sensei," Donnie responded. Splinter smiled and got up, prepared to leave the matter at that until any further updates. Until the phone in Donnie's back pocket began to vibrate out of the blue. He wanted to answer, but what, at that point? What should he say? 

A minute went by of more persistent vibrating, and Splinter's ear twitched, certain he knew who it was. He was disappointed with the carelessness that had brought them to that moment, but what was done was done. None knew if the girl had any suspicions. "Are you going to answer it?" he asked, sort of prompting him to pick the phone up. 

"May I?" Donnie thought he might have sounded a little eager.

Splinter let out a calm hum and motioned for him to do it. Donnie lifted his finger to press accept, but Splinter interrupted firmly, "Speaker, Donatello."

Eyes flitting to Splinter, he accepted the call and reluctantly turned on the speaker. 

"Bo, what was all of that earlier, dude? You had me worried sick!" spoke [y/n], more concerned than angry (which Donnie was somewhat relieved about), but he sunk down sheepishly upon seeing the look on his father's face. He gave Donnie a questionable glance at the word "Bo", as he wasn't aware of the details. Donnie wasn't about to correct her right now. 

"I–...hey, [y/n]," he said, forcing himself to turn to the side so he wouldn't have to look at Splinter. The eyes on him made him feel put off to the point he couldn't focus on her voice, but the fact that Splinter was right there, listening in, and both were fixing to find out just what kind of mess they had on their hands. "Believe me when I tell you, you don't want to get caught up in this," he told her, "I can't—"

"Listen," she started, exasperated, "I've heard it before. 'I can't tell you this', and 'I can't tell you that'," she went on, "Be honest with me, Bo; is it that you can't or you just won't?"  

Splinter's thoughts were undetermined. Donnie couldn't read anything from his stoic expression. 

"It's not that I won't," he rebutted, pitch going up involuntarily, "Why won't you listen to me when I say I can't?" 

"Because there's something going on, with you, and I know my eyes weren't just playing tricks on me. I saw something crazy—I heard it, too, when I called you the other day!" 

I am so dead. Donnie's stomach did a flip. He couldn't face his father, but behind him, Splinter placed his hand on his face, covering his eyes. He shot Donnie an intimidating glance, and Donnie waved his hands nervously, listening to her go on as he backed up. Pivoting around from the jabs sent to his side by Splinter's staff, he jumped away with his comically long stride, trying to avoid the onslaught while juggling the phone. He muffled a grunf of pain when the cane managed to whack his head. 

"Hold on!" he said, and Splinter stopped and narrowed his eyes, the voice on the other end of the phone also going silent. Donnie couldn't regain his composure while being chased around the dojo, so he finally was able to sputter out, "W-what did you see?" 

"I was on the balcony, 'Don'. I heard your voice on the phone and saying the same thing from the roof, and saw two giant...turtles! With weapons, fighting what looked like ninjas?! What even is this?" she yelled. 

She'd put two and two together. There was no fixing. 

Only acceptance. 

Blinking, Donnie nearly dropped the phone. Splinter shut his eyes, slowly shook his head, and turned around. The sound of his cane tapping the floor as he walked was the only thing he could hear after he tuned out the speaker. 

He was now alone in the dojo, under the light that streamed through the grate above him, standing in the hush. 

He turned the speaker off. She, on the other end, was quiet, too, in disbelief. And probably rightfully feeling betrayed, in a way, Donnie thought. The friend she'd come to care for so much turned out to be someone she couldn't have even imagined. 

Licking his lips, he put on the most level tone he could and said in a struggle, "You can't tell anyone. I-if you say something, I'll... we'll…"

I could never threaten you, [y/n]. 

"You'll what?" she asked, voice low.

Then, all the could hear was her breathing. The dojo was completely quiet, the room was large, and there he was, in the middle. Donnie liked smaller spaces. Darker spaces, like his lab. He felt exposed in that moment, even when no one could see him.

"Be in danger," he said in earnest.

There was some rustling, then the sound of wind on her end. He barely heard a sliding door shut.

"Come here," she told him firmly. 

His eyes went wide. "What?" he questioned, stupefied.

She sighed, "No more lying, Bo—Don—I don't know. If what we have really matters to you…"

A mix of emotions swirled in him as he waited for her words. She hesitated.

"I'll come," he whispered, finishing her sentence. 

"You'll come." 

Blowing a breath out from between his lips, and nodded. Sorry, Master Splinter. 

He snuck through the Lair to the exit of the sewers.

[ljf613]

So could you please explain Sessrin to me? I'm not in the fandom nor have I watched the show but from what little I've been told the antis (as usual) have completely mischaracterized the whole thing.

P. S. Can we please ban grooming from the fandom lexicon? It lacks semantic meaning other than age gap bad.

Well, it’s been a while since I last saw/read Inuyasha, and I’m super-behind on Yashahime, but I do love SessRin and am pretty bummed about the amount of hate this ship has been getting lately, so I’m going to do my best to share why I love these two so much. 

First off, anyone who uses the word ‘grooming’ either doesn’t know what that word means, or was not seeing the same story I was. The definition of grooming is “befriending and establishing an emotional connection with a child, and sometimes the family, to lower the child's inhibitions with the objective of sexual abuse.” This never happened. Sesshomaru did not look at this traumatiized child and go “hmm, how I can I best get her to trust me so that I can convince her to sleep with me” or whatever-- in fact, a large part of their dynamic is Rin choosing, over and over, to stand by him even as he is actively trying to push her away. (And considering that I suspect many of these antis are also Sesshomaru fans, the fact that they’re so quick to launch such a serious and out-of-character accusation at him is rather strange.) 

Here’s their story in a nutshell (and, again, I may be slightly misremembering details, it’s been a while): Rin, whose entire family was slaughtered by human bandits, comes across Sesshomaru in the woods and is initially terrified because, you know, demon. However, despite her fear, she realizes that he’s been injured and incapacitated, and does her best to try and help him (cleaning his wounds, getting him food and water, etc).  Sesshomaru, who, up until this point, has been a fairly typical demonic antagonist with your standard mindset of, “humans are stupid, selfish, and weak,” is understandably bewildered by this, and tries to scare her off. It doesn’t really work. This goes on for some time. (Several days? Weeks? IDEK.)  One day, after Rin returns to her village, a tribe of demons arrives and kills everyone. Rin tries to run back to the woods and escape, but the demons eventually catch and kill her. Sesshomaru finds her body, and, for some reason even he doesn’t understand, decides to use his magic sword that brings people back from the dead (yes he has one of those) to revive her. (This is significant because up until this point he has never even used the sword, as he hated the fact that he’d gotten the stupid healing sword while his little brother got the cool, killing sword.)  And Rin, who has no one left and no home to go back to, decides to travel with him.  (One of the interesting things here is that, despite the fact that she was killed by demons, Rin is actually more afraid of humans, because they’re the ones who murdered her family.) 

Their relationship throughout the course of the story is fascinating. At first glance, it might seem like Sesshomaru is always the one saving her, but she saves him too. Rin forced him to acknowledge that the world wasn’t black-and-white, that humans were complex, that just because he didn’t like someone or something didn’t mean it didn’t have a right to exist. Sesshomaru’s arc is subtle, but by the end of the story, he’s fighting side by side with the heroes-- something that would never have happened if he hadn’t met Rin. 

Now, the thing here is that, for most of the story Rin is eight years old. Their relationship is never, ever shown as sexual, but there’s clearly love there, and the implication the story ends with is that they will likely get together once Rin is older. I’ve heard antis say that they read the relationship as being more along the lines of “Sesshomaru ‘adopts’ Rin,” which explains a lot. However, I personally never saw it that way. They were partners-- just because Rin didn’t take out a sword and fight off anyone who tried to hurt Sesshomaru doesn’t mean she she was primarily on the receiving end of the relationship.  (In a story about battling evil, where nearly all of the characters are these awesome fighters, it’s pretty cool to see a character who is not a warrior, who just gives and loves and trusts and cares, and is never treated as lesser by either the characters or the narrative because of this. I really love Rin.) I think it’s a cultural thing-- people are used to the narrative of ‘coldhearted bachelor meets and adopts lovable scamp who reminds him how to love again’ and are primed to see it even in a story from an entirely different culture set five hundred years in the past. 

(Part of it is also about shipping wars-- many of the antis ship Sesshomaru with other characters, particularly Kagura, and would rather make the argument about morality versus just saying that they would prefer something a little different.) 

Here’s where I admit it gets a little bit sticky: How much of this is Rin just imprinting on Sesshomaru and using him as an excuse to avoid her trauma surrounding other humans?  And the narrative did a great job of resolving this dilemma. Near the end of the story, Rin leaves Sesshomaru. She goes to live among humans, to learn how to be human again, so that once she’s an adult, she has the agency to make an informed decision about what she really wants. 

There happens to be an audio-drama CD that was released in Japan sometime after the show ended, which is set just after the original story ends (when Rin is eleven). In it, Sesshomaru says something to Rin which is referred to by one of the other characters as a ‘proposal.’ Now, I don’t follow anti discourse, so I’m not sure if they know about it, but I can imagine they’d have a field day with that one. “Omigoodness, he proposed to an eleven year old, that’s so creepy.”  However, there’s some context involved. The word ‘proposal’ is used by one of the other characters-- who happens to have time-travelled from five hundred years later (that is, the present day). The whole plot of the CD starts when she complains to her husband/lover/whatever-their-relationship-status-is-supposed-to-be that he never actually proposed to her, and since he doesn’t know what a proposal is (because, again, culture gap), he thinks it’s some sort of monster she wants him to go fight for her before they can actually be married, and hilaraity ensues. She calls Sesshomaru’s words to Rin a proposal as in “see, that’s what a proposal is supposed to look like.” It has very little to do with SessRin in and of themselves. 

For reference, here’s what Sesshomaru actually said in this so-called ‘proposal’ (thanks to @inu-drama for the translation): 

“Rin, have you grown accustomed to life in the village?  No one is bullying you or anything?  Did you make a kimono out of the cloth I gave you the other day?  When you are troubled, or anxious, or sad, or any other time, feel free to call on me.  I will come to you immediately.  Even if we are far apart, if you call my name I will absolutely come flying to you.  If you cannot speak, you can whistle. Whistle through your fingers, if you like.  Distance is no object. Our hearts are tied together.  With the power of trust, there is nothing to fear.  Simply having that feeling should be enough to fill your heart.  That is why it is fine for things to remain as they are for now.  We have plenty of time.  You can examine your heart at your own pace.  Until then, take care of yourself.” 

(Is there something inherently creepy or predatory about that?) 

To me, SessRin is about love, in its purest form. It’s about believing in someone when the rest of the world is against them. It’s about choosing the person who chooses you. It’s about learning and growing and changing together. 

What’s that quote-- I think it was from Dawson’s Creek or something?  “What's a soulmate?” “It's uh... Well, it's like a best friend but more. It's the one person in the world that knows you better than anyone else. It's someone who makes you a better person. Actually, they don't make you a better person, you do that yourself - because they inspire you. A soulmate is someone who you carry with you forever. It's the one person who knew you and accepted you and believed in you before anyone else did, or when no one else would. And no matter what happens, you will always love them. Nothing can ever change that.” Yeah, that one. That’s what SessRin is about. 

[guigz1-coldwar]

"Facing the truth" : New chapter of 'Redemption of a Spirit in a Cold War" out !

'Facing the truth'

Chapter Summary :

Bell is getting ready to face Adler in person after he left her for dead in Solovetsky

Words : +3000

To read it on AO3, click here !

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

It was feeling so good to be back again after all these years in a coma. I knew in advance that if I was to return along with Park, that would also mean that I couldn't have left like that. I needed to fight back against Perseus himself. It was my fight for years now, a fight that started since a long time and something I would never back down before his threat on the world is no longer here, including everyone who is in his private circle. Park saw that I was willing to help and once she see that, she offered her hand to give me a chance and I accepted it !

At first, she decided to update me about the whole situation about Perseus and his organization after 3 years. At first, she prefered to talk about what happened after Solovetsky, explaining that he went back to the shadows again, avoiding the CIA, the MI6 and every other organizations to have a proper lead against him because the intels they got after the cleanup at Solovetsky ended up either to be a dead end or something that Perseus canceled, fearing to get further exposed. Everything was feeling so quiet but Adler preferred to keep the team on alert.

Then, it took more than 6 months until Perseus started to reappear under the West's radar but this time, he was making small operations around the world, not something like Greenlight or anything big enough to change the course of the Cold War. It were something like helping the drugs cartel in South America or by supplying the Soviets in Afghanistan. In September 1981, Park explained that Perseus tried to create a second Korean War but they succeeded to foiled his plan by getting rid of a rogue North Korean colonel that was planning to take over the country.

It didn't happen so much in 1982 as Park exclaimed to me but she was not sure to talk about this year like if something was troubling her and I decided that it was just some stress about telling me all of this. Perseus was more silent but still making his moves in South America and in 1983 at the end of the year, Park and the others were successful into getting rid of an operation nicknamed 'Goldeneye'....the same one Belikov mentioned days earlier to me. Apparently, Perseus planned to use satellites to 'send England back to the Stone Age' as Park told me as it was the man leading the project who told that to her.

After that and again Perseus was back into the shadows until he tried to eliminate everyone in an ambush in Afghanistan but he failed and unfortunately for him, he exposed himself back to the West. Once I've got everything in my mind and fully updated of the situation, Park admitted that their actuals leads on Perseus were very small and nothing can help them at the moments, meaning that only time can help us to find more on Perseus. And she was right, when I checked up the intels the team got, they were nothing that could help me too. Nothing to decypher and nothing very useful.

That was meaning that we needed to wait for further intels to arrive and even more to actually give us something concrete and when everything was done, the evening was falling on the city meaning that a new day passed.....and that Adler was going to arrive with the others.

"So, you're sure about this ?" Park asked me after we discussed of our plan....well, my plan to face Adler alone. I was leaned on his desk while she was looking at me near the dashboard.

"Of course I am." I replied, sure "I need to know why he did this....why he lied to me and to you."

"Adler lied to everyone of us, you know ?" She crossed her arms, looking around the room "Mason, Woods and even Sims about your death."

"Wait." I step away from his desk, curious "How is it possible that he succeeded to have lied to Mason & Woods ? They were with us that day !" That wasn't possible at all for me to hear that, I looked at her surprised.

"They told me that you & Adler went to find out about some intels and that you took a bullet for him from an hidden Perseus soldier before leaving the monastery." She explained to me, now understanding how he succeeded to lie

"Well, I took a bullet." I started trying to joke "Except that it was from Adler himself and on a cliff." Then, I stop trying to be funny because I realized that it wasn't so fun.

"I lied to them too, Yirina." She sniffed, looking and sounding serious. "They never knew your real identity : they're still think that you are Jess Blackwell, a MI6 agent."

"But why ?"  I asked

"Because...." She took a breath, cutting her "It's hard to talk about this to Mason." She looked at the dashboard behind her, precisely at the picture of a man where it was marked 'Dragovich '68'  "Mason suffered the same thing and that's not something he would like to talk in public about."

"He was brainswashed too ?" I looked away, shocked to hear that

"That Dragovich along with others, he did this, he tried to make him assassinate Kennedy but he struggled with all of that and he succeed to kill Dragovich." She responded before getting close to me, leaving some distances between us "Even after what will happen this night, it's better to not open up on this subject with him."

"Everyone....them....they need to know about who I am." I affirmed, narrowing my eyes.

"I agree with that but with Mason, it would be better to take it easy."  She locked eyes with me with an reassuring voice "I will understand all your anger you will maybe have against Adler."

"I only need to be sure that you will be able to control the others in case." I said, wanting to be sure of everything in case "I need to know."

"Yirina, I will." She first said before getting her hands on my arm "I said that I will help in any occasions." Then, she started to get closer until we started to hear some loud noises coming from outside, mainly car doors getting shut.....meaning that Adler arrived and by the multiples sounds, he wasn't alone. "Quick, go hide !" Park whispered to me, pointing to the direction of the dorm and I complied.

She started to walk at the garage door as I was walking to hide next to the dorm entrance as the the door of it wasn't visible from the middle of the main room. I get myself against the wall, now awaiting for the right moment for me to intervene and maybe beat the hell out of Adler himself. More I was awaiting for that moment to happen, more my anger and my rage was getting stronger inside of me and I was slowly realizing that I couldn't be really soft with Adler after what he has done to me and the others.

You got this, Yiri....you got this ! I thought to myself at each second inside my head before I could hear the garage door opening behind the wall. I was only able to hear and not to look, avoiding me to get spotted. Adler was the first one to talk and then I could tell who was with him : Woods, Mason and Sims. Each one of them greeting Park as they entered the safehouse before the garage door was finally closed behind them. I hear them putting something on the ground before I could hear them approaching the dashboard.

"So, anything news since the last day ?" Adler was the first person to ask.

"No, the MI6 didn't find anything about the woman who escaped your old team custody." Park replied in an serious "Where are they, by the way ?" She added

"Got them a new job somewhere else in Asia." Adler responded before I could hear him blowing smoke

"I hope we didn't come here without having any leads." Woods said in a harsh voice as I could feel his voice getting closer to me but not so close "Alex wasn't so pleased to come."

"I've got a kid, you know, Adler ?" Mason admitted, taking a breath

"I know !" Adler told him "But it's better for us to stay as a team to have better chances to find something on Perseus."

"Yeah, like what happened days ago ?" I could hear Woods joking about it

"That was not supposed to happen like that, Woods." Sims intervened, defending Adler "We were trapped but everyone got out of here alive."

"Everyone ?" Park was sounding shocked "We lost some of our agents back there." She added, offusqued

"Hey, better for everyone to calm themselves down." Adler tried to say in his usual authoritarian voice "We have better things to do than to attack ourselves on that." I tried to maybe have a look by peaking my head but I retracted seeing that Mason was near Park's desk, so almost next to me....Almost get caught, Yirina !

"We could try to find......" Sims started to said before I could hear Mason,

"What's the hell is this ?" He said, confused, grabbing something on Park's desk......Aw shit, I forgot to remove my KGB records file from her desk and he saw it. "Wait, is that..." He stopped himself as footsteps came near him.

"Wait, let me see !" It was Woods who came and after some seconds, I could hear him also shocked. "Is that Bell ?"  He asked

"What ?" Adler was confused "Give me that file !" He ordered and Woods complied to it, walking back towards Adler "Wait, how did this end on your desk, Park ?" He asked her

"I don't know, I saw it first for the first ti-...." She tried to say before something stopped her to talk and I decided to look....Adler.....was having his hands on her throat.....no more way for me to stay calm

"Don't bullshit me, Park." He exclaimed as Sims tried to intervene to stop him but with no avail "How ?" He added, reinforcing his grasp on her.....I had to intervene right now, I need to save her. A deep breath....breathe....you can do it, Yirina. I clenched my fists and then, I got out of my cover

"Because of me !" I shouted, coming out of the cover and in a second, everyone was looking at me except Adler, still with his hands on Park's throat. I was so nervous right now inside of me but mixed with my anger, it was.....hard.

"Jesus..." Woods couldn't believe it at seeing me "Bell !" I looked at him with an fake smile,

"Woods...." I looked at Mason, having the impression to have seen a ghost "Mason." Then, at Sims "Sims."

"We thought that you were dead." Mason exclaimed, sounding stunned "Jess, I can't...."

"I'm not Jess !" I said with a loud voice before focusing back to Adler "Remove your dirty hands off her." I added to him but he was still holding her as he started to look at me.....with an smirk

"You....." He said in a low voice "Bell, we have a job-" He was then stopped by Park who decided to give him a punch right in the chest...thanks, Park !  That caused him to release her as she was catching back her breath as now, it was my turn to deal with him. I arrived next to him and I landed the biggest punch with my right hand on his face, losing his precious glasses on the ground....and falling on it too.

"You took 3 years from me, Adler !" I grabbed him on the ground before getting him close to me "And now, I'm gonna make you pay !" I then looked at the medical room, the same one where I learned the truth about me before I looked back to Park "I need to discuss with him, tell them everything about me."

I started to drag Adler by force, leading him to the medical room as Park was behind me, making sure that no one was going to disturb me with Adler. I think that only my anger was controlling my whole body right now as I wasn't going easy on him. He was maybe more built than me but now, I was easily dragging him into that room without any problems at all. When I arrived with him, I saw a stretcher and....I decided to put him on it like he did to me 3 years ago.

"You're crazy, Bell !" He said as I was getting him attached to the stretcher "I thought you were dead !" He shouted

"No, I'm well alive." I replied, having finished before I closed the door of the room while Park was keeping it on guard "It was your mistake to not finish the job." I added before getting next to him.

"What do you...."

"I know that you were aware of my state !" I exclaimed, cutting him "I know well that you preferred to let me in a coma in Moscow, why ?."

"I realized...you were better in a coma than dead." He said....before spiting on my face, I cleaned up his mess with my hands before I gave a big nudge on the chest, making him groan

"And now, I think you realized your mistake, right ?" I asked before I put my hand above his mouth, avoiding him to talk "Do you see how does it feels ?" I was getting myself acting like he did three years ago on me "To be....tied up....and to face your demons ?" I added in a low voice, next to his ear before I nudged him back with my other hand, making him scream in my hand "Do you see how it feel ?" I said loudly before I remove my hand from his mouth and turning my back against him "Why ?.....why did you do this ?"

"It's....the CIA wouldn't take any risks to have you around." He responded in a sincere voice, trying to recover from my previous punchs on him "You were too dangerous to be kept alive because of your affiliation with Perseus." He tried to struggle with his links but I made sure that he couldn't escape "Having an Perseus agent in the wild wasn't going to please the CIA and they never wanted to respect their deals with the MI6."

"What deal ?" I asked

"Park....she wanted you to have a new chance by letting you work with the MI6 but....me & the CIA, we preferred another way." He replied as I closed my eyes "You were too dangerous !" He repeated again

"I never believed in Perseus's ideas." I affirmed with all my might, putting my hands next to him "I despited him long before someone decide to dispose of me on that airfield."

"Bullshit, who told you that ?" He told me, he couldn't believe me

"Me, I'm getting my memories back, Adler." I sniffed at his sight

"Impossible, MK-ULTRA is supposed to have erased everything from your past except for the crucial parts." He exclaimed, looking for the first time worried

"Do you realize that I could have helped more and bring down Perseus maybe in a matter of weeks or even months ?" I said, realizing that Perseus couldn't be a threat anymore if I was still 'alive' at that time "Is everyone in the CIA this stupid to have the idea to dispose of me ?"

"I never thought...."

"Yeah, yeah, you never thought that !" I scoffed at his face. "I never wanted to follow Perseus in his steps, I wanted just to help innocents." I affirmed to him, looking at him with deadly eyes but he laughed

"Are your hands clean ?" He asked

"Are yours too ?" I told him before I took a seat from a chair that wasn't so far from me "No, you are a big liar and manipulator, Adler. Why I should have trust you when you brought me into that cliff ?"

"Me....a manipulator ?" He rolled his eyes at the ceilling "You should tell this to Park !" He exclaimed and my eyes went wide "She manipulated you and you fall in her trap."

"Was she the one who left me for dead and the one you lied saying that I died at Solovetsky ?" I asked him, crossing my arms "She was the only one to be sorry with me.....the only one in that damn safehouse with Lazar who believed me in every ways."

"You just stupid !" He added and I got up from my chair, getting my hand on his mouth

"I saw them as a family, Russ' !" I yelled with all my anger going out of my mouth"Lazar was like an brother to me, Park....I love her !" I reinforced my grabbing on his mouth "You took me away from her !" I removed my hand to let him speak again

"She really had an impact in you." He said, raising an eyebrown "How I couldn't believe that Park was going to fall for you too ?" He shook his head, trying to look at the door "It was obvious and I did everything to break you apart."

"I know : you literally broke in my room in Moscow the day before we got inside the Lubyanka and then.....you shot me." I make him look at me.

"So, you remember, right ?" He looked at me, an smirk on his face "I couldn't see with my own eyes when I saw you that day when I found you two, sleeping in each others arms after East-Berlin on that couch......just like two fucking lesbians." I hit him in the face and my punch make him finaly bleed from the nose.

"You've got an problem with that ?" I asked him, putting my hands on his throat "I was just an robot for you, something that shouldn't get attached to anything."

"Like an 'loose end'." He affirmed and then I closed my eyes, thinking about what I will do. Once I was done thinking, I got away from him....and I decided to take my M1911 out of my jacket "What are you doing ?" He asked me as I was checking the mag of the gun

"Something that I should have done 3 years ago." I responded and he was looking scared.....just another lie from him. I know him too well to know when and where he lie. "You took me my chances to redeem myself....and I'm taking it back." I pointed the gun to his head against it

"If you do this...." He said before he stopped himself "Fuck you !"

I was ready to shoot him as he was closing his eyes and me too, I was ready to do it, giving me back what I wanted to three years ago. I could still see myself back on that cliff when I closed my eyes. Seeing him telling that I was an hero before drawing his gun to me and gave me an scar and 3 years to spend in a hospital. I was going to take my revenge from him but then I realized that....it was not worth it at all.

He maybe did bad things on me but killing him.....is it going to make things better for me after that ? No ! My situation would be much worse as I would maybe get pursued by everyone and I couldn't think of that possibility anymore. So, when I opened my eyes, I wasn't willing to do it anymore and then, I moved the gun away from his head.....and I shot a bullet right in the ceilling, trying to get my rage going away.

I could see him move in fear before he slowly opened his eyes to saw me trembling and closing my eyes again, thinking of why I didn't do it ? I looked at him, still angry.

"Give me just an chance to fight Perseus !" I asked him and he nodded "Let me live....let me redeem myself." He nodded again before I started to slowly walk away from him, letting him, tied up "If you're harming anyone of my friends or Park, I will do it !" I opened the door, leaving him like that as I left the room.

"What happened, Yirina ?" Park said, having heard the shot, panicked, standing next to the door

"I didn't do it." I replied with a low voice before I walked to open the garage door with the commands, I just needed fresh air right now. Sims was the first one to move inside the room to see if Adler was okay as Woods and Mason were still shocked. I opened the door and then, I walked a few steps before I fall on my knees, just looking afar as I could hear Park coming to me. "I didn't do it."

"I know." She put herself in front of me, kneeling before she put her arms around me as I didn't move at all, looking in the horizon, my M1911 still in hand, I was feeling so empty right now. I didn't killed Adler and it was, I think, a good decision to make but still, I was feeling so strange about this,

"I'm not an monster."

[greenygreenland]

Rain and Fog: (platonic) Levi Ackerman x Reader

-i know i only ever post star wars, but now I'm expanding my horizon

-platonic platonic platonic

-if you haven't watched that set of episodes with isabel and farlan (or read the manga) this one-shot won't make sense

-you're his baby sister♡

-imagine being best friends with Levi though (he'd be a total butt)

-i myself don't swear, but Levi obviously will

Summary:

It's rainy, foggy and cold, just like the day you lost Farlan and Isabel. You can't help be reminisce about their deaths.

The rain poured from the heavens in heavy, cold droplets. It pounded and forced the ground to absorb the liquid until puddles ripped through the ground. To (Y/n), a petite, young girl, the puddles could have been mini lakes. Fog had settled itself at the edge of the forest, and if (Y/n) didn't know that HQ was only a mere fifteen minute walk away, she would have thought herself to be lost. Sheathing her blades, she began her trek back. The downpour had soaked through her clothes, leaving them squishy and ice cold. Of all the days to rain, she thought, it had to be today.

"(Y/n)!"

She paused in her step and squinted through the fog. That voice was something (Y/n) knew by heart. It was smooth, yet slightly grumbly and coarse. There was a clear tone of anger as the voice called out again. It was the voice of Levi Ackerman, (Y/n)'s elder brother. He waltzed through the brush and emerged through the milky fog, his hands clenched into fists and a waterproof coat over his head. When his steely gray hues landed on (Y/n), he faltered. Beside her, he saw his late friends Farlan and Isabel. They were smiling at him and talking as if they weren't dead and as if that night in the foggy rain never happened. Levi rubbed the rain from his eyes with a frown.

They were gone.

With a loud sigh, he seizeed (Y/n) by the hand and dragged her through the foggy forest. It was eerie because it reminded him so much of that day. He lost Isabel and Farlarn; it was pure luck (Y/n) somehow survived. A deep scowl plastered itself on Levi's lips. "Do you know how fucking long I've been looking for you?" he demanded.

(Y/n) gently wrapped her numb fingers with his. "I was just about to head back." she replied. Levi didn't doubt her words, but that wasn't the problem. He was irritated that she a, did not tell him she would be out here, and b, would likely catch a cold from hanging out in this weather. Levi pulled (Y/n)'s hand up to eye level. With calculating eyes, he scanned over her nails and fingertips. Little cuts and scraps littered her hand. She didn't seem to mind though, because she didn't flinch when Levi gave her hand a good squeeze.

Maybe that was just because she was too cold.

"Look at your fucking hands, they're blue. Do you know what that means?" He didn't give (Y/n) a chance to reply. "It means you're cold and that you'll probably get sick." The duo reached the edge of the woods. Without the forest's cover, there was nothing to stop the heavy downpour. Levi released (Y/n)'s hand from his and resorted to giving her a harsh shove on the back. "You're already soaked as it is. Get moving before it gets worse."

And so the two sprinted back to HQ in the rain. Despite the waterproof coat on Levi's shoulders, he was not spared. By the time they arrived at HQ, you would have assumed they'd taken a shower.

Levi ripped the doors open and yanked (Y/n) inside. He was angry -- no -- livid that she even thought of training when he could barely make out his boots through the fog. "You're fucking stupid, you know." Levi grumbled. "What kind of idiot trains in the rain?" (Y/n) wrung out her shirt through the open door. She didn't meet Levi's steely gaze as he examined her shaking form. "Hey." Levi barked. "Look at me when I talk to you." (Y/n) continued wringing out her shirt before moving on to her Survey Corps jacket. Levi raised a brow as if to ask himself, 'is she being serious'?

After a painful moment of silence, Levi concluded that (Y/n) indeed was being serious and that there actually was something wrong with her. Levi gently placed a hand on (Y/n)'s shoulder. "What's--" He cut himself short. (Y/n)'s gray eyes were filled with unshed tears as she sniffled. They pooled in the corners of her eyes, glistening in the candlelight. Ever inch of her trembled, but clearly not from the cold. Levi knitted his brows together. He wondered if he had said something to offend bis sister, but that couldn't be it. She was a tough one, and even if he did say something mean, it wouldn't have gotten to her like this.

If Levi were still that little brat from the Underground fighting his way to the top alongside his sister, he would have scolded her for crying. As he stared her down, he wasn't so sure if that were the right thing to do. Levi slowly turned (Y/n) around so they faced each other and searched her face for answers he knew he wouldn't find. Maybe something happened today, he thought.

Pursing his lips, he thought back to what he'd seen (Y/n) do and who she talked with. He didn't get far when a sudden thought struck him like a bolt of lightning. It wasn't something he said or an event from today. No, it was much deeper.

The rain. The fog. Isabel. Farlan.

"Ah." Levi muttered. "I get it." (Y/n) sniffled in response, her gaze anywhere but on Levi's. It was clear she didn't want to talk about anything, but Levi had other plans. He wrung out a pint or two of water from his clothes before starting down the halls of HQ. "Come on." Levi called. (Y/n) silently followed, avoiding any following eyes of her comrades in arms. After a few turns, the duo arrived in front of Levi's office. He wrapped his fingers around the doorknob and gave it a good twist. The scent of fresh lemon and black tea hit (Y/n)'s nose. She couldn't help but bask in the pleasant scents as they entered the dark room. Levi closed his door and lit a few candles. Light flooded the spotless room and cast long shadows against the walls. Although they were inside, the loud patters of rain echoed through an open window.

"Here." Levi threw a towel over (Y/n)'s head. He walked over to his closest and pulled out another to wrap around his shoulders. There was a heavy yet comfortable silence as the two dried off their clothes.

"I'm sorry." (Y/n) suddenly announced. Levi raised a brow and leaned against the wall opposite from (Y/n). "What are you apologizing for?"

"I...shouldn't have cried."

There was another silence before Levi figured out what he wanted to say. "It's natural I guess." he replied. (Y/n) frowned. That wasn't something she expected to hear, especially from the mouth of her brother. Levi huffed. "You never answered my question. Why the fuck were you training out in the rain for?" (Y/n) folded her hands together. She ran her cold fingertips over each scrape and cut on her palms. "The weather just had me thinking about...that day." She heaved in a shaky breath that worried Levi. "If I had been more prepared, then they wouldn't have died."

Levi loftily crossed his arms. In a way, she was right. If they had been more prepared for all the rain and fog, then the formation wouldn't have broken. But on the flip side, no one had control over the situation, not even Levi. He himself ran off when he knew to stay together. Because he thought he could swiftly get the job done, he ran off all alone, leaving them with (Y/n), who was only about thirteen or fourteen at the time.

"There was nothing any of us could do." he firmly said. "You were young at the time--hell, you still are. As soon as we started the expedition, we lost control. None of us knew it would be foggy that day. None of us knew there would be so many damn titans." Levi's shoulders tensed and he clenched a fist. All the anguish he stored so deeply in his heart began resurfacing like wood in a lake. A bout of anger followed after so fast that he couldn't remind himself to forget about it like he always did.

"There was nothing we could fucking do!" he exclaimed. "None of us!" He threw his hands in the air. "Do I cry about it? No! Do I wish that I could have done something? Yes." Levi shook his head with a shaky breath. "Every fucking time-- ugh, fuck!" Levi walked over to (Y/n), an ocean of emotion in his steely eyes. After surpressing his emotions for so long, he couldn't find it in him to hide them anymore. Levi found it so difficult because (Y/n) was crying, and she knew exactly how he felt. She was there. She saw everything with her own two eyes. Only by pure luck had she escaped the jaws of a titan and found a nearby squad.

Wordlessly, (Y/n) wrapped her arms around Levi's shoulders. It was quiet, save for the patter of rain outside and the occasional breeze that entered through the open window. The two basked in each other's arms, thankful for the other's presence. Because they had each other, they knew they'd be alright.

[moonundernostalgia]

the minutes pass...

I look at the clock on his chest and think to myself "there's no other way, we won't be able to get out of this"

with no one here with us i can't imagine how chaotic this environment would be, at least by being here i can calm him down and make sure i'm staying by his side

I look at his face and he looks lost, looking down, almost like he's embarrassed to face me.

I don't blame him, in fact it's all my fault... I should have been more understanding... I should have made sure he stayed by my side, if I had thought like that before, none of this would have happened.

And it doesn't matter if he said I was controlling and he didn't want to obey I know he'd stand by me just because he's Dick, you can have the worst fight of your life with him, but if he loves you he'll never completely leaves you behind.

I know I have an amazing son in my life, who went where the shadows reached me and spread light and smiles wherever he passed in the middle of the big manor.

All these years I never stopped loving him, even when we fought I never thought I could love someone so much and still... like any parent, I made many mistakes, but nothing in the world will take the weight I feel right now. knowing that I'm having my...our last moments here, while a war rages on outside, I'm about to throw out everything I should have said to him and make it very clear that whatever outcome this has, I- I will do everything to be here, be present, keep him safe...

I reach for his face in my hands, startled he looks at me with those big electric blue eyes that remind me of shiny robin eggs, he is shaking and his breathing is not steady no matter how hard he seems to try to stay calm and be strong in front of me. he looks at me expectantly and finally i plan what i'm going to say

- Dick... what I'm going to say is not easy but...

He looks even more scared at me. I continue.

- I'm sorry buddy, but we're not getting out of this, there's nothing to do... I'm sorry.

I lower my eyes to organize myself better and when I look up again he looks alarmed and then he shakes his head

- No. He says and this is where my fear comes in, is he mad at me for not being quick enough to find a solution? didn't he expect to have to die here with me? he won't accept my apologies?

- Yes, there is a way for you, run away, get out of here now, you still have a chance.

Unexpected...I'm in shock that I can barely breathe, he can't be serious. seeing my lack of reaction he starts to raise his voice

- Go Bruce, get out of here! You don't deserve this I was careless and I'm paying now please just leave I won't die in peace if you die because of me too! please leave!

He screams the last part and i can see he is trying to hold back the crying but fails miserably

I finally snap out of my stupor, place my hands on his shoulders this time and search his face as he cries softly.

- Hey, I'm not leaving. He looks at me through his tears and stares at me like I'm crazy.

- I will not leave your side, I abandoned you first, none of this is your fault and I want you to know that I love you very much, and I have always been proud, I know that I hurt you and as a way of repaying I will stay here With you until this is over. I take a deep breathe ... - I just want you to forgive me for everything I've done to you. For the times I should have been a father but I acted more like a general, a proud and stupid authoritarian general...please me forgive son.

I watch as he looks surprised and then starts sobbing harder and I wait for an answer.

- You... You've been forgiven for a long time you know?... he laughs as if he's hopeless. - But I would really like you to get out of here, is that too much to ask?

- Yeah, that's too much to ask! I've already avoided my responsibilities too much when it comes to you and the others, when it comes to being a parent, I won't let you feel alone again. I'm not leaving you Dick,i'm not abandoning you,the only way we could leave here is together but since this is not possible i'm going to stay right here.

I lift his chin to make him look straight into my eyes

- Do you understand me??

- Yes I understand...

he takes a deep breath as we stare at each other for a while as if time is not passing. suddenly he smiles, weak but it's a smile - well... to be honest I'm glad you're here, and... I love you too. I smile too and give him one last hug now that it's only a few seconds before it's all over.

I put my hand over his hair as he starts to cry again only harder because he already knows the end is near.

For a moment I close my eyes and I can see the memories of my life running through my mind, (tic) all the happy moments with Dick, (tac) from childhood, (tic) adolescence to (tac) youth, (tic) all the achievements we've had, (tac) the celebrations, (tic) the moments of comfort..all this came and hit me like a truck. The Tic-Tac of the bomb gets louder and louder...

I never imagined it would end this way, but at least I'm holding someone very precious to me and making sure he doesn't feel alone in this desperate moment. I let one last tear fall down my face as I prepare for the explosion.

I hope that in another world we hug for a happier reason...

Forever Evil except Luthor isn't there to kill Dick, and Bruce won't let Dick die alone.

After Bruce says, "I am not leaving you, Dick. I am not abandoning you. The only way we're getting out of here is together," he ends up staying with Dick until the countdown hits zero, and he hugs Dick close to him before they're both killed by the explosion.

[shadowfae]

**breathes in deeply**

(vent)

So I'm a soulbonder who's looking to make a new bond to a particular person and nothing is working.

I know a lot about this person, I know a good amount about their world, and I know what I need to do, but none of the things I've tried have worked. I've bonded people before in both intentional and unintentional ways. This is unusual for me. I don't quite know how to handle what's going on here.

I know what's probably causing it. My mental health kinda tanked between this and the last time I called a new bond. Like. I've started experiencing psychosis issues intra-headspace. Thankfully I've avoided anything that severe in meatspace, but I have had increased issues with my pre-existing executive function and emotional regulation issues. Every time I think I've gotten somewhere with bonding this character it's only been psychosis issues and discernment issues, and it's really, really disheartening.

But even aside from mental health issues, when I'm relatively lucid I'm not having luck.

I've tried summoning, I've tried inviting, I've tried direct "hey come here", I've tried indirect "hey we'd like to talk", I've tried yanking them, I've tried directly appearing to them in their own world, I've tried just trying to talk to them before. Most of these I've tried more than once. Nothing has worked. There may have been contact in the past (and seemed positive-to-neutral about learning more about this place and visiting), but at this point I really doubt even the more reliable incidents. Something should have worked here, and I can't shake the feeling something is going very wrong.

I know I should probably give up and move on at this point, as it's been literal months. Honestly I've asked a lot of places for help and I've looked into what resources I've been able to find on their source world and bonding in general, and my options are running dry. Nobody would blame me for giving up. But I have my reasons not to. I have a feeling about this, and they're in a situation I don't feel like leaving alone. Like, everyone they thought they could trust screws them over. I also DESPERATELY want to at least talk to this person. This entire situation is so fucking frustrating. I'm at the "try shaking cat treats at them" phase.

Also I can't talk to anyone about this because 1. dude's source is from my own AU, and is technically my oc, 2. the places I can talk about this shit are not open to sensitive parts of this, going assume I'm lying, or uh, were exposed to a few cringey false alarms on related things, 3. it's been long enough and constant enough that it's too much to talk about the full extent of this nonsense. 4. My SO can't tolerate this person's source world, so I won't make them endure my prattling.

Because I needed isolation added to this clusterfuck.

Anyway that was good to get off my chest, feel free to throw this into the tumblr void with the identities of anon asks if you want. Or post it, I have no investment in the fate of this.

Mmmm, it looks like there are several issues here that you're facing.

I want to ask: do you have any other bonds right now? Because maybe getting them to try will help, just because their methods will be different than yours, and sometimes you just need a second set of hands. (Or fins, as Albafica wants me to make sure you know.)

There could be a ton of things blocking it, and I would suggest dealing with your psychosis issues first. Not give up, but put this on hold until you know what's causing the psychosis and have dealt with it. You do not want to forge a bond on such a shaky foundation. I'm not saying 'psychotic people can't soulbond', flames forbid I am, I'm reading that this is a new and difficult thing, and you don't want unknown variables getting in your way, especially when they can induce things that look similar to soulbonding but really really aren't.

I have to account for my Devil powers every time I do a spell, ward, or fuck around with the headspace. Because I'm the host and the god in the room, and things answer to me when they won't to anyone else, and Albafica's commentary on that is "stop locking me in a room with your crazy sentient brambles that only speak static whenever you're majorly upset" and I think that's not fair to me, that only happened once and it was accidental, but you get the point. That's a variable you need to be predictable and accounted for.

Then yeah, past that it looks like they're just not willing, and if you want to bond, you need to see it from their side. Because to some random person in their world, you probably feel / appear like a particularly dangerous spirit that's trying to eat them. Al agrees that's how he'd take it if someone pulled that on him, and he's very untrusting on his best days. So it sounds, so far, like your approach is not the best for this.

If you rule out medical reasons for your psychosis - and that is not an easy thing to do, please check out medical things for that, you don't want to fuck around with it - it could also be them refusing you and using their own wards. (Or at least, I can see the line of thought between them trying to stop you and such backlash; but that's an option to consider after medical issues.)

If you can get in contact with them, you need to ask one question, and one question alone, and do not pass go or collect your 200$ until they've answered clearly: do they want you to stop?

You haven't said why you want to bond with them so badly, and motivation is a key factor here. With Goni, he showed up looking for Luco and serves partially as the adult to go to when shit gets bad and also as the resident prettyboy and slut. Al is logical and blunt and his remarks cut deep, but he gives a damn and functions as lieutenant where Goni's advisor and backup. South is uh, he's the demon commentating about how much we should just kill people and he's right, he is, but that's illegal. He also serves as the youngest and the most prone to extreme emotions, and when someone else is doing the extreme emotions, it makes it that much easier for the rest of us to keep our heads. He says what I'm thinking, and then I can deal with it rationally.

They're all people, and they aid each other as well in headspace, but the bond between host and bond is a bit different than bonds with each other. I pilot the body most of the time, I handle everything in meatspace, they help me do that. It's simple: keep the guy who pilots the body running, get body privileges.

And what you need to consider here is not only what they can do for you, but what you can do for them, and how exactly you're going to coexist. Because while my triad of fishmen help me, I also help them, largely because uh, /gestures at the fact they all died in a war in various gruesome ways and the journey they took to get there was actually worse/. It's all fun and games until they're here, away from the danger, and then there's the exotrauma.

Goni handles it by not handling it until he has to and right now we're working on actually acknowledging that he's got issues. South deals with it by being resentful as all hell and incredibly violent and yandere, but being allowed to not pull his punches is still so new to him that it's actually quite good for him to get to say what he's thinking and be respected for it. Al's grumpy about it but is trying to build something of his life now before he falls apart. He wants something to hold onto first, which is smart. Trust Al to figure out the most logical way with none of the words and then adamantly refuse to let that go wrong. He and I both understand bullying the universe into giving us what we want, and since he has full utter control over his own mental processes thanks to being able to make my Devil powers do what he wants, I don't think anyone's going to be able to interfere with his ability to do that.

So now I have to ask for you: what is this bond going to be doing for you, and just as important, what exactly do you expect to be able to do for them? Because they're also an OC, and they may have some goddamn feelings about that. They may see you as having coincidentally written down their life, they may see you as channeling it, or they may see you as the one who made it happen. All of which you'll also see in fictionkin spaces. If they fall into the last category, they're gonna be pissed you didn't give them a happy ending, and they're justified in that, and so are you for not doing that.

You have to be prepared - especially from reading between the lines of your ask here - that they're not going to be as functional as you want them to be. When we handle our exotrauma, we're a mess. Everything gets put on hold to deal with it, and even then, we rely a lot on our partner system (Faolan and the Nebulaic Collective) to keep the body from crashing so we can hold onto our life instead of falling apart utterly for a week straight. We don't do jack entirely with the four of us, and it's better that way.

The fact that you can't rely on anyone outside of yourself, especially considering 1) they don't seem to want this, 2) your attempts either very coincidentally happened alongside or caused serious mental issues that need urgent attention from you, and 3) you don't sound prepared to handle the severity of what you're implying it to be; all goes to show that this reads to me like a terrible fucking idea. I mean that honestly and gently and bluntly.

I don't mean 'give up and don't do this', I mean 'seriously dude either you're not giving me context or you haven't thought nearly hard enough about the realistic way this is going to go', and if it's the latter, no wonder you're having issues.

I already know who my next bond will be, and I know what needs to happen for him to show up. Right now, the four of us are functional, and we have a good Thing going on, sleeping arrangements and all. If we're getting another, a Space needs to open up for him, job to keep us functional that he can do as well as a part to play in our dynamic that is currently not being met. We got Adult (Goni), we got Logic (Al), we got Emotional Teenager (South), we got Has Context And Admin Access (me).

(Side note, South is vaguely 17-19, but he's been treated like he was five for most of his life and has been forced to rapidly oscillate between genuinely horrifying scenarios and being incredibly sheltered, so trying to put any sort of 'he's an average X year old' is downright impossible. He's on the upper end of teens and we call it a day there, and if he hears a word of "you're not old enough to do X activity" then I have to stop him from sending you graphic descriptions of things he can do to your insides and that's no fun for anyone so don't do that please.)

So when we have a space the new bond can fill both in keeping things functional so he has something to do and a space in our relationship so he's not standing on the sidelines looking in, he'll show. As it stands right now, that hasn't happened, so he's not here yet. That and I think I'm stretched rather thin when it comes to bonds, I need much more time with our fishes before I think I can handle more folks in here. So much on my mind, so little time.

But either way regardless. You have several glaring issues that are fairly obvious that you may not have noticed because you can't be objective in a situation you're involved in (true of everyone), and until you fix those, yeah, this doesn't sound like it'll work all that well.

Although I will note that I typically bond via my writing, simply writing from their perspective until they start commentating. They go from 'maybe MaDD doing shit' to 'oh hey soulbond' when they don't comment only on themselves but also on things I'm doing in meatspace. Albafica's a character when he's narrating his own life, he's a person when he demands More Salmon For Dinner; if that makes sense.

I doubt you'd get that far unless they genuinely did want the connection, because otherwise they wouldn't tell you stuff about themselves. Works for me, might work for you, who knows, please get your psychosis symptoms checked out first before touching this again and make sure they actually want to bond and it's actually viable before continuing and then try again I suppose?

A very long answer for a very long ask, but I like Helping, so. Hope that helped a bit.

[lightsorigins]

Fluctuations

 When he opened his eyes, Malden remained as straight as a board. He stared at the bedroom ceiling for a few seconds before turning his head to the window. The shutters were wide open. Yet he remembered that Kieran had closed them the night before. It didn't matter. He stood up slowly and felt the icy cold of the systemic dawn make him shiver. It was around nine o'clock, the sun was rising. Even slower than he was, he thought. Malden knew that it was not easy to be more phlegmatic than he was.

      - Except you, Mr. Sun," he murmured, still leaning out the window.

      He lost himself in his thoughts for a few minutes. Now that he'd had a good time with his friend, he'd have to think about going home and face his mother's wrath for allowing himself to leave the day before. What an idea to get up so early! He remembered very well that sleep had come late, and fatigue would quickly overcome him during the day. Malden turned and saw Kieran lying on his back, his blanket over part of his body diagonally. He was sleeping with his mouth open and snoring so loudly he could have woken a dragon. The sight made him chuckle.

      Discreetly, he collected his things, put on his shoes, and left the apartment without waking anyone. He put on his headphones and played "How Long Can I Go" by "Sam Celentano". Once outside, several options came to mind. There was a park north of Lausya, where he often went to play sports. He also had a painting he had started and wanted to finish. However, the longer he stayed outside, the more problems he would have to deal with when he returned.

      - It's up to me. I can go to the park and do push-ups. Take up my painting, knowing that I might run into mom. Maybe I can give Sylva a call and see if I can't come over early. I could have stayed at Kieran's, but now that I'm out, I'm not going to wake him up to come back... And seeing as he's asleep, he won't wake up, that's for sure, he concluded by putting his hand on his face.

      Malden suddenly noticed that he had a few unread messages. Naturally, these were from his mother. The most important one was this:

"I don't appreciate your attitude lately. We'll have a discussion as soon as you get home. You know there are rules to follow in this house, and they apply to everyone, even you! »

      The first response that came to mind was "You never liked my attitude, and you never understood me. "But he found it too tiring to get into a conflict with her. It was better not to escalate the situation. Akane, his mother, had been an adventurer during her youth. During certain periods, it happened that she went on adventures for a few weeks with her old group of friends. She is a Gial (Earth) atmologist, focused on the Veltôs (Control) path, and her atmology is an ochre red. At a very young age, Akane received a strict and hard education, and also underwent many hazing which forged her character for sure. She has never been an example of softness. This hard and uncompromising character made communication with Malden particularly complicated over the years.

      It didn't matter in the end. Malden decided to get on his way and go home. He might as well face Mother Dragon as quickly as possible to put out the flames. Unfortunately, it didn't take much for his mood to be affected. These expressions from his mother reminded him how lonely he felt in his family, despite the good relationship he had with his sister Sawako, and his brother Hayate. He always ended up being seen as too intense, too whiny or touchy and moody. When he thought about it, however, Malden knew that factually he lacked nothing. He was a healthy, rather good-looking young man, good at a few subjects, athletic, with a group of sympathetic and understanding friends, a certain amount of freedom in his personal life, and so on. However, it seemed that something was missing.

      It was as if there was a void somewhere. A fear of not living up to his own image, or of failing at what he could do. He was so special that he could be admired for the strangeness of his thoughts and artistic productions, but also stigmatized, and found "weird", or "unapproachable", to use terms he had heard about himself. Yet he longed to be accepted for who he was, without becoming like everyone else.

    When he opened the door to the apartment, he expected to find his mother getting ready for work. Instead, he found Sawako sitting in the kitchen. She was having breakfast: a glass of hot delicatessen milk with a little pethmergale sugar. The whole thing made the milk look dark and creamy. She was reading a manga while smoking a cigarette.

      - Hi! he said. I didn't think you'd be here at this hour. I thought I'd find Mom instead.

 -      Nah, she left pretty early this morning to buy some stuff. I don't think she's gonna be back for a while. Where did you go anyway? Kieran's?

      - Yeah. We wanted to watch "Alvist Wars" quietly, but Isaac had come into my room yesterday to snoop on something. I yelled at her, she got involved and... well, you know mom.

      - Yeah, I know what you mean. Well, she wasn't too happy about it. In fact, she was angry that you broke like that. I understand, but you could have avoided it, or told me about it. I would have tempered the situation a bit, you know how I usually do.

      - I know, but Kieran kind of rushed me, I didn't have much time to make my decision. I've done this plenty of times before, but it seems like yesterday was worse than usual. Why is that?

      - Didn't Mom tell you what we have to do tonight?

      - No?

      - Okay, too weird. Well, actually we're supposed to go to Welliyo with Dad, Mom and Helen to see Melva. Maybe there's some news about her memory, but nothing transcendent you know.

      Malden hiccupped in surprise and recoiled slightly. He felt stupid, but also excluded for not having been kept in the loop.

      - Is she serious? Why didn't she tell me?

      - I think she was going to propose to you yesterday.

      - Suggesting me the day before for the day after? What if I had something to do? Yes, I would have canceled. I would cancel anything to go see Melva, but still.

      - Anyway, chances are that's why she's so upset about your escapade yesterday. You should just apologize and tell her you'll be there tonight, if you want to be safe. I'll cover for you, but do what I say. I mean, I'll figure out how to fix it, I'll improvise.

      - And you think you can get Isaac to stop making my life miserable?

      - Don't worry, I'll work it out by ruining his. There are a few things he and I need to discuss. He's still asleep, but I'm setting him up for a real wake-up call.

      - You're handling it, thanks. I have to go see Sylvania this afternoon. Do you think you can handle that too?

      - Consider it done," Sawako replied, winking at him. 

 Malden knew he could always count on her in many circumstances. At 27 years old, she was the oldest of her siblings, and therefore the one with the authority right after her parents. And fortunately, Sawako had a lot in common with Malden. Both of them were very sensitive and attached to their deepest values, but Sawako tended to be more withdrawn and passive than her brother. She was a specialist in the art of running away and saying nothing, letting go, sleeping and lazing around. Beyond her studies in water atmology, she loved to write poetry, fiction, and play video games with horror, romance, and role-playing themes. At least that's what her mother told her. Malden, on the other hand, was much more active and enjoyed going out, shopping and discovering more about the world around him. With his pocket money, he bought a lot of things like incense, posters and an infinite amount of clothes that he could wear according to his moods. Besides,

    since he would have to go back to Sylvania in the afternoon, he started looking for different clothes to change into after his shower. Leaving his hair down, Malden put a diamond-shaped earring in his left ear, as well as a golden pendant with a small sphere. He put on a gray sweater with "N.O.T.H.I.N.G." in bright green letters. Further down, in small print, it read "Nobody On This Healthiest Irrelevant Narrow-minded Globality. ». Malden liked to wear this sweater when he wasn't sure how he felt. He often hoped that those closest to him would be able to decode this information and understand how he was feeling by carefully observing how he dressed. But it never worked.He went to his room to finish getting ready. After putting on his black shorts and sneakers, the same green as his sweater's typography, he heard his mother coming back to the apartment. Sawako immediately struck up a conversation with her. Malden reached out to listen.

      - Malden is back to the point.

      - Is he in his room?

      - Yeah, but I think it's best to leave it alone for a bit today.

      - Oh no! Have you seen how he's acting right now? I have to talk to him, this is too much. And he doesn't answer the messages I leave! That's not an attitude!

      - I know, I know mom. But he's a teenager, so you have to imagine that he's going to do a few more silly things like that.

      - Sawako, do you defend your brother when he takes the wrong path? Do you think you're helping him to act that way?

      Akane spoke loudly and raised her voice with every sentence. She was panting, exhausted from bringing all the groceries alone from the store. Despite her intensive training as a fighter, she was much less active since she had built her family life, and was therefore much more quickly tired for actions that, in her youth, were just a walk in the park for her.

 -      Plus no one helped me with the groceries today! I have to do everything alone in this house, it's not possible! Call your father for me, so he can come and help me clean up instead of sleeping again!

      - Mom, I'm not defending Malden, but I think you're overreacting a bit. He just went to Kieran's. He wanted to watch "Alvist Wars" and he came home early. He's doing well in school and he doesn't have bad company. Don't you think you should leave him alone for a while and deal with Suzanne and Hayate, who are always provoking him?

      - Yes, yes it's good. Okay, I'll leave it. Let him do. Call your father now. Is Malden coming tonight so we can go visit Melva, yes or no?

      - It will be there.

      Malden smiled broadly and clenched his fist in victory. What could he do without Sawako? He felt himself growing wings. The weekend would probably be much more enjoyable than he had imagined. Grabbing his cell phone, he decided to send a message to Sylvania.

      "Hi Sylva 😊! Do you think we could eat together this lunch? Like, at a snack bar not too far from your place, and then we spend the afternoon together like we said? »

      Every time he took the time to send her a message, Malden's hands were shaking and sweaty. Would he choose the right words? Was he being pushy? Or too weird? Did she realize how he felt about her? And even worse: did he really feel something for her? And this something, was it love? It was so complex for him to understand, so difficult to be totally sure, considering the particular situation. Didn't she just remind him of his sister, who is now in the hospital and he misses her so much? Malden didn't know. He always came to the conclusion that it was probably best to let it go and see where it would take him.

      His phone vibrated. It was her. She had just answered! He hurried to open the message.

      "Hi Malden! That's a really cool proposal. Where do you want to eat? And what do you want to eat? Something usual and not too far away, just to do it quietly? »

      "Noon, at the pizza place across the street from you? »

 "Perfect! See you later! »

      Since everything was already planned, all he had to do was spend the time he had left doing something he liked. So he threw himself into the painting he had started a few days ago. Malden was fond of searching for photographs of various places in the Mysticiën, and recently his attention had been drawn to pictures of the Omaltäb Forests in Almarosa territory to the south. He was busy redrawing the trees with pink, dark blue, green or even black foliage that could be found there. The simple fact of smelling the paint in the room made him feel a certain fullness that nothing else could give him. After taking care to lock the door of his room so as not to be disturbed, he painted for a long time and moved forward on his canvas. If for some reason he couldn't become an alvist or a martial artist, Malden knew he would become a painter and would do everything he could to fulfill that dream. And even if he did become an alvist and a martial artist, he would be a painter too! With his savings, he vowed to buy a high performance camera and take photographs from original angles and then redesign and paint unusual places in the country, giving them a special interpretation with special color schemes. This was how he would communicate to the world the way he perceived and felt the universe. This idea excited him.

      Shortly before the appointment time, Malden rushed to the front door to get going. When he opened it, he passed the kitchen, where he saw his parents preparing dinner. While he was already on the landing, he heard his mother's authoritative voice.

      - Be back by five o'clock, we'll go see Melva. We won't wait for you forever.

      - Uh, yes, Mom. See you tonight!

      - That's it," she said dismissively.

      The sun was shining on Lausya, accompanied by a rather strong wind. A gust of wind blew straight towards Malden, removing his hood and messing up his hair. He who wanted to be elegant for Sylvania, it was from now on lost pain. He sighed discreetly while putting back his hood. That was not going to dry his good mood found. He was now listening to "Apricot" by "Sam Celentano". Malden could already imagine himself with Sylvania teaching him some scales and making him listen to her melodies. Her calmness, her kindness and her rigor were for him like nectar and ambrosia. He admired her terribly, and these sentimental questions about her were very recent. But he had known her for a few years already.

      After a few minutes, Malden reached the main square where Sylvania and her mother lived. There was a fountain in the center, and some stone slabs decorated with flowers tended by the city's gardeners. A few people were there, including groups of children who had come to buy pancakes or ice cream, despite the cold season. Sitting under a white umbrella at one of the many tables of the local pizzeria, Sylvania was waiting patiently, her phone in hand. She had let her long red hair down, was wearing a white dress with blue polka dots and a small silver necklace and a pair of simple earrings of the same complexion. When she saw Malden, she waved at him.

      - Hi! How are you? I'm so hungry! I've already reserved a table for the two of us, so what should we order? Asked she, cheerful.

      - I'll probably have a salad with a slice of pizza. I'm not very hungry, but it'll do for me!

      - Are you sure you'll have enough energy to listen to my news and convince me to join your group if you don't eat enough? She joked.

      - Don't worry about it. I want you to join us enough, I don't need a pizza to help me!

      After they had actually placed their order, the two young people ate together and talked about the rain and the weather. Malden admired the way Sylvania spoke about her extracurricular activities, but also her involvement in various social struggles. She was already very active on Signold - a well-known social network on Elzetarân - and shared many videos about animal causes and ecology. Sylvania already seemed to be a big shot and followed very closely the actions of the Renovators' Guild. It was a group of atmologists and adventurers of all kinds, formed several decades ago. They were in charge of monitoring the development of the ecosystems and biomes of Elzetari after certain confrontations, whose damage could have seriously damaged various places and destroyed the fauna, as well as the flora.

      Time passed without them noticing. Soon enough, they finished their meal and went to Sylvania. Coming from a well-to-do family, they lived in a large residence where the richest inhabitants of Lausanne were to be found. The mayor, Oscar Fanghël, lived nearby with his wife and son. Malden was always impressed when he set foot in Sylvania's house: everything was always so clean! The living room seemed huge and everything he saw seemed to be priceless. The marble walls of a very light and sober

grey were decorated with paintings showing fantastic scenes. One could see atmological warriors fighting carniocs and wild creatures in the skies, unleashing various elemental forces.

      - Every time you come over, you can't help but leave your eyes glued to the picture in the living room. You know I'm going to end up asking my mom if I can give it to you, right?

      Malden flinched and blushed. He had never realized how much these paintings could absorb him. The idea that he might be seen to be lusting after them embarrassed him.

      - Oh no, not at all! It's just... I really wish I had a talent like that. You know, I see how well the color scheme is mastered, it drives me crazy! There is the light, so well reflected, and the contrast between the atmos used by the fighters on the painting, the expression of pain on the creatures, and even the effects of the wind that blows even though we don't see it. It's beautiful. Every time I see it, I feel like it's the first one.

      - I think it was Cleora Stolteïska who made this painting. I would have to see it again with my mother. And it seems to me that she is still alive. Maybe one day, if you meet her, you can ask her how she did it?

 Malden's eyes seemed to light up. He began to do some research on his cell phone and found more of the painter's work.

 -      Wow, she's so good... If I met her, I wouldn't even know how to ask her questions. Well, anyway, I'll deal with that when I get home. For now, I have someone else talented to admire on her compositions, right?

      - Don't overdo it! I'm just getting by on my mom's classes when it comes to reproducing classics. For my creations, it remains to be seen... I'm not very comfortable with the idea of doing new things, that go out of the box, I'm afraid it won't be very pleasant to the ear, also because...

      - Hey, Sylva! he interrupted her. It's not serious, you have to try in life. Let me listen!

      - But if you think it's ugly, you probably won't want me in your group.

      - Does this mean that you want to join our group so badly that I don't actually need to convince you?

      She hiccupped with surprise and put her hands in front of her mouth. Sylvania had tricked herself. She was more interested in the idea of being part of this music group that was forming than anything else, but she didn't want it to be so obvious. She would still be seen as the girl with no friends, who craved acceptance from others.

      - It's true," she sighed. Well, enough wasted time. Sit down on the couch. I'll play you this little piece. I was inspired by "rocking horse" by "Etolica. ».

      Without adding a word, Malden settled comfortably on the black velvet sofa. Sylvania took her turn on the small purple seat where she sat to play the piano. She had her back to him, slowly positioning her fingers on the keys. The girl took a deep breath before starting to play the first notes of her composition. The start was awkward but soon she gained confidence and began to play with more assurance. The notes flowed together with a certain smoothness.

      To Malden, it was as if a beautiful story was being told. He was so impressed by her dexterity that he wanted to get closer to her to better admire her performance. However, for fear of distracting her, he preferred to stay behind and come without making any noise. She was in front of the large window, giving on a great part of the city. He admired the view as he listened to the soft melody played by his friend, while he imagined how these notes would blend with Teano's expertise on the guitar, Kieran's voice and his drumming.

      The listening went on for almost three minutes, during which time Malden was totally transported. He found himself re-admiring the painting by Cleora Stolteïska that hung on the living room wall. This creation and Sylvania's composition went so well together that he imagined one day he would be a painter of masterpieces and she a professional pianist, creating melodies around his world-renowned paintings. An exciting future, from which he exited as soon as Sylvania gave the last note of her essay. A few seconds were necessary for her to come back to reality. She took again a big inspiration, then she got up and turned slowly towards her friend. The window was left open, and a cold breeze crossed the room and shook her long dress as well as her hair. An image that stuck in Malden's mind and he swore to himself that he would paint this scene.

      - There, now you know my little music. I know it's probably too soft for what you're doing, but it's the best I have in stock right now.

 -      Sylvania, it's really beautiful. It's probably silly and simple as an opinion, but I don't know what else to add... Then, I don't play the piano, so I imagine that there are things to be revised, it's possible. But anyway, I really liked it. You know Kieran, he likes it when it moves a little bit more, but then Teano will be over the moon, you can believe me!

      - Do you think so? She asked hesitantly, as she nervously played with her fingers.

      - I don't think so: I know so! Will you show me some other things? Songs you learned with your mother for example, maybe we could rework some of them and see how to create other songs together from that!

      - It's a good idea. So, let's see...

      All afternoon long, Sylvania and Malden discussed and studied in detail different compositions, some of which they took care to select to present to Malden and Teano. Gradually, more than his ambiguous attraction to Sylvania, it was his passion for art and music that took over. He was very curious and concentrated in these tasks, as she was too.

      Since the time for him to be reunited with his family was fast approaching, Malden prepared to leave to avoid being late. But just before he left, Sylvania received a phone call that seemed to puzzle her.

      - An unexpected call? he asked.

      - Well... It's Annabelle. You know, the girl in Sara's class.

      He looked at her with a puzzled look.

      - Maybe it's her mother calling? I think she works with yours, right?

      - Not anymore. They kept in touch but... Well, wait. "Hello?" She says.

      "Yes, Sylvania? It's Annabelle. Sorry, we haven't talked in a while, but I've been trying to reach Sara and even her brother but no one answers! »

      "No worries Anna. But do you need anything? »

      "This will probably sound weird to you, but my grandfather came back from a long trip a few days ago. And you'll never guess: he brought back with him a Phelidus Tenebris! »

      As Sylvania turned on the speaker phone, Malden also heard the news. He struggled to keep his astonishment from being heard. The Pelidus, whatever their nature, were extremely powerful creatures and known to be dangerous.

      "A Phelidus? " Sylvania repeated, worried. "It's still very dangerous! Do the authorities know that this creature is here, in Lausya? What do you want us to do for you? »

      "She's dying and has little ones... six to be exact. That's a bit long, and I don't have much time. Listen, I wish you could come to my house together as soon as possible, you and Sara and the others. Grandpa will be there, he'll be able to explain. »

      "I... well, okay Annabelle. I hope it's nothing serious anyway. I'll see what I can do to keep them updated and get back to you! »

      "Thank you Sylva! »

      She hung up her phone and looked at Malden, stunned.

      - A Pelidus with babies... How often do you hear such stories?

 -      Even the participants of "War of the Alvists" don't have Pelidus! Malden added. The thing I remember is that his grandfather must be really good. Renyu says you can only find them at Failghost Manor. And do you know what they say about that manor?

      - Yeah, that it's haunted or something... We'll talk about it again, I should let you go before your mom gives you a hard time for being late. It's already a miracle my mom wasn't there today and we got to see each other, might as well not ruin the end of the day!

      - You're right, I'm leaving. I forgot one thing! I think you're meeting Teano later on, right?

      - Yes, and he has to spend the night at Renyu's house right after.

      - You can tell him that I did some research the other day, and I found a luthier that might be of interest to him, since he wanted to try his hand at the electric guitar.

      With that, Malden and Sylvania parted ways. He walked through the spacious corridors of the building before finding himself outside, taken by the temperature which seemed to have dropped a few degrees compared to the early afternoon. Happy with this exciting afternoon, he then thought about what he would learn when he arrived at the hospital with his family. If Melva remembered him, at least for a few seconds during the visit, nothing could make him happier. But Malden refused to deny it. With his headphones in, he shuffled along, his imagination conjuring up the worst scenarios about his sister's shattered memory. His mood wavered again.

      When he arrived home, his parents were getting ready to leave. Sawako was already ready, a long dark blue leather coat on her back and her black hair done up in a neat bun. Aware of her brother's difficulty in dealing with this situation, she simply patted him on the shoulder and gave him a hug.

      - Don't worry Maldou, she'll remember us one day. The more we go to see her, the more it will help her.