#My mind even gave him a coffin for him to sleep in!!!

[thebirdqueen]

No one is allowed to set him free

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[organic-bloodbath]

shoot / save?

Choi Su-bong x Guard!Reader

Summary: You're a guard in Squid Game and see your ex-boyfriend there as a player. You two broke up a few months ago due to the drug use and debts. Now you have to make sure he lives or you're forced to kill him.

A/N: I haven't written fanfics since 2018 or whatever, but Squid Game forced me to make a comeback after running out of fics to read. I wrote this in my phone's notepad while at work and haven't proofread this much, also don't know the word count. Hope you like xx

Part 1 / ?

☆☆☆

You never thought you'd go from working in an amusement park, making kids smile, to take part in a game as a sniper, shooting dozens of people to their immediate deaths.

Everything happened basically overnight. One day you were offering lollipops and cotton candy to children, the next you were feeding bullets to adults drowning in debt and despair.

Here you were, high inside a wall which was painted to look like a sky, your gun pointed at the large crowd of 456 people, everyone dressed in green tracksuits. All of them had their names taken away from them, they were now only numbers instead of real people.

It was easier to take a life from someone called 'player 043' than from someone with a real name which gave them a unique identity.

The players started running towards the large doll, turning its head back and forth, making the players stop and then run again. Soon, the shootings started and the field turned into a total chaos, the ground being painted by blood. None of them had expected to be killed if the doll catched them moving even a finger or turning their head to look at another player behind them.

Except one man who knew the rules beforehand. A former winner who had decided to come back and play again.

Yes, you had heard of him.

You knew he had to have some sort of a plan, different from other players, but you didn't know any details. He had to have a reason to come back to this game, it couldn't possibly be just about the money. Perhaps he simply wanted to die and couldn't pull the trigger by himself. You couldn't blame him for that.

◇◇◇

The moment you saw a familiar face among the hundreds of people, your heart dropped and you felt like you wanted to vomit.

Su-bong. Your Su-bong, who you had dated for almost 3 years but had broken up with only two months ago. Of course he had to be here. You knew he was deep into lots of debts.

Suddenly, this job felt more real than ever before. You were prepared that all the players would be complete strangers to you, since you didn't have many friends or family members left in your life - they had either died, cut contact with you or simply moved abroad. And the few friends you did have, they had no problems with money. Shooting strangers didn't feel so bad, because you didn't know them. They were only numbers to you.

But shooting a familiar face? A man you had loved with all your heart but who was also responsible for breaking it?

There was no way you would be able to carry out the orders if he lost the game and was to be eliminated. In that case, you would take a bullet too.

You watched him from afar, not being able to approach him and pull him back into your arms and hold him close to you, cupping his face and pressing your lips on his, telling him how sorry you were about everything.

When the lights went out and you were lying on your bed in the room assigned to you, you were unable to sleep. You were tossing and turning, tired but mind too full of thoughts to fall asleep.

You stared at the white ceiling, thinking about your options which were nonexistent. You knew that after all the 6 games, the possibility that more than very few people were going to survive through to the end was extremely small. You couldn't imagine being able to walk out of here on your own feet while Su-Bong would be carried out in a black coffin, sealed with a pink bowtie.

You remembered the first time you met him three years ago. You remembered the cringy rap lyrics he had come up with and used it to hit on you.

"You and Me Together

Yeah I Feel The Power,

Found Her Hidden In The Weeds,

Yeah My Beauty Flower

Red, Orange, Yellow, Green

I'm A Legend Thanos."

"That's the best you got?"

"It's still a work in progress, señorita. I'll finish it before our first date."

You weren't impressed and simply walked away, though it amused you, just a little bit.

You met him again after a few days and now he approached you with a little more effort on flirting with you. You didn't want to be involved in a romantic relationship at the moment, but you wouldn't say 'no' to a one night stand.

But one night with him turned into two nights, then third, fourth and eventually you lost count. Neither of you were ready for a serious relationship but one night, after a few months, he asked you out for a dinner, a proper date which didn't involve only a bed and condom.

You were the first one to say 'i love you' to him, even though it was a complete accident at first.

"I love you too," he had said after a short pause and cupped your face, pulling you into a deep and passionate kiss.

You pressed your finger lightly on your lips, wanting to feel his lips on yours again. You were there for him and he was there for you, in good and bad. You thought you had found the man who'd love and cherish you til the end.

"You ruined my life! I never want to see you again!"

Those were the last words you had said to him before you slammed the door on his face. Both of you said some nasty things you would like to forget and didn't properly talk things out and find a solution to fix everything. Together.

A single tear ran down your face but you tried your best to keep the rest inside, not let yourself break down completely. You shut your eyes closed, knowing that you had to get a good night's sleep to get through the coming days and be able to focus.

Would you now have to watch him die? Or worse – be the one to kill him?

[steddieas-shegoes]

reunited

for @corrodedcoffinfest prompt 'back to indiana'

rated t | 939 words | cw: minor language | tags: famous corroded coffin, established steddie, uncle wayne is the best, steve harrington gets migraines in every universe, modern era

🏡🏡🏡🏡🏡🏡🏡🏡🏡🏡🏡🏡🏡

All of them had agreed that going back to Indiana was necessary for the tour, but they didn't expect to sell out the Ruoff within two days of their tickets being on sale. They broke a record for the venue, and a record for themselves with the largest crowd at any of their shows.

But being back in Indiana was bittersweet.

They all hated it, Eddie most of all, but it's where they became Corroded Coffin, it's where their families were. And apparently a lot of their fans.

They refused to go back to Hawkins, though. Their families would have to come to them.

The show was crazy, but they knew it would be. They added four songs to their setlist and did three songs as their encore instead of just one. It ended up being a two hour show, and by the time they stepped offstage, they were all feeling exhausted.

Adrenaline didn't hit the same anymore for them, not since their second tour. They still got hyped up, still jumped around the stage, running around cables and speakers for the duration of their set. But they no longer stayed up for hours after, still buzzing from the electricity in their veins. They were used to it now.

They were older, too. Eddie and Frankie hit 30 a few months ago, Jeff and Gareth not far behind. They still felt young most of the time, but the summer heat and constant cardio was catching up to them quicker than it used to.

"Do you think our families will be disappointed if we fall asleep waiting for them?" Gareth asked from the floor. He already had his eyes closed, sweat dripping onto the carpet under him.

"None of them just did a two hour show so they have no right to judge." Jeff sipped from the water bottle he'd just grabbed from the cooler. They hardly even drank beer after shows anymore, hating the way it made them feel bloated when they were trying to fall asleep.

"I worked 14 to 16 hour shifts six days a week to make sure you ate your Honeycombs every morning, though," Wayne says as he walks into their dressing room. Eddie jumps up from his seat on the coffee table and runs to him, suddenly full of energy. "Alright, alright. Take it easy on me. I'm an old man."

"Missed you." Eddie keeps hugging him as everyone else's families walk into the room and receive similar greetings.

They were riding a fame high, and breaks were almost impossible, so most visits were their families coming to see them in New York over Christmas or that one week they had off in the summer and they all went on a cruise. Only Jeff had been back to Hawkins, and it was only for one night in between shows nearly a year ago.

"Missed you too, kid. You doin' okay?" Wayne pulled away to look him over, nodding to himself. "You look good."

"I eat at least two vegetables a day. I even remember to shower most of the time," Eddie says proudly. "We all try to take care of ourselves."

"And that has nothin' to do with Steve constantly breathin' down your necks?" Wayne's brow raises in question. "Where's he at anyway? Thought I'd get to hug my son-in-law."

"Migraine."

"Ah." Wayne nods in understanding. "Does he need anything?"

"Nah, he's all set. He probably wouldn't mind you stopping by the bus to say hi."

"Maybe in a bit."

They continued talking for a few minutes before the entire group started chatting about the show and checking in with each other.

Steve came hobbling in about a half an hour later, apologizing for being late, still looking like he needed to sleep it off.

"Hey, sweetheart. You didn't have to come in here," Eddie said as he wrapped an arm around his waist. "We were just heading out."

"'s fine. Wanted to say hi." Steve gave Wayne a long hug before resting his head on Eddie's shoulder. "My mom called. Heard you were close. Wants to meet up."

"Do we have to?" Eddie whined.

Wayne smacked his arm. "Don't be rude."

"She's so mean, Wayne!" Eddie continues. "Last time we met up for dinner, she said she was happy that I was becoming interested in birds and when I asked where she got that idea, she said it was because I was clearly trying to build a home out of my hair for them."

Steve and Wayne snorted.

"She ain't wrong." Wayne patted his shoulder. "We gettin' breakfast in the mornin' before you head out?"

"We should all go out!" Gareth's mom exclaims, clapping her hands in excitement. "We so rarely all get to see each other."

"That sounds great," Jeff's mom nods as Frankie's mom gives a thumbs up.

Steve looks around the room, rubbing his forehead as he counts. "I'll call around."

"Oh honey, we don't need reservations." Frankie's mom says.

"When you travel with these guys, you do. We'll have to close down a restaurant. It'll be chaos if we don't," Steve explains. "It's no big deal. I'll text everyone the info."

"Even here?" Gareth's mom asked, looking concerned.

"Especially here." Steve grimaces and Eddie calls it a night.

"You boys wanna stay with me tonight?" Wayne asks.

It's really not a far drive to his house, barely even an hour. Steve needs a real bed, which Wayne has in his guest room.

"Yeah, let's crash at yours." Eddie agrees.

"Good to have ya home, boys." Wayne smiles at them as he leads them out the door and back home.

[aayakashii]

Please I beg for Rui crumbs *violently shakes my tin can*

Anything will do

Please 😩

/also hello :3

HELLOOO

I offer you 🤲 rui angst and mild yandere-ism

I'm gonna be honest: I wrote this half asleep so I might change some things later and I will probably expand on it to make a longer fic just of him suffering( ¬ ̀᎑ ¬ ) so this is just a liddol taste for now!!!

Rui knew you didn't take him seriously.

He knew what he looked like, what he sounded like. He had a full length mirror and, even if he didn't, he was pretty sure Ed would be more than pleased to rub it in his face.

Rui knew he was the spitting image of a player. Flirting came naturally to him, winks and flying kisses were mere greetings.

He knew very well that, at some point, his host club image became a way to cope with his curse – since he couldn't ever touch anyone, unless he wanted them dead, what was the harm in being just a little bit more forward, right?

One thing he didn't account for, is how you'd see right through him. You managed to see beyond his carefully crafted mask of nonchalance – not as an irredeemable flirt, but as someone who would gladly trade all the attention he gets from his antics for a way to free himself of his awful curse.

While he acted like he's used to his fate, you saw how inside he was constantly clawing his way out of despair.

Rui didn't really know when the messages he sent your way started stirring his insides. He didn't know when his groin began to feel uncomfortable at the thought of you on his bed, at his mercy (or maybe he could be at your mercy, who knows? He'd be more than willing to adapt).

What he knew very well, much to his chagrin, is that his comments began to feel more and more like truths, rather than harmless flirting.

Suddenly, his fingers hovered a little longer on his phone's keyboard – write, erase, write, erase and write again. Typing a simple message became so difficult when the words mattered, when Rui wanted you to believe his words.

And as he saw the way your hands ran through Lyca's hair while you brushed it before school, he felt the thorns of a feeling, green and rotten, pierce his core relentlessly – the last nail on his coffin of insufferable pining.

Rui, then, thought: how could he finally convince you that he, more than anyone else, truly wanted to know you?

How could he prove that he wanted you to sleep every single night in his dorm, even if he couldn't touch you?

That he just needed to know he was breathing the same air as you – becoming one with you through atoms and chemical reactions, since he couldn't through a kiss.

How could he tell you that he was all yours to take if you wanted to?

It was something new, this longing. And staying awake for so long became a torture, because even as he cut the branches of his plants or cleaned his bar, his mind still went straight to you. 

Would you prefer a sweeter beverage, or a bitter one? 

Would you like the taste of the new drink he was concocting? 

Would you try some of his favorite creations? 

Would you please drink from one of his cups so he could just never wash it again and find a bit of reprieve through an indirect kiss and–

Oh… Yeah… He was losing it.

After all, the world wasn't unfair when it gave him that awful curse. The world was unfair, however, when it sent you his way and prohibited him from touching you like he needed to.

And he desperately needed to be able to hold you in his arms, until he couldn't tell when his body ended and yours started, in order to quench the madness that brewed, so dangerously close to boiling, inside his core.

[sleeplessdreamer14]

𝕬𝖍, 𝕭𝖚𝖙 𝕿𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝕱𝖎𝖗𝖘𝖙 𝕶𝖎𝖑𝖑

𝔣𝔞𝔫𝔡𝔬𝔪: what we do in the shadows

𝔰𝔲𝔪𝔪𝔞𝔯𝔶: you’re a half-blood vampire and you take your first victim.

𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤: canon typical themes, brief cathartic violence, (implied) attempted sa, minor character death, blo0d (obviously)

𝔞/𝔫: the ending may be a bit rushed I just really wanted to post this already

“I was bitten, I believe…” you began, pausing for a moment to do some math in your head, wiggling one of your feet as you sat on the couch. “Two months ago. And y’know, in terms of vampirism, being a half-blood has its perks.” you continued with a shrug.

The scene cuts to you sitting in your bedroom in the light of the sun, completely unharmed. And your bed wasn’t a coffin, but took a similar shape. You gave the coffin a try once when you were first turned, but you couldn’t really sleep. Another scene showed you snacking on a Kit-Kat while reading.

“I can still eat human food, though I am garlic intolerant now, which is kind of a bummer. But that’s not even my biggest problem.”

The camera shows footage of you unscrewing the cap on a liter bottle containing a thick, dark burgundy liquid before pouring it into a glass.

“My vampire half still needs blood, like once or twice a week. Found that out the hard way.”

During your first week of being a vampire, you got very lightheaded and fainted in the middle of the hall since you hadn’t drank any blood since turning. Since you could digest human food, you could go a bit longer than most vampires without blood, but you still needed it.

“Straight up, I’m not a fan. Drinking it is one thing, draining it from the body is another.” you admitted, shaking your head and shrugging. “I ju- I can’t. I’ve tried, and I can’t.”

Thankfully, Lazlo had recently taken a victim that day so they gathered enough spare blood out of the chap to give to you.

The cameras cut to an interview with Lazlo and Nadja, sitting side by side as per usual.

“We don’t really mind saving blood for them sometimes,” Nadja said. “Most of our victims, we don’t even finish all the way.”

The footage cuts to a short scene of Nadja holding up a still bleeding victim by the shirt whilst Guillermo holds the aforementioned liter bottle with a funnel in the top to collect blood, grimacing and trying to just focus on keeping the funnel in the bottle.

“Yes, but we do believe it’s about time they learn to attain blood for themself.” Lazlo said, and Nadja nodded in agreement. “The only thing I’ve seen them drain was a goose. And even after that, they insisted on burying it.”

“Even though it bit the shit out of them.” Nadja added. “In the wild, baby animals rely on their mothers for sustenance for the first few months of their lives before learning to hunt for themselves. (Name) is kind of like our weird little pup.”

You knew they were right. You had been a vampire for two months, and you still had yet to take a human victim. The problem was that you would always overthink it. For one thing, you didn’t want to kill an innocent person, but he cause of all the ‘what if’s, you couldn’t really detect anyone really deserving of such a gruesome and sudden death. Curse this big heart of yours. Plus it was New York, and Staten Island for that matter. Who knows where these people have been and what’s running through their veins?

But half-blood or not, learning to hunt is essential.

Anyway, you were walking through the streets one night with the others since they had recently found a good hunting ground and didn’t want to leave you alone in the house. Nandor suggested that maybe one of them would have the general disposition of a goose and you could drain them. You weren’t too sure about that, but thanked him anyway.

Now, one of the perks of your vampire half was an enhanced sense of hearing, and because of this, you overheard a conversation from inside one of the apartments,

“I’m should really go now… I can’t stand up.”

That made you stop. If your blood wasn’t already running cold, it just got colder. Guillermo seemed to notice you falling behind. “(Name), are you still coming?”

“Uh, yeah, um..” you hesitated, glancing between them and the apartment, bouncing on your feet slightly. “I’ll uh.. I’ll meet you guys there, okay? I’ll just be a minute.”

Before they could respond, you turned into a bat and flew up towards wherever the voice came from. A knot began to form in your tiny stomach as you dreaded what you might find, and when you came up to the window, your suspicions were confirmed as you peered into the dimly lit room. That was all you needed to bare your teeth and shift back into your human form, rearing your foot back to kick the window open.

It seemed the universe noticed you needed incentive and answered.

Nadja wiped some excess blood from her jaw and licked her lips, humming contently. It had been only been about twenty minutes since you went off on your own, and she hoped you were alright, wondering what you could have been doing. As if on cue, she heard a familiar squeaking and the sound of little wings flapping towards them.

“Nadja! Nadja Nadja Na-”

POOF

“Nadja!” you exclaimed joyfully after landing on your feet and regaining your composure. All three vampires and one human turned to face your direction, and were surprised to see you with a beaming smile on your blood stained face. “I did it!” you exclaimed with excitement, panting slightly.

Realization dawned on the pod of vampires, and Nadja’s smile grew to match your own.

“All by yourself?” “Yes!!”

Laughter filled the air as Nadja pulled you in for a short hug. You sighed in exhilaration, “Call em crazy but I kinda wanna do it again.”

“We have plenty of time before the sun rises again,” Lazlo said, smiling proudly at you with a hand around your shoulders as you walked with them. “Plenty of time to get your practice in.”

Yeah, you were gonna do just like fine.

[impactedfates]

“Not a Pet Darling…” - Various Xianzhou Loufu Characters x GN! Reader

Summary: You go home to your partner and show them the cute fluffy wolf you found!! Can you keep it as a pet? Your partner seems reluctant...why? well it’s a Wooden Lupus…perhaps not the safest option for a companion.

Characters Included (Separate): Jing Yuan, Blade, Luocha, Dan Feng, Fu Xuan, Qingque

Genre: Romantic + Crack(?)

Warnings: None I think

Extra: Dan Fengs part is set during the High-Cloud Quintet days // Not proofread, just a funny idea I had and had to write happy to fix any mistakes tho lol // Dan Feng is probably out of character, just started writing him // Luocha + Qingques one are pretty short

Jing Yuan blinked at you slowly, staring at you and the new canine you brought home that now lay rest on his pillow, your lap. He had just gotten home from work, and wanted to get rewarded by sleeping on your lap, with your fingers running through his hair.

He went home and when he couldn't find you, he went to the garden, only to find a wooden lupus on your lap instead. His eyes narrow as he calmly walks over.

"Dove...what's this?"

"Dog"

The General blinked once, twice and again. Questioning you. How did you manage to tame such...a dangerous animal? An abundance spirit for crying out loud??

"Dove...I...don't think that's a dog"

"No it's name is dog!"

"...Dog?"

He looked at you again, taking a deep breath, noticing the movement from...'dog', he instinctively took out his weapon, to which you quickly caged the canine with your arms and pulled it away.

"Yuan, don't!! It's cute!!"

"...It's dangerous"

You puffed out your cheeks and shook your head, carefully lifting up dog. And made it look at him. Raising one of it's paws you say in a squeaky voice.

"My name is dog, I love you"

"...Dove please..."

You put down the dog back on the ground, it runs around the garden. You stand up and look at your husband.

"You're having favouritism with Mimi right now"

"HOW DOES MIMI FIT INTO THIS"

"SHE JUST DOES."

Blade called out your name again, and again and again. Where are you?? You had to go home. HE HAS THE FUCKING GOVERNMENT ON HIS ASS DON'T DO THIS TO HIM.

.

.

.

WHY ARE YOU CARRYING A WOODEN LUPUS??

He quickly walked up to you and grabbed your shoulder.

"Love...what are you doing?"

"Adopting a friend for you"

"Why for me?"

"...C'mon...you know why"

Blade is personally offended by that comment, but he loves you so you get away with it...for now...

"Can we keep the dog?"

"It's a wolf...but fine, I'm not a dog person though"

Cue him getting the dog it's own mini home, it's own toys and loving it more then he loves you/hj (He loves you more I swear)

You didn't expect Luocha to agree so fast about adopting the dog. You couldn't even ask, he just took one look at you, one look at the dog and gave you...a look that said '...w h y'

But he agrees, (reluctantly) I mean, you tamed it right? He doesn't mind having a dog if it a) makes you happy and b) it behaves. He will say that if it decides to do a stabby stab then he'll have to throw a coffin on it.

And now you have an Abundance wolf following the two of you. You have all the reasonability's, if you ask nicely enough, Luocha might pay for dog things. Make sure he's in a good mood though, not that he'd say no it's just...it's easier to get him to buy a bunch of things if he is.

You named the wolf Bob, Luocha does not approve.

Dan Feng quickly pulled you away from the wolf and quickly hugged you close to him protectively.

"My darling, please get away from that...thing"

"IT'S NOT A THING, IT'S NAME IS FANG"

"YOU NAMED IT??"

You nodded and tried your best to get out of his iron grip but he refused to let go. Too confused on why you not only named a dangerous wolf but also it seems to actually...like you?? What black magic did you use to tame an abundance beast??

Eventually he gives into your pleas, especially since 'Fang' seems to not be...dangerous currently. But he does keep a close eye on it.

.

.

.

"Darling...stop petting Fang...I want attention too"

The Vidyadhara man said, plopping his head on your shoulder as your fingers ran through the fur of the wolf. You slightly glanced at him and mouthed 'One minute'

"You've been at this for hourrss...I am the High Elder, listen to me"

He muttered, wrapping his arms around you. Looking at you like a kicked puppy.

"You're an elder? *Dramatic Gasp* Grandpa"

"YOU'RE MARRIED TO ME."

"No"

Was Fu Xuan immediate response when you entered your shared home. She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at you. The wolf behind you peaked and looked at the pink haired lady.

"...what do you me-"

"You're not adopting it"

"But-"

"No buts"

You pouted a bit at your girlfriends word. Clearly she had read your future and found what you were going to do...maybe you could try to convince her anyways?

.

.

.

You did not convince her.

Qingque nearly threw her game of majong at the dog. It bonked it's head and you were quick to hug it and check to see if it was okay.

"...[Name]...you can't have that"

"Why not?"

"...well damn I can't argue with that actually"

You smiled triumphantly at your win. You two ended up adopting 11 more.

This was just a random idea I had when I was meant to be sleeping, had to write it lmao. If y'all don't know what the Wooden Lupus are, it's the white wolves that can summon more wolves in HSR.

I had fun writing this ngl, wished I had more ideas for Luocha and Qingque but couldn't. I hope you found this entertaining/funny anyways :D

If anyone wants to do this idea as well you can, you can credit me if you want (preferably) but not necessary. But I would like to still get tagged if you do, wanna read your interpretation of the characters with this idea :>

[geraldmariaivo]

Another one of these

Damian’s new classmate is odd, though not nearly as unpleasant to be around as everyone else at the school.

He doesn’t seem to be from wealthy family, but he also seems mostly unconcerned with the punishments doled out by the school for “getting into fights with his peers,” unlike many of the students in on academic programs. He thinks himself stupid, but Damian would be worried about having him as a rogue from the things he’s seen the boy tinkering with if he didn’t know that Fenton had his heart set on NASA. He’s clumsy, but it seems to be out of habit rather than any true issues with balance and spatial awareness. He filled in Damian’s gaps in knowledge concerning social structures and how to operate within them, with only minimal prompting. Whenever Damian forgot a word or figure of speech in English, and used the equivalent in a different language, Fenton always understood.

He has a dog that he has yet to let meet, but claims that “Cujo isn’t really my dog, he just hangs around.”

He is clearly metahuman. If the abnormal body temperature, changing eye color, and ability to avoid Damian so consistently weren’t enough evidence, then the fact that his presence made Damian so at ease, made him feel safe, energized, and reassured of his own competence in some strange way the not even his father or Richard could, was the nail in the coffin.

Naturally, Damian sought out his company during lunch and group projects.

It was only logical to evaluate Fenton so as to make sure he knew what to expect should the boy be controlled either by extortion or by any of the rogues’ mind control methods. It was only a beneficial side effect that doing so made Damian feel safer, made his thoughts of inadequacy quiet down, and made it easier to rest without a weapon. It also helped that Fenton didn’t question things like most of his family did. His peer didn’t ask why he needed a nap after a 3-day weekend with no homework. He didn’t ask why Damian was out “sick” so often. He simply handed Damian a sleeping mask to make it easier to rest, even if he didn’t fall asleep. He gave Damian a guide to the shorthand he used for class notes, and filled him in on what he missed whenever he came home from being “ill.” He offered smuggled-in over the counter medications during study sessions freely, and with no question as to why Damian favored his right leg for the next week or so.

Damian saw Fenton during patrol once, when he and Batman had gotten to the crime scene after Fenton had broken the ribs of one of the robbers.

Damian would even go so far as to call Fenton his peer in his civilian life, though he would appreciate it if the rest of his siblings would stop teasing him about his “new friend,” and asking him “when are you going to invite your friend over?”

As tempting as it was to stab them into stopping it, he didn’t want to be on the receiving end of Alfred’s disappointed stare.

This fondness for Fenton was the only reason he didn’t immediately hold a knife to the boy’s throat when it was clear that he knew about what had happened.

“What had happened” being Damian falling through his chair, and partway into the ground with no warning.

That, and Fenton’s response of “Damn, this is the first time I’ve seen you fall through something all year. What made you finally slip up? Family issues? Death day coming up?”

[rapha-reads]

IWTV rewatch

(now that I've read the books and know the entire canon, let's see how it changes things or don't)

Season 1 episode 1 [In Throes of Increasing Wonder...] - part 1/2

- oh man, Daniel looks so old and tired and resigned at the very beginning. Comparing him with the Danny boy of season 2 who's so fired up and sassy... He's an adrenaline junkie.

- [Daniel] "I told my editor I was meeting with the most dangerous man in the world. Gave him two choices: Bezos. Putin." - moment of silence for 2022. It was shit but we didn't realise that it could get even worse.

- [Louis] "You've grown old, Daniel" - oi, manners, Louis! Where are your manners.

- [Louis] "I wasn't sure you'd remember me" - funny. Because none of you remembers shit actually. Memory as the core theme of the whole ride. Memory and subjective narrative. From the very first line.

- Oh maaaaaan, Armand lurking in the background from the very first scene. Armand babe, I've grown to be fond of your psychopathic tendencies, but this is seriously creepy, dude.

Also. Also. The way he's keeping such a tight leash on Louis. The surveillance. The eyes recording.

- [Daniel] "'That's the sun out there. Where's your coffin?' [Louis] 'You're standing in it'" - first of all, departure from canon lore, the sun doesn't make vampires slip into the death sleep automatically. They can resist it no matter their age. Secondly, morbid, Louis dear. Very morbid.

- Oooh, Armand letting the sun come in and staying sitting right next to the beam. Taking roleplay to the extreme. And Louis showing off his self-destructive tendencies. Amazing how we're having all the elements (most of the elements) already.

- [Louis] "Truth and reconciliation" - 123 dead, 84 injuries, a whole city levelled up. Nobody's ready. Let's get into it.

- Oooh, Armand coming into play. "No third party" - why, afraid you'll slip even easier? And then full on roleplay, Louis giving orders, and the blast of patronising aimed at "the boy". Brilliant writing. So very subtle when you don't know where to look, so in your face and crucial when you're in the know. Delightful.

- Interview date: June 14th 2022. Start of Louis' story: 1910, fall. Canon change. De Pointe du Lac's lineage: Creole. Canon change. Although I feel like the collapsing of timeline takes away some of the weight of the unholy family's life (not even 40 years versus 70 years in the books), I greatly like the change of personal history. So much richer.

- Can we take a moment to appreciate, nay, worship, Jacob Anderson's vocal skills? The change from his unaccented Dubai English to the Creole New Orleans English drawling... I am in absolute awe.

- [Louis] "Go on home, else I bleed you like a cochon, bruv"

Oh hello Lestat. Welcome to the narrative.

Paul needs to retreat to some monastery. 'Get thee to a nunnery'.

- [Priest] "I haven't seen you in confession in a while, Louis" and then that little scoff - oh, hello there, religious trauma. How much are you going to poison the narrative? Entirely? Well, carry on then.

- [Louis] "My business and my raised religion were at odds, and the, uh... ha, latencies within me, well, I beat those back with a lie I told myself about myself - that I was a red-blooded son of the South, seeking ass before absolution." - first of all, the fuck does that mean, Lou. Secondly, can someone get him to therapy.

- Delightful social commentary on segregated Southern states at the beginning of the 20th century, but I'm being told in my earpiece that a certain blond demigod (or monster, depending on the perspective) is about to make his entrance, so let's drop the sociology for now.

- [Lestat] "Seul l'impossible peut faire l'impossible" (only the impossible can do the impossible) - okay Lestat, ominous and nonsensical, lovin' it. A+ for the French accent, Sam, by the way.

- Never mind, Lestat's continuing the social commentary for me, thanks boo. "I mean that as a compliment, a man of your race to have privileges here". Ouch. Great first introduction there.

- [Lestat] "You're the man who made me buy a townhouse in the Quarter" - wooow there, wow! Slow your rolls, Ariel, you haven't even met the guy properly! Maybe take him on a date before making commitments like that?

- [Louis] "I know sometimes, men of my race, we all look alike to you people, but I ain't been selling you no townhouse" - *wheeze* yeah that's my boy.

- [Lestat] "I disembarked for the music, but then, there was the food" - yeah, I think they're called people?

- [Louis] "I wanted to take the end of my cane and slit his throat with it." - CAN I GET A WARNING before y'all gonna foreshadow like that?? Damn. Can't escape fate, or something like that, I guess.

- Hello and welcome to 'oh no I am more turned on than I have ever been in my whole life' : [Louis] "I couldn't move. My body was seized with weakness. His gaze tied a string around my lungs, and I found myself immobilized." Or maybe it's survival instinct telling homeboy "danger! Dangeeeeeer!".

- Lestat playing Mind games on Louis while he can still.

- Excuse me, the exchange between Lestat, Miss Lily and Louis is fucking hilarious, I'm wheezing: [Lestat] "Only it turns out the saint is not a city but a handsome man with a most agreeable disposition." - agreeable what, the only phrases y'all have been exchanging are a commentary on racism, and then you went on to start fucking with his mind. Lestat, stop being impulsive or draw 25. [Miss Lily] "You're his destiny, Louis." - you know, talk about destiny outloud too often, the universe hears and plays a trick.

- [Louis] "Emasculation and admiration in equal measure. I wanted to murder the man, and I wanted to be the man." - and you wanted the man. Don't forget the third part of the rhyme.

- Lestat already using the Fire Gift. Canon change. Well, in book canon he's still under 30 human age when he meets Louis and Fire Gift only develops later in vampiric age. But here he's already a bit more than a century old. Logical change.

- [Lestat] "We both wanted the last bouquet of lillies" - *wheeze* You fucker.

- That poker scene is another social commentary with thinly veiled - or like actually not even that veiled - racism. Oh, and Lestat's here to continue the criticism. And play mind games. Though, hey, freezing time. Another vampiric power that usually appears late. Absolutely adore that Louis just rolls with the fuckery and switches his cards. 'Dude's stopping time in front of me and talking in my head? Whatever, cards await nothing'. Love a guy who's decided that everything goes and he ain't gonna press too much for the answers. Now if only he'd press a little bit more, but hey, no story if he does.

- [Louis] "Let the tale seduce you. Just as I was seduced." - you know what, as someone who just read 12 or 13 books in the span of three weeks because they couldn't stop, I'm right here with Louis. Let yourself be hypnotised. You'll lose sleep and attention span and the ability to care about anything else but these whiny blood suckers, but hey, totally worth it. If you survive till the end.

- [Louis] "Money would arrive, wired from France" - another departure from book canon, where Lestat lives off of Louis. Then again, book!Lestat is barely 30, mustn't have had time to set his network of attorneys, while show!Lestat already has a century of existence. Which brings me to a point that I haven't raised before, but what was Lestat doing between leaving Paris at the time of the Révolution (if memory serves) and arriving in New Orleans in 1910? Having tea with Marius? Sleeping beneath the sand? That's a full ass century Rolin Jones and Cie have to explain, here.

- Louis' conversation with his sister. [Louis] "'He ain't white, he French' [Grace] 'Oh, that a different kind of white? French white?'" - listen sis, as a half white French half brown Moroccan, yeah, trust me, white French's pernicious. [Louis] "Paul crawled into my bed last night" - who wanna bet Paul's talking to our book canon friends the spirits? And these ain't good spirits either. Ah, but Louis loves his family. Ready for the grief? No? Me either.

- [Lestat] "My mother, she gave me every advantage in life" - Gabriiiiiiellllllle. Cannot wait to see her in s3.

- Someone needs to shut Paul up. "the birds asked me to ask you" - okay Paul. Sure.

Wait, "Monsieur Freniere", ain't that the other plantation guy Louis wants to protect and becomes obsessed with his sister, Babette? Or am I already mixing up my canon.

- Oh hello, Lestat's backstory in the monastery, plus Sam Reid showing off for the first time his acting. Or should I say, his possession. An award for Sam. All the awards for Sam.

- [Louis] "Don't everybody need to know what I do" - preach, bro.

- [Louis] "Nothing but broken souls around me, and the ones that ain't broken, greedy" - ah, then, which one are you, Louis chéri ? Broken ? Greedy? Both? Only one for the moment, both as the years go on? And Lestat? Greedy, yes? But isn't he also so deeply broken?

- [Lestat] "The Earth's a Savage Garden" - begging Rolin Jones to give us Lestat soliloquising about the Savage Garden please and thank you.

- [Lestat] "'Shall we have a nightcap?' [Louis] 'Probably had enough for the night.'" - and yet you're helplessly following him, drawn in like a magnet, like an impossible to resist planetary orbit. Also look at that little gay panic. Awards for Jacob please.

- Ah, the gift. That's how Lestat will ensnare you. Gifts and gifts and precious things and then a child. Run, Louis, run.

- Oh, Nicki mention! [Lestat] "a boy of infinite beauty and sensitivity" - yeah he kinda was insane too, but that's your point of view I guess.

- [Lestat] "What kind of a man wastes this beautiful waist with words?" - first of all, damn, nice alliteration here. Secondly, a gay man, Les, you know that, we know that, Lily knows that.

- The erotic tension of this scene is off the charts, blimey. And Louis keeps repressing. He's about to blow off. In every meaning of the term. Yep, there it is. Excuse me while I go look. Respectfully. Also. Hands. They have something for each other's hands. And the first bite. And levitating. And that's just episode 1 and we're only halfway through episode 1. Nobody does it like this show, I swear.

part 2 | episode 2 | episode 3 | episode 4 | episode 5 | episode 6 | episode 7

Season 2 rewatch (coming soon)

[murfpersonalblog]

IWTV S2 Ep8 Musings - The Ep8 Script (Pt2)

Thanks to slitwrstsavior sharing the script and @memorian for digitizing it! <3

Had to do Pt1 in chunks, cuz of Tumblr's 30-pic limit.

DANGIT. So this was INTENTIONALLY vague, not just some weird choppiness or cut footage.

Ohhhh.... They added just a tiny extra line--

But it's a SPICY line, cuz it implies that Les wasn't fully cooperating/on board with the rehearsal. BUT! Like I said, there's no effing mention/emphasis/indication that he was INJURED, either, which is an L.

They changed it--Louis looks UP, into the middle distance.

I'm fine with it either way--this scene had me and my bff SCREECHING.

Pet peeve, but the crew really should've been spritzing these vampires with a spray bottle of red blood, so we'd SEE the BLOOD SWEAT. (I was thinking about this when that post was circulating about vampire sex in IWTV fanfiction, like, AMC didn't show visual vampiric cues like Blood Sweat or blood (ejaculate) stains on the coffin lining--Les' was WHITE, and we KNOW Loustat was going at it in the coffins, so were they just reupholstering CONSTANTLY?) The books mention Blood Sweat all the time, all over their clothes, but the show just focused on Blood Tears (and ofc Les' ear hemorrhages).

OOOOOOOO.....!!! 👀 That highlighted bit was cut out! "You have grown warm again, filled with the love which you first came to Paris with." WUUUUT!?! So Armand's mind-wipe gaslighting BS against Louis was in the exact same vein as Claudia "finding her childlike wonder again"--which was IMPOSSIBLE, since ARMAND was the one that beat it out of her, Mr. 500 Performances, Mr. Sleep In Your Costume; Mr. They Gave Me A Choice; Mr. I Will Not Harm You.

I seriously suspect that every time Louis had an "outburst" like he said in 1x2, or "acted out," Armand would be like "Go back to your first night in Paris--forget all the bad stuff, just be warm & happy [with me];" but then Lou would FIGHT it (or rather: Daniel's constant prodding would PUSH Louis to fight it), and Armand would have to do it all over again. (My question's why didn't he just kill Daniel? Arrogance, I reckon--he severely underestimated just how good Daniel was; and "You can get lazy," like Lou said, cuz Armand didn't even bother to read Dan's thoughts to learn that the Talamasca was feeding Daniel all this extra information).

They cut that line, too--was Louis parroting him (fighting hypnosis), asking him (for clarification), or challenging him (indignant)?

That might also explain the new couches, LOL, if he wrecked them from the impact or bled on them or something.

(We already know Jacob improvised shaking Eric's hand.)

MLS = LePere Schloop?

Too bad we didn't get this--I wanted to see the main door/lobby of the penthouse (certainly not for my The Sims Dubai penthouse layout, no sir~!) .

They added extra lines about the hurricane being pre-July.

Uhhh.... This might imply certain things. Cuz I've been saying that the post-Paris timeline makes no effing sense (X X), and now we have confirmation(?) that Louis' had an Amex membership since 1951.... Even though Amex credit cards were only started in 1958, as a competitor for the Diner's Card that started in 1950 -- so was Louis an INVESTOR who helped launch the Amex credit card!? XD STFU, AMC! I thought y'all said No Forrest Gumpness!? XD

Also: HOW does Louis qualify for all these credit cards? (We saw he had a regular Amex Green Card in 1973 SanFran). According to Amex application qualifications, you need a US SSN or ITIN; OR a foreign credit card to apply.

And France isn't listed. (Unless anyone's French and has an Amex card who can correct me?)

SSNs have been issued since FDR (1936), so Louis SHOULD have one...but it would be from 1936-40 (pre-Mardi Gras), or after Paris () . Meaning on paper he'd be in his 80s in 2022, so I don't imagine he'd be a Black Card carrier for too much longer, unless he's got someone on the inside cooking the books for him.

Omfg AMC I hate y'all. got me out here overthinking effing PROPS.

They added a few lines about the green "pearly gates" of 1132:

And took out a few lines:

And took out an interesting bit of tea:

So the people of ~1940s NOLA thought Claudia was Louis' daughter (Claudia DPDL confirmed???) but the grapevine ALSO rumored that she was his child bride--OOF! 💀 (Which tracks with the AR pedo/incest stuff. Thank goodness they DON'T remember his name!)

Rolin keeps mentioning this smashed piano, but I HAVE LOOKED, but I also have crap eyesight (curse you, midnight gaming sessions), and I just don't frikkin see any smashed piano. HELP.

DEFINITELY not the Mayfair mansion though! XD DANG, I wish they'd included a few frames of gangs tryna rob the Garden District homes, coming up on the Mayfair house, and IMMEDIATELY booking past it like they'd seen a ghost. CROSSOVER, AMC, COME ONNNN.

Drats, I wanted to see Millennial Fledgling try to square up against Lou, and get one of Lou's patented condescending smirks. XD

And Les looked dirty, but he didn't look malnourished, sadly; which I'm still mad about.

In the FLOORBOARDS? OK, come through, BRUCE--I been saying this about Lestat, yet people wanna call me names!

New rule, AMC: NEVER remove Loustat lines. We need ALL the angst. Les out here like: ain't no way a baddie like Lou is SINGLE! XD

S3 BETTER show us Les watching the most vapid ish on Youtube, omg.

LOL

Drats--it might have been cool to see him with those huge pupils he gets when he's mad/hungry, but ah well; he still looked like a gorgeous BAMF.

EXCELLENT SCRIPT, EXCELLENT SHOW, GAAAAAAAH!!! ❤️

[aishangotome]

Elbert Greetia: Chapter 19

Chapter 18 His POV

♡———♡

(......My head is still spinning......)

Right after finding the coffin with Elbert's name on it, we snuck onto the Bernard Trading Company's cargo ship, blending in with the cargo.

(Is Elbert okay? What was that coffin all about......?)

As if to fuel my anxiety, the sound of waves crashing against the ship echoes on the deck.

William: Kate, from here on out, it's going to get a little dangerous.

William: I suggest you focus on what's right in front of you.

Kate: ......I'm sorry.

Without even turning to look at William walking ahead, I'm reprimanded and hastily pull my thoughts together.

William: ......That coffin had the Bernard Trading Company's crest on it.

William: It's not something they're handling on behalf of someone else.

(The company's crest......? So that means......)

Kate: Are you saying that the person targeting Lord Elbert is someone from the company?

William finally turned to look at me and smiled slyly, as if to confirm my suspicions.

William: If that's the case, then the mission to take down the head of the company might lead to saving Elbert.

William: Don't you think that quick mission completion and information gathering are essential to saving him?

Kate: ....!

(Indeed—William is right.)

William's words push me forward, and my mind clears.

William: Can you focus?

Kate: Y-yes, thank you.

William: That's good.

Sailor: !? Who are you!? How did you get in here......!?

Just then, a sailor who seemed to be patrolling the deck swung a lantern at us.

William: Oh, perfect timing.

Without flinching, William took an elegant step forward—

William: "Tell me where Gabriel Bernard is."

Sailor: He's in the third cargo hold! Wh-what!?

(It's William's ability.)

The power to make people move as he commands—I remember when he controlled me, and a shiver runs down my spine.

He gave a perfect smile to the sailor who had readily confessed.

William: Thank you for the valuable information. Now then––"Stay there in silence until dawn."

Sailor: Huh!? ––!

The sailor froze, his feet seemingly sewn to the deck, clutching at his voiceless throat in a panic.

Alfons: Heh heh …… How pitiful. You should have called your comrades sooner.

Roger: Too bad. There's no one within earshot from here.

Ellis: Is that so? Then it doesn't matter if you can make a sound or not.

William: Well then, shall we go?

Kate: Y-yes!

They pass by the sailor and hurry towards the third cargo hold.

(...Lord Elbert)

I don't know if he's ahead.

But one thing's for sure, he's being targeted by the Trading Company.

(As William said, if I meet Gabriel Bernard, I'm sure I'll find a clue.)

(Please be safe––)

In the distance, the sound of waves crashing can be heard.

-

Elbert's POV

––I woke up sprawled on the ground like an insect.

???: Ahh... have you awakened?

Elbert: Ugh... huh...?

Not knowing whose voice it was, I looked around in the dim light.

I tried to move my body, but it felt like I had been hit with something, and there was a dull pain in my head.

Then, in my throat too––

???: It seems it's difficult to poison a sleeping person after all.

???: This time, we must make sure they ingest a lethal dose.

Elbert: Wh...where...?

The voice I squeezed out of my burning throat was hoarse.

My consciousness was gradually clearing up, but my body wouldn't move as I wanted it to.

???: Ah! But you may have to be thankful that you didn't die!

???: Your voice is beautiful too... Now that I know it.

The man who appeared from the other side of the faint light was a middle-aged man with gray hair.

His well-tailored clothes were decorated with jewelry... and he was holding something like a medicine bottle in his hand.

Elbert: Where...is this...?

Man with Gray Hair: It's a warehouse on a cargo ship. If you listen closely, you can hear the waves, right?

Elbert: ...Ugh...

I tried to continue speaking, but it was impossible.

Perhaps because of the poison I was forced to drink while I was asleep, a strong nausea burned my throat.

The scorching heat circulated inside my body, and my limbs grew cold in inverse proportion.

--Cold, it feels like death.

Man with Gray Hair: Ah... these blue eyes, I must absolutely preserve them.

The man crouched down beside me and gently lifted my chin as if touching a piece of jewelry.

Man with Gray Hair: Should I just preserve your entire head in formalin?

Elbert: ... What... are you...

Man with Gray Hair: Ah, I apologize for the late introduction. I am Gabriel Bernard.

Gabriel: At the auction, I was captivated by your beauty.

Gabriel: I couldn't help but desire to make you mine. The moment I saw you.

Gabriel: I wanted to add you to my collection.

Elbert: ... Collection...?

Gabriel: Just like you, I collect beautiful things.

The man's eyes were filled with a crazed obsession––

It looked so familiar.

(Ah...)

(... It's like looking in a mirror.)

Elbert: ... Indeed.

Gabriel: Hmm?

Elbert: Indeed, you... you're the same as me.

Elbert: Hiding behind selfish reasoning... forcing your desires on others... and hurting them.

The man in front of me, the man who raped my mother, the doctor who tried to do the same to me--

The sight of myself handcuffing Kate flashed before my eyes.

Nausea welled up again, not from the poison invading my body, but from disgust.

Elbert: You... the man who violated my mother... the doctor who assaulted me... me...

Elbert: We're all the same... ugly creatures.

Elbert: Deserving of retribution... of punishment...

(What I did to those I threw into that room, and what he's doing to me now, are no different.)

(Whatever the reason behind what drove me, him, to madness...)

(Our actions are greedy, selfish, ugly--)

(--and far from forgivable.)

Gabriel: Your mother? A doctor? I don't quite understand what you're talking about, but you're not ugly at all!

Gabriel: You're beautiful--so die and become mine.

Gabriel: Of course, this act isn't a punishment for you either. This is love, my dear, the power of love.

A medicine bottle is pressed against my mouth, a burning pain shooting through my lips.

Elbert: ...Ngh...

Gabriel: Whoa!?

With my weakened body, I tried to turn away, twisting my body.

The medicine bottle slips from the man's hand, shattering on the floor.

Gabriel: Oh no, what a waste.

Gabriel: I'll have to get a spare. Where did I put it...?

Gabriel releases Elbert's jaw and starts rummaging through the shelves, coughing.

Elbert: ...Why--

--why did I resist just now?

I deserve to be punished.

I should have wanted to sink to the bottom of the deep, deep sea.

Kate: Elbert...

Elbert: ...!

Her voice echoes clearly in my ears--

And suddenly, I'm overwhelmed by the fear of creeping death and a burning impulse.

Elbert: ...I really--

Elbert: --...I'm the worst...

If all I wanted was to be forgiven, I could have given up this life long ago.

Yet, I clung to meaningless atonement.

I hesitated so much to have her.

I hurt her and was struck by the grief of being cut to the core.

Kate: No matter what sins you carry... I love you.

Kate: Don't throw away all your happiness to atone for your sins.

Kate: I want you to smile. I want to make you happy, Lord Elbert...

Elbert: ...Happy...

Elbert: ...I...

Elbert: ...I... I want to be happy.

--I always have.

No matter how sinful my life is, no matter who forgives me... even if I can never forgive myself.

(I just couldn't... give up on being happy.)

(I can't give up.)

(I--)

(--because I'm greedy.)

Elbert: ...Kate.

Elbert: Kate, Kate... Kate.

Elbert: I want... to be happy... with you.

Even now, when I have you locked in that room, I crave your smile, your words, your gaze, everything about you.

I want to see you, I miss you--I want you.

(If you, whom I have hurt, still...)

(If you still wish to be by my side...)

Elbert: I...

No matter how many times the roaring waves beckon me to the distant horizon...

Elbert: ...I want to return to the shore where you are.

I dragged my powerless body and crawl towards the door.

An excited male voice rains down from above.

Gabriel: Oh... even crawling like a caterpillar, you're so beautiful...! You're a miracle!

Elbert: ...--

Gabriel: Oh, but don't scratch the floor like that. I don't want damaged goods in my collection.

(If I could see you, there are so many things I need to apologize for.)

For not listening to you.

For forcing my desires on you and treating you like an object.

For using you as a tool for atonement.

(And then--)

My arm is grabbed, and my vision inverts.

Mad eyes capture me.

Gabriel: Now, with this poison, you will be complete.

Gabriel: As the most beautiful corpse in the world.

-

Ellis: Third cargo hold... this is it.

A cold door appears in the dim, narrow corridor of the ship.

(The head of the trading company is inside.)

(Surely, there's a clue to Elbert's whereabouts--)

Ellis: I'll keep watch outside.

William: Yeah, thanks.

Alfons: ...It's locked.

Roger: Stand back a bit.

Roger kicks down the heavy door--

Kate: --!

Her breath catches at the sight before her.

Elbert, pale as a doll and lifeless, is being held by a gray-haired man.

Kate: Lord Elbert!!

Elbert: ......?

His golden hair trembles slightly.

Elbert's sea-blue eyes open faintly, and their gazes meet.

(...Elbert...)

Elbert: ---...

His lips clearly mouthed my name for a moment.

Man with Gray Hair: What do you want? I'm in the middle of something important, so please don't disturb me.

William: You're Gabriel Bernard, aren't you?

Gabriel: Indeed. But any business discussions will have to wait.

Gabriel ignores William and presses something like a medicine bottle to Elbert's lips.

I don't know what's inside, but my instincts sound the alarm.

(Don't let him drink that--!)

I reflexively grab a nearby cloth bag and throw it at the man.

Gabriel: Ugh!?

The moderately heavy bag hits the man's arm, and the mouth of the bottle is pulled away from Elbert just in time.

Gabriel: What are you doing!? If you hurt him, what are you going to do about it!?

The moment Gabriel yells at us like he's going to bite--

William: --"Don't move."

Gabriel: !?

By the "King of Self-Righteousness'" command, he instantly becomes an absolutely obedient slave.

William: "Put Elbert down on the floor. As slowly as possible."

Gabriel: Wh-What...? M-My body... it's moving on its own--!!

Following William's order, Gabriel gently lays Elbert's body on the cold floor.

(Elbert--!)

William: Kate, thank you for your support.

William: Everyone, leave this heinous criminal to me, and take Elbert--

Kate: ...!

Her legs move as if on their own, and she rushes to Elbert's side without a second thought.

Kate: Lord Elbert... are you alright...? Lord Elbert!

Elbert: ...Ugh...

(His skin is ice-cold... what happened...?)

As I try to lift his limp body, Roger, who has rushed over, lends a hand.

Roger: El... El, can you hear me?

Alfons: Paralysis while conscious... it's a neurotoxin.

William: It seems you've taken quite a liking to my dear friend.

Gabriel: H-Huh--

William: What poison did you give him? --"Answer me."

Gabriel: M-Monkshood...

Roger: ...Monkshood?

Roger's expression darkens instantly upon hearing this.

Kate: Is that--

Alfons: --A deadly poison.

Alfons mutters in a voice devoid of intonation, something I've never heard before.

Alfons: A tiny amount can be fatal... and there's no antidote for monkshood poisoning.

Kate: What should we do, Roger...?

Roger: ...If he can still breathe on his own, there's still hope.

Roger: Force him to drink water and make him vomit as much as possible. After that--

Roger: We can only pray that he hasn't been exposed to a lethal dose.

Kate: ...

Elbert: Ha... Ha...

Elbert seems unable to speak anymore, only taking shallow breaths.

But those deep, ocean-like eyes, barely open, stare at me intently.

Kate: ...

I rouse my heart, which is about to be dyed in despair.

(I won't give up.)

(Elbert wouldn't give up either.)

I hold back my tears and smile.

Kate: It's okay, Lord Elbert. I'm here.

Elbert: ......

Kate: So let's do our best together.

Elbert only breathes heavily, but when I squeeze his cold hand, I feel him squeeze back slightly.

Alfons: ...There's a back-alley doctor's clinic near this port.

Alfons: We never know when we might be attacked here, and we're limited on water.

Roger: We'll move him there.

Kate: Yes...!

We follow Roger, who is carrying Elbert, and leave the warehouse.

After Kate and the others hurriedly leave, the air in the cargo hold slowly cools.

William: --Now, it's time for judgment.

William's declaration shakes the silence, and Gabriel falls into a panic as if a drop of deadly poison has been dropped on his tongue.

Gabriel: Wh-What...? J-Judgment!?

Gabriel: Wh-What sin have I... what are you people anyway!?

William: Who are we? Let's see...

William: We're not good enough people to introduce ourselves to a dying sinner.

William: Let's just leave it at that.

.

.

.

.

.

Chapter 19 Premium Story

If you’d like to support my translations, feel free to buy me a coffee here! :)

[yatagarasuhonyaku]

The Raven of the Empty Coffin: Chapter 2 "Akeru" Part 3

Disclaimer: This is a fan-translation japanese-english of the original novel. The events of this novel follow after what's already covered by the anime. For an easier understanding, I recommend first reading the few scenes of previous books I've already translated.

Blog version

For the Index, you can find it HERE

Previously: Akeru (Part 2)

⊛　　　　　⊛　　　　　 ⊛

Chapter 2: Akeru (Part 3)

“Isn’t Akeru kinda tense lately?”

It all happened during Horsemanship lessons. Shigemaru and Yukiya found themselves taking a break at a hilltop after finishing the assigned exercises, waiting for everyone else to catch up with them.

That day they were practicing what was called ‘rider-horse switching’. It was just one part of the training required to become capable of flying long distances without breaks and, as the name implied, it consisted of exchanging the roles between rider and horse in midair. At this point, they were only required to fly around the mountain once and then switch places, but Shigemaru had heard rumors that they would have to go all the way from the Center to Yamauchi’s frontier and back during their Graduation Trials.

Although, in theory, it was better to do such an exercise with someone of as similar a build as possible, Yukiya had proved to manage just fine even with Shigemaru as his partner.

“Still, it feels like you wouldn’t have any problems no matter who you partnered with.”

“Well, everyone becomes significantly bigger in bird form compared to their human form. I don’t think someone’s human build actually matters that much.”

“True, there are people way bigger and stronger than you in human form who are, in fact, struggling quite hard.”

“Oh, yes—like Akeru and his friends, right?”

While Akeru’s followers had never been particularly high achievers, even Akeru himself had started to flounder lately despite his initial brilliance. He had started to struggle to keep up as the difficulty of the practical courses ramped up—which was doubly true for Horsemanship, the one subject he had problems with from the start.

“Maybe that’s the reason,” Shigemaru said, bringing the conversation back to Akeru’s situation.

Yukiya gave him a bitter smile. “One of the reasons, most likely, but I doubt that’s all of it.”

The situation was changing even during theory, where Akeru had never before given up his position as the first of the class. “Well, you barely have a chance to study lately yet your grades are still virtually the same as his, I can’t blame Akeru for getting anxious over that.”

——Ever since the incident with Kimichika, Suikan had kept a constant eye on Yukiya.

It had been a month since then, and summer had finally arrived. Suikan, however, showed no signs whatsoever of forgiving Yukiya. He persistently called him to participate during exercise sessions and would find any reason—no matter how small—to give him all kinds of punishments and take away all his free time. Every so often, Suikan would outright lash out at him—telling Yukiya to his face that he should drop out of the Monastery.

It had gotten bad enough that, whenever they gathered, everyone in their usual group would insist that Yukiya should go ask for help from other instructors like Seiken. Yukiya, however, didn’t show a single sign of suffering through anything.

He would argue back at them—‘It’s on me for angering him’, ‘I don’t like the idea of telling on someone’, ‘If my grades dropped because of it that would be a problem, sure, but that won’t happen’. Yukiya laughed it off every time, never paying any mind to their group’s advice.

However, Yukiya was, in truth, losing sleep to finish his homework and he was forced to take tests without any preparation either. Despite that, and uncannily enough, his grades weren’t going down—they were actually improving. They were comparable to Akeru’s, even. He had risen to be the first of the class, or second at worst.

Akeru, meanwhile, was often rumored to spend all his free time on self-study. Even an outsider like Shigemaru could tell how Akeru’s expression would grow stiffer and stiffer every time he learned of Yukiya’s latest score.

“He made such a big deal of being part of the Wakamiya Faction too. I bet the coronation being postponed must be playing a huge part in it. He must not have any peace of mind—neither at the Monastery, nor at home.”

“You know, I feel kind of sorry for him.”

“No need. His grades are just his talent—or lack thereof—talking, and he only has himself to blame for acting high and mighty and humiliating himself like that. There’s not much for us to do.” While Yukiya had proved to be the type to sometimes spew venom with a smile, it was significantly more common whenever Akeru came up in conversation. 

At the same time that he chatted with Yukiya, Shigemaru entertained himself by watching the other trainees fly around. The many pairs would ascend and, as if performing some sort of somersault, exchange places in a matter of seconds. Although they all lost quite a lot of height at first, the trainee who had just transformed into a bird would immediately place himself underneath and spread his wings, catching the wind. Just like that, they would both rise to their original altitude.

It was entertaining to watch such a stunt-like maneuver from afar, but actually doing it was quite terrifying. The person shifting from horse to human was forced to take a shape incapable of flight, wholly entrusting himself to his partner in midair. It wasn’t any easier for the person transforming into a horse—it felt like having a heavy rock on his back as he struggled to remain in the air instead of falling altogether.

Finishing the course with both members of a pair in bird form—hence incapable of becoming a rider and mount—meant disqualification. It truly wasn’t a maneuver you could succeed at without coordination and mutual trust between human and horse. That was exactly why Shigemaru felt it was easier to complete the exercise with someone close to you, rather than someone with a similar build.

As he thought about that, Shigemaru suddenly noticed a pair among their flying peers moving all too slowly. “Yukiya, look!”

Before Shigemaru had the time to point at it, Yukiya noticed it as well. “That looks actually dangerous. Is the rider perhaps tired? Unless they gain more altitude, at that rate—Huh?”

Yukiya didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence. At that precise moment, the rider and mount tried to exchange places and, for a second, it was as if two horses were there at the same time. That was quite the rare sight when the swap went properly.

——He had a bad feeling about this.

The ideal was for both parties to shapeshift simultaneously—that was all too awkward and clunky to fit the criteria. Sure enough, they kept on falling inexorably, even once the initial horse moved upwards and transformed back into a human. The current horse proved incapable of catching the wind with his wings on time and his body plunged against the trees. 

“Someone has fallen!” the hysterical screams of those watching resounded in unison.

“This is bad! With a fall like that, he got hurt for sure!”

“Contact the infirmary!”

In a matter of seconds, a ruckus like bees protecting their hive overtook the place. The instructors flew straight towards the location of the fall. From the looks of it, the rider had managed to transform back at the very last second and so avoided major harm, but the horse hadn’t been as lucky. “But who fell?”

“Shige, that was Akeru.”

“What? Really!?”

“I’m sure. I saw the rider’s hair shine red just before they swapped.”

Shigemaru immediately felt ill at ease. For such a thing to happen right after their conversation. As they spoke, bird-shaped Yatagarasu flocked together above the place of the incident.

⊛　　　　　⊛　　　　　 ⊛

The moment he opened his eyes, he felt a dull pain throbbing through his entire body.

His mind was hazy, possibly because of the pain medicine, and his body felt as if it was burning. The sky, visible through the gaps in the infirmary's window shutters, had gotten completely dark. A doctor had checked up on him the first time he had woken up, so Akeru already knew what had happened to him.

There were scratches all over his body and he had some nasty bruises, but fortunately none of his wounds were of a life-threatening magnitude. However, as he had hit his head during the fall, the doctor had instructed him to remain in the infirmary for the day.

Akeru had a vivid memory of the moment he fell.

Of all people, his partner was Chihaya. After watching everyone during the marching drills, Akeru already knew he was the fastest flier among the Seeds, and yet Chihaya had been flying at an awfully low speed back when it all happened. Akeru had been convinced it was all Chihaya’s attempt at harassment, but Akeru couldn’t afford to waste time like that—he had to become the horse and catch up with the rest. Led by his growing panic, he started to transform before Chihaya was ready to do so, forcing him to go for a switch.

The sound of the wind raged against his ears.

And there, Chihaya. The expression on his face the moment he took human form.

——In the end, Akeru’s own transformation took too long.

A terrible blunder, one that would be a massive problem for his grades going forward. If things kept going like this, maybe Akeru wouldn’t even be able to become Wakamiya’s vassal. This wasn’t how things were supposed to go.

“Dammit……”

Where the hell did I go wrong? an overwhelmed Akeru wondered to himself.

“We have already informed everyone at the Western House.”

“I see…… Thank you for that.”

The next day, his two roommates came to visit. They had accompanied him to the Monastery and had once gone through great lengths to attend to Akeru’s every need, and yet they appeared unmistakably reluctant to come visit this time around. They both had the face of someone fulfilling the bare minimum of courtesies.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“Oh, nothing.”

“Nothing at all.”

They both remained aloof. Akeru could feel irritation expanding deep within his chest by the second. “...... You have been avoiding me lately. You know, if you have something to tell me, just say so.”

One of them abruptly raised his head. “Then, I’ll take my chance.”

“Hey, stop!”

“I’m not stopping! We are all thinking the same thing. So, I’ve heard about all this recently,” the boy said with a horribly contorted face. “Lord Akeru, you told us that you came here out of your own volition after receiving His Highness Wakamiya’s order to do so. But, apparently, you actually only served His Highness for one single day, am I wrong?”

Akeru was left at a loss. Why was that a problem now, after so long?

“Yeah, what about that?”

“I thought you coming to the Monastery was just in preparation to become His Highness’ vassal. You were truly brilliant at first,” he explained with an embittered look, “so we were almost fooled by that, but then—what did His Highness Wakamiya see in you, when you had barely spent a day with him and hadn’t even held a bamboo sword in your life at the time, to tell you to become a Yamauchi Guard?”

“Haven’t I told you again and again? The Yamauchi Guard is corrupt and I’m here to fix that. The Wakamiya Faction needs their own vanguard, and he chose me for that.”

“But if that’s the case, Yukiya of the Northern House is already there! He’s the most fit to obstruct the Animiya Faction. He’s the Great General’s grandson and the most talented in battle tactics among all our peers.”

To top it all off, Yukiya’s achievements included serving Wakamiya as his close aide for an entire year. If he got to graduate, there was no doubt he would become one of Wakamiya’s close vassals unless something radical happened.

“Command of the country’s warriors is the specialty of the Northern House to begin with. There was no need whatsoever for someone of the West of all houses to come to the Monastery. You were originally supposed to stay close to His Highness, right? As in, assuming His Highness expects Yukiya to fulfill his duty as a vassal by becoming a warrior, shouldn’t the same apply to you but by becoming a Court Official instead? And yet, you don’t even have an inkling of why you merely lasted one day as his attendant?”

“...... What are you trying to say?”

The rank of the Western House’s second son was, fundamentally speaking, one that shone first and foremost at the Court. What was the reason to even bother sending him to the Monastery despite that fact?

——The truth was that most nobles who went to the Unbending Reed Monastery were those whose families had forsaken them. Those too incompetent to get a job at the Court even through the On’i System.

“Wasn’t it simply that His Highness Wakamiya disliked you and used it as an excuse to get rid of you?” 

His roommate’s words left Akeru speechless. “We heard that you had His Highness’ trust, Lord Akeru. That’s why we went through the trouble of coming here with you instead of joining the Court as we had originally intended, but what’s the point if His Highness truly has forsaken you? You wasted our time and effort,” the boy spat out. “We shouldn’t have come to the damn Monastery in the first place.”

The other boy had so far restrained from talking altogether, unlike his fierce friend. Now, he shook his head with a sigh. “I don’t think it’s all your fault. However, the fact is that, as of now, the West-affiliated Court Ravens are increasingly disappointed in you.”

Akeru’s head failed to process it all. There was no way he could believe straight away that these two, those who had been closest to him, actually had such an image of him.

“We’re planning to voluntarily drop out.”

“What!?” Akeru rushed to ask—a hint of pleading snuck into his voice.

“Well, that’s the idea…… So, could you keep your distance from us?”

Akeru couldn’t think of a way to stop them. 

Just as his roommates were about to leave the room, however, Akeru caught sight of someone at the door. To make matters even worse, it turned out to be the last person he wanted to see in the current situation.

“Ah, did I come at a bad moment?”

The boy—Yukiya of the Northern House—tilted his head with a smile on his face.

“Ah, good to know it wasn’t too bad.” After watching Akeru’s roommates leave as if they were running away, Yukiya approached him with a shady-looking smile. 

“Why did you come here?”

“Is that how you greet people? And here I bothered to come deliver a present for the sick. Here, take it.” Yukiya handed him a package covered in wrapping paper. Inside, there were sugar-sprinkled kumquats.

“I don’t want them.”

“Oh, really? Now that’s a waste. Can I have them?” Yukiya didn’t even wait for Akeru’s answer. He immediately sat by the window and started to stuff his mouth with kumquats. For a while, the only sound breaking the silence of the room was his slow chewing.

Akeru had no words for Yukiya. He had this feeling—like he finally understood why Yukiya had given him the cold shoulder when Akeru first offered him his friendship as a fellow member of the Wakamiya Faction. Unlike Akeru, Yukiya had been serving by Wakamiya’s side for an entire year. He didn’t want to think about it, but if Wakamiya had truly sent him to the Monastery out of disgust, Yukiya was sure to know.

While a part of him wanted to know what Wakamiya had intended for him all along, another couldn’t even bear the idea of hearing the truth.

“...... If that’s everything, can’t you leave me alone?” he said in an admittedly dreadful tone—he was too scared of the truth coming out from Yukiya’s mouth. However, as blatant as Akeru’s jealousy turned out to be, Yukiya simply laughed it off.

“I have more to say, obviously. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have come here at all,” he confirmed with a wholly impassive expression. “You see, if things keep going like this, you’ll end up leaving this place sooner or later.”

Akeru flew into a rage the moment he heard that. “It’s not that bad! My grades should still be better than yours if you put them all together!”

“Who’s talking about grades here? You truly don’t understand the position you’re in, huh?”

Yukiya’s demeanor got, all of a sudden, a lot colder. Akeru flinched. “What do you mean? The situation I’m in…”

“Think about it for a moment,” Yukiya said as he fiddled with a kumquat, “the trainees currently on the Monastery’s register are 44 Seeds, 21 Saplings and 14 Evergreens, a total of 78 students. Among those, only you and I were born with a social rank higher than fifth in our region. Furthermore, and this is including us, there are only six Court Ravens in the entire Monastery with the right to employ the On’i System. The vast majority of those are either Seeds or Saplings. Do you understand what that means?” Yukiya asked an astonished Akeru—it was as if he was testing him.

“That most trainees from the high nobility fail out before reaching their third year……?”

“Exactly.” While, at the moment, there were still Court Ravens among his peers, virtually everyone would be either from warrior clans or commoners once they became Evergreens. “There are others linked to the Four Houses, of course, but they aren’t necessarily nobility themselves. It’s obvious what will happen to you if you keep ridiculing Hill Ravens and paying your respects only to your fellow Court Ravens, isn’t it? With that attitude, you’ll just end up surrounded by enemies,” Yukiya explained with a bored expression.

“Besides, to form a West-affiliated faction to reform the Unbending Reed Monastery is, no matter how you put it, both impossible and pointless. Any issues with the Monastery’s policies are for people like the director or His Highness Wakamiya—those involved in the place’s administration—to fix. To ask a trainee to do so is just cruel and His Highness hasn’t ever expected anything like that from you.”

Akeru was appalled. “Then… there’s no reason for His Highness Wakamiya to have sent me to the Monastery, is there?”

——Were Wakamiya’s actions truly a mere attempt to get rid of him?

At the mere thought, Akeru felt all strength about to abandon his body. A moment promptly interrupted by something in his mouth—Yukiya had, all of sudden, rammed a kumquat in it.

“W-what are you doing!?”

Akeru almost choked on it, caught in a coughing fit as an unimpressed Yukiya gave him a bored look. “Oh, you see, I was just thinking about how some incredible idiots truly do exist. His Highness Wakamiya has such high hopes for you and yet you’re completely blind to it.”

“What?” Akeru raised his head, as if in search of an explanation. This time, Yukiya gave him a wry smile.

“I mean, he told you to come to the Monastery, didn’t he? So you could become his vassal in the future,” Yukiya explained as he rolled yet another kumquat on the palm of his hand. “It’s easy to tell why, looking at the guys from before. They didn’t say so per se, but the fact they spoke out like that is probably very much related to the delay of His Highness Wakamiya’s ascension to the throne. Those who only approach you seeking out family influence will change their tune over and over whenever it’s politically convenient. If you want to earn trustworthy allies, the last thing you want to rely on is status and influence. Let me tell you this much—you’re the very reason they ended up acting like that.”

Akeru stammered. He remembered how his followers—people he had genuinely thought of as allies—had blamed him and accused him of lying to them just moments ago. “...... I didn’t ever consider that.”

Embarrassed with himself, Akeru hung his head and, in answer to that, a hint of delight appeared in Yukiya’s voice.

“——Do you realize now? Think about it, what if you became His Highness’ vassal and still committed this kind of mistake?” Yukiya kept talking to the silent Akeru, admonishing him. “Remember, those you look down on as Hill Ravens are about 90% of Yamauchi’s population. Wakamiya is, in fact, very well aware of what kind of people are the majority in the country he rules over.”

The Unbending Reed Monastery was, in a sense, a reflection of Yamauchi itself. Slowly but surely, Akeru started to grasp the meaning behind Yukiya’s words. “So that’s why His Highness told me to come to the Monastery……”

To learn how to socialize with commoners ahead of time. All to stop Akeru from having an attitude unbefitting of one of the Golden Raven’s close vassals in the future.

“Wakamiya told you to come to the Monastery, but he didn’t say you had to become a Yamauchi Guard. He was trying to raise you. That’s the ultimate proof that his expectations weren’t placed on the Scion of the Western House, but on you yourself.” Then, Yukiya unexpectedly looked Akeru in the eyes. “But, what about you? What would you do if His Highness Wakamiya loses his status as Crown Prince? Would you remain by His Highness’ side if he isn’t your brother-in-law? If Lady Masuho no Susuki doesn’t ever enter the Harem?”

Akeru gulped in response to Yukiya’s harsh words. At that moment, what came rushing back to him was that first meeting with Wakamiya, before he even knew of his status, and how he had felt that day.

——The start of everything, a shared secret and a gentle smile under the sinking sun.

“I—” Akeru let out in a hoarse, shaky voice. He closed his mouth to try again with more success. His tone was a lot more firm. “I want to serve under His Highness Wakamiya himself. If he values me as me, then I believe I must respond with the same.”

“I see…… That’s a relief for me too to hear.” 

This time, Yukiya had a bright smile on his face. It didn’t feel shady at all, not anymore.

For the first time since they first met, Akeru genuinely saw in Yukiya a companion, a fellow follower of Wakamiya. He felt like he had at last fully grasped why Yukiya had most likely been chosen as a close aide—that great intelligence of his. Not the kind that makes you good at studying, but a different one altogether.

“You aren’t like me, Yukiya. You have gotten this far, all with the conviction to never rely on your house’s influence.”

That must be the very reason why he had gone through such efforts to get along with Shigemaru and the rest, or so Akeru thought. However, Yukiya laughed Akeru’s sentimentalism off.

“No way! It’s true that I felt like that once, but I don’t have the luxury to say so anymore. I plan to use anything and everything that’s at my disposal.”

Akeru blinked. “But, then, what’s the point?”

“Don’t misunderstand, Akeru.” All of a sudden, Yukiya’s eyes narrowed into slits. Akeru, who had tilted his head in question, watched him. “Power and authority are troublesome things, they can easily cause your downfall when not used correctly. On the other hand, they can also be your strongest trump card. So, what I’m trying to say is,” Yukiya said with a cold smile, “you must not mistake when and how to use them.”

——Akeru felt a sudden chill down his back.

Yukiya’s smile had transformed into something entirely different. His eyes were impenetrable, like those of a snake. What emotions hid within, Akeru couldn’t tell but, in a matter of seconds, a deep terror rose within him.

“What are—” Akeru swallowed.

—you scheming? he tried to ask, but before he could finish his question, a tanned face abruptly popped out through the window on Yukiya’s side.

“Are you all done with the difficult talk?”

Akeru almost jumped up from surprise, but his entire body howled in pain at the attempt. “Shigemaru! When did you arrive?”

“We came here together with Yukiya, to be honest, but it didn’t feel right to intrude given the mood so we hid here to wait instead. Here, a present,” Shigemaru bent himself through the window and dropped a basket full of plums on the floor.

“Oh, I actually love plums. Can I have one?” Yukiya asked nonchalantly.

Akeru was left in a state of complete confusion. What had that been a moment ago?

“You had quite the impressive fall, but you seem better than I thought you would be. How are you feeling?” Shigemaru asked him.

Akeru was incapable of answering at first. Ironically enough, he had the feeling that Shigemaru had just become the first person to show proper concern for him. It was both strangely moving and a source of sudden embarrassment at his own behavior so far.

“Your concern is much appreciated. I’m doing fine, but… ‘we’?” 

“Oh, yes! Actually, he has been way, way more worried about you than me.” Outside the window, Shigemaru vanished for a second. He proceeded to pick up the boy apparently sitting there by the scruff of his neck, effortlessly lifting him up to show Akeru.

A sour face appeared—‘I wasn’t that worried’ written all over it.

“Chihaya.” Akeru was so surprised he couldn’t say more.

Meanwhile, Chihaya seemed to be struggling just like him. He looked to be at a loss for quite a while, before finally letting out a mutter, “It wasn’t intentional.”

That’s all it took for Akeru to understand what was going on—to get an idea of what kind of rumors were spreading all over the Monastery at the moment. Everyone probably suspected that Chihaya had hurt Akeru intentionally. He originally served under Kimichika, whose harassment attempts towards Akeru had turned into a frequent occurrence as of late. Had he not been directly involved in the incident, Akeru would have probably believed the same.

“...... I know. It was my own fault I fell.”

He had seen Chihaya’s expression for a second there—he had been clearly frightened. It all, from his initial transformation to his fall, happened in an instant, but he had still felt how Chihaya had done everything in his power as the rider in an attempt to recover.

However, there was one thing he couldn’t understand about the incident, no matter how he thought about it...

“Hey, Chihaya. You should be able to fly a lot faster, right? Why were you going so awfully slow back then?”

Chihaya answered his question in a dispassionate tone, “You were struggling to keep your balance. I thought you would roll down from my back if I flew any faster than that.”

“——I see.” Akeru let out a big sigh. After straightening himself over the futon, he deeply bowed in Chihaya’s direction. “I’m sorry for causing you so much trouble. I’ll explain what happened to everyone else.”

“No…… There’s no need.” As scarce as Chihaya’s words were, they made Akeru’s chest feel so much lighter.

“Oooh! To see you apologize to a Hill Raven. You too have grown, huh?” Shigemaru’s amused admiration, on the other hand, gave Akeru all kinds of mixed feelings—something the former seemed to pick up on immediately.

“Look, Akeru.” Shigemaru’s expression changed ever so swiftly. “Just like you had your own reasons to come to the Monastery, we all also have ours. Nobody has the exact same circumstances, so it’s a given we all think differently.” 

Akeru meekly listened as Shigemaru spoke. “I think this place is amazing, you know. Where else can people from all corners of Yamauchi gather and share their views and opinions with each other? If we weren’t here at the Monastery, neither of us would have had the chance to speak to each other normally like this, right?”

“Yes, absolutely. You’re right……”

“We’ve been given such a rare chance, so think of it this way—it’ll be for your own sake to try to get along with others,” Shigemaru said with a laugh. “Breaks aside, we gather to study together almost every day in an empty room of the second building. Want to come along? Everyone will be happy to see you.”

At that moment, Akeru’s heart was terribly touched by Shigemaru’s carefree words.

By the time Akeru returned to his own room with the doctor’s permission, one of his two followers had already vanished. He hadn’t given it much thought before, back when they had that talk, but his grades had always been much worse than Akeru’s. Most likely, he had genuinely reached his limit, incapable of keeping up with life as a trainee any longer.

Akeru fretted about it for a while but, by the time night came, he had decided to head to the second building. Once actually there, it didn’t take him long at all to find the room where the study group was held—the sliding door wasn’t only open, but the voices coming from the room were exasperatingly loud.

“I can’t do this anymore! I don’t understand it at all.”

“Get your shit together! Now that glasses dude has found out about it, we can’t just go and copy Yukiya’s homework wholesale anymore!”

“Look, I’m telling you. As long as you memorize the warfare records1, it’s just a matter of applying it all afterwards,” Akeru heard a tired Yukiya say. An onslaught of angry yells followed right after.

“Like that’s easy, you freaking bastard!”

“There’s no way we can memorize those things just like that!”

“By the way—how did you even do it to begin with?”

“I just read it normally? That was it, really.”

“See, here it comes!”

“This is why I cannot stand quick learners!”

Warfare records were a register of what movements were executed by which pieces and when during a Board Drill for later examination, and, by the sound of it, they were trying to finish their Strategy homework. Akeru took a deep breath, steeling his resolve before finally standing by the door frame.

“For warfare records, you should first pin down the Officers’ moves. Infantry movement always uses them as the starting point.” The group, who had been about to collectively throw their textbooks out and get a swing at Yukiya, turned to look at Akeru. Their mouths were wide open.

“...... Akeru?”

“What are you doing here?”

Although both Shigemaru and Yukiya smirked at the scene, neither stepped out to support him. Alongside the wall was Chihaya too, quietly taking care of his own homework all by himself, but he didn’t even bother to glance at him.

Akeru lightly licked his lips, dry out of sheer nerves, and surveyed the faces of those inside before speaking, “I was wondering if, maybe, it would be possible for me to join the study group as well. I know it may sound wrong of me to say but, well, if it’s theory I should be able to help a little. Of course, that’s if you’re all fine with it……”

By the end, he was tapering off.

Akeru knew perfectly that his attitude so far had been anything but pleasant for the people gathered there. He cast his eyes downwards in fear of their reaction when, out of the blue, one of the boys lying on the floor jumped towards him and took him by the shoulders.

“Welcome, professor.”

“Eh?”

“We may actually be able to understand what you’re saying. At least, more than with that Yukiya bastard,” he ruthlessly added.

“Mean,” Yukiya murmured. He was the only one to protest.

“We can’t figure out any of it! At this rate, we’ll end up dropping out.”

“No matter how many times we listen to Yukiya’s explanations, none of them make any sense to us. You’re our last hope.”

Akeru’s eyes were left wide open—their reaction wasn’t anything like what he had expected. 

“...... You’ll forgive me?”

“Not like there’s anything to forgive.”

His fellow trainees, all commoners for the most part, traded glances. “It would be a lie to say we don’t have our own feelings about you, but desperate times call for desperate measures.”

“If you help us so we don’t drop out, we’ll consider all accounts settled.”

“So, less grumbling, more teaching! The due date for these is tomorrow and we haven’t gotten anything done yet.”

Akeru wasn’t quite sure if he should be glad at their reaction or not, but Shigemaru burst into laughter. “In short, no hard feelings!”

After that, Akeru spent the rest of the evening teaching theory to his peers. Yukiya’s explanations proved to be awful and their current situation was beyond subpar, but, thanks to Akeru’s efforts, they ended up being able to solve a lot of the questions with ease. In the end, his overjoyed, frantically crying students were imploring him to come again the next day.

“Tired?” Shigemaru asked him on the way back.

Akeru shook his head. “No, thank you for inviting me. It was fun.”

It had been the first time in his life someone thanked him like that. It was invigorating beyond belief. On top of that, there were many among the study group who were accomplished at Horsemanship and, as a show of gratitude, they had offered to help him practice the horse-rider switch during the next break. Akeru was genuinely glad he had joined them.

——There was, however, a matter much more important than his participation in the study group. One he had left for later.

“Chihaya, do you have a moment?”

Akeru called out to him just as he had left the empty room, heading towards his own. There was clear suspicion on Chihaya’s face, but he nevertheless followed him to a corner of the hallway without ever uttering a word.

“I’ve given you a lot of trouble with the latest incident. Allow me to apologize again,” Akeru bowed.

“I don’t mind,” Chihaya answered just the same way as before.

“But I do mind. You could have also ended up gravely injured if anything else had gone wrong, and now there are weird rumors going around. I’ve been thinking a lot about if there was something I could do to pay you back.”

Chihaya’s expression became slightly troubled, but Akeru kept talking without paying it any mind. “Despite your bad relationship with Kimichika, you came to the Monastery through the Minami-Tachibana’s recommendation, right?”

“..... You investigated me?”

“I’m sorry, but yes. Back when I lost against you during our first match, my followers checked your family register in the census, as well as your general background, and came to inform me. That’s when I heard that you have a little sister and her health is poor, so you couldn’t refuse the Minami-Tachibana’s assistance. When Kimichika intimidated you during your fight that one time, he meant your sister, right?”

In a matter of seconds, Chihaya’s expression went entirely blank.

“I’m fully aware it was presumptuous of me to do so. That said, let me ask you something else. Would you let me assist you with that?” Chihaya didn’t reply to his question. “You must loathe this situation, having your sister essentially be a hostage to Kimichika. This is just as a way of apology, there are no ulterior motives or anything,” Akeru emphasized. “It’s all out of pure goodwill, I mean it.”

Up until then, Akeru had only taken advantage of his own position and the power his birth had given him. He had done nothing but act arrogantly in front of people like Chihaya or Shigemaru. However, he had no plans to commit the same mistakes and misuse his power anymore. He wanted to follow Yukiya’s advice. This would be a good first at using his influence in the correct way, or so he thought.

“The Western House will support you, if you wish so, and we’ll take good proper care of your sister too. It’s not like you want to be under Kimichika either. Right, Chihaya?”

Chihaya opened his mouth after a long silence.

“That’s right,” he murmured in a self-deprecating tone. “That much is true. I’m not receiving the Minami-Tachibana’s aid because I like it that way.”

“Then!” Akeru said enthusiastically.

The look in Chihaya’s eyes, however, was as cold as ice.

“——It’s as I thought. You’re just like Kimichika.” Just like that, Chihaya turned his back on him and quickly left the place behind. Akeru had no time to stop him.

…… Did he just anger him?

Frozen in place, Akeru watched Chihaya as he vanished into the distance.

“But, why?” He couldn’t even imagine the reason behind Chihaya’s anger.

Next: Chihaya (Part 1)

—————————————

1: Warfare Records is my take on Senpu (戦譜), which is in itself a reference to Kifu (棋譜). Kifu is the word for records of abstract strategy games like Shogi or Go, which can be used to fully replicate a game. Each game has their own notation methods.

[kissorkill16]

Another Scene From My Vampire AU

By JJ

Maritza typed away on the keyboard, and scrolled down the page she was on as soon as she found some results.

"Vampires used to hide away in the woods of Ancient Rome.", she said. "Whenever they did go out, they mostly wore clothes with long sleeves and large hats.", she said.

"To blend in with the humans?", asked Nicky.

Maritza shrugged, "Mostly, but it was also because they couldn't go out in the daytime. Whenever they stood outside when it was daytime, the sun would burn them to a crisp.", she said.

Nicky rolled his eyes. "Well in that case, the Petersons can't be vampires. School happens in the daytime, and they come to school. Mrs. Peterson is literally a teacher here.", he said. "And not only that, but me, Aaron and Mya walk home from school together, and the sun is still partially out by then. They've never complained about the sun even once, nor have they ever come close to burning to a crisp."

"Well, Nicky. Sometimes, looks can be deceiving.", said Maritza.

Nicky didn't mean to, but he felt himself getting angry. He slammed his hands on the desk, "The Petersons are not vampires.", he said. "So what if they have pale skin and sharp teeth? So what if they have red eyes that make me feel like I'm being hypnotized every time I look into them? So what if Mrs. Peterson called me a fledgling?"

He lowered his voice, "I'm sorry.", he said to Maritza. "I didn't mean to yell. It's just that...I think there's some other explanation to their weirdness."

Maritza shrugged and looked at the floor, "There probably is. You never know.", she said. "But it's still a possibility.", she mumbled.

"Nicky!"

Nicky and Maritza turned around to see Mya standing behind them, smiling wide with her arms behind her back.

"Hi, Nicky. Hi, Maritza.", she said, waving at both of them. "Nicky, remember when Aaron asked if you could spend the night with us sometime? Well, tonight seemed like a good night, at least that's what he said. Anyway, he's outside right now, and him and Aaron are waiting in the car right now for us. So if you want to just wrap up whatever's going on here..."

Nicky nodded and smiled at Maritza before he waved her goodbye. Maritza waved back, looking nervous.

Later that night, Aaron, Mya, and Nicky were getting ready for bed. They all laid down on their beds, and Nicky tried not to mind the fact that the bed frames were kind of shaped like coffins.

Mrs. Peterson came into the room and gave all of the kids a kiss on each of their forehead, and before she left the room, she switched off the light and said...

"Goodnight, my little fledglings."

There it was. There it was again.

Diane had once again said fledgling, and this time, it was too him and her own children.

Aaron and Mya didn't seem to be paying any mind to the facts that Mrs. Peterson had called him and her children baby vampires, so he tried not to mind either.

He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

He woke up in the middle of the night, feeling a little thirsty. So he got up and quietly left the room.

It was a little difficult trying to make his way through the house, especially in the dark. But after a while of worrying about being lost and jiggling a few locked door handles, he finally found the stairs.

As he made his way downstairs, he couldn't help but hear something coming from the kitchen. They almost sounded like eating noises.

Who could be eating this late at night?

Maybe someone just had a case of the midnight munchies. At least, Nicky thought it was probably midnight.

He was sure that whoever else was in the kitchen wouldn't mind that he was getting a glass of water.

But when he went to the kitchen, he nearly fainted at the sight of what he saw in the kitchen.

Mr. Peterson, a dead body, and Mr. Peterson devoured the poor soul like he was a meal.

Mr. Peterson...eating someone.

[yazthebookish]

Chapter 23, 24 and 25

(Aka the "holy shit" and "lore galore" chapters)

A sarcophagus made of clear quartz lay in the center of the space. And inside it, preserved in eternal youth and beauty, lay a dark-haired female.

What in the Snow White...

That here, literally right under them, slumbering in that forgotten coffin … Here lay the evil beneath.

Oh shit.

“What have you done?” Azriel rasped, and Bryce twisted to find him on his feet, wings tucked in, Nesta leaning against him as if wounded, Ataraxia dangling from her grip. The male now held the Starsword at the ready, Truth-Teller gripped in his other hand.

He must have had some sort of Starborn blood in him, then—a distant ancestor, maybe. Or maybe his possession of the knife somehow allowed him to also bear the Starsword.

Hnnnnnnnnghhhhhh!!!!!!! Theories swirling right now!!!!!

“I am your god. I am your master. Do you not know me?”

The female’s nails gouged deep lines into the crystal, but the lid held. She searched beyond Bryce, her gaze falling upon Azriel. Her lips curled. “A foot soldier. Excellent. Kill this insolent female and free me.” She pointed to Bryce.

Azriel didn’t move. The caged female hissed, “Kneel, soldier. Make the Tithe so I may regain my strength and leave this cage.”

Oh?

“The female in the sarcophagus was an Asteri.”

Screeching.

The Asteri’s blue eyes lowered to the dagger. “You dare draw a weapon before me? Against those who crafted you, soldier, from night and pain?”

“You are no creator of mine,” Azriel said coldly. The Starsword gleamed in his other hand. If they bothered him, if they called to him, he didn’t let on. Neither hand so much as twitched.

Az is about to find out the Illyrians were the Daglan's creation!!!

The Asteri’s eyes flared with recognition at the long blade. “Did Fionn send you, then? To slay me in my sleep? Or was it that traitor Enalius? I see that you bear his dagger—as his emissary? Or his assassin?”

The words must have meant something to Azriel. The warrior let out a small noise of shock.

TRUTH-TELLER IS ENALIUS'S KNIFE!!! FIONN'S FRIEND!!! Oh this is delightful. What a lore feast!!! Az owns the knife of the first Illyrian!! Let's fucking go!!!

“You may call me Vesperus.” The creature’s eyes glowed with irritation.

She threw a tantrum about the other Asteri being called the Evening Star when she was one Lol.

“We pooled our power, and imbued those gifts into the Cauldron so that it would work our will. We Made the Trove from it. And then bound the very essence of the Cauldron to the soul of this world.”

Solas. “So destroy the Cauldron …”

“And you destroy this world. One cannot exist without the other.”

Behind them, Nesta sucked in a sharp breath. But Bryce said, “You gave this world a kill switch.”

“We gave many worlds … kill switches. To protect our interests.” She said it with such calm, such surety.

So basically the Cauldron is a nuclear button. The Daglan made sure Prythian's existence hinges on the Cauldron. I mean we knew as much in ACOWAR but it's always interesting when we get more history on why. The Cauldron is an entity but the higher divine being is the Mother/Urd.

Vesperus took another step, steadier now, and smiled past Bryce. At Azriel, at Truth-Teller. “You don’t know how to use it, do you?”

Azriel pointed the dagger toward the advancing Asteri. “Pretty sure this end’s the one that’ll go through your gut.”

Vesperus chuckled, her dark hair swaying with each inching step closer. “Typical of your kind. You want to play with our weapons, but have no concept of their true abilities. Your mind couldn’t hold all the possibilities at once.”

Azriel snarled softly, wings flaring, “Try me.”

Vesperus took one more step, now barely a foot from Bryce. “I can smell it—how much of what we created here went unused. Ignorant fools.”

What more can Truth-teller do...?

Vesperus backed up a half step, hissing at the gleaming weapon. “We hid pockets of our power throughout the lands, in case the vermin should cause … problems. It seems our wisdom did not fail us.”

“There are no such places,” Azriel countered coldly.

“Are there not?” Vesperus grinned broadly, showing all of her too-white teeth. “Have you looked beneath every sacred mountain? At their very roots? The magic draws all sorts of creatures. I can sense them even now, slithering about, gnawing on the magic. My magic. They’re as much vermin as the rest of you.”

YO RAMIEL IS THE ONLY UNEXPLORED ONE!! I'm kicking my feet right now!!!

“There are certain places, girl, that are better suited to hold power than others. Places where the veil between worlds is thin, and magic naturally abounds. Our light thrives in such environments, sustained by the regenerative magic of the land.” She gestured around them. “This island is a thin place—the mists around it declare it so.”

A veil between worlds. Oh, this crossover is going to have some implications on ACOTAR5.

The sacred mountains have a core of firstlight under them...

Nesta had plunged Ataraxia right through Vesperus’s chest.

NESTA 👏🏼 FUCKING 👏🏼 ARCHERON 👏🏼

[michanvalentine]

Vincent's slumber

I don't know if anyone has already talked about it, I'm relatively new to social media (and I have the same skill as Vincent in using it). In any case, I share this thought that I have always had, but which with the release of Rebirth came back to my mind stronger than ever. I'm talking about Vincent's sleep. Nothing that comprehends how long it lasted, whether he woke up from time to time to do who knows what or whether he instead remained locked in the coffin for the entire time until Cloud arrived. Maybe I'll talk about this in the future, who knows. Instead, I would like to focus on why Vincent needs so much sleep. In the OG it would seem that he slept for 30 years straight, later with the expansion of the FF VII compilation we learned that there were moments of wakefulness. Even in FF Rebirth, Vincent's crypt seems way more comfortable than a plain one and Vincent's own statements suggest that he has experienced something in the meantime. In any case, we can safely say that Vincent Valentine is a sleepyhead, who spends much of his time sleeping (or napping around, poor Cait Sith). In DoC we saw him dozing under the Nibelheim tree (I hope in one of his moments of pause as a bodyguard, lol), where he and Lucrecia had their picnic. So our hero loves to sleep. Subsequently, after being used for Hojo and Lucrecia's experiments, in DoC Vincent remained in suspended animation in the tube for an unspecified period. Basically asleep. We currently don't know when he woke up, where he got his amazing cloak, and how he ended up lying in a coffin. Always sleeping. Surely after everything that happened to him, poor guy, being depressed, hiding from the world, self-punishing, etc, is quite understandable. And this would explain why he continues to sleep. Until a certain degree. For starters, I've always thought that the reason why, once Chaos and Protomateria were implanted, Vincent didn't wake up immediately was because his body needed time to adapt. To recover. We know that Hojo gave him a virtually indestructible body, but even so the burden of Chaos and the other demons/monsters is physically too much to bear. So both Hojo and Lucrecia thought they had failed in their experiment, precisely because Vincent didn't wake up. Even after regaining consciousness, Vincent continued to sleep in his beloved coffin, because he was unable to come to terms with what happened and what he has become, certainly, but also because physically it was still too much for him. He still has to recover, adapt, struggle for every little thing. And we don't even know how much he needs to hold back to control his four roommates. And we are talking about powerful and dangerous creatures. Chief among these is Chaos, a primordial god of destruction. All this must have a weight, which certainly weighs on the body as well as the soul. In Rebirth this thing seems even more evident to me, starting from the phrase: "Being outside is exhausting, I hate it." Ok, it makes me smile too, if you think about how introverted, antisocial, etc, he is. Plus he's trying to understand and adjust to all the changes that have occurred during the thirty years he's lost, but perhaps the myriad stimuli in the outside world are also exhausting him physically. Because he is not alone, there are five of him inside him, and we don't know exactly how Vincent Valentine perceives the world and on which and how many levels. Certainly, as Rebirth points out, he is very sensitive to everything dark and supernatural.

The Rebirth also gives us the opportunity to better observe the transformation into the Galian Beast. Vincent grabs his head, writhes, screams and the beast takes his place. It is a painful process, which requires physical effort. Not only that, but by the end of the fight, Vincent is completely exhausted. He barely manages to get back on his feet, his arms dangling, his head too, and the steps that separate him from the crypt are difficult and very heavy to take. A painful sight to even watch (at least until he rolls over in the doorway, lol). And no, it doesn't depend on the attacks of Cloud and company, you just need to look at Reno's face after the clash in which sector 7 collapsed to realize it.

Vincent is not injured, his body is indestructible, he doesn't have a scratch, he doesn't limp, he doesn't hold his side or arm where he was hit. No. He is simply emptied, drained, exhausted in every cell of the body by the transformation. What he does is go back to sleep, he needs it, to recover from the effort. Only then will he join Cloud and the others on the Tiny Bronco. This also happens in DoC, during the first meeting/fight with Rosso the Crimson in the city of Edge. When Vincent regains control of himself, after Chaos' intervention, he collapses directly onto the streets of Edge. As long as Shalua gives him the opportunity and time to recover in the tube, at the WRO headquarters. The same thing will happen later after the battle with Azul the Cerulean. Vincent loses consciousness and later wakes up on the floor of the Shinra building. So to conclude, I always thought that yes, he loved to snooze when he was younger. Now he's dozing because he's a grandpa, and maybe he had nothing better to do in the basement of the Shinra Mansion, but he often really, really needs to rest. Physiologically speaking, as far as Valentine's physiology is known. Because being him, Vincent freaking Valentine, is quite a burden.

All the images do not belong to me, I thank those who shared them on the web!

[fandomtrash24]

OK, I am highly sleep deprived and on new medication, so I want to talk about my Gotham sentence theory, and how that kind of leaks into the bats.

I feel like Gotham was always somewhat sentient, after all of the magic and curses, but what truly caused her to stir was when she felt something new, I hope that she could not really understand until she realized it was from Bruce Wayne.

(sidenote: I have my own ideas about how Gotham is the soul of the first person to die in Gotham, or maybe even a soul who was sacrificed there, and now protects it. Anyway, she probably would wake up intermittently through history, and I am now picturing her looking over the at the boy, sobbing in front of his parents and feeling sense of sadness and guilt. bonus points she was a mother before she became Gotham and that she is picturing her own child.)

So she definitely helps from time to time. As the years go on, she make sure that no grays stay and Bruce’s hair. She uses what little of her magic that she can to make Alfred feel younger to keep their bodies from going too far ahead of what she needs them to be. Maybe she even blesses Alfred and Bruce slowly, not even realizing it until years afterwards until she can sense them, no matter where they go.

I feel like with Dick Grayson, she blessed him only a little. He was the light for her Batman, something that brought joy and hope and kindness so if she made sure that her boy wonder didn’t break himself as he bent, that as he can torted his bones, stay flexible, and he never felt aches or pains the way many do.

(it hurt her a bit when Dick Grayson left. She heard the arguments. She knew the anger and their bodies that was misplaced. She wish she could stay but understood he couldn’t. Her blessing will always be with him though. He would always be hers.)

Lady Gotham did not lead Jason to the car that night, but she did muffle Bruce’s feet as he approached. She saw some thing in Jason Todd, a boy uncannily like her own. She tried to help some of the street kids when she could, but it was slow going, so bogged down by curses that she could barely lead any of them to fires or food that have been thrown out without good reason. She knew her Batman light again, so she made sure she would find a new spitfire.

(she felt it when Jason Todd died. She had been gathering her strength to give him a blessing, but even distracted, she felt the impact of his death. She breathed life back into him, hoping that he would crawl out of his coffin and into her Batman’s arms. She was more disappointed when he was taken and swore to Talia safe passage again)

(the Joker was a curse unto himself, a parasitic being that she could not be rid of no matter how hard she tried. Was too deeply cursed for her to fix it so instead, she made sure that all of those who stood with the joker would face unimaginable suffering under his eyes and only experience her kindness once leaving him.)

Tim Drake had become her as much before he became a robin. She had had to use little bits of her magic to keep him from falling off of grooves and terraces as he jumped after her boys, and she tried for him. When she saw him start to bring her Batman, out of despair, her relief was so strong that she blessed him deeper than she had the others, she blessed his mind. It would never fail him, making sure he would never fall.

Damien Wayne was both of hers and none of hers. He was the son of the betrayer the woman who had taken Jason from her and made him so angry and pain and disbelieving. She had trouble giving her kindness to the boy trying so hard to keep the bats from seeing Jason and red hood, drenching her blessings into crime, Allie to keep things clean while her boy fix it up, all she could manage for Damien was little parts of him.

(she gave him a different blessing than the others, a blessing that allowed him to be seen. She saw the fear under all the bravado. He would not allow any affection from any human, she saw as he walked through her city, as if he was stranger and a king, so she said the little animals, his way. She marked him as a friend, and soaked up the softness of his smiles when she could.)

As they all grew, and more and more enjoying the family, she only had so much energy to give. Still, she gave her all.

Stephanie Brown was a girl who she led to Tim, a temporary Robin, who was not meant to be Robin, but was still meant to be hers. And if Stephanie never felt backfire of her own pranks, never fell as she flew? Well, she did not want her spitfire to become quiet.

She could not save Barbara Gordon, though she desperately tried. She could not make the legs move again, so tired from all of her blessings and unable to save that much energy. Instead she gave Barbara a similar blessing to that she gave Timothy. Her brain became sharper, her eyes always able to notice an enemy. And if she added a dose of good luck to the girl who had given her leg and her freedom to make sure that her stayed alive? Well, Barbara Gordon was never kidnapped and always missed, sometimes by milliseconds, being kidnapped.

Cassandra Cain was similar to her, silent, and seeing, unable to speak her mind. She did not need help in fighting, but she could tell that Cassandra became overwhelmed and uneasy how sometimes the body would betray people and her. So Cassandra never spoke of how body language became easier to read, of how when she needed to. She could travel through shadow much easier than she could travel on foot. Cassandra Cain never spoke of how when running through shadows, she often felt a woman’s hand run through her hair, a gentle caress that was shaky and so faint most would not notice it.

(Duke Thomas did not need her blessing. She’d given him a small one long ago back when he had started a group, guiding him towards good towards finding what he would need. Duke never said a word about the aura on the bat family being so different so much more saturated than around others. he never spoke of he could sometimes see a woman keeping one of them from falling. He never spoke. Sometimes he could tell the woman was helping him, saving him from falling as well.)

She could not save them, could not give them their due for what they did for her city for her people. Still, she gave them all she could, as they continued to repair her, saving her streets and her people every day. Slowly, the claims became more and more distinct until whenever one of them left. It was known to any spirit that dared cross them that Gotham, spirit known for struggling and still surviving, had blessed these humans so heavily that they were drenched in her magic.

(no one spoke with the blessings, instead word was spread through all supernatural creatures alike that the lady of Gotham, a woman who had been known to be almost a queen before curses bogged her down, had chosen her champions, her knights. She had given them so much power that it was a wonder they weren’t supernatural being themselves. It was soon taught that no one was to touch them. The knights of Gotham were not to be trifled with.)

[channoticedmeuwu]

💭 txt's choi line as . . . EVER AFTER HIGH CHARACTERS ! ☆ ♡ ༶⁠ 

p — CHOI LINE × FEM!READER | g — fluff, suggestive, eah!au + soobin has princess charming!reader | w — yeonjun's is suggestive, a lot of destiny&fate talk, eah terms used

a/n — I couldn't get choi line and them as eah descendents out of my mind so lo and behold, I caved. never forgiving them for cancelling this show + posting cuz it's my bday we gon party like it's my bday

♡ DON'T FORGET TO READ TAEKAI'S VERSION !!

YEONJUN, SON OF SLEEPING BEAUTY

rosy pink lips and a piercing gaze, choi yeonjun was the definition of the rose his mother was destined to represent. from his harsh grip on your waist to the soft, peppery kisses he'd leave on your neck when you'd sneak into his room after night curfew, choi yeonjun was casting a spell upon you. your heavy eyelids threatening to shut as he had his legs thrown over you while he spooned you, whispering “how pretty you are” and how lucky he is to have you. sharp yet maintained nails combing your scalp as he ran his fingers through your hair, the sensation sending pulses down to your toes.

choi yeonjun would fall asleep in a class, only to be woken up by a smack on his wrist and the threat of "DETENTION!". he'd have his fun with the gawking looks of everyone as he'd walk by, a pink mist of flowery drowsiness settling through the halls, making everyone's stomachs feeling like they'd just digested thorns.

but with you, oh, he was on his knees. puffy red lips and eyes bright n’ shiny when you'd kiss him, his lips leaving different shades of roses on your skin, like he was a rose himself— the color of his petals bleeding into the cracks of your skin. he'd find himself hiding between the alleyways behind the son of cinderella's shoe shop, your fingers tracing the wrinkles his smile would make near his eyes as he gazed at you like you were a happily ever after he was promised.

and he knew that even if his destiny didn't allow it, he'd prick his finger a thousand times only to be awoken by the drowning feeling of your lips on his own.

SOOBIN, SON OF SNOW WHITE

when choi soobin's mirror answered your name instead of his after he questioned, “who's the fairest of them all?” things got a bit messy. who even were you, making your way to ruin his happily ever after? rolling his eyes and shutting his locker, he'd come face to face with you, wearing a charming, a prince charming, smile and tilting your head at him. now, children of the prince (or now, king) charming weren't exactly his type, but god, who on earth gave you the right to charm him with that pearly, enchantingly cursed smile? even if you technically belonged in his destiny, you weren't supposed to rob off his title of being the fairest of them all, anyway.

but as he stared from across the classroom, he started to understand why tones of red and blue were such an eye-catching match. from the way you'd glow in the silvery moonlight with your blue, he'd watch from his window, gold in his candlelight, as you'd practice lifting the weight of a sword passed through generations of your family. he'd mumble to his pet animals, telling them how embarrassing it was for a son of snow white to fall for the princess charming before he could even choke on that fucking apple, before his roommate would tell him to shut up!

and when he finally buried his ego into the glass coffin he was destined to lie in, poisoned and cursed for eternity, he faced you—heart throbbing in his chest and silky black hair flowing in the wind as he took your hands. it was unsettling, how he went against his destiny at that moment just to find you and give you an untraditionally abrupt kiss on the lips, even if no one was poisoned.

but, his true love's kiss promised, it sure woke him from a slumber he didn't know he was already in, reality seeping into his eyes like a curse finally being lifted. and his chest heaved, breathless, staring at you like you were the apple of his eye—the true fairest of them all.

BEOMGYU, SON OF THE BEAUTY & THE BEAST

choi beomgyu was like streaks of gold sunlight peering onto a flowing river. with his sharp teeth and hair destined to flow perfectly in the wind, he would sprinkle his charm into any situation to win whatever he wanted. being the son of the beauty and the beast, he got the best of both worlds, athletically charming and annoyingly witty. and if you do say for yourself, unfairly attractive.

it was not irregular for choi beomgyu to intrude wherever and whenever he wanted to—a charming wink to a group of girls and they'd be squealing over him, or guys lifting him into the air when he'd score the winning goal for the bookball game, he had it all. and beomgyu wasn't really much to you, either.

except, when he'd sit with you in the enchanted forest, book in hand and pencil between his teeth, confused glances and nervous smiles as you tried to teach him the course for home evilnomics to impress a crush he had on a rebel. choi beomgyu didn't faze you— his smile cast no spell upon your senses; his beauty was meant to just be savoured by the eyes. his voice like honey didn't sooth your soul like it did to everyone else, and beomgyu was starting to realize that the more time he spent with you, the more he was drawn closer to you.

the genuinity in your smile set his cheeks rosy pink, the way your fingers would graze over his ever so slightly to show him how to cast a spell, the way you bit your lips and stared at him sheepishly when you didn't know the answer to a question he asked— you were finding ways to make him experience aspects of romance he's never witnessed first hand. and he'd find himself looking for you on the bleachers after scoring the winning goal for yet another bookball game. and he wouldn't shoot a wink to a group of girls who'd coo his name until he'd see you nearby. and he'd startle you from behind when you'd look for books in your locker, leaning nearby to shut the space between you two and watch your focussed eyes, a rosy tint in his line of vision.

you had the school's pride and joy wrapped around your finger, following you around like he were underneath a trance, head on your shoulder or arm around you as you roamed around town together. and you knew the rhythm of his heartbeat would change when you'd get especially close to him, finger on his chin as you'd smirk up at him. and you'd see the way his eyes would dart around your face, his light brown locks cast in front his eyes, glittering gold as his fingers would sneak up your blouse to feel the skin on your waist grow warmer at his touch.

txt — masterlist

main taglist (hmu to get added!) — @koishua @navyhyuck @allegxdly @daystiny  @kdyism  @neotism  @bluejaem  @radiorenjun  @sleepylixie @oifelixcmerebrou @mrkcore @imdamnconfused  @sicluvz @abhirami20 @tyongishs @emvrd @brxght-world

I’d appreciate if you’d give me a little feedback on the drabble if you read, whether it’s an ask, a reply or in the tags of the rb! Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed!