#She isn't sure how to approach the subject either

[sakuravalelp]

Ellie(Dani) didn't realize how dangerous Danny's home was for him until he was more worried about her when she got her own home. - Prompt I think(?)

Ellie wasn't sure how to feel when Danny excitedly animated her to accept Arthur's invitation to live in Atlantis.

"Just if you want of course, but you'll get a stable home, and Frostbite said living underwater might be good for your water cores stability."

She had already been planning to accept the offer. Once she gave the guy an opportunity to have some sort of conversation, the guy was pretty chill, and the castle was pretty cool. So yeah, she was going to accept the offer.

But for some reason Danny's eagerness for her to go with Arthur hurt. It felt like he was trying to get rid of her.

She knew that was ridiculous, she didn't even live with Danny. He looked out for her, and was always a call away but, as much as Danny parents her, he was just a child like her. It made sense he was happy to give away the responsibility of taking care of her.

So when Ellie moved into Atlantis, she was expecting to hear less from Danny. After all, she had settle down, and he didn't need to worry about her adventures anymore. That was Arthur's and Mera's job now.

Weirdly enough, it was the complete opposite.

Now that Ellie was living with adults, Danny seemed MORE worried for her. They went from a call once a week or so, to almost daily calls in the afternoons. He would be more insistent about her telling him if anything was wrong.

He would ask specifics about the food she was eating, and her activities of the day, and her room, and the castles security...

Sam had told her that it was because he used to be able to monitor if she was eating well through the transactions of the debit card they had given her. Tuck had told her that he used to evaluate how safe she was through the phones location, and the hotels receipts.

And well, maybe she underestimated how much attention Danny put on her before, but the way the calls went made it seem like he thought she might be in more danger now that she had a stable home.

Which made no sense, because unlike him, she didn't even need to hide her ghostlines. Anything that was out of normal for Atlanteans was excused with meta-abilities, she didn't need to worry about being classified as a non-sentient species.

That was when it caught up to her. Danny was worried now that she was in a stable home because his stable home had always been dangerous for him. It isn't even a think of it being dangerous now that his a ghost, it has been dangerous ever since he was a child. She remembers all of Jazz's rants about how unreliable their parents have always been.

The food has always been contaminated. The security now attacked him directly, but there had always been a possibility of it malfunctioning and hurting the residents. Him and Jazz had always had the responsibilities of not only keeping the house clean, but the lab as well. If she tops it with the house security system attacking him, and his parents been ghost hunters...

Ellie hadn't found it too dangerous back then, Danny mocked Jazz rants with her, and Jack and Maddie were kind when they interacted with her in her human form. The Fentons neglect seemed liberating in comparison to Vlad overly controlling nature. But thinking about it now, after two months living in Atlantis, she doesn't like the picture.

She doesn't like the idea of Danny being somewhere so unsafe, but where would he go? He doesn't have a water core like her, and even if he had gotten sorta used to shapeshifting, he isn't good enough to live in a second form, which isn't recommendable either way. So he wouldn't be able to move underwater with her.

More so, she doubts that Danny would like to leave his Amity, he had taken the sole responsibilities of dealing with the whole humans - ghost conflicts. With the anti-ecto acts, there's no way he would leave the portal unsupervised.

What should she do now? Should she talk with Arthur about it? He said he was part of the heros friend group, what if they already know about the anti-ecto acts and are okay with it? What if they change hoe they act with her when she tells them she isn't actually an atlatean meta?

[bet-on-me-13]

Ellie wasn't born a Halfa

So! Jason just found something weird. Or rather. Someone.

A little girl, no more than 6 or 7, crying behind a dumpster in an alleyway. Now, as unfortunate as it is, this isn't that strange a sight in Gotham. Kids are always running away from home, getting lost, being left homeless after a mugging gone wrong, but this time was different.

Because the kid was glowing.

When he found her hiding behind the Dumpster, a medical gown being the only thing she had to protect herself from thr frigid Gotham Winter, he didn't hesitate to give her his Jacket and take her to his nearest safe house.

(Actually it took a little while to convince her to accept the Jacket, and even longer to get her to agree to being taken to his safe house, but they got there in the end.)

When he had finally gotten her set up in a side room of the Warehouse, with the most comfortable bed and thickest Blankets he could find, he tried asking what had happened.

"Daddy lied." She said. "He said he loved me, but then he made another kid and said he didn't care about me."

And, once again, it was unfortunately not that uncommon to see runaway kids from neglectful homes, but the way she said it raised some flags in his head.

"...and, how did you end up in Gotham?"

"I ran. He said I was a spare, and that scared me."

Well, that was even more horrible than he had anticipated. What kind of monster tells their kid that they're a spare?!

"And, I'm sorry if this is a touchy subject but why are you glowing?"

She just buried her face in the Blankets and shook her head.

"Alright then, that's fine. You can tell me when you're ready, or even not tell me at all, I'll accept either or".

For the next few weeks, Jason juggled running his newly created criminal empire and raking care of the kid. He still hadn't gotten a name out of her, but she said to call her "Dp" instead. 'It's the best I'm gonna get', he thought.

It was only after a few more weeks, right before he was about to begin his Plan of confronting Bruce about the Joker still being alive, that she approached him and agreed to tell him everything. He was actually really glad that she finally seemed to trust him enough to tell him.

"Okay Dp, you can start wherever you want."

"...well, I guess I should start with my name..." She started, "...or rather, my lack of one..."

"What?" Asked Jason in a soft voice.

"I, I don't have a name." She explained, "Daddy never gave me one. He just called me DP-2."

"...what do you mean by two?" Asked Jason.

"It-It's my Experiment Number." She said, stuttering a little, "I'm not a normal person, I'm a Clone. I was made to be daddy's perfect child, but I was just the test run. He said that I wasn't needed after he made DP-3, and that all I was good for was spare parts."

Jason felt his throat dry up. Dp was a Clone? Of who? Who made her? What right did that guy have to reject her?! Who in their right mind would make a Clone and then reject the Clone?! How dare he!

The Pits perked up

He felt the Pits rising a little, but managed to push them down. Dp needed support, not the Pits.

"It's Okay kid." He said, holding her had reassuringly. "It's perfectly okay to be different. I accept you as you are, and I'm sure as hell not gonna abandon you that easily. Or, ever really. You're stuck with me, whether you like it or not."

She giggled, and hugged him. A thoughtful look crossed her face, and she pulled away.

"There is one other thing...you know how I glow sometimes?" She asked.

The Pits felt a sense of dread

Jason felt like he wasn't going to like this. "Yeah?"

"Well, when I said I was meant to be a Clone, I never mentioned who of." She explained slowly. "He's a kid named Danny, and when he was 14, he had an accident where he died and came back as a Half Undead."

No...

Jason really wasn't liking where this was going.

"When Da-Vlad tried to make me, he realized that those powers couldn't be cloned..." She paused here, seemingly gathering the courage to continue. "...they needed to be added afterwards."

NO.

He didn't. He had better not have, for his own Fucking Sake, he had better not have done what Jason thinks he did.

"So one day, he took he down to the Lab, and he put me in a big machine." He voice broke a little. "He locked me in there, and then I think...that I died..."

...

For once, Jason felt completely in tune with the Pits. He was going to Kill that guy.

...

Sorry if this feels a little rushed, I kept going back to add or change parts of it.

Basically, Vlad realized that you can't Clone a Halfa. So, he made a workaround. He just stuck his first Viable Clone into a Portal, and let the machine Kill her. When he realized that it worked, he knew he had no use for Ellie anymore aside from spare parts.

And he told her as much, Vlad is a fucking asshole.

Ellie, of course, got scared and ran away. She ended up in Gotham, and was adopted by Jason right at the start of his Criminal Career.

When Jason finally hears about the rest of his kids' Backstory, he decides that Batman can wait his turn. He needs to go Kill that Vlad Bastard.

[aperrywilliams]

I'm Sorry I Couldn't be Here for You Sooner (Spencer Reid x Fem!BAU!Reader)

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Author Masterlist

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Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!BAU!Reader.

Summary: You have one of the worst days in a long time at work. When Spencer returns from an assignment to the BAU and sees your current state, he must do something.

Word Count: 2.8k

Warnings: Frustration/Hurt/Comfort. Just a self-indulgent rant. A lot of cuss words. Spencer is the best boyfriend in the world.

A/N: I just need Spencer to hold me now.

-----

The clock ticks and ticks, but the time seems to stand still. Even if you don't know how long you have been looking at that piece of wood, plastic, and metal, it feels like an eternity.

In the distance, a voice keeps throwing out words and sentences to which you should pay attention. However, even if you tried, looking at the clock on the wall is still more interesting than hearing Hotch talking about new protocols for field agents.

Still lost in your head, you don't notice the meeting is over and people are starting to leave the room. Only when someone squeezes your forearm. It's JJ.

"Are you okay?" she asks, eyebrows furrowed. You look at her and blink a few times.

"Uh- yeah," you mumble. 

Are you okay? No, you're not. But why bother others with that?

On second thought, this may be a chance to spill what's on your mind. JJ is usually a forthcoming and wise person. 

"Well, actually-" you begin, but before saying anything else, JJ cuts you off.

"That's nice. Because I want to ask you if you can babysit Henry tomorrow night. Will invited me to a romantic dinner, and our babysitter is sick. Hope it doesn't make much trouble to you?" the blonde probes.

Okay, you didn't expect that.

Not in the mood to turn the subject back to you, you say yes, and after thanking you, JJ quickly leaves the conference room. Alone with your thoughts for a few seconds, you wonder if the tightness in your chest isn't an exaggeration. You decide to forget about it and go back to your desk.

Opening a folder with the information on the last case, you are ready to write your report. But not too so far on it, Emily approaches you.

"Hey, how are you?"

You have doubts about how to answer the question. A few minutes ago, when JJ asked, you lied to her, and she didn't even notice. Maybe it's good to be honest.

"Actually, not so good," you sigh. And Emily raises an eyebrow. 

"Yeah? What happened?"

"I just don't know, I don't feel good," you try to explain. But you're not sure how to do it either.

"I'm sure it's something you can manage," Emily muses. "Look, whatever it is, have a drink when you get home today, relax a little, and I bet you'll be as good as new tomorrow!"

You open and close your mouth several times, trying to get a word out, but nothing comes to mind. 

A drink and relax? Is that simple?

You let out a hum, and that's enough for a response to Emily.

After wishing you good luck, she heads down the hallway, presumably to Garcia's office.

It's clear that Emily didn't grasp your actual emotional state, but you don't blame her either.

The last case was hard for everyone, so there is no reason to take it personally.

Focusing on your report again, you expect the sour mood surrounding you to fade eventually.

To finish your paperwork, you need to make copies of the reports. So you get up and head to the copy machine. After carefully placing the papers in the tray, you press the start button. When you think it will start copying, the machine stops mid-scan. You frown, and after a few seconds of nothing, you press the 'start' button again. Nothing. You do it again. And again. It's not working, and you feel your blood running hot.

By pressing the button again and again, anger comes.

"What the fuck is wrong with you stupid fucking machine!"

It's not enough to swat with force the button panel; now you're kicking the machine out of pent-up frustration.

"Whoa, whoa, stop right there, pretty girl."

Morgan steps between you and the machine, putting distance with his palms. And that's when you realize your outburst. Panting and still with the heat of rage on your cheeks, you are not yet satisfied.

"What the fuck, Morgan. Now you're defending a fucking copy machine?!" You hiss. Derek narrows his eyes to assess your current state. He's seen you mad, but it usually goes away easily. You are not a dense person.

"Okay, what's wrong, pretty girl? Since when do you unleash your frustration with pretty boy on inanimate things?"

Pretty boy. Spencer. Your boyfriend. Today, your boyfriend is conducting a cognitive interview with a convict in a DC jail—Hotch's orders. You wish he were here.

Morgan knows you usually laugh at his jokes, and even when you are in a bad temper, they help to light the mood.

Not this time, though.

"Don't talk about Spencer or me like that!" You snarl. "He doesn't have to do with any of this!"

Morgan doesn't like you are talking to him. Folding his arms over his chest, he let out an unamused scoff.

"Come on, don't you think you're overreacting here? Was this whole outburst only for a joke? What, are you four years old?"

You want to keep yelling, but a lump forms in your throat that is making it difficult for you to speak or even breathe. Morgan doesn't even wait for you to say something.

"You know what?" Morgan continues. "If you cannot stand the pressure of this job right now, maybe you should go home."

With that said and shaking his head in disappointment, Dereks leaves you there.

Stumped. Frustrated. Broken.

All the anger from moments before turns into an almost uncontrollable urge to cry. What have you done to these people? They are supposed to be your friends, your family. They are supposed to understand you and support you when you need them. And now that it's the time, they've only ignored you, minimized your problems, and even questioned your worth. Maybe Derek is right, and you should go home.

Defeated, you're strolling to your desk when Hotch peaks out of his office and gestures you to come.

Great, just what you needed now.

When you walk into your boss's office, he is already sitting in his chair, sternly looking at you.

"I won't ask you what's wrong with you today because it's your private life. However, I must remind you we are all professionals on this team. If you need time off, you have the right to get it, but I will not tolerate disrespect, like when you are distracted as I give fundamental instructions. If you don't pay attention, it could affect your work in the field and even put the lives of innocent people at risk."

If you didn't feel trampled before, now you feel like a ton of dirt was dumped on you.

You know Hotch can be sharp with words, but his ultimate goal is always to look after the team. But why does it feel like you're not part of that team right now?

"Do I make myself clear?"

With no more energy left in your body, you just let out a 'yes, sir.' Without waiting for another response, he sends you back to your desk.

It's already noon when you resume your work. Your mind spins at a mile an hour, and although it's hard, you force yourself to concentrate enough to get your job done, so at least the salary they pay you is worth it. 

Like a mollusk in its shell, you close yourself in that bubble and stop paying attention to your surroundings. It's your safe place—only you. 

In the distance, you feel your coworkers come and go. Never do you look up. Time goes by, and your throat feels dry from not speaking for hours.

Before everyone starts planning lunch, you are already picking up your lunch bag.

Social interaction is out of the table, so you are secluded in the building roof where an improvisated garden has benches. You sit alone, and the breeze helps to steady your breathing. As you open your Tupperware, you tentatively plunge the fork into the almost-cold pasta.

Even so, you're better here than in the bullpen minutes ago.

-----

Spencer walks through the doors of the BAU. It's 2 in the afternoon, so hopefully, the team is still having lunch in the conference room. Slightly worried that he wouldn't be able to reach you when he wanted to let you know he was on his way, he assumed that you had a lot of work and that your phone was mute.

Arriving at the conference room, Spencer scans the place and immediately catches something odd. You are not there. JJ, Prentiss, Morgan, Rossi, and Hotch are, though.

With an eyebrow furrowed, he asks, "Where is she?"

His teammates perk their heads up.

"Hello to you, pretty boy," Morgan teases.

"How was the interview?" JJ asks.

"Did you eat? You still can sit with us," Prentiss offers.

"Did you get the interview done?" Hotch asks with a raised eyebrow.

Spencer gets an uneasy feeling about what's going on. He knows you weren't feeling so okay this morning, and even if he tried to convince you to take a sick day, you didn't let him.

"Neither of you responded my question," Spencer points, voice harsher than when he asked first.

"(Y/N)? I thought she went home," Morgan muses.

"Why would she do that?" Spencer questions, alarmed. "Something bad happened?"

"She said she was okay when I asked earlier," JJ explains. "Maybe she has an errand to do."

"She was way distracted when we were at the meeting in the morning. She didn't listen a thing of what I said," Hotch adds.

"And you sent her home?" Spencer directs his question to Hotch.

"No, I didn't. She didn't ask it either when I called her to my office."

"You called her to your office? Did you reprimand her?" Spencer asks in disbelief.

"Of course, I did it, Reid. She did something disrespectful to the team," Hotch defends.

"And considering her rage moment directed to the copy machine, maybe it's better if she went home," Morgan supplies.

"Why are you being so dramatic, Reid?" Emily questions, very confused about why Spencer is so upset.

Spencer huffs, frustration running in his veins.

"Are you fucking kidding me right now? Did you ever realize she wasn't doing okay and nobody took her seriously? Yeah, sure, she said she was okay, but did you really check on her? Did you really ask her what was wrong? Did someone listen to her?"

The people in the room go silent after Spencer scolds them. 

Did they help in any way?

"You are unbelievable, and you call yourself profilers," Spencer huffs, turning to exit the room in search of you.

"What are you doing, Reid?" Hotch asks. No turning around to face his boss, and halfway out, Spencer replies.

"The thing you should have done in the first place. And I don't care if it doesn't fall protocol, I can give you my resignation letter tomorrow."

-----

When Spencer reaches the building roof and sees you sitting on one of the benches, he lets out a sigh of relief. He suspected you might be there, considering your things were still on your desk.

You can't see it since your back is turned. Your eyes look at the horizon without focusing on anything in particular.

The breeze is nice despite the November weather in Virginia.

Not wanting to scare you, Spencer slowly approaches you as he clears his throat. You turn around and see him standing a couple of meters away from you, but close enough to see your eyes red from crying.

You know he noticed it, and you avert his gaze.

You don't like the idea of ​​looking vulnerable right now. The morning was already catastrophic enough to explain your current state of mind to Spencer.

Spencer is a man of many words. He is known for his diatribes on any topic at hand. So you expect some kind of rant or even some statistical data about what could be happening to you.

But contradicting his very nature, he just silently approaches, takes your hand to get you up from the bench, and pulls you into a tight, comforting embrace.

And for the first time all day, you feel like you can actually breathe, and your chest isn't tight anymore. Words are not necessary; just being held like that is enough for now.

Spencer kisses the top of your head lovingly.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be here for you sooner. I'm sorry you had such a horrible morning," your boyfriend laments.

You shake your head, still buried in his chest.

Tears fight to come out from the corners of your eyes, and you no longer want to hold them back.

"Let it out, baby. Just let them out."

And that's what you do. For the first time all day, you allow yourself to cry without holding back. Spencer has you the entire time, rubbing your back soothingly.

"I don't know why I feel so bad, Spencer. I don't understand," you muffle your words into his embrace.

"It's okay, love. You don't have to explain to me, or anyone for that matter. There are days when we are not okay, and it's completely valid. Never think you don't have the right to."

Hearing Spencer say that relieves some of the pressure on your head, but you can't help but think about your teammates' words throughout the morning.

Separating yourself from Spencer to look at him, your eyes still denote your inner struggle.

"What if they are right? What if they are right when they say I shouldn't make so much fuzz and rather think about doing my job well?"

Spencer cups your cheeks so you can look at him.

"They are not. Okay? By any means, you are the most professional person I have ever met in my life. Not only that, you are also the most compassionate, selfless, and willing to help to the fullest extent of your capacity. Does JJ need help babysitting Henry? You don't think twice. Does García need assistance organizing a girls' night? You are the first one to be there. Does Hotch need to finish a stack of reports in one night? You offer to help him. Does Derek need a backup to kick his way into a place and catch the unsub? You're the first to watch his back."

You are indeed like that, and you do all that. But you've never seen it as something extraordinary. For you, being part of a team and a family means all that and more.

"And that doesn't even scratch the surface of what you have been to me.

My love, you have been the person who has entitled me to open my heart and love without reservation. You have taught me to trust and that asking for help when you feel bad is okay. You are the light of my life, and I swear I'll do everything in my power so you can see the wonderful person you are and that you deserve all the love and support in the world."

Without a doubt, Spencer has something with his words and eloquence. How can you not believe him? The veil of doubt indeed emerges from time to time, but having someone who is by your side showing you what is really important makes the doubts not cloud your path.

A shy smile appears on your face, your eyes filled with gratitude.

"There she is," Spencer whispers, stroking your cheek with love and never breaking eye contact.

"Maybe I should have listened to you this morning and called in sick," you sigh. Spencer kisses the top of your nose.

"I know you weren't going to do it anyway." 

You giggle because he's right. Spencer knows you too well.

"Lunchtime is almost over. We should come back to work," you remind him. Spencer pulls a face, and you raise an eyebrow at him. "What was that?" You inquire.

Spencer laughs nervously. "It's just I may or may not have made a scene in the conference room earlier, and I may or may not have offered my letter of resignation to Hotch if he didn't allow me to come find you."

"You did what? Spencer, oh my God!" you start laughing. "Does that mean there's a chance we'll both get fired today?"

Spencer thinks about that for a second.

"Honestly? I don't think Hotch would risk losing his two best agents," he decides, winking at you.

"Hope you're right, Dr. Reid. Hope you're right," you voice, grabbing his hand in yours and making the way back to the sixth floor.

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Spencer Reid's Taglist: @dreatine @nomajdetective @jayyeahthatsme @rosalinasam2 @averyhotchner @lovelyxtom @princessmiaelicia @pastelbabygirl19 @reidsbookclub @alexxavicry @gspenc @spencerreidisbae123 @calmspencer @pauline5525mgg @anamiad00msday @milivanili99 @laylasbunbunny @leahblackk @miaxx03 @missabsey @taintedstranger @khxna @hiireadstuff @pleasantwitchgarden @dysphoricsanity @levi-of-starz @themoonchildwhofell @silver138 @lovelybaka @shinytinywhispers 

[808airsoftbros]

Who's the Bustiest? (Female Idols) (BXG) (S)

Author: This is an idea that I got from Discord and came up with this. Hope you enjoy it and if you want to check out my Masterlist for more fics :)

Y/N's POV

It was my first day of college, I was quite excited as I'd get the opportunity to learn new things, make new friends, and perhaps find love.

But I knew that was all delusional love stories that you see in web dramas although they are entertaining to watch after school.

Anyway, I was on my way to my first class, that was until I heard the loud sounds of footsteps approaching me and I turned around and saw a woman running towards me.

"What the-" I was about to say but it was too late as the girl ran into me.

What was worse was that she was holding a cup of cappuccino and it spilled all over my new Addidas jacket which isn't cheap.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry!" The girl apologized and rushed to get some tissues from her bag.

"Aish... It's okay... Are you hurt?" I checked and she shook her head.

"N-No, but thank you for asking," She answered.

"Oh my Lord, Unnie are you okay?!" Another girl approached and she nodded.

"I-I'm fine, it's my fault! I wasn't looking!" She said and she sighed.

Though my jacket was soaked and stained with coffee, my shirt escaped without a drip of coffee so at least I didn't need to change clothes right now.

"We're so sorry about this, Jisun-Unnie here can be a bit clumsy sometimes, I am Natty, second-year," She introduced herself.

"Oh, I'm Y/N, first year," I replied and she nodded.

"Ah, so you're a freshman, well in that case, welcome to our school," She said and I thanked her.

Taking off my jacket soaked, I tried to squeeze as much coffee out as possible. I was planning to quickly make a run to the dry cleaners on campus but Jisun-Noona and Natty-Noona insisted on cleaning it themselves seeing it was Jisun-Nonna's fault.

At first, I was reluctant to do so as I didn't fully trust them despite them being my sunbaenims but you cannot be too safe.

"It's okay, Y/N, your jacket will be safe with us. Here, I'll give you our numbers as insurance, and I'll text you when it's ready," She suggested and I nodded.

"Sounds fair," I agreed and opened my phone app.

Adding them to my contacts, I thanked them as I handed over my jacket to them, and we went seperate ways to go to our classes.

Heading to my first subject, math, I was greeted by the professor and I greeted her back before taking my seat.

After about ten minutes, the lecture started, and the professor wasted no time getting into the intro to Calculus. Being a math nerd, the lesson wasn't hard and I was able to easily figure it out.

Working on a problem, I felt someone poking my shoulder and I looked to see a beautiful and busty girl poking me to get my attention.

"H-Hey, do you mind helping me with this?" She shyly asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, no prob," I answered and she smiled.

"Thank you! I'm Lee Saerom, second-year, and what about you?" She kindly asked and I introduced myself.

Helping her with the problem, she was amazed at how easily I was able to solve it and I showed her step-by-step on how to solve the formula and find the proper solution.

Most of it was basic Algebra which she wasn't too half bad on but still could use more work if she wants to succeed in the class.

"T-Thank you but I could use your help in the future. Do you mind if we exchange numbers?" She asked and I agreed.

"Sure, why not?" I answered and I input my number.

Adding her to my contacts, I felt lucky at how I managed to get three girl's number... Even though I'm not going out with either of them. Hehe.

After class, was over, the rest of my three classes were uneventful as the professors were introducing their first lessons and shit.

With my day of college over for today, I got a text from Natty saying that my jacket is now ready for pick up and uploaded a photo.

I was shocked at how cleaned it looked as if it just came out of the production line.

I texted Natty that I'd meet her at whatever nearby location, and she texted suggesting to meet her at her dormitory.

"Okay, come to Dorm 321,"

Giving her a thumbs up emoji, I put my phone away in my pocket, and I looked to see three other hot woman coming my way and they do not look happy.

"You! Punk!" One of them pointed at me.

"Me?" I asked and she marched toward me before harshly grabbing my collar.

"Did you hit our friend?!" She angrily asked and I was fucking confused.

"W-What are you talking about?!" I nervously asked as I have no idea what they're accusing me of.

"Liar!" The other woman who also have huge boobs said and I gulped.

It didn't take long for them to beat the shit out of me and I was totally helpless. My arms and legs were sore, and I was left with a black eye.

Fucking hell, what is their damn problem?! I should report them to the police for assault!

Whatever, the police wouldn't believe that a man was beaten up by three busty women so I took a deep breath and decided to let the whole transgression slide.

Despite being injured a bit, I make my way to my Noona's dorm as instructed. Each step I took stung the living shit out of me but I kept going.

"Jeez, this is not how I imagined my first day of college..." I muttered as I painfully make my way into the elevator.

Once the elevator reached the third floor, I got some stares from other students but I ignored them.

Finally arriving at Dorm 312, I didn't see any doorbell so I texted Natty that I'd arrived and she said she'd be there in a few minutes.

Thankfully, I didn't have to wait too long as Natty opened the door with my freshly cleaned jacket in hand and she was horrified to see bruises and scars all over my body and uniform.

"My God! What the hell happened to you?! Did you get into a fight?!" She frantically asked and I shook my head.

"I fell," I lied and she sighed.

"Come on, I'll treat your wounds," She said before stepping aside.

"No! No! It's fine, I'll just go to the nurse's office," I declined but she didn't take "No" as an answer.

Dragging me inside of her dorm making me hiss in pain and she apologized. She helps me take off my shoes and bag before guiding me to the couch to lay down.

"Wait here! I'll get some medicine!" She instructed and I nodded.

Going up the stairs, I take out my phone go through Instagram and watched a few Youtube reels to pass the time.

"The fuck?! Why are you in our dorm?!" I heard a dreaded familiar voice and I looked to see the same girl that jumped me.

"N-Natty dragged me in here!" I pleaded and she scoffed.

"Unlikely story, I guess I need to teach you another lesson!" She said before cracking her knuckles.

Right when she was about to punch me in the gut, she was held back by Jisun and she gave her a confused look.

"J-Jisun, what are you doing?! This psycho is in our house!" She said but she shook her head.

"No, Unnie! He is our friend! He's the one I spilled coffee on!" Jisun explained and her eyes widened in horror.

"O-Oh my... I-I am so so sorry! We completely misunderstood! We thought you tried to kidnap her!" She frantically apologized and I chuckled.

"I-It's okay, Noona, I understand you wanted to protect your friend," I forgave her and she sighed in relief.

"Okay, now that's settled, I am Kim Sejeong and I guess you've already met Jisun. The two others are Kwun Eunbi and Park Jihyo, we are third-year students," She introduced herself.

Coming down the stairs, Natty comes to treat my wounds but we keep our conversation secret so as to not start any conflicts.

"Sorry, Y/N but this might sting a little," She warned before applying the alcohol wipes and I hissed.

"Damn, that's strong..." I muttered.

Finishing up bandaging my arm, it was clear she was a nursing student as she did it professionally and I kinda blushed as her boobs were pressing against my shoulder.

"Alright your right arm should be good, now can you please remove your shirt?" She asked and I blushed.

"U-Uhm, what?" I stuttered and she giggled.

"It's okay, I'm not going to make fun of you," She assured.

"Yeah, it's not like anything we haven't seen before," Eunbi said before sipping a cup of tea.

Reluctantly taking off shirt, Natty goes on to treat the bruises on my chest and stomach.

"Damn, you really did a number on yourself, huh?" She asked and I slowly nodded.

"Haha, yeah..." I replied.

Bandaging and applying cream on my bruises and injuries, I had to remain shirtless for the rest of the day.

After more than an hour, Natty finishes up treating my wounds and I thanked her for her help.

"Don't mention it. You mind as well stay here for the night, besides you can't really move around too much. If you need to use the bathroom or shower, just let me know," She instructed and sighed imagining Natty holding my cock while taking a piss.

"Oh, and don't worry, I had to handle plenty of old man dicks in my nursing school," She assured before winking and I gulped.

"Or maybe I can help you~!" Jihyo flirted and I blushed like a tomato making Natty playfully roll her eyes.

"Oh, Jihyo-Unnie, can you please not? You're going to make the poor kid pass out!" She jokingly said and she laughed her ass off.

Opening the door, I was surprised to see Saerom coming inside and she was just as surprised to see me in the dorm.

"Y/N, what are you doing here? And why are you shirtless....?" She asked and Natty rose an eyebrow.

"You two know each other?" She curiously asked and I shyly nodded.

"We have the same calculus class," I answered and she nodded.

"I see, well, no need for introductions then," She mentioned until we heard someone clearing their throat and we turned to see a big curvy ass woman coming down the stairs and staring down at me.

"Now. Now. What do we have here? Natty what have you brought here?" The woman asked.

"Oh, Unnie, this is Y/N, freshmen, I treated his wounds so he needs to stay in our dorm for the night," She explained.

"Well, Y/N, I am Lee Chaerin the eldest of the group but you may call me CL-Noona if that's easier for you. I'll tolerate your presence here for now but by morning you must leave. Understood?" She asked and I frantically nodded.

"Awww~. Unnie, but I want to play with him~!" Sejeong complained and she rolled her eyes.

"Like how you do with every guy you meet?" CL-Noona rebutted and she pouted.

"B-But this one here is cute!" She replied and she sighed before shaking her head.

She signals everyone to gather around to the kitchen, they talk softly so I couldn't hear their conversation. After about a few more mintues of talking they come to me.

"Okay, Y/N, after much discussion, I've come to an compromise here, I'll allow you to move here to our dormitory," She explained and my eyes widened.

"W-What?!" I exclaimed.

"But under one condition..." She paused and I rose an eyebrow.

"What is that?" I asked.

"You must be our pet, our lover, and do everything we tell you to do. Now, you don't have to accept our terms and leave right now but imagine having seven sexy women taking care of you," She explained and I gulped.

Damn, well she isn't wrong, I've always dreamt of having a harem, and having all these busty woman to myself is something I never thought would happen.

After taking some time to contemplate my decision, I agreed with CL-Noona's term and she smiled along with the girls.

"Yay~! Now I can fu- I mean play with him!" Sejeong cheered.

"W-What was that?" I nervously asked.

"Oh, uhm, nothing, puppy~," She assured before pecking my cheek.

Right afterward, my life took a 360 turn, the girls went to my dorm took all my stuff, and moved them here. I noticed that they've been quite comfortable giving me tight hugs and wearing revealing clothing.

Thankfully, I was able to control myself before CL-Noona beats my ass for being a pervert but I have a feeling they want me to get hard.

"Hey puppy~," Saerom whispered and I turned to look at her.

"Hey, Noona," I replied and she pecked my lips.

"Mind answering a question?" She asked and I nodded.

"Which one of us do you like most?" She straightforwardly asked and I gulped as I didn't know how to answer her question.

"I-I don't know, Noona, I like all of you," I nervously answered and she frowned showing her dissatisfaction.

"Aww~. Come on, baby, I know you must like one of us more... Maybe my boobs might change your mind~," She suggested before taking off her shirt revealing her black-laced bra and I blushed at the sight of her mounds.

Suddenly, the door opened and Jisun gasped at the sight of Searom's half-naked self and she immediately pulled her out.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?!" Jisun asked and she giggled.

"I just wanted to know if I'm Y/N's favorite~," She answered and she huffed.

"Oh, really~? Then Y/N, what do you think of these babies~?" She teasingly asked as she takes off her tank top and I saw she wasn't wearing a bra.

"H-Hey~! No fair~!" Saerom whined and takes off her bra leaving them half-naked and my dick started get hard.

Seductively approaching me, they each grabbed my arm and threw me onto the bed and they smothered my face with their massive tits and they giggled.

"He's so cute when flustered~," Saerom complimented before pressing my face into her tits.

"Yeah, but mines are bigger so I can make him more flustered, watch," She proved and smashed her mounds onto my face and I blushed harder making Saerom-Noona scoff.

"What is going on here?" Natty asked as she walked inside with Sejeong and was shocked.

"Ah, you horny girls, why didn't you invite me?" Sejeong complained.

"Well, you can always join us, let's see which one of us has the bigger boobs," Saerom proposed.

"Oh, you're on!" Natty and Sejeong accepted and joined us on the bed.

Sejeong takes off her shirt showing no bra while Natty takes off her hoodie and she wasn't wearing a bra either. Guess girls don't wear bras at home.

Of course, it didn't take long for Jihyo and Eunbi-Noona to join us as well and my God they have some of the biggest boobs I've ever seen in my life.

"Okay, now that we're here... Baby, which pair of boobs do you like best~?" Jihyo-Noona asked before licking her lips.

"U-Uhhhh..." I muttered.

"Come on baby, which one of us?" Jisun whispered in my ear sending chills down my spine.

"I-I cannot choose!" I answered and they sighed.

Suddenly, the door busts open revealing CL and the girls gasped as the eldest walked inside only wearing a white bathrobe. She looks down at each and one of us.

"Girls~. Girls~. Let us remember that each and one of us has a special place in our puppy's heart so it doesn't matter how big our boobs and asses may be. Our puppy will still be loyal to us, isn't that right~?" She asked and I frantically nodded.

"Y-Yes, mummy," I answered and she giggled.

"Good, now let us all enjoy him, tonight~," She said before sexily smirking and the girls agreed.

Saerom goes to take off shirt while Jihyo takes off my pants and underwear revealing my monster 9-inch cock and they licked their lips like a predator eyeing their prey.

"What a big-sized cock you have, puppy, and it's all for us," CL-Noona complimented and began jerking it off making me moan.

"T-Thank you, mummy," I muttered and she giggled.

Starting with Jihyo, she presses her mounds between my cock and bounces up and down making me moan. Her titties felt soft and smooth adding to the pleasure.

"I-It feels so good, Noona~!" I moaned and she hummed.

Each girl had a turn for about ten minutes until they switched out and I had to hand it over to CL-Noona giving me the best boob job and she wasn't too subtle about not being a virgin.

"All of the men, crave for our bodies baby~. You are really lucky to fuck all of us~," CL-Noona said and I nodded.

"Y-Yes, Mommy ~," I moaned out and she smiled.

After they were finished giving me boob jobs they each gave me a sloppy blow job, the feeling of their warm mouths on my cock and balls felt amazing and I could barely hold myself from cumming but I did my best to please my mummies.

"Such a tasty cock, better than my ex," Jisun complimented.

"I know, right?" Natty replied.

"N-Noonas! I-I'm going to cum!" I warned as I couldn't hold it anymore.

Gathering around my cock, I let out my massive load onto their faces letting out satisfying hums as they taste my cum.

"Cum also tastes amazing, we should do this everynight~," Eunbi suggested and they agreed.

"Now, let's get onto the main event, remember, will all get one round of his cum," CL-Noona instructed.

Going first was Natty and she didn't waste any time slamming her pussy onto my cock letting out a loud moan.

"Aww~. Is our baby a virgin~?" She asked and I slowly nodded.

"Y-Yes..." I shyly answered and she smiled.

"Even better," She replied.

"Good, because from now on, our pussies are the only pussy you're ever going to get~," CL-Noona said.

With Natty riding for me the next half hour, we came together and I filled her womb with my cum.

Next up was Jisun, she inserts my dick into her womanhood as Saerom sat on my face forcing me to lick her pussy.

"Oh fuck~! Good boy~!" Saerom yelped as I insert my tongue inside.

"So big~!" Jisun moaned in ecstasy as she slowly began riding me.

Despite not being experienced, I did my absolute best to please them and so far I'm doing good based on how loudly their moaning.

As soon as I let out my load inside Jisun, Saerom takes her position as Jihyo got on my face with her soaking wet pussy and it tasted like watermelon and I'm a huge fan of fruits.

"Ohhhh~! Puppy, I could ride this dick all day if I wanted to~," She screamed as she inserted my cock inside her womanhood.

"Mmm~. Your tongue feels so good puppy~," Jihyo moaned as I insert my tongue.

"You're doing such a good job so far, puppy~," CL-Noona complimented before giggling.

"Puppy, I'm going cum~! You better drink all of it!" Jihyo warned before squirting in my mouth and I drank all of it.

"I'm going to cum too, baby, I want your sticky cum inside my womb~," Saerom pleaded and we came at the same time.

Jihyo took Saerom's place as soon as she made my dick hard again and I was starting to feel sore and tired as I've came several times.

"Tired already baby~? We haven't gotten to the best part yet~," Jihyo said as she jerked my dick back to life and I gulped.

To my surprise, she gets on all fours shaking her ass signalling me to pound her as hard as I could and I got on my knees before shoving my cock inside her pussy making her loudly moan.

"Oh, you naughty boy, you want me that much~?" She teasingly asked.

"Y-Yes, mummy~!" I answered as I began fucking her.

Going in and out, pounding her as fast and hard as I possibly could, Jihyo could loudly moan as her mind was consumed by pleasure. CL-Noona hugs me from behind pressing her boobs on my back along with Eunbi and Jisun.

"Are you close baby~?" Eunbi asked.

"N-Not yet mommy~!" I replied as I kept fucking Jihyo and she smirked.

"Well, do you want to pound my pussy~? I'm just soaking wet from watching and I want your long and thick cock inside of me~," She whispered in my ear.

Picking up the pace, Jihyo began screaming and came a few times before I painted her womb with my cum and she collapsed on the bed all exhausted and I was panting.

"Good boy~. Now it's my turn now and you better fuck just as well as you fucked Jihyo," Eunbi said and I nodded.

"Hey what about me~?" Sejeong whined and she playfully rolled my eyes.

"Think you can take us both~?" Eunbi asked.

"Anything for you," I replied and she smiled.

With both getting on their knees and elbows, I insert my dick into Eunbi's pussy and insert my finger in Sejeong and switched places, fucking them both at the same time.

"Oh God baby~! So Good~!" Sejeong moaned.

"Mmm~. Keep it up and we may cum soon~!" Eunbi said as I pounded her.

Finishing off into Eunbi's pussy, I put my full attention to Sejeong, I places my hands on her tits and play with them while I pounded her.

"Yes baby, our tits are yours only~," Sejeong moaned.

"Why have any man when you have this obedient puppy's dick?" Jisun mentioned.

About ten minutes later, I unloaded my cum inside of her as she squirted all over my dick and CL-Noona pulls my head forcing me to kiss her.

With her having more experience, she easily dominated me and sucked my tongue and we let go when we ran out of breath.

"Now time to see if you can make me cum~," She said and pushed me onto the bed.

Inserting my dick into her pussy, I was astounded at how fucking tight she was compared to the rest. It felt Godly and I can see why so many guys competed for her but all of them never succeeded in getting close to her.

"Oh my fucking God, puppy, your dick is so good~!" She moaned as she roughly rides me and I moaned.

"Your pussy is so heavenly, mummy~," I replied and she smirked.

Speeding up, she began riding me like an angry bull and I held back all temptations to cum letting her enjoy herself.

"I'm so close to cumming baby~! Let's cum together~!" She screamed and I nodded.

At the same time, we came simultaneously and she collapsed onto my chest before pecking my cheek.

"You did amazing, baby~. I never expected you to be able to handle all of us," She complimented.

"Yeah, you did us so well~," Jihyo said before giving me a long smooch.

"You may consider us your actual girlfriends, baby, but at home, we are your mummies~," Eunbi whispered and I gulped.

The rest of the girls hurdled together and I was smothered in an ocean full of titties and it didn't take long for me to fall asleep.

[lazycats-stuff]

I hope it’s not too weird but can I request batfam a batbro!reader, older than Damian but younger then Tim that isn’t very emotional when it comes to death? Like they don’t understand why people are so hysterical over death. Maybe an animal died and they just go “oh they’re dead” like it was nothing.

Hope ur doing well, I’m projecting so much with this but I can’t wait to see what you do if you do. I love ur writing, can’t wait to read more 🫶

Alrighty then. Thanks for the encouragement.

Summary: (Y/N) is not really emotional about death. Bruce was a little bit worried.

Warnings: talk of death and it's elements, death of animals, this is just Bruce being worried and thinking about his son.

Bruce knew that his kids have some problems expressing emotions. To almost all of them, death was a touchy subject. Bruce knew that better than everyone. But his second youngest son was a whole another case about it.

Why, I might hear you asking? Well, (Y/N) had no reactions to death. Bruce always waited for (Y/N) to get hit with the reality, but the reality and the aftermath didn't hit him. Never. Bruce understood that everyone grieves differently, that was in human nature. There isn't really a rulebook on how to grieve.

No human thought the same and no human grieved the same. But to Bruce, (Y/N) was a whole another case. He loved his son and when (Y/N)'s parents passed, he wasn't really sad. He was... fine.

Bruce waited for the aftermath to hit and he waited for (Y/N) to crumble and he was more than ready to help him and he was more than ready to catch him.

But the aftermath never really hit him. Bruce would be lying if he said that (Y/N) wasn't sad, but it wasn't a normal grieving behavior either. He was so worried that he asked Black Canary to talk to him about mourning and grieving.

Canary said that there was nothing wrong with (Y/N). She just told Bruce that he didn't grive in a normal way, but that wasn't any reason for concern. He wasn't a sociopath or a psychopath.

Bruce could breath a little bit easier. But sometimes (Y/N)'s calm demeanor was the thing that could get him in the most of trouble. It was just recently when a bird that Damian was caring for passed away.

Damian was sad and the rest of the brothers were sad too so they decided to bury the bird in the yard. Everyone made little speeches, expect (Y/N). He didn't see the point. It was just an animal. Everyone was emotional in their own way, expect for (Y/N).

" (Y/N)? Anything you want to say? " Bruce prompted, putting his hand on (Y/N)'s shoulder.

" I don't have anything to say. The animal is dead. That's all. " (Y/N) said, looking down at the tiniest coffin that he has ever seen. Damian fumed. If it weren't for Dick, Damian would have lunged at (Y/N).

Bruce could only sigh and lead (Y/N) away as they were done with the ceremony. He really needed to talk with (Y/N) about being sensitive when it came to death. Sure, you don't have to cry, but still, have some empathy for those who are suffering.

" But Bruce, I don't understand why people are so emotional about death. I mean, it happens. It's a natural process. We are all slowly going towards our deaths. " (Y/N) said after the talk he had with Bruce.

" I know. But people have different approaches to death. Some grieve openly, some in private, but one thing they have in common is that they are all in pain. Animal or a human. " Bruce explained to his son.

" I should apologize to Damian then. " (Y/N) declared, standing up. If Damian doesn't try to kill him first. It was 50/50.

[random-dragon-exe]

Okay, MAJOR SALT COMING! Also a long post!

So I have the Disney Villains tarot deck but before I go into the salt part of the post, let's go into the positives.

The cards have stunning art and each card is appropriately themed to the villain generally speaking about 98% of the time. (IMO).

Another positive is the roster of villains included. Seeing even a few minor/underrated villains is pretty cool and impressive.

Some examples of these villains include Bowler Hat Guy, Madame Mim, Madame Medusa, and possibly Yzma.

Now onto the salt.

As impressive as the span of villains is, two villains are absent who (IMO) deserved a card.

King Candy

Frollo

First, there are other villains absent, but I'm sticking to these two since I've seen these movies. Now going in order, it is an absolute SHAME (IMO) that King Candy doesn't have a card, but I have an idea of which card suits him best.

The King of Swords. Although this card is given to Scar, and I do love how it looks, I believe that King Candy deserved it.

Plus, Scar appears on like three other cards, so I think it's okay for him to appear three times (sorry Scar, I do love you too).

Anyway, I'm going to go into some detail as to why I believe King Candy/Turbo deserves the card by going into the meaning of it and how it relates to him.

I'll admit, I have a lot of points and can talk about this for days, but I'm going to condense them to 3-ish. I'll do the same for Frollo too in a part 2 post.

Going for a two in one here: The card is about being an authority who uses reason and their intelligence for good. while the reverse of this is being cunning to deceive people.

After Turbo hijacked Sugar Rush, he was very methodical about his approach to make it sound like he's their rightful ruler. He locked up their memories, then he fabricated the lie that she was a danger to their game. Turbo did his best to make sure nothing went unchecked and made sure to make the lie sound convincing to protect them (but mostly him). He's very strategic, and was able to come up with a plan to manipulate Ralph with 16 manipulation tactics in one go. He was even able to feign being concerned to play on Ralph's attachment to Vanellope.

I think the best line that best captures this aspect of the card is "Doing what's right, no matter what." AKA: He recognizes that it may sound harsh, but he makes his lies sound reasonable to protect his subjects and game.

The card also represents enjoying structure when upright. But it's controlling and oppressive in a need for order when reversed.

Turbo needs everything to be to be going his way, as he's a control freak.

Inserting the test animation here, he even says "You are a threat to my game, to the order I have maintained. And if there's one thing I can't abide, it's anything out of order!"

Also, the split-second something isn't in his control, he starts to fumble and break into either rage or nervously laughing. He's capable of coming off as cool and composed, but he's scared of being caught and it can cause him to lash out in anger (another aspect of the card).

Just as mentioned in the previous point, he made sure nothing went unchecked and made an entire world literally revolve around him. He can and WILL happily use all of his resources of excessive force he has like the cops, the Sugar Rush equivalent of S.W.A.T., and the fungeon to detain someone who stands in his way.

As a minor note, there's a line in the tarot guidebook that states the reverse of the card can represent "someone who needs to win at any cost." Which describes Turbo to a T. He not only wants attention but he's also extremely competitive. It's part of his programming, and it ties to his love for racing. To always come out on top and be #1. No matter who or what stands in his way.

That core drive (pun intended) was the cause of his villainy in the first place and earned him his infamous status in the arcade.

Okay, I don't want to sound too salty, but you can imagine my disappointment when King Candy didn't get a card.

Oh well, Its fine, I still love and use this deck.

So I guess we can call this the thrilling conclusion to the 3 part saga of including King Candy in Disney Villain merchandise.

Also as a sidenote: hypothetically if he did get this card, what would the imagery be?

I feel the card has the potential to get creative with the glitch effects. For example make it so that he's glitching between the Turbo appearance and the King Candy appearance. If we want to be a little cheeky, we could have it set in his castle, and out the window, we see a the cybug Ralph initially sent to SR flying outside a castle window. (similar to Hook's card as the crocodile is seen outside)

So basically, my interpretation would be a mix of these images and Captain Hook's card:

But, if anyone else has really cool ideas, I'd love to hear them! If you want, you could also draw it out to illustrate your point (pun intended) Honestly please do, I'd love to see other people's interpretations of this card for him. The possibilities are endless!

Join me in my antics next time when I analyze Frollo and and the card I think he should've gotten.

[crisiscutie]

Hi! Sorry for bothering you. Is it alright if I want to make a request?

Like, where the Turks+Rufus, Sephiroth and maybe others that you think relevant, find out that the reader is also an Ancient/Cetra like Aerith but instead of being half-Ancient, the reader is like, fully Ancient. If you understand what I mean. How would they react? What would they do? It can be them being yandere or normal,up to you tho. Again sorry for bothering you.

And sorry if you have hard time understanding this. English isn't my first language 😅.

Hello anon, thank you for the request/scenario. You are not bothering me! Though, I'm sorry to say that I can only do Sephiroth and Rufus for this request as that is too many characters for a scenario (Limit is three) and that I hadn't decided if I want to write for the Turks yet. For the third character... I will do Tifa for this since I hadn't written her yet!

Rufus Shinra: He'd be surprised for sure. He thought there was only one ancient left, and the chances of the company capturing her again were slim to none. So for his darling to be an ancient, he would do his damndest to make sure that they are well-protected. And yes, this means he's going against Shinra's interests to protect them. Even if it means the darling could be Shinra's key to the promised land. They will find another way to it (if it exists) without compromising Darling's identity and safety. I think the only other person who would know about this is Tseng, since he is the loyal right hand of Rufus. He'd be just as dedicated to protecting Darling. Especially since this would certainly bring up memories of the times he watched over Aerith. But this time, this watch will be permanent.

Fluffy Sephiroth: He's honestly amazed as he read about the Cetra during his childhood. Hojo had him study these people in his "free" time. His curiosity would drive him to ask his darling a few questions about it since it'd be interesting to hear first accounts from a legitimate cetra. Still, he is careful not to reduce Darling to their heritage, having firsthand knowledge of what it feels like to be treated like an exotic tool rather than a human being. He'll also keep it a secret, knowing that Hojo would be more than interested in his darling once he finds out. Eventually, he'll make the decision to leave SOLDIER sooner rather than later, in order to protect his darling from a life of experimentation.

Tifa Lockhart: When her darling first told her about their heritage (during their childhood), she told all the other kids in Nibelheim about it. Darling's adoptive parents quickly debunked the "rumor" once it reached the adults, leaving Cloud as the only child who still believed it. Now, as adults, Tifa would feel guilty about it once she learnt more about the Cetra and what Shinra wanted to do with them. She'll approach the darling and apologize for spilling their secret out during their childhood, even though nothing really came about it. But even as darling forgave her and reassured her, Tifa couldn't shake some of the guilt off. So now, she always glances at Darling when the topic of the Cetra comes up, making sure they're fine and their secret stays safe. If someone asks Darling about it, she will definitely jump into the conversation, either by quickly changing the subject or diverting attention to herself to protect Darling.

[citadelofmythoughts]

Think what strikes me most about the conversation between Taiyang and Yang in V4 is just how much he's simultaneously shown to be someone who does understand and is able to understand certain aspects of a problem, but is also constantly held back by his own inability to properly address his own biases, and how it affects the way he approaches conflict.

Like his point about finding other ways around a tough problem, which doesn't sound bad on paper, but it's also interesting how it's reflective of the way HE approaches his problems:

Namely, by not really dealing with them at all, and trying to go around them. Especially in regards to Raven and Summer. Rather than properly confronting his complicated history and difficulties with the former, he basically just avoids the subject entirely even when it means actively ensuring that the issue is never resolved and festers until it comes back when he doesn't want it to, or pushes him against the wall until he has no choice but to face the issue, IF he even chooses to do so.

And his interactions with Yang, treating her issues with her Semblance as if it's a tantrum, is also quite demeaning, since that really isn't the issue at all. Rather, it's that she has severely repressed anger and resentment that he and the adults failed to address, and she has to basically vent it out either via her Semblance and fights as the closest thing to a constructive coping mechanism she has, or by pretending everything is okay. She's shown pretty consistently to be a smart fighter, so that was never really the actual problem; it's that people around her depend on her, while very much overlooking how much she's having to bear a burden she shouldn't have had to bear in the first place.

I'm sure I might get some pushback on this but Tai projects, Tai projects A LOT.

And yeah, Yang's biggest problem is her trauma and it's only gotten better because of her friends and Blake but I'd say she's far from healed. The adults in her life and Ruby's failed them.

And before someone comes at me, that's also a theme of the show. How the previous generations have failed and the current one has to pick up the pieces.

[zapreportsblog]

Hiii, so, I don't know if you like the movies/series, if you don't, that's ok. I was thinking about a female reader who's living with Hannibal (don't really care if it's the TV or the movie one) and they're in a relationship, but she never tasted the human flash because she's vegan, buttttttt he started to tell her "it's not the same, humans are the ones hurting animals, mistreating the world, being cruel to anything and everyone, even with other humans", being manipulative, and she decides that It may be true after seeing something bad happening with animals and she tries and feel some sort of revange and that's the only meat she'll ever eat. I got it if you think it's too much or too weird, I just have a thing with Hannibal (??? Weird, I know) but thanks either way ☺️

I had to pause from starting a request because the fact you said “weird ik” caught my attention, there is nothing weird about having a thing for Hannibal I repeat, THERE 👏🏾IS 👏🏾NOTHING 👏🏾WRONG 👏🏾WITH 👏🏾HAVING 👏🏾A 👏🏾THING 👏🏾FOR 👏🏾HANNIBAL 👏🏾

Now lemme get started one this

❝humans are no different from animals❞

✭ pairing : Hannibal lector x reader

✭ fandom : slashers x reader

✭ summary : (y/n) is Hannibal lectors vegan partner and she doesn’t necessarily minds his eating habits but when he brings some things to her attention she begins taking a different approach with her own eating habits

✭ authors note : wow my first hannibal lector story, to be a dick I added this to the vegan lifestyle tag that way if anyone goes there they can find my sick and twisted story :)

✭ slashers masterlist

Hannibal Lecter, renowned psychiatrist and connoisseur of fine cuisine, found himself in an unexpected relationship with (Y/N), a passionate vegan who had never tasted meat. Their connection was both intriguing and complex, as their differing perspectives on food and ethics often collided.

One evening, as they sat together in Hannibal's elegant dining room, surrounded by the opulence of his home, the topic of Hannibal's unique culinary preferences arose. (Y/N), driven by curiosity and a desire to understand Hannibal on a deeper level, mustered the courage to broach the subject. "Hannibal," she began, her voice filled with genuine interest, "I've always wondered why you choose to consume human flesh. It seems contradictory to your beliefs and values."

Hannibal's piercing gaze met (Y/N)'s, his eyes filled with a mix of intensity and understanding. He took a moment to collect his thoughts before responding. "(Y/N), my dear, I understand your concerns and the apparent contradiction that arises from my dietary choices," he replied, his voice smooth and measured. "But allow me to shed some light on my perspective."

He paused for a moment, his fingers delicately intertwining as he continued, "Humans, unlike animals, possess a unique capacity for cruelty and destruction. We are the ones who have caused immense suffering to the animal kingdom, exploiting and mistreating them for our own gain." Hannibal's words hung in the air,

He paused, allowing his words to sink in, before continuing. "Humans are the ones who have caused immense suffering to animals, mistreated the world, and shown cruelty to one another. By consuming those who have committed heinous acts, I am, in a way, purging the world of its darkness."

(Y/N) listened intently, her brows furrowing as she grappled with the complexity of Hannibal's explanation. She had always believed in the inherent goodness of humanity, despite its flaws.

“But Hannibal," she replied, her voice tinged with a mix of concern and disbelief, "isn't it a slippery slope? How can you be sure that you're not becoming the very thing you despise?" Hannibal leaned back in his chair, his expression contemplative.

“I understand your concern, (Y/N). It's a delicate balance, one that I constantly navigate. But by consuming those who have caused harm, I believe I am serving justice in my own way. I am not indiscriminate in my choices; I carefully select those who have shown no remorse for their actions." He paused, his gaze unwavering.

"In a world filled with darkness, I strive to bring balance. By removing the wicked, I hope to create a world where goodness can flourish."

(Y/N) sat in silence, her mind swirling with conflicting thoughts and emotions. She had always believed in the power of compassion and forgiveness, but Hannibal's perspective challenged her deeply held beliefs.

It was now another day, or night in this case. The moon hung high in the night sky as (Y/N) found herself standing in Hannibal's meticulously designed kitchen, surrounded by the intoxicating aroma of a carefully prepared meal. Her heart raced with a mix of trepidation and curiosity, for tonight, she had made a decision that would forever change her perception of the world.

Driven by a desire for justice and a newfound understanding of Hannibal's perspective, (Y/N) had decided to partake in a meal of cooked human flesh. It was a choice born out of a deep-seated anger and a need to reclaim power in a world that often seemed cruel and unjust on animals.

As she sat at the dining table, Hannibal gracefully moved around the room, his presence both comforting and enigmatic. He understood the weight of (Y/N)'s decision and knew that this moment would be pivotal in their relationship.

“(Y/N)," Hannibal began, his voice a soothing melody, "what you are about to experience is a journey of emotions. It is natural to feel a mix of revulsion, curiosity, and even a sense of empowerment. Allow yourself to embrace these emotions, for they are the essence of our shared humanity."

With each carefully plated dish, Hannibal guided (Y/N) through the intricacies of her meal. The first bite, tender and succulent, filled her mouth with a richness she had never experienced before. The flavors danced on her tongue, a symphony of tastes that both intrigued and unsettled her.

As (Y/N) took another bite, her mind began to wander, memories of the injustices she had witnessed flooding her thoughts. She recalled the images of animals suffering at the hands of humans, the pain and cruelty inflicted upon them.

In that moment, the revulsion she had initially felt transformed into a simmering anger, a desire for retribution. Hannibal, ever perceptive, sensed the shift in (Y/N)'s emotions. He approached her with a calm demeanor, his eyes filled with understanding.

"(Y/N), my dear, anger can be a powerful force for change," he said softly. "But it is important to channel that anger towards a purpose, to seek justice rather than revenge. Remember, we are not defined by the darkness within us, but by how we choose to navigate it."

His words resonated within (Y/N), a reminder that her actions were not driven solely by vengeance but by a desire to bring balance to a world plagued by cruelty. She took a deep breath, allowing her anger to subside, replaced by a newfound sense of purpose.

With each bite, (Y/N) experienced a kaleidoscope of emotions. There was a strange satisfaction in consuming the flesh of those who had caused harm, a twisted sense of justice that she couldn't deny. And yet, there was also a lingering unease, a reminder of the fine line she walked between righteousness and darkness.

As the meal drew to a close, (Y/N) found herself grappling with the complexity of her choices. She had tasted the forbidden, walked a path few dared to tread. And in doing so, she had come face to face with the shadows that dwelled within her own soul. Hannibal, ever the guide, reached out and gently took (Y/N)'s hand.

“Remember, my dear, that darkness and light exist within us all. It is our choices that define us, and the way we navigate the shadows that determine our true nature."

[blackjackkent]

OK, so, time to bring Gale to his face-off with his ex-girlfriend who happens to be god.

We last left off on this subplot with Rakha encouraging Gale in his interest in reforging the Crown of Karsus - her rationale being that a) every god she's heard about (including Mystra) mostly seems to have been in the business of being mean to herself and her friends, and b) if (as Gale indicated) this would put gods and mortals on the same level, perhaps Bhaal would lose his influence over her.

Bhaal has now lost his influence over her anyway, so item B is a little less relevant, but I think still has some weight, insofar as she definitely doesn't want him to regain it, or frankly for anyone else to have to go through that in her stead.

So we're still fully on the path to God!Gale (I think) at this point, but we shall see how things play out.

Narrator: There she stands, just as Elminster promised. Mystra - goddess of the Weave, mother of all magic.

The air inside the tabernacle tingles against Rakha's skin as she approaches the statue Gale stands beside.

"The old man wasn't lying," Gale murmurs as she comes within earshot. "She's opened a summoning channel. Can't you feel it?"

Narrator: Gale's right. The very air around the statue crackles with magic, as though the Weave itself were coursing beneath her stony skin.

It is, in a word, beautiful. Rakha isn't sure if everyone else around her can see it or not - but she can. The normal prismatic glint she sees over the skin of the world is far more powerful here, no mere flicker and texture but almost solid enough to reach out and touch. It sends warmth through her gut, and for a moment she closes her eyes, just letting the feeling of that intense, pure magic wash over her.

Even when Bhaal's blood still growled in the back of her mind, such a sight would have been incredible. Now, with her mind clear, it is transcendent.

This is who I am, she thinks abruptly, the idea coming completely unbidden, unlooked for. Beyond anything else, when the beast is gone, this is what remains - the magic. The beauty of it. The certainty of it.

She opens her eyes and finds that Gale, too, is eyeing the statue with muted wonder.

"A stream of pure, undiluted Weave," he murmurs. "I only have to reach out, and it will carry me to Mystra, wherever she may be."

He hesitates, then fidgets his weight from foot to foot. Wyll, seeing his nervousness, smiles slightly.

"Go on, my good man. You can't exactly deny a goddess, now can you?"

(A/N: Never mind that we literally just denied a god like two days ago. XD )

Gale laughs, a little sheepishly. "Time was I'd have given my right arm for a chance to speak with Mystra again. The left one too. Maybe a knee..."

Rakha tilts her head. "I don't think she's that kind of goddess," she says - a bit wry, but also cautious, because there has been no kindness in the way Mystra has treated Gale either. Or the way Shar has treated Shadowheart, or the way Vlaakith has treated Lae'zel, or even the way Helm has treated Wyll, offering him only silence in his years cast out of the city.

Gale seems to be thinking along the same lines. "Thankfully not," he says dryly, "though she's not been averse to demanding the odd human sacrifice in recent days, has she?" He sighs, absently rubbing his hands against the skirt of his robe. "When I pictured this moment, I thought I'd feel more in control," he adds bitterly. "Yet here I am, with palms sweatier than a bugbear's armpit."

He snorts. "I always wondered what being nervous would feel like. I hate it."

Rakha shakes her head slightly. She has no wisdom to offer in this regard. If she's honest, she feels very little awe or nerves at the idea of Mystra - only at the magic she controls. "Do you know what you're going to say to her?" she asks.

He huffs out a heavy breath, rattling his lips. "During my time locked away in Waterdeep, I prepared a quite comprehensive speech for her on the subject of our former relationship, and the manner in which it ended." He glances sideways at the statue. "Alas, recent events have rendered the majority of it moot, so I'm going to have to improvise. Unless you have any words of wisdom to impart before I go?"

Rakha blinks, puzzled. "You're not taking me with you?" she asks.

Gale gives a minute shake of his head. "The summoning channel Mystra has provided is for me alone. No one else is permitted to enter it, no matter how talented a user of the Weave they are."

Rakha frowns. She's surprised to realize the depth of her disappointment at this. Part of her, perhaps, had been eager to see Mystra's domain, which must surely be an even more concentrated and stunning connection with the Weave than the channel is - or even than the Astral Sea.

But she turns her head and examines it again and she can see now what he means. The magic is attuned to Gale specifically - to his body or to something deeper and more intrinsic. It follows his movements, dances with the rhythm of his breath. When she reaches out a hand towards it, it pushes back, as if she is trying to press her hand through a wall.

Damn, she thinks, irritated.

That irritation is still a wonder in itself, of course, with no beast in the back of her mind latching onto it, using it to fuel a hunger for blood. She can feel it and then it fades, without harming anyone.

She is not here for herself, anyway. She is here for Gale - and for them both to do what they can to limit the cruelty of the gods.

"Tell her the Crown will be ours soon enough,"(*) she says matter-of-factly.

Gale draws a breath, and his eyes narrow in determination. "With pleasure. It's not often one has the chance to threaten a goddess and make good on it. Mystra won't be the one issuing the orders for much longer. She'll know exactly who's coming for her."

He turns, reaching out a hand, and the Weave begins to swirl around him, drawing him in, swallowing him up. "This won't take long. And when I'm done, I'll be free of Mystra's yoke once and for all."

-----

(*) In-game line is "Make her squirm. Tell her the Crown will be ours soon enough," which didn't quite sound Rakha-ish.

[kiryoutann]

Before reading, please check series masterlist to read the warning(s), disclaimer, and to make sure you’re on the right chapter. Minors do NOT interact.

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Grief is so hard to hide, isn't it?

Childe despised it. He despised how the illumination along the corridor's walls seemed to dim as he was moving through it. He despised how the people gathered outside his father's door bowed to him before lowering their heads once more with grave expressions.

Childe despised that he had to go through something like this again.

When the big door was opened, Tonia and Teucer's sobbing from next to the bed were the first thing that caught his ear. It was soft but, had the ability to cut his long-dead heart. On the other side of the room, you are standing next to his mother, stroking her shoulder and attempting to sooth her.

Childe despised grief since it reminded him of his mother's expression whenever he spoke of Anton.

“Ajax,”

His mother called out in between her sobs. His blue eyes were fixed on her, watching her struggled to gather the last of her energy to approach him and give him a weak hug. Why was she hugging him?

"Your father.." A sob. "He... he's gone."

Snezhnaya's king, King Alexander II, is gone. He's dead, and the only thing left to give the dead was a funeral. The royal family held it the next day, sending their nation into mourning and leaving both the royals and the people dressed in black.

However, not a single tear fell from Childe.

All he did was stand next to you while watching the funeral process being carried out. Beneath the memorial chapel, blue eyes follow the outline of the casket where his father lies.

Again, not a single tear fell from Childe.

“Ajax?”

It wasn't until you gently tugged on Childe's sleeve that he realized he was buried in his own thoughts. When he meets your eyes he can't help but wonder what you think of him now you see his face without the tear stains on his cheeks. He should be grieving, which means he should be crying, right?

Meanwhile, from your eyes, you notice that his blue eyes look even emptier than before.

You took a breath before saying, "We'll be returning to the palace soon."

“..Oh.” He gave you a delayed response.

But, you make no complaint about it. You gave him a quick peek through your black birdcage veil before hooking your hand on his, gently pulling to guide him to leave the building.

Childe detested grief because he found it weird.

The two of you stopped when a group of aristocrats came towards you both. One of them is Duke Maxim, whom you remember from having tea with you just before the incident. They bowed respectfully before rising to their feet.

“Your Highnesses.” Maxim greeted, turning completely to Childe then. "To encounter you again in such a setting... how unfortunate."

There is something about his voice that you don't like, even if you are unsure of what it is. Childe next to you is still in silence, either he doesn't know what to say or he is deaf to what is being spoken since he has been lost in his own thoughts during the entire funeral.

You chose to be the one who opened your mouth, “Duke Maxim, is there something you want to say?” you ask.

Maxim's face is hardly covering his real expression right now. Perhaps it's because of your tone, or perhaps he regards you as someone who doesn't deserve to hear what he has to say. Yet, he had little choice because Childe stood there with no response.

"I simply wanted to remind you that the meeting discussing the succession should be held today."

Now you know exactly what it is about his presence here that you dislike. Maxim did show respect for the deceased by wearing black like other nobles attending funerals, however, he lacked the modicum of common sense that told him that for someone to bring up the subject of inheriting the throne when the late king's coffin had just been closed was inappropriate.

Your jaw stiffens from your attempts not to curse him then and there. "Excuse my impoliteness but, can you show a little self-awareness? We just laid to rest the late King.” You didn't hide the venom dripping in your voice.

“Forgive my rudeness, but it appears Your Highness is unaware of the importance of a new king for Snezhnaya.” One of them opened their mouth. You fixed your sharp eyes on the arrogant looking man in military uniform.

It's so miraculous you haven't flung one of your high heels in their face.

"Would holding the conference on the day of the burial change anything?"

The rhetorical question comes from you, answered by none. You still try not to raise your intonation and cause a scene but, it feels impossible when they appear in front of you with their foolishness.

Your hands wrap around Childe's arms tighter than before, protective in case they intend to snatch him away from you (though you know that's unlikely). “Give my husband some time. If you're intelligent and empathetic in the slightest, you'll know you have to give him at least a week to process everything." you demand.

Neither of them dared to open their mouths after that. Wise decision, you think, considering your patience is growing thin.

One of them broke the silence with a faked cough. "Ahem, We will be back tomorrow morning then, Your Highness."

Both you and Childe gave no response to him, he used the opportunity to continue, "For the discussion regarding the succession and also the investigation of Prince Shiva."

Instantly, your eyes open wide to find the man trying to hold back his grin from coming out. He knew very well what he had said. The confusion and anger on your face is too obvious for them not to notice, yet they see no threat in it.

"Why on earth would you do that?" You grind your teeth.

"Surely that is obvious. All of this took place during the late king's meeting with him. It is only natural for us to suspect him.”

“But, Shiva couldn't have done such a—!“ You stopped when realization hit you.

Isn't this exactly what you thought the day before? Didn't you also suspect Shiva? Something whispering to you is not a coincidence for the King to show the exact symptoms of poisoning as you did before his death.

If you, his own sister, are unsure that your brother is completely clean, what about others?

On the other hand, your words that you cut yourself off put those bunch of nobles under the impression you too had realized it. Now, they have no intention of covering up their grin, they look at you with a look as if they have won something.

"What's wrong, Princess? Have you nothing to say?”

Hold it, (Y/N), you tell yourself as you take a deep breath to quiet the raging emotions inside of you. A second later, the burning fire that was your anger miraculously disappeared as if someone had splashed water on it. Rational thought comes back to you, it whispers so you don't give them what they want.

"No," you respond. "It was very understandable. So, you are free to do as much investigation as you like on my brother." But, if Shiva is proven to be innocent, you will be the first person I feed to wolves, you want to add but, didn't.

When you turned to look at Childe, he still had the same straight face and blank stare. Now you feel guilty having to argue with these people in front of him. A smile you forced on your face for them.

"Please excuse us." You softly motioned your husband to walk past the nobles.

Childe remained silent throughout the carriage trip to the palace. He only glances up when you put your hand on his to give him a gentle squeeze; for the rest, those blue eyes find his shoes to be the most interesting to look at. Because of that, you assumed he would remain that way for quite sometime. That is until you walk him into his chamber.

“Please rest, Your Highness.”

That's what you said after Childe sat down on the couch near his bed. Just as you were about to bow to excuse yourself to give him some alone time, he opened his mouth unexpectedly.

"Aren't I a horrible person?"

The moment it came out of him, you couldn't help but notice the emptiness in his voice. You straighten your posture again as you gaze at his attempts to give a thin, bitter smile. It was so terrifying how he looked no more alive than a wolf on the verge of death.

Childe let out a laugh that shook his shoulders but, never touched his eyes.

“My father died but, I didn't shed any tears. Am I not a cruel son?”  He isn't waiting for your response because he knows, he is the worst person in the world.

Childe despised grief because he didn't know what to feel about it.

With a room this big, your cursing should have echoed. However, what his hearing now captures is your footsteps getting closer. Stop, he thought. How can you be so brave to approach someone so cruel that he doesn't cry over his father who died the slowest and most painful death possible?

"I'm not even grieving." He let out a scoff. "Perhaps they were right when they said I didn't have a passion for anything but bloodshed. Perhaps they were right about me being heartless—”

It was the warmth he felt when you closed him in your arms and drew him into your embrace. Those blue eyes widened. You bring him further to rest his head on your chest. At this point, you don't care if he can hear your heartbeat; the fact that you're this close proves that you don't see him the way he sees himself.

Soft, ginger strands between your fingers as you stroke his head. “There is no right or wrong way to grieve.” You spoke softly. "Everyone handles it differently, therefore no one has the right to judge you, including yourself.”

Childe believes he really does not deserve you. This is a luxury that no amount of money in the world can purchase. In your arms, he unfolds, not a single part of his cold, dead heart is left untouched by your comfortable glow. He never wanted anything so much than to drown in everything about you. His secret becomes your truth, you are the air he would kill to breathe.

As if he'd spent his entire life practicing for it, his hands found your waist and hugged you tightly.

Inside his head, he wondered while performing autopsies on past memories. If only someone treated him like this every time he asked about Anton in the past, would he have a better understanding of grief? If only people didn't force him to bury everything about him, would he not mistake the emptiness in his chest for the absence of a heart?

Childe nuzzles up to your chest. "Don't go.” He spoke quietly. “Stay with me."

You've experienced a lot of déjà vu during the last several days. This time, you're reminded again with the memory of when Childe came to you drunk and said exactly the same thing. You don't know what to feel now you realize there's no alcohol involved in this one.

Nonetheless, through your questions about the meaning of his words, you made your choice.

You stayed.

It was late at night when Laura arrived at the address you gave her. She pushed back her hood, sweeping her dark eyes across the exterior of the luxurious mansion where the Crown Prince of Liyue stayed whenever he visited Snezhnaya. Unlike other nobles, Shiva always preferred to reside in the home he purchased over the Emerald palace.

Even though the eyes of the guard guarding the gate were sharp, Laura tried to muster up the courage to approach them.

“State your business.” The voice was firm and fast, leaving no gaps for her to make excuses.

In an effort to get the bravery to speak, Laura swallowed. "I-I have a letter from Euryphaessa to His Highness Prince Shiva." She's hoping the guard would let her in using the alias you instructed her to use.

It appears to work. The expression on the two guards' faces changed to one of curiosity before one of them ran through the gate to announce the arrival of this guest.

Soon after, he came back and led Laura into the building. After passing through a large door, she stopped in a room with a luxurious spiral staircase that was his main focus.

"Why did she send a letter all of a sudden?"

Laura almost jumped out of her skin when she heard his baritone voice. When she turned around, Shiva was already standing some distance away from her in his bathrobe. His damp hair dripped with water drops that touched his skin, creating the illusion that it glittered in the light of the chandelier. The Liyue imperial family was undoubtedly gifted with attractive appearances.

“A-ah.. that..”

Instantly, she lost her ability to form words under those piercing gazes. In order to spare her life, Laura hastily handed the letter into his hands. She watched as he tore open the unwaxed envelope and pulled out the paper inside.

Shiva raised one eyebrow before starting to read.

Brother,

You're returning to Liyue, right? On this sad day, I cannot leave my husband who is still in mourning. Under any other circumstances, I would definitely escort you to the harbor instead of sending a letter.

Are you alright? Remembering what happened makes me tremble. Even now, I become frightened every time someone brings me a cup of tea.

Shiva paused for a moment. You're afraid? It felt strange and worrying at one time. Nonetheless, he pushed the thought aside and continued reading to the third paragraph.

Upon your arrival in Liyue, please take care of your health. Now that you've matured, I hope you'll be wiser. Do you still often train with General Alatus? Endure all your difficulties, I believe it will bring positive consequences. Rest is always necessary; avoid staying up too late.

“No wonder she rarely writes letters. She's really bad with words.” he commented.

Someone told me that your expression is scary. Usually, I wouldn't have given this any thought, but, for some reason, I am now. Sometimes, I wish you could smile more. People will easily like you if you do. It would be great if my brother had more reliable acquaintances. Can you do that? I believe you can. Other than that, I don't think I have anything else to be concerned about. Now that I've said it, I hope you'll heed my wise counsel.

After writing this, I'm reminded of the moments I spent with you. Do you remember what we used to do when we were kids? Do you recall how we almost ruined all of Dad's important letters because we were too intrigued about the contents?

After reading the fifth paragraph, Shiva furrowed his brows as his mind searched for his past memories. The day you and him almost ruined the Emperor's important papers..

Something clicked in the back of his head.

Reading letters to improve your skill to decipher their hidden messages is a passion shared by the two of you. But, why are you suddenly bringing up that?

As he read the next one, Shiva's presumption was proven to be correct.

The contents of this letter I wrote are important, so please ensure that you understand my worries.

Your dear sister, (Y/N).

Shiva swept his eyes over the letter, re-reading it looking for the 'content' of the letter that worried you. His brain thinks what kind of secret code you put in it. For him to understand what you actually want to say, how should he read this letter?

Ancient letter code? No, you won't use it since it's possible that he has forgotten how to crack it. If you wanted to send a letter while trying to disguise its true message, you would choose the simple way yet, still ensuring it's not entirely obvious that someone other than Shiva can understand it.

Shiva stopped thinking. What if..

Laura wondered what brought his eyes back to the top of the letter. As she recalls, you only gave her one sheet, however, Shiva acted as if he was trying to memorize every word in it.

What was really in that letter? she thought.

Meanwhile, Shiva was trying to test his assumptions. From the start of your letter until the end, he carefully reads the first letter of every sentence. His breath caught as it made a complete one after reaching the fourth paraghraph.

Y O U. A R E. U N D E R. S U S P I C I O N.

Those four words were enough to tell him everything he needed to know.

There was a long tense silence for Laura, it felt like the calm before the storm. The next thing that happened, Shiva's shoulders shook from the silent laughter that escalated and echoed in the room. He pushed a strand of hair that tickled his forehead while reading the letter for the umpteenth time.

"Ha ha ha! Goodness, she really is something!”

Shiva crumpled the letter until it was shapeless. He landed his eyes on Laura with a big smile that sent chills down her body.

“You!” He pointed at her. “Tell the Princess that I understand her worries.”

There was a dangerous stir in his irises as he unclenched his fist and let the paper fall onto the marble floor. When Laura was about to nod in understanding, Shiva opened his mouth again.

"And one more thing,"

The most arrogant smile graced his handsome face.

"Tell her, that no one can touch me."

Though she didn't fully understand what he meant, Laura nodded quickly before bowing to take her leave. She had never been so eager to leave a room this quickly. Her wobbly feet almost knocked her over as she was in such a hurry to reach the door to give you his message.

"He said that?"

You asked Laura after hearing what Shiva told her to tell you. You see her giving you a nod through the mirror.

Evidently, sending him a letter in secret code was the perfect move. To be completely honest, when you first started writing it, you weren't sure if Shiva would get the sense of what you were saying. Even though Laura is now obliged to stand by your side, it is still possible that she will read your letter and use it as a chance to threaten you back if you write it too obviously. One could never be too careful.

You also avoided meeting him so that Snezhnaya's nobles didn't think you were working together. Shiva now knows what might happen in the future, therefore you should start looking into the incident on your own.

The jewelery box on the dresser was opened, revealing various kinds of expensive jewels inside. You took the necklace with the yellow gem and handed it to Laura.

"You have done well."

“T-thank you, Your Highness!” She immediately received it from your hands.

Though you can't really confirm Shiva is completely clear of this incident, you hope it's not him. If Shiva later fails to keep his word and gets 'touched' by the nobles, it's not impossible for them to suspect you, considering you were also at the same table as the King yesterday.

But, if it turns out that Shiva poisoned Snezhnaya's king—Childe's father—then, which side should you take?

A knock on your bedroom door was heard before you found the answer. It swings open when you tell them to come in and shows Countess Sasha. She approaches you, gives you a polite bow before stating her purpose of coming.

"Your Highness, someone is pleading to see you."

You furrowed your brows, "Who?" You don't recall having an appointment with anyone.

"It's Duchess Anna."

You can't hide the uncertainty on your face. Duchess Anna? In this situation, what could she possible want to say? When she requests a meeting without an appointment, especially while the entire palace is still in grief, you want to call her out for being impolite, but deep down you are left wondering what compelled her to do that.

With a sigh, you say, "I'll meet her."

One of the drawing room is where you stand after the door closes to give you and the brown haired woman in the seats some privacy. Anna hurriedly stood up to bow to you before raising her head again.

“Your Highness—”

“How impertinent,” You interrupted her without even a smile on your face. “to ask me to meet you outside of an appointment and while we are all still in mourning. Unless you are not grieved by the tragedy that happened?”

A loud gasp escaped her red lips. “No! T-that's not it, Your Highness! I'm come to inform you of an important matter!"

"You ought to be." You said. “Start talking."

Duchess Anna bit her lip in frustration, you really don't spare even small talk. Though, it's quite understandable considering your relationship and what she has done to you (even if that was from your manipulation). She took a breath, preparing herself which you thought was too much of a waste of time.

"About His Highness agreement with my husband which was cancelled,”

Although her words cause you to raise an eyebrow, you choose to keep quiet and let her continue.

The expression on your face should be enough to tell her that you don't like where this conversation is going. Yet like most people, Anna has a cause to defend—in this case, she is fighting for herself.

"I beg you to convince His Highness to make a new agreement with him."

Anna is a lot of things that you can't describe. But, you never thought she would be this lowly. You clicked your tongue in disgust, making sure it was loud enough for her to know the sight of her sickened you.

"And why should I do that?" you ask.

The Duchess locked her jaw, both from frustration and embarrassment at seeing no difference in your expression after hearing her request. “Please, please! I will do whatever you ask of me in exchange for it. Maxim—my husband—threatened to divorce me if I couldn't resolve the situation!” Her voice was full of despair.

Maybe under different circumstances, you would pity her. However, the agreement she was referring to involved Liyue in it, and you forbid anyone to lay a hand on it.

A scoff escaped you. “Is this what you mean by 'important matter'? Not only are you utterly ignorant, you're also disturbing my time of grieving just for things like this.” Your voice is full of poison that shows the shock on her face.

“Your Highness!” Anna screamed as you started to turn around to walk out of the room. “Your Highness! You will regret this!”

How dare she to say that. You gave her one last glance and found her face red from anger. Duchess Anna.. would she come up to you and slap you like the last time?

The next thing she said froze you in place.

“Something bad is going to happen!”

What?

What does she mean by that?

Before you could turn to her and ask what she meant, the familiar excruciating headache made you lose the strength to stand up. Unknowingly, your hand reaches for the doorknob to support your unsteady legs.

A vision. After a long time of not getting one, you receive one in the worst situation. In the next second, you get a glimpse of what the future holds.

It was a man—no, a group of men whose faces you couldn't see clearly. They huddled around a big table to discuss about something. One of them tapped his full ring finger on it to get the attention of the whole room.

"Then it's decided." he started. "On the second day of the throne succession conference, the great plan will be carried out!" He said proudly, “Prince Childe will get what he should have had a long time ago.”

A small vial filled with purple liquid was displayed before he continued with his voice unable to hide a smirk within it.

“This poison is the perfect gift for him.”

The vision ended there as you tried to collect your breath. Your heart is beating too fast for you to realize that your maids are already around you worrying about you.

No..

Fear abounds. You clenched your trembling fists. Behind your head, you draw conclusions from what you just saw.

Someone is planning to kill Childe.

AbbyBianx, ness

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[soulcluster]

some thoughts about Lucanis & Spite, with Veilguard + Tevinter Nights spoilers

I've been thinking lately about Lucanis and Spite and especially in comparison to Anders and Justice. I haven't seen all of his paths in the game yet, but a supported Lucanis is able to make peace with Spite and the two start to work together as one. They hardly face the same challenges as Anders and Justice did. I thought about this for awhile and I think partially it can be traced back to how the two men were trained.

Lucanis is obviously not a mage, but as a Crow he did undergo severe training. Tevinter Nights explains how his grandma beat him with her cane, that he can still feel the tingle of it on his back, and how she starved him for days when training him as a crow. he says in Veilgaurd that he resented her for it...but that he doesn't anymore.

To me, I think he just repressed all of his feelings on the matter out of survival. he could not escape the crows, he could not escape his family, but if he kept resenting how he had been raised then it wouldn't end well for him (this is my speculation/headcanon, I'm unsure yet if this is expanded on in some manner I haven't seen yet)

Spite was forced on him after a year of being locked away and tortured, and I think Lucanis only came out of that as well as he did because he'd already been subjected to something similar in his youth. And despite these circumstances, Spite and Lucanis don't seem to have the same dynamic/issues as Anders and Justice.

Pivoting to Anders, one of the Veilguard codexes talks about possession.

Anders isn't the first companion we've had with a spirit either. Wynne was possessed by a spirit of compassion and those two co-existed. Easier, I'm sure, since that emotion was much more benevolent, but I think it's also important to note that Wynne was older when it happened and much more confident in herself. Even when Anders accepted Justice, he was Justice and not Vengeance.

So to me one of the big key differences between Lucanis and Anders is that Anders received poor training from the Ferelden Circle, and though he grew to be proud of his magic and would fight for mage rights, he was still raised with that shame. That lack of foundational training made it easier for him to have a rift with Justice. However, if that was all, maybe things would've turned out OK. Probably the bigger factor to Anders was Kirkwall itself. It was a hotbed of blood magic, which weakened the Veil and made things unstable. Kirkwall was also pretty much a cursed location because of all the slaves and blood magic that had been there previously.

Lucanis has the benefit of both being a very disciplined man and also spending most of his time at the Lighthouse. It's said somewhere, probably one of the banters or convos around the place, that the Lighthouse protects them all from the worst of the Fade. It's a much more peaceful location compared to Kirkwall and Lucanis was not dealing with a very personal, long standing struggle for mage rights that would see him and those he loved dead if he didn't do something. They're in such vastly different circumstances with vastly different personalities and ways to approach their problems. Comparing them has been really interesting

When I write Lucanis I do plan to do a bit more with Spite, but right now I'm also still soaking up a lot of info. My first playthrough I saved Treviso and this time I plan to save Minrathous and I know Lucanis takes that hard so I'm eager to see how his personality shifts.

[auncyen]

I think part of why I like Oboro is because I think of some of the stuff in OT2 as like "depiction of mental illness on fantasy steroids".

In real life, most people who are depressed aren't going to hurt anyone else (the unfortunate possibility of themselves on the table). They might hurt their relationships with others, though, because part of depression is your brain being stuck on only the negative. Oboro gets to raise his adoptive sister and be friends with a kind prince? That's because he's working for the prince's father who, going by Ori's journal fragments, went a LONG time ignoring any strategies Oboro proposed to avoid bloodshed in war and went the bloody way regardless. This same man is ultimately responsible for both Oboro and Ori being orphans, and Oboro didn't exactly enter his service freely. This man acts like this because his bloodline is cursed, which Oboro knows very well the prince has a second, crueler personality because of the curse too, and seems convinced that means eventually the prince will turn out the same way as his father.

He doesn't, but you know, even master strategists can ignore possibilities because of cognitive distortions.

Like this is the same setting where a book convinces a guy who seemed to be decent if extremely hard on himself "you can't save everyone from illness" means "you have to kill everyone so they don't suffer". Same book convinces another person that living is pointless too. Oboro doesn't find anything particularly noteworthy about the book...because he's already realized "the truths it laid bare on my own"... but I think it's noteworthy that even he, by his own account, "played my role" of "dutiful subject" until the day the man (I assume Claude) approached him with the book. Basically: Oboro was depressed and traumatized enough that if the book did change his thinking in any way, it did not register. But while his letter is somewhat ambiguous about when exactly the plan started, the implication seems to be the planning started then, either because he now had an accomplice in the man and/or because the book did nudge his thinking, even if it didn't register to him. (Which again, depression: sometimes you don't realize you're getting worse until it's suddenly like "whoa. wait, at one point in my life I did have more hope, but it feels like I might as well have been a different person then".) We don't have an account of a "normal" person reading the book and staying normal afterward (Castti might have read the book, because the opportunity was there, but there isn't anything saying she did) so it's...hm. That book definitely isn't doing anyone's mental state favors, huh.

Basically take the humans of the OCTOPATH villains: Oboro, Tanzy, Ori, Petrichor, Trousseau, Harvey. Petrichor is essentially a noncharacter, we never interact with her directly and she has very little description even in the infodumping journal fragments. Harvey, well, kind of seems to just be envy to the point of extreme evil. But I'd argue Oboro, Tanzy, Ori, and Trousseau all had depression even before reading the Book of Night (and iirc it's not even certain if Ori actually read the book or not; she's in close enough proximity it seems likely she did at some point, but it's not described). There are definitely other human issues at play behind the troubles in OT2, such as, whatever the hell Harvey's deal is, and while Roque is excluded from the OCTOPATH acronym clique (which seems a bit arbitrary to me given how far on the periphery Tanzy and Trousseau are, but yeah, sure, he's not in the conspiracy), greed certainly isn't helping anyone, but so much of the human side of Vide being brought back seems to be despair and trauma and depression being put on fantasy steroids. And in that context everything Oboro does is still terrible and wrong. But like I get how he screwed up that badly. (And still. Poor Hikari. AU where Hikari read the book as well everyone has the worst time ever)

[hazbinextgeneration]

Housed Hearts Ch5 Protecting Investments

(Warning: A random REALTOR attempts to kidnap Rose. Art's by me.)

-THIS SPANS OVER A FEW WEEKS-

Rose did indeed call in later that night and casually ask if there was any REALTORS located in her neighborhood. She was surprised when the person answered no. That either meant that Mr. Maison Talo wasn't registered with their systems or whoever was researching this place was doing a bad job of doing it. Either way she decided not to out Maison just yet. If he himself hadn't made himself known to the Mayor's office then he probably had his reasons...Then again maybe no one else knows about him being a REALTOR here. She could potentially let innocent people get eaten or put them in possibly danger if she didn't at least leave a message. She needed more time to think about this or how to approach this subject which... Wasn't exactly easy. Anyone else would obviously point out that it would be better to tell someone and she'd be inclined to agree to that but...There was something holding her back. Perhaps it was out of courtesy that he hadn't literally tried to pluck her off the street. True he tried to convince her to come inside for very obvious reasons but he hadn't done anything that made him an out right threat or danger to herself. And could Maison really be a threat if he only tried to eat people by convincing them to step inside his house? But what if eventually his hunger got to the point that he did do something extreme? All these questions were making her head spin. But eventually she had an idea. Why not ask for the opinion from a fellow REALTOR about it all?

"Gee, pal. That sure sounds like a problem you got there."

"No kidding. The problem is that he hasn't done anything..yet. But with the current REALTOR problem and him being hungry enough for me to literally hear his stomach growling ALL THE TIME I'm not too sure how long he's going to last. At this rate he'll either starve to death or snap from hunger." 

Currently she sat down on Heim's fleshy sofa and held her head in her hands after she made him finish digesting a giant box of food she brought over. Heim's lure laid dormant but his voice echoed throughout the area.

"If I told this to anyone else that would possibly put Maison in danger if he isn't already. That's why I wanted to ask your opinion. What do you think I should do?'

There was a long silence before eventually he spoke again. "Gee..Uh..I'm not sure. Never heard about anything like this happening before ta be honest."

Rose groaned facepalming. "The main problem is that he's hungry and obviously not eating enough. That's worrying me the most. His urge to eat might eventually take over his ability to think clearly. How do I fix that?"

"Well...I'm not sure about him but for me it's always been pretty simple. I'm not a really big house so it doesn't take a whole lot to keep me full, and you've been feeding me a lot of extra stuff so I don't really feel like human flesh. Y'know?"

She slowly nodded. "That's true..but you don't rely solely on me to feed you. You can get food yourself that isn't human flesh and you get a giant serving each month." She specifically remembered all the fast food containers that once littered Heim's lawn. "You're also not as high strung on your pride as he is, and like you said you're not addicted to the taste of human. I don't know so much about him."

"Well....The main problem is him being hungry right? Why don'tcha y'know just give him food too?"

"I don't know if me feeding him will make him let up on eating humans...but keeping him from starving himself would probably be better for everyone involved in the long run." She looked up with a sigh. 

"Then what are ya gonna do?"

"....I'm going to make a call to Ivy and then I'm going to go shopping."

The drive back from Heim's felt a lot more stressful than usual and the giant basket of freshly bought food sitting next to her felt heavier than normal. How was she supposed to break the news to someone that he was now within the Mayor's REALTOR systems? That phonecall to Ivy was difficult to get through. Even though Ivy assured her she'd done the right thing, Rose couldn't help but still feel guilty about it all. However there was no going back now. She only hoped Maison wouldn't be too made and forgive her eventually. Eventually she had arrived in front of the familiar home and got out. Now the real weight of the basket was known to her arms which felt noodly compared to the rock in her stomach. She stood there for the longest time before inhaling and steeling herself in order to gather the courage. And walked up to Maison's door. With a firm hand she reached out and knocked loudly on the door to make her presence clear to him. He had to be home. She didn't see any lure cord leading out from the door. She stood there for a long moment waiting before eventually the doorknob twisted and the door opened revealing the man inside.

Maison blinked down at her before smiling as expected. "Ah. If it isn't the buyer next door. I wonder what brings you this time. Have you changed your mind about coming to see my new decor?"

"I'm not going inside." She was blunt before taking a breath and relaxing herself as much as she could. "I came to talk to you about all the stomach growling I've been hearing."

He blinked. "Ah. A noise complaint. I do apologize if it's bothering you, but some things are out of my hands."

"I know...And I'm here to fix that." He looked confused until she forced the giant basket of food into his arms making him stare at it for a long moment before looking back at Rose in confusion. "I spoke with one of my bosses. She's from the Mayor's office." That got his attention real quick as his eyes snapped open widely. "I really didn't want to tell anyone!" Rose quickly held up her hands. "I promise you I didn't! But by this rate I was worried you'd starve or try to do something dangerous."

He continued to stare blankly at her before slowly looking back at the basket then back to her. "You...worried about me? Forgive me for being so blunt but there's really not a lot of people whom really are. I'm fact most humans wouldn't probably mind seeing me wasting away."

"Well I'd rather NOT see someone die of starvation. Just because you're not human that doesn't mean you don't have a right to eat. To LIVE." He again looked up surprised at her statement. "Look. Whether you like it or not you need food and you're not getting it by your own methods. You may not want my help or anyone else's but if it means you won't starve then I can live with that. Starting next month you'll be in the Mayor's program and start getting regular feedings. I'll be the one who's going to give them to you since I called it. But you can still be a REALTOR. By all means!" She threw her arms out. "Keep trying to get buyers! Do whatever you usually do! I won't stop you from trying to do what you've been doing for years! But what I won't do is sit by and watch you starve yourself for your pride...I am deeply sorry, Maison. Really I am. But I'll make it up to you. Until you can get your first feeding next month, I'll give you a few bags of food myself. It probably won't fill you all the way, but it'll certainly help with your hunger." She heaved out a heavy sigh before crossing her arms getting that all off her chest. "Now..What do you say about it?"

Maison couldn't speak. He just...stood there stunned continuing to stare at her for a long, long...LONG moment of silence. Before he eventually looked down at the basket he held. Maison hummed before he reached inside eventually. Rose watched curiously and silently as he shifted through it slowly as if inspecting everything. Once and a while he'd pull out a random cucumber or pineapple and held it up closer to his face narrowing his eyes before moving on. Eventually he stopped and stared at it again. Then without saying a word, he simply turned around and dumped the entire basket out onto the floor. A series of thuds and thumps rang out as they all scattered about but Rose blinked as fleshy red tentacles reached out to pull them further into the depths of Maison's body similar to Heim's fleshy limbs. Her eye widened before she smiled as he turned back around and held the basket out to her. 

"I will...accept the terms of this new arrangement, but only because you came to me and we're honest with me." He rose a brow at her happy expression. "Considering you hold up your end."

She nodded before taking the basket from him. "I will! Don't you worry! I'm more happy about the fact you're not going to die from starvation or something!" He blinked as she smiled wider. "Thank you so much for letting me help you, Maison."

He still stared at her before he cleared his throat and turned away feeling an unfamiliar warmth lighting up his whole body. "Well...If it means avoiding an untimely death, then I suppose I could look past any grievan-CES?!" He froze when something quickly threw their arms around him squeezing in the quickest of hugs before letting him go and backing away just as quickly.

"Then I'll bring you back more food tomorrow after I work! Is there anything specific you like?"

.... Maison slowly blinked realizing Rose had quickly hugged him and blinked again. "I...nothing specific comes to my mind. Perhaps a few..fish sandwiches. I don't believe I had them for a long while."

Rose nodded. "I'll definitely be getting them soon. You won't be disappointed I promise!"

He only hummed. "Well...I suppose we'll see."

Rose kept her promise. But he supposed he wasn't around whenever she stopped by because when he did return from finding some hopefully interested buyers near a train station, he found a large box waiting for him on his doorstep and inside again was a rather large assortment of random vegetables and strangely enough a random small paper bag. Upon further inspection he had found exactly two filet o'fish sandwiches just as she promised. They smelt like a few hours old. So it began. He'd return random times in the day to either food already waiting for him or Rose showing up with a bright smile to deliver it right to him. He was skeptical at first. Of course he was but...he couldn't deny this little arrangement was clearing up some hunger pains he's been feeling for a while. And then his first feeding came and...it wasn't...too bad he supposed.

But it was still a little embarrassing and degrading that the number one REALTOR was getting assistance from someone.

Seriously! He could've done this on his own!! ...But he supposed the benefits of having a clear head without having hunger nag at him was worth it all. He certainly was thankful for the newfound clarity. It made conducting business a lot easier! However he wasn't expecting to run into a peculiar sight while looking for potential buyers. He figured a newly constructed apartment building in town was the perfect place to scout out people looking for new places to live. And what better way to stir up a few new buyers than to advertise himself to people currently looking for a home? If he's lucky he'll at least get one of two buyers. However he wasn't expecting to run into a certain red haired woman while there. He saw Rose but she didn't see him.

She was a little busy pulling out what looked to be young flowering bushes from the back of that old pick up truck of hers and  handing them over to a man who took them from her and placed them on the small lot of land in front of the new apartment building. ...Oh. She must've been delivering some flowering bushes to be planted in front of the apartment complex. She had mentioned that she worked for a rather large greenhouse after all. She didn't notice him however as he stood across the road and up from her. Naturally she wouldn't notice him as she was working. Eventually she had the man (probably the landlord for the apartment complex) sign a form presumably for the delivery of said plants before turning away from him to close the back of her truck. Ah. Good. She'd be done soon and he could work in peace. ... However a figure caught his eye and it was one whom was quickly approaching her with a familiar looking tube like cord dragging behind them.

....He quickly decided to approach.

"Hello there!" Rose jumped and whirled around to stare at a random man just standing there smiling widely at her. "Such a lovely day for a drive! No doubt you've been scoping out the fancy new complex constructed right here in our beautiful city of work!"

She blinked at the new comer before smiling and waving him off. "Oh no. I'm not looking for anything. Besides I already have a house. But I'm sure you'll find someone interested eventually." She politely said before turning around.

Only she was flung back around and grabbed harshly by the arm which had her freezing in her tracks. "Ah. But I have a small business deal. Just. For." With each word he added emphasis. Gripped her harder. And tugged her farther towards him. Her eye widened. Pupil shrinking as he stood closer to her now. "You."

Rose stood there frozen as her breath picked up. And a hand clamped down on her shoulder. She squealed and snapped her head around to face the newcomer along with the stranger and both froze at a figure much taller than the both of them. A strained smile stretched across the face of a REALTOR.

"Pardon me." Rose never felt such relief seeing a scary figure looming over her. "But that happens to be my dear provider you're so roughly grabbing so rudely." A firm pull instantly removed her from the man's grip and against Maison's side whom leaned over to almost get in the man's face. "You'll excuse me if I protect a few of my investments."

The man stared at Maison wide eyed, then at Rose, then back to Maison.. Before frowning but calmly taking a few steps back and eventually turning to walk away entirely. She waited until he had completely disappeared into the crowd before sighing in relief and halfway leaning against him.

"Maison." He stood right back up and released his grip on her shoulder to return his usual position but remained frowning as she turned to look up at him. "Boy am I glad to see you. What are you doing here?" Her head then turned to where the man had disappeared off to. "And who was that?"

"THAT my dear provider happened to be the barbarian of my kind you've heard so much about. The ones who wished to swoop you up for none other than a cheap appetizer." A shudder of horror went through her. "As for me I was merely working and happened to pass by seeing a fine young lady being pushed around by a barbaric fiend. I couldn't pass by knowing that my dear provider was in danger."

Rose gave a sigh before looking back up to him with a smile. "Well I sure am lucky you were passing through. I think you just earnt yourself a couple more fish sandwiches." He chuckled at her smiling. "I'm serious. Who knew that handsome face of yous could be so scary.~" she half playfully half flirtatiously giving a playful push to his side 

He blinked at her motion before clearing his throat and turning his head away to hide the faint pink on his face. "Well...You ought to be more careful especially in these times. I wouldn't want my d-dear provider to be harmed."

"Did you just stutter?"

His smiling strained. "....The fear must've worried you silly."

Amused not she nodded. "Uh huh. Alright. Well thanks again but I think I should be getting back to work  before my bosses yell at me for being late."

"Ah. Perhaps you could give myself a call when you do. I would want to know if my provider was in need again."

"That might be a good idea but I don't have your number."

"Never fear. That is easily curable!" With that he quickly swiped his card from his pocket and held it out to her. "Here you are! Just be sure to write it down before the card disintegrates."

She rose a brow amused. "Well.. I've been asked for my number a few times but this is the first time a man's offered me his." Maison again paused as she plucked it from his with a playful smile. "We haven't even had a first date yet. Although I guess I have taken you out to dinner with how much I feed you.~"

"N-Now cut that out!"

Rose only giggled again at his flustered state.

[vickyvicarious]

Did he get his brain fever, and then write all those terrible things, or had he some cause for it all? I suppose I shall never know, for I dare not open the subject to him.... [...] And if it be wanted; then, perhaps, if I am ready, poor Jonathan may not be upset, for I can speak for him and never let him be troubled or worried with it at all. If ever Jonathan quite gets over the nervousness he may want to tell me of it all, and I can ask him questions and find out things, and see how I may comfort him.

Mina

(Confidence) [...] I must keep it private for the present from all. [...] I have read your letters to poor Lucy, and know how good you are and how your husband suffer; so I pray you, if it may be, enlighten him not, lest it may harm.

van Helsing

Both Mina and van Helsing emphasize secrecy and privacy on the 24th. And to a certain extent it seems like they both are doing the same thing for the same reasons. They both want to protect others by keeping them in the dark, the same thing that has been going on all this time.

But there is a difference. It's the same thing Mina said: "there may be a solemn duty..." She is keeping this secret from Jonathan at his request. He was clear about what he wanted from her: "Take it and keep it, read it if you will, but never let me know; unless, indeed, some solemn duty should come upon me to go back to the bitter hours, asleep or awake, sane or mad, recorded here.'" Mina's determination not to tell Jonathan, to speak for him and not trouble him, all of it is predicated on his request to her.

She promised not to open it herself "unless it were for his own dear sake or for the sake of some stern duty." And she kept that promise, refusing to open the journal until she became too worried about Jonathan panicking on the street and then losing time. This is the same thing. Mina is determined to keep this secret from Jonathan just as long as she isn't certain there is anything to do about it. But, while she herself doesn't buy in to the truth of it immediately, she is open to the possibility that everything within it is true. And based on that possibility, she takes action. She prepares herself for the next step, should that be needed. But even then, she refuses to come to him with this until she knows it is real and that a "solemn duty" does in fact impel him to know.

And then today, that's what happens. When Mina meets with van Helsing, she takes a gamble by opening up to him, and once he writes back to tell her than Jonathan's diary is all true, then she tells Jonathan the truth. We've seen her musing about whether knowing he is either sane or not would be better than the uncertainty, and that is surely a huge part of her reasoning; but I think it's also a consideration that if Jonathan's journal is true and van Helsing is the one to tell her that, then everything that implies about Lucy reveals Dracula to be a present and immediate threat. Action is necessary. This is that solemn duty.

In a way, van Helsing also waits to tell others until there is a "solemn duty" - in this case to deal with the 'bloofer lady.' But really, they have been actively involved in this fight for a while now, and he made the decision to exclude them for them. There was no such agreement as Mina had with Jonathan, although to be fair it would be hard to have done so with such different relationships/circumstances. He also doesn't ever take quite the same leap of faith as Mina does in sharing the journal with him. He's a bit more cautious about it, bringing in first Jack in a more gradual fashion, and then arranging for irrefutable evidence for Arthur and Quincey. At this point, that approach makes sense for him. And both he and Mina wait to inform the others until they've got one ally who also knows the truth and has given them more information (that being each other).

[shiroi---kumo]

( @aquaticsoul ) ->

🛠️ +

"Pikkuveli?"

"I know. They'll go to him if anything happens. I promise."

He remembers the conversation more often than he'd like to. He remembers her far clearer than he thinks he probably should given how much time has passed, but he also supposes it would be impossible to forget the other half of himself.

He still finds himself wishing that comfortable presence would settle at his right side again. He still finds himself distant, longingly looking for her missing half that had by chance and miracle formed distinctly next to his.

The last pieces of her take the shape of an earring and a necklace. And he knows what he needs to do with that earring, that bind, yet he hesitates to even disclose that he has it in his possession.

The right thing to do is the hard thing. The right thing to do is to give it to Pilvi, but the fact that it's one of two pieces left of her Mist makes it exceedingly difficult to part ways with.

Would she deliberate like this if it were him instead?

He ponders it as he finally puts the gem of blue and white back into its place on his ear. His eyes fall back to the necklace that he'd made for her, brilliant aqua hanging from a dark cord.

They did everything together for the longest time. They should both go to Pilvi together and surely that will make this process a bit easier. He tucks the necklace of aqua into the box where the earring of violet rests.

That looks much better.

The box snaps closed and slides back under his pillow. Cid enters before anyone else, likely to check on him for the thousandth time and ask once again if there's anything he can do.

Usually, Sielu always answers by shaking his head.

Not this time. He cuts straight to his point before the blond has time to even ask.

He'd been prepared for this possibility. He extends the paper he'd written on in the best Wonderlandian he could manage.

[ I am fine. Thank you. Could you get Kumo for me? Tell him it is important, before I make a coward of myself? ]

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ He had been on his way to check on his patient when he was met with straight answers. A note handed to him in messy handwriting and a request. A request for Kumo and he's sure somehow that it must be strange for them to call him as such, when he is coming to find quickly Kumo is not his name.

He was right this whole time when he heard Kaze call him Pilvi damn near a year ago. He was right this whole time but he didn't dare call him such a thing when Kumo hasn't given him permission to do so. He just needs to figure out when he's going to approach the subject.

There's a smile and a nod as indigo lifts to look at the Misterican of blue before him. He's finally working with him and he's finally speaking for himself - even if he still doesn't have the voice to do so.

"Oh, I don't know where he is exactly at the moment. Last I knew he was taking a bath, but I'll check to see if he's done for you."

The blond gives the - if this man was one of Kumo's teachers then he has to be older than him by quite a bit but he certainly doesn't look like he is - then again Kumo doesn't look very old either.... still he gives the older man a smile.

"I'll be back in a minute."

The engineer leaves to make his way towards the room that the swordsman has come to call his own and there a knock at the door before he cracks it open to see if he's sleeping perhaps. He seems to sleep so much nowadays and he still hasn't quite figured out why yet -

But he doesn't seem to be here? Perhaps he's still in the bath? He can always knock and just tell him to come when he's done. Sielu said it was important after all and he's not the one who needs to judge what a Misterican decides is important to another. So steps carry him down the halls but for some reason his stomach twists the further he goes.

Something suddenly just has his whole body feeling off and something in the air is tense and is that crying? The closer he gets the louder the sound becomes until he realizes it isn't crying it's Kumo crying. It has him taking off into a dead run until he finds himself in front of the door he was headed to anyway and he pushed the door open without invitation.

"Kumo I'm sorry to barge in you but are you o - "

Indigo fills with the sight of the half dressed man weeping into the arms of the smallest of the Amestrians but Kumo's back - Kumo's back was - what was all over Kumo's back? It looked like the scar -

"K- Kumo your back- What is - "

He can only stare in horror as his friend releases his hold on his other friend to push away from him and now he can see Kumo's chest as he comes to face him and it's ... the scars have spread out. His skin looks like ... like glass. Like he's shattering.

That's not possible.

People don't shatter.

Why does Kumo's skin look like glass? What is -

The shame that is plastered across the Misterican's face is hard to miss and it shatters his own heart upon seeing jade eyes look at him while filled with both so much shame and so much fear. Kumo looks terrified and suddenly the technician has forgotten all about the reason he came to get him in the first place.

"I'm sorry." The word sobs out as the swordsman just lets himself sink to set on the floor fully. "I'm sorry Cid. I was scared. I'll tell you everything. I love you. " He pauses to pull a breath between hurried words. "I love you. Please don't be mad. I love you so much. Please don't get mad at me. I was scared. I didn't want - to upset you but now I'm going to anyway. I'm sorry Cid. I swear I didn't mean any harm. I - "

"Kumo stop." The blond starts up again as he crosses the space between himself and his friend only to slowly come down to the floor and set in front of him. Gently does he take trembling hands into his own.

"I don't know what is going on, but we're going to get through this. We'll figure it out. You're not alone in this and I'm going to help you however I can, okay? But I need you to put your shirt on. Sielu is calling for you. He said it was important. We can talk later, alright? Will you come with me for him?"

There is a long intake of breath pulled up through a sniffling nose as a head of white nods. Bare hands wipe against his eyes in an attempt to clean himself up.

"Joo." He starts. "You can go and I'll be there in a minute. Just let me get dressed."

A soft smile first and the engineer moves to reach his arms forward for the first time in some time to wrap them around the weeping man in order to give him a quick embrace.

"I'll tell him you're on your way then."

And it doesn't take long to get back to the medical wing so that he can poke his head into the room where his patient waits. The blond is taking a seat for the moment giving him a smile.

"He was just getting out of the bath." He explains. "He said he'll be here once he's done getting dressed."

Reassurance and confirmation that he did the requested task and he wasn't just bullshitting the man but it makes him wonder how they will react to Kumo's back and chest. Do they know? Did he tell them? Knowing Kumo - probably not. He probably only told Kain.

There are footsteps a moment later as a body of white swings around the corner met with jade eyes still slightly pink from crying as pale lips stretch out into a false smile.

"You were calling for me, Opettaja?"