#Yana is mentioned

[mvrdermeharder]

I’m about to crash out bc WTF DOES THIS MEAN😭😭😭😭😭😭

[rayroseu-reblogs]

ON THE LOW just realized what Sebek is describing here is Knight of Dawn's life... OGMG... 😭😭😭😭 not him being disrespected as a king (i feel like at the end the humans followed Henric and not Dawn and thats why they got a disagreement on the land leading to the war inside the Kingdom of Swords), being used as a knight, and also was hated as a child (as per this upbringing described by Sebek)... DAWN.... 😭😭😭😭

imagining that Dawn wasnt taught about anything about faes, only that he must kill them, yet he still dream to understand them even if the Silver Owls forced him to be ignorant and subservient to their selfish greed 😭😭😭✨✨✨

[warmmilk-n-honey]

So lets talk about why the psychosexual elements of Sebastian and Ciel's relationship don't work for me and why I don't think it's thoughtfully addressed enough to justify its existence within the manga. I've wanted to write about my thoughts on this for a while and since my dadbastian post like two people have said they want to hear about this, so here you go.

Warning for discussions of CSA and the sexualization of children within the manga

The main reason, it's just fanservice and the thing is, even if this aspect of their relationship was explored or addressed the fact that it is used as fanservice fotter shows that Yana has no intention of exploring this in a thoughtful way, she just likes sexualizing kids. I'll be repeating this point a lot because it's like basically my thesis... So strap in!

I've seen people say that Yana is trying to illustrate that Sebastian takes pleasure in human suffering, and they use Ciel's panic attack during the circus arc as an example. I would say even if this was her intention-which it definitely could be, it still falls flat because ultimately the reader is meant to be titillated by the way it's framed. It doesn't matter what is trying to be said when we as the reader are meant to be taking pleasure in Ciel's pain and exploitation. That's why it doesn't work for me regardless of Yana's intention, there is no empathy for Ciel's trauma, not actually if we are meant to enjoy his suffering on some level. Lolita for example may be from Humbert's perspective but Dolores herself is not fetishized by the framing, the erotic scenes between the two are written as gross and unappealing, but this couldn't be less the case in the way she draws scenes of Sebastian and Ciel, we are meant to find it sexy. You could say we are meant to see it as Sebastian sees it, but I still don't see that as an excuse to sexualize a child character for the reader's enjoyment. Besides, there are many instances where Ciel is sexualized completely independently of Sebastian. For example in the public school arc there's that scene where Maurice ambushes Ciel...

It is very clear that Yana has fetishized Ciel's trauma and powerlessness in this moment for the sake of the reader's enjoyment, Sebastian's not even in this scene. I can't think of any other reason to frame the scene this way other than that we are meant to find a 13 year old csa victim sexy! What does this scene actually say about Ciel's character? That he finds some kind of masochistic pleasure when he is victimized, perhaps as a coping mechanism? Well that's never addressed within the actual text, that's not consistent with his character. See how I can just make shit up to make the fanservice seem like it serves an actual purpose? Like it's pretty clear Yana didn't think too hard about this scene other than the fanservice aspect of it.

On that note, Yana also likes to sexualize Sebastian and Ciel's power dynamic while not fully addressing the psychological effects this would have on Ciel. All of it is too sub textual for her to actually explore why a child survivor might have complicated feelings/desires towards a protector who is also being predatory towards him. It honestly makes me understand peoples love for Alois more, even if that aspect of his character isn't written in a respectful or descent way. At least his sexual feelings towards Claude are somewhat acknowledged, and Alois shows interest in his own sexuality (again doesn't make sexualizing a child okay but y'know what I mean). On the contrary we are meant to see Ciel as an effectively heterosexual character who hates Sebastian and has no complicated feelings/desires for him what so ever, so the fact that they are sometimes framed in a way that can be taken as romantic is rlly weird, both narratively and character wise. Also unlike Alois, Ciel shows no interest in sex or his sexuality-in fact he seems quite repulsed by anything sexual, so I find it even more insidious that the "camera" constantly has this voyeuristic view of his body-in the fan service and in the official art. Unlike Alois, Ciel clearly doesn't want to be perceived as "sexy," so why does Yana sometimes draw him posed in suggestive ways or with a sultry expression on his face? 🤔

this is kind of a bad example cause he's not "trying to look sexy" but still, sexualizing his body!

This next point is a bit disconnected from Ciel and Sebastian's framing but I feel like it still relates to some over arcing issues with how Ciel is portrayed.

So let's talk about Ciel's sex repulsion, and only being a survivor when it's coinvent for the plot. Let us not forget that Ciel was also victimized by women, but Yana shows a complete disinterest in what a survivor would actually be feeling in moments where he has his boundaries violated by girls and women. We all know the scene with Sieglende that's played only for laughs, or when Nina violates his boundaries, or when Ran-Mao shoves her tits in his face. We see Ciel is visibly uncomfortable by these instances and even when he sees a scantly clad woman, but all of this is played for comedy in the typical shonen manga way of guy gets flustered when he see big booba. Again none of it is meaningfully explored nor addressed. Is he actually sex-repulsed because of trauma? Or is his displeasure in those situations meant to be funny manga hijinks? Sometimes I truly think Ciel's status as a CSA survivor is just there for shock value (or worse titillation *shudder*) and to tie into her themes about the dark depths of humanity. The problem with that is that she is not thinking through the implications of having a character with this kind of trauma. Like he's triggered by someone touching his scar but not a grown woman shoving her tits into his face?! Make it make sense. Also by making it into comedy I find it dismissive of the fact that boys can be abused by women.

Before my conclusion, I just want to add that often times the fanservice can be taken as extremely subjective. There are many scenes of Ciel and Sebastian that can be taken as sexual if you want to see it that way, but can also be seen as parental. I fully believe this is intentional and you are meant "to see what you want to see" so to speak. It's one of the reasons I find it so funny when people who sexualize their relationship get mad at dadbastian, like you do realize she also makes them have pseudo parent child interactions on purpose right? (it can also be seen as a part of the fetish, eww)

In conclusion, basically what I'm trying to say is that Yana never thought of deeper reasons for why Sebastian and Ciel's relationship is portrayed the way it is, she is simply catering to shippers as well as fulfilling her own desires. She also handles Ciel's status as a survivor of sexual abuse very poorly. I've never read her past work because I'm not subjecting myself to that shit, but I have seen some panels of it compared to Black Butler, and I think it's is very clear that she has certain kinks that she likes to slip into Black Butler with no regard for how this muddies the narrative. She is the definition of the author slipping in their poorly disguised fetish! Even if I didn't think it was fundamentally gross, which I do, I also think it's just shitty story telling, most of this fandom is convinced that Sebastian and Ciel are romantically interested in one another, when the text itself couldn't be more to the contrary! And I can't even blame them for thinking that because Yana directly feeds into it! It's like a fucking ouroboros of shitty fanservice and lowbrow humor.

[casslcfrr]

to be honest I can't even hate the hiatus that much because the longer it goes on the longer ciel phantomhive stays alive

[tinyfantasminha]

The BatB wolves getting a mention in the game must be a sign from the universe

AND WE ARE HERE ALIVE TO WITNESS THIS MOMENT.........

[inhumanheresy]

Another night, strikingly cold, colder than they have yet to experience this winter, falls deeper as the hour grows later, biting st every edge of Zapolyarny Palace. Yana had lit one of the hearths before Tartaglia was able to answer her call, and now she walks with him from the entrance of the throne room towards the firelight, hand curled around his forearm, knowing he must slow his stride so as not to outpace her leisurely steps.

"Most other nations have begun their celebrations," she says with a soft smile, eyes glancing up to gaze at his profile. Snezhnaya dornet begun their own celebrations for a few more weeks yet, but she's not against a moment with her Eleventh before that time - even if she knows he would rather be with another on this evening. Most evenings, perhaps. "I have something for you, so I hope you will indulge me a bit of your time before you leave again. I will not keep you long."

As they take seats beside the fire, she recalls a few years prior, when they sat in these same seats while she gifted him the earring that still adorns his ear now.

"Schastlivogo Rozhdestva. A little early, yes, but I have a job that will keep you busy in the coming weeks, and I hope the holiday will be spent with your family." He may only have a day or two of free time at that point, and she knows how important his family is to him, so she will not keep him from them. She picks up a box from the small table between the chairs and the fire, and hands it to him. Inside, nestled within white tissue paper, is a new red scarf with the barest hint of silver woven into the threads that may just resemble flecks of snow when catching the light. This scarf is thicker than his usual one, not meant to replace it but to be used when it is especially cold, perhaps on this night as he leaves.

The chill of Her touch seeps through his coat and thick leather gloves where She tucks her arm through his, but the temperature She maintains at the moment is not so cold as to be terribly uncomfortable — not for a Snezhnayan-born, at least, and not for any like him who have spent extended time in Her presence.

Her heels click with each step, a feathering rime crackling out over rug and stone even as the two of them approach the radiating warmth of the hearth fire. Its heat does nothing to diminish the icy aura of the Archon by his side, though he himself appreciates both the comfort of the hearth as well as the delicate touch of Her hand. He finds the cushions of his chair, too, pleasantly warm when he relaxes down against it after keeping his arm steady for Her Majesty as She takes her own seat across from him first.

“Shchaslyvoho Rizdva,” he replies, dark eyes crinkling alongside his smile as he easily falls back into the dialect and accent of his home region, so often set aside by necessity when he’s in the capital city. “I’ve heard that Sumeru and Natlan celebrate the solstice in particular, and that Mondstadt keeps the midwinter celebrations going for… well, as long as they can. To hear the tale of it told, it sounds as if they retained their traditions from times before the Archons, back when Mondstadt froze nearly as cold as we do.”

Tradition in Snezhnaya tells that the Tsaritsa ascended to her throne on the coldest day of the year, not the longest. Either time is a prime excuse to both bond with family, he thinks, huddled together against the cold and dark, or to celebrate as vigorously as possible for much the same reason.

“You may keep me for as long as You wish,” he says with a touch of both mischief and affection in his face and the warmth of his voice. “I come late and stay late when it comes to family gatherings, and so must make what excuses I can to linger elsewhere for a while. I would much rather spend this time with Your Majesty than list about aimlessly.”

His own gift for Her is not ready yet, and he feels a twinge of guilt at not having it ready at hand. A silly sentiment, of course, and he knows this, guesses that She gifts him before the holiday so as not to infringe upon time with his family. Ajax smothers that immediate contrition of his in order to truly, properly appreciate the gift She presents to him.

“Oh,” he breathes as the warmth and exquisite softness of the scarf reveals itself from the first touch of his fingertips, and then as it settles against the back of his neck, gentle as a newborn snowfall and yet warm as Snezhnaya’s summer sun.

"Thank you."

Blood-on-snow, home and heartbeat, are the associations that lie against him with the downy comfort of safety amidst winter’s might. Leave it to Her Majesty to understand, to present him a gift both practical and luxurious. Hints of silver gleam in the dancing firelight as he thumbs across the fabric, appreciating the weave, the warmth, and the thoughtfulness for a long moment before slinging it overtop of the one he now wears. The bulk infringes on the wolf-fur of his collar, but oh, he is warm.

And once again, his favorite color. She remembers.

“A job?” He notes what She said belatedly, his words partly smothered by his enfolding layers of scarves. Tartaglia hooks a finger into the high-piled cowl of red fabric and yanks it down enough that he can be understood clearly. Perhaps I’ll see about going home early— But no, Sashko and Tetyanka and Tarasik will still be there, along with their families…

“Rest assured, I will spend all the time I can with them.” Every second he can manage. He’ll count every moment a blessing. “But that is for the upcoming days.”

To lift her hand and kiss it is audaciousness beyond belief for any normal person, much less any citizen of Snezhnaya, but since he was fourteen, unbridled audaciousness has been a norm for the man now named Tartaglia. His breath rimes on his lips as he lifts away from Her skin.

“I would accompany you for a while, if you wish it.”

[theskoomacat]

please tag severance for tag filtering... trying to doge all spoilers

I usually do, but keeping my post out of the tags altogether had a higher priority to me than tagging spoilers. Which weren't really in the post. Sorry for spoiling that there wasn't a reveal of any C*bel's daughters in the episode I guess.

[orangeearlgray]

Ik in the past decade or so anime adaptations have tried to adapt mangas exactly and even gone back and done other versions of anime just to make sure to adapt the source material and that's a good thing and definitely has its place, but also I genuinely think we should let people make up 100+ filler episodes again

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

twst anni 2025 ABEMA livestream summary

VAs went over all the events we’ve had over the years, with special attention granted to the Halloween events and the anniversary Grim cards.

Full initial illustration for Dawn Armor Silver was shown!

VAs confirmed that the March 10th update will conclude book 7.

From March 10th to 18th, there will be log-in bonuses!

From March 10th to 28th, you will be able to claim a maximum of 30 free rolls. In the same period, you will be able to get 1 of 3 guaranteed SSRs (you can pick which 3 SSRs you’d like to target).

There will be reruns of the book 7 limited time SSRs. The Raven Jacket Crowley SSR will also rerun.

Chats will now be voiced.

There will be a new full body view function.

You will be able to trade spell level-up items for higher grade spell level-up items. However, this is limited to items of the same element. (So you can trade water notepads to water textbooks, but not fire notepads to water textbooks.)

The cap for AP is being raised from 30 to 60.

New functions for rhythmics; you can toggle notes and score display.

Unique interactions for certain characters when they fight in the Guest Room.

NRC Staff will be added to Alchemy. Crewel starts on the 10th, Crowley on the 11th, and Trein on the 12th.

Profiles for staff will be updated to included new information, such as their birthdays.

There will be a new event that centers on rhythmics/twistunes. It is called Blazing Jewel: Listen to our Song. They showed two previews which feature Ignihyde in one and Diasomnia in the other. The characters seem to be performing brand new group songs.

You can earn a free 10-pull key for use on the Crowley banner by playing through the new event.

5th Anniversary PV is shown! (View it here.) It is similar to the 4th year one so sadly not a lot of animation 😭 However, it does feature the main NRC students in idol-like black outfits. These will feature in upcoming merch; I believe for now it’s just cards?? Yana left a comment stating that these outfits were supposed to be more updated versions of the current ceremonial robes.

Grim is getting a new card in which he is wearing a similar black jacket as what is seen in the new main boy art; SSR Blazing Jewel Grim!

They mention a pop-up shop in Ginza!

Reminders about the Malleus 1/8 scale figure, the release of the remaining deformed figures, the A3 fabric poster and TwstFes2023 disc.

Ad for AnimeJapan2025 and Twst’s presence on its Green Stage.

Reminder about more anime news dropping on the 22nd!

Didn’t really have a place to insert this, but Yana left a message thanking everyone for supporting Twst. She eventually specifically mentions international fans ✨

[yuurei20]

From Yana, on the ages of the students:

"Twst follows a European/American-style system, so compulsory education is until the age of 16. NRC is considered a 'high school/technical college,' so everyone enters at 16.

In Japan high school enrollment is typically at age 15, but in this case, everyone is one year older.

This means that if you celebrate your birthday during your second year of school, you become an adult (18 years old).

NRC follows the European/American-style system that begins in September. This is the reason why birthdays started in September.

It was briefly mentioned in the story, but Ace is what would be considered 'late-born' in Japan (born in September, the oldest of the first years), while Riddle is 'early-born' (born in August, the youngest in the second year).

In the game, the age/gender of the prefect are not set and there are events like birthdays...(laughs).

The characters don’t refer to each other's ages, but on the official website they are listed as how old they were when the prefect was summoned.

NRC is essentially a technical school. Although there is what is uniformly called a middle school, the systems likely differ depending on a person's country of origin, and there are also a fair number of students who are homeschooled."

[sovamurka]

Demonslayer Vol. 2, ch. 17 and ch. 22

[snoopyana]

need to come on here and remind yall, i mean BUSINESS when it comes to chenle, hendery, kun, renjun, ten, jisung, jeno, haechan and doyoung.. in that order. big business

[kuroshitsuji-wiki]

It's Yana Toboso's birthday! (January 24, 1984)

Yana forgot her birthday this year...

... so there's even more reason to congratulate her and celebrate!

Some trivia:

She chose her penname "Yana Toboso" to indicate what kind of manga she wanted to create: Because there are so many mangas whose central themes are dreams, hope, friendship, and love, she wanted to make a manga whose focus is the opposite. "Yana" derives from "iya" (unpleasant, detestable, disagreeable; here: unpleasant/nasty child), and "toboso" is meant to signify importance: a "toboso" is a cavity in the frame of a door used as part of a pivot hinge; as doors wouldn't work without hinges, hinges are important objects. "Yana Toboso," therefore, is meant to mean "the hated/bad child is in the middle" (憎まれっ子がど真ん中にく る). (Character Guide, page 146)

Yana once stated that Ciel resembles her the most out of her characters. (Character Guide, page 147)

*cough* Obviously.

Exhibit A:

(Downstairs with Kuroshitsuji VII, from Volume 17)

(Chapter 76)

Exhibit B: The iconic Pancake Saga from 2018!

Yana's grandmother encouraged her to become a mangaka, and her mother pushed her to submit her work to a publisher when she was 20. Both have since passed away. (sources: akumadeenglish, The Japan Times)

She is a fan of the band L'Arc-en-Ciel (source). HYDE, the vocalist of that band, wrote the opening for Season 5. Yana was obviously very happy about that!

Yana contemplated making "fluffy spin-offs" to Kuroshitsuji, e.g., "a gourmet manga featuring the canteen of the Shinigami dispatch association HQ, or a manga where the Indian butler cooks curry or the black butler makes sweets, or where the servants make small discoveries." However, she dropped those ideas because her "fluffy concepts" kept becoming ominous after a few chapters. (source)

Kuroshitsuji was not meant to be set in 19th-century England from the beginning. Mr. K and the chief editor eventually suggested England as the setting. Yana, who did not know much about England (and could not find many materials early on; source: Downstairs with Kuroshitsuji II in Volume 2), especially not about 19th-century England, and did not believe the manga would be a hit anyway, then cooked up the wonderfully anachronistic Volume 1. Since then, Yana has become more knowledgeable about Victorian England, got a historical advisor (Rico Murakami) who also, sometimes, translates sources for her (source: Downstairs with Kuroshitsuji Special in Volume 15), has been (re-)learning English, and visited England twice. The manga has, thus, become significantly more historically accurate over the years. Still, as it's a fantasy manga, Yana likes to incorporate anachronistic elements for story purposes (e.g. Grim Reaper tech and possessions, Wolfsschlucht) anyway (or simply because she wants to; e.g. the idol groups, I suppose). Anachronisms have, thus, shifted from accidental to deliberate.

Sebastian's mobile phone will be forever iconic, but it has been retconned for over a decade now.

And The Wild Earl lost more than his head was cancelled when all TVs were thrown out of the continuity with the end of the Indian Butler Arc (TVs are last mentioned in Chapter 23).

May we learn many Victorian things alongside Yana in the next years too!

(Downstairs with Kuroshitsuji II, Volume 2)

And may she have a happy, restful birthday so that she doesn't forget it again^^' (And the best of health^^)

[gearbox-doll]

Ah, will do! Honestly I don't get the vibe that your opinions on it would be too grating on me lol I have like a handful of things and one is related to an anime-only character so XD (and the others don't strike me as things you'd particularly enjoy anyway just based off what you talk about on here lol)

We've got a handful of characters in here (Ciel, Alois, myself, Grell, McMillan, Elizabeth, and one other but I won't name him yet in case you don't know about him. We actually have a few Ciels they keep multiplying lmao). I'm the host of the system so I'm usually the one that talks to people but I've got the others on speed dial so XD

That's honestly fair, kin shit is a whole thing for us XD we've got so many people here with source drama going on atm. Such is being in anime fandoms ig.

God you're so real for that, Yana's art is beautiful and it only gets better. Her bonus sketches and stuff are great too, and great ship fuel. There's a particular drawing of myself and Ciel that I think a lot of people think is fanart bc it's just so blatant, but it is in fact Yana's art.

HIIII I see you are getting into Black Butler I'm so excited to see what you think of it as you read!!! It's literally my biggest special interest and also my source (fictive of Sebastian here though I don't act much like source often anymore lmao)

The later arcs are great and I have a feeling you'll enjoy them, esp. Campania, Emerald Witch, and Weston. Campania and Weston especially since you like Undertaker!!! Lots of good Undertaker food in those arcs. Emerald Witch is great for the physical and emotional whump, and also for one of my favorite moments between Ciel and Sebastian, I CANNOT wait to see that animated. It's gonna be great.

Heeey!! A lot of people seem to be excited to see us reading it, so we're very excited to share our opinions! I had wondered if we had anyone following us from it as a source! Very neat to know! I hope that we won't say anything about it that offends you-- please feel free to ask us to make a specific tag for it if you end up needing to block. I know really well that sometimes other people's opinions on your source material can be really grating even if you like them XD

I can't wait to see the future arcs! Its slow going for now (today I only read 2 chapters because I had some kin shit to deal with from one of MY sources LOL) but I'm really enjoying it!

Honestly every page is just so drippingly gorgeous and I don't think they've introduced a character yet that I haven't liked <3 Once I catch up with the manga I may very well check out the anime.

[bunnwich]

Bunbun, how do you think Leona got his scar??

How Leona Got His Scar and Other Thoughts

So this is for sure something I’ve thought about a lot and how Leona’s Scar relates to him as a character. I get that it's very likely he was simply given a scar by Yana to mirror his Great Seven counterpart of Scar...but you guys know I love to create my own lore. I personally find the little information we do get on Leona’s scar interesting. In one of Leona's chats, Ruggie asks Leona where he got his Scar and notes that The King of Beasts also has a scar on his left eye.

Of course, Leona, being Leona, brushes off the question and says he doesn't remember, but logically, we know it would be silly for someone to forget how such a prominent injury was received. And as far as we know, he doesn't have any other scars besides this one. 

So, he’s avoiding the truth. Either so the writers can be cheeky about it all, since Scar’s scar origins have had many recons. OR, if you wanna look deeper, maybe there is an implication that Leona prefers not to talk about it because the memory is upsetting. So, he brushes it off with a smirk.

Since I love angst, I prefer the latter. But, let's put a pin in that for a sec.

I think an interesting aspect to all this is that in the Magical Archives (I believe) it's mentioned that scars are something to be proud of in Sunset Savanna, which always kinda puzzled me.

We know that Twisted Wonderland has a skewed perception of the respective Disney villains, but it's still an interesting choice.

In the Lion King lore, a scar is essentially a bad omen. After Scar's death, two characters, Kion and Kovu, are condemned to others viewing them negatively. It's treated as a "Mark of Evil" in the Lion Guard show and even used as a symbol of Kion's deteriorating mental health. There is a symbol found on the ground that they refer to as a “Mark of Evil" where Scar's spirit manifested. TBH, even the treatment of Scar himself borders on ableism and the fact that people refer to him BY his disfigurement is kinda wild.

(Lion Guard wiki)

Since we kinda get conflicting lore from TLK and Twisted Wonderland on how scars are viewed...this really made me think about how it affects Leona. 

I like to believe the view of scars is nuanced in the Sunset Savanna. Maybe now with the younger generations, there is a different attitude regarding scars and they no big deal. Maybe because of the King of Beasts more positive influence, they just are seen as a more "heroic" thing in general. 

But, going back to Leona-

I think with what we know of his backstory a chunk of his people view him as this “bad omen” already due to his unique magic. And maybe after Leona received his “mark,” at some point as a child, some folks (maybe older ones) became even more apt to view him as a cursed prince. In Leona’s overblot flashback, we see how the servants in the palace fear and gossip about him.

Since we don't know the full truth of it, since the writers love to deprive us of Leona lore… My headcanon is this- When he and Falena were young, someone went to attack Falena and because the guard’s attention was so focused on the direct heir, Leona was hurt in the crossfire. Not only this, Leona has quite an adverse reaction to being attacked (perhaps for the first time physically as I also HC he was a weak child) However, he was still a child with a powerful Unique Magic, one he maybe couldn't control well at the time. So he attacks the attacker, who was maybe even just another child playing rough or perhaps just a rowdy peasant? Either way, this doesn't end well, he perhaps fatally injures the attacker and is punished for it. And so, begins the series complexes he has as the grumpy Lion we know now.

The desire for him to always be in control and be proficient at magic and magical defense.

His cynicism confirmed. Being reminded again of his place in life. Being only viewed as "a spare heir" compared to his brother. An unnecessary piece.

The disconnection he feels with his family and their disapproval of him and his actions.

Perhaps, this is why Leona is so good at defensive magic (like he mentions to Riddle who failed to collar him at first in Chapter 2.) Maybe this is why he chose to take up sports and self-defense, to protect himself from others despite preferring his intellect to fight. We know he at some point learns from Kifaji how to wrestle in the Catch the Tail Tournament. All this to say, I believe whatever happened is something traumatic for Leona and linked to his insecurities as a person. (Kinda like in many of Scar's backstories) I get into that a bit in this fic I wrote of Yuu comforting Leona. I just find it interesting to think about how the memory of receiving his Scar has affected him as he got older. While cocky and good at acting nonchalant, I do believe, deep down Leona feels uneasy about others' commenting about it or touching it.

Anyway, these are just my thoughts, as per usual! Thanks for asking I enjoyed yapping!

[kousanosgf]

men, minors dni

sevika x prostitute!reader

sometimes life gets worse, before it becomes better. luckily sevika ready to help you with it.

a\n: i hate how half of this fandom makes "sexy sevika in a brothel" jokes. this was written with the strong despisement for anyone who supports swork and thinks that it's freeing in any shape or form. it's NOT a light one, i'd say, so please be careful with the content you're consuming. also inform me if i should change something about the tags or tws

tw: mention of suicide, not explicit describtion of SA, drug abuse

tags: angst, hurt\comfort (kinda?), no smut (idk if i can call it sfw, sex is mentioned but not with sevika), happy ending

whispers run through the main hall, they won't stop repeating for half an hour at least, every worker and guest is too excited or nervous to be in the haunting dog of zaun's presence. "she's here". "sevika came". it won't be surprising if someone suggests placing a bet who she'll choose next, now that her favorite girl is dead.

well, that's the thing really, you couldn't care less for anyone in here and especially sevika. your best friend is dead and you can't even mourn her properly, because there's always "clients demand our full attention, girls, don't forget that" and "no alcohol or drugs, unless our guests want it, girls". there's numbing pain tugging at you heart, making you want to vomit every time you have to think of your loss and there's no way to drink yourself to oblivion to not feel all this.

so far, the night was calm. the only man for the night left you alone an hour ago after mindlessly fucking you face down into the mattress for couple of minutes and disappearing as soon as he finished. you could only hope for it go as smoothly but luck wasn't on your side for some time now. a shadow looms over before you notice who it belongs to.

you raise your eyes. sevika. "of course," you think, "cause the day needs to get worse".

"are you free?" she asks bluntly. no greetings, no small talk. that's normal really, manageable. it's usually way worse when the client wants to spill all their heartache or frustration before what they actually came for.

"not even gonna buy girl a drink?" you try to put on your prettiest face, smiling coyly and frowning in a fake pout, hoping she'll let you get at least a bit drunk.

"no, come on". she just turns around and heads towards the second floor to the private rooms.

a scream dies somewhere on a tip of your tongue, leaving sour taste.

you have to hurry after her, people as powerful as sevika hate nothing more than to wait and there's no reason to get on her bad side. it's nerve wracking, scary even, to guess what kind of client she will be. there're not much women who come here and not one of them has ever chosen you. a risk of sevika getting frustrated and dissatisfied with your inexperience is high and definitely not what you want since if the customer is angry then madame is angry and you'll be punished in some way.

you take a look at sevika again, following her step by step. she holds herself with great confidence, understandable for someone with such a status, broad shoulders, perfect posture, full heavy steps that make people move out of her path.

you reach the room finally, dreadfully. sevika sits down in the chair waiting for you to lock the door. as you do so, you turn back to her, sliding the straps off your minidress down.

"wait, no." sevika stops you. "i'm not here for this. just sit down." she gestures to the bed and you follow her orders, confused but not daring to ask.

the silence follows. you sit in your place trying not to breathe too hard, a blank expression on your face, while sevika thinks something through.

"you knew yana?" you basically jump in place, hearing your friend's name. "i mean... she was your friend?"

"she is my friend." you snap unexpectedly even for yourself but don't correct the words or make an attempt at apologizing no matter how dangerous that move is.

the corner of sevika's lip rises a little in a smirk but it's gone as fast as it appeared.

"she's dead." "doesn't change the fact that she's my friend." gods, why can't you shut up.

there's a pure rage boiling inside of you. it's painful when no one in this fucking place took time to acknowledged her death. another whore killing herself, what's the news really? but this... it's worse, the way sevika seems more amused with the fact than, you don't know, at least sad that one of her favorites is no longer here.

silence again. sevika studies you like she's trying to find something. the gaze is different from what you usually get from customers, burning, suffocating glances of men who look you over, imagine what you would look like naked under them before making there choice and passing several bills to madame.

"you have a lot of friends here?" what the fuck is she on about?

"i don't run my mouth if that's what you need."

"that's not what i asked." the smirk again. "but whatever."

she lights a cigarette and makes a few puffs. as the smell reaches you, you can't help but scrunch your nose, never appreciative of the smell. as she sees your dissatisfaction, she clicks her tongue and reaches for the ashtray, putting the cigarette down.

"here's what we gonna do. i'll sleep here till morning and you just... i don't know, do your thing? sleep too?" she waves her hand in the air.

you have to take a moment before her words actually lock in. "what?" sevika doesn't strike you as the type to use some euphemisms when she talks about sex, "sleep" here actually seems like she means it.

"you heard me. i already paid for the whole night if you're worried about it." she gives no further explanation and just leans back, dropping her head on the chair and closing her eyes. it's better not to disturb her. there's not much to say or do for you so you just sit there for a while, listening to the steady breathing and fall asleep yourself, not ready to give up a prospect of a calm night. when you wake up in the morning, sevika isn't there.

she comes and goes. for the last two weeks sevika visited you almost every day. the nights go basically the same. nothing much happens, though she becomes more and more chatty with every meeting.

you know her favorite food, know how her day went, know what she thinks about every chem-baron. in return sevika knows what're your favorite flowers, knows what your childhood was like, knows how you got into the brothel.

she's always so nonchalant about her questions, trying not to make a big deal out of it, like she's simply asking to fill the space. but working in a place like this teaches you read people easily and it becomes clear very quickly that sevika is actually searching for something. you're not sure if it's safe to give her the information she wants to hear but it's been too long since you had a person to talk to. it becomes easy to pretend like she actually interested in your stories and opinions.

she also now sleeps in a bed with you, leaving her place in the chair on the third night when you offer it yourself. she's one of those people who can fall asleep on a whim anywhere and anytime, you guess. or she's just very good at pretending.

and when she does fall asleep you lie awake, looking at her, replaying everything she said earlier in your head, trying to make sense of it, of her.

you get caught eventually. one night she just opens her eyes as she wakes up (if she's slept at all) and looks straight at you. both of you lie on your sides, facing each other. nothing is said for good five minutes, she's studying your features as well as you do hers in a dim glow of the lamp post outside the window.

"wanna know a secret?" sevika finally breaks the comfortable silence, a light smirk on her lips. you nod your head slowly, not breaking the eye contact.

"i'm getting you out of here."

the sentence doesn't register, so you have to ask her to repeat it.

"i'm getting. you. out." she says again, slowly, dividing the words.

you rise up swiftly, leaning yourself on the elbow. "you're not funny." of course it's some twisted joke, what else could it be. anger ready to overtake you easily.

the smirk grows wider on her face. "im serious, sweetheart."

that's when she tells you. probably the craziest thing you've ever heard. her visits to the brothel were never for any sexual pleasures, mostly getting intel for her and, by extant, silco's plans. till couple of months ago when she took on a mission of getting such a business out of zaun.

yana was suppose to be one of the first women who sevika and her team would save. they were late in the end.

"why didn't you tell her?" you ask partially frustrated at the coincidence of circumstances and sevika. if only yana knew that the help was on the way, she would still be alive, probably free from her prison. instead she just couldn't handle the life she thought she's bound to till her dying day or when she'll become old enough for madame to throw her out on the streets cause she wouldn't bring enough money.

"i was afraid to risk it, she was too unstable to be trusted such an information for a long term." sevika sighs heavily, dragging a hand through her face. "that was a wrong move on my end."

"and yet you're telling me this two weeks later? there were no guarantee for you that i wouldn't do the same."

"i... had to take a gamble. i knew basically nothing about you before. yana did share some stories but that wasn't enough to ease my anxieties."

you talk and talk and talk. about yana, about your life here. you throw question after question to her and she doesn't seem to get tired of answering you.

"why me? or why... not everyone at once?"

"it's impossible to do this in one go without much practice. look at this as us dipping toes in the water."

"so i'm a guinea pig?" sevika opens her mouth to argue but closes it immediately, realizing that you're only teasing her.

"no, you're something i can fix. give me a week more, okay?" she says it with such confidence in her voice that you got nothing else to do but to believe her.

sevika comes every night now, trying to take as much as she can of your working time so others won't get to you. there's a slight tug of guilt somewhere in your heart, because there's probably girls in the brothel who need this more, who can handle less than you, who just got here and weren't that much ruined with the way people treat them like some meat to jerk off to.

"your arm."

you look over yourself. it is an old bruise that got her concerned, one of the clients getting too harsh. you don't remember much, he let you have a blunt, you didn't ask of what, before everything occurred. it's yellow already, few days more and it'll disappear.

"fuck. probably smudged my makeup somewhere."

sevika's look is heavy, fixed on the spot.

"it's nothing, don't worry."

"it's not nothing." she's now looking straight into your eyes, there's a dangerous fire gleaming and it's impossible to hold her gaze so you just look to the side, noticing her fingers digging into an armrest. it is not nothing, you both know that. but all you can think of is that you would love to feel sevika's palm on you, covering the damned bruise, letting you dream it was never there.

no, you deserve to run as much as the next person. and it's not like you're gonna be the only one. like sevika told you, it's only the beginning.

"good news", sevika says and there's a smile on her face. you're not sure if you ever saw her smile. not a grin or a smirk that she gives everyone here but a genuine, warm smile. she looks lovely with it and you can't help but smile too back at her, not even knowing the reason.

"like what?"

the morning air is cool, autumn starts to take the reigns of nature. there's only a set of underwear and a nightgown on you so you shiver and hug yourself. you couldn't take any of your belongings, she said yesterday night, when she finally announced that it's time to set the plans in motion. some kind of big cloth, a poncho, you regester not as fast as you'd like to, lends on your shoulders, warm from the body heat of it's owner.

"sorry, that's all i got for now. need to get to the safe house, have actually some clothes for you."

you nod dumbfounded and just follow her. everything feels like a dream really, that about to be ripped away and you'll simply wake up back in the room that smells of head numbing incenses, ready to greet another customer.

you look over the clothes she gave you, simple pair of brown jeans, a black turtleneck and a jacket. the jeans are a size too big for you but nothing a belt can't fix.

"the plans to get you out changed so quick, i completely forgot to buy something your size."

"was it for her?" you don't need the answer, you know it already.

"yeah."

there're tears falling down that you can't control. you cry silently, turned away from sevika. you're not sure if she actually doesn't notice or just wants to give you space when she finally says "alright, gonna step out for you to change, meet me in the kitchen when you're ready."

as she takes a step to the door you lounge yourself at her, grabbing calloused hand and tugging it to your waist, looking for contact. now only you can do is cry, your sobs becoming louder and louder, your throat hurts like hell, you won't be able to speak later for sure.

there's a stream of "thankyouthankyouthankyou" coming from your mouth, your body basically presses inside sevika's. she doesn't answer. her other hand gently covers the crown of your head, guiding your tearful face to her chest and she lets you rest it there.