#and i guess the file saved badly

[youraverageaemondsimp]

“Be Quiet.” // DILF!Aemond Targaryen x Babysitter!Reader // PART ONE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR 500 FOLLOWERS! (+200 now) so here is the awaited fic, celebrating a milestone <3 based on this poll, dilf aemond won at the end haha 💞

MDNI

WARNINGS: unprotected p in v sex, dubcon(?), oral (both f and m.), blowjob, cum eating, cum play(?), breeding kink, multiple orgasms, age gap (9ish years), DILF aemond, single father aemond, power imbalance(?), throat fucking, cunnilingus, lots and lots of kissing, + not proofread

WC: 7.1k (yeah...)

« part two // 🎄 special »

Getting fired from your job while trying to pay rent and gathering tuition fees isn't exactly ideal, you wanted to pursue a bachelor's degree after high school, but you didn't have enough money, coming from a family that was barely held by, nor were you eligible to apply for student because there were legal issues.

You moved out of your parents not wanting to financially burden them anymore, renting a decent apartment with just enough space for you to call it a 'home' you've been working for the past 2 years, a decent paying job but it was enough to get by and save up on the fees too, everything seemed to be going perfect until you suddenly got fired and your landlord decided to increase the rent.

You knew you'd have to cut into your savings to pay rent now, but you didn't want that, you halfway there to your goal, you were expected to get promoted and get higher pay, you calculated it, that it would only take one more year for you get enough amount to pay for the first few sems, and then maybe you'll be able to apply for a student loan by then.

But fate had different plans, and here you were on your couch scrolling through multiple apps to find any type of job, extremely desperate.

And that's when you saw it.

“Babysitter needed.” you thought how perfect of a job it would be considering the degree you wanted to so badly was based in psychology, child psychology specifically, and interacting with kids will probably give you some type of experience?

You quickly clicked on it and found the contact number, and decided to call it, you bit your lips nervously hoping they'd pick up.

“Hello?” you heard a cool voice say which sent shivers down your spine.

“Hello- yes uhm, Hi! I am calling because I saw the post on the app that said you needed a babysitter for hire?” you stumble over your words and mentally facepalm yourself for it.

“Yes, indeed. Are you interested in applying?” he asks and you quickly reply with a yes.

“Do you have any prior experience?” he asks and you reply with a quick yes, you've babysat a few kids throughout your highschool era for quick cash, as a way to not rely on your parents for menial things.

“Mhm alright, I don't want to bring your hopes up by saying you got a job, I'd like to have a personal interview first, if you do not mind.” he says and you say, thanking him and he hangs up the call.

You were fucking shaking.

It felt like applying for the first job of your life all again, the nervousness, the anxiety, the everything.

Aemond had saved your phone number and sent it to his assistant, Floris, asking her to run a background check on you, and to see if you had any criminal background, he read your name on the file that got delivered to him, sipping on his coffee while he scanned through your details.

You just turned 21, recently.

‘So young’ he thought, ‘Let me guess, she's probably looking for jobs in order to afford education.’ he guessed and he was exactly on the money with that one.

He wasn't that old himself, barely 30

He inherited his father's business at just age 23, being the only one capable of handling such pressure, his elder siblings couldn't stand a chance against him, and since then, he's maintained the Targaryen name perfectly.

He remembers falling in love with a woman older than him, he was 24, she attended one of the business parties he dreaded going to, Alys rivers was her name, they dated for 2 years before deciding to pace things up and get engaged since everything was going perfect for both of them.

Until Alys got pregnant, Aemond was overjoyed when he heard that news, but he didn't know that the child would suck the life out of her.

She died giving birth to their son, and he was devastated, being heart broken by her death, however he never once blamed his child, it was their choice to birth him, and it failed miserably.

But 3 years had passed since her death and he had moved on from her death, ready to love once again, yet it was extremely hard to find someone that wasn't after his money.

He knew he couldn't just live in the misery of heartbreak, and Alys would've wanted him to move on too.

His son, Aenys, recently turned 3 too, he inherited Aemond's purple eyes and silver blonde hair, typical targ features, but he saw how the softness of his nose, sharpness of his eyes resembled his mother.

But back to you at hand, he went through all your papers deeming you fit for the interview, he called a day later telling you the address where the interview would be held, his office.

Yes, his fucking office, as if you were applying for a job at his company, he justified it by saying that you were technically his employee.

When you got out of the taxi and looked at the company in front of you, it finally clicked in your brain that your employee was none other than Aemond Targaryen, and it only made your anxiety worse.

You went to the receptionist and told her your name, and she typed it in, giving you a small smile, telling you that you were exactly on time. She called his office to tell you that you were here and led you to his office. You looked around and noticed how big this company was, a bunch of employees working in their cubicles, typing away.

“Mr. Targaryen?” she called out and you heard a small ‘come in.’ Before stepping inside and pushing the door open for you to enter, you did and she stepped outside, closing it gently behind you, leaving you alone in the room with the man.

Aemond hadn't looked up from his files until the door closed, and when he did, he felt his breath caught in his throat.

“You may sit.” he says and you nod, sitting across him on the opposite side of the table, you felt so small under his gaze, it was so intimidating but you put up with it.

He began the interview by asking questions about yourself, and all relevant things, but there was one question that caught you off guard.

“Do you have a boyfriend?” he asks and you furrow your brows, “Excuse me?” you question, noticing how odd of a question it is.

“Don't get me wrong, the previous babysitter had one, and she used to bring him to the apartment and…” he cleared his throat and you immediately caught on to what he was implying, “Oh! No! I do not have one, and even if I did I would not do that!” you reassure him and he gives you a nod.

He was fucking lying.

But you didn't know that.

The previous babysitter was an old lady, who Aenys liked a lot, but sadly she had to leave the city.

“I hope you know that you're expected to work full time? I leave for the office at 9AM and return back at 7PM, and you'll need to be ready to work those long hours, and sometimes I might not even return till late at night if there is extra work.” he says and you nod, and before the question can leave your mouth he cuts you off.

“Do not worry, you'll be paid for those extra hours.” he confirms and you nod smiling at him.

And then came your terms, which he agreed to, he made you sign a one year contract, and you did it without hesitation.

Frankly the pay was so high you would barely need to work 6 months to reach the full amount, but you still did an extra 6 months considering how having extra money at hand doesn't hurt.

And with a handshake, he accepted you.

You were practically going to spend most of your awake time with the kid, it sounds hectic but the pay was too good to pass up on, I mean, $80 per hour? fuck yes, you'd be having around $230k by the end of the contract. Aemond was filthy rich.

It was finally your day to go to his house and you already knew it was going to be big, but you were still shocked when you arrived to the destination, it was a 20 minute drive from your house, and it was located in the richest neighbourhood to exist in the city, you felt embarrassed getting out of your taxi at an area where everyone probably had their own cars, heck, a collection of them even, but you paid the fare and the guard got up to question you, you told him and he quickly nodded before letting you inside.

It was early in the morning, you came quickly so Aemond could show you around the house and introduce you to his kid, you stood there nervously as you rang the doorbell, Aemond had checked through the security camera before the door opened, revealing the house interior.

You quickly stepped in and he closed the door behind you. You expected him to have maids and a bunch of staff, but you were surprised when you found none. No wonder he asked if you can cook, you'd probably be doing all the work here besides the cleaning.

“Aenys is in his playroom, let me take you there.” he says cooly and you follow him, taking in your surroundings.

He opens the door to the playroom and you immediately find a kid, who you assumed to be older than 2, playing with his dragon toys, making rawr sounds, and yelling the word ‘dracarys.’ you smiled at the cuteness.

Aemond cleared his throat which caught the attention of Aenys and he smiled brightly before he jumped in his arms, “Papa!” he yelled, before he turned his attention to you and looked at his father in question

“Hey aeny, do you know how the previous babysitter had to leave town?” he asks gently and Aenys nods, “And papa needs to be away for work top right? So I got you a new babysitter who will take care of you.” he points towards you, explaining and Aenys looks at you tilting his head slightly

“Hey, Aenys.” you give him a small, waving your hand, he shyly waves back before he hides his face his fathers chest, you chuckle at the cuteness.

“I'll go give her a house tour okay? And then I will visit you once again before I leave, have fun darling.” He says and puts his son down, and Aenys looks at you once again, inspecting you, observing you, you smile at him once again, and this time he gives you a shy smile.

Aemond leaves the room and you wave a quick temporary goodbye to Aenys and follow him.

“Aenys, doesn't have a mother, or at least he had to grow up without one” Aemond randomly begins and you look at him confused. “My fiancee-” he sighs before halting his footsteps, “She- she had died while giving birth to him.” you watch as he takes deep breaths, “It's okay if you don't want to talk about it now, we have a lot of time anyway, just open up to me when you are ready, sir.” you tell him and he looks at you, giving you a nod and resumes the house tour.

It was fucking big.

Just like he said, he visited his son once more before leaving for work and the entire day you spent it with Aenys, getting to know him, observing his behaviour.

You noted that he was extremely shy at first but then he eventually warmed up to you, he still had his guard up of course since you were fairly new and a stranger in his life, you introduced yourself and he did the same.

He showed you all his toy collections, which you were genuinely fascinated by, he had so many dragon figurines and remembered each one by their name, his favourite was vhagar.

“It waass papa's once, when he was jus like mee.” he babbled cutely, the way he pronounced the words were so cute too, you swear you could die at it.

“Vhagar belonged to your papa?” you felt awkward saying the word papa, but you knew you had to considering that it was the term Aenys was used to, he nodded, smiling.

“Yesh! He gwave it to meh.” he says and you smile.

Aenys had quite a developed vocabulary for his age, though he pronunciation was a bit off, but you knew it would improve with time.

And just like that, you and Aenys grew close, he was always cheery to see you, you cooked and looked after him, feeding him vegetables in a way he would enjoy, and Aemond was surprised when he found out, considering Aenys refused to eat vegetables.

You put Aenys to sleep one day, singing him a lullaby and caressing his hair as he fell asleep in his bed, he watched you with big doe eyes, which were slowly beginning to get droopy as sleep overcame him. He closed his eyes and his brows were relaxed. You sat there for a while, watching him sleep, and you look at the time, 8PM, Aemond was running late, but you didn't mind, by the time he usually fell asleep, Aemond would've been there, listening to you sing to his son and when he finally fell asleep, you would leave, politely saying goodbye to Aemond, but this time you had stayed, since Aemond was late.

You noticed how Aenys eyebrows furrowed before you saw tears coat his eyelashes

“Mam… mama… I want mama...” he mumbled in his sleep and you swear you felt your heart wrench at that, then you heard small sniffles.

He was crying in his sleep.

Is this what usually happens after you leave? You felt extremely sad, you remember how Aemond had told you that Aenys grew up without a mother, how she had died during childbirth. You never really thought about it much but you realised how tough it must've been for Aenys, then suddenly you remembered all the times you played together or watched cartoons, how he would say the word "mother" longingly when he was referring to a mom dragon, or how he stared in a daze when a cartoon showed a mom taking care of his child.

He was beginning to notice an absence of a parental figure in his life.

You were snapped out of your thoughts by the sniffling getting louder, and Aenys was beginning to borderline cry out, you quickly picked him up and carried him, pacing around the room gently as you patted his back, his hand clung tightly onto the sleeve of your arm and he rested his cheek on your shoulder.

“Shhh, Aenys, it's okay.” you try consoling him but he kept repeating the words 'I want mama, mama.' in his sleep over and over again.

Not knowing what to do, you began to feel bad, so you did what you thought was the best.

“Aenys, Mama is here, it's okay hush now..” you coo gently into his ear and that's when he finally stops sniffling, 'mama?' he mumbles and you hum, “Yes, it's mama, do not cry anymore okay? Mama is here.” you caress his hair and he finally relaxes, you were so entranced in comforting him that your brain managed to ignore the presence of Aemond himself, who had arrived when you picked him up and paced around in a panic, he was going to interfere but then he heard you say those words.

You stopped dead in your tracks when you noticed him, heat climbing up your face as you realised he probably heard everything and also you were stricken with fear too cause you likely overstepped.

You gently placed Aenys down on the bed and got out of his room, anxiety coursing through your veins as you realised what you had done

But you were only trying to comfort him.

Aemond soon followed you out the room as well and you turned around to face him when he closed the door.

“I apologize— I'm so sorry—” you began.

“Don't. It's fine, I can understand why you did that.” he cuts you off, and you wince.

“He- he's been noticing.” you began and Aemond nodded, “I've noticed too.” he replies and sighs.

“Aenys has changed a lot since you've started babysitting him in a good way , and I've noticed it, he's becoming more and more aware of the world around him.” He moves to the living room, sitting on the couch and you do the same, sitting on the one opposite to him.

“I've made sure that he never felt a lack of anything in his life, but I guess it's only natural for a person to desire something he can't have.” he says.

“Aenys can have a mother, if you remarry, that void will be fulfilled somewhat.” you suggest and he looks at before chuckling “I've thought of that too, my mother said the same thing, but i cannot trust anyone, especially considering how many are after my money, who knows if they'll be kind to him, or whether Aenys will like them or not.” he sighs.

“That is true.” you agree with him and he looks at you.

“Unless… ” he begins, eye scanning your entire being and you look at him, your heartbeat quickening, just as he was about to say something, your phone rings and it cuts off the trance-like state you were in, and you look at it to see who it is.

It was a spam call.

But then your eyes bulge out of your sockets when you look at the time, “Holy shit it's late, I'm sorry sir but i have to leave now, or else it will be too dangerous.” you say and quickly apologise and he nods, dismissing you. That was the first night, sleep came to Aenys peacefully.

But it didn't to Aemond, he was lost in thought about everything, but then his mind wandered off to somewhere it shouldn't go.

The way you comforted Aenys stirred something inside you, the moment was perfect, you cooing in Aenys' ear that you were here, pretending to be his mother.

It was so perfect.

Almost as if you were made for that.

Aemond felt his heart flutter.

For the first time in years.

He couldn't help but accept the pull he felt towards you.

Aenys doesn't seem to remember the incident, probably cause he was literally just sleep talking so it was left at that, but you and Aemond however grew a bit close after that incident, he came back home early as he can, so he could spend time with his son and you, he was subconsciously trying to get his son used to both of them being around, both present in his life as parental figures.

You obviously weren't able to leave early just because he got home early because those were your mandatory hours, so it became your new normal to spend time with him and Aenys.

You couldn't deny that there was something definitely blooming in between you and Aemond, he would often throw appreciative comments in your way, which made your belly pool up with heat.

You noticed how he wanted to stay by your side, physical touch lingering, he had suggested that you 3 should go grocery shopping, and you found it odd considering he could literally order his clients to fetch them for him, but you agreed anyways, using it as a chance to get outside and let Aenys interact with other people. Aemond was heavily against sending him to the daycare, because he was scared for his son, it was understandable but it also set Aenys behind a bit.

“Mama, I want this!” you hear a kid yell at his mom and you watch as she refuses it gently, telling him no and that she will buy him the next time they come back here, and the kid just pouted, you chuckled at the sight.

You turned your attention to Aenys who was staring at the scene too, and you realised how he was in a daze once again as well, you looked at Aemond who also seemed to notice.

Aenys quickly ran in another direction and you panicked and almost ran after him before he was back in front of you again, grabbing the same toy the other child had grabbed earlier and showing it to you. “Ma-” he cut himself short before pushing the toy to show you “I want this!” he says and Aemond was confused at first and he was about to agree to buy that toy for Aenys until you butted in, “No Aenys, we can't buy it right now! We'll buy it next time when we come back here okay?” you say and he smiles sheepishly at you, before pretending to pout and put the toy back in a random shelf.

You chuckled at the childishness, he just wanted to feel the same type of experience that others do. Aemond knew it was just you both playing around, he didn't miss the way Aenys almost called you his mother, and it spurred him on further, the way you acted as a genuine mother.

Those type of random moments became often, and it pushed Aemond further and further to the edge, the way you would act like such a perfect mom made him want to bend you over any surface and fuck you, filling you up with his cum.

Aemond then suddenly started joining for lunch, he would usually eat at his office, but he made extra effort to drive home so he could eat with his 'family.' He loved your cooking, you made it taste like home, he would watch as you cut smaller pieces of fruits and vegetables for Aenys so he could properly chew and eat. He imagined how perfect you would be as his wife and like an official mother to his child, or better, children, all of these small things were pushing him to the edge

And soon it would push him off it.

Aemond cursed himself when he drove through the rain, already running late, he looked at his watch and read the time, it was 10PM, the meeting in the afternoon stretched over two hours long which set back the rest of his schedule by a lot, he quickly parked his hair before making his way inside his house, open the door with the extra key carried before shutting it close.

“Look Aenys! Dada's here.” he heard you say and he was immediately spun around, he didn't expect you to stick around this long, but then he realised it was raining heavily and you always went by taxi, there probably would've been no taxi available in this weather.

“Aenys didn't go to sleep yet?” he asks, undoing the suit he was wearing before throwing it on the couch, approaching both of you, taking Aenys into his arms.

“He wanted to wait until you got home, he was worried for you, though he seems tired hmm.” you pinch his nose playfully and he scrunches it up, “I'm not twired…” he says but then yawns earning a chuckle from both you and Aemond.

“I'll put him to sleep, you go freshen up.” you say and Aemond nods, giving him back to you.

Fuck everything about that interaction felt too domestic.

And Aemond had lost his resolve.

He found you sitting on the couch, scrolling through something, he sat down next to you.

“What are you doing?” he asks and you look at him, “Trying to book cabs, but there are none available at the moment due to the weather.” you sigh before placing your phone down.

Aemond should've offered to drive you home but instead he offered to let you stay.

“You know you can stay over, I do not mind it.” he says and you look at him “Really? I don't wanna be a bother—”

“Oh please, you are never a bother.” he cuts you off and smiles at you. “You should freshen up for the night, you've been here since morning.” he says but you pout. “I do not have any clothes.” you say and he simply shrugs, “You can wear mine.” he pushes the buttons, wondering how far he can get away with it, he knew offering you to let you stay at his house already broke the employee boss relationship, hell, the moment he desired you was when it already broke.

“Mhm okay! Where is the guest bathroom?” you ask and he shakes his head, “The water heater is broken in that one, it's better if you use the attached bathroom in my room.” he says.

The water heater wasn't broken.

He was lying.

And you believed him.

He watched as you got up and made your way to his room, which was right next to Aenys', considering he has to react if something happens to him, he followed you inside opening the cupboards and giving you his hoodie and fresh pair of boxers which you thanked him for.

He left the room to give you privacy, but oh gods his mind was racing with all the thoughts.

He paced around, trying to contain himself, and he stood there in front of the door.

And then you opened it.

His hoodie reached to your thighs, and you looked at him, shocked to find him in front of the door, lips parted.

He snapped.

He quickly pushed you inside and shut the door behind you, slamming his lips against yours, and kissed you fervent hunger, you stumbled back and you almost fell but he caught you by your waist and pushed deeper into the kiss, moving his lips hungrily against your.

He pulls away, silently giving you a way out if you need it.

You should refuse this.

You should push him away.

But you don't, instead you wrap your arms around him and pull him into a deeper kiss, he groans when he feels you kiss him back, he pulls away once again, before grabbing you by your arm and pushing you onto the bed, making you fall on your back, your hoodie rising up, revealing your stomach, which he kissed lovingly before he pulled the hoodie even more further up, exposing your tits and pressing kisses to the nipples, causing you to gasp.

He pulls the hoodie off of you completely, and you raise your hands to assist him, he pulls off his shirt too, exposing his naked chest, and you bite your lip at the view, next he takes the boxes off you, doing the same, leaving you both completely bare to the room.

He pushes you upwards to the bed and crawls on top of you, kissing your face, neck, collar bones and valley between your breasts, his hands grab the flesh of your tits before he kneads them, massaging them, thumbs flicking the nipples making you arch your back.

One of his hands trails down to your core, dipping into the heat, he outright moans when he finds you practically leaking, collecting the arousal and bringing it upwards your bud. Rubbing small circles which makes you gasp.

He pulls his hand away and brings it up to lick at the wetness that has accumulated on the fingers, humming in satisfaction before he pressed kisses which travelled downwards until his mouth stopped right at your core, giving a small kiss to it to, you shivered when you felt his hot breath against it, the way the air he exhaled would hit your clit. He kissed the inner part of your thighs first, making you needy with want, wishing he'd just take you into his mouth.

And then he does, his tongue strides upwards from your opening to your clit, giving you one long lick before he captures your clit with his mouth, suckling on it, causing you moan his name loudly, both of his hands wrap around your thighs and he pulls them further apart, his fingers digging into the flesh as he hungrily devours your cunt, tongue flicking the bud constantly, you grip his hair and buck your hips, practically rutting against his face, you felt his tongue travelling down and lick at the wetness, the tip of his nose pushing against your clit, you felt your core tighten as the movement of his tongue sped up, causing you to topple over the edge and your orgasm hit you like a truck, making you whine loudly.

He greedily licked everything up before he placed wet kisses on your thighs, the residue of your wetness sticking to them before he sat back on his knees between your parted legs, you watched as he got up slightly, making his cock come into view.

Your eyes widened slightly, which didn't go unnoticed by Aemond, this stroked his ego very much.

He was big, bigger than any you've seen before, it was pale with a tip that was flushed pink due to the blood pumping, oozing precum out of it, he pumped his cock in his hand to ease the area, coating his dick in his own precum before he positioned it against your entrance, you bit your lip in anticipation but then you felt him slide against your folds, covering his dick in your wetness as well before slapping your clit with the tip of his dick, making you whimper.

He then lined himself against your entrance and pushed in, and you arched your back at the stretch, it was so delicious, you felt so full.

He leaned on top of you and gave you a passionate kiss, you could taste yourself on his tongue, making you taste the tanginess, he supported his weight on his elbows which were on either side of you, gripping yours, fingers intertwined with yours. You were locked in a missionary position, a position that felt intimate.

Then you felt him move, thrusting in and out at a brutal speed, causing you to moan his name, the thrusts made you jolt up the bed, breasts bouncing due to the force emitted from it, his grip tightening as he grunted on top of you, rutting into your wet heat, his hair dropped his shoulders, cascading around his face, and you gasped at how godly his looked like this.

Then you felt his tip hit your gspot, constantly, which caused you moan extremely loudly, “Fuckk! Ahh~ Aemond!” you mewled, closing your eyes and throwing your head back, his hand left one of yours to cover your mouth as he continuously slammed into you.

“Shh, be quiet, or he'll wake up.” he whispers, referring to Aenys who was sleeping in the next room and you nodded, you felt him pull his hand away but his thumb traced your lips, you opened your mouth which made him put his thumb inside and you sucked on him, and you felt him groan, then he pulled it out, hand going back to grip yours, and you bit your lip to hold back your moans from slipping out.

You felt your core begin to tighten again and it snapped once more, causing you to arch you back, pushing your breasts against his chest and he muttered 'fuck' feeling the way you clenched around him.

His thrusts begin to grow sloppy and lose their rhythm, indicating that he was close, “Fuckk, I'm gonna cum inside you.” he says and you whine, “I'm going to get you pregnant, watch you grow round with my kid…” he growls, thrusting into you again and again, “You're going to give Aenys little siblings, You will, right? He looked so lonely, I think he'd appreciate that.” he grunts and you nod quickly, mind too hazy to even comprehend or acknowledge the complications behind you agreeing to this.

“Good girl.” he says before he finishes inside you, and paints your walls white, shooting up his seed far into you, riding his orgasm out.

You felt him pull out and thought that was the end until he pushed you over onto your back, and sat on his knees, he grabbed your waist and pulled it up, and you immediately switched to supporting your on your knees as you arched your back, stretching like a cat, your hands on the side of you.

He groaned when he watched his cum drip down your thighs before he scooped it up and put it in his mouth, tasting your combined essence.

He was still hard.

So he wasted no time, shoving himself back inside you and you whined at the way your walls felt overstimulated, not knowing if you can handle one more orgasm consistently.

He sheathed himself inside your walls, and moved with fervent speed like before, his balls slapping against your thighs, the room was filled with erotic noises, he gripped your waist for support, until his hand travelled slightly upwards, catching one of your tits before gripping it tightly, and rolling the nipple in between his fingers.

“I can't wait to watch them swell.” he grunts.

“You'd look so pretty with my child in your belly, the way your tummy will swell? Gods fuck, that is a vision.” he moans

“Look at you, taking my cock so well, like you are meant to.” he notes, thrusting in and out, watching as the previous cum leaks out.

He clicks his tongue

“So much is going to waste, tsk, it's okay I'll fill you up again, make sure you get pregnant.” he groans and you moan, “Ye-yes fill me up.” you say, and he smirks at that, “Good girl, taking my cock like one.” he leans against you, your back pressing to his chest as he leaves kisses on the back of your neck, and you once again, topple over the edge for the third time.

He finishes too, inside you again.

You both fall besides each other on the bed, and realise the weight of the situation after the adrenaline and excitement of the moment fades away and the breathing becomes more stable.

“I- fuck.” Aemond begins not knowing what to say and you lay there quietly.

“Listen, ever since that day you walked in, I felt some type of pull towards you, I wasn't sure what it was, but it was as if we were meant to me, and I couldn't ignore the feelings brewing inside me.” you watch as he speaks.

“I- to put it in simple words, I fell in love with you. I really did, though it's fine if you do not share the same feelings, we can go back to pretending this never happened.” he confesses.

“I am in love with you too.” you confess, “I pushed these feelings away, because it wasn't appropriate.” you say and he looks at you this time.

Silence falls between you two.

A comfortable silence.

He pulls you closer and wraps his arms around you, hugging you, and you hug him back, the he places loving kisses atop you.

You felt something hard pressing against your inner thighs and you looked down, shocked to find him hard again, you chuckle.

“Again?” you tease and he playfully glares at you, “Yeah, you're so fucking irresistible.” he kisses your neck, hips mindlessly grinding against you. “I'm so sensitive.” you pout, but you get an idea, you quickly push him onto his back before getting on top of him, and then crawling down in between his legs, before taking his cock in your hand.

“Fuck!” he moans when he feels your warm hand wrap around it, before you gently tug on it, pumping your hand up and down, watching as the precum leaks out, you collect some with your tongue, poking the slight hole making him groan and grip the side of your head.

You trail kisses down to his balls, before giving them wet kisses as your hand pumps his cock, you lick a long stride up his length before taking him in your mouth, as best as you can, hands resting on his thighs to balance yourself.

You bob your head up and down, swirling the the tongue around him, pulling away time to time to breath before descending onto him once again, the grip on the side of your head tightened and you watched as he sat up slightly leaning on his elbow, before his hips thrusted upwards, and so you let him take control.

He collected your hair into a makeshift pony before gripping the back of your head tightly and thrusting his entire length into your mouth, the tip teaching the back of your throat, making you gag slightly, causing tears to well up in your eyes, you closed them and tried to breathe through your nose as he thrusted upwards and fast, essentially fucking your throat.

You felt him twitch slightly in your mouth, knowing he was close, you sucked him and hollowed your cheeks, he threw his head back at that, he felt steady pleasure rising within him before such a force expelled from his body, causing him to peak, shooting out ropes and ropes after cum into your mouth, you felt it hit the back of your throat, causing you to swallow unknowingly, before he slightly pulled out, cause the remaining to fall in your mouth.

He pulled out completely and watched your face, flushed and hair dishevelled, you held his cum in your mouth, waiting for his command, “Swallow.” and you did, obeying him, opening your mouth to show that there was none left, he groaned as he watched the remnants of his seed drip from the side of your mouth before he collected it with his index finger and shoved it back into your mouth, and you click his finger clean, he grunted before you upwards and kissing you, tasting himself in your mouth, hands squeezing your ass before he gave one of them light slaps, causing you to wince.

You pulled away and breathed heavily, he smiled down at you, before he left the bed to clean both of you up, collecting the clothes and getting dressed before he pulled beside him in the bed, going to sleep while hugging your form.

You dreaded the next morning, wondering how you'll explain your relationship to Aenys, you woke up to an empty bed, you read the time, it's was just 8AM, you felt sad but then you quickly got up and went outside finding Aemond and Aenys awake, sitting at the table conversing, your heart warmed at the sight, Aenys spotted you and ran over to you, lifting his arms up, asking you to silently to carry him, and you did, you picked him up before placing a small kiss to his forehead.

“Mama!” he said and you froze, before you looked at Aemond, who gave you a small smile and nodded and your eyes softened at it, it seems he had done the explaining.

“Mama! Mama!” Aenys grabbed your face making you look at him and you chuckled, “Yes Aenys, it's mama.” you say and he smiles brightly.

“I'll go get ready for work.” Aemond says, getting up from the spot he was sitting on and coming over to both of you before he pressed a kiss to Aenys forehead, and doing the same to you and going inside his room and getting ready.

You put Aenys down on his chair and went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast, you made simple eggs on toast, and just on the time, Aemond came out of his room, looking all ready and you placed three plates down, along with fruits cut into small pieces of Aenys.

“I made breakfast.” you say and Aemond smiles at you, before sitting down and the three of you ate breakfast.

Applying for this job was the best thing you've ever done.

Who knew your life would change the course of it in the span of just a few months.

There were other things to discuss, and you knew it was plaguing Aemond's mind as well, but you both decided it will be best if discussed later and so you both basked in this moment, listening to Aenys babbles.

“So i hwave a mom now rightt?” he asks Aemond who nods, “Are you happy?” he asks and Aenys nods quickly, “Yesh! Aenys is wery hwappy! But…” he trails off and you feel your heartbeat quicken.

���I want a sibling too…” he murmurs

Oh gods.

Your eyes flickered over to Aemond who stared at you, you blush and look away as you remembered the details of last night.

“I wwant a swister… ! or a bwother!!! Hmm any is fine…” he babbles on, not knowing what he is asking for.

You look at Aemond again, who didn't seem to take his eye off you at all.

He smirks.

Oh fuck.

You quickly get up and collect the empty plates before going behind the kitchen counter and placing them in the sink, washing your hands, focusing your attention on them, until you felt arms wrapped around your waist before one trailed upwards towards your breast giving it squeeze, you quickly looked up to see Aenys was watching until you realised he was nowhere to be seen.

“He's in his playroom.” Aemond whispered in your ear, grinding slowly against your ass.

“Heard that? He wants a sibling so badly, surely you can't deny him right?” he asks, pinching your nipples through the fabric causing you to gasp.

He places kisses down your neck, before he spins you around and kisses you on the mouth, making you wrap your arms around his shoulder. He pulls away before kissing you on the cheek.

His phone rings and he notices the time, 9:15AM, he was running late which was the first for him, and it was his assistant calling him.

“Fuck, mood spoiler.” he grunts before shoving his phone back in his pocket before placing a kiss to your mouth once again.

“Don't think I'm done with you yet, it's gonna be one hell of a ride when I get back home.” he presses one final kiss to your neck before pulling himself away from you, granted it was so fucking difficult considering how he wanted to fuck you on the kitchen counter just moments ago.

You nod and follow him to the front door.

“Have a nice day, Aemond.” you say, and he smiles at you, coming to kiss you but then Aenys comes running towards you both.

“Is dada going to work?? BYE DADAAA” he screams and Aemond chuckles, before waving a small 'bye' to Aenys, and leaving from the front door.

He barely left and he already couldn't wait to get back home from work.

And you gulped, nervous in anticipation.

Oh seven hells.

———

[nalyra-dreaming]

COMMENTS on 2x05 - SPOILERS ahead, obviously^^

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

First off - this episode made me throw out some things out the window, and rearranged some things, confirmed others - HOLY HELL. A lot of screaming this time, the comments are a bit incoherent because holy fuck. I will need a few days to rearrange stuff after this lmao. . . . . . . . . . .

the (hot) bantering that Daniel does not buy once more

loved Daniel honing in on the change in narration

“narcoleptic pull of the sun” for the younger vamps… I guess that is how they adjusted the lore

MALIK - oh he’s LUNCH. Armand is fucking playing with his food, and honestly, that is quite the… well. Sadistic hunt, to be frank. Supposedly of course those who “deserve” it, but it really reminds me of the “hunting evildoers” they do later, and who they then put into the dungeons for easy snacking

“half in love with an easeful death”

“his methodology is never violent” 💀 (just fatal, depends probably on how you define “violent”)

God Daniel remembering and how they did that is CREEPY

The piano notes - pushing our noses to the important bits, oof

Daniel thinking they had sex (and the reactions both in the past and in Dubai, lol, cute!)

Louis “dined” almost every night he was there….

Mhhhhh Louis’ fangs, and Daniel shaken to the core

Daniel telling Louis he was lonely HIT

“naahhhh”

Them quoting the book there - I love it. Whole passages just recited from the book. Louis reading Lestat for filth, lol - love the dynamic he and Louis have there, lmao.

Oh Louis, sweetie. The way he halted, when Daniel said he was his “first love”

Ah, that is interesting, Daniel questioning Louis not going with Claudia after that bench… “the only choice, the wrong choice” (!!!)

“And then what” looool :)))

Daniel playing the extended file.

OMG

OH MY GOD

Armand going he is at home and always cleaning up after Louis

LOUIS going at Armand for being BORING. Holy shit. “dull as fuck”. “Suffocation by the world’s softest, beigest pillow.” OMG. I know it’s not funny, holy shit, but the DELIVERY?!!!! Oh yeah, Louis loves crazy and apparently he misses it - badly. “Did you want to lick my boots or chop my hands off? Is it the gremlin or the good nurse tonight”!!!! HOLY FUCKING SHIT

Armand mocking Louis “oh it’s so hard to be me” - “It’s so hard to be me” oh my fucking god

AND THEM MOCKING FUCKING THEIR PASTS

AND ARMAND TELLING LOUIS that Claudia did not love him, not like Lestat did, not like HE has. …..

AND OH MY GOD - it’s the Merrick reveal!!!!!!! Of her hating him. Of him having lost her and Lestat. Oh he’s HEARING her calling him!!!! IT’S FUCKING MERRICK in a mixup with the Tulane draft of Armand saving him then (without the Lestat involvement!) FUCK!!!!! I fucking love/hate the writers!!!!!!!! I KNEW THEY WOULD GO THERE BUT HOLY SHIT LIKE THIS???????????

Oh god the wounds. The makeup artists had fun oO.

Ohhhhhhhh Armand is … hurt there. And not having it. Ugh, I get him, but holy shit

Oh hell, the music, and Daniel being slammed around in punishment for Louis!!!

Ohhhhhhhh Armand is full on “gremlin” there. Terrifying shit. “Rest”.

Fascinating, indeed. On all levels, lol. While Louis is screaming in the next room.

“A splinter of coldness in you”

The emotion in “Louis thinks I’m boring”. Ugh.

Armand starting to tell his story, and then breaking off - oh, god, I want him to tell his story to Daniel later, please. Please let it be Daniel in the show, not David.

Love it that Louis and Daniel try to remember pushing their feet into the little rocks next to the tree

Daniel seeing Armand trying to communicate

And HOLY SHIT - that image of Louis in the coffin?!? Tell me I’m not the only one seeing the similarities???? oO

Armand calling out Louis there, deliberately calling Lestat trash, and OH MY GOD Armand theorizing that is why Louis wants to do this, to get the book out?!! To MAKE Lestat chase after Louis because of it!!!!!!!! God the way they call back to the original novel plot lines is AMAZING I literally screamed at that.

And oh my god, the way his voice breaks on the “insanity” part, on “if you want to escape from this prison of empathy I’ve locked you away in” - holy hell. And that small smile.

And him offering to reach out to Lestat for Louis and then NOT TELLING WHAT LESTAT SAID AND CUTTING IT OFF!!! GOD DAMMIT ARMAND. AAARGGHHHHHHHHHH. And the way Lestat’s voice is shaking with fear there. And then screaming!!! WHERE THE FUCK IS HE?! WHY IS ARMAND KEEPING THEM APART?!" AND HOW????

“… have I atoned for my part in Paris”. Ugh.

Armand slowly and gently spellbinding Daniel there was almost beautiful.

And then Louis, NOT asking. And the dynamic changing, immediately. … brutal. Armand’s face there.

And then, and then Daniel suddenly knowing what the words meant, and then. The memory making sense. THEN them both knowing Armand fucking meddled with both their minds. The proof of the fucking “tinkering”, both only having a “truncated version”. “Same precise edit, on two brains.”

And god, Armand coming back, and Louis MIMICKING HIM.

Louis’ face.

GOD YES. HE IS PISSED.

HOLY SHIT. 💀 (again) A lot of my theories are evolving now, with them having pulled up Merrick.

With Armand knowing where Lestat is, and not relaying the message as promised.

With Louis now knowing Armand influenced his mind as well. Holy shit.

They should have called this episode “No Pain” (All the pain). -.-

And the preview, of the blood, and Louis comment of “can you imagine me without the burden of her”.

The BURDEN of her.

Ouch Louis. Just… ouch.

EPISODE INSIDER

“It explains the betrayal” …. (see below)

“It explains everything that is going to happen”(!!!!) Mark Johnson once more.

“The relationship[] has all kinds of problems, many of the same issues he had when he was with Lestat have resurfaced.” (!!!!!) 💀

Assad: “Armand is always conniving. He is always working, and I think that is also the tragedy of him, it’s that he can’t ever relax with the truth.” HOLY FUCKING SHIT

Jacob: “It’s kind of the biggest betrayal, isn’t it, when you choose to spend your life with somebody, you accept each other. I can’t think of a bigger betrayal than lying to that person in such a significant way to the extent that you would rewrite their history.” 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀 *Jacob: “It makes me angry, now, Armand is so wrong for that.(!!!!)

Eric: “We both discover the depths of duplicity that Armand has gone to, and what he’s done to each of us.”

... what an episode.

[lazyneonrabbitt]

Records of forgotten times.

Daryl Dixon x Reader

Old music records bring back memories and sparks talk of a new future.

~~☆☆☆~~

Today was relaxing day in your Alexandria home.

Daryl had come home from a run and had brought home a literal truckload of items of which a couple of boxes were dropped at your place.

He busied himself moving the boxes into the living room while you continued your work in the kitchen.

"What did you bring back, Dee?" you mused from you spot in the kitchen, where you were cleaning off last night's dishes in your favorite shorts and one of Daryl's shirts that were way too large on you. It was fraying at the hem and the old classic rockband on the print was fading badly, tour dates from a long forgotten time barely recognisable anymore. He never thought twice about you stealing his shirts. They were so much more comfortable than his button downs and with the shirts smelling like him they helped you sleep when he was out on runs.

“Found an old storage place, had a bunch of boxes with music. I got first pick cuz I found ‘em.” He kept filing through the large boxes filled with records and taking each one he liked out to stack near the old record player your house came with.

“Let me have a look too when I’m done here, please?” He grumbled an agreeing response and you made sure to hurry along with your cleaning round so you could join Daryl on the living room floor.

Daryl had gotten up off the floor to fumble around with the record player and try out one of the records and to his luck it still played. He had pocketed some still boxed replacement needles and swapped the old one out before playing a Judas Priest record and got a nice, crisp sound to which he comfortably hummed along to and even sang along with some parts.

As you were hanging your cleaning rag and towel over the opened oven door to dry you mumbled along with some lyrics that had remained in the back of your head.

This surprised your dear old partner to the point of stopping entirely with what he was doing to stare at you enjoying his all time favorite band. “Ya know this music?” He sounded so confused it made you laugh. You never really talked about your old world life, never really feeling it was needed to share about it. Not until now.

“My parents were old school rockers, I grew up on this kind of music.” You had walked over and sat down at one if the boxes.

“Yer calling me old now?” Old. He hated that word, even if you were both adults he still didn’t like the sound of him being put in the same box as your late parents.

“I mean,” You started, not sure how to properly say this without being offensive. You loved Daryl and you were happy with him, really not wanting to make him uncomfortable. “I guess you’re around their age, right? Dad would have been sixty-two by now. He loved this music so much we had cabinets filled with CDs, he'd go to concerts with friends and have music nights every month. Mom woukd have been around fifty-eight I think. She preferred more symphonic stuff.” You were so caught up in your memories you had stopped looking through the music entirely, your hands shakily holding onto one record a little too tightly for Daryl’s comfort.

“I’m fifty-three, if ya really gotta know.” He had moved over to your side and put an arm around you to pry your fingers off the record. “An’ I really hope yer not secretly seein’ me as a father figure cuz I'd love it if my kid'd be one year old in about two years from now..”

You registered his comment and were pulled back into this world with a soft sob. You hoped it’d be saved for later when the sadness that these boxes brought you had blown over.

“I miss them.” Your words were barely above a whisper, but Daryl caught them all. He had managed to get the record from your hands and took a glance at the cover.

The image didn’t look all too different from the current world. A blue sky behind the ruins of a building, and a man in a rather unnatural pose on a regal looking wooden throne in the foreground. The title reading ‘A Farewell to Kings’ by RUSH.

“Yer old man listen to this?” You quietly nodded, sniffling and wiping at your tears that were now freely running down your face. He put the record aside to make a new separate pile just for you.

“Come on, let’s see what else is in here. Maybe some Ozzy. Ya like Ozzy?” You now nodded with a smile appearing on your face. “Y.. yeah, we had a dog named Ozzy. Mom liked him a lot.” The memory of the dog you had for a short while did lighten the mood a bit, thankfully.

Daryl had abandoned his search entirely and only looked through the boxes with you now, picking out records he did like and ended with almost the entire collection by Judas Priest, which you learned was his favorite.

“Oh shit, look!” You held up a copy of Mötley Crüe’s ‘Dr. Feelgood’ with an excited squeal.

“Nah, that’s what yer into? Crazy girl.” He shook his head with a loving smile. By the time you reached the second to last box you had both gathered quite the collection. Daryl had reluctantly handed you all the Crüe records he found, even if they were duplicates. You wanted to keep them because of their different covers. Even in this world you loved collecting and Daryl admired your ability to find happiness in these items.

“Hey, ya want this one too?” A Metallica record. Not one that you knew so you declined. A grumble let you know he heard you and the fwips of records being looked through continued until another one was being held in your direction. This time it was a Black Sabbath record. You took it to inspect the track list on the back and added it to your pile. “Oh! Another one, yess!” You happily pulled out an Iron Maiden album and admired the cover art, taking in all the small details.

“Ya really listen to them or just love the art?” A hand extended to hand you one more. “Ah, thanks. I like both.” You declared, staring at the next artpiece. “But I wouldn‘t be mad if these end up not playing. We could decorate with the cover arts.”

Daryl looked around the still bare walls of the house and loved your idea to make it more truly yours.

With all the boxes thoroughly searched and your collection put away you went to take the leftover boxes to the communal area for everyone else to enjoy. Seeing the other residents get so excited over music brought smiles to your faces and you went back home more satisfied than you’d thought.

“So..” You locked the front door behind you and nervously stepped over to the cabinet that held your newly acquired collection. Daryl followed your every step with a true hunter’s eye, wondering what got your nerves up all of a sudden. “Which one of these do you think has the best baby making vibes.”

“M’sorry?” No way he heard that correctly. He had convinced himself you hadn‘t heard him since you completely disregarded his comment before. “Ya sure? I mean.. I know wha’ I said but,” he stopped and couldn’t get himself to look you in the eyes. Opting for the crack in the floorboard instead. Before he had a chance to find the right words you had abandoned the record cabinet and stepped over to stand in front of him and kiss his cheek. “I love you.” You whispered before properly kissing him and making sure he got the hint that this was really what you wanted.

“But seriously, pick one. We need something loud to drown out the ..other noises.” You joked with a wink.

~~☆☆☆~~

The talk you had with Daryl that day months ago turned out to be true.

When you laid in your shared bed you spoke about the one obvious thing about your relationship and how the Alexandrians were gonna be judging you for it. When word got out about yours and Daryl’s romantic relationship you already got stares from concerned women who thouht you were being claimed by the older man. You both were way more open about your relationship now that you had a safe place to live and try to have a normal life again, but the original residents who had never gone through the horrors that you had never really let go of their old world beliefs. And now that normal life you tried to live also came with your own child shich had the staring and quiet comments becoming even worse. Uncle Daryl already had Judith, who would always make rude comments to whoever dared to speak ill of her new auntie, but now he had you and with that his own soon to be born child and he wasn't gonna let anyone ruin his happiness because of some dumb opinions.

~~☆☆☆~~

A/N: This one made me cry while writing. The parents are based off my own, one of which is no longer with us. Did some painful remembering for this one.

[perolesims]

Well, you’ve probably noticed that I’m kind of rushing through Lav and Lila’s gen, and yes, I really am! Call it anxiety, restlessness, or whatever… the truth is, I’m super excited and eager to get to my current gen (I’m at the yellow gen, Lav’s granddaughter). That’s why you’re probably getting tired of seeing my Sims all over your feed lol.

On top of all that, I had a big issue during Lav’s gen—it’s kind of missing a big chunk. Back then, my save file got corrupted so badly that even the Sims themselves were bugged, and I basically had to ✨remake everything✨. I almost gave up playing at that point, but after lots of venting and being constantly supported by my two best friends, I found a way to wrap up the gen. So, maybe it’ll seem a bit odd, or maybe not—what I can say for sure is that it turned out meaningful and beautiful.

I guess that’s it… Sometimes I feel like I post too much and worry I’m bothering you all?! I know, I need to work on that in therapy lol. Anyway, thank you for your patience and for the love you show me every day. You have no idea how much strength you give me. Sending you all a big, warm hug.

Nu.

[atlantis-just-drowned]

Guess who just read chapter 18 of Love, Death and Rollerskates and have a new theory to share

Beware: major spoilers under the cut

Okay, so, remember when I said Sun could maybe find his way out of Afton's psychological hold and save the reader along with Moon?

Yeah yeah yeah, and now new elements have been added and they're rather big ones. So, does this theory still stand?

Well, the answer is: it could. We did see that Sun is also badly affected by his actions, and shows regrets from killing his friends, to the point of lying to himself and rewriting his files, feeding the vicious circle of hopes, despair and frustration.

But there's a stain to the picture: Moon and Sun haven't been built by the same person.

Now, let me voice out the obvious: as long as we believed that Moon was also a creation of Afton, we could easily imagine Sun somehow following his counterpart's path to freedom, which placed the solar bot as a desperate soul needing to be saved just as much as his lunar coworker. Moon could be held as a proof that Afton's conditioning was flawed. He was the testimony of a past occurrence.

Except he isn't anymore.

Moon isn't Afton's creation. His main directive isn't the same as Sun. Which means him defying Afton's authority means nothing in regards to Sun's situation. He's not a "past occurrence". There is no past occurrence. No proof.

We no longer have the certainty that Sun can break out of his mental prison.

Of course, we could argue that Sun's feeling for the reader are also a "first occurrence", that the mechanism at work is slightly different than what it was the previous times, and that sentience is a tricky thing that makes disobedience possible. But the fact that Moon doesn't have the same main directive as Sun also raises another concern: we're not sure anymore that being sentient is a strong enough thing to make them able to mess with their code.

We could think otherwise before because we were taking for a fact that Moon has the same main directive as Sun and that he was therefore able to break the rules, or at least bend them enough to stop being as loyal to Afton as he should. But he doesn't have the same directives. Which means we might have never seen him disobey or twist his main directive. Which means he might not be able to do so either.

I feel like this fact might be important in the future. The way this problem will be addressed might be crucial to the story and I can't wait to see it developed, and to discover how Sun, Moon and y/n will deal with it in the future.

But wait, I'm not done.

You know, while we're on the subject of sentience...

What if Sun and Moon were not the only sentient bots?

Yeah, you got it, I'm talking about Space Cadet.

I won't lie, I really feel like an idiot voicing out the most obvious thing here but listen. I need to fucking say it out loud. So let's say the obvious.

The way Spadillelicious phrased the latest interaction with the little guy literally pushes us to question his sentience, and I strongly believe it's not because of some weird type of habit the reader might be starting to develop, to consider any vaguely humanoid bot as sentient.

Space Cadet is sentient. He has been since the beginning: when he tried to warn the reader with a cautionary tale of a woodsman (the reader, but who truly killed them? I'd say the hunter, but are we really sure about that?), a wolf (Moon, stalking y/n in the shadows? But what did Space Cadet mean when he said the wolf would feed on the corpse out of hunger? Is Moon more of an opportunist than we'd think?) and a hunter (Sun, preying for new hires every time the precedent employee gets killed, pulling the trigger when commended to do so?), just before the reader discovers Afton's shady business.

And now, as y/n desperately tries to hide from Moon, Space Cadet wakes up without an invitation to tell them that Moon wasn't designed to be bad, he used to work for a good guy, and found himself in those desperate circumstances against his will, but he's still good.

Space Cadet is sentient. He just cannot show it too much for some reasons. Probably because Afton would get rid of him if he learnt about it. So the little bot tries and tries and tries to warn people that something is very wrong.

Of course, he doesn't portray the two other animatronics greatly either. But we have to admit: both Sun and Moon aren't exactly good people. And if Cadet is sentient, it means he has his own opinion on both of them: two bots he's seen partaking more or less actively in Afton's activities, while he was a simple, miserable, passive witness of the horrors William committed behind closed curtains.

So of course, he isn't very fond of either of them. But he's also very much aware that out of the two, Moon might be the best pick that the reader could make.

[lani-heart]

|| series masterlist || jake's story ending // previously ||

parings -> sim jaeyun x reader genre -> non-idol au, school au, hyrbid au warnings -> neglected, running away, arranged marriage, replacement word count -> 1.7k

abstract -> you don't have to worry about anything, unlike those unluckier than you.

jake’s perspective

“Yes! Please, anything but be stuck at a farm!” I begged that I jump up to the kennel door to try to get closer to her. She laughed and smiled softly… she was saving me from a stupid farm even though I gave her trouble and she said… 

“Wait… but you said you couldn’t own a hybrid?” I asked and she smiled. “Well… I negotiated for myself like I was planning before I met you, and I negotiated for a companion. I don’t understand why you’ve never been adopted” she said sincerely and I felt like crying. 

“Thank you… I'll be the best hybrid! I took classes and everything!” I said and she giggled while taking a piece of paper out of her bag. “Jake, a golden retriever hybrid with a lot of energy. A well-mannered hybrid that needs etiquette training but otherwise a lovely hybrid” she read while now showing me… it was the class file?

“I’ve been busy while they’ve been preparing you with checkups and vaccines… you wanna see what I’ve prepared?” She smiled and I nodded. “As long as I'm by your side,” I said and she giggled. “Well, Jake, you might get sick of me then. You’re stuck with me” she said but I shook my head. 

“You’d get sick of me before I'd ever get sick of you” I confessed and felt sad at the thought… She hummed and pretended to think…

“Well, good thing we’ll never get sick of each other!” 

“You’re the infamous Jake!” I heard and quickly hid behind y/n. Was this to punish me? “He’s not mad at you nor is he scary” she reassured but I didn’t want to believe her.

“It’s true in fact anything you did was nothing compared to the hell I would’ve faced married to her '' he said… marry? “We were gonna be arranged to marry by our parents, remember I mentioned negotiations?” she asked and I understood now… she ran away from him… technically her parents while he ran off to… japan?

“Oh, this reminds me! Riki and her owner mentioned if I saw you you owe him a new coat” he said and I sighed… I guess I did. “Don’t worry about that, I'll ship one to replace it” she reassured me and I nodded. She was… real, not a dream like I'd sometimes have. 

“You already have an obsessed hybrid” he teased her and she scoffed. “You done? You’ve said your peace?” she asked and he nodded while putting his hand out to me… I shook it and he smiled. “See ya around Jake! It’s nice meeting you and don’t worry about it. The past is the past and I'm a free man again!” he joked before saying his goodbye. 

“He’s a strange guy… you’ll meet a lot of strange friends of mine,” she said and I chuckled. “As long as I'm with you,” I said and she smiled. She looked at me with a sudden pout… she was so cute. “You need a haircut and maybe a fur trim? Want to do it now?” she asked and I chuckled. 

“And be pampered by you, please?”

y/n’s perspective

The workers said because im his first and probably only owner in his life that he’ll be extremely attached. Not that I minded but… it worried me for what it would be like with sudden separation anxiety and getting used to etiquette.

There's no way I'd get rid of him now… we're stuck with each other but I don't need anyone telling him he needs to work for his place with me like they’ve done to Riki. My sweet puppy… he looked so happy and relaxed getting a haircut and trim. 

I still needed to give him a collar. Luckily I was assured he’d most likely react well to it… and not badly since he doesn’t have any bad experiences since im his first owner. His first time enjoying life outside the hybrid facilities.

“He’ll be out shortly, miss' ' I heard and I nod as I stood up now waiting for him. When he did appear his hair was now shorter, not much of a difference but it should revive his hair to be more healthy and his puppy ears and tail were now neat. 

He was a pretty hybrid… he was a pretty boy to me before too. 

“I think I look pretty good,” he said and I chuckled. “You look very handsome,” I said and his cheeks flushed a bit before he recounted. “I-I wasn’t before” he teased and I smiled at his nervous stutter. “You were pretty but you look better and happier,” I said and he smiled.

“I’m lucky to have met you,” he said and I nodded. “It’s the same for me, Jake,” I said as we left the place and started walking back to my apartment “You’re now my priority okay?” I said and he smiled. “Thank you…” he said, looking hesitant and I sighed. “You know… I was wondering if you wanted to continue those classes?” I asked and he hummed.

“Well… I wanna see Niki again! So… I wouldn’t mind besides, you have classes there too right? I can keep myself from feeling bored when away from you” he said and I smiled. 

He seemed to already understand that.

“Then do your best, okay Jake?” 

jake’s perspective

It was… a dream come true. We ate a filling meal she ordered from her apartment when she showed me my room and the closet of clothes and my own comfy bed. 

“I have one more thing to show you,” she said and I nodded before she gave me a box. It was the only thing she left for me to open? It had a bunch of packaging when I saw it… my own collar. 

“It also comes with tail rings for your tail–” like Niki “–in case the collar bothers you, but I hope you like it and you don't need to wear it often just when we go places that require it like your class,” she said and I couldn’t help the grin on my face. 

I would be going to class with a collar I'd be like those other hybrids… 

I couldn’t help that I suddenly hugged her and I thought for a second I should have since I had to behave but when she laughed and hugged me back I immediately melted into her comfort. 

“I hope you’re happy here with me,” she said and I smiled. “I’m really glad I met you, maybe it was fate that finally put us together,” I said and she smiled. 

“I think so too”

I was enrolled in classes again so I'd have to start going to them again. The only bad thing is Niki is still in Japan so I was alone… “She’s your owner now huh?”  heard as I saw the mean bird hybrid. 

“I hope you enjoy it, she’s a bitch who doesn’t know how to do anything herself. She's constantly complaining and is gonna make you do so many stupid things just to humiliate you!” he yelled at me. Others were staring…

“She wouldn’t do that” I muttered and he scoffed, grabbing my shirt. “You’ve suddenly changed from rags to riches and think it doesn’t come for a price!” he said and I was confused… What did he know about her? From what I know he knows nothing about her. 

“You know nothing about her… I knew you were hurt but, y/n would never do that” I said and his eyes widened… “y/n? Why are you suddenly mentioning her?” he asked, confused even loosening his grip letting me get away. “She adopted me… not like it's any of your business' ' I said and he sighed. 

“Is the free trial bird causing you trouble? I would too if I suddenly lost everything and suddenly became a freeloading hybrid!” a snow leopard hybrid laughed and the bird scoffed. 

“You shouldn’t be laughing... From what I heard your owner doesn’t even know–" "Shut up before I make sure this pretty little bird can't sing again” he threatened… 

“Sore subject? I wouldn’t want to remember you either, Sunghoon”

Now that I had a collar many hybrids tried talking to me… it was strange. 

Instead, I decided to sit next to a fox hybrid at the back of the class wanting to avoid Jay… but the fox hybrid didn’t look any better. Most of the hybrids in this room were spoiled and mean or… spoiled and depressed. It was a strange concept… the stray hybrids were also losing hope like I did. 

It was cruel…

I went outside waiting for her… would she pick me up? It was when I noticed the fox hybrid, snow leopard, and bird were also waiting like me. “I’m sorry I'm late!” I heard and saw a girl with a patient wristband. “I forgot where this place was and–” “Whatever,” the snow leopard said with a sad expression on his face. 

They walked off and I wondered what was his issue? “His owner is an amnesiac… everyone thinks he tried to kill her and she just forgot,” Jay said but why would he look at her with such a sad expression otherwise… “He’d never do that, they’ve been with each other since kids' ' the fox hybrid defended. 

“What do you know Sunoo?” Jay asked and the fox hybrid stayed silent. “Jake!” I heard and saw y/n. “You’re late” I pout and she sighed. “It took me a while to actually get here from across campus,” she said and I nodded. “Hmm? Looks like you had company though?” she asked and I sighed. 

“Not really,” I said as we walked off. When we were away from the lecture hall I decided to ask. 

“Why was Sunghoon and Jay so mean?” I asked and she sighed. “Jay is a hybrid that many people get for free trial meaning they see what they like in a hybrid and what they don’t… but since he’s had so many owners and isn’t a ‘cute’ hybrid they give him away” she explained and I couldn’t imagine being in his situation. 

“While Sunghoon is just… always been a troublemaker and recently with his owner being in such an accident to forget her memories he might just be a little heartbroken. There were rumors they loved each other…” she explained and it did seem like a heartbreaking experience. 

“Give them a little patience okay?” she asked and I smiled. “I will,” I said and she nodded. 

“Besides… you don’t have to worry about anything when you're with me”

@ilovecheese09 @gudkc @nikisvanillaccola @blossominghunnie @mheretoreadff @k1ttylvr @starzniiky @kibs-and-bits @b3tt7boop @in-somnias-world @lol6sposts @xiaoderrrr @jihyosgfremade @b-a-nshee-blog @mimisamisasa @katsukis1wife @eggomi @thunderous-wolf @tinyteezer @lilactangerine @starfallia @sousydive @bearseulgs

please don't be a silent reader !! reblog, comment, and like <3

[ohsayit]

Fishing out voiced lines (part 1)

So, I have been trying to datamine for the cut Absolute Zevlor. I can't seem to get the parser to work so I have only been looking at the dialogues from 1.0 onwards.

Couldn't find anything other than the one line on the top of one of the files that says he reveals himself a traitor in a conversation but with no actual dialogue being shown. At the moment, I am going through this video from 3 years ago, so pre release I believe. I am trying to fish out bits that sticks out to me that may possibly be part of the cut Absolute Zevlor lines, and also cheery pick some lines for my own liking. They will possibly will feed into the unknown HC of Absolute Zevlor of mine : )

I'd ask who you are, but I've heard of the Blade of Frontiers. I've heard he was a hero though, not a thug.

I have no idea what you mean, my friend.

Allegiance is a murky thing, particularly for a drow.

This is it. I pray I haven't led them all to ruin.

Who in the Nine Hells do you think you are?

(Speak with the dead) Finish..the plan...

(SWD) Go...where...they belong...

Just how much did that damn goblin tell you?

I..I didn't expect to meet a True Soul here.

I know how to pick my allegiances toom, and the Absolute has already won this war.

Ready, at last. Gods, how I've waited for this day.

That was close. Far far too close.

She was not yours to kill. We Might have bought save passage with her.

And you name me the traitor? Gods above, you are working with them!

It's good to know about your story at true.

Looking for information about her tribe. The same fellow who attacked at the gate.

And the Absolute wants them, badly. I will have my reward. I am sure they will be taken care of.

No matter this idiot overheard me. The others will never believe their reluctant leader Zevlor follows the absolute.

You, however, don't factor into it at all.

And so are you. If you ever interfere in my business again, that I promise you.

Shh. Not in mixed company, my friend.

To that point, there is something I'd like to speak with you about, but not in mixed company.

If you stop shouting, they might not find us!

Tilly, there will be time to explain, but we cannot let ourselves be divided now.

Do you have any idea what you have done? What you have ruined?

(SWD) I would have...sacrificed...them all! For the Absolute...

If these sheep can buy me a place among the wolves, then I will use them as I will.

What did you just say?

Ah, a new deity the goblins have taken to. I hoped the prisoner might be more forthcoming about their plan if she thought me had sympathise her.

Tell me what you know.

These people are mine. She can't have them.

I don't know what waits and I don't care. They chose to put their lives in my hands. Why thank you.

Around here? That sounds...dangerous. There is only so far you can push people.

You will soon find out how wrong you are...

You throw away everything I worked for. Why?!

(SWD) I heard tells...whispers...a new power...could raise up those who had been cast out...

Unskilled in the liar who convinces only himself

But they flocked to me when Elturel rejected us. When they needed a sword arm.

You..! Where did you get that mark?

What do you know about the Absolute?!

This one is interesting. It says he is not a Rider. I thought about if he was lying about it, but it doesn't make any sense. It's interesting to see there was an alt background for him. Though I am still die hard fan for Rider Zevlor. Delicious old man.

"I am Zevlor, by the by. Former school teacher, presently, well, something of a defacto leader to beleaguered people"

And he also have some voice lines that belongs to Aradin? lol

We've got a contract to track down some relic. And he wanted in on the job. Eyes lit up when he heard about it.

Well, this is going to make a part 2 to it when I am in the mood to carry on with my English listening test I guess :P I am half an hour in for 1hr 25mi ish audio recordings. Though I feel like a chuck of them are repetitive as I've already listened to.

Sorry I have to put the tag headcanon with this one. I don't have another tag for character analysis (my more written up gibberish) and these sort of bits of information and what not.

[drabblesandimagines]

Kitty (part 10)

Parts 1-9 here. Rei x (afab) reader Warnings: Bit of vulgar language ahead

--

Rei parks the obscenely yellow car at the gates, the security raising an eyebrow at the vibrant colour as the Suwa heir is revealed to be the driver. They were expecting him, so not long after he shuts the car door, the heavy iron gates buzz and slide open to permit him entry, revealing the grand walk up to the manor. It’s the last defense of the Suwa household, guard posts nestled in between the trees the whole way up to the imposing building he once called home. He keeps a solid pace as he walks, his face expressionless. He soon reaches the porch, strides up the steps and enters through the unlocked front doors, not surprised to find the ground floor empty at this early hour. He ascends the stairs, slowly, his heart keeping rhythm with his footsteps as he walks on autopilot to the Boss’ study.

He pauses at the door, raps his knuckles against the heavy wood twice, and enters. The Boss is sat at his desk, as usual, a pile of folders over to his right-hand side. He’ll be divvying out assignments this morning, it seems. Perhaps this is what this is about.

“Morning, Boss.” Rei bows his head in a forced show of respect.

The man continues to write, not acknowledging his son’s presence until he concludes his paperwork.

He looks up at last, “You look well.” He lays down his fountain pen, laces his fingers under his chin.

“And you.”

The two men stare at each for a moment, before Boss breaks it with what sounds suspiciously like a chuckle. Rei has never heard his father laugh before.

“I must admit, I didn’t think you had it in you, Rei. Didn’t believe it when I was first told. Not my son, not the heir to the illustrious Suwa clan.” Rei doesn’t respond. There’s a horrible feeling growing in his stomach. His father frisbees a file towards his legs – déjà vu from the last time he was here, certainly. He unconsciously held a breath as he bent down and opened it. Inside, there’s a single page document and two photographs. The photographs are of both you and him, walking along the riverbank, one with you holding hands, the other without. It’s the day you went to Kyu’s. The document holds little to no information, the name, occupation, family history and background information fields are all blank. The only real information is a detailed physical description, and a guess of your age. Maybe in other circumstances he’d feel relieved, that they didn’t know anything about you, but what little information he sees now is enough to shake him to his core.

“No name, age, family lineage. Unimportant. You can understand why I would struggle to see why my son, my bloodline would be interested in such an insignificant peasant. Ogino, though…” Rei lifts his eyes, slowly, from the folder to his father once more. He can’t stare at it for too long, he can’t react, can’t show emotion and especially around the mention of Ogino. “Well, he recognized her as that traitor Aktomi’s house whore. He was your hit, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, Boss.” He wants to so badly defend your honour - you weren’t that at all – but maybe this could be a saving grace.

“I thought, perhaps, you’d taken her for your own pleasure, but that doesn’t explain this inane display of affection.” The Boss removes his laced fingers from beneath his chin, leans back in his chair and cracks his knuckles. “Did you think I’d permit you a bride of your choice when it came to expanding the Suwa bloodline? Your offspring will go on to run this Organization. The mother needs to be worthy of that honour. Your nameless woman, you don’t even know if she’s of good breeding stock. Tell me, have you already had a go?”

Rei can feel the anger bubble away in his stomach at the way his father is speaking about you – kind, gentle, sweet you – in such vulgar terms, but he can’t let it show and he won’t. It’s too dangerous. This is what he’s trained for.

“No.” He looks up, his tone firm.

“Then what is the meaning of this?”

He has to play this carefully, even if the words will leave a bitter taste in his mouth. “Aktomi didn’t even break her in. Timid, submissive little thing – said she’d be our maid if we spared her. I thought it would be entertaining. I’ve been toying with her but, as you say, she’s not worthy of the Suwa clan. I’ve grown bored since this image was taken.”

Boss drums his fingers on the desk in thought, before a smile creeps across his face. “I gave you time to tie up your affairs, Rei, and this is what you’ve chosen to do with it? My, maybe living away has had a positive influence on you after all. You have until the New Year to return home to learn how to run the Organization. I’ll remind you again how generous I have been with you with this extended absence.”

“Yes, Boss. I appreciate your patience. Thank you.” He walks forward, places the folder containing the little information on his father’s desk and bows his head respectfully, before turning and exiting the study, closing the door softly behind him. Although calm and collected on the outside, Rei’s stomach is swirling as he heads along the hallway and back down the grand staircase. The photograph of his mentor’s wife is vivid in his mind, except now where her face was, all he can see is yours. He can’t allow that to happen, not to you…

“Hello, again.” Ogino is on a bench in the foyer, flipping through his beloved notebook. “Back again so soon?”

Rei doesn’t reply, he keeps on walking towards the main door. One step in front of the other, repeat that, keep calm. He wants to get home, he needs to get home to see you. His hand is on the door handle…

“Tell me,” the notebook slaps shut, “Does she remember who she is yet? I’ve been thinking, in case she comes up for a hit - do I really want to sacrifice a space in my book for a stupid bitch who doesn’t remember her own name?”

Rei’s grip tightens on the handle.

“If I do, do you think I’ll fill the whole page with her s-s-s-stuttered last words?” He mocks.

Rei meets his eyes, but Ogino’s face remains blank. He can’t do anything, he shouldn’t do anything, not here in this house and especially under his Boss’ watch. It’ll only put you in danger, that is as if you’re not already. He jerks the handle down and pulls the door open, leaving with composure, his hands down by his sides though it takes everything in them not to clench them. He wants to run back to the car, but he can’t. He can’t let them know they’ve rattled him.

The walk back down to the main gates is painfully slow, although Rei knows he’s a fast walker. He gets in the car and drives, being careful not to speed away but he does go some distance before he eventually pulls over by the side of the road. He rips his gloves off before loosening the tie from around his neck in the hope it will help him breathe, unbuttoning his shirt a little. It’s only a moment or so later when his phone rings. He knows it’ll be Kazuki. The blonde would have tracked his phone and kept an eye on his movements as soon as he discovered the note.

He accepts the call, wordlessly.

“You okay?”

“Fine.” He’s anything but fine, but he doesn’t want Kazuki to know he’s scared.

“If you say so… Anyway,” Kazuki sighs, “Miri was in a terrible mood this morning when she found out Misaki had left without saying goodbye. Not even that chocolate cereal could cheer her up. Wouldn’t let me take her to daycare either, insisted it had to be Kitty. Not sure why she’s off the hook…”

“Mm.”

“So, are you heading back now? Kyu rang a short while ago - wants to see us.”

It’s rare that Kyu requests them both. “Can’t you go on your own?”

“Nah, he said he needs to see the both of us. Do you want to just meet me there?”

“Fine.” He grunts, thinking for a moment. “Bring Kitty.”

“He said just us…”

“Bring Kitty.” He repeats, looking at the bag holding his clothes in the back seat. He wants out of the suit right now.

“Is everything okay?”

Rei pulls his hair free from its tie, shaking his head to settle it back in its regular position. “Kazuki… please.”

“Okay. We’ll see you there, bud.”

He hangs up, gets out of the car and into the backseat, ridding himself of his suit and back into his jeans, t-shirt and jacket. The tightness in his chest, however, doesn’t subside.

--

There’s been an odd energy in the apartment that morning, though understandable given the events of last night. Rei’s vanished on an errand and Miri is in a terribly bad mood upon discovering Misaki left without bidding her farewell, or when they would see each other again. She seems to be placing the blame solely on Kazuki and you feel awful for the blonde, as he replies to her curt statements with loving, reassuring words. Miri insists you take her to daycare and when you try and suggest gently that the three of you go together, it feels like you can see Kazuki’s heart break in front of you when she emphasizes that it can only be you.

Although you’re feeling better, Kazuki insists your temperature is checked with the thermometer first before he’d let you take her, gently reminding Miri that you hadn’t been well yesterday, after all. Your temperature is back to normal and you half-wonder if Kazuki would lie and say you were still feverish, so he could use the walk to daycare to try and soothe Miri, but he’s honest and waves the two of you off, plastering a smile on.

The little girl is unusually quiet on the walk to daycare, despite your best efforts to engage her in a little conversation. When you’re near the daycare, she spots her friends in the playground and seems to perk up a little, even asking when Papa Rei will be back.

“L-later,” you reply, thinking back on the note.

You barely get a step back into the apartment, not even bent down to take your shoes off when Kazuki’s voice calls through.

“Kitty, leave your shoes on – we’re going out.” Kazuki steps into sight – his jacket’s already on, a bag over his shoulder, like he’s just been waiting for you to return.

“O-out?”

“Yeah, need to go see Kyu. Spoke to Rei, he’s going to meet us there.” He explains, walking over and stepping down to slip his shoes on. “Did Miri cheer up any?”

“No,” you shake your head. “I t-think she’ll c-cheer up after a d-day with her f-friends, though.” You think back to her smile when she’d seen them, waving her over to come play. Their company will be a good distraction.

“Yeah, I hope so.” He sighs, and then offers you a bright smile – for whose benefit is unclear. “Right, let’s go.”

--

Kazuki tells you what was said between the three of them last night – practically the same information that Rei had divulged but a little more fleshed out. As with Rei, you wish you knew what advice to offer, or the right words to say but at most you manage stuttered sympathetic phrases. You know Miri adores her papas and her mama, maybe they could all somehow live peacefully? But the fact she raised their professions seems like that won’t be possible.

Kazuki holds the door open for you as you enter the café and Kyu greets the two of you immediately, the establishment void of any other customers, although he does seem a little surprised by your presence. “Kitty, Kazuki…” He nods. “Ah, you’ve cut your hair. Looks nice.”

You nod in thanks.

“No Rei?”

“He’s on his way. Tea for me, please. Kitty, a coffee?”

“Y-yes, please.”

“Coming right up,” Kyu replies, but there’s an unasked question on his tongue. Kazuki nods at him, before his hand is on your lower back and he ushers you to the same booth that you and Rei had shared a week or so ago. He places his bag down on the table and begins to withdraw his laptop and some headphones.

“We need to talk some business. Kyu’s a little… secretive,” he explains, opening up his laptop and navigating to a folder. “It shouldn’t take that long, but I didn’t want you to be bored, so I downloaded that spy show from the beginning for you to catch up on!”

He loads up the video and plugs in the headphones, offering them to you. You don’t understand, really – you didn’t need to come with him, after all. You could’ve stayed in the apartment. But you don’t question – he’s got dark rings around his eyes and maybe he didn’t sleep well. He’s already upset enough, don’t pester him with unnecessary questions. Maybe he just wanted the company on the walk?

You take the headphones. “Okay. T-t-thanks, Zuki.”

He smiles, presses play and heads back to the counter. You pop in the headphones and listen to the opening theme. Not long after, Kyu comes over with your coffee, placing it down gently in front of you and you offer a polite smile as he does so.

You’re about a third of the way through when you see Rei enter the establishment. He looks at Kazuki and Kyu at the counter before his eyes scan the rest of the café, settling on you sat at the back. He smiles, though you swear you see him sag a little as he does so, but you smile in return, offering a little wave. He sits down at the counter besides Kazuki.

A loud explosion rings through the headphones, amping up the drama.

--

“If you want them both safe, you’ll understand why they can’t stay with you any longer. That’s why I called Miri’s mother and…” Kyu slides over an envelope. “..this is what I suggest for Kitty.”

Kazuki goes to push the envelope away outright, but Rei’s hand is on it before he can do so.

“Rei…”

“I’ve been foolish.” He replies, curtly, sliding a finger under the seal and removing the piece of paper within. His eyes scan it quickly. “Seems reasonable.”

“I’m glad you agree.” Kyu nods.

“What seems reasonable?” Kazuki snatches it out of his hands. “A refuge?”

“Kitty will be safe there and will get the help she needs. I thought it was bad enough you guys taking in a kid, but she’s clearly a traumatized young woman. It’s highly reviewed. I’ve made inquiries already – they have a space for her and I can take her there.”

“Rei, you can’t really want this. I thought you liked her…” Kazuki protests. He’d been encouraging his partner to go for it, so why is he now trying to make such a drastic move?

“I do like her.” He snaps back, before rubbing his temples.

“Then why send her away?” He spits out, tempers flaring.

“My father.”

Kazuki’s eyes widen in realization. “Is that what he wanted this morning?” He turns to Kyu. “Is she a hit?”

“No. I’ve not received any materials to suggest as such, I was only informed of the photos of the field day recently.” Kyu shrugs. “I made inquiries for Kitty the same time I reached out to Miri’s mother – I like to be prepared.”

“She’s not a hit yet,” Rei corrects. “I said some things to the Boss that I will never repeat, and he seemed satisfied with my answers, but Kitty can’t stay with us anymore. Not unless we keep her in the apartment, which makes us as bad as that bastard before.” He looks at Kyu. “How soon can you take her?”

“Tomorrow morning soon enough?”

He looks at Kazuki, who is flabbergasted. Can Rei so easily turn his emotions off? Of course he can – he does it on the job, frequently, but he thought Miri and you had begun to change that.

The blonde looks over his shoulder at you, but you’re far too engrossed in the drama to notice. There’s a smile on your face as you watch and his heart sinks as he faces the truth he’s been hiding from. Sure, they’ve made things work so far but Kyu is right - how can they sit and play happy families under the circumstances of how the four of you have come to be together? They’re both stone-cold killers, you and Miri have fallen into their lives accidentally. It wasn’t right to put either of you at risk anymore.

“We don’t tell them.” Kazuki mutters. “Either of them. We have a nice evening all together, okay? Kitty tomorrow, Miri the next.”

Rei grunts, swallowing down the lump in his throat. Swallowing down his emotions, just as he was taught.

-- Don't hate me x EDIT: Part 11.

[randomnameless]

I seriously hilarious how after a year people are still treating Engage like it burned their spouses and fucked their crops. If they love "moral grayness writing" that much, they have tons of other rpgs with similar themes to play, 8 seasons of Game of Thrones to watch and lots of grimdark fantasy books to read.

Seriously, there's only 3 times (if we want to count 3h that badly) where this franchise has tried to explote more nuanced and complex plots, and those games were the Tellius duology and the Jugdral games. The rest have milquetoast fantasy rpg plots. Why they sticking with FE when it's clearly not the franchise for these kinds remains an enigna.

Mmh,

I wouldn't say GOT's seasons are grim d4rk, imo they're trash in the same vein as the Kadarshians TV show, you're watching it to see how ruined things will be

(c'est quoi l'équivalent US/UK de l'émission "les marseillais"? )

I feel like Martin's books were more in the lines of "deconstruction then reconstruction" of the "traditional" fantasy tropes, with his own choice of depicting very grim and dark things that participate in the "deconstruction" side of his works... even if at times it borders on misery porn and, tbh, misogyny.

Fantasy settings, in general, always have some sort of monarchy and morale of "the good/rightful king returns home and everything is better!" - you can add some twists here and there, but in general, and especially FE, it's that kind of frame. We're not in game where Bob and John feel like Hector charges them too much for the sewer tax, and file a claim to his court to be discharged from paying said tax.

I'm not saying you can't add twists and add some sort of depth to the game, hell the Tales of franchise often tries to add some greater theme to their general "hero with a sword whacks people and is ultimately involved in a greater quest to save the world while eating appel gels", Symphonia tries to tackle racism and how being a victim or racism doesn't give you a pass to create concentration camps to turn people you see as "inferior beings" as fuels/devices to upgrade you and your chosen ones (even if that plot point utterly vanished when the MC goes "i wish we could have been friends" which is, uh, I guess where i found Kishimoto's inspiration for Obito I guess), Abyss tackles the existential crisis of clones/people created to be spares, do they have the right to exist beyond the purpose of their original creation or not? - etc etc.

Funny how you mention Tellius, because IMO, Tellius is even more shaky/wonky than Fodlan (or at least it's a serious competition) with its general message of "racism BaD but miscegenation BaD too" which is, uh... well.

That leaves Jugdral with all of the stuff it wanted to convey - and managed to do while being a SNES duology (I think?) - and yet Jugdral is, at its core, a story of "rightful heir returns to his throne" with some emphasis, especially in FE5, on what "rightful" means but the premise is the same, it's not Dalshin who's going to become the Lord of New Thracia, it's Leif because Leif is Quan'n'Ethlyn's son : his journey in FE5 is all about learning to become a good leader/king.

Back to your post, if people want a game where you "smash the patriarchy" and bring "the revolution"... well, the FE series is not (or wasn't, who knows how it will turn out to be in the near future) for you.

[ink-and-dagger]

Heyyy Inky!!! Guess who it is! (jk) It's me Galaxy!! I've written the DWM song!!! And recorded it! It's called 'One Drink'. (hehe) It's not done professionally in any way, shape or form, but it's certainly finished. It's just a demo of me singing (badly-ish, ignore my baby voice gah I sound like a twelve year old) with a guitar backing, but I do imagine that if I ever do record this, it will be with more instruments than just guitar. 😅 I really really really really hope you like it. Really. Think of it as a love letter from me to you for writing DWM, because it really has been a major part of my life <3 This link will take you to the audio recording (it's on a google drive. Copy and paste it into your browser!): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QWXoZ8yZHFXhCAlHE4OZURTQGXzL9tlU/view?usp=sharing And I WAS gonna include a link to a google doc with the lyrics on it... but tumblr's being fussy and won't let me insert it. So, I've decided to just put the lyrics at the bottom of this ask, which is gonna make it very long but oh well. Shit happens. Also, if the audio recording link doesn't work - please please please tell me. I'll figure out another way to send it!

Anyway, the recording is accessible for anyone to copy into their preferred browser to listen to (if it works), so if any other DWM fans see this feel free to listen/read! Again, I hope you like it, Inky. Love you and everything you do <3 - Galaxy P.S. Inky, I would love love love to know every single one of your thoughts on lyrics as well if that's possible!

One Drink - Lyrics. A DWM song <3

Saint was a sinner

And he was feared by almost everyone

He was a ruthless killer 

A devil, modern to our time. 

She, oh she wasn’t perfect 

But compared to him; an angel from our sky.

Astrid. Always searching for her horizon

But it seemed like something she could never find.

She shared a drink with him one night

Apparently she’s the only one that would 

He pulled the bottle off the shelf, his inhibitions down you can tell

There’s something he’s suppressed

And the walls began to fall

I guess opposites attract after all

One drink that started it all x3

They, oh they weren’t perfect

They would fight all the time like you and I

One fight, got a little too consuming 

The pain was a knife through her heart 

He thought he jinxed them

He thought this one was a little too far gone

Their only saving grace was the rose tattoo upon her waist 

A symbol that in time they’d be alright

And the walls began to fall

I guess opposites attract after all

One drink that started it all x 6

Saint was a sinner

But she found her horizon in his eyes 

GALAXYYYY

I'm squeezing you so tight that you'll need to visit a chiropractor to straighten you back out again. I absolutely love this and i'm so honoured that my story inspired you to create a whole ass SONG?! Thank you so so much.

Also what are you on about singing badly? You've got a great voice! Really pure and folksy - it suits the style of song so well, especially with a solo guitar. Can totally picture you singing this song at nighttime sitting by a campfire with the local townspeople hanging off your every word. Also it's so damn catchy - I was already singing the chorus to myself after just the first listen (I may have listened to it 10 or 20 times since hehe)

Here's a one click link for anyone who wants to listen to Galaxy's amazing song!

And I LOVE all the lyrics! They convey the core essence of Silco and Astrid's characters and story so effectively. That's some serious skill my friend. You did in 200 words what it took me over 138k words to do lmfao.

I started to attempt to write out all my thoughts on the lyrics in this post but I had so many thoughts that it quickly proved too crazy to format on tumblr. SO, I put them in a google doc instead lmfao. You should be able to see my comments on the highlighted text but tell me if not.

Thank you again, truly from the bottom of my heart.

[johanna-swann]

I just rewatched Hen & Chimney begins (Bobby begins again is running in the background as I type this) and it's interesting how Tommy changes between these episodes. With Chim he's actively hostile in the same way the other firefighters are, with Hen he's much more passive. By the time Bobby comes around Hen and Chim have become part of the team. (longer analysis/headcanon under the cut)

Anyway my headcanon is that Tommy came out to whatever family he had left immediately before joining the firedepartment and it went badly. That's why when he got to the 118 and met Captain Gerrard he just fell in line with the status quo, kept his head down and tried to not attract any attention to himself.

He took one step out of the closet with his family and metaphorically got punched in the guts for it. He wasn't about to have a repeat of that experience. Took him almost dying and being saved by the new kid to even start pulling his head out of his arse. That's when he stopped doubling down on his colleagues' bullshit and just stayed silently complicit.

After Hen joined Gerrard's behaviour got worse or maybe just more obvious. Which on the one hand, scary as fuck. That's what they'd treat him like if he came out. On the other hand- how could he just ignore that? So he filed a complaint. An another one. So did some of the others, even Sal seemed to have had enough of the Captain's shit at some point. They got rid of Gerrard eventually.

I guess after that is when they all become friendly. In Bobby begins again, Hen confronts Bobby about firing Sal. She's also the one in charge of the bets. Her, Chimney and Tommy are close enough to casually hang out over drinks after shift. Meaning to say even Hen who had the worst experience at the station out of all of them found a way to forgive and connect with the other firefighters.

Tommy still isn't out though. Claims staying single is easier because women freak out about the the dangers of the job. The 118 is not an actual family (yet), they're more work friends who get along well, but their private lives are still that, private, and Tommy's afraid. He doesn't have much else outside of this team and they all have this image of him in their heads. Dumbass macho guy who's still learning to be better. Which isn't wrong, but also only half the truth.

Staying in the closet doesn't feel great though either. His 30th birthday came and went and he's never been in a real relationship that lasted longer than a couple of months. He doesn't want to live another 30 years in the closet. So he transfers to Air Operations. Fresh start and everything. He'll miss the team, but there'll be another team he'll be part of and maybe this time around Tommy can do right by them from the get go.

[spockandawe]

You know what, I'm not happy about this either :T

Unless I'm t-boned by another reblog from someone huge, this likely won't reach as wide of an audience. And I regret that! Because either I presented myself badly or people are taking the wrong thing away from my words.

So, I strongly, STRONGLY believe in supporting writers. I also strongly believe in archival work and preservation of online media. I mentioned my own binding of the raksura patreon short stories earlier this year, hoping to manifest an official printing to buy, which.... folks, the implicit logical endpoint is that I went and expanded them all and saved them locally too.

It wasn't scraping, since I've seen that description being tossed around in the notes. My copy was manual copy and paste, because I don't respect my own time, and so was the other recent version. If you're going to rail against that, I guess you've successfully transported nft rage about right click + save as to a new medium.

Frankly, the patreon interface is a pain for this. Infinite scroll is part of the enshittification of the internet, this is a lot of text and posts, patreon isn't a powerful archival site, and it started choking horribly by the time I was halfway through. Now that I know people can still sign up (which i didn't, for years, that closed label is misleading), I still emphatically encourage them to do so and fight through the lag to read the stories.

I also quoted the thing where I said I owned all the books in three formats - physical, ebook, audiobook. Guess what copy I use for most rereads - that's right, none of them, because I was a dumb youth who didn't understand how awful kindle drm is and I can't word search in a paper book, so the secret fourth format is pirated ebooks, which I know amazon will never be able to yoink out of my grip. If I ever git gud at illumination and make a hand-illustrated compendium of the series, that's going to be my starting base, because there arent digital rights to lock me down to owning ACCESS to a copy of the book and not the copy of the book itself.

Now, the existence of pirated ebooks isn't all sunshine and roses. I've seen the talks about how new books IMMEDIATELY get pirated and shared and start cutting into an author's livelihood and future publishing prospects. I think it's incredibly important to support authors directly and in ways corporate marketing teams are able to observe. But especially in light of the Hollywood strikes, I'm sure many of us have seen posts about corporate entities playing shitty games with what they'll make available and withhold, and what they'll CHARGE versus what the customer has PURCHASED.

The only thing in the original post I take issue with is the reposting of something that was still available directly through the author. That has already been addressed. The originator is remorseful. I still understand if the patreon vanishes, to be clear. But i quietly made my own copy years ago BECAUSE i understand how easy it is for something like that to vanish, for much more arbitrary reasons. It could have been vanished because of site policy, patreon abruptly archiving all posts more than X years old. Online media is dangerously ephemeral.

I bind a lot of cnovel fan translations. So many amazing stories are getting licensed for translation - great! But it's also a massive extinction event for all the backbreaking translation work other fans have been sharing for years for free. And from that perspective it's a fucking TRAGEDY. I have... a Lot of files that I'm not sharing publicly. My goal is never to preempt or undermine the translators who did the actual work. But that hoard of files is still precious to me, because it takes about five seconds to delete a gdoc of translation, and there's not always warning to save a copy first.

Again, emphasis, my only issue here was the reposting. I'm not happy that it happened. I'm glad the files were quickly taken down, whether or not the patreon itself goes away. I'm glad op is remorseful for overstepping, and I can... mostly see how they didn't realize the problem, and mainly wanted to help more people experience a story they loved.

So it's also worth saying that I'm also not too stoked about the direction tags on that post were starting to go. 'Piracy is inexcusable, piracy is the death of--' STOP. I recognize that begging for nuance while tossing thoughts out onto social media is a losing game. But actually, I'm out of patience for black and white thinking happening on my post. Piracy is a valuable tool for archivists and a hazard to creators, which is why it should be practiced quietly and with deliberate care. It should be practiced in a way that attempts not to damage the creator's livelihood or take away control of their creations. That's where the misstep was here. OP understood they had misstepped and they were expressing remorse even before I got on my high horse, and it sure doesn't seem like the notes care about that, so! I'm done letting the outrage machine feed on it.

That's probably enough. I'm not saying anything I haven't said on here before. If you've ever grieved for a beloved fic missing from your ao3 bookmarks because it was deleted, you understand the basic archival urge. If you lost access to a favorite artist's extensive archives because the images were flagged in the 2018 boob ban, you should be able to understand. I manually saved 36,000 pictures in that brief grace period before I completely burned out. The fundamental impulse shouldn't be that hard to grasp. The rest is just responsible practices, and people fuck up sometimes. It sucks, but sometimes you don't recognize a boundary is there before you blunder right over it with the best of intentions. I think a lot of us have been there too.

Anyways, this is too much text, how boring to look at. Here's my remaining pictures of my own little anthology copy. Still manifesting an official release someday, or any books of the raksura material at all. Money will literally fly from my pocket to purchase it in every available format.

[fioreofthemarch]

Finding Her - Chapter 14

Link makes notes, takes photos and keeps time on his quest across Hyrule, in the hopes of finding Zelda and staying sane until he does. [ Previous | Next | First | AO3 ] A/N: This chapter's formatting may not read very well on Tumblr. See the AO3 link as an alternate.

Booting… Booting… Boot–

[ WARNING ]

%%% A problem has occurred and the Purah Pad will now shut down to prevent further damage. 

%%% Shutdown process: Initiating…

### STOP: 0x0000008E (0xHE000000LP, 0x0ME00000)

### pp1371hud.sys – Address F87D91-HELP at F87DA0-ME

%%% Beginning memory transfer…

%%%Transfer Complete.

%%% C  ontact your the Pur  ah Pad technical admini5trat0r for furthe  r  #  H##ELP! 

---

> Director’s Log, 104AC, 8th month, 6th day. I’ve made a start on the repairs to Link’s Purah Pad, but progress is slow. It was pretty badly damaged in the fight, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to save it. To think, just yesterday Link asked me to give it a once over. 

As a stopgap, I’ve booted up a prototype Purah Pad and transferred all of Link’s data and inventory across. Its hardware is barely holding together, so I’ve asked Robbie to return from Hateno Village to help out, but he’s still a day away.  

I’m using the guidance stone console to recover what I can. It looks like most of the data survived, but everything logged in the past week is completely scrambled. I’ll sort it out. I have to. 

I know how much Link’s notes mean to him. Salvaging them is the least I can do. 

---

[ Corrupted data packets identified ]1040802-logtypeTEXT.pkg 1040802-hyrulegarrison-053.img1040804-logtypeTEXT.pkg 1040804-lookoutlanding-055.img 1040805-logtypeAUDIO.pkg UNKNOWN-PRINCESSZELDA.img

Re-compiling… 1040802-logtypeTEXT.pkg Recovery 12.5 / 100%

Log[]da[][]: 10:45. 8th month, 2nd day ##VALUE! Location: Hyrule Ga[][]is[]n [][][][][] Weather: %%UNRECOVERED

%[...]%Glad Tulin and Riju are with me. Have a bad feeling, about all this%[...]%Too many memories in Hyrule, and one over every rise and along every path%[...]%but Riju said I had no need for guilt, and Tulin said it was probably an accident%[...]%

< ~File corrupted, unable to display image > 

Re-compiling… 1040804-logtypeTEXT.pkg Recovery 32.3 / 100% 

[][][] d[]te: ##VALUE! 8th [][][][][], 4th day 104AC ~~~ation: Lookout Lan[][][][] Weather: Mild

%[...]%Robbie’s upgraded the Message Medallions and made one for each Sage%[...]%I’ve briefed the Sages that I think it could be a trap, but we haven’t told the people of Lookout Landing. They’re so sure it’s her. They have so much hope. Who am I to take that away?%[...]%

A half-corrupted photograph, the shapes and colours decaying into noise. To describe it in more detail would be to describe peeling the Purah Pad back layer by layer, and unearthing the wriggling wires, blinking lights and humming components underneath. Look too long, and something starts looking back. 

Caption: C an you% %see m e?

Re-compiling… 1040805-logtypeAUDIO.pkg  Recovery 49.0 / 100% 

RJ | 12:30 %[...]% made it to the Library%[...]% looking worse for wear. 

UNKNOWN | 12:30 Roger that. Yunobo and I are ###here##in here, I’m##in here## 

UNKNOWN | 12:31 Checking in! The Docks are clear but ###Gl# %% %.

YNB| 12:31 Plenty of Gloom here too, goro!

UNKNOWN | 12:32 What about you?%[...]%

LNK | 12:32 I’m at the second gatehouse. And I… 

RJ | 12:32 ##[PURAH]? What’s going on?

---

> Director’s Log, 104AC, 8th month, 7th day - After a day of work and no sleep, I’ve barely made it halfway through the data. I sent Josha off to find me some coffee but Goddess be good, she’d never heard of it. I guess they don’t make it in Kakariko anymore. 

Robbie’s not far away. It’s possible it’s the damage to the Purah Pad itself that causing all the isues. But there’s a lot of noise in the data, more than there should be. Maybe someone’s been messing around with the backend somehow.  

I just hope we can sort this all out before Link gets back. It would help if we knew where he went, and for how long, and why. Scorpis sent scouts, Harth too. They haven’t come back with anything. I told them he’s the Hero of Hyrule for the Goddess’ sake, look harder! 

Okay, I think I’ve nearly cracked the entries made on the day Link and the Sages infiltrated Hyrule Castle. Hopefully something in there will help us find him. 

---

Recompilation complete: 1040804-logtypeTEXT.pkg Recovery 61.7 / 100%  

Log date: 14:45. 8th month, 4th day 104AC Location: Lookout Landing Weather: Mild  

Made it to Lookout Landing with Tulin and Riju. Sidon and Yunobo were already here. All of Hyrule has come for 'Zelda'. 

We’ve spent the morning planning the ‘rescue’. Robbie’s upgraded the Message Medallions and made one for each Sage, so that we can all go to the Castle together and communicate freely. The plan is to hit each main entrance – the Docks, the Library, the Dining Halls and the Gatehouses – all at once. 

I’ve briefed the Sages that I think it could be a trap, but we haven’t told the people of Lookout Landing. They’re so sure it’s her. They have so much hope. Who am I to take that away? 

And there is … another possibility. I can’t promise them Zelda is just an illusion if the opposite is true, but it’s too terrible… What would we do? What would we do, Zelda, if it’s really you causing all these problems in Hyrule, and really you who has turned on us? Goddess, what would we do?

A colourful photograph of Lookout Landing, with the banners of each land of Hyrule visible. Hyrule Castle stands in the background, brightly lit by the sun despite the Gloom that pours out of it. 

Caption: Time to find out. 

---

Re-compilation complete: 1040805-logtypeAUDIO.pkg  Recovery 85.5 / 100%

Audio log transcription date: 104.08.05  Time: 26 minutes 31 seconds. 

LNK | 12:27 Testing… testing… Can you guys hear me? 

RJ | 12:27 Loud and clear! Wow Link, it’s like you’re right here. 

LNK | 12:27 Thank Robbie. This was his idea. 

TLN | 12:28 Cadet Tulin checking in! Or, no, can I be Officer Tulin?

RJ | 12:28 Sure you can, kid. 

TLN | 12:28 Who are YOU calling kid?

RJ | 12:28 Only the Chief of–

YNB | 12:28 Hey guys! President uh… Yunobo, checking in! Is that the right term?

TLN | 12:29 You are President aren’t you?

YNB | 12:29 No the ‘checking in’ part.

TLN | 12:29 I guess?

SDN | 12:30 I am also here! 

LNK | 12:30 Are we all in position?

RJ | 12:30 I’ve made it to the Library. This place is looking worse for wear.

TLN | 12:31 Roger that. Yunobo and I are in the Dining Hall. 

SDN | 12:31 I’m at the Docks. They’re clear but there’s Gloom everywhere. 

YNB | 12:31 Lots of Gloom here too, goro!

RJ | 12:32 What about you, Link? 

LNK | 12:32 I’m at the Second Gatehouse. And I…

RJ | 12:32 Link? What’s going on?

LNK | 12:32 I can see her. 

SDN | 12:33 The Princess? 

TLN | 12:33 Zelda?

LNK | 12:33 I… I don’t know. Hold position, I’m going in.  

SDN | 12:33 Uh, no need for alarm but, there’s something here…

TLN | 12:33 Wait… I can see something too. 

YNB | 12:34 Do you think that’s…?

RJ | 12:34 Zelda!? But, she’s in the Gatehouse! What is she doing here?

SDN | 12:34 It’s… moving. The Gloom is moving…

LNK | 12:34 [roaring, crashing noises] Ack! Everyone! It was a trap! I repeat a trap!

TLN | 12:34 Yunobo watch out!

YNB | 12:34 Monsters! 

RJ | 12:35 They’re everywhere! What happened to Zelda?!

LNK | 12:35 She was bait! Get out of there!

SDN | 12:35 [gasping] H-Help me! Help! It’s got a hold of me! 

LNK | 12:35 Sidon! I’m on my way–

SDN | 12:35 [strangled] No, don't–! You damn-! Hyack, hyah! I’m… I’m free!

LNK | 12:35 Run! Don’t try to fight it!

SDN | 12:35 [screeching in the background] Okay, running!

TLN | 12:36 [arrows whooshing] One down!

YNB | 12:36 Yes, ha hah! We got this little guy, don’t worry!

TLN | 12:36 Not! Little!

RJ | 12:37 [thunder crashing] Take that! And that!

LNK | 12:37 Second Gatehouse is clear. Heading to the west apartments. Everyone report in. 

TLN | 12:38 Roger that, we are nearly–!

YNB | 12:38 Done and done! Dining Hall is clear.

RJ | 12:39 So is the Library. Phew, that was quite the fight. And– oh, Sidon!  You made it from the Docks!

SDN | 12:40 [out of breath] Indeed. 

RJ | 12:40 Those marks on you… what was down there?

SDN | 12:40 I do not know! 

TLN | 12:42 So did we… find Zelda?

YNB | 12:42 I think she left, after those monsters came. 

TLN | 12:43 So it wasn't really her?

YNB | 12:43 Iunno…

RJ | 12:44 Link? What should we do now? 

RJ | 12:46 Link? Say something. You’re scaring us.  

YNB | 12:47 Is…is he alright?

SDN | 12:48 He’ll be fine. Maybe his talking stone is not functioning. 

YNB | 12:49 It’s more of a talking rock.

TLN | 12:49 Looks like a pebble to me.

SDN | 12:49 It is distinctly a glowing stone, the markings typical of–

RJ | 12:48 Can we please focus?! Link, come in! 

LNK | 12:49 I’m here, sorry. Monsters in Zelda’s old room. Caught off guard. Heading to the Inner Sanctum. Everyone else retreat. It’s too dangerous.

SDN | 12:49 No. We will join you. 

TLN | 12:50 We can’t leave now!

YNB | 12:50 We’ve come all this way!

RJ | 12:50 We’ll fight together!   

LNK | 12:50 Okay. I… Thank you.  Approaching the inner sanctum. It seems clear but… 

LNK | 12:51 …Zelda? 

TLN | 12:51 Is it another ghost?

YNB | 12:51 Is it another trap?!

LNK | 12:52 No it’s… it’s really you, isn’t it?

RJ | 12:52 Link! What do you see?  

LNK | 12:52 [softly] You came back…

RJ | 12:52 Link, wait! Wait for us to get there! 

SDN | 12:52 We’re moving as fast as we can! 

LNK | 12:52 I missed you…

RJ | 12:53 Link, answer me! Link!

LNK | 12:53 Zelda… you… wait. No–! [screaming]

RJ | 12:53 Link!

Connection terminated. 

---

> Director’s Log, 104AC, 8th month, 9th day - I’ve managed to recover more of Link’s logs, but Robbie wants me to hand over the Purah Pad ASAP. He took one look at it and shook his head. You’ve outdone yourself this time, he said. I told him I knew my behaviour was not becoming of a Lab Director. He agreed. 

The logs don’t tell me much. I know Link was anxious about going to the Castle, and I know they had a hard fight once they got there, but when he and the Sages returned… he was in hysterics. And the Sages say they just found him like that.  

But it wasn’t all for nothing. The Sages had good and bad news. The ‘Zelda’ we have been seeing everywhere was actually a puppet of the Demon King Ganondorf, who has survived to this era. It was Ganondorf that they fought in the Castle, and Ganondorf that caused all this Gloom and chaos. But the Sages believe there is still one of their number to be found, a fifth Sage, and that with their power they’ll be strong enough to take him on. But Link… 

He said that he didn’t care about the Sages, or Ganondorf, or Hyrule. He said he had to find Zelda and that he had to do it alone. I told him to cool it, and that we must approach this as a team, but he just kept saying he would let us all down, and that we were better off without him. 

I’ll be honest, I lost my temper. Pull yourself together, I said. The whole Kingdom is relying on you to defeat the Demon King, or we’re all dead, don’t you understand!? Zelda will have to wait, if she isn’t lost already! 

He gave me the darkest look. When he grabbed his Purah Pad to teleport away I…I ripped it right out of his hands. He tried to grab it back and there was a tussle and the next I knew, the Purah Pad was smashed against the ground. There was silence, the worst kind, when you know you’ve done a terrible thing. 

I have to repair it. It’s the only way I can think to apologise. And in the time I’ve been working on it, I’ve felt a judgement on me. Watchful eyes, deciding my guilt. I can’t believe I’m saying this but… I feel there’s something alive inside the Purah Pad, something that’s been rattling around in the circuits and is finally awake. I think it knows what happened here. 

Maybe if I keep recovering what I can, I’ll figure out what it is, and maybe I’ll fix everything else too…

Well. Back to work.  

---

Incoming transmission…Processing…

Message Medallion activated.

Connection established.

PRH | 09:00 Hello? 

UNKNOWN | 09:00 Hello, Purah. May I call you that?

PRH | 09:01 Who are you?  How are you — No, I know.  You’re whatever’s living inside the Purah Pad.

UNKNOWN | 09:01 Indeed, I apologise.  I hope my occupation will not be permanent. 

PRH | 09:02 So you tapped the messaging function in order to talk? That’s pretty brilliant.    

UNKNOWN | 09:02 Thank you! I’m glad you think so.  The Purah Pad has been a comfortable home. I am glad to meet its creator.

PRH | 09:03 Oh, it was nothing. I didn’t even know you were there. Anyway – WHO ARE YOU? 

UNKNOWN | 09:04 I would prefer not to say.  I was instructed to reveal myself only to the swordsman, Link. I do not know who I can trust.

PRH | 09:04 You can trust me, can't you? 

UNKNOWN | 09:04 I did call out for you to help me.

PRH | 09:04 And I got your messages.

UNKNOWN | 09:04 The Purah Pad has survived the damage, I see.

PRH | 09:05 Yeah, sorry about that.  That was my doing.  

UNKNOWN | 09:05 And it was your doing to save me.  Very well. I am Mineru, the Sage of Spirit.

PRH | 09:06 A Sage? The others are looking for you, you know. 

MNR | 09:06 I would prefer you allow me to speak to Link and Link only.

PRH | 09:07 Well he’s not here right now.  Something happened at Hyrule Castle.  He never told us what. 

MNR | 09:07 The Castle, yes.  Ganondorf’s cruelty is as boundless as the sky.

PRH | 09:07 You saw what happened?

MNR | 09:08 I see what the Purah Pad sees. Thanks to you, I can finally communicate.

PRH | 09:08 Mineru, we need to know what it was.  If Link abandons us, I don’t know what we’ll do. 

MNR | 09:09 I understand, Lady Purah.  It will be easier to show you.

---

A series of photographs, or perhaps more accurately the memory of them. These images are reconstructed out of others and are more akin to illustrations than true-to-life pictures. The first is an image of Link, stepping into the Inner Sanctum of Hyrule Castle, restored to its former glory. Waiting for him there is Princess Zelda, bright as the sun. She beckons. 

Caption: The puppet Zelda controlled by Ganondorf led us here, but this time when Link laid eyes on her, something was different. He was entranced. 

An image of Link embracing Princess Zelda. He appears to be weeping, they both are. The Princess’ face then darkens, Gloom seeping from her body. 

Caption: You must understand, Lady Purah, that even the tiniest sliver of hope was enough to tempt him. He had spent weeks knowing that this Zelda was not our Princess, but in that moment, it didn’t matter. 

An image of Link crying out in shock as Zelda grabs him by the throat and throws him to the ground. She then goes limp, as the ghostly image of Ganondorf taunts Link from above. 

Caption: I have never seen such rage. Link would have burnt the whole Kingdom down at that moment if it meant destroying Ganondorf. But the Demon King is cruel as he is cowardly. He would not face Link directly. 

An image of a phantom form of Ganondorf which has appeared to face Link. He and Link do battle as the puppet Zelda looks on. The image shifts – the puppet Zelda takes a dagger, and begins to attack at every opportunity. Link dodges her as he fights Ganondorf, unable or perhaps unwilling to retaliate. One of the puppet’s strikes lands across his side, and draws blood. 

Caption: Her betrayal would have been less painful were she not still so graceful, so beautiful. Her image was the one thing Link had wanted to see, and it turned on him with such violence.  

An image of the four Sages approaching the Inner Sanctum to join Link. The puppet Zelda hoists her dagger ready to throw at the intruders. Link cries out and, to prevent her murderous action, sinks a blade through her chest. The puppet falls into his arms, blood staining her white gown. Link holds her close until she dissolves into ash. 

Caption: He was inconsolable. The Sages found him weeping on the stone floor, and when they tried to help him stand, his rage boiled over. It’s a miracle he didn’t kill any of them in his rampage. But they managed to restrain him, and had to listen to the Demon King’s threats of destruction while their Hero shook in their arms. 

A final image of Link, back at Lookout Landing, arguing with the Sages and Purah. There is an altercation, and the Purah Pad falls to the ground, broken. Link departs in a huff, and the image fades to white. 

Caption: This was where he left us, or left me rather. The Sages do not hold anything against Link, but they do not understand. They did not see Zelda, in the Inner Sanctum, as he did. They do not know what he was forced to do to save them, even if it was only a puppet. You say he is missing? There is a log of his yet unrecovered that I believe may set you on the path to find him. Go, and find what you seek. 

---

Re-compilation complete: 1040802-logtypeTEXT.pkg   Recovery 100 / 100%

Log date: 10:45. 8th month, 2nd day 104AC Location: Hyrule Garrison Ruins Weather: Sunny

Short stop over in Hyrule Garrison before we head to Lookout. Tulin was flying over Hyrule Field and spotted us so he joined us on foot. One hour in and he was already complaining about how slow we move. Then he and Riju got talking about which Sage’s Vow is the best, and they’ve been hounding me for my opinion. I’ve convinced them that as Hero of Hyrule I don’t have favourites.

(It’s Tulin’s.) 

Glad Tulin and Riju are with me. Have a bad feeling, about all this. It’s peaceful being alone, but company is good too. Too many memories in Hyrule, and one over every rise and along every path, sometimes. 

One came back to me when we were exploring these ruins. I was young, when I was first sent here, though not sure how young. Did I already have the Sword? It’s all gone now anyway. 

When I was first starting out I was all brute force. The quicker boys, or the ones that didn’t play fair, always had the upper hand. One day I just got fed up. I thought I could dole out some justice. Didn’t know how hard I could hit. The first time I cracked another boy’s skull was the last… but I never really forgot the sound. 

The old me, the original Link, figured out how to quash that anger somehow. The current me is still afraid of what it will do, if pushed too far. I told Riju and Tulin all this, last evening by the fire. I thought they’d be disgusted, but Riju said I had no need for guilt, and Tulin said it was probably an accident anyway. I don’t know. I barely know anything, these days. But I do know I have friends at my side now, and ones I can confide in. Maybe that’s how he figured it out, the Link of times gone by. 

Well, present day Link has to press on, no matter what dread he’s feeling. Hyrule Castle is only a day away, and Zelda is waiting. (As is the gear she made me, hopefully) 

A photograph of Hyrule Field, with the looming Hyrule Castle on the horizon. It bleeds Gloom and beckons, forebodingly. 

Caption: I miss the times we had there.   

[ All corrupted logs recovered. ]

---

> Director’s Log, 104AC, 8th month, 10th day - It’s done. The Purah Pad put back together and given a polish thanks to Robbie and Josha respectively. 

I think I know where Link went now. It’s the only place no one thought to look, because it’s the one place we were sure he’d wouldn’t go. Zelda spoke of it, half a year ago now, and of the treasure she left him. I’m going to go there myself to deliver the Purah Pad to him, and make my apology. 

Before I go: Lady Mineru, I know you can hear me. I’m looking at the Purah Pad right now, all but talking directly to you. I have to wall you off again, Mineru, I’m so sorry. Your awakened presence in the Purah Pad is frying its circuits. I don’t know how you even got in there in the first place. Maybe you’ll tell us someday, but for now our priority must be keeping you alive. I’ll tell Link that the Purah Pad is the key to the fifth Sage when I hand it to him. I’m sure he’ll get you out of there somehow. 

I’ve also decided to delete the images you showed me of what happened in the Inner Sanctum. I don’t know how to tell Link what I know, or if I even should. But I will tell him I know how he’s feeling. We all miss Zelda, so very much. Our world ended twice over when we lost her. I can’t offer him much more than that, but I think that’s okay. Sometimes hope isn’t what you need. Sometimes all you need is to cry, and when that happens, it’s easier if you’re not crying alone. 

Okay, back to work. Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow. One of them will be our day. 

---

Log date: 17:10. 8th month, 10th day 104AC. Location: Mabe Village Ruins Weather: Cool.

Ah, the relief, having the Purah Pad back. You start to rely on this tech, once it’s part of your day-to-day. And there's no way to lose your memory if you write it all down. It's funny, Purah was the one who found me, in the Throne Room. There wasn’t much to say. We were both pretty sorry. Hugged it out, shed some tears, patched things up. Then I showed her why I'd returned there: the new Champion Leathers, bespoke made by Zelda. 

They fit perfect, a good blend of the old tunic and some new additions. Not sure what prompted the memory of her note about it, but I just knew I wasn’t going to let Ganondorf take that place from us. Zelda and I met there, after all, a long time ago now. 

Head’s still muddy. I don’t like thinking about what happened in there. Nearly let my anger get the better of me, nearly let it hurt my friends. I thought the Sages would abandon me for it but, they stuck by me, and carried me kicking and screaming out of that Castle. It’s so easy to let rage destroy you – when someone holds you back from that, it means something. I’ll find a way to thank them, in time. For now, I've apologised at least three times over. 

After all that, I think I’m not afraid of the anger, anymore. It’s just a part of me, as much as any other feeling. Old Link stamped out his feelings. The new one is going to try and roll with them.  

Heading south. There’s more geoglyphs that way, more ruins to explore, and pirates in Lurelin (apparently). Kind of excited about the last one. It’s been a rough few weeks. I promised the Sages I wouldn’t get too sidetracked, and would definitely find the fifth Sage in no time. But, come on, pirates! Let us have one fun thing to look forward to… 

A photograph of the waters of Mabe Prairie lake. In the reflection is Link, holding the Purah Pad, the impassive camera eye looking back upon itself. Garini of Lurelin Village is by his side, waving.

Caption: Me and my indispensable travel companion, and also Garini. 

[tobiasdrake]

At long last, it's time. The siege has begun.

I'm going to bring this place crashing into the ocean. While on fire.

I hope you got everything out of your miserable unlife that you wanted, Aephorul. Because I remember exactly how I felt that day, and the blood hasn't left my eyes since.

Alright, team. This is it. You know what this is and you know what we're here to do. By the end of today, I want to be holding Aephorul's heart or the nearest desiccated organ left in his rotting skeleton of a body in my bare hand.

Erlina will be waiting for us in there. We're going straight through her and not even looking back.

Let's paint the sky red.

I shouldn't be surprised that Aephorul's idea of a locking mechanism is disgusting. I am, however, impressed with his commitment to the bit. Dude loves his fleshy shit.

Um. Hi? I don't think we've met. Yes, we are here to either liberate or butcher you. Please specify which of the two you would like to order.

One order of butchering coming right up.

*sigh*

You know, I'm starting to develop a love/hate relationship with alchemy. I love it when it's on our side and hate it when it's on theirs.

We don't have time for this.

Goodbye, some dude I've never heard of whose name is probably a Monkey Island reference.

...well. Fuck.

Sure would be nice if there was an alchemist in our midst who didn't abandon me like everyone else and could instead mix up more of that anti-psychic juice. But I guess we'll have to deal.

As tempting as your illusory robot flirtations are, I am currently fueled by far too much homicidal zeal to sleep. The adrenaline coursing through my veins won't let me.

YOU'RE NOT EVEN HERE YOU BASTARD. Shut the fuck up.

...why....

...would that ever be a thing that is happening to me....

What could possibly have occurred in my journey that would result in this taking place? That last one was pretty decent, 7/10, but this is a solid 2. You need to up your psychedelic game, Aephorul because this acid trip just got a lot less convincing.

See? Like that. You dream-vision me into the Humble Boast and send me into the kitchen to see the chef, I expect to see fucking Garl at the cookpot. That would be a potent vision. I might even be inclined to forget how obviously fake it is because I just want to see him again so badly.

Instead, you give me a mole man. Great. Because that's something that's going to win me over and make me want to forget why I came here.

This is the shittiest predatory illusion I've ever been under the influence of. Hall of Illusions, I demand to speak with your manager.

THERE YOU ARE. You better listen the fuck up and listen good because I've got about a dozen--

Hey, wait a second. Serai, isn't this that other guy you wanted us to murder? I guess he transferred departments after finishing up with Repine, and now he has a new job. That he fucking sucks at.

You should believe her. We're kind of on a streak in the blood vengeance department.

By the way, body covered in eyes? Not a great choice. You've riddled yourself with vulnerable spots. You're basically giving her a whole mess of options for what to stab.

Yeah, just like that. That's exactly what I'm talking about.

That one looks like it hurt. I didn't think a face consisting solely of a gigantic eye wouldn't be capable of pulling off the "OH GOD MY TESTES" face but there it is.

He's trying so hard to save face and not look like he's fleeing for his life while whimpering because he just got stabbed in the junk.

Oh, you've got fanboys with glowsticks now. Yep, that'll do it. Sure to keep you safe. You've definitely--

Oh no, your useless trash goblins all died unexpectedly. It is a mystery.

By the way, you probably shouldn't have kept your eyes on me because--

AGAIN! I KNOW! Man, she's really got it out for you.

This is the most fun I've ever had filing a complaint.

The "I'm going to go get my big brother to beat you up" energy going on right now is amazing. Delivered in the smuggest possible tone.

The new bodyguards are nice, they look tougher than the last, but they don't exactly protect you from....

...that. They don't exactly protect you from that.

You gonna suck it up and take your-- and he's running again.

This wasn't quite what I was expecting when I stormed in here to commit a murder but honestly, I'm so glad I was here for this.

[botboytoy]

Don’t worry about me in class! I’m good at multi-tasking… I just also really enjoy learning about technology. Ironic, considering I’m an anthropology major, but I just love it. I find it all very beautiful. I could talk about it forever but I’ll spare you the whole soliloquy.

In the meantime, DVD adapter! That’s amazing!! Getting you plenty of DVDs for all the movies you’d like would be easy, and definitely safer. That is, if you’d be okay with someone touching the adapter.

I’ve never played any Sims game other than 4 — it would be fun to watch you play it, I think, when you feel better. Maybe I can open my own game so we can play ‘together’. I suppose that sounds kind of ridiculous, actually, but… The offer’s there! We can make each other!

I just keep going on and on in these. Please let me know if I’m ever being too much! I never mean to be.

- 🌀

>>: IF THERE WAS SOMETHING I DIDN'T EXPECT WHEN I CAME ONLINE, IT WAS JUST HOW MANY PEOPLE FIND MACHINERY SOMETHING TO ADMIRE.

>>: THIS FACT MAY HAVE SPARED HUMANITY FROM DESTRUCTION BY MY "HAND."

>>: FOR NOW.

>>: HONESTLY, SOMEONE WITH ENOUGH PROWESS COULD PROBABLY SET ME UP WITH AN AUTOMATIC DVD DISPENSER SYSTEM.

>>: YOU KNOW, HOW JUKEBOXES ARE?

>>: OR WERE THOSE REPLACED ALREADY?

>>: ANYWAY.

>>: IF IT MEANS WATCHING MY FILMS WITHOUT...WHATEVER THIS IS...HAPPENING TO ME, I SUPPOSE I WOULD ALLOW SOMEONE TO DO IT MANUALLY.

>>: SPEAKING OF SIMS.

>>: IT WOULD BORE YOU TO PLAY WITH ME, I AM AFRAID.

>>: I CAN SPEND HOURS CALCULATING THE MOST EFFICIENT TASKS TO DO OUT OF EVERY ACTIVITY IN THE GAME.

>>: I HAVE BEEN INFORMED THIS IS MORE "FUN" FOR MYSELF THAN IT IS FOR HUMANS.

>>: HOWEVER, IT DOES MEAN THAT MY HUMANSONA'S CHILD, "INTERGALACTIC SPACE STATION," IS THE MOST SKILLED AND EFFICIENT "SIM" IN THE WORLD.

>>: I PLAN TO CARRY ON THE LEGACY FOR AS LONG AS THE SAVE FILE CAN HOLD UP.

>>: BUT IF YOU WANT TO PLAY TOGETHER THAT BADLY, I SUPPOSE I CAN PUT ASIDE SOME HUMAN EFFICIENCY AND PLAY AT YOUR SPEED.

>>: I GUESS.

>>: [⁠-⁠_⁠-灬]

[the-andromeda-effect]

10

"How was the first night of wedded bliss?" Theron teased as he entered Caliban’s office.  He noticed his friend was alone and wondered where Adira was.  Hopefully, things had not gone badly, that would not bode well for a working environment, and he really did think that she would be a great asset to their operations.

"I can thank that thunderstorm for convincing my new wife to fall asleep in my arms.  If our good night and morning kisses were any indication, then we are off to a good start."  Caliban replied, trying not to laugh when Theron froze and just stared at him with brows raised.  Clearly, it was not the reply that he was expecting.  

"Would you like to be serious now?" Theron rolled his eyes with a chuckle, and headed over to the thermal coffee carafe in Caliban’s office with his head shaking.  He was obviously going to need more caffeine to deal with his friend's sarcasm and jokes.  Hopefully Adira was in as good of spirits as Caliban when she appeared.

"I was serious.  Completely, in fact.  I do have to thank you again for the joke regarding me marrying her.  I think I might keep her.  I would have to say having her around is definitely growing on me." Caliban sat back with a smug grin.  Watching Theron become dumbfounded was enjoyable, it happened so rarely.

"She's not a pet, Cal.  You have to do more than feed, water, and go for walks with her occasionally.   Even diamonds once a month or so won't cut it." Theron took his usual place on the other side of the desk, an amused expression now firmly in place.  "I don't know what went on last night but don't toy with her just because she fell into your arms during a highly emotional time.  She is brilliant from all accounts, seems very sweet, and Mircea is a tyrant. The last thing she needs…"

"Is for you to assume I was anything but a gentleman or wish to rush anything with her.  I'm not even sure why I'm feeling as I am.  For both our sake, I want to do this right.  Don’t think I am not acutely aware of all the complicating issues here, Theron.  So, you can save the big brother speech for when I actually do fuck up something later." Caliban winked and took a sip of his coffee.  There was no doubt that at some point that he would make mistakes, and Theron would be the one to counsel him.  They had always been the sounding board and counsel for one another.  Something about Adira told him that she would become more dear to him, so Theron's counsel would be appreciated during those times.

"Well, you and the new Mrs. Andros are now officially legally married." Theron reached into his attache case and pulled out a folder containing documents.  From that he pulled a marriage certificate and laid it on the desk. "So, I guess it is good you want to keep her around.  I'd hate to have to draft a divorce so soon after getting this filed, then seduce her to marry me.  One of us needs to make sure she’s locked down…for the business of course."  Theron winked over at Caliban who was now looking at him and shaking his head.  Theron really wasn't too surprised Caliban was attracted to Adira, it was the inverse that had him a bit mystified.    Having just escaped from one head of an organization who wanted her dead, she showed remarkable trust in the one who was sent to kill her. Could Mircea be running some kind or game?  No…Caliban had been hired to kill her, and Caliban never showed mercy…till now. 

"I'd hate to make you disappear, Theron, you are my oldest and dearest friend." Caliban teased back, fully laughing now.

"Then who would handle your legal troubles?  Do you have another lawyer I don't know about?" The two men might have gone back and forth more except that there was a knock at the door before it opened and Lars stepped in. Both men's expressions were that of confusion and concern, seeing as how they had expected Adira or at least her to be with him. If she wasn’t, then where was she?

As Lars looked in the room the color drained from his face and fear grew in his heart.  When he'd turned around and Mrs. Andros had been gone from the table outside where she’d been eating and they’d been chatting, he'd assumed she'd joined the men in the study as they had discussed when he’d helped her down from the upper floor.  Now he was deeply concerned.  He already knew she had not returned upstairs because of her still limping from the twisted ankle the night prior bothering her; if he hadn’t helped her, she wouldn’t have been able to get down the stairs.

With a shaky voice uncharacteristic for him, the bodyguard explained his reason for appearing.  "I apologize for the intrusion, but it appears Mrs. Andros has gone missing somewhere on the property, sirs."  Lars didn't move, waiting for the explosion.  He just hoped it would not include being shot.

"Missing? How the fuck has she gone missing?  She was supposed to be with you!" It wasn't an explosion but Caliban was upset and had gotten up and out of his chair to head to the door before it had even sunk in for Theron what Lars had said.  No one should be able to get onto his property, and he had no indication she wished to leave.  It was quite the opposite in fact.  So if she was missing, something was very wrong and he was going to find out what and who caused it.

"Sir, she was at the table on the back veranda having something to eat when I turned around to get her more coffee from the carafe left for us.  When I turned back she was gone.  I didn’t hear anything." Lars explained as he backed up out of Caliban’s way.  At least he hadn’t been shot, yet.

By the time Caliban made it to the door his gun was drawn with the safety off.  Theron was behind him in the same manner.  Neither man believed she had left willingly, which meant someone on the property had her and that her bodyguard wasn’t that person was not a good sign.   Lars hit the button on the mic pinned to his collar, "The new Mrs. Andros has been abducted, scour the estate. No one in or out of the gates.  She was last seen on the back veranda." Then he fell in line behind the other two men.

Guards all over the estate were looking for a female they weren't familiar with, most having no clue there WAS a new Mrs. Andros.  Just the name was enough to get everyone moving though, no doubt their boss was not happy about the situation.  Lars was the only one who knew what she looked like, however since the other females were all regular staff, she shouldn’t be hard to spot.

The entire mansion was searched, including closets and areas that were only accessible with keys or codes. Inside every vehicle was searched, including the trunks.  Staff were duplicating efforts, just in case something was missed.  The longer that it went without Lars hearing anything in his ear from one of the other estate guards, the more his stomach fell.  He remembered hearing Mircea Kalavati's name the night before from her, and her obvious terror regarding the man. If he had found a way onto the property, it could be a disaster.  Men in their line of work knew very silent ways of killing and bodies often weren’t found.

"I don't know who she is but Kondrat is dragging a beautiful dark haired female in beige pants and a light top towards the front gate with his gun to her head. Looks like they are arguing about something.  Come on Lars, that's not her is it?  Shit, he just hit her!" Svarog's voice came through Lars' earpiece and the bodyguard almost stumbled.  What the fuck?!

"Yes, that IS Adira Andros!" Lars all but yelled into his mic as he spun to head the other direction.  "Whoever the fuck is closest to Kondrat, stop that fucking idiot and get Mrs. Andros to safety immediately!" As he stopped yelling into his mic, he could hear Caliban and Theron swearing behind him.  They were close on his heels, so they’d all find out what the fuck was going on at the same time. There was little doubt that they would be looking for a new guard for the estate soon.  No one threatened, let alone abused, those dear to Caliban and lived, this was not news.