#and therefore wasn't even really. about him. BUT. THAT'S NEITHER HERE NOR THERE.

[ohwaitimthewriter]

Look at me if you dare

Pairing : Noa x human!reader

Warnings: angsty fluff? Fluffy angst? (you chose!)

Words: 4.3k+ (for real?? 😳)

Requested:

A/N: So! I didn't plan it to be this long but HERE WE ARE. I had to remove the 'getting angry' part but for good reasons, and only if you'd be interested in,: I'm thinking about a part 2 🫣 I need some time to ponder about it, but it is still a possibility! Thank you for your request, I really enjoyed writing it and I hope you'll like it! 😁 (even if it took me forever and I'm so sorry for this 🥺)

Enjoy your reading 😁

Planet of the Apes Masterlist.

Crouching at the river's edge, you watched your reflection ripple with the waves of the peacefully flowing water. You observed the gap between your eyes and the shape of your nose, which marked the boundary between the two. The little dimple formed by your upper lip just below the bridge of your nose and the plump of your lower lip. The thin line they formed, neither a smile nor a sad pout, a straight line free of expression.

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The hunting had been good that day. A stag, one of the biggest bucks in the deer herd. Euphoria had spread throughout the colony when none other than Noa, the leader of the Eagle clan, had returned from a long day's hunting with a few of his own. Anaya and Soona, of course, were part of the group, and you watched the two friends squabble with Noa over who had the best approach to killing the deer. Anaya was certainly trying to take more of the credit, puffing his chest out, but he quickly shook it off when Soona gave him a light punch in the ribs, complaining that he had no right to take full credit for the success of the hunt.

It was, of course, a team effort, and success depended largely on following the instructions given to each individual after agreeing on the best strategy. And this time, the best strategy was Noa's.

You watched them bickering, bragging about their feat, and could only smile at Noa's proud face, knowing full well that he had been the most astute on this hunt. The most astute and therefore the best provider for his clan.

And then his gaze met yours.

The cocky restlessness that radiated from his stance subsided. He glanced at the carcass strapped to his horse's saddle before locking his green irises into yours again and untying the animal, which fell to the ground with a thud.

Noa grabbed the animal by its antlers and began to drag it with one hand behind him, as he made his way towards you.

It seemed you were the only one who didn't quite understand what was happening. Anaya wanted to follow Noa, but it only took one look for Soona to understand and stop Anaya in his tracks. Anaya gave her a quizzical look before his mouth formed an 'O' in realization.

Dragging the animal's carcass seemed effortless, even though it was obvious that Noa was trying to hide the uncomfortable strain he had to exert on his arm muscles. Despite his thick fur, you could easily see the strength he was capable of, his muscles becoming more prominent with the 200kg of inert weight he had to pull behind him. He moved on all four, really only using three of his limbs, and the force of the pull made his shoulders even bulkier. The whole scene was rather impressive, but you had question marks plastered all over your face as Noa drew closer and closer to you.

Earlier in the afternoon, you had sat down by the big communal fire to work on making a spear more suited to your build. You didn't leave the log you were sitting on until the hunt was over. For a brief moment, you thought Noa wasn't really coming to you, but rather dragging the animal to the bonfire to share it with the rest of the colony. You wanted to believe it, because the wrathful looks of some disapproving apes were beginning to weigh heavily on your shoulders and you didn't quite understand what you had done to endure their judgment.

The carcass fell in front of you, and at the same time you heard an ape… Ezio, if you remembered his name correctly, who had taken part in the hunt, utter a muffled growl of… protest?

If you heard it, Noa must have too, but he decided to ignore it, preferring to keep all his attention on you. His stunning green eyes landed in yours and, like every time he gazed into the immense depths of your irises, you were afraid he'd discover a secret you'd been keeping under lock and key ever since you'd discovered it yourself. A secret that drew you irrevocably to him, but which you suppressed and buried deep inside yourself when the eyes of apes like Ezio landed on you.

You chose to avert your gaze towards the dead animal in front of you and prevent him from discovering it. Noa placed his hand firmly on the beast, pushing it further towards you until it touched your feet.

Why… was he bringing you the carcass?

You looked up at him again, and though you tried to give him an unsure smile, the silent question could be read in your eyes as they settled back on Noa.

No matter how much Noa saw you doubting, he couldn't help but feel proud to have brought you such a trophy. He wanted you to see it, to realize the strength it had taken him to kill it, bring it back and drag it to you. He wanted you to see his qualities as a leader, his qualities as a hunter, qualities that made him a perfect mate and that he would be perfectly capable of providing for all your needs… whatever they might be. He'd killed that deer for you, as proof that he was the best match for you. And any doubts you might have had could only be swept away by those 200kg of fresh meat he'd hunted.

At least, that's what he told himself in the back of his mind. That's what he wanted you to acknowledge in him.

In front of his attentive and expectant gaze, you remained unable to understand why he had placed the body of this animal at your feet.

On closer inspection, the stag was of impressive size, and there was no doubt that its remains alone could feed the entire colony. Your eyes followed the animal's shape and you couldn't help imagining its life before it unfortunately crossed the path of Noa and his hunting team. The animal must have been majestic. Its antlers were broad and you could count 14 points. An old creature. From the way its body was laid on the ground, you could only see one of its eyes, and the lifeless black iris squeezed your heart. A wave of empathy for this beautiful animal swept through your body and you instinctively leaned towards its corpse. With tentative fingers, you stroked its shoulder, as if to soothe the soul of the animal that had just given its life to provide for others. Its light-brown bristles were rough against the delicate skin of your fingertips, but it didn't matter, especially as you were certain to feel the gazes of the entire colony scanning your every move. Some approving. Others tolerant. And the last, disapproving.

You tried to push away the burning sensation in the back of your head caused by all those eyes on you, and uttered in a whisper addressed only to that deer, and perhaps, to Noa too, a heartfelt "thank you" for this animal's sacrifice.

Noa tilted his head towards you, seeking your gaze as he tentatively brushed your fingertips to capture your attention. A cloud of tingling ran up your fingers, from your hand to the hollow of your collarbone, creating a mass of tingles there that spread down your spine.

"He fought well."

Noa's gruff voice was meant to be reassuring. He understood your sympathy for the deer and wanted to be sure to let you know the animal had given everything to survive, but that Noa had been the strongest of the two.

You nodded silently and quickly wiped away a tear you hadn't felt rolling down your cheek. You took a deep breath, sharing a glance with Noa.

"Now it can rest." You say. " It'll serve us well."

Noa breathed through his nose proudly at your approval. It was all he needed, all he asked of you, and he grabbed the deer's antlers again to take it away in preparation for dinner.

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You ran your tongue over your teeth, and if you weren't showing them off to the little fish that passed by, oblivious to the giant you were compared to them, you made a mental note of the shape of each of them. Smooth, not particularly sharp, and even the teeth you used as canines weren't particularly well-suited to forcefully shredding any fish or animal flesh.

Not… suitable.

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That evening, Soona joined you for dinner. Sitting cross-legged, you had set a bowl of vegetables and fruit in front of you, and on a thick piece of cloth was a piece of meat from the deer that Noa had brought you earlier.

Crouching beside you, Soona was biting into the animal flesh, and you admired the ease with which she was able to detach the raw meat and chew it as she would on the juicy flesh of an apple. Your meat, on the other hand, was cooked.

Soona glanced at the sharp little blade lying delicately next to your meat. Even though she was used to seeing you use it to cut small pieces of meat or fish, there was still a kind of fascination in her eyes. The Echos jaws weren't as powerful and efficient as those of chimpanzees, and while she didn't think they were very practical for everyday life, she was fascinated by your ability to find tricks to make life easier.

Her gaze was always benevolent, and you were never afraid to show her all the human tips and tricks that enabled you to navigate your daily life without too much trouble. Even in the troubles your three friends sometimes got you into.

Something as simple as biting into a piece of meat became a challenge, in all proportion, for a human, and this was quite fascinating for Soona.

But tonight, there was a glitch. Like a feeling of discomfort towards this piece of meat. Normally, you would have started by eating meat, or fish depending on the day. Meat, then vegetables, then fruit. A very specific order that you followed at every meal, even if Soona didn't understand the point of always having to "start with what's salty and finish with what's sweet", as you'd explained to her when she'd asked you. "I prefer to have a sweet taste in my mouth as a last bite." Soona hadn't had the heart to argue otherwise, if that was what you preferred then so be it.

And tonight, you had left your meat aside.

How odd.

Soona briefly moved her hand to show you your meat before signing.

" Not eating?"

Your eyes fell on the untouched meat. Usually, you would have taken the time to cut it up before starting your meal. But not this time. The blade you had taken out of your satchel after cooking the food over a fire had drawn more than a few questioning looks, some almost suspicious.

How long had people been watching you like this? Had it been a long time? And if so, how had you managed not to notice before?

Maybe you'd been blinded by the kindness and acceptance that Noa, Soona, Anaya and even Dar - who more than once had left you stunned by Noa's mother's tenderness towards you - had granted you. Your human condition had never been called into question, and although it had taken several weeks - months for some - for your presence among the clan to become as natural as taking a breath, you had never felt… rejected.

So why now? Why were you suddenly aware that maybe… your mere presence was perceived as that of a virus that needed to be contained. Like an underlying disease that had taken several months to blossom into its first symptoms.

Ezio and his gang of three other apes were stationed right in front of you, on the other side of the communal fire. The contemptuous look they gave you knotted like ropes around your wrists and you found yourself unable to move them to grab your blade and cut your meat.

You didn't know what to say to Soona because you really weren't eating your meat. Not because you didn't like it, nor because you weren't hungry, but because the judgment weighing on your shoulders blocked any will to move a muscle in the pit of your stomach.

Your gaze stopped for half a second on Ezio, who took advantage of your brief attention to challenge you, a small huff piercing through his muzzle, letting his cheeks formed a light puff.

You chose not to dwell on it and focused instead on Soona, who was looking at you with concern. You hesitated over your words before blurting out:

"I… I wouldn't want to… wouldn't you feel awkward watching me cut up the meat?"

Your question was genuine, but Soona widened her eyes, astonished by the implication of your sentence. She almost wished she'd laughed at you, because in all the time she'd seen you do it, it was about time you started worrying if that was really how you felt.

"Why would I bother?" She asked back.

And you sighed. Point scored for Soona. Your question made no sense as far as Soona was concerned. Of course she didn't care, and if she had, you were almost convinced she'd have asked you about it by now.

Seeing your defeated face, Soona went on to sign.

"I understand." And she gestured to your jaw. "Weak. Easier in small pieces to chew." She paused for a moment to gauge your reaction, and you seemed to accept her silent words. "I understand." She repeated aloud this time, her voice slightly rocky on the edges. "Anaya understands." She went on, and as if she could read the real reason for your concern in your eyes, she finished by directing her gaze towards the clan leader who was sharing his meal with Dar. "Noa… understands."

But Ezio and his friends didn't understand.

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Your hand plunged into the river, shattering your reflection, which had suddenly seemed too hard to look at. You didn't like what you saw. The water seeped through your fingers and its coolness slid under your skin in a vain attempt to bring some sanity back to your brain.

The delicate nature of your skin suddenly jumped out at you. Your hand bore various scars, large ones from sharp stones, small ones from bramble thorns, scratches from tree bark…

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You'd looked for it everywhere.

Earlier in the morning, you had wished to go outside the village boundaries in search of a particular plant. It was about to be that time of the month when your period pains would start, and valerian, a plant with small white flowers, could help ease those painful cramps.

Soona would usually accompany you, but today she was busy with Dar. So you decided to go alone, but to your surprise, Noa refused. He argued that it was too dangerous for you to venture outside the territory of the eagle clan, almost forgetting that you had been living outside its boundaries for several months.

After extensive negotiation, he gave you permission to go, on one condition: that you take your spear with you and that Eagle Sun go with you.

But the spear you usually left at the entrance to your hut had disappeared. After spending an hour looking for it, Eagle Sun became restless and an unfamiliar ape, whom you'd seen hanging around with Ezio, informed you that he'd seen a spear… in a tree.

So you ended up right there, and the longer you stared at the top of the tree, the more you felt dizziness creep into the back of your skull.

Your spear was probably 8 meters, maybe 9, above your head. The ape who had shown you the way had pretended to have urgent business to attend to, and left you to ponder how you were going to climb a tree whose first branches were 3 meters above the ground.

After a minute's thought, you decided that with a sufficiently high first support, you'd certainly be able to pull yourself up onto the first branches and climb to your spear. There was only one effective way to do this: a horse.

Surprisingly enough, it had worked. It had worked so well that it had angered Ezio, who had been watching the whole scene in the hope that you'd end up making a fool of yourself and proving that you had no place among the eagle clan.

A split second was all it took. You had begun climbing down, having previously dropped your spear to the ground, when a sudden jolt made you lose your balance. The branch your foot was aiming for slipped away, and your hands suddenly clutched the trunk in a vain attempt to hold on to your body, which you felt falling like a mass toward the ground. The bark burned your skin and cut into its surface as you tried to slow your fall and, fortunately, your feet hit another branch before your body finally hit the ground with an impact you could only imagine would cause severe pain.

Okay, 5 good minutes.

Your forehead pressed against the rough trunk, trying to calm your suffocating breathing. You felt as if your heart was threatening to burst out of your ribcage, its beats hitting your ribs so hard. Your trembling hands, still clasped around the trunk, curled in on themselves, leaving only the bottom of your palm touching the bark that had bruised them.

You didn't want to make a move. You closed your eyes, unable to bear the sight of the ground a few meters below you. You didn't want to move, and anyway, even if you wanted to, the pain radiating from the inside of your hands prevented you from gripping anything. You didn't even dare examine your hands, for fear that the mere act of bringing them towards you would cause you to lose your balance again and end up on the floor.

And even when your name rolled off Noa's lips, you didn't react. You tried to breathe deeply, trying to calm the heart that had started a race faster than it could keep up with, but you couldn't get rid of the fear that had gripped your insides the moment you fell.

Fear. You felt it keenly now. It ran through your veins and forced you to hug the trunk as tightly as you could, undeniably tightening your legs around the branch you'd suddenly found yourself sitting on. It was fear, too, that made you jump when a large hand came to rest gently on your shoulder.

Noa.

Unlike you, he had climbed with incredible speed and fluidity. His build was made for it. His hands, his feet, all his muscles - everything was designed to enable him to pull himself up any structure without difficulty.

He gave your shoulder a gentle squeeze, urging you to look at him, but you stubbornly kept your eyes closed, your forehead almost wishing it could sink deeper into the bark which would most likely leave a mark on your skin.

A soft hoot escaped his mouth, hoping that this time you'd turn your head towards him, but fear gnawed at your stomach too much to dare move a muscle.

And yet, you had to.

You wanted to rage at yourself for your inability to move, for your stupidity in climbing that tree, for your stupidity in not being smarter and realizing that your body wasn't made for such a feat. For not having enough strength or balance or dexterity. But your trail of destructive thoughts ended when you felt the knuckles of Noa's fingers brush gently against your cheek, carefully beckoning for your attention.

His thicker, rougher skin turned out to be much more tender than it first appeared, and your eyelids fluttered at his touch before opening fully, allowing your eyes to look at him.

His cheeks puffed up slightly letting out a gust of air, twice as content that he'd got what he wanted and that you'd accepted his touch. How about thrice as content when his scent, faint as it was, had just mingled with yours in the exact spot where his knuckles had landed.

His hand clung to the tree trunk again, and your skin felt quite cold all of a sudden as it lost his touch.

"Come." His low voice danced in your eardrums.

He locked eyes with you and promptly adjusted his posture to match with where you stood, making it easier for you to slide onto his back. And if fear had made you reluctant to leave your pitiful safety on that branch, it was quickly swept away when Noa gently grabbed your wrist and wrapped your right arm around his neck.

The sudden proximity of your face to his enclosed you in a protective bubble that belonged only to the two of you. You couldn't remember ever having seen him look at you in such a warm, loving way, and the softness of his green eyes felt like a barely perceptible touch, only leaving you longing for more. A brief floating moment in which you were both ready to lose yourself as his fur tingled the skin of your bare forearm, and you almost thanked it for keeping your feet on the ground.

What could he possibly see through you to look at you in this way?

When you took the time to look at him, you saw strength, benevolence and an insatiable desire to meet the needs and expectations of his clan; you saw reliability, commitment and, more than anything else, safety. He didn't have to do much to make all these things shine through in his features. Through it all, Noa was radiant to your eyes. And you were easily swept away in languid admiration if you weren't careful.

And then there was you. Unable to climb a tree. So what did he see within you?

You left the safe mental bubble in which you'd both found yourselves entangled inside to finally hoist yourself fully onto his back, wrapping your legs around his slimmer waist and your arms around his powerful shoulders.

In less time than it took to say it, you were back on solid ground for an inspection of your wounds.

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You hadn't been here very long, but you could already feel your thigh muscles screaming with discomfort, in this position so unnatural to you.

Not wanting to fight the tugging sensation, you let yourself fall on your bum, choosing a cross-legged position, more comfortable and less demanding for your… weak muscles.

The water clung to the fabric of your pants with little splashes, gradually flooding the inside of your shoes in the process. Although the coolness sent shivers down your spine, it didn't stop you from contemplating your body's constitution with a certain contempt.

An unsuitable jaw. Delicate skin. Weak muscles. It was an inevitable conclusion shared by many.

You could see them now. Those stares.

Those stares that said "weird".

Those stares that said "weak".

Those stares that said " not belonging ".

And the more you saw yourself in the waves of that river, the more you realized they were right. You didn't belong.

A raindrop slammed into your reflection, just above your cheek, creating a halo of tiny waves that distorted the features of your face. Then another raindrop clattered with a silent " splash ", and yet another, until it blurred your vision.

It was only when you had wiped the tears from your eyes that you noticed the reflection of a second figure appearing beside yours.

Without bothering to look directly at him, you let out a deep sigh when his shoulder brushed yours as Noa came to crouch beside you. His eyes were glued to your reflection as it danced in the gentle swell.

What did his irises see within your reflection?

You sensed a form of understanding, as if he knew what was going round and round in your head, and in a slight moment of comfort, you felt his shoulder press so lightly against yours that, if you didn't know better, you might have thought it a mere happenstance.

"you belong here." The light touch on your shoulder seemed to tell, and a tear dropped down your cheek again, "Look at me," it seemed to tell him. "I'm looking at you," his careful gaze told you. A second tear joined the first, " Look at me properly." and he huffed through his nose, confident but eventually his eyes acknowledged and conceded to your human condition. Another tear rolled down your skin, clinging for dear life to the tip of your chin before crashing into the water, "you see it now". Noa shifted his eyes away from your reflection, "I see it", putting an end to the silent talk.

His reflection disappeared from the surface of the water, leaving only a sensation of emptiness as his massive body moved from its spot beside you.

Noa glanced back at you, watching you curl into yourself, still sadly obsessed by a reflection he could only find beautiful.

[eggcats]

I got distracted thinking about Housewife Vox, and if I had Vox's powers, I'd have blown out the city's power grid. So this is a completely self-indulgent (with some nsfw-ish near the end) fic offshoot of that post.

The other post you can choose to be one-sided, but this RadioStatic is reciprocated here. You were warned.

There's like, quite literally over 3k words here, and none of the (mild) nsfw-ish stuff doesn't even start until we hit 2k. Oops.

--

Alastor isn't completely unaware he's essentially kidnapped someone to live with him, in a way that could be misconstrued as a partner. He's been in hell for about 20 years, and before that, he lived in areas no one would exactly call....normal to typical white picket fence Americana. He's not completely ignorant of how it looks.

However, he's never been really good at noticing when other people have Those Kinds of feelings towards himself. (He doesn't feel those things, and so he doesn't even notice any supposed signals being sent). It's not even always intentional, it just never occurs to him that someone could (or would) be interested in him in such a way.

And so. He doesn't realize how Vox feels towards him. Not until he invites him to Cannibal Town to meet his beloved Rosie, and Vox can barely bring himself to be his typical charming self.

The tea is awkward, and Alastor is a little upset that, apparently, Vox is only okay with his cannibalism when it's not in his face - but isn't willing to accept it when he can't ignore it. Alastor is aware that his tastes are a little alarming to most of hell's population, but he thought Vox accepted it in him. (Perhaps he only made him dinner when it was venison because he could ignore the rest of it? Alastor assumed he usually prepared his sinner meat simply because he was the one bringing it in, but perhaps he was mistaken.)

It's not until the next time he visits his dear friend and he laments the issue when he discovers the truth. (He adores his Rosie, but the laughter she did in his face for his confusion he could have lived without. If he was any less of a gentleman, he would have mocked her snorting, but alas, his mother raised him better than that).

So now Alastor has to consider the fact that Vox himself is also aware of the strange dynamic they are living under and is apparently very interested in keeping it. (Even to the point of trying to scare off potential competition, an idea that is so laughable that he can't help but chuckle a bit.)

If that's the case, then he will simply continue on as normal. If he mentions him and Rosie simply being extremely close but neither having any romantic interest in the other before the next time he invites Vox to Cannibal Town, there's nothing more to it. (Vox's expression after doesn't do anything to him, nor is he pleasantly surprised how non-judgemental his picture box is when he isn't attempting to stake a non-contested claim. He also pointedly ignores any looks Rosie might be throwing him behind Vox's back.)

Alastor, therefore, believes himself to have resolved this "issue."

--

Vox, however, doesn't realize how blatant his affections are and is somehow convinced he's keeping them hidden. Vox, while enjoying PRETENDING to be a housewife to an attractive (cannibalistic, violent...oh, those teeth...) man, is terrified of accidentally crossing a line he's not aware of. He knows Alastor is okay with how they're currently operating, because Alastor is the one who created it. But, he hasn't shown any interest in anything MORE, and so Vox feels like he must content himself with just that - fantasies.

(If he sometimes imagines being swept off his feet when Alastor gets home and ravished on "their" marriage bed, well, that's between him and the walls).

Or it would be, if Alastor wasn't Alastor.

--

See. Alastor has a great deal of affection for Vox, but he's aware that they are in hell and that no one is here by accident. He doesn't LIKE the idea that Vox may simply be using his own interest for an advantage over him when he's vulnerable, but Alastor can't deny the very distinct possibility.

Even excepting that issue, Vox himself did not land in hell with the same right-out-the-gate power, and as it stands, any of Alastor's enemies would surely target Vox as a weakness of his. While certainly his picture box isn't completely as helpless as he likes to pretend, the idea of anyone even attempting to stake any kind of claim on him makes Alastor want to bite something.

So whenever he leaves, he uses his shadows to observe what Vox does on his own in Alastor's living space. He doesn't tell Vox this for a magnitude of reasons - wanting to see how he operates when he thinks he's alone, as well as Alastor having the ability to self-reflect enough to know his possessive ownership of things he considers HIS isn't something most others are okay with when that comes to other people.

(Alastor will find out later that Vox is absolutely more than okay with Alastor considering him his and very much LIKES his possessive attitude).

And for the most part, Vox doesn't do anything of note. Alastor has his shadows keep watch on him, but to allow Vox his privacy, he doesn't actually have them report directly or watch through them - unless his shadows believe something is relevant for him to see. So for a few weeks, his shadows presence around Vox when he is away is more of a security measure than anything else.

But eventually, they pick up on something strange. It's not a lot at a time, but it seems like Vox has taken it upon himself to steal small amounts of money from him. Alastor tries to negate this by simply inviting Vox shopping along with him and allowing him to choose whatever he wants to purchase. Alastor has even suggested Vox going shopping with his money on his own (while being protected from the shadows, of course) but even that was rejected.

Alastor can't understand any of it. He would understand if Vox was looking for some kind of escape from living with him, but the one (and only) time Alastor suggested Vox having his own place to live, Vox looked like he had shot his beloved pet in front of him. (Alastor is ignoring how pleased he is by this response. He didn't WANT his Vox to leave, but he refuses to be a similar man to his father and force him to. He enjoys treating Vox as if he belongs to him, but he wants Vox to want the leash - and not force it upon him).

Perhaps he simply enjoys theft. There are worse sins in hell, and it's not like Alastor is HIDING his money from him. The money would have undoubtedly been spent on his picture box regardless, so he doesn't mind as long as it brings him pleasure. To each their own.

Except one day after Alastor leaves, so does Vox. Which isn't completely unheard of, but him taking the stolen cash IS enough of a deviation from normal that his shadows alert him about it.

So Alastor follows him, determined to understand how the mind of his picture box works (so he can take care of him better so he'll never leave). And Vox goes clothes shopping, which wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary, except he (very poorly, his dear Vox is many things, but unnoticeable is not one of them) sneaks into the women's section and selects one, very simple, 1950s style dress.

Alastor wonders if he finally figured out the issue. For some reason, his Vox wants to wear women's clothing but isn't comfortable letting HIM know that. His dislike of both purchasing such items with Alastor (as well as simply shopping when Alastor would be aware he is, and expect to see what was purchased) makes sense to him.

This is easily solved. The idea that Alastor would CARE what clothing his picture box wants to wear is laughable - cannibalism is fine, but a dress is too far? Ridiculous.

He knows Vox has not been in hell for very long, so perhaps he hasn't yet realized that such societal taboos are generally accepted, considering the large magnitude of sins the rest of the population has committed. Not to mention that even while he was alive, he knew a great deal of people who regularly cross-dressed (such people were generally rejected by society enough to not care about anything society rejected about HIM).

Alastor is a little personally upset that his picture box believes HIMSELF to be someone who would be upset by something so minor, but perhaps they simply haven't lived together long enough. Regardless, now Alastor has a solution to this theft issue, and then he can purchase as many clothes, in whichever styles, for his dear. And perhaps he'll come to him the next time he wishes for something of his own.

Issue number two, resolved.

--

Sort of.

Vox has been planning this outing for months. He's been meticulous about only taking small amounts of money at a time to avoid detection. Vox is fairly certain Alastor doesn't suspect a thing - or else why would he continue to let his money be unguarded around him or take him on shopping trips and buying whatever he happens to look at for more than a few seconds.

Surely, if Alastor noticed the small amounts of change going missing every so often, he'd kick Vox out. (The time Alastor suggested he find his own place, he's certain his heart stopped for the second time. Luckily, before he could say anything incriminating about how much he WANTED to live with Alastor, he changed his mind about removing Vox from his life).

He knows it's a big risk, but a part of him NEEDS to fully embrace this fantasy of being a housewife. It's all he can think about.

(He might have convinced himself that if he can have one (1) singular self-indulgent fantasy to his heart's content on a day he knows Alastor will be gone, maybe he can put this behind him and stop wishing for more than he can have. It's one thing to pretend to be his housewife, but he knows it will never happen - if he can just get it out of his system, maybe he can Stop This Nonsense).

The entire walk to the clothing store Vox feels like he's being watched. Which he KNOWS is ridiculous - the only time anyone ever pays him any attention is when he's next to Alastor - but the feeling persists. It makes him even more anxious about this purchase than he already is (but he's committed at this point so he can't quit now).

Vox selects a fairly modest dress in a style that he had seen any number of women wearing when he was alive. (He tries to ignore how he has to make sure it buttons up due to his head. He's only insecure about it when he thinks about it, so if he ignores it, he can pretend he looks like anyone else).

He makes it back home to Alastor's place with plenty of time before he's due to be back, and so he wastes no time in changing.

--

When Vox returns home, Alastor fully intended on leaving his shadow and no longer observing him. The only thing he wanted to make sure was that he returned before Vox had the chance to change out of his dress, so Alastor could show what a good mate how little he cared about such frivolous things and perhaps be permitted to help him select such clothing on his next outing.

However, Vox's sudden utterance of his name was certainly unexpected. Alastor almost left his shadows, certain (somehow) he had been caught and spotted, and planned on how to explain his observation in a way that Didn't alarm his partner. 

Except. Nothing about whatever else Vox is doing seems to indicate that he knows Alastor is watching. Vox seems to be having an internal conversation with some imaginary version of himself, as he seems to be responding to words that no one (and certainly not Alastor) is saying. This is a unique development that Alastor did not anticipate, and he is not entirely certain how to continue from here. Certainly, Vox is under the assumption that he is alone now, but everything else he is doing indicates that on some level he is pretending Alastor is also with him. 

Surely the correct thing to do would be to watch to make sure he has not missed anything with Vox’s recent behavior towards himself. 

Nothing catches Alastor quite off guard more than when Vox suddenly tosses himself onto his own bed, with a breathy “Oh, Alastor!” accompanying it. This is certainly something the real Alastor has never done, and he is currently uncertain why the sudden imitation is being performed. 

Until Vox begins to touch himself (while continuing to say his name) and suddenly Alastor realizes what is going on. 

Oh. That’s. Unexpected. 

Is this the reason for the dress purchase? Or are they unrelated? Certainly Vox has never done quite so intimate things while saying his name before, as there is no way his shadows would NOT inform him of such activity. Does the dress arouse him in this way, or-?

Oh. Vox seems to have purchased the appropriate panties for such an outfit as well. Alastor has quite a good view now, and can see just how excited his picture box is with this apparent fantasy. He hasn’t removed any clothes yet, but considering his breathy whines and moans this is not a deterrent in the least (perhaps it enhances the sensation)?

This is quite the new development and Alastor isn’t quite certain what would be the most appropriate course of action. Certainly, despite his words saying otherwise, Vox is very unaware of just what show he is putting on for Alastor. Typically the correct course of action would be to leave him his own privacy.

But for whatever reason Alastor cannot turn his eyes away. 

Alastor knows himself, and his wants and desires and has never felt the desire or need to do such carnal actions, such as those being performed in his name. However, it never occurred to him how pleasing it could be to hear his name being spoken in such needy tones. He knows he quite enjoys it when those he is tearing apart are begging for mercy, but it never occurred to him that he might enjoy the same things in a dramatically different context. 

Alastor watches as Vox raises his dress, and begins to touch himself through his panties. Despite being clothed, he can see everything quite clearly and watches as Vox becomes more and more aroused. It’s not until a breathy “Alastor, please!” is uttered that Vox finally shoves down his panties and takes himself properly in his hand. It’s….quite a captivating sight. 

He watches as Vox becomes more and more excited, his mouth open as he pants, little digital hearts visible in his eyes, and a constant array of gasps and moans of his name being sung into the air above him. It’s more entrancing than anything he has ever seen before, and Alastor can understand wanting someone to desire you if this is how it looks to be worshiped. 

Alastor will purchase him the entire clothing store if this is his response to such clothing. So help him, Vox will never wear pants again if he can help it. 

It doesn’t take long for Vox to bring himself to completion, with a crescendo of Alastor’s name that he will save in his microphone for all of eternity, lest he dare forget the beauty of it. Alastor has not seen anything more divine than Vox with his back arched, crying his name, as he finishes all over himself with just the imagination of Alastor being there. 

Vox will never be allowed to utter another name from his mouth in such a way or Alastor will rip their spine out of their mouth for even daring to attempt it. Vox belongs to him, and he will never make those noises or put on a show for anyone other than Alastor (even if he has to chain his soul to himself to prevent it).

Alastor watches as Vox recovers, panting and coming down from his euphoria, and considers his next move. He is…unsure…how to broach such a topic to him, as this is nowhere near his specialty and such actions typically do not arouse much interest in him. 

He had plans for providing Vox the dresses and other clothing he desired, but bringing up these specific desires has never before been something he has ever wanted. (But oh, how he now wants). It’s a unique experience to want to watch as Vox takes himself apart for him (wanting to take him apart himself) but not simply just wanting it as seemingly others do. 

However, he is broken from his reverie by the noise of crying, and not the delicious version that he was just privy to. No, these are tears born of heartbreak and Alastor is both confused and alarmed by their appearance. Surely this type of self-pleasure is supposed to be pleasurable to the one doing it, or else why would anyone ever do such a thing? 

Why is his beautiful noisy picture box upset and who does he have to gut to prevent it from ever happening again?

He watches as Vox hugs himself on his bed and mumbles something that sounds alarmingly like “Stupid, like he’d ever want something that looks like you….” and Alastor is leaving his shadows before he even realizes he’s doing it. Before Vox notices he’s no longer alone, Alastor has wrapped his arms around him and holds him tight.

(Vox might have yelped in surprise and accidentally shocked Alastor in his charming way where he can’t control his electrical impulses. Alastor responds with his own pleasing radio waves to relax his current until it returns to normal). 

It seems to take a second for Vox to realize that Alastor being present means that he must have in some way witnessed his previous actions (and can certainly see not only him in a dress, but one that is very clearly wrecked in one very specific way). It is always so fascinating to watch how emotions play out on the face of his picture box, and this is no exception. However, before Vox can once again send himself down into the pit of self-loathing, Alastor hums a tune and rubs his own cheek against Vox’s.

--

“I must know. Was this a response to the dress or myself?”

“Wh-what?!”

“Regardless, I will purchase whatever dresses you desire if this is the result. My only requirement is that you allow me to be present next time.”

“H-how…?! What? Uh….I mean….you’re not…mad?”

“Why on earth would I be upset? Unless of course you meant to do this in a way where you would refuse my participation or observations, in which case I will lock you away until you change your mind.” 

“You-you WANT to be involved? But you’ve never-?”

“Oh certainly! While I’ve never desired such things for myself, watching you desire them is certainly an experience I would like to have! You are such a fascinating creature, darling, and I must keep such things all to myself.” 

“Can….can I kiss you?”

--

While doing such actions has never been something Alastor has had much interest in, doing them with Vox and watching his responses to them is quite another story. Left to his own devices, he would never desire such things nor wish to do any of them - but looking into the shy and hopeful eyes of his delightful picture box changes his perspective quite a bit. He has the most entertaining and pleasing responses to quite literally anything Alastor does to him, and it is quite enthralling the effect he has on the other.

He will be holding onto him for as long as he can, digging his claws into Vox so deeply that he will not ever be able to even imagine an afterlife without Alastor present.

[imraespace]

CHAPTER 22: THE FAILED PLAN

JUST THE WAY THINGS GO | MEGUMI X READER

The next day crept up to you as your eyes finally opened. The past events that happened in your life was neither planned nor up to your expectations, therefore, you didn't really have the energy to get up out of bed and get ready for school yet you did it.

Finally being out of the apartment, the drive to the school wasn't anything to brag about, but boy you didn't know that there was more events to be happening.

Both you and your aunt said goodbye as she made her way to who knows while you entered your classroom.

As you entered your eyes landed on the small group near your seat. it consisted of your friends along with Nobara and Yuji.

A sigh left your lips as you made your way towards your seat, avoiding the eye contacts and settled down.

It seemed that they haven't noticed you as yet, seeing how they still talked about whatever they were talking about and haven't moved an inch.. or they decided to ignore you.

By accident, you caught onto what they were talking about and you mentally rolled your eyes as you heard the whispers of "Sukuna" and "snooping"..

"I don't think this is smart, this was fun but I kinda wanna back out now.." Nobara mumbled.

Which caused Inumaki to roll his eyes. "Weren't you the one who suggested it?" He asked.

"Yes but now I don't wanna do it again. Simple as that." She said.

Yuuta on the other hand haven't said a word ever since. You heard everyone BUT him speak as yet.

"Can we hurry and get this over with?" Maki mumbled.

"Still can't believe you're with them about this" Yuuta finally said something

She sighed at his words and shrugged her shoulders, "Better get it done now than wait I guess."

The group got silent then all stood up at the same time.

"Now or never.." Inumaki mumbled... " Never say that again.." Yuuta replied.

And then finally they left the classroom, not even noticing you.

"What are they even gonna do..?" You mumbled.

.

.

The group slowly made they way towards the principal office, with the "evidence" held tightly in their hands.

Slowly doubt entered their minds, why was that even hidden ad brought to everyone's attention?

Slowly, everyone began to get nervous and their steps got slower every new step they took.

"Okay now i agree with Yuuta.." Yuji mumbled.

"Hell no. We are already here so let's just go in." Inumaki said as he stopped infront the office.

He turned around, waiting for the others while the other students passed by, glancing at them.

But finally, they all made it.

"..Open the door already.." Maki mumbled.

And he did just that,

He turned around and his hands finally met the door and slowly, it opened, greeting them with the office and the person they needed.

The principal turned his head in their direction as he heard the door.

Slowly, they all entered the room and it was all quiet.

"Hello?" He asked.

Maki then pushed Inumaki forward, him rolling his eyes as he began to talk.

"Well, do you remember the incident that happened?" He asked.

His eyes lit up after hearing those words, making his full body turned in their direction

"What about it?" He replied with a question.

Inumaki looked back at his friends then back at the principal and began to speak yet again.

"Well sir, we found this and I don't know if you knew about who was up there with them." Inumaki said, slowly raising up the papers.

The man got closer and closer until his eyes caught glimpse of a name.

Though before he could speak up, someone opened the door.

It was Suguru.

"I'm sorry sir that a group of children randomly came to see you but its time for class so i will be taking them now." He quickly said as he got hold of Inumaki and slowly dragged him out until the principal stopped them.

"Hold on, I want to see that paper." He demanded.

Suguru was about to reply but out of the blue, Shoko arrived as well.

She snatched the papers out of his hand and took a look at it.

"This isn't even real, its written in his hand writing, he could be making up things sir." She simply said.

Yet the principal didn't back down.

"I saw a name I shouldn't have seen."

"It's not who you think it is." She fought back.

The air was so tense everyone felt scared.

Finally, the principal sighed and just said "Leave the office, its class time."

With that word, everyone rushed out the office and then was greeted with Megumi, Gojo and yourself.

And everyone didn't look too happy to see the group.

"..Why is everyone here.." Nobara mumbled.

Megumi scuffed at her words.

"If you're planning to "spill some beans", plan a bit softly on the phone."

Nobara perked up at his words.

"You told on us!?" She exclaimed, with a pout on her lips.

"And its great he told me or else your school life would've been over." Shoko simply stated.

Eyes then landed on you.

"You didn't call her here?" Yuuta asked you.

"No.. I told Mr. Geto, it was class time and i overheard the "plan" as well so I told him."

"And i called Gojo here incase I needed help getting you all out of that mess but luckily Megumi called Shoko." Suguru said.

Now they group was ashamed of their actions. They didn't know something as simple as that would've caused this big mess.

"Don't think you're getting away with this.. Inumaki." Shoko stated as she folded her arms.

"ME!?" He shouted.

"Yes. Y/N told me you looked through her stuff. What you wrote here was supposed to be kept between her family. Especially away from him.."

Now all eyes were on you, Especially Inumaki's.

"You knew?" He asked.

You looked away from him then at Yuuta, you knew he wouldn't agree on something like this yet here he is in the mess.

Yet he was too ashamed to face you.

Classes were cut short for the group, yourself and Megumi as they all made their way into Shoko's office.

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note: I wrote this with a straight face idk.. hi!!!

[evans23]

Daughter of mine III

Turpin-o-Lantern

Pairing : Judge Turpin x Daughter OC

Summary : Richard Turpin, the High Judge of London, decides to create his own Halloween tradition in the hopes of getting closer to his daughter.

Tag(s)/Warning(s) : A bit of angst. Mention of prostitution and death. Mention of children being beaten. Awkward father. If I forget something, please mention it to me !

A/N: Hello dear 😁 I promised you Turpin for Halloween and here it is ! I didn't proofread it, therefore sorry for any mistake you encounter.

Part I - Part II

Also read on AO3

Turpin wasn't a man fond of disturbances in his town. Fortunately, they didn't happen often. Except for that damnable Christmas, which inevitably returned every year.

Richard despised Christmas, a celebration full of painful memories from his childhood, between a violent dad, an indifferent mother and the hypocrisy of people during that said warm celebration.

In his family, Christmas wasn't about sharing meals, basking in the company of loved ones, or exchanging gifts by a crackling fire with sweet treats, hot chocolates and warmth laughter. No, for the Turpin's familly, the celebration in their towering manor was an exercise in appearances. 

The household staff meticulously decorated his parents' estate, attending to every detail. A huge tree would pe positioned in the entrance hall, though neither Richard nor his younger brother were ever permitted to decorate it. As the sons of an earl, participating in such frivolous activities was beneath them.

Once, while he was only 6, he had the misfortune of breaking a glass ball while trying to observe it and his father, rather than worrying about the cut on his hand, punished him with a belt. 

On the night of the grand party, the boys were confined to a separate room with their governess, far from the festivities. Richard would never forget that night during which, his brother and him had escaping the vigilance of the old governess to watch the guests in their finery from the grand staircase. Unfortunately for them, their fathers had caught them, which made them earn a beating on the spot in his study and a second from the governess, who was not at all maternal and who had punished them at length with her oaken switch, making them laid down on their bed and hitting again and again, scolding them for having dared disobeying her and arousing their father's anger towards her. 

That was all Richard had known as a child. Beatings. Beatings from his father, beatings from his governess who was allowed to beat him and his brother as she pleased, and the indifference of a mother who looked away every time her husband unbuckled his belt or the governess made them bend over. 

As they grew older, they were grudgingly allowed to attend the party, but in silence. Children, after all, were to be seen, not heard, and in their case, being heard during that awfully incredible party would have mean more bruises. 

But, as if this wasn't enough, since the last teen years, a new festivity had taken place in the stress of London and was quite popular, for Richard biggest desperation : Halloween.

Not Samhain, the old Celtic celebration from which it was inspired, but Halloween, a terrible affront to the ancient pagan festival, coming straight from America. Indeed, some settlers who had come back to their old England had brought back with them that stupid new cutom. Not that Richard was particularly fond of the pagan festivity either, but at least, it meant something more important for people who had and was still celebrating it... away from his town. 

This Halloween was nothing short of a vulgard carnival for children during which they were wearing ridiculous costumes and scouring the streets for sweets.

Richard couldn't understand how this festivity had captured so quickly the enthusiasm of London's populace across all social strata. Not even his peers in the high society escaped the ridiculous celebration. 

Not that it was really disturbing during the day as people had to work as usual, but as soon as day turned into night, he had to tolerate stupid children running amok all around London with their even stupider parents.

Fortunately, none of them was foolish enough to come near Turpin's manor. After all, the gloomy venue was as intimidating as the man living there. But just the fact to know there were people adopting that foolish celebration coming from another continent, America for God's sake, was enough to annoy him. Yet, truth be told, Richard was easy to annoy.

However, for the first time, he had a child living in his mansion. A child who knew what Halloween was, even though she didn't mention it to anyone, neither to her governess, a kind woman, strict but always fair, that Richard would have sent to the depths of the Australian bush if she had dared to beat Catherine. The child was so quiet that she didn't even dare asking for things. She was still a tad shy around him, even if she talked with him a little bit more. 

Catherine had only recently begun opening up to him, addressing him as "father", a title he found he didn't mind in the least. Though, he was uncertain of how to be the father he aspired to be, he knew one thing : he would not be the father he resented from his own childhood.

Never Catherine would know the sensation of his belt on her back or of the switch while she would be humilated, bending over and enduring blow after blow as he had done so many times. 

As Richard strolled through the courthouse that morning, his mind wandered to that little girl and her big green eyes. Though, his attention was soon interrupted by The Beadle, scurrying along to keep pace with his master's long stride without realising that his employer wasn't listening at all. 

"So, my lord, do you agree with my proposal ?" the man inquired, his rodent-like face eager for approval.

Richard raised an eyebrow, barely concealing his impatience.

"Which proposal ?" he asked dryly, his tone sharp as a blade.

"The one about the young child who stole a piece of bread, sir" The Beadle replied, his confusion mounting. 

"Yes. No !" Richard, finally, dismissed him brusquely, "We'll need more time to consider the sentence here. But not now. Now, justice must be served !" he said ceremoniously. 

And with that said, Richard headed off towards the Court, where a long day was awaiting for him. 

Halloween, thankfully stayed away from his thoughts and the little curly hair girl in his mansion, even though not totally forgotten, was on the back of his mind for the rest of the day, too busy listening to buggler, impeachment and neighbor fighting about a goat as they couldn't decide to who the baby the goat was carying will belong to once they come into the world, as the male goat belonged to one and the female to another.

This last case irritated him particularly and he decided to hang the goat for adultary. 

He was far beyond annoyance when he finally left the Court. Unfortunatelly, there was as many trivial cases to administer as there were criminals to hang, thieves to cut off their hands and petty criminals to send away in Australia. 

But as he was walking in the street, his gaze fell on a father who was holding his daughter's hand. The little girl dragged him to a pumpkin seller with a huge smile on her face.

"Look dady ! This one would be perfect !" said the little girl, tugging excitedly at her father's sleeve, her eyes alight with joy.

Turpin felt his heart tighten in his chest when he saw the look of happinness both, father and daughter, shared. The dad, clearly eager to indulge his child with a mere pumpkin, bought it with a little grimace and Richard understood that the man was probably sacrificing his meal for the rest of the week just to make his daughter smile.

Richard would never have dared to ask his father for anything. He had to be content with what he received and he was happy when it was not a correction. But suddenly, his mind wander away as an unexpected thought came up to his mind. Maybe Catherine would enjoy such a simple pleasure. Actually, he had no idea if she even knew what Halloween was. Elena was poor, she probably couldn't even buy enough food for both of them, therefore something as expensive as sweets and pumpkins was unthinkable. Besides, she was a whore, likely spent such nights working while Catherine was locked up, alone in the dark. Surely she had no inkling of Halloween and she couldn't miss something she didn't know.

The idea to make her enjoying such a simple pleasur tugged at him, prompting him to take action. Catherine was still young, innocent and he wanted her to experience a pleasure of her age, pleasure he was denied as a child, forced to grow up too fast. He knew even little ladies and little lords enjoyed that festivity and it's how he found himself, The Great Judge Turpin, purchasing a pumpkin on his way home, envisioning the surprise on Catherine's face. 

When he arrived in Turpin's Manor, his butler's face, shocked and perplex, was priceless, but the man was wise enough not to pipe a word. 

But once in his office, the cucurbitacea sitting on his desk, he felt somewhat fatuous. What was he meant to do know ? He had no idea. Should he call Catherine, present it to her ? After a long moment spent to deliberate what to do, he summoned the head maid. Anne had to bit her lips to prevent a laugh from escaping her mouth at the sight of her master in front of that humongous, horrendous, orange pumpkin. 

"It's for Catherine," he said, his voice cold.

"Of course, my lord," said Anne with a smile, staring at the monstrosity before adding, "But I'm not certain the young lady would appreciate it for supper. Her taste are as picky as yours, my lord."

"The old goat" thought Richard. She was teasing him without even trying to hide it. He throw her a cold look, one who could have made shiver everybody else but not her. Anne remained unperturbed, her years of service had accustomed her to his change of mood.

"Anne, if you value your position here and if you want to have a roof above your head tomorrow, refrain from testing my patience,' he warned. 

Anne's face softened, her tone now thoughtful.

"My lord, it is thoughtfull of you, but I'm afraid Catherine doesn't know what Halloween is. I overheard the young lady talking with her tutor, Mister Brandon this afternoon and she doesn't know what was the celebration about. She even admited never having eaten such deliciousness as sweets before living with us."

This revelation only confirmed what Richard already suspected.

"However, Mister Brandon offered her a book about Sahmain and she seems to like it, even though she doesn't understand everything. Maybe, my lord, could you read it with her ?" she suggested wisely.

Richard thought for a moment. It seemed insane to him, but he suddenly remembered all those times he had asked his mother to read him a story, to comfort him after his father had finished what he called "a disciplinarian lesson" with him, and the disappointment every time she refused. He had never tasted the simple comfort of his mother's arms and when she spoke to him, it was always reverently, as if he was just a stranger to her.

He didn't really know what he wanted from his fragile relationship with Catherine, but he knew she was so alone and lost in that big mansion and he had heard her crying a few nights ago. When the governess had come to comfort her, she had told her that she missed her mother and he was sure that Elena was the kind of mother who told stories.

After all, she had played a good trick on him when she had abandoned him overnight without explanation so that he found himself six years later with a daughter he didn't even know he had.

"Yes, maybe," he finally said. "But what about the pumpkin ? Apparently, we need a pumpkin. Parents were buying them left and right".

Anne's lips twitched as she held back another smile.

"You might carve it with her, my lord," she suggested.

Richard frowned, feeling utterly lost and he didn't like the feeling. He had never felt like that since he had left the cursed house where he had grown up. Yet, the arrival of Catherine in his life had begun to alter his perspectives and certainties.

"Well, she'll do that tomorrow with the help of..."

"No," she cut him off, "you should do that with her. I'm sure the little mistress will be delighted."

In which odd and frivolous activity Turpin had just engaged himself ? Yet, he was determinated to surprise the little girl. She never asked for anything and was always so please with everything one's would be willing to give her that he could do that for her. 

Therefore, on Saturday, when he came back from the Court in the beginning of the afternoon, he asked Catherine was brought to him.

"Father ?" asked coyly the little girl, while she entered the parlour.

"Catherine, dear daughter," said Turpin, his tone softened at the view of the shy child, "I have a surprise for you."

Her eyes was already glimmering with joy. No one could be blessed with a more grateful child than him and it made him smile. A discreet smile, nothing to ostentatious. He was Richard Turpin, after all. He asked Catherine to follow him to the backyard, where the pumpkin was waiting for them on a wood table.

"A pumpkin ?" asked Catherine, uncredulous.

Turpin didn't know if he was amused or saddened with her innocence, while the little girl didn't know what she should do with it. Did her father expect her to learn to cook ?

Taking pity on his daughter incomphrension, he explained her it was for Halloween. She smiled so widely that it could have been hurting.

"I do not know a lot about it," she confessed shyly, "mom was never home on this day and she didn't want to read me book about it because it was about ghost and she was worried I couldn't sleep at night," she rambled, lowering her head.

It was probably wise from Elena, thought Richard. Catherine was afraid of the dark, ghost stories would have kept her up all the night, making her startled at the smallest noise. And it was better if she didn't know anything about the sweets things as her mother knew perfectly well she couldn't afford such a frivolous expenditure when her daughter needed real food in her stomach. 

"Well, it goes without saying that we're going to celebrate it like the important people we are, not like slum dwellers. That means no stupid door-knocking," he said sternly.

"Why would we do door-knocking ?" Catherine asked innocently.

Good. Very good. The girl didn't know anything about that stupid custom from the America. It was his chance to make up his own tradition by teaching her some history about the real origin of the celebration while doing it like civilised people.

They still could carve the pumpkin if it could amused her, but she wouldn't know anything about that silly door-to-door sweet or threat thing. Catherine wouldn't be like those foolish children. She would learn to celebrate it like a proper lady, with etiquette. 

"Are we going to eat sweets, father ?" she asked with wide, expectant eyes. 

Of course, she knew about the sweets, thanks to Mister Brandon. 

"Of course my dear, we will have some sweets, and probably a cake."

Her eyes twinkled with pleasure. There was nothing she liked more than being spoiled with a cake. It didn't happen often, Richard wanted her to eat proper food to gain some strengths, she had it maybe twice a month and it was always the best day of her life. It was the only moment her governess or Turpin himself didn't have to fight with her to make her finish her plate as she knew the little treat was waiting for her after her meal.

She always took her time to savor each bite of her slice of cake. When she was really well-behaved, which means almost all the time, she could have two slices and another one for the breakfast.

"Father, could you read me a book about it ? Mister Brandon gifted me with one but it didn't talk about ghost."

Richard chuckled, yet he obliged her, leading her to the library. He found the most suitable books for her and explained her why those pagan celebration was an abomination, yet still less than this one coming from America and called Halloween, making Catherine giggled more than once with his theatric, yet engaging talking. 

When the night of Halloween arrived, the pumpkin, carved by the butler and a bunch of patient servants, was troning proudly on the little table of the parlour, a candle into it. As promised, Catherine had received sweets and a delicious chocolate cake for the dessert. She had thanks several time Richard for it, so many times that it had started to annoy him, even though far deep inside him, he felt a slight ounce of happiness to have made her smile the whole day. 

He was now reading to her while she looked at the flickering candle inside the pumpkin with amusement, until he saw her yawned for the fifth time in less than ten minutes.

"I think it is time for you to go to bed," he said firmly.

"Oh, father, please, a little bit more," she begged.

"No," said Richard unyielding, "it's time for the young well-behaved lady you are to go to bed. Behave child and you'll get more of that cake tomorrow."

"Is it a promise ?" she asked hopeful.

Richard sighed, sligthly amused that it only took a cake to make her obey. 

"I promise, now go on, I'm going to fetch your maid," he said, moving towards the rope which allowed the servants to be called.

"Father...," started Catherine, but then clamed up suddenly.

He raised an eyebrow, waving his hand to incite her to continue.

"May I... May I..." she stuttered.

Despite his severe demeanor, he gave her an encouraging look to make her ask what she had on her mind.

"May I ask you to be the one who help me to go to bed," she finally managed to said in such a whisper that Richard had to thank his good ears to have understood her.

Richard looked at her for a moment, but the child kept her eyes down, her cheeks slightly red from daring to ask him such a request.

Touched more than he would have admitted, Richard took her small hand in his. He didn't really like physical contact, probably because the only physical contact he knew as a child was always made to hurt him, but for her, for his daughter, he was willing to make an effort.

"It will be my pleasure," he answered solemnly.

He kept his composure, but inside, his heart had pumped a little bit faster when she looked up at him with the brightest smile he had ever seen. Richard wasn't a demonstrative man, he was authoritative and didn't let room for a lot of goofiness, therefore he knew creating a link with his daughter, even though it had become his desire before he had realised that, would be complicated. Yet, this mere request was like a balm in his many scares owe to a sad childhood and uncaring parents, then by the harsh world he was used to living in. 

He awkwardly tucked her in her bed, surrounding her with her plush animals at her demand, almost drowning her under them. 

"Isn't it suffocating to sleep like that ?" he asked with a flicker of amusment in his eyes at seeing her engulfed by all the plushes. 

"No, I feel safer," she said with a yawn.

"Well, then good night."

He gently kissed her forehead, ready to take his leave, but Catherine held him back by grabbing his hand in a flourish. He arched his eyebrows, questionning her silently.

"Thank you, father. For today. I am happy to have spend my first Halloween with you."

Richard, amazed, was taken aback with her innocent sincerity. It only took a child to make him lost his ability to speak. His heart swelled with a strange feeling he hadn't felt since... well, maybe never to be true. He didn't have time to respond that her hand faltered away as she felt asleep. Richard stood up, leading towards the door, but before closing it, he glimpsed fondly at her one last time.

"Well... You are more than welcome, daughter of mine."

[desperateknot]

Queequeg's lack of autonomy: features or bugs?

You know, I wanted this to be a proper analysis, but the stressed, sleep-deprived, busy self can only do a semi-ramble, semi analysis.

So I said how Queequeg's lack of autonomy and individuality is not a bug, but a feature.

Just so we are on the same page, I will prove how Queequeg is very obviously lacking in autonomy:

Queequeg: Must be nice. Queequeg: Knowing what you want. Knowing what you desire.

Canto V's dungeon: Floor 2

No… You devoured the crew whole. You painted over their wills, just like the Whales— no! Just like the Pallid Whale! Molding them and shaping them to fit your wants and needs.

Canto V's dungeon: Floor 3

Queequeg: Too late to think. About what is right and what is wrong. To think for myself. Too late.

Canto V's dungeon: Floor 3

The whole dungeon, she was obeying Ahab's orders, getting dragged around and around. Utterly lacking in agency is her main characteristic in her Pequod time, but there is a case to say it wasn't so during her Middle-arc. After all, she did say:

Queequeg: So I killed. And killed. And killed. Not because of orders. Killed with my own hands. Because I wanted to. Because I wanted respect as Big Sister.

I don't doubt her words. However, tribalistic as the Middle is, I think we can speculate on how much of Queequeg's actions stemmed from her own desire, and how much was her complying to its culture without even knowing it.

Either way, even if you disagree that Middle Queequeg was lacking in agency, it's hard to argue that she wasn't in her Pequod times, so we can assume that is a major trait of hers.

Let's go back to The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen for a sec. I will assume that you are convinced that one of Limbus Queequeg's inspiration is The Little Mermaid. If you are confused with that statement, please read:

The Little Mermaid wants to seek an immortal soul by getting the prince to marry her. I think it is a misconception that she did all (abandoning her family, enduring pain with every of her steps, sacrificing her voice) for love. No, she wants more than that: she wants an immortal soul. There could be a religious reading here, but it is neither relevant to my point nor am I qualify to state it, so I'll leave it. However, one could see how the arrangement of a woman having to win the love of a man and devoting her entire self to him to attain her spiritual fulfillment is very unfair, misogynistic, even. (Unfortunately, I can't explore that theme in Limbus Queequeg's story because sexism apparently doesn't exist in the City and also there are no prominent men in her story either?)

Here, I can go on about traditional heroines and how they are mostly quite lacking in agency too, but I haven't done researches for that. And more, importantly, this trope was intentionally subverted in The Little Mermaid. Hans Christian Andersen is much smarter than me, because he wrote it.

The Little Mermaid isn't just a damsel waiting for someone to save her. Her two displays of her agency are 1. finding the Sea Witch to get a pair of legs and 2. not killing the prince. She has a goal (attaining an immortal soul) and a principle (her love for the prince?) that she holds steadfast. Unfortunately, the one thing that she has been after, the prince's love, is not something that she can control. She can try to seduce him, sure, but his affection is his own. And, without it, she can't get an immortal soul...

But that isn't true, is it? The Mermaid didn't just die and turn into sea foam, fated to never get her immortal soul. She became a daughter of Air. And, with enough good deeds, can gain her own soul. Fortunately for her, this time, the task of getting her soul depends much, much more on herself.

This writing choice is quite intentionally, I believe. I wanted to read more about it, I really do, but the link they cited on Wikipedia led to an Internet Archive article that has been downed (RIP). Anyways, the gist of it is Andersen took inspiration for The Little Mermaid from Undine, in which a water spirit indeed got her immortal soul by marrying a human knight. Anyways, this is what Andersen allegedly wrote to a friend about it.

I have not, like de la Motte Fouqué in Undine, allowed the mermaid's acquiring of an immortal soul to depend upon an alien creature, upon the love of a human being. I'm sure that's wrong! It would depend rather much on chance, wouldn't it? I won't accept that sort of thing in this world. I have permitted my mermaid to follow a more natural, more divine path.

The point, I think, is that the Mermaid doesn't really need the prince's love to gain an immortal soul. That is something she can obtain herself, what she deserves after so much sacrifices, the rewards for her virtues. After the Mermaid was at the mercy of the prince for half of the story, she was given a chance to do good by herself. The opportunity of attaining an immortal soul returned to her.

I just argued above that Queequeg doesn't have autonomy, maybe even from her time in the Middle, but I lied (again). Queequeg also has two acts of agencies her own 1. running away from the Middle and 2:

Queequeg: Dante. Something I wish. Queequeg: I want… Ishmael to… Queequeg: … find her way.

Canto V's Dungeon: Floor 2, and

Woah, those two acts perfectly match the Mermaid's too, wonder how did that happened.

That was Queequeg's only wish, and that was just a bit after she said she was jealous of the Abnormalities for having wishes too :D

Queequeg also got her immortal soul, but...

This is when I think the story falls flat, if you hyperfocus on her. And you...shouldn't have. She is an NPC, who is dead. Only weird nerds like me would analyse the story in her perspective. This is not really a criticism for Canto V or PM's writings (although I do have a problem with it sometimes). I think they did the best they could to flesh out and gave Queequeg a proper ending with the little screen time she got (unlike that one other dead NPC from another franchise that I used to hyperfocus on).

However, what did The Little Mermaid have to do to get her immortal souls? She has to do 300 years worth of good deeds. Even though we didn't get to see it, we can assume that she struggled and grew even more to attain her goal.

What did Queequeg do to get her immortal soul? Um...uh...

Queequeg didn't really grow in the quest. When reunited with Ishmael, "her broken heart" got "unearthed". She nurtured a wish for herself: for Ishmael to find her own path. But, ultimately, she was still...following Ahab's orders. We still have to fight her twice (and thrice if you count her EGO phase).

Queequeg had character developments during her time on Pequod (mostly with the influence of Ishmael). She learned to look forward and to have hope. That got rolled back.

So, essentially, Queequeg got rewarded for...nothing?

Her story has ended. She couldn't do anything to actually gain her immortal soul, her atonement anymore. She is still quite lacking in autonomy. And I think that is a real shame, a bug, even.

That is one of the reasons why I made that swap Ishqueg AU.

______________________________________________________________

I know characters lacking in agencies are often seen as bad written, and a lot of times, they are. However, there is a certain charms to characters who have been deliberately written to have next to 0 agency. This actually reminds me of Iwakura Michihiro from Genshin Impact, an actually pretty prominent NPC in Inazuma's lore, whose only 2 acts of agencies in the lore were 1. leaving home to live in the woods (this one is debatable because he was abused and perhaps driven from home would be a more correct term) and 2. naming his sword. Anything else he did were instructions from his bully/mentor/friend/crush/saviour. And also Carter Scherbius, another NPC from Genshin Impact, who was terminally ill and then turned into goop in an effort to save him and later reincarnated for an experiment.

There is something quite heartbreaking and even beautiful about seeing a characters being dragged and beaten by the narrative. It's relatable. Real people, we, don't usually have control of our lives most of the times. We are dragged around and the beaten by forces we can't understand. We are usually helpless against our fate.

And, what kinds of people who would usually feel helpless against the sheer incomprehensibleness and the cruelty of our vast world? Sailors.

[vxperorchist]

"I'll watch your life in pictures like I used to watch you sleep."

Alhaitham, Cyno, Albedo, Xiao, and Childe x Gn! Reader

In which the reader and their partner breaks up. MORE TAYLOR SWIFT LYRICS 🤑 (Last kiss - Speak now!)

Ohmigod I haven't written for Albedo in forever I'm so DONE

Theme: Angst! ( I literally never write angst give me some slack here)

Warnings: None, just angst and sadness really.

(Xiao's part is so much more sadder than necessary 💀)

Alhaitham

Alhaitham knew you were going to leave. He felt you growing distant, colder. Your relationship was never stable. You were two souls who didn't handle romance well and tried to force it upon yourselves. Therefore, it ended in the blink of an eye.

You were straight forward with him. That's how you approached everything with one another. He was always direct with you, and you were likewise.

Alhaitham didn't linger on the thought of you, and nor did you either. You moved on, you looked happier.

He watched as you giggled with your friends in the Akademiya. No words were ever exchanged between the two of you, but there would always be lingering glances. He wasn't one for second guessing himself, but he couldn't help but wonder "what if?" Every time he makes eye contact with the same eyes that used to look at him so lovingly.

Cyno

Cyno put you at risk. Not only did he put his life on the line, but also yours. He had enemies, and he put your life in danger by being associated with him.

Both of you were aware of this. Cyno made a great amount of effort to keep you from any harm, and for the most part he did. You were his biggest supporter, but to an extent.

Your life has been threatened on this occasion. You told Cyno you wouldn't live a life of constant fear anymore. He understood, but it hurt. It hurt so badly.

He finds himself wondering what he could have done differently. He watches as you live freely now, doing whatever you desire around the city without worry.

He loves it for you though. Cyno loves seeing you free. He's better off knowing you're free and happy without him, then knowing you're contained and fearful with him.

Albedo

The two of you fell apart naturally. You were a known couple throughout Mondstadt, the two honored alchemists were together romantically.

It was never all rainbows and happiness however. Albedo found himself distancing himself from you, and you found yourself distancing yourself from him.

There were no grudges or arguments, it was a lack of communication. The two of you realized this, but neither of you had the willpower or time to fight for the relationship to work.

However, when he finds you sitting at a bar talking with another guy, he can't help but think he was too high maintenance. The two of you were both too independent to work together.

Xiao

Xiao knew it was his fault. He let someone he loved go, again. You were so patient with him, so gentle. You never gave up on him. He acted like he didn't notice your responses to his actions, but deep down he always did.

Xiao couldn't handle love. He knew what happened every time he loved someone. He was so fearful of losing you physically, that it cost him the loss of you mentally.

He couldn't handle the thought of his issues weighing you down. That's why he pushed you away. It hurt him just as much as it hurt you.

Every time you visit the inn he can't help but watch. He knows you blame yourself, but in the end it was never you. He watches as you look for him, or trace of his presence. He watches as you smile when you see something that reminds you of him. It pains him even more to see that you still care.

Childe

You couldn't handle Childe's reckless behavior anymore. You weren't about to watch your boyfriend, someone you imagined a future with be taken away from you while you were with him.

You explained that to him, and he didn't listen. The price of not listening was losing you.

He was lost. He couldn't have chosen between work and you. He knew you cared, and you left because you cared so much about him that you sacrificed your own happiness.

It took him a while to understand why you did what you did, but when he finally understood he could barely tolerate himself.

He'd watch you avoid eye contact with him in the city. He'd notice every time you were in his presence, you'd avoid him. You had impaled your heart for the sake of him, and now his own heart was being shattered as a result of his childish mistakes.

[atla-confessions]

I wonder if Azula stans can talk about her without pouring shit on other characters? The "poor girl is only 14" KATARA was 14 and Azula tried to kill her friends, and really did (almost) In general, all the characters here are children, but when we talk about Azula, it's something special. Everyone is trying to make her pain look special and the most terrible, which somehow allowed her behaviour and not be punished for it. To paraphrase, "the pain of a rapist is special and gives him the right to treat his victims like that." And it's not even true, her mother loved her, her brother loved her, her uncle loved her. Her curse was Ozai, but you're all so obsessed with making her look like the most miserable sufferer, you don't understand what her pain really is. Oh yeah, when we talk about Azula's trauma, can we stop downplaying Zuko's trauma or saying what a terrible brother he was? Because he wasn't. In the "Search" Zuko is offended and does not understand why his sister treats him like this, because he WANTS to be a normal family with her. Throughout the show, he really believes her and wants to build a normal relationship, but they are only good when Zuko is under her full control and turns into a scapegoat again. Therefore, in the finale, when Azula says that she is sorry that everything will end like this, he does not believe. Because that's the way it is, neither Azula nor Ozai have ever regretted what they did to him. The finale made you sympathize with Azula, while made it clear that she does not feel sorry for anyone but herself. So Zuko is a terrible brother because he doesn't allow himself to be treated like that anymore. Ugh, fuck. Everywhere I hear about undeserved hate being poured on poor baby Azula, but in fact I only see those who justify any of her shit and coddle her. Azula stans clearly has a victim complex, because no one talks like that about their beloved. Moreover, the character on whom you piss with boiling water is not even canon Azula.

X

[tealeafgrimm]

Wrongly Accused

Fred Weasley x Reader

Words: 1.1k

Summary: You didn't like him. And for a good reason. At least that's what you thought. But as it turns out, the reason for your quarrel is not his fault at all.

A/N: I am so sorry! I'm very stressed with my job at the moment and just can't find enough time to write. I really want to get back to my schedule, but for now I think I'll just post whenever I can. So please bear with me. I hope you still enjoy this one-shot.

---

That was just your luck. Of all people, you had to work with HIM. Of all the people in the class, he was the one. You didn't know whether to laugh hysterically or cry. If you hadn't been completely wrong, you could have sworn that Professor McGonagall had even smiled slightly when she had read out your names. The old witch knew exactly what she had done. You were sure of that.

While the whole school (apart from maybe the Slytherins) loved the Weasley twins, you were at war with them. Well, actually, only with Fred Weasley. Since your first year at Hogwarts, you couldn't stand each other and you always clashed. And he was the one you were supposed to be with, preparing your transformation project? You would have been better off with Moaning Myrtle. You'd have been able to stand her better than Fred Weasley's face.

And Fred, too, was thunderstruck at the mention of your name as his project partner. While his twin brother laughed, Fred gave you a scathing look, which you were only too happy to return.

"Now that the groups have been divided, please get together to discuss the next steps. Remember, the grade of the project is one third of the final mark. Therefore, I advise you to make an effort. Transformation classes will be cancelled for the next three weeks so that you can use the time to complete your project. If you have any questions or problems, please see me in my office hours," Professor McGonagall announced, before gesturing for you to get together in your respective partner groups.

Neither Fred nor you moved. Only when Angelina Johnson hinted to Fred that she needed his space to work with George did he reluctantly stand up. Inwardly you grinned that he had to make the first move. Your pride wouldn't have allowed it. With an expression on his face as if he had been told he was to spend the next three weeks alone with Professor Snape, he dropped into the chair beside you without saying a word.

There was an unsettling silence between you before you decided to say something.

"Okay, listen Weasley. I know you don't care about your grade. But I do. And I'm not going to let your incompetence get me a bad grade at the end of the semester, understand? So, if you still want to enjoy your life, I suggest you follow my rules and at least use your remaining brain cells on this project."

"And why should I do that?" asked Fred, annoyed, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Because you don't want to know what happens if you don't. I'll meet you in that empty classroom on the third floor during normal hours, understand?"

"Like I'm scared of you," he laughed maliciously, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, I never said anything about being scared. But I happen to know all those secret passages you always use. And it really would be a shame if the teachers knew about them, wouldn't it. And I also know that the little 'accident' the Slytherins had last week wasn't Peeves' fault. Maybe I should clear that up sometime too," you hissed at him. With satisfaction, you could see the colour drain from Fred's face.

“You wouldn’t”, Fred hissed. “Try me and find out”, you shrugged your shoulders, clearing your desk, ready to leave the classroom. “Don’t be late Weasley.”

~~~

You didn't know how you had survived the next few days without being at each other's throats. But with each day your emotions bubbled more and more.

After barely a week, you finally had enough.

"Say that again and I swear to you Weasley, you'll wish you'd never been born!"

"Sitting here with you makes me wish that all the time!"

"You're such an ignorant idiot do you know that? Life is not just a joke!" Your voice was getting louder and louder and you could hear the vein at your temple throbbing.

"And you're obnoxious! Do you even have friends at this school? I don't think anyone likes you anyway!"

"I have friends! Imagine being friends with people without constantly doing something at someone else's expense!"

"You're one to talk! You're always up in my business!"

"Well, YOU deserve it! After all, you started it!"

For a few seconds Fred looked at you in amazement before exploding.

"I started it? You're just way too sensitive. How vindictive are you? Just because I threw food at you once when I wanted to hit Lee?!"

Now you were speechless. Perplexed, you looked at Fred.

"What are you talking about?" Your voice took on a normal pitch.

"Well, the first year Halloween feast? George and I wanted to start a food fight. I wanted to throw mashed potatoes at Lee, you leaned forward over the table and I hit you right in the face?"

You remembered the situation that you hadn't thought about it in ages and began to laug out loud.

"I haven't thought about that at all!", you snorted as Fred looked at you open-mouthed.

"I don't understand. I thought that was the reason we were fighting?", he finally asks as you wiped away a tear from the corner of your eye.

"What, I wouldn't have been mad about that! I'm all about that Potions lesson where you deliberately threw that stinky tincture at me that made me come out with pustules all over my face!"

Now it was Fred who started laughing.

"Oh, you think that's funny huh?" you asked angrily. You had spent hours in the hospital wing before Madame Pomfrey could make the painful pustules disappear.

"That wasn't me! That was George!", Fred finally replied, trying to suppress another laugh.

"That wasn't you at all? It's still not funny!

"I'm sorry, you're right. I just can't believe that all this time we thought the origin of everything was two completely different things. And in the end, I wasn't even involved. And just so you know, George felt awful afterwards, he just thought your hair was changing colour. He wanted to apologise but he didn't know what to say."

For a while you sat next to each other without saying anything. Finally Fred held out his hand to you. Wonderingly you looked at him.

"Well, I guess now that we know that I never actually did anything to you, we can bury the war hatchet, can't we?" he asked and winked at you.

"Hmm, I don't know, depends a bit on how the mark turns out for our project," you replied, smiling at him before returning his handshake.

"I still think you're taking the whole grade thing too seriously. Maybe we should just..." But before he could finish his sentence, you raised your hand to silence him.

"Don't finish that sentence Weasley. You may not have done anything then, but that doesn't mean I can't change my mind. So get to work and you're not dismissed until we finish the assignments."

[saiyanmazen]

Someone has to take initiative

I want to thank everyone who took the time to read Sneak Attack yesterday. The response was overwhelming and I loved it. So thank you.

Today's ficlet for the D&D event by @vegebulocracy is quite different. The prompts used for this ficlet are initiative and spellcasting (sort of), and the whole thing is pretty cracky.

It can also be found here on AO3.

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

Panchy had tried to let them figure it out for themselves, she really had. She'd been called meddlesome in the past and was now proving to others that she wasn't. Her involvement in her daughters' lives was perfectly normal for that of a loving mother.

When she arranged a seemingly accidental meeting between Tights and a gorgeous young man which led to a long-lasting relationship, it had merely been in her oldest daughter's best interest. After all, it had worked so well the first time she'd done it until Tights had broken up with him. Who could blame Panchy for wanting to try it again?

It was also for Bulma’s beneficence that her mother talked to Yamcha about his relationship with Bulma going nowhere and urged him to propose, or the time she showed him baby pictures of Bulma to encourage that natural protective instinct in him and his hidden longing to have children.

But neither of her daughters were happy when they learned of these small incidents. Perhaps it even contributed a little to Tights’ decision to move out. And it might have made Bulma more opposed to marriage and children than she had already been.

Therefore, when Panchy saw the undeniable mutual attraction between Bulma and Vegeta, she did nothing to interfere. She would not meddle again. Not even when her youngest daughter broke up with Yamcha for good, leaving nothing to stop her from pursuing the handsome alien who walked around shirtless all hours of the day.

It didn't escape Panchy's notice that he and Bulma would make exceptionally beautiful grandchildren. If they got together, she would surely soon become a grandmother. A strong man like Vegeta had to be very virile. She might have switched out Bulma’s birth control and removed all condoms in the house to speed things along, just in case.

But other than that, she decided to let Bulma and Vegeta work things out for themselves. Panchy knew her daughter well enough; she couldn't resist a muscular bad boy for long. And there was no denying Vegeta’s interest in Bulma’s beautiful body the way his gaze followed her when she left a room.

Yet, no matter how thick the sexual tension was between them when they fought day in and day out, none of them actually took the initiative to do something to release the tension.

Bulma wasn't getting younger; nor was Panchy. If she wanted to have a lot of time with her grandchildren, she needed to have some soon. It was really quite selfish of her daughters to make her wait so long.

There really wasn't any harm in hurrying things along. It was inevitable, after all. And no one would know her involvement; she'd make sure of that.

The worst was having to wait nearly a whole year to gather the Dragon Balls. But finding and gathering them turned out to be easy. On the pretense of wanting to fix one of her older husband's many ailments, she convinced the sweet boy, Gohan, to find them for her. She swore him to secrecy, telling him that the dear Dr. Briefs didn't want to use the balls for such things and that no one but Gohan could be trusted to keep the secret.

The boy, so fond of the old scientist, eagerly took the dragon radar that Panchy had found in one of Bulma’s drawers and came back with all the magical balls. His eyes shimmered with pure joy when she rewarded him with her famous chocolate chip cookies.

Oh, she hoped her future grandchild would appreciate her cooking just as much. With Vegeta as the father, there would be a good chance of that.

She went to a spa resort near North City to perform the ritual. It wouldn't do if anyone saw the Dragon appear, so she rented a large gym hall with enough room for the giant entity. While she hadn't done it before, she had seen the ritual performed quite a few times and it didn't take long before the Great Dragon soared in the air in front of her and asked her to state her wish.

“I wish for Bulma and Vegeta to conceive a child, so I will finally have a grandchild,” she said with a gentle smile, then added as an afterthought, “one without a widow's peak. And taller than its parents too.”

The Dragon looked back and forth as though he wasn't sure about what she was asking him. Surely, this simple request was within his capabilities!

“Vegeta? Prince Vegeta?” The Dragon questioned incredulously. “Are you certain?”

“Of course I am,” her pearly whites twinkled as she beamed at him, “It's not too much trouble for a big, powerful being such as yourself, is it?”

It sounded like the Dragon mumbled something about it not being him that was in trouble, but he cleared his throat and said what she wanted to hear: “Your wish has been granted.”

The Dragon disappeared and the balls turned to stone. She hurried to the doors to the outside and opened them to allow the stones to scatter.

She then got the full spa treatment, making sure to look her best for her return. After all, she didn't want to wake any suspension by coming back without looking splendid.

But it didn't matter because no one was there when she returned to her home. Her darling hubby was tinkering in his lab as usual, having barely noticed that she'd been gone, that silly man. However, Bulma was nowhere to be found and the gravity thingy Vegeta spent all his time in was silent.

Then Panchy noticed the broken counter in the kitchen and the discarded clothes on the stairs leading to Bulma’s room. It told her all she needed to know.

That sweet Dragon sure worked fast.

[hisokas-toybox]

Headcanons Series: The Zoldyck children and their sibling dynamics. Part 1 - Illumi

Togashi has already given us this image

Which gives us an insight into how some of the Zoldycks relate to one another. But it doesn't give us much depth or detail to really sink our teeth into. In fact, according to this most of the siblings have no relationships to each other at all!

So, I'm going to post a series of my own headcanons about how the Zoldyck children are most likely to interact with/view each other and what their early interactions might have looked like too. These are not explicitly canon but are based mostly off what we've seen in the various anime and manga, plus some little bits of inspiration here and there from fanfic/fanart I've enjoyed along the way. I'll make a new post for each child, looking from their POV at the relationships they have with each sibling from eldest to youngest.

Illumi

Milluki - I feel these two probably have the most "normal" sibling dynamic of the Zoldyck children. I don't think they particularly like each other or have much in common but they're old enough to tolerate each other and work together in a give/take way when needed. In the current timeline, I feel Illumi probably views Milluki as "fat and lazy" and "lacking the discipline needed to be a great assassin."

As children however, Illumi would have been young when Milluki was born. He probably wasn't responsible for raising/training Milluki the way he would be with his other siblings. He therefore, probably doesn't think of Milluki as his responsibility as much as he does the other kids (hence why I think they have the most normal sibling dynamic). I can easily imagine that when Milluki was born, little Illumi would have been jealous of his new brother. Before Milluki there was ONLY Illumi, and I can imagine he would have struggled to adjust to suddenly having to share his parents attention (even if it was negative attention in the form of brutal training) and probably made it his goal to be better than Milluki at everything. Aggressively so, to the point that now, the two are still nothing alike and Illumi still, as an adult, looks down on Milluki as the "disappointment" compared to the rest of his family though he probably doesn't even realise why or where that need to be better than Milluki comes from.

Killua - We know the most about this one, so I'll try to keep it short! Illumi feels VERY protective of Killua. We know he was like a second father to Killua, training him and spending lots of time raising him. Illumi's parents clearly value Killua the most of all their children. And given that Illumi is so desperate to impress/please his parents and looks up to them as his idols, he follows whatever beliefs they hold without question. They say Killua is the most special golden boy? Must be true. And therefore, Illumi must prove himself by being the very best trainer/mentor/guardian/protector Killua could ever have! No matter the cost! With the age gap between Illumi and Killua being much bigger than between him and Milluki, Illumi had some time to mature a bit and so felt more secure and less jealous of Killua taking his parents attention away than he did with Milluki. At some point, I think Illumi even grew a genuine soft spot for Killua. Illumi appreciated that Killua was inquisitive and eager to learn, he learned quickly too, but most notably, Killua was and still is stubborn and sassy. Sometimes this could be annoying, but mostly I imagine Illumi secretly enjoyed Killua's cheeky side (Neither he nor Milluki had ever dared be rude to the butlers or worse their parents, so Killua's nerve was fascinating). Prior to Killua learning nen, the power difference between the two meant that even if Killua did cross a line it was easy for Illumi to put him in his place, so he maybe allowed a little more than he should've just because he enjoyed the novelty of Killua's attitude (bonus headcanon - younger Illumi and Killua teaming up to prank Milluki as part of Killua's "stealth training" ). Things are much sadder now from Illumi's POV. Killua is terrified of Illumi. And seemingly, hates him and wants nothing more than get away from him. When Gon said that line about Illumi not being qualified to be Killua's brother? Yeah. Illumi played it cool, but that HURT. Illumi wants Killua to be safe, more than anything and is no doubt worried about him all the time he's away from home doing God knows what. The needle he used on Killua was harsh and nasty but it was done out of (twisted) love and an attempt to protect his little brother. (That was not short! I have a lot of feelings about Illumi!!!)

Alluka - Again, Illumi believes his parents word to be gospel on this one. Not a single original thought in his head regarding her at all. He was told she wasn't human. Believes that and so doesn't treat or view her as a person. Makes no attempt to bond with her like he did with Killua, studied her and experimented with her when her powers and the limits/consequences weren't entirely clear. Just like his parents, he doesn't fully understand her abilities/underlying humanity and fears her (and he rarely fears anything). He shuns her and allows her to be locked away. He even tries to kill her to protect Killua (and a lot of other people including himself, but mostly Killua) from the fallout of her powers. Now he does know all the rules/conditions of her ability he wants to be able to use it and control it for himself (her ability - again he has no attachment to her whatsoever) but knows Killua is protecting her and Illumi won't act against Killua (not his favourite sibling!) So he's likely just busying himself with other things for now.

Kalluto - Once again, Illumi is the 3rd parent to this sibling! And though Kalluto isn't as sassy/entertaining or spirited as Killua was, Illumi has a soft spot for Kalluto too. He sees Kalluto is much more quiet, serious and obedient and doesn't need much babysitting compared to Killua. I actually think Illumi sees a lot of himself in Kalluto so he's quite protective and fond of him (maybe even a little bit affectionate??) In Illumi's mind Kalluto is Baby, and probably always will be even when he's an adult!

[nicolefirekitty]

putting my thoughts under a cut since my friend who knows nothing about kh will probably see this post:

Thinking lots about Roxas and Xion post Kingdom Hearts 3, though this is more focused on Roxas.

They're both just children who came into the world at (supposedly) fourteen with no memories, and therefore no knowledge or experiences, and now they're thrust into as normal a life a Keyblade Wielder can get after being trapped for so much of their short lives. Xion became almost nonexistent until suddenly becoming two people against her will, only becoming whole when Sora rejoined her minds. Roxas had his ENTIRE LIFE replaced, only to suddenly remember his previous life in a fit of rage.

He clearly remembers both lives at the same time, shown with Sora being sad when leaving Twilight Town and saying goodbye to the real Hayner, Pence, and Olette. As well as appearing in a black coat in the fight in The World That Never Was and the snippets of memories we get to see afterwards. So his mental state must be a disaster, remembering two very conflicting lives and a one of them wasn't even real. But it was real to HIM.

Four kids living in Twilight Town enjoying their summer vacation, but now Hayner, Pence, and Olette don't even personally know who he is. They're willing to befriend him, clearly, but these aren't the people Roxas knew, and so much of his normal, fake life is overlapping his life as an Organization Member, and vice versa.

It's probably also practically impossible for this fifteen year old with one year of TRUE life experience and no real memories to process this to explain the horrors he went through to others. Even his friends. Only Xion would really understand what it feels like to be two people at the same time, surrounded with nothing but reminders of everything he is and isn't. But would she truly?

I headcanon the Days Trio +Saïx/Isa made the abandoned mansion their home, so it must be even more torture to Roxas. Probably to Xion as well, but I doubt as much since she made her choice willingly; though she did kinda force Roxas to kill her but that's neither here nor there. Oh but he definitely remembers her body crystallizing in his arms as she shatters into truly nothing, not even memories remaining, it all being his fault.

Man, can't wait for that Psychology of Roxas video :)

My thoughts on Xion aren't all that organized and I feel I put down the gist of what I have for her so far in my ramblings above. I just really feel bad for her and hope she gets to have a role in Kingdom Hearts 4. I do headcanon she's extremely touch starved and will hold Roxas' or Axel/Lea's hand as much as she can though. Also that she avoids Isa as much as she can, out of fear, anger, and pure spite.

[lovelywingsart]

🦀💔🕊️

For the OCXCanon thing uwu Because I'm desperate to talk lmao

🦀 'How did they handle realizing they were in love?' - They didn't ALDKALDKSLFJ- Ok, but seriously, neither of them took it very well.

Karl realized way before she did, when she was taking care of him after he had gotten near blackout drunks after a bad meeting, and it actually took him a few days to realize that 'love' was exactly what it was. Emelias realization is actually a story here, 'Rainy Day', followed by 'Dear Mother' that happened only week later.

Both realizations were met with straight panic and fear- Karl tried to convince himself that it wasn't actually what it was, that he didn't deserve it if it was, and he was genuinely afraid both for himself and her if it ever came out; Emelia was genuinely terrified because she wasn't sure he'd even understand, and given the fact Miranda already hated her, she knew that that information ever getting out would spell tragedy as it had with a prior instance. They both completely ignored that realization in hopes that it would go away, when in reality it only made it worse.

So basically, they handled it by NOT handling it. At all.

💔 'Do they have an past relationship experience? How does it effect them?' - Strap in. 😂😭

Karl never had a 'proper' relationship beforehand- a one night stand here, a week or two long fling there, but nothing he ever fully considered a relationship. But also given the skewed view on 'affection' from Miranda and the others, he really didn't want one, nor did he ever learn exactly what went into one. Mirandas abuse severely kinda fucked him up on what to expect, plus he was too busy for one so he never searched for it.

Emelia DID actually have a relationship- not while human, but with Regina. As a kid she always dreamed of having that nice happy family, and still held onto that hope despite everything- and she genuinely thought she had found what she wanted in the village girl once she got to know her-

And then Regina got sick.

Upon Regina getting sick, she was exposed to Mirandas vileness when offering herself to be an experiment to try and live to be with Emelia, because the woman very quickly picked up on the fact that Emelia truely loved her and therefore denied any chance to save her; literally because Emelia was what she considered her 'greatest failure', and she despises her with a passion and will work to make her life a living hell if she shows any kind of happiness (hence Dear Mother). Mirandas denial and jabbing allowed Regina to die, and therefore rendered Emelia absolutely terrified of feeling any kind of affection- which is why her realizing she loved Karl afterward was such a huge issue. She was afraid both of his reaction and Mirandas if she were to ever find out, and it fucked her up a little more than she already was.

Going off the Survival AU, when they actually HAVE a proper relationship, they're both still unlearning toxic behavior even with a constantly growing family. Emelia needs to unlearn being so closed off (and takes to it pretty quickly when given the chance) and Karl need to unlearn.... alot. Specifically his tendency to be unnecessarily possessive and defensive both of himself and Emelia. They make it work given the shared trauma, but it IS a struggle sometimes.

🕊 'Give a general domestic tidbit' - Probably one of the sweetest things- when Karl eventually feels so tired he's about to fall over, he will purposely look for Emelia, or will radio her with a code word they have for that specific scenario. Reason being, simply put, he doesn't like sleeping alone, and finds difficulty doing so. He's actually afraid of sleeping, and is incredibly uncomfortable with the idea of just passing out where he's standing like he used to before she came along.

If she's working, she'll drop what she's doing almost immediately either to find him or if he finds her, and attempt to lead him away to a safer place, be it either the corner of the Foundry, one of the rooms they have with a cot, or up to her room on the surface. She'll get him comfy how she can, make sure he's the one close to the wall (corner bed ftw) and he is promptly little spoon while she relaxes him enough to actually sleep either by singing/humming, rubbing his back/shoulders or playing with his hair. It usually knocks him tf out pretty immediately, and she might also fall asleep as well. Its also the only way he can sleep relatively peacefully for a bit before the nightmares fully kick in, which also helps that she's right there. She wakes up pretty easily if he starts moving, so she can in turn wake him up before it gets bad, and the cycle continues if he needs more sleep.

There have been times where they just lay there for an entire day, if not moreso, until he's rested enough to keep working. Its always followed by a good amount of food as he's fully waking up to regain that energy, and she takes special care in picking what's needed. 💙 Its a small routine that doesn't haven VERY often with how little he sleeps, but its one that they figured out quickly that was the most effective and let them both be the most productive otherwise.

[ciaran]

cw: foucault, discussions of underage sex, fandom

happened to read foucault's essay on erotics, and the whole schema of greek pederasty and its complications, concerns, discourses, what have you. it's very interesting and not just bc the greeks hated the power of the prostate.

a lot of the latter part of the essay talks about how the greeks felt, more or less, that even though it was socially acceptable for a man to fuck a boy, the boy couldn't enjoy it, and if he enjoyed it too much and sought it out then his future reputation was at stake/ruined already + the man had to give the boy gifts (financial gifts being frowned upon because they prostituted the boy; gifts of guidance, teaching, and status being more acceptable and desirable) in order to earn his favor in order to fuck him and the boy could neither give in too easily nor hold out for too long. but it wasn't a mutually pleasurable act, it was a given to the older lover when he was considered to have earned it and it was a transient, age-based position; an adult male free citizen who was known to bottom for pleasure was considered shameful and incapable of leading. but it was okay to want boys, to desire beauty, to think of them as attractive, as long as one did not take from them by force or dishonor them.

the interesting thing to me about this is the way it intersects and entwines with modern fandom's notions of gay sex. obviously, fandom loves gay sex and there's no doubt about that. the thing is that in my experience, most fandom these days heavily centers bottoms and bottom subjectivity; to a lesser extent submissive subjectivity. it is ambivalent in most cases about top interiority and entirely uninterested in dominants except as facilitators of pleasure, pain, or catharsis for the sub/bottom.

of course, it's unfair to generalize and many people find their tastes departing from that described here for many reasons. nevertheless, it seems to me to be broadly true that in a group of people broadly motivated by exploring m/m intimacy, there isn't that much about tops: about wanting to top or dom, about love that expresses itself via control, guidance, and mastery over the beloved, about actively seeking out and thrilling in having power over another person. when these things do show up, they're frequently coded as abusive or outright only exist in abusive characters, which makes sense to a degree because these traits can also manifest in abusive ways.

but submissives and bottoms can also be abusive while fully and unequivocally being subs / bottoms, and most people are really uninterested in exploring that. this makes sense; nobody wants to imagine a beloved character as abusive, and very few people identify such types of predation in villainous characters, because villainy is the domain of the controlling, the sadistic, the power-seeking - it is never the domain of the masochist, the one whose power lies in passivity, who can make things happen without asking for them to happen, simply by wanting and providing themselves as an incentive.

and again, yes, associating bottom and submitting w passivity is problematic but works for our purposes because the essay i'm referring to also does the same thing. the link is not a permanent fixture so much as an association that people often lean into and that therefore shows up in the conversation.

all of this is to say that i don't think that fandom, which is dominated by afabs and trans people and rather fewer cis men, is so interested in bottoms as the subject of pleasure.

while the associative link between submitting, bottoming, passivity, and femininity is frequently complicated (queered, even) by these same demographics, and while many members of them have different relationships to these associations, the links persist for a reason; they're extant in society and they preoccupy us sexually. but i do think that there's a reason why the greeks considered bottoming and enjoying the act of bottoming nearly shameful even though cis gay penetrative sexual activity basically necessitates someone bottoming at all times...and i think that that reason is the other side of the coin of why modern queer fandom is broadly disengaged from topping as an enjoyable and desirable activity for their favorite characters even though they would verbally acknowledge that good sex should be mutually pleasurable due to modern sexual ethics.

in both cases, i think it's about shame. the greeks considered bottoming shameful because they thought a lot about honor and status and leadership, and the roles that a free citizen with good qualities could hope to occupy in the governance of the city, and they felt like a man who enjoyed submitting sexually (a man who enjoyed being the object of another's pleasure) could not be trusted to not submit in other senses as well even if the alternative was better for him and for those he had power over. but the sexual ethics of fandom - which is very queer, full of afabs, full of trans people - consider topping shameful because we think about status and leadership and power from the other direction, as inherently untrustworthy and corrupt, and we dislike people who seek out power consciously and cultivate favors in order to gain that power. it's shameful to want too much and take too much, to have control over other people and be comfortable with that, it's shameful to refuse to be vulnerable in the way that bottoming demands vulnerability (because topping, by implication, has no vulnerability attached).

that's one explanation and i don't wholly buy it. my other explanation would be interest: the greeks were concerned with a social life that revolved in no insignificant part around the power they expected to wield as free citizens, and therefore they were very anxious about the maintenance of their own power and they were concerned by the possible loss of power for the young men they desired. fandom, on the other hand, is concerned with an intimate life that centers the emotions and relationships of its characters, and therefore is interested in anything that brings those emotions to the forefront: again, vulnerability and weakness and pain and pleasure.

the third and most simple explanation is that the difference is anatomical: cis men are more likely to think bottoming is shameful because the primary instrument and act of pleasure for them centers around penetration, and being accessory to someone else's pleasure and enjoying it is shameful. women are more likely to think that topping is shameful because their primary acts of pleasure are ones of receiving, and rather than being accessory to someone else's pleasure they inhabit a paradigm where reception is indulgent, decadent, being spoiled and taking without giving. even if you think of topping as giving and bottoming as taking, taking is construed as selfish and giving is construed as generous. so, someone's favorite character bottoming is about that character getting to be selfish.

i don't like this explanation because it resorts to gender essentialism, and i really don't like any of these explanations and i'm dubious about the entire analogy i'm drawing, but hey. my blog, my long meandering posts that make no point at all. if u have thoughts feel free to send me an ask or a dm or something, this topic is very interesting to me.

[mageofseven]

Barbatos x Mammon Relationship Headcannons

This ship is new to me, but definitely has my attention.

Therefore, I want to explore it more by describing how I see them together.

I will form this more or less like my Poly! series posts, but obviously this will just be for these two and no third partner lol

So yeah! Please enjoy~

•▪︎▪︎◇°●♡●°◇▪︎▪︎•

How They Got Together:

In truth, this was an incredibly slow process, so much so that it makes DiaLuci look like a shotgun wedding.

Over the years, the men just grew an admiration for each other.

Barbatos admired Mammon for his effort into things. The second brother may pretend that most things are a hassle and not worth his time, but in truth gives his best attempt at most things he does.

The butler also admired the young demon for how he looked out for his brothers. Not that any of them notice or give him any credit for such nor did Mammon make any true attempts at getting them to do so.

This wasn't so different to how Barb was; this demon was constantly using his skills to help those around him, mainly Lord Diavolo but he has come to the brothers' rescue quite a few times as well.

This man isn't always thanked and certainly is never reward for his efforts, not even after solving the most dire of situations, but he never looks for such anyway; the problem is fixed and the people involved are okay. This is enough for him.

Mammon admired Barbatos for his skills and how effortless he made it all look. In this man's eyes, Barb never struggled, never stressed out, and was always praised by others.

The greed demon wished he could just be a fraction of the person the older demon was; then maybe his own life would be easier.

Neither man is really sure when that admiration turned into full blown love

Though Barbatos recognized it in himself before Mammon did, by like 200 years.

The butler accepted his feelings for what they were...but chose not to do anything about them.

In truth, the professional man felt is was almost inappropriate to have feelings for the second brother, a man technically a part of the governing body of the Devildom that his lord set up

But also...after all of these years, Barbatos has grown to see Lucifer as a friend. The Avatar of Pride was a good, respectable man so the idea of dating one of the younger brothers the oldest cherished so much felt... disrespectful.

Basically, the butler's mindset was that he couldn't change how he felt about the Avatar of Greed, but he could control his actions here on out.

Mammon took a long ass time on figuring out that he was in love with the butler.

This dumbass literally had daydreams of kissing the older demon just to stop and be like....wait.

Am I....?

Naaaah. 🤦‍♀️💕

When he did let it hit him how strong his feelings got for the butler, the younger man grew so fidgety and couldn't even look Barb in the eyes.

All his brothers knew something was up, but the second brother having feelings for Barbatos was the last thing on their minds.

Barb also noticed this change in him though and became curious about it.

Honestly, Barbatos' mind was on the second brother more than ever because of this.

Then it all made a turn one day in a way neither man ever expected.

Diavolo was over at HoL to work on somethings with Lucifer in his office; it was mostly just for a change of pace and very spur of the moment, but Lucifer handled it in stride like always.

So of course, this meant that Barb was here as well.

The butler had left the two other gentleman in order to make them some tea in HoL's kitchen.

That was when he heard it; sobs from up the stairs next to him.

The butler decide to take a bit of a detour and silently ascended the steps

Just to find Mammon at the top, back to the wall that the hallway shared with his room.

The younger man was just so close; he didn't want to bawl his eyes out in the hallway where his brothers could catch him, but he was so upset that his legs gave out on him and so there he was.

The butler froze at the sight, Mammon heavily sobbing with his knees to his chest and fists rotating from pulling his hair to hitting his head as he mumbled 'stupid' over and over again.

Barbatos couldn't walk away; in his mind, it wasn't even an option.

He continued to ascend the stairs, startling the greed demon; he thought it was one of his brothers coming to make fun of him for crying like a little bitch or something

But when his tearful blue eyes locked on to Barb's concerned green orbs, the man was paralyzed where he sat.

The older demon knelt down in front of Mammon, gently smoothing down his hair as he kept eye contact.

"You are not 'stupid' by any means." Barb told him, now using his gloved hand to brush the tears from the greed demon's face. "You are a man with your own issues, same as everyone else, but your intelligence is simply not one of them...no matter what they say."

And just like that, something changed in both men.

That moment of comfort, of giving and getting affection, it was like each man just got the tiniest little taste of what could be for them

And both found it difficult to stay apart any longer.

What they felt for each other was strong and confusing; it simply overwhelmed them both.

This is why they decided not to tell others about their relationship yet; both wanted to understand their feelings, but also wanted to see if their relationship could ever last.

Dynamics:

The secrecy never really died down for the couple.

Even when they grow to understand their emotions on a deeper level and see that they're both in this relationship for the long haul, their relationship stays a secret.

Mammon has a lot of insecurities and fears, mainly about what his younger brothers will say when they find out

And Barb himself was a pretty private person so he had no qualms with keeping things quiet for Mammon's sake.

The two are really different, not just with their personalities, but even in the the ways they express love and feel the most loved.

Mammon is big on physical touch. Any private moment he can get with his boyfriend, he needs the man to give him physical affection and words of affirmation.

Barbatos, very unsurprisingly, is an acts of service sort of guy and sadly (for him bc of his 24/7 job) quality time is very important.

The two grow to understand each other well though and always know what the other needs.

Mammon can be a little slow at times, but this is something Barb has actually grown to be amused with; how long till his boyfriend will get the hint?

Still, some parts can be difficult; Mammon is clingy while Barbatos is independent. Sometimes the younger demon can get bad thoughts in his head that the cool and composed butler doesn't really care about him as much he thought.

Barbatos will always chase away those bad thoughts though; he may not feel the need to be glued to his boyfriend all day, but he still loves the other man deeply and enjoys his company.

The two spend most of their time together on Sunday since it's Barb's only day off (a day off that Diavolo had to force on him hundreds of years ago lol).

Though some days it feels less like a day off and more like an 'on call' day, meaning some shit may go wrong at the castle and the butler may have to cancel their plans in order to fix whatever issues have occurred.

With Barb's job and the secrecy of their relationship, things can be difficult for the couple

But they love each other so strongly that they'd both rather have this than not be together at all.

Overall, Barbatos is a big comfort to Mammon and slowly teaches him to love himself despite his brothers' mean words

And Mammon provides some color to the monotony of Barb's life, something the butler tries to pretend he's comfortable with, but in truth makes life feel quite stale to him.

[novelcain]

Ooooh dragon theories!!!!! I, for one really wanna hear it!

I'm a curious lad and you just mentioned one of the most universal and fascinating mythological beings. I must know what theory you have about them.

- 🐟

FINALLY I CAN ANSWER THIS NOW!!

This ask was based on another ask, which you can find here!

*SHAKES A CAN OF ROCKS*

GATHER ROUND CHILLENS! CAUSE ITS TIME FOR A SKITTLE RAMBLE!

Ok so technically I have a few theories about why dragons are so universal!

The easiest one is that humans as individuals aren't special and think alike a lot more than people want to admit which could be why we have so many repeat concepts throughout history where there was absolutely NO contact with the other cultures some even happening at similar times halfway across the world when that kind of communication wasn't possible😐... But I don't like that idea!😃 *throws it into a wood chipper and aggressive shoves the remains in a blender*

*dusts myself off* NEXT THEORY! You guys may wanna get comfortable for this one.

Now, this one may seem kinda far fetched, but I personally believe it has some merit, so stick with me here! IN FACT, this was actually going to be my college thesis before I dropped out, so I have collected a lot of evidence to support it at least being a possibility! (And in case anyone was wanting to know what I studied I majored in biochemistry and mechanical engineering and minored in psychology. If anyone wants to know more about that feel free to ask.😌 NOW BACK TO MY HYPOTHESIS!) But before we begin☝️, a question. Have any of you ever experienced a situation where you've met someone you've never known get to talking to them and realized that they've had the same wacky and insane idea as you that you've never told anyone about? Well, there's a term for! It's called ✨social consciousness✨! And because of this fascinating concept, I spent my high school and college years secretly experimenting on all my friends, family, and any stranger I was in the company of for longer than five minutes! (Ritz if you're seeing this, yes, I did use you as a test subject, but you can't be mad because you were and still are my favorite one.😁) All to push the limits of this concept in the name of science! And fear not! No humans were harmed in the making of these experiments except for that one kid in my high school college program who had an existential crisis when I discussed this theory of mine with him but that's neither here nor there. ANYWAYS! What I discovered was FASCINATING to say the least! I found that within close proximities, thoughts can to some degree be interpreted! And no I don't mean telepathy. Nothing has come out of those experiments so far BUT I'M STILL HOLDING OUT HOPE! What I mean is that all living creatures emit bioelectricity some more than others but that's besides the point and brains run on that bioelectricity! I believe that each species has a specific frequency and therefore the brainwaves of individuals might be able to be picked up on by another member of that species. Of course, for humans brainwaves can differ greatly and so also I hypothesize that it certainly helps if you have similar brainwave patterns given that some test subjects were more responsive than others but I didn’t have access to an EEG machine those cowards wouldn’t let me borrow one so I wouldn’t know for sure. A few of my finds were as follows: ~57% of the time when consistently thinking of a random tune someone else in the room will begin either humming or tapping to the same rhythm. ~82% of the time when intensely staring at someone from behind or an out of sight location they will directly turn to look at you. ~29-30% of the time when continuously thinking a certain word or action around someone they will eventually mention that they can't seem to get it off their mind lately. And there are many other data points I've collected over the years as well many other branching theories but I think you get the point I'm making. But it's probably that this point in time that you're thinking, "Skittle what the frickidy FUCK does this have to do with dragons?" And to that I ask you, if you took this theory and applied it to a very large population thinking about something all at once, what do you think would happen?🙃 I believe something every interesting would result from such a thing. Such as maybe say the transference of ideas and concepts from one culture to another even over great distances. Except with a few differences here and there to account for both culture and dilution of the transmitted concept. And this doesn’t apply to just dragons, we see similarities in religions that never even knew each other all the time. It’s incredibly interesting to think about.

Basically, if you learned anything at all from that one it's that the world should be on its knees thanking whatever cruel yet merciful god exists that I didn't continue down the path of science otherwise I'd probably be in some government lab either as a mad scientist with questionable morals or an experiment to see how far one can truly stray from sanity.

And my final theory!☝️

That dragons were a real species that might have been hunted or driven to extinction by a growing human presence. And if they were a very large widespread species found all over the world then regional differences would only be natural. That they, like many other species, adapted to their habitats. Or perhaps they are like tigers, leopards, lions, and jaguar who are all different species but are from the same genus. And if they were animals meant to fly then hollow bones would most likely be very necessary making fossilization and preservation very difficult. Paleontologists find pieces of large bones that can't be identified all the time. And fossilized eggs aren't even possible to be definitively matched to a species. We could have been staring at the answer for decades and we'd never know it.

Me trying to explain my theories in a manner that makes sense:

[ottokallenhonkai3rd]

⚜ 𝒯𝑜 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝑒𝓍𝓉𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝒾𝓈 𝒪𝓉𝓉𝑜𝒦𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓃 𝒸𝒶𝓃𝑜𝓃

I came across a discussion on Twitter about whether OttoKallen is canon now, specifically in relation to SakuKallen. ~♥~ Otto and Kallen started out as friends. But subconsciously you always noticed that Otto had feelings for Kallen. You never really got to know how Kallen felt about Otto. And that's the breaking point where many haters stop. ~♥~ But let's start again from the beginning. Otto and Kallen met as small children. Because Otto was ill and fragile, he was of little value to House Apocalypse. Therefore, he tried to be useful in a different way and to work on inventions. Kallen was the one who praised his work, which made them friends. The twist of the story begins when Kallen learns about the true intentions of the church and also to what extent Otto is involved in it. Protecting those around her is important to her, while Otto is willing to sacrifice the individual for a greater good. And that is ultimately the reason why the two split up. Yes. They have different ways of thinking, but that´s no reason for their separation. In fact, they never separated emotionally. Their disagreement hasn't hurt their relationship.

In a conversation between Otto and his father, it sounds as if he is already engaged to Kallen. But most important is the conversation between him and Kallen about how she would like to marry him if the conditions were different.

It is also important to mention that the letter she sent Otto included two red roses. Two red roses symbolize love returned. So Kallen also had feelings for Otto.

In the letter, Kallen again explained why she turned down his marriage proposal and declared that they both did terrible things. Here is the link.

Even if Otto never received this letter, the world view is also reflected in his feelings: When you truly want to change the world, you will discover how pitiable your own strength is. The Holy Maid gave her all to the people, and was repaid with merciless shackles und nooses. The world is at chaos. It´s neither fair nor sensible. It wrongs heroes and breeds scum. It is rife with ugliness without a trace of beauty. The malice of the world shal be sundered- by the villain. Source: Thus spoke Apocalypse

~♥~ Crucially, the story portrays Kallen as a heroine with a good heart. She remains true to her principles to the death. Otto, on the other hand, deliberately chose to play the villain. Not just to bring Kallen back to life, but to change something in the world. The wall in front of which they parted is also the wall where they once met. OttoKallen is a very symbolic ship and that's why it's so beautiful. And when it comes to how Kallen felt about Sakura.... Personally, I think the two were very good friends. That's why soulmates were mentioned in the webcomic named The Graditute Arc. Very good friends can also be soul mates. In the end they live happily together in the stigma world... Kallen's soul fragments were sucked up by it. She can't leave there even if she wanted to. So the happy is probably to be put in quotation marks. And when it comes to certain poses in the Event of "Cooking with the Valkyries"... Here's a picture where best friends are leaning against each other. Here's a picture of best friends holding hands. Aside from that. If leaning and holding hands is a token of love... Otto also saw the pleasure. Here Otto doesn't hold Kallen's hand like Sakura does. They have intertwined their fingers. And please don't come at me with "There was Kallen still a child". She was 13 years old or even older. So in their adolescence and capable of loving.

And anyone who deals with Sakura will notice that she loves to flirt. Even a Theresa blushes after certain actions of hers.

So now Theresa is in love with Sakura too? It would at least be the more interesting couple. And while we're at Kallen blushing...

Look how cute she blushes when she talks to Otto. And she wasn't already drunk at the moment. It's also worth noting that this game was created for a male clientele, and there's a bit of fanservice involved in some of the scenes. Just because you blush, because someone gets too close, leans in, or allows someone to take their hand doesn't mean you're in love. But for a long time, the content of St. Freya High could be argued with. This is a webcomic linked from the official Honkai Impact the 3rd website. This showed clear love scenes between Kallen and Sakura. But Mihoyo already removed this comic as it is inconsistent with other webcomics and game content.. The chapters that showed these scenes have also been pulled off the page. But honestly. The writer can't be serious about that.

Why do people care if she loved the person? That seems pretty out of place and if I had been present at the Trial and hearing that, I would have said she was crazy too.

So let's talk a little bit about the four samsaras. The samsaras are a virtual world created from the memories of Theresa Apocalypse and part of the black box. In the first samsara, Kallen has no choice but to kill Sakura. In the second samsara, Sakura, under complete control, kills Kallen. In the third samsara, they then manage to defeat the enemy and live "happily" together. But the real Kallen was never present. Everything that happened in it was fake. Also Kallen from the fourth Samara, who was fed up with staying with Sakura and runs away.

And yes. In the sideevent named Sanka Saga they love each other. But then maybe some haters should stop calling Otto obsessed. After all, the joke of the story is that Kallen slips into Otto's role. You can tell that clearly from the fact that she wants to save Sakura from death at all costs. Just like Otto for Kallen. That she did soul experiments. Yes. Just like Otto, only in a different form. That she suffered. Just like Otto. And that she realizes that a clone of Sakura is not Sakura. Otto notices that with Theresa. But that she secretly noticed that Sakura's soul is in Kasumi, but she's still not like Sakura and therefore wasn't interesting for her. Just like Otto. So it should be noted that this event has nothing to do with the actual reality of the game. In Sangeline Knights Kallen Klon can only remember Sakura, but it was also the last big event and a very decisive one for her life before she died. And in Kallen Fantasy, they are even enemies. ~♥~ So what's left of SakuKallen ship other than Sakura's fantasy? But OttoKallen has no canon content.... Otto and Kallen got married in Gun Girls Z (Houkai Gakuen). But Kallen was certainly forced to do so? - Uh, no. Hmm... Remember the conversation between Kallen and Otto about a wedding? A marriage that Kallen rejected for the sole reason that she whouldn't be a pawn? But the conversation ended with "Maybe in another world..." The rest of the sentence went under, because Otto left the room. It´s clear that Kallen means a wedding. So this isn't a forced wedding, it's the one that's likely to take place in the timeline where Kallen thanks to Otto lives.

The Endresult is: Just because you can't see a person's feelings directly, it doesn't mean they don't have them. Especially when a relationship has had little time to develop. But Kallen wasn't forced to marry Otto. She did it for love. And in that case, OttoKallen is even more canon than SakuKallen.