#and thus would be nice to me about my fanfiction

[chilumi-shipper]

Crowned Flowers

Kamisato Ayato x Fem!Reader (Royal AU)

Summary: He's the Crowned Prince and you're just a commoner. You love each other but you had to keep your relationship a secret. Knowing it was the best to leave him alone and not make his life harder, you avoided him and no longer visited the castle. After years of pining for his first and only love, he is met with the sight of a little boy identical to him.

Warning: Slight Smut nothing intense

Tags: Slight Angst to Fluff, Royalty x Commoner

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The young prince Ayato wasn't aware that such a cheap flower could bring about such beauty, yet a crown made of those cheap flowers laid on the head of a maiden he found strikingly admirable, he couldn't keep his eyes off you.

You were trying to catch the attention of other people around you, offering them a look of your basket of flowers, perhaps hoping that the flowers would be of interest to some people, and thus buy it off you.

"Sir..." The blue haired prince was shaken out of his trances, realizing that you had made your way over to him. You smiled at him with all the joy in your possibly pure heart. "Would you like to buy a flower? They're really pretty."

You didn't recognize him, probably because of his thick robe, covering the unmistakable blue hue of the hair of the royal family.

"Ahhh- Umm..." Ayato patted himself, looking for some mora to give you, but all his expenses are handled by his retainers, so he doesn't have anything on him. "I-I apologize, I don't seem to have any-"

You held up a flower for him still, "That's okay! I want you to take one for free! My mama said that giving something nice to others brightens up their day, and you can make good friends!"

He took the flowers in his hands, and never has the young prince felt so grateful for something so small.

Nobody knows why King Ayato's favorite flower is a cheap, white petaled flower that can be seen all over the kingdom. Surely someone of his status would love a rare, exotic flower only someone as rich as him could gaze upon.

But the sight of the beautiful flower reminded him of the love he unfortunately couldn't keep in his arms. The love that remained embedded in his being, never letting him forget the face that brought upon color in his world, the hands that cradles his face and caress his cheeks ever so softly, the body that he forever wants to hold close to his own, though he probably could never again.

The crowned king Ayato could only reminisce about the love of his life.

"The young prince is missing again!" Yelled one of his guards, his voice laced with worry, less for the prince and more for himself if he doesn't bring the prince back to the palace immediately.

The panicked guard yelling for help at the other guards drew a little giggle from you, making you cover your mouth to avoid making too much noise. You were hiding behind the tall fence of the local orphanage, Ayato next to you sitting close, trying not to laugh as well.

"Looks like we got some time for ourselves." He whispered, his face awfully close to yours. You smiled brightly, as you usually do, cuddling up to him.

"Your parents might kill you..." You rest your head on his shoulder, prompting him to wrap an arm around you. You sighed in contentment, hearing the fading frantic footsteps of the guards.

"I don't think I mind having this as my final moment before my parents kill me." You playfully slapped him on the chest due to his statement.

Ayato then had a thought, "Maybe... they wouldn't be disapproving of our relationship like we thought." He tightened his hold of you. ''Perhaps, we can finally-"

"It's unheard of, couples like us." You spoke sadly, sighing after. "It's only in those teenage fanfiction books does the commoner get the prince."

Ayato didn't want to admit that you were right, there was a low chance that his parents would allow him to marry a commoner, much less would the royal court.

He chose to end the topic with a joke. "Well then, I hope the writer of this story knows the decorations I want for our wedding." He basked in the smile that your lips formed.

As the king of his kingdom, he was expected to produce an heir to the throne within the first five years of his reign, yet he had not stuck to this expectation, he had not even chosen a bride.

It feels as though his heart is tied to only one, and no other lady could capture him in a loving blanket of eternal bliss in which you caged him in.

And no other could satisfy the hunger that you satiated during your first (and last) night together.

"I still wish to see you after this..." He says in a breathless moan, his hand landing on your hips as you grind yourself closer to him. "Archons, my queen..." He hisses, shutting his eyes at your moves above him sending him to absolute euphoria.

Your fingers poked at his cheek before your palm made contact, caressing it to opt him to open his eyes. You smile softly at him, "You have a duty..."

In the dim light of the moon illuminating from the windows of his room, you looked absolutely radiant, completely naked for him to devour with his eyes. His hips instinctively jerked up at the sight, making you whimper at the sudden sensation.

"I have a duty to the woman I love..." His own hand reach for your face, cupping your cheek. "I fucking love you..."

He had never felt such raw and intense emotions, but being bare and romantic with you within the warmth of his abode, showered by the cascading light of the moon truly made him love you even more.

You lean into his touch, closing your eyes as you start to move on his lap, letting him caress your insides. "I love you, I love you too..." You whispered, letting it mix with the moans that leaves your mouth.

After your intense, romantic, sweet love-making, you left his life with one last kiss to remember him by.

He's never seen you since then.

Sometimes he even thinks that you were just a figment of his imagination, his version of perfection within a girl that he would hopelessly fall in love with for the rest of his life.

But, as he stares at the scene in front of him...

"Flowers! Fresh flowers here! So pretty, it'll make you fall in love!"

...that young boy, selling white flowers in a somewhat familiar, worn-out basket, hair covered with a cloak, but his eyes... that unmistakable tint of purple that only one member of the royal family has.

His heart then drops, as the door of the house behind the little boy opens, revealing... you.

You... 're so beautiful...

A version of perfection within a girl that he would hopelessly fall in love with for the rest of his life.

"Your Majesty, the royal guards are done with their business here, we may go if you would allow us." A guard stood beside him, unbeknownst to the conflicting feeling swirling within the king.

"Yes, go..." Ayato refuses to take his eyes off the scene in front of him.

"And you, your Majest-" The guard could not finish his question before Ayato was walking up to the boy holding the basket.

"Sir with the crown! You want flowers, right?" As their gazes meet, the purple-eyed boy pointed at him and shouted excitedly.

Ayato chuckled, taking out a pouch of mora from his suit and kneeling down to the boys level. "Would this suffice for one lovely flower?"

"Wow! That's for a whole basket!"

"You can have it, I've been thought that giving something nice to others brightens up their day, and you can make good friends."

"My mommy says that!" As the boy exclaims, a figure walks up behind him, opting Ayato to look up.

"I know she does..." Though he is filled with conflicting emotions, he still smiles at you. "My queen says that."

"Is mommy your queen, Mr. Crown?"

Your eyes lock onto his, your gaze softening. "King Ayato... I'm sorry for my child..." His eyes seem to darken as you refer to your son as only yours.

Ayato gently places a hand on the little boys hood, lifting it off a little to reveal the same shade of blue hair as his. "Hmm... a very handsome young prince..."

The boy silently tugs at your skirt. "We're secretly royalty, mommy." He giggles, making his father smile.

"Yes, nobody would go against a king for declaring his beloved as a royal, to be by his side. " Ayato smiles proudly.

For the longest time in his life, he had always wanted to just hold you without worrying about the eyes of the public, and as he shamelessly holds out a hand to cup your cheek, he has fulfilled one of his many wishes.

"You can run from a crowned prince, but not a king, my queen." He pulls you in for a kiss, and despite to nosy eyes of your neighbors, you let him.

And you don't have to run away again.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

The little boy is unnamed, cuz I suck with names, so comment what you would name your little love child with Ayato!

Also, I found this in my drafts, it was like from a year ago and I read it and I can't believe it's so... beautifully written?? (not tutting my own horn, I was just truly impressed that I could come up with this, I mean, you guys read my smuts >:)) Anywayyy, hope you like it!

[glamourscat]

Thoughts on Kaiser

a/n: be respectful about it please in the replies and reposts, i would like to hear your thoughts on the matter! :)

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Truth is, I struggle in writing for Kaiser. As a literature enthusiast, I have this bad habit of over analyzing things. I cannot enjoy things simply for the life of me, thus, every headcanons, every oneshot is a way for me to incorporate how I see the character through my eyes, adding little anecdotes and fun facts about them. But ultimately I base myself off of canon very strongly. I just use a different key for writing.

This is why if I had to write for him, my Kaiser would not be a “nice Kaiser”. Unlike other characters, like Rin, who in their complexity are somewhat salvageable– for how Kaiser is written and how his story has been progressing so far– I cannot see him any different than how canonically wise he is portrayed. Let me explain.  

He is the meaning of the sentence “the one abused turns into the abuser”. Objectively speaking, he had a horrible life. Abandoned by his mother, left in the hands of a father who turned abusive and neglectful. Kaiser has suffered both physical, emotional and mental abuse at the hands of the same person who was supposed to be “his guide”, his “how to” starter in life. He was left alone as a child, trying to figure and parenting himself out. 

The abuse he suffered has shaped his life from the smallest to the biggest things. From not being able to enjoy milk anymore, to how he views and relates himself to other people. We can argue that now, pushing 20, he is old enough to know different as he is surrounded by people who did not have the same upbringing as him. We can argue that because of this he should be able to tell that what he is doing, what he is saying, is wrong. 

And deep down, I believe he does understand. That he does realise it. But realising it and actually making the conscious choice to change are two separate things. But, what does this mean? It means that he is a flawed, if not tragic, individual. This does not excuse his behaviour nor justifies it in any shape or form. He does not want to be like his father yet he is doing the same things, even if toned down, to Ness. 

His actions are not miscalculated. His actions are not random. From the first moment he saw Ness on that field he knew, he sensed by just looking at him that he would be an easy target to use. Ness, who has faced his own battles, is an easy prey for Kaiser because of his good, if not naive even, heart. 

We can acknowledge that Kaiser is a victim but we cannot remove the fact he is an abuser at the same exact time. Two things, although quite different, can coexist. I do hold hope that he can change, that as the story progresses we will see a different Kaiser. But the truth is that the trauma he faced made him apathetic. His resolution, if it will come, will not be an easy one and most likely will be a life time work.

This is why I cannot physically write for him. Relationships for him are a way to gain something from, if not to control someone. He does not even know what love is. He won’t be cold on the outside but sweet once the doors are closed. He won’t be this sex god. It’s fanfiction, at the end of the day everyone is free to portray a character as they wish. For me personally, on my blog, I simply can’t find it in me to portray him any differently. Because that’s who Kaiser is. 

[oddballwriter]

A Mother's Love

Summary: Your mother would take in anybody so of course she takes in your boyfriends and treats them like they're her own.

Warnings: Mention and reference to Marc and his mom. Nothing else really. 

Author’s Snip: I saw this post talking about how Steven would love being taken in by your mom when you started dating a long time ago, but I don't know where it is or who made it so if you're seeing this thank you so much for the idea.

Notes: Our boys deserve the world <3 

I’ll shut up now. Enjoy! And don’t be afraid to request.

Word Count: 741

Taglist: @my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction

Your mother was what everyone might describe as the most nicest person to ever exist. You truly believed that she held no anger, hatred, or judgment in her body and if you ever found out that she did then it's most likely deserved. The day you see your mother yell at someone will be that hell has frozen over and gets a blizzard.

She raised you with the same morals and love that she held and was so supportive of everything you did in life regardless of if it seemed strange or different to her. She was a saint and fully of so much love.

So when you started getting serious with Marc and thus Steven and Jake, you knew that your mom would understand and welcome them in with open arms regardless of their situation and life. And that was true. You had told her about them, and when you reached the part of the relationship where they wanted to meet your family, she was so excited to meet them.

After meeting each one of them on different occasions and learning how to tell them apart, they were as good as adopted and she treated them like they were her own, proudly telling each of them "You can just call me mom now.".

Marc took a while to get used to it, on many different levels.

There was the obvious one. Your mom was so accepting and understanding of him. She was so nice and made sure everything she made was made with love and in consideration of how he liked them. At the first dinner with your family, she made a dish with an ingredient that he didn't like that much but still ate. He didn't tell her about it out of fear that she might be insulted but he told you, you then mentioned it to your mom, and the next time she made it she made a portion that didn't have the ingredient. You never said anything but you could tell that Marc was barely holding it together and trying not to cry.

You never told your mom in full detail about Marc and his mom out of respect and let him tell that story when he wanted to, you just told her that he didn't have what you and her have and that her gestures might get a reaction out of him. You also didn't know if Marc ever did tell her everything, but what you do know is that she's gotten it into him that "I'm your mom now".

You're pretty sure Steven has completely redirected his mama's boy instincts towards your mom too. He helps her cook dinner, set the table, and even helps clean the dishes. You knew that he longed for that sort of connection after being told about how he used to do that when he thought their mom was still alive and has he remembered her, so it didn't take you by complete surprise when he basically imprinted on your mom but it's still kind of funny. One time when they joined in on a family vacation your mom told him that he should put on more sunscreen, to which he then did, and then asked her if she thought that it was enough. Someday you're going to hear him on the phone with her like you were told he used to, you can feel it.

Jake is what you would call the classic son-in-law to your mom. He loves her to bits and appreciates her and her kindness, but he still messes with her a little and she does it back. They will actively pull light-hearted pranks and jabs at each other, it's the cutest thing ever. Jake has also become her and your father's unofficial handyman. Your dad does just fine fixing stuff up but they use him as an extra pair of hands. You will never forget the day your mom called him because their car broke down and your dad couldn't figure it out, and when Jake asked if they called a mechanic she said "Why call and have to pay one when you can do it for free?". That sounds like they freeload off of him but he doesn't mind. Jake likes the feeling of being wanted and being a helping hand.

Overall, life is pretty good when you have a mom who takes in your boyfriend and his alters and basically becomes their mom.

[mrcowboydeanwinchester]

🌸 Sapphicnatural Statistics Spreadsheet 🌸

link for the spreadsheet here!

hello hello! in may 2024 i completed a university essay studying the subversive shipping conventions of sapphicnatural fanfic in the Sapphicnatural Collection over on AO3, with the thesis that sapphicnatural ships are often rarepairs with little-to-no grounds in canon (e.g: a guest character/one-off character who have never met on screen), conversely to standard fanfic practice. as part of this, i gathered some statistics about the fics in the collection, got slightly carried away with the scope, and made a giant spreadsheet with 6 sheets of various data. with the project over, i thought it would be nice to share it with tumblr in case anyone else finds it helpful or just interesting!! i'm likely going to post the essay that i wrote alongside this in the next few weeks, so give me a shout too if that's something you'd like to see

to pique your interest, the spreadsheet includes:

Notes on methodology and the vocabulary used

Statistics on the popularity of each sapphicnatural ship in the collection and the frequency of characters featured

Analysis on some significiant ship factors: whether the characters have met in canon and how frequently characters re-occured in the show

'Ship potency', a new framework i'm workshopping to quantify how 'viable/strong' a ship is, specifically when measuring the makeup of femslash ships against mlm ships

i've written up some of the key points i found and some extra analysis about them under the cut, so read more if you're interested! <3

Contextual note: there are 129 fanfics in the Sapphicnatural collection.

Top 5 most popular Sapphicnatural ships:

donna/jody (10 fics)

anna/mary (7 fics)

jo/cassie (6 fics)

anna/ruby (5 fics)

kaia/claire (4 fics)

21 unique ships have 3 fics per ship. 24 unique ships have 2 fics per ship, and 52 unique ships have 1 fic per ship. So, only a quarter (25.3% of ships) have more than 3 fics written about them.

Rarepairs (and thus multishipping) are much more frequent in Sapphicnatural fanfiction than across most fandom fanfic collections which often centre around a specific ship

Have the characters met in canon?

Only 34.2% of ships involve two or more characters who have met on-screen in the show, with 59.6% of ships featuring two or more characters who have never met

4 out of the 5 top ships are between characters who met in the show's canon

BUT the most common dynamic is between two characters who could potentially meet in canon (are alive through the same seasons/at the same location (hell/heaven) at the same time) but who never meet in the show

This idea of 'canon potential' is the most exciting space for a lot of sapphicnatural writers, where finding gaps in the existing narrative and placing two similar women together to explore what their relationship could look often seems to be more inviting than those established on-screen

What is the spread of side/guest/one-off characters in ships?

A third (32.9%) of ships are made-up side/guest character

None of the characters featured are main characters (as none of the women spn characters can be realistically classed as 'main characters' lolol)

17 ships feature at least one one-off character, with 3 being one-off/one-off

Sapphicnatural fanfiction has a unique appreciation for reinforcing attention to minor characters, often as part of a feminist agenda to restore their agency

How frequently are individual characters featured?

Jo Harvelle is the most popular character in the sapphicnatural collection, involved in 15 unique ships across 34 fics. So, over a quarter (26.4%) of the fanfics in the collection feature Jo

Author's note: honestly this could be my individual impact on the collection as a jogirl oops

Mary Winchester is involved in 14 unique ships across 25 ships, so both Jo and Mary are significantly multi-shipped. Mary features twice across the top 5 ships

Sapphicnatural writers often write in service of a particular character rather than a ship - ie. exploring Jo's sapphic identity is more important than who her relationship is with

Charlie, Anna, Ruby, Claire, and Bela are the other characters involved in more than 10 fics each across the collection

Ship potency:

I explain this concept more on the sheet itself, but I essentially assign numerical values to whether a ship is (possible in) canon or not, how frequently characters re-occur in the show, and how popular a ship is respective to the fandom (as sapphicnatural is small, donna/jody is popular with 10 fics, for example)

This is to gain a measure of how 'strong' a ship is, assuming that a standard mlm ship will rank highly in most of these criteria (control variable of destiel ranks 29.5/30, whereas the average potency sum for a sapphicnatural ship is 11.8)

Across the top 5 ships, the average potency sum is 20.9

4/5 of the most popular sapphicnatural ships are in the top 5 for ship potency, with donna/jody, anna/mary, kaia/claire and anna/ruby having strong canon foundations and so high potency ratings.

jo/cassie is irregular as the third most popular ship because they only rank 14th for ship potency, as the pairing have not met on-screen in canon, and features a one-off character

Ships with higher potency sums do tend to be slightly more popular, but there isn't a clear pattern among any of the ships. I'd like to do some more work with this to fine-tune the system

Wordcount, kudos, and hits:

Average wordcount of a fic is 3,511 words. This fits with my other working theory (links to my post about my history essay on women's fiction through the feminist waves) that sapphicnatural writers utilise short stories and one-shots to most succesfully explore sapphic identities

Average kudos is 48, with a median of 13

Average hits is 353, with a median of 122

So: sapphicnatural fanfics receive a fairly low level of interaction, especially when compared to the mlm ships in the Supernatural fandom (destiel, etc). This is in-line with most fandoms and femslash as a whole - a small, dedicated community are reading and writing sapphicnatural

I didn't explore much here, but it would be interesting to go into further depth anout how many fics in the collection are written by different authors, etc

and that's it from me! if you've made it down here, you're an absolute gem and thank you for sticking with me! hope you foundd it as interesting to read through as i did to write up - and that you give the spreadsheet a nosey too if you fancy <3

[henrygrass]

9-1-1: Lone Star - Favorite Fandom Moments

Thank you @thisbuildinghasfeelings for coming up with this lovely idea, and for the tags @everlastingday @reyesstrand @carlossreaders @nisbanisba @tellmegoodbye @heartstringsduet @firstprince-history-huh @bonheur-cafe @carlos-in-glasses @chicgeekgirl89 @herefortarlos!

I haven't been part of the fandom for long; I joined somewhere at the end of October 2024, and I still consider myself new. Sometimes, I feel a little like an outsider, which has nothing to do with you all. You have been wonderful and supportive, truly!

Discovering Tarlos and Fanfiction

While I joined in October, I actually discovered 911LS in April 2024 when I, feeling bored, decided to type 'gay' into my Disney+ search. I wish I could say I saw a clip somewhere that made me look into 911LS, but nope, it was just me typing 'gay.' Who would have thought that I would fall in love with Tarlos and the whole bunch? Not me! I have never felt this way about any movie, TV show, or book—never. I binged the first four seasons and then rewatched them all right after finishing. Around July, I started wanting more. Now, I knew fanfiction existed; I just never got into it and never had the drive to read fan-created content until I came across a post on Reddit about Tarlos fanfictions. Missing Moments by @paperstorm was right there, and thus my Ao3 journey began.

Writing My Own Fics and Joining Tumblr

After reading various works, I started wanting to share my own. I had never written anything more than a couple of pages of random scenes, but I had this very clear idea in my mind for a Tarlos fic, so I just tried writing it. English is not my native language, and it was my first time writing a story in English, so my anxiety was through the roof when I decided to post the first chapter of Weep Not for Me. I kept telling myself that it was okay if people didn't like it, but then people did like it! I was elated at how welcoming the fandom is, and while Ao3 was great, joining Tumblr was the icing on the cake.

Now, she doesn't know this (I think), but the main reason this account even exists is @nisbanisba. I recognized her from Ao3, formally made an actual account, and followed her on here. Thanks to her, I got to connect with so many people! I'm always amazed by how different this corner of the internet is from my past experiences—how nice people are, even to newcomers and strangers like me.

Watching Season 5 Live

It's such a great experience to read everyone's thoughts about an episode as it airs for the first time! The reactions to scenes, the comments that add depth or make me notice things I otherwise wouldn't have, the theories, and, most of all, the giggles over shared moments like Owen heroically galloping on Thunder or TK's birthday party—so many moments that I would have otherwise experienced alone, in my own bubble, but instead I enjoyed in the dead of night at 2 AM with so many of you. Special thanks to @tellmegoodbye and @ironheartwriter for the Discord server that allows me to catch these last episodes (the link I used to use stopped working, but they saved me). While it's too soon for the show to end, I'm glad I got to enjoy this last season of a show that means so much to me with everyone here.

The show may be ending, but the characters will always remain, and I hope that most (if not all) of you will continue to share this love for 911LS—whether through gifs, fics, art, music, or anything else. I know I will.

I'm not sure who has or hasn't done this so, I'll leave an open tag!

[enby-dragoon]

Rating the IBO Gundams by how much I personally want to fuck them

Hello, I've been writing Gundam fanfiction recently and that has gotten me intensely horny. This was the result.

The following is mostly just my opinion, formed by a combination of aesthetics and role in the series.

Unless they're very different I'll be looking at only the final version of each Gundam.

1: ASW-G-08 Gundam Barbatos Lupus Rex

We're starting off strong with this one. Lupus Rex is very butch. She'd wrestle me to the ground and I'd thank her, and if I wrote down what I want her to do with that tail and those claws, I'd have to set this post to mature.

Conlusion: Very fuckable in a way that would hurt me, but sometimes you just want to be hurt you know?

2: ASW-G-11 Gundam Gusion Rebake Full City

Gusion is the kind of guy who outwardly seems extremely tough and masculine, until you talk to him and realize he has a pet goldfish and does model building as a hobby.

Unfortunately he's also a bit shy, so we'd never actually get together, neither of us would be able to work up the courage to ask.

Conclusion: Very fuckable if one of us got drunk or something. Bonus points for probably being the healthiest relationship of the bunch.

3: ASW-G-64 Gundam Flauros (Ryusei-Go)

Flauros knows exactly who he is and wants to be, and he's not afraid to be open about it.

Of all the Post-Disaster Gundams, Flauros is the only one capable of transforming and I, uh, may or may not have a clip of that saved for... Research purposes.

Also those big cannons, which in his transformed state become electromagnetic railguns!

Conclusion: Probably the sexiest one of the lineup here, if not the sexiest. I want him to fire those cannons if you get what I mean.

4: ASW-G-01 Gundam Bael

The first of these not from Tekkadan, and fittingly the first one ever built too.

This picture doesn't really do him justice, he looks much better in motion, especially those wings.

Bael is interesting, because on his own he's plenty fuckable (if a bit dedicated to duty), his problems are mostly the kinds of people that surround him.

He's definitely old money, but he genuinely works hard and got his position through merit rather than nepotism.

his friends, however, are normal rich people, and thus the worst.

Conclusion: A one night stand would work, but anything more would see his friends try and get rid of me for his reputation.

5: ASW-G-29 Gundam Astaroth Origin

Astaroth is a military veteran, which is a bit of a turn off, and his colour scheme is also too samey, he really should have added some other colours than red and grey.

Conclusion: Not my type.

6: ASW-G-32 Gundam Asmoday

Now here's a much better colour scheme, the lime green adds some much needed oomph to what would normally be a pretty drab look.

Unlike Astaroth Origin, Asmoday gives the impression of a resistance fighter, he doesn't want to fight, but he will do it for a cause he believes in, and won't slaughter children in the process.

Conclusion: Unfuckable only because we'd get too distracted discussing political theory.

7: ASW-G-35 Gundam Marchosias

Marchosias is badassery incarnate. She has a sword that can turn into a mace, and then has four extra swords on top of that.

I want to find out what else those arms can do, if you catch my drift.

She has also completely disappeared, and the cops are after her.

Conclusion: We'd fuck, and then I'd wake up to an empty bed with a note apologizing for having to leave early.

8: ASW-G-56 Gundam Gremory

Gremory is, so obsessed with being cool and edgy that it's like he never grew up past 14.

His claws look nice, but it's not enough for him to stand out, his gimmick is wearing a hood for stars sake!

Conclusion: Unfuckable

9: ASW-G-XX Gundam Vidar

Vidar is what Gremory wants to be. he's cool, he's mysterious, he's got swords in his feet, and he actually has a good colour scheme.

He's pretty obsessed though and not exactly mentally stable.

Conclusion: while a relationship is off the table, a night of rough sex is not.

10: ASW-G-66 Gundam Kimaris Vidar

And breaking into the double digits is... Vidar again.

Kimaris Vidar has all the same problems that Vidar does, and none of the good parts.

he looks like a prototype that was smashed together over the weekend.

Conclusion: No

11: ASW-G-71 Gundam Dantalion

Dantalion is... Interesting. She looks a bit plain on her own, unfinished almost.

You'd think her armor fixes that, but it makes it seem like she's compensating for something, it doesn't fit her at all, like she's trying hide away who she is beneath it all.

Conclusion: That girl needs help, and I don't think I could give it to her.

12: ASW-G-11 Gundam Gusion

This is Gusion before he pulled his life together. He's hanging with a bad crowd, takes credit from others work, and is one step away from being a nazi.

He's an incel, essentially.

Conclusion: No woman wants to be in a two mile radius of him, me included.

13: ASW-G-04 Gundam Gamigin

He has a fucking revolver-hammer-glaive and a minigun.

This guy would smash down the door of a nazi and threaten to beat him to death.

Unfortuneately, he's also an enforcer for a very rich family.

Conclusion: I could fix him.

14: ASW-G-16 Gundam Zepar

He pretends to be a knight, fighting for justice and all that, but secretly is just the worst.

Also, he's definitely a crypto bro. Instant turn off.

Conclusion: I'll send you an NFT of my fucking dick, bitch.

15: ASW-G-48 Gundam Haagenti

This girl is ready to fight, and she doesn't have to stop being feminine to do that.

She would, however, definitely be a terf and call me a slur.

Conclusion: I don't have a degradation kink.

16: ASW-G-54 Gundam Murmur

In an alternate universe where I was a rich cis woman, we'd have an affair while our husbands were away which would scandalize the business world.

Hower, I am a disabled trans woman.

Conclusion: She's more likely to call the cops on me than go down on me.

17: ASW-G-61 Gundam Zagan

Zagan works out a lot, and brags a bunch about being a professional athlete.

However, he is actually a loser who is ontologically incapable of winning.

Conclusion: Normally not into such muscular men, but I'd make an exception if he dropped the bragging.

And that's all the IBO Gundams I could find ranked by how fuckable they are.

If you disagree with this list remember: My opinions are objective fact and anyone who disagrees with me is wrong.

[zottower]

/!\ Warning : this post is for people who are talking about torturing blorbos, it can ruin a quiet and sweet Christmas mood /!\

This is ''this'' moment of the month when I should just stay quietly in my corner, draw my blorbos gently cuddling without too much clothes on them and nicely post it under a cut to avoid upsetting people, just in case … But I have to finish to draw something for the FF4 week. And posts from my mutuals are about torturing and shaming blorbos. What the hell is happening to you people ? There are only 12 days left before Christmas !

Of course, the only way for me to counterattack this violence is to imagine absurd erotic scenarios. Yes, that's my way of dealing with this kind of thing. When you blame him for being a war criminal, I imagine him sacrificing his dignity to the lustful appetites of the Vampire Lady in the Sealed Cave to save his team (and surprisingly it's the most exciting struggle in his life). When fanfictions with Rosa admitting that her love for him is clouded are published, I imagine him with memory loss in the Dissidia world, cheating unknowingly on her with the gorgeous girls from the whole franchise with a mixture of puzzling shame and unexpected fulfillment. When I see reblogged posts praising torture of blorbos with lots of blood and suffering, I imagine him in this lunar dungeon where you can find these monsters which are body parts of colossus (hands, feet, heads), and encountering a giant floating penis whose attacks consist in slapping and covering the team with cursed semen, thus bewitching them with agonising horniness which leads them into a whole night of debauchery in the cottage, a crazy orgy that will still make them blush with embarassement and lust thirty years later. What, you think these are horrible pictures ? Well, you deserve it ! You started it ! You made me picture my blorbo covered with shame and blood, now let's think of him covered with … some other fluids . You're so lucky I don't know how to write fanfictions and that I don't have the time to draw p.rn comics, because the fandom's reputation would be irremediably ruined. … Could we just all … calm down a bit ? Drink chamomile tea with tiny christmas biscuits or something ?

[queenlua]

what would you recommend as a first Fire Emblem game to play? do i just pick up the latest one, or does an older one capture the True Fire Emblem Experience(tm) better? sorta like Super Metroid still being my absolute favorite of that series…

iiiiiinteresting question, huh! it probably depends somewhat on what you think you'll like / care about the most in a Fire Emblem game?

my personal first FE game was Sacred Stones & i think that's still a really good place to start. the spritework is *gorgeous*; i personally think it's the visual peak of the series. it's got the core "old-school" FE gameplay but with lots of nice quality-of-life improvements (as compared to e.g. something like FE4 or FE7), and the story is my second-favorite in the series after the Tellius games—just a good core emotional core with really well-drawn characters and support conversations.

the drawback is that it's on GBA, so if you don't have one of those lying around (or some other handheld to play it on), you're stuck playing it on an emulator on a computer, which i think hampers the enjoyment somewhat—like, i played a lot of that game in "in-between" moments, while on the bus, etc, and it was really excellent for that. also: it's on the easier side! which i didn't mind; i find the FE game loop enjoyable both when i'm just cruising through baddies AND when i'm having to tightly & rigorously strategize every move. but i know a couple people who stopped playing because they found it too easy & got bored

i do think the Gamecube/Wii FEs (Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn, aka the Tellius games) hold up really well. obviously i am a little insane about them *stares at fanfiction output* and thus clearly biased, but the character writing is shockingly good & rich (sometimes despite itself, lol), and the gameplay's real fun! reasonably challenging while not making you want to throw your controller across the room (unless you opt into lunatic you mad lad!). i do think they're a little ugly though lol. rip. also, if you like PoR enough to play RD, you'll find RD... uneven. it's uneven in ways that mostly delight me, but like, yeah it's suffering a little from "we're telling like four different storylines with a HUGE cast & jerking you around between them a bit" so it interrupts the usual "smooth progression of your carefully-curated army" gameflow for something more like "wow, hope you're looking forward to saying BYE FELICIA to all your old dudes & putting down a random rebellion in Crimea for exactly five chapters & then doing something else entirely."

those games are my personal faves though and. i will always tell people to start with them. in principle. but you should decide if you trust me lol

a WHOLE lot lot of people got started with Awakening, and the core gameplay in that one is VERY fun. about halfway through, if you're sufficiently clever at assigning abilities, the game becomes a little too easy to "break," but it's an enjoyable ride the whole time. it also introduced a LOT of the quality-of-life improvements people now take for granted in modern FEs (you can choose to disable permadeath; UX is much nicer; etc). so if dealing with some old-school cruft is unpalatable to you, you'll definitely want Awakening or newer.

unfortunately the writing in Awakening is, uh, not great, lol. there's two generations of characters you're playing as, and the first generation is just... not very interesting! very one-note and tropey! storyline is nonsense! the second-generation characters are a little more fun but overall i found the main plot's incoherence + the plethora of dull characters meant that i found the story very forgettable.

i think the writing in Conquest/Birthright is similarly weak but i do have to say, if you want to powergame and optimize stats and get REALLY SWEATY GAMEPLAY NERD about it, Conquest can't be beat. best map design in the series, extremely challenging, etc

and then there's the massive fandom juggernaut known as Three Houses lol. of the "modern" FEs, this game contains the most Stuff I Like About Fire Emblem. the storyline's a lil jankier than e.g. the Tellius storyline, but still has plenty of fun stuff to chew on, and even if you don't some of the 3-4 storylines offered, there's a pretty strong chance you'll resonate with at least one of them. and the gameplay is *fun*, lots of QoL improvements, reasonably snappy...

...but it does have a somewhat bloated, "AAA-gamification" feel. visiting the monastery between EVERY SINGLE FUCKING CHAPTER to do "home base"-y stuff gets old fast. and also, the gameplay starts to drag some as you go along... a campaign takes like 40-50hrs iirc, and near the end, i usually find myself going like "jfc i don't WANT to do these three skirmish battles before i go onto the next one... but i need to because it's the Objectively Optimal Thing To Do... why is this game making playing it so annoying," lol. also, the writing, while reasonably solid... could've been reduced by like 50% and probably been *stronger*? most "old-school" FE games only had 3-5 support conversations per unit, and that was generally enough to give a good sense of the character without Overwhelming With Pointless Chatter. but so many characters in Three Houses have *so much more* text than that and it just starts feeling like.. a chore... to go through... especially when in practice i won't even like all those conversations... so yeah idk

tl;dr if you have slightly old-school sensibilities, get Sacred Stones; if you want a "modern" feel, get Awakening or Three Houses; if you want to make Lua Internetperson happy, personally, you should grab Path of Radiance :P

[ashensgrotto]

Protective (Part 2 of 'Am I Feeling Love')

Characters: Azul Ashengrotto x F!Reader

Word Count: 5,328

Part 1 Part 2 (You Are Here) Part 3a Part 3b

I had someone ask if I was going to do a continuation of ‘Am I Feeling Love?’ that was orinally written on my main blog @kiy-anna after I rewrote the story to fit the tags better. I was mulling over the idea and my poor sea-rotted brain decided “Screw it, Mari! Just write the damn thing!”

It took a bit to figure out how I wanted to execute the process, but I’m honestly more curious to see what you guys think as well. Also, don’t forget, I have a poll that ends in a few days that will help me decide what sort of fanfiction I will be posting going forward, so please vote! It ends on Wednesday!

Warnings: yandere behavior, beatings, manipulative behavior, and foul language

***

The world is cruel, the world is wicked

It’s I alone whom you can trust in this whole city, I am your only friend

How can I protect you, girl, unless you always stay in here

Away in here…

***

Azul tapped the desk he sat behind impatiently. 

For the past hour, he had been cooped up in the VIP Room of the Mostro Lounge dealing with those poor unfortunate souls that sought him out - the pathetic fools making deals with the octomer as his patience thinned by the minute. All he wanted at this point was to get out of his office and watch you.

You, the magicless guest of Octavinelle, had been living in the guest rooms of the dorm for a little over two months and were working within the Mostro Lounge to pay for said room - not that you needed to, it was merely a lie so Azul could keep tabs on you. The other students of the Octavinelle dorm did not completely understand his reasoning; some thought that he was merely being a nice housewarden to a poor soul with no one else to turn to, others that knew the housewarden too well thought that he was using you as a way to lure in unsuspecting victims for his contracts. 

Whatever their thinking was, only Azul and his vice-warden, Jade, along with the problem twin, Floyd, knew the real reason as to why you were kept close by. 

Soulmates were rare and finding that ‘other half’ is like the story of the mermaid princess and her longing to be with a human. It’s a rare occurrence that only happens once in a millennium if not longer. Many times, people - humans, fae, and merfolk alike - often settle for someone they are content and happy with, someone that isn’t their other half. Azul, at the time he first learned about soulmates, wanted nothing more in the world than to find them - to have that one person who would see him for himself and not the pathetic octo-twerp he had been called during his youth; thus, he began working on himself, his powers increasing as he lured his victims in and stole away their most treasured gifts - a beautiful singing voice, powerful magic… all of it. 

But even with the changes and his new found strength, Azul had no luck in finding the other part of his soul - that was until about two months ago when you first appeared in Twisted Wonderland.

Azul had been ecstatic the first few weeks after you had taken up residence in his dorm; consistently coming to check on you, making sure you weren’t too tired, asked if you had eaten… and sometimes just watching you from the darkness of the lounge as you shifted from table to table, taking orders and bringing food and drinks to the guests. Nearly two weeks into working at the lounge, the clientele number increased slightly - making Azul at first wonder what had happened. 

Turns out, some of the students who had frequented the lounge had made mention of you in passing and how you were nicer compared to the other staff members - hence the students came to the lounge to, not just get a glimpse of you, but to also shoot a chance at getting you as their waitress. Jade and Floyd, who were consistently in the lounge and operated as Azul’s eyes and ears - especially when it came to you - informed Azul of what was going on. Hence, Azul decided to restrict your hours to only working when he, Jade, or Floyd was. When you asked if you had done something wrong, Azul merely rested a hand on your shoulder, eyes shining with a possessive kindness, as he explained there were certain students who had been watching you - and he was only doing this for your protection. After all, it wasn’t like he could monitor you twenty-four-seven - he still had his grades to keep up and you weren’t a student, technically.

It worked momentarily, but then Azul was back to the drawing board again when Jade had mentioned Riddle Roseheart’s overblot in passing.

Turns out, you had asked Azul for a day off the same day Riddle went berserk. Azul had asked what for, but you merely said you wanted to explore the school grounds, specifically the rose gardens that surrounded Heartslabyul. He knew that you had ‘made friends’ with two freshmen from the dorm - Deuce Spade and Ace Trappola, both who had been collared by Riddle because of their bad behavior. If Azul could work his will, he would have locked you up in his own room and thrown away the key to prevent anyone from looking at you or speaking to you - but he couldn’t find the strength to do so. Even so, he had agreed, allowing you to go to the unbirthday party that was randomly held on different days during the year, with the promise that you would come back as soon as it was over and not a minute later.

Turns out, the ‘unbirthday party’ had been a lie since Deuce and Ace both had challenged Riddle for his position as headwarden and you wanted to go to support them in their fight. However, Ace made a valid point about the rules that had been pressed upon the students of Heartslabyul and practically turned the whole dorm against Riddle - which caused his temper to flare up and the overblot to happen. Luckily, you didn’t get hurt during the fight between Riddle, Deuce, Ace, Trey, Cater, Crowley, and the pyromaniac demon cat-weasel, Grim - but you had been the one to smack sense back into Riddle with a slap to the face when he had gone after you next. 

And it was because of that slap and knocking some sense back into the headwarden of Heartslabyul that those who heard about what happened began to flock to the Mostro Lounge in search of you once more.

Azul pressed his face to hands and rubbed at his skin hard enough to turn it red as he thought and thought. What was he going to do? He couldn’t let anyone else get close to you! You were his! His soulmate! You should be putting your entire focus on him and him alone! Was that too much to ask?!

“What’s with the face?” the unwelcomed voice of Leona reached Azul’s ears as the octomer sat up and righted himself.

“What’s it to you? Nevermind, I’m busy at the moment, Leona. If you wish to speak with me, you have to make an appointment…”

“I already did, did you forget?” The beastman prince strolled into the room and plopped on the couch, arms dangling behind the rest and feet landing on the table before him, “I need to make a contract with you for a potion.”

Azul shifted his glasses into place before reaching into his desk and pulling out the familiar golden paper he used for his contracts, his pen twirling in his fingers as it shifted into a fishbone and began to write, “What sort of potion?”

“An enhancement potion,” Leona answered, side eyeing the Octavinelle headwarden before explaining, “With the Spelldrive Tournament coming up in a few weeks, and with all of these little mishaps that have been going around the campus lately, it would be a shame if something were to befall a particular headwarden we know too well.”

Azul did not need Leona to explain any further nor to question who he was referring to.

It was no secret that the Diasomia dorm had taken first place in the Spelldrive Tournament for the past two years straight - practically overrunning Savanaclaw who usually held that spot. The dorm’s success had been due to the new headwarden - Malleus Draconia - who had taken up the position the year before Azul arrived at Night Raven. Malleus was a dragon fae and one of the top ranking mages in Twisted Wonderland - so powerful that he alone was the reason for Diasomia’s success, making ninety percent of the scores by the dorm’s team. He probably would be the only player if Crowley had allowed it. 

Many of the other headwardens were disgusted by the losses and damage that had been dealt to their teams over the course of the past two years - even Azul had been winded by Draconia once and had no desire to be the dragon’s dinner again; due to this, the headmage had made the offer to place Draconia in the hall of fame, which would prevent him from participating in any more of the Spelldrive matches this year and next year. At first, all of the headwardens were in agreement - but Leona argued that it wasn’t a fair fight, claiming that they were acting like a bunch of cubs. Azul had twitched at that remark, but agreed that the fight wasn’t fair - as much as he hated it, he agreed that Leona did have a point about allowing Draconia to continue; he wanted to prove that Draconia wasn’t invincible nor was he immune, he wanted to prove that anyone could beat the Diasomia headwarden - even if it was just another individual.

Azul adjusted himself in his chair, thoroughly invested in the deal now, “If we’re thinking the same thing, Leona, you must be willing to offer something in agreement of equal price. How about that speciality spell you’re so fond of? You barely use it.”

“‘King’s Roar’?” Leona arched a brow in his direction, “I may not use it, but it does come in handy from time to time. How about my nephew instead?”

Azul twisted his features in disgust, “No thank you. I’m not Rumplestiltskin, nor a babysitter.”

Leona laughed, his voice shaking the settee for a moment, “I was only joking, Faleena would never allow me to hear the end of it. Well, then… perhaps a little advice on that soulmate of yours?”

Azul nearly dropped his pen, surprise appearing on his normally calm face before his pale blue eyes narrowed at Leona menacingly, “What do you know about that?”

“It’s not a surprise given your behavior as of late,” Leona curled his fingers inward as his gaze shifted toward them as if to inspect his nails, “Besides, I heard from a few of my dorm members that frequent here that you’ve been keeping a pretty close eye on our magicless guest.”

‘The sneaky lionfish,’ Azul sneered at Leona, feeling his temperature rising as his gloved hands curled inward.

“Personally, I have nothing against wanting to keep (Y/N) close,” Savanaclaw’s headwarden continued, “She’s cute and pretty, nevermind that fact that she’s a hard worker and kind - sucks big time that she’s a female. She probably would’ve done well in Night Raven if she was a boy.”

“What’s the point you’re getting at?” Azul seethed.

“Merely that everywhere she goes, she is welcomed. (Y/N) has made a few friends without your knowledge by working the floors of the Mostro Lounge. Every time she shares a smile, a laugh, or anything - someone undoubtedly falls for her charm.”

Azul leaned back in his chair, rubbing at his chin in thought. Leona had a point - (Y/N) may have been his precious pearl, his soulmate, but she was also well liked by any and all who encountered her. Deuce, Ace, and Grim were just the stepping stones, Cater, Trey, and Riddle also fell in line with her presence and kind words - and even many of the Octavinelle dorm that worked alongside her in the lounge had gotten close with the magicless guest. However, the students of the Octavinelle dorm knew that Azul had marked (Y/N) as his - those that did not understand the process, such as the humans of Heartslabyul, would always be a threat to the octomer’s happiness; they might even go as far as to ask the headmage to allow (Y/N) to stay in their dorm!

Azul clenched his hand tighter at the thought, ‘No! She’s mine! I will not allow anyone to touch nor taint her perfection or soul.’

The headwarden of Octavinelle leaned forward, fingers crossing together as his elbows rested on the desk and his chin on his folded hands, “I’m willing to make a deal with you, Kingscholar.”

Leona arched a brow as Azul continued in a dark voice, “(Y/N) is very important to me, the other half of my soul - as you know. Her recent encounter with Riddle Rosehearts’ overblot has left me worried that she might attempt to leave Octavinelle. I know that I promised I would help her return home, but I need to keep her close by in order to do so. Soulmates are rare - whether they are humans, beastmen, faes, or mers - and they need to be kept close to each other. I do not want to put (Y/N) on a leash nor lock her up, but she is far too free for my liking. I will create the spell enhancement potion for you in exchange for your help with (Y/N)’s freedom.”

“What is it you have in mind?”

“... Merely a little scare that will show her how cruel and twisted this world can be.”

***

It was a few days later when the plan was set in motion.

You had been helping with the set up for the vendors surrounding the colosseum where the Spelldrive tournament was set to take place in a few days; setting up tents and tables, covering areas with cloths and helping move heavy objects. You wiped at your brow as a bit of sweat dribbled down before a cloth was pressed to your face.

“You’re working too hard,” the familiar voice of your employer pulled your attention to him, a smile appearing on your face as Azul’s lips quirked into a grin.

He was dressed in the headwarden’s dorm uniform - a black tuxedo with a white dress shirt and purple tie and the dorm’s scarf hanging loosely around his neck, a pale gray overcoat that hung on his shoulders, and a black fedora perched on his head. He was leaning against the silver tipped cane with the large octopus on the handle - the mage stone held securely between its silver tentacles. It was strange to see for someone who was working on setting things up, but Azul was in charge of overseeing everything and making sure everything was where it needed to be and making changes as needed, using maps and planograms as reference points. 

“Well, I always believed in the phrase ‘working hard or hardly working,’” you answer, taking the offered handkerchief and wiping away the sweat and grime from your features.

“Quite an interesting phrase,” Azul nodded, resting his hands on his hips, “Care to enlighten me on the meaning?”

You shrug, “I’m not really sure, honestly. People in my world use it for small talk or to point out a person’s laziness. For example, if someone wasn’t doing anything, someone might ask ‘working hard or hardly working?’”

Azul hummed in thought, “I suppose it is a good phrase to use - maybe it might actually get Floyd to do something for a change… however, as I’m sure you know, that eel will whatever whenever he wants to, regardless of what I tell him.”

I giggle, nodding in agreement, “Yes, and half the time he dumps his work on his twin - poor Jade.”

“Jade’s used to it,” Azul waved his hand dismissively, “but speaking of ‘dumping things onto others,’ I hate to ask this of you, but I do need you to do something for me.”

“Hmm? What is it, Azul?”

“I have an order waiting to be picked up at the school store. You’re familiar with Mr. S’s mystery shop, yes?”

You nod with a smile, “Yep, I’ve been there a few times.”

“Good, I need to go there and get the parcel. It has a few items that we’ll need for the Lounge and for the tournament. I would get it myself, but I have to keep things going here and Jade and Floyd are working on their own projects for the tournament. Would you be willing to go pick it up for me?”

“Why not have it delivered to the dorm?”

“It’s easier to travel to the store instead of going to the dorm and back. I had intended on getting it earlier, but it completely slipped my mind until now.”

You frowned a bit as something crawled up your back and tingled behind your head, a feeling that something didn’t sit right with the whole situation. However, Azul had slipped to your side as his arm came around your shoulders and pulled you close enough for you to smell the expensive cologne he always wore.

“Please, (Y/N), it’s very important that you do this for me. I’ll reward you, too, for your efforts - a drink of your choice from Mr. S’s shop or from the Mostro Lounge, on the house. Besides, you’ve been working so hard as of late that you need a little bit of a break. Take this as an opportunity to stretch your legs and cool down a bit.”

A refreshing beverage was starting to sound good. You had been working in the sun for a while like everyone else that was part of the setting up, never mind that your bottle of water had been drained a while ago and you had yet the opportunity to refill it. Perhaps just going to get the parcel for Azul as well as a small drink wouldn’t be so bad.

“Ok, do you mind if I finish up here?”

“Of course,” Azul pulled away before resting a hand on your head and messing your hair, “but as soon as you finish, please go and get the package. I need it as soon as possible.”

You nodded in understanding before turning back to your tasks as Azul walked away.

***

The parcel wasn’t big, thankfully, but it was awkward - an odd shape that looked spherical, but was flat with pointed edges. 

‘I wonder what’s on here?’ you shake the package gently as you walk away from Sam’s shop, heading back toward the colosseum. You discard the thought, tucking it under your arm and taking your time, enjoying the shade the trees provided and the gentle cool breeze of autumn ruffling the changing leaves of the school campus and pulling some off and away from their homes. The colors reminded you of home - how the trees in the parks would shift from greens to yellows, reds, and oranges before fading into dark browns. It was strange to see all the trees do the same thing here - it made you wonder if Twisted Wonderland celebrated holidays like your world did.

You were so busy admiring the colors and deep in thought that you didn’t see where you were going and ran into the back of a very large student.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” you smile apologetically, “I guess I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

“Well, then, watch it,” the student growled.

“Hey man, look what she did to your jacket,” another student pointed at the sleeve of his uniform’s coat.

The charcoal gray coat that all of the students were required to wear was typically a heavy cotton and ridiculously hard to damage - however, low and behold, one of the pointed ends of Azul’s mystery order had put a decently sized tear in the student’s coat. The tear revealed the golden yellow of the student’s vest, traveling from his mid back to just the top of his waist. You covered your mouth in shock as the student took his jacket off and examined the tear, rage budding on his features.

“You stupid - look what you did!”

“I’m sorry! It was an accident -” you try to explain.

“Do you know how much this cost?” the student shook the coat at you, “Now I have to buy a whole new one!”

“Just make her pay for it,” another student spoke up, crossing his arms over his chest.

“P-Pay?”

“You damaged it, didn’t you? So, you’re the one who's going to buy me a new replacement.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have any money…” you bit your lip as you felt your heart rate jump up, clutching Azul’s package close to you, “I-If you give me a moment, I’ll go talk to my employer and see-”

“Oh, no way,” the student grabbed the front of your borrowed button down shirt, “You’re going to pay for the jacket one way or another.”

Something within you snapped, you had tried to be reasonable with these three and had apologized for the trouble; however, it seemed now that you could only run and hope that you got to Azul before these guys did something to you. Your face hardened as you gave the student holding you a kick to the groin with your knee, the student releasing you as he groaned in pain at the sudden attack. Once you were out of his clutches, you took off in the opposite direction as the three students shouted at you and chased after.

You clutched the package close to your chest as you bolted into the school and down a corridor, staying close to the windows, hoping for someone to see you as you shouted out for help. Your cries echoed off the high ceiling, alerting a few students and staff members - but it seemed everyone elected to ignore your screams for help as the three pursuers gradually came closer and closer. 

You threw yourself around a corner which led out into the courtyard to throw them off.

Unfortunately, an uneven stone caught on your shoe, causing you to stumble forward and land on the ground, Azul’s package flying from your hands and landing with a sickening crack against the side of the wishing well. You tried to stand to move, but something heavy came down on your ankle, a loud snapping sound and a cry of agony echoing across the lawn. 

“You stupid bitch! All you had to do was pay up,” the student’s voice from earlier came in your ear as a large fist grabbed a handful of your (h/c) hair, pulling your head up to look into his rage filled eyes, “but nooo, you just had to kick me then run and tried getting help.”

“I think punishment is in order - after all, what can someone without magic and a broken ankle do now?”

Something heavy collided with your face as tears welled up from the punch, the pain coming again from the opposite side. Your hair was released before you felt a heavy boot collide with your stomach as you were kicked across the lawn like a football, landing a few feet away from the wishing well. You tried to sit up with a groan, your arm coming around to clutch your side as you spat out blood. Your entire body was shaking and was sore - you were beginning to wonder if they had hit any vital organs. A large hand came forward and grabbed at your hair again, pulling you up as you cried out.

“Piece of fuckin’ shit, you don’t know when to give up, do you?”

You bit your lip, fighting to hold onto consciousness and the tears that were slowly slipping from your eyes. You were scared and were still wishing beyond a doubt that someone would find you and stop these three from beating you up more. However, the wish was short lived when you were dropped to the ground, causing you to wince as more pain came from your side. 

“Time to say good-bye,” your eyes widened as you pulled your arms up toward your face, the student rearing his foot back with his aim clear in his dangerous eyes.

“Care to explain yourselves?” a familiar voice asked, stopping the students as their eyes widened in fear.

You peered out between your fingertips as the familiar figure of Azul came forward, his dorm overcoat fluttering behind him in the breeze as his walking cane tapped against the dirt. His face looked difficult to read as he came forward, eyes sharp and filled with rage.

“H-Headwarden Azul,” the student put his foot down and backed away from you, “W-We thought you were over by the colosseum.”

“I was - I was looking for my errand runner,” Azul’s gaze shifted between you and the three students before repeating, “Care to explain yourselves?”

“I-It’s nothing, honestly,” one of the students visibly shuddered.

“Y-yeah, just a m-misunderstanding is all!” the third student smiled wobbly.

“A misunderstanding, hm?” Azul cocked a brow, eyeing the students, before lifting his walking stick and tapping the head against his gloved palm like a baseball player would, “I will only ask one last time. What. Did. You. Do.”

“S-she destroyed my jacket!” the first student tried to explain, “She wouldn’t pay up for a replacement so-”

“So you decided to attack a defenseless angelfish who is under my protection?” Azul snickered, “How very foolish and pathetic…”

He snapped his fingers as Jade and Floyd appeared before the students. Azul came over and lifted you into his arms, “I’m taking her to the infirmary to get patched up - Jade, Floyd, have some fun.”

You ducked your head close to Azul’s chest, a headache slowly forming as he carried you away. You swallowed and began to open your mouth to speak, but Azul hushed you.

“Rest, (Y/N). You’re safe - there is nothing to be said nor to say. Just relax - I won’t let anything harm you.”

***

You must have fallen asleep because when you opened your eyes, you were in your room back in Octavinelle’s dorms. Azul was there, resting in a chair beside your bed with his arms folded over his chest and eyes closed. You shifted slightly, which caused the octomer to open his eyes - blinking rapidly before they fell on you as a smile crossed his face.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, standing and coming to sit beside you.

“Sore, tired,” you answered.

“That is typical after a fight,” Azul nodded, handing you a glass of water that had been perched on your bedside table, helping you to drink the cool liquid.

You smiled as he returned the glass to its spot before your face fell, “I’m so so sorry, Azul.”

“Whatever for, (Y/N)? You did nothing wrong.”

“Your package - you entrusted me to get it, but it probably got broken after that fight…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Azul’s fingertips curled under your chin, lifting it up to force you to look at him, “I’m not going to be concerned about a package that was damaged when you - someone I’ve been tasked to keep an eye on - was hurt severely. You’re very lucky. But, I do need to ask, what in the world happened? What did you do?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. I… I accidentally ran into him because I was taking my time and admiring the changing colors of autumn, not paying attention to where I was going. When I ran into him, one of the parcel’s sharp points must’ve caught onto his coat and when I pulled away, it tore it.”

“NRC’s required suits are relatively expensive, so I can see why he was upset,” Azul nodded thoughtfully, “However, why did he attack you? You could’ve come to me and explained you needed money for a replacement jacket - ”

“I tried telling him that, but he wouldn’t listen and grabbed me. I kicked him so I could get away and was intending on going straight to you, but he…” you didn’t want to say anymore, the memory of what happened only a few hours ago was still painful in your mind.

Sensing your distress, Azul cooed to you, pulling you into his arms as his head landed on top of your head, hands running up and down your spine gently. You sniffled into his suit coat, hand coming up and gripping the back of his jacket, feeling the familiar warmth and comfort that was  Azul Ashengrotto.

“Shh… it’s alright, (Y/N)... you’re safe now,” Azul murmured, his voice soft and soothing in your ear, “I know, I know… I can only imagine how afraid you were…”

You nod as you sniffle more.

“It’s alright, though… I’m right here beside you. Those monsters can never touch you again… but you have to promise me something.”

You look up at him as his eyes shine with pain and… something else.

“This world is cruel and wicked, (Y/N),” Azul reached up, resting a gloved hand against your cheek and wiping away the tears that gathered in your eyes, “It’s only I you can trust in this place - Jade and Floyd as well - your only friends. We can’t protect you if you are away from our sight, so you must stay here in Octavinelle - where we can always be within an arm’s reach.”

“B-But, what about the others? Deuce? Ace? Grim? Surely they…”

“(Y/N)... did they come to help you during your darkest hour? Who was there when you were getting beaten by those mongrels?” Azul asked, eyes narrowing slightly, “I did not see Deuce or Ace. Nor did I see Grim or Trey… the twins did not see any of them nor Riddle or Cater either. Who came for you?”

“...You did.”

“Exactly,” Azul nodded, “I will always be there for you. Jade will always be there. Floyd, as strange as it may seem, will also always be there.”

You nod slowly, tucking yourself against his chest as you realize the dark truth. They had abandoned you, left you to fend for yourself while you were getting hurt - it was Azul that came and found you and it was Jade and Floyd that put the trio in their place. The three of them were the only ones who cared about it - showing you love and support through these last two months in this strange, dark, twisted world. Tears fell faster as you sniffled under the calming strokes of Azul’s fingertips.

If you had happened to look up at that point, you would have seen the octomer grinning devilishly down at you, his eyes of pale blue filled with possessive love and adoration. 

***

Azul ventured out later after you had fallen asleep with the twins in tow. The trio met with Leona in the lounge of Savanaclaw’s dorm, the octomer pulling out a vial of strange green liquid.

“As promised,” the headwarden of Octavinelle presented the vial to Leona, “for services well rendered.”

“This is it?” Leona snatched the vial, inspecting it closely, “I thought there’d be more.”

“Too much and the power will cause the user to overblot,” Jade explained, “We don’t want a repeat incident.”

Leona hummed in agreement, looking back toward the trio, “Speaking of which, what do you intend on doing since you hurt three of my best players with that little incident?”

“If anything, it’s compensation for us after what you did to three of our best players,” Azul let out a shrug, “but remember, Leona - there’s a much bigger fish to fry in the ocean that has nothing to do with me or the twins nor anyone in Octavinelle.”

Leona grumbled, turning his head, “Ruggie!”

The hyena appeared out of nowhere, landing next to Leona with a soft thump, “You called?”

“Take this,” Leona handed the vial to him, “On the day of the Tournament, you know what to do.”

Ruggie snickered with a nod.

“Well, we’ll be going,” Azul smiled, turning away, “pleasure doing business with you, Kingscholar.”

“And I hope that you live a long life with that soulmate of yours.”

“Oh, after that little incident - I doubt she’ll be going anywhere… at least for a while.” 

***

You do not comprehend (You are my one defender)

Why invite their calumny and consternation, stay in here

Be faithful to me, grateful to me

Do as I say, obey

And stay in here…

[oddballwriter]

The Second

Summary: After going on an unplanned adventure with your best friend and crush, his host, and his host's wife to stop the end of the world, and ending up in an accidental love triangle... square...whatever shape it is, you go back to your hometown to clear your mind. It's a great success for you, helping you reconnect with your childhood friend and even bring him back to continue the fun and show him your life in London. But unbeknownst to you, it seems like it might just cause a rift that is born on one side of the triangle.

Warnings: Love triangle and unrequited feelings. The reader is referred to using she/her. Angst, it's soft but it's there. Third-wheeling. I can't think of anything else but I feel like there's more, if there is just tell me. 

Author’s Snip: This is sort of a pilot for a series idea that I have that involves all kinds of love shape situations, rivalry, and dragging friends into all kinds of avatar shenanigans on accident. So if you guys like this, let me know so that I can prep and have it ready for writing and planning.

Notes: This is not proofread before posting, if there are errors blame Grammarly for not catching it. I might fix them later.  

I’ll shut up now. Enjoy! And don’t be afraid to request.

Word Count: 2,892

Tag List: @my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction

What an adventure you just went on. It all feels so unreal when you even try and think about it. Even as you stare up at the ceiling above your bed you find it hard to really digest fully.

Your good friend Steven turned out to be an alter for a person with DID who's named Marc Spector, whom you had not met, ever, throughout you and Steven's close friendship. In which Marc is the avatar and fist of justice for the Egyptian god Khonshu and was living his life while Steven was not fronting, unbeknownst to Steven, and has been playing a game of keep-away with a cult and their leader for a scarab. And you ended up finding all that out when some members of the cult kidnapped you to intimidate Steven and Marc. By the way, Marc is married and has been married, to a woman named Layla. And so you had to go on this whole adventure with all three of them to stop the end of the world, or something, nearly dying on several occasions, and now it's done apparently. Crisis averted. Also, there is a fucking third one.

You're sure that if you told someone outside of your journal and your new group of friends about this, then you would be thrown into a psychiatric hospital in record time.

And that isn't even mentioning all the complicated feelings you're having right now about the love triangle, that only you are aware of. Because of course, you're in a love triangle that the two other people have no idea exists. It's complicated. It was a little complicated at the start, and now it's so much more complicated because now there's another person involved.

Scratch that, four people involved. This is a love square.

Fuck it, now that Jake's here it might actually be a love pentagon now!

Either way, it all has to do with your feelings towards Steven. You had developed them pretty early on in your friendship with Steven because you just so happened to fall into your type. Dork, sweet, funny, and polite guys were your weakness. You tried to fight them off, not wanting to ruin the friendship that you honestly valued with Steven. But he just had this aura and energy that had your heart like a moth to a flame. Some might call it a slow burn. You'd say that it all was fast. But the warmth went to heat that got painful when you found out about Marc and Layla, and thus Steven and Layla.

You're not mad at Layla. Of course not! Why would you? She was there first, technically. It feels bad to say that. Both because you'd have to try and snuff out the feelings that you have, but also because it sounds wrong. It sounds like Steven's an object to be won instead of a person with his own thoughts and feelings. And you never once saw him like that. He was Steven. Nice, sweet, funny Steven.

You knew you needed to move on, even if it hurt. You know you don't have the guts and nerve to be 'the other person' even if you got the chance to be. It would be disrespectful to Layla, and Layla's a great woman. You settle on going back home, to your hometown, to see family and friends in hopes that it'll distract you, maybe even help you get over it if you're lucky. You call up your family who gladly accept the idea and will set up the room that you'll stay in by the time you get there. With that, you pack your bags, get ready for the trip, and head off.

You don't tell Steven that you're leaving to anywhere at first until you're just about to leave, figuring that if he tries to visit you and you're not there he'll assume someone else has kidnapped you and panic. You just send him a simple "As a heads up I'll be out of town for a while. I need a break.", at some point in your trip heading towards your hometown he texts you back with a single "Okay. Sounds nice.".

As it turns out, going around old loved ones really does help your blues. Matter of fact it seems like everyone from your life here heard the news that you'd be spending a few weeks in town and all got together to see you. Your uncle and dad actually threw a little family cookout so that everyone can come say hi to you.

Everyone had questions for you. What's London like? What have you been doing? How's life going over there?

Of course, you can't tell them about all the recent events and you also don't want to ruin your good mood by talking about Steven like you probably would have if this were a trip not spawned from him, in a sense. Overall, everyone's just happy you're back regardless.

You meet a really old face amidst the crowd of family and friends who've assembled. Samson. Sammy. God, you'd know his face anywhere and you know he'd know yours too. You and Sammy have been best friends since diapers. Your moms were friends. Apparently, the story goes that your mom and dad were at the courthouse waiting in line to sign the marriage papers and so were Sammy's mom and dad. Your mothers started talking and it turns out they have a lot in common. By the time both parties left the courthouse, they were in each other's weddings, to which they then found out that they both would be moving into the same area to settle down. Your moms swear that you and Sammy being close in age was just a coincidence but you always joked that it wasn't.

Sammy is hard to put into words. How do you describe the person who's been your best friend since both of you were coloring with crayons and all the way to high school graduations and beyond? The number one person you would talk to about things outside of your parents and through all of the other friends you've both had throughout your lives, the one that has always been the same. Sammy is just Sammy to you, in the most sincere way possible.

After seeing each other at the cookout you catch up on just about everything. What you've been up to, any life milestones you've gotten to while apart. You tell him about London and he tells you about his life here in town. Sammy's gotten up to a few things, had a few girlfriends, and apparently, he's developed his own business. Turns out he's a handyman and locksmith now and makes great money. Gets to make his own hours, so he says. Sammy teases you a bit and asks if you've been collecting British boyfriends. You know it's just a tease but it plucks at the still tender parts of your heart a little. You brush it off and say no.

"No?" Sammy questions, "Come on. Someone like you over there? You're kidding me. You've got to have some guys waiting like a dog for you to come back." he says. You decide to play along in the banter.

"Maybe I do. What of it, Sam-I-Am." you shrug, pretending like he's trying to compete and also pulling out old childhood nicknames. Sammy cringes and the nickname, "Oof, not the Sam-I-Am from kindergarten. You know only my dad called me that until you said it in class. Then everyone started calling me that till fifth grade." Sammy laughs. "Not you doing your shitty British accents when I said I had a thing for British boys back in seventh grade." you reference and make a call back of your own. "It made you laugh and that was my goal." Sammy playfully defended.

For a good half of your stay, Sammy was there, like always, and you would be talking about the old days. Referencing various moments and laughing or cringing together. It felt so nostalgic and good to just feel that bond again, have someone who knows all your little inside jokes and references because they were there when it was formed, and you both didn't want it to stop.

So when the day that you were to go back to London you threw out the idea that Sammy come back with you and continue the fun there. Show him what you've been doing and show him the little life you've created there.

Even though you live in a one-bedroom apartment you managed to accommodate your guest pretty well. You always knew that the pull-out bed extension of your couch that you bought second-hand would have a use someday. You two settled on rules and bases, along with where various things are in case they're needed.

After that, it was just more talking that made the time go by so fast and other things seem so minuscule. You hadn't really paid attention to the fact that you had a brief text conversation with Steven when you got back basically just telling him that you were back and what you're up to right now. It wasn't until he texted you something that sort of snapped you out of it.

You: I'm not really doing anything but my friend came back with me and will be here for a bit.

Steven: Oh that's nice

Steven: Can I meet them maybe?

You weren't sure how long you spent looking at that message, but it was long enough that Sammy noticed. "Something wrong?" he asks. "No," you reply, "Just one of my friends. He says he wants to meet you... if you're okay with that," you explain but hesitate slightly at the end, not really liking the sound of having Steven over right now after being able to get him off your mind. "Sure! I'd love to meet one of your friends here." Sammy responds, "If that's alright with you of course." he adds.

You take a second to weigh it out in your mind. On one hand, having the guy that you have feelings for over after you went on a whole vacation partially because he doesn't feel that way towards you doesn't sound like the best idea. But maybe having Sammy here will reduce that feeling of awkwardness since it can just be having your friends meet each other.

Taking the gamble, you tell Steven that he's good to come over.

The next few minutes are spent continuing to talk to Sammy, making jokes and having banter. When you hear the knock at your door you and a text from Steven that announces that he's arrived. You get up from the couch and make your way to the door, unlocking it and opening it up. And there he is, smiling at you and giving you his usual polite little "hello". You greet him back before stepping out of the way so that he can come in.

Sammy gets up from his seat on the couch and comes to shake Steven's hand. You see Steven hesitate briefly and sort of freeze up before taking the hand shake. You step in between them.

"Steven, this is my childhood friend, Samson. Samson, this is my friend Steven." you introduce them to each other and gesture to them respectively. "Nice to meet you!" Sammy comments. "Likewise," Steven responds.

You all take a seat, you and Sammy back on the couch while Steven takes a chair from your little dining table set. Sammy and Steven have some good small talk back and forth, talking the usual stuff when you meet new people. You can see Steven being a little fidgety, picking at his sweater sleeve, nodding along but having a small crease between his brows. All things that he does when he's nervous or concerned with something, you take it as Steven being shy about meeting and talking to new people like he usually is. You take it upon yourself to sort of help him by bringing up subjects that you know he's good at talking about.

"Steven loves Ancient Egypt and mythos. He knows pretty much everything," you mention. Sammy raises his brows in interest, "Really?" he questions. "Oh yeah," Steven confirms, "I would have made a bloody good tour guide if my superior wasn't out to get me." Steven remarks. You see Sammy hold back a laugh in the corner of your vision, you turn to him and light-heartedly scold him with a "Stop it.". Sammy looks towards you, his smile growing to a shit-eating grin. "Stop it," you repeat, "Behave. I told you not to laugh," you say as you struggle to keep your own laughter in. "He said the thing." Sammy squeaks out before letting a few laughs leave him. You lean in and bap him on the shoulder playfully, "Stop," you warn as you give him a few baps.

Steven lets out a small laugh that only you can tell is his fake trying-to-pretend-I-get-it laugh. "I'm sorry, Steven." you apologize, "Not even 24 hours in and he doesn't know how to act," you say as you look back to Sammy and give him a playful shake. "I'm sorry." Sammy says to Steven, "There's an inside joke to it I swear." he says.

"What's the joke?" Steven inquires. Your face drops, knowing what Sammy is going to say. "Don't you dare," you warn Sammy as you try to cover his mouth, but Sammy already knew that you are going to stop him and is ready to block your hand. You both spend a few seconds lightly wrestling as you try to cover his mouth and he blocks you in some way. "It has something to do with her-" Sammy says before you interrupt him with a "No!" in objection, "British boyfriend!" Sammy announces. "I don't have a British boyfriend!" you object through laughs as you hit him with a couch pillow. You both spend a few moments laughing. When you finally calm down you find Steven looking at the two of you like you've grown and extra head.

You sigh and look to Sammy, "Why don't you explain 'British boyfriend' to him since you want to talk about it so much?". "Okay, okay," Sammy submits. "This one," Sammy says pointing at you, "Had a thing for this one kid who was visiting family for the summer in our home neighborhood back in seventh grade, or seventh year, whatever it's called here. And so we have this joke that he was her British boyfriend. And I used to do a really bad accent to make her laugh and get all embarrassed.", Sammy looks at you and reassures, "I'm not going to do it, don't worry.".

The conversation goes on but you and Sammy can't help but say more jokes that you then need to explain to Steven, which leads to other stories and laughing fits between the two of you. You try to do the same with Steven in case he references something between the two of you, but you find that Steven just seems to sit there and listen, nodding along. You want to try and prompt something but at some point, you're able to sense this weird tension in the air whenever you do.

You aren't too sure what to do. You don't want to shoo Steven out since you've always said that Steven was always welcomed at your place, but the atmosphere is strange between the two of you for some reason. It isn't until Sammy gives something that would get the job done.

"You know, it's really nice to meet you, Steven. But I think the traveling is starting to catch up with me." Sammy says as he stretches his arms out. "Oh, no worry. I was actually thinking of getting out of your hair. You know..." Steven responds, "Since you guys probably had to get out early to get back here." he clarifies. Steven was already getting up to leave by the time he even started talking.

Sammy and you get up also, and you go in for the usual goodbye hug that you and Steven do when parting ways, Sammy shakes Steven's hand again and says his goodbyes.

Once Steven leaves, you and Sammy set up the couch so that Sammy can nap for a bit. You head to your room so that you can take one for yourself and reflect on the meeting. You still have a bit of that feeling of weird tension but figure that maybe Steven wasn't prepared for all the energy that you and Sammy created and all the inside jokes. Maybe a second get-together could help with that. After all, it might be great to have two best friends also be best friends with each other.

Meanwhile, Steven walks back, sitting in his thoughts quietly as he walks until Marc appears in a reflection along the walk. "What's with the long face?" Marc asks. Steven glances at Marc for a moment, "Nothing, it's just that..." Steven opens up with, "I felt like a bit of a third wheel over there." he admits. Marc shrugs, "Well it is her friend from her hometown, isn't it? I'm sure they'd be all chatty with each other.".

"Yeah, I suppose so." Steven replies, "It just felt a bit... off." Steven remarks.

[castrian-amore]

Bitter had the Heart

Dead Tired(Tim Drake x Danny Fenton), Tim Drake-centric, unfinished, the author is plotting, temporary character death, please check out ao3 for full tags list

3/46 Chapters | Chapter Length: 3584 words

Chapter 3: We are Not Translating Fanfiction

Tim didn’t understand why he had even picked this class for this particular credit. He technically didn’t need it. Then again it seemed more interesting than the other classes and Tim had been hoping for a challenge for once. The teacher was big on working as team and while, yeah Tim could do it. He preferred to work alone on his topics and thankfully there was an odd amount of people in his class so when he requested to do the group assignments he allowed it. 

Until today. 

One Daniel “Danny” Nightingale, was a late transfer into the class for unknown reason. It was also the mysterious kid in the alley. He looked a little better in person but the vote was that he was definitely sick, whether just right now or long term had yet to be determined. He leaned heavily on a cane at the moment walking with a heavy limp.

Tim could point out his handsome features though. The higher cheekbones. The stunning raven hair, his piercing blue eyes. The kid definitely wasn’t immune to the streets. The way he held himself on the verge of running. The sunken wary eyes. This kid was far too comfortable with living in fight or flight mode. If he even knew anything else it would be surprising. 

The teacher pointed to Tim giving him the spot right next to him advising sitting next to the person he would be partnered with. It wasn’t required by any means but it certainly was an option, and he did. 

“So, now that that’s out of the way, where was I? Oh yes the IPA. The International Phonetic Alphabet.” Professor Kaivan began his speech as Danny pulled out a piece of notebook paper and pencil sitting next to Tim. 

“Uh, hi, I’m Danny,”The kid held out his hand and Tim shook it. A cold chill going up his spine from how cold he was, damn. 

“Tim Drake-Wayne,”he introduced with ease, expecting the man to back away or at least move seats because of his name. The Wayne name caught most people off guard but Danny seemed unfazed by it all. In fact he didn’t even flinch or stutter or reel at who he was talking to even. 

“Nice to meet you Tim,”Danny gave him a bright smile. “Apologies for having you stuck with partnering for me after I’m already a late transfer.”

“No issue. Can I ask why you had to transfer?”Tim raised an eyebrow at the man. Their words quiet as the professor droned on. 

“I was in Latin, and I can fluently speak and read latin. The professor kept getting things wrong and I kept correcting them. They kept insisting because they’re the ‘professor’ but I kept insisting I was right, which I was. She didn’t like that so she kicked me out. She got so annoyed she refused to teach me. Thus leaving me with about to loose my credit I really needed this semester so I asked if I could late transfer into another language based class.” 

“And here you are?” 

“Here I am. Only teacher that was willing to give me a chance.” 

Tim snorts a little. Tim had only almost been kicked out of a class one, and that was one of his law classes. Tim kept correcting the professor over and over and over again, and it kept pissing off the professor so bad. Tim had a sneaking suspicion he was going to like this guy. He just hoped the guy was as intelligent as he seemed. 

Being fluent in a dead language was no easy task. None of the bats were fluent in a lot of dead languages but they all knew several spoken languages and a little of a few dead ones. Tim more than others. Books were always his specialty. He preferred to spend the house researching alone in his room or the bat cave. It was part of the reason the other claimed he had a coffee addiction. He did not by the way. He didn’t know what Dick was even talking about. 

“Professor Kaivan is pretty relaxed about that kind of stuff. He assigns minimal homework and prefers to do the group projects over everything else.” 

“Yeah his rate-my-professor score is pretty high.” 

“Sounds about right,”Tim agrees, turning back to the topic at hand for the moment. 

“Now, learning the International Phonetic Alphabet is not for the faint of heart. Having someone to listen and assist when learning this is vital. One of the many reasons everyone in this room has a partner. Learning it is vital for the rest of your success in this class. Breaking down specific sounds a language makes and making it easy for everyone to read any language in this format.” 

Professor Kaivan was an interesting man. Until four and a half years ago he had some of the worst rate your professor scores, but it was rumored that after the death of his partner he sobered up and wanted to help people. Since then, he has been a great teacher. Using his partner method to teach people, becoming a caring professor, giving students days in class to study and work on whatever work needed to be done. He wasn’t a super hard professor to have. 

His hair was graying as the man was into his late 40s going on 50s. Sideburns and his beard graying though. He dressed pretty chill too, half the time coming into class wearing a casual cardigan and a beanie. He was an accomplished guy with a full on doctorate in linguistics. Masters in Psychology and bachelors in the study of Italian. Most of his focus seemed to be on the intricacies of the Italian language but Tim was fluent in Italian and didn’t care to take any of his italian classes. Not that the man had many. 

“I know the 107 letters can be difficult and if you don’t know what to listen for they can sound similar to each other, but that’s why this whole unit is just on breaking down the IPA, and making sure all of us can read, and understand it. Okay?” 

Mummers of okays and yesses echoed through the lecture hall. Tim opened his phone, scrolling to Dick’s phone number and clicking on it. 

Timmy Boi: Guess who just walked into my Linguistics class as a late transfer?

Dickie Bird: Who? 

Timmie Boi: Alley kid

Dickie Bird: No fucking way. Is he that rude in person?

Timmie Boi: No not yet at least. We’re partnered up for the semester though, so plenty of time for me to find out heh. Dude’s got a cane. 

Dickie Bird: So not our so-called mystery vigilante Jason wants us to meet?

Timmie Boi:  Unlikely, He also looks sick as a mother fucker Dick. Like it’s bad. 

Dickie Bird: Damn, so still no leads until Friday? 

Timmie Boi: Unfortunately not. Cams still distorted as fuck with those symbols?

Dickie Bird: Just like all the others. Only copies we have are hand drawn references. No one can get a clear pic. 

Timmie Boi: Anyluck on the Distortion dude? Anything on him?

Dickie Bird: Uhh, he showed up 3 years ago? Works for Jason mostly. Started as a runner, then became body guard and personal protection for a lot of the shipments going in and out of Jason’s domain. That was only after bribing over 15 inmates too. 

Timmie Boi: How the fuck did Jason keep someone, a meta namely, from us for so long? 

Dickie Bird: Who knows. One guy said something about protecting a child. The child is Jason’s guard dog. Brutal when he needs to be. Maybe he’s scarier than he looks? People kept quiet over fear? 

Timmie Boi: You’re the people person, but even then if people are scared we would have heard something else. I just think we have something else in the picture here that we’re missing it all. 

Dickie Bird: Well, any cameras he passed by that night went to static. I had Barb check it out for us. 

Timmie Boi: So his gift can mess with cameras? Only mildly concerning. 

Dickie Boi: Wait, why are we having this conversation right now Tim? You’re in class?!?!?! I’m leaving you alone. Pay attention, and don’t fall asleep, and DRINK WATER FOR ONE IN YOUR CAFFEINE ADDICTED LIFE. 

Timmie Boi: YOU CAN’T STOP ME DICK. I’M GETTING COFFEE RIGHT AFTER THIS. 

Speaking of coffee, he could probably get mystery-dude’s phone number for their homework and stuff. Maybe he could even get coffee with him and help him with his classes. And maybe find out more about that night in the alley. 

“What are you doing after class?”Tim spoke up to look over at the man. Danny wasn’t even paying attention to the lecture. He was… drawing? Way better than anything Tim could draw that was for sure. Maybe he would get along with Damian? Tim liked the easier stuff, taking pictures. He could draw but he didn’t like it nearly as much as being able to get behind a camera and take some beautiful photos. Man, he should get back into that again. Dick was always pressing him to get back into a hobby outside of crime solving. He liked to stick with what he was good at though. 

“Oh? Uh nothing really, just contemplating existence. Why what’s up?”Danny gave a soft shy smile. Oh no. His smile was cute. Also wait, contemplating existence?

“Well, I figured if we’re gonna be stuck together all semester we could get coffee and talk about the project and get to know each other a little better.” Tim could watch a wave of anxiety slip over the man. 

“Well, I don’t know maybe,”a small shrug then a quiet moment of contemplation. “Actually, sure that’d be nice!”  

“Great!”

“Wait, we already have a project?”Danny’s eyes widened looking from his doodle of something? Tim couldn’t make it out but it was pretty? Looked like a pool of swirling water sketched in a gray scale. Who knows. This guy must have been so distracted he didn’t hear the teacher’s words about their project. Rewriting a speech in a non-english language into the phonetic alphabet. 

Tim couldn't help but laugh a little at him. 

This caught a small look from the teacher and Tim stifled his laughter a little even as Danny began to fight his own laughter as the two looked at each other. That was so dumb. Why was he even laughing at that?

“I’ll explain after class.” 

“Sounds good to me, I’m just sitting here… doodlin’.” 

“I see that..” Tim gave him a smile as Danny chuckled himself turning back to his drawing. The man stretching his arms upwards turned to actually pay attention to the teacher. A small frown coming across his face noticing the thin spindly scars edging up the side of his neck across the back of his neck. What the fuck was that? He shook his head. 

Tim stayed mostly alert the rest of the hour long class. Kaivan had started going through the various letters of the IPA and their origins and why they were chosen. It was interesting to say the least. He had learned a lot and the class was definitely different than what he was used too. Danny on the other hand. 

Fuck Tim hoped the dopey smiles and spaced out stared was how he payed attention or their partnership was going to be a lot more strenuous than he originally thought. He swore he saw him falling asleep a couple times there before jerking himself awake. Not that Tim could blame him. He averaged only about 3 hours a night if he was lucky. Then again, Tim didn’t exactly play the whole “catch up on sleep” game. 

It did take a gentle nudge from Tim to get the man away and on their way to the coffee shop. He was slow as he walked with the cane but Tim didn’t say anything about it. Everyone had their little quirks and issues. Lord knows Tim had his. 

The cold autumn air in Gotham was settling around them. 

“What’s your major?” It was Danny who spoke up with a quiet smile. 

“Oh, business. I plan to take over my father’s company,”Tim replied. 

“Wow, impressive.” Danny looked up at the sky with a small chuckle as Tim raised an eyebrow at him. 

“Thanks, what’s yours?”

“Engineering, I was going to do Astronomy but we’ll the Gotham Skies aren’t exactly the clearest.” Danny chuckled softly as Tim gave a nod. 

“The smog helps no one. Glad you found a major you like though.” There was a silence settling between them but it didn’t lessen the mood in fact it almost felt welcomed in a quiet way. 

“Same to you!” Danny looked up at the crows stopping the duo in their tracks. There were almost 10 crows just watching them. Tim, had never seen that. All them staring at Danny. “Boo.” The man whispered and with a small chuckled, all 10 flew off the branches and into the air leaving Tim to watch and then follow. Missing how the birds simply landed up ahead. 

Tim was sort of lost in thought about the revelations they could possibly have about the whole Distortion situation. 

“Heyo, Timmy,”Danny’s voice dragged him from his thoughts and his slow pace holding the door open. “Don’t hurry up and you’ll be soaked.” He hadn’t even noticed a slow drizzle starting to fall from the sky. He held his hand out before running to meet the man. 

Tim joined the man into the warm coffee shop. The scent of pumpkin spice filling their noses as they moved to get in line. 

“Didn’t get too wet did you?”Danny asked concern surprising Tim. 

“Ah, no, don’t worry about me though.  I might be more concerned for when we leave here though.” 

“I’m not too worried.” The man gave a nonchalant shrug. “Can’t kill me worse than I already have been.” Was that a death joke? 

“Oh?”Tim gave a smirk. He wasn’t normally one for puns, those were Dick’s thing but also… Dick wasn’t here. “Did it have you rolling in your grave?” Dick could never find out about this but then Danny’s shit eating grin only widened across his face. 

“Oh, for sure it was to die for after all.” 

“I can’t I’m sorry,”Tim laughed with a smile. “What’re you getting? I’ll pay since I invited you out.” 

“Oh, I might scare you with my order.” 

“I promise you won’t. Mine is insane myself.” 

“One of those extra large pumpkin spice lattes with 10 shots of espresso.” 

“Extra large americano with 8 shots of espresso,”Tim quipped. “I see you’re a man just as insane as I am.” 

“Oh, for sure. I’ve never met someone with an order just as bad as mine,”he admitted as he stared up at the menu. “How are the sandwiches here? Are they pretty dead-licious?”

“Oh god..” 

“Or I don’t know, pretty frightful?” 

“Please Danny.” 

“I bet they’re boo-mbastic.” 

“Who ever uses that word anymore.” 

Okay Halloween was coming up admittedly. Yes there were halloween and fall decorations coming but, but god dammit Danny. It was like having another Dick around. 

“You decided to fuel this.” 

“I did not decide to fuel anything!”Tim complained just as they got to the counter ordering their coffees. It was a barista Tim was familiar with. A kind girl named Sarah who seemed to be all too familiar with the two of them. 

“Oh! Can I also get the mac and cheese please!”Danny offered another charming smile putting some money in the tip jar. “I can pay you back Tim.” 

“No worries.” Tim gave a shrug. 

“Alrighty and here you are Tim.” Sarah handed him his card back with the receipt as he himself put some money in the jar. 

“Damn, she knows your name?”

“I know you too Danny, Mr. 10 shots of espresso at midnight last week. You also fucking work here.” 

“Love you guysssss, and I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Danny practically purred out with an innocent smile. 

“You two together, scare me,”the barista motioned between the two of them. “But honestly, we were waiting for you two to meet.” 

“I’m innocent,”Tim vouched.”Also wait, what?” 

“I watched you order an extra large cup with only espresso shots in it for Finals last semester.” Sarrah refused to answer the apparent group that had been waiting for Tim and Danny to meet each other. 

“I was busy!” 

“You weren’t sleeping!” 

“Anyways I’m going to go over there,”Danny pointed to an empty table by the window. 

“Yeah, Tim. How about you go over there. With your little Date,”She emphasized the word as Danny was already over sitting down unpacking his backpack onto the table. 

“He’s not my date! We literally just met!” 

“Yet. Next in line please!” 

“Sarah-- no-- I swear to--”Tim could have sworn he saw an exchanging of cash behind the counters. Were they betting on something. What the fuck were they betting on?!? He hissed and moved to join Danny in the opposite seat. 

“So did you even catch what the group project is? How much have you studied of the Linguistics 101 class anyways?” Tim pulled out his laptop setting it in front of him. He logged in giving a small smile of the silly chaotic and group picture they had gotten last year at Christmas. Bruce stood on the far right and Jason on the far left Dick’s arm wrapped around his shoulder. Damian was trying to stab Tim again who was moving to dodge it. Steph chaotically cheering the gremlin on. Cass quietly wondering if she should intervene in the middle. Duke full on panicked at what was going on as it was his first Christmas with the family. Barb covering her mouth in laughter in front of Bruce. He wanted to make sure she was included. It was his favorite photo of him and his siblings. 

Fuck. Danny had been talking to him. 

“Earth to Timmy.” A wave of a hand in front of his face. 

“Please just Tim,”he laughs. “Sorry, yes?”

“I was asking about the IPA. Are you familiar with it? I have no idea on anything about it.” 

“I know like half of it? I’ll have to learn the other half,”he admits. “But yes, the project.” 

“Fuck, yeah okay what’s this project?” 

“It involves reading.” 

“No! WHY!” 

“In another language.. That neither of us speak.” 

“Oh god.” 

“Yeah, so we’re supposed to write down a 1,000 minimum word speech, or chapter from a book or whatever and put it into the International Phonetic Alphabet.” 

“I don’t know about you but I speak a lot, like A lot of languages.” 

“Yeah.. I feel the same way.” 

“What do you speak?” Danny playfully pushed Tim’s computer screen down from booting up the program the professor had given them to use to type out the phonetic alphabet. It was still apparently a nightmare program, but he had decided to type it so he wouldn't be deciphering shitty handwriting. 

“Mandarin, Chinese, Italian, German, French, russian, Japanese, tagalog, spanish, I think that’s all of them?” 

“You speak Tagalog too!” Danny’s words switched with ease to the language. 

“No fuckin’ way,” Tim had to laugh at that one. “What else do you speak?” 

“Same things are you but, Esperanto, Swahili, Cantonese, javanese, Sardo(technically a dialect but you know same difference),  Ukrainian, I think that’s all?” 

“I thought I was the Polyglot. Oh! I also speak ASL and BSL.” 

“I know bits and pieces of ASL, definitely no BSL though,”he laughs softly. “But wait what other languages does that leave?”

“Well, a lot but I mean. We could always pick an easy one we both know.” 

“Italian?” 

“Yeah, please. I do not want translate someone in a non-latin based alphabet. It registers funny in my brain.” 

“I gotta ask though Danny… Esperanto?” 

“Okay, leave me alone! I had a friend who spoke it and taught me it so we could shit about others.”  

“That’s fuckin’ hilarious though,”he smirked. “But what should we translate?” 

Danny looked like he was about to burst out laughing. “What if we just fucking translated the Divine Comedy.” 

“Danny Nightingale, are you telling me we should rewrite one of the most famous works of Italian writing, ever. That is also notoriously translated, a lot? And is--- you know.”

“Ma Divine Commedia,”Danny laughed. Tim could not with him right now. “E la fanfiction Tim.” 

“YEAH I KNOW, that’s why I can’t believe you’re suggesting it.” 

“COMMEDIA.” Danny proclaimed with a snort. Fuck that was cute. Thank god his name was called to grab their stuff. He could ignore the small twinge in his chest as he brought them their coffee and the food for Danny. 

“Let’s get this over with I guess.” 

“YES!” Danny threw his first into the air in excitement. “This is the start a beautiful friendship Tim, I promise.” 

“Are we about to be nightmares to our poor professor?” 

“What? Nooooo.” 

“Oh yes we fucking are,”Tim rolled his eyes and smiled as he sipped his drink pulling up the original document. They were so fucked, but at least it would be funny. If Danny was his new partner for his class maybe Friday would come sooner than he thought. 

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

[lonelyroommp3]

oh and another thing. i would love for fandom as a whole to stop acting as if suzanne collins is a perfect unimpeachable pillar of Good Progressive Author Who Never Sells Out. "suzanne collins only writes when she has something to say, she doesn't write for the sake of it" and the fact that a movie got announced on the same day the book was doesn't mean anything? "suzanne collins would be so mad at the whitewashing of her characters" really? bc in this book she is very vague about haymitch's appearance outside of his build. i don't think she describes anyone from the seam at ALL, actually. like and that's fine and whatever, but writing essentially fanfiction about how she'd be SO MAD about this movie inevitably casting a white haymitch is crazy. i don't doubt she had limited control over the original movie's casting, but at this point it's pretty clear that they're going to defer to her on a lot of matters. which is FINE, but people are insistent on holding her up as a pillar of progressiveness and it's wild to me.

no literally!! i think people are very very keen to cling to her as this image of the anti-jkr like "wait we still have a beloved YA franchise where the author never sold out or had any problematic views ever and writes actually effective political allegories" and that's simply... making a really black and white dichotomy where there is none. at the end of the day she's a wildly successful author responsible for one of the biggest franchises of the century thus far, which says absolutely nothing about her other than she wrote one really solid trilogy. it does not make her immune to flawed writing & worldbuilding, or to selling out or fanservice, or to really half arsed depictions of issues pertaining to race, sexuality, and gender (and the intersection between those things, as per my previous critiques on the way covey girls are presented as love interests - it's really funny how snow's stereotyping of lenore dove based on his experience with lucy gray is clearly meant to be viewed in a bad light but sc doesn't really make it any better by writing lenore dove to fit many of the same ethnic stereotypes that applied to lucy gray but she's also really romantically devoted to haymitch and would never ever betray him because she's literally nice)

and i think if a few more hunger games fans were willing to a) admit this and b) by extension admit that these flaws do not mean they are not allowed to enjoy aspects of (or even the majority of) her writing and storytelling it would be far easier to have normal and sensible and critically grounded discussions of the series

[mimikyufan1]

Prologue: Welcome to the Villains' World

Note:

Many of the scenes outside the story time of the game are inspired by the book "Yuu and the power of magic" written by Writingerror a wonderful fanfiction that I recommend you read.

Please be nice to me English is not my native language.

—Aah! My dear esteemed benefactor...

—My pround, beautiful flower of evil

—You are truly the fairest one of all

—O magic mirror, thy wisdom I entreat...

—To me. To them. To yourself.

—The hour grows long, and time is scarce

—Keep steady your grip, no metter what may come

—Any regrets?

'More than I might think of...'

"Yuu!"

Chapter 1: Stranger Waking

When Yuri opened her eyes she couldn't see anything, everything was dark around her but she could perceive that the space she was in was narrow, she couldn't move that much, and even her clothes seemed different...not hers.

She felt weight in her arms, like she's holding something in her arms and she was right, in her arms was Celebi who slept peacefully. She also felt the weight of the bag, with her Pokémon's pokeballs in it hopefully.

She tried not to panic too much for fear of waking up the Pokémon. She started thinking how to get out of there, but it wasn't long for something happened instead.

"I better hurry up and find that uniform before someone spots me..." A voice but it didn't belong to the mirror hand. No, it was different.

"Uuuugh. But this lid is so freakin’ heavy…Fine. Things have already come to this, so I might as well bust out my hidden move, too. Take that!"

What happened next was a giant fireball impacting the coffin lid, which abruptly opened, causing Yuri to fall onto her right shoulder and thus waking Celebi up as well.

The Time Travel Pokémon was frightened by the attack, taking it as a personal attack, but as much as it wanted to defend itself or run away from there, it was still too weak from before to even be able to get up.

"Now to grab the goods...Gyaaah!! What!? You ain't supposed to be awake!" Said the creature in front of her.

Now when Yuri, abruptly, came out of the coffin she didn't know what to expect, but among all the possibilities there was not one that represented a fusion between an Espuur and a Meowth of Alola.

Instead of answering the creature still quite stunned by the situation around her, pulling in her head a very confusing 'Alright...' She began to look around to get a minimum idea of where she could be.

The room had in its center the mirror that had transported her there, the desire to break it into a thousand pieces was felt at that moment but breaking their only possible means of return home was stupid and she knew it too.

Around her there were many floating coffin, one of them from which she had come out.

However, there was no time to think too much, because when the girl returned her gaze to that strange Pokémonl, she understood that the silence would not last too long, as the Pokémon seemed to be starting to lose its patience.

The girl began to get up delicately, also adjusting her grip on the arm holding Celebi.

"Who are you! And where am I? Did you bring me here!? Did your trainer order you to do this? Tell me what he wants from me talking Pokémon."

She tried to say it in the calmest tone possible, but because of what had happened before, the fear could still be heard in her voice, not to mention the fact that a Pokémon was capable of speaking to her.

Onestly she just wanted to resolve the situation as soon as possible so she could return home, but her words only infuriated the Pokémon even more.

"Hey! Who’re you calling a Pokémon?! Whatever that is—I'm not! And I certainly don't need a stupid trainer! I am the Great Lord Grim!" said Grim angrily taking her words with offense.

'He certainly has a big ego for a little thing that doesn't even reach my torso' thought the girl bored but she just let out a simple "Uhm" of recognition.

"Tch... Whatever. You human! Just gimme your uniform, and be quick about it!" Grim said, pointing his paw at her.

'Ah a uniform. So that's what these weird clothes I'm wearing are, I thought they were for some weird cult stuff…Wait, hold on! A uniform for what? ' before Yuri could ask this question Grim finished his sentence.

"Cause if you don't...you gonna regret it!" And with this threat Grim threw another blue fireball at her, which Yuri thought was the will-o'-the-wisp move,

Realizing that words were not going anywhere, Yuri was about to send one of her Pokémon out to battle but when she heard Celebi squirm out of her grasp, her focus went on them...they looked scared.

"Celebi what's wrong?" Yuri asked them, worried.

"Ugh!? Hey! What's that weird green bean you're holding?!" Grim asked rudely but also very curious having never seen such a thing.

When he tried to see the creature better Yuri raised her arm hiding Celebi behind the long sleeve of her robe.

As soon as they came out of Yuri's grip, Celebi began to look for a way to leave the room, their eyes were focused on the doors that led to the exit.

They flew towards the gates and as soon as they were in front of them, they used an Energy Ball to push them open.

"Mya-ha! What came to that thing all of a sudden?!" asked Grim, quite frightened by the attack.

Yuri ignored him completely and tried to get the Pokémon's attention by shouting their name, but it was to no avail, because Celebi started flying straight through the college corridors.

Yuri started running after Celebi followed by Grim who yelled behind her "Hey! Where do you think you're going!".

Following Celebi the path was this: the row of classrooms followed out to a pavilion hallway; then outside to a garden; then she climbed the stairs that led to the main street and finally inside another building in Gothic structure that turned out to be a library.

Only when they entered the library did Celebi decide to stop and take a breath, and so did Yuri, who asked them "Buddy. What's wrong?".

Celebi turned behind them to give Yuri an answer but when they felt that presence approaching, they became scared and they started to turn invisible, there Yuri realized that something dangerous was approaching.

Looking around, the girl realized that some books in the library were floating just like the coffin in the first room, but I didn't find any Pokémon around to blame for this, which began to make her suspicious.

"Foolish human! Did you really think you could slip away from me?" Grim said behind her, not caring that the mysterious creature was nowhere to be found.

Yuri turned to him in an angry way, she was really starting to get annoyed with that furball, if he wanted a fight so badly Yuri would gladly give it to him now.

"Now unless you wanna get burned to a crisp, take off that-" she was about to go get one of her pokéballs but stopped when when a long whip came out of the darkness and wrapped itself around Grim's stomach.

"Me-YEOW! That hurt! What's with this string!?"

“It’s not a string, it’s a whip! Of love!” This voice made her immobilized by fear, she looked up to see the face of the owner of the semi-familiar voice.

A man, even quite tall, dressed in quite bizarre clothing, to see him like this without paying attention to the surrounding situation Yuri would have thought he was a magician for children's parties, more than anything else for the cylinder and maybe even the mantle.

What caught her attention above all was the cane, quite bizarre for a person who stood on his two legs very well, and his mask in the shape of Corvinight? Very beautiful but what kinda of special effect he had used to make his pupils come out like that.

'Is he really the reason why Celebi was so scared?' With her still judgmental gaze Yuri decided not to attack or do anything, since she had seen that Grim and this person were not together, indeed they seemed not even to know each other.

Yuri didn't do anything, she just raised her hands near her bag and stood with her arms crossed to stare at the guy.

She didn't care about saving Grim from the man's 'whip of love' as much as she hates violence on Pokémon, she was afraid of making the man in front of her angry, since she still didn't know what he was capable of or what he wanted from her.

Yuri couldn't trust this person, the fact that Celebi was scared of him proved enough for her, so when the man turned to her, she immediately stiffened.

"Ah... I've found you at last. Splendid. I trust you're one of this year's new students?"

'Ahaha... What!? New—yea no...' She thought intelligently, beginning to understand that there was a misunderstanding, her shoulders lost their stiffness.

"Look uhm—" and she was about to tell him when she was kindly interrupted.

"My were you ever eager to make your debut." He paused for a moment to turn to Grim.

"And bringing a poorly trained familiar with you? That is a clear violation of the school's rules." He said in a tone of disapproval.

'OK. Wow. To say that furball belongs to me now that's offensive' She thought smiling at the man in an irritated way. "Ok. No! First of all, that's not one of my—"

"As if I'd, Grim the Great Lord, serve some lowly human! Now lemme go!" He said, struggling a little, probably for the tight grip of the whip.

"Yes, yes. Ribellious familiars always say that. Do be quiet for a bit, won't you?" But in response to Grim's protests, the man simply wrapped the whip up to his face to silence him.

That's when the line was crossed for Yuri 'OK, now that's enough.'

With eyes full of anger and clenched fists to hold her back, Yuri was ready to scold the man for abuse of Pokémon, but refrained from doing so as he also turned frowning towards her.

"Dear me. Of all the students I've dealt with, you're the first with temery enough to open their own gate and step out of it" He sighed. "Does the very notion of patience elude you?"

Although he scrutinized the girl's aggressive gaze, he decided to ignore her completely, turning his back on her and starting to walk in front of him. "No metter. Your orientation has already begun. Let us return to the Mirror Chamber."

Yuri was really starting to lose patience now: first of all he was abusing a Pokémon in front of her as if it were nothing, second of all he had been the one who kidnapped her from the laboratory and bringing her here without her permission, third of all he was blaming her for things she had no control over and worst of all he is now ordering her to follow him without any sort of explanation.

"What the hell are you babbling about." Though with the most passive tone in this world, everyone in the room could hear the cold tone in her words.

The man didn't seem intimidated by the girl's tone of voice. "You awakened in a room full of gates, did you not?"

He answered her as if it were an obvious thing. "All of the students at the campus arrived by passing through such gates."

He crossed his arms and sighed. "Although tipically the students have restraint enough to wait until I open them before waking up."

She started rubbing the bridge of her nose. 'Calm down Yuu. Breathe...This man is clearly convinced that you are a new student who needs to enroll in the academy...Now remember that Celebi was frightened when this man was approaching, he could be an extremely dangerous subject. Just play along.'

Trying not to provoke him in any other way, Yuri simply said to him in a rather uncertain voice "I think something blew the lid off mine..."

The effect was not what she hoped for because in response he turned to her frowning "The culprit appears to be that familiar of yours. You're the one who insisted on bringing it, so curtailing its behavior is your responsibility!"

She bit her lip at those accusations but said nothing, after the third time trying to make him understand that it was not hers Yuri gave up trying.

But a question arose spontaneously 'Why does he keep calling him familiar?' This was starting to give her a feeling that something was going to go very wrong.

"But now is not the time for such prattle. You've a student orientation to attend!" He began to pull her along "Go on now. Make haste."

'Well, there is no other way out! I will at least try to get the bare minimum of information to be said.'

"First, could you just tell me: Where am I? And who are you?"

"Hm? Have you not fully regained consciousness?" The man lifted a dark glove to his chin in thought "The time-space teleportation must have addled your memories..."

If Yuri wasn't used to space-time trevel, she would have had a mental breakdown right now.

'Hold on! But he needs Celebi to do this kind of teleportation! Is—is this the reason why I am here? Does he need Celebi? But how in the name of Archeus does he know that I have connections with Celebi? The professor and I were super discreet in letting only a small group of the most trusted scientists know about Celebi's presence in the laboratory!'

From her expression you could very well understand that the girl was having a tornado full of thoughts. Fortunately the man instead of paying attention to her was looking straight at the road.

"Well, these thing happen, I suppose. I shall explain to you while we walk. Truly, my magnanimity is boundless." The girl was too lost in her thoughts to really pay attention to the man's words, she didn't know how she should act and this was sending her into panic.

They found themselves passing through the courtyard again. She began to look around since she had not done so before, in her haste to reach Celebi.

The place around her was marvelous, what must have been the academy looked like a glorious Gothic castle, in Yuri's eyes it was the place of her dreams.

The man made a fake cough to draw attention to himself “Ahem!” Yuri looked up at him doubtfully, she still could not read him very well.

But then she realized something. 'Why isn't there any Pokémon around?'

She shakes her head. 'No! Calm down Yuu. This is a school! It's obvious that there are no Pokémon running around. You're just worrying unnecessarily.'

"This is Night Raven College. It is an institution for students the world over who demonstrate a rare aptitude for magic." Yuri stopped breathing.

Her eyes dilated hearing those words, her gaze now turned towards the ground was the gaze of pure terror and confusion.

"What." It was not even a little higher than a breath.

He continued not hearing the girl. "It's a prestigious academy of its sort in all of Twisted Wonderland."

Too much.

"And I, Dire Crowley. Having been entrusted with its care by the chairman, I serve as the headmage. Only those who the Dark Mirror perceives as having a talent for magic are admitted to the college. Those who are selected are summoned to the campus through those 'gates', which can appear anywhere."

He paused for a moment to shift his gaze towards the carriage. “That black carriage is expressly for the purpose of welcoming students chosen by the mirror. It carries the enchanted gates that are connected to this school. And as you know, sending a carriage to meet someone on a special day is a time-honored tradition. A honored entrance for honored magicians. Don't you think so too, my dear?"

Too much. Too much information: Magic? Magical coffin? Twisted Wonderland!?. Just too much information at once. Yuri was starting to cough heavily. One hand was clutching her bag tightly, hiding it under her robe, and the other was playing with her hair.

Even though inside the bag, under the fabric of the robe, Yuri could feel the Pokéballs start to vibrate. Her Pokémon were hearing everything and above all they felt the panic of their trainer.

Feeling them close managed to calm Yuri down a little, slowly, her breathing began to stabilize.

She looked up and met Crowley's directly, her stomach hurt and so did her lungs, at the mere thought of speaking she felt like vomiting. She then decided to simply nod her head and continue walking, still playing with her hair.

Crowley seemed satisfied with that answer, waited a moment for the girl to reposition herself next to him and they started walking back to the room where the opening ceremony was being held.

The silence was finally making itself felt in that walk, it was not a silence that created discomfort rather it was very calming. What the girl needed a moment of tranquility, to restabilize herself completely, finally feeling a certain presence watching over her.

But of course good things must come to an end.

"Mmfff! Mmmmmmfff!"

'Oh! Right...Him' She thought, her face was now wearing an annoyed expression.

With the little empathy she had left, she tried for the last time "Uhm... Excuse me, sir, maybe you should let-"

"Now, let us attend to your orientation." Crowley said without leaving room for any objection.

'Oh well I tried.'

Yuri didn't really have a choice, if she wanted to figure out how to get out of there that man was her only hope, even if she still didn't know what she was about to get herself into.

—...

Found in front of the doors of the room from which Yuri had previously escaped, voices of many people could be heard talking inside the room.

Just how many people were there on the other side of the doors? Well, the answer was immediately revealed when principal Crowley opened both doors.

About a hundred was Yuri's answer, at least a hundred students, all wearing the same robes as her but strangely divided into groups. All of them were chattering, their lively words filling the room with a cacophony of sound that echoed off the walls and ceiling.

Looking at them one by one, Yuri noticed the strange gems they had attached to their hips. She made a guess, and believed that the color of the gems meant which group you belonged to, at least that's what she presumed.

She felt Celebi's presence pass by her, so she looked up and realized that the room was lit more than before, but in the end everything had remained the same. There were still floating coffins around and the mirror in the center of the room, it was as if all attention had to go to that.

This was starting to make her a little anxious. Yuri was never good with large crowds or having all the attention on herself, and the fact that Crowley was taking her to the center of the room didn't help.

She only thanked the fact that the students were too busy chatting with each other than paying attention to her.

And yet she felt as if a pair of eyes were staring intently at her and they didn't feel friendly. To avoid meeting that gaze Yuri looks straight ahead.

There were five boys closer to the mirror than the others, they seemed to be the leaders of each group of students.

'But there are seven groups.'

"I assume that we are done with the orientation and dorm assignments?" The first to speak was one of the two short boys. "All right, new students—let me be clear. At Heartslabyul House, I am the law. Break the rules, and it's off with your head!"

His words were commands. His voice was severe and imposing like that of a king, and also a bit self-centered on the part of the law, but that is just Yuri's opinion.

The students who were part of his group immediately fell silent at his words. Yuri had seen, under the hood of his robe, tufts of scarlet hair, as regal as his personality.

'Interesting choice of words.' Yuu wandered around with her eyes from student to student, she wanted to see if she could catch the sight of even a single Pokéball or a Pokémon….Nothing.

A loud and noisy yawn made her attention return to the five boys. The culprit had been the tallest of the six, he had dark skin and dark longer hair.

The words that came out of his mouth were of pure boredom. "Yawn... Well, that ceremony was as boring as ever. I'm going back to the dorm. If you're in Savanaclaw House, follow me."

He waved his hand and looked like he was about to turn around and leave, but then he jerked his head in another direction. His eyes looked predatory, he seemed to be searching for something.

"New students! Allow me to be the first to congratulate you on your achievement." By comparison, the white-haired guy like her who spoke next seemed very polite and enthusiastic, almost too enthusiastic.

"As dorm leader of Octavinelle House, I am honored to have the opportunity to support you in what I hope will be a fulfilling campus experience."

Another tall and quite androgynous boy was observing himself, arranging his hair, from a small hand-holding mirror. "Does anyone know where the headmage went? He disappeard midway through the ceremony..." From the little Yuri could see from under the hood that boy was...oh Archeus, gorgeous.

But her eyes lit up with hope at the sight of the tablet floating next to the boy 'Oh yes—oh yes,yes,yes,yes! it's a tablet-Rotom!' That assumption made her smile.

"Some headmage he is." Then he muttered in a low voice. "Well at least this extroverted crap is over and I can go back to my 'duties'. I will send a map of the school to my students and...I'm done."

Yuri wouldn't want to be wrong but she was pretty sure that the boy with scarlet hair murmured, spontaneously out loud, a "Well, at least he showed up in person." The only answer that came out of the tablet was a "Eerk!" The androgenic guy roll his eyes at that.

On the other side of the tablet was a guy who was about as short as the first one with dark skin. Yuu couldn't see his hair from under the hood, must have been quite short, but one thing that was very noticeable were his huge gold spiral earrings.

"Maybe he had a tummyache?" Is that even a real answer.

Behind her, Crowley slams the doors loudly "I most certainly did not!" He seemed very indignant at that supposition.

"Ah, speak of the devil." Said the scarlet-haired boy, he seems to have loosened up a little when he saw the headmaster in the room, but remained with a straight up posture.

Looking closely at him, for Yuri this boy reminded her of a porcelain doll, beautiful on the outside but to be careful to touch if you don't want to break it.

"If you must know, I was searching for the new student who'd faild to show for the orientation." He made a dramatic gesture by putting his hand on his forehead and immediately began to push Yuri in front of the mirror.

"You are the only one who has yet to be assigned a dorm. Step up to the Dark Mirror, and be quick about it. I'll watch your weasel."

"Mmm!!" Oh well, suck to be him...How the hell can he still breathe in there.

Moving your gaze forward, she didn't like how the boy turned his irritated look on her, as if he wanted to intimidate her for having apparently made a mistake, so she returned the scowl with a sarcastic smile.

From how red his face had become, Yuu assumed that the gesture was not appreciated. He took a step forward and before he could take another a hand rested on his shoulder. One boy with glasses much taller than the other lowered himself to whisper something to him.

Obviously Yuri couldn't hear what they had said to each other. She doesn't know with what miracle the tall guy had managed to calm down the short one or at least had convinced him not to start a scene in front of everyone, since he continued to give her a dirty look, but she was grateful for it nonetheless.

She wouldn't have endured the eyes of so many people on her if she started an argument with that guy. She gave a nod of gratitude at the boy with the glasses that he answered her with a nod of his head.

Well, the attention had fallen all on her anyway, but luckily the only thing she had to do was go in front of the mirror. Easy peasy. She didn't know why, but Hey! Anything that didn't unleash the wrath of a hundred people on her was fine for Yuri.

'Okay, now that I'm here, what!? What am I supposed to do? Should I move my hands in incomprehensible gestures and saying random words? Bring out my Pokémon!? Can someone explained to me the usefulness of all this—'

"State you name." There was a mask face that appeared in the mirror that was talking to her.

'......Ah. Ok after this I'm ready to say goodbye to my already few nights of peaceful sleep.'

Yuu stood in front of the mirror for a moment without being able to say anything, her eyes wide open, but the heavy gaze of the people in the room made her unblock. "Yuri. Yuri...Sycamore"

"Yuri..." The mirror paused. "The shape of your soul is..."

'The shape of my soul?....uhm' Not even in a million years would Yuri have believed that a mirror with a creepy face would tell her how her soul was shaped.

"............" The mirror widened its eyes.

"...................." Then he squeezed them. Was it studying her?

'Could this thing move!' Honestly, she just couldn't wait to get back home after all this freak show was over.

"...unclear to me." Said finally the mirror.

She felt the gaze of the eyes intensify.

The faint murmurs that could be heard in the room ceased at those words, no one dared to say a word, a dead silence had fallen.

Well until Crowley decided to break that deafening silence. "What did you just say?"

"I sense no magical power from this one. Soundless. Colorless. Shapeless. Utterly vacant." The mirror said emotionlessly.

'Wow pretty rude.' Yuri thought not really so offended.

"Therefore, no dorm would be appropriate." And the crowd went wild. Voices everywhere: whispers, murmurs, some didn't even care to lower their voices. Hundreds of people talking about just one thing, her.

'Please let me wake up now.'

Headmaster Crowley, who seemed to be on the verge of cardiac arrest, screamed loudly "Are you suggesting that the black carriage went to recive a person who cannot even use magic?! But that is absurd! The students selection process has no erred once in century of existence."

'Ah…Fantastic. So it was just waiting for me then. Magical.' As the discriminatory looks on her passed, her nervousness continued to grow, with them the sarcastic thoughts...Archeus, she just wanted to disappear from that situation.

"Mmmph! Nnnrgggh... Gasp!" Grim took the opportunity to struggle free. "ME! Let ME have this human's seat!"

With that the headmaster woke up from his thoughts, he tried to grab Grim by the tail, stretching out his arm but he wasn't quick enough to catch him. "Not so fast, you hyperactive weasel!"

Grim jumped and landed practically in front of her. He turned his back to her and said in a proud voice. "Unlike this human, I can actually use magic! So let me be a student here! Look, I will give you the privilege of seeing the magical power of the great sorcerer Grim!"

'Ok the situation is about to escalate quickly, I should get out of here.' Yuri looked terrified at Grim, having half an idea of what the feline wanted to do. Without thinking twice she run and hid behind one of the coffins for shelter from what was about to happen.

The scarlet boy had also understood what was about to happen. He gritted his teeth and turned to the other students shouting. "Everyone, get down!"

He jumped back, let out a kind of feline roar and spat a ball of fire that boomed throughout the room.

"AHHHHHH! HELP! My butt is on fire over here!" Poor boy. Yuri really wanted to go and help him out but her fear of fire blocked her from approaching it.

Fortunately, another boy went to help him immediately. She was quite impressed by the speed the boy had in assisting the other. 'Wow nice reflections.'

She could have had her trusted companion come out to help her put out the fire but she had to confirm her doubts first, she couldn't risk it.

Crowley, impatient but above all unnerved by all the mess that had formed, clenched his fist and with the other hand, with his clawed glove, pointed menacingly to Grim "Someone catch that blasted animal before it sets the entire school ablaze!"

"I thought you fancied yourself a hunter. Go and help yourself to that plump little morsel." The beautiful androgynous blonde was smirking mockingly over at the tall, dark-skinned man beside him, obviously making fun of him.

But his smirk went off his face as soon as he noticed that the other boy was not paying him any attention.

He hadn't even turned to look at him, too busy continuing to look for something with his gaze, which seemed to stop on one of the floating coffins.

"Oi! Are you ignoring me or have you finally developed the skill of sleeping with your eyes open!?" Now frowning the blond guy followed the brownish hair guy's gaze trying to figure out what had caught his attention so much.

At last the tall boy turned around, but without looking at the blond in the face, giving up in trying to find what he was looking for, and with an annoyed tone and waved a clawed hand dismissively, simply said. "Too much effort. Do it yourself." He then closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair.

"Allow me to handle this, Headmage Crowley. If none of you are up to the task of catching a small animal, I will accept the responsibility." Said the polite boy with glasses, as genuine as his help might seem, to Yuri it gave more the impression of someone who was trying to show off.

"WTG Azul. Rackin' up those participation credit." Yuri laughed at bit at that. She found the comeback of the boy on the other side of the tablet very funny, especially for the situation they were in.

After a bit of debate about who had to go and catch Grim, two boys, the one with the glasses and the scarlet one, respectively called Azul and Riddle, offered themselves. Yuri was just waiting for that 'Ok perfect now it's time for them to release their Pokémon. That's it!... there's no other solution.'

But when she tried to peek out from behind the coffin, her breathing began to increase. So much fire…. It was everywhere and was expanding rapidly. She couldn't do it, she couldn't maintain eye contact at that scene. She was back behind the coffin, her back against it as if she wanted to merge with it, breathing hard. She put her hand inside her clothes and when she felt the fabric of the bag she began to tighten her grip on it and shut her eyes. 'Come on not now! Please just take a look! Even little one! Just one!'

She felt someone’s forehead rest gently on hers. She knew who it was. After a few deep breaths, she raised the elbow of the arm that held her bag, an invitation for a semi-hug. The guest in question immediately understood what the girl wanted and quickly ducked under it to give her a hug over the shoulder.

She felt that the gaze of the eyes was fixed on her more than ever, she couldn't understand what the person who owned those eyes felt, but he didn't seem to have bad intentions, but even if he had had them Yuri didn't care.

She had understood that if she wanted to at least calm down to be able to move and see the scene that was happening right behind her she had to concentrate only on the presence of her Pokémon and isolate everything else.

Slowly, her hand attached to the edge of the coffin as a support, literally out of the corner of her eye, because her body categorically refused to move, Yuri was able to see the confirmation of what she did not want to believe until that moment, her worst-case scenario.

Riddle raised his pen, the same way a Pokémon Trainer raises a Pokéball to declare battle. His voice was filled with energy borne from anger as he declared. “Order and silence! You shall be sentenced first. The verdict comes afterwards. Now, prepare yourself… Off with Your Head!”

'What the...No….no-nonononono…It's not possible.' Her eyes widened...Magic. Pure and unique magic, and it had not been used by a Pokémon but by a human being....A—A kind of collar (?) had appeared out of nowhere and had positioned itself perfectly around Grim's neck…And it had been that boy. He made it appear. It could not have been anyone else…...It could not have been a Pokémon.

She looked around, everyone was agitated or scared but not for that. All these people around her were not having any kind of reaction. Nothing: no one was screaming, no one was panicking, no one had remained immobilized staring at what had just happened….They didn't care…They were calm, normal....As if that was normal.

'This is not my world, is it...'

That realization sent her into a vegetal state, it seemed to her that she could not do anything at that moment, she could not move a muscle. Hell, she could almost not move her eyes.

'How could this happen? How.....That mirror.'

The mirror is the reason of why she was here and it'll be the reason of why she will be back home.

“Fugya! What the heck is this!?” Grim emitted in a choked voice.

“The Queen of Hearts’ twenty-third law: One must never bring a cat to a formal affair” The scarlet boy, brows drawn together in a glare, stepped forward with his pen (?) still glowing, his voice echoed throughout the hall. "Your presence here is a violation of the order. You will vacate these premises immediately."

Grim's voice brought her back to reality, she couldn't stay in that hiding place, she had a situation that she had to manage, things to clarify. After many long breaths, slowly, Yuri came out from behind the coffin, arms crossed, luckily the fire had diminished.

'That is quite specific as rules... Wait! Who the hell is the queen of hearts? End what the heck is a cat!?' Yuri had well understood that she was in another world but in order not to arouse suspicion she had to try to grasp as much information as possible.

“But I’m not a cat either!” Grim said angrily, as he rolled left and right in an attempt to get it off. "Don't you try'n collar me! I'll burn it right off! Huh...? Wh-what gives? My fire ain't workin'!"

He sneered. "Until I deign to remove that collar, you won't be using any magic. Just like a house cat."

"M-meoWhat?! I'm not a pet!" Grim took it very personally.

Riddle scoffed at that. "Oh, you've nothing to worry about there. I certainly have no interest in having you as a pet. The collar will disappear once you're removed from campus."

'Disappear, not being taken off.' Yuri bit her lip at those words, even if it is a single word, the meaning of the phrase changes completely.

His companion, Azul, applauded a couple of times, as a sign of congratulations. "Ha—HA! Good show as always, Riddle. Your unique magic never ceases to amaze me, really. Your signature spell locks down any sorta of magic. It's quite handy. I've just GOT to have it—ah, I mean, I've just got to have respect to it."

'Call it.' Yuri thought not really impressed by that small change in attitude, both her and Riddle began to look suspicious at Octavinelle's dorm leader.

'Well, now what? Should I—' The headmaster stood in her face, with one hand holding Grim's collar from which he was hanging and from which he was desperately struggling as he tried to get it off.

"Dear child! Was I not clear that you are expected to take responsibility for your familiar?!" He scolded her.

'And I wasn't clear when I told you that it's not my familiar?' She thought exasperated by the situation. Showing off her most false smile to be polite, she replied to him in a dry way "Sir. Not mine."

"Now discipline your— What's that?! It isn't yours?" Crowley said in stunned, as if she hadn't tried to tell him 5 times earlier.

"Nope." Prolonging the sound of the p with her lips.

"Oh...Is that so?" Crowley said embarrassed.

'Do you really need my third confirmation?' She raised an eyebrow. She looked down began to bite her lip and kick her foot not knowing what else to do. She was starting to feel uncomfortable in that situation again.

"Ahem! Then I shall have it expelled from campus. I shall even spere it from being served as dinner. My, but I am kind." said Crowley, smiling proudly at his own praise.

Yuri, on the other hand, immediately raised her head with a afraid look at those words. 'Do they eat monsters here?'

"Nooooo! Let me goooooo!" Some hooded student obediently took hold of him and began to pull him away. "Let me go! I’m going to become—! I’m going to become a Grand Sorcerer! You will—…!"

“Well!” Crowley clapped his hands, bringing quiet back to the hall. "That was quite the unexpected fracas. I hereby declare that orientation hes concluded. Now each Housewarden is to lead their new housemates back to their dorm...Hm? Come to think of it, I don't see Housewarden Draconia of House Diasomnia anywhere."

'Have you really noticed it only now?' Yuri thought, raising an eyebrow, she thought it was quite unprofessional as a level of attention, especially for a principal.

The boy with the braids rolled his eyes at that. "And that surprises you? Dude's a total recluse." He spat rudely.

"Wait a sec...Did anyone even invite him?" Said the boy with red eyes.

"If you're that worried about him missing out, maybe you should have told him yourself." The androgynous person put one hand on their hip, sending a derisive glance in his direction.

"Maybe, but I don't know him too well either..." The short boy crossed his arms, his gaze was now less willing to the proposal.

Once again the hall filled with murmurs, though now a little fear could be heard in their voices. The things that were being said were not very reassuring: "Draconia...Like, Malleus Draconia? That Draconia?" Another stutter "So it's true? He really does go to this school here?" And another "Yikes."

'Perfect! So there is a worldwide danger in this school. Yey! Perfect just perfect. More worries, just what I needed.' It didn't take a genius to understand that if only the name of this person had aroused so much fear in all the students, then he was a person with whom Yuri wanted nothing to do with. Looking down she began to bite her lip again.

"Ah. Just as I'd expected." The voice came from a short boy with a deep voice who had appeared behind the boy with the pigtails and the blond one.

"I figure I'd come down and see for myself whether Malleus had made an appearance." Then he sighed and crossed his arms.

"But once again, he was evidently not informed that his presence was required at an official ceremony." He said without any clear emotion in his voice.

She couldn't see much of the boy, since he was facing away from her and his hood was covering his face, but it was still a bit strange to her that someone who was objectively so short had such a deep voice.

Azul's expression changed, he gave the short boy a sad look, but not even a shred of sincere pity could be found in his voice. "You have my sincerest apologies. I assure you, this oversight was in no way intended as a snub."

"I mean, you must admit, he's not exactly the easiest person to strike up a conversation with." Riddle said in a flat tone, he seemed to still be angry from what had just happened to respond in his cordial manner to the other boy.

'Funny, how you are the one to talk.' Yuri raised her eyebrow at that.

"No matter. All who were assigned to House Diasomnia, follow me. I just hope he doesn't sulk about this..." And with that he left the chamber with the group of boys who had the green colored gem.

Crowley claps his hands to draw attention to himself, "Well.....This year's ceremony was a total disaster....splendid.....Ahem! All dorm leader are requested to take their respective students to their assigned dorms......Please let there be no further problems for the rest of this day, thank you."

And with that the other dorm leader with their respective groups started to leave the room. Yuri had her head down but she could clearly feel the gazes of many students staring at her, murmuring among themselves: some were laughing at her, some were judging and others were angry at her for the mess she had created.

She didn't blame them, she understood that she had ruined something really important to them, most likely this ceremony was as impotent for them as choosing the starter for her, and she was very ashamed for that.

Crowley waited until the last student had exited the hall before he turned to her again. "Well then, Yuri. This is a most unfortunate turn of events. I'm afraid that you will not be attending Night Raven College after all. Surely you realize that I cannot very well admit a student with no magical ability to my academy."

'Believe me, no one will cry over this decision.' She simply nodded her head.

"Glad we see eye to eye." But then he frowned, his gaze was perplexed. He put his hand under his chin.

"Even if I could have sworn..." His gaze was fixed on her, almost on her soul for how intense it was.

"Never mind...Oh! But worry not. The Dark Mirror will see you safely home." Then he turned to the mirror.

The girl didn't care why the principal seemed so insecure at his words, now the only thing that mattered was returning home. In one piece and with all her Pokémon. She felt Celebi's grip on her left shoulder, so she didn't have the fear that maybe the Time Travel Pokémon would be left behind.

Crowley spread his hands wide. "Now, step into the gate, and visualize the place from whence you came." He took a deep breath, the magic began to flow around him.

"O Dark Mirror! Return this soul to where it belongs!"

And they waited for something to happen....and waited and waited.

'Ok, is it just me or is it taking a bit too long?' She gave Crowley a worried look.

"Ahem. L-let us, er...try this again. O Dark Mirror! Return this soul—"

"There is no such place."

"What?" Crowley said, widening his eyes.

'Oh...'

"There is no place in this world where this soul belongs."

'...oh fuck'

"How can that be?" Crowley lifted both metal-tipped gloves in exasperation. "Aah… My, but today is a veritable cavalcade of impossible phenomena!"

"This has never happend throughout my long tenure. I must confess that I am at something of a loss." His tone expressed nothing but confusion.

A demanding tone and gaze rested on Yuri. "Tell me: From what land do you hail?" But you could hear from his tone that he was more desperate than anything else.

But Yuri didn't answer, she didn't even give any sign that she was even listening. She was simply staring at that mirror in front of her. Her eyes began to dilate with rage and her fists began to clench.

Concerned about the lack of response, Crowley stepped forward and reached out to touch the girl's shoulder. But before he could do it, she screamed.

"What the hell are you talking about!?"

Instinctively he withdrew his hand to him. Crowley was frightened by the girl's tone of voice. He began to clearly see the girl's anger that was growing out of proportion.

He swallowed nervously. "Mister Yuu...?"

She began to take steps forward. When she was right in front of the mirror she took the end of it by both. She started screaming in its face.

"You literally brought me here! You're the reason I'm stuck here! In this horrifying place, Archeus only knows where! And—and I was almost burned alive! And now you want to tell me that you can't bring me back home! Even if YOU are the cause of all this!? Oh don't give me that crap!"

As red as she was in the face, Yuri now looked a lot like that Riddle boy. She was blinded by anger when she raised her fist, ready to hit that mirror and shatter it into a thousand pieces.

Fortunately, it was Crowley who stopped her from her unthinking actions. He blocked her from under her armpits and took her away from the mirror. 

The girl began to squirm and Crowley was starting to have trouble holding a grip on her. "Please, Mr. Yuri! Ahk—Listen to me! I hope you also understand that what you are doing will not solve anything. Calm down! And think before you take reckless actions that could damage this already disastrous situation even more."

And with that I let the girl go. He positioned themselves in front of her and put his hands tightly on both shoulders, thus preventing her from approaching the mirror.

"Now take a deep breath. Calm down. I will try with the best of my resources to solve this situation....Seven! Today's children, always making hasty decisions without thinking.....Oh! If only I wasn't so patient." Crowley said exasperated, his hands still on the girl's shoulders but the grip had loosened.

Yuri began to pant, she couldn't control her breathing, her body was still shaking with anger. Noticing this, Crowley coughed and very hesitantly began rubbing circled drawings on her left arm, very awkwardly but one appreciates the gesture. 

With great breaths Yuri was managing to regulate her breathing. She put her hands through her hair, ruffling it a little, and then slid them over her nose and mouth, continuing to breathe deeply. 

She made a gesture to ask the principal to move away from her a little. Crowley let go of her arms and took two steps back.

Crowley crossed his arms, patiently waiting for an answer from her. Yuri looked at him confused for a few seconds, and then remembered the question he had asked her earlier. 

The girl looked into his eyes and then into those of the mirror, she was perplexed, she didn't know if she could really trust this man.

Especially on the fact that even though he had in a sense carried her there he didn't know how to bring her back, and for Yuri that was a big no for her trust.

She bit her lip and looked down "I don't remember."

Crowley blinked a couple of times "What...?"

"I—I'm sorry Mr. Crowley but I don't remember the exact name of my home. I have various memories.....but it's all very confusing." Yuri said nervously without ever looking the man in the eye.

"But how is it possible! I mean, of course, the time-space teleportation that has to be made in the coffin can the upset the students' memories a bit at the beginning, but not so seriously....not with memory loss....Dear Seven!" He began to stutter very quickly that at a certain point Yuri could no longer follow him.

Then he breathed a sigh of irritation. "Let us go to the library and let's see if you can recognize it from some image or by name. Now, follow me, please."

'Yes, as if we really found something useful' Rolling her eyes, Yuri followed Crowley to the library where she was before arriving there.

—...

“Nothing!”

Crowley raised his hands in the air in exasperation, throwing the book in his hand behind him.

Yuri, on the other hand, made herself comfortable in the library chair. She knew that any question he asked her or any image he showed her, the answer would always be the same 'No. Doesn't ring a bell with me.'

The truth was that Yuri didn't want that man to find where she came from, she could only imagine what could happen.

These people were already endowed with magical powers in their own right: if they had also got their hands on the powers of Pokémon, most likely a war would have started between the two worlds for dominance in power (the Pokémon).

She didn't even know how strong their average sorcerer was. The worst case scenario was that an average sorcerer was as powerful as Legendary Pokémon. Already some people are dangerous with Pokémon, let alone those with added magic.

Plus, she didn't even know how many people were able to use magic. The school was designed to raise students in the field of magic, this excluded the fact that magic was something forbidden or unknown.

Indeed remembering what had happened during that disaster at the ceremony most likely the use of magic was quite normal in this world, but this did not mean that everyone necessarily knew how to use it.

There were too many risks in letting him discover her world of origin. Yuri decided it would be better if she herself would look for a way to return home, even if it took her years to do so.

Crowley sighed in exhaustion, collapsing one of the chairs. "Now, are you quite sure that you don't remember the name of the country you came from? That wasn't some sort of lie? Forgive my skepticism, but it seems strange to me how you can give a description, although very general, of your place of belonging but not a single specific name of this place."

In order not to arouse too much suspicion, Yuri had given the principal a general description of Kalos. Unfortunately, that information was useless, it was too vague and except for a few very small exceptions Yuri always lied about 'not remembering' when she had to tell him specific names, there was no chance that the principal would find her home with so little information. 

But even with that, it was obvious that Crowley still had big suspicions about her memory loss, but luckily for her there was no way to tell that she was lying.

"With all due respect sir, but I don't see any reason why I should lie to you. I have no intention or desire to stay here. What I want is to just go back to my home and I can't understand how lying to you can help me with that."

Crowley narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her but did not pursue the matter and moved the conversation to something else.

"Hm...However, even if with your poor description of your homeland it doesn't seem to resemble any of those on maps. With my immense knowledge I would remember such a place and yet it does not sound familiar to me."

He paused for a moment to think. "If so, the only explanation is that you've come from another planet. Or perhaps you were summoned here from another dimension?"

'Wow. Shocking.'

But for Yuri there was still something that didn't add up. "Excuse me, Mr. Crowley, but there is by chance, for some specific reason, that the mirror chose me. If I remember correctly during the ceremony you explicitly said that I am the first case of a student without magic to be 'admitted' by the mirror in this college."

Crowley looked her straight in the eye, smiled at her and said crudely. "My dear, if you don't have any kind of magic, I don't see any reason why you should be useful to this school. Therefore, I don't see why the mirror would have specifically chosen you. I'm pretty sure your arrival here is a simple mistake of chance."

Rude but not far from the truth.

Crowley closed the book he was holding open with one hand and got up from his chair. "Now that we've settled that. Show me everything that you brought here with you. Do you have some form of identification a driver's license perhaps? Or even a..shoe? You do seem a tad bit...empty-handend."

Yuri looked up at him with wide eyes. 'D-did he not see my bag?....Is he testing me or something? To see if I'm lying to him?'

Looking at herself well, she realized that the robe she was wearing covered the bag really well and also all of herself in general.

She looked up at him again, then she shakes her head. "No, I—...I got nothing with me."

Crowley put a finger under his chin, looking neither suspicious nor surprised by what he had been told. "Well, this is quite the predicament. I cannot have someone with no aptitude for magic bumbling about my magic academy. And yet, as an educator, I am loath to expel a young person without a cent to their name, or any ability to contact their guardian. Oh That would be just heartless!"... "Hmmmmm..."

Yuri folded her arms and leaned back in her chair to await the principal's final decision.

"...Ah!" Crowley put his fist in one hand. "There is s vacant bulding oh this campus. It was, in fact, used as a dorm a long time ago. With a proper cleaning, it should be habitable enough."

A proud smile on his face. "Out of the profound kindness of my heart, I will allow you to live there for the time being. In the meantime, we will investigate other ways to send you home."

He put his hands on his hips. "Dear me, but I am a gracious man indeed! A model educator, one might say."

When she saw that the man had finished speaking, Yuri got up from her chair. Crowley was confused by this action. "Hmm? Is there something you want to add, young one?"

She didn't answer him, she bowed her head and back in gratitude. "Thank you very much sir for your hospitality, I will also try to find a way to return home as quickly as possible, so that I will not be in your way anymore. Thank you again for these gestures of thoughtfulness, you do not know how grateful I am, I will do my best to try to repay you."

Most people wouldn't have thought the same way, but for Yuri these were truly great acts of kindness from the principal. After all, he was offering her a roof to sleep under when he could have just as easily abandoned her in the middle of the street, after all she had nothing there... she had no one, Crowley couldn't even have problems with the law since she had no one to turn to, no one to help her. Yuri was truly grateful towards him.

When she looked up again and met Crowley's gaze, she found no emotion on his face or in his eyes, she felt as if he was studying her under his gaze.

Neither of them moved for a while, until Crowley's face formed a mocking grin. "Well this confirms to me that the mirror, truly, didn't choose you."

Crowley’s eyes curved in a smile. "Well then, I shell take you to your dorm straight away. It is an older building, but it has plenty of...character, one might say."

With that he got up and started walking towards the exit of the library, motioning for the girl to follow him.

Yuri didn't understand what he meant by "character" or what the previous sentence meant, but as long as she had her Pokémon with her everything would be fine.

[readychilledwine]

do you ever feel awkward writing for Eris? I saw your poll about doing an SJM bad guys week, so I'm guessing not.

Warning - This is going to become SJM critical. Please know I am not anti any of these characters. I am, however, critical of SJM as a long-time fantasy reader.

You answered your own question in your ask there, friend.

I do not have issues writing for Eris. The main issue the fandom has with him is the situation with Mor, and here's my stance on that:

We have an issue with the timeline around this incident, so I will make my judgement call when SJM does her eventual retcon and fixes it.

We know Eris is younger than Mor and Rhys, who are around the same age. Mor was sold to Autumn as Eris's bride at the tender age of 17. When Helion is giving us his gorgeous monolog talking about his love for Momma Autumn, we find out that she and Beron were married young and had barely been married for two decades around the start of the first war. Meaning Eris was around 19 at the time.

This passage from Rhys is a little hazy and unclear, but from how I and several other people took it, he was around 28 at the start of that war, meaning Mor was also around 27 to 28. That makes Mor at least 8 to 9 years older than Eris. Meaning, he potentially was a LITERAL child when he and Mor were engaged. He would have been around the age of 7 to 9 and already had the mindset to fear Beron.

This where I am going to look SJM critical. She is great at a few things, creating plotholes by retconing, and fucking up timelines due to her retconing.

Let's say she retcons to correct that issue. We still know Eris is younger than Mor by a year or two. So, let's say he was 15 to 16. At 15 to 16 years old, I want you to think about what you would have done in this situation:

You are a young prince or princess. Your father is a known abuser and racist. You all have just found out your betrothed has sullied themselves with a person your father considers below all of you, and you know it was done to get out of a marriage she did not want to be in. You and your men find her on the border of your father's court, beaten and with a nail in her womb. Here are your options:

1. You take her back to your father, the known racist and abuser. Thus making her, in reality, his problem. You have witnessed how your father likes to handle his problems. You also know he's angry and embarrassed this female made the choice to sleep with a lesser born bastard Illyrian over marry his high fae princeling.

2. You cannot risk touching her, so leave her somewhere her friends can find her without risking her or them having to enter Autumn. This will allow her to go home, where she is safe, and heal.

In both scenarios, Eris could not win. He either took Mor to his father and risked her death and was blamed for that, or he left her knowing her friends were more than likely coming and be blamed for that as well. He was now the villain in Mor's story regardless of what actions he took, and he was that villain as a teen. A literal child. As a child he picked to allow Morrigan life. To allow her to live without being trapped the way he and his mother are.

Eris, in theory, made a selfless choice. He made the choice to damn himself and his reputation for the sake of Mor and as he says, it cost him..

As for me being willing to write other SJM bad guys-

It is perfectly normal and acceptable in every other fandom to be attracted to the bad guys and to write dark fanfiction about them. You see it all time in Tolkien, Harry Potter, and (grossly since they are all children) it has resurged in the Percy Jackson fandom. Please have several seats and let me, and the several other people who are excited for it, enjoy my little story about Pollux, my reader, and his heavy cock that sways to and fro.

It's also, as someone pumping out the amount of content I am right now, really nice to get to write a dark fic with a villain here and there for a change of pace, so thank you to everyone who is supportive and open to me doing that.

[leportraitducadavre]

Wiat stop omggg i’ve been reading these posts about the anti-Hinata Hyuga stuff and how she is infact privileged and ngl it lowkey hurt but also omfg???? I never realized how bad the Hyuga situation was or how Hinata is unable to pick a side, I just assumed she’d obviously dissolve the slavery practices because I see her as a good person(and i read too much fanfiction)

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA now i definitely need Hiashi to die in the war and for Neji to become leader(yeah no Hinata can’t lead to save her life) because it would be such a good step to take down the old system by replacing it with a Neji as a symbol of change. Media is making me go crazy again but that’s probably my room mold 😭😭😭😭

Also the Naruhina fan in me kinda wishes that Naruto learned sealing from Pervy sage because like imagine if they worked together to make a new Hyuga seal to actually protect the byakugan and then it gets worn as a clan marking, like the red fangs from the inuzuka and oh my god im so sorreybfor rambling all over this asks i just really really want more Hyuga content and for ny faves to be happy, also you are really well omg id love to have ur attention span for politics because i can barely understand my highschool civics like ibshoudl probably stop now-have a nice day!!!!!✨

Hello there,

It's okay to like a problematic character and it's okay to like a ship, the problem starts when people justify such problematic characteristics to make them "acceptable", like justifying Neji's treatment at the hands of the Main Family because he was "mean" to Hinata, despite him warning her about fighting him and asking her to forfeit multiple times.

I never realized how bad the Hyuga situation was or how Hinata is unable to pick a side

I'm sorry to be the one to tell you, but Hinata chose a side. Ignoring the matter or not giving it the relevance that it has even after her cousin's speech during their match or his match vs. Naruto, is to actively support the system in place; she might truly believe that is for the "greater good," as so his Konoha's mantra, but it doesn't change the fact that she agrees with the practice.

I just assumed she’d obviously dissolve the slavery practices because I see her as a good person(and i read too much fanfiction)

I don't see her as a good person for the reasons mentioned above, no good person sees her uncle being tortured and her cousin being enslaved and believes to be the bigger victim in their dynamic. Furthermore, she did pretty much nothing for anyone who wasn't Naruto; being shy and quiet is not the same as being a good person; she never mentioned being kind-spirited and thus, unable to be a shinobi (like Chöji, which was a full small arc of his character when fighting the Sound Four), but rather, weak.

now i definitely need Hiashi to die in the war and for Neji to become leader

I understand your wish for Hiashi to die, but Neji succumbing to his fate put an end to the "Hyuga's conundrum" as that's an issue that involves Konoha in itself and not addressing it in Boruto would've been a major problem; furthermore, the problem wasn't just about stopping the Main Family from creating slaves but also them giving reparations to those they enslaved, like Neji. His death was also used to give Hinata a "moment" with Naruto.

(yeah no Hinata can’t lead to save her life)

She can't, not just because she's weak (Shikamaru doesn't shine because he's particularly strong, he isn't), but also because she often puts her wishes above the safety of those under her command (Koü Hyüga) and can't come up with a basic strategy to fight her opponents. She perhaps modeled her attack pattern following Naruto's (who mostly attacks before coming up with a strategy, as he often relies on overwhelming his enemies), as she often states to look up to him and has spied on him multiple times, but he's far more strong and has much more chakra (plus healing chakra) than her.

Also the Naruhina fan in me kinda wishes that Naruto learned sealing from Pervy sage

I'm not sure Jiraiya knew much about sealing techniques (we only see him erasing Orochimaru's seal), Minato learned from Kushina and not him. Tsunade is likely far more versed on the matter and she never even attempted to take Neji's seal off, so that's where the village stands on the matter.

have a nice day!!!!!✨

Thank you. You too.

[velmashaircut]

A few years ago I rated some OPM ships, I'm going to do it again and compare results to see if I changed my mind about any of the ships

Saitama/Genos: i ranked Genosai low last time due to Genos being 19, I was 16 at the time of making the list and I thought it was wild a 19 year old was being shipped with a 25 year old. Im 19 now and I’ve realised I shouldn’t take the ship too seriously since opm isn’t real, and both are adults so the age difference isn’t as big of a problem I made it to be. Both are mature enough so I no longer have any issues with the ship. The fanfictions and art for the ship are nice, and I like how much they both care for one another, which I think was made clear at the end of the MA arc if it wasn't obvious already. I’ll give the ship a 6/10, I like it but I’m not crazy about it.

Tatsumaki/King: At first I didn’t like this ship but I'm on board now! I think it’s cute. The fanfics for these two have won me since they have a good dynamic, and we get to see some nice Tatsumaki characterisation. In the manga, it’s nice to see that King is one of the few people Tatsumaki seems to respect and have faith in. My only issue with this ship is that Tatsumaki is under the impression King is strong af, which he clearly isn’t. Even though he isn’t omitting this information willingly, she doesn’t know who King truly is. I still love it though, 8/10.

Flashy Flash/Sonic: I love this ship too, and the manga and webcomic are to blame. I’ve always liked childhood friends to lovers troupe and that is what Flash x Sonic basically is. The fanfiction and fan art are great too, if you haven’t been able to tell already, the fanfiction and art do impact my view on these ships. 9/10, even though it’s my favourite opm ship, I don’t have much to say about it other than I think it’s great.

Atomic Samurai/Iaian. Ik I said a 6 year age gap is wild so you would think I wouldn’t like this paring because it’s a 14 year age. But Iaian is in his 20’s so I can at least turn a blind eye to a 14 year age gap. Again, I’m also a fan of this pairing. The MA arc in the manga has given Iaian a bigger role in the story and thus more dialogue with Atomic, it was really endearing to see how much Atomic cares for Iaian. 8/10.

Gorou/Badd. I know this ship is probably the second most popular in OPM but it’s ranked low for me because I don't really care for either character so I don't care for the ship much either. There's nothing wrong with it though, just isn’t my thing. 6/10

Fubuki/Psykos: same as the ship above pretty much. I see the appeal, but I’m not appealed. The fanart is cute af tho. 6/10

Drive Knight/ Genos: I became a fan of this pairing recently which really surprised me. I think this is mainly because it could go in multiple directions depending on Drive Knight's allegiance. The recent webcomic chapters are not helping. There's not a lot of fics out there for these two but the few I read are pretty nice. Also, there is this one artist, can't remember who they are, but the fanart they make for this pairing got me on board. 8/10.