#blind pig act

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"JAIL SENTENCE FOR A BLIND PIGGER," Cobalt Daily Nugget. December 17, 1912. Page 1. --- Bob Warren Will go Down For Four Months ---- Magistrate Atkinson yesterday afternoon imposed a four months sentence and a $200 fine on two transgressors at the blind pig act, Bob Warren and Tommy Smith. Warren was not finished with at that. Two other charges against him were adjourned until this morning. Three charges were laid against Smith, but only two of them were urged and he was let down with $100 and costs or three months on each of them.

Provincial License Inspector Morrison was present and handled the prosecution. District License Inspector Blackwall was also present, assisting him, George Mitchell, defended Warren, while Smith took the responsibility of his own defense.

Two "spotters," belonging to the Thiel detective agency, named Broom and Jenkins, gave evidence against the men charged.

In Warren's case, the first to be tried, the witnesses stated that they had been living with him in the same rooming house. They had purchased liquor from him on three different dates.

Warren's counsel pleaded not guilty to the charge but a conviction was registered. It was also proved that this was Warren's second offense. Не was not let off with a fine, but was given four months at hard labor at North Bay.

Tommy Smith was charged with selling liquor on the 24th, 25th and 30th of November, to the detectives, Broom and Jenkins. He committed the offense at 19 Silver street, above the old bowling alleys.

George Walker gave evidence in his favor. Smith secured an offer of bail, but Mr. Atkinson would not grant it after the conviction been made. had

[sunsburns]

the sweetest taboo — arcane (league of legends) !

⟢ content summary. tropes & relationship headcanons with arcane characters

⟢ characters. vi, jinx, cait, ekko, jayce, viktor

⟢ authors note. love making cute little stuff like these, thx sm for this request anon <3

vi & enemies to lovers (imagine vi joined the firelights instead of the pigs)

you wanted to see her fall so badly.

from the moment ekko introduces you to vi, there’s no denying the tension between you. whether it’s a disagreement about how to handle a situation or something personal, you're constantly at odds.

every conversation feels like a challenge, and you’re always testing each other’s limits.

in every interaction, there’s a fight—both verbal and, occasionally, physical. she doesn’t pull any punches, and neither do you.

you and vi are paired up for a high-stakes mission that requires precise planning and execution. what could possibly go wrong?

vi, not used to following orders, pushes back against your every suggestion, questioning your methods and trying to take shortcuts.

you feel your patience wearing thin as vi constantly does things her way, disregarding your carefully laid plans. every decision becomes a battleground—she insists on rushing in without thinking, while you want to take your time and survey the situation first.

by the end of the mission, you’ve somehow made it through despite the odds—frustration, arguments, and near-failures (and death). the sense of accomplishment feels sweeter because you did it together, even if it wasn’t easy.

as the two of you spend more time together, you start to see past the tough exterior that vi puts up. In rare moments, she shows a vulnerability that surprises you. maybe it's in the middle of a fight where she hesitates, or maybe it's in a quiet moment when the chaos around you both settles, and you see her exhaustion—physical and emotional.

these glimpses into her real self make you start questioning the assumptions you had about her. is she really just a hothead, or is there more beneath the surface?

after a particularly gruelling mission, you both find yourselves sitting in silence, patching up your wounds. vi’s usually the first to crack a joke or make light of the situation, but tonight, she’s quiet. you notice her rubbing the scar on her arm, and you can see the tiredness in her eyes. for the first time, the animosity between you feels a little lighter. you don’t say anything, but you sit in comfortable silence, the distance between you shrinking.

you’re both forced to work together more often, and as time goes on, you begin to realize that vi’s brashness and unpredictability balance out your nature. when you argue, it’s less about who’s right or wrong and more about learning to adapt to each other’s methods.

slowly, you start realizing that you rely on her just as much as she relies on you—she covers your blind spots, and you bring stability to her chaos.

she jumps into the fray with reckless abandon, and you follow her lead—trusting her instincts for the first time. when the dust settles and you both make it out alive, you catch her looking at you with something unspoken in her eyes. she gives a half-smile and you cannot stop thinking about it for a few weeks.

you start noticing small things. vi isn’t as quick to argue with you anymore; in fact, she starts making little sarcastic remarks and playful jabs that are different from the insults you used to exchange. the teasing becomes more frequent, but there’s an undercurrent of something more intimate now. she might nudge your shoulder when she’s pleased with something you did, or shoot you a smirk when she catches you staring at her for a little too long.

jinx & fish out of water

even though you feel out of place in zaun, jinx instinctively feels the need to protect you. seeing how uncomfortable you are in the chaos of zaun, jinx acts as a shield, drawing attention away from you when things get dangerous, whether it’s with hostile locals or threats from other groups.

jinx might not be the most traditional teacher, but she guides you through zaun's tough environment. she shows you the ropes, from how to barter with street vendors to how to defend yourself if things get physical.

your differences are stark when it comes to how you approach danger. jinx is spontaneous and unpredictable, while you are more cautious, always thinking about the potential consequences.

this sometimes leads to tension, especially when you're trying to slow jinx down from acting on a wild idea, but it also shows how you balance each other out.

jinx’s chaotic nature is overwhelming at times, but it also brings out a side of you you never knew existed. where you once clung to stability, you now find yourself caught up in jinx’s wild adventures, learning to enjoy the rush and thrill of unpredictability, even if it scares you.

despite the wild, chaotic surroundings, you and jinx share moments of unexpected intimacy. whether it’s sitting side-by-side in the dark, sharing stories about your lives before the downfall of zaun, or lying next to each other after a rough day, these moments make you realize that you’ve found something real in the madness.

jinx expresses her affection in her own unique way. sometimes it’s in the form of an impulsive kiss or an unexpected act of care, like fixing your hair or bringing you something she thinks will make you smile.

ekko & second chances

the fight that tore you apart wasn’t just words—it was emotional, raw, and devastating. maybe ekko was so focused on his mission for zaun that he pushed you aside, saying something hurtful like, “this is bigger than you and me—you wouldn’t understand.”

the words lingered, and no matter how much you wanted to stay, it felt like ekko had chosen his crusade over you.

years later, you’re mid-mission in piltover, tracking a stolen resource. you hear his voice before you see him.

his voice is a mix of shock and disbelief when he realizes it’s you. you turn, and there’s ekko—older, sharper, with an air of maturity, but his wide eyes and hesitant smile are pure nostalgia.

ekko doesn’t immediately try to explain everything—he’s smart enough to know it won’t fix things overnight. instead, he focuses on showing you he’s changed.

when your equipment breaks during a mission, he’s already fixing it before you even ask.

he shows up to help, even when you don’t want him to. when you call him out on it, he shrugs and says, “you can hate me all you want, but i’m not leaving you to handle this alone.”

during a mission in zaun, you find yourselves hiding in one of your old hangout spots—a small nook under a collapsed bridge where you used to plan wild schemes as kids. it brings back old memories, and the two of you try not to comment how you do not fit in there anymore.

he gives you a makeshift communicator as an apology.

you don’t immediately forgive him, but you start to let him back in little by little. asking him for advice on a job, checking in on the firelight base every once in a while.

he let you stay the night, showed you to your old room and everything. and then you stayed the night after that. and the night after that.

when you’re working late on a plan, ekko shows up with food, claiming he “just happened to be in the area.” you roll your eyes but let him stay.

as time passes, you notice how he listens more—how he makes a point to ask your opinion and actually consider it. he’s grown, and it shows in the small, thoughtful ways he interacts with you.

during a dangerous mission, you’re cornered, and ekko jumps in to shield you. it’s reckless, but it reminds you of the boy who always put others before himself, even at his own expense.

ekko doesn’t make a big, dramatic declaration of love. instead, it’s quiet and vulnerable, like him.

“i didn’t just miss you,” he says one night, while you’re sitting on a rooftop overlooking zaun. “i loved you. i think i always did, even when i didn’t know how to show it.”

jayce & friends to lovers

inserperable. no other word to describe it.

people constantly assume you’re already a couple because you’re rarely seen apart. jayce just laughs it off, saying, “nah, we’re just close,” while you both ignore the way your cheeks heat up.

whether it’s work, errands, or grabbing food, jayce naturally gravitates toward you, like it’s second nature to have you around.

you’ve developed little routines together without even realizing it. maybe it’s getting coffee every morning from the same spot, trading lunch when one of you forgets, or walking each other home after a long day.

you two have endless conversations about everything and nothing. jayce loves bouncing ideas off you, and he’s constantly sharing his thoughts, whether it’s about a new invention or a random observation.

“does it ever freak you out how fast hextech is evolving? like, what if we accidentally invent something terrifying?” he muses while you laugh and call him dramatic.

your friendship is filled with countless inside jokes and nicknames that no one else understands. jayce loves seeing the confused looks on people’s faces when the two of you burst out laughing over something random.

jayce likes fixing things for you, whether it’s repairing something broken or building something new just to make your life easier.

he loves surprising you with practical but meaningful gifts, like a gadget he made specifically for your needs.

jayce has moments that feel a little too intimate for “just friends.” maybe it’s the way he brushes his fingers against yours when handing you something, or how he gets distracted watching you talk about something you’re passionate about.

jayce is the kind of guy who doesn’t immediately realize he’s in love. it hits him in the middle of a mundane moment, like seeing you laugh at something, and he thinks, oh. oh no.

he starts doing things he wouldn’t normally do for just anyone, like learning how to cook a dish you love or reading up on something you’re sincere about so he can talk about it with you.

he’s big on physical affection. even as friends, he was the type to give casual hugs or drape an arm around your shoulders. in a relationship, he’s almost always touching you—holding hands, leaning into you, or brushing hair out of your face.

viktor & academic rivals

he does not fuck with you at all at first.

viktor finds your work frustratingly impressive, often critiquing your methods to hide his own admiration.

the two of you are constantly debating and trying to outdo each other, whether it’s in experiments, theories, or even harmless bets (like who can finish designing a prototype faster).

he does warm up to you eventually.

not by choice, though.

it's because heimerdinger put the two of you as lab partners for a project.

mutual respect grows slowly, as viktor starts to see your perspective and vice versa.

viktor loves having late-night brainstorming sessions with you, where the two of you drink tea (or coffee, if the stakes are high) and talk until the early hours. he secretly enjoys how your conversations stray into personal topics.

he isn't one for grand gestures but shows he cares in small ways—like leaving extra parts for your inventions or staying up to help you with research, even if he’s exhausted.

he remembers every detail you mention, no matter how trivial. if you once offhandedly said you like a certain type of snack, he’ll "coincidentally" have it in the lab.

viktor gets quietly jealous when someone else praises your work too much, though he'll never admit it. instead, he'll just throw himself deeper into his own projects to "prove" himself.

you often lose track of time when working together, forgetting meals and proper rest. while viktor is typically the culprit of this, you will sometimes pull him away, insisting on taking a break. this becomes their unspoken routine, with you caring for viktor when he pushes himself too far.

if you openly compliment him—whether it’s his work or appearance—he struggles to respond and often mutters, "it's nothing," while his ears turn red.

when you catch him staring, viktor pretends to be deep in thought about something else.

outside the lab, viktor loves quiet evenings with you, reading books or sketching ideas while the other works nearby. it's in these moments he realizes how much he treasures his presence.

oh, and don't forget that he is incredibly sassy omg. like when the two of you get heated, things get heated.

[diariesofthelover]

Wayne Brothers’ Gala Girl

synopsis: Bruce Wayne’s galas are held every once in a blue moon, but when they did occur, every Gotham socialite was sure to attend. The eldest sons of Gotham’s favorite billionaire always wound up in some trouble to entertain themselves, this time the brothers’ idea of fun was a beautiful woman who looked almost as bored as them.

notes: Jason Todd & Dick Grayson x reader, 3rd person pov, little bit 🌶️, inspired by the painting above.

The Eldest Wayne brothers found themselves in the quietest corner of the gala, bored with no idea of what they can get into this time around to beat last gala’s “performance” as they would call it.

“We could set off the fire alarm,” Dick suggests lazily to his younger brother.

“What are we twelve? Most of the people here already think we’re still fifteen.”

“No, they think you’re still fifteen because you were legally dead for like four years.”

“Shut up, dickwad.”

“HER!” Dick exclaimed, “Her, her, her, her!”

“You were Robin not a fucking parrot, her what?”

“That beautiful beautiful woman right there that looks even more miserable than we do with those tuxedo vultures circling her.”

Tuxedo vultures was spot on. These rich pigs had her trapped, all trying to win her attention one at a time, attempting a better pitch than the last guy. Any kind of manners that were instilled in her from an early age couldn’t apply after the third man insisted that he was the perfect man for her, actually, the perfect man for any proper woman, brains or not. All of the men here were the exact same, they believed their money and family were enough to flatter any woman here, that having any form of a likable personality or distanct traits besides snobbery was, “not something women really wanted.”

The woman couldn’t control her eye roll after the second attempted joke was made, averting her gaze where her eyes landed on the two men who already had their bright eyes on her, Bruce Wayne’s oldest sons.

She didn’t have a problem with the Wayne Family of course, she was after all attending their gala, it was just some of the guests that she wasn’t so fond of.

“What about her?” Jason looks over to who Dick was fawning over. Jason wasn’t blind, actually his vision only got better after he was resurrected, he too thought that the woman was beautiful, maybe one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen, which is why he immediately shut Dick down, knowing what he was going to try to do.

“No, Dick. No chance, leave her alone.”

“I don’t think she wants me to,” Dick replies as the woman returns his famous flashy grin with a soft smile.

Dick had been trying to get Jason…well more out there after the whole dying, coming back to life, and then out in the public eye again thing. Jason died young, he barely got a chance to live his teenage years so whenever Jay’s attracted to someone, he starts acting like a teenage boy but at the age of twenty instead of sixteen.

Dick, make every girl swoon over him since his Robin days, Grayson mastered the whole girl thing by now and is trying to be his not so little brother’s tonight’s wingman.

“Follow me,” Dick whispers to Jason, not taking his eyes of the beauty across from him.

Dick and a hesitant Jason make their way over to the group of men that were all secretly jealous of their father, probably jealous of his sons too, interrupting the lifeless conversation and taking all of her focus off the vultures and onto him and Jason.

“Good evening gentlemen, how are we doing tonight?” Jason almost gagged at his at his brother’s fake politeness, he was always the better one at socializing, his charming personality didn’t stop at women.

“Richard Grayson, boy you’ve certainly grown up since I last saw you!” An older man around Bruce’s age greets him stirring up the rest of the men.

“Dick Grayson huh, pleasure to finally meet Gotham’s new prince.”

“I hear you’re very popular with the ladies,” the group erupted into laughter, these men really love any jokes to do with a woman don’t they?

“And you must be Bruce’s other son, Tim is it?” Jason’s takes his eyes off the woman to give the man a slight scowl, he promised Bruce he’d behave tonight.

“No, no, that’s Jason the one that…” one of the men tries to begin to tell the epic tale of Jason Todd.

“Say, we would love to stay and chat but our date has been waiting for us for quite a bit now,” Dick quickly interrupts him before Jason pulls out any kind of weapon on these men and offers his hand to the woman.

She places her hand into his thinking that she’d rather be a damsel in a in distress in need of saving by a knight, or in Gotham’s case a masked vigilante, instead of spending another moment with some men that are old enough to be her father thinking about how’d she make the perfect trophy wife and the younger who simply want to get laid after the gala. As Dick pulls her away from the hungry drunken men, she offers her hand to Jason who gives her a confused and flustered look.

“If I’m not mistaken, Mr. Grayson said our date,” she says to him in the most soothing and charming voice Jason’s ever heard.

Forcing himself to snap out of this teenage haze, Jason takes her hand earning a smile from both her and his brother.

“I hope you don’t mind us whisking you away like that, you just seemed like you weren’t enjoying yourself,” Dick started, never dropping his darling smile.

“I don’t mind at all, I needed an excuse to get away from them,” the woman looks back at the men as they watch the brothers walk away with their “prize” in envy, “god they’re pathetic,” she sighs.

“Tell me about it,” Jason mumbles beside her.

“All night I’ve been surrounded by these people that only talk about their money, their jobs, their mansion and penthouses, it’s a bit exhausting, they really can’t think of anything else to discuss. It’s fascinating that they really think that’s the way to win over a woman.”

“Well I can promise you we’re a lot more interesting than that,” Dick laughs, “We also have access to all parts of the manor, how about Jason and I give you a little tour?” Dick states rather than asks earning a questioning look from Jason about what he’s planning.

“If you insist.”

Jason knew how Dick wanted him to jump into the dating pool. He frequently tried to set him up with either other vigilantes so he wouldn’t have to worry about his partner 24/7, or an ordinary Gotham citizen where Jason could escape from Gotham’s criminals and Red Hood duties to enjoy a semi-normal life. What Jason wasn’t understanding was why Dick had a chosen a woman that he was madly attracted to as well.

As Dick began his small tour of the manor, Jason stood awkwardly alongside the woman who was attentively watching his older brother and the places he showed. Jason didn’t know if he should join in or take over, make some small talk, he was sort of frozen in place and shy. You’d think that the big bad Red Hood who always had a mouth on him since he was Robin and would break Batman’s moral code would be the last person to get nervous around a pretty girl, maybe Red Hood wouldn’t but Jason Todd would.

“And this is the library, Jason’s favorite place in the manor,” Jason was snapped out of his thoughts when Dick mentioned his name, “once he comes in here you won’t see him for hours.”

“Big reader?” It took a moment for Jason to realize that the question was for him and not Dick.

“Yea, um, yes, I love literature.”

“Really, would do you love to read?” She was now fully focused on Jason who was struggling to maintain eye contact as his cheeks and ears were colored red.

He couldn’t keep his cool physically but he could try verbally, “classics,” he responded simply, not adding more to his portion of the conversation to which Dick internally sighed to.

“Dostoevsky, Shakespeare, Austen?” The charming woman tried to get something out of the boy.

“All of them, and more of course,” Jason gave her a shy smile.

She heads towards the leather chair that Jason always sits in, making herself comfortable in his spot.

“This where you sit, get lost in all those stories you read?”

Something about her sitting in his chair made his blood rush. The way that she had made it look twice the size bigger being half the size of Jason, the way she relaxed into his chair, sinking into his molding. The boy was so mesmerized he forgot to answer her question.

Dick noticed and decided to swoop in, “Mhm, right here,” Dick drags now standing over her, “he’s a very smart guy you know with all the books he reads, runs in the family.”

She slowly shifted her gaze from Jason to Dick who was getting closer and closer, “I guess the looks do too, interesting for adopted brothers,” earning a smile from both boys.

“Excuse my brother for his shortness, we usually occupy ourselves with stunts at these galas, not beautiful women,” Dick says switching the attention back onto Jason, “he can get pretty shy.” Normally that statement would earn a punch to the shoulder or at least a nasty remark but Dick was right, Jason was pretty shy around pretty girls.

Dick and the mystery woman were now smiling at Jason who was leaned against the wall, close enough to where he can see the rise and fall of her chest, but far enough from engaging the way Dick was.

Dick gently tilts her head up with his large calloused hands forcing their gala girl to look up at him, “What do you think of my brother?”

Now it was the woman’s turn to be painted red, “I think he’s one of the most handsome and intriguing men I’ve ever seen.”

“And me?” Dick pouts.

“I think you’re one of the most handsome and charming man i’ve ever come across,” she says in a sultry tone that lures the boys in like sailors to a siren.

Both Dick and Jason’s blood is rushing, relishing in the fact that this goddess of a woman found the boys to be worthy of her attraction, that nobody else at the gala was as good as them.

“Tell me something, both of you,” she starts, “why stray from your usual chaos and shenanigans to show me around your manor?”

“You’re much more intriguing than anything we had in mind,” says Jason surprisingly boldly as he moves closer to her.

“You’re the most entertaining here tonight, baby,” adds in Dick who quickly got back his confidence after a brush to his ego.

“I heard I was beautiful too,” she teased, trying to get the higher ground again.

“I bet you get told that a lot, don’t you angel? You think that’s what those pigs were telling her Jay? How much of a pretty girl she is,” It was too late though, once Dick Grayson got wound up, he got complete control, “Now you tell me something doll, did they tell you how sexy you look in that dress of yours?” She shakes her head no, any kind of witty and teasing responses wiped from her pretty head, “Aw, well that’s just wrong, Jason tell her how good she looks in that dress.”

Both eyes are on Jason, waiting for his compliment, “She looks—you look stunning in that dress,” Dick was waiting for more, he knew Jason had the vocabulary he just needed the push, “You suit my color, red’s my favorite,” now they were getting something out of him.

“I’ll be sure to think of you when I wear red again,” god she was good. Dick had to bring the power back to him and Jason again, this all quickly became a game to him, his real entertainment for tonight’s gala.

“And what if we got rid of the red,” Dick slips the strap of her dress off her shoulder causing her to shudder, he’s in control again, “how’s that look?”

“Fuck,” Jason whispered under his breath.

“I think Jason feels the same way about it as I do,” with how quiet it was in the library his whisper was heard easily by the two, “what do you think pretty, you think it’s better?”

She felt like how Jason felt in the beginning, mesmerized and stunned. From Dick talking to her so confidently and his usage of pet names, to the way Jason was losing his fucking mind over her.

“Y’gonna answer me or are you gonna keep looking at Jay with fuck me eyes?” Dick wasn’t jealous, he was trying to tease the two, get them riled up.

Before she gets to respond there’s a knock at the door, “Master Richard and Master Jason, Master Bruce requests your attendance for at least another half hour.”

“We’ll be right out Alfred,” Richard quickly answered before Alfred could barge in on the scene, “shall we?”

Dick heads towards the door as Jason and their gala girl slowly fix themselves up, avoiding any kind of eye contact with each other.

Dick stops Jason before they head back out to the gala, “You’re welcome, Jaybird.”

[oddyseye]

Dissecting every reason people call Eurylochus a hypocrite because I am sick and tired of defending this poor hungry man.

Eurylochus is not the easy villain or the perfect saint. He is the walking contradiction of the Odyssey and EPIC, and anyone who just calls him a hypocrite without understanding the nuances of his motivations really isn’t paying attention to the full picture. Let’s start with the infamous wind bag fiasco, which happens early enough for Eurylochus to show us his conflict. Yes, he doubts Odysseus’ judgment when it comes to the Wind God’s island, warning him about the risks. And let’s be real, Eurylochus is absolutely right. If you look at the situation, Odysseus is acting impulsively, relying on his wits and bravado, thinking he can control the outcome with the power of his charm. But this? It’s a god’s realm. The gods don’t work on your timetable. At this point, what does Odysseus’ confidence even mean? Eurylochus sees it as reckless, and I agree. Yes, Eurylochus is a bit wary of everything at this point (which might be annoying if you’re Odysseus), but it’s a valid concern. And Odysseus’ reply? It's a bit patronizing. He doesn’t respect Eurylochus’ caution. Instead of listening to his crew member, his second-in-command, Odysseus tells him to stand down and demands blind loyalty. Of course, this sets the stage for Eurylochus’ next crucial transformation. He’s now seen Odysseus as someone who doesn’t care about the real risks or the crew. People LOVE to bring up that line where Eurylochus says he opened the wind bag. Okay, okay, he messed up. But here’s the thing: he knows he messed up, and he admits it. In front of everyone. He’s not hiding it. He’s not making excuses. He’s owning up to it. And people still want to call him a hypocrite? He wasn’t the one who set the trap for the entire crew by opening that wind bag. Odysseus gave some instructions, but he knew the crew was starving and desperate. And then, on top of that, you have the winions stirring the pot, telling everyone there’s treasure in the bag? What did he think would happen? The crew wasn’t exactly in the best headspace to be taking orders from a guy who was clearly not as present as he should have been. You can’t put all the blame on Eurylochus when Odysseus didn’t exactly set them up for success. Everyone was already in a fragile place after the war, and Odysseus should have known better than to leave room for temptation. He was the leader; he should’ve anticipated how bad the temptation would be. Eurylochus gets a little too much flak for something that wasn’t entirely his fault. There’s enough blame to go around for everyone, not just one guy. All of the crew wanted to open the bag, Eurylochus was just the one who did. He represents the voice of the crew. His biggest focus becomes apparent in the Circe Saga, specifically during Puppeteer, when Eurylochus is forced into a brutal choice on Circe’s island. After the men are turned into pigs, Eurylochus has to come to terms with his decision. He’s a pragmatist. He doesn’t trust the island, doesn’t want to gamble their lives on a witch’s promises. So, when Odysseus sends him and the crew to investigate, Eurylochus doesn’t just go along for the ride, he stays behind and urges Odysseus to get out of there. But let’s remember, this moment is a turning point for Eurylochus. He’s scared, yes, but also rational. He was the one who saw the situation from a distance and thought, “This is too risky.” He’s the realist who wants to cut his losses, but it’s important to notice that his fear is the fear of losing more men, not necessarily cowardice. Unlike Odysseus, who acts out of hope, Eurylochus is practical. His attitude here reflects the trauma they’ve been through and how tired he is of losing people. That’s why his frustration boils over later when Odysseus sacrifices men — because Eurylochus has seen enough death.

Now, let’s talk about Scylla. Because this is the moment where everything Eurylochus has learned comes crashing down on him. Remember that vow Odysseus made to him earlier: “There’s no length I wouldn’t go if it was you I had to save”? Well, that sentiment sticks with Eurylochus. He takes that to heart. So when Odysseus makes the decision to sacrifice six men to Scylla, you can see why he snaps. It’s not just that Odysseus is willing to sacrifice them — it’s that he does it without warning, without giving them the choice. Eurylochus feels like Odysseus has abandoned everything he taught him about loyalty. That vow he made? Yeah, it means nothing now. Eurylochus is furious because Odysseus fails him here. He’s been teaching Eurylochus the value of every single life, yet when the time comes to uphold that belief, Odysseus throws it out the window to save himself and his pride. So, of course Eurylochus is mad. And it’s not about the six men dying (because, let’s be real, he’s no saint), it’s about the betrayal. He’s been made to believe in the cause, but now he sees Odysseus as a hypocrite. It stings, and it’s totally justified. This leads us to Mutiny. Eurylochus is right to be mad at Odysseus for sacrificing six men just to save his own skin. Don’t even try to justify that. Odysseus put his own desire to get home ahead of the lives of his crew. Eurylochus did not agree to be cannon fodder for Odysseus’ personal agenda. He wasn’t going to sit back and watch his brothers die without questioning what the heck was going on. So, when Odysseus goes full “sacrifice six for the greater good,” you bet Eurylochus was angry. He wasn’t just upset because they were going to die; he was upset because Odysseus made the decision to send them to their deaths without even consulting them. Eurylochus’ reaction is human, it’s justifiable, and it’s completely rational. He’s not a traitor, he’s someone who realizes that Odysseus’ quest for glory comes at the expense of the people he supposedly cares about. Then we get to the cattle of Helios because apparently everyone’s learnt nothing. Eurylochus has already checked out emotionally. He’s looked at the situation, and for him, the reality of their fate is clear: they’re not going to make it home. They’re already dead in a way, and the gods are just playing with them. So when faced with the opportunity to eat the cows, he sees it as a way to take some control over a situation where they’ve lost all control. His logic isn’t about doing what’s morally right in the eyes of the gods. At least if they’re going to die, they can do it on their own terms — full stomachs, no slow starvation or suffering. It’s a very bleak and cynical perspective, but it’s also realistic. And in a way, it shows a form of wisdom that Odysseus doesn’t have in this moment. Odysseus, of course, refuses to let go of hope. His entire journey is a testament to his stubbornness and unwillingness to give up. That’s his defining trait, and it’s what keeps him going, but it also blinds him to the obvious signs of doom around him. He refuses to accept that the gods are no longer in his favor, that they’ve been punished for their mistakes, and that he’s already sealed their fate. For Odysseus, admitting that they’ve lost would be admitting defeat, and that’s something he can’t stomach. So, instead of facing the reality of the situation, he doubles down on his hope and pride. Eurylochus isn’t the naive one here. He’s not playing the hero’s game. He’s real. He’s already accepted that their journey is doomed, but he refuses to be passive in that fate. He wants to take charge of how they go out. He’s not waiting for divine intervention anymore because, honestly, it hasn’t worked out so well for them so far. He’s out of options and out of faith.

But here’s the darker, more tragic implication: Eurylochus’ perspective is the voice of the crew. His attitude — “We’re never gonna make it home; we’re already doomed” — isn’t just his own individual despair; it’s shared by everyone else around him. The crew is no longer fighting for survival; they’ve been through too much. They’ve seen too many of their comrades die for a cause that seems meaningless at this point (how do you think Perimedes would feel when Elpenor died). They’ve been stranded for so long, constantly at the mercy of the gods, with no real agency over their fates. They’ve lost hope. The entire crew is in a suicidal state of mind, and Eurylochus’ willingness to eat the cows is just the worst tangible sign of that collective despair. He’s the one who finally gives voice to it, like always, but it’s a sentiment that’s been building throughout their journey. He’s come to terms with it in a way that Odysseus has not. In that sense, his desire to eat the cows is almost a form of passive suicide — an attempt to bring some meaning, some control to an already doomed situation. His actions signal a profound loss of the will to live. This attitude is contagious. When Eurylochus speaks, he’s speaking for a crew that’s also checked out, a crew that’s surrendered to the inevitable. They don’t believe in their survival anymore. They’re not thinking about glory or heroism. They’re thinking about getting something out of their final moments, about finding some form of solace in the face of certain death. They no longer care about the gods or their promises. They just want to eat, even if it means defying the divine laws. This is a crew that’s collectively suicidal, mentally exhausted, and emotionally broken. And Eurylochus, in choosing to act, becomes both the catalyst for their final downfall and the embodiment of their emotional exhaustion and surrender.

He doesn’t trust Odysseus anymore. Odysseus promised to bring them home, but where are they? They’re stranded, they’ve lost men, brothers, friends, and the gods keep throwing obstacles in their path. When Odysseus becomes a king in his eyes and no longer a brother, it’s clear: Eurylochus starts thinking about himself, and that definitely doesn’t make him a hypocrite. It makes him human. It makes him someone who’s had enough. So, when the storm hits, and Eurylochus says, “We’re going to die anyway,” it’s not just a defeatist attitude — it’s the voice of someone who’s been burned by his faith in Odysseus too many times. He finally does what Odysseus would have done if he weren’t so obsessed with getting home — he does what’s necessary for survival. It’s harsh, but it’s consistent with his struggle all along. Eurylochus isn’t a hypocrite because he speaks out against Odysseus — he’s just a man who wants to believe in loyalty, but realizes that Odysseus has never really been loyal to anyone but his wife, never his men. It’s a brutal realization, and it’s only when he lashes out in Mutiny that we see the full extent of his disillusionment.

So, before anyone calls Eurylochus a hypocrite, let’s remember that he was the one who had to deal with the consequences of Odysseus’ stubbornness and false promises. He wanted to be the loyal friend, the one who stuck by his leader. But Odysseus made it impossible. Now, he’s just a man broken by the very loyalty he once held dear.

[paperultra]

HOME (TO THE OL’ BALL AND CHAIN)

(OR, THE PIÑA COLADA SONG)

Pairing: Chilchuck Tims x Fem!Chilchuck's Wife!Reader Word Count: 2,499 words Warnings: None Summary: Five years after leaving your first and only love, you take the plunge into the dating scene – and immediately regret it. Maybe you're too picky, but none of the men you go out with seem to fit the bill; they're too non-committal, or too eager, or too happy, or too sad, or simply just too much ... so after a particularly bad experience, your youngest makes a last-ditch effort to set you up on a blind date with someone who she insists deserves a chance. You reluctantly agree. read on ao3 | read on quotev

DATE #1: CASUAL LUNCH Estranged husband — 1 Estranged wife — 1 Everything left unsaid — as desired

There’s bacon grease on his shirt.

You can see it underneath his collar, round fingerprints staining the pale linen grey, and when he leans across the threshold into Fler’s home all you can think about is laundry day at the end of the week.

It would be rude to admit that out loud, though.

“Thank you for walking me home,” you say.

“When can I see you again?”

“I don’t know.”

Abelwood teeters forward still. “Well, don’t take too long, hear? You ain’t gettin’ any younger.”

Laughter erupts from the beer in his gut, and you laugh along with him. Abelwood is a rowdy drunk, you’ve learned, which is better than a cruel drunk or a lecherous drunk. It is not the kind of drunk that you are used to bringing home, even if he is only brought to the front door, but –

You smile, regardless.

“Goodnight,” you bid, closing the door inch by inch, your last bit of energy disappearing with the click of the lock.

You hold your breath. It takes three minutes and thirty-seven seconds for the man to leave your front doorstep, and you wait thirty more seconds after that to peek through the window, verifying that he is far enough away before resting your forehead against the door with a groan.

“Oh, boy.”

“I’m too old for this, Fler,” you mutter into the wood. “He was awful.”

Flertom lets out a sigh and closes the distance to squeeze you in a hug, pressing her cheek against your back like she’s done ever since she grew tall enough to do so. “I’m sorry, Mama,” she says.

“I’m sorry too.”

As you pat her hands and turn around to smile wryly at her, Puckpatti pipes up from the middle of the living room.

“He was a pig,” she exclaims. “Calling you by your first name! And he wasn’t even that handsome!”

“Looks aren’t everything, Puck,” you reply sharply, and she pouts, squeezing the lump of clay in her hands until it squishes out between her fingers. “He was a pig for the way he acted.”

“Well … that too.”

“He also smelled like one,” Fler says.

You detach yourself from your daughter to loosen the belt at your waist, frowning down at your dress and nice leather shoes. The dress feels just about as worn out as you do, the fabric soft and droopy from the humidity, the sunshine-yellow color less vibrant than it had been earlier this evening. The man had spilled beer on the floor of the bar and your shoes still look slightly sticky. Peeling them off just reminds you of the way he had laughed.

“Fler,” you say, “get me a wet rag, would you?”

“Sure, Mama.” Flertom turns to Puckpatti. “Puck, get a wet rag.”

“My hands are all dirty!” your youngest protests, showing her grey palms. “Mei’s closer to the water bucket.” She points to Meijack, who you now notice lingering by the kitchen.

Meijack blinks slowly, then silently fetches a rag, wets it, and brings it to you.

“Are you gonna keep trying, Ma?” she asks while you scrub the heel of your left shoe. “All these guys seem to be wasting your time.”

The chuckle that leaves your mouth is short and dry. “After this one, I don’t think so.” You glance up at your daughters and smile, straightening. “Maybe I should just take you all out on a girls’ date next time, huh? Forget about men for a little while.”

Meijack shrugs. Puckpatti nods eagerly.

“I just don’t know what’s wrong,” Flertom frets. “I’ve seen most of them at work before, and they seemed nice enough even when they were drunk …”

You shrug hopelessly and cross into the living room to sit on the couch. “Maybe it’s me.” As you lean back into the cushions, Meijack and Flertom join you on either side. “I’ve only ever been with one man my whole life. Maybe I don’t even know what I want …”

There’s a moment of silence. You look up at the ceiling of Flertom’s home, rubbing your temples and willing your frustration with yourself to not spill over while your daughters are watching. How embarrassing. Here you are, their mother, who is supposed to show them an example of a happy relationship, only for them to comfort you after another failed date. It should be the other way around. Half-foots don’t live long enough for things like this; your own mother had told you when you first left him that you should’ve just sucked it up.

Finally, Flertom speaks up. “Mama,” she starts, hesitant, and you look over to see her playing with her fingers, “Do you really want to date someone?”

“It’s been long enough, don’t you think?” you answer.

As you say so, a name resurfaces in your mind, unbidden, and the face that belongs to it. Your jaw tightens and you look down at your hands.

“Well … um … Papa wrote last week, and he said that he wanted to talk to you sometime. Just a little bit.”

Your tone hardens. “And what does that have to do with me dating, Fler?”

She flinches and her lips push out. “Come on, Mama! It’s been years, and after everything he went through, I really think he’s better now! Don’t you at least want to talk to him? You were so in love with each other before he started adventuring, and now that he’s retired from it …”

You hold your hand up, and her jaw clicks shut.

“I know what you’re getting at, Flertom,” you say quietly. “And right now is not the best time to bring up your father.”

Your daughter deflates, her cheeks rosy. “But –”

“I mean it.” Standing, you heave a deep breath and examine the cluttered workstation that Puckpatti had set up on the living room table. “Puckpatti, make sure to clean up after you’re done. I’m going to bed.”

While the girls mope, you head to your bedroom, doing your best to occupy your thoughts with work at the blacksmith’s tomorrow. You think about the chain mail you’re supposed to be making, the little metal rings to form and weave together, and hope they’re what you dream of, not self-absorbed dates or unwanted kisses.

You blame Flertom for the auburn hair and hearty laughs that plague your night instead.

—

A week later, Puckpatti accosts you as soon as you walk through the door.

“Mama, I found a man for you!”

“Oh?” you reply blandly, hand still clutching at your chest from having the living daylights scared out of it. “Who is it?”

“That’s a secret! But he’s really nice, I promise.”

Sighing, you remove your vest. “I don’t know, Puck. How did you meet him?”

“He bought one of my clay sticks.” You can’t stop yourself from frowning, despite your desire to support your daughter’s entrepreneurial spirit, and she giggles. “Oh, please, Mama, he didn’t believe my pitch. I think I just charmed him into buying it. He seems really clever!”

“Are you sure he wasn’t interested in you?”

She makes a disgusted face. “Eww! No, I told him about you and he seemed interested.”

“Oh, really?”

“Mama, you’re a catch. Of course he’d want to go on a date with you.”

“That’s sweet of you to say, honey.” You glance at her before heading to the kitchen to put away the bread and cheese you’d bought. “Is he a half-foot?”

“Maybe.”

“I thought I’d met all the half-foots in Kahka Brud.”

“Maybe he just moved here.”

She looks up innocently when you raise an eyebrow at her. “And you’re sure I’ll like him,” you drawl, more suspicious by the minute. (Of what, you’re not quite sure.)

“Positive.”

It is incredibly difficult, you think with equal parts pride and concern, to say no to your youngest daughter. It’s probably why you worry about her the most. “This is the last date I’ll go on, Puckpatti. It will be on you.”

Puckpatti cheers. She hugs you as you chuckle at her enthusiasm, jumping up and down. “Yay! I’ll get a time and day that’ll work best. It’ll be great! You’ll love him!”

“For your sake, I hope so.”

—

The day arrives with a mellow sun and clear sky.

You wear your green dress with the floral details, and Puckpatti picks a necklace to go along with it, a thin, simple one that you haven’t worn in years. Flertom does your makeup and Meijack does your hair.

And as you sit in a corner of the tavern fifteen minutes early, hands nervously clasped in your lap, you wonder, just as you have with every date prior, what you’ve gotten yourself into.

Maybe he won’t show up. It would be improper, and juvenile, but then you could go home and say that you did try. Your desire for a new romance has all but dwindled completely, and as you trace the scratches on the wooden table, you wonder if it was even a desire at all.

Footsteps approach from behind. You can tell they belong to a half-foot by the weight and sound – light and small – as they come around to the other side of the table. Your shoulders tighten. Forcing a smile, you look up.

Your heart promptly surges upward into your throat before plummeting to your toes.

Chilchuck gawks down at you, eyes wide. His mouth parts to utter your full name, and you feel your lungs squeeze at how it sounds coming from him, soft from years of disuse.

“You came,” he says.

“Chil – Chilchuck.” His name is ashy and sweet behind your teeth. “What are you doing here?”

He furrows his brow. “What do you mean? The girls said that you were willing to meet up.”

“No, I’m meeting with one of Puck’s customers.”

“What? That doesn’t …” he trails off, and the two of you seem to realize the same thing at the same time.

You bury your head in your hand as Chilchuck grits his teeth.

Those scheming …

“I’m sorry they dragged you into this,” you mutter as you get up from your seat, your voice cold and flat. “I’ll be going now.”

His head snaps up. “Going? But –”

You hurry past him, dodging the hand that you know has reached out for your own.

Home is a ten-minute walk away. You can clear your head in that time, then scold your daughters for meddling, though it’s partially your fault for not questioning Puckpatti about your supposed date more thoroughly. You just didn’t think that they would try something like this.

(Or that Chilchuck would bother to go along with it.)

You pull the door open with some effort and rush out into a downpour of rain.

Your hair gets drenched before you backpedal with a yelp. Pressing against the wall underneath the awning, you look out helplessly at the soaked streets, their gutters already filling with water and debris flowing down the incline. Is … is that a drowning rat?

The storm’s earthiness floods your nose, late in its prediction by half an hour. Just your luck.

You fumble with the clasp of your necklace to remove it, not wanting to get it wet. While you struggle, the tavern door creaks open behind you.

“So you don’t even want to talk. Even after all these years, you’re going to walk away again.”

“Do you know why I walked away the first time?” The damn thing won’t unhook. You scowl, the presence at your back making your usually nimble fingers clumsy.

“No,” Chilchuck says. “I don’t. Not for certain.”

“That’s why.” With each failed attempt to separate the rings, your fingertips grow sorer, your throat thickening. He’s too close. You hate how he’s watching you fail such a simple task. “You stopped knowing, Chilchuck. That’s why.”

Underneath the sharp sound of rain, you can hear his breath hitch, then quiet.

You bite your lip and let your arms fall to your sides, giving up on trying to take your necklace off. Your chest aches. You don’t want to cry in front of him.

“So, there, we talked like you wanted.”

He stops you before you can step out into the rain.

“Wait. What … what about your necklace?” he asks hesitantly, like it’s not what he really wants to say, but merely a way to stall for time.

This time, you look over your shoulder at him. “I’ll dry it real well once I get home,” you reply.

Chilchuck’s mouth presses into a fine line. He grabs the cloak folded over the crook of his elbow, and it is then that you notice the bouquet of blue and pink flowers in his other hand. The ache in your chest flares into a raw, pulsing hurt.

“I’m guessing you’d rather not have me walk you.” He speaks evenly, holding his cloak out towards you. “It’s not completely waterproof, but keep this over your head, at least …” his voice quiets, “please.”

Wordlessly, you take the garment from him. The inner lining is warm against your skin.

“I’m sorry,” he tells you. “For not knowing.” His fist tightens around the flowers, and he stares at you resolutely. “I want to again, if you’ll let me.”

Ah.

You swallow. “I … I don’t know.”

“It doesn’t have to be today. I can wait.”

Breaking eye contact and looking down, Chilchuck roughs his fingers through his hair, mussing it up. The cut is the same as it’s always been, auburn bangs thick and soft over his brow. And you recognize the shirt he’s wearing, a practical, clean wool shirt that you made some years ago. He’s taken good care of it.

It’s all the same. All the same, and yet, something that you can’t quite identify has changed.

You bring his cloak closer to your chest and bite your bottom lip.

“… Give me a week.”

His entire body loses its tension.

“Really?” He looks at you like he can’t believe it, and you avert your gaze, ears warming and moving back the slightest bit.

“Give me a week to decide,” you clarify. “Fler or Mei will let you know … this is really abrupt, after all …”

Chilchuck nods. “That’s fine!” he exclaims. “You didn’t know, so I understand. A week is – a week’s good.”

You nod back, hesitant.

The rain continues its heavy downpour.

“Right … well …” you turn slightly, casting him one last glance, “I’ll give your cloak back, regardless. Don’t get sick.”

“Okay. Stay … stay safe.”

With that, you wrap yourself in the thick fabric, rushing out of the safety of the awning. The run back home smells of woodsmoke and thyme, and when you open the door to three guilty daughters and three apologies, it lingers.

You hang his cloak near the fireplace. It’s evidence of a weak resolve that you stay until it’s dry, and even more damning that you know your answer long before it is.

[ckret2]

After Mabel said she was a witch, Sprott quickly found three people with whom he was probably going to burn the witch. So, why is Gideon still alive? The whole town was sure that he was really a psychic.

sexism

Gideon's a local; Mabel's an out-of-towner

telepathy is gifted by god; witchcraft is taught by the devil

Bud told Sprott at a Blind Eye meeting that Gideon's act is "not the sort of matter the Society need concern itself with 😉😉😉 but keep that to yourself"

Gideon's too cute to burn at the stake

Gideon never used telepathy to con Sprott out of a pig

threatening to burn the witch is just a friendly local hazing ritual all the witches in town go through! Gideon went through it too! and he was barely traumatized at all!

when Sprott said "are you some kind of witch? 🤨" Gideon said, "no! teehee." and Sprott said "well, if you say so."

every couple weeks Sprott and his mob try to set the Tent of Telepathy on fire and Bud has to politely ask him to leave

... or has to use the memory gun to make Sprott re-forget about Gideon

Bud bribed Sprott with a discount car

the town tries not to bring up Gideon around Sprott and his witch hunters.

Trembley's town laws include a one witch limit; any additional witches must be chased out of town via mob. that's why the Handwitch lives outside town on the mountain.

Sprott's having an affair with Mrs. Gleeful

take your pick

[lemondoddle]

what happens when you type into the computer (BOOK OF BILL SPOILERS)

HELLO THE WEBSITE HAS UPDATED and different things happen when you type things into the computer on the screen. if a character/word isnt relevant the computer gives a red X. so far i've found:

stanley: takes you to an ebay search for brass knuckles, entering his name repeatedly will take you to various grunkle-related eBay searches until you get to bill's wheel of shame with much more to click

mabel: adds stickers to the set. you can keep hitting enter until the the room has been "fully mabelized"

ford/sixer: a case file on ford's extra digits

soos: a long set of notes about how soos is doing running the mystery shack

dipper: a note presumably from bill to dipper "informing" him that he can decode messages by staring into the sun. if you enter his name multiple times bill urges you to keep looking with words of encouragement as each note becomes progressively blurry and splotched with black until the entire notecard turns black

bill: this youtube video (and no it's not a rickroll)

gideon: an audio recording plays of gideon humming/scatting to the tune of "we'll meet again", ending with a whispered message of "i love you, mabel"

wendy: a note pranking you with the the 👌 emoji

mcgucket/fiddleford: the cotton eye joe music video

pacifica: a warning note about the book of bill mabel made her write

robbie: chat messages between him and thompson as they prepare to summon bill (as mentioned in tbob) with an image of their encounter

tad strange: the computer plays clips of bread being sliced set to jazzy instrumentals. this enables the glowing red button on the computer to turn green to switch the bread videos on and off at will

blendin: a message appears on the screen reading "time agent lost and presumed incompetent"

weirdmagedon: a newspaper page from the gravity fall's gossiper utilising the "nevermind-all-that-" act and stating "nothing happened" that day

axolotl: text onscreen appears: "you ask alotl questions"

T.J. eckleburg: text onscreen appears: "never mention that name again"

cipher: links to a wikipedia page about triangles

blanchin: pulls up a youtube tutorial on how to blanche vegetables

triangle: one half of a parenthesis appears on the computer ")", will also pop up with "tri harder"

dippy fresh: links to this image

mystery shack: links to a google search for confusion hill

gravity falls: text appears onscreen reading "never heard of it"

portal: text appears onscreen reading "portal.exe has been deleted. i bet you could build one"

theraprism: a notice sign appears- "in case of (coded words) do not use elevators" with a graphic of a person and a cthulu like monster on stairs

blind eye: an eye chart utilising the same string of letters- "WKHBOOVHH" that gets smaller each line, paired with blocks of color- the cursor turns into a "zoom in" tool that actually just makes the page blurrier with each click

creepypasta/horror: an entry on the urban legend "the always garden"- a liminal space/backrooms style restaurant anomaly

alex hirsch: links to a google search for flannels

toby determined: links to a google search for restraining order

dorito/chip: a dorito slowly enlarges on the computer screen and then becomes a jumpscare of a toothy bill, who periodically screams for a bit before the video finishes

love/boyfriend/romance: pulls up the parody romance novel, clicking starts an audio recording of the book

death: text appears onscreen: "life's goth cousin"

book of bill: text appears onscreen: "hide it under shirt during pledge of allegiance"

life: text appears onscreen: "life: 72% complete. now loading: death"

baby/lalala: an ultrasound of a baby bill in a womb and a message congratulating you

pines: text appears onscreen: "a good family tree"

weird: a video of weird al yankovich appears on the screen, he's confused and shouts for bill to get him out of there

waddles: links to a pig adoption website

mickey/disney: text appears onscreen: "rat.gif censored for your protection"

ducktective: text appears onscreen reading "ducktective stars in 'love, quacktually', coming to 'oi, it's the cockney channel innit?' this fall"

mason: a note from dipper about ford teaching him anagrams, plus a coded message with that technique

tyrone/clone: a picture of the janky dipper clone with a message that he's yours now

matpat/game theory: a video of matpat and a conspiracy board, he turns to say "hello internet, you're on... you're own... good luck" as he holds the book of bill

skeleton: text appears onscreen: "the one with the sword! he found you!"

scary: pulls up a parody goosebumps book "spookemups", clicking on it starts an audio recording of neil cicierega reading a section

divorce: pulls up a logo for "o'sadley's'"

music: enables you to click the dial, clicking the dial plays loud static

math: bill recounting an encounter he had with plato

conspiracy: a video of charlie day in a tin foil hat rambling about the website's previous state, holding the book of bill

okay that's enough from me, there's SO MUCH MORE that I just can't keep up with!! Happy searching!

[nottobehornyonthemain]

Ok, it’s actually very simple.

Will is the protagonist, but he is not the hero.

Jack Crawford is the hero and he is fundamentally good.

Jack Crawford’s enemy is Hannibal Lecter, but he doesn’t know that because he thinks his enemy is the Chesapeake Ripper.

Hannibal is not always the Chesapeake Ripper, but no one else is allowed to be, because to take someone else’s place is Rude.

Bedelia DuMauier is not Rude by Hannibal’s standards, so she believes herself safe, and she is until she takes Will Graham’s place, then she joins Randell Tier and Francis Dolerhyde, in making Will Graham feel as though he is not Unique, then she is fair game to be hunted.

Hunting is different from fishing because the concepts of Stalk vs Lure.

Garrett Jacob Hobbs is a Stalk, and Will kills him as such despite the fact that Will is actually a Lure, but so is Abigail. Will is god, but not Jesus, except for when he’s Abigail. Hannibal is the Devil except for when he’s god.

Alana and Abigail both make deals with the Devil, which they know will eventually lead to their deaths, but Alana isn’t divine, she is always human, so Hannibal looks more human when she’s with him, but Will looks less human when she’s with him because she accentuates where he fails.

Will is a dog, but he isn’t a dog at all, he’s a wolf.

Margot is a horse but she isn’t allowed to run free until she’s a human, but she is not divine, nor is she good or evil, which is why Alana gets close enough to break her curse.

Mason is a pig amongst pigs, and is not even fit to be eaten, unless it is by something as vulgar as himself.

Gideon stole someone else’s identity, so he was forced to watch and partake in the systematic deconstruction of everything that made him himself.

Hannibal is the Wendigo, because the Wendigo is his true nature, but he is not the Stag, however sometimes the Stag is the Wendigo, because the Stag is a representation of the relationship of two people and Hannibal is never really Will, even when he’s pretending to be, but sometimes Will is Hannibal, and sometimes they’ve become too conjoined to tell apart.

Miriam Lass is Jack’s greatest failure, because she was an innocent he threw into the jaws of a monster, and she came back forever broken, but then Jack’s greatest failure was Bella, who was not a failure at all, just someone he couldn’t save, which to him is the same, although her loss is without spectacle or bloodshed, and then Jack’s greatest failure was Will, first in not believing him, and then in ignoring all evidence in order to believe in him out of guilt, but not trust.

Fredrick Chilton strips away the dignity and autonomy of others, so he gains the gift of an identity he tried to pawn off, and the destruction of his own body while he survives to bear the next indignity.

Freddie Lounds speaks truth, but she also lies, and is often believed.

Hannibal lies and is believed, but he also speaks truth and is not.

Will lies through not telling the truth, the deepest truths he speaks are ignored until it’s too late even though he is expected to know all truths.

Molly is no one and nothing, until Will, and then she is alone in a world of monsters.

Hannibal desires attention, and to be admired for being clever. Will has the ability, but he doesn’t have the initial desire because Hannibal does not interest him.

Will does not have a desire to be understood, but he does desire to be seen as unique.

Chiyoh has mastered the balancing act. She can kill, but does not overkill, has been manipulated, but not blinded, understands, but does not overstep into claiming to know, she can see violence as love, but she understands the abnormality of that, so she survives and gets to walk away without a scratch on her.

To love is to accept death, whatever form that takes, your partner’s, your own, those your parent has caused, or the ones you have caused.

It makes perfect sense that the most absolute form of love is to cause death by your partner’s side, and wish for both of your deaths in return.

[drarryspecificrecsdaily]

2025.01.12

Complete fics posted on AO3 this day

1. big gestures by @dubdot [M, 12k]

There had been huge tumbles down staircases, dips in the Great Lake, cauldron explosions, desks transfigured into doves, love letter Howlers, charmed pixies and rose-scented quills. There had been ‘No, Potter’, ‘When pigs fly, Potter’, and ‘If you charm my essay pink and my quill to produce bubbles one more time, Potter’, but not a ‘Yes, Potter’ or ‘Nothing would give me greater pleasure, Potter.’ But Harry was holding out.

2. Master of Death by chrysaetius [T, 37k]

After the war, Harry Potter disappeared from the wizarding world, with many assuming he was dead. When Draco Malfoy needs help for his family, he tracks Harry down to a secluded house on the Scottish coast. But with Harry now living in isolation and acting strangely, Draco realizes that perhaps it’s Harry who needs help instead.

3. Nights Like This by @jaegerism [E, 4k]

In a world where everyone has an animal form, Harry Potter is your run of mill salaryman, unimpressive, insignificant. In a night of full moon, Harry walk back to his car when he felt sudden rush of adrenaline; he sense his rut coming. Bumping into a pretty twink that happen to be his favourite porn streamer definitely didn't help. Oh, have I tell you Harry is a wolf?

4. To feel is to know by Crow_sara [G, 13k]

What if Harry became blind after surviving the Killing Curse?

[leviathanleva]

Daisy

Pairing: Cooper Howard/The Ghoul x Fem Reader [DARK FIC]

Description: Cooper Howard was not a kind man, he cared for nobody, but himself. Then he found you, a lost little dove, barefoot and crying, torn dress and big innocent eyes staring at him like he was a hero. He knew you’d be a burden, he knew you couldn’t survive in the wasteland, he was doing you a favor.

But he couldn’t pull the fucking trigger...

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

[Graphic Description of Gore]

[6.1k words] 🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼 Chapter 3 "The Vault"

The flickering ceiling lamps only exacerbated the grim atmosphere, but they did slightly help with finding your way. They also hid the majority of the massacre, but you weren’t blind to the horrific scenes of vault dwellers strewn up and skinned and prepared for processing. You’d wretched and convulsed at the sight, clutching at the wall for support and fighting back tears of terror, and if it hadn’t been for your empty stomach you would have most likely thrown up all over the ghoul’s boots. There was so much food around and the raiders still chose their twisted ways and treated the corpses of their victims, human beings, as cattle in need of rationing and preparation. It was engraved in them, you guessed, after living so long in an apocalyptic, hellish world, eating people was as natural to them as breathing. You tried to justify their actions even if they made no sense, but after seeing cut-open bellies and spilled intestines and dribbling blood as the corpses were hung to drain, you couldn’t.

No matter how difficult a life, nothing could pardon such barbaric actions, not when the cans of cram and sacks of tatoes were right there. The raiders didn’t kill and butcher out of need, they did it out of pleasure, they drew with blood on the walls, bludgeoned flesh and bone to a pulp, stripped skin bare, and let bodies dangle like slaughtered pigs.

The more gore was presented to you on a rusty platter, the smaller your pool of empathy became until there was nothing but the screaming aftermath of gunshots sounding right above your head. You still jittered, but didn’t flinch anymore, he had you, you were safe with him. His boots echoed with menace through the corridors, beckoning the raiders to their end, while your delicate bare feet glided over grime and glass and chaos.

He used you as bait once the raiders were close enough to spot you, your history with them causing a sudden urge in them to let go of their logic and self-preservation and charge headfirst into a shotgun barrel. You would have minded, but he was death incarnate with a weapon, and you were so set on restoring the sanctity of your vault, your home, that you were ready to do just about anything. He killed until there was nobody else with a heartbeat except you and him. He killed so casually, that you almost believed it to be normal.

Once his end of the bargain was done, you started searching, straining both mind and vision for that particular room with a false bookcase. You guided him past the vegetable field, through the cafeteria, and rushed past the school because there were too many bodies piled up for you to stomach. He followed with minor protests, but mostly kept quiet and alert, acting as a guard hound while you pursued the location of the emergency storage. It was only when you ended up in the residential wing with a confused noise that he spoke up.

“You’re lost, Darlin’, admit it.”

You shot him an angsty look over your shoulder, arm outstretched in front of you as the white flashlight installed in the Pip-boy illuminated the vault hallway. When you enter the first home, just the structure of it is enough to tell that you’ve got the wrong place, you scowl, but trudge further inside anyway.

“I’m not lost.” you retort, refusing to let his remarks leave a stain on your photographic memory, and pace around the tiny complex. “It should be in this wing, I just need to find the right room.”

“Whatever you say…” he hums in mock and purses his lips, then opens the metal door wider before stepping in after you. He lets you explore, his eyes skimming with disinterest over the homey aesthetic he was so alienated from that it didn’t even ring a bell of nostalgia. His sights lock on the fridge and his feet react faster than he’d thought possible. Bingo.

The self-powered beacons perched over the whey field creep through the windows and it’s enough light to scarcely brighten the complex. It would have been a haunting sight if the ghoul wasn’t with you and a timid part of your consciousness tapped at you, reminding you that he wasn’t going to be present for much longer. You hadn’t planned on dwelling on such a thought for long, but you had no clue what to do once he was gone. Left alone to fend for your life with no skills or experience aside from dry theory accumulated from years of reading, there wasn’t much you could do except live off the remnants of the vault and try to keep the garden alive.

How would you be rid of all the corpses though?

It would take years to restore everything, or at least the parts that were salvageable, you’d never be able to swap the broken windows or replace the shattered light bulbs.

You scurried off the nasty reality of your future and proceeded to kneel in front of a shoe cabinet. Your feet were irritably sore and in desperate need of protection so you sunk your arms to the elbows in the darkness, the flashlight distorting under the pile of slippers and sandals.

“You’re not mad, Mister?” you ask and turn back to find the ghoul waist-deep in the refrigerator, rummaging as a cacophony of clinking bottles and stuttering plates soundtrack his rampage. He looked almost domestic and you had to bite down on your bottom lip to keep from smiling. “Cuz I haven’t found the storage yet?”

He resurfaces at your question, a bowl of mashed tatoes and a platter of grilled cram cradled in his embrace, traces of soy milk stained his lips. He wiped his mouth on his shoulder and tossed the food on the kitchen counter before resting on his elbows while flicking his tongue.

“Plenty of Pip-boys layin’ around.” he shrugs simply and rips his glove off before sticking two thick fingers in the tatoes. “Can make a small fortune outta those.” he offers you a toothy grin before licking his fingers clean.

“Please use a fork, Sir.” you grimace at his tasteless display before turning back to your task at hand.

“Mind your business, Smooth-skin.” he grunts and sinks his teeth in a thick slice of cram, scarfing it down as if he’d not eaten in days. He scoffs at your faint giggle and waves you off, too high on the idea of a proper meal to care for your coquettish snip.

You continue to dig through the assortment of old shoes, relishing his vocal satisfaction as he feasts. He chews hastily, taking breaks every few bites to wash down the food with whatever juice or milk he blindly pawed at on the fridge door. After tossing away a pair of white fluffy slippers and jamming your hand against a leathery surface, you pull out a left-footed cargo boot. It’s stuck, tied by the laces to something crammed deeper in the cabinet and you feel your way until you find its twin. Once freed, you look them over with a tilted chin and a contemplative look.

They seemed remotely your size, with a pair of thick socks they’d probably fit perfectly and they were preserved and sturdy enough to withstand some broken glass.

“You think they’ll miss these?” you raise the boots in display and ask before thinking about how stupid your question was.

The boiled corn cob pauses just shy of his parted lips and he stares at you like you’d grown a second head. The silence that befalls is one of realization with a twinge of melancholy and you avert your eyes as your mouth twitches into a small frown. The shoes are lowered to your chest and you hold them close in wordless mourning, face dimming, shoulders lowering.

“Oh right…frick.”

“They’re dead, Sweetheart.” he speaks softly, a hint of pity hidden beneath the layer of rasp. “Don’t think they’ll miss anythin’ anymore.”

In truth, you didn’t mourn the rest of the vault dwellers. They were strangers who’d shared the same living facility as you, there was no attachment there except for baseline human empathy. What you grieved over was your sanity, the solitude you’d be subjugated to and you’d grown accustomed to being alone, but after knowing the atrocities that had occurred and the reasoning for your lonesome existence, you doubted things would go well. You’d be forced to fend for yourself and there was no guarantee that another wave of intruders wouldn’t end up on your doorstep.

You picked at the soles of the boots absentmindedly, ignorant to the sympathetic stare targeting the back of your head.

You weren’t accustomed to caring for your needs, having been coercively babied all your life and lacking basic skills. The only bond you’d ever had was with your father and the knowledge that you’d eventually stumble upon his corpse riddled you in goosebumps. You dreaded that sight, eyes dampening at just the thought and mind failing to even picture such a sickening image.

You drag an arm over your drippy nose, sniffle and stand.

“Need socks.” was all you managed before hurrying to the bedside closet at the other end of the complex, hiding behind a wall and out of the ghoul’s prying gaze.

This was fine. You’d figure it out as you went. There was no point in worrying over things that haven’t happened yet, right?

You shone your flashlight into the closet's depths after flinging it open, searching for a ball of stretchy material, anything that remotely resembled a pair of socks. Shuffling came from the kitchen area, a throaty grunt, a few clanks, and the shattering of porcelain. Paying no mind to the ghoul’s ruckus, you sift through the clothing hangers, stopping only when an intricate floral pattern catches your eye. You tug at the cloth, pulling it off the bar and hooking a finger around the clothing hanger before straightening it out.

A dress, pretty and frilly at the bottom, littered with small hand-sewn red blooms, sparkling white and in pristine condition. It reminisced of better times when people reigned over a peaceful and bountiful land, when radiation existed only in the confines of nuclear factories and cannibalism was scarce and very taboo. Your dull expression softens with a doting smile as you coo over your new fit before tossing it on the bed.

Your search continues shortly after, rummaging and scanning, digging deeper until you find a small raft overflowing with undergarments. A pair of black tights and heavy woolen socks later, you pass an anxious glance at the edge of the wall separating you from your overly grumpy bodyguard before tugging the straps of your dress off your shoulders.

“What the hell are you doing in there!?”

“I’m changing!” you rush to answer, shimmying out of your dirty, torn attire before sitting on the edge of the bed and pulling the socks over your feet. After taking note of the now gooey gash on your ankle, you decide to postpone wearing tights until it’s been cleaned and bandaged. You swallow back a lump of anxiety and make disinfecting the wound your top priority…once you find the storage unit that is.

“Hurry up!”

Once the boots were secured, you neatly tied them up and scurried to slip on the new dress in case the ghoul decided he’d had enough of waiting and barged over in his typical unruly fashion. It fit you so well, but there was no time to enjoy yourself, you tossed the tights over the junction of your elbow and patted down the frilly edges grazing your knees.

The world came crashing when the zipper got stuck.

“Freaking fiddle sticks…”

You tried and failed to resolve the dilemma, patting blindly at your upper back, reaching over your shoulder, and coiling an arm behind your waist. Even when your fingers did manage to find the zipper again, it was jammed and no amount of vigorous tugging helped and you didn’t want to apply more force lest you cause a tear. A small whine, dainty and annoyed, bubbled in your throat and you hung your head back and stared up at the ceiling in despair. This had to be some sort of cruel joke, a jut at you for daring to find a sliver of happiness.

“Uh…Mister?” you call out, weak with embarrassment as you slowly succumb to the walk of shame. You round the corner slowly, apprehension in every step and boring a shameful visage. “I need help…please.”

Your lovely bounty hunter had sprawled out on the counter, his hands resting on his now full belly, one perched up knee swaying nonchalantly as his other leg kicked dangled leisurely in the air. His hat rested over his face, obscuring his vision as he breathed slowly, in utter bliss for the first time in a long while. The shotgun once secured on his back was tucked under his neck. The empty plates were carelessly chucked to the floor when he’d made room to lie down and now you knew what all that ruckus had been caused by.

It would have been quite the heartwarming sight if you weren’t currently wallowing in self-pity.

He rouses at your beckon, sitting up and readjusting his hat and giving you his best acid scowl for disrupting his peace. Then he notices your pained expression and skittish shifting and quirks a nonexistent brow.

“The hell’d you do?”

Ah yes, the sardonic question a parent would ask their misbehaved child after yet another minor disaster. That’s exactly what you need at the moment.

“I – ” your teeth grit, jaw tightening in discomfort. A sad puppy-eyed stare plastered on your droopy features as you stand next to the counter before reluctantly turning around and brushing your hair out of the way to expose your back. “ – It’s stuck…”

A snort of laughter fills the dim complex and you shrink in utter humiliation, fussing at his reaction like the wimpy thing you’ve been demoted to. He turns in his spot and his knees encase your frame as he slopes closer.

“Can’t even dress right.” his berating smirk nips at the back of your neck and earns a sigh of defeat.

Cooper Howard wasn’t a man to regret many things and he’d done enough awful deeds to have him kicked out of a church if he ever dared set foot in one. Not putting his glove back on, however, would be one of those regrets. When his disfigured fingers dipped beneath the hem of your dress to hold it steady as he worked the zipper free, he brushed against your skin and it was so soft that he nearly missed the feeling altogether. A pang of something awfully warm wrapped around his ribcage like a vine and he was so shaken to the core that he forgot he needed to breathe.

You felt like the past, all lovely and nice and tender, as if ripped from a time he struggled to recollect and let go of both, and you were thrust in his hands and he didn’t know what the hell he was supposed to do with you. All charming smiles and sugary words and naivety that had him torn between hatred and incessant thirst for more of whatever it was you did to him. So addictive yet so detrimental.

He chalked it up to lust, a guttural craving any normal man would feel when presented with a cute little thing like you. But it wasn’t that at all. It had nothing to do with any carnal human craving.

You were a gateway to what he used to have, a walking memory of who he used to be.

It made sense if your story was true. Being tended to all your life while locked in a lab orchestrated to be your private room, it would leave anyone silk-skinned, bright-minded, and burden-free. But that didn’t ease him, it didn’t falter him from feeling like he was drowning.

You were the even tune of midnight jazz, a slice of hot apple pie, and a fresh cup of Joe on a Sunday afternoon; a little piece of heaven he’d never asked for and a cruel incarnation of damnation he’d always feared would catch up to him.

“Is it fixed?” you peep, saving him from the jaws of his mind, and look back, happily unaware of his self-destructive internal dialogue. The darkness hides the strain hovering over his distant gaze. “Did you manage?”

“ ‘Course I did.” he barks and is back to normal in an instant, pulling the zipper up before letting you go. “Done.”

He makes sure to secure his glove back on and cusses out the invasive thoughts.

“Thank you so much!” you grin with glee and throttle away like a victorious toddler. “How do I look?” you twirl with pizazz, then remember the tights dangling off your arm and bunch them up in one hand in case they took away from your dashing performance. “Don’t mind those.”

The ghoul scoffs, shaking his head in disbelief at how stupidly charming you are, and slides from the counter before reaching for his shotgun. You take his reaction as a good sign, satisfied with your new, clean look, and brush down the dress with the back of your hand.

“Les go.” he clicks his tongue at you, motioning with his head before fiddling to load his weapon. “Can gawk at yourself plenty when I’m gone.”

His remark receives no pushback. You follow suit, back into the benevolent corridor with hanging dead lamps, stepping carefully next to him with Pip-boy pointed straight ahead. It felt good to not have to constantly worry over a stray piece of debris catching on your feet anymore. Now your footsteps sang in tandem with your bounty hunter’s albeit much lighter and more frequent. With eyes darting from wall to wall, you peeked into each adjacent living complex. The sting in your ankle continued, snapping at your every move and your grip on the tights hardened. Your nails sank into the material for purchase as impatience nibbled at your nerves.

Apartment after apartment. Nothing even remotely resembled the room you were looking for, but it had to be here somewhere. The vault plans didn’t lie and neither did your memory.

You nearly tripped over a stray cable while ogling a bright pink suite layered with fuzzy rugs.

“You sure you ain’t just sendin’ us on a wild goose chase?” the ghoul asks while cracking open another steel door for you to inspect, then dips his hat and lilts “Ain’t gonna shoot you, Sweetheart. Don’t need to lie anymore.”

“I wasn’t lying, Mister.” you look up at him with hurt and he keens, blinking slowly at you and deciding to leave it at that.

Whether it was due to exhaustion or that look, he wasn’t sure.

If you were this set on proving to him there was a storage full of medical supplies and provisions he wasn’t going to stop you. There was plenty of food and drink to stay a while and his current bounty wasn’t notorious enough to top a fresh bed and a full meal. The caps weren’t worth it compared to what you’d offered him and he had enough vials to last him a while before any feral symptoms started poking through.

“It’s somewhere here, I know it is, these are just the wrong rooms. But the map showed it was in the living quarters to the north. It has to be a bigger space and with a bookcase in – ”

A hand clasped gently over your mouth, cutting your ramble short.

The ghoul grips your arm and shines the Pip-boy at the end of the hallway, the tense look on his face making your stomach knot. He takes one step forward, leaving you to linger behind him and you would’ve liked to believe it was to protect you, but it was most likely to get you out of the way.

You hear his gloved hold tighten around his shotgun and bite back the need to ask him what he’d picked up that you hadn’t. You never noticed the almost silent steps that had slowly crept closer and yelped when you were roughly tossed behind him as he spun around. The shot nearly left you deaf and the bloodied kukri barely missed your shoulder, having been a hair away from the strap of your dress.

You shriek along with the gargled gasp, latching onto the bounty hunter’s coat. The loud thump that followed made you duck and wrinkle your nose.

“Oh my jeez. Oh my God!” you glimpse from behind him reluctantly, forcing your tightly shut eyes open.

The raider twitched, clutching his blown-to-bits shoulder as a puddle of blood formed beneath him. He choked for air, coughing out a storm of crimson and it made your knees weak. The smell of gunpowder was sharp and overwhelming and your head spun with a nauseating speed.

“Guess I missed one.” the bounty hunter leers and the absolute insouciance at his actions sent a chill up your spine. He unclasps the hunting knife strapped to his belt and twirls it between his fingers, then tosses you a warning glance. “Look away, Sweetheart. Ain’t wastin’ another bullet on this shit.”

The heels of his boots clinked closer to the raider convulsing on the floor and with a shaky sniffle, you forced your legs to move. The pleas of a desperate man rendered defenseless and feeble, the churring taunts of his merciless killer who squatted over his prey with blade readied. A sickening noise punched you right in the gut, so raw and revolting that you covered your ears the moment you stumbled into another suite and slid down behind the front door. Clutching at the sides of your head, fingers curled and nails delved into your scalp to ground you, you died a little inside.

The reality of your existence, the consequences for being alive hit you full force, ripping you out of the tranquility that had befallen both you and the ghoul. Peace never lasted, and neither did joy, not in a world bathed in chaos and destruction.

The two curt knocks on the door made you flinch.

“Come on out, Scaredy cat.”

“I’ll – ” with a twisted tongue and a clenched throat, you murmur out words to keep him away because you didn’t want to see the blood he was wiping off his knife. “ – I’ll be right there. Just looking…for a false latch or something.”

What a horrible excuse…but he didn’t question it and you were so thankful.

His steps crinkle over broken glass and pieces of discarded metal plates. The tension lifts off your shoulders when he leaves with a grunt. You rub at your face with a timid breath, jaw easing as your lips part to accommodate your forceful inhales. The gloom of the apartment embraced you in your self-indulgent grovel.

To imagine someone lived here only a day ago was to concede to hysteria.

He saved your life again. And still, you were left shaken and bothered and speechless and burdened by what would have happened if he hadn’t been there to rip you away from death’s claws. The possibility of there being more raiders skulking about hadn’t been a thing until this one nearly chopped your arm off. Your arm was still there though, intact and function. All because of him. A dilapidated, volatile guardian angel that looked like a grilled chicken and sounded like a fizzled-out radio station and he meant more to you than anything ever had in your short, secluded life. What were you supposed to do without him when he finally left and you were sealed into a blood-soaked, corpse-ridden underground bunker with just your thoughts as company?

You slapped at your puffed-out cheeks ferociously.

This was fine.

It wasn’t fine, but there was nothing to be done, you’d work with what you had, you’d manage somehow. You had to.

The ghoul whistled you over, loud and clear enough for you to hear even while tucked away safely in your corner. Enough spiraling. You stood and with a determined huff, exited the complex only to see him standing in front of an open door with crossed arms and a tilted head. He noticed you from the corner of his eye and nudged his chin.

“This it?”

You poke your nose inside the spacious room.

It was the vault president’s office, completely untouched and eerily still, made to resemble the quarters of high-ranking officials from the olden days. Thin sheets of wood were plastered over the walls and the floor was carpeted and clean, the large windows overlooked the fields and dining area. An elegant leather chair was neatly set behind the paper-ridden desk in the center of the room, and yellowing files peak from every single drawer and bookcase. Everything seemed organized in spotless order, even the mugs on the coffee table were arranged corresponding to their color. There were so many paintings strewn about, past vault presidents, men and women in distinct white coats, same as the one your dad had always worn, supposedly scientists.

He leaned against the doorframe as you barged inside, watching your newfound zeal with a half-smile.

You pressed the tip of your middle finger to the wall and slowly extended your other arm at a precise angle, then moved it barely to the left. With a calculative spark imbued in your eyes, you take deliberate steps and move your stiff arms mechanically as you work out the location of the hidden storage. It looked ridiculous and you were well aware as you maneuvered about like a possessed puppet, but without any tools to point the way this was your only crutch.

“Three feet to the left, diagonal to the glass case with the cat sculpture. One step back and turn to what should be west. North should be to the right, then. And…”

“There.” you state once your hand points at a particularly overdecorated bookcase. “That’s it. Has to be.” you step towards it with determination, throwing away documents and an old plastic globe until there was enough space to grab at the shelves. It creaks when you give it a solid tug to test its stability. You bite your lip in contemplation before turning back to the ghoul. “Think you can move this, Mister?”

“You better be right, Sweetheart.” he tutted, but complied, pushing himself off the doorframe before joining you. He towers over you and rests his hands against the polished wood. “Move.”

You did as told and gave him some room.

He managed to slide his fingers against the back of the bookcase and spread out his legs before letting go of a throaty groan and pulling with all his strength. Your knee jittered with the need to step in and help, but you hesitated, succumbing to your manners and letting him do the heavy lifting. The last thing you wanted was to insult his capabilities or hurt his man-pride.

The case toppled with a thunderous crash and its contents spilled over the carpet, some trinkets bounced off your boot and rolled under the desk. The wooden planks that had been hidden behind it were slightly caved in compared to the rest. A thick carving resembling a door was engraved in them along with a small rectangular shape just a few inches to the side.

This was it.

“Hallelujah.” he chuckles and kneads his shoulder while flexing it, brows raised and eyes settled on the hidden entrance and glistening with wonder. “Guess you weren’t lyin’ after all.”

You clumsily step over the mountain of books and smashed wood, arms extended for balance until you’re close enough to press down on the rectangle. With a whirling hiss, the wood slides to the side and a hole perfectly shaped like a Pip-boy appears. You stuck your hand in without a second thought, beyond impatient and on the verge of crying because your ankle was burning so intensely you wanted to just rip it off.

The door gave way with a few audible clicks and the storage lit up instantly, you guessed the lamps didn’t depend on the vault’s fusion cores, another little trickery to keep this place hidden. The power management engineers would have most likely noticed the excess electricity being used for a room that wasn’t supposed to exist. A smart move and also for nothing, everyone was dead.

The cynic in you cackled.

You were quick to rip your hand free and enter, spotting the hefty array of medical supplies gathered over a metal cart, driven by pain and discomfort and lacking the self-control to keep it a secret any longer.

“Well, I’ll be…” the ghoul gapes at the overflowing storage, pleasantly surprised and nodding to himself. “Consider your debt repaid, Missy.” he plunges his knife into a sack of tatoes and promptly empties it.

His arm swipes over a metal shelf of stimpaks, greedily bunching them up and into the sack as he licks his teeth at the upcoming profit.

When you don’t reply to his remark he finally takes his gaze off the mounds of supplies and medicine and looks to you.

You’re a mussing mess, abrupt jitters causing bottles of pills and packages of bandages to pile at your feet as you scour for something specific. Initially, he opts to leave you be and focus on his own task, but when a disheartened noise slips past you he caves.

“The hell’s got you scramblin’ about like a cornered rat?”

You wince and turn back with a trembling frown. Your search had come out fruitless, the plan was spoiled at the absence of any antibiotics and you internally cursed for not stopping by the med-bay earlier and checking there first. Then again, you needed a key card and you weren’t fond of checking the pockets of decapitated vault residents just for that. But your open wound didn’t care for your antics. Now your ankle was probably red, still oozing and by how it rubbed against your sock, it was even more irritated and sickeningly sticky.

His stern look was relentless and you sucked in a breath before speaking.

“I can’t find any antibiotics…for my ankle.” you swallow a sob like a child caught red-handed trying to sneak past a broken vase. “The cockroaches – One of them bit me or cut me I think and… And it was fine at first, but then it started getting infected and I thought I’d find something here to help, but I don’t think only spirit will help so I thought antibiotics, but I can’t find any and it hurts so bad now – ”

You halted when his jaw stiffed and did nothing when he stomped close enough for you to feel the heat radiating off him. The sack was slumped by you and as he glared you simply averted your eyes to the floor.

“Sit.” he commands in a rigid tone, forcing you on your rump as the coldness of the tile floor seeps through your dress. “ ‘N take it off.” the tip of his boot nudges your foot before he tugs his pants up and squats in front of you with elbows resting on his thighs.

It’s only after you slip off your now-ruined sock that he cringes in annoyance and grabs your calf to turn it for a better view. Angry red outlined the open gash and the dead skin that still clung to it was soaked in colorless stickiness. He pressed on the side of the wound, shooting down your attempt at escaping with a scalding look, and more goo was excreted.

Radroaches were clean creatures, he’d seen them grooming themselves more than hunting for food. However, being mutated by radiation did tend to add some spice to their bites and you trudging around barefoot for a good full day had only added to the accelerated decay. Nasty little cut that was.

“Stupid git.” he hisses and stuffs a hand in the sack. “Nothen’ a lil stimpak can’t fix though. And lucky for you, we hit a goldmine.” the large syringe glints under the blaring white lights and he pushes at the base to snuff out any air bubbles before lowering it to your calf. “Now hold still.”

The sight of the needle makes you stiffen, a plethora of memories flashing past your widened eyes, and you’re overtaken by such a raw desire to get away that you nearly kick him off balance in your struggle.

Too many years stuffed full of constant medications and transfusions and scalpels and cuts and taking blood samples and fucking needles. All your life you’d suffered through nothing but medical treatments and the first day spent away from such hell had you realized just how traumatizing it had all been. Obligated to just take it because there was no alternative, you were never given a choice in the matter. You weren’t ready for this again, seeing that stupid needle so close to your skin made your heart drop in your stomach.

“Wait. Mister, wait. Wait!” you grab onto the metal bars of the cart as his grip on your calf tightens painfully.

“Quit fussin’!” he all but growls and pulls you back in place once you’d made some progress in slipping away. His tolerance for your display vaporizes when you land another inadvertent kick to his knee. He lets your calf go and reaches for the back of your head, grabbing onto a fistful of your hair and jostling you still. He’s right in your face and spitting acid. “What the hell’s wrong with you?!”

“The needle.” you hiccup and wrap your sweet little fingers around his forearm. Tears swell in your eyes from both pain and fear and it does something to him again, but he doesn’t relent. “The needle…I can’t – ” you whimper and plead, crumbling in his hold. “Please don’t, Mister…”

He’s taken aback. The menace drains from his gaunt features, baring snarl gone, and his grip on your hair loosens.

“You’re kiddin’ me.” his eyes roll from you to the stimpak as if you’d said the most mind-blowing bullshit he’d ever heard. He dangles the wretched thing in front of you, watching you follow it incessantly, not even blinking. “You’re scared o’ this?”

You make a noise of displeasure and avert your face when he brings the stimpak closer. For once his mocking laugh isn’t welcomed. When he’s assured you’re not just being a brat and actually hold a crippling distaste for the needle, the ghoul pulls away with a scoff.

He thinks, rubbing his knuckles against his jaw while you sit between his knees, immobilized by his grip.

“Well shit...” he lets you go and you bonelessly slump back into the cart.

He’s not one for comfort, doesn’t know what words to use to help you overcome your dilemma; he can’t just jam the stimpak in and risk striking a bone, can’t slide it in gently because you’ll go into another fit. He could just leave…

“Look at me.” he beckoned and snapped his fingers at you. When that didn’t work, he grabbed your face and squished your cheeks, forcing you to obey by giving you a sharp jerk. He leans close enough for you to feel his breath hit your nostrils and of course, it smells like cram. “I said look. At. Me.”

Your eyes go from dazed to bulging when you feel the needle press back against your calf. A pathetic ensemble of bleats accompanies your heaving chest and you hold onto his wrist like it’s the only thing keeping you from dying on the spot.

“Shhhh – shhhh – shhh, ‘s okay Sweetheart.” he hushes you with peculiar softness, stifling your meek complaints and scolding your eyes back to his own when he sees your attention dart down to your leg. You wince briefly at the prickle and his pinkie and ring finger leave your cheek and settle at the edge of your jaw, pressing down and rubbing ever so lightly. With an even push of his thumb, the syringe is emptied. “There you go…” he gives your cheek a good pat and leans away, resting on his knees. The pack of gauze you’d carelessly tossed away in your rampage was picked up and ripped open. “The good news is, you don’t need no stitches…but how d’ you intend to survive if you can’t even use a stimpak?”

“I’ll…” you smile in pain and it’s so crooked it rivals his. “I’ll figure it out.”

🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼

Chapter 4 >>>

🌼 Daisy Masterlist 🌼

Masterlist

Tag list: @bountydroid @judgementdays-girl

[leolaroot]

star trek fans specifically are crazy for that. you say "im not really comfortable watching tos because of the way captain kirk interacts with women" and 900000 people come crawling oit of the woodwork to say UM ACTUALLY kirk is a GENTLEMAN FEMINIST who is ALWAYS NICE and VERY BISEXUAL! and the only people who think he acts like that are the DUMB PIG CHAUVINIST MEN who think kirk is LIKE THEM! okay im actually referring to how he constantly grabs at women esp when they're unhappy and physically restrains them. or the weird sexually charged comments he makes. or his persistent assumption of all women as available and simple things to be acquired or controlled. and sometimes they lobby back with the "well Its Made In The Sixties so of course its Dated but its still PROGRESSIVE!" okay well its so dated that im not comfortable. i cant just say to myself "oh well it was another time" and immediately become blind to whats happening before my eyes.

[snoopledrooplecheesedoodle]

Yandere Anasui Narciso X Therapist Female reader

Yep, will do. This is before Joylene went to prison and the events of Part 6 haven't happened yet. Pucci may be mentioned. I have never been to prison and am only using what I've seen of Green Dolphin as reference. Take anything that happens with a grain of salt.

Psychosis (Yandere Anasui Narisco x Fem! Therapist reader)

Tw: Sexism, mental illness, mentions of SA, murder, Anansui, obsessive behavior and other gross and suggestive themes. DON'T READ IF YOU'RE UNDER 17 (even still you're on thin ice if you complain).

The clicking of heels rings through the prison's male section as a woman walks beside two heavily armed security guards. The Green Dolphin male ward was no place for a woman to be by herself. The inmates either made disgusting comments about her and what they want to do to her, or they cursed her out and threatened to kill her when the guards leave.

The woman in question is (Y/N) (L/N) a recent graduate of Florida State University with a master's in psychology. While rather young, (Y/N) was a very bright person recommended to the Green Dolphin Street Prison by her professor. (Y/N) was very interested in the criminal mind and its workings, so this job while not glamorous piqued her interest. Sighing to herself, (Y/N) pulled down her skirt to cover as much of her upper legs as possible. Pigs. She knew none of them would have the courage to act this way when they were in a session with an armed guard.

"Listen newbie these prisoners contain some of the vilest criminals in Florida. You'll need to toughen up because your fancy degree won't be able to protect you." The male officer on your right sneered at (Y/N). (Y/N) huffed before turning to him. "I was under the impression that at least one armed guard would be nearby during a session." The guard on her left snickered mockingly, placing a heavy hand on your shoulder. "You're a big girl, you should be able to protect yourself. Besides you ain't even that cute for no one to fu-" (Y/N) slapped the officer's hand away harshly, glaring in disgust. "You have no right to speak to me or any colleague that way." The left male officer's eyes narrowed into his puffy cheeks making him look like an angry bulldog. "You think you can speak to me bitch cause your hot shit?! I oughta beat you like your daddy should have."

The officer on the right looks away as the officer on the left closes in. To (Y/N) it became very apparent that the male officers saw no use of the female employees here and were threatened by her intelligence. She knew that they were masking their precious egos and wouldn't do anything. (Y/N) made no move to back away and looked the chubbier officer in the eyes. "You know projecting your own trauma onto others won't resolve the internal pain." The left guard's cheeks turn even redder as he pulls out his Billy Club. "Why you-!"

Before she was hit, (Y/N) calmly yet defiantly stares into the cop's eyes, he falters and snarls at the woman. "Fucking witch, what did you do to me?!" "Given you something to work on, now would you both kindly escort me to my patients or will I have to report to the warden for gross incompetence." Both prison guards grumbled something about (Y/N) being a "pretentious bitch" but (Y/N) could care less she had clients to meet.

It was turning night and (Y/N) had finished some paperwork on her latest client some blind man named Johngalli A. He refused to open up to her at all and kept staring at the wall. (Y/N) chuckles to herself about the irony of your statement before sighing...why couldn't she just be assigned to the women's ward? Well, time to go home and shower the day away.

Those bastard cops left her defenseless in the men's ward no less! (Y/N)'s heels being the only noise in the uncomfortably quiet hallway. (Y/N) darts her eyes left to right as she turns the corner. Once she gets out of the male ward she can walk to a gate! (Y/N) visibly relaxes at the sight of two guards at the front of the gate. She tenses back up as they block the gate with their faces obscured. "Is there a problem gentlemen?" (Y/N) asks the guards who stood like sentries before the gates of Hell.

"Oh, look at that it's princess, can't believe you survived your first day" cruel brown eyes stared directly into her soul. More cops with a vendetta against (Y/N), when will it end? (Y/N) huffs and tries to barge through the flesh barricade, only to be met with resistance. "What's the hurry pretty thing? We just want to get to know our coworker better right Lewis?" The second one pipes up causing Lewis to glare at him. "Shut it Darnell, just grab the girl!" Darnell shrugs before attempting to grab (Y/N), key word is attempted as (Y/N) does not want anything to do with these men. She elbows the one trying to grab her hard in the windpipe. Darnell wheezes and falls to the ground, (Y/N) pulls pepper spray out of her bag and sprays Lewis in the face. Lewis covers his eyes and falls to the floor hollering.

(Y/N) tries to make an escape when Darnell hits her in the back of the head with the butt of his rifle. (Y/N) curses Darnell for recovering quickly as she falls to the ground, black spots filling her vision. "Fuck that bitch is quick on her feet." Darnell gasps as Lewis gets back up their voices become indistinguishable, but (Y/N) sees them getting down and trying to take of her clothes. Tears bubble up as she tries to move away only to be forcefully held down. The last thing (Y/N) sees and hears however is pink hair in her peripheral vision and a scream of agony.

(Y/N) wakes up in the trauma care center with prison nurses fussing over the bruising on her arms. Some cops who weren't complete dicks found the woman lying on the floor with her blouse partially unbuttoned and bruises on her arms and the back of her head. Hanging above your unconscious form were the dead bodies of your would-be assaulters Officers Lewis McVay and Darnell Thompson. Their bodies were so horribly disfigured that officers were only identified by a DNA test.

(Y/N) was horrified at the news yes, she thought they deserved to be punished but for someone to play God to this extent makes the woman feel unnerved. Her boss wasn't completely terrible since (Y/N) was given a week off. In this time, (Y/N) couldn't get the question out of her mind. Who saved her?

Monday at 9 am sharp (Y/N) arrives to work, she won't let the trauma stop her from helping the patients. Also bills need to be paid and college debt doesn't make life any easier. The guard at the front gate greets (Y/N) as she walks into the prison. Before (Y/N) can make it to the health wing, the warden approaches with a stern look on his normally pleasant face. "Ms. (L/N) I hope your break was pleasant, I regret to inform you that an inmate has personally requested you to be their therapist." That was news for (Y/N) as she was under the impression that most of the prisoners in the male ward hated her. It filled her with a weird sense of hope that her progress might not be all in vain.

"Great just hand me his personal files and we'll get started tomorrow." The warden held his puppet Charlotte up to you and spoke through it. "You don't understand, he wants to have a session now!" Now? (Y/N) was stunned why was the warden being so pushy about it. "Alright, I still need the man's files." The warden smiled and handed the woman the manila file under his arm. "Thank you very much Miss (Y/N) you've done the right thing." (Y/N) walked off in the direction of the male ward without bothering to respond.

The male prison ward was a lot quieter with the lack of jeers from the prisoners, however there was a lingering tension in the air. Many of the male prisoners glared daggers at the therapist as she made her way towards the room where her next patient was waiting. Inhaling (Y/N) put on her best brave face and opens the door. Waiting for her with a bored expression was a flamboyantly dressed man with long pink hair. The patient's rose-colored eyes lock with (Y/N) an indecipherable look as he trails her form. The therapist also took his appearance in further as she made her way to your seat.

His attire was impractical for a prison, consisting of a mesh shirt with pink shoe prints attached to it, a purple stewardess hat with gold horns on it, and thigh high white boots trailing up to the skimpiest brown skirt she's ever seen. Sitting down in the seat, (Y/N) greets her patient without breaking eye contact. "Good morning Anasui, I am (Y/N) (L/N) your therapist. I cannot prescribe you painkillers or antidepressants, but I can recommend you to a psychiatrist if I decide it is best for you." Silence. Very well, (Y/N) thought, he must not be quite comfortable yet. "The warden told me you requested my services personally, is that correct?" Anasui stares at your mien before speaking in a baritone voice. "I did doctor." (Y/N) shakes her head as she looks sheepishly at Anasui "Oh no I'm no doctor, I can't afford to spend any more time in college."

"Interesting"

(Y/N) got uncomfortable, it felt like Anasui was the therapist not her. "Do you find my lack of a doctorate amusing Mr. Anasui?" (Y/N) switched to strict therapist voice, she needed to let him know that she won't bend to whatever he has planned for her. Anasui stands up from his seat and stalks closer to the therapist. (Y/N) maintains eye contact with the prisoner as he kneels down until their foreheads are touching. "Why are you here (Y/N)?" Anasui asks as his hot breath fans over the woman in front of him, his tourmaline eyes scanning her facial features for any trace of dishonesty. (Y/N)'s eyes narrowed as she retorted sternly. "That is none of your concern Anasui, please return to your chair." "I won't." (Y/n) furrowed her brow in frustration as Anasui seemed to only get closer. She knows not to reveal all her cards, yet she knows that Anasui will refuse to continue this session unless he's pacified.

"If you must know Anasui, I happened to get into my profession because the criminal mind fascinates me. Now would sit down so I can figure out how to help you?" (Y/N) glares at the unruly patient in front of her, Anasui pulls away and stands back up to his full height, peering down at her. Anasui scoffs before sauntering over to his chair and sitting down. (Y/N) sighs before scribbling down 'difficult patient' on her patient notes. Who could blame her for being a little petty with a criminal? "Alright Anasui how was your childhood?"

(Y/N) came out of the room weary and a bit defeated. It was difficult to get through to someone who looked at her as if she were nothing. The little she gathered about him were short normally one-word answers. However, the audacity does not end there as Anasui asked many invasive questions about the therapist's personal life. (Y/N) gave lackluster responses and it seemed to be the only time that Anasui paid any attention during their session, as she would meet his unwavering gaze greedily soaking up the answers. It was honestly quite creepy.

(Y/N) was not watching where she was going as she collided with a firm object, causing (Y/N) to fall and drop her papers everywhere. "My apologies miss (L/N), I must not have been watching where I was going." A deep yet warm voice spoke as (Y/N) looked up to be met with the prison's chaplain Enrico Pucci. The young flushed as the handsome man offered you a firm hand, pulling her up. He was quite handsome for a man of the cloth. "Oh no father it was my fault, I've been stressed with work recently." Pucci nods his head as he gives (Y/N) a knowing look. "The prisoners here can be quite difficult, but you must not let you stray from guiding these lost lambs to salvation." (Y/N) smiles gratefully at the encouragement from the priest. "Thank you, father I won't let, you down." Pucci waves as the woman walk to the canteen for your meal. She won't let Anasui best her.

Not now, not ever

Lunch was uneventful as the therapist ate in the cafeteria, none of the inmates attempted anything. Must still be afraid of what happened to the last people who tried. (Y/N) didn't mind the peace as she looked through Anasui's file in hopes of getting some information which might crack him. It said he was a lonely boy who enjoyed taking things apart and was sent to the psychiatric ward for disassembling a neighbor's car. Clearly some compulsive behavior that continued on in a disturbing way with his crime. When he caught his girlfriend in bed with another man, Anasui methodically killed and disassembled their body parts so "they'd never be together again". You would think that was the actions of a mentally ill individual, but the psychiatric analysis declared Anasui was perfectly sane. Well, there goes her appetite, however (Y/N) achieved interesting information for her next session with Anasui.

(Y/N) awoke in a cold sweat to the blare of the alarm. She had one of the most disturbing nightmares about Anasui looking down at her with rage and slicing her limbs off one by one as she bleeds to death. The inmate's furious expression frightened her as (Y/N) had never seen more than a neutral expression on the pink haired criminal's face. The woman wanted to avoid that terrible fate of choking on her own blood, so she was determined to get into Anasui's good graces. Dressing in a comfortable sweater and a nice pair of dress pants, (Y/N) applies a slight bit of makeup before walking out the door in pleather dress shoes.

Morning traffic was light as (Y/N) drove down to the prison with a (hot beverage) in hand. Florida's weather was not (Y/N)'s favorite as she felt sweat beats form on the hand holding her beverage. She just hoped the air conditioner was working in her office as she had some paperwork to do after meeting with Anasui. Crossing the bridge, (Y/N) showed her work badge to the officer in the front before driving to the employee parking lot. She was ready to deal with her unruly patient.

(Y/N) could feel the tension filling the room. Anasui refused to look at her and the only sound was the scribbling of her pen. Alright time to deploy new tactics, not looking up from her paperwork (Y/N) asks. "Anasui what's your opinion on love?" At this question, Anasui sat up straight and burned holes into the top of her head. "My opinion on love?" Anasui slowly asks as if he's not sure what (Y/N) just said. (Y/N) looks up with a sweet smile. "Yes, I would like to know how you feel about love. How have you felt it? Who you've loved?" Anasui looks at the therapist with an unreadable expression before he sighs. "I don't love anyone." (Y/N) raises an eyebrow before shaking her head. "That's not what I asked, I want to know how you feel about love. I doesn't have to be romantic or recent, just tell me about your view on love."

Anasui looks like he had been punched in the gut as he looked away from his therapist's calm yet curious expression. "I never loved my family." Anasui began looking unsure of himself as the woman in front of him gestures for him to continue. "It was nothing they did wrong, I just never really cared what happened to them. I never cared about anyone until I met her..." Anasui looks down at his boots as if contemplating how much to share. "Was she your girlfriend?" (Y/N) asked gently, a tone that surprised Anasui. Anasui nodded and looked up to meet the woman's gaze. (Y/N)'s face was warm and welcoming a contrast to the normally hard professional exterior. "What was she like?" Anasui flushed at the question as he looked up dreamily. "She was perfect. Tough yet kind, I felt like I held the world in my arms when I held her." His face softened as his eyes filled with adoration. "What changed?"

At this question Anasui's eyes filled with rage, the same rage that (Y/N) saw in her dream. "I found another man with her in her bed, fucking her right before my eyes. How could she be so shameless as to sleep with another when she was mine?!" Anasui raised his voice towards the end, vitriol filling his voice as his eyes grew dark and a blank expression came across his face. "I figured if that if she didn't love me anymore than she deserved to die. The man who led her astray had to go too." (Y/N) shivered as she tried to keep a neutral face at the prisoner's confession. His voice was measured and cold like a true killer. (Y/N) knew she had to get him out of this volatile head space, or she might be next.

"I'm sorry that you had to go through such heartbreak, love isn't always easy. I don't think you should give up on love entirely Anasui, there's always someone out there for everyone." The therapist hid the waiver in her voice as she felt ice shoot up her spine, Anasui's dead eyes gazed at her apathetically. (Y/N) jumped as Anasui appeared right in front of her caging her into her chair with his body, his gaze fixed like a predator observing its prey. How did he get up so fast?! Anasui observed the panic on (Y'N)'s face as he leaned into her face. "Do you really believe there is someone who is willing to love a monster like me? A murderer who killed two innocent people and feels no remorse?" Anasui challenged the woman in front of him, daring her to delude herself in believing that he was worthy of love.

"Yes, I believe that even murderers can find love." (Y/N) steadily stated placing her hands in her lap to hide how badly they were shaking. The man who put her in such a compromising position scared her to know end. She had dealt with many vile criminals that threatened her life but there was always anger, blazing fire in their eyes. Anasui was icy cold as nothing was displayed behind his eyes. His forehead bumped into (Y/N)'s harshly as he looked her up and down. "Could someone like you love me? Someone innocent and free from the cement walls that confine me?" (Y/N) brought her own face close enough for their noses to touch before speaking. "Yes, even innocent people can fall in love with criminals. It's up to the criminals to open themselves up to the idea of being in love though." Anasui's eyes widened at her action and words, she was tough. However, the fire in her eyes was something beautiful to experience firsthand. She cared enough to try to get through to him which means she cares.

She must love him

His eyes fill with an emotion he only held for one other person, adoration. (Y/N)'s eyes widen as Anasui plants his lips on her forehead and he pulls away smiling. She had never seen this man smile, except when he mentioned his ex. Her gut felt like it was filled with lead as Anasui takes her hands in his and speaks. "I think I'm ready to love again."

I think I'm ready to love again

What an ominous warning for what was to come. If (Y/N) could come back and warn her previous self not to take on Anasui as a patient, she would. However, it seems he was obsessed with her before even officially meeting. This obsession morphed from curiosity to some bastardized version of love. Some sick replacement for affection. (Y/N) couldn't continue this charade of being the caring therapist if it meant her life was in peril. She'd have to move to the women's ward or worst case, another prison entirely. Stirring the coffee that she obtained from the break room, (Y/N) contemplated her next move. Anasui is a dangerous man, who knows how he will react to her leaving? For now (Y/N) needed to lay low and make it perfectly clear to Anasui she did not love him at all.

"You're late." Anasui's voice held a tinge of annoyance as (Y/N) set her leather satchel down. The woman grimaces at the sign of a negative emotion, keep calm and everything will be fine. (Y/N) turned to Anasui and gave him a professional smile. "I don't think it's possible for a therapist to be late, if this concerns you, we can finish later." Anasui considers this and nods, scooting his chair in to be closer to his beloved therapist. (Y/N) pushes her own chair further away from the pink haired male, causing him to frown. "Anasui, you know I am your therapist, right?" Anasui gives her a dreamy look as he reaches out to (Y/N). "You are that and more my darling." (Y/N) recoils into herself at his lovesick eyes burn holes in her very soul. She needs to pick her next words carefully.

"As your therapist it is important that I maintain a distance from your personal life. I believe that it is wise for us to observe our relationship as patient and provider, nothing more and nothing less."

"Marry me."

"What?" The cold feeling of dread raked its icy fingers through your neck hairs, which stood at attention. Anasui's pink lips quirk into a confident smirk as he pulls a small black box out of God knows where. He opened it to reveal a modest ring with a small diamond. "I see no need to court properly as we already know so much about each other. I want you to be my wife and I will be your husband." "NO." (Y/N) shouted her calm facade quickly unraveling as Anasui approached her chair once more.

"No."

(Y/N) looks away from the towering pinkette in front of her, the room's energy becoming sharp and frigid like an icicle. (Y/N) had to stand firm now or she would never escape this monster "I can't marry my patient; besides you know nothing about me." (Y/N) thought reason would reach the seemingly logic-oriented prisoner, but he was too far gone. A rough hand gripped her chin and pulled her face to peer at his own misty-eyed stare. "You're wrong, I know more about you than even your own parents. I can treat you better than any other man so why do you refuse me." (Y/N) didn't believe him one bit.

"What's my favorite color?"

"(F/C)."

"When was I born?"

"(DOB)."

"Do I have a pet?"

"No but you've also preferred cats over dogs."

(Y/N) gasped and pushed herself further in her chair as the monster in front of her caged her in once more. This has to be a bluff, an attempt at besting her, she won't yield. "Anasui if you don't sit down, I will alert the guards." (Y/N)'s tone waivered as her eyes were wild with panic. Anasui soaks in (Y/N)'s terrified expression with a deadpan expression. "If you call the guards, I'll slaughter every last one of them. If you leave, I'll break out and find you." His eyes did not lie as he said this phrase, she were frightened. How unstable could a prisoner be to claim to love her after only a few visits?

Before (Y/N) could retort, Anasui slams his lips on hers muffling any cry for help. He took advantage of her open mouth to wriggle his pink muscle in. (Y/N) screamed into the kiss as Anasui had closed his eyes in bliss. The therapist lay limp as she let him have his way with her mouth, before he pulls away a sting of saliva connecting (Y/N) to this ravenous beast. "If you're not ready for marriage now we can court, just know that refusal can lead to the death of many." Leaning down to place open mouth kisses on her now exposed neck, leaving pink lipstick marks all over.

"What will it be (Y/N) marriage or courtship?"

[reve-writes]

—if i'm dead to you [1]; leon kennedy.

ʚ leon kennedy x reader | resident evil | 1,5k words. ʚ chapter two. | you betrayed him before, resulting in a failed mission and a preventable death. years later, you cross paths. ʚ angst. profanity; violence; non-canon lore; reader murdered someone; very loosely set in re4. ʚ a/n this will have a second part! i don't write for leon a lot so he may be ooc, sorry for that. i just wanted to write some lovers-to-enemies angst while being knee-deep in leon brainrot.

"I should kill you," he theeatens. You feel the hard muzzle of his pistol on the small of your back, almost feel the coldness of the metal against your skin despite the jacket you're clad in.

God, you missed him.

"Leon," you greet casually, even as you put your hands up in a surrendering manner. He presses the gun harder—a warning. One you're choosing to ignore. "Come on, puppy. We both know you're not going to shoot."

His voice is cold when he responds, venom lacing every syllable. "Do we?"

Your heart clenches, but then again you deserve every bit of anger he throws your way. His icy tone feels so much worse than any wound you've ever had in your line of work. Each words lodging deep inside you, like a bullet without an exit wound.

“Leon,” you try again. His name flows smoothly out of your lips as if you've been saying it your whole life. Even now, as he's threatening you, your body seems to remember him anyway—gravitate towards the pads of his fingers, the warmth of his torso. You thrum with the yearning to feel his skin on yours again as much as you don't deserve to. “We can talk like civilised people.”

“We're past civilised for a while now,” he retorts, but the pressure loosens. You take your chances and slowly spin on your heels to face him. A mistake on your part. Your heart swells at the sight of him. His blond hair, sweeping over his ears. The blue in his eyes, hardened from years of experience as an agent. The set of his jaw. Your hand twitches with the desire to touch him, feel his lips against yours once more.

What do you even say?

Apologising seems like a callous move. You didn't bother to apologise five years ago. It changes nothing even if you do apologise now, because you'll do it all over again. Instead of spinning more lies or desperately trying to bury the elephant in the room, you opt for the truth.

“I'm glad you're well, Leon.” You swallow, trying to clear the scratchiness of your voice from the lump forming in your throat.

His brows furrow. His gun is still aimed towards you, but his hand is trembling ever-so-slightly. “Don't do that.”

Your head tilts to the side. “Do what?”

“Try and act as if you're not the biggest fucking liar I've ever met,” he snarls. “Fuck this. Fuck you.”

It stings. Every word acts like lacerations on the fickle little thing beating inside your chest. Your hand shakes, but you flash him a tight-lipped smile instead.

“I suppose I deserve that.”

“And a whole lot more.”

A beat passes, and then two. It doesn't seem like he's going to serve you your retribution.

You're taking in his appearance and he looks at you, so many thoughts racing in his head. Too many to pick out just one. He takes a deep breath, trying to calm the roiling anger in his veins—to keep the red at the edge of his vision instead of blinding him.

“What are you doing here?”

“You know I can't answer that.”

“The least you can do is answer my questions.” He grits his teeth. “Then again, whatever you say is most likely a lie.”

“I'll take my leave, then.” I'm glad I get to see you.

He kisses his teeth in annoyance. “Goddammit, ___. Are you really not going to say anything?”

You clench your fists, nails digging into your palms. “We don't need to do this. I'll stay out of your way.”

“What about Tracy?”

The name brings up a clear picture. Pig-tailed brunette. Fifteen years old. Freckles dusting her cheeks. The gap between her front teeth when she smiled.

Tracy Miller.

That was the name printed on your mission file five years ago. Your mission partner was Leon Kennedy. Both of you were newbies in the field, recently recruited after what went down in Raccoon City. It was supposed to be an easy mission, anyway. You were starry-eyed, excited to spend a little more time with him, giddy for experience in this godforsaken field.

Your mission was simple. The fifteen-year-old prodigy created a strain of virus. You were supposed to bring her in for questioning. They were planning to confiscate the research.

Until you were approached by your current employer—a group of self-righteous assholes whom you've caught the attention of. You were presented with an offer, but it was never much of a choice. Kill Tracy, get rid of the possibility that the virus could ever soread. You would never say yes. Never in a million years would you have aimed your gun at a helpless child.

Until they mentioned him.

It didn't take much for you to throw your morals to the backburner when it came to Leon. He was their leverage. If you didn't work for them and dispose of Tracy, then he would die. Their words over the static of your phone are the start of this nightmare.

How sure are you that you can protect him from us?

The name Tracy brings up an image. A loud ringing in your ears. The thud of her body hitting the ground. The click of your gun as it fell to the floor, a bullet missing from its magazine, lodged in the girl's skull.

You steel yourself, echoing empty words you don't quite believe in. “I did what needed to be done.”

You walked away from him. Your shoes knocking against the docks of the lake. As soon as he's out of sight, your knees buckle and you fall. Blinking your eyes, you realise that you're crying.

You don't have time for this.

Not in the middle of an infected village where its residents can appear anytime, hurling an axe at your skull or brandishing a pitchfork, fully intending to kill. There's a mission to accomplish.

Dammit.

You're filled with contradictions. Even as you curse to yourself, standing in front of him like a deer caught in the headlights, there's a part of you that lights up when you bump into him again. It overshadows the rational part—the one that dreads another confrontation, risking the exchange of words as sharp as daggers into each other's hearts.

He immediately levels his handgun at your chest. You drop yours.

“Shit. I didn't know you were here, Leon.” This is one truth that you can offer to him.

“Am I supposed to believe that?”

You sigh, spotting a hostile in your periphery ready to lob a machete at you. “Duck.”

Even if you're the one who cried wolf, the one who once served a lie so grave on a platter without batting an eye, his body responds, immediately falling to a crouch before he can even think about it. It's how the two of you operate in Raccoon City and the countless missions that follow after that. Complete trust. That's why your betrayal feels like a thousand cuts to him.

You curse under your breath, side-stepping the machete. You swoop down for your dropped gun, shooting the infected resident three times before he falls to the ground. Your gunshot is loud, drawing everyone and their mothers out of their houses.

“Great,” Leon complains under his breath.

It's a dance you remember. The way your body so naturally presses up against him to cover each other's backs. The familiar little commands the two of you exchange as you take down enemy after enemy.

“She's just eating my bullets!” He quips, dropping an empty magazine out with one hand, the other already pulling out a new one out to reload. “Shit.”

You chuckle. Suddenly, you're back in Raccoon City again. Two naive twenty-something-year-olds keeping each other alive. Leon and his quirky comments. You and your light-hearted laughs.

The last shot rings and the two of you let out a relieved sigh.

“Great work,” he says before he can stop himself, falling into old habits.

You smile—that million dollar smile that does unhealthy things to his heart. Do it again. A voice in his head says. He frowns, clenching and unclenching his fists, trying to shake off the stupor that remains after the fight.

Tracy Miller. He'll never forget the day he failed the young girl. The day you broke his trust. He swears he hates you. He wants you dead for what you did.

“You're not half bad yourself, Kennedy,” you answer.

He turns around, going to sow his rewards after all the shooting. “Stay out of my way. I won't hesitate the next time.”

The coldness returns to him. You tighten your jacket as if it can help shield you from the chill, but this is a small price you have to pay for his life. You prefer to have him absolutely loathe you than buried dead six feet underground.

You wince, walking away. “Take care, puppy.”

The nickname slips out of you and his step falters for a second. You notice—you notice every fucking thing he does bevause his presence alone heightens all your senses.

It gives you hope, a small one—one you don't deserve. Maybe. Just maybe. He'll forgive you someday.

[ ]

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Epic The Musical what if

(What if Eurylochus died instead of Polites?)

-We can say that most of the Troy saga would be the same. From (The Horse and the infant. To Polyphemus)

-The big change is during survive, when Polyphemus reveals his club and goes to strike Polites, but by a change of fate. Odysseus notices a second sooner, pushing Polites out of the way, saving them both. But Eurylochus wasn’t so lucky.

-The club killed him. And Odysseus felt a rage. This is what happens when you approach with open arms.

-Remember them changes to. “Avenge them.”

-Odysseus does the same plan as before. Blinding the cyclops. But the difference was that he felt a new burning rage. A hatred for these cyclops. They killed the blinded Polyphemus.

-They weren’t leaving until they killed the giants on the island.

-Polites pleads that they killed enough. But Odysseus berates him. Saying that his weakness is what made Eurylochus die. If they had attacked first they would have won.

-Odysseus experiences a different version of “My goodbye” as Athena leaves him because he is now acting more like Ares than a student of hers.

-Polites was against the several months they spent hunting and killing those giants

- Odysseus and his crew end up killing the giants on the island. And restocked on food. They leave the island. When a storm hits. (Basically the same result where they see the sky island)

- Luck runs out plays but with a slight change. It’s Polites suggesting that they don’t interact with the wind god. That they leave and not push their luck. But Odysseus ignores his advice.

-Odysseus gets the bag of winds. And the shenanigans ensues.

-The winds bring them to Poseidon. Who is a LOT more pissed off. Yea they killed his son, but they killed his sons. And in their brutality, Poseidon found out it was Odysseus that did it. And he is brutal. Killing most of the crew. The song Ruthlessness is the same but it talks about the difference between Ruthlessness and vengeance.

-They escape cause the wind bag.

-after this Polites actually tells Odysseus that the cruelty is what caused them this pain. That they need compassion.

-Puppeteer happens but with Polites being the one to return and he tells Odysseus that they need a plan. He was not going to leave them to be pigs like Eurylochus.

-Basically “Wouldn’t you like” and “Done for” happen the same. But Odysseus kills Circe thanks to Hermes’s giving him the power. This unfortunately means that there was no way of turning the men back from pigs.

-Polites pointed out that they could have saved their men if they had talked to her. But Odysseus points out that she was trying to kill them. And he chose them.

-Because of this, Polites speaks up. He says that Odysseus went too far.

-Fortunately Hermes shows up and helps them get to the underworld (he is the messenger)

-It’s there where the underworld saga occurs. And the underworld song has Odysseus hear Eurylochus instead of Polites.

-No longer you is the same

-“Monster” is sung but with a different inflection. Odysseus realizes he has become a monster and resolves to try and be more compassionate. War had made him lose himself

-“suffering” was the same, but “Different beast” is very different as when the Syrens were captured. They made a deal, if the Syrens helped the crew navigate passed Scylla. They would spare them.

-Unfortunately, this plan failed as the Syrens betrayed them to Scylla and they lost 6 men.

-Mutiny occurs but not because of Polites orchestrating it. But Perimedes.

-Polites tried to stop it. But the crew caught Odysseus off guard and He and Polites were captured.

-The crew killed the cow on the island of the Sun god. And of course Zeus shows up.

-But he had a twist. Since Polites had sided with Odysseus. Polites would not be killed in the crew part of the decision.

-The ship is destroyed as the result of Thunderbringer.

-Odysseus and Polites wake up on Calypso’s island. Where Polites accepts the hospitality with open arms. Odysseus is missing his wife and mourning his mistakes. Polites does help keep Ody from being suicidal.

-The events of the wisdom saga are the same, though the flashbacks are altered.

-Eventually after seven years, divine intervention does kick in. But Calypso isn’t as hard to convince to let Odysseus go. She decided she liked Polites more. And Polites agreed to stay with Calypso. Odysseus apologizes to Polites for not heeding his advice and now he’s stuck there.

-But Polites assures him that he was doing what he thought was right. The song is altered to “Don’t be sorry” he has a hot goddess wife.

-Odysseus thanks them both. Telling them he loves them both. And wishing them all the happiness.

-Odysseus then heads off with the help of Hermes.

-Odysseus eventually gets home. Kills the suitors and reunites with his wife and son.

-Odysseus receives a message from Polites. To remember to receive this return to his life with open arms.

[oddyseye]

Odysseus does not become a monster by the end of EPIC.

Every single act of violence Odysseus commits is justified. He doesn’t lash out for no reason or lose control of himself like a so-called monster.

First off, let’s talk about Astyanax. Yes, Odysseus feels guilt when he kills him because Astyanax was just a baby. But guess what? It wasn’t Odysseus just deciding to be cruel — it was an order from the gods. Divine will, Jorge. Odysseus doesn’t kill for fun; he does what’s necessary, even when it weighs on him. So no, this doesn’t make him a monster. It makes him a servant of fate.

Now, let’s move to Polyphemus. Odysseus blinds the Cyclops because Polyphemus kills his men. That’s not monstrous, that’s survival. And no, Odysseus doesn’t feel guilt afterward. The only regret he shows is when Poseidon’s wrath makes his life harder. Otherwise, he’s out there flaunting his cleverness, shouting his name, and basically trolling Polyphemus because, guess what? It was justified. Polyphemus attacked first.

Then there’s Circe. Odysseus immediately fights her, beats her, and doesn’t feel bad about it at all. He doesn’t even dwell on it, he just tells her she lost and demands his men back because she turned them into pigs. Again, he’s not out here being needlessly cruel. His actions are justified because Circe started it. End of story.

And let’s not forget the Sirens. Odysseus cuts off their tails and lets them drown without mercy. Harsh? Sure. But they tried to lure his crew to their deaths, so again, justified. He’s not going to waste time mourning monsters that attacked first.

Now, I’ll give you this: the only moment where we can even speculate about guilt is when Odysseus sacrifices six men to Scylla. But let’s be real, what choice did he have? It was either lose six men or lose everyone. That’s not a choice; that’s a tragic necessity. It’s justified because the alternative was total annihilation.

Then there’s Zeus demanding the rest of the crew’s lives because they angered Helios. This is another case where Odysseus doesn’t really have a choice. It’s not like he could fight Zeus. He sacrifices them because the gods demanded it, and as cruel as it is, it’s not on him. Blame the gods, not Odysseus.

And now we get to the suitors. People love to act like this is the moment where Odysseus becomes the monster, but let’s not forget: the suitors planned to kill his son, rape his wife, and steal his kingdom. Killing them was not just justified, it was necessary. He was reclaiming what was his and protecting his family. If he showed no mercy, it’s because they didn’t deserve any. People point out that he uses darkness like Polyphemus in his own palace, traps his enemies like Circe, aims for the torches like Scylla, fights from afar like Poseidon, and denies mercy like all of them. But here’s the thing: even those monsters had justified reasons for what they did. Polyphemus was avenging his sheep, Circe was protecting her nymphs, Scylla and the Sirens attacked to survive, Poseidon was avenging his son, and even Zeus was punishing a wrong against Helios. Another monster who gets justified is Calypso. Calypso has been alone for one hundred years, so it is entirely justifiable that she is incapable of taking no for an answer. And even then, Odysseus does not become a monster. Because when he asks Penelope if she’d fall in love with him again, he’s willing to take no for an answer. That’s the exact opposite of Calypso’s behavior. The whole time, his “he’s becoming a monster” angle is undermined. Like, you wrote a world where every so-called “monster” has a reason for their actions, and suddenly Odysseus is a different beast now? Puh-lease. If Odysseus really became a monster, then he had to be stripped away of all these justifications that force him into morally indefensible actions. I hear most of you will say that him becoming a monster is not really about his actions, and it is all moreso related to the fact he no longer feels guilt. But like, hun, the thing is...Odysseus never even feels guilt for most of the wrongs he does, except like once or twice. That’s...not a shift at the end. It’s always been his way. May I remind everyone that 99% of the atrocities committed during the Trojan War were thought of, planned, and executed by Odysseus without a shred of remorse? That’s who he is. Calculating, strategic, and utterly ruthless when he needs to be.

[theredofoctober]

MANNA- CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: HARE

Dark!Hannibal Lecter x Reader x Dark!Will Graham AU fic

TW for eating disorders, noncon, abuse, Daddy kink, cannibalism mentions, death (including of a young person), violence, blood

Read after the cut

---

You wake in the cold. A coffin colourlessness— beneath you a floor, tiled like the belly of an alligator, and above you like foul jungle fruit a roof of human torsos, each sheathed in plastic and reduced almost to featureless meat: heads, skin, limbs all absent, burned, or stored elsewhere, or eaten.

For a moment you are taken with the belief that you must be amongst those murdered to lie bare beneath the earth with them. Then through the midden smog of thought you remember being carried, half-sleeping, down into this room in the night, that you have lain here under the belly of the storm for many hours, unknowing.

You scream out, attempting to writhe away from the canopy of the dead. In your struggle you find your ankle held fast to a loop in the wall, its chain like a strand of beautiful jewellery, yet still too strong to break.

A shape unfolds from the murk of some corner, taciturn beneath the queer light of that place.

“Good morning, Little One.”

“Daddy,” you cry, crawling forth in desperate hunger for consolation even from the maker of this charnel hell. “Please, please, take me out of here. I can’t be down here with them. Please, I’ll be good—"

“No,” says Hannibal. “I don’t believe you will.”

He stands like some grave and terrible seabird upon a dune of the drowned, unmoved by his work, or by your tears.

“Your unrelenting impudence wearies me. It seems that you’re unable to grasp the magnitude of your good fortune. I could have kept you as a pig liberated from the slaughterhouse, a domestic creature regarded, still, as less than human. You would have lived on slops, in straw, and drank from a trough, and like any pet you would have learned to be grateful for your keep.

“But I do not see you as an animal, Little One, and so I’ve housed you better than I would a daughter of my own blood. It vexes me that you’re still unsatisfied with the luxuries of this existence. Even the threat of death doesn’t curb your desire to spite me.”

You hang your head, baring your neck to this cruel swordsman and his words.

“Will has proven himself to be as I am in all but the act of choosing to kill,” Hannibal continues, stepping neatly out of reach of fingers that would otherwise have snatched his navy trouser leg to you. “But until you behold his appetite first-hand in bowers of blood you’ll turn your face away from it. You are falling in love with only half of what Will is; that is a chosen blindness, and it has led you far astray, dear Little One.”

Such talk of romance under the willows of the perished— you shift about in your unease of it, and the manacle about your foot cuts in like the gauntlet of a covetous and lusting king.

“I’m not in love with Will,” you say. “I’m not, I could never—"

“It wasn’t your intent to love him, but nevertheless you do. You long for him even when he takes you in anger, or speaks harsh words to you, for he’s so like the cruel protector of your oldest fantasies that you feel a natural inclination to accede to him. How cruelly must I handle you for you to submit to me?”

Hannibal’s disappointment is like another body in the room in the weight of its cool presence.

You have been mad, surely, to snub him, this vampire amongst men; snivelling, you kneel at his feet, unsure whether to present yourself as his submissive or his child to beg for grace.

“Will wouldn’t do this,” you say, gesturing to the sheathes of the dead. “Even if he did murder someone he’d— he’d pick someone bad. These people weren’t. I don’t like it, I don’t like it, I’m so scared—”

“You think Will wouldn’t succumb to kill as I do, in the end?

Hannibal is not nearly so handsome in this charnel pit under the house. His face is built of blades and vellum, his eyes like spider's backs, darkly resentful and incredulous.

“In the beginning he would select those unarguably deserving, then after that those that merely irritated his sensibilities. Will is quick to rise to jealousy or irritation. There will come a day that he will take a life for the bitter pleasure of removing that which offends him. I believe you know this to be true.”

Having been told of Will’s dream you can no longer deny this reality, knowing the hunt a call to his very soul.

You say, “I don’t know what to do.”

“Accept me as you have Will,” says Hannibal. “And as you must accept yourself, for you haven’t been entirely without pleasure in the thought of killing. Ten years ago you wrote of the urge to plunge a kitchen knife into your mother’s heart on an online message board after an altercation with her. You described that imagined act of revenge with relish, and she had only struck the back of your hand to earn it.”

You stare at Hannibal, aghast that he has uncovered what you, through time and guilt, have long forgotten.

“I didn’t mean it,” you insist. “I was mad at her, that’s all. It’s not wrong to be mad. I never would have done it. I love my mom.”

“Had you not feared the consequences of taking up the knife you would have done so, and I wouldn’t have blamed you for that. The urge to kill is not unusual, Little One, though it’s curious that it was the lesser of your abusers that inspired a dream of murder. One might take it as evidence that even so-called petty grievances are a just cause to act.”

That this man presents monstrosity as a legitimate dogma should suggest some flaw in the brain, yet he possesses none, is sane to the point that it is the alternative thought that seems a madness.

“I don’t want to be a bad person,” you croak. “And I’m scared that I already am. You want me to be bad. Us, me and Will. Both of us evil.”

“I’m no great believer in good and evil,” says Hannibal. “Nor should you be. You have suffered under benevolence and thrived through brutality. What use is good if it fails to serve you?”

As Hannibal bends to unlock the manacle with a key from his jacket pocket he glances up at you, the talons of his gaze holding yours.

“I trust that you’ll abandon your attempts to force distance between Will and I.”

“Yes,” you say, nodding vigorously. “Yes, yes, please let me out of here—”

“Very well,” says Hannibal, and setting the chain aside he aids you, on wavering legs, to stand.

You cry out as a chrysalis of flesh brushes against you, and as you glimpse the curve of what was once a waist you muse what mild trespass this woman had made to deserve her hanging here.

It’s this thought that reminds you of where you are, and of the nightmare logic that orders your life with Dr Lecter.

In a burst of panicked horror you twist past Hannibal and up the staircase to the room above. Unclad, barefoot, you run for the front door, aware even as you pelt through the gorgeous and echoing rooms that you cannot get out, or away from your keeper.

You fold against the locked exit, defeated and hysterical, raining blows upon the unyielding wood until your arms swing numb at your sides.

Hannibal approaches in unhurried steps, and you detect the sexual urge in him like the early sting of smoke.

What is it that makes him want you now? Your naked beauty, perhaps, the abjection of a Rossetti whore, draped, heaving, in an almond strip of shadow.

Then again it may be that he thinks you require his correction, that like some surgical enhancement it will align your will with his. You don’t look at him as he comes after you, this devourer of men, as though to peer into the curse of his face would be to sign yourself over to his damnation.

“Where would you have run to, bare in the street?” he asks, coolly amused. “I or someone else would have brought you home again, and you would have gained nothing in your bid for freedom but embarrassment.”

You endure his touch on your back, crossing the soft fields of skin. You hear the rustle of an opening made in your captor’s clothing, the tone of your own tortured breath through your nostrils.

You feel Hannibal lift your leg by the knee, guiding you into a contorted form that burns in the ribboning of the muscle, and up into you he fucks in stabbing strokes, a dance of violence such as the entry of some balletic villain in its style.

His left hand pushes your shoulder flat to the rattling door, its palm still cool from the basement’s subterranean climate; you feel less a girl now under his hold than a sow shot through at the end of its use.

Hannibal forgives you as he did Mischa: through consumption, this time in the form of sex. He turns his fork up in you, carving an ambrosia of tender excruciation— you let out a string of barking cries, aware of the intent of this hurt.

Hannibal takes no more pity on you than a wolf does the ewe it kills.

“If you hadn’t been such a difficult girl yesterday then you would have lain easily with Will and I,” he tells you. “Such sweet pleasures we would have taken together, for there would have been no cause to hurt you. How you spoil things for yourself, Little One.”

“I know,” you whimper. “I know. I can’t help it.”

“You most certainly can,” Hannibal insists, and closing his mouth upon your shoulder he bites.

You are so thrown by the sudden nip of fore teeth that you’re not immediately sure that it is real; only the slender tie of blood that falls between your breasts is proof of it, of his claiming of you.

It is a clever bite of controlled pressure, just as an animal would correct its child; it will leave no scar, nor will bruise for longer than a week. He kisses you upon the cut after he makes it, one hand ascending between you and the door to cup your breast and the heartbeat behind the orb of fat that protects its maker.

Without much thought he could gouge it out and eat like an exotic delicacy the smoking organ. You consider if Hannibal has dreamt of that, what you would taste like. Whether he has thought of Will likewise and resisted only to preserve the life of his companion.

Hannibal fucks you now as he once took to you his belt, each blow of hips against you measured to make you sorrier than the last. Yet violence to him is paired with sex like wine with a delicious meal, complimenting the flavour; it goes on and on, extending beyond the point of punishment into a Dionysian indulgence of his resentment.

That he will still love you afterwards you do not doubt. Abusers see no contradiction in such acts, and Hannibal, for all his pride, is of their ilk, a mortal man, and through the mires of torment you must remember this of him.

The pain of his orgasm within you is like the hinge of a jewellery box broken backwards, snapping you up against the door without any like joy of your own. That you’re so bereft is by intent, of course, to strip you further of your dignity. To grant you orgasm after you have so hurt him would be his failure, and that he won’t allow.

In an abrupt motion Hannibal withdraws from you and spins you by the unbitten shoulder to face him.

“No more tears,” he says, though your shock has dried them to air within their ducts. “I’d like you to be at your most delightful when Will arrives tonight.”

In other words his friend is not to know what he has done to you, or the others under this house.

“Yes, Daddy,” you say, weakly. “Whatever you want.”

Satisfied by your answer, Hannibal takes a bottle of pills from his pocket, the label having been meticulously removed so as to render the contents unknowable. Xanax, you imagine, or some such thing, the carrier of dulling sleep.

You think of being hefted away into that lower room in your drugged stupor and shake your head.

“I’ll be nice,” you say. “I don’t need them.”

“As your doctor,” says Hannibal, “I assure you that it is not in your best interest to contest my decisions as to your care. And as your guardian, I won’t allow you to argue. Little girls are best seen, and not heard.”

*

In the afternoon you’re served Jugged Hare that, within a well of artificial calm, you near forget to be afraid to eat.

“Who were they?” you ask, as Hannibal dabs the silk of saliva from your chin with a serviette. “The ‘hare’. What were they called, Daddy?”

“Would it help you to know?” asks your captor, and you turn your fork slowly, skewering a clod of brown meat on its tines.

“Yes,” you say. “No. I’m not sure. Were they a nice person? Did they have a nice name?”

After guiding the hare into your mouth Hannibal eases the fork from your slack hand to take away.

“It was only an animal,” he tells you. “And wild animals have no names.”

Hannibal carries you to bed, kissing you chastely above the eyebrow as your head rolls aside, near insensible. He turns to put on a recording of the opera Bluebeard's Castle, glancing back to notice you grasping fruitlessly at a patch of air below your pillow.

Dissatisfied, you tug a cushion down to fill the emptiness of your arm.

Hannibal says, “Was there a favoured toy you used to take to bed with you as a child, Little One?”

“Yes,” you mumble. “A frog, Philippe, only I used to call him Flip. Uncle Lee got him for me.”

“I see. And where is Flip now?”

“I don’t have him anymore. I hid him away after— everything.”

You’re asleep before Hannibal leaves the room, a thought flying the dusk of his eyes.

*

You stir, still somewhat drunk on Hannibal’s pills, to the sound of tense conversation on some nether floor of the building. Recalling Will’s unsettling confession of killing dreams you are unsure what you feel for him now, or what you must do in his absence of aid.

Yet when the agent arrives at the top of the stairs he finds you waiting for him in your bedroom doorway, trailing a blanket behind you like a child gotten up in the night.

Will takes one look at your flared pupils and laughs aloud.

“Okay. Let’s get you back into bed.”

He pulls the blanket around your shoulders and leads you through your room by the hand, the work toughened skin of his palm a sensory delight. As you sit cross-legged under your quilt you’re loathe to let him go, irrationally certain that to do so is to find yourself alone.

Will seems much recovered from the previous night, his gaze hard and clear. The rift between him and Hannibal has strengthened him, you acknowledge, revealing to Will the other man’s reckless desire to possess and to exploit his company.

What use he’ll make of that knowledge you cannot guess of him.

“Aren’t you going to tell Jack and Alana about Daddy?” you ask, with a tentative curiosity.

“About him tampering with the food?” Will asks. “No. They already think that I’m irrational. Better not add anything else to that particular soup.”

He walks a lazy circuit of the room, touching objects at random.

“But the killings—” you begin, and fall silent, gnawing your tongue in frustration.

You cannot speak of the basement, would suffer more for that revelation than any thus far.

“But, like, when you have proof of the Copycat Murders,” you say. “When you know for sure, will you turn him in?”

Will’s back is towards you, a slim, clothed wall.

“I don’t know.”

“But you help people like me. I know how much you care. How come Hannibal’s more important than those girls? Do you really like him that much?”

Snorting, Will comments, “I wouldn’t say I like him right now.”

“But you can’t stay away from him. Do you think he’s right about you? All that stuff he said about how you need to be a killer to be happy?”

At this Will swivels back towards the bed again, his brows drawn together.

“What do you want from me, Little One? Didn’t you already tell me that I’m just like him?”

You wince at the retort, and Will casts you a look of quick regret.

“I shouldn’t have said that. It wasn’t exactly fair.”

He takes your hand again, running a thumb over the icy knuckles. How odd that it brings you comfort, this evil limb that longs to kill. Will would receive as much pleasure from wrapping it about your throat as this caress, hardening between the legs as the air ran from your lungs.

That he wants you warm, living, beside him is like the favour of Olympus, a burdened gift you cannot return.

“I know this isn’t easy for you,” says Will. “But I don’t have all the answers, and the ones I do know aren’t the ones you’re looking for. All you should be focusing on is getting better without distractions.”

You cannot alter his strange path towards Hannibal Lecter, cannot extract one man from the other, being that, by the dark, they may as well be one.

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” you say. “How’s the case going? Any news?”

Will coughs, spun by the tactless change in subject, yet he engages if only to diffuse the awkwardness of the moment.

“Jack’s already found a previous victim in Kentucky. In the next few days we should have the names of other women killed under the same circumstances. There was a previous case known as the Mask Murders that has undeniable similarities to the Lover’s. I have pictures from two separate crime scenes for comparison, but—”

Here Will pauses with the abrupt and discomforted realisation of having said perhaps too much.

“They’re not overly graphic,” he says, at last. “But it probably wouldn’t be the best idea to show you.”

“Did you show them to Hannibal?” you ask, rather shrilly.

In this drugged and childish space you feel a wrench of anger to think of the men shoulder to shoulder as equals and intellects even in this time of discord, involved as you will never be, by their reckoning.

You have seen death, known horrors, have felt the thrum of them across a web of dreams before their entry; no image could be more terrible than that in which by morning you’d awoken.

“Let me see them,” you demand. “I want to. I’ll be okay. Maybe I’ll notice something you don’t.”

Will pauses, on the cusp of delivering a stern and fatherly denial. But then you see a flicker in his expression, the recollection of how colleagues, superiors, and his closest friends have held his own mental faculties against him.

He takes an envelope from his pocket and sets the contents down on the bedcovers. You study them gravely, too detached from yourself to re-experience the nauseous terror of the basement room.

“This is one of the early Lover killings,” says Will, gesturing to the image on the left. “He strangled Violet Roth into unconsciousness before cutting flesh off her bones in an attempt to fit her into a silicone doll. When that didn’t work her skull and pelvis were shattered with a hammer; she was only identified by her remaining teeth.”

The doll in the photograph you’d expected to appear cruelly comical, the fare of joke shops and sex district windows. You are surprised to find that it looks quite real, so akin to a beautiful corpse that only the flawlessness of its artificial flesh and flirting eyes betrays its nature.

It—she—lies on a matt of dead grass beside the black rope of a river, its hair like a ruff of twilight shadow on its neck, the painted hands crossed upon its navel. A stitched slit runs from groin to temple, dried clods of blood stoning the thread.

“Then we have the Kentucky victim,” says Will, as you glance across to the picture on the right. “Anaïs Foreau. She was only seventeen years old when she was strangled and beaten to death by the Mask Murderer. She’s the youngest victim we currently have on record.”

In this image lies the body of a girl in a dress of frilled corsetry and lace, the head—staved in on one side—encased in a porcelain mask. Glass eyes stare benignly from under a fringe of mink lashes, their blind pupils capturing the flare of the camera.

“This girl, Anaïs,” you say. “The way the Lover dressed her and all that stuff. She looks... I mean, it feels wrong to say it, but it’s prettier, the way he presented her, like, compared to the other girl. Violet.”

“The Lover didn’t start mutilating his victims in earnest until the second wave of killings,” says Will. “Part of the reason is likely due to the impracticality of switching mediums from porcelain to silicone.”

“So why did he go from just the masks to the dolls?”

“The Lover’s jaded from his previous heartbreak. A cynical and jilted man. The porcelain represented innocence: he was honouring his first muse as well as protecting her by working out his urges elsewhere.

“But though he’s found love again the killer no longer believes in purity the way he did before. Whether directly or subconsciously he’s taunting his new muse with what she is: a woman. Just a doll for him to play with.”

Shivering, you turn the photographs on their faces, relieved by the white oblongs of their backs.

“If he hates women, and this woman especially,” you say, “then why is he even in love with her at all?”

Will puts the images away into their envelope, and you reach out to dust your bedcovers with one hand as though from death’s residue.

“Because of what he is, the Lover is a lonely man,” says Will. “He can’t give up on romance even if it ultimately disappoints him. And it will. Chasing nostalgia is always a doomed pursuit. Not even a doll maker can manufacture a reality absent of the inevitability of change.”

You look at him, disturbed by the echo of Hannibal in his phrasing.

“What’ll happen when the Lover figures that out?” you ask.

“He’ll just begin the cycle all over again, convinced that he’s found the real deal until the illusion breaks into pieces.”

You wonder to whom Hannibal would turn as Will’s substitute if he left him, and whether through love he’d allow him to live or consume him to solder his heartbreak.

Better not to know; that knowledge you suspect might be fatal to you all.