#despite its length I probably forgot things

[swiggity-swexual-i-am-asexual]

I'm not opposed to hear your rambling of DP in dungeon meshi

Ayyy someone asked! 

Oh, you’ve activated my trap card.

So, naturally, I cannot find the post because Tumblr ate it off my blog, BUT what they’re referring to is a post about how the Fenton parents could have TOTALLY ended up overshooting when trying to get to the Ghost Zone and ended up in different worlds instead… and thus decided ‘hey free children!’ And surprise adopted (read: kidnapped) both Jazz and Danny from two different realms. 

I actually had a LOT of ideas on how you could do this. But, I ultimately decided that a post-canon approach was best for this little exercise. Not that you COULDN’T add Jazz and Danny, I suppose, but the timeline and the character movements are, for lack of better terms of it, EXTREMELY tight. You can wiggle an OC in there, sure, but for a fully developed character from ANOTHER media, especially one as OP as Danny, it’s far more difficult. 

That’s my way of saying, this absolutely has Dungeon Meshi spoilers if you’ve never read the manga and don’t know how it ends. That’s my only warning. 

So here’s the ideas and eventual story (there’s elements that are general and some that are specific to whatever storyline I ended up with) that I have doubts I will ever write but someone might as well enjoy them. I technically wrote a few scenes in my notes app, but these aren’t those, this is—kind of the whole roadmap? It’s a little funky still though, haha. 

Here goes!

As with the post, Jazz is Barbara Gordon’s twin, and Danny was actually a half foot. And now he’s a halfa halffoot. Lmao. Lol even. 

Before I chose to do a post-canon approach, I considered having the Fentons as a party. Jazz and Danny are basically playing babysitter to their FAR too enthusiastic parents who keep almost or actually dying because they’re exploring the whole immortal dungeon thing. While that is scrapped, some of the ideas I did have came from this, er, phase of development? So I felt it was worth a shoutout. 

Marcille describes magic (well, mana) as coming from ‘The Infinite’, which is also where demons come from. And these demons can do things like grant wishes, ‘feed’ off of emotion, and change people. They also, once sealed into dungeons, do various things inside these dungeons, including making animals that cannot exist without magic for very long but also seem to still require a sort of internal logic. This sounds a LOT like how ghosts work in Danny Phantom, if you take maybe a hint of liberty and a dose of speculation about how lairs likely work. 

Basically, The Infinite = the Ghost Zone, also known as the Infinite Realms. Demons = Ghosts. Dungeons = Lairs. And, most importantly… Ectoplasm = Magic. 

For my own sanity and also for a successful meshing of these two very different universes, I’ve decided to go with the semi-fanon idea that the influences of the people in the living world can create things in the Infinite Realms. Belief creates reality, basically. For example, perhaps Pandora was never alive in the first place, but because people heard and believed her story so much, she became a ghost (realms being, demon, what have you). So, while those in Amity Park might not have initially believed much in ghosts, they saw them, and because people saw Phantom as powerful and either villain or hero-like, Danny and the rest of the ghosts became more like comic book characters than spooky ghosts (somewhat explains how things are still a LITTLE spooky, but seem a bit more heavy on the probably dead people thing at the beginning of the series). 

Similarly, demons became what they are over time as the people of the world influenced them. You could call what demons started as, as ‘proto ghosts’, and that every world that HAS ghosts has them, and the beliefs change them into whatever form and binds them to whatever rules the dimension now holds. 

There should still be some universal ‘laws’, though. For example, ghosts exist in both stories, and so do magic, as do spaces that operate at least SLIGHTLY outside the usual laws that govern the area outside of it (again, lairs and the Ghost Zone, dungeons in general). 

All this to say—when Danny ends up in the Dungeon Meshi world, he ends up being a very unorthodox and extremely powerful mage, but might lose a good percentage of his usual ghost powers. He is not salty about this, no, really, ITS FINE JAZZ.  

This would be less of a problem if there wasn’t a SLIGHT issue about halffoots being known as not being magically inclined… and those that might have had an interest in the past sorta-kinda got taken by the elves. 

Another note is that this isn’t going to be a particularly Fenton parents friendly sort of story, because the whole thing STARTS with them KIDNAPPING CHILDREN and passing them off as their own. I’m sure there are ways to spin it as a happy tale, but uhhhhhhhhhhh. I’m not. 

An additional point that you do NOT have to take from this if you make your own story is, if you’re a big fan of halffoots having tails (which, to fit with the humans-all-have-the-same-bones thing, are made of cartilage), you can have Danny have been docked as a baby by the Fentons. Adjust angst regarding that to your own tastes, but I imagine its probably something that HAD been done in the past for not-great-reasons, and so the social stigma for the parents doing that to their child is messed up—but due to the dangers of dungeoneering, some halffoots may have lost their tails in accidents or just because they were THAT serious. Point is, it’s at minimum a gossip point. 

Anyways, as halffoots are very short, and Danny is one, by age fourteen his teachers are probably going to go ‘uuuuhhhh, I think there’s a problem here?’ But the Fenton parents are oddly reluctant to arrange a doctor’s visit to check for various possible causes of potential dwarfism. Like, they’re already dodgy about doctor visits, but this seems particularly avoidant. 

Both Jazz and Danny might know that they’re adopted, but even if they don’t, they know where all their papers are. So they snoop through them to see if there’s any leads or anything. 

There’s various ways to for them to figure it out—realizing there’s no paper trail about their adoptions or about how delayed the at-home-birth paperwork was—but one that I did contemplate was that the Fentons KEPT the tail they cut off Danny as a baby, claiming it was a ‘lower spine surgery and don’t worry about it champ!’. 

As you might imagine, he’s worried about it. But also, you can nix that plot point if you’re not a fan. (Well, I mean it technically my own story developing here, but—part of this exercise is to see what other people would take away from what I’ve got too.)

More searching through papers and likely a conversation if not confrontation with the parents later, Jazz and Danny learn about the different realms and such. 

Jazz is still worried about Danny’s health. They SEEMED human, but what if they weren’t and they were just lucky to not have gotten super sick? Or what if they’ll live thousands of years or something?? 

Danny is, understandably, a little upset about everything too. So they both pack what they might need, basing their travel kits on what notes they DID have about the world they were heading to (minimal technology, so laptops were a bad idea, but Jazz did pack a bunch of instructional books on How To Make Things), and got the dimensional coordinates to where they needed to go. Or, if you don’t wanna explain HOW those dimensional coordinates are still accurate or how that system might work now that the Ghost Zone was there, because who knew how to navigate that place on a GOOD day, Danny could just ask Frostbite or Clockwork for a quick favor. On that note, Danny should probably have a way home—personally, I gave him the starting ability to make portals, although they’re not YET powerful to get through, which is why he’s concerned that he might actually be unwell on his human side. 

POINT IS. Jazz and Danny arrive, taking the name Nightingale just in case their parents went around calling themselves as Fenton and pissing people off by, oh say, kidnapping their child. 

A quick survey around tells them a bit about the world, with Danny probably very used to being very adaptable on the fly. And also we’ll let him keep invisibility. As a treat. Though it may now be a bit more difficult to do. Jazz is tasked to either help Danny to let him hide behind her presence when needing to actually be invisible, read through the travel journal from the Fentons to find clues to Danny’s birth family, and her own self imposed mission to reinvent running water and water filtration systems. She is not about this no-indoor-plumbing life. 

As it so happens, with the Golden Kingdom beginning to pop up, there’s plenty of spaces and houses in various states of repair that they’re currently REALLY trying to fill up. Jazz files some paperwork about being refugees, and they take a house that’s pretty far into the woods for most of the people looking for a place. The two need the space, as they are keeping literal dimensional secrets. Other than the lengthy walk to town, it’s fine. Plus, it lets Jazz do her plumbing project. 

Once they both have a pretty good grasp on things, Danny C-student Nightingale realizes OH. WHAT IF I’M A HALFFOOT— wait no I’m not going by that. Call me a hobbit instead. In Jazz’s defense, she spent most of her time grasping everything else about the world, or otherwise spent most of her time they spent either camping in the woods or making their new house LIVEABLE that the whole ‘different races’ thing completely sped by her. Plus, where they live might be more Tallman heavy. 

Good to know he’s healthy though! But they’re already here, and they do actually want to find Danny’s family, and… it’s just… been very nice and not stressful. The ghosts hadn’t been bothering Danny nearly as much back home, to the point where he felt pretty comfortable leaving it in Valerie’s capable hands, but this is the most relaxed he’s been in a while. It’s amazing what not living with people who would skin you semi-alive will do for mental health. 

They also realize they maybe need to like… make money. 

Good news is, when they switched dimensions, they automatically became able to speak Common. And, as a compensation for losing some of his other abilities, Danny can have omnilingualism. He also keeps his ice powers, mostly, and he’s pretty sure he kept his Ghostly Wail. 

There ARE reasons why he keeps the powers he does. In short, he’s still part ghost (or, part demon here, but words are just words and in this case, both just mean ‘realms being’), so turning invisible is fine. So is making things cold—and, as he’s also human and able to use magic, he can create ice like other mages do. He also has limited intangibility, but for reasons involving ‘I don’t recall any mages doing it’, he has more trouble with it than usual. As for the Ghostly Wail, its similar to the mandrake cry, and thus something that likely involves magic to do—as a veritable wellspring of magic, as he’s kinda sorta a dungeon master ruled by HIMSELF now, he has plenty to spare. Plus, banshee legends might still exist in Dungeon Meshi. As for the languages thing… it’s me throwing him a bone for taking away his ability to use lasers. I might let him overshadow people, but seeing as that just kills people in Dungeon Meshi, I might not. 

The two siblings begin taking odd jobs in town. The people think it’s a LITTLE odd that a Tallman (Jazz) and a Halffoot (HOBBIT, Danny) are siblings, but they usually just explain that they were both taken in by the same couple. If anyone even slightly insinuates it’s something else, the two both start gagging before they begin lecturing the gossiper. 

While Danny’s skills as an interpreter ARE extremely valuable, they find that with so many new people in this town that, apparently, JUST rose out of the gotdang sea, that there are many people looking for all sorts of odd things, and THAT is something Jazz is more suited for than translating, seeing as the only language that she knows from THIS world is Common. 

In short, she finds out about potions. You know, that thing mentioned like ONCE at the beginning of the Dungeon Meshi series and NEVER MENTIONED AGAIN (afaik). 

Ingredients are a liiiittle hard to come by in markets, but most of them just need magic to grow, right? And Danny can make magic ice that turns into magic water. 

Jazz starts a farm. When Danny starts taking home books and such to translate on a commission basis, mostly in order to avoid another close call about knowing ancient elvish languages that they may or may not be incredibly suspicious about him being able to know, he takes care of a lot of the gardening. 

It’s at this point that Danny finds out he can just take a mandrake that’s in a pot, dunk it in a barrel of water, and harvest that way. It’s still a bit LOUD, but it won’t harm or kill anyone. And, the water now has magic toxins or whatever, which could have uses of their own that Jazz is now experimenting with. 

So, basically, Jazz is out here doing the Dungeon Meshi Cooking Montages except its potions and it’s mildly terrifying. 

Danny is just glad that he’s ALSO legally a halffoot adult and can just go to town to a tavern whenever she’s being too weird. Good news: he can drink alcohol now! Bad news, sort of: it does nothing for him. I mean, go him for never getting drunk, but like, rude. 

Both Danny and Jazz are learning magic, mostly because Danny needs to offset some magic every now and again so it doesn’t build up (ie, his ice) and should at least look like he knows what he’s doing so he doesn’t get caught, and Jazz is learning so they can occasionally depend on her to claim that Danny’s magical whatever is actually HER doing. Plus, it helps with the potions. Most involve magical ingredients, so the maker doesn’t need to be a mage, but still. 

Danny gets a bit homesick about Sam and Tucker, so he makes a magic mirror in an afternoon and contacts them through one of Sam’s compact cases. It had some unique design she made on the back of it, so he’s able to hone in on it. Sam is EXTREMELY jealous that they’re living some kind of cottage witch fantasy, meanwhile Tucker is like ‘they have wHAT kind of meat? And you left me here?!’. 

Yeah. Tucker and Laois would get along, although Senshi would definitely have some words to say about his nutritional needs. 

SPEAKING OF the Dungeon Meshi characters. What, you think I wasn’t going to add them?

Falin likes to take walks through the area. As it so happens, the Nightingale House is about two hours of very casual strolling from the castle. She discovers them one day when she noticed Danny tending to the mandrake farm (there’s likely other magical plants, but I imagine Danny is wary of the more monster-like ones). 

Danny just can NOT keep her name in his head. He keeps calling her Bird Lady. Falin is not upset by this. She’s actually pretty glad to make somewhat friends with Danny and later Jazz, because they’re both pretty nonchalant about the feathers thing. Most are fine, but some are still… Off about her. Also they didn’t participate in the whole eating her thing, which she didn’t MIND but some people avoid her because they think she WOULD be upset. 

Falin is also glad to find that Danny can see ghosts like she can. She promised to keep his little magic secret, though she likely has no idea how powerful he actually IS, and she visits like twice a week. 

At some point, Itsuzumi claimed their front porch as one of her napping spots. Jazz thought they should maybe not have a cat girl sleeping on the doorstep. Danny agreed… by making a hammock. Jazz just accepted her fate and occasionally feeds her. That said, Itsuzumi doesn’t stay in one place as her ‘home’, so it’s a toss up if she’s there. Still, she somehow convinced the postmasters to only deliver mail to the Nightingales, seeing as they don’t mess with her letters and are out of the way enough that she has privacy when she does read them. If she’s there while it’s raining, she’ll take over the couch. 

Like, Itsuzumi doesn’t have keys to the house or anything, and Danny and Jazz are both a bit secretive, but that translates really well to respecting Itsuzumi’s privacy as long as she isn’t bringing huge problems to their doorstep. Danny did once offer to see about making up a guest room that was more or less hers—the house did need repairs, so some of the rooms weren’t quite habitable even if the house itself was fine to live in. Itsuzumi was not a fan of this, as I imagine her the type to not like feeling so tied down, but she did accept a compromise of having a closet space for her to store things. It’s where Danny and Jazz will put her letters when she DOES get them. 

Danny’s need to help people isn’t an obsession, but he IS quite fond of it, so as he does his work but also studies magic Just In Case, he finds a certain affinity for sensing magic, monsters, and breaking curses. The first one he broke was entirely by accident—the client had no idea that the book passages he gave to Danny were cursed. 

It worked out, it was fiiiine, stop worrying so much Jazz. 

While Danny certainly wasn’t advertising the curse breaking part, his previous client was told about it, and suddenly everyone knew that the Nightingales knew a little about curse breaking. They assume it’s Jazz, and Jazz has to learn on the fly how to break simple curses and protect herself until Danny can come actually work his literal magic. Jazz, oddly enough, is the one to figure out how to make protective charms. 

Also, she’s successfully made the first section of her water filtration system. 

Listen, they are very busy. But they’re hoping if they branch out enough, get a big enough system, they can find Danny’s parents. Because all they REALLY had to go on was One—They were halffoots, Two—Danny’s hair came from his mother, and Three—in both Jazz AND Danny’s cases, the Fentons kidnapped a twin. 

It’s this work as a cursebreaker and Jazz’s work as a near miracle worker at potions—her little mad scientist experiments were bearing fruit after all—that Falin brings Laios over to work with. Long story short, Danny’s general attitude about it is ‘fuck that lion guy’ because he recognizes the work of a ghost—er, demon—when he sees it. Sure, the Toudens don’t TELL Danny it was a winged lion, saying after a really long pause that the cursers name was Leo or whatever. But Danny isn’t completely stupid, especially not about something he can PLAINLY see. 

Also, a good note here is that neither Jazz nor Danny have ANY idea who Laios is. Sure, they’d HEARD of the King, but either Danny gave him a nickname, they think Laios is one of those cases where there’s an uptick of people named after a famous person, or it’s just a super common name. Or, heck, it’s entirely possible that Laios has a king monicker and that’s ALL that Jazz and Danny have heard, and they don’t know that the king’s name is Laios. 

Anyways, Danny is like ‘you have two curses from your frankly very petty curser’. And they’re like ‘yeah we know’. 

For the monster repellent curse, Falin points out (possibly on her own but also possibly remembering something Kabru said once) that it’s a pretty useful curse, but that it upsets Laios to have on him. So, Danny thinks ‘What Would Sam Do’ and makes a creepy doll. The idea is to attach the curse to the doll, but for various reasons involving having the curse NEED an amount of magic to stay going, it needs to be, well… fed. As you MIGHT recall from Dungeon Meshi, blood is pretty potent as a magic tool. 

So, anyways, blood sacrifice for the repellent doll curse, preferably either by Laios or someone of his blood. I’m sure this won’t become a plot point for a b rated adventure story several generations later where they need to find the One True Heir to help save the kingdom or whatever. 

As for the hunger curse, it’s a pretty tricky one. Most curses, Danny can kind of just. Push it out using his own magic, or trick it into thinking its done whatever the curse maker wanted it to do. But this curse is very ingrained, as hunger is something very basic to literally everyone, and it’s goal is basically ‘then SUFFER’ and that’s hard to make it understand when Laios is, technically, already and constantly suffering from it. 

So, it needs to be magically purged. Starve out the magic in Laios’s body, starve out the curse. Issue being that it’s EXCEPTIONALLY hard to do that when magic is LITERALLY in the air. 

With a bit of thinking, Danny comes up with a solution, and tells them to set up their creepy doll shrine and see him in three days. Also maybe haggles the price because while he DOES have a way to do this, it’s a bit risky to not only Laios but to the makers of Danny’s curse-breaking method. 

Danny contacts Sam, who contacts Frostbite, who is VERY against this but ultimately agrees so long as Danny is careful. Danny technically has Jazz do most of the next part, so he’s being cautious. 

The Toudens come back, with Laios happily chattering about a small monster he noticed just before they got to the Nightingales—good to know what the range of that is then, though it may have become smaller with the smaller vessel and the lesser amount of regenerating magic supplying it. I’m not looking up the one panel that sorta shows how big the field is right now. 

Danny is like, bundled up and covering his mouth, while Jazz is very careful with the prepared potions. 

Blood blossoms. Basically anti magic, which do not grow in this world naturally and should never do so, and involved Sam needing to travel back in time to grab a few. They explain their caution as Danny being extremely allergic to one of the ingredients and the effects of the potions being dangerous to mages in general by DESIGN. 

In short, Laios has to take these potions for three days—one bottle for each day—and to light a candle anointed with the potion in the forth bottle in a closed space he needs to stay in for the duration and at least an extra two days. There’s also a fifth bottle that he needs to sprinkle into any food or drink he has for that time until after the fifth day. Remember, magic is everywhere in Dungeon Meshi. This is basically him going into a sterile bubble field for a while, but also needing to include sterilizing the things he eats and drinks as well. 

“Don’t keep even a drop,” Danny warns them both very, very seriously. “This stuff shouldn’t exist here, but that is one NASTY curse you’ve got. Anything you’ve got leftover, including the bottles, bring back here.” 

He also tells them that its possible that Laios might never regain magical ability he had previous, or if he DID he had to relearn it. Laios accepts this risk. He wasn’t much for magic anyways. Danny also tells him to maybe make sure the room(s) he uses isn’t his usual bedroom, and again that he needs to stay in them as MUCH AS POSSIBLE, preferably not leaving at ALL, until after his treatment. 

They take his warnings seriously, at least, and they head off, carefully with the contents they just got. 

They actually do as instructed! Kabru did manage to take a drop, though, just to see what would happen. Holm’s undine DISSOLVED is what happened. Kabru did not take any more risks about that because WHAT the hell, WHAT. Laios and Falin also won’t tell him WHERE THEY GOT THIS FROM. At least, not until after they finish the treatment and see if it works. 

It does work though! He gets his normal hunger cues back after a couple of weeks, and Falin happily tells the Nightingales that it worked. Great! Never tell anyone what they did. Also give back the bottles please and thanks (handed off to Sam very carefully—although blood blossoms ARE a magic-and-ecto disruptor, they can be put through portals, such as the mirror phone things that technically also act as portals). 

A little late for total secrecy, but no one that the Toudens didn’t already trust with the numerous secrets they already had, including but not limited to Marcille’s fun necromancy habit. 

… Listen, I know that the curses Laios gets are like, consequences or something, but I didn’t like the hunger curse because of my own traumas and didn’t like the monster avoidance curse cause that just seemed cruel. Which I get was the point but I have OPINIONS on the whole thing, and it ultimately equals up to “Laios didn’t ask for this, and I’m not sure he’s actually happy in the end”. Anyways. 

Because they literally helped heal the king, Laios does invite them over to dinner in the castle. 

“That guy was a KING?!” Danny shouts. 

Jazz is just like. Yeah that fucking tracks. But hey we can ask his help about the parentage thing! 

So, now they’re going to dinner. That’s fun! Maybe! 

Side note, Jazz has now invented showers and indoor baths. She’s still working on a heating and cooling mechanism but at least all the water is clean. She’s still working on getting faucets for sinks, such as in the kitchen. 

Don’t ask how they have time for this, by the way. The gardening, their actual jobs of potion making and translations, Jazz’s plumbing project, Danny’s (and slightly Jazz’s) magic training, and the biological family search. To be fair, they probably have very few leads on that last one, so extending their social net is kind of their only plan. 

They get dressed up fairly nicely and go to the king’s castle for dinner because apparently Danny just cannot stop impressing royalty both dead AND ALIVE as it turns out. 

There, they meet the whole Touden party. Itsuzumi is there. Both parties are very surprised, but good to know, but also what. W h a t. 

Senshi likes hearing about how similar potion making and cooking is, and he and Jazz seem to be getting along pretty well! Chilchuck, meanwhile, is like. Why does this kid—sorry, young halffoot adult—look so gotdang familiar. Regardless, he offers to help teach him a few things about halffoot culture, seeing as Danny was apparently raised as a Tallman. 

“Yeah, we didn’t even know about other races! We just thought Danny was a little weird,” Jazz said. 

“That must have been really isolated,” Marcille replied. 

Oh, she didn’t even know the half of it. 

Of course, someone questions how Danny was so good with languages if their ‘isolated little village’ never said that any race other than Tallmen existed, to which Danny just kind of says he had a knack for it and was bored, so. Languages. They kind of just start following patterns after a certain point. And he and Jazz HAD been traveling for a while. 

Dinner goes well, with just one odd report about scratching in one of the mirror halls by the guards that Danny juuuust manages to hear before he and Jazz go out the doors. 

That’s probably nothing! 

A bit more time passes, with Senshi visiting Jazz and helping her learn ACTUAL cooking in exchange for those sweet sweet mandrakes and the water harvesting method while Danny gets lessons from Chilchuck and, ironically, another halffoot named Dandan about Halffoot culture. Luckily, Danny just so happened to know the halffoot language equivalent of Common, but they teach him a bit more about the language anyways. 

This is also when he learns that Halffoots tend to have twins, but also that it’s not terribly uncommon for one of the twins to die. Happened to both Dandan’s ex wife and to Chilchuck and also so, so many other halffoots. That just made Danny’s search even harder. Yikes. 

By week two, Danny is very tired of CONSTANTLY hearing the term halffoot, and so has requested Tucker get him a copy of the Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy to send through mirror-mail so that Danny can then translate THAT into Common and go publish. Maybe if he has a book or two to sell, he can make a passive income so he can concentrate on things other than translating YET ANOTHER tax form because the local government all wants Common—understandable—but not everyone can READ Common. 

This may be a time to give Danny a misadventure with some orcs that paint him as a fucking weirdo but ultimately friendly. 

Jazz gets the idea that hey, if the whole halffoots have lots of twins thing is true,  meaning that she and Danny are going to have a TIME of it trying to find HIS parents, maybe she and Danny should invent, like genetic testing with magic and or potions or whatever. It’s not like they don’t have an understanding of genetics, if what Kabru’s (adopted) mother teaches him is any indicator, but genetic testing it relatively modern by our own standards. 

So they start developing that. Falin still visits, mentioning how there seems to be a scratching that just won’t stop in the castle, but its always in the same hall of mirrors so at least its localized. Just, really weird. Everyone else thinks its ghosts, but Falin has checked so many times now and there just isn’t one. But Laios is doing fine, he’s very thankful, and Danny is like hahaha don’t mention it! No really, don’t! You already paid me! We had dinner! We’re friends now! Ahaha!

Should it be the case that Halffoots (-HOBBITS!) have tails, Chilchuck still has his, though it’s a liiiittle shorter than it should be, and he’s the sort thats proud about how long his wife and daughters’ tails are. He’s reconnecting with his family! Slowly but surely! In case you CAN’T tell, I actually like happy endings here. Despite the everything else I put in a story, ha. Anyways, as such, he’s a little offput by Danny’s parents since Danny admitted that they’re the ones who cut it off of him, and that even then they never told Danny that he wasn’t a Tallman despite having to have had at LEAST a clue that he wasn’t one. Shouldn’t the orphanage or however they got their kids from know? Don’t tell him that both Jazz AND Danny were just left on their doorsteps. 

“Definitely not that one, aha…” Danny quickly changes the topic. “So I wrote this story—or, well, its like this story that was SUPER popular where we’re from—“

Chilchuck also explains how Danny’s name is just SO weird to most of the other halffoots. Like, it’s not OUT there, per se, but definitely reads as Tallman. Even admitting its fully Daniel does not help. This is also when Chilchuck explains that part of the infant mortality rate, halffoots don’t get their names until their fourth month of life. 

Jazz made some liberties and changes to the Hobbit to fit in a little better with Dungeon Meshi and it’s whole world, but otherwise it’s mostly the same story. Chilchuck and Dandan get free copies as they’re helping Danny so much, especially with getting Danny used to other people like him (mostly). They’re both pretty impressed with it, though Danny insists that it wasn’t exactly his own writing. But, hey, the actual author was dead and he doubts any copies are going to come from his old hometown any time soon so like, might as well! 

Also, copyright law is probably far different in Dungeon Meshi than here, ha. I declare it—legally in the clear! 

Danny has a mission with this and that’s getting people to use the word Hobbit dammit! 

Surprisingly, despite not showing up in it, the gnomish community quite like it. And so do dwarves, and elves, and halffoots, and it becomes pretty popular. 

It’s The Hobbit. This is not an unexpected result. Thank you Chilchuck for helping with the printing rights and contracts for getting the book published. (And we can guess that the printing press DOES exist in Dungeon Meshi, since we can see the books they have—though there may be other obstacles about getting your hands on a book, we can see by the amount they have and how gimmicky Laios’ monster book is that printing a book itself is likely a done and solved issue in some way or another). 

Danny is extremely glad he did not put his own name as the pen name for that mess. 

While all that drama is happening, including the fact that Chilchuck’s wife—I have named her Brightmerry—is now a very avid fan and would love to meet Danny, Danny and Jazz have just about perfected their genetics test. Laios and Falin know about the test, although not WHY they’re doing it. Despite some concerns that the magic and chimeraism that probably STILL affects both, though Laios’s maybe got purged during the magic curse breaking thing, it certainly was unpleasant enough for him that he’d BELIEVE that he got part of him ripped out, they still seem to test just fine as siblings. Still, they need more tests. 

But it’s not like they know an entire family, do they? 

Danny complains about this issue to Dandan, in part to see if Dandan knew anyone that MIGHT be willing to help. 

As it so happens, Dandan volunteers Chilchuck. Chilchuck only agrees to drag his family into it because he generally trusts Danny and Jazz even if they ARE kind of weird and make incidental inventions at their house that they should REALLY sell, because WHAT do you MEAN you have a hot water shower?! He also knows that both Brightmerry and Fullertom would like to meet Danny because of the book he totally did not steal from another dimension to make a profit. Might as well drag the rest. Plus, they assure that the test itself won’t hurt, and will even demonstrate with themselves and with the Toudens what a false and what a positive result will look like. 

So, they arrange a date to do so at the castle. Kabru is pretty interested in the experiment, truthfully, because it seems neat! Not at all because of his own issues with his hometown involving his eye color! Why do you ask! 

Off they go, and the best space to do this in due to some preparation and magic circle nonsense is the same room Laios did his whole magic purge, which was the mirror hall. It’s small but open, with no windows except for a small one in an attached restroom area. Sure, there’s some creepy scratching going on from time to time, but no one has gotten hurt or recorded anything else odd. 

The magic genetics test involves having the participants positioned equally around a magic circle in little circles of their own, having a small cup of a potion that gives off a lot of steam or vapor—entirely harmless-, and pricking a drop of blood into the potion. What happens with a positive is that the vapor takes on a color and follows a trail through the magic circle, and the colors and how strong the connection between the vapor trails between two people tell how related they are. In a negative or, when two parents are in the circle, the vapor trails will not have ‘matching’ or similar colors, and the trails will not actually meet up with each other. 

It’s still a work in progress, but it should tell at least siblings. Luckily, Chilchuck did manage to get all three of his daughters and his wife along, with Dandan being invited as another variable to test with. 

Danny and Jazz go first, showing how their trails don’t meet up. And there’s not a particular meaning to what color a vapor trail is to a person—it can change and vary for each test, it’s only consistent when it’s a ‘positive’. 

Than Laios and Falin. Fittingly enough, their trails are fairly strong, with just a few different trails fraying off, and slightly different shades of green-ish yellow coming from their potion cups. 

The Chilchuck Family then take a turn, and they can observe the trails. Sure enough, Chilchuck and Brightmerry don’t have any connection, but seem to match and meet with each of their daughters’ trails, who also connect to each other in a web of vapor. They decide that maybe more than three is hard to read. 

They agree to do a couple of combinations and tests, which Jazz and Danny are like ‘sorry for all the finger pricks!’ But they DID bring a bunch of sterilized needles at least. And Falin is happy to heal them in the meantime—using the space as an anti magic purge room seems to not have left an affect on the magic now in the space. 

Dandan joins a few times so they can record how he doesn’t match at all. Laios then mentions why Danny isn’t doing that when they explain he’s adopted and therefore for all he knows, he’s distantly related. 

Which prompts them to have him test with Dandan and Chilchuck. 

He doesn’t match Dandan. 

But he does match Chilchuck. 

This does not change when he repeats the experiment. 

They then switch out Chilchuck for Brightmerry. 

… And he matches to Brightmerry. 

SEVERAL different trials later involving all the halffoots there confirms it. 

Somehow. Someway. 

He is Chilchuck and Brightmerry’s child. 

Are you surprised? Probably not that was a twist coming a mile away not going to lie. 

Anyways, the story THEY give is that he’s Puckpatti’s twin. They’d been napping outside while with one of Chilchuck’s brothers, when something or another distracted said brother for, at most, two minutes. But then Puckpatti’s twin was gone. He was stolen, although they hadn’t actually KNOWN what had happened, when he was three months. It’s why Puckpatti’s name was, well. Puckpatti. Puck was supposed to be her twin’s name, and they considering having her be Pattipuck, but Puckpatti worked better. It wasn’t particularly odd for twins where only one survived to carry the other twin’s name as either their first or second name. This is also why her usually nickname is Patti instead of Puck. 

Danny and Jazz explain that… yeah, they were taken in. As in kidnapped. Hadn’t wanted the pity points but saying they were adopted felt kiiiiinda wrong. 

Now, this would be a very touching family reunion scene. 

Except now that mirror scratching has started up. 

And its loud. 

And—Oh would you look at that. 

Mirror portal. 

Can you guess who pop through? 

It’s the Fentons! Say Hello to Jack and Maddie. 

It’s a whole confrontation scene, which BASICALLY goes with Maddie and Jack absolutely NOT realizing anything they did wrong, insisting they SAVED Danny, that there were two and it was fine, and BESIDES, JAZZ wanted a little sibling and when ASKED she asked for a brother, so really, its her fault. 

Jazz gets a guilt complex! Chilchuck tells the Fentons that thats NOT HOW THIS SITUATION WORKED, SHE WAS TWO! 

Jazz also has a horrifying memory of when she was four and Danny was two, and asking if they’d like a younger sibling, and that they’d have to agree, but Jazz said yes and Danny said NO and was this why there were only two of them?!?

Danny disowns them, pointedly saying that cutting off a baby’s tail is kind of MESSED UP DON’T YOU THINK.  And they go, well if you’re going to be ungrateful—and he gets like, hella hurt. 

More arguing and fighting, and Danny just kind of lays there and lets himself heal before propping himself back up like. Did. Did you think that would work. You have a magic science workshop that I regularly cleaned did you NOT THINk. THAT WOULD NOT HAVE AN AFFECT. 

The Fentons go ‘oh, he’s a ghost’ and disown him right back, though not in so many words. Whichever members of the Dungeon Meshi group you imagine are there right now take it as ‘he’s a MAGE?!’ 

Danny tricks the Fentons back through the mirror portal and shatter it. From what he guesses, the magic purging done to Laios let there be a slight thinning in the natural magical-ecto-whatever barrier that protected this world from another one. The Fentons didn’t know where the kids went, but might have figured out they went to another world, but couldn’t locate the notes to locate the Dungeon Meshi world. So, instead, they tracked Danny and Jazz themselves. With all the blood testing Danny did in the same room with a thinning veil, that meant they were finally able to break through by using him as an ‘anchor’ to follow through the mirrors. 

Universal constants, remember? Both magic mirrors AND portals are things in both worlds. 

Danny takes this time to go ‘well, they already know anyways’, and uses the opportunity and also all his blood now on the floor to make some quick magic barrier things with Jazz’s help. She’s better at protection sigils, after all, but he’s the more magically powerful. Together, they sort of ‘lock’ the dungeon meshi world. Or, more accurately, they lock out a certain scientific couple. And, because three is a stronger number for magic, they also block out Vlad. Three birds, one stone. 

THEN Danny passes out, you know, like a champion. 

Once awake and reunited with everyone, things begin to simmer down. Sure, Danny was just exposed as a powerful mage to the King, but the king is just like ‘Eh, won’t mention it, I don’t know anything I’m barely sure how I became king most days and I was THERE’. Marcille probably finds out, either because she was there or she’s just really good at finding out things she absolutely should not, also possible interest from a long time over Jazz and Danny and their whole deal. But she’s also just like NEAT. Translate these texts for me and we’re even. 

Danny is not convinced about her smile but goes with it regardless. 

Chilchuck and family are cautiously open to Danny. Of course they’re glad to have him home, but also—he’s lived his entire life ELSEWHERE, so while Chilchuck knows the most about him, he’s still a stranger. 

A few cute fluffy bits about learning about his siblings and his mother and father. Notably—Chilchuck is APPALLED that any child of his doesn’t know how to properly lock pick. Even Fullertom, the MOST disinterested in his line of work, is well aware of how to do it. Brightmerry is fond of reading, and Danny has lots of stories she’s never heard of going through his head. He insists they’re just local stories he’s heard of here and there, but she’s like. Suspicious of it. Not enough to cause him to stop telling her them, though. He also learns of the interests of his sisters, and is also like WHAT. WHAT DO YOU MEAN I’M STILL THE BABY. 

The three girls are also fond of Jazz, surprisingly enough. Like, I’d hardly call them besties, but they get along pretty well. Especially when teasing Danny. Jazz tells them of the occasions she’d dress Danny up as a princess when they were little, and next thing Chilchuck knows, he’s walking in to see his son—not resisting being dolled up, because he loves his sisters already, but also very clearly hoping for an out. 

“Have fun,” he says and leaves immediately before his daughters can drag him into it too. 

Jazz has completed her indoor plumbing project! They no longer have a latrine and cesspit! They have proper toilets AND a filtration system for both incoming AND outgoing water, and along the way she’s made a waterwheel for electricity to power the filtration system AND the heating and cooling systems. They’re ALMOST modern at the Nightingale house! 

From here, things are a bit more loose. 

Danny makes gifts for his family for some kind of festive holiday. For Chilchuck, he gets a wood carving for the night each of his children were born, as well as his own birthday and Brightmerry’s. Since Meijack and Fullertom are twins, as are Puckpatti and Danny, this means four carvings. Each carving is technically a thin piece of darkly painted wood with holes drilled through, but when a light is shined onto the correct side, such as a candle or Jazz’s next project involving lightbulbs, it projects out the night sky. 

Danny consulted a LOT of astrological charts for this thing, but due to how close their dimensions are, the stars were mostly the same between the two. It’s not a universal constant, but the closer two dimensions are, the more similarities there are. 

After all, the Fentons were trying to slip BETWEEN dimensions, which is kind of like sewing but only going through to BETWEEN two pieces of fabric, even if the fabrics are already rubbing against each other. In other words, precision was needed, and there was no point in aiming for a FAR dimension for this, that was more likely to end in failure. 

An alternate for Chilchuck is that Danny finds alcohol in the Infinite Realms to give him, if you want Danny to have more free access to the Realms. Just warns him to only drink it if he WANTS to be completely sloshed, and to maybe not do that at home, haha. 

Anyways, for Brightmerry, he gives her not the next one, but the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy, translated and edited for the Dungeon Meshi world. He assures his father they’ll get a copy for print later, but this was the first edition and it was for Brightmerry. 

Meijack got an armband for easily hold and quick access to her most common picklock tools. Kind of like a bracer or that sliding blade thing from Assassins Creed. 

Fullertom, Danny gave her a bunch of blue ribbons and accessories. Jazz had to point out for him that this meant he was supportive of her desire for marriage—Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. Usually a tradition reserved for the marriage, but anyways. 

As for Puckpatti, he makes her a magic compass. No matter where she is, she can always ask her to point it where she wants to go. North, South, the next town, home, to a specific person, so on. The first thing she has it point to is to Danny. It’s a much more touching moment than I am capable of writing right this second. 

Uhhhh a plot point I hadn’t integrated yet was that Danny absolutely cannot cook with meat. It was started in the ‘they met during canon dungeon adventure times’ but I hadn’t translated it fully yet. Basically, when Danny tries to cook with meat, it comes alive—like the turkey or the hot dogs in canon, and SOMEWHAT like the familiars do. Of course, it’d be really weird to be able to do that without even trying, and possibly mildly illegal, so they just have Danny not cook meat. Then a draft came to be where Danny was like ‘fine I’ll just SHOW YOU’ to Senshi, and if it was in the dungeon, then he’d use them against a monster, and if it was during post canon, it’d be against his parents. Then the point of WHY all or most of them were together during the Fenton’s break in changed from the dinner party to the genetics test, and there was no reason for Danny to have been cooking. 

Danny finds and introduces Fullertom to a dwarf that she starts dating. Chilchuck isn’t sure if he should be concerned or impressed with the portfolio Danny pulls out when Chilchuck asks about the dwarf and what Danny knows about him. 

Another plot point for why Jazz and Danny were staying so long, outside of finding Danny’s birth family since we have now figured out he WAS developing normally and the whole portal thing was just sorta because of how tricky that power is, is that Princess Dora wanted Danny to find a good host for the Necklace of Aragon so that her brother could no longer claim it. It would, predictably, eventually go to Laios. Also, I am starting to realize I am more partial to Laios than the other characters, whoops. Anyways, I hadn’t figured out if I could or even SHOULD integrate that into the plot. 

Payment for the blood blossoms were going to include five of Fallin’s feathers. They’re magically powerful, and three of them were going to be used for each name that was ‘blocked’ from the Dungeon Meshi world. So one feather for Jack, one for Maddie, and one for Vlad. I haven’t decided if I’d keep that or not, but I also wasn’t sure what to do with the other two feathers, and just asking for three and that HAPPENS to work out, the number being considered magic aside, felt a bit off and too convenient. 

Danny would eventually take on a new name in honor of his birth family. Danbright Chils. Dan is him, obviously, and since he’d be taking Chils for Chilchuck, he decided to take Bright for Brightmerry. (I actually debated between Bright or Bridge. So either Brightmerry and Danbright or Bridgemerry and Danbridge. This is directly because of Danny’s ‘be the bridge’ thing.)

Things are just starting to settle… 

Then, Sidney of all people shows up in Danny’s magic communication mirror. And we get information that due to Jazz and Danny’s mild meddling with the magic-ecto-whatever barriers, that Jazz’s twin has become aware of the fact she once had a twin—basically, Inspector Gordon kind of ‘felt reminded of [Jazz]’ and told Barbara about it. And since Barbara is part of the superheroes club, she was able to find out that not only was her twin alive, but in an entirely different dimension entirely. 

Annnnd that’s all I got. 

It’s a lot! Don’t expect me to publish it! Have a nice day! 

[twisted-tales-of-all]

First and Last Dance

Summary: After dying, you refuse to follow your reaper into the afterlife before experiencing what sex feels like. Pairing: Park Seonghwa x afab!Reader Genre: Smut, Horror, One-Shot Tropes: virgin!reader, grim reaper!AU, first and last time Word Count: 2.4K Contains: mild corruption kink, mentions of alcohol and drugs, discussion of dying in a fire, waking up disoriented, memory loss, cursing, pet names (sweetheart, love, baby girl, sir), unprotected sex, oral (f. receiving), marking, praise, multiple orgasms, fingering (f. receiving)

"Ugh," you groan as you wake up, gripping your head tight thanks to your hangover. "Fuck, did I really do that much last night?"

Looking around with squinting eyes, you find yourself in an unfamiliar room. The dark grey walls and black-out curtains certainly help your headache, but you can't remember how you got here or where here even is.

The creak of the door draws your attention. In walks a beautiful man with hair like raven feathers and an outfit matching the dark room. Quickly, your brain runs through an empty shelf of memories, trying to figure out whether you did something with this gorgeous man and forgot. Patting your body, you find all your clothes on your body, but not quite intact. Noticing holes in the fabric, you push down the covers to figure out the damage. Strangely, you find scorch marks all over your shirt - a burned hem cutting its original length, small holes with blackened edges from sparks flying onto the flammable fabric, even a full sleeve missing.

Before you can ask about the night prior, the stranger speaks, "You probably don't remember. That tends to happen." He pulls a chair closer to the bed, sitting back and relaxing. As if running on a script, he rallies off information, "Last night, you were at a party. An accident happened, where someone dropped a lit cigarette into some spilled alcohol. Not very many people survived, as the alcohol fire spread quickly and most of the party goers were impaired by the various drugs and alcoholic drinks."

A fire? You remember everyone's screams shifting from excited to terrified, but can't remember the flames themselves. With that big of a disaster, you wouldn't have expected to forget, even under the influence.

"At least I made it out safe."

"You didn't, Y/N." The man reveals with a look of boredom on his face, "That's why I'm here. My name is Seonghwa, and I'm a reaper. It is my job to collect the newly deceased and lead you into the afterlife."

"No."

Finally showing emotion in his reaction, Seonghwa doesn't know what to say, frozen in shock. Nobody has outright denied him like this. They've fought, cried, cursed him, and even struck him, but nobody has had your composure to simply say no.

"I can't die yet. I haven't done so many things. I've barely even hugged people I found attractive. What about my first kiss, my first time? Or traveling with someone I love? I can't die when I haven't done any of that. Send me back."

There it is. A line Seonghwa's heard time and time again. But this time, it's framed differently. No first kiss? Seonghwa empathizes with you, as a reaper who often wonders of the joys of living. Reapers, of course, weren't granted that chance; forged by the gods of death with the sole purpose of easing their jobs, reapers often face a tedious, repetitive life. Most were okay with it, as that is all they ever knew, but everyone hears stories of those driven crazy after too many interactions with humans.

"I cannot send you back. You're already dead, and that's out of my powers. I simply lead you to the proper afterlife."

Your posture drops as he explains this. All you ever wanted was a sweet love story in your life, and now it won't happen. Despite this, your urge to at least try something still rages within you. So much so that you don't even try to stop yourself from asking Seonghwa a desperate question.

"Could you show me what love is like? Or at least let me feel what it's like to kiss and touch someone?"

Caught off guard by the unexpected request, Seonghwa forgets his words for a moment, his mouth hanging open slightly. You look at him, anticipating his answer and hoping he'll give in.

"You want to kiss me? To touch me?"

"Why not? You have a pretty face, a nice voice, and probably a body sculpted by gods. Why wouldn't I? You seem nice, too."

Something in the naivety of your words pulls at him. Urges he didn't know he held surface as you pout at him, and he can't stop himself from wanting to show you everything he can before leading you to your final resting place. Here, in the confines of these smoke-colored walls where time stands still and everything lies in limbo, Seonghwa breaks his personal protocol to indulge in something dark bubbling inside him. Without saying another word, he pushes himself off the chair and kisses you. He moves so fast that you can't catch your breath before his lips are mingling roughly with yours. Your hands find their way to his chest while his snake behind you, one on your upper back and the other resting on your hip.

He brings you closer, tightening the gap. As you both pant out in breaks from the sloppy kiss, your body heats up. Although you're certain you can't be kissing very well based on how much more work he's doing, he doesn't seem to pay it any mind. His luscious lips overtake yours with ease, you feel every movement amplified. The moment his cold hands slide under the remaining fabric covering you, it feels so enticing against your hot body, cooling your back down with a simple touch. Slowly, you find him guiding you to lie on the bed. He hovers above you, looking down on you as he appreciates the look on your face - a look begging for more but not knowing what that might entail; a mix of fear and longing.

Your innocence spurs him on more than he thought possible; even just seeing you looking at him and trying to steady your breathing drives him insane. His usually loose pants much more snug thanks to his erection, Seonghwa refuses to hold himself back. With a quick swipe of his hand, your shirt rips apart, revealing your bare stomach and beautifully adorned chest. With a deep growl and another swipe, your pants fall to the sides of your legs, leaving you lying under him in your matching bra and panty set.

"What a wonderful color on you." His hand lingers on your waist as he admires how well the color of your underwear suits your skin tone, "I almost don't want to rip it off of you. Almost."

Leaning in, Seonghwa leaves kisses all over your uncovered body, marking you in places he knows will feel best for you - under your ear, along your collarbone, on both hips, right above the covered portion of your chest. Although his kisses are soft, his marks turn aggressive as he sucks hard and even bites down on some spots.

Along with the rough marking, his hands make quick work of the little remaining fabric on your body. When his lips reach fabric, he quickly works to remove it. Unlike before, he takes care not to rip apart your undergarments, bringing a temporary sense of kindness to his actions. Unbeknownst to you, he's careful with them so he can hold onto them after you leave him - a souvenir of sorts. That kindness doesn't last long, not when your naked body is on full display for him. Looking down at you, he can feel himself salivate at your inexperience as it leaves you slightly covering yourself in nervousness. His eyes darken before he moves further down the bed, spreading your legs to place his face snuggly between them.

"Y-You don't have to-"

"Sweetheart," he growls as he peeks up at you, "What fun would it be if I didn't show you everything?"

Kissing and nibbling the skin on your inner thigh, his silky black hair prickles against your other leg. The closeness of the sensations to your throbbing core makes you squirm involuntarily. Feeling him chuckle against your thigh, your hands fly to your face as it heats up from the embarrassment. After giving both thighs plenty of attention, he centers himself, proud to see you soaking already. Running a finger through your folds, he uses your arousal to coat his fingers before sliding them inside you, one at a time. At the first insertion, your body tenses in response to the newfound sensation. You expected that you'd feel similar to when you do it, but the angle, the size, the speed - everything feels so different. He moves the finger in and out before adding his second one, stretching your tense body out some more.

He kisses your thigh as his fingers curl inside of you, "Relax, sweetheart. Believe me, it'll feel so much better when you untense yourself. Breathe. Enjoy it."

At his coaxing, you close your eyes and take a deep breath. Letting yourself relax, you notice the knots in your body fading, replaced with the intense warmth of your core and the slow, intoxicating movement of his fingers inside you. Noticing this, Seonghwa leans in, swirling his tongue around your folds and quickly finding your clit. He's careful and calculated in his movements here, not wanting to overwhelm you just yet. But he knows exactly how to work you up, and you feel something build inside you. You recognize this feeling and let your hips grind against him as you chase after the high you desire. He flattens his tongue against your clit, the roughness and pressure sending you over the edge. He continues curling his fingers perfectly inside you as you ride through your orgasm, the feeling rippling through you.

Slowly removing his fingers from you, you wince at the emptiness, but he caresses your cheek and shushes you as he lifts himself again. Dragging his shirt over his head, you gawk at his torso. He's slim but well-built. Not quite six-pack well, but the soft lines running down his abs look better without the added dimension. You lift your hand to drag your fingertips over his body, but he's too busy tearing his pants down to give you a chance. Your gaze drops as he moves, drawn to his cock standing tall and proud. You were right - he's definitely sculpted by gods, and whoever made him needed to be worshipped even more. How could a dick be good-looking? Everything you'd seen before was not for looking, but his looked delicious, curving upward slightly and built to spread someone open in the best ways.

While you're busy gawking at him, he climbs above you again. Grabbing your jaw roughly and forcing your gaze back to his face, he smirks.

"My face is up here, love. What could possibly be better to look at than this face?"

Crashing his lips against yours again, he doesn't need to hear an answer. Holding himself up with one arm, he moves a hand between his legs. Grabbing himself, he coats his length in your fluids by rubbing himself between your folds. The small touches leave you begging for more as he pulls his lips off of yours.

"Please... I need it."

"Oh? You need it? What a gorgeous sentence to fall from your breathless lips. Well, let me oblige."

Lining his tip up with your entrance, he slowly pushes in, stretching you out even with such a small amount. Growling with a clenched jaw, he manages to keep his pace despite wanting to bury himself entirely inside you. After a painfully long wait, he bottoms out inside of you. His length brings tears to your eyes, but they don't overflow. The burning stretch shifts away after a while, but your breath remains caught in your throat.

Pecking your lips and rubbing your cheek with his knuckles, he praises you, "You're doing so well. You can take all of me. Good job, baby girl. Let me know when you're ready."

His kind words calm you down, allowing your breathing to return to you. when the burn fades completely and your body adjusts to his size, you wiggle a bit, urging movement.

"Use your words, sweetheart. Are you ready?"

"Yessir. Please move."

Once again, your innocence feeds his urge to ruin you entirely. With your sweet voice and naivety of what it'll feel like when he moves, he throws out his plan to ease you into everything. Pulling back slowly, he slams into you, his hips hitting your thighs on impact. He keeps going at this pace, roughly slamming into you again and again. Your eyes roll back into your head and your mouth falls open, noises messily leaving your lips as your brain muddles. His hands grip your thighs, fingernails digging into your flesh as he uses his grip to pull you into him. Filling the room with the sounds of sex, Seonghwa's head falls back for a moment as he enjoys the feeling of your warmth enveloping him.

"Seonghwa," his name falls softly from your lips, "I'm gonna-"

Unable to finish your sentence as your orgasm crashes upon you, Seonghwa groans at the sensation of you finishing around him. He picks up his pace, sloppily pounding into you as he chases his own high. Leaning forward into you, his head falls into the crook of your neck, teeth gripping onto your skin as he finishes inside you. Feeling the warm liquid shooting into you, you feel strangely complete, as if all you needed to feel alive again was a grim reaper's cum.

As Seonghwa lies on top of you, your collective pants now the only sounds in the small room, you thank him for obliging in your silly request. The embarrassment of begging a total stranger to take your virginity finally hits you, so you add a small apology at the end.

Brushing your hair with his fingertips, he replies, "Don't apologize. Thank you for letting me be your experience, it awakened and quelled a desire I didn't realize I had."

"'Your experience,' that's funny. Since it's my first and last, right? You'll be all I know." You poke fun at the situation in front of you, trying to relieve the nerves slowly gathering about the afterlife.

"Good." He growls out deeply. "Keep it that way. It makes me so happy knowing that you really are all mine."

Tags: @dimpledsatan-recs @mo0nbeams

[atarathegreat]

One Angry Daddy. Cpt. Price.

It had been a horrible day for the captain. Hours of meetings, courts, more meetings, reinstatement, and now Laswell was breathing down his neck for him to finish reports from the whole ordeal with Graves and the incident of Soap maybe (because Price refused to admit that his sergeant was responsible for the Shadows' death) killing him. A whole stack of papers was slapped onto his desk, a small note from Laswell breaching the line from apology to useless words.

Price threw his hat to the ground, cursing as he started in on the signing. He was getting sick and tired of his name as he watched his fingers carefully swoop the J's and dot the I's. John Price, John Price, John Price. Was his name even real words anymore? They sounded like the way Soap spoke to him. Pishin' it doon? The fuck was that muppet talking about?

A soft, almost silent knock came through the door to his office. Why didn't he remember going from office to his apartment on base?

"Darling?" He called, hoping to catch you before you opened the door, "Please, don't-"

You had already opened the door, your sweet smiling face bringing his mood up only a little. "Darling, as much as I love seeing your beautiful face, I'm not in the mood." Price sighed and tried to return to his work. Shamefully, he wanted you in the room, but knew that his temper wouldn't let him enjoy that. Case and point when you stepped closer, and he snapped. Had he been that close to breaking this whole time? "Would you get the fuck out?!" Price yelled; his cigar box, untouched the whole day, could probably be a factor.

The most crucial thing that John forgot to remember was your little space. When he got angry, he'd slowly picked up on, it triggered your change. Maybe you'd been ignored by your father or grew up in an abusive home, John didn't pry, and he did enjoy the way you submitted to him.

"Daddies angry?" The slip was always seamless for you, one moment you could be in a normal conversation and the next you'd be suckling his cock and whimpering as if he were a dummy in a baby's mouth. John felt bad for causing the change, though he knew it would be just as simple to break you out of it. "Yes, darling, Daddy is angry. He's had a rough day." John let you creep closer. It wasn't your fault, if anything you had helped more than you knew, and he couldn't stand taking it out on you. "Come, darling, help Daddy?" He smiled tensely, holding out a big hand for you to take.

Your jeans shifted a little as you squatted to get on your knees, that wonderful smile still in place as John pushed his pants under his balls, shoving his member higher despite its softness. You cooed and kissed at his balls, shaft, and head, slight giggles slipping free as you felt him twitch beneath your lips. "Good little darling, good..." John gently grabbed your hair and held it to the side, his hand being a makeshift ponytail holder, "It's been a stressful day, darling, do your best."

Whether it was a challenge or not, you took it as one. Soft fingers stroked his length, your tongue lapping at his tip until he hardened almost painfully in your hands. "Daddy, I'm thirsty." You giggled, sucking his tip between your lips.

"I'll give you something to drink, sweetheart." Price's head fell back against his chair, his hand resting on the back of your neck, "You can have all of it, yeah?"

There was always a refusal to take him out of your mouth, enjoying the gummy feel of his cock head on the roof of your mouth as he groaned out in that scratchy, deep tone of his. The only response he earned was you sucking more firmly. The silence wasn't something that Price minded, it was obvious that you were into making his stress disappear and he was thankful.

"There you go, darling, perfect." Price moaned and scratched his fingers on the back of your head, "Perfect, my perfect baby."

It was never as simple as just giving Price head (even if it was the best head he'd ever got in his life), he wanted to be buried in your throat. And you let him. You moved with him as he pulled your head lower onto his cock, his soft groans falling out as he touched your nose to his pelvis, "Right there, darling." You tightened the muscles in your throat, holding him tighter as he fucked gently into your esophagus. "Fuck, baby, you know just what I need." Price kept himself slow, even as he neared his release. "Remember, sweetheart, big swallows." Price cupped your cheeks, fucking your lips carefully as he came, "Big swallows, carefully...Pace yourself..."

When he let go of you, his cum all swallowed and you whimpering for air, Price smiled. "Still thirsty?" He chuckled as you showed him your tongue to prove that you drank it all. "Do you need me to be?" You were so sweet, always putting him before you.

Price shifted his pants lower, "Strip, Darling, sit in Daddies lap."

Because as heavenly as your lips were, he loved being nestled in your hole, and he wouldn't stop until him and his pretty baby were satisfied.

[dreaming-tonite]

Batfamily members as fragrances I like

Dick

Literally my most favourite perfume of all time. The perfume that reminds you of an old school crush (you know which one, that one upperclassman everyone can’t shut up about who’s just so charming and so nice and smiles so wide), if there is a perfume for someone who you can’t help but like it would be this one. Bright citrusy top notes that aren’t quite as bright as him, subduing to the musky, warm scent lingering on your skin that your nose picks up when you almost forgot its there, much like soaring through the air on a summer morning before it starts to get warm. (Quercus by Penhaligon's)

Barbara

Everyone wants to be her but there is only one like her. First of its kind and an eternal classic, if being "it" is a scent then it is probably this one. Determined to a fault and tragically independent. You wish that she would need you but you are acutely aware that she needs no one. Soothing to the nose but keeps you at arm's length, the grassiness and woodiness almost make you forget that the herb and citrus are resting on the surface. (Jicky by Guerlain)

Jason

There is something odd (something inhuman, almost) about him that you cannot put your finger on and you are not sure if you have the bravery to find out. The product of what is real and what is artificial, the scent of someone trying to become human. Mossy, lactonic notes like someone who just crawled their way into the world with the boyishness of citrus threatening to resurface despite the other urges to contain it. Whether being near him would cause you your demise, you will never know. He is not bad, it is not his fault that he is destined to be a little twisted in every reincarnation of the story. (The Ghost in the Shell by Etat Libre d'Orange)

Cass

A half-burnt incense in the temple of a deity you do not worship. Smoke fills your lungs before you can look around to see if anyone is there and from the corner of your eyes, you swear that the lean shadow of a figure briefly flickers. There is no one there, only you and the gods above who may or may not have anticipated your arrival. Strong but not aggressive, warm but not inviting. The scent of wood and spices trailed behind the cuff of your clothes as you left. You could almost swear that someone is there guarding your every step until you finally disappear from their line of sight. (Serge Noire by Serge Lutens)

Tim

Charming and sophisticated but no one seems to grasp what is going on in his head. Such a complex scent profile that lures you in to keep testing it again and again even as the minutes start ticking away. Someone who always seems to be changing with the situation they are put in but also seems at ease no matter where you see him. Smart and witty, almost everyone who was asked would guess that he is way older than his actual age. Whether it is something intentional or not, the opinions are split. (Eidesis by Aesop)

Steph

I will literally die for her, actually.

Bike rides home with your friends. Chilled pink lemonade on a hot summer day. Free sorbet sample from that nice lady who works at the gelateria. All the good things you associate with being youthful and carefree, this is it. The girl next door went away to the city and now everyone is dying to hear her story. But even in a crowd of people who are all waiting to talk to her, she could still spot you from far away somehow and flash you a big grin. Bubbly, cheerful, someone who does not have to announce their arrival but you know they are here when the air gets a bit lighter and the music gets a bit brighter. (Pera Granita by Guerlain)

Damian

(When I say I tried this in the stores and instantly felt poor…)

Warm notes of saffron fill your head until the vanilla takes over and it’s as if it was there on your skin all alone. The epitome of a warm, spicy perfume, the smell of someone you saw in the depths of your dreams once and couldn’t manage to push out of your head, who stood far away in your vision and disappeared the moment you tried to go closer. Someone who jostled you with the initial intensity before the sweetness and petals slowly creep out. You wonder if you look harder enough, would you find him in the waking? (Cappadocia by Memo Paris)

Selina

The fragrance of a heartbreaker who you can’t help but want to know. The alluring notes of roses announce her arrival before you can see her, intoxicating and dangerous. Your head gets lighter when she leans in to speak into your ear, whiffs of cumin and spice tickling the tip of your nose. But no one could have her for more than a minute, and all that is left of her is the cedar and smoke burning into your brain together with her figure as she sauntered away. 100% would leave you crying if you get too close, 100% would try again if given the chance. (Rose 31 by Le Labo)

Bonus

Talia Al Ghul

Try it once and you will never forget it. The smoothness in texture compliments the slight bitterness that comes from the almond milk. Rich, tempting, and elegant in a way that makes your chest ache. It feels like she is doing you a favour just by looking in your direction, and who wouldn't go insane just to be close enough to smell whiffs of vanilla coming from her skin, honestly. (Rolling in Love By Kilian)

| I feel the need to say that all descriptions are not character studies but imagery based on the scent. Some might be more in line with the characters themselves but ultimately, my goal is to convey my impression of the fragrances |

[richincolor]

Title: Four Eids and a Funeral Author: Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé & Adiba Jaigirdar Genres: Contemporary, Romance Pages: 321 Publisher: Feiwel & Friends Review Copy: Purchased Availability: Available now

Summary: Let’s get one thing straight: this is a love story.

These days, Said Hossain spends most of his time away at boarding school. But when his favorite hometown librarian Ms. Barnes dies, he must return home to New Crosshaven for her funeral and for the summer. Too bad being home makes it a lot harder to avoid facing his ex-best friend, Tiwa Olatunji, or facing the daunting task of telling his Bangladeshi parents that he would rather be an artist than a doctor.

Tiwa doesn’t understand what made Said start ignoring her, but it’s probably that fancy boarding school of his. Though he’s unexpectedly staying through the summer, she’s determined to take a page from him and pretend he doesn’t exist. Besides, she has more than enough going on, between grieving her broken family and helping her mother throw the upcoming Eid celebration at the Islamic Center—a place that means so much to Tiwa.

But when the Islamic Center accidentally catches fire, it turns out the mayor plans to demolish the center entirely. Things are still tense between the ex-friends but Tiwa needs Said’s help if there’s any hope of changing the mayor’s mind, and Said needs a project to submit to art school (unbeknownst to anyone). Will all their efforts be enough to save the Islamic Center, save Eid, and maybe save their relationship?

Review: [There are two deaths that impact this book, both off page: the recent death of an adult from cancer, which puts the plot in motion, and the past death of a child due to a hit-and-run accident. Additionally, Tiwa, who is Black, faces on page racism from within the Muslim community in a few scenes.]

Even though a funeral is what puts the plot in motion, Four Eids and a Funeral is on the lighthearted side of the contemporary romance spectrum. Authors Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Adiba Jaigirdar crafted a cute, fast-paced story about childhood friends rebuilding their relationship despite various problems popping up in their community and personal lives. Tiwa and Said have distinct narrative voices, and I appreciated seeing life in New Crosshaven from both their eyes. I especially enjoyed the contrast between Tiwa, who stayed and maintained close ties to the community, and Said, who left and started drifting away.

One of the strengths of Four Eids and a Funeral is the breadth and diversity of the cast. The Muslim community in New Crosshaven is varied; Said is Bangladeshi American, and Tiwa is Nigerian American. Said and Tiwa relate to their community and their religion differently, and Said’s sister, Safiya, has a cute lesbian romance subplot. Tiwa faces some anti-Black racism within the Muslim community, too, and the small-town politics plots highlighted divisions within larger town. New Crosshaven felt like it had life to it, which was no small feat when you’ve got just two POV characters.

On the other hand, I think there were actually a few too many plot threads in this book for its length. There were some things I felt should have gotten far more page time than they did, like Tiwa’s younger brother’s death and what happened to her family afterward. I wanted those events to have more emotional impact on me. The truth behind why Tiwa and Said drifted apart and how they reacted when they uncovered that information was a little disappointing to me as well.

That said, the authors did say right at the start that Four Eids and a Funeral was a love story. I got distracted by my desire for additional drama and tragedy and forgot that the epigraph quoted Much Ado About Nothing. This book is solid craftsmanship with a pair of engaging protagonists, and the bits I was dissatisfied with were largely an expectations mismatch on my part.

Recommendation: If you’re looking for a contemporary romance this summer, you should consider adding Four Eids and a Funeral to your list. Authors Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Adiba Jaigirdar created a cute romance about childhood friends reconnecting against the backdrop of vibrant Muslim community.

Extras: Q&A: Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé & Adiba Jaigirdar, Co-Authors of ‘Four Eids and a Funeral’

[cloudyswritings]

Vessel biology: Uh, I forgot what number we’re on…

The return of this BS.

Vessels all tend to have pretty poor eyesight as a baseline, and it does tend to get worse over time(based on the white lady losing her sight and the Wyrm being, you know, blind). Anyway this kinda works with how we as the player hit everything with our nail, I could easily see vessels doing this as a way to feel out the world around them.

The cloaks most vessels have are a mixture of leaves and wings, they grow at a steady rate before reaching a max length and will regrow if damaged sufficiently. Most of these wing-leaf-cloaks are either too fragile to get a vessel into the air, or can’t hold their weight once they’re up there. Broken vessel probably could fly though, and does get some decent air time in their fight.

Overexposure to void after hatching can destabilize the physical form of a vessel and make it more mold able. I headcanon this might be at least partially how the sharp shadow charm works

The vessels all inherited some of the pale kings memories through genetic memory, but specifically the vast majority got his desire to see the radiance killed/contained. It’s part of what drew them back to Hallownest after escaping.

when they get hit/damaged their shells can crack letting out a “scream” of silence, this actually happens in game, it’s why sound gets muted when you take damage. It’s also the closest any vessel gets to a voice to cry suffering.

Despite being fragile from a godly/higher being standpoint vessels are tougher than most mortals, surviving things like direct hits from oomas and the likes of Grimm.

Their sense of touch might function like a sense of taste as well, this comes from their mother who can “taste” the soil and surrounding environment to see if it’s suitable for growth. This works well with the idea that their body is semi permeable due to being mostly void.

If you somehow removed the void from a vessel(by killing them) you’d be left with their mask and an extremely thin completely transparent carapace that in life got much of its strength from the pressure of the void within it. It’d be roughly like a plastic bag in texture.

Given time and enough damage, you could prompt a vessel to metamorphose into either a root or a wyrm, or possibly some fucked up hybrid of the two. They’d still be a vessel and have a shade. Imagine mortals banding together and killing a wyrm just for its shade to spring from the corpse and attack them…

Vessels that can actually see tend to see in a broad spectrum ranging all the way from very low band infrared to X and gamma rays, what exactly he world would look like to them is anyone’s guess.

Most vessels still have vestigial internal organs, though what they look like varies from vessel to vessel. I think ghost probably has a stomach, and functional lungs(albeit ones that don’t actually breathe anything in). All vessels have a core/heart that most of their void is bound around and passes through.

[oakskull]

2 art posts in 2 days?? more likely than you think (it will never happen again probably)

Ive never really done something like this, but i filled a whole sketchbook page instead of like. One finished drawing in half of it LOL

this is @pearlvanilla 's rancher designs and i wanted to draw them because they were super cute, but they also look like. kinda similar to how i draw them.

heres some of my design thought process- as promised :D

mostly in the hair- we manage to give Tango the sams uh. front bit? i forgot the name its like an anime thing or something. but no thoughts there. i just wanted a front bit so his hair wqs a bit more messy. sans headband we both have similar shapes at the front of the hair with mid length hair on their tango and long hair on mine. which is based as hell. the front hair shapes wasnt a huge surprise bc me and everyone else loves to put flamey shape language in tangos hair when its not actually on fire but not a not of others do the longer hair (which is based as hell btw)

for Jimmy, their hair design for him looks like, almost identicle to mine but a bit more detailed for their style, which like, crazy! For me i shape jimmys hair like that because uh. his skin hair doesnt translate that well to my brain and there wasnt a lot of fanon designs i liked for his hair at the start of double life (which was when i started drawing tim in earnest... other than that one 3rd life art). The front bit (bang?) is how i translated the dark bit on his skins hair and i never looked back. I wanted his hair in general to be fluffy and round to evoke both wings and sort of like, cartoon ocean waves (for empires 1). the left side of his hair specifically is meant to look like a wing. the reason i have it flip forward despite uh not looking very wing like on my avain tim design is because it starts to look too busy right there. and also. theres already just. straight up a wing there LOL. The larger part of his hair has that sort of swoop to look like either an open wing or an ocean wave, depending on the drawing.

All text under the cut!

from left to right, up to down:

dual color box: the way we draw hair is actually super similar, ¡fun!

green box: ough. I set out to do flats. And Yet. It vexes me.

green box: not putting painted shad-ows on the white HURTS

green bubble: ¡this is a fun page layout!

rose gold box: tango creases his Jordans. Get his ass

pink box: I only do this w/ my wing ear time other wise its

blue box: we've got the same this

pink box: you can see it in some of my other arts

blue box: Long hair tango supremacy

green box: I keep smooshing my paint

[thedepressedjuggalette]

hey so I saw your "THIS SHIT AIN'T NEW WHEN IT COMES TO ROWLING!" Reblog and i have always had this thought in mind.

you know how the Harry Potter fandom and you know how it is more well known that the bigger the fandom the chances of maybe mass harassment of some on who says something even wrong for like a piece of media like as an example how Anime Fan's tend to go after anyone who is even uncomfortable about what is shown or how fans of celebrities do not take it well when you point out that some one they like is awful?

I have been thinking, was there a chance that some one who tried to point out the nasty implications in the series could have been chased out due to trying to criticize the work and may have done so well that people like forgot?

its like I can't help but feel paranoid that that could have happened and been forgotten. because fandoms can be awful or cruel to critics.

That wouldn't be surprising, hell I might as well say YES because I can damn near guarantee that it's happened multiple times and is still happening to this day, but to take your consideration further as to commentate on the problems of fandom culture… I am gonna go on a bit of a tangent/rant so if you don't want to read that understand that you're spot on.

Anime/Weeb culture has existed and doubled down on and incentivized by the Anime and even Manga creators/studios to such an extent that women are outright ostracized to a point that it's disgusting. I have a question?

How many men have been asked to name every single anime title that had been created in the 90’s?

How many men have been asked to name every single song on the 12 album of the Beetles in order of length and then in order that is played?

How many men have been asked to name every album made by Sleep Token?

I can, with my full chest, say that no man has been asked these sorts of questions. But a woman? They've been asked these sort of things a million times for a million different fandoms.

I myself haven't, despite being a woman, only because I rarely interact with fandoms and do my best to avoid these sorts of situations, specifically online where I can easily be assumed to be the opposite gender. But there is also another aspect to it when it comes to anime as you've indirectly pointed out:

The treatment of female characters in just about 98% of anime and 99% of Isekai anime. That being female characters are either damsels in distress or just tits on a stick.

Softcore porn because the creators honestly think that their viewers are so unabashedly stupid and lack an attention span to such a point that they think they need to shove enough tits and ass shots – doubly so for under age characters – in order to keep the viewers’ attention.

Many weebs defend this sort of behavior because and I quote “Anime isn't for girls”.

My response is always, “Then you need to stop watching every anime made by women and you also have to step away from every magical girl show ever created.”

Fullmetal Alchemist: made by a woman.

Black Butler: made by a woman.

Revolutionary Girl Utena: made by a woman.

Fruits Basket: made by a woman.

Violet Evergarden: made by a woman.

Beastars, motherfucking INUYASHA, DEMON SLAYER, and SAILOR MOON WERE ALL MADE BY WOMEN!

The entire Manga and Anime industries face so much sex-based discrimination that female creators have to hide their genders through a pen-name. Your favorite anime was probably made by a woman who had to hide her gender/identity in order to get it published.

But this will never be acknowledged by the “Boy's Club” that is the Anime/Weeb community and the Industry. They don't want to acknowledge their bullshit.

They don't want to look at the opposite gender as anything other than objects. Objects to save, objects to look at, a pretty face to wank one out to.

It's so easy to piss off the Weebs that it's damn near ridiculous.

Write somewhere “Sakura is actually not useless, read the Light Novels which are actually cannon and she's actually written as a decent character.” and watch how many weebs will be pissed off by that alone.

Make a video talking about how you’re tired of being taken out of Isekai anime because the needless sexualization of the female characters just shoots your immersion down so hard that it hurts, while casually mentioning that you do like Dr. Stone and Demon Slayer, and watch as those casual mentions are ignored and get screamed at by so many weebs that you're forced to ignore it because it's clear they don't care about the other half of the audience.

Try to talk about how female characters are needlessly sexualized in their designs and it's getting to the point that you're unable to take the characters seriously when their own lore shows them to be something else entirely? Yeah good luck with how many assholes call you a “soyboy feminist who hates sexy characters”.

No matter what you do you're gonna get attacked and downed out. And that to me is horrifying.

[screechthemighty]

Okay so like. Here’s the thing. As messy as the plot progression FELT in the moment (though again I can’t tell how much of that is the plot actually being messy or the plot just being complex and me playing the game in three days/always needing to re-consume complex plots to fully understand them), if there was one thing Ragnarok absolutely nailed, it was the emotional progression/plots of the characters. Under a cut for length and spoilers, but like...

> Atreus and Kratos having become closer over that three year stretch. Even if it’s not always perfect, it’s so much better than it was. The natural affection, the improvement in communication. There’s a lot happening here that hurts and again, things aren’t perfect with them, but the fact that Kratos is able to compliment Atreus openly, that Atreus no longer questions his father’s love for him in the slightest??? My freaking heart.

> Kratos. We already saw the Kratos who could and would stay his hand, who no longer wanted war and would strive to avoid it, those parts don’t shock me. But the Kratos who is so open with his son, who stopped being so short with Mimir, Brok, Sindri? That got me. Him calling Mimir “brother” unprompted during the mining rig side quest. Him asking Brok, Brok, for a blessing on his spear, out of respect and a desire to give a friend (he has! friends now!!) affirmation in a time of pain. He’s developed so much wisdom and emotional maturity even beyond what he showed in the 2018 game, I can’t believe I’m saying this about a grown ass man, but I’m so proud of him.

> Freya being a Kratos parallel/foil again probably needs its own post lmao but listen good for her!!! I’m glad she had it in her!!!!!

> Thor is a weird one because on the one hand I’m glad the bastard died, death to the perpetrators of genocide, Laufey sends her regards, this is exactly what Star Wars should’ve done with K//ylo. But! On thinking about it, I like that they used him to show the breaking of cycles. Yes, he deserved a knife to the chest (maybe not from Odin, but it was deserved), but it’s kind of cool that at the end of the day, he did what Baldur couldn’t--he was given a choice and he broke a cycle. So that fits thematically, but also I’m glad he died because that was definitely the right call narratively for all the crimes he committed against the giants. I wouldn’t have been able to stomach it if he’d lived.

> I almost forgot but I swear it’s like they looked directly into my brain and saw my worries about the game and soothed all of them instantly with the story Kratos told Atreus about the old man shifting into Faye encouraging him to live and Kratos, in the end, ultimately choosing that. Despite how tired he was. Despite how hard it all was. The fact that he chose to persevere, to open his heart to the world, and was rewarded in the end for that vulnerability, the fact that he gets to live and heal is everything I wanted and I’m emo as hell about it don’t look at me-

[shuuji-thoughts]

on Tokyo Story - Yasujiro Ozu (1953)

Initial Reactions

Similar to I Was Born But..., this film is very slow and melodramatic, probably even more so given its length. Among the first things I noticed was the constant use of profile shots for dialog scenes. The shots are generally cut to include just a single utterance each, giving most scenes a bit of a stilted feel. Another thing that caught my attention was the overall similarity across scenes in regards to camera placement and framing, which especially toward the beginning made it somewhat difficult to differentiate between locations. I also really liked the acting and line delivery, especially with the grandparents. (Shūkichi is literally me)

Further Critique

The more I watched, the more I realized that the film seemed to have a very unique and interesting camera/editing style despite my initial reactions. The camera is always positioned low down in most scenes, which makes it especially easy to feel physically present with the characters as most scenes simply have them sitting on the floor talking. As is seemingly typical of Ozu, the camera just about never moves, and instead quietly observes from particular vantage points as characters come in and out of each shot of their own accord. I also noticed the constant use of (i forgot what they are called, the shots of random things inter-spliced between scenes), which especially in the latter half helped to absorb some of the tension from emotional scenes. There were also several scenes in which very little would actually happen on screen, usually to fill the space between other scenes, and I feel like it would be worth going back and looking more closely at these scenes for any extra details or thematic significance, as they seemed pretty important. Also, I don't know if it's worth pointing out here, but there was a surprising amount of foreshadowing for the big death from pretty early on in the film, and I thought the way it was done was pretty smart.

This film's themes were certainly a bit more blatant than I Was Born But..., with several very on-the-nose conversations between characters discussing them directly. It's a rather melancholic look into the lives of elders at the ends of their lives and the various attitudes their children have toward them in their last moments, particularly in a time of rapid industrialization, westernization, and changes to traditional family structures. Likely due to economic opportunity being centralized in Tokyo, our main two old folks live far away from the majority of their children and grandchildren, making the trip to see them a long and difficult one. We follow them as they undergo such a trip, with various ups and downs resulting from the various different levels of treatment they receive from their kids and in-laws. We watch as this trip slowly drains them of their energy and they decide to return home to Hiroshima, only to make it as far as Osaka before Grandma starts having serious health issues. We then see the reactions of each child to their mother's impending death, most of them taking it lightly to some extent, with the only non-blood-related daughter-in-law being the most distraught and emotionally invested.

I found this whole "kids all gradually drift away from their parents" theme and this film's vivid portrayal extremely potent. I only have one grandparent left, age 83, living most of her days alone in her house doing nothing but watching TV and struggling to remember to eat. I can't even remember the last time we went to visit her. I can also see myself already putting distance between myself and my parents, which will likely increase significantly over the next few years as I spend most of my time halfway across the planet. This film painfully reminded me of the experiences of elders and how sad it must be to grow more and more distant from your family with age. We should all take more care to not let the stresses of life distance us from those we should hold dear, life is simply too fleeting.

[selamat-linting]

im an anime only who'd gotten spoiled on some major plot points in the manga but i find it interesting that the last few episodes on chainsaw man brings up "necessary evil" a lot and completely broke the idea on its neck by showing how denji with many others negatively affected by the yakuza and makima spelling out that its merely an excuse for the yakuza to do what they want. ofc she then talks about how its only a necessary evil when the state do it which is disappointing but she is depicted as a manipulative creepy asshole so like, i think this isnt just a summation of what the arc have been trying to say but also a foreshadowing of makima being the control devil by being self aware.

the story also shoots down the idea of sacrificing convicts/addicts/deadbeats as a necessary evil not only by choosing denji as a protagonist and then showing that the yakuza turned people like him into zombies that even the antagonist himself felt queasy for killing, but also by showing the scene of makima executing the yakuza using elaborate ritual that are implied to also kill the inmates she borrowed as a horrifying moment that showed her true colors as a cold calculating bastard. usually in other stories, the use of inmates, poor people, and other disenfranchised persons are glossed over as a point of how the antagonist is bad or how big the sacrifice the protagonist had to make. but the ones being sacrificed are never given a moment to be sympathized (i love the scp foundation and i love worm web serial but theyre prone to this problem despite being a story about doing bad things for good reasons and how it could be a slippery slope)

yeah denji might not feel any grief on killing anymore, but everyone in the show say its abnormal and the narration hinted that he's desentized to violence not only because his heart is replaced with a chainsaw devil, but because the daily life he got before going chainsaw man is violent enough he stopped giving a shit. i admire that poverty is subtly framed as a form of violence in this show. it drives and motivates the characters to go through insane lengths to fight even if it costs them their life and sanity (cough cough denji and kobeni are primary examples, also himeno is implied to be a devil hunter because of her dad's medical condition, and dont forget that dude who died, i forgot his name, his mom was an alcoholic who works all the time so yeah he's probably poor) guess i get why some of my mutuals are really into chainsaw man as an anticapitalist text now.

[m1ckeyb3rry]

It’s truly a monster of a work LOL maybe someday….the wc is fr insane maybe it’s what influenced you /j

HAHA “just make an oc” is CRAZY but SO TRUE like guys this isn’t even the same character atp

PAUSEE NAGI TAKING OVER THE YOTD FIC IDEA??? Adapting it to fit the original universe sounds a little complicated but if you ever decide to write that I bet it’d be fire��.second lead Rin….haha guys!!

I’m actually living for these peregrine rants HELLO?? I love the angst and drama the three main fights also I’m CRYING reader drunkenly approaching Kira bc she thought he was NAGI IM DEAD stop I live for this shit the orie viral news misunderstanding??? Stop this is literally like one of my favorite types of scenarios

I’m laughing so hard the “damn you’re really that emotional over your friends’ wedding good for you” is so fucking funny and it’s also such a Nagi thing to think but THE CONFESSION AT THE WEDDING AND KIRA TWEAKING and CHIGIRI DUMPJNG THW WINE AND DROPPING THAT LINE??? TOO GOOD >>>>>> I can’t that’s also so chigiri holy cow the red hair comeback line is actually too genius I’m losing my mind thinking about it

Peregrine goes so fucking hard……omfg…GUYS..!!!!! Makes me wanna go reread it rn this plot is fr cooking though

LMAOO REAL tiktok truly has its ways…but omg BAROU NEXT I second that I’m actually so excited for Barou’s version too based off our convo it’s gonna be really entertaining to read….im ngl I almost forgot niko was in peregrine too Lowk him in that sidekick-esque role is perfect

LMAOA bro my grind is nothing compared to your writing grind HAHA im also just gonna put my response here to cut down on asks

LMAOAOA no bc my face when i realized….usually he has his trademark “mediocre/dunce” that’s all the same phrase (romanized to bon) but I’ve literally never seen him use this phrase ANYWHERE except for in reference to kiyora so im assuming it must be specifically set aside for him??? Lmao????? It’s basically the same just means “mediocre/average/nothing special” but the way he purposefully uses a different phrase for kiyora has me going crazy

MY EXACT THOUGHTS I read that and snorted that’s so otoya LMAOO but from that it seems like otoya Karasu (and probably himizu) ganged up on/bullied kiyora LOL bro really had all the opps on his team Nagi’s team adopting him like they’re cps has me cackling they really said “let’s get you out of this hostile environment” but FRRRR can’t wait….speaking of new chapters have you seen the ones for the main series yet? I don’t have all that many thoughts about it but we’re finally moving ig?? LOL

- Karasu anon

LMAOO miraverse fic w an orv word count when??? jk idk if i could ever write something that long…200k words is my sweet spot that’s about how long pomegranate ink and endure are (give or take ten thousand) so if i do end up writing something crazy for bllk it’ll probably be abt that length (one of my aot fics was supposed to end up at 500-600k words but i got out of aot so i never finished it 😓 but if you ever see me posting abt ship in the harbor that’s the one!! people really liked it despite it being hardly related to aot and they surprisingly LOVED the ocs i literally still get asks abt them)

LMAOO NO BECAUSE IT’S SO TRUE making ocs is fun there’s nothing wrong with it but stop misinterpreting kaiser like this bro is not your playboy dom daddy he probably has intimacy issues 😭

OKAY BUT IT RLLY COULD COOK it would be sad asf though like major character death sad 😓 since if i did it it’d be a reworking of year of the roses and in that hak literally kills shinah (cue time travel shenanigans that actually just lead to the same inevitable outcome) so uhhh rin stans and nagi stans alike might hate me (it would go crazy though if my tik tok audios fail me i’ll def consider doing that)

LMAOOOO NO BECAUSE I WAS GIGGLING WHEN I THOUGHT OF THAT like why would nagi even be there?? but yk drunk logic 😭 no but that’s such a butterfly effect moment because if she hadn’t gone to the party and met kira she probably would’ve called nagi during the whole orie misunderstanding and straightened things out pretty fast but because kira was there and ready she just gave up and didn’t even try 😓

HAHA plsss no nagi was just trying to cover for her he kinda picked up that smth else was wrong just because he knew her so well but he didn’t want to embarrass her in front of everyone so that’s why he made the excuse and then asked her again privately why she was upset!! when he’s a considerate king 🤩 he’s had many years to think about what he could have done better so he’s def reformed a bit…and LMAOO miraverse chigiri is truly superior he’s sooo funny and sassy i love him he’s fr peregrine reader’s platonic soulmate they are SO funny in the college era!! because their hangouts are basically may and reo being all lovey dovey and then reader + chigiri making fun of them (also the chigiri and kira beef is LEGENDARY HAHA)

I MISS PEREGRINE it’s actually so fun so interesting so cool one day i will return to the grind for it omg i’ve gotten so many people asking abt when i will update again and i’m just like 😰 idkkk

HELP niko consistently in his sidekick era he’s always there in some way shape or form i can’t help it it’s just the exact vibe he’s always bringing to the function!! BAROU’S VERSION WILL BE SO FUN i am sososo excited for the oaeu imagine i start writing it now even though i still have requests to do…NO I MUSTN’T

THEY ARE SO MEAN TO KIYORA BRO you know it’s bad when barou and nagi seem like cuddly sweethearts in comparison 😭 honestly justice for kiyora no wonder he’s always ready to fight i would be too 😓 and smh karasu bro rlly went from the bullied to the bully…I CAN FIX HIM THOUGH TRUST next epinagi chapter will be me standing there w my hands on karasu’s shoulders like “look at me baby 🥺 this isn’t you 🥺” FJDJDJSJSJ jkjk

yesss i did see the new chap!! okay wait i was joking abt the this isn’t you but why was isagi deadass serving the 🥺 emoji in that one panel w rin i hope yk what i’m talking abt…at least rin finally scored YAYY i’m hoping the match ends soon just one more goal to go!! and then the next arc begins…or maybe we finally get a peek at barcha vs manshine!! rooting for nagi to come back 🤩

[mario8th]

Bye-Bye Biscuit

And bye-bye Greed Island Arc. The last few episodes (72-75) see our good boys (And Bisky) beating up some people and beating the game.

I'll be honest, this set made start liking Gon less. We've seen him get beaten by adults a couple times now, and its never been especially cool to watch, but this one felt especially cruel. Perhaps its in part due to the thematic mirroring its doing. Gon, out of selfishness, opts to lose his hand in order to *win the fight *get a single kick in And the last time we've seen someone lose body parts to have a flashy dub was the Hisoka fight during Kevin's Arena. (Heaven's Arena). The show is telling us that in his quest for his dad, in his quest for power, he's not only getting closer to becoming his truly awful dad, but is getting closer to becoming Hisoka as well. And I don't want that for this kind boy.

(Also, again, kinda over seeing this child get beaten up over and over)

Then there's the questionable politics of Gon, Killua And Bisky, The went into the fight having already basically forgiven the Bombers for Bombing all those people. Its Wild. I mean, they did team up with Hisoka in the last batch, another known mass murderer and sex creep, but its says a lot that they don't even believe in a redemptive based carceral system. They beat them, heal them, take their cards, then get the hell out of there.

I'm sad that Bisky is not joining the boys for a couple reasons. One because I really enjoy the dynamic she brings to the group, but also. Bisky what the hell. You're Their Teacher!!!! What do you mean you'll get attached You Already Are! Go with them and make sure they are prepared for what's coming next!?!?? Holy Hell the teachers in this show are bad. Wing was the same, I'll get you to a point but I've got this other kid to train so goodbye.

Definitely… curious to see what this next arc is going to be. All I know about this next arch is there will presumably be chimeric ants and that it is very, very long. I imagine Hisoka will manage to show up again, as he's wont to do, and with the Nen begone guy (forgot the title) (Also that was a cool scene when he met the Bomber again) I'm interested to see how that plays out. Also I wonder if either Killua or Leorio will be around? Once again strange that Gon and Killua didn't even try to contact them, but maybe they'll pop up eventually.

Really though, the thing that worries me is the length. In the end, I think Greed Island was probably a but rushed, I would have really enjoyed having more time to see the Game aspects of the game, but I'm still pretty fond of it. But the last time I watched a Togashi arc that was known for being incredibly long was the YYH Tournament Arc and that was dreadful. I really hope that, despite its length, I find more to enjoy with these… Ants? Chimeras? At the very least I'll enjoy Gon and Killua, I hope.

(This is the first time I've written this a few days after having watched the episodes. It's probably* better critique to let it marinate for a while before writing, but oh well) *definitely

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[cptn-m]

One Piece chapter 1107 review

The Egghead climax is definitely in full swing now, but it's still hard to tell how much of a full length, stand-your-ground fight to expect from this arc. Battles lately have left more like skirmishes. They're not about beating down your opponent until they physically can't move anymore, it's enough to make them dazed and in need of a moment to catch their breath so you get the chance to go on to your own objectives or keep them away from theirs. Plenty of other arcs have featured these kinds of 'smack the other guy away and get back to the more important stuff' kinds of confrontations (which people online love to extrapolate into being decisive wins or losses despite the result's lack of staying power) but never as a substitute for the traditional final battle. And I think this feeling that the final 1v1 could still come is the last thing that makes it hard to predict the remaining length of the arc.

Getting started, it's awesome seeing the Giant Pirates in action. With the scale normal humans can reach in One Piece, it's easy to forget how freaking big real giants actually are. They tower over the Marine warships enough to cleave them with single swings. And while there are humans who can also cut a battleship in two with their blades, those are individuals, and generally ones near the top of the food chain. When Mihawk cuts through a ship in an instant, it's a moment of awe. And giants are a whole race of people who can do that just virtue of their sheer size.

Usopp's joy at seeing the great warriors again is a wonderful moment. I get the need for a recap for casual readers, but I'd rather have seen some kind of explanation on the giants' timeline - when and how Dorry and Brogy gave up their duel and reunited with the others.

I feel like I'm starting to see part of the escape taking shape in the sequence with the ship sliding. The talk of Brook 'passing through in a moment' and not being able to stop seems to be setting up the crew on top leaping onboard as the Sunny slips past. There's probably going to be a little bit of tension and last minute saves with Jinbe and Zoro rushing to make the rendezvous and a Vegapunk having to rush inside to turn off the barrier (almost forgot about that) and then have to make it back in time, or just sacrifice themselves so the others can get away. With the giants right underneath, there's people there who could catch the Sunny and break its fall, or it could just do a coup de burst to ramp off the edge and into the hole in the Marine fleet made by the giants' arrival. That's my theory for how things play out from here.

Even though I floated the idea of Bonney being upset with her 'god' for not showing up sooner, I'm not at all surprised that she commits to him as a hero instead. While very dramatic, the other thing wouldn't quite have been Oda's style. I appreciate Luffy's casual dismissal of the Nika idea. He's still himself. But I do wish his reaction to seeing Vegapunk's injuries was a little more personal and had a bit more staying power before he shifted back into fun mode. Gear Five coming with a strong sense of euphoria isn't something I mind, but I want to see the difference split a little more evenly. Or at least give Luffy a chance to see a thing like this before transforming. I was close to writing off the lead-up to the attack on Saturn as well. The back and forth with Bonney almost makes it feel like the move is going to be more about showing her up than avenging Vegapunk, and that, to my mind, made it too much of a game. But after taking the stare attack from Saturn, the old Luffy shows his face. Nika will play with Bonney, letting it be her plan and a souped up version of her punch, but Luffy has a score to settle about his friend. The expression in that panel is good. He's still smiling, but it's a determined, focussed smile, with a furrowed brow that brings a wilder intensity to the wide Gear Five eyes. This is the version of Gear Five I want to see more of.

Vegapunk not being able to move without dying is an interesting complication to add. On the topic of having to stand and fight, it gives Luffy and Sanji a reason to defend this space to the end instead of stunning or knocking back Borsalino and Saturn before fleeing, but what happens after? Can we get Chopper down here to save the scientist? And if Vegapunk has enough medical knowledge to be sure of that, wouldn't Atlas, who shares his brain, have the same medical knowhow to do a patch job? Surely Franky has the strength to carry Kuma in her place.

Then there's the Sanji moment. He doesn't know. We'd thought that maybe because he'd acted less pervy around Bonney in some recent chapters that he had a sixth sense for it, but now we just have to say he doesn't know. This does mildly sour the coolness of the laser kick (as does the fact that he did it already two chapters ago without the big reaction). "Physics as we know it is dead" is a great line though.

I'm very interested to see how the choreography for a 2v1 for Luffy, Sanji and Borsalino will play out, even if it ends up being a short, interrupted one. In his earlier fight with Luffy, Borsalino proved an ability to zip around and attack from offshore one moment, up close the next. That speed makes him a terrible foe to have to protect a wounded ally against. In a tag team, however, one person can protect Vegapunk while the other chases Borsalino across the island. Could be fun, especially with Sanji's speed.

Now, that last scene. That's where it's all at this week. I've been asking questions about that Blackbeard ship tease for a long time, and we finally see the agenda. If that touch is what it takes for Catarina to be able to imitate Saturn (and what else could it realistically be?), shit's really about to get serious. It seems like Teach's go-to tactic is weaseling his way into the good graces of a group that has something he wants (Whitebeard's crew, the Warlords, and now seemingly the Celestial Dragons) and betray them to run off with the prize. Then there's this idea of them acquiring "the world" as an ultimate goal. Do we think it's a mirror of Luffy's own secret goal in some way, possibly relating to Gaimon's shoutout to "buy the world" back near the start of the series?

And then, in a one-two punch, we finally get Caribou's endgame. Oda's been stringing this one out for literally the whole timeskip, putting this slimey bastard in the right place at the right time to learn all kinds of valuable things about the Ancient Weapons and the Poneglyphs (as well as the Strawhats' idiosyncrasies) to make him the perfect asset to a final boss.

What a wild chapter. A finale coming together. Exciting action. Mixed feelings about the balance of goofball fun and genuine emotion in Nika. And the last two scenes feeling like they're bringing things Oda has spent most of the series coming to a head at last. The growing pains of Gear Five's implementation into moments of drama are easily forgiven in the face of these ultimate payoffs manifesting.

Oh, and Zoro's fighting Lucci I guess. There's basically nothing of note here except trash talk. The one clash we're shown isn't even particularly dramatic.

My Wordpress!

[inari-zaheer]

HII!! I loved that ganyu fic you made, and that was not ooc at all it was perfect!! i hope this isn’t a bother or anything but would you mind doing another one? I’ll give you the info to for this one to, and it’s also good to look at the wiki and stuff to get a better idea to, but, that’s just my opinion but here I go…

Can you do Vi, Caitlyn and Jinx with a S/O who has a Yae Miko personality from genshin impact?? Here’s the info (:

Yae Miko has long waist length pink hair tied into a low ponytail and affixed with a large circular golden hair accessory at its peak. As a kitsune she bears large pink ears that blend into her hair, as well as huge golden earrings. While not initially visible, has five white translucent tails while performing certain abilities. Her outfit is a modified version of the traditional shrine priestess grab, with flowing white and red drapes, detached sleeves, a big black and red ribbon towards the back, and the front cut noticeably higher, exposing her bare legs. Her vision can be found on her right earring

Despite her position as the chief priestess (“Guuji”) of the Grand Narukami Shrine, Yae Miko comes off much more personable and kind than one would expect from such a lofty role centered in faith. This is reinforced by her treatment of the various editors and writers of the Publishing House under her own namesake who view her as fair and kind. Around those whom she is comfortable around such as the Raiden Shogun herself or the Traveler and Paimon, she can become rather blunt and drops the affable facade to a degree although she does enjoy her fair bit of teasing. Ask anyone what kind of person they think Yae Miko is and it is unlikely you’ll receive the same answer twice.

That’s it!! I hope this isn’t to hard for you, i just like requesting stuff like this, but I hope you have a good day (:

Thank you so much, you guys never bother me😊♥️

Vi, Caitlyn and Jinx With Yae Miko!Reader

Pairing:Vi x Reader; Caitlyn Kiramman x Reader; Jinx x Reader

TW:None

—————————————

Vi

At first I dont think Vi would like you that much

You see, its hard for her to trust people, a thing she learned in prison, so when she first met you as she couldn’t quite read you, she tried to be as lowkey as possible around you

Specially if you guys met when she became an enforcer

Until one day she got hurt really bad and you lost all your facade worring about her

And being a little shit like Vi was, she offered to take you out to dinner to make it up for making you so worried

As she arrived first you didn’t trust her taste when she said she had already ordered for you, but where so relieved to see dish with fried tofu

(And not missing Vi's wink when she said she did her research)

Your dynamic was basically you where the brains and Vi was the fists, if manipulation didn’t work on someone Vi could gladly beat the shit out of them

Always tricking Vi to go on places that she hates but you love

Vi is also someone who appears to be tought and sometimes kinda mean, but just like you, she cares deeply for those she love

Caitlyn

The two of you probably met in of the infamous Kirammans partys, as Cassandra liked to be on the good side of every kind of people

The first thing that caught Cait's attention was your looks, it wasn’t common to ave different species in Piltover, but she definetly hadn’t seen some one as beautiful as you

Cait probably said to you that she also wasn’t one to trust strangers that fast, but when our girl was in love, she completely forgot about it

And being the great and curious detective that she is she'd try everything to understand you beyond your misteryous self

Having ironic conversations where you’d be pushing each others buttons, with everyone thinking a fight might come out of it but the both of just smiling through it

Having reading dates with tea in the afternoon in her room's balcony or in the gardens

Cait might be confident when talking to people, but oh darling how easy was for you to make her all hot and bothered and a stutter mess

Sometimes when she couldn’t make people give her information she’d take you with her to help a little

She loved that differently from her parents you could easily tell when something was wrong with her and was quick to try and comfort her

And she also loved that you worked just as hard as her, so you'd not interrupt when she was studying an important case

Jinx

Jinx met you when you were trying to get information on someone in an alley in Zaun

She was so mesmerized by your manerisms, ways of talking and the mystery aura that surrounded you that she just had to know more about you

So she asked more about it to Ran as they apparently knew a lot of gossip from spending so much time at the bar

Of course you were surprised that someone first of all knew what you were looking for and were willingly giving it to you for free, but when you saw that she was saying the truth you asked how you could thank her

And she answered to your on the same level of flirting without missing a beat

After some time into the relationship you knew you could tease Jinx and she'd tease you back, but there was some things that were off limits, and she was glad you respected it

In the nights were the voices wouldn’t let her sleep she’d ask you to read something or tell her a story

Silco liked you, as not only he saw how you treated Jinx but also how good of an addition you were to his business

And obviously she’d make the biggest pranks on people with you

[cloudenthusiast2]

To be a human - Scaramouche x reader - Part 5

You knew committing to a relationship with Scaramouche would be no easy task but you loved him dearly and unlike others, you believed he wasn't evil. But as a mortal and the devoted protector of your village you were too much of a good person, too much of a human compared to him and your differences slowly start to show.

Previous: Part 4

Length: not too long:)

Trigger warnings: blood, fighting

You slowly opened your eyes.

The clouds that were orange and pink not so long ago now had turned dark along with the sky.

You've just realised how long you have been sitting on the cliff.

The chilly weather suddenly felt genuinely cold and a shiver ran down your spine. You wore light clothes not suited for a night in Liuye's mountains.

'I should start heading back' you thought. But you didn't move.

A few days have passed since Scaramouche left but it still felt like the wound he caused was wide open. You avoided every interaction with others and luckily they were considerate enough to let you be. No one gave you requests or tasks, they dealt with their problems themselves so you could be alone for a while.

A little guilt stung your chest. You said you would always protect them yet you were selfish enough to only think about yourself for days.

On the other hand, you also felt a little burnout. You still loved the village as much as you used to - maybe even more, now that it was the only thing left that you cared about - but you didn't want to go back to your previous way of living. Even though Scaramouche wasn't a part of your daily routine, everything felt so empty without him. Just thinking about him made you smile any time and you could always look forward to his visits. And when he was actually there, he made everything feel shiny and wonderful.

He sure was the grumpiest man but that just made his soft moment worth even more. How delighted you felt when he laughed at your stupid jokes or gave you a smile that wasn't teasing or (too) smug. When he first held your hand you couldn't stop grinning for days.

You let out a quiet chuckle as you remembered your beautiful memories together. For a few seconds the grief was gone with your smile but when it finally faded away the sorrow became even sharper in your heart.

But it actually wasn't that painful any more. It still hurt really deeply but now you could at least think of the benefits of the new situation.

Something that you always hated about being with Scara was that the village lived in a low-key but constant fear. They were all afraid of the fatui. And for a good reason, as you realised after their last visit.

Now you could at least keep them more safe. They didn't have to be afraid of your lover and his power any more.

You stared at the dark sky one last time then shook your head. You stood up, getting ready to head back to the village but your mind was still invaded by thoughts of Scara.

The rocks under your shoes jingled as you took a step forward.

Another step, another sound of them tinkling together.

Another step and a scream.

You flinched and immediately glanced at the rocks. But they weren't the ones making the desperate sound.

You stared in front of you, your mind numb and empty without any thoughts.

Another scream. Human voices strengthening and getting louder and louder in the distance.

You looked up slowly, turning your gaze to where the village was. It was pitch black. Until red dots started lighting up.

'Oh no' you whispered to yourself.

The realisation hit you and your whole body froze for a moment.

'Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no...'

You finally moved, grabbing your polearm off your back. Then you started running.

There was no time to safely climb down on the mountainside. You threw yourself off the cliff, slashing through the cold air and landing on your weapon. Running and jumping again like your whole life depended on it.

It probably did. The village was the only thing you wanted to live for after Scaramouche left.

Terrible guilt stabbed your heart. You couldn't believe you neglected the place and people you once swore to protect. You couldn't believe you actually forgot about them and selfishly only cared about your wounds even though they needed you.

And now they were attacked.

Fear crawled up on your spine as you jumped up from a cliff. You were pretty close to the village now.

Out of breath, you heart beating at a crazy speed but you were ready to take any monsters down.

You landed on your spear, slipped and fell painfully. But you were up on your feet in a blink of an eye, sprinting again.

The village was in a worse situation than you had imagined.

You ran through the gates and stopped, looking around to see where your help was needed the most.

It was needed everywhere.

Your eyes grew wide open.

The houses were on fire, burning and lighting up the night. People were running around in chaos, monsters chasing them. Abbys mages sent whole blaze bombs after them. They set everything on fire.

An abandoned child crying on the stairs. Her father fighting a mitachurl with a single hack. Mothers desperately trying to find their family.

The blood red flames reflected in your eyes as you stood there, numbed by the terrifying destruction.

You moved on your own as you clenched your fist around the spear.

You jumped at the speed of the light. One moment you were still standing under the gates and the next you flashed your way through a group of hilichurls.

There were just corpses left behind in your way.

An old man cried for your help when he saw you. He was trying to protect his house from an abyss mage.

You landed behind the monster. It heard the noise and tried to turn around.

But before it could've even moved an inch, your whole body strained then let loose. Hydro bursting out of your veins, it broke through the mage's shield in an instant.

It fell but never reached the ground. Your spear cut through it in mid-air.

'Thank you!' The old man panted, his entire body trembling. 'I...'

'Leave the village!' You yelled through the discord of screams and roars. 'Go to the bamboo forest!'

'But my house...'

'Leave. Now.' You ordered in a way that it was impossible to disobey.

Then you moved on.

Your aura was filled with tense hydro vibrating in the dark. It strangled the monsters with one touch but suffocated you as well.

But you didn't feel the pain at all. Everything inside you focused on the fighting and precise killing. You flashed from one side of the village to another, trying to save the people you swore to protect.

But even though your strength was almost non-human in these minutes of crisis it still felt incredibly lacking.

The whole village was on fire at this point. The abyss mages did not care about their puppets, they burned hilichurls as well as people.

Because there were so many of them.

You stopped for a moment to catch your breath and looked around desperately. There were so many monsters. And so many people you still needed to save.

The heat was unbearable. Sweatdrops streamed down your face despite the constant hydro aura surrounding you.

Suddenly the ground started shaking and you nearly fell over.

A lawachurl slammed his fists down. It let out a huge roar and turned to the closest person to it.

A frightened cry left your lips as you recognised the tiny figure.

Little Yu.

She rose her arms, shielding something behind her. She seemed almost fearless as she looked straight into the gigantic monster's eyes. But it was still a ridiculous try to stop the lawachurl.

It lifted its fists into the air, getting ready to cause another earthquake.

It swang it...

But before it could have reached the ground, you appeared in front of him out of blue.

Your spear cut through its left fist. The monster shook and roared in pain. It tried to grab you but you quickly dodged and sprang back.

The lawachurl let out a deep growl and slowly straightened up.

You couldn't help but feel ludicrously tiny compared to the huge figure. It started to manifest its geo shield. You stepped back in slight panic and glanced at Yu behind you.

'Y/n!' She cried out, grabbing the edge of your coat. 'I'm so happy you're here! Please protect us!'

You finally recognised the figure behind her. It was her wounded mother kneeling on the ground, bleeding out. Yet, the look in her daughter's eyes was brave and now hopeful.

She had faith in you. They all had their faith in you.

This thought was the only thing giving you strength.

You grabbed her arm and leaned closer to her as the lawachurl started walking towards you in the background.

Your heart was beating so fast it felt like exploding, the blood streaming in your veins hot and tense. But you still managed to sound calm when you spoke to the child.

'Listen carefully to what I have to say. Do you remember the spot where you met me and the harbinger a few days ago?' She nodded. 'Collect as many people as you can from the village and the bamboo forest and go there. Hide and don't come out until you're completely sure the monsters are gone. Do you understand?'

'Yes' she answered. But she still seemed hesitant.

'What is it?' You asked hastily for the lawachurl was getting closer to you with every passing moment.

'Will you be alright?' She asked, locking eyes with you.

'Of course' you gently pushed her backwards to her mother who seemed to have regained her consciousness. 'Now go!'

She nodded and helped her mother stand up. You made sure they got out of your zone safely.

Then turned around.

Just in time to see the lawachurl slamming down its fists.

You dodged and jumped upwards. Spun in the air and stabbed your spear infused with hydro into the monster's thick skin.

You landed safely on the ground with the bloody polearm in your grip.

The lawachurl roared so loudly that his voice shook the mountains. It swang towards you blinded by the pain but you dodged again.

You straightened up directly in front of it. Clenched your teeth together before quickly telling a quiet prayer.

You were ready to face all monsters.