#does anyone else do this and does anyone know why this happens ???

[eroscomet]

Cellmate Prisoner 516

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Pairing: Vi x Prisoner!Reader

Warnings: Mentions wounds and violence (I think that's all.)

Word count: 2.1k+

A/N: Hey, lovelies! So, recently I finished Arcane and I immediately got to writing after finishing it. I'm thinking of releasing a Cait fic as well but i'll see how this Vi fic does first. I hope you guys like this, and i'm not sure if anyone else has done this idea yet. Let me know if you guys would want me to continue releasing chapters for this fic! If this is your first time reading my work and enjoy it, there's more on my page! I'm sorry in advance for any probable mistakes.

Proof read.

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Days in Stillwater seemed to blend for the inmates, especially those who knew they’d never return to normal civilization. The inmates had created a community there in the prison. It was rare to see inmates fight, most who did were newer inmates who didn’t understand that everyone in there had long accepted their fates. They weren’t willing to fight after they’d come to terms with the fact that they were to be bound by the walls of the prison for life along with the others. Why hold a grudge, right?

However, the lack of fights didn’t mean total peace for the inmates at Stillwater. Enforcers were often the ones who'd steal that peace that inmates tried to keep. If anyone were mouthy for even a second, it’s a beating with the enforcers that they’d face for it. Most were driven to stray away from having fights with the enforcers. There's a saying that goes around, you become the uniform you wear, whether it’s a prisoner uniform or an enforcer uniform. 

That always stood, inmates knew their place and enforcers forced theirs. All but one inmate applied to this saying, inmate 516. The livewire, the undoing of the enforcers, the one with all the audacity. If not called inmate 516 by enforcers, most around the prison knew her as ‘Pink’, a name that she gained from the color of her hair. She had resilience, fight, a fire in her that never ceased. No matter how many times enforcers would beat her for her mouthy talk, it never stopped her.

She’d once roamed the prison on the higher levels where land and nature were still visible. Where the air she’d inhale was the same air as everyone else’s. The more she causes a commotion, however, the lower the level she’d be taken. She never stopped her ‘fuss’, so eventually she made it to the lower levels with the inmates who would never see the light of day or breathe fresh air from the outside. 

Constantly being placed in new areas of the prison, different levels, different blocks, different cellmates. Anything to piss enforcers off, she’d always thought ‘If they’re getting a kick out of my misery, I can at least get one as well’. She lived by that in prison. Her previous cellmate had complained so much about having her as a cellmate that enforcers had finally had enough and moved her to another cell.

This happened to be your cell. Tidy, an organized mess, if you will. You didn’t talk much to the other inmates, only when you’d require trading for different materials. You had a knack for the creation of all kinds, sketching, building, and mapping. Pink, however, had a knack for destroying of all kinds, kicking, punching, training for whatever it was that she’d often mutter angrily about.

“Great, now I'm paired with Mute here.” She groaned as enforcers pushed her into the cell before shutting it. People in the prison had created a nickname for you since you’d never bother to tell them, Mute, they called you for your lack of speech. Which was a choice for you, after realizing that if you’d stopped speaking, people would simply assume that you were mute and wouldn’t have to bother with other inmates.

When she was pushed into the cell, you had momentarily looked away from the sketch on the cell desk. Your eyes met hers, anger was all that you could see in the glint of her eyes. She had a lot of rage, for a reason that you did not know.

“Don’t stare at me like that.” She nearly spat as she looked at you. Your expression hadn’t faltered as well as your gaze on the pink-haired girl. 

“Whatever, at least this time I didn’t get paired with someone who can’t shut up.” She threw her pillow onto the empty cell bed before sitting on the edge of it. Your silence with the inmates at times caused a bit of a ruckus, not all were happy with the fact that you wouldn’t respond to their conversations or threats. Sometimes they resulted in a one-sided fight.

You never fought back, you felt no point in doing so as the inmates loved to bring along a friend or two to accompany them to their ‘fights’. They’d say they were teaching you a lesson by beating you up, a lesson you obviously never understood considering the fact that this often reoccurs with other inmates. You could feel her eyes examining your black eye as you returned your gaze to your sketch.

“Why do you let them do that to you?” Her voice seemed a bit softer and inquisitive as she spoke. You had paused for a moment before deciding to shrug and continue to sketch.

“Tch, why did I even bother asking?” Her words seemed more like a statement to herself than a question as she responded to your silent statement of shrugging, “That is exactly why, because you don’t speak. I can see how that makes people get all worked up.”

Her eyes averted from your black eye to the desk, watching your pencil move swiftly, “What’s this?” She asked curiously as she neared your desk, grabbing a gadget, you quickly swiped it out of her hands. She put her hands up in surrender as she saw you defensively hold the gadget to your chest.

“Hey, hey. I meant no harm, I was just asking.” She said with her hands still up. For a moment, you looked down at the gadget against your chest. You extended your hand and allowed Pink to examine the item. She recognized it as the headpiece of her little sister, Powder,’s grenades, the signature colorful drawings on the headpiece.

“Where did you get this?!” She asked, now with a bit of hostility. Your lack of response angered her as you extended your hand as if asking for the item back, and she quickly slapped it angrily. Your eyebrows shot up in surprise, you'd expect it from the other inmates, but Pink? With the way that she is with enforcers, it shouldn’t be surprising but it was. You held your hand with the other as you brought it to your chest, still feeling the stinging sensation.

“What do you know about this?!” She asked, her voice momentarily faltered, barely caught by even your own ears. The way that you seemed clueless to what she was saying, gave her the answer she needed. She scoffed as she tossed the headpiece of a flame chomper to you. You quickly caught it in your hands, safely putting it under your pillow away from Pink. 

“I’d get more out of talking to a wall.” She said with a scoff as she got into bed, shifting onto her side to face the wall.

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About two weeks passed since Pink had become your new cellmate. At first, she had been holding a grudge with you, giving you the silent treatment in return which you didn’t at all mind. You had always preferred silence. Eventually, she broke and began speaking to you, despite not hearing a word in return.

“I want to apologize for what happened a couple of weeks back..” She said as she continued punching the wall as she so often does, you’d taken note that this was a habit of hers to do every day. You’d gotten used to it quickly, assuming it was another ‘training’ thing of hers. 

“It’s just that I recognized that piece—the drawings. My little sister used to make gadgets and draw on them. Bombs, particularly.” She said as she paused her punching, staring at the wall as she spoke. This made you pause as well, the headpiece of the fire chomper in your hand. Your finger had been lightly caressing the cool metal, looking over your shoulder for a moment as Pink explained further.

“I guess it triggered something in me. I'm not a bad person, " she said as she caught your gaze.

You stood up, padding over to her and gently grabbing her hand. You opened her hand and placed the headpiece on her palm before moving her fingers to close around it. After the action, you sent her a small smile, to which she responded with a surprised look.

“You really don’t have to-” She began to speak before you had moved her hand to her chest. You gave her a nod, to which she finally understood. She nodded in return, understanding that you were giving her the item.

“Thank you..” She said quietly and hesitantly. You nodded once more as you returned to your desk. The two of you were silent for a moment before she put the item into her pocket and began punching the wall again. 

“Her name was Powder.” She said, speaking up after having punched the wall a few times. 

“I don’t know if she’s alive or not but what I do know is that when I get my first shot out of here, I'm going to find her. Or at least the man who took her from me.” Her voice was determined like she had thought about this many times.

“That man..took everything from me. He. Will. Pay.” She said a bit more aggressively now as she landed a harder punch on the wall. You winced at the sound, knowing that if it were you punching the wall like that, it would’ve hurt but Pink seemed to handle it like it was nothing.

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Time with Pink in your shared cell felt a little less tense than your first meeting with her. She had gotten a bit more comfortable and you knew that from the way that she’d open up a little every once in a while with stories of her past. She talked of her father, whom she seemed very fond of from the way she spoke of him, she talked of her sister Powder a lot, small stories of memories when the two were younger that warmed your heart.

You’d see that she was a lot more cooled down, with fewer fights with the guards as well as reduced ‘training’, she now seems to only punch the wall a couple of days a week. Everything seemed fine until a new inmate arrived, a man who was bald with many tattoos that seemed to run through his entire body. You’d heard the news that Pink had beaten him up with a tray during dinner, breaking his jaw. When returning to your cell, she was smug but also seemed bothered by the situation.

She muttered to herself as she sat on the edge of her cell’s bed, “A week without leaving the cell, that’s what they gave me.” She said as she looked at you, her gaze was hardened. Your jaw is slightly clenched with a bit of worry for the girl.

“No meals, nothing. That prick deserved what was coming to him. He knew it from the look in his eye when he saw me.” She muttered with a scoff.

One of the perks about trading often with the cook at Stillwater meant special treatment. Often the cook gave you a bit of a better meal or something for dessert. For the next three days, you had snuck food back into your cell for Pink to eat.

“How’d you get this brownie anyway?” She asked with her mouth stuffed, you shrugged it off to no surprise.

“Any news on bald guy?” You shook your head in reply to her question. “Good, I hope to hear not a peep out of him after that.”

There it was again, the rage in her eye you had seen when she first came into your cell. She was angry again, more now that this man was in Stillwater. But you couldn’t figure out why.

“He’s a part of Silco’s henchmen. Dirty rat finally got caught.” She said with a scoff as she continued to eat. You hesitantly placed your hand on her shoulder, she looked up at you with surprise. She sighed as she paused, once again allowing her shoulders to no longer be tensed.

“Yeah, I know. He just..ticks me off.” You simply nodded to her words in understanding before gently patting her shoulder. 

“Thanks anyway, for the food or whatever..” She mumbled as she continued to eat, you smiled softly before heading to your desk as you usually do. A bit of silence came over the two of you before she spoke.

“Do you like that they call you Mute here?”

You paused for a moment as you shook your head.

“Then why do you..not talk?”

You seemed to be in thought as you shrugged again.

“I'm not trying to be mean but maybe people would get off your case if you spoke. Can you even speak at all?” To which you nodded to her words, she only took a moment to examine your face which had healed from the black eye she first saw you with.

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A/N: Guys, let me know what you guys think. If you guys want me to make this a series or not, if it is, it might be a little bit of a slow burn, I will include the other characters later on as well. Thank you so much for reading, new readers can check out my works on my page. Everyone is welcome to request stuff as well!

[kawoala]

hi!! i would like to request sakusa having a very cheerful girlfriend who gradually changes her appearance little by little, he doesn’t notice it because he thinks she’s beautiful in any way, like lets say she used to have this fluffy wavy hair then she just smoothen it and her clothes used to have fun patterns on them now its just plain. then one day he just goes “what happened to your hair?” And she just breaks down because she did all that so that she could fit into his ‘type’. you can make it as fluffy or as angsty as you wantt, thank youu sm💗💗

𝐊𝐈𝐘𝐎𝐎𝐌𝐈 𝐒𝐀𝐊𝐔𝐒𝐀 fit in word count ; (777) content warning ; (first time writing for him BEAR WITH ME, curly hair! reader, insecurity, angst to comfort, profanity, crying)

It starts off small. So small, in fact, that Kiyoomi convinces himself that he’s imagining things.

The first thing he notices is small. A mute blue hoodie instead of your usual bright yellow one. If he were anyone else, he wouldn’t have even noticed it. He thought it was odd at the moment, but assumed you just hadn’t done laundry.

The next thing he notices is that you’ve been gradually replacing your loud jewelry— different shaped beads of all shapes and colors— with simple, silver jewelry. He wants to comment on it, but he assumes you’re just trying out new things. You’ve always liked to do that, right?

When you start straightening your hair more often and wearing it in slick-backs, he’s confused. You’re basically a shell of your past self by now. Fun, loud colors turned to dark, muted colors. If he was paying closer attention, he would compare it to his own closet and see the similarity. Jewelry that clinks against each other with each step, is now a simple chain with a heart pendant. Your beautiful curly hair— now straight, hanging down your back as you do the dishes.

Kiyoomi sits at the dining room table, eyes narrowed as he pieces all of this change together. His chin is in his hand, his elbow on the table, one finger framing his face. He wants to say something— badly. But if he does? Who knows what will happen. Maybe you’re just growing. That’s a thing people do, right? People change over the years. Kiyoomi knows he sure as hell has.

“You straightened your hair,” he finally says, breaking the silence. He watches as you stop scrubbing the dish you're holding. “And you stopped wearing your jewelry.”

You hesitate to answer, he can see that. Your body twitches as if it’s going to turn around, but you don’t. You continue scrubbing at the dish. “I, um, got overstimulated. Couldn’t deal with the curls and the, uh, loud beads.”

Kiyoomi hums, because he knows you’re lying. There’s a shake to your voice that he can’t quite place.

“Do you not like it?” Your voice is quiet. Tentative. Timid. Something he’s never heard from you before.

He stands from the table and walks over to you, standing directly behind you. “I love you in all shapes and forms,” he says. “But you straightened your hair yesterday. And the day before that. And you put your jewelry in a box in the closet.” You turn to look at him, eyes widened a fraction. “Yeah, I saw it.” He frowns. “What’s going on? Why are you… changing yourself?”

You press your lips together and avoid his eyes. He takes your chin in his hand, making you look at him. His heart skips at the sight of tears on your waterline. “What’s wrong, Y/n?”

“I… I was just…” you can’t even get your sentence out. “You’re so clean. You and your family are… You’re nice and proper and rich and I am not. I am loud and obnoxious and I dress like an elementary school teacher and my hair is loud and big and I do not fit in with you.”

Kiyoomi is stunned. The words tumble out of your mouth, tears fall down your cheeks and Kiyoomi can’t move. His lips part in a desperate attempt to speak, but nothing comes out.

Kiyoomi has never been one for physical affection. Growing up, his parents never hugged him. His sister was much older, so she wasn’t around to fulfill that either. But in this moment, as the tears don’t stop and you’re practically choking on your own breath, Kiyoomi presses your face into his chest and wraps his arms around you.

“You are perfect just the way you are,” Kiyoomi mumbles into your hair. “I love your big, curly hair and I love the way you dress and I love you. You don’t need to change who you are just because you think you don’t fit in. You do fit in with me. And who gives a fuck what my parents think, hm? They don’t even know you, Y/n, but if they did, they would love you too. It’s not how you dress, or how you act, it’s you. I love you.”

Slowly but surely, your breathing steadies. You’re no longer choking on your own breath, no longer shaking. You keep your face pressed into his chest.

You pull away eventually and stare up at him with big, wet eyes. “I love you too.”

He presses another kiss into your hair and smiles down at you. “Good. Now, what do you want for dinner? I’ll make it tonight, okay?”

[lustlovehart]

I LOVE TWST monster au. It so cool and interesting!!! I'm INLOVE

I don't know if your taking requests or not but if you are I NEED to know more about Vil. Like have he every try to seduce you?? Like make you kiss him or worse 😳.

Anyway have a goodnight or goodday

Warnings: NSFW, some canon to the au, some past drafts, GN! Bodied Reader, Possession/Obsession

Ahaha… Funny you say this, in the monster list, Vil’s entire snippet was centered around reader and him being freaks before I realized I should tone it down 💀

First, Non-Canon/Draft stuff! The dynamic between reader and Vil was basically just

( They were fighting and then they somehow ended up in bed while they screamed hate at each other. When they were done they realized they lowkey liked it. )

Essentially, Vil is the only one in the monster cast who has ever been intimate with reader. In my mind, MH!Reader still understood it was wrong, so you never go all the way with him. You think this arrangement is completely reasonable, considering of firm Vil is on not letting you kill him. You’re entirely convinced he hates you, so letting him feed off you to feel the self indulgent pleasure of his tongue, is a fine arrangement.

Unbeknownst to you, every time he finds himself in the bed with you, he can only clench his nails. He’s been starving this whole time… Why? Because, contrary to you thinking he’s sapping your energy away, he hasn’t consumed a single piece of your vitality. Neither, has he seen anyone else to quench that desire.

It’s pathetic, he’s losing the soft feeling of his pure skin, simply cause he can’t bear the idea of slowly killing you. But, he doesn’t wanna do this with anyone else now. The only one he wishes to taste is you.

… Truly, what have you done to this all famed incubus?

Fun fact! The Incubus Vil fic I have written is actually before I changed this part of his lore, sooo, there might be a small chunk in there where it’s implied you and Vil had a freak off ( ˘ ³˘)♥︎

And now onto Canon! This one will be a little vague to avoid heavy spoilers, but, you’re basically right! Vil does attempt to seduce reader, and it works, but only slightly.

Unlike MH!Reader previously, in the current au, they have a bit more self control, so you notice his seduction, and the sweet smell that wafts the air, but through simple will power, you push through the temptation.

There are several times where you wonder if you should just go through with it, but then you remember the hoard of monsters who act as your second shadow, the two monster hunters who will no doubt shoot Vil at every possible chance, and the angel Vil has a strong hatred for. Yeah, probably not the best choice.

Honestly, it ticks off Vil, but also is what makes him continue pursuing you. It would be easier to sleep with other people if you stopped looking at him with those eyes.

Yet, you don’t, so it’ll never happen.

[ooastralberryoo]

MC who loves otome games

Lucifer acts pretentious at times and expresses that it is quite a strange hobby to have. You are often by his side in his room at his desk when he is working and in order to kill time you find yourself pulling out your handheld device and headphones to play. You don't notice but Lucifer is most definitely taking peeks at your screen maybe not so much peeks but he is full-blown watching until he catches himself and gets back to his paperwork. He also pays attention to how you talk about the characters in the games you play especially your favorite characters "This is a fictional character after all they could not provide much for you...I on the other hand.."

Mammon expresses his disdain right away. Why would you need a fictional character to obsess over when you have a real-life demon aka Mammon! Grumbles to himself while he sits next to you playing an otome game because, at the end of the day, he just wants to spend time with you no matter what you're doing. Next thing you know he is not grumbling insults at the game but instead demanding you to pick certain choices claiming that he knows which one would be the best "Obviously you should choose the third choice ..! Wait! What I meant to say was I really don't see the point of these games is the great Mammon not enough for you!?"

Levi is in a constant state of jealousy and understanding. On one hand, he loves that he has someone so close to him who also enjoys games like that but on the other hand, he tends to compare himself to the characters in the games you play and you often have to reassure him that you like him the way he is. Later on, though, he absolutely loves discussing his favorite otome game stories and characters with you! "Did you play his route yet?? The beginning was kind of slow but later on, he really shows how much he cares for the MC and .. ... .. .. .."

Satan prefers reading romance books but he is willing to indulge in this hobby of yours. After all, it is mostly reading. At first, he tries to act uninterested, making it clear that he does not want to be like Levi but he gets hooked in the end. After watching you play and playing a bit for himself he gets so passionate about the stories and characters and he gets pissed when there's a character who he thinks is not suitable for the MC. "Why the hell would anyone prefer this route over any of the others!? Do they not have taste?!?!"

Asmodeus is intrigued from the start. He has heard of these sorts of games from Levi but whenever Levi discusses them they lead to a long ramble and Asmo doesn't stay interested enough to stay until the end. He watches you play them and plays a bit himself and it immediately inspires him to try new roleplays in the bedroom. He is open to cosplaying as characters in the bedroom as well. He takes pride in the fact that he can learn the ins and outs of your favorite character but still in the end he hopes you favor him the most "Ooh ~ I can see why you like him so much he's so cute! ...But I'm hoping you like someone else a lot more darling"

Beelzebub just so happens to stumble upon you playing one of these games after he gets himself a snack and decides to spend his time eating in your room of all places. He does not have much interest in playing one for himself but he is happy to watch you play while munching on snacks..as long as it does not take too long. Eventually, he will ask you if you want to pause the game and go out to eat, his treat of course! (and this absolutely does not have anything to do with the fact that you are obsessing too much over this certain character.) "Is this the type of person you like MC..? They are not real though..maybe it's time to take a break from the game we should go out to eat now just you and me."

Belphegor forces you to cuddle him to sleep whether you are tired or not so you have learned to keep your phone or a handheld console on hand for this purpose. While lying down with your back turned to Belphagor you put on your earphones and dive into this romance game world but little do you know is Belphie is watching. He pays close attention to whatever you are interested in and this just so happens to be one of them. He does not make it known but you sometimes find it suspicious when he says something that resembles what the character in your game says.. "Hmm what do you mean? You must be tired Let go to sleep now" :)

I wrote this while drinking pls ignore any mistakes imma try to tweak it another day :D ALSO If you reached the end please consider checking out this adults-only otome game community I made on my other account!!

https://www.tumblr.com/communities/otome-game-community

[yanderelovebites]

Don’t have much of a concept for either yet, but a) imagine neglected batsis (bio for bonus) and for years they pretty much deem you useless and unneeded. Maybe batsis’s mom is a villain or at least a Villian type so they don’t want to get close. Then they end up one day having no choice but to introduce them to their friend because they happened to be getting something from the kitchen, only for the friend to immediately like batsis. There was no warning, just straight up when batsis awkwardly left they say honestly “I like her, she’s cute.” I feel like Damian or Tim would try to downplay batsis but Jon or Conner is like “so…?” Especially in Damian’s case because Jon who could be like “says the guy raised by assassins???” But also Conner would be like “You do know I am technically the son of Superman AND lex Luther right? It’s important to me that you know that.” They get jealous of batsis , but slowly they get to know her through them and they’re like “wait she does martial arts?” “What do you mean she’s been down town helping (insert charity)?” “Since when did she get in to robotics?!” Etc. They end up now jealous of their friend which will confuse batsis

Now b) is neglect but instead of the whole family rejecting batsis imagine she stopped attempting after Damian. Case, Duke, and Steph are basically out the loop as to why she doesn’t talk to any of them and first they all let it be. That is until they see how close she is to Alfred and they ask what the deal is, does she just not like anyone else in the manor? Then Alfred explains she used to try with the first five (Barbara included), but they all pushed her to the side or made it clear they didn’t like her. He says Damian was her breaking point so she ignores them so she knows they can’t hurt her. Cass would be the most fragile to hearing the reason behind her distance I think. Duke would probably start pushing more and Steph would be conflicted. Duke would probably also be the one to break down the little Barrier she has up. She’d give them a chance only because of Duke but would continue to hide from the other five until an incident occurs.

[agirlwithglam]

embarrassment is a choice.

so today i was feeling a bit tormented by something that happened a while ago (a year ago i think even!) and t

bh idk why it came up so randomly now, but it just makes me cringe and feel so embarrassed by what happened. so i'm taking it as a sign to write this post for anyone who needs it.

embarrassment is a choice.

i know how icky it can feel to recall a past memory about something that happened, but let me just tell you one thing; the past doesn't exist. the past only exists in your mind. it only exists because you give it your attention and your energy. so if you don't like the way something unfolded out in the past, change it! go into your mind, go through the whole situation and then just change what happened. this exercise is just something to give you a peace of mind so you're not bothered by what had happened.

but whats important to know about embarrassment is that it only exists if you choose it. if you choose to be embarrassed.

listen honey, the only time someone would judge you is that either a) they want to be at such a high place that you're currently at & their insecure, or b) they're to afraid about what other people think to be doing what you are doing right now. c) or they're just really sad with their own lives. no one listens to what this person has to say so the only time people do listen is when they talk about you.

in fact, you should seriously applaud yourself for doing something so daring, so scary something outside of your comfort zone instead of just simply staying quiet and small.

this also links into exposure therapy. the more you do something that scares you and its outside of your comfort zone like being alone, or going after an ambitious goal, the more you start to become used to the feeling. you start to become more numb to it so it means that you're not as affected or sensitive to it as you used to be.

right now, the best thing you can do is just do it anyway.

"they're gonna judge you anyway so you might as well just do it"

and think: will this matter in a year? will be a big deal in 5 years? chances are, it won't be. and plus, anyone who does make you feel ashamed or cringy for doing you and being yourself, they don't deserve a space in your life anyway. you're being GUIDED on a higher path to a life with better people, better environment. so girl, unless you're not hurting anyone, GO!! LIVE YOUR LIFE!!!

its not your life if you're living it based on other people!

at the end of the day, we all die. we're on this earth for a limited time. you will grow old, the haters will grow old, then, we will all leave this earth. and that is a very peaceful thing to understand. nothing matters at all. you'll be 90 on your deathbed one day and you want to be thinking "i lived. i lived an amazing, happy, fulfilling. authentic life." so right now, you do everything that will make you feel that way when that day comes without another care in the world for what someone else things.

love you always, have a beautiful day. xoxo, Vanilla <3

[lyxthen]

I want to write an essay on how the Book of Bill expertly subverts the "villain with a tragic backstory/antisocial protagonist" narrative by portraying its main character as evil, trying really hard to look cool, and failing pathetically. The book is making fun of him, and that is actually kind of revolutionary, because most stories with evil, pathetic main characters tend to take themselves, and by extension, their protagonist, way too seriously, with way too much dignity, which leads to people misinterpreting them as heroes or idealize them in some way, and then replicating these harmful attitudes. They follow life coaches that will teach them how to be "alpha males."

Bill presents himself as one of these "life coaches," he will teach you the secrets of the universe, he will help you to game the system in your favor, to manipulate people to get what you want, he will free you from the shackles of society and reality itself-- but he is lying. The success rate of Bill's evil schemes is laughably small. He's a manipulator, to be sure, an incompetent one. His dimension rejected him, his friends don't actually like him, throughout the ages humans have found him insufferable, and to top it all off he ruins the relationship with the only being in the history of the universe he has ever truly felt understood by.

And instead of going "gee, maybe there *is* something wrong with me, after all" he doubles down on his harmful ideas. He doesn't have a problem, everyone else is the problem. Nobody gets his vision. They are all small-minded creatures of no value. His failures are always somebody else's fault. He didn't want to hurt anyone, he was forced to. It's not that bad, he's just being silly, he's having a laugh.

And we, as readers, we are horrified at all the bad things he does, but we also laugh. Not with him, but *at him.* He is being constantly ridiculed by himself, and the funniest part is that he doesn't even realize. He thinks he is absolutely acing this.

He isn't.

Eventually, it is revealed that Bill has no idea what he is talking about. That he has been defeated, rendered powerless, stuck forever in interdimensional therapy. The book tells us, "This is what happens to people like Bill if they don't change. They end up with nothing. No riches, no fame, no loved ones. They will be unhappy forever unless they realize there is something about them worth changing and decide to act on it."

This is in contrast to Stanford, someone who, just like Bill, was deeply hurt and rejected by society, struggled to feel understood, and took refuge in a narcissistic (bear with me-) view of the world. Diagnostic labels aside, Ford genuinely thinks he is better than everyone else for being smarter. He is a textbook Aspie Supremacist that swears by IQ tests because it's the only thing that has ever validated him. That's why he gets along with Bill, I think, they really *have* compatible mindsets. Ford really thought Rudolph should've killed the other reindeer. He constantly dismisses Fiddleford in what feels a very classist way (even if he grew up working class himself). Ford isn't manipulative and malicious in the same way Bill is, and I don't want anyone coming at me for saying Ford is evil. He isn't. He might be a bit of an ass, but he has a moral code, he knows that what Bill wants to do is A BAD THING and dedicates his life to trying to stop him. Stanford's biggest flaw is not appreciating the people around him more for their inherent value (not that he doesn't love them! he does!), but he learns, and he changes. He is more considerate of other people's needs and their perspectives.

And by the end, he is happy. He is free from Bill, he has his family, people who will support him unconditionally and will put up with his nonsense because they love him.

Stanford will never find someone who is as smart as him, who has been ostracized the same way he has. But that's okay. He has an inherent value as a person that has nothing to do with how smart he is in comparison to other people. He doesn't need other people's approval to be happy.

That is, I think, what the book wants you to take away. Don't be like Bill. Don't fall for the Alpha Male scam, or eugenics, some new age cult or multilevel marketing scheme, reject the ideas at the base. Talk to your family and friends, touch grass, find a group that shares your interests, but don't dwell endlessly on resentment, and don't follow people that tell you that the only way to be valuable is to be "superior" in some abstract metric, and that they can teach you how.

(As a kid, I almost fell down the alt-right pipeline-- and I am Mexican, transgender, and autistic. I fantasized about blowing up the school every day. I know what the fuck I am talking about when I tell you this.)

They are lying. You don't want to be like them.

You don't want to be like Bill.

[luckymousey]

Yan! Cater x reader

⚠️ English is not my first language⚠️

Details: you're in a relationship with him

Warnings: forced into a relationship, mentions of murder and use of illicit substances and blackmail

⚠️I do NOT condone yandere behavior, this is just for writing⚠️

Love, oh, LOVE, isn't that a great feeling?

Because Cater does think so.

From the moment he first saw you, he was already head over heels for you.

But you don't seem so happy to be his lover

You might as well tell the whole world how much you hate him

You aren’t going to do that, are you?

He has been stalking supervising each one of your followers, and then left them a small surprise in their rooms.

“It seems like the criminal hasn’t been caught yet.” Trey sighs, looking at the TV.

“Yeah, I hope they catch him soon~.” Cater says behind him, smiling as he listens to the TV man talk.

“They’ve been done the same way: the victim always finds someone dear to them, like one of their relatives, friends or their lover; chopped down in small pieces, the pieces are placed inside a transparent box and put on their beds, no one knows what the murderer wants, is this a revenge or just a simple act of fun for them?”

He keeps a lot of photos of you in his phone, some of them are photos you wish he could just delete.

He uses your…indecent photos against you, threatening to post them on his secret Magicam account, which is public.

Of course, he would never do that, even if you were to try to escape and he had to punish you, those photos are meant to be seen by him, not anyone else, but you don’t need to know that.

But now, how does he punish you? Well, Cater doesn't use the word ‘punish’ because it doesn’t fit his aesthetic, and it’s not like he reeeeally punishes you, yk? When he has to show you who you have to listen to, he kisses you a lot, kisses that have a start but doesn’t seem to have an end.

Possibly suffocates you because he grabs your chin and doesn’t let go, but he’s not doing it on purpose, it’s just him showing you how much he loves you.

Sometimes he will bring you sweets personally made by Trey, um? You don't want them? That's too bad, you'll have to eat them anyways ❤️.

What did you say? You're feeling dizzy? Weird, maybe Trey put something bad in the food by accident, don't worry, your lovely boyfriend, Cay-Cay, will take you to his room so you two can sleep in peace.

You're asking what happening with all your contacts in your phone? Cater doesn't have a clue about that, but you don't need to worry about that, you still have his phone number after all!

Why would you need anyone besides him?

[fastest-yeast-in-the-east]

The more I think about it, Midori was kinda an idiot and not even because the players fooled him during the banquet. Midori likes to act powerful and like he's always the one in control, but then you remember his job description is 90% just:

Die

And when you really think about it, it doesn't seem like ASUNARO valued or liked him. I mean, if nothing else, they at least trusted him to go and get all the participants to sign a consent form, which, from what we know, was a pretty important task, but aside from that, ASUNARO really just told him

Like, at least the other floor masters, Miley and Gashu weren't just flat out told to die (Gashu just sorta decided to, anyways). It really makes you wonder how ASUNARO viewed Midori. From what we know, he was originally intended to be a participant himself until he "died", which just further implies that ASUNARO was itching to get rid of him. Who replaced him, if anyone (ASUNARO could have planned for 21 participants, counting Midori, or they replaced him with Kai), is unclear, but if Kai was meant to serve as a substitute for him as ASUNARO's traitor within the participants, and knowing how Kai was considered a non-candidate who wasn't meant to win (and we all know what happens to losers in the death game), it all just heavily supports the idea that ASUNARO wanted nothing more than to kill him off.

If you were working for a company that wanted nothing more than to put you in situations where you were all but guaranteed to die, you wouldn't want to work there anymore, would you? But Midori does. That plus his overwhelming fear of death, makes him look like a really big idiot, and to be honest, I think he may really be one. Sure, he's smart in a lot of ways, being skilled at manipulation and pressing people's buttons, not to mention reprogramming Maple forget her original purpose is to kill him, but he also just couldn't see that his boss clearly had it out for him.

So if they hate him so much, why even hire him? I believe, that in Kai's mini-episode, a silhouetted figure appears whose hair resembles Midori's. This has led many to believe she is Midori's mother (which might explain why he's so screwed up, if he was raised in ASUNARO). If his mom already worked there, and probably outranked Gashu, that could have influenced ASUNARO's decision when it came to employing Midori.

AKA Midori is a nepo-baby.

ASUNARO hired him even though they didn't want to and either his mom didn't actually care that much about him (otherwise she might have objected to the killing of her son) or has retired or died and then ASUNARO had an employee who they don't want nor need. In other words Midori's relationship with his employers is more like

As the only floor master whose death is actively sought out by ASUNARO, Midori might actually be pretty low down on the totem pole, I'd say below the other two floor masters, but just above Ranger and Safalin who aren't really floor masters. Midori clearly doesn't understand that ASUNARO would 100% let him die, seeing as how he pleaded to Meister right before he died. At the end of the day, to them he's just a problem child they can finally do away with. The experiments ASUNARO let him do on other people "until they broke or he got bored" were probably just ASUNARO keeping him entertained to shut him up for a while, more or less treating him like a literal kid.

The more I think about it, ASUNARO clearly values Midori especially little, and it's honestly a little funny to think about. Him and his experiments really just make him the death game equivalent of a tablet kid.

[paperyowl]

Okay, I really need to make this into an actual story, but let me just write this idea down before I forget: Imagine Annie walking into S.W.A.T. headquarters, with all of the 20-squat (and the 50-squat) already knowing about the divorce Deacon and her are getting, but before anyone knowing about Rocker.

The team is surprised to see her - Luca even calls out a greeting which she ignores completely - and even more surprised when she walks right past them and up to Rocker, who's working on a screen in the corner - he turns to her when he sees her approach, not saying anything.

When Annie gets close enough, she slaps Rocker across the face hard enough for his head to snap to the side. Shock ripples through the room, and no one moves for long moments, too stunned to do anything.

Rocker hardly even reacts, standing very still and keeping his face blank even as he looks back at her. That only makes her angry - she moves as if to slap him again, but Deacon catches her wrist with a furious glance - he all but drags her to the break room.

He kind of hears Rocker respond to Luca behind him, "It's all good. I'm going to get cleaned up", but the flat tone makes Deacon's heart clench and something furious roars in his chest.

Annie stumbles behind him. He only lets Annie go when the door closes behind them. Annie has tears in her eyes.

"Him?" she asks, voice small. "Why him?"

And Deacon has so many responses for that, but all he can think about is how she just went and assaulted Rocker, how they are both so far off the rails now - and when did this happen?

He still loves her. He does.

But this.

"Leave him out of this."

"How can I, when-"

"Annie, "the shape of her name was sharp in his mouth. Cutting. "Do you understand what you just did? "

"I slapped the man who-"

"You attacked an officer. "

Annie stilled for a moment. "I didn't. "

"Yes, you did. Do you understand that he can get you arrested for that? "

She splutters, and then her face does something complicated—and Annie is just so hurt after everything, and maybe Deacon should have tried harder. Except he'd tried so hard—for so long—Rocker hadn't been the reason for his decision—not by a long shot.

But he's all the reason that Deacon aches now, and he desperately needs to check on him.

"Stay here. Please, "Deacon pleads with Annie. "I'll be right back. "

And there is love between them still because Annie nodded and looked almost ashamed about the whole thing. She apologizes, and even if it means nothing to Deacon right then, he nods (if she's slapped him, that would have been understandable- but Rocker doesn't deserve this.)

When he walks out, Deacon passes Hondo but no one else, and thank god for that everyone else is back at work. Hondo points him down the hall to the bathroom in the back. Deacon thanks him and goes before Hondo can say anything else - but Deacon is sure he hasn't heard the last of that.

When he steps into the bathroom, Rocker looks up, meeting Deacon's eyes in the mirror. Deacon can't read the first expression on his face, but it melts away too quickly for him to focus on it.

What he can focus on is the way that Rocker looks: His cheek is red, and there is a line of split skin just below his eye like a nail had caught him. When Rocker spits into the sink, it is bloody. That fact startles Deacon, but it's not a lot - it's more spit than blood, even if there should be none at all.

"Oh good, "Luca says - because they wouldn't leave Rocker alone, so Luca followed him - leaning against the wall. Descon jumps a little. He hadn't even seen him there.

"Will you finally leave now?" Rocker snarks at Luca - but Luca barely acknowledges his tone.

"Higgs told him to get cleaned up and go home, "Luca tells Deacon. "Hondo told me to let you know you're off for the rest of the day, too. So unless Rocker wants to put in a formal complaint-"

"oh my god, how often do I have to say it? I won't, " Rocker gripes. "and don't talk about me like I'm not right here."

"I wouldn't if you would actually talk to me," Luca tells him, and towards Descon, he says: "Where's Annie? I'll take her home if you take care of this one. "

"I'm fine-"

"Break room. I will. Thank you, Luca. "

Luca nods and pats Descons shoulder on his way out.

"Did you tell him? "Rocker asks when Luca is out of earshot. There is such tension between them now because this is not a great situation for either of them.

"No. But he's Swat, he can connect the dots. "

Rocker breathes and spits into the sink again.

"Are you-"

"Bit my cheek. I'm fine." and after a beat, "She didn't get my eyes or anything. Didn't even hit that hard."

Deacon is certain that Rocker doesn't notice what his words just gave away, what they implied. But he wasn't going to comment on it right then.

Deacon moves to cross the distance between them. When he put a hand on Rocker's shoulder, he tensed him.

"Let me get you cleaned up. I'll take you home. "

Rocker shakes his head.

"‚No' to getting cleaned up? Or to go home? Or both? "

There is a moment of silence - and then Rocker finally turns, looking at Deacon. There is something in his eyes that makes Deacon feel cold all over. But he can't quite understand it.

"Can you leave?" Rocker asks, voice thin. "I'm really okay. I need a minute."

(Because, really, how does Rocker explain this to anyone?)

He doesn't sound okay.

Deacon hesitates by the door. Rocker sighs. And it is funny because it seems that for all his closed-mouth approach to so many things in his life, everything hidden behind that boisterous exterior, it is actually Rocker who found the compromise for them here.

(An awful compromise, but still, he isn't sending Deacon away for good, only for the moment.)

"Give me two hours to get my second briefed, go home and take a shower. Come over sometime after 5?"

"I'll be there at 5."

"Yeah, alright."

[heeheesang]

#jieun_out ! ── .✦

written & smau at the bottom ! (˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶)

“ HOW ARE YOUR SCARS ? “ DONGHYUN ASKED AS HE PICKED ME UP FROM MY HOUSE . I SMILED AND SHRUGGED IN RETURN , “ FEELS NORMAL ! “ I LAUGHED.

“oh c’mon, get on my back.” i raised my eyebrow at his offer, “your feet will hurt… plus we’re a little late and we both know you can’t walk fast.” he replied, adjusting his sling bag before i sighed and got on his back.

“y’know, my mom asked me what we were…” i started as he hums, “what did you say hm, pretty?” i blushed at the nickname, “i said we were… something! i said that we’re still best friends but i don’t want to out a label on anything just yet…” i replied as he giggled and agreed.

as soon as we reached the gates of school, i told him i could walk from here but he insisted to carry me all the way til my locker. i didn’t feel embarrassed, more like i felt shy. why? because all the attention would be on us!

“thank you, hyun… what’s your first class?” i thanked him as we looked through our schedule, “maths?” we answered at the same time and chuckled, “guess we have to see, you know who…”

as soon as i closed my locker, he had his arm around my shoulder as we walked to class. it was almost eight in the morning yet the teacher wasn’t in yet. donghyun and i took our seats before student after student came up to our table.

“oh my, ynie! are you okay?” were most of the questions. i found it weird, how would anyone else know about this? there were only the six of us…

“ynie! oh my god, i saw you yesterday… i saw what happened with jieun, are you okay?!” wonyoung asked as i nodded my head, ah she was there?

“i’m fine wony… but, how does the whole class know..?” i asked as donghyun paid attention to the conversation.

“i was doing a live stream in the park… and then i guess the camera must’ve shown it by accident… i’m so sorry ynie…” she apologised and got on her knees.

i widened my eyes, gasping as i tried to pull her up. “it’s okay seriously, it’s not a big deal wony..” i hugged her.

“sorry to interupt… but did you hear?” another student chimed into our conversation.

“hear what.. exactly..?”

“it’s all over twitter. hashtag jieun underscore out.”

⤶ back | mlist | next ⤷

⟢ permanent taglist ( can be requested to be taken off ! )

╰┈➤ @hooneverse @sol3chu @yourssincerely-mimi @reikaxslvr @petralovesbonedo @enhabooks @mwahvvis

⟢ accidental confessions (acc) taglist

╰┈➤ @rairaiblog @voikiraz @veerooniicaa

hhs notes! so sorry for the late update ㅠㅠ

[aishangotome]

Azel Radwan: Chapter 6

Chapter 5

Thank you @shatcey for providing the video for this chapter!

♡———♡

Under the pressure of the Living God, Izzet quickly retreats.

I also feel the intimidating aura, as if we had incurred the wrath of the God—

To shake off the unfathomable fear I felt for a moment, I also set out for the town with the errand memo in hand.

-

(I… I can't move another step from here.)

The desert is dyed golden, and the light begins to weaken as the day draws to a close.

The setting sun peeking through the huge window is a breathtaking sight, one I could gaze at forever.

(I have to hurry back or I'll end up walking through the desert at night, and I need to push myself a little harder…)

(...I might be getting sleepy…)

(I'm too tired…)

Azel: You're in the way.

A merciless voice rains down on me as I doze off, sitting on the stairs.

Looking up, I see the God, devoid of any compassion, looking down at me.

Emma: …I'm sitting in the corner.

Azel: This isn't a resting place.

Emma: Is there any other room I'm allowed to enter?

Azel: No.

Emma: Then there's nothing I can do about it, is there?

Azel: There is. Get back to the castle quickly.

Azel: How can you even think of sleeping in someone's doorway?

Emma: That's how tired I am. Thanks to a certain God who overworks people.

(I made two round trips between the town and the temple today, so my legs are killing me.)

Azel: Poor you. I look forward to working with you tomorrow as well.

(This person… no, this God, doesn't know the meaning of kindness, does he?)

The Living God sits down one step above me and rests his chin on his knee.

His face, bathed in the setting sun, is irritatingly beautiful and divine, with no hint of the darkness within.

(...It's no wonder everyone is deceived.)

(I wonder what happened to turn him into such a merciless, evil God.)

Azel: … Sigh…

Emma: Why are you sighing?

Azel: I was thinking he came sooner than expected.

Azel: That crazy old geezer must be very interested in you.

(What's he talking about?)

Azel gestures toward the entrance with his chin.

I force my sleepy head to turn and see a person standing in the red sunset.

???: Living God, thank you for allowing me to enter this sacred domain.

My eyes, now accustomed to the light, see an elderly man.

A gentle smile graces his face, the kind that calms the heart of anyone he meets, and he exudes a kind and compassionate aura.

(He has the same atmosphere as Azel when he's playing the role of a God in public.)

Azel: I didn't allow it, but you have business with Emma?

(Could this be the High Priest!?)

As I hurriedly try to stand up, Azel grabs my shoulder and pushes me back down.

Azel: Please be brief. We're in the middle of something right now.

High Priest: My apologies for interrupting your conversation.

(There's a bit of a bite to his words… I wonder if Azel doesn't like the High Priest.)

The High Priest is unfazed by Azel's haughty attitude, and his compassionate gaze turns towards me.

High Priest: Lady Emma, it is a pleasure to meet you. I came to greet you after hearing the rumors.

High Priest: I am one of the God's messengers, bestowed with the important role of High Priest, and currently serve as the administrator of the sanctuary.

High Priest: It is my duty to spread the glory of the Living God throughout the country. I look forward to a long and prosperous relationship.

Emma: …Thank you for your greeting. Please forgive me for speaking to you in this position.

High Priest: Not at all. The Living God's wishes should be respected above all else. Please remain as you are.

(What is this feeling?)

(His words, attitude, and demeanor are all soft, yet it makes my heart uneasy…)

I sense an inexplicable discomfort within his gentle gaze, and I'm at a loss for words.

Azel: I said, "Be brief," didn't I?

But with Azel's interruption, I'm freed from the High Priest's entwining gaze, and I secretly let out a sigh of relief.

High Priest: Then, if you'll permit me, I'll get to the main point.

High Priest: Living God, in light of this recent matter, we are urgently preparing the harem.

(Harem… What!? )

High Priest: We can have Lady Emma move to her chambers immediately.

Azel: No, thank you. Please don't do anything unnecessary.

The highest authority in Tanzanite expresses his disapproval bluntly.

That was my only salvation.

Azel: I've said it many times, I don't need a harem. Didn't I give it to Enis?

High Priest: Enis is merely the administrator. Our country's harem originally belongs to the Living God.

High Priest: Recently, many false divinators have appeared in the city, causing concern among the people.

High Priest: The Living God's favor towards a woman could be a ray of hope to dispel the anxieties of the desert.

Azel: It couldn't. It's just a change of subject.

Azel: Instead of thinking about deceiving the people, why not investigate the cause of the increase in false oracles?

While letting out those barbed words, Azel twirls his fingers in my hair.

When our eyes meet, he gives me a chillingly affectionate smile. If someone who didn't know the situation saw us, they might really think I'm being favored.

(...I'm sure my face is stiff right now.)

This is not the face I want to show the High Priest, so I reluctantly meet Azel's gaze.

Azel: Oh, and also, I've decided that the God's favor will be bestowed on only one person.

Azel: Please don't send any other women my way. They're an eyesore.

The finger that slid from my hair to my cheek lightly presses my skin.

It feels like he's pressuring me to "act," but I don't think I can do anything about my stiff face.

High Priest: To think he favors you so much… I was inconsiderate. It is my fault.

(Oh no, my situation is getting worse and worse…)

High Priest: Lady Emma, may peace be with the Living God's heart.

High Priest: And I sincerely pray that the blessings of the moon be bestowed upon you.

Perhaps Azel's silent pressure of "Go away quickly" got through, as the High Priest bows his head politely and quickly leaves the temple without changing his calm expression.

Emma: What did he mean by the "blessings of the moon" at the end?

Azel: Who knows? Probably the ramblings of a senile old man.

The moment we're alone, the deceptive smile disappears, and Azel's face becomes weary.

(As always, his conman skills—no, his acting skills—are impressive.)

Azel removes his hand from me and looks up at the sky decorating the huge window.

Azel: …The worst way to end the day.

Emma: Do you dislike the High Priest that much?

Azel: It's not just dislike. I never want to see his face again.

Emma: Why…

Azel: Is there anyone who could like an old geezer who keeps sending women my way even though I refuse?

Emma: …That's true.

*flashback to earlier*

Enis: If the precious bloodline of the Living God is cut off, Tanzanite has no future.

Enis: The High Priest will not give up, even if he has to gather all the women in the country.

*flashback over*

(The High Priest is the one who protects the glory of the God, and he may not necessarily respect the Living God's will.)

(Even if they have faith, people don't always act according to the God's wishes.)

(...If even a God has troubles, what's the difference between them and humans?)

Azel: Don't betray me.

Emma: What kind of situation would be considered betrayal?

Azel: It's simple. Don't do anything I dislike.

Emma: I'll try my best.

Azel: That's a good answer.

Emma: I understand better than anyone the pain of being forced to do something I hate.

Emma: In order to build a friendly relationship with the Living God, I want to avoid "unconscious harassment."

As I declare this with a puffed-out chest, Azel, who has shifted his gaze back to me from the sunset, furrows his brow noticeably.

Azel: Build a friendship? I'm an evil God, you know.

Emma: That's true… but I have the experience and wisdom of Belle.

Emma: I know that a person's true nature isn't easily discerned.

During my stay at Rhodolite Castle, there were princes with all sorts of problems: the bloodthirsty prince, the misanthropic prince, the prankster prince, and the prince with a flamboyant love life.

But what I learned from facing them were the values and beliefs that weren't apparent on the surface.

Once I grasped those, the glamor surrounding those noble beasts peeled away, and I could see their true selves.

Based on my experience, the God in front of me must be the same.

The God I see is like a mirage, still far from his true essence.

Emma: Only after knowing their true nature can you see whether you "like" or "dislike" a person...

Emma: No matter how unreasonable the situation, I want to make an effort to understand the Living God.

Azel: …Is that so?

(He's been making a scary face this whole time.)

Emma: Did I say something unpleasant?

Azel: No? It's just that, unlike that idiot, I have no intention of getting along with you.

Azel: I just thought, "What a waste of effort."

He pinches my cheek with his fingers and pulls it.

Emma: I unnershtand you have no intenshun of gettin' along wiff me!

Azel: I have no idea what you're saying.

(I want to get along with him… but what's irritating is irritating!)

(I wonder if this will someday turn into a different emotion once I grasp his true nature.)

He releases my cheek, and I rub it with my hand to make sure it's not stretched out.

Azel: Anyway, if you intend to get along with me, don't side with the geezer.

Azel: If you can't even do something that simple, there's no point in talking.

Emma: Of course. It's a piece of cake.

-

The next day, after confidently making that declaration—Azel greets me with a terrifying look as I visit the temple again.

Azel: Hey… I told you not to betray me, didn't I?

Emma: …Yes.

Azel: You also said, "It's a piece of cake," didn't you?

Emma: …Yes.

Azel: Then let me ask you—

Azel: …What is that state you're in?

Emma: I'm the one who wants to ask that!

Azel looks down on me as I kneel on the ground, my breath hitching just from standing.

A sweet, heavy scent rising from my skin gradually increases my body heat. It's something different from the heat I felt when I was exhausted from running errands the other day, something that's eating away at my mind and body.

(I had a bad feeling about this ever since I was on my way here…)

*flashback*

Azel: Be careful with your belongings from tomorrow onwards. You never know where they might plant aphrodisiacs.

*back to present*

(...That's a harsh joke.)

Azel: Any ideas?

His star-filled eyes are cold enough to blow away the desert heat, and that in turn cools my head.

Emma: Come to think of it…

*earlier*

Aisha: Good morning, Lady Emma. How about this outfit for today?

Aisha: Since you're in Tanzanite, please enjoy our country's fashionable attire.

Nadia: And we've prepared this perfume for you today.

Nadia: It might be a bit too sweet at first, but the scent will mellow out over time.

Aisha & Nadia: "Now, let's get you ready."

*back to present*

Emma: Before I left… It might be the perfume the maids prepared for me.

(I had the same breakfast as Clavis and Luke, so it can't be that.)

Since I told the maids my schedule for the day, they must have known I was going to see Azel.

(I didn't feel anything immediately after it was applied, so maybe it was slow-acting… I didn't know such aphrodisiacs existed.)

Azel: Perfume is an aphrodisiac for beginners. Why do you fall for such an obvious trap?

Emma: …I didn't think they would actually put it in the perfume!

Emma: To begin with, I've never used or even seen an aphrodisiac, so I don't know what it's like…

Azel: Huh? You've never seen one in your life?

Emma: Of course not!

Azel: There are people like that?

(Is that something to be surprised about…?)

Azel looks genuinely surprised, not as if he's joking.

(I think anyone would be unfamiliar with aphrodisiacs if they live a normal life.)

(But maybe aphrodisiacs are something Azel is familiar with.)

(…Judging from his attitude, it doesn't seem like he uses them willingly…)

(I'm starting to feel sorry for him.)

Azel: Don't look at me like that, don't pity me, it makes me want to cry.

Emma: S-sorry…

Emma: Is there, like, an antidote for this?

Azel: No. We just have to wait for it to wear off.

Azel: But fortunately, it doesn't seem to be that strong.

Azel: It's rare to see a woman this unsexy even after being given an aphrodisiac.

Emma: That last part was unnecessary.

Azel: How honest.

(...Even if the effect is weak, my body feels strange.)

I don't know much about aphrodisiacs, but I do know what kind of effects they have.

The heat generated just from my clothes rubbing against my skin is enough to make me feel ashamed.

On top of that, the outfit the maids prepared for me, while covering my legs with a long skirt, is similar to a dancer's costume that boldly exposes my chest and stomach, which makes me want to cry even more.

(If I had known I was drugged, I wouldn't have come today…)

I'm not in any condition to walk back to the castle through the desert, so I grip my clothes tightly to hold back my tears.

Azel: …I do feel bad about this.

Emma: …? Did you just say—

Emma: Wait… What are you doing!?

Suddenly, Azel lifts me up roughly like a piece of luggage, throws me over his shoulder, and starts walking.

Azel: If this continues, you'll be attacked.

Emma: Huh!?

Azel: I'll teach you how to deal with being given an aphrodisiac… for a fee.

.

.

.

Chapter 7

If you’d like to support my translations, feel free to buy me a coffee here! :)

[desired-misery]

[This conversation is a major wip, but it is happening while the BSAA is trying to coordinate a medical evac for Leon.]

Piers settles next to Leon. Leon’s eyes open the tiniest sliver to glance at him before closing again. Still conscious, somehow.

“Hm?” is all Leon gets out as a question, so Piers makes an assumption about what he is asking about.

“We're trying to figure out how to handle this,” Piers says. “It's a logistical issue.”

Leon briefly glances at him, clearly costing him a significant amount of effort. “... why?”

“Apparently there is a pretty big risk of killing you if we move you at all.”

Leon closes his eyes again. “Is there really?”

Piers shrugs. “Don't know the specifics or the logic behind it, but the knife might be in just the right spot right now to keep you from bleeding out. And moving you at all might change that.”

“Hm.” Leon is quiet for a moment. “So… I'm gonna sit here until what? Forever?”

“No,” Piers says, studying Chris’ back. Chris is exceptionally tense, forcing himself to stay still even though what Chris really wants to do is pace. But there are people here to see that, so Chris is restraining himself. “We'll have to take that chance.”

“Okay,” Leon says immediately, easily.

…

Surely Leon isn't scared of dying, but Piers wonders what he thinks about it.

“I can hear you thinking, Piers. What?”

Piers hesitates, reconsiders, then reconsiders again. He takes a breath. “Are you religious?”

That prompts Leon’s eyes to open again, just for a second. His smirk is too brief to be interpreted. “Nope.”

Interesting. Piers doesn't know if he is— he thinks he isn't, but maybe if he was dying, he'd be thinking differently. What is that saying? No one is an atheist in a fox hole?

“Why?” Leon asks.

Piers shrugs. “Just wondering.”

“What about you?” Leon asks.

Piers does not wince. “Grew up Christian. Don't know anymore.”

“Ah. Same, but Catholic.”

Piers is surprised. After hearing that steady, unbothered refusal, he wasn't expecting Leon to say that.

Leon then smiles again, this time with an edge to it. “What, were you trying to figure out if it was a waste of effort praying for me?”

“No.” Piers says, defensive. Startled by the flash of guilt to realize that no, he didn't have that urge at all. His mother would be ashamed of him.

“Just wondering. In case—”

Leon's eye roll barely qualifies as one, but the emotion is enough. “Don't have to do shit with me if I die. Fuck, just toss me into a pit or something. Or leave me here. Doesn't matter to me, I'll be dead.”

Piers twitches reflexively at the thought of treating anyone's remains like that.

Leon’s lip pulls back to show teeth. “Oh, so you're at least agnostic, then?”

“You're not?”

“The only higher power I believe in is the US Government— and they can't do shit about me if I'm dead.”

Piers didn't realize that kind of talk would bother him— not until Leon is sitting next to him, dying, saying things Piers’ mom would consider blasphemous.

Piers looks away. “That's… grim.”

“It's the truth. One I know for a fact. Everything else is… speculation.”

“So you don't believe in an afterlife?”

There is that sharp smile again, as if Piers is being funny.

“Nope. Death ain't nothing but the end.”

…

“Are you scared?”

“No, Piers.” Leon says, soft and low. “Just tired.”

“You're not worried at all? Not even a little?”

“Not about dying.”

...

Piers is standing there to meet him, half-blocking the way to where Leon is—

“I can do it, Chris—”

“No, I will.”

Piers’ frown is unsteady. He has had less practice than Chris has; Chris won't make him to spare his own feelings. But when Chris steps past, Piers follows. A few strides behind, but still he follows. Chris does not have it in him to tell Piers not to.

It is part of the job. That's how it is. Eventually, something is going to take you out—

And classic Leon, not going down without a fight. Chris should expect nothing less. He counts seven BOWs in the hallway leading up to where Jacob is standing with two others from Bravo. They are in a rough semi-circle facing the body slumped against the wall, wedged against a beat up locker. Chris has to step over three more BOWs piled at the body's feet—

Chris hears his breath catch in his chest despite trying to prepare for it, for seeing familiar dirty blond bangs obscuring Leon’s face. His head is tilted down, knees to his chest, one arm in his lap. He is wearing dark clothes— nondescript combat gear, rare for Leon. All the good that did him.

“Damn it,” Chris breathes. As he kneels, he taps his earpiece to switch back to Hunnigan’s line. Kneeling doesn't give him much better view of Leon’s face, but that's him. Dried blood covering his chin, from—

Fucking christ, there is something sticking out of his chest— body armor, Leon was even wearing body armor this time and it still didn’t save him. Dark, patterned. Knife handle. BOWs don't use knives—

“Poor bastard got stabbed. Still went down swinging,” Jacob says, somber and reverent.

“Captain?” Hunnigan prompts in Chris’ silence.

“... we found him, Hunnigan. He— he didn't make it.”

Her silence only lasts a few seconds.

“You checked for a pulse?”

Chris takes a breath. “No, he's—”

“Check.”

Chris winces. “Hunnigan, he won't—”

“Confirm for me, Captain Redfield.” Her voice is flat but still strong. Better than what Chris can manage right now.

It must be standard operating procedure for her. Chris swallows. “Yes, ma’am.”

He pulls off one of his gloves, scanning over Leon’s body again. No other major injuries he can see. Other than the knife to the chest. It is a little left of center— when did someone have time to stab him in the middle of all of these BOWs? Unless Leon had been stabbed earlier and it took a while to bleed out. God, what a way to go.

Still, Chris is very glad he isn't infected. It is not a fate he wishes upon anyone. Taking another steadying breath, Chris presses two fingers to Leon’s neck.

Leon twitches. His hand jerks—

And Leon’s bloody handgun, drawn from his lap, presses into Chris’ throat as the trigger is squeezed by a red-stained finger.

[ducky531]

Here's your daily set of head canons for Whitebeard's crew! :3 (Especially since either have been in need of something comfort/fluffy wise to cope with irl stuff ;v;)

~•^°^•~•^°^•~•^°^•~•^°^•~

-Rakuyo is an Uta fan. In a perfect world where none of the crew dies/disbands, he actually saves his money up to take himself and all of the commanders (or his entire division if the others get fed up hearing him rant about her music) to one of her concerts.

-In continuation of the concert hc, Rakuyo also developed his liking in flashy outfits/jewelry from competing against other super fans (*coughs* bepo *coughs*) in the way of attire. He just happened to find out during one of the concerts that it also distracts Marco as well.

-Kingdew, Atmos, Blenheim, and Fossa all have gambling nights every third Saturday where they play for actual money. They usually don't let anyone else usually join them after Blamenco secretly kept sneaking coins and was putting them in his pockets and Haruta ran out of money and substituted his bets with I.O.U notes.

-Speaking of Haruta, he's TERRIBLE with money. And not by a little, lol. After the poker incident, and after three years of him getting the allotted amount of money for him and his division to share 'stolen' or 'lost', eventually his division did rat him out for making terrible purchases. (It was all for mostly gag items or clothes that none of them really needed-)

-Namur actually has a similar incident that Brook and his crew had with Laboon. After saving a seal from being hunted by humans, every so often a small group will occasionally spend a few days swimming next to the Moby. No one knows about this or why it happens since this was something that went on before he joined them. (And Stefan usually does get VERY jealous when this happens since most of the crew is paying attention to them instead of him, lol.)

-Marco has an odd taste in women. Unlike Thatch who's more predictable in the body type he prefers, Marco has specific qualities/ personalities that he likes. He can pick up on whether someone is being genuine or not, and most of the time will turn women away when he knows what they're after. It's only far and few in between the type of women he turns away that he'll actually give them a chance. ( A bit more depth: he prefers women who are more 'bratty' or bashful/timid. Although he see pride as something important in everyday work, he doesn't see it as important in relationships...if that makes sense-)

-Following that up, Thatch and Ace have similar tastes in women as one another. Both of them like women who play hard-to-get, or women who are openly kind whether they're shy or bold. However, their taste in body types are different. Ace prefers women who are more muscular, or are taller. Why? He feels like they'll at least be safe without him around. Thatch, however, does prefer curvier/chubbier women. Why? Because he's a HUGE cuddler, and he loves having something to hold. (Atmos, Curiel, and Rakuyo also have the same taste in body types as Thatch.)

-The nurses on the ship were specifically picked based on each crew member's type in women so none of the crew members would be tempted to try and hit on them. Even more so, at least three of them are actual biological siblings to a few of the men on board.

-Speed Jill, Rakuyo, Izo, and Namur do try to request off days with the nurses. Why? They enjoy they relax days they have, and so long as they're with them, they won't get teased about wanting to relax/ have a spa day.

-A third of the crew showers daily, the rest of them are either every other day/ every two to three days, or once a week/ once every other week. Among the few who shower daily are Thatch (because garlic, onions, and other unsavory spices aren't exactly something ladies flock to. Plus, he uses an abundance of hair gel in his pompadour, he has to in order to reduce damaging his hair), Haruta- surprisingly-, and Jozu. Most of the other commanders are every couple of days or every other day, Curiel and Ace are the only ones who have to be FORCED to bathe. (Yes, even Blamenco is more hygienic then Ace. You kind of have to be with Mary Poppins tote bag as your DF, lol.)

-Izo is the financial advisor of the ship, and usually is the first to put his foot down if anyone tries to shelter stray animals. Stefan was the only exception since Whitebeard was the one that brought him on board. Everyone else has to turn the animals they find loose on the islands they stop at. Since he manages the money (Thanks to Haruta-) he makes sure there's just enough to get them supplies. The rest of the money goes towards a bail fund if some group or pirates tries to kidnap one of them for ransom (this has actually happened to Blenheim and Fossa before. And surprisingly it wasn't their fault. They were actually kidnapped directly from the ship.)

~•^°^•~•^°^•~•^°^•~•^°^•~•^°^•~

Alright. That's all I have for now. Again, apologies about the one shot never being released. I'll still be working on it, but for now take these as a peace treaty instead! (Hopefully they cheer you up if you're having an off day!)

[sabu123098]

Now that I am free, let me put forth my thoughts on this.

I have been thinking about this since forever so we have two categories of theories with certain sub categories:

1. Assuming Rebecca knows what she is doing:

Now now, Rebecca herself is a person so it's natural for her to make mistakes, especially in her first fantasy series. Assuming that is NOT the case, these are my theories:

A. Remember when Xaden had said that the second year strips your humanity? This is an inclination or a reference to that. Whatever humanity Violet has left, she is losing it. We also know that she is going to go to any lengths to save her loved one, so we have that.

B. The sudden change in Violet's personality from Irom Flame to Onyx Storm wouldn't have made any sense. She is going to wreak havoc (hopefully) and will definitely cross limits in Onyx Storm, but such a huge change has to be gradual. Or else not only Violet but Rebecca and the fans will lose their minds.

C. She is not used to standing up for her loved ones. Can you imagine little Violet standing up for Mira, Brennan, Dain, or anyone for that matter?

Violet has constantly been called weak and fragile in her life that she does not care abt what anyone says. This kind of correlates to the Sorrengail siblings' upbringing in general. They don't stop to give two shits to anyone.

D. She knew Cat was doing this to get a reaction out of her and she'll be damned if she reacts to it. Cat's main target was always Violet, not her sister. By pulling this stunt she wanted to get Violet hated on by majority (many already do Cat, you're a bit too late) because of her family member's actions. The same thing had happened with Imogen who tried to convince Xaden to kill Violet because she was a Sorrengail.

E. Violet being called as empathetic was never by herself. It was always a third person.

Staying in the Rider's Quadrant, people learn to value small gestures. That is what Violet does. Her small gestures never form into a big act because she only does it for her loved ones. That's why she is said to be empathetic. And to be honest, deep down she is.

2. Assuming Rebecca left a loophole:

A. Rebecca is a romance writer. @ann7av and I had a discussion about it and long story short, Rebecca's main concern is Violet and Xaden. Everyone else is just a side character.

This stands so true considering the fact that we only have the squad throughout the stroy in both books, however some characters appear in the first or the second half.

B. Rebecca's main concern was Violet's annoyance. She showed it. And Catriona is not that big of a deal anymore. So why give her more screen time and waste paper for her?

3. Editor sucks. Rebecca wrote this scene but the editor got it removed because it was slowing the story.

Idk about you but an issue I have with IF is that Violet doesn’t really think that hard about any criticism directed at her family.

Cat asks if Violet wants to talk about the heinous atrocities her family committed after Vi accuses her of being a shallow Pick Me, but this is never really explored. She posts a list of every flier Mira killed and it’s mentioned in such an offhand flippant way, it makes me wonder if Violet actually cares about her sister being a war criminal. I was hoping she’d have a talk with Brennan about his feelings on being “sacrificed” for basically nothing because it’s a sentiment I’ve seen some veterans express irl but they never actually talk on screen and it’s so frustrating.

What are your thoughts on this?

Oh my friend I'm so happy you asked because I have a lot to say about this.

(This is a list of scattered thoughts, please let me know if it makes sense and please know this is a critique of RY's writing and not Violet's moral compass as a character, I love my girl very much)

I had this issue from way back in FW when Lilith pushed Violet into the riders, It would be natural for a child to try and understand why their parent suddenly decided to risk their life in a war college but alas she never thinks about it and we are left with this gigantic "this makes no sense" feeling that progressively gets worse as the story goes.

Then there's rain when she crosses Parapet and yet... no thought on it, Vi? Your mother controls storms? Why aren't you thinking about this?

Lilith asking about her father's research while Aetos asks if Andarna could be used as a study subject and Vi doesn't stop to think WHY would they need it and HOW does it fit with her mother's previous actions?

The GODDAM NOTE inside the book of fables? That later on is revealed to be true? Brennan says he doesn't believe their father knew about Navarre's corruption and Violet never thinks about it or considers it? HOW?

My girl just found out her mother executed a bunch of people who were trying to help another kingdom and she doesn't feel conflicted about it? I was waiting for them to have a screaming match after Athebyne

Cat puts up a list of the fliers Mira killed and I was expecting a line like "It's not like my sister knew she was fighting for the wrong side at the time, she was doing what she was trained to do" but NO.

What also throws me off about this is that, up until this point, Violet is shown being a very empathetic person who really cares about people in general, but she doesn't stop to consider those were Cat's people who died, it was the flier's school that fell and it is their kingdom being attacked (maybe she got desensitized but that feels an easy way out of developing the story)

I could be happy with Violet trying to justify her family's actions to herself because at least it would feel like a natural reaction to have but you're right, the lack of reaction feels like she doesn't care.

She also never stops to have an actual conversation with Mira about any of this for some reason (she barely talks to her sister at all actually), and besides that one talk with Brennan at the beginning of IF there's nothing else that stands out enough for me to remember, which wouldn't be a problem if she had some inner dialogue every now and then, not only about her family and the war crimes but how she feels bout them too.

There are many times when we (the readers) ask questions to try and understand these characters and how they interact with each other, so when those very natural questions like "how do you feel about this?" or "but why would they do that?" are not answered, the entire thing just feels off, and that's not an issue only with the Sorrengails but with most of Violet's relationships.

In FW that's not as big a problem, she has her issues with Dain and is getting to know her squad (Liam specifically) but in IF I was questioning if Xaden dying was that bad of a thing if it meant she would think about literally anything else

To summarize: Violet's family drama could've been a Keeping Up with the Sorrengails level of drama if RY actually did the work to flesh out the dynamic but she didn't bother and chose to rewrite the same Xaden/Violet argument five times

[necrotic-nephilim]

for the ask game

tim creates a clone of kon, but this is dicktim tim has to carry the fetus or breastfeed it, but dick suddenly gets a mommy kink and immediately falls in love

for the ask game!

DICKTIM MOMMY KINK. how did you know i have such a thing for just about any Batcest ship where the other person calls Tim mommy. i don't even know why i just think that shit is so fun.

it'd have to be Omegaverse for me, that's the only scenario i personally could write m-preg. i like the thought of no one knowing that Tim has gone on this crusade. and after 99 failures, Tim's so desperate and angry he tries in vitro fertilization. the first few times it doesn't work so he doesn't take it too seriously, at this point it's just a compulsion. he gets to a point he stops taking the pregnancy tests. so when about a month later, he's experiencing morning sickness and he's missed his heat, Tim has an 'oh, shit.' moment. and well. telling Dick first is his *natural* answer. (i think he'd also go to Steph, but in canon she'd be "dead" at this point) Tim doesn't know what to do, he didn't think he'd get this far. Dick is comforting and grounding, agreeing to help Tim hide this the best he can. Tim has to time it right, fake a bad injury so it makes sense he's benched and wearing baggy sweaters for a few months.

it's platonic at first. Dick is an alpha but his bond with Tim is more of a pack bond and he's just trying to help Tim through this awkward situation he got himself into. (and not laugh at him too much in the process bc well. only Tim. only Tim could manage this.) the pregnancy hormones have Tim all over the place. he's seeking comfort and Dick is trying to keep it platonic and professional, even when he's cuddling Tim or bringing him weird cravings at 2 am. the trust in Dick and Tim's bond makes Dick Tim's only real support system. (also just bc the Titans were a goddamn mess in this era) maybe at some point they tell Bruce the truth but Bruce is dealing with Jason so. bigger fish. it forces them closer as Dick is the only one who can help Tim with the awkward sides of pregnancy. Dick is basically living with Tim and because Tim can't satiate the itch to be in the field (he's tried sneaking out, it earned him a lecture from Dick and a warning that Dick would handcuff him to the radiator if Tim tried that again) so Tim runs comms. for anyone who asks, but mostly for Dick, to the point he's in Dick's ear even when Dick doesn't need the backup, just to keep each other company.

i think, as the pregnancy went on and Tim's chest started to fill out and his hips are bigger, that's when Dick's feeling shift. one second Tim is just his pack, the next Tim is suddenly a very pretty, very vulnerable omega that's Dick is protecting and his wires get all kinds of crossed about it. he starts dousing himself in scent blockers so Tim doesn't notice the change, can't smell how much Dick wants him. which makes Tim annoyed because Dick's scent has been a consistent calming factor keeping the worst of his hormones in check. it'd lead to an awkward fight where Dick is dancing around the truth and Tim just wants to bite him out of anger. finally, Dick admits it and. Tim kind of bluescreens bc sure he's had a crush on Dick for years, but it's sort of like your celebrity crush calling you up and asking for a date. it makes no sense and he can't wrap his head around it. he almost thinks Dick is making fun of him, because Tim is super self-conscious about the pregnancy and mortified he put himself in this situation. it takes a lot of reassurance and a long conversation, but. well, they do end up having sex.

Dick doesn't *mean* to call Tim mommy the first time. he knows Tim hates being emasculated as an omega, and knows Tim is vulnerable about being pregnant. their sex is gentle, no matter how much Tim insists he can take it because Dick doesn't want to hurt the baby, or Tim. it's when Tim finally huffs with annoyance and flips them over -reminding Dick that Tim is still trained and deadly, even like this- to take control and actually get the rough sex he needs right now, when it slips out. there's something just very pretty about Tim taking control and taking what he needs from Dick, but still being whiny and squirmy on top of him. so the first time Dick calls him mommy is an accident and they're *both* startled by just how much they like it. their sex life goes from soft and caring to *very* interesting overnight, where Dick doesn't hide how much he likes Tim's chest. and well. breastfeeding kink. for completely scientific reasons, of course. just to help the milk flow and make sure Tim's body is adjusting well. definitely not bc of the noises Tim makes when Dick does it no sir.

when Tim finally has the clone baby, they're both smitten with this tiny clone. i think they'd end up mating and either say it's Dick's baby or they adopted it. (the lie only works short term bc well, sooner or later that baby's going to start lifting trucks. not to mention Kon does come back to life and is perturbed by how much Tim's kid looks like him.) it's a very cute, fluffy happily ever after sort of deal, with plenty of mommy kink. i think Tim would be huffy and annoyed at how long he'd have to wait for sex bc in my mind, Tim uses sex as a stress relief and is very annoyed when he's deprived of it so, they'd find creative ways around it.