#doesn't she look so sinister and precious? ^ ^

[loverofthewindgod]

This was a really great picrew! Dia looks absolutely BEAUTIFUL!! Here's a Gothic Sienna for y'all! Fell HARD for these two designs so I had to post them both!

Tagging: @ninibear3000, @vivilovespink, @scentedcandleibex, @huepazu, @roofgeese, @theelderhazelnut, and anyone else Interested! ^_^

I find this gothic meiker! I made Aliyaa and Scylla, I must say, I love the results~ 🥰🥰😍❤️🖤

@saito-mitsuko @lorabeyc @melissalix @lisadelise @lianecamoufle @monapome @mollyb9 @kyd35 @noelle9 @florafoom @alexapenz

[pedge-page]

does tommy ever feel the wrath of joel’s pregnant wife or does she reserve that specifically for joel? I feel like tommy would get on her nerves a little bit 😂

I was waiting for someone to ask this! Tbh I think preggo wife saves her wrath for Joel simply because shes comfortable with him and can relax and let her guard down. With Tommy alone....

Tommy Dealing with Preggo Wife

Warnings: just language and Joel and Wife being insecure in their own (slightly toxic) ways

- - - -

You were super pregnant at this point. A couple weeks away from making Joel a doting husband to a doting father, and he was probably more on edge than you were. Your anxious little poor husband Joel, freaking out that he needed to take a weekend trip away, and the only person he can rely to watch over you--

"I don't need to be fucking baby sat--!"

-- his sweet, helpless, innocent little pregnant wife, is unfortunately, Tommy.

"Ok listen very carefully," Joel starts, now having Tommy's full attention like he's about to ask him to do his first heart transplant. "She doesn't go anywhere unless you decide. She eats what you put in front of her, and you don't take her shit. She's gonna be bitchy and whiny and crying. She needs to rest. Rub her shoulder, put her feet up, whatever. But you gotta tough through and just make sure she understands that you're in charge. And what you say, goes. Got it?"

He knows Joel is relying on him to take care of his most precious belonging...who also is the devil. "Ok...ok. I mean it's like a... like watching a toddler, right?" Tommy asks, unsure about the whole thing.

"Yeah... a pregnant one that weighs more than ya and swears and probably will slap you a lot."

Joel smacks Tommy's shoulder lovingly with an encouraging smile.

Tommy feels even more hesitant. but he knows that he just needs to channel his inner Joel this weekend: stern, unmoving, and commanding, and he'll do just fine navigating you.

Joel hugs you real tight and kisses your forehead, inhaling your hair deeply as if to etch it into his brain. "I love you, baby, I'm gonna miss you so--"

"Later fucker." you pat his bum and wave him off as you waddle away in his large T shirt towards the freezer drawer, pulling out a Ben and Jerry's fudge pint with wet lips and a grin.

Tommy shrugs and helps Joel out to the truck with his bag. he waves goodbye as his brother backs out the driveway, shouting "YOU'RE IN CHARGE!"

I'm in charge, I'm in charge, he chants to himself, taking a deep breath before entering your house again.

"Alright!" he claps his hands together awkwardly but with a tone leadership. "We are going to stay in bed today,"

"Mall," you grump though a big scoop of ice cream.

"W-what?"

"M'goin ta mall. Yur takin mee," you nod towards him casually, gulping another spoon.

"uhh-h." Tommy looks around anxiously. Was this part of the test? He should put his foot down, yeah, Joel said you go no where unless Tommy explicitly said so. "N-no."

you swallow. "'Scuse me?"

"N-no? I mean... no! I said, we are putting you in bed, and what i say, go--"

"Thomas Miller," you say, and an eerie sense of fear swallows Tommy, sending shivers all over his body. Despite the 90 degree forecast, its like someone just tossed his insides into a freezer, and you were locking him in.

"Y-yes...maam," he whispers, feeling small.

"We can either do this... the hard way," you tilt your head with a sinister gaze towards him, as if referencing that bit of "Joel" he's trying to channel inside. "Or, we can do this... my way." The way you smile at the end is somehow even more threatening than the chilled tone you're having with him.

It was like when he and Joel broke his grandma's vase, and rather than yelling at them, she had the exact same terrifyingly threatening voice, and it made Tommy sleep with one eye open for a week.

"What will it be, Thomas."

He remembers to breathe shakily through his nose, licking his parched lower lip.

He doesn't want to be known as the guy who got beat up by his pregnant sister in law.

-

"Do you want a pretzel?" you ask kindly.

"Ah... no--no that's okay--"

"I'm getting you one, honey, just say Thank you."

"Okay. T-thank you."

Tommy bites into the cinnamon sugar one with the extra glaze you had ordered, and he had never felt such sweet heaven.

"Joel used to yell at me for my sweet tooth," he admits as the two of you stuff your faces and waltz slowly down the mall halls.

"Me too!" you bump his shoulder heartily.

Tommy lets out a relaxed sigh. From the moment he agreed to do whatever it was you wanted, the weekend had been fantastic. Turns out, you're not only super fun to blast kareoke to the worst songs in the car, but also all full of warmth, laughter, and even more suprisingly, extremely generous at offering to spoil him rotten like a mother with her favorite child.

"What can I make you for dinner?"

"Wha--no I'm supposed to cook for you--"

"Tommy stop please. I want to make you something. You have to be stuck with me all day walking like a slow penguin. I want to do something for you. You deserve it. "

You hadn't noticed Tommy pausing along your walk, watching you in awe as you waddled about, gently caressing your tummy absentmindedly as you window shopped.

This was the demon that Joel complained about every hour of the day???

And even more concerning was: how did someone like JOEL manage to score a girl like YOU???

You were so peaceful, generous, kind, loving, all smiles and willing to take care of him.

Was he doing everything right or everything wrong?

The two of you return home, with Tommy hauling more gifts that you had bought him. He really wasn't able to protest, with you somehow disappearing from sight conveniently, to his horror that he somehow lost you like a puppy in the park, and then finding you suddenly swiping your card at a register.

He should feel bad, truly, but you were just in such a good mood, he didn't want to seem ungrateful. And he also.... really liked all of it.

"Oh these are so fuckin nice!" He cheers, pulling out the new sneakers you had just bought in it's wrapping paper. "Mine are--"

"Old and ratty, yes I know that's why I bought them. Sick of your nasty shoes trailing my house--"

"S-sorry--"

"Bought you some fuzzy slippers too so you can switch out when you come in."

"Im not really a slippers guy..."

"You are now."

You ended up making a quick spaghetti, slapping him away every time he tried to hover in the kitchen. "I wanna stand! good exercise!" you nod with a smile.

And it seemed like you meant it. Despite babyzilla cooking and ready to burst out, you were light on your feet in the kitchen. Like a ballerina dancing and swaying, you hummed to a tune in your head as you tasted the sauce on the spatula. You were in the zone, in your world. and it was genuinely... beautiful. He understood it now, when people say pregnant women glow. the entire time, Joel always said you did, but he only ever saw how tired the pregnancy made the both of you.

Was... Joel the problem?

After a hearty dinner, Tommy washed up the dishes. You said your goodnights and headed to your master bedroom, tucked in, and lights off just as Tommy gathered his pillows down the hall in the guest bedroom.

He sighs, laying on his belly and inhaling the fresh linen before closing his eyes.

Not more than a few moments pass before he hears some sniffles down the hall. Then again, a cough and whine.

He sits up and heads down to your room, the door cracked and dark. he flips the light switch on to see you sitting upright in your bed, rubbing your eyes.

"You okay?" he asks softly.

"M'good!" you give him two thumbs up. "Night!"

He nods and flips the switch off again, turning away. he doesn't make it two steps before he hears your unmistakable crying.

He turns the lights back on to see you wiping fat tears from your cheeks, sobbing into your shirt--Joel's shirt.

"Hey...what's wrong? Are you okay? ya in pain? What can I--"

You pull your face up, lips trembling and all tear soaken. He sees your clutching one of Joel's jackets in your hands, wrapped tightly like you don't want it to leave you. A completely emotional mess as you huff and puff.

He puts the pieces together. "Ya miss Joel, don't you--"

"I MISS HIMMMMMM!!!!!!!!" you wail, erupting into a long cry into the air with slunked shoulders and larger tears strolling down from the creases of your closed eyes.

He tightens his lips awkwardly, not wanting to let out a chuckles. Turns out big scary pregnant "later fucker" wife really did love that dumbass. Its also probably the first time he sees bags under your eyes, like you were hiding your exhaustion. When Joel is around, you almost never looked tired. Just pouty and groutchy like a spoiled senior cat.

Maybe Joel wasnt the problem, but the solution. He knew how to take care of you, knew what you needed when you needed it, knew when to put his foot down, and even when hed watch you two bicker and bitch, joel knew exactly how to get you in bed wrapped around him like gumby. Every. Single. Night.

He rubs your arm soothingly.

"Why"-hiccup--"did he"--sniffle--"leave me!"

"He aint leave ya, just had some work."

"HE HATES ME!!!!!!!!!"

He shakes his head, knowing you're inconsolable. rather than trying to reason, he brings you to his shoulder so you can cry your heart out on him as he hugs you. "There there," he hums, swaying you two side to side.

like a crying toddler indeed.

"M'sorry," you whimper, rubbing your eyes with your balled fists. "Wakin' you up, me crying like this. I can't--I can't help it some times..." your voice waivers, face warm in embarrassment that you're burdening Tommy so much.

"Don't sweat it. You did a lot today. Can I get you anything to cheer you up?" he suggests, expecting a trip down to the freezer for a nice tub of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cr--

"Can you get the jar of pickles?"

That...is fine too.

He brings up the largest jar of dill pickles he's ever seen in his life, sets them in your lap. He pops open the sturdy lid for your eager fingers to pull a long dill out and slink it into your lips. the satisfying crunch echoes in the room as you munch.

You start crying again. "I Fucking HATE Pickles!" you groan angrily before taking another generous crunch with a confusingly delightful hum. "Like--I hate it, but they're good?"

He chuckles, taking a piece. He pauses, eying you fearfully as if he made a wrong move not asking your permissions to take one of your hated yet coveted pickles. You nod, and the two of you crunch down on the peculiar snack.

"It's probably from the baby..."

"Fuckin' weirdo." you pat the rounded hump of your tummy and swallow the rest of your slice. Though, the way you stroke along the skin so delicately with a little smirk, he knows you're already in love with your "fuckin weirdo" baby more than anyone could love anything in this world.

Tommy never really thought about the word "uncle" until this moment, and the first emotion he has to associate it with, is excitement.

"Mkay. I'm done now." You hold the jar out to him so he can close it. "Thank you, Tommy," you say sweetly with the gentlest, sleepiest smile. "I really appreciate it."

THIS IS THE ANGEL JOEL HAS THE NERVES TO COMPLAIN ABOUT????

He swears, if Joel comes back and calls him up later saying how insufferable you are, he may just have to size up and smack his big brother.

Tommy pats your head, tucks you in again and turns of the lights.

-

The next day you make Tommy take you to breakfast and get him as many pancakes and French toast he can stuff his face with. A spoiled little brother indeed, and as he swallows another lump of the best breakfast eggs he's ever had, he wonders how sweet life would have been with a big sister like you spoiling him every day instead of Joel making him do chores and shit.

Its not until Joel is meeting the two of you at a lunch spot that Tommy remembers exactly what Joel always groans about.

"Hi baby!" He grins, rushing to give you a big hug for the first time in two days.

And despite your crying for him last night, you only retort with "sup fucker" casually and near bored, as if you weren't sniffing his jacket and Wagging your imaginary tail in disguise.

Joel purses his lips sarcastically, knowing you mean well, and Tommy laughs. You two definitely understood each other way better than he thought.

"Im gonna wash my hands, you two get a table," Joel says, and disappears down the back entrance.

Your waitress greets you just as Tommy is helping you slide down into the booth, big baby belly and all.

"Just three waters, please,"

"And a pepsi! Lots of ice. Two pepsis actually. And bread. And maybe like uh milkshake to start off?--"

The waitress glances at Tommy with a raised brow, wondering if you're genuine or not. He shrugs and nods, noting "she's pretty far along if ya can tell."

"My older sister was the same way. I'll get that in. You two...sorry I shouldn't say it but you two make a cute couple--" she says kindly.

Unfortunately, its exactly at the same Joel returns and hears that last bit, directed towards you and Tommy.

She walks away just as you catch Joels bewildered expression, conveniently with Tommy's hand on your bump and another around your lower back (supporting you into the booth of course but JOEL doesn't see it that way with this new context).

You and Tommy open your mouths to dismiss the claim and misunderstanding, but ever defensive Joel just shoves Tommy aside, slides into your booth next to you and slams your hand into his lap, his bear paws enclosed around yours. Tommy quietly slides into the opposite end, met with Joels flaring nostrils and billowing steam coming out of them.

The younger Miller realizes that slapping some sense into Joel and "sizing him up" was a total pipe dream. He'd be lucky to live long enough to an uncle at this point.

You gotta defend your poor brother in law. "The waitress just saw--"

"Cute couple, huh," he seethe with gritted teeth his entire seething focus at Tommy rather than paying any mind to you.

"Joel stop, Tommy was REALLY great to me this weekend--"

"Oh I BET he was," he grunts, turning towards you with a scowl. "S'that why he got new shoes on?" Joel damn well knows Tommy didn't just pony up and buy new shit for himself this weekend, given he refuses to buy himself anything new for years past it's expiration.

Tommy knows he's never allowed to baby sit you alone again at this rate.

"She was crying last night saying how much she missed ya," Tommy blurts.

You kick his shin under the table, not wanting to let Joel know what a pathetic groveling mess--

"Wait really!?" he nuzzles closer to your, as if all the anger in his body dissipated at the notion his poor little wife was calling out for her hubby.

Tommy chuckles and nods. "We shared some pickles in bed, ain't that right?"

You slap your face just as Joel rears his once again flaring red face towards Tommy. "You did WHAT in WHERE????"

- - - -

@harriedandharassed @lola8888673 @its-nebuleuse @zliteraturehoe @merz-8 @joeldjarin @pascalscoffin @pedroshotwifey @ghostslillady @innerpersonunknown @missladym1981 @mrsoharaxx @survivingandenduring @milla-frenchy @cockykookiee @fairytale07 @daddy-din @pedropascalsbbg @spookyxsam @somehopeatlast @millercontracting @pedrostories @mishala005 @theoraekenslover @animez96 @not-a-unique-snowflake-blog @puduvallee @cassiecasluciluce @loohoop @himboelover @callsignwidow @wintersquirrel @fluffygoffpanda @picketniffler @bbyanarchist

[cocosparkel]

Curiosity killed the cat (but satisfaction brought it back)

Chapter 1

Summary-

When Marinette finds out that she is adopted, she tracks down her Biological aunt. Who happens to live Gotham, the place she swore she wouldn't go. Well, Gotham just gained a new vigilante -Chaos.

next>>

CHAPTER 1: REVELATIONS

The day Marinette found out she was adopted, her life changed completely.

It started like a normal day.

She entered the kitchen. “Maman ?” She asked. Her mother was crying over a photo. When she noticed Marinette, she quickly wiped her tears and hid the photo under a book.

“Marinette…” she said with a shaky smile.

“Maman, are you okay ?”Marinette asked, stepping into the room “What was in that photo ?”

“Nothing, Marinette, I'm fine.” Sabine abruptly stood up and left the room.

“Okay maman…” Marinette whispered as Sabine was leaving the room, loud enough for her to hear it.

Just as Marinette was about to leave too, confused about the entire thing, something caught her eye. It was another photo, which had fallen on the floor. Hesitating, she eventually picked it up. The photo was that of a baby. She had big blue eyes, and black hair, with a beautiful smile. Flipping the photo, Marinette saw a familiar handwriting at the bottom corner.

Bridgette Liu Dupain-cheng, our precious baby.

Confused, Marinette kept the photo with her, deciding to ask her parents later.

______________________________________________________________

At dinner, Marinette finally asked the one question in her mind. “Maman, papa, who is this ?” She showed them the photo she had found early.

Sabine dropped her knife and Tom looked stunned.

Snapping out of her reverie, Sabine said “Oh Marinette, we hoped this day would never come….”

Marinette swallowed, losing her appetite immediately.

“We were going to tell you when you were 13, but then Hawkmoth appeared, and we didn't want to overwhelm you, and we just– we love you Marinette, and it doesn't matter if… if you're…if you're…” Sabine looked at Tom, unable to complete her sentence.

But Marinette bet them to it. “ I'm adopted, amn't I ?”

Sabine started sobbing, and Tom put a comforting hand around her.

He sighed,” Marinette, we are your godparents. Our own daughter, Bridgette passed just a year before we adopted you. Your mother was a very close friend of ours, and she left us with you.”

Sabine gave her a watery smile,“We love you, Marinette that will never change.”

Marinette stood “ Thanks for finally telling me the truth Maman, Papa.”

She fled to her room.

______________________________________________________________

Her parents had given her her original birth certificate that night.

Her name had been Marie Kyle - Draper. Her mother's name was Diane Kyle, and her father's name was Richard Draper.

She looked them up in every possible website, but the only thing she found was an article.

Last saturday night, a young couple who were later identified as Richard and Diane draper were found dead in an alley near Robinson park. Richard had been shot straight on the head,whereas Diane had taken a bullet through her stomach. While it looks like a mugging attempt which led to their demise, the GPD suspect something more sinister. The GPD have promised to get to the bottom of this.

Finding out just what happened to her parents made her uneasy, especially when she realised that the place they died was Gotham, the very place where her grandmother Felicie had been murdered.

______________________________________________________________

Walking into class, Marinette was still in a daze about what had happened the day before. She was so lost in thought, that she didn't notice the glares her classmates were giving her.

"How could you, girl ? We all trusted you so much !” Alya shouted, as Marinette went to sit beside her.

"Alya what do you mean ? I don't get it ?” Marinette asked, confused.

“Look I get that you don't like Lila but that doesn't mean you can insult her when all she's done is be nice to you.” Kim said, as everyone agreed with him.

"What? I still don't understand-’’ M asked looking around. Her eyes fell on Lila who seemed to be crying.

"So you're saying you didn't tell lila that she will never be Adrien’s friend ? Or that Ladybug doesn't really like her ?” Alya snapped.

“I never said that!” Marinette exclaimed, realising what was happening.

“And who would have sent her these messages from your phone ?” Sneered Kim.

“ Those were taken out of context.” Marinette said, shaking her head.

"Sure…” Alya looked at her, and lowered her voice and said, “Look all you have to do is apologise to her… and understand that Adrien may not want to be with you and-”

“Alya what makes you think I still like Adrien” Marinette asked, getting annoyed.

"Come on girl, I'm your best friend.” Alya said rolling her eyes.

“You haven't been my best friend in months! You haven't properly talked to me, insulted me when I forgave Chloe and even ditched me for Lila many times.” Marinette shouted, done with her friends, no ex friends stupidity.

“Marinette, you know it's not like that…” Alya said, in a condescending tone.

"No Alya, I'm done. With all of you.” With that, Marinette stormed to the back of the class, and sat next to a stunned looking Chloe. She had made up her mind about what she was going to do.

______________________________________________________________

Ever since she found out that she was adopted, things had been tense with her parents. She walked into the bakery, determined to put this behind her.

“Marinette ! Could you.. could you help me with making the decorations for this cake ?” Sabine asked hesitantly.

"Sure thing Maman” Marinette said, a small smile on her face.

So what if she was adopted? Her parents still wanted her, still cared for her. She wasn't going to let anything ruin her family life, like the way she let Lila ruin her friendships.

______________________________________________________________

( what do you think ??? Is it nice ???? Is it boring ??? Is it cool ???? Is it horrible????)

next>>

[krakensdottir]

Fav Aziraphale Moments in S2

Okay, I admit, I'm more of a Crowley blogger. He's my blorbo. But you literally can't love him without loving his other half. It's time to show some Aziraphale appreciation.

In no particular order, here are things Aziraphale did in S2 that made my jaw drop / breathing stop / otherwise really stuck with me:

Cradling the jar

Who would've thought hugging a jar of formaldehyde with a tumor floating in it could be heartbreaking? The look on Aziraphale's face when he learns it came from a young child, one that couldn't be saved, and the way his body language shifts as he tucks the jar close and precious against his chest, trying too late to protect it... Listen, I have really stubborn tear ducts, the final scene of S2 didn't make me cry (though it made a valiant effort), but I teared up at this.

Standing up to Crowley in the Job flashback

Really, the entire Job flashback is 10/10 for both of them. But Aziraphale especially shines when he steps in front of Crowley and says 'Tell me you want this.' They've only met a handful of times since the Fall at best, but Aziraphale is confident enough to call him out. And he doesn't falter or hesitate about it, either. He gets right up in the demon's face and makes him say it. Makes him lie outright that he wants to hurt anyone.

And then, of course, in front of the children, Aziraphale - no longer asking, now absolutely certain he's right - steps into Crowley's space again, looks him dead in his sinister eyes, and says he's dead sure those children are safe. Buddy, I had chills.

SPEAKING of chills...

I didn't know his voice could go that deep (Furfur scene)

Okay, I actually knew Michael Sheen could sound like that. But I admit, I 100% did not expect to hear it come out of Aziraphale. In the form of his own name, no less. I guess that's what happens when someone threatens Crowley right in front of him.

The sassy eyebrow

We've all talked about this but it's never a bad time to bring it up again. Shax really says 'You don't seem like his type' and Aziraphale's eyebrow says 'Honey you have no idea' right back at her. She can pry at his defenses in a lot of ways, but making him doubt his importance to Crowley is clearly not one of them. And that's really good to know.

Telling both demons and angels to fuck off

I was already giddy from seeing him go full Protective Principality at a horde of demons, but telling off the Archangels took it to a new level. He has had ENOUGH. Screw the angelic hierarchy, this is his bookshop and he's done. (Crowley giving him that oh-so-proud smile through the window without Az even knowing it was the icing on the cake. Yeah Crowley, I feel exactly the same.)

Honorable mention, again from the Job flashback: when Crowley says 'See you in Hell' and Aziraphale, instead of hesitating or having a crisis over it, defiantly sinks his teeth into the ox ribs again, tearing out another hunk of flesh. There's such a mood of 'Fuck it then, if this damns me I might as well enjoy it.' Fuck yeah, Aziraphale.

[mamiya-a]

Playing dangerous

Mother Miranda/reader

Warning for explicit content.

Chapter 13: Birthday surprise

Summary:

Good luck trying to find out Miranda's age. (She doesn't know it herself)

You don't think that something so insignificant and easily overlooked could bring such filled and joyful feelings to your already tightened chest. Yet the waves of excitement , rushing through your body, can hardly fail to make their presence known when you place your toothbrush next to Miranda's in a fluid motion. 

It's satirical , and kind of makes you feel silly, but the look of a very ordinary object, placed so calmly next to something that belongs to her, forced you to smile like a little kid who just got a long-awaited birthday present. Despite understanding that Miranda is a woman , keeping too much on her appearance, her personal bathroom is not as  cluttered with the variety of products as you expected her to be using. You could even say that the first few times you spent exploring the medium sized room , left you disappointed. After all, the woman you now sleep next to almost every night , always has that pleasant aroma wafting after her like a cloak of pleasure, part of you wanted to unravel her secret ways of achieving her enchanting scent and appropriate it for yourself. 

Surely the days that have curled up under the dark , but cosy roof of the now not so sinister mansion are beginning to follow along , making you lose track of time. And yet , the enjoyment of shared moments with the blonde woman doesn't seem to be going away . Everything about her makes your fingertips itch , and the soft pillows of your cheeks warm. It's not just the insignificant toothbrush, but also the hairbrush placed next to hers, the forgotten pieces of outfits at almost every corner of her bedroom- quickly tossed aside after Miranda's decision that you'd look better without them, the few bulging notebooks, that have migrated to her room through which she occasionally runs a darker pen to correct mistakes , even your rarely fully charged phone which she makes sure to plug into her own charger so you can use it when you need to. 

Even her daughters have noticed,  little by little the room originally assigned to you is emptying , while Miranda's has slowly started to welcome another person's warmth. 

The line between the simple job of being a babysitter and the unconscious burden of your role as Miranda's partner has long since begun to thin. You often find yourself lending a helping hand to her daughters, who would normally prefer to seek their mother's advice. Several times now you've had a meal together , prepared from your personal recipe, which the girls have enjoyed and Miranda has praised. Penetrating this little family is a slow but sure process. 

Your fingers run smoothly through your  hair , slicking it back, as you examine your face in the mirror. Your eyes are silent , but there is a small light in them that has been unseen for years. Peace. You can easily admit to yourself that you feel calm and in place. 

A new wave of obliteration assaults the top of your head , born of your frustration over the few hairs sticking out. When you find yourself making the same motion for the third time , now gritting your teeth , you laugh. It's not even a hairstyle you like, but it's certainly out there, hastily acquired by Miranda. It seems like the blonde woman effects you in an unusual way - without both of you even noticing you have began to mold yourself into her own persona. 

A perfect exactly is the current morning. You've never been a person to greet the sun with a enthusiastic smile, yet alone cut a precious slumber session even before the end of night. Miranda, however, is keen on her obligations. And you follow her blindly. She has urgent work , which requires to start at sunrise? Then you wake up with her. 

Your body clumsily begins to move towards the bathroom exit , your skin tingling from the cold in the room , expecting a pleasant wave of heat to spill over it the moment you take the first step  into the bedroom, but your brain fails to remember the unpleasant cold air wafting through it. 

Your pajamas do keep you somewhat warm but you can't help your toes , which curl under the weight of your body or your shivering hands , momentarily wrap  around your top, trying to mimic a heated capsule. 

A pleasant metallic sound chimes past your ears , gently caressing them with a gloved hand , almost instantly accompanied by the inviting glint of jewels , which reflect in your eyes when you decide to turn your head towards the distraction. 

Miranda stands proudly in front of her vanity , her figure slightly twisted forward but not losing any of its glory , at an angle where in an upright position and slightly tilted head she can clearly see the different types of earrings she is trying on and possibly choose the best pair. Although , she looks quite lost in her selection process , she allows herself a distraction and her lips develop into a sweet smile, specially sent towards you. Maybe it's the way her lipstick has soaked into the soft tissue , or maybe it's the whole adorable look , or the simple need for her touch , but after that gesture you quickly find yourself clinging to her , trying to tear away some of her body heat. 

With your chest already pressed against her back, you're easily lost in the crisscross of all the curves of her body, accompanied by the sweet smell of her perfume. The quiet sigh she lets out , influenced by your eager mouth , which is lost along the length of her neck, makes you lock her waist in the trap of your arms, knowing fully well that she trusts you enough to relax  in your tight  embrace. 

You keep kissing her on that significantly more sensual skin until Miranda gives in and relaxes her hands on the surface of the vanity. In one palm she still clutches a beautifully coloured earring , its twin dangling from her left ear, threatening to tangle in your hair. She doesn't protest when your fingers shift to apply pressure to her jaw. Once her head shifts, however, you stare at her begging mouth for yours and pause. You don't want to ruin her slightly reddish lipstick , even if it means leaving her disappointed.

"It's early" -  Miranda comments , her morning voice presenting its magic over you once again. Your gaze whips away from her and instead lingers on a hanging clock, with the time being  just after 7am. - "The bed can still keep you warm." - her statement certainly sounds pleasant, but as soon as your eyes fall upon the furniture's emptiness you shake your head. - "Why don't you get some more sleep, darling?"  

"It's pointless without you" - you stubbornly answer her. Although Miranda's mouth snaps open , ready to protest, a light of interest flickers in her eyes and she deftly raises her eyebrows. Then she smiles, and her voice changes pitch. 

"You want me to feel bad for waking you up or for the fact that I'll have to go out on in less than an hour and leave you?" - the one thing she forgets to mention is her absence will be considerably long. Lucky for you, though, that's exactly what you need. As an initial plan you had set an alarm to wake you , but Miranda's silent, yet  unable to restrain themselves, palms however easily pulled you from your dreams. 

In her full defense, this is the first time someone has managed to wake you up with just the gentle caress of their hands on your face. It was certainly a great beginner sight of the day. 

"I was thinking of getting up early anyway." -  you assure her , placing another soft kiss on her skin. - "But if you're so willing to be my debtor..." the blonde woman hums in approval, trying to follow your train of thought. - "I wouldn't turn down a little study help." 

"Are you still struggling with making diagnoses?" - just broaching the subject makes you snort. The surprise in the woman's voice, however, is belied because your lack of duties over the past few days hasn't prompted you to stick your nose into study materials, but rather to indulge in complete relaxation, which is now starting to put a strain on you. 

"So many diseases..." -  a rush of warm air leaves your lungs , gently caressing ends of  golden hair before you separate from Miranda with a slow step. She doesn't miss the chance to follow your movements with wonder. - "And their symptoms are so identical...tell me, how am I supposed to be able to handle them all?" 

"The domain of my work partly obliges me to be familiar with the topic." -  she explains calmly. Already both her ears show off the lovely earrings, paired almost perfectly with her dark dress. A horribly sly grin appears on her face, accompanied by a cross of her arms. - "How about a quick exercise?" 

Unable to refuse her , you sigh , making a circular motion with your hand to signal your agreement. Miranda smiles at you again , her eyes scanning your body from top to bottom while the brief seconds of deliberation clearly show behind them. 

"Let's say your poor patient  suffers from...fever, fatigue , body weakness... or pain, soar throat and severe cough." - every description comes out of her mouth with a harsh tone. Listening carefully to her spilled words you can't help yourself but notice a furious line building up between her eyebrows. - "If not treated properly the sickness can cause respiratory distress, organ failures or in the worst cases - death." 

Miranda stops her brief presentation , moving her hands through the thin air and forcing the bracelets around her wrists to jangle.  She has exquisitely adorned her forearms with those golden metal branches wrapping upwards around her skin that you love to admire , easily lost in the beautiful portrait of the woman. 

You suck in a breath , gathering your thoughts , so you can give her a solid answer. You know , Miranda wouldn't stab you in the back by making more specific cases , but you don't leave yourself in the proper hands of this shallow thinking. 

"Assuming , that the failure of internal organs is precisely the lungs..." -  you begin to think aloud , causing the edges of her lips to lift. The blonde woman is certainly a fan of situations , in which the two of you can freely discuss your common pursuits. - "I think a safe answer would be Tuberculosis?" 

"No." - although voiced out clearly, the dissatisfying sound of the word is quieter than its siblings, fluidly escaping her lips. 

"No!?" - one might say your reaction is a big overreacted and filled with false hope. Miranda on another hand finds it amusing. 

After a few more wrong speculation shot from your thinking mind , eager to find the answer, you give up and offer her a perfectly green light to award you with what should be the correct response. 

"Spanish flu." - Miranda's smile doesn't dare leave her face once she decides to shatter your hopes for a correct assumption , slow shaking of her head, silently mocking you. 

"That's so unfair, Miranda!" - you barely stop yourself from shouting, clenching your jawline while she obtains a surprised face , born from the usage of her full name. - "At least give me something that's not from a hundred years ago, please." 

"Is...the previous century considered too old for you, darling?" -  as you watch how something specific in her question causes her to place a palm on her chest , you lick your dry lips, visibly chapped from the cold in the room. Perhaps you should try to convince her into adding an air conditioner to heat up her bedroom from time to time. 

"Isn't the Spanish flu extinct?" - you voice out, unable to stay upright and hastily taking a position on the bed. After only seconds, you throw a warm blanket over your lap and legs.  You pat the mattress to signal Miranda to sit next to you. Surprisingly she does , but not looking forward to receiving the precious heat of the sheets you would kill for right now , despite the presence of her short dress. - "I doubt anyone still struggles with it today." 

"You could never be certain." 

Even your most successful attempts to understand her message fail in their work the second her head hovers over you and subsequently lands on your shoulder. You can't stop the joy spreading through your body. Perhaps the thing you like most about the woman next to you is the way that even in an almost dense silence , like  currently, the intimacy and tenderness you have with each other dare not evaporate. 

Of course tender moments like this are easily spoiled , but not because of an unspoken or overly spoken opinion , emotions or misunderstood situations. These external factors - unavoidable commitments always find the cracks in your walls of calmness. Miranda's phone rings, causing her to make an annoyed guttural sound before reaching out to grab it. You appreciate the fact that she doesn't pick up , even a part of you is oblivious at the thought that she considers you more important than her probably ringing colleagues. What you don't like though is that once her screen goes black again she detaches herself from you , destroying every connection to your body with hers. 

"Leaving already?" - strange, it seemed that somehow you had more time to enjoy her morning company. Miranda sighs , her back turned to you, shoulders slumped low. She nods - an answer to your question. 

"I sincerely hope this meeting will be different." -  her quiet words remind you of how this whole visiting different groups of scientists thing started about two weeks ago. The blonde woman was happy to reveal the secret that the email you helped her with wasn't limited to just one person's address. And on the bright side, quite a few of her potential partners were interested. Which often left you alone while she negotiated, but with more time to prepare her surprise. - "Honestly, darling, after so many conversations with...immature disappointments, not even knowing exactly what they want...it would be refreshing if I could find a quality group to finally start my project with." -she pauses briefly between sentences- "and finish it  successfully." 

"Take your time, Miranda." - you find the will power to fight back against the cold , and even though you're reminded of the awful feeling once you step fully on the floor , you manage to walk behind her yet again. - "I know this is something of great importance to you." - her specificity to the topic confirms it. She tenses a bit , while your finger gently run up to her slightly exposed back, past the strange pattern of her skin there. You still think she's searching for a way to fix it , even though she denies this assumption. You place a kiss to the back of her neck just to calm her down. - "I can be patient and wait for you while taking care of the girls." 

"Then I can count on you to handle breakfast?" -  it's normally Miranda who takes on the kitchen tasks. You've noticed it's one of her few hobbies outside of work. Or at least the ones you know about. A lot of it's still a mystery, but you're slowly starting to unravel it. 

"Are you doubting me?" -  your tone immediately makes her turn around. Both of you are met with smiles. What you don't expect, however, is for Miranda to pull you to her and lean her lips against yours without warning. There goes all your worry about her lipstick. 

"I promise to make something sweet for all of us as payback." - she says. Her eyes dart around the room , searching for something. She calms down once she sees her prepared bag on the bed. - "How does that sound?" 

"Lovely." -  you assure her , as she separates from you to grab her needed accessory to her outfit from your shared bed. - "When did you say you were coming back?"

"Should be before afternoon." - plenty of time to prepare, then. 

You can only think how good of an idea she has given you without realising, all the way down  to the front door, where you wave her goodbye. Although Miranda's taste for food is hard to satisfy ,  she certainly has a sweet tooth. 

Except she doesn't know that she's not the one who's going to have her way in the kitchen. The idea is still swirling around in your head even after her departure , with her book of recipes open  in your hands until you come across something she would surely like. 

***** 

"What kind of bowl do we need?" 

"Make sure it's large, sweetie." 

"Where is the flour?!" 

"The bottom cabinet...on the right..there it is, dear." 

"Are two eggs enough or should I get more?" 

"Yeah, I think it's alr-" 

"Ah! Stupid knife!" - A high-pitched scream quickly throws you off balance. Your body hastily makes a full circle on its axis and you spin towards the direction of the sound. Across from you, a few feet away from the sink stands the mini version of Miranda. Despite their similarities , Eva is still a child, and the kitchen is unfamiliar to her and her sister. The blond , however, is currently holding one hand in the other , and her face is sucked up in a frown. A sharp knife with plastic handle has fallen to the floor by her feet. Once your eyes focus on it, a few tiny drops of scarlet blood trickle onto the surface of the kitchen tiles. It makes you freeze. 

For the moment, you're sulking , not knowing what action to take first. Eva has clearly cut herself and her extra unmoving makes it clear that she is still in shock too. Then a thought runs through your head. These children may not be yours , but the risk of your profession forces you to feel like they are. How would Miranda react...what would her vindicated character do? 

In mere seconds you are both over the sink, her stiff yet easy to lift body is heavily supported in your arms , as you work together to thoroughly clean, her wounded finger. The cut isn't deep , but certainly the sight of the water rushing in with blood isn't one of the most pleasant. After you stop the water flowing, you start to wonder just where Miranda keeps the emergency patches...if she even has any. Luckily for you , another helper comes to your rescue. Eveline quickly opens a distant kitchen cabinet and pulls out sterile bandages , which you use to secure Eva's ring finger. 

The commotion passes almost as quickly as it started. All three of you are now calm and breathing normally. Your eyes slowly slide away from Eva and instead land on the floor , where the fallen knife still lies. You allow yourself to bend down to pick it. As soon as you stand up, however, another part of the incident appears on the kitchen counter in front of you. 

The piece of butter that is sitting there is still visibly frozen...and solid. The puzzle of the happened quickly assembles in your head. Most likely, in the inexperienced and soft hands of the blonde girl , the knife slipped from its main target and cut her finger. 

You focus on Eva again, noticing that she is somehow purposely avoiding your gaze. 

"You know, butter knives exist for a reason?" -  it's comical how even the way the mother and daughter's facial features are almost the same when twisted in anger. Eva's hands are flailing through the air in defense. 

"If I had known would I have-" 

"Just promise me you'll be more careful." -whether you warm her bed or not , whether you hug and kiss her every day, even if you're the only thing close to a friend to Miranda-you don't want to think about what she'd do if something happened to one of the girls ,  on your watch. Then again...you wouldn't feel out of place on your own. Just like now, if you were closer to her , instead of focusing on the written sentences about the recipe....a sigh escapes your heavy chest. - "You really scared me."

"I...I'm sorry, I should have... asked for help." -  you and Eveline  both look at each other , unable to comprehend that it was her sister who decided to say those words. The almost unreal moment is quickly brushed aside as soon as Eva notices your wonderful looks and instead hastily coughs , ending the silence in the kitchen. - "I still think nothing would have happened if we had decided to make a cake."  

"I assure you Miranda will be just as happy with the cookies." - the clock never works in anyone's favor, though. Minutes eaten can't be returned , and what you have is still an unfinished dough mix and a wounded baker. - "If we ever finish them..." 

"I don't get it." - the blonde girl comments irritably , arms now crossed. - "A birthday calls for a cake with...candles and decorations..!" - she twists her wrists and turns to you. - "what's so special about these cookies?" 

You can still recall the day Miranda decided to share this recipe with you, instead of kicking you out of her precious kitchen. It was a rather weird day, vivid...she was awfully domestic, which had a positive side effect to you of course, but also summoned questions, as for why she was suddenly so interested in you. Although this scene had passed quite a while ago, ghostly memories of her hands on your waist or between your own , guiding you through the baking, still linger inside your head. The tips of your ears burn while you open your mouth to give the kids an answer. 

"Nothing...and everything." - you're met with pure confusion, which you immediately understand and after a second the mistake is fixed. - "It's just a nice memory of her...us." 

While Eveline giggles, Eva forces a grimace on her face. It's interesting to be in the company of both your biggest supporter and the one , who probably prays for your breakup with Miranda every night. You shake your head and smile, proposing them to finally get over the baking. 

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.

Soon , despite the size of the room, the kitchen is filled with a pleasant smell , managing to reach every shrouded corner and closed  cabinet. With every passing second , the sink , filled with dirty and used dishes, starts to take back its spotlessly clean original shape, influenced by your eagerness to clean your workplace. 

You can't stop yourself from casting a few glances at the two little girls next to you, who are carefully drawing birthday cards on the kitchen counter, with thousands of colored pencils scattered on it. Near them is a large bouquet of flowers. Artificial of course , losing the beauty of the living nature, but easy to maintain and especially hide. You still remember , you bought them about a week ago , when you were out , to prepare the rest of the gift gestures to Miranda. 

Surely the task of deciding exactly what to gift a woman , who has practically everything, was not easy at all. Lucky for you, though, the solution isn't hiding miles away. This isn't the first time, and you don't think it will be the last, that you have to ask Evelyn exactly what to do with her unpredictable mother. 

After some conversation , reflection and various ideas - the raven black haired girl managed to get your attention by mentioning something about the older woman's past hobbies. Thinking about it now you wouldn't call it a hobby but a lack of faith in the abilities of others. It's clear to you that Miranda is overly particular about her clothing , if it wasn't dramatic and eye catching enough , she wouldn't go out. 

You learn from Evelyn that in past years she herself has tried to achieve this effect but perhaps due to lack of knowledge and time it has remained history. However, a sewing machine has been left almost untouched in the mansion, which is  now  nicely moved to your original room , away from Miranda's sharp gaze.

You hope that all the materials and fabrics you already bought , under the disguise of going for weekly shopping, past the dubious blonde woman will be enough.

Lost in thought , you forget about the mechanical work of your hands and before you know it the plates are already arranged and washed and you are taking the last steps of your shared activity with the girls - to get the already finished cookies out of the heated oven. 

The room seems too empty, however, once you manage to get them all into a large plate, more like a tray but managing to fit them all. With the help of their childish imagination, the girls managed to add all sorts of multi-coloured embellishments to the normally boring looking cookies. Some have faces , others flow from one colour to another , and others are in different shapes - circles , squares or hearts. However, these two pairs of helping hands have disappeared from the kitchen before they can see the finished product. 

Your gaze moves to the ticking clock on the wall , out of sheer interest... 

"She's here! She's here!" 

Eva bursts into your chambers of calmness without bothering to knock. Her words ignite a raging fire in your chest and you nearly drop the biscuits at her surprise appearance. Behind her, Eveline comes hurriedly , but quietly , over to the counter and grabs the bouquet of artificial flowers. She disappears as quickly as the wind. 

Unconsciously you have moved to the window , where you clearly recognize the black jeep parked in front of the mansion. Because of its darkened windows you can't see the silhouette of the woman inside , but your breath hitches the moment the car door slowly opens. 

You let Eva pull you through the hallways to the living room before you can see Miranda get out of her car.

.

.

.

Normally you like the clattering sound her heels make, but now every uncertain step she takes on the smooth floor forces out  a straining echo. It's obvious she's looking for you - both you and her daughters. You swallow hard  once the repetitive waves of sound stop just outside the closed living room door.

It takes Miranda only a moment after she passes the entrance , to freeze in place as if struck by angry thunder. Her pupils dilate to the point that the blue of her eyes is barely visible. Well maybe getting up in front of her with cookies, decorations, presents and yelling wasn't the best idea for a birthday surprise,  given her peculiar nature. 

At best you would have assumed , you startled her, but the way her hand moves to latch around the base of her neck and rub calming circles there, tells you that's not the point. The nervous tic , usual for her, quickly reveals that the woman really has no clue what is going on. 

"Eva?" -  her daughter's name tumbles from her uncertain lips. The girl doesn't wait to be called a second time and after placing the drawings , which she was holding until now, on the table - she shortens the distance between her and Miranda who has already started to squat , shortening the length of her body, in order to be at the girl's level. 

Again you become an external witness to their closeness. First Eva hugs her mother hard across the shoulders , to show her that everything is fine , and then she puts her ear out , so she can hear exactly what she is saying. Miranda's eyes are troubled , the normal emotions in them have evaporated , dead with boredom as they wait for their younger daughter's response , which however is a reply that rumbles around the room . 

"It's a birthday surprise , mommy!" -  she explains enthusiastically , one of her little hands having caught Miranda's. Unfortunately for you , it's the one whose ring finger is wrapped in a bandage , due to the cut from earlier. - "We wanted to do something special for you."

"...But today is not.. my birthday." - Miranda delays her response, visibly confused by the situation. Your fingertips dig into the metal tray in your hands, piled high with cookies. 

"It never is!" - Eveline inevitably joins their conversation, but she doesn't move from her place , close to you. Her mother's attention moves to her, a slight smile on the edges of her lips. - "If you don't celebrate it today, you won't do it tomorrow or whenever...and that's...." her speech slows and she rethinks her words. - "our birthdays are always celebrated , and you say you don't even remember yours...it's not fair to you, mom..." 

For just a second, comfort flashes in Miranda's eyes. She places a loving kiss on Eva's forehead, then grabs her wrist to bring her fingers closer and her lips provide another caress on the wound , wrapped with a bandage. She lifts her gaze to you, almost making you stagger back. The blue of her eyes looks more beautiful than any night sky, and the dark  makeup around her eyelids make the color pop so brightly you come back that she's glimpsed into your soul.

The older woman stands up proudly and begins to walk close to you, followed obediently by Eva. As soon as she reaches her other daughter - she unexpectedly grabs her and lifts her up without a problem. The girl giggles in her embrace, and though her arms hesitate whether or not to turn away , they wrap around her mother anyway. Eveline whispers something in her ear, presumably to congratulate her on her fake birthday, at which Miranda whispers back with a soft kiss on her cheek. 

As you watch them with kind eyes , the tray in your hands grows heavier and heavier, but not as heavy as the lonely heart in your chest. You can't stop a thought , swimming furiously through your mind. If your mother were alive, would she be hugging you like this , would your family be so happy...? You can't deny that you are at least a little jealous of moments like these. But with that comes the other problem, which is the fact that you feel out of place, like waste to this foreign family...

Then you feel gentle caresses around your neck , cheeks and ears. You blink once, twice, before Miranda's face forms in front of you , and the fingers running charmingly across your cheekbones feel real. Almost immediately you relax into her touch, her palms soft as pillows , enveloping both sides of your face. You can even feel her thumbprints gently touch the edges of your eyelashes. 

"Was that all.. your doing?" - as if seeing straight ahead, her question now contained the answer she needed. But you can't take all the adulation for yourself. 

"It was a general idea." -  you answer her, noticing how her white teeth barely grazed the skin of her bottom lip for a brief moment. Miranda, despite nodding in agreement, remains so engrossed in you. Her gaze moves from your eyes , to your mouth and back again. As if she couldn't make up her mind what to do with you. 

When Miranda approaches to kiss you, however, you panic. You don't know how her children, especially Eva, would react to such closeness between you. In an attempt to stop her proximity, you try the cookie tray against her stomach, causing her to look down in annoyance. Then a quiet laugh slips from her throat. Her slender fingers grab a cookie decorated in green and she brings it to her mouth , tasting it.  

Then Miranda just can't hold back and places a quick kiss on your cheek anyway , before totally detaching herself from you. She sits down on the couch, surrounded by her daughters who excitedly start showing her the cards , they made. She is surprised at the fake flowers , but accepts them graciously. You smile, knowing she likes it all. You join them, fingers trembling with desire to show your girlfriend your personal gift.

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.

.

"Can I open my eyes already?" - Miranda's quiet , concerned voice echoes through the room, a slight note of impatience curving the edges of her words. Her body moves clumsily forward, now stopped just outside the door to your original room. You stand deftly behind her , one arm around her waist, the other gently pressing the handle , causing the wood to creak. 

"Just a second..." -  you mutter, eyebrows arched, stress born of the fact that several pieces of fabric lie carelessly in front of the entrance. You quickly kick them aside so you can pass , without the danger of both of you ending up on the floor. After a few quick glances , in the now lit room from the lamp you turn on, you take a deep breath. - "You can open them now, Mira." 

A rainbow of emotions runs across her face. Her initial look of calmness is replaced by surprise , which quickly turns into a questioning expression...and finally a mixture of disappointment and incomprehension. Her reaction makes you wince. 

"You bought me...a sewing machine?" - Miranda asks  uncertainly, her slender fingers working their way through the air to tangle with yours. As she looks at the medium sized machine on the table in the middle of the room , along with a mannequin and a pile of fabric...all things she once bought , but never used , you don't notice that she pulls your hand closer to her. You take a step back just before she can brush her lips against your swollen knuckles. 

"No, I borrowed it. From you, actually." -  you assure her, praying that someday you too will have enough money to forget what you do and don't own. Still, you feel pleasantly touched by the softness of her assumption that this is her gift. - "I plan on creating something new for you to wear." 

"How did you even think of that?" - her surprised tone adds to the confirmation that rich people like her, whose houses are piled high with unnecessary furniture and ornaments, often forget about their possessions. 

"I certainly got a little...inside help." -  you urge out a smile. She returns a similar gesture, one more provocative than usual. 

"Eveline?" - your head quickly makes a nodding motion to confirm her assumption. A quiet, chuckling 'of course' escapes past her lips as she steps forward. Her index finger glides across the surface of the spreading machine , and her body slowly surrounds it. She sighs , eyes raised to you. - "If my memory serves me right I gave up that little toy , because I found it too...confusing." her pride won't let her call it complicated. - "Do you know how to use it?" 

"When I was younger, I often tried to make my own clothes." - a few fond memories of your teenage years spent in  long nights of sewing various t-shirts pop into your head. - "money was tight , plus my taste in fashion was always changing..." - you chuckle at the way your father used to react to all of  your different phases, the poor man would always try to understand and support you, no matter what. - "Oh and the internet is truly a wonderful gold mine so...I looked up a lot of video guides. " - something in her gaze has softened, you find it incredibly comforting. - "I'm certain in my abilities." 

"Why are you doing this?" - Miranda questions, head slightly tilted, if not allowing herself to be confusing enough she then quietly adds, almost whispering. - "What...do you want from me?" 

"I...what?" - you've expected everything, from her showing no emotions to covering you with kisses, even getting mad...for whatever reason she decides to acknowledge, really everything but her current reaction, which is beyond your understanding. Miranda doesn't take a step further or closer to you, she only allows herself to cross her arms in front of her chest. 

"All of this, of today, everything." - she taps a few times on her skin, as if to gather your attention. - "Why do all of this for me?" 

Your lips are part, leaving your mouth open for a few seconds as you try to figure out her logic. Hasn't anyone ever done these sorts of things for her? Thinking about it , Miranda didn't look so much surprised as frightened at your surprise with the girls. You fall silent, an icy chill spreads through the room. You know her love life story isn't one of the best but you can't stop yourself from wondering how much of a neglect she's been that she wants a reason to be treated well. Or the worse part of the situation is that she probably thinks , she should do something in return for you.  

"I told you, didn't I?" - you take a confident step towards her, keeping your hands close to your body, trying not to scare her. Yet her nose slightly wrinkles once you approach her further. - "I want to treat you right, show you respect and appreciation, I want..." - you stop right in front of her. Due to the  height difference between you , the upright lifting of your head if needed. You find her with weak eyes, darker than usual. - "I feel like I want to give you everything...that's why today is for you and for you only." - finally she breaks, her beloved, soft palms gentle cup your cheeks and you swear you almost melt at her touch. - "I can be good for you, better than...Mia...or Eva's father even." 

"Oh?" - Miranda's curiosity clicks right on time - "Is he part of the competition as well?" 

"Eva shared with me he wasn't the best." - the girl surely showed her hatred towards the man, from Miranda or rather your weird dreams , twisted with unpleasant feelings for him, you know he wasn't the best partner either. - "Yet he was still with you, at some point." 

"For most of our relationship we were forced to be together."  - her hands trail down your open collar , down your exposed neck. It's not long before Miranda leans in , to place her head there, her lips just inches from your collarbone. - "I was married, you know?" -  she laughs , and you try to figure out exactly how she let this happen. - "After that, I didn't even want to look at men." 

The way her hands are clenched into fists you can guess that Miranda didn't have a good husband at all. And yet you can't stop your questions. 

"What was he like..?" - she doesn't answer , not before kissing your skin and then sighing, shooting warm air towards your neck, easily making you arch it to the side , as if she's tickling you. 

"He felt like a change. I first met him behind the church where his father worked." you decide to put your arms around her back and waist as she continues to tell her story. - "He was visibly attracted to me, but he didn't dare to become closer to me. I didn't care." - this sentence makes you wonder what kind of childhood Miranda had. She has the appearance of a very calm woman, yet deep down she holds a storm , ready to escalate at any moment. - "After a few more meetings between us, he broke down, threw away his laws and shared his bed with me. He was kind, he lied for me, he committed sins, he cared..." a note of nostalgia rises in her voice, but is quickly replaced. - "That was until I naturally found myself pregnant with Eva. Then he changed and everything...went to hell." 

"He probably judged her as a mistake and-" 

"Eva is anything but a mistake." -  you realize the error of your words as soon as Miranda pushes away from you , leaving your arms empty. It doesn't matter what relationship you have with her, her daughter will always come first. -  "But you're right...he didn't love her like I do. You have no idea how many times he's tried to get rid of her." -  your fingers twitch at the thought, and your eyes slide down to where they can clearly see the scar on Miranda's ankle. - "To keep his pride he married me. That turned out to be his biggest mistake , one that haunted him until his death." 

"I'm sorry, Miranda...I-" 

"What for?" - she cuts you off again, silencing you immediately. The sound of her heels is loud when they drop on the floor next to her. You fail to realise she has bended down to take them off. After that she places her arms on her hips with a bored expression. - "he's in the past, easily forgetting...while you promised to sew me something from scratch, didn't you?" 

Miranda tosses a small object to your direction. Even with a bit slowed reflexes you manage to grab it, squeezing it tight between your palms. Once you take a closer look you recognise a tape measure, which you have earlier placed on the table with the sewing machine. You take it's end , allowing the rest of it to roll to the floor. After that you move closer in order to wrap it around her body - you begin with her shoulders.  Miranda knows her measurements very well , but she allows you to do your things. 

"Today is for you." - you repeat your statement from earlier, while seeking her lips. She kisses you back, smiling. Without her heels, which she took off in order for you to take her proper measurements, she's less tall, yet still hard enough to reach. - "and anything you desire for." 

***** 

Miranda certainly took your words too seriously. After asking for a dress of her own inventive design, which you spent the rest of the day making, making dinner also fell to you. While she decided to take a relaxing bath , you had to protect her daughters, who wanted to help, from any more cuts or burns. Finally you enjoyed a nicely cooked rice with fresh meat and vegetables. Miranda, however, did not appear. Even when you said goodnight to the girls, she didn't leave her room. 

She had you wrapped around her demanding finger from the moment you took a step into her bedroom. After that you found yourself accomplishing her every desire, as promised, naked and under her own revealed body. 

Even though the windows are open, allowing darkness and cold  to enter the room in the form of invisible globes, you feel warm, if you're honest with yourself - burning with flames of flesh and passion. The main ceiling light , which serves to illuminate the entire room , has been extinguished. In its place is a small lamp on the left nightstand  next to the bed. That way you can see every curve of Miranda's neck as she tosses her head in the dim light. You like the fact that her ridiculously huge bed doesn't creak , no matter how viciously she moves. The only louder sound , enclosed within the four cold walls, is her heavy breathing intertwined with your own. 

Miranda is torturing you. When she asked you to quench her intimate thirst , there was no questioning from your part, nor when she asked to climb on top of you. But now...you can  barely stand what is happening. The woman , in all her loveliness, has you pinned down with her terribly strong legs , almost not allowing you to move a muscle. While she is wearing the pleasant black fabric of her nightgown , you are completely naked , body left to her mercy , which turns out not to be entirely gentle , for already several red scars from hard  bites have formed around your breasts.

A soft moan slowly escapes her soft lips , quickly lost around the room , but not before she caresses your ears. You almost loose yourself between the line of allowed and not allowed as your hands clench into pathetic fists , almost crying that they can't touch her. But that was what Miranda had ordered. Just to stand and watch her , while she took what she wanted. You bite your lip , tucking your hands back under your head , trying not to tell her once again that she is beauty in its most divine form as she flicks her hair back with a quick palm through the blonde roots. 

The recently bought plastic toy from the mall easily achieves its purpose of satisfying her. Although not as large as the previous one used on Miranda, she herself said it was softer and nicer. You revel in the fact that she loses herself in her passion with little to no obstacles. If only you had the permission to help her by slamming your hips up, giving her more friction... She makes a back and forth motion with her lower body , her back arching forward as her nails slide over your burning skin. Your name trickles from her throat, making your heart skip a beat. You're sure one day this woman will kill you. 

And that moment may be closer than you expect. At first you only feel her sticky imprints on the base of your neck, but then she abruptly changes the tempo of her movements, managing to wring a broken tone of delight from her straining vocal cords. By then, a scarf of hard palms wraps around your neck , squeezing it as if it's the last thing she's going to do. Her thumbs are positioned right at the end of your jaw just below your ears, at a point she knows is enough to make you dizzy but not stop your breathing completely. Her so far calm movements are replaced in quick , uncoordinated ones as she chases after her orgasm. She squeezes you so hard that the harness straps viciously begin to bite the skin of your lower body.  

She needs just a little more to finish, her mouth remains open , and a thin line appears between her eyebrows. Her hair  spills around her face once she leans forward. You get the feeling that she's going to break into a million pieces, but she's got you fooled. Her breasts glue themselves on yours and she practically sticks to you, barely breathing. A low but pleasure-filled moan sets your skin on fire. The sound is almost like a growl. Then she settles. 

You wonder if she's done for tonight. You have no idea  anymore exactly for  how long she has been riding you , how many times she has made herself orgasm, and fallen on you like that before she getting up and going at it again. The nights of the cold season are long , you worry that Miranda wouldn't want to go to bed at all. 

You think about whether to restrain her almost trembling body with your hands or continue to follow her commands. You almost do, you almost touch her, but another guttural sound slips from her blonde strands of hair covered face , and your hands return to their original position. You shudder when her wet tongue licks your earlobe , and immediately afterwards she starts whispering praises. Her passion-filled pants pour into your system, slowly dripping all over your body before collecting between your legs. 

"You're driving me crazy, you know that?" - you hiss as soon as she decides that the tender skin of your ear deserves to be nibbled on too. - "Everything you do makes me feel so...hungry." - she sighs  and a second later her whole body follows her as  she takes a sitting position, the plastic toy sinking inside her again. - "and I'm greedy, darling, will you give me some more?" 

You have no choice but to swallow hard and nod. You would never refuse the goddess above you. You feel like your cheeks are going to explode, red and swollen with blood, once she starts moving again. Her head tilts backwards, showing her entire bare throat and the sharp elements of it , which pop out as soon as she begins to shudder and moan. You want  to kiss her there, to bite her the way she does , and then run your tongue over her bruised skin. You must be looking at her like a feral animal, because Miranda chuckles darkly at you, gathering your attention. 

"Do you realize how full of sin your eyes are?" - her hand slides over your skin again , but this time it doesn't wrap around your neck, but instead cups one of your breasts. 

"Because you're marvelous." -  you whisper, your eyes probably drained of all color compared to hers which glow brighter than the dim lamp in the room -  "every cell in your body is covered in glory..." 

"Darling..." the way she moans your nickname, unusually louder than her previous sounds, makes you totally lose your temper. She's not the only one starving for the other.

Your hands shoot out , faster than arrows, towards her and her limping body. Your fingers dig like leeches into her waist, threatening to tear the fabric of her nightgown. With the newfound strength in your wrists, you push her down and along with the thrust of your hips upward , you make sure the sex toy has found its way into the deepest and most sensitive areas inside her. She almost screams, suppressing the urge by biting her lip. 

"W-what...what are you doing?" -  Miranda murmurs uncertainly, now coming to the real world. She watches carefully as your upper body straightens and you find yourself in a sitting position , with her on your lap. She doesn't like this at all, the look on her face is a clear sign of that. - "We said no touching-" 

"You're getting loud." - you snap hastily, making her wonder if her moans can really be heard outside the comfort of her bedroom. Your hands move up , folding the nightgown enough to reveal the lack of space where the toy enters her body. You then continue to drag your palms over her clothed body, purposely putting more pressure on her clearly hardened nipples. Finally you begin to copy her , your fingers wrapping around her slender neck but not long enough because soon you are gently caressing her face. Her lips are extremely soft and she willingly parts them to take both of your thumbs in her mouth. - "Do you want me to help you with that, Mira?" 

You can physically feel the curse seeping from her vocal cords. Your thumbs press against her tongue, causing her jaws to close like a quick mechanism. Her teeth dig into the skin of your fingers , but you continue to caress her face with your free ones. After the unspoken clarity that you're going to pull your thumbs out of her mouth she nods and barely part her lips, however it's enough for you to get one hand out of there. You briefly guide it downwards where you gently lift her nightgown again, your saliva-soaked thumb quickly finding her throbbing clit and beginning to slide over the bump. 

You don't know exactly how, or with what force she manages to remove everything you exert on her and immediately after throw herself on your chest. Miranda wastes no time moving on to her favorite pastime when you are this heated and intimate. This time her teeth are relentless. Straight or pointed, it doesn't matter, they all sink right into your skin and manage to break the barrier to your scarlet blood , which almost immediately runs down her tongue. 

"It hurts, Miranda" - a new sound rises from her, almost the equivalent of a scream as she finds herself on her back on the bed. Realizing that you've managed to reverse your positions , she wastes no time in making you regret it. It seems to you that her nails are even worse than her teeth. The combination of both is complete hell. You will never understand how this woman who keeps her nails extremely short , who makes you do the same , has the power to drive what she doesn't have into your back with such force. - "enough, stop-" 

You force yourself to grab her wrists with fierce force and pin them to the pillow above her head. Maybe you're too drunk at the moment, or maybe you're really starting to lose your temper around her, but you could swear her fingers don't look normal in any way. The fingernails , which you swore weren't that long, now look big , sharp and unkempt , and her fingers themselves have grown in length, black as pitch and covered in blood...your blood. You blink and that picture fades from your eyes. You start to pound harder at her, angry at the fact that you don't understand any of what is happening.

Why is Miranda so strange? Why does she always make you feel so...unhinged. If you grabbed her wriggling mouth, filled with sharper than usual teeth right now and made her talk would she? Even if you force her...? You don't have those desires though. In fact, the only thing you really care about right now is how her whole body is writhing in pleasure and she can barely look you in the eyes , because hers are busy sliding towards the center of her head. Your worries flow out of your mind the way her orgasm drips down from between her legs.

Your grip loosens and you quickly pull out of her, leaving her empty. Miranda is a stuttering  mess. You look at her with the kindest look you can bring to your face, working to loosen the belts of the  strap  and toss it aside at  last. You lift her nightgown one last time , not to prestimulate her , but because she is clearly struggling to catch her breath. You want to release her from her factory prison , which has been teasing you all night. You kiss her quivering belly, her rapidly rising and falling breasts , then press your head on them. Despite her heavy breathing and your best efforts to hear it, her heart doesn't seem to be beating. 

Before long, she calms down. A wash of laughter fills the room, startling you.

"Are you angry with me? Do you wish to punish me, my darling?" - she voices out in a strained tone. You feel the weight of her hands on the back of your neck, dragging you down towards her. - "Or do you just really like being rough with me?"

"You have no right to complain" -  you decide to tease her, kissing just the edges of her lips. - "You're the one who leaves me wounded and scarred every time." 

"But you're so beautiful when you bleed for me."-  her hair is so perfectly strewn across the pillow, it's like a golden halo has formed over her head. You scoff, poking her in the rib until she cracks a smile as well. 

"Am I dating a psychopath, Miranda?" 

"Perhaps?" - she brushes her nose along with yours. - "Would you deny her if you were?" 

This time you really kiss her. Gently, as if she would break if you pushed her harder. You're afraid you'd still be with her even if she locked you in a cage. Even though your hands start to slide down her body, you know she's done for the night. Your confirmation arrives on a silver platter as soon as she pushes you off of her. Miranda unexpectedly stands up, slightly stunned by the weakness in her knees, and rolls over to open a drawer beside her bed. From it she pulls out a pack of cigarettes and a small purple lighter. You watch intently as she lights the tip of the thin cylinder , filled with tobacco, and slowly takes her first drag. 

"Did I do too much?" -  you run your hand over her shoulder, deliberately avoiding the odd blackness on her back to get her attention. Turning around with her lips slightly parted and a questioning look in her eyes, a cloud of smoke slowly covering them. - "I know you only smoke when you're tense or angry or..." 

"No, actually..." -  she pauses , to flick the burnt part of her cigarette onto the locker. It's interesting how she owns me ashtrays. - "I'm willing to admit it's kind of a guilty pleasure for me." - she runs a hand through her hair , to move it away from her face. - "You know , I stay in my office for so long a day because I don't want my kids to inherit the same bad habit."

You nod your head in understanding. You easily remember the smell of smoke all over her office or the many burn marks on her desk where she probably put out her cigarettes. You remember though , and their taste from that day on the terrace. You had tried cigarettes as a rebellious teenager and had made it clear , this was not for you. But with Miranda it's different, her kind is different. The usual vaporous, bitter taste was suppressed and although you choked a few times because of your quick puffs, the taste of them felt much better. 

"Can I have one?" - you nervously reach for the box. Miranda arches a questioning eyebrow. 

"It's not healthy." - she informs you sharply, gripping the box between her long fingers. You almost don't laugh. The woman, already reaching for a second cigarette wants to convince you , that smoking them is harmful. Well this is already interesting. 

"Miranda." - you try to make your voice sound sweeter than honey too.  

"No." - she replies firmly. 

"Mira..." - you place a kiss on her shoulder. She shivers. 

"I already told you no." - she starts to sound uncertain though. 

"Please, my dear...dearest." - you smile when you feel her physically give in. So nicknames hold almost the same power level as they do to you? Useful information for the next time you're going to find yourself begging her for something. 

Miranda hands you a cigarette , she's even nice enough to light it for you. This time she doesn't want to pull it from her lips, nor is there any hurry , so you let yourself enjoy the taste of it. Miranda is right , the feeling is comforting but you don't think it's something you would do as often as she does. Still, you like the peaceful moment you're in. Once you manage to let her you look around the room , your fallen clothes that Miranda practically ripped from your body and the still wet plastic toy , attached to your belt. 

"Are you sure you don't want more?" - your words are almost lost mixed in the kisses falling on her shoulder. Her hair still manages to smell wonderful, in spite of all the smoke around the room. 

"Are you planning on me not being able to walk normally tomorrow?" -  she snaps back at you, bowing her head. Her voice is dry, you'll probably have to go get her some water, but the fingers running just slightly down the length of your thigh , make you not want to move a muscle. 

"Actually, I wanted to give you an orgasm for every birthday you refused to celebrate." - there's a hint of a joke in your tone, which Miranda latches onto and shoots right back at you. 

"Oh, so you want me dead?"

"Really? That much?" -  she nods, astonishing you. And here again , despite your closeness a new wall of the unknown rises between you. You know , Miranda is older and yet...you have no idea by how much exactly. - "How old are you anyway?" 

"I stopped caring about my age so long ago." - she says hoping to end the subject, but you insist on the answer. She realizes that there's no hard way out so she places her chin angrily in her open palm and mutters. - "I should be about a hundred and thirty something..." 

"Miranda..." - you blink a few times, staring at her. And she's looking at you like a ghost is standing in front of her. The next moment you frown, jabbing your finger into her ribs again. - "I'm not kidding, tell me the truth!" 

"Okay...thirty...no actually forty..." her blue eyes tangle around your body. But you don't give in, her ribs are quickly assaulted and this time she tries to suppress a smile because of her tickle. Maybe the cutest thing you've ever seen. - "Darling...don't make me count please." 

With that you give up. The woman is impossible. 

.

.

.

You find it really unpleasant how the rest of the mansion manages to be so cold , and the room you were shivering in all morning is now warmer than one heated by a fireplace. 

Proudly wearing Miranda's long , night robe , your body is partially protected , but the cold still manages to bite the bare parts of your skin - like your arms , neck or legs . 

You both agreed that you need a glass of water and you, being the less tired of the two, take on the task of walking through the dark corridors of the mansion to fetch them to Miranda's bedroom. 

Your passage is quick. The thing slowing you down, however, are the closed rooms of her two daughters. Some inner , unknown instinct manipulates you into confirming that Eva and Eveline are fine and sleeping calmly in their beds. You barely manage to catch your breath once this fact is confirmed. As if something could attack them in this lonely mansion... 

The only light on the second floor comes from under Miranda's bedroom door. You're not surprised to find her already asleep and wrapped in blankets. Her bed is so comically large that her generally tall figure looks small and frail in the middle of it. Without thinking much you close the wooden door behind you , turning the key, locking yourself from the rest of the mansion. Almost every morning her daughters come in after waking up and if they are lucky enough, their mother is waiting for them with open arms for morning cuddles. This time, however, you decide to reserve that moment for yourself. 

Her body twitches with every step. You're sure she's already awake. She sleeps very lightly and is awakened by the simple opening and closing of a door, your footsteps only adding to the disruption of her sleep. It kind of makes you sad, the thought that she doesn't have enough faith in anyone that she would fall deep asleep around them. That lack of trust is upon you too. 

You turn off the small bedside lamp and quickly slide under the covers. You smile, feeling her wrap her own limbs around you. Like a snake in its prey. In her sleepy states, she looks most beautiful to you. Like a true goddess of eternity, with her white wings clipped so she can roam the earth...with you. You place loving kisses on her forehead. 

"Happy Birthday, Miranda." - she only murmurs in response, but you're certain she's more than thankful. 

[dark-kingdom-stan-account]

Just like any self-respecting Utena fan, I've latched onto a (semi) minor detail that I just can't find a satisfactory explanation for!

(MASSIVE RGU (series and movie) spoilers ahead!)

As someone who has engaged with RGU supplementary material plenty, it often goes out of its way to point out how Miki's eyes are "like crystals" and similar things. You can see it in the game and in the light novels.

The fan translation is accurate in this case.

So after staring at movie screenshots one too many times, I noticed that his eyes aren't blue there... they're green! And he's the only character whose eyes changed like this.

What does this mean? My first thought was to connect it with the characters who most prominently have green eyes in the series - Anthy, Akio and Dios. The characters who have the most power despite also being the most trapped in the system, with Anthy in particular having the power in the movie and being the only one of the three who is alive - if some theories are to be believed, she was the one who created the world the movie takes place in in the first place. However, she's also the person most trapped in it too.

However, their eyes are definitely not the same shade. More on that later.

An interesting part occurs in the movie during the Touga and Shiori scene - we cut to Miki and Kozue in the bath. It seems Miki has grown since the anime - he accepts that there's no going back to their childhood, and tells Kozue she's still precious to him. In response, Kozue threatens him with a razor and calls him a traitor.

And yet, the next time we see them, Kozue has become a car, and he smiles after she passes by, not sparing her a single glance. What happened? Did she become a sacrifice? She isn't seen individually afterwards unlike Shiori or Wakaba, she becomes just another car in the locust crowd. Perhaps more unsettling is the reason he gives to Juri for being a duelist - "I always wish to obtain more power". Juri responds to him by calling it manly.

That fucking smirk haunts me. Anyway.

Pursuit of power - doesn't this ring a bell? Perhaps like a certain student council president? Of course, in the movie, Touga is dead, so perhaps someone else took his place in the narrative... Miki. The unsettling implications of what happened to Kozue seem to add to this. Not quite as sinister as Touga's relationship with Nanami, and there's no reason to see it as similarly complex, but also I don't see what else it could be.

So even though Miki appears to be pursuing power at the cost of even his sister, potentially, he's unable to get there. His eyes are not the same shade as Anthy or Akio, not even close - they're much brighter. He appears to have shed some of his innocence - no longer wishing to go back to that garden - but he traded it to pursue more power. No wonder he isn't ready to leave Ohtori yet.

An English-speaking person may also be tempted to connect this to the common expression of "green-eyed envy", and yet I'm profoundly unsure if this is the case. He's never shown to be envious of the power possessed by anyone (unlike Touga, he can't look up to Akio, who is also very dead), even if he and Juri see the ghost of Dios inspecting the cars.

However, no matter how much he desires power, in the end, he's one of the people helping Utena and Anthy escape. He tells them how to go to the outside world. He promises the student council will join them eventually. Arguably the most good-natured interaction Anthy has with any of them.

His eyes appear to be showing how much he's changed since we saw him in the anime, and in some ways, perhaps not for the best. However, he's not fully trapped in the hell of Ohtori Academy yet - there is hope for him, even if he's strayed into such a dangerous path.

In the end, I think all of them deserve their revolution, even if the road getting there is bumpy.

...Or maybe they thought it would fit him more to have green eyes idk lol-

[chuckeroo777]

Dungeon Meshi Volume 7 Part 2

And here we go!

Laicille shippers can have one panel, as a treat. I choose to interpret this as poor bisexual Marcille feeling way too flustered wearing a sexy dress in front of her friends. Plus when Laios softens his eyes like that, he looks uncomfortably like Falin.

Funny how it's these two in particular who feel this way. I'm sure this is in no way foreshadowing how they will be tempted into creating their own versions of this.

Maybe it's just a coloring issue, since it looks more natural in the anime, but Yaad's eyes are creepy as hell.

Gotta love aspic, the epitome of cool looking food that is probably really bad. Also, are they raising... rabbits?

Somehow, Izutsumi is less picky when in full cat mode.

When the DM really wants you to take the plot hook.

Real friends let their little friends beat them up cause it doesn't actually hurt. This is a beatdown(affectionate).

Senshi may be Izutsumi's favorite, but Marcille and Chilchuck are her parents.

Retcon? What retcon?

See? Not even the golden country folks really believe in that stupid prophecy. Honestly, I kinda love stories where there is a "prophecy", but divination magic is actually bogus.

What's wrong Yaad? He's just concerned about you. (The anime made this scene way more sinister.)

She's so excited! :D

Well, they tried.

A precious image.

So, this is Izutsumi's default outfit, yeah? Funny how it's on this volume's cover, yet I don't think we've seen her in it in a chapter proper. When we meet her, she's still in her ninja robe, then she gets Namari's coat. Seriously, we won't see this outfit until next volume.

Senshi has only been with them for like a month, but they are already so attached. I love this family of idiots.

Seems like a waste of a perfectly good centipede. Why make one(1) treasure bug, when you can make slitherpedes? (A horrifying chimera which is basically a giant snake with legs. Four fangs glistening with venom. Two vertical, two sideways. Armor plating and heat vision. Your players will love them.)

It's a little moment, but this really shows how dearly Marcille cares for her friends.

...says the one who uses forbidden ancient magic.

An important image.

I like how you can see Laios questioning why the hell a griffon would kick.

See, post-canon Marcille needs to teach Laios how to make familiars. He would have way too much fun. Plus, controlling a familiar might be a way to bypass the curse.

This is actually a pretty cool creature known as a Rod. Rods are a type of cryptid which are super fast rod shaped creatures which can't be seen by the naked eye, only with cameras. Turns out they're just bugs caught by cameras with long exposure times.

Thanks! I'll keep that in mind next time I prepare sky fish.

Local gossip girl baffled good friend was able to keep massive secrets from her.

With that, I'll go ahead and finish up with chapter 49 and the misc monster tales in a final post. See ya!

[misty--nights]

And finally, episode 8. This rewatch has been fun. It really forced me to pay attention to the details and I’ve found so many interesting thing I’d missed before. I think by now it’s more than safe to say that this has become one of my absolute favorite shows, and I can’t wait for my brain to insist I should watch it yet again.

Edwin's reaction feels so fair to me. I also did a double take the first time I saw Crystal swallow the memories. Love that Charles is trying to be supportive and stuff, but I agree with Edwin on this one. Those things are so big, how is your first instinct to swallow then whole?

Charles' face when Crystal is explaining her name is kind of similar to the one he has in episode 3 and 5 when Niko is doing something amusing. It's a mixture of endeared and a little baffled that I find so charming

Can Esther understand Monty in crow form or is she just pretending to have conversations with him like how you do with pets? Honestly, I'm not sure which one would be better. Both options have a lot of potential

Someone please give Crystal a hug. Or two. The way her voice breaks when she's talking to her parents, how her eyes get dimmer and dimmer the more she realizes that they suck and didn't miss her, how she sounds when she tells the boys about it, ugh. It breaks my heart

Back to another intro detail, but doesn't the surface of the mirror the skelletons go through kind of look like the mirror Charles sees himself in in episode 7. Like the frame is different, but the surface with the grid lines reminds me of the one in hell

I love the rooftop scene so much. Edwin and Niko have such a precious friendship and I wish we had even more of them interacting. Now I know I've seen people mention how Edwin is so comfortable with Niko's touch and how ge lets her cuddle up to him in that scene. But also, up until this point we haven't seen him truly iniciate touch with others (besides Charles) but he bumps Niko's shoulder when he's joking about Monty and offers her his hand to take. I just think that's neat

Crystal looks tiny next to Niko when they're talking to Jenny

"The whole thing was such a mystery" and "no rest for the wicked". The tone the officer uses for these lines? Chilling. I'm telling you, there's something weird about the people in town at times and the Port Townsend police are walking a line btween purposefully useless and downright sinister

There's something to be said about Crystal offering to wipe Jenny's memories, if she wants. We've followed her the whole season trying to get her own memories back, so it's huge that she's willing to take someone else's if that could help. Because she cares about Jenny, in that same, quiet way that Jenny cares about her and Niko. Also the way she emphasizes that she can take the memories only if Jenny wants that is actually so important to me

For some reason I always assume the girls are going to hold hands in that scene where they're looking for the Cat King and Crystal gives Niko her cleaver back. Even though this is the third time I watch it, I always expect it, and I'm always a little disappointed when all Crystal does is change what hand is holding her own cleaver

Not to question old dark magic or anything, but I am so curious as to how Esther's snake works. Did she already have the snake? Did she find it and make a pact with it? How does it transform little girls into youth for Esther? Also, the Cat King calls it Esther's snake, but then later on Esther says "I never thought I'd be eating kids to stay young and beautiful" so I don't know. Many questions about this

Tragic Mick makes a point of saying the bear figure is a gift and is on him, but the girls very much leave the store without paying for the salt so... Two gifts?

Niko keeps insisting she's not brave, but she was ready to charge into Esther's house after hearing Edwin's scream

Litty and Kingham's coats in the igloo have a dandelion decoration on the chest

[lunarspiral1127]

X-Men 97 episode 5 *SPOILERS*

The interviews

The reporter seemed nice and doesn't act like a typical controversial one. And, seeing Beast blush was adorable. But, Scott's interview was a doozy. What he said when he lashed out, well....he ain't wrong. I just thought Magneto would be the one to say those things, not Scott. Still, not wrong.

Jean/Scott/Madelyn/Logan drama

UGH! I hate love triangles that bring out so much stress and drama. And, I'm worried that Jean and Scott will break up because of the crap Mr. Sinister pulled. I wasn't expecting Jean to kiss Logan, and it was HIM who told her to go talk to Scott. Despite his feelings, he's still trying to be respectful to their relationship. But, seriously, Jean, why did you kiss him?!

Then apparently, Scott and Madelyn were checking up on each other telepathically, which I get why Jean would be mad at that. But, Madelyn during her time at the mansion WAS Jean and Scott thought that was her! They're the same! At least they were? Then again, they're in contact for a month and Jean kissed Logan once....UGH! I hate this drama. SINISTER THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!!

Genosha

Beautiful. It was a paradise for mutants. They deserve this. The gala looked pretty, I liked the statues of Charles and Magneto, I was not expecting the Hellfire Club to be a part of this council cause I don't trust them (especially the crap they pulled in the previous show). Lots of cameos from other characters that I couldn't keep track on, but the place was lovely. It's a shame though on what happened later on....

Nightcrawler

This lovely, precious German Christian man. 🥰 I love Nightcrawler and I'm glad to see him in this show. The original voice actor who played him in the previous show still does a great job voicing him. And, he approves of Gambit and Rogue (adopted sister) being together, so that's extra bonus points. He got a new look compared to his previous one, but I still like it. Then when the massacre happened, I was so worried that he was gonna die. Thank goodness he survived, but I hate seeing him so hurt.

Gambit/Rogue/Magneto drama

I hate this love triangle SO MUCH! We get an explanation on how Rogue and Magneto got together, and I'm questioning how old she was when they first met and whether Magneto was influencing her in a bad way. Either way, still don't like this ship. Even when them dancing looked good animated, I STILL don't like it. Plus, it still doesn't make sense cause they've been against each other in the previous show, where there was no signs of the two having that past relationship.

Anyway, I'm glad Rogue finally told Gambit the truth, and I feel so bad for him. But, he knew what she wanted and how much it hurt, even going as far as to distance himself, which he showed a lot of emotional maturity, so respect to that. But, that thing where he'll lead Genosha if Rogue stays as his "queen"? DA FUQ?! Look, I like Magneto, but I did not like that. Still wish Rogue could've gotten one of those collars to nullify her powers so that she can touch Gambit. Would've solved a lot of drama, just saying.

I was SO relieved though, that Rogue said that he was right, and rejected Magneto, but I wish she could've done that without kissing him right where Gambit can see it. Either way, it seemed like she'll choose Gambit and not stay with Magneto in Genosha, THANK GOD!

So, you think this would be the end of that love triangle right? Well, yes and no? Cause what happened afterwards hurt like hell.

Genosha Massacre

So, a giant Master Mold thing showed up, killing mutants and destroying Genosha. It was cool seeing Cable again trying to stop it and seeing his mom after so long, which is a glimmer of hope but I'll get to that later. So, many people died. Sebastian Shaw, Calypso, Banshee, Marrow, pretty sure that was Dazzler or Moira not sure, and three more that hurt me so much.

Magneto. Okay, I may not like that love triangle, but I didn't hate the guy. Dude was fighting that Sentinel with a train as a whip, that was pretty cool. And, he tried to protect the Molocks. He tried to protect Leech! He got Rogue and Gambit out of the way. What hurt the most was he told Leech not to be afraid IN GERMAN! Again, didn't want him to die. Although, I wished he could've used his magnetism to push the Molocks away like he did with Rogue and Gambit, but nope. They all died!

Leech. Precious innocent Leech. He was just a kid, man! And, he got to hang out with other mutants his age. He was making friends. Only for this to happen. And, not a lot of people talk about Leech and what happened to him. But, I liked him, and that hurt.

And, finally, the one that hurt the most.....Gambit.....Remy.

He went out like a hero. He sacrificed himself to destroy that Sentinel from killing even more mutants. "The name's Gambit, mon ami. Remember it." Well, now we know why this episode is called Remember It, cause it was Gambit's last words. And, if that wasn't enough, Rogue holding onto him, crying over his body, finally able to touch him....only to not feel him.

THAT. FREAKING. HURT. SO. BAD!!! 😭 Gambit was one of my favorite X-Men characters, and I legit was crying seeing that end. It really hurt to see that happen to him, but at least he went out saving people. However! There is that slight glimmer of hope! Cable. He tried to go back to stop this, who's to say he won't try again? Time travel shenanigans will happen and he can team up with Bishop and the rest of the X-Men to prevent this from happening. It happened many times before, it can happen here. And, maybe, just maybe, Gambit, Leech, Magneto, and all those people won't have to die. This may the denial talking, but I'll be so pissed if Gambit's dead and he Rogue won't be together for good anymore, cause that would be bullcrap.

God, how am I gonna be okay when we're getting Storm and Forge vs. The Adversary next week?! And, jeez, if things keep up like this, Storm is gonna return to the whole mansion on fire. I can't imagine what her and everyone's reactions are gonna be when they find out about Gambit and even Magneto.

Anyway, good episode. Much better than last week's. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go find a way to cope from all of that.

[willel]

Castle Byers

Firstly I want to start off by saying how absolutely perfect this song is for the moment. It starts off so melancholic and hopeful. But as the song progresses, despite that hopeful happy feeling, something sinister and off putting is building under it until it overtakes everything.

It so perfectly suits Will and El's situation the moment she finds him. I imagine she was so relieved and happy to see him alive, but as the connection dims and breaks, leaving her alone, it must've felt awful.

In my brief previous post, I stated how not just the scene itself but all the context surrounding it makes this part of the The Bathtub so.......... perfect. So precious. It really shows the bond of the Byers family and El (and Hopper's) potential place it in before it was even on the table.

Originally, I was going to say it starts with Joyce and El's conversation but no, I think it really starts with Hopper and Jonathan.

First of all, the blooper for this scene is absolutely hilarious. But on a more serious note, I feel as though this is the first time Jonathan has ever even slightly trusted an adult man to keep his word.

"You have to trust me on this, alright?" I'm not sure if he really allows himself to trust here but he does take a step back and doesn't run off on his own again. Not until Nancy decides to follow through with the plan to hunt to Demogorgon. But when you really think about it, he still trusted Hopper (and Joyce) to find and rescue Will while he and Nancy dealt with the monster that would try to hurt them.

I think back to Lonnie planting seeds of distrust over Hopper being the chief. Or even how Jonathan ignored Hopper at the beginning of the season and went to Lonnie's house to search for Will himself.

The change is in no way dramatic or intense, but changes with Jonathan rarely are. This little moment of "... Alright I'll trust you." without actually saying the words and even the still doubtful expression makes me hope for more Hopper and Jonathan scenes in the upcoming season.

Then we have this moment. You must remember, Joyce and Hopper just went on a wild goose chase researching the lab and ended up discovering El existed. Not only that, they met her family. They met her mother that spend more than a decade looking for her and trying to save her.

I feel after Season 1, they don't focus much on just how similar Joyce and Terry are. If Joyce were in Terry's situation, I think she would've also busted into Hawkins Lab with a gun to get Will or Jonathan out. Joyce doesn't know about the details of that of course, but I still think Joyce saw a lot of herself in Terry.

It was this scene that really opened by eyes to El becoming a Byers someday. This is their first time meeting and yet Joyce knows exactly what to say. Exactly how to comfort her. Exactly how to give her confidence and thank her for all her hard work.

You can see how much El struggles to understand Joyce's kindness and warmth. Whenever Papa "asked" her to do something, it obviously wasn't a request, but an order. When she faced something scary or experienced something painful, Papa was really there to give her comfort, he was there to make sure she could keep going.

I wonder if El trusted Joyce to her word and be there for her when things to too scary or difficult, or was it empty promises like before?

And then like a proper mom and dad of a supernatural child, they help her into the bath. It's just kinda cute.

Of course, can't forget to mention when she finds Barb dead and starts freaking out, Joyce is there as she promised. I noticed though Hopper was trying to hold her hand too while she was flailing, she grabbed onto Joyce instead. earfrawed

The void is such a lonely place usually, I wonder if this is the first time she's ever heard someone on the outside calling out to tell her it's ok and she's not really alone. Maybe I'm getting too deep in my feelings but I can't help but wonder.

There's this tiny Joye and Jonathan moment when El announces her new location (sorry about Barb, Nancy). Castle Byers. Castle Byers on the rightside up was one of the first places Joyce and Jonathan looked when they were searching for Will on their own. They weren't wrong to check there. Makes total sense even in another world he'd be there yeah?

And then...before Castle Byers plays, there's nothing but quite droning and her wet footsteps as she gets closer.

And then she says his name so softly and the music starts ahhhh. It's so sad but so so precious??? This is where my theory brain started going ".... Oh. This moment is something more." I've been a delusional Hopper-Byers family fanatic since then! :D

This specific frame lives rent free in my brain. How does it touch my heart so? To see this poor lost girl trying to help this poor lost boy and then the fact that they later become family??? It's just all too perfect. Do you understand my feelings???

Anyway, what partially spurred me to write this post is reexamining the one thing Will said during this scene and his mental state during this conversation.

Firstly, it's unclear if he's even awake or if he remembers this moment. In the show, Will hasn't really said one way or another if he remembers this or not. Even in the comics, when this happens, it's presented like Will is hallucinating something from his d&d stories.

It's been how many years since this happened in the show? Yet it doesn't seem like Will has told anyone about his experience in the Upside Down whatsoever.

When the Hawkins crew in S4 got trapped in the Upside Down, they had to figure out the lights and hearing people on the other side all by themselves because clearly Will hasn't told any of them. Not even Nancy knew and I feel like Jonathan would've informed her of anything Will said regarding Upside Down stuff at least, right? She was so traumatized by the place and though her stint there was brief prior to S4... I dunno. I feel like if Will told them stuff, Nancy would know the stuff.

Back to the actual scene, what had me pondering things was Will saying "Hurry."

I mean, look at him. He's clearly unwell and I'm sure he'd love to go home right now so saying "Hurry" is not weird or anything. But it had me thinking, "Did Will know or suspect something was going to happen to him very soon or that he was "running out of time""?

I know that's a stretch, but it just stuck out to me all of the sudden. Immediately after this, he is captured by the demogorgon or something else.

We have NO idea what really happened over there. We have no idea how much Will remembers.

I can' really call this a theory, just speculation that there is something more here than meets the eye. But, let's get back to the family feels.

I love this little moment of Hopper hearing Will's voice and looking so determined. Season 1 Hopper best Hopper (I like S2 Hopper too though). The drive the becomes stronger and stronger to save the child of his former/new best friend/crush/lover/whatever the hell they were Joyce is.... he's a good guy.

Jonathan just watching Joyce reassure Will that they're coming over and over. I wonder what he's really feeling in this moment. I mean, he's probably feeling just as determined as Hopper and Joyce. But seeing stuff like this makes me wonder what he thinks of El.

Is he amazed? Is he afraid? Thankful? I just wish we got more of his feelings about it all.

I'm so sad we didn't get more sprinkles of Jonathan and El content over the years. S3 and S4 gave us a wee bit but still not enough.

There's this itty bitty detail that is completely irrelevant but for most of this scene, Will is not holding El's hand back. But at some point, he does hold her hand back but starts to let go at the end of the scene. gseranodwe

It's hard to see when it's not in action, but I'm much to lazy to make a full gif right now.

There's two moments when she panics like this. It's during this scene and when she loses contact with her mother in season 2. I've always wondered why she has such a strong panic when losing connection like that, especially with her mom in S2.

I can sort of understand here because Will is in a precarious situation but her mom definitely wasn't. Was her reaction to her mom disappearing PTSD from Will disappearing? Or is it when she uses her powers in this way, it's disorienting or painful when it ends abruptly?

AHHHH. I love this so so much. Joyce just holding her and reassuring her and giving her kisses on the forehead and everything. God, they are so freaking precious oh my god.

"You did so good." I cannot even a believe this woman has so much love to give.

Anyway. That's my rant of the day about the excellent amazing and beautiful Castle Byers scene accompanied with music.

Bonus: Lucas making sure El is warm, he's the best.

[ribbonsaikeaux]

Arise

Tick... tick... tick... tick...

"Please. Miss. Don't. Cry..." amber said haltingly, reaching up to Roses' cheek.

"I-I... d-do-don't want y-you to g-go sweetheart!" She choked out through, deep, soul shattering sobs; clutching her doll to her chest.

Tick... ... ... tick... ... ... tick... ... ... tick... ... ...

"It... lo... ves... y... ou... Mi... ss..." it says, its lips cracking and creaking as a smile parted its lips.

Little ambers' body stiffened in Miss Roses' arms; its eyes distant, glassy, still. The ticking has stopped. Miss Rose wails in sorrow from the deep, empty, chasm that's formed in your stomach; clutching her beloved amber tightly. Earth shatter sobs rip through her as tears and snot pour down her face; her eyes, bloodshot, refuse to leave her dolls body. Clutching it tighter and tighter, closer and closer, she claws at its back in desperation.

"Nononono! Sweetie! Wa-ake uh-hu-hup!" She screams, shaking the now lifeless doll violently. "D-d-do-on't le-hea-heave meeeee!"

Rose gently sets amber down; standing in a daze as she stumbles to her feet with her head hanging.

"No. No. No. No. No. No. No." She just keeps repeating as she stumbles away, leaving ambers' damaged body behind as she limply tosses open the back door. She bounces of the walls of the hallway, barely able to stand, knees on the verge of giving out.

"No. No. No. No." She continues mutters, opening the basement door. Feet like lead fall heavily on the creaky wooden stairs, ocassionaly cracking the warped planks. She uses the wall to hold her upper body up, having lost any semblance of strength.

Finally, Rose reaches the basement floor, momentarily loosing her footing, catching herself on her workbench.

"No. No. No. No." She mouths, having completely lost her voice. One hand holding her head, she tears through her library, searching for a particular spell. Books fly across the dimly lit room, shattering beakers and pestals, mixing herbs and chemicals. Small explosions shake the house and fires start to spread, and yet Rose remains oblivious.

"You'll come back. You'll come back. You'll come back." She chants, finally finding the book she'd sought and clutching it to her chest. She trips over a piece of her now destoyed desk, eyes distant, empty. Fumbling her way up the burning stairs, she doesn't notice the smell nor the feel of the flames licking at her dress. She wanders through the collapsing house in her disociative stupor, collapsing just outside the door and onto the porch.

"Come back. Come back. Come back." She mutters, unsteadily climbing to her feet and swaying. Her knuckles tuen white, the leather of the tome creaking in her vice like grasp. Upon reaching ambers' empty shell, Rose collapses to her knees, the gravel embedding into them, as mindlessly flipping through the book until she finds what she needs.

"Arise. Arise! ARISE!" she screams, a sickly green glow eminating from her outstretched hands. Thunder cracks the sky, winds whip up, and the clouds darken to a near obsidian shade. The energy pours from Roses' hands and into the dolls' husk, filling it with mystical energy.

A bolt of lightning strikes behind Rose as the spell is completed, sending her flying forward. Instinctively, she covers amber protectively.

Beneath her, Rose feels a stirring. She pushes herself up raggedly and looks down at amber. The doll remains speechless, but it shifts, slowly aitting in front of its mistess. Its eyes glow with a sinister green tinge, staring straight through Rose.

Rose, overcome with elation, snaps back to reality and throughs her arms around amber. "My precious! You're back!" She cries through manic laughter, clutching her doll close and laying her head on its shoulder. "I love you so much..."

An unimaginable pain tears through Roses' chest. Her voice catches in her throat, leaving her soundlessly screaming. She leans back, unable to move any further due to the hand in her chest. She stares into the dead glowing eyes of her former doll, her own filled with pain, sorrow, and betrayal. She mouths "Why?" in confussion and dismay before the doll removed its hand from her chest with a jerk.

Roses' body collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud and ithe doll admired the crimson heart it held in its hand, expression never changing. Glancing at Roses body, it absently waved its diminuitive hand in its direction.

The corpse filled with a green glow as it started floating into the air; its bones cracking and creaking as it writhes unnaturally. The light diffused the bodys' while being, even pouring from the hole in its chest

The risen Rose settled onto its feet, dead eyes glowing. The two looked at each other lifelessly for a moment before the former amber took the animated corpses' hand. Wordlessly, they wandered down the road and through the forest, on the hunt for new recruits.

[dia-souls]

DIABOLIK LOVERS DAYLIGHT Analyzes [ Vol. 4 Sakamaki Subaru ]

Original title: 不機嫌の理由

Source: Diabolik Lovers Daylight Vol. 4 Sakamaki Subaru

Seiyuu: Takashi Kondou

Analyzes by: Admin Afra

Admin's note: Finally, it is the turn of Tsundere boy. Of course, we all know that Subaru and Yui's ship is one of the most famous ships in the fandom. I used to think that maybe one of the reasons is Subaru's shyness and how he shows his tsundere side in front of Yui. But Subaru's feelings are much bigger than these words. This guy is willing to give his heart to the girl he loves more than anyone else and he doesn't care what happens to him even if it means he won't breathe again in this world, he still doesn't care because His heart will beat in the body of Yui, who is more precious to him than anyone else.

The flashback left me with a lot of questions. For example, are the legends of demons real or not? Maybe this is something we can investigate outside of the daylight series, but in my opinion, the fact that Subaru could not find that fruit does not mean that it is not real.

Let's go back to the story. Surely someone must be so important to Subaru that he would put all his hope in a legend. I understand Subaru's dark and sinister side well and I can say that this boy has really improved, especially since he is looking for a small glimmer of light in his black pit of despair to save Yui.

Maybe we can say that this is not something important because all the boys did it. But if we have a brief overview of their behavior in the first seasons, we will realize that this progress is really admirable. Especially about Subaru. who is ready to believe a fairy tale even if it seems ridiculous to him to save Yui.

After the flashback, as usual, a normal routine begins, which is very annoying in Subaru's opinion. Why? Because, as usual, Yui puts the wishes of others before het own, and this is what torments Subaru the most. It's not like Yui can reject others' requests very easily like Subaru, but this is what Subaru expects from her.

For Yui, it doesn't matter what time of day or what day it is. In any case, she accepts others' requests and this can have two reasons. Fear of punishment or kindness and naivety. I myself prefer to say the second case. Of course, I don't deny that Yui is afraid of punishment because she has gone through a great journey with the boys and endured severe torture from them. But if we take a look at Yui's life, we will realize that she has always been like this. Not just about boys but about all people. For example, if someone makes a request to her, she nods her head with kindness and a sweet smile, rather than rejecting the request. And this is what Yui is and makes it stand out from the rest and be special. She does not expect anything from anyone and does work for them without regret.

But apparently Subaru is not happy about this and blames Yui for paying so much attention to the wishes of others. I will put my thoughts at the feet of Subaru's jealousy. Subaru, as someone who has never seen the love of his mother and suffered a lot because of his mother's bipolarity, does not want to lose someone who really loves him from the bottom of her heart. Maybe Subaru is afraid that Yui will turn away from Subaru's love like his mother and stop loving him. It can be said that this is normal from a boy who wants nothing from life but love.

When Subaru decided to punish Yui, Yui's trembling and weakness scared him a lot. This means that even if Subaru is rough with Yui or angry at her, the first and last thing he thinks of is Yui and he never wants to lose her. At that moment, Yui's illness was not very serious, and only a simple tremor in Yui's body made Subaru panic. Because Subaru sees his own life in Yui's life.

Realizing that Yui only listens to others' requests because of her loyalty to Subaru so that they don't drink Yui's blood makes Subaru regret and you can understand this regret in his words. Subaru doesn't express his apology in words and tries to show with his behavior that he is sorry and this is because he is a little shy.

After Subaru notices Yui's absence at school, he decides to skip classes and return home. Well, I never thought of Subaru as a responsible person, so it's quite normal that he worries about Yui more than school, even if he thinks Yui's illness isn't too serious.

But in any case, Subaru is upset with Yui for not telling him about her bad health. When it comes to Yui, Subaru never likes to fall behind his brothers, that's why the fact that he found out about this later than Ayato bothered him a lot. It can be said that Subaru is somehow jealous that he is not as close to Yui as Ayato because only Ayato is in the same class with Yui and he found out about Yui's situation earlier.

Maybe we find it very funny that Subaru is angry with Yui for such a small matter. But don't underestimate the Tsundere boy. When it's Yui, he gets jealous very easily.

In any case, the fact that Yui hid her illness from Subaru upsets Subaru more. You can understand that Subaru wants Yui to feel comfortable with him and not to hide anything from him. Because Yui is the only person that Subaru trusts and Subaru wants Yui to feel the same way about him.

But it was very interesting to me that Subaru called Yui unlucky because she has Cordelia's heart and is chosen as the legendary Eve. Because many people consider Yui lucky to have Cordelia's heart and it is because of Cordelia's heart that she is still alive. Well, with Subaru's words, we realize that this thinking is completely wrong. Cordelia's heart did not save Yui, but her kindness and wonderful personality and her golden heart made her survive until now. Otherwise, the boys would have killed her a long time ago. Apart from that, Yui is not lucky to have Cordelia's heart. On the contrary, she is very unlucky. Because Cordelia's heart has only taken away her freedom and happiness, and also her life. It is not easy at first glance, but if we pay close attention, we will realize that Yui was chosen because of having Cordelia's heart and fell into this hellish life. Something Subaru confirms here. Having Cordelia's heart has caused Yui to be hurt by many people and her life becomes shorter and shorter. Well, this is not something that can be called happiness or good luck, but it is exactly the opposite of this obvious example of bad luck.

Yui's thinking is different because her heart made her meet Subaru. Well, maybe this is normal from Yui. After all, she is the girl who easily forgives others and forgets their mistakes. This even makes Subaru upset about it. Because he knows Yui deserves more than this. Yui's kindness and compassion only hurts herself and this is what upsets Subaru.

I can say that just like Reiji, Subaru believes that not only himself, but this world needs a person like Yui, and this thought gives him the motivation to try to save her life.

I cried after Yui donated her blood to Subaru despite her illness. Yui is not in good health and is worried about Subaru's bad mood. She blames herself for not being able to offer her blood to Subaru.

After drinking Yui's blood, Subaru talks about its strange taste and it is here that Yui becomes disappointed. Not because she is sick, but because her blood is no longer special. I can understand why Yui was upset about this.

Yui has suffered the most severe torture and punishment from these boys and if we remember the first CDs and games, almost all the boys have told Yui several times that the only thing that makes Yui special is her blood and Or all her value is because of her blood and she has no value and blah blah blah.... Honestly, if I didn't know Yui well, I would say to myself that she was just disappointed by all this and decided to deal with her fate. But now that I know het well, I realize that she accepts this issue not for herself but for the person she loves.

She thinks that if all her worth is in her blood, then she will give her last drop to someone she loves, and it doesn't matter what happens to her, and it doesn't matter if she enters a hellish life. She thinks that the boy she loves has suffered enough, and if her blood makes him even a little bit happier, she will give it to him, even if she has to endure a terrible life.

This was exactly what made Subaru angry. He hates Yui's behavior. That Yui doesn't care about herself at all and she doesn't care what will happen to her. Don't do this, Subaru wants to scream at the top of his lungs. "You are worth more than me and my brothers. You deserve a better life. You should worry about your health and life, not that your blood is no longer special. Think about yourself, not worthless creatures like us."

It's hard for Subaru to express these feelings in words, that's why he just yells.

In any case, Subaru tries his best to save Yui. He apologizes to her and tells her that "I don't care about your blood at all. Your existence is precious to me. You were the one who saved me from the monster inside me and that's why you are dear to me."

Subaru sees his own life in Yui's. Because Yui was the only girl who did not look at him with the eyes of a monster and understood the goodness and beauty inside him and called him beautiful. Subaru does everything to save her. And when he sees that Reiji is useless, he gives his hope to the legends, even if this legend is not true, but it gives him a small hope that Subaru will try his luck. Because Yui is the only person he never wants to lose.

How does Subaru describe Yui's fake coma to keep herself alive?

"Your heart is not beating. Your skin was white as if you were really dead. At that moment, my heart stopped. I would give anything for you to breathe again. my foot, my hand, my arm....everything."

This sentence simply describes that if Yui disappears from this world, Subaru will also disappear. If Yui doesn't live in this world, Subaru has no reason to stay in this world. This simply shows that Subaru loves Yui more than his own life, that he is willing to give his whole being to Yui so that she can live and breathe.

Yui considers Subaru to be kind, but why does Subaru not approve of Yui's thinking. Because Subaru simply knows that he will never be as kind as Yui. Yui is willing to sacrifice her life to make the person she loves happy, but Subaru wants to sacrifice his life to be satisfied and happy, so Subaru considers himself selfish, not kind.

Subaru doesn't like churches, but he's willing to take her to church to make Yui happy. The church where they first met, and according to Subaru, both of them have changed a lot since then.

In any case, Subaru is not willing to watch Yui die and even if he can't find a magical fruit to replace Yui's heart, he is willing to give his heart to Yui. And he does it for himself, not Yui. He can't live in a world without Yui and that's why he wants to keep her alive at any cost.

Honestly, I find this very kind of Subaru. In any case, even if he is not alive, he knows that his heart will beat in the body of the girl he loves. Yui might cry, but as Subaru said, if you don't want to lose me, you need to know how I feel. Subaru doesn't want to lose Yui either.

Yui is precious to Subaru. More than anyone and anything else. Yui is the rose that shines in the dark for Subaru and makes him smile. Yui is a treasure that Subaru never wants to lose. Even if he gives his life to Yui.

How Subaru survived the loss of his heart left a lot of questions, but I think the ending was more symbolic. A symbol of a bridegroom who surrendered to the pure love of a girl.

[ghostampire]

"You're still my girlfriend?"

Tara Carpenter x Amber Freeman

Summary: The conflict between Amber and Wes ends badly. Tara's an observer.

Words: 991

Warnings: Wes' death.

Love creates cruelty, because it's a great excuse to do terrible things. But are they really so terrible? After all, they are done for love, for the person you love. Or maybe it's a lie and it all comes from selfish and possessive motives that Amber couldn't suppress, and saw no reason to go against them. She was guided by these feelings. She was ready for her girlfriend to do any terrible and wonderful feats that would show how strong her love for her was.

But where did it all begin? Wes, Wes, Wes. That pain in the ass was hanging around Tara like a pesky insect that she wanted to swat away, get rid of. To stab a knife right into its ugly throat with extreme cruelty and watch it bleed to death. The fear in his eyes. The realization that his life would end soon because the killer wanted it to. A very jealous killer, which was Amber. Well, or she was going to be.

Only Tara could calm Amber, take her mind off of it. For a while. After all, she was the reason, so seeing her was a reminder that sheMUST do what she set out to do.

“Amber... what have you done...?”

Tara's voice was shaking with shock and the inability to believe what she was seeing in front of her now. The question hung in the air, as it did not need an answer. She was the answer. The black costume of Ghostface, the bloody knife in her hand, and that satisfied smirk on the face of the girl who could hardly contain her excitement at what was happening at all. More and more blood was spreading on the floor of the Hicks house right beside the breathless body of the boy who thought he was safe, who thought his secret crush on Carpenter would go unnoticed, but it wasn't.

The mask was removed and now Amber appeared in front of the girl in all her greatness. It was she who held the knife tightly, the blade of which entered the flesh of her victim so easily, and it was her gaze that devoured every bit of the moment while Wes was losing the fight for his life in horror. He was dead. For real. That's why Amber's heart was beating wildly in her chest, because she did it. Love and death go hand in hand and it was something that the girl saw as inseparable. And yet…

Tara was terrified and Amber saw it in her eyes when she looked at her treasure, her precious babe, who now had to prove to her how much she loved her. She does love her, doesn't she? Ready to accept her and even reward her with a kiss for such a sublime display of love. Isn't that how it should be in their perfect story of two girls willing to do anything for each other. Of course Amber was scared, she longed for this moment, but she was also afraid of it most of all.

Step by step, she approached Carpenter, taking her time so as not to scare her, but Tara didn't go towards her, but began to back away, eventually resting her back against the wall, not understanding what to expect next from the person who was everything to her and with whom she felt safe. Will this feeling stay with her or will it be replaced by fear?

“Look! See what I've done? Isn't that cool? He annoyed you.”

There was not an ounce of remorse or sympathy in Amber's words, there was cruelty in them, something sinister that Tara could hardly understand, but how could it be understood? Was it “cool"? It was very difficult to think about it now, when the brunette was standing so close to her, when her hot breath was felt on her cheek to goosebumps. When there was no escape route left. Amber sadistically dealt with Wes, but her touch to her lover was gentle. She touched her the same way when they were alone in bed and when they were hiding in the school back room. Back then, it made Carpenter feel butterflies in her stomach, but now it felt like torture and her stomach was twisting treacherously with fear.

Amber leaned closer to her, her breath tickling her ear and her hand resting on her neck where Tara's rapid pulse could be heard so clearly. Her head was dizzy from such an intensity of feeling, but it was what the brunette needed.

“I did it for us.”

Amber's smile widened, because she desperately wanted to say these words, so intimately and close to Tara, who at that moment squeezed her eyes shut and whimpered, continuing to stand in a daze. It was a turning point in their relationship and nothing should have ended badly. It was just the murder of some jerk who didn't even matter. But it mattered to Tara.

“You killed him... You're a monster.”

Amber's body twitched as they lay in bed with Tara in an embrace and watched the horrors on TV on such a calm and cozy evening, one of many that they appreciated more than not leaving each other. The girl's fantasies sometimes went far, but they came from the heart. She wanted Wes to be dead. She wanted to kill him with her own hands, but she also didn't want to lose her beloved. This was what she was afraid of the most, but this fear would not stop her from doing what she wanted, but would only push her to come up with a plan to leave her girlfriend by her side in any case.

With a faint smile, she glanced at Tara, who looked up at her worriedly, wondering what was wrong. Amber only hugged her tighter, taking her hand with the same tenderness, and leaned closer to give her a kiss.

“Nothing, babe. Love you.”

[i-heart-hxh]

Hi,.....if you don't mind me asking, can I ask your top 5 (or top 3) favorite characters from Hunter x Hunter? And why you loved them? And your top 5 favorite moments from the series? Sorry if you've answered this question before....Thanks....

I'm happy to answer, thank you very much for asking! I'm indecisive and overflowing with love for HxH, so doing rankings is a challenge for me, but I put some thought into it and here are my answers for now!

Top 5 Characters:

5. Biscuit Krueger -- It's fun how Bisky isn't at all what you'd assume when we meet her character (in a few different ways), and I love her sassy attitude! She has a lot of different sides to her, and I find her very entertaining. Her strong personality makes how she plays off other characters especially amusing. I like that she can be somewhat cranky, self-serving, and rude at times, but she also has a softer and caring side to her. I look forward to seeing more of her role in the current arc!

4. Neferpitou -- I adore Pitou's design, and the combination of how sinister and also cute they are simultaneously, which is fitting of a very powerful cat (ant). I enjoy their mischievous and playful side as well! Their growth as a character throughout Chimera Ant Arc is so moving to me, and such a vital part of the arc and the message of the series as a whole.

3. Kurapika -- He's a great second protagonist for the series! The dichotomy of the brutality and darkness of his revenge/recovery mission and what succeeding at that requires from him, and his underlying gentle and polite demeanor are interesting to watch play out. I'm both excited and nervous to see what Togashi has in store for the rest of his arc...

2. Gon Freecss -- He's only very, very narrowly in second place, I adore him deeply and he and Killua are undoubtedly my two favorite characters of all time (from anything). I love how he initially seems to be a normal, cheerful, and strong-willed shounen protagonist, but as you go further in the story and look deeper into his character it becomes increasingly clear how unique and well-written he is. There's so much nuance to him and he's such a fulfilling character to explore and think about, I never get tired of it. Plus, of course he's adorable!

1. Killua Zoldyck -- I mean, who doesn't love him? He's such an incredibly multidimensional, fun, heartwrenching, fantastic character. His emotional growth throughout the series is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in a piece of fiction. His character design is so simple and yet so precious and iconic. There are tons of little touches to his character that contribute to making him feel so well-rounded and genuine. He and Gon utterly captured my heart my first time through the series and haven't let go even slightly.

Honorable mentions: Leorio, Alluka, Senritsu, I could go on and on... Togashi is a master at writing characters!

Top 5 Series Moments:

5. Gon and Killua on Whale Island -- I absolutely love the Whale Island episodes/chapters, they're such a reprieve from the many harrowing things going in the series otherwise, and it's wonderful to see Gon and Killua becoming closer. Their talk under the stars is such an important moment for them, setting the tone for their relationship going forward. I love thinking about all the fun they must have had that we don't see when they're on Whale Island, because they were there for a while and we only see a bit of it. These episodes/chapters are something I come back to a lot for comfort, and in the future I'm hoping we'll get another scene that echoes the scene under the stars...

4. "It has to be Killua." (From the dodgeball match.) -- There are so many layers to this scene, I love the complexity of it. From Gon's romantic-coded words towards Killua, Killua's very non-platonic response, and the contrast with Killua getting hurt on Gon's behalf, but it's because of Gon's respect for Killua's desire to help him at all costs... It's difficult to even summarize all the layers of what's going on without going deep into meta, it's a great microcosm of both the love and trust between the two, and some of the issues between them beginning to pop up, too.

3. The initial confrontation between Gon and Pitou/"It has nothing to do with you." -- The intensity of this scene is off the charts, both in the manga's incredible inked portrayal and the 2011 anime (with some of the absolute best voice acting I've ever seen in the hundreds of anime I've watched). Watching Gon lose control the way he does is chilling, and meanwhile we witness Pitou's growth as a character and the deep pain and conflict Killua faces. It's a difficult read/watch for sure, but an absolute turning point in the series and for the characters involved, and it's brilliantly executed and tragic.

2. Meruem and Komugi's lover's suicide -- This scene has made me cry hard so many times, it's beautiful and iconic and the absolute perfect climax to the Chimera Ant arc. One of the best and most heartwarming/heartbreaking scenes simultaneously I've ever seen.

1. "Gon, you are light." -- This scene was a major turning point for me when I watched the series the first time, and I still think it's an incredibly amazing and painful scene that says so much with so little. It's not just about Killua's increasingly hard to deny love for Gon, but also his self-esteem issues and how he sees himself in comparison to Gon, Killua's guilt over what happened to Kite, his denial of the cruel reality of what's happening because he deeply wants to see the optimistic way Gon does... And then of course with the scene going straight to Pitou holding Kite's decapitated head, it's really a gut punch.

This was difficult for me because there are SO many fantastic moments in HxH, I could easily make a top 20 or 30 and still not run out of scenes I adore. Of course, loving Gon and Killua's dynamic as much as I do, I go back to their scenes over and over again, and so that's what I'm focusing on here in my ranking. But there are tons of scenes not centered around them at all or only centered on one or the other that I also deeply love, and it's hard to leave all those out!

Thank you for asking my opinion! As hard as it is deciding on rankings, it was fun to think this over and write out some of my reasons why.

[angelicyoongie]

My beautiful and most favourite author I hope your well and taking care of yourself! Loved your abundance chapter as always!

However you gave me to do one thing however I'm going to do this with the most restraint I have without wanting to beat lovesick characters asses.

Namjoon, you absolute ass, capichè you are all MC's soul mate, well done for knowing what we all already know, however if your area that much for her wellbeing like you stated you do you would have cared for how badly her wellbeing is all while being with all of you, smartass. (..still a simp tho shh)

Jin, low-key love the mama bear mode however you still participate in trying to coax mc to bellive kidnapping someone is okay if it's done because it's for "love", it's not, at the moment it's for your own selfish game because you and the others love her, she does not. (Also still a simp)

Yoongi, honestly your the most kind and patient and one of the least involved in this and you try and keep the youngers respectful, therefore I request permission and consent to simp cos I can and if anyone deserves mc's trust I hope it's you first <3

Hoseok you ignorant little sh- human being. Having the most involvement , drugging her, so then everyone could take her while she was already vulnerable was a sickening move, i don't think those chocolates of yours will give you any hope for her to love you anymore, idc how hot you are, thats not cool. (Also still a simp)

Jimin.. you mother fu- "sane" , "friendly" police officer.. you know you would be my favourite one right? To punch. Your tactics are smart, but sickening and for you to think mc kept your "notes" because she liked them?.. newsflash, she took the to the station to report them as evidence, that's how harassment reports that make people uncomfortable work, after all, with a mouth like that I would hate to think how much you run it. (...yes he's still hot asf-)

Taehyung, why do I want to simp but slap this man at the same time? He's so fine~ until I want to beat his ass for the little plots he planned so easily yet so we'll planned out, it's easy to tell how manipulation is used easily, and how your going to use it for MC to break further down the line, with the kindest way possible I hope mc beats your ass and takes your dog away with her.

Jungkook, my god what went wrong with you? "Hyung this- Hyung that" hush man, hush. With all due respect you had MC the closest to you, she trusted you and I bellieve if you waited it out , with your cute shy shit , and cute/hot looks you would have had her, but noooo you had to let your precious hyungs kidnap her, drug her, and traumatise the woman all while ruining your chances and your hyungs chances of gaining her love and mostly trust. Your lucky your cute.

Anyways, cough, if you need someone to insult the characters but drool over them freely at the same time I volunteer! (Although I think we all do-)

AHHH omg thank you so much, I'm doing well! 🥺💖

"Y/n is doing fine," Namjoon says flatly, "she just needs some time to adjust."

Seokjin shakes his head, "I'm not being selfish, I'm just trying to look out for her. Who knows what could've happened if we let her be! At least this way we'll be able to protect her. Even if she doesn't love us right now, it'll come with time. I'm sure."

Yoongi blushes, his cheeks dusted pink as he ducks his head, "Thank you, I'm only trying to do what's best for Y/n."

"Ouch, that's not very nice," Hoseok frowns. He stares off into the air, eyes glossed over as he murmurs, "Y/n will see that I did the right thing eventually."

"You think I'm smart? That's sweet," Jimin leers, eyes dark as he cocks his head. "I know Y/n brought them to the station to get my attention, you don't have to make up lies. I don't like liars."

"Thank you! I watched a lot of movies and TV shows to prepare!" Taehyung grins. His smile turns a little sinister as he coldly adds, "Are you threatening Tannie? You really shouldn't do that."

"I need the hyungs," Jungkook cowers, eyes in his lap as he nervously picks at his nails. "But did she really like me that much?" He murmurs, lips twisted into a sad frown.

(Haha, thank you, I'll keep that in mind! 😉)

[fueledpurelybyspite]

Different uses for different needles

summary

It's now three in the morning, and Xavier finally has the piercing he'd been thinking about for the past three weeks and a very self-satisfied girlfriend.

'Watch out Wens, you'll have to chase girls away from me with a bat now' He jokingly tells her.

He expects jealousy, instead Wednesday still looks like a cat who got the cream, amusement giving her face a sinister allure.

'Wouldn't be the first time'

Xavier almost asks, he really does. But this moment is so precious he doesn't feel like he needs to know what poor girl incurred in Wednesday's wrath before.

He takes her in his arms from behind, resting his temple on the top of her head.

'Thank you, Wens. I love it'

'Don't let it go to your head, I only did it because that's the only way I can legally stab you'

Or

Headcanon that Xavier eventually picks up tattooing and becomes well known in the school as the person to go to for beautiful designs specially made for all kinds of outcasts.

Wednesday is the only person he tattoos for free. What the others don't know, however, is that to pay back the favor Wednesday decides to do his piercings

*

Sirens have thick skin.

Their scales are hard to get through with the needle. And if that weren't enough, he has to be careful of what inks he uses, lest he accidentally damages the protective layer they develop in their early childhood in order to protect them from the frigid currents of their native waters.

It's tricky, maddening work. But Xavier still feels that it's worth it when he can get the mighty Kraken curled around Kent's arm to open his jaws and swallow the tiny ship still healing on his wrist.

'That's so awesome, dude' His friend's comment is filled with wonder and youthful bravado as he twists his neck to take a better look at his new ink, laughing like a kid who's managed to sneak an early peak of his Christmas presents.

Xavier grins back at him even as his focus fades and both the fresh and previous tattoos go still, the tiny ship once again reappearing on Kent's skin.

'Interesting' Wednesday's voice is low and distracted as her eyes trail the drop of crimson blood running from his upper arm to his elbow, gaze transfixed on it with eerie curiosity. 'Now we know for a fact that your drawings can interact with each other, even on skin'

She's perched on the arm of one of the couches they've recently managed to put in the Nightshades' library, back perfectly straight and a heavy notebook balanced on her knee.

Theoretically speaking, it would be easier to do this in his shed, what with not having to sneak inks and needles inside the school and everything. But after the cops came bursting through the door and messed everything up, Xavier finds himself even more protective of that space than he already was.

Ironic, really, that even after everything that happened Wednesday is the only one who's granted access.

'Yo, Addams, remind me again why you're here' Kent turns in her direction, half playful and half annoyed.

Rather than answering, Wednesday keeps her attention on the blood weeping from the fresh wound before lifting her gaze to his, black eyes blown wide and the chilling hint of a smile at the corner of her lips.

If he weren't so enamored by the sight of her, Xavier would laugh at Kent's visible shudder. 

'Jesus, you're sick' is the last thing his friend says before getting up and rushedly going for the door.

He stops only a second to shout from halfway up the stairs. 'I gave the money to Ajax earlier, by the way, he said he'll bring it by your room later'

'Thanks, man' Xavier answers, but he's distracted. His nightmarish girl has shifted her attention on him, cruel smile and crueler eyes alight with the closest thing to genuine excitement she ever allows herself to show.

It's not unusual for her to sit through his tattooing sessions. Never talking, never speaking, never judging or engaging. She just stays, and she watches. A dangerous little shadow lurking in the corner of his vision at all times.

'I have another idea for you, wanna see?' He always feels like he needs to lower his voice when he's talking to her. Maybe it's instinct, maybe it's learned behavior, like using exclusively hushed tones the moment you step into a church.

One of her brows arches high on her disgustingly pretty face. Asking is below her, and so she never does. It's Xavier that comes up with designs for her, that takes time out of his school work and already fucked up sleep schedule to work on them until he deems them worthy.

He fumbles to find his sketchbook, the good one with the black leather cover that he exclusively uses for her. He skips through pages and pages of agonizing studies of her hands, the faint hint of different facial expressions, mugs of bitter coffee, and even an embarrassing recreation of the black cat costume she wore during her first time competing for the Poe cup.

He doesn't bother hiding it. Sure, he's kinda always a bit scared for his life, but it's not like his pining is a secret. Even someone as emotionally dense as Wednesday has picked up on it by this point.

Finally, he stops to show her the few simple letters he dreams of marking into her skin. he knows it's a bold move, and a very, very risky one. Because this time the design it's not simply about Wednesday, but in some way it's about him too, about the way he sees her, anyway. What she is to him.

He's half expecting her to break a few of his knuckles for the sheer audacity. Instead, she just looks at him intrigued and faintly surprised, her head tilted slightly to the side as she asks him 'Where?'

He smiles brightly at her and tells her when to come by.

*

He feels a little euphoric, having Wednesday lie down on the cheap mattress in his shed in the dead of night, shirt off and hands over her chest for modesty as she waits for him to bring a needle to her moonlight-pale skin.

They are breaking so many rules simultaneously that he doesn't even know exactly what their punishment would be if they were found out.

'I half expected you to propose to do a third one to keep this two company' She says, brushing one of the two ravens caught in flight just under each of her collarbones with the tip o her finger. 'Then they would officially become an unkindness'

Xavier's face stretches in a lopsided grin, throwing her a glance as he readies everything he needs.

'Ravens mate for life' He looks around making sure the fresh needle is within reach 'wouldn't want it to get crowded. Although-' He applies the stencil on her skin with careful, precise movements. A playful glint coming forth in his eyes. ' I guess some little ones are bound to come around, sooner or later-Ah, fuckin-Wens!'

She kicks him in the side so hard it sends him falling on his ass over a few cans of paint scattered on the ground. Laughing only makes the pain worst, and yet he can't bring himself to stop, wiping tears from his eyes with latex-covered fingers.

'I'm going to castrate you with my bare teeth'

'Hey, don't threaten me with a good time'

This time Xavier manages to dodge her blow, barely.

'Alright, alright. I'm done fucking around, sorry' But he's still laughing and she's still scowling at him.

No matter, Wednesday lies back down with the promise of violence in her eyes, eyeing the needles with newfound interest. But then she huffs and relaxes, looking like someone who's about to get a spa treatment instead of a tiny needle stabbed in their sternum a thousand times.

'You know the drill, this might hurt a little' Xavier says, focused and ready to get to work.

'I'm counting on it'

*

'Xavier? Xavier-Wake up'

He comes back to reality with a jolt, the Wednesday in his dreams replaced with the Wednesday sitting astride his legs, with hair falling out of her braids and smeared dark makeup under her wide eyes. Her stoic expression does very little to hide her restlessness as she scans his face in open judgment, like he's the crazy one for sleeping, in his room, in the middle of the goddamned night.

Xavier wants to laugh, and yell at her, and maybe kiss her for good measure. Is she wearing his shirt?

'You look a mess'

'You're pretty like a girl'

He frowns. There's too much to unpack in that sentence for his two-and-a-half am brain.

'Addams, what. the. fuck.'

Xavier couldn't agree more with his roommate at the moment. Ajax's exhausted grunt comes from all the way across the room as he fumbles with the blanket to cover his ears.

Wednesday throws his sprawled form a condescending glance as she answers him. 'You do realize that me being here means Enid has the room all to herself, right?'

A beat of silence as Ajax registers her words, then before Xavier can bat an eye the covers are on the ground and his friend has a hand on the door handle, the other rushedly fixing his beanie over his snakes.

'Thanks, Wednesday!'

'Whatever, no debauchery on my side of the room'

Xavier looks up at her with a knowing smirk. 'Boy, has that ship sailed'

'do you want to die?'

He doesn't know how people can avoid someone like Wednesday. She makes him laugh so much, with her quick wit and dry humor, and (mostly) empty threats.

He knows his eyes are too fond for her liking when he answers her. 'What do you want?

'I want to pierce your ear'

Aaand now he's confused again, awesome. Xavier imagines that for Wednesday everyday conversations must feel like talking with a bunch of obtuse apes. 'You, wait-what?'

'did you hit your head? I said-'

'No, no, I got it. But why?'

For a second Wednesday's eyes shift on the phone on his nightstand, then she lowers her voice, bringing her face even closer to his.

'I've seen you look at pictures of it on your phone- It's a kind way to say she'gone through his phone, he knows. Wednesday wouldn't be caught dead openly looking at a tecnology device in public, not even someone else's-, right here' She touches a point high on the shell of his left ear. 'I want to do it. I let you do tattoos on me all the time'

'You let me?' She's the only one who he draws and works for free, and yet, somehow, in her head, he's the priviledged one for getting the honor of marking her skin.

He hates himself a bit because, deep down, he agrees with her. Goddamnit.

'Of course'

Wednesday twists on top of him to get something out of her bag. When she turns there's a brand new piercing kit in one of her hands. A tiny, beautiful, stainless steel ring in the other.

Xavier sits up to examine the items. He smiles warmly up at her, his batshit crazy, unpredictable, weirdly thoughtful girl. Who wants to play it cool but got so excited about finding a way to return his devotion to her that she couldn't wait for the morning to come.

I love you, he thinks. And it catches him so off guard his brain shuts down for a moment. He didn't expect this revelation to come to him in such a mundane moment, not after all the dangerous, life-threatening events they've been through together. And yet it's right there, clear as day. An impossibly familiar truth, lurking in the back of his mind just waiting for the right moment to strike.

I love you, he thinks. But it's the middle of the night and they're just kids. Plus, Wednesday has a very sharp needle in her hands that he'd rather not have stabbed in his eye.

So instead Xavier shakes his head without dropping her gaze, smiles, and tells her 'Free of charge?'

Wednesday rolls her eyes, exasperated, and he knows he's done for.

*

There's a surprising amount of blood for such a small wound. Still, the hole is clean and the process quick and painless.

It's now three in the morning, and Xavier finally has the piercing he'd been thinking about for the past three weeks and a very self-satisfied girlfriend.

'Watch out Wens, you'll have to chase girls away from me with a bat now' He jokingly tells her.

He expects jealousy, instead Wednesday still looks like a cat who got the cream, amusement giving her face a sinister allure.

'Wouldn't be the first time'

Xavier almost asks, he really does. But this moment is so precious he doesn't feel like he needs to know what poor girl incurred in Wednesday's wrath before.

He takes her in his arms from behind, resting his temple on the top of her head.

'Thank you, Wens. I love it'

'Don't let it go to your head, I only did it because that's the only way I can legally stab you'

He looks at her reflection in the mirror as one of the ravens flies from her collarbone to the word freshly tattooed on her skin, perching on the first of the four gothic capital letters.

On her sternum, right in the center, the ultimate proof of his devotion, his claim on her looks back at him.

'Muse'.