#fully if he did try to interact with me i would tell someone like. hey this needs to not happen

[comfycozycrossfox]

mmmmmmmmmmmm torn between being superior and being so so scared

[samsno1]

A/N: tried not to use any gender-defining pronouns for the reader in this one but if I accidently left any in here, I apologise, force of habit yk

"Hey, Sam, come here for a second" Dean calls him and the youngest looks up from his laptop to his brother, who's standing a few feet away, leaning against the door after coming back from the kitchen, where he got a pack of beer for the three of you.

You, on the other hand, were focused in your books, reading lore about creatures purely to be more wise when it came to either finding out who or what was disturbing the peace or killing it as quick as possible so that the torment would be gone.

Sam reached for your wrist and gently held it for a moment so you'd look at him. You raise your eyes to his face, your beatiful orbs almost knocking the air out of his lungs. "I'll be back" He says gently and you give him a tiny smile, nodding in approval and going back to your task, fully concentrating into it to the point you didn't even feel Sam's hand letting go of your arm.

Sam glances at you one last time and slight smile graces his face before he got up from his chair, walking towards the oldest. Neither of you see it but Dean rolled his eyes at the interaction, making a disgusted face.

Once Sam got closer, Dean adjusted his position against the door, standing upright to seem taller and take on the 'older, wiser brother' role.

"Yeah, what's up?" Sam asks his brother and Dean lifts an eyebrow. He raises a hand and flattens it against his brother's back, hitting him lightly, guiding him to the kitchen again. Sam walks along, the sting on his back ignored as he's suddenly confused and, at the same time, worried.

"Hey, Y/N, we'll be right back, if you need anything, we're in the kitchen!" Dean yells at you, turning his head slightly over his shoulder so you'd hear him clearly. He hears your faint 'Okay' and continued guiding Sam, this time to sit at the kitchen table.

Sam sat down and stared at his brother — who looked out the kitchen door to guarantee you were still studying — and made a confused face.

Once Dean was sure they were alone, he turned to his brother, arms crossed.

"Dean, is everything—?"

"You gotta' stop this man" Dean interrupts and Sam frowns, even more confused. Dean rolls his eyes, again, this time visible to Sam.

"Stop...what?" Sam inquires.

"You know...That! Why don't you tell Y/N instead of staring like a creep as if you're under a love spell?" Dean lowers his voice so that you wouldn't listen.

Sam opened and closed his mouth, trying to find a way out of this. "I don't know what you're talking about"

Dean face drops and he looks almost angry at Sam's stupidity. He sits down in front of him, flattening his uper arms against the table and crossing his fingers from each hand.

"Y/N might be naíve but I'm not, Sam. Actually, I'm very aware. For months. The looks you give, the 'let me make you breakfast', the way you get so jealous when people stare at bars—" Sam opens his mouth to counter but Dean raises a finger — like he would do to a toddler — to silence him "—and don't say you don't do that because every time we go to bars or clubs you suddenly get in a mood when you see someone looking in a different way."

Sam stays silent. If even his brother knew than you probably did too, right? He sighed and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms.

"And what am I supposed to do, hm? I'm not going to ruin our friendship for a...crush or whatever. Y/N isn't even into me anyways, why bother?" Sam says matter-of-factly and Dean has the urge to punch some sense into his brother right then and there.

"Isn't even— How are you both so stupid?"

"Who's stupid?" You suddenly enter the room, a book in your hand — one of the ones you were studying. Sam swallows harshly, scared that you heard anything and silently glared at his brother.

"You are" Dean replied and you roll your eyes playfully at him. At the same time it wasn't a lie, you didn't know the whole truth.

"Haha, very funny Dean. Anyways, I need to steal Sam back for a moment, are you guys still busy?" You ask, looking between the siblings, your eyes lingering for a while longer on the youngest, noticing Sam staring daggers at his brother. Dean shrugs.

"He's all yours" He says and you thank him, nodding. Dean leaves the kitchen saying something about Baby and you approach Sam.

You lay your hand softly over his upper arm, your touch burning through his clothes and against his skin. He looks at you then, seeing that little worry line between your eyebrows. He loved that. He thought about kissing it — if he could — to smooth it away anytime you looked at him that way.

"Is everything okay?" You ask, your voice soothing. He almost melts right then and there.

"Yeah, yeah, it's fine...What did you need?" He reasures you and you relax. You remember what you were doing here in the first place before getting distracted and showed Sam something in the book that you didn't understand, asking him about it.

He started to explain it to you but you could barely pay attention to what he was explaining. You stared at his face, completely lost. The way his lips moved, the slight stubble from his beard already visible, and his finger dancing against the letters in the paper while he tried to make you understand were so...distracting.

You loved how passionate he was about books and lore. He was smart and you found that amusing. It was one of your favorite things about him.

Once he finished telling you about it he looked at your face to see you zoned out while you showed the faintest smile. He smiled too.

You woke up from your trance and, when you noticed he was done and you were just mindlessly staring at him, you felt your face heat up. You cleared your throat and looked down at the book again.

"Thank you" You said.

"No problem, anything else just ask" He replied, knowing you hadn't paid attention to a word he said.

You looked at him again and nodded. You got closer and gave him a kiss on his cheek and Sam heard alarms going off in his head.

"You're the best" you said, smiling, and walked back to the library, leaving Sam speechless in the kitchen, wide eyed.

One day you were gonna be the death of him.

A/N: Yay, another drabble! Giving you guys this while I finish writing the p. 2 to Dream Of Me (which already has 4k words and I didn't even get to the good part 🤭). I love awkward idiots in love, my favorite troupe and I think it fits Sam well. Anyways, tell me what you think! 🫶

[aurora-313]

Hi there.

I do wish to share a hot about certain events and characters in Bleach.

I don't think Rukia should have been the captain of squad 13. Here me out, she is qualified to be a captain and has bankai. But not for the 13th squad. We didn't see her interact with squad 13 as much as she did with squad six (Renji and Byakuya). The only significant interaction she had was with Kaien who later [redacted] in her hands.

We didn't get to see the relationship between her and Ukitake as captain and lieutenant duo and...generally really. Meanwhile we have seen great relationships with other squads like Shunsui and Nanao, Byakuya and Renji heck even Komamura and Iba had their moments together but not Rukia and Ukitake.

It upsets me as an Ukitake fan that she gets to fully admire the same people who tired to kill her in their first introduction instead of her Captain who not only said fuck you to C46 but also went against the Head captain (whom he has generated respect) to save her life🥲

Plus they didn't even get a flashback moment in tybw anime before Ukitake performed the ritual. One of the reasons I detest tybw. And she even said his line from the manga'we all feel the same way as the court guard' like come on! It would have been an emotional moment if Kubo expanded on their relationship more😤 I prefer to just ignore tybw as a whole sometimes

I apologise for the rant but I don't hate her. I hate the way Kubo handled her character as well as others sometimes. What do you think?

Well. I despise TYBW, period, so you're already starting off on a good foot with me.

I categorically reject its existence in favour of FB functioning as an epilogue and an imagined ending scene where the next year they visit Masaki's grave, Isshin strikes up a conversation with Ichigo, asking "Hey, did I ever tell you how I met your mother?"

I'll just say for the record, you don't need to redact any words, mate. We're all adults here. If one word sends someone into a foaming fit they mash keys incoherently, they have bigger problems than a random stranger on the internet.

Anyways. That aside: I will say I agree with you. To a point. Rukia's arc was about overcoming her own isolation, either self imposed or imposed upon her. EG. her talents with reiatsu in Rukongai isolating her from her adopted siblings, her adoption into nobility, her perceived role as a 'Captain's pet', her guilt from killing Kaien (when you can tell he regained control and threw himself on the blade rather than hurt her, plus her orders to do it.)

Rukia achieving Captaincy is meant to be the thematic conclusion of that arc. Overcoming her isolation to become the leader her division need her to be in the wake of tragedy. We do see it a bit in the story.

Thanks to Ichigo, Rukia was able to form bonds with the humans in Karakura; she was able to rediscover her will to live; she was able to rebuild a bond with Renji (though I'm confused how the fuck her first adopted brother became her husband, or how she forgave him for literally trying to kill her the first time they met in 40 years. Maybe Rukia's got some twisted kinks) and form a proper siblinghood with Byakuya; Rukia was able to look in the face of the man she believed she wronged most (Aaroniero!Kaien) and tell him 'I'm sorry but until I've achieved my goals, I can't give you my life'; she was able to muster the courage to go against Soul Society's laws and spearhead the effort to give Ichigo his powers back, ultimately roping in everyone up to the Yamamoto to help.

As inheritor of Kaien and Ukitake's legacies, captaincy was absolutely in Rukia's future. But to my mind, it should've been an achievement she gained well beyond what the source manga covers. If Bleach was ever cursed with a 'next gen' series, Rukia should be in that line-up. (which, I will concede, she is. But I despise everything to do with TYBW and the epilogue, so I categorically reject its existence.)

I will also agree we absolutely missed out on anything that showed why Ukitake chose Rukia as his new Lieutenant outside nepotism and being Kaien's former student. We saw nothing of their working relationship. We didn't see Rukia coping with the extra duties of being basically pseudo-Captain all the times Ukitake gets laid out due to illness. We don't get to see her working with Kiyone and Sentaro as their superior or any connections with the 13th before she's elected Captain. We're in complete agreement there.

Thematically, its meant to be a triumphant end for her character journey. In practice, screams of nepotism and a desperate need to back fill ranks because everyone is else qualified is dead, exiled or a traitor.

I'll be completely honest with you: The kamikake is bullshit. The whole plot point is bullshit. It positively screams of Kubo realising Ukitake is the golden bullet in the war against the Quincy, given Sogyo no Kotowari's power is literally catching and sending objects back at a foe, empowered several times over (ridiculously overpowered against foes that use exclusively energy projectiles, no?). The whole plot beat is Kubo deciding, "I need this character to die because he's far too broken for this war. How can I justify it? Oh, lets make him a part-Soul King."

TYBW's adaptation is middling to mediocre. I gave the first cour a watch. Not only was I mind-numbingly bored, the amount of character content cut that gave us vital context to character reactions.

My first warning sign was the first episode: 2/3rds of the episode wasted on two plebs we'll never see again. Who really gives a damn about these two idiots? Really. Sure, the manga set them up to be Ichigo's new apprentices. Which would've been a fantastic dynamic. Ichigo's the veteran teaching the impressionable young rookies how to fight and survive (honestly a far better story than what we got) but Kubo quickly punted that idea to the curb and shat all over it, in favour of a war with absolutely no stakes nor reason to care, really.

The death knell for me was the second episode: Ichigo going on patrol after hearing about Sasakibe's funeral.

In the manga, Ishida and Ichigo have a conversation about it where they agree the only reason they were allowed to overhear that phone call - or rather, the only reason the random blebs of the week received that phone call - is because Soul Society was going to tap Ichigo for help. Ichigo went on patrol to calm his nerves because the anxiety of waiting was eating him alive.

Additionally, we had a scene with the Lieutenants discussing the disappearing souls in Rukongai, then promptly freaking out because they thought their comrades had turned traitor (again) and turned their blades on Rukongai residences.

Instead the anime would have us believe Ichigo sad over a guy he'd never officially met died. A guy whose only interaction was Ichigo shattering his entire ribcage to protect Rukia and Renji's escape from Sokyoku hill. And the Lieutenants' investigations/findings are cut entirely.

That told me everything I needed to know about how this adaptation was going to go; relentlessly hacking away anything worth paying attention to, replacing it with meaningless fights, jingling keys, more filler fights, shoehorned ""shipping"" (its not even that, let's be real), infusing boring characters with artificial relevance and pushing a worse narrative than anything the manga provided.

Don't even get me started on the bullshit they've done to the Soul King.

I didn't know how TYBW could get any worse or any more illogical, but congrats Kubo, you've managed to crawl under my expectations.

To sum up: I agree with you to a point. Rukia and Ukitake absolutely should've gotten more scenes together (maybe if Kubo stopped adding characters and built up the ones he already had...), Rukia's Captaincy should've been a future/next gen plot point, and uh, yes. I hate how every character is handled in TYBW.

(You're fine ranting. I've given you a rant in kind so I think we're even. lol)

[gaiathemexicanbeauty]

Imagine: Mike is back at his mall security guard job, and reader works at the support desk, but more specifically; is in charge of the lost and found.

1st time was because he found an forgotten phone (or something), and was told to take it to the lost and found, where he first met reader.

Then he starts being extra vigilent when walking around, looking for any item that looks misplaced or lost, no matter how unimportant, just as an excuse to go to the lost and found to talk to reader

(Ive never done this before, so sorry if i did anything wrong!)

lost and found | mike schmidt x reader

word count: 1.2k

warnings: none! just a nice little fluffy piece about a sad sad man lol <3

to the asker, i hope you know that i saw this in my inbox and literally squealed, i was waiting for someone to drop a mike request

i hope that this is to your liking, i was going back and forth trying to decide how to start this off and coming up with tiny little ideas to add

also this probably goes without saying, but i have never worked at a mall nor interacted with mall staff if i can help it so if anything sounds off, feel free to correct me

to anyone who also writes on tumblr, pls tell me how you avoid using y/n, i tried to work around it as much as possible but some times just called for it

you hold your polite (albeit strained) smile to the blubbering woman walking away, unsure what to do with yourself as whoever she stands with rubs her back in comfortable circles. another lost wedding ring, gone to the test of time as long as the mall shall live: it's not that you didn't feel bad but after wedding ring #120, you kind of start to get used to the routine of things. lost and found wasn't your first choice when you first started working here but as long as you were getting a paycheck, you weren't going to complain. your side of the mall was rarely visited anyway, giving you the opportunity to do plenty of people watching when you weren't rummaging through piles of lost sweaters and purses.

you let out a quiet sigh once the customers are gone, sitting back in your seat and picking up the book you had once been reading; not like there was anything better to do. fully immersed in your book, you don't even notice the footsteps coming up to the counter. "um, hey." you jolt a bit at the sound of a voice, your gaze snapping from your book to whoever is standing only a few feet away. you have to hold back your reaction when you meet his eyes, tired but trying their best to look interested; it takes you a second to realize this is security and not another customer. "shoot, sorry." you mumble with an awkward smile as you sit up, resting your book in your lap to give the man in front of you your full attention. "how can i help you?" with a thin-lipped smile, he holds up a purse; from the looks of the logo on it, it's obvious this is designer.

you whistle as you take the purse from him, examining it with raised eyebrows. "well, you don't see this everyday. someone should come back for it, thanks." you say, flashing a grin at the security guard as he gives you a much more genuine smile. "no problem. if i had known lost and found got to see stuff like this, i would have put in to work over here instead." he says with a chuckle, folding his hands in front of him as he leans on the counter. "oh, we don't get interesting stuff that often, i promise you." you say with a roll of your eyes, putting the purse behind the counter; anyone in their right mind would come back for this thing. "enlighten me." before you can say something, the security guard outstretches a hand to you with a smile. "i'm mike, by the way. i work security." he says as you shake his hand, raising your eyebrows at him playfully. "(y/n). to give you some insight into how very little happens here, try and guess how many gachapon toys i have behind this counter."

and just like that, you've made a friend; not that you'd admit that mike wasn't sore on the eyes this soon. you just found it easy to talk to him considering you had never seen him around up until this point. after your first meeting, mike would regularly stop by whether he had something lost to leave with you or not: if you were lucky, he would even join you for lunch or walk you out at the end of a shift. little by little, you couldn't help but anticipate his arrival, the same relaxed smile always on his face much unlike the first time he'd approached you.

it's been almost a month by this point, you've had so many lost items deposited to you that after a while, throwing things away or reselling them (specific orders from your boss who was rather shocked at how many items you had in the back room) was required after a certain amount of time: not like anyone came back for them anyway. today was no different than the rest, the sounds of buzzing conversation in the distance from the more crowded areas of the mall. you pop the gum in your mouth as you paint your thumbnail a light-yellow color, scrunching your nose a bit at the smell of the nail polish. you blow softly on it, your eyes glancing up to scan your surroundings. what you see nearly makes you laugh. mike is walking over, seemingly at his normal pace before something catches his attention; whatever it is, you most definitely can't see it. when he stoops down to inspect it, he makes a face that you can only decipher as him being slightly annoyed. he catches you looking at him, an embarrassed smile on his face as he makes the rest of the walk of shame over to you when he realizes he's been caught.

"well, what is it this time? a broken watch? some cap with an unexplainable stain on it?" "what kind of person do you take me for? i'm just a faithful employee trying to do my job." mike says as he extends his arms with a playful smile, making you role your eyes as you abandon your nail polish to look up at the man in front of you. you close your eyes as you hold out your hand to him expectantly, waiting for him to drop something into your palm; after how often he came around, you made it something of a guessing game as to what mike was going to bring out. surprisingly, it's small, definitely plastic from the muted sound it makes when it lands in your hand. "it's a toy." "warm enough. you can open your eyes." you start to say something, opening your eyes and inspecting the item in your hand before you pause.

a small, plastic cat sits on a swing, it's paws holding on to the small chains attached to a brightly colored tab; it's obvious you could hang this off a shelf. your cheeks redden a bit as a sheepish smile grows on your face, pushing a piece of hair behind your ear as your other hand holds it up to inspect it further. you'd never actually stopped at the capsule toy machines yourself, starting your collection only a few weeks after starting your job when they popped up so frequently at the counter. "you like it?" you blink at mike as he smiles fondly at you, one hand propping his chin up; you swear you can see a hint of smugness in his gaze. "it's..yeah. it's cute." you say, unable to help the way you giggle a bit as you hang the toy on the edge of the counter. "good. better hope no one come's looking for it." he chuckles softly, his eyes dropping from yours for a moment as you stare in delight at the newest addition to your collection. "i wouldn't give it to them anyway. not knowing you got it for me." mike's lips part a bit in shock, a scoff of disbelief leaving him despite the smile on his face as you smile up at him knowingly. he tries to defend himself, stuttering to say something before you're called by one of your coworkers. "duty calls." you giggle as you rise from your seat, pretending not to notice the way mike is still trying to recover from being caught as you make your way over to your coworker, a smile tugging at your lips.

SECOND ONE SHOT IN A WEEK HOLY MOLY THIS IS NEW to the asker, i hope you enjoyed this, i tried to add my own little spin to things just to give it that little extra romantic flair lol BUTTT i hope that all of you are having a good rest of your day/night/afternoon and stay safe! :D

[tiedyeflannels]

Red String Theory

Kim Seokjin x reader

Word count: 1.2k

Genre: established relationship, fluff

A/N: 'Sup! I thought I would take a quick break from Tae's series so I could write this fic for the man, the myth, the Moon that's coming home next month! She's kind of short, but I hope you enjoy!!

“Hey, Y/n/n,” Jin spoke, making me turn my head in his direction.

We were sitting on the couch together just watching the TV while taking a break from moving furniture. I raised my eyebrows and hummed to let him know to continue.

“I’ve got a question.”

I shifted toward him a little and put my legs across his. 

“Shoot,” I said, looking at him with full focus on what he was going to ask.

He looked down at my hands before pointing to my wrists, “Your bracelets. What are their meanings?”

A confused smile appeared on my lips, “What? My bracelets?”

He nodded, “Mhmm! You wear them all the time and never take them off, so what’s their story?”

I chuckled at the question, but nodded all the same.

“Okay, um…” I lifted up my right arm and spread the bracelets one wasn’t overlapping another.

“So these are just hair ties,” I said, stretching the two black bands wrapped around my wrist then letting them snap back.

“This one,” I pointed to a string friendship bracelet with different colors of blue, green and grays, “was given to me by a friend in college during a club we went to together.”

Then I pointed to the last one, which was a small silver bracelet with tiny diamonds spaced throughout.

“And this one’s obviously the one you gave me for our first anniversary.”

He smiled, “And that’s obviously my favorite one out of all of them! What about those?”

Just like I did before, I moved the bracelets making sure that they don’t overlap.

“These are just more friendship bracelets from some of the club members,” I pointed to two braided strings that were made up of three different colors each that were tied around my wrist.

 “And this one was made by my high school best friend,” I said, pulling apart the magnets then putting them back together.

I nodded at my finished explanation before Jim hooked a finger under the little red string around wrist.

“What about this one, hmm?”

I looked at him with a smile, “Have you heard of the ‘Red String Theory’?"

He shook his head at the question.

“So there was a TikTok that I had watched a while back and it was of this girl who was telling a story. So she was saying how she had seen something about the ‘red string theory’ and that it reminded her of something that had happened at her work. She worked at a store and this couple comes in and are trying things on and she’s smiling at their interaction because she thinks they’re cute.

“When they were ready, they went up to pay and then left the store. After they left, she saw something on the ground which happened to be a red bracelet-”

“No,” he gasped, fully immersed in the story.

I laughed, “Yes! She noticed that it was the same one the guy was wearing too. She thought that they would come back for it, so she put it in a drawer and forgot about it… until the next day,” I led on.

He simply nodded, urging me to go on.

“The girl that was with the guy the other day had come in asking if there was a red bracelet here. The cashier said yes and went to fish it out of the drawer, but while doing that she noticed the new ring on her finger and asked her about it. The girl had the biggest smile on her face and said that she couldn’t talk about it because it had just happened and would start crying, but thanked the cashier for the bracelet and the ‘congratulations’ she received before leaving the store.

“After that happened, she had searched up what the theory was and decided to wear one too. And she was wearing it for a few months, until she had started talking to a guy- I can’t remember if it was an old friend or someone new, but anyway- one day she was hanging out with her, now, boyfriend when she realized it fell off, making her wholeheartedly believe in the theory.”

“You didn’t explain what the theory was,” he said as I was just about to keep talking.

“I was just about to get to that,” I nudged him in feigned annoyance which made him chuckle.

“Sorry! Please continue,” he gestured.

I huffed.

“Anyway! It’s believed, in some cultures, that when people are fated to be soulmates there’s an invisible red string that ties them together. So if you wear a red bracelet and meet someone, then it’s supposed to fall off if they’re your soulmate,” I finished.

“Couldn’t that all chalk up to coincidence though,” Jin questioned, eyebrows furrowed. 

I shrugged, “Maybe so, but I’m a hopeless romantic so things like this or fate were always things that I loved which is why I started wearing one.”

“So then this,” he pulled at the red string bracelet, “Has never fallen off?” 

I looked down at the string and let out a chuckle before raising my head to look at Jin again.

“Actually, this is a different bracelet. The first one I started wearing after I watched the video fell off when we met.”

“WHAT?!” I nodded, biting back a smile, “Mhm, it was after that fateful day you spilled coffee on my jacket, invited me to eat to make up for it, then we spent the whole day walking around and talking.” 

I happily sighed at the memory, “I got home and realized that my bracelet wasn’t on my wrist anymore, but I didn’t really think anything of it because I had been wearing it for a long time until you texted me later that night to ask if we could go on a proper date… And now, here we are,” I gestured around our apartment.

He nodded, “Ah… so you wear that like a keepsake?”

I snapped my fingers and pointed at him, “Exactly! It reminds me of you and that day so I tend to look at it whenever I’m feeling down!”

He hummed before he looked at his own wrist, “Maybe I should wear one, too, so we could match.”

I chuckled, “Sure, come with me.”

I got up and took Jin’s hand, pulling him along to the kitchen where some of the moving boxes were. I dug through a few as Jin took a seat on a stool, then I found my embroidery string and took out the red one along with a pair of scissors.

Walking over to where he was sitting and taking a seat too, I had him hold out his wrist while I unwound the string, wrapped it around and tied it before cutting off the excess material.

“Tada,” I cheered, placing the items in my hands on the table.

“Hey Y/n,” Jin started and I turned to look at him, humming in question.

He grabbed both of my hands, “I’m really happy that we share this string.”

He kissed the top of my head as we sat in a peaceful silence and looked around at the piles of unopened boxes and half moved furniture in our new apartment.

Knowing what he meant by that statement, I rested my head on his shoulder and happily sighed.

“Me too, Jin.”

[moltengoldveins]

so it’s a random Friday evening, I’m hanging out with my sister, when she asks me something, and I feel the bottom drop out of my perception of reality:

“hey, did you ever notice that there were other rooms in that chain of challenge rooms before the Philosophers Stone? Like, other than the three that corresponded directly to the golden trio? And that said rooms corresponded pretty directly to Neville and Draco?”

I sat there in shock for a second. She’s right btw, there are two other big challenges and they DO correspond weirdly well with Draco and Neville: the magical plant right at the beginning and the potions that they have to identify. I have a moment where I wonder “huh. I wonder if Dumbledore maybe put those there just in case the Golden Trio picked up some extra friends-“ before she starts going on about how the story would have changed if Neville and Draco were friends. I will absolutely elaborate on this (Fantastic) AU fic premise in a bit but the important thing is what I realized while she was describing this story to me.

I have struggled with explaining to people why I dislike Harry Potter for a really long time. Problems with the author’s behavior aside, I found myself just…. Soured to the books. I grew up loving them and one day they just lost appeal, and as I thought more and more about them I liked them less and less. And I’ve used a ton of different reasons to explain why I don’t like them over the years, but until this conversation I couldn’t really articulate it, not fully. There was Something Wrong, and I couldn’t find the root of it. But I figured it out:

Harry changes nothing. That’s what it is. That’s what bothers me. And it’s deeper than that: the story changes nothing. The story is lukewarm at best in its defense of the good and the true and it rewards wrongdoing and punishes and mocks those who do what is right.

Now, I’m not saying that every story needs to give good things to characters who do good things: that’s not how real life works, it’s not how fiction needs to work. But there is a difference between watching a fictional character try and fail to do good and receive nothing but punishment for it, and then a story that deliberately portrays the efforts of a character to affect positive change as stupid or wrong.

Ostensibly, the ‘point’ of Harry Potter is that discrimination is wrong and people shouldn’t make assumptions based on someone’s upbringing. Hermione’s status as a muggleborn is defended as ‘just as worthy’ as everyone else’s, and discrimination against muggles and muggleborns is the main form Voldemort’s evil takes. The main evil of the story is this insistence on one specific social system in which the pure bloods are valued above all else and everyone else falls into pariah or servile statuses beneath them. THIS IS WRONG. We establish that this is wrong!

BUT. From literally day one, Harry is making assumptions about Draco based on his birth and upbringing, and the story is making assumptions about Hagrid (well, a lot of characters but Hagrid is the most obvious) because of HIS birth and upbringing. And none of these assumptions are ever proven false!

like, how does this actually go down? Draco is rude to Harry in a robe shop - unideal, but he is a stressed child in a wealthy environment, this behavior isn’t out of place. It’s Hagrid who tells Harry about the Malfoy’s, tells him they’re the ‘wrong sort.’ Draco introduces himself later on, apologizing for the interaction at the robe shop: it’s Ron who laughs at Draco’s name first. Draco claps back with the insult about Ron’s name after his name has already been insulted.

My sister pointed something really interesting out to me: Draco and Hermione don’t have beef for a While. It only starts in the second book, when he calls her a Mudblood. But Hermione starts that fight. Hermione insults his blood status, saying that he had to buy him way onto the team because it’s the only thing he has: his family’s wealth. Draco insults her back IN THE WAY HE WAS INSULTED. This is legitimately fascinating to me, I NEVER noticed this.

so that’s already interesting: Harry is all for bridging differences and forgiveness when it comes to people in a ‘lower’ social or moral class than he is, as a Griffindor pureblood. He’s nice to half-giants, house elves, and muggleborns, and those demographics are portrayed by the story as morally good. But anyone above Harry? Anyone in Slytherin? Anyone who is pureblood and rich? They’re not just biased and affected by their cultural upbringing: the STORY ITSELF portrays them as evil and untrustworthy, and Harry never makes an effort to change that. In fact, he actively encourages it with his relationship with Draco. The divide between pure blood Slytherins and the rest of wizard kind is never breached: Harry never changes anything. Voldemort dies, and everything else returns to exactly the same as it was before him. Harry does exactly nothing to the status who.

So what about Hagrid? Hagrid, and by extension giants, are implied by the story to be full people with cultures and feelings, and yet none of Harry’s interactions with Hagrid or Hagrids efforts are rewarded with positive change: the giants join Voldemort in the end, proving people like Umbridge correct about them. Hermione’s efforts with the house elves lead nowhere: Harry dismisses them as foolish from the get-go, and never takes the extra step to viewing Kreacher like a friend and fellow person.

Harry Potter is a deeply allegorical story: this kind of stuff MATTERS. What the story says about one person is what the story is saying about People Like This Person. So, what is it saying?

The story is saying that people like Hagrid, whether you read him as an allegory for kids with Down’s syndrome or autism or a learning disability or they’re mixed-race or whatever? Are exactly as useless and stupid and flawed and burdensome as you think they’d be. It doesn’t say “oh, they have their flaws but we accommodate and love them anyway and they can with accommodation be full contributing members of society with relationships that are just as deep and meaningful and worthy of respect as those of the people around them” no. It says “these people are easy to trick. They’re loud and inappropriate in social settings. They can’t keep secrets and they cause problems without ever fixing them. Their love is comedic, or futile, or both. They are a burden on the people who tolerate their company.”

None of Hagrid’s efforts ever come to fruition. None of his traits that are originally assumed to be bad turn out to be useful. His relationship with his giant brother never goes anywhere: the giants still follow Voldemort, even though his brother does support him in the end. His affection for madam Maxime is played as a joke. He never gets justice for being unfairly expelled or given a chance to take classes again, even though dumbledore KNEW that Hagrid was falsely accused and had EVIDENCE of it after the third book. He gets to teach, yeah, but the gap in his knowledge is never addressed; it’s just mocked and belittled as he fumbles and struggles to be an effective and safe teacher.

This is not an isolated case. This is EVERYWHERE in this story. You just have to look.

The story says that people like Sirius, people who lost everything when falsely accused and put in prison, don’t deserve second chances when they get out. They don’t deserve to reconnect with the kid they should have raised and build the parental relationship they should have had. They don’t get second chances like their oldest friend making them the godfather of his new baby: no, instead that honor goes to Harry, who gets little to no narrative meaning from that decision. They don’t get second chances, but people like Peter Pettigrew do. People like Sirius die soon after they’re released, having regained none of what they lost. The best people like Sirius can do is die for someone fit for decent society.

Molly says, in one of her nastiest moments, that Harry isn’t Sirius’s son: she’s right. But the hatred and disrespect towards Sirius in that comment is never addressed by the story, which really does make it feel like the story is implicitly supporting her.

The story says that people like Remus are sad unreliable and ultimately tragic lost causes. That people who were horribly wounded at a young age in a place they should have been safe (wow. I wonder what that could possibly be an allegory for.), or people who are disabled, or people with ptsd and survivor’s guilt, or people who have lost every person they’ve ever loved, don’t get absolution. They don’t get a second chance, or a place in society, or a future. They’re discriminated against, and nothing changes. They don’t rebuild their relationship with their surviving friends. They die, and their children aren’t even taken in by the person they asked to take them. Remus’s kid isn’t raised by Harry: he’s raised by Molly.

Nothing changes at the end of this story. Harry has not changed anything about the world these people lived and struggled in other than removing Voldemort from it. Werewolves still can’t get jobs. The few people related to the original Marauders are still scattered and unrelated. The giants and half giants are still on the margins of the wilderness. The house elves are still oppressed, and no solution has been offered to them. The purebloods haven’t been brought into the fold: they still think the same things they always have, because none of them have been taught differently. Slytherins are still the ‘evil’ house. No camaraderie has been built: no walls destroyed, no relationships developed, no prejudice dispelled.

Draco isn’t just a character, he is the representation of the Child of the Regime. The Child of Wealth, of Privilege. If he cannot be taught, then you are saying, implicitly, that kids who have been “corrupted” by their rich parents are beyond saving. You are saying that the world cannot change, that those in power cannot be taught compassion, that anyone born into wealth is inherently evil or cowardly or unfriendly or unreachable.

The world of Harry Potter reenforces Draco’s biases and prejudices all the way through. He’s never shown that he’s wrong, that the good guys are good, that love is the answer, that kindness is the right choice. Instead, the trio assume at every turn that he is worse than he already is, and that motivates him to be worse. Instead, they only character watching out from him is Snape, even as Dumbledore continues to manipulate him. Instead, nobody thinks to wonder how a child might be faring in the house of two known death eaters now that Voldemort has returned, they just assume he’d immediately and enthusiastically joined up because he’s a Malfoy. Instead, every Slytherin is asked to leave before the battle of Hogwarts, because they ‘can’t be trusted.’ Not because theyre children who might come face to face with their parents on the other side of the battlefield, no: they can’t be trusted. They’re inherently evil. And everyone else is inherently good.

and all of these statements are backed up by Harry himself. This is how Harry sees his world, and how the narrative treats its characters. This return to the status quo, this complete lack of growth and reconciliation is what the story treats as the ultimate win condition. This disgusting lack of regard for the allegory of your characters, especially when it comes to those who represent the disabled or neurodivergent or racially diverse is what the story treats as fine and normal. EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER who represents a minority has horrible things happen to them and either dies or ends the story worse than they started. Sirius, Remus, Dobby, Hagrid, Tonks, Mad-Eye, even people like Snape and Draco. This is not a narratively satisfying story of growth and positive change, it is the story of a young child being manipulated by the adults in his life to think in binary black and white about the people around him and long desperately for the ‘good old days’ he never experienced, and then being forced by circumstances outside his control to fight for the return of those good old days, completely ignorant of the fact that those ‘good old days’ weren’t that good for most of the people he knows and loves because they’re members of minorities those ‘good old days’ treated like shit.

How on earth were we surprised by JKR’s political and personal opinions? How were any of us blindsided by this? I’m so confused as to how we all looked at this story and went “yeah that looks like a good old fashioned coming of age ‘discrimination is bad’ story to me.” It’s not. It never was. It actively promotes that mentality at nearly every turn. You don’t get to make your villain cartoonishly hate muggles and your heroes heroic muggleborns and then say your story is about being anti-racist when there are eight or so other demographics your main character discriminates against, mistreats, misunderstands, or ignores entirely without narrative consequences. That’s just a story about discrimination being good with a shoddy Halloween costume on to trick the easily distracted.

The story my sister told me, the one where Draco and Neville were friends? It was a story about change and growth. It was a story about how someone’s dogged insistence on kindness could reveal that even the apparent nastiest of people were actually just as human as everyone else; that they too had fears and flaws and loves and strengths, that they too wanted love and respect and affection. It was a story where the good guys were kind, and it made a difference; it taught the misguided about the truth, brought the fallen into the fold. It made whole what was broken and gave second chances to those who felt discarded by the world.

It was, and I cannot stress this enough, absolutely nothing like the books JKR actually wrote.

.

Edit: a commenter mentioned two things I wanna address, the first of which being Harry’s status as a half blood. This is true! I forgot about it :/ I don’t think it changes the point I was making about the story, but it’s good to bring up as I did forget. And second, Remus’s being a werewolf is an allegory for AIDS: I did not know this at all! Thank you for telling me, that’s actually really cool and makes a lot of sense, I don’t know why I didn’t pick up on it. I think that might make things worse though. Like…. That takes the fandom’s confusion over how Remus’s character was treated from ‘frustrated that this allegory doesn’t seem to make sense’ to ‘holy crap you did that on purpose what the heck-‘ so….. yeah. Thank you for telling me op! If anyone knows of any references or information about the different things the characters represent in this story please let me know?

[demonslayedher]

Things that went through my head while watching this episode: --"it's so nice to be able to get wrapped up in this and know about I'm about to get new content" was certainly something that went through my head by the end of the episode, but I was also reminded of how it felt a little too drawn out and over saccharine, and how the extra long length of this episode did not feel it served it fully well. I've come to be more forgiving of the excess happy fluff at the end of this season, and I will defend it as follows, but I still would have preferred they reign it in a little so we don't forget about how hard-won that battle was with how chipper and energetic everyone is.

--But you know what? They deserve it. They are functioning on the rush of relief, and it took a while for them all to gather down there on the grass. Like, it's kind of sweet that the people who first got to celebrate this victory with the Kamado siblings were a trio of swordsmiths who would have felt awful if Nezuko had to die on their accord. These weren't even swordsmiths whom Tanjiro hung out with much, but their lives were just as worthy.

--It was nice to see the group celebration expanded on a bit, but I think what got me feeling like it was overdone was seeing Mitsuri be overwhelmed with gratitude specifically on Nezuko's behalf too, since she was the one not to witness the peril Nezuko was in. I feel it was enough to have have Mitsuri be relieved on everyone's behalf, and to have her be shocked that Nezuko is there in sunlight, which is cute and funny. No need to quite rehash what Tanjiro has just momentously been through. And this is coming from some who really, really loves Mitsuri & Nezuko interaction. It would have been totally in-character to have left Mitsuri blissfully unaware of how awful Nezuko's experience was unless someone point-blank tells her that Nezuko almost didn't make it. Then the extra gratitude specifically for Nezuko would feel earned.

--And my gosh, Ufotable, you sure sold Nezuko's pain. I am still so impressed.

--I also initially did not like just how playful it is to have Nezuko and Tanjiro running away from Haganezuka, because it takes me out of how much peril they were just in. But hey, if there are two characters who are totally fine, it is Nezuko (the being the point that she is way more than fine) and Haganezuka (who will always have energy for enacting sword justice).

--But hey, besides that? Sure, it's pleasant to see them be so happily relieved. This isn't even "we defeated two Upper Moons" triumph, it's just "we're alive, Nezuko is in the sun, Muichiro remembers things, we're alive, we're alive, we're alive." Like, a littttle bit more "WHOA, THOSE WERE UPPER MOONS" like after defeating Gyutaro & Daki would have been nice.

--And like........ that whole final scene... it has its very cute points, just getting to see the swordsmiths interact more since this was their season to have some well-deserved spotlight, both for the work they do and as characters. But it played that "everyone loves Kamado Tanjiro (but he never takes the credit)" note a little too loud. Some things play more nicely with subtlety, but hey, Ufotable wanted to go out with a triumphant statement. I want to be forgiving of that, but... those villagers were busy trying to hurry out of that village. : / And I really hope that Genya, Muichiro, and Mitsuri got the same treatment, but I doubt anybody went collecting confetti each time.

--So anyway, setting those grievances aside!!

--MUZAN MONOLOGUE. Like, it was good, but it always give me flashbacks to Nomura Mansai's Muzan monologue in the Noh rendition, which was chilling. Still, this anime version was great, and I love me all those extra touches they expanded his Heian life with. Muzan isn't all that complicated of a villain. He was always spiteful human who wanted to take out his frustration by destroying other people. Then he got power, but spending half of his time on the brink of death for a thousand years is like being spit in the face. Sure, you're powerful, buddy, until somebody opens a window. And I like that Muzan is uncomplicated. It's his utter disregard for others that made him a villain in the first place, and he has never and will never change.

--And that is why one of my favorite Muzan moments ever is how he doesn't even both to pick his feet up or step around the two corpses on the floor as he exits the room. Other people really are nothing but furniture to him, and that little action--or lack of action, rather-- speaks so loudly about his character.

--Imagine how different the rest of the series would have been if Hantengu's head didn't spin in Nezuko's direction?

--Nezuko's victory over the sun deserves how much it got milked, because in the context of the series, she had in fact made the greatest achievement of any character in this series. Sure, Tanjiro has just killed Upper Moon Four, but it only took the Corp a little over a hundred years to accomplish killing an Upper Moon. Nezuko, within three years of being turned into a demon, has accomplished what Muzan has failed to do for over a thousand years. What's more, this is entirely through Nezuko's own power; there was no one who could have helped her accomplish this. Tamayo could only observe with wonder.

--Truly, Nezuko has "prioritized" this over, say, reattaining her sense of self. I see Nezuko's demon development as being a bit infantile. When she was first "born," so to speak, she was not aware of herself as an individual being, only that she hungered, and that she had just undergone some terrible loss, and that Tanjiro was all she had left. After a little sleep it got easily to process that Tanjiro was someone who she understood, and even as she started to gain some sense of self, it revolved around Tanjiro and his welfare. Listening to Urokodaki and Tanjiro as she slept, and perhaps seeing memories of her family as she dreamed probably put together something more basic, but she probably did not remember anything more than her family's faces and how deeply she cares about them. I think little by little as she started gaining more of an awareness of others as individuals and appreciating that there is more in the world she enjoys than just her brother's wellbeing, she probably gained more and more of an understanding of being someone named Nezuko and having a mission to fight demons with everyone else she has come to care about, and with, a high level of ability to understand language, but because she had the muzzle this whole time, she had no need to try to use words herself, so she didn't prioritize this either.

--I bring that all up just to say that she might have (without words) been thinking, "oh, I know what this is called. This is 'morning.' People are supposed to say something, what it is? Oh, right! Gu--gOoD mOrnNinG~"

--And then it's like, "OH, I CAN COMMUNICATE!!! THIS IS FUN!!!!! NEW POWER!!!"

--So proud of you, Nezuko

--I like that Ufotable stressed her daytime eyes still looking very inhuman. It stresses how something is still very off about her existence. Nobody is used to seeing a daytime demon. (I prefer her nighttime eyes, though.)

--But also that is such Kimetsu Logic to do a thing and then explain the thing without spoiling it. Thank you for your letter, Tamayo-san.

--Now, Tanjiro, though. You know that he's making it harder and harder to uphold Corp rules about what makes a Pillar. Haha, no, Tanjiro is no Pillar! He only cut the heads off those Twelve Moon demons because he had Pillars helping him! Haha, somehow he is still the same rank as Zenitsu and Inosuke after chopping the head off Upper Moon Four! (Zenitsu and Inosuke, what the fresh hell have you two been up to in order to match rank with Tanjiro???)

--But also, it is wicked cool how Tanjiro is just turns the Mark on now like a lightswitch, and that Ufotable switches up in the animation in a way that shows he's going at full throttle. (Meanwhile, our Marked Pillar friends looked just a little more blithe than their usual blithe selves.)

--I find it totally legit that he could suddenly use Thunder Breath, since Sun Breath is the source of all of them, so the concepts would be the same anyway.

--Those last hits Tanjiro gets in on Hantengu too, very cool. I love how many tries it takes to get that hit, too! Hantengu is full of surprises and I have come to appreciate him a lot more over the course of this rewatch. If I ever, say, get a skiddish hamster, maybe I'll name it Hante or something.

--Love the sound design on the mountain setting, especially when Muichiro calls out to Tanjiro from up on the cliff. That sounded SO GOOD in the theater.

--Also, just, a huge shout out to all of Ufotable's construction of settings. Really, really, wonderful.

--And the sounds on SUCH A REALISTIC PANIC ATTACK, and movements, right now to how Tanjiro's fingers shake. Man, way to stress me out. I sort of what to speed it all up to see how quick this all went down as Tanjiro was panicking, but the only parts that were really slowed down were watching Hantengu run. It was all so painfully slow and was all happening too fast. What an awful moment.

--and I can't wait for Tanjiro to reflect back on that when talking with Himejima

--This episode was Nezuko's biggest triumph, but at least for a few moments, it was also Tanjiro's biggest loss.

[carbonated-olive-juice]

tma!sanders sides au bc i’ve been brainrotting over this for the past several days

(@wobblystrawberry helped a lot with this [hiiii])

Remus:

- The Corruption

- the bastard that made me start this whole thing (wanted to make The Stinky Trash Bastard Man, Stinky Trash Bastard Man Squared and it sorta just went from there)

- known as The Duke of The Crawling Rot

- raided the magnus institute with Jane Prentiss (where he meets Logan, they probably start dating sometime in the AU) (both Remus and Prentiss wore raggedy red dresses and Roman got pissy about Remus stealing his color)

- dating Janus and living with him + Annabelle Cane (more on her later)

Roman:

- The Desolation

- known as The Prince of Total Desolation/The Prince of Devastation

- was The Lightless Flame’s attempt to salvage the idea of having a Messiah and all the work that was put into that (a failed attempt at that)

- a lot of “he hurts everyone close to him because of the intensity of his love for them (“also he can’t touch anyone without burning them alive)” going on with him

- him and Jude Perry are lesbian/gay hostility (also Jude pretty much HATES Roman because he’s quite literally the “replacement” for the woman she loved) but sometimes have their moments of coexistence

- him and Virgil have something going on but it isn’t clear to anyone (including me) what exactly it is

speaking of…

Virgil:

- The Dark

- it was close between The Dark and The End but ultimately I went for The Dark

- ascended to Avatar-hood earliest out of everyone else (at like something between 14-17 idk)

- much more on the human-ish end of the spectrum (main thing is his eyes, i’ll drop the design soon i promise)

- Janus (who’ll i get to next) was like a mentor/older sibling figure for him, and tried to get him to become an avatar of The Web (is still trying to do so) which is why 1) Virgil is still closely tied to spiders, and 2) mostly why Virgil Does Not Like Janus

- Virgil still has a pet tarantula that Janus had given him, he’s tried to muster up the will to kill her or get rid of her more times than he can count now, to cut off his ties with The Web, but he just can’t bring himself to do it

- him and gerry (who i’ve decided doesn’t die in this au and instead becomes a fully realized Beholding Avatar) are close friends and most of their interactions go something like:

“You fell in love with the fucking personification of insanity and lies" "big talk for a guy with a crush on the biggest bitch of a fancy dumpster fire" "fuck you" "fuck you" "so you're trying to tell me you didn't name yourself after gerard way?" "i didnt" "bullshit, i bet you heard 'mama' and immediately took his name" (gerry’s trans in this, i make the rules)

- Virgil used to be friends with Julia Montauk before someone got jealous and tipped her off that Virgil’s an avatar (they get less toxic later i promise okay?)

- also he’s sorta friends with oliver banks, they have these “oh hey, it’s you” acquaintances and sometimes sit down to catch up like:

“how’s it going with your vast boyfriend? (mike crew)” “oh yeah a Hunter cop shot him he had to pretend to be dead while Buried for a bit but he’s doing better now, tea?” “how’s your bf in the red?” “my what.” “y’know the Lightless Flame’s Messiah 2.0?” “MOTHERFUCKING ROMAN??”

Janus:

- The Web

- okay yes The Spiral is literally the fear of deception, and yes Janus is literally called “Deceit” but this fits him better imo

- he/she Janus because fuck it

- as i said, tried to get Virgil to become a Web Avatar, still trying, how well this is working out for her is up for debate

- he is pulling all the strings possible to keep Virgil far away from The People’s Church of The Divine Host as possible (whether this is out of genuine care and fear for how being in a literal cult would affect Virgil’s wellbeing or a want to keep Virgil’s connection to The Dark as possible… that’s also up for debate)

- has severe scarring on the entire right side of her face, how did that happen? basically, Mary Keay wanted to test to make sure the Leitner skin book was real, so she hired janus (who also brought Virgil, and that’s how gerry and Virgil met) to help with that, long story short, she then backstabbed him and tried to skin him alive. janus got away but let’s just say she’s pretty damn lucky Virgil was there to get him to a hospital

- dating Remus (and eventually Logan) and lives with Remus + Annabelle Cane

- Speaking of Annabelle Cane, one day while Remus and Janus were just cuddling on the couch, Annabelle just walked in, said “We’re a colony now”, and set up in the spare bedroom s5 style and Janus + Remus were just like “oh-kay?” and went on with their day

- if you’ve ever seen that one “passive aggressive roommate” song on youtube, that’s Janus and Annabelle. both are the passive aggressive roommate.

- spider limbs from his back as well as the several hands thing because why the hell not, it works

Patton:

- The Eye

- mainly the being judged/having your secrets exposed aspects (because in sander sides he is literally the judge over thomas’ morality, his job is to watch over thomas’ actions and tell him whether or not he’s a good person)

- certain people make eye contact with with him and Know that he Knows all the bad things they’ve done, and feel the compulsion to spill their guts, once they start, they cannot stop no matter how hard they try

- after the fact, his victims find a teddy bear sitting on their bed that always seems to be Watching them no matter where they go

- works at The Magnus Institute, where he meets Logan, who, during his transition to becoming an avatar, was one of his biggest supports, since he was going through the same thing, they start dating after a while, and by the time of the Prentiss + Remus attack, they’re engaged (they both fully ascend only a few months after their wedding)

- [insert patton having a moral crisis because he doesn’t want to be a monster that feeds off of people’s fear but he has to and part of him likes it wow this is reminding me of a certain other Beholding Avatar]

- idk how it happens but he still becomes a father figure for Virgil somehow, i’ll figure out specifics eventually

Logan:

- The Vast

- while i absolutely love Beholding!Logan hear me out. the fear of insignificance works so well here.

- he started working at The Magnus Institute a year or two before Patton (and five or six years before the Prentiss + Remus attack)

- i cannot overstate how everyone in the au thinks he’s Beholding: Jon thinks he’s Beholding, Gertrude thought he was Beholding, Gerry, who canonically has an ability to tell if people are marked by an avatar and who, for the purposes of this au is an avatar of The Eye, thinks he’s Beholding, motherfucking Elias/Jonah thinks he’s Beholding, Virgil, Janus, Annabelle, everyone thinks he’s Beholding EXCEPT Remus, who just knows for some reason (at one point when Patton and Logan got engaged Remus was like “damn patton you’re so committed to the eye, wouldn’t have figured you’d marry a vast avatar.” “a what”)

- to be fair, he was like 0.5 seconds away from becoming an Eye Avatar then BOOM BITCH VAST JUMPSCARE (The Eye is immensely bitter) and is partially Eye-aligned

- when Patton and Logan started dating, Logan just kinda assumed that Patton knew he was a Vast avatar

- after Patton learns, the convo goes something like “but- you work with the institute? how are you an avatar of the vast?” “i still need to eat, patton, and rent in central london is not cheap.”“huh.”

- Logan has a tie that Patton got him after learning he was a Vast avatar, the tie has a blue sky that fades into a deeper blue at the top, has some clouds and birds scattered around, and has a colorful sunset at the bottom, he wore that to their wedding and every day after

- there is healthy communication between all parties when Logan starts dating Remus and Janus as well

- probably levitates elias/jonah over the edge of a building for threatening/traumatizing Patton at some point, Elias had no clue that Logan was a Vast avatar until that moment (self-made blind spot, like the one he had around Martin being a threat)

- Jon and Logan would be friends. they just would.

- Logan’s probably the one who convinces Virgil to go to therapy

that’s most of what i have right now, i will probably continue to talk about these bastards + post the designs

[blametheeditor]

Voretober Day 9 | Craving

Voretober Prompt List

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If given the opportunity, would you take the chance to go to space and travel the stars? What if the person offering to take you was someone you trusted more than anyone else?

What if that person is no longer entirely human?

MENTIONS OF SOFT VORE

Content Warnings: Soft, non-sexual vore (only mentions for now). Mentions of body horror. Mentions of experimenting on people. Mentions of death and murder, violence. Being trapped against one's will. Dehumanization. Abductions. Cursing. Darker themes/tone

___________________________________

”Hey Scott!”

It had taken several moments for Scott to register his name had been called. When he finally did, it was too late to divert the attention away as two hands settled on his shoulders, his instinct to try and duck away effectively cancelled out by the unexpected contact and left him frozen. 

It let one of Wright brothers effortlessly begin to guide him toward the back door. Away from Vincent who was elbow deep in dough that had been refusing to cooperate for several minutes. “Come outside with me, there’s something cool I wanna show ya.”

“Hands off the Scotty,” Vincent snapped despite still being focused on the mess before him. It was hard to tell if the glare was meant for whoever wanted to steal Scott away, or for the dough. Most likely both. “No one should be outside right now. It’s about to rain, and I ain’t explaining how two of you got colds and one got struck by lightning.” 

“It’s not raining yet,” the unknown brother countered. Though by the sound of his voice, Scott wanted to guess it was Daniel. “And there’s not even thunder. We’ve got time to show Scott something.” 

“Did you ask him if he wants to see?” 

Scott’s shoulders were turned until he could see Daniel’s raised eyebrows. “Do ya?” 

On one hand, he was genuinely worried about what would happen if he ended up alone with the three younger Wrights. They were never rude to him when he visited, and Vincent clearly wasn’t worried as long as he agreed to it, but he had seen how the brothers interacted with each other. Never fully understood why ‘sibling love’ included physical fights and name calling. 

On the other, Scott was worried about Vincent. His best friend’s mood had dropped the moment they got to the Wright household after he invited Scott over to play card games. Grumbled about having needed to do a few things and said the table was available to get homework done. Hadn’t once spoken a word as he tidied up the kitchen and living room, nor when he got out ingredients to make something. 

There was no mistaking the anger. Scott knew it wasn’t directed toward him, but he couldn’t help the feeling he wasn’t making things better. He didn’t want to leave Vincent alone though, so he decided to quietly watch. Didn’t dare offer to help from the fear he’d only make everything worse since he didn’t know how to bake. Misleading someone to thinking they gained support only to find out they got a liability was worse than doing nothing. 

Scott nodded his head to say he’d go outside with the hope he could do something helpful there. Maybe him agreeing could even get them inside quicker so Vincent didn’t have to worry. 

Daniel gave a wide smile before leading Scott outside. Made his heart pound when he spotted the last two brothers waiting for them. Had him praying he didn’t make the wrong decision. 

“How hard did he fight for Scott?” made him want to dig his heels into the ground to keep from getting any closer. The only thing that stopped him was the fact it would’ve been pointless considering he was the weakest of the group. Age meant nothing when someone who was younger than him could have easily picked him up, and respect for Vincent only went so far. 

“Barely. He made more of a fuss about us being in the rain.” 

“Yikes.” 

“Worked in our favor,” Daniel shrugged as he moved Scott to the side so they formed a circle, the other two not even acknowledging his presence. “But we’ll need to be done in 30 minutes, meaning Tony’s getting the berries.” 

“I want the title ‘best brother ever’ on my gravestone.” 

“Getting stuck by lightning while getting berries doesn’t earn that kind of honor.” 

“Neither does getting firewood.” 

“Would you rather not have the easiest job?” 

As the three bickered, Scott slowly began to piece together what was happening. That he wasn’t singled out because they knew Vincent wouldn’t put up a fight and therefore have the chance to mess with him, he was brought outside to help. The exact what and how weren’t entirely clear, but they needed him for something. 

“What’s my job?” he asked to effectively silence all three as they stared at him. 

“Holy shit he can talk.” 

“You didn’t explain anything to him?” 

“When would I have had time to?” Daniel growled before he turned to address Scott with a wide smile. “You are getting initiated into the ways of caring for Vinny.” 

“It wouldn’t be needed if he wasn’t such a stubborn ass,” Anthony grouses. “But he doesn’t let us help unless he doesn’t know we are.” 

“Meaning someone needs to distract him while we take care of a few things out here,” Jonathan continued. “Whenever it’s one of us, he catches on fairly quick. So since you’re here, we thought you could keep him busy for us.” 

Instead of excitement, Scott only felt terror. Because the thought of distracting Vincent for the amount of time needed, at the thought of accidentally angering his best friend to accomplish such a task, it was worse than backing out from helping even if it meant the three would never include him again. 

His fear wasn’t missed. Except instead of making Daniel upset, the second eldest Wright became confused. “Vinny didn’t snap at ya, did he?” 

Scott shook his head furiously. “N-No, I, uh, I-I'll just make things worse.” 

“You would make things worse,” Anthony scoffed. 

“It’s his first time seeing Vinny in a mood,” Daniel waved. “He doesn’t know how bad it normally is.” 

“It gets bad, Scott,” Jonathan joined in. “Usually by now he would’ve herded us inside and trapped us in our rooms.” 

“Which means we wouldn’t have even gotten this far before it was too late. But since you’re here, he’s baking instead of hunting us down.” 

“Fuck he’s baking?” 

“Trust us,” Daniel smirked. “You can’t make it worse. We’d owe ya one if you distracted him for us.” 

He didn’t know if he could fully trust them. But they wanted to help Vincent. And they didn’t look like they were lying about Scott unable to anger his best friend, even on accident. 

Scott nodded his head. Walked back to the house to see Vincent all but snarling at the dough that sat in a misshapen lump before him. 

“W-Would you mind teaching me?” came out in a near whisper, but it was heard. 

Vincent looked between Scott and his failed attempt. Raised an eyebrow like the question confused him. “I’m afraid if you learned from me, you’d never be able to make anything edible.” 

Scott took a few steps forward. “If you’re willing, I’d, uh, st-still like to learn.” 

A smile tugged at Vincent’s mouth. “I always am, Scotty.” 

He was quick to join his best friend at the counter. Watched as the dough was pushed to the side in favor of moving other ingredients to the center. Noticed just how tense the taller was as he began a new batch. 

“You look tired.” 

Vincent froze in place. Looked down at Scott’s panicked expression. Sighed as his shoulders slumped. “I might be.” 

Scott swallowed the lump that threatened to take his voice away. “Want to talk about it?” 

He was given smirk. “Sure. Were you scared I was gonna kick you out for asking?” 

Scott stiffened, both at suddenly getting asked a question and the question itself. “M-Maybe. Is school making you tired?” 

”A little bit. What did Danny wanna to show you?”

As Scott follows Vincent through the wide street lined with dozens of stalls, he can’t help but feel like an awful friend. 

It’s not like that kind of information was hard to find out. Every time he had been handed a nutrition bar, Vincent never took one for himself. And during both cooked meals, only a single plate had been made and handed to Scott. Yet he never noticed until he was told. 

That wasn’t the only thing he missed. Now that he thought about it, Vincent hasn’t slept once ever since leaving Earth. Scott had been encouraged to rest, but the bed was never claimed for the purple man to use. Even while on the bigger ship he was told readying the ship was chosen over sleeping. 

What else has he not realized? What else has been staring at him and he just never noticed? 

How is he supposed to get Vincent to tell him? 

One thing that’s clear is the purple man is still as stubborn as ever in not telling others if something’s wrong or if there’s something bothering him. Scott didn’t want to pry considering whatever happened to turn him into a giant didn’t seem like something that would have been a pleasant experience, no matter how it was done for what reason. But if he’s not being told something as important as being unable to eat and potentially not needing to sleep means he needs to ask more questions. 

It’s not to satisfy his curiosity of what happened in those 6 years. It’s not to chase away his guilt for not having noticed something so obvious. It’s to make sure Vincent isn’t depriving himself of something he needs simply because he doesn’t want to worry Scott. 

He’s brought out of his thoughts when Vincent stops walking, Scott running into him with a quiet ‘oof’. The purple man smiles over his shoulder before turning to the merchant with three pairs of arms and glowing red eyes that seem to stare into their soul. 

“Are there any venders here with nonperishables?” 

With a few clicks, Vincent leads them through the crowd, completely focused on the task at hand. He checks behind him to make sure Scott didn’t get lost, but he doesn’t say anything else regarding what he said before. 

Then again, what would there be to say? It had been stated as fact, that Vincent can’t eat for whatever reason. It’s possible there might be caveats, like the purple man can still eat certain things or only at certain times, but he knows what he can and can’t do. Scott doesn’t need to know those kinds of details.

...he would like to understand, though. 

“Are there pros and cons to not eating?” Scott asks. 

He was expecting to either be completely ignored, or getting the question verbally shut down. He had forgotten they were walking around to get supplies for the ship. Meaning when Vincent stops in front of another stall, he runs into the taller again. 

When he looks up after catching his balance, amber eyes are watching him closely, as if searching for something. 

After a moment, Vincent hums. “Pro, I don’t have to worry about meals. Con, I still get certain cravings. Pro and con for being tiny.” 

Scott jolts when the question is turned back toward him, the purple man grinning at his  surprise before turning to the vender. Left to his thoughts as a list of items is given, he realizes just how badly this can go. Because Vincent is the only giant he’s interacted with, meaning his response can reflect on how he feels about his best friend specifically. 

He knows honesty won’t make Vincent legitimately upset, but he knows Scott will overthink it. 

Well, the cons list is about a mile long. He can’t say it’s terrifying, though. He can’t admit it makes him feel insignificant either. And what kind of pros could he think of! 

Vincent snorts as he hikes a bag over his shoulder. “Did I break you, Scotty?” 

Scott attempts to scowl his features into a glare. Decides to take a page out of the purple man’s book. “Pro, nothing can touch me when you’re giant. Con, I feel like I’ll fall at any moment.” 

“It doesn’t help that I’m almost 6 feet tall,” Vincent smirks, turning to lead them to another stall. “You’d be surprised just how much of a difference a few inches make to the height at that scale.” 

“How small am I to you?” Scott asks, admittedly curious even though he has a feeling he won’t like the answer. 

Especially when Vincent is all too happy to lift his hand up. Points to the middle finger the shorter had walked on with his thumb, the same one he was tempted to kick at. “You’re a little over two inches tall. Someone who’s six feet tall lands just below three inches.” 

Lifting up his own hand, Scott tries to imagine holding someone no taller than his thumb. “Pro and con to holding someone.” 

“Pro, you’re easy to pocket. Con, I always have to be aware of my strength.” As a chill runs down his spine from the sneer at talking about pocketing him and the realization just how easy it would be to accidentally hold him too tightly, they’re stopping at another vender. “Pro and con for getting pocketed.” 

Scott can’t help a scowl at that one, though he holds back from chewing Vincent out once he’s done talking. Feels himself tense up when the creature with a hard shell and sharp claws seems to almost spit in anger as it gestures for them to back away. 

“Is something wrong?” he asks. Tenses as his best friend becomes deathly still, meeting the beady white eyes with a steely look. 

After no one moves for a good minute, Vincent turns on his heel, Scott quick to follow. He doesn’t say anything as they make their way through the crowd, only making sure he stays as close to the taller as possible. Doesn’t dare look back in case he’s accidentally left behind. 

“Sorry, Scotty,” the purple man murmurs as he slows his pace down. Sends a look that could kill in the direction they came from before offering a smile. “We’ve got just about everything we need. We can head back to the ship to drop this off, but if you’re up for it, we can take a pathway up directly to the larger market.” 

Scott almost wants to ask what was said at the stall, to know what made Vincent that upset. Enough to warrant such an intensity as well as cutting the run short.

“We can skip the ship and go straight there," he says, pushing the thought away for another time. When he wasn't going to be surrounded by giants.

Vincent turns away from the stalls toward a much quieter tunnel that has a distinct uphill climb. "You didn’t answer my question."

Scott snorts. “Pro, there’s no way you can accidentally drop me. Con, I feel like a forgotten pen.” 

[mrmissmrsrandom]

Sumeragi Subaru

Ohhh excellent yes my boy.

send me a character and i’ll list:

favorite thing about them: Just how kind he is. Despite everything, even later under all his trauma and depression, he is still kind.

least favorite thing about them: THAT LACK OF SELF-PRESERVATION. BUDDY I KNOW ITS THE 90s THE STATE OF MENTAL HEALTH IS A PIT, BUT YOU'RE RICH GET A THERAPIST PLEASE.

favorite line: I don't have my darkhorse volumes with me (gathering the new Yen Press Release but only have the first 2 volumes, so this is from volume 2)-- "No one can change the past. No matter how hard we try, time won't reverse. But the future? Only you, Mitsuki-san, can change your future." The "Dream" chapter had a big impact on me when I read it, even if I don't 'agree' with all of the points Subaru makes in that discussion, having him try to center someone on the here and now and reassuring them that they have a choice is powerful. Most of my favorite lines from him are in Tokyo Babylon because I haven't read Tsubasa, and he is more quiet in X.

brOTP: Hokuto-chan. His twin, his sister. ;; Maybe catching up in a what if scenario with him catching up with Hashimoto (the girl who loses her eye, wow the theming!) post-series or even post-X if you imagine all of humanity doesn't die.

OTP: I think at this point its him and Kamui. I'm not saying in that its "better" than him with Seishirou, just that the concept of them interacting based on how they interact in X is more compelling now to me. We never get to see/fully imagine (unless you write fic, which yay! Love that!) Subaru and Seishirou interacting with the full knowledge of who the other is/on an even playing field without The End of Tokyo Babylon. I like everything that is built up and in the end, Subaru did not fall in love with the facade Seishirou put up, but him for him (and then Seishirou never QUITE gets there, so we get -points at X- bozo was too focused on winning The Bet he made with a fucking third grader). SO, back to him and Kamui: they just feel like they get each other in a way no one else seems to, and that adding into the sadness of their bond (understanding but being unable/deciding not to convince the other away from a destructive path). How Subaru tries to be there for Kamui once he officially joins the other Dragons, from speaking with him or helping with homework. Their relationship, if/when we ever get a finale to the manga X (or if you just think about it), feels like the most likely to grow and build into something by the end for me. And hey, both of them have Seishirou and Fuuma as foils/'twin stars', but guess which out of the four get reincarnated as VAMPIRE TWINS in Tsubasa? Subaru and Kamui! Something something soulmates getting reborn together/commentary on Hokuto escaping the wheel of fate but these two boys are still thoroughly In It: but imagining them together makes it feel hopeful. :)

nOTP: Uh, I do not necessarily see him ever being romantically interested in women. So I guess him in a romantic relationship with a woman.

random headcanon: Post-Tokyo Babylon Subaru ends up calling every number in Hokuto's phone book to give away her clothes to friends, but months down the line he gets an unlisted call from the friend she makes in "Smile." They meet up, and Subaru has to tell her what happened, and her trying to smile for him and comfort him, causing him to break down from it, but it also somewhat brings him out of the haze of vengeance he had been in and return to like, eating regularly. Though, after that meeting he also picks up his first pack of cigarettes.

unpopular opinion: Subaru does not naturally come by fashion. He's cute and let Hokuto dress him up. I don't think that's "unpopular," but also by X if the only thing he could wear was something "embarrassing" but not risque, like a mascot uniform or something along those lines--- he would wear it and think nothing of it. Also let my mans be a rope bunny and get to exist in subspace for a bit. Maybe Karen knows an escort from Soapland that can get him into contact with the local BDSM community so he can get out of his head.

song i associate with them: Moon by Rebecca IS from the character soundtrack, but it just works so well for him.

favorite picture of them: This one from Annex: Start, I think? It's just always filled me with so many different emotions despite how subdued it is.

[himbo-in-limbo]

Kure Rain x s/o Rant! (New season spoilers)

[tw gore n bloody stuff mentioned]

In hype of the new season (that I literally just finished binge watching a couple days ago)

It got me thinking of my mans

That crazy bastard that I love sm Kure Raian

(I'm so fuckin mad about what was supposed to be his big fight when the coup happened)

Anyways anytime I read a fic of Raian x reader it's always the same-ish thing of the reader not fully loving the sheer brutality that Raian is

I can't be the only one that gets excited seeing him covered in blood! Like dawg if I saw him all nice n bloody like that with a sexy smile comin at me all nonchalant

Like "Hey baby~ did you like the bloodbath?" I'm jumping on him and making out right then n there..

I wanna be covered in the same blood ya feel me? (That's TMI probably..)

It's probably bc I'm a fan of gore or something but like you gotta understand that killing is not only his job ITS HIS PASSION

And him being an asshole is also part of it, sure you can try n convince him to not FULLY kill someone but honestly I'd say you have a 1% chance of succeeding...

It'd have to be a solid good reason tho

Not just cuz your his partner...

Even so! Odds are the person he's messing with is a stranger to you 😭 (if your not into him killing random ppl then maybe not be in a relationship with him)

He has few morals...which align with his assassin fams code but he's just a morally grey character

That's what's so hot about him honestly

You can't ever really predict who he'll spare and for what reason...

But you get to see his fine ass just deal with grown ass men like nothing is a treat all in it's own

Hell we don't even know how he'd act in a relationship bc he hardly ever shows interest in anyone like that! He likes scarring people to hell tho

So I'd wager if you "end up with him" expect it to be a big ol situationship...

It's best to not put labels on it bc if you pressure him with that he looks like the type to leave...

And even if you are sick of it! Just tell him up front that he can either make it official or you'll leave!

That might make him realize that he has something genuine with you OR y'all just break it off and you can find yourself a better partner

Bc lets face it 😭 he's....not the best

His familys great tho I bet they'd be all over you

Especially if you're cool with reproducing an heir 💀

If not hey their just shocked he was able to find ANYONE that would "date" him

Like really? Him? Okay...

Raian doesn't strike me as the type to care much if you leave him, tho if you did have a profound impact on him

I think he'd stalk you for a bit...you'd never know he's there btw

He'd totally stalk the hell outta your new partner tho...and if their no good he'll kill em with much thought..

He dose care in his own way :D it's just bat shit crazy

I feel like If Raian did have a canonical partner they'd have to be a bit cooky themselves ya know? 😭

N yeah he might not say much but he dose better expressing his feelings through acts of service or just in general sleeping with you

Bc again we haven't seen him interact with anyone like that or show interest at all!

So odds are him sleeping with people is a rare thing! (Demisexual ass...)

But yeah back to him fighting n stuff I feel like he'd be super happy if his partner was also excited about seeing a real blood bath of a fight

Like yeah probably not the best influence on him like that but asdhsjsnskk

Honestly I wouldn't be able to help it

He's like when ppl are in love with the horror icons

You love ppl like ghost face n Jason! There def not gonna stop doing what they do! N their hella crazy!

That's the vibes Raian gives me...

The only thing that's different is, I feel like the more years you spend with him he WILL calm down by like 10% and he may not go off on ppl randomly like when he was younger but he'd still do it on occasion...

[ajokeformur-ray]

as someone who does believe in ghosts and has had a lot of personal experiences over the years, it sounds like whoever your potential unexpected roommate is is just curious! i know when living with anxiety things can seem scary especially when it’s something you largely don’t believe in, but generally just being respectful is always a good call - give them a name and say hello when you notice these things, normalize it so it’s not as scary/unsettling when it happens. even if you still don’t believe in it fully it can take some of the anxiety out of the unexplained when you can laugh it off and say “oh that’s just steve back at it again, he likes to make sure everything is in order for us” (steve is what i named the ghost back at a previous job lol, but pick whatever works for you). i know this probably sounds silly to someone who isn’t into the paranormal, but if the happenings are bothering you it’s something that might be worth a shot!

Hey nonnie!

I agree, if there is a third potential roommate in the house then they're just curious; my parents believe in ghosts too and have said that there's something here and it's only curious🥺 honestly I'm curious too, I wanna know what or who it is!!!

I hadn't thought of giving it a name and speaking to it, my mum said the same thing. I think I'll call it Eddie; sometimes I'll say something like "oh, you're active tonight!" but it happens during the day as well, doesn't matter what time it is, I guarantee that the kitchen will make funny noises, you might see a dark shadow dart across the living room, and you may see a head poking around the corner of the staircase 🥺 it does scare me and my roommate, but we're trying to get used to it. If whatever it is wanted to hurt us, it would have by now. So it's just curious and I'm hoping in time we'll get used to it.

My roommate and I ask each other about 30 times a day, "did you hear that?" Or "yeah, I heard that too. This bloody house... No wonder the rent is so cheap" 😂

So we have some kind of paranormal friend in the house who we just decided to call Eddie. My roommate is gonna do some digging on the history of the house and see what we can find. We know it was built in 1895, and in the area of the town we live in, the road is right next to where the railway station would have been. So this house has seen some shit.😂

Steve is a good name for a ghostie! I love that you normalised and interacted with it 😍 this doesn't sound silly at all, honestly I don't dismiss the idea of the paranormal or of ghosts, I'm quite curious about it, it's just if I wanna sleep at night then I gotta tell myself I don't believe. My anxiety and nyctophobia will spiral otherwise😂

Thank you for this ask, it's so reassuring and I hadn't thought of naming and interacting with it. It does unnerve us a lot of the time and once I felt a big urge to run (when we first moved in, and I didn't. I just said out loud "oooookay, I didn't like that. Please don't do that again, it scared me") and I haven't felt that random urge since. So maybe it was testing us or something. I'd be mad too if I was happily alone for a time and then two people came in putting all their shit all over my house 😂

I'll try this out nonnie and hopefully it'll feel better!!! I wanna be friends with whatever or whoever this is 🥺 we're gonna be living together for a while so why not, right?🥰

[lured-into-wonderland]

“Oh, miss! Miss! Excuse-me, hello!” Mika tried to catch the young lady’s arm, but there was a hand already crossing his way. She had dropped her purse on the ground, walking quite fast, surrounded by men like gorillas. She was probably someone important, he couldn’t tell, he wasn’t the best when it came to celebrities. He didn’t even have a TV in his apartment, and if she was indeed one of those idols, or a very famous singer - she looked like one - it was far too late. Yet, Mika didn’t give up. He lifted his arm up, forcing his way out from the strong grasp of those bodyguards. 

“You have lost this! Hey, come on buddies,” He wriggled and sighed, even if his features expressed nothing but genuine intentions. “I only want to give it back to her.” He eyed the woman once more, as he wondered if he had ever seen her in this town. She seemed quite too wealthy and important to be even walking near the neighborhood. 

A sort of commotion brought her back into reality from her inner thoughts. A hand reaching towards her and another hand stopping it? Her purse? Did she just dropped it without noticing? It took Nunnally a few moments to fully comprehend what was going on.

“Stop. Can’t you see he’s only trying to help?” – her calm voice was obviously directed towards the men who were surrounding her, but she was facing Mika from the very moment she realized what was happening.

“I apologize for them. I hope you’re…” – she wanted to say 'you’re not hurt' as Nunnally knew "her" bodyguards could become unnecessary violent at times, but instead she simply finished – “…you’re all right. They’re just doing their job.” – she attempted to keep her voice polite, but it was clear she was tired (and annoyed) of being supervised and caged. She passed the closest man and now she was not separated from Mika with a human fence anymore; though her actions earned a growl of annoyance from the man that was visibly in charge – “Everyone seem to believe I am in some sort of danger…” – a half of joke and a half of explanation – “But I am not. You are all safe here.” – she smiled and attempted to joke, but she just knew she was not good at it. But a quiet laugh that left her lips was honest. Genuine. This was an awkward situation for her, and Nunnally was not entirely sure how to behave. She didn't have many opportunities to simply interact on the streets and the men with guns around her were embarrassing her…?  

“Oh, thank you for fetching my purse. I have not noticed I dropped it.” – not that there was anything valuable inside; the conversation returned to her own clumsiness what seemed to shame the girl even more. The red found its way to her cheeks and Nunnally was not sure what to do. The expectations of her bodyguards, her own wishes, and the gratitude towards the man handing her the purse. There was something about him that made her smile wider. He didn't look like a person she would meet regularly. He was different, but it was charming in a way. She stood there undecided for a few too long moments, completely aware that everyone was waiting for her to do something, to say something. To end the meeting. She knew she should simply thank the man again and leave but, somehow, she decided to be a rebel. Today.    

“Well, I guess I need to go. Thank you very much for your kindness again.” – she reached her hand to greet Mika – “Unless…you’d like to join me for a drink. As a small thank you for your…assistance…Though you’d have to accept being surrounded…by these…men…” – her invitation earned her another look of disapproval, but no-one said anything – “My name is Nunnally. And whom do I owe?”

@distopea

[random-blurbs]

Informant - pt.2

masterlist

What felt like an hour was just a quick 5 minutes as Natalie messaged (Y/N) worriedly of where she had disappeared too. Feeling bad but the sudden throw of random friends of hers was just too much. You just wouldn't be able to find a way out if anything went south.

Pulling out your phone you sent a quick message.

Sorry family emergency - sister is sick

Peeking to the side Natalie's slumped shoulders and furrowed eyebrows tugged at your heart-strings but this for everyone's own good. I truly doubt they want to deal with a bitch right now.

Nat - Did I overwhelm you? I'm really sorry if I did.

Biting your nail nervously your fingers twirled in the air trying to figure out what to say. Natalie didn't know better that you simply hated big, loud crowds. Your head-strong attitude even after all these years has given her the wrong impressions time and time again. And you didn't have the heart to tell her otherwise.

No it's totally cool! If u want u can come over to hang out when i figure it out

Nat- Alright then! Tell me when she feels better so I can come over with some soup!

With that her footsteps echoed out letting you heave a sigh of relief. Leaning against the counter-top you glanced down at your phone sadly. Remembering Natalie's expression was a punch in the gut wishing you were able to interact with everyone a bit better. And not having those intrusive thoughts that cloud your mind and take hold; as you try to make conversation. "You’re friends with Natalie?" Just now remembering the hacker was standing across from you looking confused. Standing up and patting away the dirt you gave him an expression signaling the idea that you thought he was the dumbest person alive. "Obviously. Why do you think I was snooping around in her kitchen." You say in a hushed whisper looking for a specific the kitchen thankfully had. Making you thank the Gods for your luck. "I already told you what I thought of you earlier." Sneering at him he cooly went back to his former position as if he wasn't hiding from the lovable Natalie.

"You should be thankful I didn't rat you out! I don't even understand why you're here if you're just going to be a loner." Like clock-work he ignores and focuses directly onto his drone. Seemingly frustrated with it as you just realized it wasn't in its best shape. You can hate the legend but you can't deny his drone is annoying piece of work so it was no surprise it would be shot down so many times. Noticing a shiny piece beside his shoe you went to pick it up quickly jumping up as you eyed the piece. It obviously being a piece to his drone. And then a plan was formed. "Hey can you like totally do me a favor."

"No."

Trying to keep the sickening sweet smile on your face you prodded on, "Oh c'moooon don't be like that! I just need a quick favor and I'll be out of your hair, I swear!" Crossing your heart along with a hand raised Crypto just stared on confused with the same answer on his face. Rolling your head back as you let out a whine of frustration. "Damn and I really wanted to give you this!"

It was human nature to peek when wording like that is done. It hooked Crypto and reeled him in. His eyes flashed of recognition now knowing what needs to be done. He let out an annoyed huff finally making eye-contact. Clapping your hands quietly you held onto the piece tightly not knowing if he has the nerve to try snatching it from you. "Ok it's real simple! Just boost me up to that window and I'll give it back." You explained your plan fully confident that no one will see you leave. Considering you had to leave already. It'll be quick and easy. Better than sneaking around a house you have just seen for the first time.

"You're going to hurt yourself." He blankly said not having full faith in your ability to stabilize yourself after hopping out from a high window. And he isn't in the mood to have basic decency towards someone that he kinda wished would hurt their ankle so he wouldn't have to see them at Natalie's house anymore.

"Aww Crypto~ you actually care about me. You know how to make a girl swoon." Teasing him, he quickly straighten up heading towards the window and positioning himself to push you up, "Hurry up."

Unhurt by his fast change attitude you tried propping yourself up, holding his head tightly. "Shit my bad." Pulling away as you see him shut his eyes in pain as you accidentally yanked his hair. "Don't you dare drop me since I pulled your hair." Gritting his teeth his propped you up higher hoping to get this over with already. Just wanting you out of his life.

"Eo, just hurry up or I will drop you!" Through gritted teeth you finally pushed yourself up quickly sitting awkwardly on the kitchen window. It wasn't a high drop necessarily just a small possibility of having unfortunate pain in your ankles. Maybe I should run with the little object? Would that piss him off? Looking down at Crypto he had an expectant look as you studied the small object. It would be cool to work with drones and such to help with the odd jobs you do. But maybe another day when Crypto doesn't want to push you off the window sill. Hooking your legs over you let the thing drop as Crypto quickly catches it with ease.

"I'm surprised you gave it back." Sticking out your tongue he looked away mindlessly tired of you. "I know I'm not the nicest but you wound me!" Not wasting any time you jumped out stumbling awkwardly before falling face first. Feeling hot with embarrassment you quickly got up whipping your head around if anyone noticed. Due to saving yourself from anything further you jogged away leaving it all behind.

Leaving behind Crypto, he still thought of you.

Considering it was hard to not hear the loud thud that resounded from behind the wall. Smirking slightly at the thought that you ate absolute shit he was pleased. It passed the small block of day definitely a bit faster.

┈ ✁✃✁✃✁✃✁✃✁ ┈

"I'm home!" Shouting out as you rolled your head around, trying to ease the knot bothering the base of your neck. Dropping your coat aside and taking off your shoes still confused to not hear the familiar deadpan voice of your younger sister. And the babysitter greeting you in a nicer tone always taking pity on the estranged sisters. But it was silent. Uncomfortably so. Walking in cautiously peeking through every door not finding a single person around. Until the final door at the end of the hallway seemed like it was taunting you. As a small part of you understood. If there was anyone here they would be waiting for you right there. Taking small steps closer the whirring of machines can be heard behind the door. And already the strong smell of bleach oozed from under the door. Leaning your head against the door you tried taking in every sound in. The machines that were working 24/7 the soft breaths of the person on the bed.

It'll be easy to just get it over with... Not wanting to perhaps prevent the inevitable you open the door. And God you hated when you were right. In a blink of an eye the air was knocked out of you as your body fell harshly against the rough carpet. "Dammit get the fuck off!" Thrashing around the body above you had a tight grip in your hair pushing your head down trying to muffle anything. The stinging pain had you hissing as you continued to struggle. Breathing getting shallow you wiggle wildly and swinging your legs around as if throwing a tantrum. You just wanted an out. The room seemed to get smaller as the only thought was to get up.

Get up and don't let anything happen to you. Not again.

Get up

Hurry

Before anything ha-

With one harsh turn you felt the person hand settle on your waist and just as quickly the person's grip faltered and that was enough as their arm appeared right in front of your face.

---huh?

Trying to gather your thoughts you sat against the wall confused as it felt like you were thrown forward mentally. It was quiet for a second and then an hour. Time didn't exist for a second and you sat still. Everything was in shambles. Your mouth felt strange; feeling a foreign taste on your tastebuds. With a shaky hand and feathery touches to your lips your eyes caught onto the crimson blood that now coated your fingers. And just now the screams of anguish blew into your ears knocking you out of the daze. Following the trail of blood across the room the man was the one shouting curses at the sky as he held onto his now 95% arm. Catching a glimpse of the bitten off part spat aside as if it was garbage.

"So that's what can happen..." Turning slowly this time a better in shape man was sitting elegantly. Right beside your mother who has no idea this is happening at all. Standing up and stalking around the man you deemed the other guy no longer a threat. And now insistent that this man may be hiding something from you. "Get away from her." You warned eyes darting between the two not knowing when to pounce. He was taller than you by a significant amount. Muscles was another thing he held over you; the only thing you can muster is quickness. You can do a-lot of damage in a short amount of time but your body seemed to be tired. What the hell happened earlier.

You hated feeling so weak and confused. It was just as if you were pulled out of water from formerly drowning and just sputtering around like an idiot. And your body - one that you have despised for not being the strong vessel it can be. "Are you alright? You were out of it for a bit earlier." Easily catching onto your mind slip he chalked it up to knowing fully well what that position would do to you. How much it would kill you to remember any of it. Drawing a shaky breath you eyed his posture who was still sitting down casually eyeing your mother. "She seems to be getting worse. Have you not been able to pay for treatments?" Skipping over his question you pointed at the briefcase beside him that had you teetering around the edge, of just what the hell is in there. "Oh, forgive me! Where's my manners I should've shown you this immediately." Kicking the briefcase towards you, you eyed it skeptically. He just wouldn't let you open something dangerous if he was in the same room with you. Trusting your instinct halfway you picked up a cloth at the foot of your mother bed protecting your hands as you opened the briefcase. His eyes shined with approval and in general impressed. Did this bastard really coat the handle with poison.

The loathing came to a full on stop as the multiple stack of bills filled your line of sight. With a shuddering breath you looked at the man in disbelief as he looked pretty darn happy himself eyeing your reaction. "Let me cut to the chase - we need you to enter the Apex Games and then become a Legend yada yada. But importantly info on them."

"By them I'm assuming the Legends?" Nodding he pulled out a card pushing it carefully to you. "But why? I'm sure you know almost anything about them." Heaving a heavy sigh the intense frown lines marked his face. "Believe it or not they like stirring up trouble and we need someone to keep them in check. So that's where you come in. Quite easy work if I do say so myself." The bills were tempting. You are not one to lie. Money was your main strive in life and what you believe is the most important thing in the world and everything else comes second. Always scoffing at the people that say money does not buy happiness. What do they know. Clearly nothing but I digress.

"Thank you for the offer but I respectfully decline." Closing the case all in the meanwhile you caught his eyes bulging in shock. Easy money is almost always having strings attached. And you cannot afford to get caught among the legends. Being asked to practically spy on Natalie's friends. You can't do that to her. Considering she's a part of those Legends you must report about her doings as well. It's a door you're just not willing to open comfortably. "Do you not want your younger sister to receive the things she deserves? You must be struggling already sending her to that private middle school - just imagine how much the cost of high-school will be." He was waiting for you to be falter at his words, but you stood your ground. He came here, specifically for you. It would be obvious that he has prior knowledge of you. How extent his knowledge is on you, is another question. "We'll get by. We always do."

Not impressed by the answer - he was getting impatient as he continued to glare at you. Hated how docile looking you were and then whatever you said was just filthy trash. Nothing ever coming out of a woman's mouth was worth listening to. A teaching he has imprinted in his mind over the years. But he couldn't stray away from the objective. He can not mess this up. "I mean you must now realize now that we know almost everything about your life. Including your little sister's thoughts about you." His malicious intent soured the room as he saw you stiffen at the comment. "God she was so willing to complain about you. Being utterly embarrassed by you. Everyone else's siblings have reputable records and then there's you. The older sister who works in the dark selling illegal drugs, weaponry, and everyone's deepest darkest secrets." Laughing maniacally to himself he saw your self-worth crumble in an instant. Who knew family can have such an effect. Especially on someone like you. Fighting internally if it was true or not. There was always an inkling - an inkling that what he said was the disgusting dirty truth. Your sister hated you and her whole up bringing. She hated being born into this family wishing she was with an actual 2 parent household and a sibling she can actually look up to. And not the one who comes at midnight battered at times or be the reason distressed parents come banging on the door, livid that she tanked their child's life with the stuff she sells. Of course she wanted better.

You felt the tears start to water your eyes blurring your vision. Swallowing thickly, you tried keeping your eyes on him cold, but your resolve was slipping as you remember the words that you heard personally from your younger sister.

"Aww you poor thing... you just wanted to be good for her didn't you?" The daunting voice loomed over you as you let him. Not bothering to push him away as you bit your lip trying to stop a whimper escape at your own sister breaking your heart. All you wanted was the best. For everyone that you consider family. Yelping at the quick whip of pain as you felt his fingers dig at your throat making you face him. He had an ominous glazed look as he stared at you with malice. Eyes widening with fear at the tight grip you quickly dug your own nails deep into his flesh not afraid of drawing blood. Even with the melting in pain he gripped stayed and tightened leaving you short-breathed. With panicky movements as you kicked at him, unrelenting. "Just say yes and we can help you leave that life-" A sinister smile widened as he saw the struggling gasps and the small amount of spit running from your mouth. You were the epitome of weak to him. "And be reborn to someone better." He whispered sickeningly sweet into your ear eyeing your side of pure desperation. "Y-Yes! Please..!" He got the verbal cue that the plan was able to be put into motion he stayed. Relishing in the power he had over you. And it's a human thing. A thing he forgot that occurs when death is nearing to take. That all bets are off and practically everything is free game. Unapologetically you eyed his face jamming your finger deep into his right eye gagging at the strange squelch that was loud to everyone in the room. Roaring in pain he dropped you as you clawed at your throat for all the air now welcomed. Desperate and not taking it for granted as you took in big gulps. "Damn bitch, I was being pretty gentle compared to others in the past."

Deliberately dropping the word he knew what he has done as he picked up his assistant leaving you angered further in the room as you took a jump into those painful memories of that dark room. There's a list of words that shouldn't be said in a certain context towards you. Most of the time words that you would often describe a child too but was then painfully twisted into an ugly disgusting thing as it penetrated little (Y/N)'s ears. Made her just shut down. You don't mean too; you never do. Because the second your sister came home from school all she can hear is you trashing mother's room and screaming vile things to the comatose body. You hope she's hearing even in that state that you blame her; for every single thing that has happened to you. You would've been a better daughter, a better sister, a better friend, or a better person overall. If she just protected, everything would've been fixed. No one would be hurting as they are now.

Then next hearing silence and every-time she peeks in to check; check that you haven't messed up and went too far. In a warped way she sighs in relief as she sees you dazed; staring at the wall unblinking with the excessive number of pills around you uncapped from their bottles. Moments like these, really made her wish she was born in another family. So, it's one less worry that's dealt with.

┈ ✁✃✁✃✁✃✁✃✁ ┈

Grumbling tiredly, you held your head feeling as if your heart is going crazy. I shouldn't have mixed those two... Groaning loudly, you smack your head trying to fix the movement in your leg. Not floating but any step feels like you might trip at any moment. Getting to the kitchen in one piece there she was in all her glory. "Anne! Anneee!" From behind you put your arms around her from above as she was sitting doing her homework. Looking at the blur of words it wouldn't matter if you were high or not. You wouldn't understand a thing anyways. Proudly hugging Anne as she not once strayed away from her studies and took full advantage of the opportunity given to her, something that was never given to you. Feeling a harsh tug, you immediately pulled away as you see Anne's judgmental glare. "God, can you stop hugging me like! I'm not a freaking child!" Apologizing quietly, you plopped in the seat across from her as she was in her element. "You look like a nerd." You commented innocently as you grab the box of cereal beside her. "And you look like a druggie." Kicking her seat fiercely she seemed shocked by the sudden action looking at you in disbelief. "Why the hell-" "Would you like to go to a private high-school next year?" You ask, crudely cutting off the former conversation that would've taken place. Feeling uneasy she fixed herself; Anne was scrutinizing your every move. Not knowing what can tick you the wrong way. "I mean obviously - but we can't afford it -"

"But what if I say we can? Like afford everything you would want. Like some good books, uniforms, definitely new clothes, and OOO maybe we can go on those sister trips!" Thrilled at the opportunities you didn't notice the sizzling spite beside you. "Can you please stop cutting me off! I don't know what's gotten in your head, but this is a big fat no! Cuz it's going to deal with something shady and immoral and I know you crossed that line, but don't you dare drag me into this!" She yelled scrambling to pick up her items as you tried sputtering apologies. And as if quickness runs in your family, she has shut herself in her room leaving you to yourself. Fishing the card from your pocket your eyes locked onto the number, committing to what you promised Anne young.

Family over friends. Natalie would understand.

┈ ✁✃✁✃✁✃✁✃✁ ┈

"Squad 1. Loba, Lifeline, Caustic." "Squad 2. Wattson,Mirage, Revenant" "Squad 3. Bloodhound --" Staring at the announcer screen as everyone got ready to drop to the map below. Everyone was thirsty for the Apex Legends status. Including me. I'm literally not any better. Perking up quickly as you heard your name you saw Natalie's shocked expression as she stared at you. Waving back at bashfully she seemed fully accepting motioning that you have to catch her up on everything. She was truly excited you joined the games that brought her closer to who she can call family. But the guilt ebbed at you at her total obliviousness to it all.

"날 죽여요" Not daring to turn to the easily recognizable voice you took a step back as the kind smile was beside you. Her red hair grazed your vision before pulling back, "Yer Natalie's best friend aren't ya." Immediately nodding she laughed at your excited behavior; she would compare you to an excited puppy at the moment. A nice change of teammates to see you pumped up out of nowhere. "This is amazing! I can't believe we're on the same team." You were star-struck as you were just a few moments away from seeing her in action, totally prepared for the fights to come. "We're an interesting team, I can say that for sure!"

"Don't worry we don't really need him, we'll do good on our own." Keeping back a shriek of pain, you whipped your head back to face a drone right by your head. With Crypto looking a little bit smug. "Didn't see you." Horizon was watching the interaction interested how the two was comfortable. "You are so annoying! Acting like some kid again!" Comfortable enough to actively make one another hate each-other. She sighed as you clearly didn't back down emotions at an all time high while Crypto was secretly having a field day making you despise your day. As the countdown finished without hesitating you nudged him off the platform as he awkwardly fell off and like a gentleman cursed you out in his native tongue. Horizon looked at you in disbelief. Happily flashing her a smile you pointed where you were planning to drop, "C'mon let's give em a show!"

[similoins]

Seomin was too afraid to tell Sana what happened. Sana wouldn't believe her. Seomin knew should would side with her boyfriend. All Seomin could do was keep her head down when she noticed Jungkook was in the room.

It had happened two weeks ago and since then Seomin hadn't seen Jungkook much, and she definitely didn't open the door for him again the next time he came around. She kept what happened to herself. She couldn't tell Jeongan because she'd only be disappointed in her for falling into the same rabbit hole she always did. Be strong, Jeongan would tell her. Constantly allowing others to disrespect you is you disrespecting yourself. She didn't want to tell Sooyoung because she'd been cheated on before and personally hated cheaters and all willing participants.

She wished she could talk to someone about it. She even wanted to tell Sana about it. Not only so Sana would get rid of Jungkook and he be removed from Seomin's life for good. But to also protect Sana. Sana didn't like Seomin, and Seomin had spent the first month trying to change that and eventually gave up. But Seomin never disliked Sana.

Seomin was sitting at Starbucks, waiting for her classmate to arrive so arrive to school so they could work on their group project together, when Jungkook sat across from her. She nearly spilled her drink, jumping in shock. Her eyes darted around for Sana, but she was no where in sight.

"Why are you being so weird?" He asked and Seomin didn't meet his eyes as she answered.

"Where's Sana?"

"Not here. Hey, look up." Seomin did begrudgedly and Jungkook's eyes trailed her face. "Are you feeling bad about it? For Sana?"

"Yes, I told you we shouldn't."

"Well, we did, and she's not going to find out so you should chill." He leaned back in his seat, as if getting comfortable, his legs spreading open a bit. Seomin looked away, as the thought that Jungkook was attractive crossed her mind.

"Have you been thinking about it?" Seomin was hesitant to answer. "Me fucking you again?" He continued. Seomin flinched at the words. Just then, her phone rang and Seungwan's name showed on the screen.

She quickly answered, looking away from Jungkook. Seungwan burst into a rant about someone cutting her off in traffic, but she'd finally made it. Seomin didn't let her hang up. She left the table, appearing fully immersed in the conversation with Seungwan, not daring to glance back at Jungkook.

She caught eyes with Chaeyoung while she was leaving. The short girl was giving her an odd look, considering they hardly ever interacted. Seomin briefly wondered if she'd unknowningly done something to the girl, but was quickly pulled back into conversation with Seungwan.

Seomin is walking to her apartment from the study area of the lounge when she hears a shout. She turns and sees Chaeyoung gesturing for her to come over to the study room she’s in. Shes alone and it reeks of weed. It looks like two other people were with her but they’d left with their stuff spread about.

"Yes?" Seomin questions. Chaeyoung takes a long sip of whatever's in her tumblr before she speaks. She has an obviously fake smile on her lips as she motions to the empty seat across from her.

"Sit for this." Seomin walks and sits down and waits for Chaeyoung to go on.

"To cut to the chase, I heard about you and Jungkook." Seomin's eyes widened and she held her breath momentarily. Jungkook was telling people. "Don't freak out. Mingyu and I are the only two that know. Well, were, now Sana knows. I just wanted to give you a heads up before you went in there."

"You told her?!" Seomin stands. Sana knows?! Seomin can't face her, she doesn't want to.

"Yeah, she was being a bitch, sorry." A brief smirk on Chaeyoung's lips were visible before she wrapped them around her tumblr straw again.

"She's going to hate me." Chaeyoung laughed, releasing her lips from her drink.

"Don't you think she should? You fucked her boyfriend."

"I didn't want to!" Seomin sat back in the chair exasperatedly. She had foolishly thought there was a chance Sana would never find out about her and Jungkook.

"Woah, what do you mean by that?" Chaeyoung pushed her drink aside and leaned forward. "He made you?"

"No. He didn't-" Her voice cracked. "I didn't want to. That's not the type of person I am."

Chaeyoung still looked concerned, but she didn't say anything else for a few moments. "Why did you do it if you didn't want to?"

"He kept asking." Seomin buried her face in her hands, embarrassed. This is why she could never go to Jeongan to talk about what happened with Jungkook. "He was so persistent," Seomin remembers his touch and his whispers in her ear. "I just... It just happened and I really wish it didn't."

"Girl, that sounds like rape."

"It wasn't rape." Seomin deadpanned. It couldn't have been rape because she remembers enjoying it. She enjoyed his hands gripping her hips and the sounds of their skin meeting. She enjoyed his grunts and how he squeezed her breasts. She even enjoyed knowing that while he had a girlfriend as beautiful as Sana Minatozaki, he still wanted to have sex with her. "It just wasn't."

Chaeyoung narrowed her eyes at the girl, stuck between suspicion and caution.

"So what are you going to tell Sana?"

"I don't know." Seomin stood from her chair. "Thanks for the heads up, I'm leaving." Chaeyoung moved along with the girl and Seomin scoffed, already seeing what the girl is planning. "Don't follow me."

"What if she tries to kick your ass? You'll need backup. You'll need me." Chaeyoung lifted her fist, jabbing at an imaginary enemy. "Got you bitch."

"Whatever." Seomin didn't feel like arguing with Chaeyoung knowing what was awaiting her upstairs. At least she'd have Chaeyoung as a witness if Sana tried anything.

The ride up to the elevator was Chaeyoung talking about how much a bitch Sana was and how Seomin did the world a favor by fucking her boyfriend and effectively fucking her over. Seomin tried not to pay too much attention to her.

Sana wasn't in the common area when the two entered the apartment. Seomin let out a breath of relief.

"Okay, you can leave now. I won't need back up." Seomin whispered, leaving the front door open so Chaeyoung could walk out.

"She's here, I saw her go this way not too long ago. Go knock on her door."

"No!" Seomin whisper-shouted. "Can you leave please?" Seomin was more on edge now, directing her anger at Chaeyoung for telling Sana in the first place. If it hadn't been for her, she wouldn't even have to deal with this.

"Aish, for a little slut, you're no fun." Chaeyoung muttered, sticking her tongue out at Seomin before walking off.

"Whatever bi-" Seomin held her tongue, remembering that Chaeyoung wasn't above getting physical, which is the last thing Seomin wanted at that moment. She quietly shut the door after Chaeyoung, but not quiet enough because almost immediately did Sana's room door swing open.

Seomin braced herself before turning around and meeting eyes with her roommate and she gulped, because Sana did look angry or sad or even shocked.

Upon their eyes meeting, a laugh bubbled up out of Sana's throat, sharp and unexpected. "Can you believe her?" Sana asked and Seomin's eyebrows furrowed, her mind moving a mile a minute until suddenly she got an idea, stemming from her own irritation with Chaeyoung.

"No, I don't. She's a liar."

And somehow, this worked. Coupled with Sana already having talked to Jungkook and him denying the whole thing, Seomin denying it and the two forming an allegiance of annoyance towards Chaeyoung. Sana was able to be convinced it was all just a lie Chaeyoung made up.

Seomin got to her room and couldn't remember the last time she'd been so relieved.

[ramuneempiremtl]

Slave-kun's Happy Life in Another World: Chapter 9

"Well then, can you tell me a little bit about it?"

When I was feeling warm and my stomach was swollen, the leader sat down facing me. The master was sitting next to me.

I nodded, desperately trying to keep my heavy eyelids open. I can't fall asleep.

I was going to wash the dishes, but they were quickly taken away. A slave….Can I really be one here?

"You worked for the Cattle Trading Company, didn't you?"

I nodded. I had heard the name for the first time, but I guess that was it.

And of course, I couldn't speak. I think they were good people, but regardless, there seemed to be some kind of trauma or conditioning.

Does that mean I can't have a conversation with the master unless we're alone? That's inconvenient.

Then I asked the leader, "Is it true that the company's guards were using 'powder'?" I also asked about the effects of using 'powder' and the withdrawal symptoms.

The leader chose easy-to-understand words for me and made sure I could answer with yes or no.

He's a really nice guy. No wonder he looks like a knight.

"Do you know if the head of the company was also using this 'powder'?"

I shook my head. I don't know. But I guess he probably was. He built such a big company, but it fell apart so easily, so his judgment must have been clouded. It's possible that he was using it.

"There's something I have to confirm, just in case… Have you ever used this 'powder'? Even if you were forced to."

I shook my head again.

I wouldn't do anything that would ruin my life like that, even if I was paid. The guards must not have known any better.

"Leader, I heard earlier that they were complaining that 'it takes half of their monthly salary to buy powder'. They wouldn't give something that expensive to a slave, would they?"

"That's what I wanted to confirm."

"But the more I hear about it, the more messed up that company sounds. Even so, it was the biggest in this town of Sansa, right?"

When did the white man, Nove, come to stand next to the leader and join the conversation? The leader has dark blonde hair, and Nove has almost white blonde hair, so my vision is sparkling.

"I really want to know where they're getting it from."

"It seems like there was someone suspicious. A female adventurer was coming and going."

"Huh? It's normal for adventurers to come and go from a trading company."

"She was working inside the mansion, not in the shop. She seems to have been coming to the living quarters and interacting with the guards, so it's suspicious."

"So it's possible that she was the one who brought it in."

I thought about that woman and the sweet smell, and I got depressed. I wonder if she's been caught. She was the one who took the lead in assaulting the slaves.

Is it not a crime to use powder in this world? Maybe it's not that common yet.

Maybe that's why they're 'investigating'.

"Nove, don't jump to conclusions."

"I know…"

"I'm sorry for reminding you of something unpleasant. I'll ask your master about the rest, so you can rest now."

My role is over.

Do I have to rest even though it's still light outside? I think it's strange for a slave to go to bed before his master.

As I was whining in my head, the shield man suddenly lifted me out of my chair. He carried me under his arm and took me to the next room. You weren't part of the conversation, so when did you get behind me?

I'd rather take care of myself than be taken care of.

"Hey, stop squirming. Go to sleep."

"!"

"Your injuries aren't fully healed yet, so rest. You'll heal faster if you rest."

I sulked at the sound reasoning.

I guess I'll give in this time.

I was lowered to the floor at the entrance to the room and headed to the corner, where I lay down small. The wooden planks are nice and cool. I think I'll be able to sleep well.

The shield man covered his face with his palm and sighed.

"Idiot, over here."

I was thrown onto the bed.

W-wait, am I allowed to sleep in a bed? I'm a slave, you know.

Wow, the bed is really soft.

"We have plenty, so use it. And if you rest properly in bed, you can work as much as you want starting tomorrow."

He put a blanket over me. He patted me on the chest a few times.

That's a pretty rough and foul-mouthed lullaby.

But I don't remember saying out loud that I "want to work". Can this shield guy read minds?

There probably aren't many people with such an amazing ability, but if there were, I'd want them to use it all the time. It would make things so much easier for me.

"Tsk… 'Sleep'."

A thick palm covered my forehead, and I felt a sensation as if my head was being gently enveloped in something.

Is this magic?

Is he going to put me to sleep with magic? I think that's cheating.

Before I could protest, I fell into darkness.

[Next time, from a different perspective.]