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worldofkuro · 3 months ago

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Painted Smile

Painted Smile XXXVII

<- Previous Chapter I

Summary: You couldn't wait to meet new friends. What you didn't expect was this smiling little boy, only one year older than you, that would take such a big place in your life.

Notes: Should I be ashamed, it's been two weeks and I didn't have time to write anything. I really hope you will enjoyed today's chapter. TW: Knife play, semi-smut, Alastor and reader being crazy for each other.

It’s been a few days since Alice’s last nightmare.

Now, it was your turn to have them.

Each night, you would be haunted by Alastor’s father’s face. Even if you knew he was dead, you were so confused about what was happening these last days. And more than confused, you were scared.

You were sure he was dead,heck you were the one to finish him, so why would you daughter see a spirit that looked like her deceased grandfather when you killed him more than ten years ago? Alice could only see the spirit of animals that have died recently… So how could she see him? Furthermore, who put the man’s eye in your door? Was that a threat ? Any advice ? Why an eye ? Was someone watching you? And how did they manage to have Alastor’s father's eye ? How ?

You sat up in bed, your nails digging inside your arms. You were overwhelmed. Now that Maurice Richemont had died, lawyers were coming at your door because the man gave almost all of his wealth to you and Alastor. So you needed to sign papers, and even more papers…

You sighed as you remembered the paper you had signed numbly. Maurice had given you the Richemont’s estate… What could you do with that? On one hand, you didn’t know what this mansion could offer you, but on the other hand, it meant that Trey couldn‘t live in your best friend's house anymore…

From what the butler, William, told you: Trey seemed to be irritated because he couldn’t go inside the house, but he didn’t seem worried. Was that good news..? Bad news..? He had to take his stuff and leave the mansion yesterday… But you knew he would come back.

Just like you and Alastor, had a secret room for your voodoo’s ritual, Trey must have a hidden room where he could make his sacrifice for Lucifer. Now, you need to find it in the huge Richemont’s domain.. You had to go … The more you waited, the more he could erase what he has done.. There must be proof of his evil deed…And then you would make him fall…

“ You seem deep in thought, my dear.”

You looked up, startled as Alastor sat down next to you on the bed. It was around midnight, and Alastor made a habit of going to see if Alice was sleeping soundly since she had seen… his father’s ghost..

You nuzzled against him, your face against his neck and breathed in his natural odor. You felt your body relaxed as your husband wrapped his arms around you. You knew he was affected by his father’s ghost’s appearance… And yet, he was still smiling at you, looking unbothered.

“ I was thinking…About everything that had happened…”

“ Mhn… Don’t bother your silly head about it. Let me handle it.” He whispered sweetly into your ear.

If only you could. You knew Alastor would, could, take care of everything if needed… but you were his wife, and you knew - oh god you knew- how Alastor needed you to keep his human’s mask. You loved him as a monster, you even missed the murderous side of your husband…but Alice needed Alastor as a father…Not the monster you loved, you craved.. Maybe when your daughter will be older, you will make her meet the monster behind the smiling face… The monster that was her dad…

But then , what were you..? When you knew deep inside of yourself that you didn’t want Alastor to deal with everything? When you craved to dug your blade inside of someone’s flesh, smiling with blood dripping from your face with your husband next to you, praising you for your murder…

What were you?

“ Alastor… I think… we should make a reunion with the people… who wants to destroy Trey.”

“ You and me. There, we can have our little reunion. Should I raise my hand to speak?” He teased you, his hands moving toward your cheeks to force you to meet his gaze. You rolled your eyes at him with a little chuckle. He could be so childish sometimes…

“ No. I’m talking about Williams, Alyzée… “

“ Dear, are you asking others for help?”

You stared at Alastor’s eyes, even if his smile was still present on his lips, his eyes were telling a whole different story. You wished you could crack your husband’s head open to see what logical and illogical thoughts were swimming inside his mad mind. You didn’t think he would be against it, after all he was the one using others, so why would he be surprised that you opted to do the same… but with a different energy..?

“ Well… I told you that John was–”

“ Aah.. His name coming from your pretty lips is really annoying. What? Do you truly think John will be on our side because..?” He tilted his head toward you with a mocking and vicious smile on his lips. “ Are you forgetting my dear? He is our next target. Our next kill.”

“ Alastor, I’m not trying to save him from us. But imagine, he helps us get rid of Trey and then we can kill him while disguising it as a suicide. We could manipulate the press thanks to Alzyée saying he self-destructed himself because he had to kill one of his family’s members.”

You stopped speaking, putting your hand on your lips. Did you really say that? Those words that passed your lips so smoothly, without stammering, made by your own mind, really came from you..?

You were surprised, confused. Most of the time, Alastor was the one creating those cruel, twisted plans that made you flustered and yet…You were always saying that Alastor was a monster disguised as a human but…

So were you..?

You missed him…

You gasped as Alastor’s lips crashed against yours. His hands were grabbing at your hips, his nails digging into your skin which made you sigh in pleasure against his mouth. His hands were larger than yours, more powerful, more skilled to kill…

“ Darling, those words… Are you trying to inticite me..?” Alastor breathed against your neck making goosebumps appear on your skin. You looked at your husband who was busy biting at your throat, forcing you to lie down on the mattress.

Your husband… Your sweet twisted husband… Who gave you everything in life, a family, murders, excitement, fear, power…

You quietly moved your hands toward your pillow with a sweet smile. Your thoughts were spiraling inside your mind, you felt euphoric… You grinned when you felt your blade, hidden under the pillow, as usual. With a swift movement, you pushed Alastor on the mattress and climbed on him, your knife against his throat.

You hoped to see Alastor’s surprised face as you pinned him on the bed but he only observed you with a knowing smirk. His thumb was caressing your waist, while his other hand was stroking your cheek. You frowned, smacking his hand from your cheeks.

You were kind of tired of being seen as an angel.

You moved the tip of the blade from his throat to where his heart was. His heart was beating with its only purpose: You.

You smiled down at your husband who let his hand fall on the mattress, his eyes getting darker. You knew how he loved touching you, he needed to feel you close to him… And yet, he was already giving up on touching you..?

“ Well, darling ? When you are the one on top, you should know what to do. Are you going to stab me ?

“ You would enjoy it too much..” You whispered, sliding the blade on your husband’s shirt. You cut the fabric until you could see Alastor's bare chest. You bit your lips as the sight, how could your husband be so good looking…

You slipped the blade on his chest, watching his reaction, but his eyes were trained on you. He was watching your face, it seemed like he was looking for answers. You moved your face closer to him until you touched his lips with yours.

The kiss was slow, you could hear your breathing mingling with his, the sound of your lips locking together being louder with your gaps in contrast with the quiet room. You sat on his pelvis, brushing your chest against his torso, being completely under his spell even though you wanted to be the one in control. You moaned when his arms crushed you completely against him.

His hands moving to your legs made you come back to yourself. You moved from his lips, smiling when you saw him trying to run after your mouth. You sat on his abdomen, watching as he panted underneath you. His smile was still present but it was straining and you loved every bit of this scene.

You spinned the blade around your skillful fingers before digging the blade into your own flesh. You bit down a sigh of pleasure at Alastor’s shock’s face. You used your shield to trap him underneath you, making it so he couldn’t touch you or move.

“ Dear, wha–”

“ Alastor…” You sighed with a smile, moving the blade from your wrist and stared at the blood pouring from your wounds. You moved your gaze toward Alastor as you licked your own blood, making sure the blood was falling on your white nightdress. You smirked when you felt him trying to move from underneath you, but your shield was making it impossible. “ Well? Don’t you like the spectacle ?”

“ I’m the one who makes your wounds, no one else.” He spat, his smirk twitching.

You moved to undress him completely. Even if you weren’t the one naked, you couldn’t help but feel like you were. Your husband’s stare on you was so focused... His eyes were looking at every single aspect of you, from your lips, to your eyes to the roundness of your breast hidden behind your clothes, by the little twitch of your legs from your own excitement…

“ Should I make you beg for me, Alastor?” You asked, trying to keep your voice strong under your lover’s gaze. You almost pouted when he snickered at your words.

“ Well, why don’t you teach me, you seem good at it.” He tilted his head on the side, some of his locks of hair falling in front of his mocking eyes.

You frowned at his words, remembering how many times you had begged for your husband. He wanted to play this game? Fine.

You stood up from the bed and walked toward your vanity to bring the chair next to the bed, Alastor observing you with interest. You took off your nightdress before sitting on the chair, playing with your knife in your hand. You smiled at your husband before spreading your legs in front of him. Then you created multiple cuts to your breast, making it so the blood was dripping on your on your belly and between your legs, making your husband’s pupils dilated.

You moaned as you felt the blade digging into your flesh, never deep enough to be dangerous and yet… you craved it. But not from your hands, but from Alastor’s.

“ Darling.”

You kept your eyes closed, moving on hand toward your femininity before playing with yourself, wet from your own excitement but also because of the blood. You bit your lips, ignoring Alastor’s demand for your attention.

You felt so powerful, Alastor was fighting against your shield to touch you, he was demanding you to open your eyes and watch him. He was almost begging for you… You moaned louder as you pumped your fingers in and out of your wet entrance. You felt tears gather behind your eyelids, the feeling was pure euphory.

You opened your eyes, watching as Alastor was staring at you with pure madness, his veins on his neck so visible you almost wanted to bite it. His smile was more like a snarl than what he was used to showing. You could see his body relaxed a little once you laid your gaze upon him.

“ Curse of my sanity, drop the shield.”

You giggled, moving your finger on your clit, shivering at the coldness in his voice.

“ No. Aren’t you the great Alastor? Forcing your way out of my shield should be easy for you.” You mocked him, smiling even more when you noticed his eyes turning red. Just a little more push… Just a little more push to see the monster you loved…” Maybe you aren’t that strong… Maybe you can’t satisfy me…” You whispered as your finger began to move faster on your wet clit just as his lips lost his smile. You whined when you saw his emotionless face if not for the maniac glint in his eyes. He seemed calm. Like a predator observing his prey before taking action.

“ Are you really fit to be my husband ?” You asked, your panting making it hard for you to speak without stuttering. You couldn’t stop your mouth talking, you wanted him to react, you wanted your Alastor. “ Maybe I should have taken Jo–”

You gasped when you felt one hand wrapped around your throat, squeezing it so hard you could barely breathe. You looked up and smiled weakly at your husband who was staring at you with a cold face. He took the knife from your other hand easily, before placing the tip of the blade against your skin, where your heart was beating furiously.

“ Say his name, while you are in this state, I dare you.” He whispered, his voice cold but his eyes red of burning obsession. You felt tears in your eyes as the grip on your neck didn’t lessen at all. You smiled at him, putting your hand around his wrist.

You adored him. How could you live without him?

“ Well? Cat got your tongue..?” He raised an eyebrow, playing with the knife in his hand. “ I should carve my name on your body once more, I’ll make it so you won’t be able to heal yourself. Even the Gods won’t be able to tear my soul from you. I should take out your heart and carved my name on it, would you like it?” He tilted his head, his smile horrifying and yet you couldn’t help but squeeze your legs as more wetness fell from your lower lips. You nodded at him, his pupils dilated even more. “ You wish for it? You wish for me to–”

“ Stab…me….”

Your croaked words make him groan as he pass a hand through his brown lock before smiling down on your with a blush on his cheeks, saliva dripping down on his chin.

“ Oh dear, you are spoiling me.” He leaned his body toward you, a hard blush on his cheeks, his eyes shining with madness. “ Would you? Let me stab you?”

You wanted to see how Alastor was when he wanted to kill. You knew he wouldn’t do anything that would put your life in danger but you craved to see his darkest side for you and only you. You nodded to confirm your words.

“ Aah… dear.” He moaned, wiping the saliva from his chin. “ A stab to the chest shouldn't be deeper than 10 centimeters, or else it could be lethal.” He spoke with excitement, which made you smile softly. He kept talking about every other place he could stab you, how many centimeters you could take..

But you were surprised when you saw him kneeled between your spread legs. He kissed your thighs, biting it, cutting it with the knife which made you throw your head backward, moaning loudly. He licked the blood from every cut, even the one you made yourself, he cut it once more making them his.

You were trembling from arousal as you felt him lick your vulva, wet from your own excitement and the blood from your cuts. You couldn’t help but squeeze Alastor’s head between your thigh, gasping for air as he devoured you, never letting you rest, not even one second, making you beg for air.

But you didn’t want him to stop.

The feeling of Alastor being the one to have so much power over your breath, your pleasure, your life, all of this was making you lightheaded. Your back arched as you felt yourself close to cum on his face and then you felt it.

A sharp pain between your breasts.

Alastor has stabbed you, right where your heart was.

Your eyes rolled back in your skull as you came on his face, your wetness gushing out of you. Your body was shaking as Alastor never stopped licking and sucking at your clit. You could feel the cold blade between your chest and it was driving you crazy.

Alastor stabbed you, Alastor stabbed you , Alastor stabbed you, Alastor stabbed you ,

Alastor stabbed you, Alastor stabbed you , Alastor stabbed you, Alastor stabbed you…

You opened your eyes, not even noticing you were sobbing from overstimulation. You were feeling so many emotions and feelings at once…

“ Darling, look at me.”

You blinked the tears from your eyes and looked at your husband who had his face in front of you with a sweet smile. His eyes were maniacally beautiful and only for you…

“ You are perfect, you are the moon of my every night. I’m the water that raises every full moon to try to reach you …I’m the snake that watches the bird flying away from my grips.. You are my madness…”

You smiled tiredly at him, closing one eye when you felt him stroke your cheek. If you were the moon, Alastor must have been the sun. He was always the center of attention, he was vivid, brilliant and could hurt so badly… But he was the one making you shine… or hiding you when he wanted.

You looked at the knife moving as you were breathing. You didn’t want to heal this scar… The scars on your heart shall always be from Alastor…

Were you crazy?

You looked up at Alastor who was panting. His eyes were fixated on your chest, the blood dripping from the wound the knife made. He leaned down your chest and placed a bloodied kiss on your skin, making you sigh in pleasure.

“ I should heal myself…” You whispered as a cold energy came from you, your eyes shining with a purple hue. Alastor took back the knife slowly, and stared at you as you used the Baron’s power to heal your wound.

“ Aah… What would I do without you, dearest?”

The next few days seemed to be calmer. Alice wasn’t having nightmares anymore but she said she had found another friend, a boy that was around the same age as her. You smiled at her, maybe having an imaginary friend could help your daughter. You would sometimes watch her play in her bedroom, happily playing with her different plushie and talking with her imaginary friend.

She wasn’t bringing Eamon with her all the time, and you asked Alastor to stop her training. She needed a break and it seemed like her child’s mind decided that creating an imaginary friend was the solution. You asked Baron Samedi if she was talking to a dead soul and he reassured you that it wasn’t the case… He told you that with an amused smile.

Now, you had other problems, you felt energy that wasn’t from your family multiple times in your house. And you remember clearly that Trey told you he was trying to watch you but couldn’t. Maybe he was still trying… You needed answers.

“ I’ll go back to my father’s grave and try to understand what happened.”

You looked at your husband who was sitting on the sofa. He was helping Alice with reading books, so you were a little surprised when he talked out of the blue… and yet, you should be used to it.

“ Alone ?”

“ Yes, I have other things I need to do.” He stood up after patting Alice three times on the head. “ Would you rather have me with you for the mansion tour?”

Today was the day where you felt ready to go to the Richemont’s estate and watch what you could do with all that wealth and mostly, find clues about Trey. You kissed your husband, reassuring him that you would go with your daughter furthermore Williams was already waiting for you there.

“ My shadow will stay with you.”

“ You mean, Shadie?” you grinned as Alastor grimaced. Since your daughter had called his shadow ; Shadie, you couldn’t help but use it. She had decided that your shadow would be named: Shade.

“ Yes… Shadie… I’ll be back for dinner.” He kissed your forehead with a fond smile before falling into his own shadow, disappearing completely. You wished you could also teleport long distance…

Since the fire accident you didn’t use your shadow to teleport, you didn’t use this skill… Maybe you could try right now..?

“ Mommy? Can I bring Eamon with us ? He wants to meet my friend !” Alice smiled at you with a big grin. You kissed her forehead with a sweet smile.

“ Really ? Then, let’s bring him along!”

You watched as Alice ran to her bedroom to take the fawn plushie. You closed your eyes and concentrated on your shadow. You could feel its hands rootting inside of your feet. you were thinking about the place you wanted to be, your mind picturing the Richemont’s mansion as clear as you could remember.

“ I’m ready mommy!”

You reached for your daughter before the two of you fell into your own shadow. You screamed when you fell on a soft surface, your daughter in your arms. You looked up quickly and realized you were into the living room and nobody was around.. You sighed of relieved while Alice was begging you to do it again.

“ Who is the– Miss. Sanglar, little Alice..?”

You turned your head toward the butler who had a cane in his hand, ready to beat the intruders he thought you were. You waved at him, your smile twitching.

You weren’t very subtle.

“ How did you…?”

“ I came from the front door of course.” You lied with an innocent smile. “ But no one was here.”

“ Oh, yes, excuse me, I was busy in the kitchen. All of Mister Felleur’s employes have been removed, just like you ordered. “ He smiled at you. “ Alastor told me you would come today. You are going to find clues about Mister’ Felleur’s involvement with… the murders he committed.” His smile dropped, you could feel his sadness like it was yours. “ He … He killed the Richemont’s family..”

You walked toward him and hugged him. Trey might have done all these awful things… he might have taken away your best friend but you would have your revenge.

“ Mommy, come on ! I want to see where my auntie used to sleep ! I want to see her dress! ” Alice ran toward you with a big smile. You pondered the idea but quickly nodded. After all, showing your daughter where Alice used to live might help you feel better…

Was it a good idea to show her the room where your friend and her baby were murdered…?

You showed your daughter every room you used to share with Alice, from her office, to the saloon, until you stopped in front of her bedroom’s door. You peeked at your little baby who was looking at you with sparkles in her eyes..

You watched as Shadie made the choice for you and opened the door before vanishing once more. Alice ran inside the room while you walked slowly behind her, looking at the room that didn’t change at all. You looked to the bed, where it was once dirty by your friend’s blood…

You shook your hand, feeling lightheaded. You should open the window…

You turned your face toward your daughter who was reaching for a book from the huge bookcase. You tilted your head when you saw her whisper.

“ What are you doing, Alice?”

“ I’m talking with my friend !”

You raised an eyebrow but didn’t push it. You opened the windows, smiling as the light of the sun came inside the room. You sat on the bed and closed your eyes.

Now, you needed to find a room where Trey had done his sacrifice. If that room existed, it would be in the Richemont’s mansion, it would be easier for him to work here. You concentrated on the energy around you, you could feel your own energy, Alastor’s shadow’s energy, Alice’s and…

You gasped when you felt another energy that seemed familiar. You smirked, you found it.

Trey’s energy.

You stood up and looked around, the source of energy was close to you, and you remembered Alice telling you that wealthy people always had hidden room in their suites.. You walked around Alice’s former room, trying to find something that would open a door…

But nothing..

You sighed after searching for a whole hour. You were getting more irritated by the seconds, you could feel the energy, it was so close, you could almost grasp it… And yet, you couldn’t find it.

“ Damn it…”

“ What are you looking for mommy?”

You turned your gaze toward your daughter with a tired smile. You stroked her cheek as she giggled.

“ I’m looking for a secret room… But I can’t find it.” You sighed once more, putting your face between your palms. You felt like you were going to be crazy, this energy was nagging you, sometimes it was strong and sometimes it was so weak you had to stop moving to concentrate so as not to lose the connection with it.

“ I know something you don’t know~”

You raised an eyebrow at your daughter who was looking at you with a smile so similar to Alastor you could almost see your husband’s face on your daughter.

“ Oh really?”

“ Yes! My friend says it was supposed to be a secret but because Mommy wants it, I will show you!”

Alice turned around and trotted toward the bookcase. You tilted your head as she whispered toward a book and waited… She then looked at you and waved at you to come closer. You walked toward her, not very sure if you were losing time or not.

Your daughter took a book off the bookcase and you gasped as the furniture opened itself, revealing stairs that were going down. You quickly put yourself in front of Alice but your daughter was already running down the stairs excitedly.

“ Alice!”

You ran after her, being careful of the steps you were taking. You gagged when you entered a wide room that was mostly Trey’s sacrificial place. You could still smell blood, the ustensile weren’t even cleaned…

You walked toward a desk and grimaced when you saw eyeballs, hearts and other things inside of jars… But one jars made you stop breathing. You took the jars and gasped when you read the label on it.

“ Alastor’s father's eye, killed by his childhood friend and himself.” You whispered under your breath as you read out loud what was written. You looked at the book on the desk and began to read.

“ Making a deal with devils… How to save a soul… How to resurrect someone with their family’s blood..?... How to keep someone alive.. Using a descendant as a vessel..” You shivered as you kept reading the notes that were in the books. “ How to defeat Voodoo..” The book fell from your hand when you read that sentence.

You truly didn’t know anything about Trey. He knew much more than you thought. He had many notes… You kept reading and paled when you saw he had even notes about Alastor, Marie, Alice, John… even yourself. He knew everything since you were a kid. He had notes about your parents, your family that was out of the country… even notes on your daughter.

“ Ingredients: Erori…use it with–”

That bastard… You kept reading as you saw more recent notes. Some were in french … in basque if you remembered correctly…

“ There you are !”

You spun around when you heard Alice’s shout. You ran toward her, feeling like you could vomit at any moment.

“ Alice !”

You stopped at the scene in front of you. Alice was sitting in front of a cage, holding the bar with her little hands. She was looking at something inside.. or someone... You walked closer and gasped.

Was Trey using children as sacrifice? How vile…

Inside the cage was a little boy, he seemed truly like he was starving… He had blond hair and blue eyes with a hint of gold inside of them. He looked at you and seemed terrified. You sat next to your daughter, trying to seem as small as possible.

“ Hello.. I won’t hurt you… okay..?”

The boy backed away from you, his back hitting the cage. You winced at the noise and from the way he held his head with his hands, he must have hurt himself. How could you show him you were not a danger for him..?

“ Don’t be afraid ! This is mommy!” Alice whispered at the boy who stopped shaking. Maybe he was scared of adults… You smiled at the boy who was looking with those familiar eyes… Where did you see them..

“ I’m Alice’s mother… She told me you needed help.. So I came here.” You gave him a soft smile which seemed to help him relax. He crawled toward you, staring at your face.

“ You… You won’t hurt me…?”

His voice was low, so weak… How could someone do something like this to a child!

“ No, of course not… “ You observed him, trying to see if he had any serious injury. You could see bruises but nothing life threatening. “ I’m here to help you, I will save you, we promise, right Alice?”

“ I promised it! I said I would come!” Your daughter nodded, holding the little boy’s hand with hers. You tilted your head, staring at Alice.

“ Is he… the friend you were talking about..?”

“ Yes!” Alice grinned at you while the boy seemed scared that you would hurt him because of your discovery. You quickly smile at him trying to reassure him.

“ I see, and what is your name, my boy?”

“ Erori…”

You flinched as you heard the boy sharing his name. You stood up, saying you were going to look for the key to open the cage but you quickly went back to the book.

“ Ingredients: Erori…use it with the blood of his parents. The ingredient must have been drenched in the blood of multiple sacrifices so his soul is attached to the devil you want to make a deal with… Then you can make a deal to make a translation: A soul from the same family owned by the same devil…”

You put the book down, feeling numb… It couldn’t be… He was supposed to be dead… Trey said he burned him.. He killed him after killing Alice… whose soul is owned by Lucifer… He killed him.. He burned him… Alice was only 6 months pregnant… He couldn’t be alive..

You walked toward the cage, staring at the same blond hair and blue eyes your once cherished friend had.

“ What is your full name..?”

“ My name is Erori Richemont, madam…”

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blueberrypancakesworld · 1 year ago

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Picture an Angel

warning : obsession, using of ropes, innocent/naive reader, older man/younger woman, Frollo being Frollo

Info : Our lord and savior has a hold on me and I wanted to write more for him and his way to corrupt the innocent reader. I see you guys liked my first One-Shot with him here is more have fun reading ;)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

His angel. She was his angel, his sweet angel in the church that was almost completely in his hands. He knew exactly that as soon as either her father died or another man came he had to strike. He had to finally have her, the golden ring on her finger that he had bought her specially would be given to her by him.

He would own her as his wife. Knew that it would only take a few more steps until they would be united under God and he had her all to himself. But until then he still had time to play his game and would do so. Because like every lord, every man with influence and power he wanted to show this.

Wanted to see and show the beauty of his love at all times. A work of art. He wanted to hold her beauty, wanted to have her hanging on his wall until he would finally have her. A picture of temptation in his bedroom and to dream about his physical desire to finally give satisfaction.

He would not entrust this work of art to any artist too much he was afraid that the one would take her away from him. Artists as beautiful as art could be were free spirits and could enchant such young, delicate beings as his angel was.

But he himself had strength he knew he would exploit their piety and naivety. Because he was the church and would thus protect them from evil. The evil that was everywhere and only his angel was the light in this damned world.

,,My angel" he murmured and his ringed fingers ran over the stained glass window in his room. A creation that spoke even more for his wealth. The light of the rising sun the red of the glass flaming sun punished him the cave called for him and would eventually fetch him.

A cave that surrounded him and the church the home of his angel. He saw the church, saw Notre Dame and knew that she was lighting the candles. How beautiful she looked as she lay down and prayed before the Blessed Virgin.

How her hands were clasped together, her head bowed, or sometimes looking up at the statue. He watched her as if she were his holy virgin the gesture went from pious in his eyes to lustful. Kneeling before him she would either way.

His horse Snowball was already saddled and made ready at his door. And with the ringing of the church bells he got on his horse and rode through the dirty streets of Paris to get closer to the church.

He rode faster and faster, the people he did not care and rushed or jumped to the side. They were unfair and were only unnecessarily in his way. The mob turned away and only moments later he had arrived at his angel.

His pretty holy angel he would wait for him in the church. Descending and straightening his clothes, he opened the heavy church door made of the old wood before the cold of the stones gave way to him.

The torches and candles were burning and yet no one seemed to be here. No one except himself and his pretty angel. Where are you, my love? he asked himself, stepping forward and after a few minutes he heard the soft singing. The bright voice of his love seemed to call him and he followed.

He followed her up to the church tower where she had her room. The big room with the view of the city she loved. The city where she stayed only with her father or a few guards, otherwise Frollo would always be at her side.

The thought that she might come to harm had made the judge a little crazy. But the possibility that he would lock her up in such a way that the people would hate him even more did not occur to him. He listened to the singing for a few more minutes before knocking.

,,Who is it?" she asked and he thought he heard her startled gasp. You will sing for me, my heart, went through his mind before he announced himself and entered her room. The light of the sun shining on her through the window, the colored glass showing an angel with a white rose made her look even more beautiful.

The light dress she wore was pretty and yet chaste it was perfectly fitted to her. But he could see exactly her ankles, her tender hands and wrists and her neck and guess what her body looked like underneath.

Her beauty would still belong to him. ,,My Lord, you have come for the picture," she said, and he heard her uncertainty, knowing that her father knew nothing about it. She had told Frollo that day that the Dean of Paris would visit the orphanages in the city.

The elder nodded, looked in the corner of her room and saw under the large white cloth the canvas and the easel, the colors her father had given her for her twentieth birthday. A day on which Frollo had also given her something.

A golden ring with an amethyst inserted, he had put it on her finger. A look at her hands told him that she still wore it. She belonged to him, respected and only because she did not know the world as he knew it. ,,Am I really suitable for this...there are more beautiful women" she murmured and looked at her hands on which the ring was.

He clicked his tongue and shook his head, seeing her looking up at him as his hand came down on hers. ,,Not my flower," he started and ran his fingers over her cheek, turning her head towards the small mirror which was another gift from him to her. He saw her looking at herself and saw the small discoloration of her cheeks.

,,You are the image of the Virgin Mary, you are true piety and beauty," he finished telling her before detaching himself from her and instructing her to sit on her chair while he set up the easel and placed the blank canvas on it. ,,I'll adjust it a little for the perfect picture," he said after setting up the oil paints knowing he was the only one who could paint her perfectly. It was his.

Separating himself from the painting, he went over to her and took a rope from his coat pocket. ,,It is the ribbons of faith that have made Mary consort with the angel...as you blossom here, you too will live up to the angel, won't you?" he asked and the rope slowly tightened around her wrists holding her hands in the praying position folded on her lap.

His long thin cold fingers were adept at tying the knot, taking his time before lightly grasping her chin and making her look up.

There was uncertainty in her gaze as he knelt down and lightly lifted the fabric of her dress. ,,Frollo!" she said in surprise and wonder, and she wanted to pull away, but he just put his hand on her thigh and placed the ruffled fabric in her hand.

,,Always one step at the sin...the flesh of the body and the beauty is what the devil wants isn't it?" he asked and saw how she seemed slightly overwhelmed her voice that could sing so beautifully fell silent for a moment before she nodded and turned her gaze towards the picture. Goosebumps appeared on her body as his fingers stroked up her ankle and he withdrew.

Even her good faith only went so far as she could interpret a man's desires. ,,Is everything done so far?" she dared to ask, looking at him hopefully, still knowing that for a woman of God's house she must look lewd. But for Frollo she was everything.

She was the angel of innocence and the fire of sin on which he would and should burn himself. ,,It's ready, I'll start, don't move my dear" he demanded and she complied with his request. Frollo took the brush and began to apply the first colors to the painting.

While his fingers knew exactly what they were doing, his eyes kept going over her body and he saw her either avoiding his gaze, not holding it, or looking at the window with the angel. His eyes held on the ropes at her wrist, imagining how her body would look when he tied her to the bed.

The rope would leave marks on her hands, legs, thighs, arms and breasts. The marks he would caress to make up for it. Would she cry? The tears in her eyes dripping onto the pillow he would wipe away and kiss away, reassuring her that it was his will.

She would be good to him. She had to. As she held up her dress he saw more and more of her skin and enjoyed the warmth and softness as he stroked over it. He imagined what it would be like to have her next to him, warming his bed and keeping him warm. She would become his angel. His wife.

His until the sun threatened to set in the sky and he knew they would have to continue it another day. ,,It's time...Father will be back soon" she said and he saw how the position was starting to hurt her and she tried to move a little. But he calmly put back the colors and the canvas.

He let her take her time before returning to her, letting the fabric fall back over her ankles and twisting a strand of her hair back and forth between his fingers. ,,We'll finish it, I promise, my flower," he murmured and after a time that was almost too long he opened the rope and took it with him.

He helped her up from the chair and in an act of lust kissed her wrist prints. He heard her surprised gasp but she did not pull away. ,,For your effort, I'll bring you a rose next time, it goes with the picture," he said and saw her nod a little before she lowered her gaze again and shut up. But by the time the dean arrived, his daughter had already put on her gloves and was reading again.

But the shot and the kiss still seemed to burn like the cave fire that would await Frollo after he landed in the grave. But as this would still have time, because first the devil would go to the flower sooner or later. Sooner or later she would be his.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

@ria-coolgirl , @hesperia24 , @aliensthegreat , @strangecrowd133 , @her3ge , @fantadym @ranminfan , @siwucha , @cat-lover-nile

#disney #disney movies #the hunchback of notre dame #judge claude frollo #claude frollo #frollo x reader #claude frollo x reader

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writebackatya · 1 year ago

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Darkwing Duck’s* Biggest Fans Haters

*As in the old tv show from the world of DuckTales (2017), not the superhero Drake Mallard assumes the identity of to fight evil

To fans like Drake Mallard and Launchpad McQuack, Darkwing Duck is the greatest piece of television history that helped shape their lives to become the ducks they are today thanks to its titular hero who never gave up despite the odds against him

To the rest of the world, Darkwing Duck was just another superhero show from the 90s that starred a problematic diva d-list actor that may or may not have died

Opinions are subjective of course, neither are 100% correct nor incorrect but I feel like when the fandom talks about Darkwing Duck it’s always about the characters that would also like the show. So why not flip the script a little? We’ll start small and work our way up to its biggest hater

Gosalyn Waddlemeyer:

“GOSALYN!?” You might be screaming at your monitor/phone to which I have to say:

“Yeah”

Again we are not talking about the Drake Mallard or his super identity here, but the tv show he and Launchpad are obsessed with. Because frankly, I bet Gosalyn loves doing all that superhero stuff with her adoptive dads. It’s a cool life to live!

Other than the fact that Drake is a huge nerd who INSISTS that Gosalyn do her “homework” and watch every episode of Darkwing Duck, read all the sacred texts (comic books), and playing the original Darkwing Duck video game on the original hardware so she won’t use the rewind or save features that modern games or ROMs have

Like all kids who have had an adult push their interests onto them, she has a little disdain for the show. But not a whole lot since she’s first on this list. I like to think she’s in the same boat as Dewey where she finds the show cheesy and doesn’t really hate it per say and sees why Drake and LP love the show. She even has a few guilty pleasure episodes

But one thing she doesn’t understand is why Drake and Launchpad insist on watching the Darkwing Duck Christmas Special every year when they’re both practicing Jews

Scrooge McDuck:

Yeah the old man can barely remember Drake, let alone the Darkguy Drake played in that movie he cancelled so I don’t really see Scrooge being a fan of the Masked Mallard. (No, not that Masked Mallard OG DuckTales fans)

If Scrooge did sit down and watch the show, he’d find it to be rather ridiculous if anything. Some vigilante running around dressed like The Spirit or The Shadow or whatever superhero kids are into these days getting slapped around and fighting back just doesn’t seem like his cup of tea

I like to think when Donald and Della were kids they watched Darkwing Duck at the mansion and Scrooge just walked by the room, looked at the TV for a few seconds, scoffed, and moved on with his life forgetting all about that nonsense his niece and nephew were watching

Louie Duck:

Honestly I always had this headcanon that Louie just isn’t a fan of superheroes. Like at all. He finds the stories all copy and paste, using all the cliches he hates from other genres and putting them in tights.

And don’t even get him started on superhero related adventures! If he sees a sky beam, Louie is running in the opposite direction of it. He’s not dealing with the many different diva supervillains out there trying to take over the world with cartoony extreme measures, he doesn’t wanna be around all that property damage

He does have a favorite superhero tho. Waddle Duck because he gave him a Pep once

Lena Sabrewing:

She thinks it’s lame.

Gandra Dee:

This is a no brainer for me. Gandra Dee made herself Darkwing Duck’s biggest hater the moment she heard the duck talk shit about Gizmoduck around Fenton who insisted she does not reveal his secret identity to Drake, because Drake is all he has left

Wanting to respect her boyfriend’s wishes, Gandra decides not to spill the beans but instead add more fuel to the fire by talking shit about Darkwing Duck

And she does not hold back

She’s not ashamed to talk shit on the show. It’s predictablity, it’s cheesiness, the plot holes, how lame it was for its own time, etc

It ain’t her childhood, she ain’t afraid to fight dirty either. She will bring up problematic episodes that depicted races in a not so good and stereotypical light (“It was the nineties! They were different times!” -Drake probably) such as the fact that in one episode Darkwing Duck called a group of Native Americans “primitive savages” or that a non-Asian actor played an Asian character in a sterotypcial manner and that how one of the characters names was “Duck Ling”(Okay but for real, all that shit did happen in the OG show.)

This of course frustrates Drake who is extra suspicious of Gandra ever since he saw her with Gizmoduck and writes her off as a blind fan girl who doesn’t know what she’s talking about

She’s pretty chill about not being into the show with Launchpad tho. He respects her opinions because he’s Launchpad and at the end of the day Gandra is still his friend

#ducktales headcanons #ducktales 2017 #darkwing duck #jim starlin #launchpad mcquack #gosalyn waddlemeyer #gosalyn mallard #scrooge mcduck #louie duck #gandra dee #ducktales #DuckTales fandom #duckblr #lena sabrewing #lena ducktales

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dalooneylass · 10 months ago

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Here’s Ganon’s traitorous children aka Shadow Link from FourSwordsAdventures and Dark Link from SpiritTracks as Dark Clergy!

So basically to try and keep the story behind this image breadth but not really, Shadow Link/Shadow and ST Dark Link but Trans aka Darka, Both work at a temple owned by the Death God depicted in the Bargainer Statues from TotK that servers as the tomb for the Heroes of Hyrule, the entrance of which is located in the Depths, they work with 2 other people of note who I’m not going to get into as well as some unnamed servants (of whom most are from Rauru’s era) that aren’t important. Shadow wound up there because Four got sent to the Heroes Tomb despite not being dead, regained a tangible form, and has overall grown up a lot since coming there, while Darka chose to go to work at the Heroes Tomb after being offered a position there some hundred years after Spirit Tracks and after everyone who appeared in that game died, and has since become well accustomed to living there. Shadow and Darka 100% consider each other as siblings and care for each other very much, and are the head Priest/Priestess of the Temple.

Now the explanation for my reasoning for Four being sent to the Tomb despite not being dead is that the Heroes Tomb doesn’t just look after the corpses of Hylia’s heroes, but also their gear, and that the various weapons and clothing items of previous heroes scattered about the Depths in Totk came from the Tomb of which I believe to have been lost during the Great Calamity. Notably there is no gear in TotK to represent Four, which leads me to believe that Four isn’t dead, and therefore still has his gear and or his gear wasn’t being kept with the rest of the deceased heroes stuff. In my head Four got attacked by Twinrova some time after FSA and his adventures with the Chain, and hit with a sleeping spell similar to the one used on Aurora, no one could figure out how to wake Four, not even Dot, and thus he was stashed somewhere for safe keeping, until the Hyrulean Civil War, Hylia felt that it wasn’t safe to keep Four on the surface because of the war, and thus sent him to the Heroes Tomb for safe keeping.

Also while Darka initially debuted in ST as the final challenge of the Take 'Em All On! mini-game in Castle Town, I actually head-canon her as having originated in WW, having been created by Ganondorf to defeat Wind, only for her to decide that she didn’t want to be evil and didn’t want to fight Wind, so she just straight up ditch Ganondorf, and went of to do her own thing, eventually winding up in New Hyrule and becoming a citizen who pays taxes, and works for Joynas at the Take 'Em All On! mini-game. Darka is ultimately a kind hearted soul, as seen by her leaving healing items in her room despite the rules saying that there’s not healing items to be found during the mini-game (Darka got in a fair bit of trouble when Joynas found out) and also hence she betrayed Ganondorf. Note while Darka is Trans, I do not head-canon Wind as trans.

#legend of zelda #loz #linkeduniverse #linked universe #four swords adventurers #spirit tracks #shadow link #lu shadow #dark link #Lu dark link but not really #lu four #lu dot #lu wild #hero of the four sword #hero of the wind #totk sorta #the depths #my art

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leahnardo-da-veggie · 3 months ago

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Fast Food - The False Oracles

Childhood, Adolescence, Travels

I knelt before the Oracles, eyes downcast. Six of them, there were, dressed in clothes too casual for their nature. Shrinking beneath their gaze, I felt rather like a child before my elders.

“One has come to seek counsel, great Oracles,” I whispered with reverence. “I have travelled far and wide. I have met the heroes of legend, watched them make history, and fought alongside them too. I have caused the death of my people, and the rise of another, and I live to tell the tale.”

One of them leaned forward. She was serpentine, with skin dry enough to be scaly, eyes red as rubies and long hair to match. “And what is it you seek, little trickster? Do you wish to change the past? To turn back time and make a different choice? To create a world in which you never had to make a choice in the first place?” The sharp edge of her smile told me there was a right answer, and a wrong one.

“None of them,” I replied, meeting her gaze. I had locked forearms with the first Spirit-Empress, bowed to the great Lich-Queen, danced with the God of Chaos himself. I could handle a crew of omniscient priestesses. “I did the right thing. Even if you gave me the option, I wouldn't have made any other choice.”

“Then why are you here?” It was a different Oracle this time, one hardly more than a girl-child, yet with a voice as deep and luscious as sin. “You have yet to answer our first question.”

I winced. “I-” What did I want? Why was I here? I had just needed to come back to Iraios, back to the place where I had met my first love, lost my first loss. “I must know: Could I have chosen better? Could I have done anything differently? Could I have saved them all?”

I didn't know what I wanted to hear. It would have broken my heart either way, to know that my family and friends were doomed all along, or to know that I had failed to save their lives.

“And the sun will rise and the mountains will fall and all things will come to an end,” the sole male Oracle said. He studied me with steely eyes, devoid of soul. “What does it matter if they died now, or in a thousand years?” He paused, and I felt the room shift, as though something beyond my grasp had tilted reality. “I cannot stand you pathetic little woe-is-me trauma magnets. ‘Oh, my backstory is so sad! Oh, all my family died in a fire and that's why I'm evil!’ Oh, why don't I smack you right in your sad-little-meow-meow mouth, hmm?”

A smattering of laughter went up at that, the Oracle's clearly delighting in his condemnation of me. It stung, like a slap to the face, hurt and shock and shame. Then it burned like rage.

“You can stuff your mouth up your ass, you little mud-suckler,” I snapped, not caring if I was picking a fight I couldn't win. “Those are real people you're talking about here, not some pawns in a game. They were my family, my tribe, my entire gods-accursed species! Everyone I shared a single drop of blood with is gone! And you dare to make light of it?”

“Don't you see? That's the point. Those were people with lives, with stories of their own, tossed aside like unwanted toys! She's playing with them, just as She toys with you, for Her cruelty knows no bounds.” It was the scarred one that spoke this time, her voice filled with bitter rage. “I weep for your loss, truly. We all do. Only a monster such as our Writer would dare sacrifice an entire people for character development.”

“I don't understand. You mean… Someone made this happen? This wasn't my fault?” The thought alone lifted a weight of guilt off my chest.

“Hah! It absolutely was your fault, you sad little queer representation,” the snake Oracle told me. “We merely mean that it was written from the very beginning. You would, will, and have always sacrificed your people to save humanity. That's the meta-tragedy of it. And for the record, Liam and I don't weep for you. We laugh, because this whole tale is a farcical comedy.”

“Me too,” the youthful Oracle added. “I mean: You're named after a Macdonald's breakfast. How much funnier can you get? Peak comedic relief.” She grinned. “Oh, but I do feel rather sorry for you.”

I felt myself twitch. Everyone had warned me that the Oracles spoke in tongues, but this? They might as well have been talking to someone else, with the way they went on. “What the hell is a Mac Donald? And was there someone pulling the strings, or was there not? Answer me!”

They ignored me. “You should pity it,” the scarred one told the others. “That accursed Writer thinks She can toy with us like this? Make us into her little dolls to break and bruise?” She spat on the floor. “Well, someday, we'll prove her wrong.”

“Don't be ridiculous, Gloria,” one of the remaining two said. She could have blended into any crowd, save for her solemnity, which could belong nowhere except in the highest of holy places. (Which, despite all evidence to the contrary, this was.) “We can't stop her any more than a character can reach through the pages and pull the quill that writes them away. All we mean, all we have are, all we have done is controlled by her.” What crossed her face was a river so deep I could have drowned all my troubles in it.

“I am sorry, Hash. You are a Watcher, true and just. You have, will, and must witness many things, most of which will bleed your soul. And you have not, will not, must not allow it to kill the kindness in your heart.” She got up from her seat and stepped forward, pressing her hands against mine. “A long time ago, or perhaps no time at all, your progenitors sought my counsel. I warned them that you, specifically, would be the death of all their people.” she paused, as though to let that sink in.

“But- The records said they didn't know which of us it was,” I protested. “The records just said one of their children!”

“That's the bit you're focusing on?!” Gloria shoved her companion aside. “What part of deliberately engineered tragedy by a callous bitch did you not get?” Her face was right up against mine, cleft lip trembling with rage.

“A tragedy is still a tragedy if it was deliberately set up. It is still grief-worthy if it were unpreventable. And even if the audience does not weep, I will,” the young one added. “Out of respect for a good tale, if nothing else.”

“That I can drink to,” snake-Oracle agreed. “But what about you, dear taglist, hmm?” She cleared her throat.

“Pardon me for the bad language you're about to experience, but here's a shout-out to: @coffeeangelinabox, @dorky-pals, @calliecwrites, @kaylinalexanderbooks, @shukei-jiwa

@thewingedbaron, @pluppsauthor, @cowboybrunch, @wylloblr, @possiblyeldritch

@tragedycoded, @finickyfelix, @urnumber1star, @ratedn, @ramwritblr

@vampirelover890, @possiblylisle, @illarian-rambling, @the-ellia-west

@evilgabe29, @glitched-dawn, @rivenantiqnerd, @dragonhoardesfandoms, @xenascribbles

@drchenquill, @everythingismadeofchaos, @owldwagitoutofyou, @dimitrakies, @beloveddawn-blog

@riveriafalll, @the-golden-comet, @rascaronii, @trippingpossum, @real-fragments

@unrepentantcheeseaddict, @the-inkwell-variable, @flock-from-the-void .” She finished her spiel with a wink at nobody in particular.

They clapped with delight. “Oh, what creativity! How adorable. To turn such a solemn moment into a breaking of the fourth wall,” the steel Oracle commented. “But using Olive as your mouthpiece? Hardly appropriate. In the future, my hateful Writer, choose me for your meta-messages. After all, aren't I the odd one out?”

Oh, that was it. “This is ridiculous,” I told them, before they could continue their insane little game, or whatever it was. “You all are crazier than a clan of spirits in a crockpot. This isn't going to help me.” None of them stopped me as I got up.

I was halfway to the door when the final Oracle noticed me. Throughout our exchange, her eyes had been closed, her expression unchanging. She might as well have been a statue, carved of ivory and obsidian by the finest of stone-mages. Yet, as I passed her, she opened her eyes and revealed the vitality that lay beneath them.

In the days before and after, I have encountered the Void That Swallows All, the God-huntress Who Brought the New World, and even Kurall, our Creator, herself. Even after all that, nothing, and I mean nothing, could ever compare to the power I felt at that moment.

The depths of her eyes superseded any Void. The graze of her fingers sparked a fire hotter than a thousand gods' immolations. The curve of her body could have birthed a thousand worlds. She was beautiful like my worst nightmare, and I fell to my knees before the True Oracle.

“WARBRINGER. WANDERER. WATCHER. YOU ARE MANY THINGS, CHILD, BUT A HERO FIRST AND FOREMOST AMONG THEM. I WILL NOT DISGRACE YOU BY CALLING YOU A FALSE NAME. NOR WILL I PRESUME AND CALL YOU BY YOUR TRUE ONE.” Her gaze burned my skin where it fell, and I fought the urge to shift into something small, to dodge the observation of something that could crush me so easily.

She seemed to understand, for she stroked my shoulder. “YOU WISH TO KNOW IF YOU COULD HAVE SAVED THEM?”

I nodded.

“NO. IT WAS FORETOLD FROM THE BEGINNING. I FORETOLD IT MYSELF. IT HURTS YOU TO KNOW THAT.” She said it as a fact, not a question.

“BUT YOU WILL FACE WORSE HURTS. YOU WILL KILL THE ONE YOU LOVE. YOU WILL SACRIFICE HIM FOR OTHER PEOPLES, LIKE YOU DID YOUR FAMILY. AND THIS TIME, YOU WILL KNOW THAT YOU CHOSE THE SACRIFICE. YOU WILL HAVE MADE THE ACTIVE DESCISION. YOU WILL KNOW THIS, AND YOU WILL REALISE THAT YOU WOULD DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN IN A HEARTBEAT.”

“That doesn't make things better,” I replied. “It's not fair. Why do I have to do this? Why does it have to be me?” My complaints sounded hollow, like a rat's chittering, beneath the baritone of her voice. “I just wanted to get by, have fun, live a little. I didn't ask for any of this.”

Her sigh held no judgement, no compassion, nothing except an endless exhaustion. “IT IS INDEED NOT FAIR.” She did not seem willing to say more.

“You think we chose this?” One of the lesser Oracles had spoken up, the man, and his voice did hold judgement. “You think we wanted to be cursed with omnipotence, to be forced to see that stupid fourth wall and the assholes that lie beyond? To know all that, and be able to change none of it? Ramaeria died to try to save her husband, and what did it change? Nothing! She, we, knew everything, and yet we're helpless! It sucks, you stupid little fried potato, and don't you try to compare your suffering to ours,” he snarled.

“SILENCE. THE CHILD'S WEEPING IS NOT CAUSELESS. WE WILL AID YOU, LITTLE ONE, IF YOU WISH TO RECEIVE THE ORACLE'S BLESSING.”

I turned back towards the True Oracle, and nodded unsteadily. At the corner of my gibbering mind, I thought she looked an awful lot like my first lover, like Akati come back to life.

She must have known, for she stood up and enfolded me in her arms, like I were a baby bird and the sleeves of her robe a mother's wings. “SO IT IS, YOU WHO CALL YOURSELF HASH BROWN. YOUR SHIFTING WILL BE SWIFT, YOUR TONGUE WEAVED OF THE PUREST SILVER, YOUR JUDGEMENT ABLE TO BALANCE A HEART AND A FEATHER. SO IT IS SAID BY THE ORACLES.”

Grudgingly, one by one, the other Oracles piped up. “So it is said by the Oracles,” they chimed.

“Thank you,” I replied, at a loss for other words.

“THERE IS ONE LAST THING I MUST DO TO SEAL THIS DEAL.” As she said it, she bent down, a smile finally passing over her lips.

The True Oracle pressed her lips to mine, and delivered me the grandest kiss of my life.

(hahah i normally put my taglist here but Olive had other plans. Please tell me what you think of this, I really went outta my comfort zone with it. Also, Fast Food is a chronologically unordered series, and you can find the rest on my pinned post!)

#And yes my allergies could not stop me #I post late but I post nonetheless #writing #writeblr #writerscommunity #creative writing #my writing #writing community #spilled ink #short story #fantasy

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slyvester101 · 3 months ago

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Atla au where Church is the Avatar but his connection to the spirit world is fucky because the Director (who is his dad in this au, think Lord Ozai in terms of evil, abusive dad) experimented on him when he found out he was the avatar to discovery why he was able to reincarnate and see if he could do the same for his dead wife.

In order to protect young Church from the abuse he's facing and to keep his spiritual connections intact in case the director cuts it off, the previous avatars decide to all inhabit Church's body. This obviously causes a lot of chaos within Church's mind as all the avatars mix and mash together in order to fit in Church's head and confuses all the spirits since they now have Church's memories mixed with their own and now they all believe that they are Church/are alive.

The director is obviously fascinated by this occurrence since it's not like when the avatar state where Church is imbued with all the knowledge of his previous lives to kick ass and instead is more like there's hundreds of separate "avatar states" Church can be in, all with their own specific strengths and weaknesses. (All the previous incarnations of the avatar are the fragments from RVB, Delta was an air monk turned avatar, Theta was an avatar that died at a young age, etc, etc).

Eventually, Church leaves but is being chased by his sister Carolina, who was being raised in a very Azula manner of being the best of the best with no room for failure (yes she is a firebender). He meets Tucker, a waterbender, and Caboose, a non-bender who believes with his whole heart that he is some kind of bender, and they join him on his adventure to become the avatar and take down the director and whatever corrupt shit he has going on (could be an empire, could be an illegal bender experimentation and trafficking ring) while avoiding getting roasted by his sister and her friends (the freelancers).

The reds also show up at some point (Sarge, Simmons, and Donut are all firebenders and Grif is an Earthbender) and start off as a group of bounty hunters chasing after the blues, but end up joining their gang on their shenanigans.

No, Tex is not a clone of Allison in this au, but she is a “vessel” that the director wants to use when and if he can resurrect his dead wife. No, the spirits of the avatars never leave Church, they have embedded themselves in his soul to protect him. They are just as much a part of Church as the AI fragments were in RVB and have been with him his basically his whole life.

Yes, Caboose does come to the conclusion that he is the avatar. No, you cannot convince him otherwise.

#rvb #red vs blue #rvb church #leonard loser church #rvb tucker #rvb caboose #rvb carolina #blue team #red team #au #avatar au #the avatar incarnations were always really interesting to me #because they are the avatar but also they aren’t #and they are aang but also they aren’t #they’re apart of your life but also you can only interact with them in verg specific situations #they can take over your body in order to protect you and sometimes that ends up hurting the people around you #and i wanted to explore that lore more via my rvb hyperfixation

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evostar · 6 months ago

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La madre silenciosa au character sheets!!

Btw many of the kids are from other towns as well!! The magic bought them and Dolores together! And Alma, julieta, Agustin, pepa, Felix, Isabela and Luisa are referred as “other family“

First we have Paloma, his family owned a shoe shop in bogota, his dad was abusive to his whole family, especially to him because he acts “girly“. He didn’t like making or fixing shoes, neither did he like the “manly“ activities his father forced him to do. He became a bully to protect himself from anyone, Paloma regrets it a lot though. Paloma hated his life and father very much, his mother never did anything besides watch which made him hate them even more. He realized that he loved baking a lot, at that moment he knew that he wanted to become a baker. When his father found out it wasn’t so pretty, he raged out onto him and in the same day Paloma ran away. A week later he was in the Encanto, that’s when Dolores heard him and took him in! He got adopted at the age of 8, a year later he got his gift and he has been the happiest ever :D it didnt take him a while to get off his habit but he was relaxed after.

Next is Camilo! Since birth he was more of an mama‘s boy, yet pepa didn’t pay much attention to him, only when he needed to get praised. Dolores on the other hand made sure to give him the motherly love he deserved. He didn’t like the feeling of Mariano appearing like an father figure for him, he was angry at Felix for lacking at it, but he adapted Mariano quite fast. He was often grouchy about the fact that his parents don’t care. His gift also made the situation worse but his real family always helped him which got him better though time. He loves to take care of his little siblings and in the same time being an wild teenager!

Ines is a "special" child, well at least for a lot of people. She has albinism, her parents thought she was some kind of evil spirit so they treated her rather badly. Ines got bullied from the neighborhoods because of her condition, the school didn’t accept her in either so she didn’t knew to write, read or properly speak. She really isolated herself from the world getting sick often since she stays in her room 24\7. Dolores heard about her a couple of times, she helped ines to get better at basic stuff, she schooled her and took her in when she was 9! Dolores noticed that ines had major anger issues, so she decided to put her in therapy to help ines, which worked a lot! Maybe she can snap sometimes but she‘s working on it. Also she dye‘s her hair because she doesn’t like the white color, she gets reminded often how pretty her hair is but she still won’t like it.

Finally mirabel! She is still giftless in this au, the other family still acts as if she were a curse (besides Luisa). Mirabel obviously tries not to think much of her being giftless even if she is reminded every day. Her parents maybe cared for her more than camilo‘s did but they stopped caring when she didnt get a gift, always making the same excuse “im busy“ Dolores knew mirabel didn’t deserve to get treated like that just because of her gift so she did the caring! Mirabel learned a lot of stuff trough her family, but what she loved to learn the most was the sewing skills her abuela Fiona’s showed her.

They all became a group, since they were raised together and been trough a lot together, their age made them closer too!!

Xavier had a pretty rough life, his mother died at birth and his father hated him for it. His father always looked him up into tight and dark spaces because he didn’t want to see him. Dolores reported him for some crimes he did, just so she could take Xavier in, he was 6 when he got adopted. Xavier was a bit shy at first but he grew to be a very brave boy! He looked up to Mariano a lot and practically did everything he did because he thought that if he did anything wrong he was gonna be put in a tight space again but they made sure to help him with his habit, now he is just wild!! Basically being himself.

Juan is Xavier’s best friend!! Which he is really greatful for since Juan never really had friends. He came from a wealthy family in bogota, he didnt like being wealthy because he got bullied a lot for it. It would get so bad that he often needed to be hospitalized. Because he is from a wealthy family his family doesnt accept him either, they ignore him, dont take care of him and neither do they try to stop his bullying. Like Paloma he ran away out of anger just that this time when he fell asleep in the woods, he woke up the next day in a cozy bed instead of his old cold one. It took him some time to adjust with the people in town, especially the older ones. Juan ran away when he was 8, and he first got his gift 3 years later because the miracle felt the anxiety in him, however he now lives carefree and safe!

Andres had a traumatic past, his blond hair and blue eyes made him get praised by a lot of people which made his parents realize the fame. Andres‘s mother was by far more obsessed with fame so she ofc did everything so people would notice him. They forced him to do stuff just so he would get praised and famed over, if he ddi something wrong he would get punished. When he was 7 he lashed out and his mother burned him with fire as punishment. That happened at night so Dolores got woken by screams, she got his parents arrested and took him in. Andres still tends to avoid a lot of stuff but it is noticeable how he is working on getting better!!

Luz is a bright girl!! Now her mom cared for her however she didnt take care of herself. Her mom always argued with her dad since he was somewhat abusive, at the end she divorced him because she found out he was having an affair. Life was hard after that, luz had to take care of both her mom and herself but after a year her mom took her own life, needless to say it wasn’t a pretty view. She got adopted by Dolores at 5, sometimes Luz has panic attacks because of the trauma so she regularly goes to therapy too. She‘s getting way better! Luz looks up to Isabela often because it seems like she and her mom don’t only look alike but also have a lot in common.

As you can guess Marcia isn’t liked because of her eyes, some of them find it freaky or weird. She actually had a quite big family but they hated her for being different so they tried to get rid of her. (Iykyk) Marcia was extremely traumatized by it, Dolores scolded the entire family including arresting the older ones, needles to say she wasn’t so happy about what she heard. Marcia isolated herself for 6 months after, her family were with her the entire time to help her. The passing months she was getting better and Marcia started to open up. Now she’s happily learning how to write!! Dolores adopted her at 5 years old, kinda sad she was this young.

Lyla had good guardians, her grandparents took care of her till they died, which was when she was 4, after that her parents took her in and since they were young they didnt attend to take care of her. Dolores was already good friends with her grandparents, they knew that her parents wouldn’t take care of her so they asked Dolores to do it. Dolores talked with her parents and adopted lyla!! Layla basically already grew up in the casita so she is pretty used to everything, yet she does need help if it comes to the stairs.

Carlos was actually a homeless boy, his parents left him on the streets when he was 3 and he was on the streets for 3 years till dolores found him. He got picked on a lot and he was skinny which made him insecure too. When Dolores found him he was barely holding on, so he got spoiled a lot ofc!! They helped him with school which he didnt like learning at first, but later on found out he could read comic‘s with it. Plus he became very confident too!!

Esteban has divorced parents, both of them absolutely HATE eachother so they make him their weapon. Every once a week he has to visit the other parent and before he goes the parents tells him to do this or to do that. Esteban doesnt want to do it, he doesnt like it, he feels guilty about it but he knows the punishments. Both of his parents were arrested for the crimes they did (i wonder who reported them) dolores adopted him when he was 8!! Esteban got nothing but just affection from his new family, he loves them very deeply and feels safe with them than he ever has.

The triplets had it very rough, they were selled by their own parents. The ones that bought them treated them very bad, they experimented on them, hurt them for fun and did a lot of other bad stuff. They escaped the place and hid in casita. Dolores found them and adopted them! It took them the longest out of the children to get used to a normal life, but now they are pretty comfortable with their new family! She found them when they were 5, pretty young, sometimes they still struggle a lot.

Leandra‘s dad is pretty troublesome. He always gets in trouble with some kind of bad gang‘s, as you call it. These things get both his dad and himself in danger, he hates not feeling safe the entire time. When he was 6 his dad caused a big thing with a gang, they cornered him and Leandra was with him at that time. In order to survive he told them that they could take Leandra, they then took Leandra and left him alone. The people hurt him for fun throughout a half year, Mariano say them doing stuff to him one day and it didnt end well for them. Mariano saved leandra from the trouble and since that day he has major trust issues, hes grumpy most of the times however he still can be soft :)

Esmeralda was abandoned by her mother when she was 2, she just left her in the forest. Months went by and Dolores started to hear noises in the forest at some points. When she decided to check it out she saw a little toddler, Dolores ofc adopted her. Esmeralda didn't have many problems besides some, she had and still has problems with communication. Speaking for her can be difficult, that's why her family makes sure to always give her a rest when they talk with her. She may looks like she would creep someone out, but she's harmless and would never think of hurting anyone :D

Olivia‘s parents were not stable, they always took some shit. She sometimes ended up in the orphanage because they got arrested. Her parents are abusive and alway aggressive, they never care for her or her brother, so most of the time she has to take care of both of them which can be exhausting. Dolores arrested her parents and took both of them in. Olivia was really happy to have new parents, she got used to Mariano and Dolores really quickly because they were so comforting. She was also happy that her brother was treated well in others care, she finally could be a normal kid!

Rosa has a big family, she has 3 big siblings who moved out of her house when she was young, they didn't treat her well, especially her older sister. They left her out and bullied her often, Isabela reminds her of her big sister a lot and that’s why she hates Isabela a lot. Not only that but they both look and act alike which makes her hatred towards Isabela even more. Her parents weren’t good people either, they too treated her like an outcast and made her do all the chores in the house. They made fun of her too till Dolores got them arrested for a reason. Rosa really looks up to Dolores as her savior, she can finally just be herself without anyone judging her.

Rafeala‘s parents were young when they had him and that’s why they gave him to his grandmother. His grandmother HATES him for making her daughter's life miserable. Rafaela was treated very badly by her, when he was 5 she hurt him so badly he got a major concussion. That concussion damaged his brain really badly which made him forget to do a lot of stuff and a lot of memories. Dolores wasn’t so happy about the news and that woman did not end in jail without breaking some bones. However the injuries didn't stop him from being a very positive child!! He’s happy with his new family!! Sometimes he is scared of Alma because of his memories.

Antonio was in dolore‘s care since the moment he was born, pepa did not want to raise another child. (As if she raised her others) Antonio knows that Dolores and Mariano aren't his real parents but that won't stop him from loving them as if they were his parents which they technically are. He hates his other family for hurting his family, the only person he would still talk to would be Luisa since she is actually nice and would be there for him. He didn't have much problems with his family next to him even so sometimes he still has a lot of anxiety because of his expectations of being the next “hope of the miracle“. His family will make sure though whatever will happen that they will always stay with him.

Cecilia has some troublesome parents, they caused trouble and blamed her for it. She didn't like being blamed for everything they did. Not only that but they were heavy alcoholic‘s too. Sometimes they would force her to buy it for them, she hated the feeling, she hated it all. She isolated herself a lot, Dolores finally got her parents arrested last year and since then she has been the happiest. No more getting blamed at, no more of the smell of alcohol and no more hurting. She loves her family and loves to be with her friends everyday.

Alejandra has divorced parents, she never really sees her dad and is around her mom the entire time. Her mom brings a man over sometimes and if they are really drunk they start to criticize her, calling her bad names or just making fun of her in general. She hates being made fun of so she goes to her abuela Fiona’s house a lot since it's near. After some time Dolores adopted her, now she feels safe in her own home. She doesn't need to be scared of anyone criticizing her ever again and she loves the feeling of being free of those bad words.

Juancho was also one of Mariano’s neighbors. He practically grew up in Mariano’s home since his parents didn’t give a shit about him, like they wouldn’t care if he just went missing, nor would they even care if he had died. They didn't want children and acted aggressive towards him often, Juancho didn't like them even one bit. Mariano often hung around him because he knew how they acted with him, in the end he adopted him and Juancho was more than happy. Juancho did have a coffee problem because once he saw the coffee he pretty much got addicted, they are working on it though.

They all got matching bracelets after seeing the older ones having one too.

Patricia is Frisco's and Vicenta’s step sibling. Their mom cheated on multiple men and in the end she married one, aka patrcia‘s dad. They got treated pretty bad, they were forced to do all the housework, if they didn't they got punishments. Dolores adopted them last year when they were 4, she actually fought to adopt them earlier but the police often refused, in the end she finally adopted them. They were fearful at first but then got comfortable with their new family, they are relaxed and don't have to worry about punishments anymore.

Yoga was treated badly because of his skin condition, his family made him feel like a mistake, like he didn’t deserve to be alive. Luckily he was the neighbor of Fiona, he always ran to her after they did something, sometimes he would stay with her some days and sometimes he would stay at Dolores’s. He hated being treated badly just because of his condition. Fiona ranted the parents out and Dolores ended up adopting him. For some reason he liked the julieta‘s outfit a lot, it made him feel calm just by seeing it so they made sure to make him something similar in which he ofc feels safe.

Diego was the oldest and first one Dolores adopted. (Besides Camilo and Mirabel) His father didn't treat him well, he made Diego work a lot. His uncle‘s side of the family wasn’t good either, they too treated him badly. Diego was confused most of the time, yet he was also angry. Sometimes his father would kick him out and then take him back in, but one day when Diego was 9 he ran away, he didnt wanna work anymore, he didnt wanna get hurt or bad-mouthed anymore. Dolores found him in the forest and took him in, he looked up to her a lot since that day. Now he is rested, no more work and no more bad words, plus he loves being a big brother.

Bronco‘s parents only used him and his sister for good reputation. They didn‘t want children but they saw how much people with children get praised so they decided to have 2 children for good reputation only. When they weren’t getting praised they were left alone unattended somewhere, Dolores always has to go to their garden so they won't hurt themselves accidentally. When Bronco was 2 he set the house on fire without knowing, the house burned down but Dolores still got him and his sister out in time. His parents didn’t survive, but bronco didn't care that much since he didn't even really know them. Dolores adopted them and he felt happier to be with her than his parents.

Cruzito‘s parents didn't want him, they noticed how Dolores adopted many children, so they asked Dolores to take him. She was upset how they did not want their own child but she didn't refuse. Dolores adopted cruzito, he grew up happily in a big family with lots of love and spoilering.

Almira’s parents used her for a good reputation like bronco. She didn't like seeing so many bad face‘s, some were making her upset. She didn't like going to the same places and would just end up crying. One day her brother set the house on fire, Dolores saved her but she was really traumatized by it, she cried every time she was put down by Dolores because of the thought of being hurt again, after some time though she felt safe enough to be on the floor and even start to walk herself. Mostly though she likes being picked up rather than walking.

Angela‘s and Amalia's parents weren’t bad people, well at least not their mother. Their mother was good friends with Dolores, but she knew that she couldn’t handle twins at birth since it was risky for her age. She made a promise with Dolores that if she died she wanted her to take care of the twins. And sadly she did die after the birth, Dolores was devastated but kept her promise. Their father divorced their mother when he found out about the pregnancy, he didn't want children and so he left. Dolores makes sure they grow up to be loved.

Victorio is Olivia’s little brother, since birth he has been abused, his parents were nothing but just aggressive towards him. Thankfully he is a calm child most of the time. He is happily now in Dolores’s care, without getting hurt for the rest of his life.

Now we're onto Dolores!! She started to notice Mirabel was neglected by the whole family, even by her own mother. She hated hearing the cries she heard from mirabel after the ceremony, no one also went to comfort her so she took the matters into her own hand and started to take care of her, it wasn’t a long time till she started to take care of Camilo too. After some time she heard a child in the forest, all alone and she couldn’t just leave him there so she took him in. Since that day she started to take more and more care of the children that needed care. But who would take care of Dolores? Well at the time she found that child in the forest she also met a woman in the age of her mother, she built a bond with the woman and started to see her as a mother figure, pepa lost her spark with Dolores a long time ago, since she was 5. She also met her beloved husband through the kids, everything is great…till it isn’t.

Mariano grew up with no parents, his father is unknown and his mother died at birth. His grandma took care of him and he made a promise to never be like his father. He grew up pretty well behaved, he made sure to treat everyone kindly. He started to get a crush on his best friend, Dolores after a while. He has known her since childhood and he also knows that she helps the people in need. He wanted to be by her side, helping the ones in need, but he also wanted to help her too. After a confession, they started to date and then he proposed, they got married and Mariano couldn’t be happier. He loves his family and what he has become. He would never change it the way it is.

Elena Rosa, the grandmother of Mariano had a normal life, she grew up like any other kid, maybe sometimes her life got down, like that time she lost her husband in the escape. She gave birth to a little girl, who later on also died on her grandson‘s birth. She was devastated but she swore to raise him in the way she would’ve. She hates her daughter's husband for abandoning her during the pregnancy. Elena loves Dolores and her family a lot too. She knew that Dolores was just perfect for Mariano, plus she also loves to spoil her great grandchildren. They are everything for her.

Fiona grew up poorly, her family wasn’t the best, so she made sure to cut them out if she ever got married. Which she did, but after he found out that she couldn’t get children he left her and 6 years of her life went to waste on him. She was alone after that, till Dolores came to her life. She treated Dolores like a daughter she couldn’t have before. And in the process Fiona also got a son-in-law plus grandchildren!! She loves spoiling Dolores and her grandchildren, she made sure to make sure they won’t get the same treatment she got. She’s very protective of her family, she will hurt anyone who even dares to looks at them the wrong way.

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Y’all best believe I spend a lot of time of this 😭 I also needed to rewrite most of their lores since tumblr decided to be a pain in the ass 😞 Fiona is just a character I wanted to add since Dolores deserves a mother figure in this au 🥲👍 I really love and enjoy this au a lot!! I think in the future I will start to write too :D!! If any of y’all got something to say or ask so about this au I be very glad to answer or hear about it!!

Also, the children live in a second casita alike house, just that this house is like a magical room. In Dolores’s room, Guzman‘s house and Fiona‘s house is a door connected to casita 2.0. The room is ofc huge, and everyone who chooses to have an own bedroom has one, some share one cuz they don’t like being alone. They have a garden, multiple bathrooms, and everything they need. Since technically the room isn’t connected to the candle like casita is, it still will be there after casita‘s fall!! Just that Dolores room door won’t work anymore till they rebuild casita. 🩵

#encanto #dolores madrigal #my art #encanto fanart #encanto au #camilo madrigal #mirabel madrigal #antonio madrigal #la madre silenciosa au #encanto oc #mariano guzman #Elena rosa Guzman #ask me anything #they are my roman empire #they’re just babies ☹️#original characters?#casita is the best🙌#dolores x mariano

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d1sc01nf3rn0 · 1 year ago

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So I have a big theory and I don't know where to put it, so here it goes:

The thing that's gonna incarnate in Yuri's stomach isn't Aono. Is the patron god of the village, Kubinashi sama. The dark Aono is the real Aono.

Based on the whole thing with Sota and the school inventory, we know the ghost always come back, because you're not supposed to offer them anything, and as soon as you do they're turned into evil spirits. We also know from the Sota situation, that every time someone comes back, a part of the patron god, with them. In Sota's case, his "friend". The part where Aono says that it isn't Yotsukubi sama, nor a ghost, but at the same it is, shows that the existence of Kubinashi is not something that's fixed. Furthermore, my theory is that Kubinashi sama is feigning being Aono (the "good" one) due to Yuri's agreement.

Think about it. Yuri and Aono were only dating for two weeks, yet Aono seems to be the perfect boyfriend, despite Fujimoto knowing that he only dated Yuri because he felt bad for her, and that he didn't really knew her. My theory is that this Aono is the part of the agreement of Kubinashi with Yuri: it gave her her perfect vision of Aono, so that she would be satisfied with it and never taking back her agreement. This is why this Aono doesn't have complete memories of how he died, or his childhood. Is an incomplete version of Aono. This Aono also evolves with the time. Every time Yuri changes, Aono also changes to satisfy her desires. This is why the normal Aono didn't know about what happened in the aquarium, but as soon as Yuri learned about it, he suddenly was able to.

Dark Aono is the real Aono, which is why he only comes when certain steps are taken. As the boyfriend of Yuri he doesn't want to hurt her and he is technically part of the deal with Kubinashi. Similar to Sota, who is part of the deal, and is seemingly the perfect brother, that is also part of the deal; Kubinashi only brings back the parts of the deceased the one making the contract remembers. The "dark versions" that appear are the real ones that have grudges and can't pass on. This also explains why he wanted her to eat food of the other world, that way if she gets stuck there, her agreement with Kubinashi will be void.

Dark Sota holds a grudge to his mother for "forgetting him", and to his brother for "causing his death". Dark Aono does not hold a grudge to Yuri, but as a dark spirit, both of them have the desire to grow stronger by getting offerings and sacrifices. The reasoning of this is that those things are different; offerings are usually made directly to the deceased, normally on their tombstones or the family altars, sacrifices are made to deities, and can be done anywhere. So far all the offerings have been made directly to Aono (the food, the eyes) which is why only the dark Aono, the real Aono takes them. The normal Aono can't take them, cause he's not real one, thus they aren't his to take. This explains why the normal Aono couldn't enter the storage room, but dark Aono could. This also gives a possibility: normal Aono can't afford to let Yuri know that he's not the real Aono, cause otherwise that would void the agreement. In agreements, the spirit cannot lie, but they can hide things. This is also shown on the agreement to bring back Sota, Hiroto wasn't told that he was gonna come back as an evil spirit. In the same, Yuri wasn't told that Aono was gonna come back as Dark Aono, and to make her less suspicious, Kubinashi decided to disguise itself as the perfect Aono. If Kubinashi has control over all the spirits in the village, then he could keep dark Aono at bay, except when Aono is called directly, cause that's part of the rules. That's also why normal Aono remembers everything Dark Aono does, cause technically, spirits are part of Kubinashi's domain; not enough to control what they do, but enough to know what they do.

So, Yuri sacrificed herself, offered her life in exchange of Aono. Now based on the Kubinashi ritual, we know that every ghost agreement isn't made with the ghosts, but with Kubinashi sama; the ghosts are only part of the exchange. And Kubinashi sama makes use of the sacrifices however they seem fit or convenient. In the kids case it involved a game, but in Yuri's case it involved being reincarnated. We also know ghosts can't really come back, except as well.. ghosts. So that further solidifies that argument.

Part of this theory is that Nozomi's family is a family of ommyoujis. But that due to the times changing, and the lack of sacrifices, they probably left that tradition behind, and thus Nozomi was never really talked about her heritage. This part comes from the fact that Nozomi's grandma seems to know a lot about the village story with Kubinashi, and despite being a ghost she has powers that ghosts otherwise don't have, like taking over Nozomi without her permission, entering her dream, or taking control of the snake in Nozomi's dream. This also comes from her clothing, which are clothes people wear to funerals (the visitors are the ones that wear it, the deceased usually wears white clothes), but black clothes are also associated with the highest rank of Shinto priests.

Furthermore, Nozomi's grandma is effectively Nozomi's shikigami as of now, one out of devotion and not sacrifice. This is why she helping her during her dream was accepted, she is technically an extension of Nozomi.

Another part of why the agreement with Yuri is different, is because they're kids. Yuri is a virgin who's in age of conceiving (the chapter showing her having her period wasn't a coincidence). Ghosts cannot come back, but deities can, given they have a vessel. In this case, Yuri's stomach. The fact that Yuri's family has a history with Kubinashi isn't out of the question, neither. It's is possible that like Nozomi's family, Yuri's family must have a tie to the Kubinashi ritual in some way. If the Kariya family has a tie to sacrifices, it could even possibly explain what happened to Yuri's older brother. Let's not forget that in some traditions you're supposed to sacrifice your first born. This could also explain the situation behind her older brother.

Now I know this is wild but, my theory is that Yuri's parents had to sacrifice his older child, and had Midori hoping she could be sacrifices instead. As per the rules, only the first child was accepted, and they grow to hate Midori because of this. They had Yuri either as an unplanned pregnancy, or in hopes of having a second boy to replace the first one, but it failed. This is also why the first child is never really talked about.

So, not only the Kariya family has something to do with sacrifices, and abnormal virgin pregnancies related to deities; Yuri would inherently be sacrificing her first born by making her birth a god.

So, the theory is this: the village where Yuri lives is controlled by Kubinashi, and her family has a tie to it by doing sacrifices, and Nozomi's family by being priests. Yuri didn't make an agreement with Aono, she made an agreement with Kubinashi to bring back Aono, and now she has to birth Kubinashi, while Aono returned as just a dark spirit.

#i want to hold aono kun so badly i could die #aono kun ni sawaritai kana shinitai #ryuhei Aono #yuri kariya #manga theory #manga talk #manga headcanon #i literally entered galaxy brain mode #i connected the dots #i connected them

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thepastisalreadywritten · 5 months ago

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SAINT OF THE DAY (July 6)

July 6 marks the feast day of St. Maria Goretti, a young virgin and martyr whose life is an example of purity and mercy for all Christians.

St. Maria Goretti is best known for her commitment to purity and the courageous defence of her faith at the young age of eleven that made her willing to undergo death rather than participate in a sin against God.

She is also remarkable for the forgiveness she willingly granted her attacker as she lay on her deathbed.

Maria was born on 16 October 1890 in Corinaldo, Italy. Her father, a farmer, died of malaria when she was young, and her mother had to work to support their six children.

Maria took care of the younger children while her mother worked. She prayed the Rosary every night for the repose of her father’s soul.

She grew in grace and maturity. Her cheerful obedience and piety were noticed by those around her.

On 5 July 1902, a neighbouring farm hand, Alessandro Serenelli, tried to rape Maria.

On several prior occasions, Alessandro had harassed Maria with impure advances, all of which she has vehemently rejected.

This time, he locked her in a room and tried to force himself upon her.

She fought against him, shouting, "No! It is a sin! God does not want it!"

She warned him that this was the path towards hell.

When Maria declared that she would rather die than submit to this sin, Alessandro angrily grabbed her and stabbed her 14 times with a knife.

Maria was found bleeding to death and rushed to the hospital.

As she lay dying, she forgave Alessandro for the crime he had committed against her, saying:

"Yes, for the love of Jesus, I forgive him...and I want him to be with me in Paradise."

Although the doctors tried to save her, she died two agonizing days later, only eleven years old.

Alessandro was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

He remained unrepentant until one night, eight years into his prison term, when Maria appeared to him, dressed in white, gathering lilies in a garden.

She smiled, turned towards Alessandro, and offered him the flowers. Each lily he took transformed into a white flame. Then Maria disappeared.

From that moment, Alessandro converted and found peace. He repented of his crime and changed his life.

He was released from prison three years early and begged forgiveness from Maria’s mother, which she duly granted.

Alessandro moved to a Capuchin monastery, working in the garden as a tertiary for the remainder of his life.

He was one of the witnesses who testified to Maria's holiness during her cause of beatification, citing the crime and the vision in prison.

Many miracles were attributed to Maria Goretti after her death.

Pope Pius XII beatified her on 27 April 1947 and canonized on 24 June 1950, becoming the youngest Roman Catholic saint officially recognised by name.

Her feast day is celebrated by the Church on July 6.

She is the patron saint of purity, rape victims, young women, and youth in general.

On her feast day in 2003, Pope John Paul II spoke about St. Maria Goretti at his Sunday Angelus, noting that her life provides an exemplary witness of what it means to be "pure of heart."

"What does this fragile but christianly mature girl say to today's young people, through her life and above all through her heroic death?" asked the Pope.

"Marietta, as she was lovingly called, reminds the youth of the third millennium that true happiness demands courage and a spirit of sacrifice, refusing every compromise with evil and having the disposition to pay personally, even with death, faithful to God and his commandments."

"How timely this message is," the Holy Father continued.

"Today, pleasure, selfishness and directly immoral actions are often exalted in the name of the false ideals of liberty and happiness.

It is essential to reaffirm clearly that purity of heart and of body go together, because chastity ‘is the custodian’ of authentic love."

#Saint of the Day #St. Maria Goretti

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craniumflight · 1 year ago

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Be Xie Wei 1st Life Failure:

>was freakin busy with paperwork after he and cousin yan lin took over the government

>hasnt slept in days and needs work to get done so he has someone send him up the narcotic drugs popular among court

>takes the drug and gets high. hallucinates empress striding in, mentioning his blood debt to her, and offering herself to him in exchange for his protection.

>thinks she is an evil spirit sent to tempt him and challenge his monk lifestyle.

>draws a line on her neck with red cinnabar in order to exorcise her.

>"get out" evil spirit!

>she leaves in shame and humiliation

>xie wakes up to find the ginseng soup she brought in his dream was real

>orders the servant who allowed her into his office to be found and executed

>decides to visit the empress to clear things up

>overhears empress and her bff inside the room shit-talking about him. Also overhears her plan of totally submitting to his cousin who "bullies" her.

>gives up and leaves

>has someone wordlessly send a dagger to the empress instead

>plans to set crown prince up as emperor

>his cousin yan lin has crown prince assassinated. yan lin yells that empress should just marry yan lin and yan lin become emperor himself. yan lin declares that he'd kill anyone who hurts/kills the empress.

>has his cousin angrily tied up. picks up a sword. and brings the guy to empress.

>calls empress to come out coz "everyone is dead." he's holding the sword. yan lin is sobbing beside him

>empress meets them and brings up his blood debt to her in exchange for the court judge zhang zhe's life

>agrees after coldly confirming if that's what she really wants

>empress kills herself with the dagger that he gave her

>in total shock and misery. he drops the sword

>visits zhang zhe to tell him the empress is dead. zhang zhe learns his mother is dead later

>destroys the plum blossom the empress had one of her fave officials sent to be given to zhang zhe

>tries to let zhang zhe go but zhang zhe writes his own irrefutable death sentence.

>yan lin threatens him using the birthday meteor sword because of the dagger

>breaks up alliance with yan lin after he reveals that the dagger he gave her was always meant to kill yan lin and not for suicide

>props up a beggar orphan to become emperor instead

>alone in a temple he stabs himself with the dagger she once used to give him her blood. he's holding the golden hairpin that fell out from her hair when she died

>lays and bleeds himself out on the grave originally meant for him since he was a kid.

#story of kunning palace #story of kunning palace novel #xie wei #xie ju'an #jiang xuening #lady's tranquility #he was a mess your honor #the bad end #the other was still bad but just a bit better ahhaha

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girl-who-writes-world · 1 month ago

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Here we go, as promised:

Diego Hargreeves Headcanons

🔪 Diego was obsessed with legos as a kid, I’m talking lego cities covered his floor, can’t walk into his room without risking impalement in your foot

🎸 Learned electric guitar as his instrument when their father made them learn one. First song he played on it was Judas by Lady Gaga at Klaus’ request

⚾ Baseball was one of his favorite pastimes and his team always won Thanks telekinesis He would also play catch and mini games with his kids.

🔪 Cried when he first read Charlotte's Web

🎸His walmart brand Batman self allowed Klaus to practice eyeliner on him and would often keep it on all day. He got the technique down as an early teen and would do his kid’s eyeliner for them when they were teens themselves. (It reminded him of his own teenage years with his brother)

⚾ That man wore platforms. (He literally wore all leather to his father’s funeral, platforms and eyeliner are not far fetched)

🔪 He had those ceiling star night lights

🎸He got really into astronomy with Ben. His favorite constellation was Perseus. (When Ben died he kept all of his books and notes. He also made grace tell him about all the constellations and planets)

⚾ He learned spanish very early on and picked up a little accent from his tutors. (Of course reggie would hire actual native Spanish speakers, only the best for his superhero adopties.)

🔪 Diego puts Ben, Stanley, Grace, Pogo, and Patch on his alter for Día de Muertos

🎸He is very close to his heritage when Lila and him actually get their own place. He celebrates all Mexican holidays and goes all out.

⚾ His house always smells like food and his siblings get a package of meals, pastries, and bread at least once a month

🔪 He hosts family dinners during holidays and he spends the whole day (and the days before) preparing for his entire family. His kids are all very involved with the baking and cooking and he helps Lila make her own dishes. (She is not allowed near his cookies though, because he swears she is the reason they always burn when she helps him) His siblings all rave over his churros.

🎸 He makes his own guacamole and salsa, his and the kids are always spicy while Lila’s must be medium heat. He has multiple flavors and spice levels at all times.

⚾ When he was a teen he and Grace would make Pan de Muerto for Día de Muertos. He would get up early with her so he could help out.

🔪 He runs his house on Disney and shows from his childhood. He’s one of those people who believes newer kid shows to encourage tantrums and bad behavior. I’m talking his kids were raised on Little Einsteins, Sid the Science Kid, Sofia the First, Scooby Doo, Tom and Jerry, and Team Umizoomi

🎸He is a big couples costumes fan, but specifically the dorky costumes. Peanut Butter and jelly, eggs and toast, Fred and Daphne, ect.

⚾ Soup cures all illnesses, tea is also a great remedy.

🔪 This man gardens all his own vegetables, fruits, and herbs

🎸He lets his daughters paint his nails and shows them off “Oh you like them?! Thanks! My little girls did them! They are getting so good at designs!”

⚾He is the kind of person to really love his smile lines and wrinkles, they’re proof he is happy and fulfilled.

🔪 Rock music blaring when he picks up his kids from school

🎸He and Lila are at every parent teacher conference and every school activity.

⚾ He doesn’t mind scary movies but any scary doctor movies are off limits.

🔪 There will be no ouija boards in his house, he doesn’t want any evil spirits. Klaus scared him once by pretending to be possessed, he now sages the house when he “feels something evil”

🎸He made sure every one of his kids felt special, he refused to let his kids end up like Viktor almost did.

⚾ His fashion taste when he’s not in leather is very 70’s. Flared pants and button up shirts. Oranges, blues, purples, and browns. He’d loved the 70’s ever since he was a kid.

🔪 He has brotherly outing with all his brothers and makes sure to spend time with his sisters as well, in-law or not they’re family.

#diego hargreeves headcanons #diego hargreeves #diego x lila #tua #the umbrella academy #headcanons #tua season 4

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eirist · 10 months ago

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All Wrapped Up

Disclaimer: One Piece (and its characters) belongs to Eiichiro Oda-sensei.

Reminder: I have no beta-reader. Any grammatical and spelling errors are solely mine.

Warning: OOC possible. One shot.

Rating: T (Just a lit-tle suggestive)

Note: This was supposed to be an entry for the ZoNa Holiday Events at Tumblr and a holiday fic (would have checked Prompt #1 – Christmas Party and #8 – Red Lipstick) but it didn’t make it. Still, I want to get this out there even though it’s 2024 already and January’s about to end.

Also this is a companion fic to The Cat Burglar and As It Was one-shots. Set in the same AU. Because I adore that AU. First ZoNa fic for 2024 so enjoy the craziness!

Summary: His answer was a simple yes. And gave her that smile that never fails to steal her breath away.

Sparkling.

Everything and everywhere is freaking sparkling.

From the snowflakes and ornaments hanging from above, the wiry white branches lining the hallway, the garlands wound around the stairs, the Christmas wreaths peppering the walls, the table centerpieces and candles… and of course, the huge Christmas tree in the middle of the room where the party is held.

Everything she set her eyes on is absolutely glittering…

…and white. Did she mention white? Freaking pristine white.

It was like the place was snowed in overnight. And that snow settled in a kind of aesthetic way that it made the place look enchanting just like inside a fantasy winter palace.

“So…” a voice suddenly spoke up beside her, pulling Nami out of her entrancement. “Is this what it feels like to be inside a snow globe?” Usopp remarked as he observed the scene before him with a grimace, handing Nami a tall glass of—yes, no surprises with that— sparkling wine.

“Thanks,” Nami smiled as she took it from him. “You know, I actually thought I died and gone to heaven when I walked in,” she muttered as her eyes followed a heavily-jewelled matron who strode past them. “Everything is just fucking white and sparkling.”

A snort of laughter escaped Usopp. “You? In heaven?”

She narrowed her eyes at him knowing where his comment is heading.

“I highly doubt that that’s where you’ll go,” Usopp teased. “You’re too evil.”

“Shut up.” Nami smacked him on the shoulder. “Don’t you have to play nice or you won’t get any gifts from the fat, red man?”

“His name is Santa Claus! Don’t be ignorant!” Usopp countered, wincing as he rubbed his shoulder. “And compared to you, I am absolutely nice! I’ll definitely get a gift from him.”

She raised an eyebrow at that. It amazes her that even as an adult Usopp still believes in fairy tales and some guy who—for the life of her, she doesn’t really understand how—slides inside chimneys while everyone else is sleeping to leave gifts under the Christmas trees for nice children.

He really should stop hanging around their genius yet childish doctor.

“Speaking of gifts,” she decided to change the subject, sending a bright smile to his direction. “Where’s mine?” She held out her hand as Usopp frowned at her crassness.

“I left it in Chopper’s office,” he said with a roll of his eyes. “I’m not gonna mingle around tonight with it in my pocket you know.”

Nami squealed in delight and Usopp cringed when he realized his tongue slipped and gave her an idea on what his present is.

It was no secret that the orange-haired woman absolutely loves gifts. She made that fact pretty clear a lot of times.

Especially if said gifts were as sparkly and shiny as the lights decorating the entire manor right now.

Usopp was watching her with a dour expression on his face.

She patted his shoulder in an appeasing manner. “Oh don’t worry. I also got you a gift.” She winked at him as his face lit up with excitement.

“Really?!” This time it was his turn to squeal in delight.

Nami looked smug as she took a sip of her drink. “I’m fair after all. Plus in the spirit of Christmas, I decided to be more generous this year.”

“Wooow!” Usopp was looking at her disbelievingly. “I guess miracles do happen! I honestly thought you’d just cut-off a small percentage of my so-called debt to you just like you did last year.”

“Don’t make me change my mind Usopp. I can still do that.”

“Oh come on! Don’t be stingy! Everyone knows you got a big, fat bonus from that stealing stint last time!”

Nami pointed a finger at him. “Hey! You also got the same big, fat bonus! We’re in that stint together!”

Two months ago the two of them (along with Robin, Franky and Brook), pulled off a rather daring heist in an underground auction hosted by the one and only Buggy the Clown—the weird owner and head of Buggy’s Delivery; an organization that prides itself in acquiring hard to find artifacts and treasures of the old from different parts of the world to sell it to the highest bidder in a hush-hush, private event.

Robin was able to secure an invitation to the clown’s auction, following a tip that Buggy recently obtained some priceless items which belonged to Gol D. Roger himself.

They knew they needed to get their hands on those treasures as soon as possible.

And get their hands on it they did.

Nami can still recall that feeling of elation as they drove away from Buggy’s circus-inspired villa with all the priceless auction items in tow—much to the consternation and shock of Buggy himself. He wasn’t able to chase them as they had a good head start before he and his minions realized what had happened.

Thus they all got a damn big bonus for a job well-done. Not everyone can pull off a feat like that. But with a brilliant team like theirs… it was a walk in the park.

It was really a damn great decision to join them. Not only was she living lavishly now, but she was also enjoying her stealing assignments so much more than before.

A few years ago, Nami had stolen a relic in the Mugiwara estate from right under Usopp’s nose. Back then, she was working alone and Usopp was in charge of the whole estate’s security.

He and his team was no match for her. Nami was able to breach their safeguards and easily sneak into the estate and get her hands on the priceless item. It was almost like stealing candies from babies, she can’t even call it a challenge.

Then Straw Hat Luffy—the head of the Mugiwara Family—sent Roronoa Zoro, one of his top men, to track her down.

Nami honestly thought that that was the end for her when she saw him sitting on one of the booths of her then empty bar, silently and patiently biding his time.

But Zoro’s orders that night, was just find her…

…and apparently take her back with him to the estate.

Thank her lucky stars he wasn’t there to maim her. She definitely knows she’s no match for him. Still, Nami did not make it easy for Zoro to do his job. She made him chase after her for a good half an hour all around the town until he finally lost his patience and showed her first-hand just why he was Mugiwara no Luffy’s right-hand man.

To say he hauled her back with him like he was just carrying a sack of potatoes was an understatement.

Her addition to Luffy’s elite circle was unexpected—as unexpected as his invitation to her to join his group. It wasn’t a calculated decision on his part (like he’s actually capable of that). Luffy just felt that it was right to invite her. Plus her skills are really awesome (he said it with eyes lighting up in excitement while laughing at Usopp’s expense) and he was really impressed with how she was able to sneak into the estate and steal something.

It may have been an arbitrary whim on Luffy’s part, but it was Nico Robin who pointed out to everyone that it would benefit them so much more if Nami is with them instead of an adversary that they had to deal with every now and then.

“Her thieving skills are unmatched. Her moniker, true to its words. Also she is not just a cat burglar,” Robin had explained with a rather fascinated smile on her face. “Nami is also an exceptional cartographer and an excellent navigator. Very useful when it comes to treasure hunting, don’t you all think?” She posed the question to everyone present, her blue eyes almost sparkling with mirth. “She’ll make a fine addition to our group.”

Nami was stunned at tall and elegant woman’s knowledge about her and her skills. She later found out that Robin is an archaeologist and a treasure trove of information. She actually has an archive of who’s who in the criminal world—be it a big or small name. And Nami’s name was already included in it. Robin also makes it her business to know every person and organization who is interested in anything and everything related to Gol D. Roger and his treasures.

Zoro and Usopp are the only ones who were adamantly opposed to her joining. The former because he doesn’t trust her and claims that she would be nothing but trouble. The latter because his pride took a battering when she had stolen the priceless relic he was ordered to guard with his life.

But they had to relent when Luffy put his foot down.

And Nami had no choice but to concede too, because she knows she would not fare well as their enemy… especially if they sent out Roronoa Zoro after her.

Her thoughts suddenly shifted to the grouchy, green-haired man and her eyes automatically roamed the expanse of the party and the guests. She hadn’t seen him ever since she arrived.

He’s probably lost again. She thought wryly. Or going around in circles on the estate grounds.

Zoro might be exceptional when it comes to fighting, but definitely hopeless when it comes to directions. He would get lost in a straight line and will confuse north and south and left and right. It was completely frustrating.

Nami felt Usopp nudged her with his shoulder to get her attention. She gave him a glance and saw that he was pointing at one of the guests who were clad with so much sparkling jewelries she almost put the Christmas tree lights to shame.

Usopp was wiggling his eyebrows at her, issuing a silent dare to Nami that she should be able to nick some of those by the end of the night.

She smirked haughtily, raising her glass slightly to take his challenge.

It had been easy to win Usopp over when she finally accepted Luffy’s offer. They had a lot in common and Nami realized they almost, always have the same wave length. It didn’t take long for them to get close, all previous transgression forgotten.

Most of the time, it was the two of them who works out the security and possible breaches of the estate along with Franky—if Nami wasn’t on a stealing stint or nose-buried into antique maps and charting.

As much as Usopp had been an easy win. Zoro was the complete opposite.

He was harder to get close to. Harder to thaw. He was like a thick block of ice. Not to mention he has an inherent distrust to almost all the people he meets. That combination was enough to make him formidable.

He was quiet and calm; silently listening and observing and in most cases, he’s just… asleep.

Nami was astounded on how easily he could just nod off while they were having a meeting or going over the plans for a heist or an attack or even when they’re just randomly lounging about the manor. He just sits there, with arms crossed over that delectable chest of his then falls asleep, snoring like there was no tomorrow.

But what really surprised her was that even if he zoned out easily or looks like he’s not even paying attention… he was ever-alert and his reflexes are out of this world.

Once, she stealthily tried sneak up on him to pull at his ear for dozing off while she was in the middle of giving him the rundown of the plan for their current mission. He had been grating on her nerves ever since they arrive at the island of Dressrosa—no, scratch that—from the moment they started traveling to be exact, and a retaliation was definitely overdue.

The next thing she knew, he had her pinned down on the carpeted floor of the hotel room. She was looking up at him with wide eyes while he stared down at her with one eyebrow arrogantly cocked.

He drawled something about… she didn’t quite catch it because at that moment, the wind was knocked out of her and her heart was thumping madly against her chest, its thudding sound echoing loudly in her ears.

And all her brain could register is how good Zoro feels above her.

From that moment on, Nami wanted more of him.

They stared at each other for a good few seconds as Nami swallowed the lump that somehow formed at her throat as his steely grey eye regarded her intensely.

Though what happened next was far from charming. Bastard didn’t even bother helping her stand up. Zoro just pushed himself up and away from her with a scoff and casually walked towards the door to exit the room as Nami scrambled to get back on her feet. Out of frustration, she threw her red stiletto heel at his head.

Looking back, she honestly thinks that that was what chipped the ice. Because when Zoro swiveled around after her shoe hit his head and marched back towards her direction, a vein was visibly popping in his forehead and he was looking mad as hell. It was the first time she had seen that expression on him.

She should’ve been afraid at that moment. But in a mixture of infuriation and embarrassment (from being pinned down the floor or from her improper thoughts about the green-haired man or both)—Nami folded her arms across her chest and met his flaring temper head on.

Their shouting match in that room was one for the books. Not to mention, they almost blew their supposed mission that day because they can’t stop arguing.

That was the start of the never-ending quarrels and quips between the two of them that drove everyone around them crazy. It was an unspoken rule to everyone in the estate that when Zoro and Nami start firing words at each other, it’s better to high-tail it out of there than get caught in the crossfire.

It was around that time that Nami realized that Zoro wasn’t really all cold and aloof like she first thought. Most of the time he appeared like he doesn’t give a damn because he was just too freaking lazy to care.

His usually reserved countenance was most likely because he was the kind of person to assess the situation first before reacting. He prefers to see the whole picture before efficiently dealing with whatever it is that comes one by one. He kept a cool head in most circumstances yet can still easily lose his temper especially when she one ups him (or if Sanji-kun was deliberately pissing him off).

It had become a bad habit of Nami to rile him up as much as she can. Because in a weird and twisted way, she loves how expressive his face can be when he is fighting with her.

The longer Nami stayed at Luffy’s group, the more she came to know Zoro deeper.

Their enemies feared him. Everyone in their group and their members have high respect for him. He was actually one of the very few people that can rein their boss in because Luffy actually listens to him.

As much as he was known to be ruthless and emotionless by the other mob families, he is quite the opposite when it comes to his friends and other selected associates.

She saw how he was with Luffy, Usopp and Chopper. Sometimes when he deals with them, his lone grey eye would go soft and there was this air of fondness and this certain amused smile on his face that she never thought he was capable of doing.

It stole her breath away. And made her see him in another light.

She’d do anything to be at the receiving end of that smile.

“A pricey jewelry for your thoughts?” Usopp’s playful tone suddenly permeated her thoughts.

“Huh?” Nami snapped back to reality at the sound of her long-nosed friend’s voice.

Usopp peered at her face. “Are you alright? You just like zoned out.” His gaze traced the path where Nami was blankly looking. “Find something interesting out there?”

Nami shook her head. “Nah, just thinking.”

“You better be thinking on how you’ll steal some of those sparkly jewelries from that woman and that woman,” Usopp sniggered, tilting his head toward the direction of the bejewelled women he was pertaining too.

She raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you underestimating me?”

“Of course not!” Usopp said as he downed the last of his drink. “Actually… hmm… there is a betting pool.” He said muttered while pretending to scratch his chin.

“What do you mean there is a betting pool?”

Usopp took a step back from her realizing his mistake. He shouldn’t have said that.

Before he can take another step back, Nami suddenly grabbed his tie to the point of choking him.

“What’s the bet?” Nami growled. She was quick to grasp the meaning of what he was saying. She was quite familiar that the some of the lower ranked members usually indulges themselves with betting pools for their own entertainment. It was an easy way to win money after all. Sometimes even higher officials like her, Usopp, Franky or Brook would join.

But she wasn’t aware that there is an ongoing bet tonight.

Nami shook the curly-haired lad to urge him to give an answer.

“Come on Usopp don’t make this hard. What’s the bet?”

“Uuuhmm…. how much you’ll be able to steal tonight?”

Nami scowled and she narrowed her eyes at him. “Tell me more!”

“Eeep! That’s just it! I shouldn’t have told you! It’s not even my idea—” He struggled to explain and get out of her grasp at the same time. “I mean we can split!”

“Split?” Nami’s face darkened at that.

“Yeah!” Usopp nodded vigorously. “The pot is high!”

“How high?!��

“Ara… here you both are.”

Nami and Usopp whipped their heads toward the direction of the voice. Robin was approaching them looking all elegant in a shimmery white gown. Her long black hair was arranged in a sophisticated coiffure behind her head and she was holding a wine glass half-filled with one of the vintage reds from the manor’s cellar that she adores.

“Robin!” Nami exclaimed, completely forgetting about Usopp and releasing him from her clutches. She bounded happily towards the tall woman and enveloped her in a hug. “You’re back!”

“Ro-bin!” Usopp also greeted as he cleared his throat and adjusted his tie. “Good to see you here! Thought you wouldn’t make it tonight?”

Robin, Franky and Brook had an important errand in the island of Baldimore. They went there to finalize a deal with one of their important associates before the year ends. As the place was quite far, everyone was thinking the trio wouldn’t make it back in for the party.

But apparently they did.

“Fufufu…” Robin laughed softly. “Well Franky and Brook were adamant to make it back. They don’t want to miss this party.” She motioned to the far corner of the room below where a tall, lanky figure with afro hair was already sitting behind the grand piano, playing Christmas tunes. “It’s a must-attend event after all.”

“I thought the New Year party is the must-attend event?” Usopp’s brows furrowed.

“Both are,” Robin said with a smile. “You know how the three brothers are always in a high festive mood whenever the holidays approach.”

Both Nami and Usopp nodded in understanding. With both of Luffy’s brothers, Ace and Sabo, spending the season at Mugiwara estate, the celebration had been all out. Spare no expense was Luffy’s exact words. Well actually the three brothers’ exact words. Because Ace and Luffy absolutely love throwing parties and Sabo… well it’s two against one, he had no choice but to agree.

And this was only the Christmas Party. Another party will be held on New Year’s Eve and Nami can’t wait to see how extravagant that one’s going to be.

Not to mention how many glittering stuff she’ll be able to filch from their filthy rich guests by the turn of the year.

“Well,” Usopp let out an exasperated sigh. “It’s gonna be a lot of work from here on.”

Robin nodded. “I’m surprised you are even out here. I thought you’d be personally manning the security tonight?”

Usopp looked crestfallen. “Aaw, gimme a break Robin. Our security team’s the best! With Franky and I’s newly updated surveillance equipment, not even a fly would get past the fence!”

The archaeologist gave Nami a side glance which Usopp caught.

“Hey! We personally asked Nami to do practice runs to check the system’s efficiency.” Usopp explained, folding his arms across his chest, looking smug and proud.

Nami laughed. “That they did.”

Robin chuckled. “So how was it?” She directed the question towards the orange-haired woman.

“Quite a challenge actually,” Nami admitted, pursing her lips. “But give me some time to figure out something and I’ll be able to sneak past all that, get inside here and steal anything from right under Usopp’s nose. Again.”

“Hey!” Usopp lightly slapped her arm. “I thought we’re friends now!”

Nami blinked innocently at him. “Yes we are. But you’ll never know how effective that surveillance system is until we give it a serious try right?”

“Well, she does have a point Usopp,” Robin agreed. “Maybe a surprise break-in one of these days?” She suggested, her tone light with amusement. “Franky will surely love that challenge.”

“I won’t...” Usopp mumbled.

Nami rolled her eyes at him. “I’m pretty sure that’ll give you and Franky the opportunity to request for new tech stuff again.”

Usopp straightened up at that. “Well that idea I definitely love!”

“So all set,” Nami flashed him a smile. “Once the holidays are over, expect something will happen. I’m already giving you a handicap.”

Usopp knitted his brows at her. “What handicap?”

“Once the holidays are over,” Nami repeated. A Cheshire cat-like grin appeared on her face. “Come on, that’s enough clue right? It’s a surprise break-in after all.”

Now Usopp was looking at her with eyes narrowed. Then he turned to Robin. “I’m blaming this on you.”

Robin just gave him a mysterious smile. “It’s settled then. I’m looking forward to the chaos it’ll bring.”

“Wait hold up!” Usopp raised his hand. “Are we not telling everyone about it?”

“Where’s the fun in that if you do?” Nami asked in a bored tone.

“But…”

“We’ll inform Luffy and the others.” Robin took a sip of her wine before continuing. “Only our team will know. It’ll be the perfect incident response exercise for the rest don’t you think?”

Usopp was looking at her with mouth agape. “Where do you even get these ideas?” He paused for a moment and huffed. “Oh right… Franky.”

The corners of Robin’s eyes crinkled in amusement.

“Anyway, Luffy did call for a meeting before the party starts right?” Robin signalled to one of the meandering servers who‘s balancing a tray of beverages on his hand. She took the empty glass from Nami’s hand and replaced it with a champagne flute. The she got another, this time

low ball glass with a really expensive whiskey inside and placed it in Nami’s free hand.

Nami stared quizzically at the drinks.

Robin thanked the server politely as he moved away from them. “I think it’s time to head up now,” she proposed.

Usopp glanced at his watch. “Well, we better…”

“Can you go find Zoro, Nami?” The raven-haired woman requested.

“Me?” Nami blinked up at her. Then, she looked back at the glasses she was holding. Oh fuck that. That was why Robin handed her the whiskey. She frowned at her and Robin just smiled.

“You’re the only one who can easily drag him to these meetings. And he really needs to be there.” Robin’s tone had shifted and Nami noted that there must be something important to discuss if Zoro’s presence at the meeting is imperative.

But still she groaned her complaint. “Do I really have too?”

“Yes. Please.”

“Why not Usopp?” “Why me?” Usopp retorted. “Zoro will just threaten me into leaving him alone and you know I will always cave in. You on the other hand, don’t. So carry on!” He made a shooing gesture with his hand.

Nami childishly stuck her tongue out at him.

“Last I saw him he was heading towards the west wing.” Robin offered. “He’s probably still there.”

“Believe me he’s not going anywhere once he’s in that area,” Nami muttered under her breath. The manor’s west wing had like a dozen rooms. It was Zoro’s favourite hiding place whenever there is a party and he wants some peace and quiet. Plus that area is off limits to party guests, there are even assigned guards at its entryway.

“Fine.” She conceded albeit sulkily, glancing at the drinks in her hand. “I’m gonna drag his ass upstairs.”

“Thank you.” Robin murmured as Nami sullenly shuffled away to do what she was asked. She was still within earshot when she heard Usopp say to Robin,

“Hey about the betting pool…”

“I heard that!” Nami snapped as she spun around and marched back towards them. “And I demand to know what the hell that is! Don’t you dare think I forgot about that Usopp!”

Robin curiously raised an eyebrow at her before looking back at Usopp.

Said man stiffened under her gaze.

“Sorry!” Usopp sheepishly apologized to Robin with a nervous laugh. “It just slipped. I must’ve told her something.”

“What’s that all about?!” Nami inquired, her eyes shifting back and forth between the two of them. “You said something about it earlier Usopp!”

Robin just shrugged nonchalantly. “Everyone just makes bets.”

“Wait, everyone?” Nami repeated. “Like everyone bets and the winner takes all? How come I didn’t know of this! Are in this too Robin?”

Robin just replied with a chuckle. “Well you’d most likely try to rig the game so you can split the win.” She explained not confirming the answer to Nami’s question if she was involved in it too.

Nami’s eyes widened when she realized that she is. “I can’t believe you Robin! But yeah you’re right I’d definitely rig the game! Wait,” she diverted her attention to Usopp. “So that’s why you brought it up Usopp! You’re planning to strike a deal with me!” She announced in a sickeningly sweet, sugary voice.

“That’s cheating.” Robin commented coolly.

“Hey no! It just slipped out of my mouth alright?”

“You said something about splitting the win,” Nami pointed out.

Both women are looking at him unconvincingly. Usopp was known for having a flair for lying, which is surprisingly effective to most people outside their circle.

“Only because you were gripping my tie to the point of throttling me!” Usopp retorted. “Besides like you’d really agree to split fifty-fifty Nami. It’s gonna be more like fifty-none!”

“That is definitely correct.” Robin agreed with a soft laugh

“Of course!” Nami stated haughtily. “Why would I split evenly? How long has this been going on anyway?”

“Uhh… around mid-year last year…” Usopp replied.

“What?! That long?”

“Uh-huh.”

“I’m pretty sure a lot of you are like a thousand belis richer now because of me?” Nami was looking pure evil right now. She tossed back the champagne she was still holding in one go and casually placed it on the tray of a passing server. “I’m definitely taking percentages!”

“Oh hey I always lost!” Usopp held up his hands in mock surrender. “So no thank you. You will not be taking any money from me.”

“I haven’t really won,” Robin said with a smile. “Sorry. I’m up against those with uncanny luck in gambling.”

Nami blew at her bangs exasperatedly. “Okay then. Who do I have to extort?”

Robin and Usopp glanced at each other and without waiting for a beat they both answered.

“Zoro.”

“That idiot!” Nami growled. So he was on it too! She can’t believe it! And he was getting richer from making bets about her and he did not even have the gall to tell her? She was gripping the remaining glass on her hand a little too tightly.

“Whoa easy!” Usopp tried to pacify her, seeing that cracks were about to form on the glass. “But yeah if you are gonna extort someone, it’s him. He like won almost every betting pool. That’s roughly about a hundred thousand belis now.”

Robin just arched her perfectly shaped eyebrows when Usopp threw Zoro under the mercy of a rather livid Nami. Money matters are in no way handled peacefully in the orange-haired woman’s books. She was willing to do almost anything for it. Robin had seen her break another man’s arm who idiotically tried to scam her before… accidentally though… or so Nami claims.

She swirled her wine slightly, watching it with slight fascination. But even more fascinating is what’s going to happen in the next few hours now that Nami finally found out about the betting pool that Brook, Franky and Usopp had actually started.

“Oooh that lazy, idiot moss-head. I swear I’m going to get every single beli he won from that stupid betting pool! With interest!”

Robin lifted her head up just in time to see Nami stomping away from them in purposeful strides, her high heels making an ominous clacking sound against the marbled floor as she made her way towards where Zoro possibly was. Usopp was waving his hand at her and cheering her on.

“Well this is definitely going to be a fun night,” Robin remarked, the corners of her eyes crinkling with mirth, before taking another sip of her wine. ------------------------

Unlike the other areas which were decorated with glittering lights and Christmas adornments, the manor’s west wing was totally devoid of anything festive. Only the warm chandelier lights lining the high curving ceiling illuminated the whole area.

The noise of the party grew faint the further Nami went forward and when she turned around the corner, everything fell silent. No music or party guests chatter or clinking glasses. Not even the clacking sound of her heels can be heard as she continued along the now carpeted floor.

She grimaced at the task Robin cheekily sent her to do. She could swear the raven-haired women had something up her sleeve for she had seen a particular twinkle in her eyes like she knew something that was supposed to be a secret.

Nami stopped walking and took a deep breath. She kind of… have an inkling to what it was that Robin knew.

But first things, first…

She tapped her foot while pondering. It irked her a bit that the soft fabric underneath her shoes prevented her from hearing the sound her foot should be making.

If everything was silent in this area then definitely the drifting moss head had gone into hiding in one of these many rooms.

Nami did a double take when she realized she was still holding the glass Robin handed her earlier. With a shrug of her shoulders, she lifted the glass to her lips to taste the deep gold liquid. It would be a waste not to drink it.

She needs it much more than Zoro do.

Mmmm… that hits the spot. Nami mused, nodding her approval as she felt the familiar sensation of the liquor warming up her throat and cheeks. Licking her lips, she studied the red lipstick mark she left on the glass.

She made a mental note to grab more of these once she gets back to the party.

After she finds Zoro.

And where could he be? She is not really looking forward to searching all the rooms of the floor for him.

Nami strained her ears to listen if there was any sound of thunderous snoring coming from one of the rooms. Hearing nothing, she strolled forward, glancing left and right.

“He better be in here somewhere,” she muttered to herself. Because there is no way in hell that she’d try to look for him outside the estate grounds on this cold night. They could do without him in the meeting. They have too. Someone can just fill him in with whatever he was going to miss.

“What are you doing skulking around here like a thief?”

Nami whirled around instantly at that. She wasn’t surprised to see the person she was looking for, casually leaning against the now open doorway of one of the rooms she already passed. Zoro’s arms were folded across his chest, one eyebrow raised in inquiry as he regarded at her.

She just snorted at his accusation and fought the urge to remind him that she was indeed a thief… in case his stupid, sexy ass had forgotten about it.

But she just let it slide, and took another sip from the glass in her hand before approaching him.

“I’m skulking around because I’m looking for you. Robin told me to bring you upstairs, your presence is required at the meeting oh snarky one.”

Zoro just scoffed and pushed himself away from the doorway. Without another word, he went back inside the totally dark room where he was obviously ‘stealthily lounging’.

Nami followed suit. So he had holed himself up in one of the many rooms that served as an office library. From the looks of this one, no Mugiwara was using it because the place was still tidy. No books, open and unopened, were occupying the antique writing desk. No papers strewn everywhere, crumpled or not. No pens or mugs and glasses half-filled with coffee, tea, water or any alcoholic beverage. There are no missing books in the shelves. No diagrams, floor plans or maps posted and hanging on the walls, windows or on any available flat surface.

There was none of the signature chaos that takes over the room once someone from their team uses it.

Well, unless of course Zoro had already staked his claim on this room and was using it as his personal sleeping quarter-slash-hideout.

“What are you doing in here alone in the dark Zoro?” Nami asked, using the exact same tone he used when he questioned her earlier as she closed the door. “Hiding from someone? Or from everyone?”

“Hmph.”

“Or are you waiting for someone?” Nami sing-songed as she approached him. Zoro was now leaning against the desk with his arms crossed over his chest again in an imposing manner. She deliberately brushed against him to reach out and switched the pricey vintage desk lamp beside him to illuminate the room.

His grey eye was following her movements. Watching. Waiting.

“I brought you a drink.” She handed him the liquor glass she still have on her hand.

She smirked when his face scrunched into a frown as he took it from her, scrutinizing the alcohol inside. “Sorry I had to take a taste.” She grinned cheekily at him.

Zoro stared at the glass. Her lipstick mark was still on the glass rim, the red smear a stark contrast against the gold liquid… same color as that on her devilishly smiling lips.

“I don’t mind,” he said lowly. He lifted the glass and deliberately drank right at the area where her lipstick mark was.

Nami did not fight the urge to bite her lower lip.

Well fuck. Isn’t that hot?

“You didn’t bring more?” Zoro asked with a smirk after he downed all the remaining whiskey in one go.

Nami laughed teasingly. “Oh you have to come out of your hiding place if you want more of that.”

The green-haired man chuckled, setting the glass on the desk.

“Guess I’ll settle with this for now.”

His hand instantly reached out and grabbed her by the nape, pushing her forward to him and capturing her lips with his.

Nami pressed herself against him straightaway. It was like her body had a mind of its own. It knew exactly what to do the moment Zoro’s lips settled on hers. Her arms automatically went around his neck, her head tilted to give him more access to her mouth, to deepen their kiss so he could taste more of her and she could taste more of him.

She melted in his arms when his tongue traced her lower lip slowly before teasingly giving it a soft bite. She practically purred in delight at his action. She likes it when he does that. It always sent shivers running down her spine and she can feel the heat from that playful nip spreading from her lips to every damn part of her.

She clung to him when she felt his fingers trailing down the bare skin of her back, her body quivering deliciously against the sensation. Zoro’s hold on her nape tightened. She felt him inhaled sharply before almost devouring her in their kiss, his mouth dominating hers in a way that made Nami heady, hot and needy all at the same time.

Zoro in turn completely caged her to him by wrapping one arm around her waist. His hand on her nape slowly moved to tangle with her unbound tresses and Nami realized from the slight movements his body was making that he plans to…

She pulled away almost immediately. Zoro’s face scrunched into a displeased frown.

“What?” He asked gruffly, looking peeved that she stopped their kiss.

Nami gave him a sassy grin. “We need to go upstairs for the meeting,” she reminded him, tapping his cheek lightly. Because good Kami if she didn’t stop him now, they won’t make it up there.

“Tch!”

“We have responsibilities tonight. Plus you also ruined my lipstick,” she chastised him softly even as she gave him a quick peck before proceeding to rub off the red smear on his lips with her thumb. “Didn’t I tell you that the lips are off limits when I’m all dolled up like this?”

Nami tilted her head down to gesture at her sparkling champagne gown.

She smiled softly when his frown deepened. Zoro absolutely looked like a spoiled brat who didn’t get his way.

Adorable.

Nami traced his mouth softly with her thumb before kissing him again.

“Do we have to be there?” Zoro grudgingly asked when she pulled away again and resumed wiping of traces of her lipstick on him. They weren’t exactly letting anyone know about them. Heck, even they themselves don’t know what the real score between them is. They haven’t really discussed it. But somehow they had both come to an agreement that whatever they’re doing are exclusively just between them and third parties are not welcome.

Robin probably (with her intelligence) knows a thing or two about them based on the way she was looking at Nami when she asked her to search for the green-haired man. And to be honest, Nami suspects that they are being whispered behind closed doors. Most of those in the low ranks are gossips after all.

They better be not in those idiots betting pool! She swore there will be hell to pay.

In the dim light of the room, she did her best to erase the remnants of red on his lips as Zoro watched her.

“Sorry, but boss’s orders.”

He grunted and straightened up, giving Nami a nod that they better go. He had a ‘let’s get this over with’ expression on his face and she chuckled.

Nami tugged at his dinner jacket. “We need to stop by my office first.”

“Huh? Why?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “You made a mess of my make-up. I have to retouch.”

“Tch!”

“Don’t tch me! I absolutely refuse to walk into the meeting room without fixing myself first!” Nami glowered at him. “They’d get ideas.”

“No they won’t.”

“Yes they will. Robin is not an idiot.”

“Fine,” Zoro relented begrudgingly. Nami does have a point. He’s not looking forward being subjected to the others teasing or insinuations. “Lead the way woman.”

Nami flashed him a victorious smile. “Plus I also have to leave this there.”

She raised her hand and waved a small box in front his face.

Zoro’s brows furrowed when he realized what she was holding. “Damn it Nami!” He growled.

“Aaaw Zoro don’t be mad,” Nami pinched his cheek. “Is this for me?”

“I’m actually tempted to say no.”

“Ah, so this is mine!”

He was looking at her with a deadpan expression on his face. Nami just pressed a kiss on his cheek before mouthing ‘thank you’.

“I can’t believe you filched that, you’re unbelievable.” Zoro groused.

“Yup. Right in while you were busy shoving your tongue inside my mouth.” Nami brazenly declared as she observed the small yet pretty gift box. A sparkling ribbon was tied around it and she shook it lightly, her eyes widening at the sound coming from inside it.

Zoro looked smug. “Don’t think you one upped me witch. I just didn’t stop you.”

But Nami was too happy and too distracted with her gift to pay any attention to what he was saying.

“Oooh! Did you get me something shiny and sparkly?” She probed, her tone enthusiastic. “I sure don’t mind getting something to pair with them.” She tilted her head slightly to show him the earrings she was wearing. The diamonds set on them came from Jozu Island and very hard to acquire. When Zoro said he’ll get her those, she had treated it as a joke at first. But when he handed her a black velvet box containing the said stones in their raw beauty, she realized he was dead serious in with his word.

Nami had some of them set into different jewelries. And once they were done, she wore them to show Zoro just how absolutely stunning they looked, especially against her naked skin.

He just snorted at her. “Why don’t you open it?”

She excitedly tugged at the box’s ribbon, letting it fall down the floor. She lifted the top cover up and peered inside.

“Uh… wow.” She slowly nodded her head hoping it would give her time to wrap this one around her brain and figure out why she is looking at…

“Keys?” Nami looked up at Zoro in surprise.

Zoro smirked. “What? Are you expecting something else?”

Nami recovered quickly. “Nope. Not really.” She forced out a laugh. “I mean, I was actually expecting not to get anything from you at all after those diamonds.” She stared at the content of the box again. It wasn’t even a key for a car. She thought, a bit dumbfounded. So what the hell is…

She lifted her head and realized that Zoro was now looking at her amusedly. He had this certain expression on his handsome face that tells her he is up to something.

“What?” Nami queried, cocking an eyebrow at him. “I don’t like the expression on your face right now.”

He just shrugged his shoulders and continued looking at her with amusement dancing behind his grey eye.

“Merry Christmas Nami.” He greeted in that deep, lazy voice of his. “That should stop you from nicking my own set.”

Nami’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped open when she finally realized what those keys are for.

Stupid Zoro just gave her her own set of keys for his house.

Her very own set.

She glanced down at it again.

Does he have any idea on how serious the implication of his gift was?

She lifted her eyes up to gaze at his face. And she knew instantaneously that he had thought this one through. After all, Zoro rarely decides things on a whim.

Without another word she threw herself at him, glomping him with enough force to almost push him back against the writing desk.

She buried her face on his neck. She could feel the rumble of laughter on his chest at her reaction.

“I take it that you like it?” Zoro laughingly asked.

Nami looked up at him and replied with a dazzling smile. “Definitely.”

“Better than the diamonds?”

“That is a hard question Zoro.” She mock-pouted. “I like them both very much.”

Zoro responded with a chuckle.

She studied his face for a moment, unsure on how she would ask the question that’s weighing on her mind for months now.

“Zoro…”

“Hnn?”

Nami took a deep breath. “You know that this… you know that this means…” she trailed off and instead pointed a finger at him and then at herself. “Are we making this official?” She just blurted out not knowing how to proceed anymore.

His answer was a simple yes. And gave her that smile that never fails to steal her breath away. That one smile she always, always coveted to see directed at her.

And there was no really better response to that but to press her lips on his in the softest of kisses that he eagerly returned.

She was giggling when she pulled away. “I’m so going to put that bathroom of yours into good use.” She murmured while running her fingers through his hair.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” she affirmed. “And you will definitely have a lot of sleepless nights from here on.” She grinned naughtily at him.

“Looking forward to it.” He whispered before Nami kissed him again.

“And also, now that we are official,” Nami murmured in between kisses. “I will collect my percentages from all your betting pool wins.”

Zoro jerked back at that and was now staring at her incredulously.

She smiled mischievously at him. “Oh. Usopp tattled.”

“Usopp?” Zoro repeated. “That idiot. Pretty sure he wants to split the wins tonight with you.”

“Definitely. And the tattler also told me you’re in it too. So want to counter-offer?”

Zoro looked like he was pondering for a moment. “No way that’s gonna be fifty-fifty. You’re too much of a witch to be fair.”

Nami threw her head back and laugh.

“Sixty-forty,” she offered impishly.

“I knew it.” Zoro huffed with a roll of his eyes.

Nami tapped his chest. “Sixty on you… and you take me out on a really fancy date.”

Zoro grinned. “Eighty-twenty.”

Nami’s eyebrows disappeared behind her bangs.

“I’ll take you out on a fancy date and not on that place where dartboard brows goes.”

“Go on…” Nami still looked unconvinced.

Zoro bent down slightly so his lips were now touching her ear. “Then I’ll take you home. And we’ll spend all three days before the New Year party in bed.”

The corners of Nami’s lips quirked at that.

“You better not be talking about just sleeping there Zoro.”

“Of course I’m not.”

“Then you got yourself a deal.”

#zoro x nami #ZoNa #zonami #zonalove #zona AU #zona one-shot #zona fanfiction #zoro nami fanfiction #roronoa zoro #nami

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ranchthoughts · 1 year ago

Text

Moments of ephemerality/permanence/YOLO/photography/voyeurism/control/hypocrisy/accountability etc. in Only Friends ep. 9

last week in meta

Permanence vs ephemerality

As usual, a quick little recap on moments that to me spoke of the ephemeral and the permanent:

Nick says "Why can't I forget about Boston despite the fact that he did lots of shit to me?" -> Nick wishes Boston, his love for Boston, and his memories of Boston are more ephemeral than they are

Nick calls Ray Sand's "haunting spirit," Sand says Ray won't find where he is and join them because Sand isn't that important to him (not worth the time and effort to drive 2 hours into the mountains) -> Sand thinks his relationship with Ray is ephemeral, that what they have (and the interest Ray has for him) is not lasting or permanent

Sand had imaginary (spectral) friends as a kid because he had no real friends as a child

Sand and Nick try hooking up but it doesn't do anything for them -> friendship is the lasting relationship between them, anything romantic/sexual is just a passing fancy, the awkwardness of the moment is also fleeting and they quickly go back to normal

Ray's shirt says "YOLO" while he and Sand sit in the water and talk

Ray again tells Sand "Don't think too hard about it," like he did in his car that one time -> live in the moment, go with the flow, YOLO

All the talk about death at the camper van between Ray and Sand (Ray talking about his life flashing before his eyes, Ray asking if people would cry if he died, Ray requesting a funeral song from Sand, while Sand says "I have dreams. I don't want to die just yet.", Ray asks if he can follow Sand and Sand's dream around "now that I live") -> life is fleeting

Ray and Mew break off their relationship -> this arrangement, pretending to be romantically involved, was fleeting; their platonic friendship is more lasting (like Mew said a few episodes ago about being friends forever)

Cheum says she thought of Mew's changes as him being possessed by an evil spirit (ephemeral, something outside of Mew's control) but Mew says he was just lost and trying to become stronger by becoming someone else for a bit

Despite breaking things off with Ray and understanding that his party-going behaviour was a way of coping with everything that went on, Mew is still dressing like Ray at the end of the episode (are these changes in behaviour, or at least in dress, more permanent than they may have initially seemed?)

Atom wanted a more lasting relationship with Boston, despite the pretense for them hooking up was as one-time experiment to see if Atom was in fact interested in men; once again Boston is saddled with a man who wants something more lasting and committed than he was prepared to give (or was agreed on)

Recording and digital media

Of course, a core example of permanence in this show has been recordings, either in audio or visual form. We saw more of that this episode.

Top records Ray and Sand making out in the music room, though he doesn't show the footage to Mew (...reminiscent of Mew obtaining the footage of Boston and Gap but not showing it to his dad/posting it online... though making Boston very aware of what he *could* have done and what a good person he is for *not* doing that)

Atom says he wants a photo to keep (the idea of photos being a permanent keepsake), Boston took photos of Atom after their hookup

There's something here as well about consensually being recorded vs. not... Atom asking to be photographed by Boston vs Top recording Ray and Sand, like how Boston recorded Ray and Mew or Gap recorded Boston and others (which itself can be contrasted by Mew expressing interest and excitement at being recorded by Gap when he was on his reconnaissance mission).

I was playing around with the idea of surveillance the other week, with Gap running a channel full of sex tapes (that may or may not have been recorded with consent) and Boston using Instagram to find his friends. This week:

Ray figures out where Sand and Nick are based on Nick's Instagram story -> just like how Boston figured out his friends were at the hostel based on Cheum's Instagram story. Again, the characters don't think about what their social media presence is revealing to others

Mew's moms saying they recognize Top from Mew's Instagram

Social media, especially Instagram, has had a recurring role in this series. It makes sense, given the age of the characters, but it also brings up ideas of the appearances we put up/narratives we tell ourselves and others, surveillance, permanent records of things vs. the ephemerality of digital content, etc...

And of course, we these tie into the theme of voyeurism too: Top records Sand and Ray making out in the music room, Nick listening to Boston and his hookup kiss in the bathroom stall for a moment (before interrupting to give a heartfelt apology and goodbye).

Control and Boundaries

Last week I thought some thoughts about control and boundaries, and especially cases where characters said "it's none of your business what I do". We had lots more examples of this this week too:

Sand asks Ray to get out of his way multiple times in the music room and Ray doesn't

Ray tells Sand "Now that I have you in my life I won't let you walk away"

Top steps in to say Mew has a boyfriend when Mew is chatting to the random bar stranger, then grabs Mew by the arm and trying to pull him

Mew tells Top to stay out of his life

Ray demands sex from Mew and Mew shuts him down, Ray asks why Mew slept with Top but not him, Ray giving reasons why he is "owed" sex ("I've been nothing but good to you for the last four years")

Ray phones Sand many times and when Sand picks up, Ray gets mad it took him so long to answer

Sand tells Ray not to come to him, Ray finds out where Sand is and goes to him anyways

Sand tells Ray "I'm not just stuff you have in your possession. I have feelings."

Atom shows up at Boston's house to ask why Boston isn't answering his messages

Boston and Atom have a one night stand so Atom can experiment and figure himself out but Atom is mad it was only one night

Top invites himself along on Mew's shopping trip with his moms even though Mew repeatedly tries to get him to leave

Sand says whether or not he and Nick are hooking up is none of Ray's business

Sand says that if Ray doesn't sort himself out and someone without conditions comes by he will not wait for Ray, though he says he doesn't want this to be pressure on Ray

Mew talks about Sand to Ray in the context of ownership ("If he loves you too, do your best to keep him")

Again we see the idea of ownership - who gets to dictate or have opinions on your life - and boundary crossing, especially as it pertains to leaving people alone (I've lost count in this series so far, but there's been so many cases of people saying "don't find me" or not answering texts but being tracked down regardless).

I would also like to point out how interesting it is to have Nick promise not to see Boston any more in a show where everyone has been categorically incapable of leaving people alone/tracking them down.

Friendship

We had more this episode on friendship, and what friendship entails (I was batting this idea around the other week as well).

Sand and Nick kiss then admit it did nothing for them and agree they are better off as platonic friends (though platonic friends can cuddle). Mew says it is lucky he and Ray didn't hook up because otherwise they wouldn't be able to look at each other in the eye. Again, we see friendship as something defined by the lack of sex, that sex changes a relationship (and that sex is generally something not possible/desirable in a platonic relationship).

Previously, Mew has told us friends are not people you fuck in a car, and Sand has said friends don't struggle to stop kissing one another. Only Ray has provided an alternate definition, that friendships can start from sex, though the audience may debate whether he has been successful in creating friendships or rather other types of relationships.

Change

A couple of weeks ago, and the week before that, I was tracking what characters had to say about change (did they think it was possible? under what conditions? etc.):

Nick in the past has tried to change himself (go to the gym, dress differently, etc.) to appeal to Boston. This week, Nick tells Boston he doesn't have to change, that his friends like him for who is, that people (including Nick) will love Boston for who he is.

Mew in the past has said people can change though it will take time, and he was skeptical of Top being able to change and repent. This week, Mew says he wants to give Top a second chance because he can see Top's efforts (Top is capable of change, it just takes time and effort), and Mew talks about how he himself changed (in behaviour, dress, interests, etc.) as a way to recover from his experiences and find strength ("I want you to understand that what happened to me affected my self-confidence so much. I just thought if I became someone else, I would be stronger"). Mew also tells Ray "Reduce your ego. Not everyone can put up with everything you do" (implying that Ray should change himself so Sand will stick around).

Ray in the past has hinted that change is possible, as he made comments about getting over Mew. This episode we had more of the same, with Ray saying he is working on getting over Mew though it is hard, and also showing a change in the way he interacts with Mew (more self-aware, less idealizing or all encompassing in his feelings for Mew).

Cheum in the past did not think Mew's change (in behaviour, wardrobe, interests, etc.) was good or healthy. This episode she said Mew changing is like he was possessed by an evil spirit, and she says she will come back and work on the hostel project if they all promise to stop with the mess (if they change their behaviour).

We've also been talking about how often characters in Only Friends have had a vested interest in preventing others from changing, like Cheum and Top teaming up last episode over "concern" for Mew (1, 2), and how that relates to themes of control, hypocrisy, and the permanency of labels.

Honesty (and accountability)

There was QUITE a lot of honesty this episode:

Sand and Nick trying to hookup but then admitting it isn't doing anything for them and they are better off as friends

Sand pointing out the parallels between him and Ray hooking up while Ray is seeing Mew, and Top and Boston hooking up (which Mew points out later in the episode as well)

Sand saying he likes Ray a lot and he is jealous of Ray and Mew, but he knows that isn't his place to be upset about; Ray admitting he likes Sand too but Mew is special to him and it is not easy for him to get over Mew (implying that the end goal is to get over Mew)

Ray and Sand talking about Ray's crash and how that made them feel (Ray talks about flashing back through his life when he crashed, Sand says he would have never forgiven himself, etc.), Ray asking if anyone would cry if he died

Mew and Ray's conversation on the bench where Mew says he knows Ray went to see Sand and Ray doesn't deny it, Mew says he is glad Ray picked Sand and admits "You can clearly see I dated you just to hurt Top," Ray admits that he knew that ("I kind of got the hint. But I was trying to fool myself") and says it is nice Mew loves Top; they then share the most honest and sincere "I love yous" with each other this series

Nick giving a heartfelt speech to Boston about his feelings for him, apologizing for what happened, and promising not to see him anymore

Mew admitting to Cheum he is still in love with Top and explaining the reasons why he changed as he did (he felt vulnerable and insecure)

I'd like to point out that not only are the characters being honest with each other to an extent we have not seen before, but they are also being honest with themselves. Sand admits he really likes Ray, Ray admits that he was trying to convince himself Mew actually loved him romantically, Mew admits that he changed because he was insecure and wanted to be strong and that he was just dating Ray to make Top jealous... and so on.

There's been some talk about how maturely Ray and Mew, for example, handled their break-up, and the amount of honesty in that conversation played a big role in that maturity. If the characters do not own up with themselves (and others, of course) about their behaviour, their motivations, and their impacts, how can they show true accountability and learn and grow from their actions and choices?

Hypocrisy and moral superiority

After episode 6 I threw around some ideas about Top and Mew and their dynamic. Top has a habit of casually trying to sway Mew's opinions, especially against Ray (insinuating that Ray doesn't work hard on the hostel project, insinuating that Ray will never stop having feelings for Mew, etc.). I noticed a few things this episode that reminded me of this:

Mew tells Top to stay out of his life, that his choices are none of Top's business, and Top says he knows that he has no right to make comments about Mew's life and choices (after coming in and making comments about Mew's life and choices...) and then says "I bet you know what you are doing" (trying to smooth it over and convey absolute belief in Mew)

Top doesn't show Mew the video of Ray and Sand ("I don't want to play another dirty trick to get you back") but does make it pretty clear that Ray is doing something -> he's a "good guy" because he didn't share anything that isn't his business, but he hinted at it enough he may as well have shared it. He gets to keep his veneer of "good guy" while also getting his desired outcome (getting Mew's wheels turning re: Ray) - see @thatgirl4815's post here. This is also very similar to what Mew does with Boston and the sex tape: holding all the cards, threatening with them, but not actually deploying them, which allows them to claim moral superiority (and, in Top's case, claim that he is leaving Mew alone to make his own decisions).

Top says if this "Mew the party-goer" is who he wants to be, he will support him, BUT he also says he would love to have the old Mew back -> again, Top gives himself a veneer of "good guy" (he will be there to support Mew whatever his choices are! He respects Mew's autonomy!) BUT while doing so he manages to convey his preference (Mew to return to "normal") and still give an opinion on what Mew should do. It reminds me of what Top said about Lasik - laying it out as an option and suggesting it casually, before belatedly tacking on a comment about how he like Mew in glasses. Top made his preference clear then backtracked, claiming to respect whatever Mew chooses, much in the way he frames his comments about Ray (just simple, casual observations).

This dynamic is really interesting to me given all the talks about control and hypocrisy we've been having over the course of the series, and Mew's much explored superiority complex (especially with regards to morality and sex). Top demonstrates a similar superiority complex, and given he's trying to win Mew back, it's interesting to wonder how many of these affectations have been adopted to appeal to Mew's love of the moral high ground and appease Mew's repeated protestations that his decisions are none of Top's business.

@waitmyturtles and @twig-tea were also talking last week about how this moral superiority works hand in hand with ignoring other peoples' agency and a lack of reflection on how one's actions impact others. Accountability - these young people coming to terms with how their decisions have consequences and setting aside their YOLO ways a bit to think of others - is not possible without (self-)honesty, without giving up control, without taking a step off the high horse of moral superiority and comparison.

Random thoughts

Ray and Mew talk about a sleepover they had (with at least Cheum as well) in second year and talk about being in each other's lives for 4 years... we are getting a slightly better understanding of when this group came together.

On assumptions, which I was thinking about a couple of weeks ago: this episode Ray sees Nick and Sand in bed together and assumes they were hooking up. Once again, we have a character interpreting things through their own lens and one that perhaps reveals more about that character than about what is going on.

On "should have" and the narratives we tell ourselves: once again we had Mew (and Ray) talking about their relationship in terms of what "should" be, for example Mew telling Yo he should be in love with Ray because Ray has been by his side forever.

On comparisons, since this friend squad is constantly comparing themselves to one another: Sand and Mew compare what Sand and Ray have been doing to what Top and Boston did, Ray compares his physical relationship with Mew to Top's (and isn't pleased), Sand says that compared to Boston Ray is a saint (see @lurkingshan's post on that here).

On addiction, which we've seen a lot of talk on/mention of in the show so far (but I haven't been collecting mentions of, regrettably): Mew tells his moms he is not addicted to cigarettes, Mew tells Ray to consult with a therapist about quitting drinking.

hello ephemerality squad: @chickenstrangers, @clara-maybe-ontheroad, @colourme-feral, @distant-screaming, @lurkingshan, @neuroticbookworm, @rocketturtle4, @slayerkitty, @thatgirl4815, @twig-tea, @waitmyturtles, @wen-kexing-apologist

#only friends the series #ofts #ofts meta #ephemerality squad

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