#he never got to grow up and he did a terrible job helping to raise Sam

[anassemblageofpassions]

The thing that’s so beautiful about dean Winchester is that. He’s been conditioned to be the ultimate caretaker. And he’s absolutely awful at it.

[dark-konohagakure2]

Hi 💞 I love your content. Can I get Shisui using his Kotoamatsukami on his younger sister to brainwash her into loving him and him alone + non-con's her, please?

tw: incest, sibling incest, noncon, blowjobs, brainwashing, Kotoamatsukami, praise, infantilization, love bombing

All characters depicted are 18+

Shisui's little sister is the most precious person in the entire world to him, their parents aren't in the picture so he practically had to raise her on his own from a young age, which has made him very overprotective of her. But she's growing up too fast right before his very eyes, and Shisui does not like that one bit.

While she is an adult, she's still Shisui's baby sister, his precious little girl, and the mere thought of her talking to other men and possibly being harmed or taken advantage of by them is enough to make the Uchiha's blood boil, so after much careful consideration, he decides that he needs to take some preventative measures.

Kotoamatsukami is an ocular jutsu that can only be used once a decade, so Shisui has to be very careful how he uses it, and he can't think of a better use of it than protecting the most precious person in his entire world. He feels somewhat conflicted at first, but his love for his sister wins out over any reservations he might have had.

It's almost laughably easy, he just needs to look her in the eye for a second, and all of a sudden she's all over him, clinging to him and bawling her eyes out, babbling on about how she never wants him to leave her and how she loves Nii Nii more than anything. Shisui will feign surprise and immediately comfort her, his pants growing unbearably tight as he does so.

"Woah there..! Baby, it's okay... Your big bro loves you more than anything else in the world... if you really want that, then you don't ever have to leave my side ever again..."

Shisui can't remember the last time he's been this happy, he missed her calling him Nii Nii and being his little girl so much, and it's been so long since he last got to hold her in his arms. But Shisui is only a man, and he can't control his darker urges for very long, but luckily for him his precious little angel doesn't mind helping her big brother out.

He'll feel a twinge of guilt for taking advantage of her altered state of mind, but any guilt he might be feeling is instantly replaced with pure bliss as he feels her lips clumsily wrap around his cock. Shisui often fisted his cock late at night to thoughts of his sister pleasuring him with her mouth, and now that it's finally happening he's in complete ecstasy.

Shisui isn't rough with her at all, no he'd never do anything to hurt his beloved sister, in fact he'll be incredibly gentle considering that he's technically forcing her, stroking her hair gently and consoling her if she's choking and gagging on his cock too much, and he's more than sure to let her know what a good job she's doing and how good she's making him feel.

He'll end up reaching his peak rather quickly, he can't help it when his most deviant and depraved fantasies are finally coming true, and with the most dear person to him too. Shisui will cum directly down her throat, filling her tummy with his cum while he tells her how incredibly happy she has just made him.

"F-Fuck..! G-Good girl, baby, good girl... You did such a good job, Nii Nii loves you so so much, honey..."

In the end Shisui is incredibly glad that he decided to use his Kotoamatsukami on her, he knows it's a terrible thing to do to his own sister, but she's blissfully unaware and just happy to be with her brother all the time, and he gets to have his baby sister all to himself, so in the end he sees it as a win win.

[molsno]

god, what happens next is so good. the character writing is just spectacular. it fascinates me just how much depth there is to each character and how that contributes to the story.

milo's dni is the most revealing thing about him, and it's the very first thing we hear from him:

right off the bat, we can see what kind of person the protagonist is. he's a pastel softboi trans man who clings to a childish aesthetic to appear weak and non-threatening. despite being involved in a toxic relationship with another trans guy who attempted to rape and kill an 11 year old girl when he was a teenager and later murdered his girlfriend, which milo helped with by dismembering her corpse, he puts "pedophiles and unhealthy pairing shippers dni" on his carrd. which, ok, maybe he wants to distance himself from people like griffin now - except that's not really true, because he talks to, moves in with, and regularly hangs out with a serial killer fan who idolizes griffin and is even dating the guy while he's in prison. he puts "being against neopronouns" and "anti-otherkin" on the same level as those things. he explicitly denies any responsibility in the murders of haylie and savannah, despite having literally chopped haylie's arm off. all the while, he has "you deserve to heal" in big bold letters, while not applying that belief to anyone but himself.

right from the start, it's obvious that milo is not a good person. but he's also humanized throughout the story. sure, some of his softboi persona is a means of victimizing himself to avoid taking responsibility for what he did - and you could make the case that he was a victim in some ways. on the other hand, he also never got to grow up because he spent 5 years in a psychiatric institute. is it any surprise that he clings to the same aesthetic, interests, and hobbies he had when he was 15? he never got to stop being a kid, and how is he supposed to now? he didn't graduate high school, he can't get a job, and nobody wants to be friends with him because of what he did. it raises uncomfortable questions - namely, what happens next? milo served his time for the crime he committed as a minor. he was already punished, but now he has to live the entire rest of his life. what is he supposed to do?

that, I think is the most interesting part of this story. almost every character in this story makes it hard for you to like them, but they also have very human reasons for doing the terrible things that they do. I'll talk about some of my favorites under the read more, but be aware that there will be spoilers:

claire is one of the most interesting characters to me, just because of how unlikable she is.

when we first see claire in victim impact statement, she tries to ignore haylie, griffin, and milo as much as possible. she doesn't even seem to like her sister. she treats haylie as a nuisance for coming into the room that they share as sisters. she doesn't want to go to the open mic night to listen to haylie play her ukulele. when she finds haylie bawling her eyes out in the bathroom at anime central, she just looks away, as if to say "you chose to date your shitty boyfriend". when she hears haylie and griffin fighting upstairs, she just pretends not to hear it. when haylie is curled up in terror later, claire puts on headphones and turns her back to her. her headphones become a way of drowning out haylie's screams when griffin is around, and because of that, she doesn't hear haylie screaming for her life, and ends up finding her corpse in the kitchen.

that's why I don't find it surprising at all that she becomes an outspoken transphobe who wants to take her anger out on the trans people who murdered her sister. she goes to media events and publicly degenders milo and griffin. she calls aaron's friends trannies. I think it's easy to misconstrue her as a terf, but she literally doesn't even pay lip service to feminism. how could she? she knew that her sister was being abused by her boyfriend, and she did nothing. let me remind you that she lives in a house where "smash the patriarchy" is embroidered on the wall. she doesn't care about any of that. she just wants a scapegoat. she wants to make the law impose harsher punishments on minors who commit violent crimes because she doesn't know what else to do with her life. she very clearly hates herself, becoming an alcoholic to cope with her guilt. she pretends to care about haylie and fight for this law because it's the only way she can convince herself she's a good person, even though she can see that doing what she's doing is turning everyone against her.

and then that brings us to audrey. it's difficult to like her, too, because she's dating claire despite all of the horrible things she's doing. but at the same time, I can see where she's coming from. her mother died of cancer and she and all of her other black siblings were adopted by conservative christian white parents. she's still christian to this day, and makes a point of separating herself from "criminals" by insisting that she has nothing to do with them because she goes to church and takes care of her family. she doesn't want to disavow the law that claire worked so hard to pass because at the end of the day, it won't affect her personally, even though she is aware that the justice system disproportionately punishes black people. she very clearly has a lot of internalized racism, and I think that's best exemplified in the way she draws herself. despite having pretty dark skin in real life, she draws herself as light skinned as claire, her white girlfriend:

like, it's hard to like audrey, but you can clearly see why she's made all of the decisions she has! she idolizes claire because it's her first lesbian relationship. the way she sees it, claire can do no wrong. audrey does actually seem to be aware that her girlfriend is doing terrible things, but she essentially just plugs her ears and tries to ignore it. that's why she doesn't go to claire's campaign events. she ignores all of her girlfriend's flaws because claire is essentially her savior. because she has claire, she doesn't have to go back to her family, to her abusive alcoholic white father. she doesn't have to actually take care of her younger siblings, which is a responsibility she's foisted off unto mark. that's why she ignores that claire is just as much of an emotional drain as her father. she's highly depressed, she's an alcoholic, she trashes their bedroom (leaving audrey to clean up after her mess), she puts up an emotional wall and dismisses audrey's attempts to comfort her, and dismisses audrey's own problems as being less traumatizing and less important. by all accounts, claire is a terrible girlfriend and a terrible person, but because audrey idolizes her as her savior, she stays by her side. I'm really looking forward to seeing how she reacts to claire's disappearance in future chapters.

and then of course, there's vikki. she's been doing something incredibly disrespectful for years by making true crime videos where she talks about the victims and killers like it's all a joke. she makes a video about whether ethical necrophilia is possible, and makes a callous, bitter joke that the concept of "respect for the dead" is antiquated, because nobody respects her as a trans woman of color even though she's still alive. for this comment, people have harassed her online endlessly, enough that she had to make a video called "STOP TELLING PEOPLE I FUCK CORPSES". that doesn't stop her from making a video about the murder of haylie, complete with an interview from milo. she'll throw him under the bus if it means getting the attention off herself for a bit.

and yet, I think out of everyone, I feel the most compassion for vikki. yes, she used milo for content and called him a "sad little blonde girl", but I can understand where she's coming from! like, again, she's a trans woman of color in the true crime community. she knows the archetype milo is trying so hard to be in order to avoid taking responsibility for what he did. like, I've personally seen trans women of color who are victimized by white trans men who pull the same exact shtick as milo over and over, so I completely understand her frustration. that said, she also realized she went too far and tried to apologize, only to find out she was blocked and that milo basically wrote a callout post against her. I think it says a lot that vikki was one of the only people to actually try to talk to milo, even if the way she went about it was wrong.

vikki does things that are disrespectful, but to be honest, it's not that surprising! she grew up in a 90% white town in the middle of nowhere, got assaulted by multiple white boys for being a faggot, got sent to alternative school, worked for a funeral home as a teenager, and transitioned. not only is she desensitized to death, she's angry that people revere the dead more than her.

it's astounding, really! what happens next is so well written because it makes you feel conflicted about each of its characters. what are we supposed to do with these people who do awful things? a lot of the intrigue in this comic comes from seeing how each of the characters handles this question as they deal with the other characters who have done terrible things, while they themselves are deeply flawed as well. I think the writing really forces you to contend with the idea that these are all still people, and that their humanity needs to be recognized even if they do terrible things. it makes you ask, what happens next?

[thewalkingkale]

Unfair || A One-Shot

SKZHOPFICS Masterlist

Desc: Everyone tells you to avoid the castle in the woods, and in turn, the man who lives in it. You've never been one to do as you're told.

Warnings: kidnapping, character near-death, lots of angst, mutism, blood and injury, this one gets a little heavy for a second there folks!

dt: my friends trick and court, who helped me make it the gorgeous gorgeous girl it is ❤️

Author's notes: my first ever skz fic 😭😭 I hope you all love it as much as I loved working on it! Also waxingracha changed their hair AS i was writing so if hair colors aren't correct pls forgive me. Felix has dark hair and Hyunjin has his buzz cut lol.

(y/n) is gender neutral, they/them pronouns used

A crow called from somewhere in the woods, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. The air was cold now, dense and heavy with the evening air. I had been lost for hours, the woods were twisty and the path was beginning to disappear into the wet, heavy snow. The woods watched me as I walked, hood up and lantern held forward in front of me as I desperately tried to make sense of where I was. Bushes rustled behind me and I stopped, my heart lurching in my chest as I spun around.

“Who’s there?!” I called. There was no response.

My brother had warned me about these woods. Yet I had to be the one to go hunting and get myself lost. Good job, idiot, I thought to myself as I trudged through the wet, heavy snow. Being so close to the castle (read: being in these woods at all), so close to sunset, was a terrible idea. I had since lost sight of the towering structure to the treeline, not knowing which way was towards or away from it. I tried desperately to steady my breathing and continued down the path, only to walk a few steps before I was interrupted by rustling once again, this time accompanied by a growl. I froze, shoulders hunched in fear, as I turned to face the hungry pack of wolves now emerging from the shrubline. I couldn't breathe, the barks and growls echoing in my ears along with my heartbeat. I tried to back away but every step of distance I tried to put between me and the wolves was quickly replaced.

With one final bark and a snarl, the leader of the pack lunged, and I instinctively shielded my face and ducked. The rows of sharp, yellow teeth never came. There was a scuffle, a whimper and a yelp accompanied by a pained grunt from a voice almost as deep as the wolf’s growl and then… silence. As I uncovered my face, I was met by the sight of a man. I could hear footfalls, and my name being called in the distance, but I couldn't take my eyes off of him.

He was tall, lanky, with long, dark hair. I stood, slowly, and watched as the wolves retreated back into the woods. The woods stood still, the air between us so thick with tension and hostility it was almost hard to breathe. As he turned, I noticed his face. Although scarred, he was… handsome. His eyebrows were creased, not in concern, but in annoyance. In anger, and hatred. He held his arm tightly as he approached.

“What the hell do you think you're doing here?”

“(Y/N)!”

A voice from behind me tore through the steady, anxious silence around me as footsteps followed. I could tell it was my brothers, but I couldn't look back. I couldn't seem to tear my own eyes away from the man before me, his own stare tense, and piercing. I listened to my brother fall behind me into the snow at the sight of him.

“It's… it's the prince… the one from the stories…” He muttered.

Oh.

“Were you raised in a cave or something?” He spat, “Didn't your parents teach you not to go into the woods alone?”

That would explain the anger. We had heard so many stories growing up about staying out of the woods, about the man who lived in the looming castle just outside the village. Some said he was a brutal murderer who did away with anyone who trespassed on his land. Some said he wasn't actually a prince, but an ugly troll king who ate anyone who got lost in the woods. Others debated whether or not he was humanoid at all, a tale of a beast in the woods, turned that way by a witch. I remembered the countless who got lost in these woods and never returned, or were found horridly injured, or mangled, or within an inch of their life, but I never expected the culprit to be… a man. A regular, human man, a handsome one at that. The prince before us rolled his eyes, stepping closer to us and grabbing my wrist harshly.

“I asked you a question.” He snarled. Now that he was close enough, I noticed the rips in his sleeve, and the blood along with it, dripping into the pure, white snow.

“You… You're hurt…”

“Nevermind that. Answer the damn question,” I sucked in a hiss as his grip tightened, tugging at my own arm.

“Step away from them,” (b/n) barked from behind me, “Don't you dare try anything.”

“Or what?” The prince looked at him over my shoulder, “You'll kill me? All by yourself?”

“Or die trying, and I would be doing the world a service.”

“No shit. You’d be doing me one too.”

My brain tuned out the bickering as if on instinct, the world around me disappearing as the prince’s eyes nearly bore holes into me with his direct, angry gaze. Time itself seemed to slow, the background distorting with my nervousness. I moved slowly, so as not to make him any angrier, lifting our wrists to get a better look at the injury to his arm. He flinched, and I paused.

“I'm a healer in the village… Please, I can-” My voice jolted as he ripped his arm away so quickly and with such force that I fell forward, and he stepped aside to let me fall into the snow. I scrambled into a position to face him, trying to get back on my feet as he stalked towards my brother.

“You have some nerve threatening me on my land.”

“You have a lot of nerve showing your ugly face in the daylight. I've hoped all my life I would be the one to finally kill you,” My brother took out his dagger

“This ugly face just saved your sibling from getting eaten by wolves,” the prince spat back, twisting my brother’s arm behind his back and quickly disposing of the dagger.

“Stop!” My voice ripped through the tense air before I could stop it, “Don't hurt him, I’m the one you want. I'm the reason he’s even out here. I got lost, and I wandered onto your land. Take me instead, just… please…” I trailed off as the prince stopped.

“Don’t even think about touching them,” my brother grunted from the prince’s hold.

“Well, I'm taking one of you. I saved them, and it’s only fair,” He looked between the two of us, seemingly weighing his options, “Life for a life.”

My lungs about stopped functioning with the tension as his eyes finally settled on me, lingering for only a moment before he finally released my brother. The snow crunched under his heavy boots as he stormed over to me, yanking me off the ground and setting off into the woods, not stopping or slowing down, and very obviously not caring if I followed or if he dragged me on my knees through the dirt.

“Where are you taking them?”

A stupid question.

“Where do you think?”

An expected snarky response.

“I'll.. I'll come back for them! A-And I’ll have more people this time!”

“You won't make it through the woods.”

There was no response except the sound of my brother coming to his feet and running off, and as his footfalls grew quieter and quieter, dread settled into my stomach. The blood drained from my face as I tried to keep up with the prince’s pace, looking at the snowy forest floor as we walked.

“What's your-” I started, after a while, and was cut off just as quickly as the words could leave my throat.

“Here are the rules,” The prince turned to face me, still gripping my wrist with a force I was sure would bruise, “You are going to refer to me as ‘Prince’ or ‘Sir’, and I am not going to refer to you by name at all. You’re going to fix my arm, and then you belong to me, you aren't going back to your pathetic little village, or your pathetic little life. Got that?”

“... Are you done?”

He looked shocked. When was the last time anyone ever spoke to him, and not at, or around him? When was the last time someone had ever been in his general presence like this?

“Don't… don't talk to me like that. I thought you knew who I was? Are you stupid or something?” He scoffed, turning and continuing down the path, his ears tinting pink.

“Are you? I don't remember acting as if I didn't.” I mumbled. This man was starting to piss me off. He was supposed to be a beast, or a monster, in the woods in a castle eating babies, or something. Not a young, handsome man with an attitude problem. His power, his legend,and he had the attitude of a toddler who needed a nap. No claws, no gigantic sharp teeth. Just a guy. I thought he had decided to ignore me before his deep voice interrupted the sounds of the wood around us as the snow turned into rain.

“Felix.”

“What?” I asked, incredulous.

“My name. Yours next,”

“... (Y/N).”

“What a dumb name.”

It really hadn't occurred to me just how… huge the castle would be right up next to it like this. As we stepped out of the wood, the freezing cold rain pouring down onto us, I couldn't help but pause in utter awe at the sight of it. He paused with me, eyes flickering to my face, and then down at the ground again. I eyed the architecture, the beautiful towers and artful stained-glass windows… in which I could see… was that movement?

It occurred to me then, he wasn't alone. I could see curtains being drawn, there was a man cleaning the windows in an upper story room, and I could see the small, twinkling light of torches dotting the walls. As he led me up the steps, an animated set of armor met us at the top, hands outstretched. Felix took his cloak off and placed it in the armor’s arms, nudging me to do the same. I did, studying the images carved across the metal chestplate and the shape of the chainmail. Once it had obtained both of our cloaks, it walked away, clunky and loud. I watched it for a moment before turning back to Felix, who took my wrist in his hand again and pulled me forward.

I followed his stride, still not completely focused on him, but his beautiful home as he opened the main castle doors. The foyer was so huge it nearly took my breath from my lungs, as dark and dusty as it was. There was a carpet leading to the grand staircase, accompanying the matching patterned drapes in the grand windows, all a deep, royal shade of purple. Photos lined the walls, an older couple and their children, Felix obviously being one of them. There was a fireplace on either side of the staircase, each accompanied by a bookcase, a loveseat, and a coffee table. I followed Felix up the stairs in awe of the room around me, eyeing the decor and running my hand along the mahogany wood railing.

I could feel Felix’s eyes on me, but it was at the bottom of my priority list as we reached the top of the steps and I could really see the artwork on the ceiling. There were… angels in the sky, the setting sun turning the clouds vibrant pinks and purples. Felix stopped so I could continue admiring his foyer, eyes wide with wonder. His never left my face, studying my cheeks, nose, and mouth. I pretended not to notice the way the corners of his lips turned slightly upward, before straightening again into a tight scowl, his eyebrows crinkling as he turned away. Once again, we walked. He led me down a short hallway and through a door decorated mostly in pastel blues and greens, a large bed in the center and a door to one of the many balconies. The curtains swayed in the wind and the rain and thunder could be heard outside.

“This is where you’ll sleep,” He said, letting go of my hand so I could wander. I trailed the walls of the room, looking at the vanity he had all set up, the pictures beautifully painted in blue hues on the walls, in golden frames. The wainscotting was all in gold as well, giving the room an… elegant, regal feel. To say I felt like royalty was an understatement.

Felix followed me in, watching me closely and sitting in one of the chairs on the wall opposite the bed, which boasted a fireplace and a tea table. As he did so, another man walked in, about his age, with a blond buzz cut. He had a short, adorable nose and thick lips. He started to set some supplies down on the table, it looked like bandages and gauze, tinctures to help prevent infection in his wounds. He looked up at me and smiled.

“I didn't know anyone lived here with you,” I wondered, walking up to the man and shaking his hand. He didn't speak.

“My name is (Y/N).”

Still, silent, the man bowed. I looked at Felix in confusion.

“The help can’t speak,” He sighed, avoiding my eyes as he took his shirt off and handed it to the man who had brought the supplies, “His name is Hyunjin.”

“Oh,” I pondered for a moment as I desperately tried to keep my focus on his arm instead of his now-bare chest, my face bursting with pink hue. It must be the curse I had read about. Maybe this place was affected by a witch.

“Thank you, Hyunjin.” I smiled kindly, and as I walked to the table, he stopped me, hands at my shoulders, and looked deeply into my eyes, nodding, as if to ask if I was alright. This man was so… kind. I couldn't help the warmth on my cheeks as I nodded, and he returned it as he let me go, giving Felix a nod and a bow before leaving the room.

I sat across from Felix with the supplies and began to work, short hisses and groans left Felix’s mouth as I did so. It was deeper than it looked, but the blood had stopped, for now. I wiped as much of the dried blood and dirt away from the claw marks as possible, trying to hold his arm still as I worked. Of course, however, he was making it difficult. He seemed to have a knack for making things difficult.

“Stop squirming.” I scolded.

“Stop hurting me.” He scoffed.

“If you don't stop moving I won't help you. How’s that?”

“If you don't help me, I’m locking you in here. How’s that?”

We stared at each other for a moment, eyes locked and squinted at each other as we glared. His glare was… unthreatening, for the first time today. I sighed and continued my work, finishing up the last of the bandages. I shot him one last piercing glance, cleaning up the bloodied gauze and stitches from the table and was about to get up when Hyunjin appeared again, taking the supplies from me with a smile and leaving.

“Lets go over some rules,” Felix started, taking the new shirt Hyunjin had grabbed for him off the table and pulling it over his head.

“More rules?” I complained, not meeting his eye. He glared, but continued.

“You are not to step foot in the West Wing of the castle. It is absolutely forbidden, under any and all circumstances. Understand?”

“I… suppose so, whats-”

“It's none of your business. Just… promise me you'll listen.”

I could see the sincerity swirling around his eyes, he seemed almost… desperate. I nodded, and he relaxed and continued.

“Do not leave this room after midnight. Under ANY circumstances. You’ll be safe in here, but…” He looked towards the door, and then back at me, “... I can't guarantee anything between midnight and sunrise.”

“O…kay…” I stuttered, “Anything else?”

He was silent, observing my face quietly before standing, walking toward the open door and holding the doorknob to close it, but Hyunjin stepped in front of him. The two shared a silent argument, Hyunjin’s eyebrows raised as he pointed at me from the hallway, and Felix sighed, head turning over his shoulder.

“You’ll dine with me each evening. Tonight is no exception. Hyunjin will come grab you when the food is ready.”

With that, he left, slamming the door behind him. As the silence filled the space around me, as did the gravity of the situation, I collapsed to the ground and wept into folded knees. I was taught to fear him. I was taught that entering the woods alone would surely result in my death, at the hands of a faceless monster. Yet, here I was, unable to keep myself from feeling… bad. Guilty. He was just a man, as far as I knew. How long had he been trapped here, his only company being people that couldn't speak to him, all alone? At that moment I wished he was a beast. A big, ugly, hairy monster with teeth the size of my hands. He’d be easier to kill that way, easier to make my escape, and I wouldn't feel so horrible for him.

Dinnertime came quickly, a quiet knock on the door interrupting my thoughts. I hurriedly wiped my tears, opening the door to see a smiling Hyunjin behind it. I tried to return the smile as he took my hand, leading me to the large dresser on one of the walls and throwing it open. In it were clothes finer than just about anything I had in my closet back home. He took out a few pieces, mostly dark in color, all made of fine fabrics that even looked expensive. He looked concentrated as he held them to my face one by one, in the end handing me the one he thought would look best and smiling, about to leave the room again before he noticed the redness in my cheeks, the puffiness in my eyes. His expression quickly changed to worry as he held one of my cheeks, examining my eyes.

“I'm okay… I'm homesick already.”

He made a sympathetic face, his other hand coming up to my face as well and holding it gently. I smiled at him, sniffling and taking a breath. He gave my cheek a light pat, and left the room so I could dress up for dinner. As I changed, I thought of Hyunjin. Who was he before? Before the curse affected him, before he lost his speech? Was he always “help”, or was he a prince just like Felix? Did he live here, or was he taken, like me? I sighed to myself as I straightened out my hair in the mirror, brushing the wrinkles off of my new outfit, and heading out the door. Hyunjin’s jaw dropped as I came into view, his hand coming to his chest as he eyed my new look, circling me and then giving me an excited thumbs up. I couldn't help but smile back at him as he offered me his arm, and we headed down the stairs.

Felix waited at the bottom, also dressed in more… regal looking clothes. A blue suit coat with tails, a white frilly shirt underneath and black pants. His hair was slicked back, but still down, a few stubborn strands hanging in his face. I couldn't help but stare as he fumbled nervously with the rings on his hands, not meeting my eyes. He was handsome, alright. Hyunjin noticed my staring and nudged my side teasingly, giving me a smile. I smacked him gently and smiled back.

Once Felix finally noticed us coming down the steps, he seemed to stop as well, staring me up and down in my new clothes. I watched his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed hard, evidently getting more nervous.

“How do I look? Hyunjin, here, has an eye for this kind of thing.” I looked up at the darker haired man who smiled, rolling his eyes and flapping his hand as if to say, “Its nothing,”

“You look… fine. Let's just eat,” Felix cleared his throat, and Hyunjin almost passed me to him, letting my arm wrap around Felix’s. Hyunjin stopped me and flashed me thumbs up, eyebrows raised as if it were a question. I nodded, and Hyujin returned it and walked away.

“You and Hyunjin seem to be becoming fast friends,” Felix commented, obviously still nervous, “Are you… settling in okay?”

“Felix… you don't have to do that, you know.”

He scoffed, “Do what, exactly?”

“... Pretend like you want to talk to me.”

He was silent the rest of the walk to the dining hall, a grand feast being all set up on the table. Another man with a square jawline and sharp cupid's bow was finishing up setting the table, smiling at us as we walked in. I thanked whatever deity that could hear me that the table wasn't one of those awfully long, royal dining tables with two seats miles apart. How awkward.

The man pulled out a chair for me and I smiled, nodding and giving him a quiet, “Thank you.”

“That's Jeongin.”

The man in question smiled and took my hand, kissing my knuckles gently. I giggled a little, “It's very nice to meet you, Jeongin.”

Once the candles were lit and Jeongin had left, hopefully to go eat his own meal for the evening, we ate quietly. The air was less tense now, the silence between the two of us not as awkward or formal as it had been. I observed him quietly as I ate, noticing the freckles that littered his cheeks like stars and his wide eyes, his irises, dark brown pearls that sparkled in the light of the candles and the rising moon.

“Who said I didn't want to?”

I froze, “I'm.. I'm sorry, I don't quite understand what you mean.”

“I… I never said I didn't want to talk to you, or that I was ‘pretending’ to want to talk to you.” He didn't meet my eyes as he spoke, just picking at his plate nervously, “I… I think we should… at least get to know each other a little, if you're going to be stuck in my castle.”

Somehow, someway, it occurred to me then and only then… it wasn't that he didn't want to talk to me, it was that… he didn't know how. When was the last time he had talked to anyone that could respond to him? When was the last time he met someone who didn't immediately cower at the sight of him? A small smile crossed my cheeks, and as I let out a breathy chuckle I watched his cheeks and ears turn pink.

“I would like that, Felix.”

“I'm… I'm sorry I called your name dumb.”

I couldn't help but laugh a little as I went back to my meal. From there, the conversation flowed a bit more easily. There were a few awkward bumps, I learned my boundaries of discussion with the lost prince fairly quickly. At the end of our meal, he even walked me to my bedroom, giving me a small smile and a bow.

“Goodnight, (Y/N).”

“Goodnight, Felix.” My voice came out wobbly, a lot breathier than I meant it to. His smirk told me he noticed as he turned and walked down the stairs towards the West Wing of the castle. I entered my bedroom and was almost immediately disturbed by a knock on the door. I opened it to find Hyunjin and Jeongin, both smiling expectantly. I rolled my eyes and let them in, Jeongin placing a tea set down and pouring a cup while Hyunjin set up a privacy screen and grabbed a night gown from the dresser, slinging it over the screen. I nodded in thanks, but before I could disappear behind the screen, Hyunjin grabbed my arm, motioning to his lips, to him and Jeongin, and then imitating eating with a fork. ‘Tell us about dinner,’ his actions beckoned.

“... You want to know how dinner was? It was… It was nice,” I said with a smile, disappearing behind the shade as I heard a sigh, and came around the corner just in time to see them shaking their heads in disappointment.

“What?! I have nothing else to say,” I giggled, “If I didn't know any better, I would think you were trying to set me up with your boss.”

Hyunjin feigned hurt, his hand lightly brushing his chest as his jaw dropped, Jeongin behind him looking around and pretending not to hear me. I couldn't help but giggle at their antics as Hyunjin looked at Jeongin and pointed at him, who shook his head and pointed in return. They both looked back at me and shrugged, and I rolled my eyes, sitting in one of the chairs by the fireplace as Jeongin lit it for me.

“Yeah, well, you have to get him to like me first. We can talk when he promotes me from prisoner to house guest, how’s that?” We shared silent laughter, the two boys putting their hands up in defeat. Jeongin got up to leave, and before Hyunjin followed him out the door he took my hand and gave it a squeeze. I returned it, smiling up at him. As they left, the sound of the door shutting echoing through the room, I sighed and stared into the fire. There were worse places to be.

Over the next couple of days, sleep came surprisingly easy, especially in such a comfortable bed. Other than dinner, Felix mostly left me alone; whether it was to let me adjust, or because he didn't want to see me, I wasn't terribly concerned which. Both days Hyunjin entered my room shortly after sunrise to wake me, Jeongin following behind with a tea tray. They picked out an outfit for me together and left me to change. I spent this alone time going through the books in the case by the fireplace, flying through title after title.

The third day started as normal, however once I was changed, Hyunjin came back into my room, offering his arm with a smile. I raised an eyebrow at him, but he just winked at me and gave me a nudge. Although cautious still, I couldn't help but trust him. Maybe it was his kind smile… or maybe, his gentle eyes. Either way I hooked my arm around his, and just like my first evening, he led me down the stairs to meet Felix in the foyer. He was dressed in a frilly white shirt with a low neckline, sleeves rolled up, and black pants, raven-colored hair half up in a bun while the rest fell at his shoulders. Save for the hair, he looked just like he did when I met him, just less bloody.

“Good morning.” He said curtly, “I… I know I've told you where you can't go… but I wanted to show you some places you can. If… you want me to.”

He offered his arm without looking at me. I couldn't help but smirk to myself a little as I took it. He showed me the main sitting room, the sunroom on the roof, and a washroom with a huge clawfoot tub. I nearly salivated at the thought of taking nice, warm baths in that thing.

“It's… a bathtub,” Felix sounded genuinely confused, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s a huge bathtub,” I moved further into the washroom to inspect it. Felix followed behind me, a single eyebrow raised as he watched me.

“Free meals, the finest clothes in a continent, a whole castle, and you’re this excited about… a bathtub,” He teased.

“Can we stop saying it? It’s starting to sound like a fake word.”

“What? Bathtub?”

“… I hate you.”

“I’m sure.”

Something felt different as I took his arm again. He wasn’t scowling, or avoiding my eyes, or insulting me. His expression wasn’t hateful, or malicious, or irritated. Time stopped for a moment as our eyes met again, faces close together now as our arms linked. There was something pretty about him. Maybe it was his plump, pink lips, or the curve of his nose. The way his smile, as rare as it was, made his eyes crinkle nearly shut, or the way his Adam's apple bobbed when he laughed. He cleared his throat, and I realized just how long I had been staring at his mouth, quickly averting my eyes to the floor as we continued on.

The castle library was huge, wall to wall to wall lined with thousands of books. I was in such awe at the sheer amount that he actually chuckled at me, once again teasing me with a smile.

“Bathtubs, and books. You’re a very simple person to please.”

“I’ll be the happiest prisoner you’ve ever had with access to all these books,” I picked a random title off of one of the shelves and read the description on the back.

“A whole castle, and they’re going to spend most of their time in a tub or a library,” Felix mumbled quietly, voice almost so low I couldn’t hear it. I squinted at him.

“Better in here than in your hair, right?” I reached for his arm on instinct, he gladly obliged.

“You have a point.”

I told him I was going to spend the day in the sunroom on top of the castle, having grabbed a couple books as we left the library. He disappeared, only for a moment before I heard the door open and close again, Felix joining me on the sofa. It was a sunny day, the snow and rain finally slowing and the clouds parting. How I loved sunny spring days. Even more so spent with a good book.

I was disturbed from my book by a hand nudging my own. Felix’s face was still buried in his book, his cheeks red, as he tried to ignore the fact that his fingers were ever so gently brushing my knuckles. I let my own wander along his rings, up and down his hands. They were softer than I thought they’d be. Eventually his index finger hooked itself around my own, loosely at first, then tightening once I didn't pull away. I couldn't help but smile a little, leaning my face forward to feel the sun on my cheeks. It was… the most pleasant I had felt in days. Felix’s face even relaxed a little and his eyes stopped scanning the same line, finally able to focus.

We ate dinner together like usual, the conversation about the respective books we were reading flowing like water, almost effortless, as if we had known each other forever. As we laughed, and I got a good look at his smile, my heart seemed to flutter in my chest. His laugh reverberated through the air, and I couldn't help but pause, and just… listen. Of course once he realized, he got shy. He cleared his throat and cast his gaze downward. We walked around the palace again after we ate, neither of us really wanting to part from each other for bed just yet. Eventually, however, we meandered our way to my bedroom.

“Thank you… for today, I mean,” I nervously played with my knuckles as I spoke, unable to meet Felix’s eyes, “It… it meant a lot to me, makes me feel a lot less like a prisoner, you know?”

Felix’s only response was to lean downward and kiss me on the cheek. The motion made my whole body pause, my cheeks burned as the scent of his cologne assaulted my senses, a sharp, citrusy foreground and a hint of sweetness in the background. I looked up at him, my eyes meeting his in an instant. Both our cheeks burned a bright red, and he cleared his throat again before giving me a nod.

“Goodnight, (Y/N).” His voice was destructively soft, my knees going weak at the sound.

“Goodnight Felix,” I reached up to give his arm a gentle squeeze, debating going in for a hug… and then deciding against it. Once I got into my room and shut the door, I desperately tried to slow my breathing, cupping my own cheeks trying to cool them down. All of this drama for a man I just met. How irritating.

Hyunjin and Jeongin came in shortly afterwards. I'm not sure why I tried to hide my embarrassment from Hyunjin, he could read me like a book. He noticed how flustered I was almost immediately and grabbed my shoulders, raising an eyebrow at me. Jeongin was at his side shortly after.

“What?”

He raised his other eyebrow.

“Alright, alright… he might’ve… kissed me.”

Hyunjin’s face dropped, his breathing going shallow and then… a strangled noise came out of his mouth. He touches his throat, swallowing, and then trying to speak again. As he tried, and tried again, his eyes lost more and more hope.

“What… hey, what's wrong? Are you okay?” I grabbed his arms, gently rubbing circles with my thumbs. He pointed to his cheek… and then his lips. My fingers came up to touch my cheek, and he sighed, his face falling. The dots finally connected themselves in my head then.

“Hyunjin,” I hooked my finger under his chin, forcing him to look at me, “I need to know exactly what's going on here. I want to help you… all three of you.”

Hyunjin sighed, Jeongin coming up behind him and grabbing his shoulder, furiously shaking his head, ‘no.’

“Why not? If you guys want to get your voices back, I need to know how I can help.” I pleaded, Hyunjin sighed and separated himself from me, beginning to clean up the tea set, the old clothes, and my paper and quill, leaving me the cup of tea to drink before bed, and following Jeongin out. He gave me a sad smile as they left in a hurry, slamming the door behind them. I stood in the center of my room, bewildered. I sighed, sitting down in my chair by the fireplace, picking up the book I had started and opening it to my bookmarked page to begin reading before bed when a paper fell out.

(Y/N),

You were right. You deserve to know the truth. Follow the hallway to the West Wing that Felix takes every night once the clocks strike midnight. I’ll meet you there, and I’ll show you everything you need to know. Please don't tell Jeongin.

If I may, I'm begging you not to leave after you see this. Please have faith in us.

Hyunjin

As midnight struck and the grandfather clocks could be heard harmonizing all through the castle, I opened my bedroom door, having re-dressed myself in some of the more simple clothes in the wardrobe. I gently walked through the castle halls, following the same route Felix did every evening after he walked me to my bedroom. I came across the door to the West Wing of the castle after turning a corner, and my heart dropped to my stomach. Covered in claw marks, a large metal door with a padlock stood before me. I turned away, looking to find a different way in, but ran into a sturdy chest instead.

Hyunjin caught my arms, a somber look on his face. He sighed, turning me around to face the door again before taking a key out of his pocket. He took a deep breath, undoing the padlock and putting it into his pocket. He gave me a look, sad, and scared, almost asking if I was sure I wanted to do this. I nodded, taking a deep breath of my own and trying to steady my heart.

The door creaked open, revealing a corridor that didn't look quite… done yet. The wallpaper was coming off the walls and the carpets were torn in some places, the wooden floors damaged and unfinished in some spots. Thunder rumbled in the distance as I heard the door creak shut, Hyunjin closing it and taking my arm as he had so many times since I got here. I clutched onto his forearm tightly, taking slow and tentative steps down the corridor. Once we reached a certain point in the hallway, Hyunjin tapped my arm and nodded to the paintings on the walls.

There was one of a man, who looked just like Felix, sitting atop a pile of gold. A witch, old and grimey, in a black robe with a pointy hat. Felix and the witch having an argument, the witch placing a spell on the castle. A single red rose, a petal falling slowly to the ground, as a big, brown beast loomed in the background. The last was of Felix, lying on the ground, the rose dead and wilted.

My lungs entirely emptied themselves of air as if I had been punched, my eyes burning with tears. Hyunjin noticed this immediately, tugging me across the hall to the next painting. It was… Felix, and another person. They were holding each other, the rose fully intact. The cogs in my brain spun as I looked at Hyunjin.

“If Felix doesn't get someone to fall in love with him before the petals fall off of the rose… he’ll die,” I whispered, “...But if he does fall in love and it’s requited… he gets to live?”

Hyunjin nodded, then pointed to his throat.

“... And you'll get to speak again?”

Another nod, more enthusiastic this time. I sighed, dread settling into my chest. Hyunjin led me through the hallway, opening the door to what, at first, looked like a storage area. However the further we got, the more visible a dim, red glow became. Hyunjin let go of my arm as I followed the light, and once I moved the boxes and other junk, there it was.

The rose. Sitting under a glass case, one petal left. Tears came to my eyes again. One. He had one chance left… before… that was it. I backed away slowly, my breath coming in short, rapid pulls as I clutched at my chest. The room seemed to cave in around me as I moved backwards, Hyunjin catching me and pulling me into his arms, leading me out of the room. He shut the door behind him, pulling me arms length away and looking into my eyes, nodding the usual question.

Are you okay?

I nodded, wiping my tears. Hyunjin took a deep breath, prompting me with a wave of his hands to do the same, and we continued down the hallway. The further we got down the hallway, the louder this... banging had become. It was shaking the walls, Hyunjin was becoming increasingly nervous as we ventured on. As we turned the corner we came across another metal door, this one in even worse shape than the last. Whatever was behind it pounded on it and bellowed.

“Stupid… (Y/N)… stupid… witch…”

“No…” I whispered, “Tell me that isn't…”

Hyunjin’s eyes took their turn filling to the brim with tears as he nodded. His eyes did not meet mine, trained on the door as a tear fell down his cheek. I took a deep inhale, turning to the door and placing a hand on it, then, before Hyunjin could stop me, opening it slowly. It creaked, causing the large, brown-furred, bear-looking monster in front of me to pause. He turned to face me, a snarl ever-present on his face, his large, sharp teeth glinting in the moonlight. His eyes were a cloudy grey, I almost wondered if he could see me at all. I was clued into the fact that he could as he threw a chair at the door, letting out the loudest roar I had ever heard.

“Get… OUT!”

I shut the door just in time for the chair to hit it, smashing into pieces on impact. Another roar could be heard, and then bounding footsteps away from the door. I leaned my back against it, facing Hyunjin, who wasn't doing much better than I was. His cheeks were puffy, eyes rimmed red and brimming with tears. I nearly slid down the door, but Hyunjin caught me, taking me by the shoulders with a sniffle and leading me away from the door, from the West Wing, away from Felix. As we stopped in front of my bedroom, he pulled me into a tight hug, burying his head in my shoulders.

“You really care about him… don't you?”

Hyunjin nodded, not meeting my gaze. I sighed.

“Me too.”

I didn't sleep well that night. Hyunjin came to wake me after what felt like minutes, pulling open the blinds and gently shaking my shoulder. Jeongin poured me a cup of tea, same as every morning, except this time with a glare at Hyunjin. The air felt heavy around us as we got ready for our day, same as we had been, just a lot… quieter. Hyunjin tried to take the tray from Jeongin, however Jeongin swiped it away and shot him a pointed glance. Once dressed, I looked at Hyunjin sternly.

“Take me to him.”

Jeongin stepped in, touching Hyunjin’s shoulder with a shake of his head, but I stopped him, “Don't. I need to speak with him. Take. Me. To him.”

Jeongin’s grip tightened on Hyunjin’s shoulder, who shook it off and returned his glare from earlier. The two stayed like this for a while before Jeongin finally sighed, stomping out of the room. Hyunjin offered his arm to me then, refusing to meet my eyes. I desperately hoped this would go smoother than it was shaping out to as Hyunjin brought me to the sunroom. Felix stood with his face to the sky, enjoying the sun across his cheeks. A pit formed in my stomach as I looked at him. Both of nerves, and of…despair. He was beautiful. He was the sunshine itself. My heart rate rose and heat fanned across my cheeks as I looked at him, a realization I had prayed I would never come to hit me like a sack of bricks. In that moment, watching the peace dance across his face in the form of sunbeams and shadows, I knew.

I did not know if it would be enough to break the curse, but I knew.

“What did I tell you?” He asked quietly. I swallowed hard.

“Not to go into the West Wing.”

“And what did you do?”

“Felix, I-”

“What. Did. You. Do?”

“... I disobeyed you.”

“You disobeyed me. Do you even realize how hurt you could have gotten had I not realized it was you in there?” Felix closed in on me as his voice rose in volume. I tried to stand my ground.

“I… I deserve to know what’s going on, Felix, maybe I can help, I-”

“You have no idea what I am up against here. Absolutely none.” His eyes flickered between my own, our faces so close our noses almost touched. The proximity made me dizzy as he glared into my eyes.

“I would if you would talk to me. I want to help you, I… I care ab-” He turned away, cutting off my sentence.

“You do not. Don't lie to me like that.”

“I'm not lying, you idiot, don't tell me how I feel.”

“Go away.”

“No, Felix, please…”

He spun around to meet my eyes as he glared daggers as sharp as his voice, speaking through gritted teeth, “I said. Go. Away.”

I opened my mouth to argue, and shut it again. There was nothing I could say that would make him listen. I sighed, turning on my heels and walking out the door and down the steps to the main floor, my shoes clicking as I walked. I slammed my door shut once I reached my room, collapsing against it and into tears. What the hell had I gotten myself into? Regret swirled around in my head and my stomach as I crossed my arms over my bent knees, clutching at my elbows as I wept. I wished I had never gone into the woods that day. I wished I had never met him. At least then, I wouldn't know the pain of pining over someone who was just lonely. Minutes, or maybe hours, passed, and as my sobs began to slow and my breath stilled, a knock on the door shook me from my shaken stupor.

The sun was just beginning to set, beams of purple and pink streaking through my bedroom windows. I sighed, getting up from my spot on the floor and opening the door, then walking to my desk, figuring it was just Hyunjin and Jeongin. However, when the room wasn't filled with the sounds of the two puttering around, I paused, looking towards the door. There stood Felix, eyes looking everywhere but me as he played with the rings on his fingers.

“You can come in, I don't bite,” My tone sharpened as the last word left my mouth, and I regretted it instantly.

He stepped over the threshold slowly, eyes finally meeting my own. They were rimmed red, his eyes glazed and bloodshot while his lids were puffy. I stood immediately, rushing to him and placing my hands on his shoulders. He flinched at my touch, but didn't shy away from it.

“What's wrong, Felix?”

“I… I think it's best if you go.”

“...What?” His lips wobbled as he tried to regain his composure.

“I said,” He shook my arms off of him, steeling his gaze, even though his eyes were still teary, “Go. I have no use for you anymore. Get the hell out of my castle.”

My heart lurched as he turned and started to walk away, my words bubbling up and out of my mouth in sheer and utter panic, “I know about the rose.”

He stopped, his shoulders tensing. I tried to still my shaking hands as I continued, “I found it… when I found you. I… I want to help you, Felix, you just have to let me, I-”

“Stop pretending you know anything about me,” He growled as he grabbed me by my shoulders, shaking me as he spoke, “I've known you a week. You know absolutely nothing about the curse I bear.”

“This doesn't have to be so complicated, Felix, just talk to me,” I pleaded, my voice coming out in broken sobs. Tears filled his eyes as he pushed me forcefully out of the bedroom, taking a shaky breath before screaming.

“Just go!”

Adrenaline took over, and I took off running as fast as I could. I tore through the halls, trying to block out Felix’s angry sobs, but they echoed in my head as they turned into screams that could be heard throughout the halls. My heavy breathing turned into cries of anguish and agony as I rounded the corner to the foyer. Hyunjin was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, arms open, and I ran into them, burying my face in his chest as he led me outside and onto a carriage. Thunder rumbled, and rain began to fall. I watched it dribble down the carriage window and thought about Felix. Would he remember me? Would he be conscious somewhere inside that monster for the rest of his life?

Hyunjin put a hand on mine, a sad smile crossing his cheeks as tears welled up in his eyes as well. I took his hand in my own, running my fingers over his knuckles and desperately trying to ground myself, to come back to the moment. I would see my brother again, at least. I would be home, all that was left to do would be to try and forget Felix existed. I knew it would take me my whole life to do so, but tried desperately to hold onto hope as the carriage continued into the woods.

The moon was well into the sky, Felix had to be far gone by now, and I worried about the rose. The last petal… hanging on by a thread. It was almost too much to bear. The carriage came to an abrupt halt, Hyunjin jolting awake at the rumbling and the sound of yelling. I looked out the window carefully shielding the rose from sight. It looked like people from my village, but it wasn't until my brother spoke that it solidified in my brain.

“This is from the palace alright, be careful, It could be-”

I panicked, hopping out of the carriage and facing him. His face immediately flooded with relief as he rushed to me, picking me up in his arms.

“Thank God… you're alright.”

“Of course I am, let's just go home,” I couldn't bear to sound happy to see him. I was exhausted, my eyes having shed every tear they were physically capable.

“Absolutely not. I told him I would kill him, and I'm going to make good on my word.”

I separated myself from him abruptly, a stern look in my eyes, “(B/n)… Felix isn't who the legends say he is, he isn't a monster. The reason these woods are dangerous is the wolves, or… something, he-”

My brother scoffed as he interrupted, “Don't… don't tell me you're sticking up for that monster? He kidnapped you!”

“He saved me from wolves, we were on his land! The only reason I left was because… well, I did something I wasn’t supposed to and we fought… but he needs help, (b/n), please listen to me,” I pleaded, my brother walking towards the carriage, towards Hyunjin.

“You. What are you, her guard? Making sure she gets back to her prison before morning?!”

I grabbed his arm, trying to get him away from Hyunjin as best I could, “Leave him alone, he hasn't done anything wrong!”

“Bullshit, he’s an accomplice, and I'm going to try him as such when we get him back to the village.” The bigger man shook me off his arm, sending me tumbling to the ground. Hyunjin fell to the back of the carriage, kicking at my brother and desperately trying to get him out of the carriage. I was up on my feet at the same time he finally managed to kick my brother away from him. As I stood I ran and slapped the horse drawing the carriage.

“Run! Hyunjin, protect Felix!”

“What the hell are you thinking?!” My brother exclaimed as he stood, shaking the snow off of him. I watched as the carriage rushed away, the village people getting back onto their horses to chase after it. My brother grabbed my wrist, cuffing it to one end of a chain and locking the other end to a tree.

“What are you doing?”

“I don't know what he’s done to you, or what’s come over you, but I swear I'll find and kill him!” He spoke with such a vengeance it sent shivers down my spine. I tugged at the chain hard, trying desperately to get myself loose.

“Unchain me, now, don't you touch him!”

He ignored me, stomping towards his horse and hopping into the saddle. He tossed me a small sword out of a hilt on his saddle, and was gone just as quick as he arrived, putting the helmet on as he disappeared from view.

“Get back here!”

My breath came in short jolts as my heartbeat echoed in my ears, my head felt like the blood had been drained from it and I felt woozy. I tried to still my breathing, anything to think of a plan. The trees seemed to swirl, move, vibrate around me, and I closed my eyes, holding my head in my hands. My own breathing was beginning to deafen me, I had to get out of this, I had to get to Felix before (B/N) did. If I didn't… if I lost him… the thought tore a sob from my throat as I tugged harder on the chains at my wrist. The sound of hooves rushing toward me blended in with the sound of my panicked breathing as I looked around the woods, and it wasn't until nimble fingers picked the lock on the chain and it fell to the ground that I spun around, meeting eyes with Hyunjin once again.

“Hyunjin…” I rushed him, wrapping my arms around his shoulders quickly, “We need to go, Felix is in danger!”

Hyunjin hopped onto the horse that had been towing the carriage, my assumption that it had been forgotten in the woods, along with the animated armor that controlled it, and reached for my hand. I jumped as high as I could, Hyunjin doing the rest of the heavy lifting and pulling me up to sit in front of him on the saddle and prompting the horse to run.

Once we reached the castle we could already hear yelling from inside. Hyunjin helped me to the ground, and as soon as my feet hit the cobblestone I tore up the stairs, sprinting as fast as they would carry me. The sky was beginning to lighten, in just a few minutes Felix would be a man again, we could talk about this. I just needed to reach him. I just needed to reach him. I ran through the castle, headed towards the West Wing, only to be interrupted by a roar from the attic’s trap door entrance.

I jumped and pulled the string to the door, the steps shooting out with a loud crash. I hurried up, stumbling a little, and rushing through the attic doors to the sunroom, seeing a large hole in the glass covered in blood. I panicked, rushing onto the roof so fast I almost collided with the Beast’s brown fur. I spun around him just in time to grab my brother’s hand as he nearly plummeted a sword directly into the Beast's head.

“Stop!!”

The world stood still as my brother… The one who had raised me… stared at me in disbelief. I wrestled the sword from him and turned it to point at him as the beast behind me groaned and bellowed.

“Don't… touch him…” I said between gasps of air, my lungs on fire from the running, “Don't… even think about it.”

“What the hell are you doing, (Y/N)?”

“I'm returning the favor he did me when I met him,” I spat, “Would you just give me a second to explain, (b/n), please.”

“Oh, you mean, when he met and kidnapped you? Look at him now, (Y/N), don’t you realize how much danger you’re in?”

I didn’t respond, holding my ground, near white-knuckling the hilt of the sword. (B/N) slowly stepped forward, causing Felix to snarl behind me, “If you think I’m going to just leave you with the man who took you away from me, especially when he turns into this… you’re insane. Now move.”

“Never.”

“(Y/N)-”

“If you want to kill him, you'll have to kill me too.”

His jaw clenched, teeth grinding against each other as he seemingly weighed his options before lowering his hands, “This had better be good, (Y/N).”

I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding and turned, tossing the sword to the side, my eyes closed as I faced Felix. As they opened, the sight could have killed me right then and there. He was badly injured, bleeding from his head, and a large cut on his chest, as well as abrasions on his arm where he had obviously crashed through the glass to the sunroom. A sob left my lips.

“What did they do to you…?”

I approached slowly, hand outstretched. The beast before me quivered, snarling quietly, and then seeming to calm down. I heard footsteps bounding up the stairs, Hyunjin now holding the rose and Jeongin desperately trying to keep his tears in.

“Just wait for the sun to rise… Once it hits him, it'll all make sense, trust me.”

The beast moved slowly. I, even slower, until my hand rested on his forehead. He leaned into my touch, as if, even for just a moment, he remembered it. As if he remembered what it was like to be loved, to be known. As if he was looking through Felix’s eyes and remembered… me, who showed him kindness. Me, who patched him up after he was rude to me. Me, who took the time to dine with him and asked him questions about himself. Me, who let him let his walls down.

The sun’s bright, blinding rays finally peeked over the mountains. The last petal wobbled on its stem, about to fall. As the sun's warmth touched our faces, all of the air in my lungs released itself through my mouth. Felix hadn't changed, my hand still resting on brown fur as tears gathered in my eyes.

“No, he’s-” I whimpered, “He’s supposed to be human, it's sunrise, he…”

I turned to Hyunjin, who held the rose up. The very last petal was fluttering now, about to fall. I couldn't help but get closer, at least if he killed me I would die knowing no world without Felix. I would know no palace walls empty of his pictures, I would know no forest I met him in, nor brother who killed him. I might know peace. I took a breath and tried to get the words out before that last petal could hit the bottom of the case.

“I love you, even if you kill me here. I love you if you’re never human again. I love you if the sun doesn't come up tomorrow. I love you. I love you. I love you.”

I sobbed as I wrapped both arms around the hulking, furry shoulders of the beast before me, not bothering to hold back for the sake of my dignity, or for the sake of Felix, who I wasn't totally sure was in there. I sobbed uncontrollably as the beast went silent, the sun still steadily rising in the sky. Hyunjin and Jeongin wept from behind me as well, my brother’s sword clanking to the ground. I prepared myself for claws, for Felix to disappear and for the beast to bring me peace. But… like in the woods, the teeth never came. The snarling stopped, and suddenly the shoulders I had been leaning on disappeared. I nearly fell forward, steadying myself quickly and trying to see through the bright, white light that had replaced the hulking fur and muscle before me.

I stepped backwards slightly, trying to shield my eyes from the light as I watched it get smaller… and smaller. Panic set in, and then, indescribable relief as the light dissipated, and there floated Felix, his hair messy and his clothes tattered and bloodstained, the abrasions on his arm and cuts through his chest still present, luckily not as prominent as they were on the beast. He didn’t move as he hit the ground, his face resting as if he were just sleeping. It would be a beautiful sight were he not also covered in blood.

“Felix…” I gasped, falling to my knees in a hurry and cupping one of his cheeks in my hand, “Felix… Can you hear me?”

Nothing. I rested my head on his chest, trying to listen for a heartbeat but my own was so loud in my ears it was hard to focus on anything else. I sobbed, gathering his lifeless body into my lap and hugging his face as close to my chest as I could, rocking back and forth. At this moment, I couldn't stop myself from going right back to hating him. I hated him for showing me kindness even though I was his prisoner, for not killing me for trespassing, and for not being the monster I had always assumed he was. I hated him for his adorable stubbornness. I hated him for sharing my love of literature. I hated him for how kind his smile was, when he let it be. I hated him because I would never see the torchlight flickering in his soft brown irises again, I would never get to learn his favorite color, or favorite food.

(B/N) knelt next to me, face twisted in confusion, but also… pity, and concern. I couldn’t look at him, couldn’t hear anything he was saying. Felix’s name fell from my mouth over, and over, and over again as I pressed my face into his hair.

“Please, Felix. Not now, we were so… we were so close, Felix… Please,” I gasped, peppering kisses all over his head as I held him.

“(Y/N)...” I flinched, harshly moving Felix away from him as (B/N) reached out to touch me.

“Don’t. You. Dare,” I snarled, “You did this. I almost had it, I almost… I almost fixed it… and you ruined it! I was so close… we were so… close.”

“(Y/N), he manipulated you, he-”

“He saved me!” My vocal cords strained as I shouted, “He did what he had to to break a curse, he was grumpy, and he was standoffish, but, damn it, he was a good man, (B/N), and you murdered him!”

He was quick to his feet, seemingly about to grab at me, but before he got the chance Hyunjin stormed up to us, Jeongin close behind, grabbing (B/N) by each arm and hoisting him upwards. The two were a lot stronger than they looked. I turned back to the man in my arms as (B/N) struggled against them, yelling something my brain either could not or would not process, as the two boys dragged him away.

“You can’t… you can’t just be… gone,” I whispered as my sobs slowed and I leaned down to press my face against the prince’s, peppering kisses across his cheeks, nose, chin, and forehead, before finally lingering at his lips. It was gentle, unreciprocated, and wet with tears, but God, was it beautiful. In that moment I knew I would die thinking about how his lips felt on my own, regardless of how long from now it would be. I parted from him slowly, staring down at his face and hoping that moment would come sooner rather than later, only to be startled by his flickering eyelids.

“… Felix?”

He stirred, so lightly at first I might have missed it had I not been staring so intently at his face, then sucked in a gasp.

“Ah—“ He hissed, his hand covering the scratches on his chest, his breathing choppy and shallow as he tried to sit up, his eyes frantically searching the roof… until they landed on me. His face relaxed, eyebrows unwrinkled, his mouth fell slack, and tears came to his eyes. His hand came up to touch my face, my shoulders, chest, and arms, as if he needed to let his fingertips wander to believe I was really there.

“You… You came back?”

“Of course I came back, stupid,” I sobbed, pulling him into a hug as I cried into his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around me, hands clutching at the back of my shirt. Being in his arms… hearing his voice, it all just felt so… right. My shoulders relaxed, and I let my eyes slip closed as I enjoyed his touch, his cologne’s scent mixing with the scent of his sweat lulling me into a sense of… safety. Belonging.

I had opened my eyes for just a moment before I caught the glint of metal shining in the morning sun. I pulled Felix into my chest tightly and turned so I was above him, holding my hand out above the both of us. The pain reverberated down my entire arm as the sword hit my hand. It was dull enough that it didn't slice my hand clean off, at least, but still sharp enough that the skin of my palm tore with the impact. My brother stood on the other end of it, eyes wild with fury. Hyunjin and Jeongin lay on the ground behind him, both slowly getting up.

“Don't… touch… them…” My heart swelled at the sound of a voice I had never heard before. Jeongin stood, holding his arm as if he’d injured it, “Don't you dare.”

“(Y/N),” (B/N) all but growled at me, “I'm not going to ask you again. Move.”

“I'm not afraid of you,” My voice did not waver, and I tried not to be distracted by Hyunjin behind him, who had rolled onto his stomach and was now on his knees, holding his own shoe above his head. With a grunt, he tossed it, and it hit (B/N) directly in the back of the head. I kicked at his hands while he was distracted, quickly disarming him, picking up the sword and once again turning his own weapon on him. I swung blindly, desperately trying to put as much space between him and Felix as physically possible, unadulterated fear accompanied my anger in every slash, every step. I had to protect Felix. I had to make sure he was safe.

“(Y/N)!” Felix’s voice was wobbly as he tried to sit up, holding his chest as he spoke, “Hyunjin, stop them!”

“How many times,” I swung again, “... do I have to tell you… I won't let you hurt him!”

Hyunjin rushed me, trying to grab at the sword as best he could, but it was no use. I couldn't see anything anymore, blind rage pulsing through every vein in my body, knuckles white with the grip I had on the sword. I swung, and swung, and swung, getting closer and closer to the edge of the roof. My name bubbled up and out of Felix’s mouth once more as he forced himself onto his feet and stumbled towards me. I couldn't hear him. (B/N) held his hands up as he reached the lip of the flat roof. He tried desperately to keep his footing, but slipped on the wet surface, yelping as he went.

“Hyunjin!!”

The world stood still as a hand gripped my wrist tightly, the only sound being mine and Felix’s heavy breathing and the rain pattering against the cobblestone. Slowly, the stars in my vision dissipated, and I could finally see the scene around me. Hyunjin hanging off the roof, Jeongin rushing to help pull my brother up and onto his feet, my brother’s eyes wide with terror and confusion as he grasped at the fabric of his tunic over his heart, bloody scrapes littering his arms with one on his forehead. Finally, Felix. The look on his face could have killed me. Concern, fear, sadness, all greatly evident in his swirling brown eyes.

“F-Felix…”

“Shhhh…” Felix hushed as I dropped the sword behind me onto the cobblestone of the roof, “Easy, (Y/N)... Everything is alright. I'm alright.”

“What… What's the matter? I thought you’d jump at the chance to see me dead.” My brother spat through ragged breaths as he glared daggers at the raven-haired man beside me. I helped Felix down to the ground, mostly trying to ignore my brother's cold stare as I looked over his injuries.

“I…” Felix sighed dejectedly, his eyes turning downward, anything to avoid my brother’s, “I'm not a bad man, (B/N).”

“You're just grumpy.”

I turned to see Hyunjin, arms crossed as he walked to sit next to Felix. I couldn't help but smile, taking his hand in my own and giving it a squeeze.

“... and picky,” Jeongin added as he sat down next to us.

“... and stubborn,” I couldn't help but add, smirking a little and moving some of Felix’s raven hair out of his face as I continued to clean Felix’s wounds.

“Alright, Alright…” Felix hissed as I touched a particularly deep cut, then sighing again and looking at me, “My point is… I'm not the monster your stories made me out to be. I’ve never tried to be.”

Felix took my cheek in one of his hands then, and I paused. His eyes flickered all around my face; to my cheeks, nose, mouth, and back to my eyes again as he continued, “... I know it didn't seem like it at first, but I would never… ever intentionally hurt (Y/N), or anyone they care about.”

Had I been standing, I would have collapsed at the intensity in his words, in contrast with the gentleness of his touch. My brother sighed, his face twisting in embarrassment, doubt, as he sat down on the roof and let Hyunjin check on him. We recounted and explained everything then. The curse, the boys who lived with Felix, and the intricacies of our situation. I verbally meandered through the last week, answering his questions about it, and although he and Felix were definitely… hesitant… to get to know one another, but I couldn't bring myself to care much. Hyunjin mentioned having tea together, which my brother hastily declined. He used the excuse that the village would come looking for him and he needed to get back, but the look in his eyes told me what I needed to know. I hoped to myself that he would come around eventually as I bid him goodbye, and sent him on his way.

“What. A. Morning. Tea will be ready in ten, let’s… not have it up here.” Hyunjin chuckled as he eyed the bloodied hole in the glass, giving my shoulder a squeeze as he took Jeongin by the shoulder and took him downstairs with him. I turned back to Felix, slinging his arm around my shoulders and helping him up. Once he was stable on his feet, I started to walk him toward the door, but he stepped in front of me, hands cupping both of my cheeks.

“(Y/N).” his voice came out in a near-desperate whisper even though we had been left alone on the roof, his eyes bore intensely into my own. My heart lurched into my throat, and I desperately willed my cheeks to cool under his stare.

“Felix…”

Not one more word was said. Felix pulled my face closer to his own, plump lips pressing against mine. I didn’t have any more hesitation in me, I eagerly returned his movements like my life depended on it, my hands wrapping around his bare waist to rest on his back. As the world faded away around us I couldn’t help but relax into him, sighing against his lips with a whimper.

His breath came in shaky pants as he pressed his lips against my own once, twice more, then pulled away. Our eyes met, our cheeks the color of newly sprouted poppies in the Springtime. He chuckled, and I couldn’t help the giggle that made its way up my throat either. It felt like there was a bubble in my chest that I could only burst by laughing, or screaming, or kissing him again. I chose the former of the three, and I kissed him until my lips hurt. I kissed him until my lungs burned from the lack of air. I kissed him until the scent of him made my knees weak, and my entire body shook. I kissed him until I felt my cheeks would explode. We were a mess by the time we finally pulled away from each other, hot breath fanning across my cheeks that only made him want him more. I held back… for now.

“(Y/N)...” He rested his forehead against my own, “I… I love you.”

“I love you, too,” I said almost immediately, “I love you more than flowers love the sun.”

“Alright, alright,” He chuckled, “Let's get down there.”

The castle was bustling this morning, I could hear it outside the door of the bedroom. I tried to close my eyes, to get a little bit more sleep. Of course, I would have no such luck. I gave up, turning to wrap an arm around the person who was supposed to be next to me, but finding nothing but a large, empty bed. I groaned, and heard a chuckle from the fireplace.

“Over here, my love.”

I yawned as I sat up, throwing my legs over the side of the bed and sleepily stumbling over to where Felix sat, wrapping my arms around his shoulders. He kissed my hand, smiling into his book.

“Couldn't sleep?” I mumbled. Felix let out a sigh, closing his book.

“... You're sure we can't cancel tonight?”

I chuckled, coming around the chair to sit on his lap, putting his book onto the table (Saving his place first, I wasn't a monster), and holding his head to my chest, fingers in his hair.

“No, we can't cancel. It's going to be okay, love. Everyone is going to love you, and besides, if they don't, we’re all the way out here!” I kissed the top of his head, and he chuckled a little at me.

“If you say so,” He said as he separated from my chest, smiling up at me. I craned my neck down and pecked him on the lips, sighing as I stood.

“I don't just say so, I know so,” I shot him a wink as I walked to the closet, taking a good look at all of my clothes and beginning to decide what to wear.

Spring and the first month of Summer had gone by like lightning, and now we were in the middle of July. The cicadas sang outside our bedroom windows, the lamplights of the newly-built path to the village slowly turning off one by one with the rising sun. The brilliant pinks and purples told me it was going to rain later, and I couldn't help but get a little excited about the coming showers. As I danced to myself in the mirror, holding two of my fanciest articles of clothing to my face, three quick bangs on the door interrupted my thoughts, and before I could say, ‘Come in,’ Hyunjin all but burst through the door, a smile on his face.

“Good morning, Felix, and good morning, my sunshine!! Todays the day!” He sang, immediately coming up to me and looking over the options I had chosen for my outfit tonight.

“We know today’s the day, Hyunjin, don't be so loud,” Jeongin smirked and rolled his eyes as he approached Felix, the two having quiet conversations about the Summer ball being held at our castle tonight.

Our castle. I loved the sound of that.

Felix came to give me a final kiss as Jeongin took him to a separate dressing room to get ready. Hyunjin finally picked out some clothes for me and opened the screen, standing on the opposite side from me.

“Are you excited, sunshine?”

“Very. Do you think I'll be able to convince Felix to dance?” I half-joked. Hyunjin sighed.

“I hope so. If anyone can, it's you.”

I came around the screen and Hyunjin gave me an audible gasp, “Drop. Dead. You look absolutely amazing.”

“Thank you so very much,” I smiled, and he opened his arms for a hug, which I happily gave him, “What on earth would I do without you?”

“No, no…” Hyunjin pulled apart from me, holding me arms distance away and giving me quite possibly the kindest, gentlest smile he had given me since I met him, “What would I do without you?”

“Die, probably,” I teased, and he laughed, pulling me in again.

The evening went by without a hitch. My brother even showed, although did avoid Felix, and in turn, me, for the better half of the evening. The people of the village were happy here, dancing and laughing and drinking. Felix was only nervous the first hour or so, eventually relenting to my pleas to dance with a nervous smile. As he spun me around the dance floor, all else around us disappeared, and as I stared into his smiling eyes, I knew this was where I was meant to be. I was meant to be in the woods that day all that time ago. I was meant to be in Felix’s arms, I was meant to be in his castle, and sharing in his life. I was meant to love him, just as he was meant to love me.

I had never been so sure of anything in my entire life.

[creepypasta-meh-dudes]

Slender family hc's (Lore and facts in my Au)

Splendorman:

(facts and little specks of lore)

The oldest of all of the siblings

Raised by his father and mother….they did NOT do a very good job.

He was very tough to grow up with, he could switch up quickly and easily.

He was very manipulative as well, and is still manipulative even now, but has worked on it.

He’s very possessive of his siblings, but most of all Slenderman. When Slenderman met Zalgo, Slender had to hide his friendship because he knew what Splendor’s reaction would be (something terrible that I’ll talk about later)

The reason Splendor was so possessive of Slender was because of how gullible Slenderman was…he’d almost never question anything he was told to do by anyone older than him (this was just the way Slenders were raised to be)

Even though Splendor was pretty messed up, he still did his best to care for his siblings..even though his love was very…tough.

“Rules for thee but not for me” kind of guy…

He was a functional alcoholic. 

The smile and eyes on his face are fully functional. He is also known as an incomplete because he has no way of switching to a completely natural looking Slender or Human. He just stays looking exactly like how he looks now.

…If you haven’t guessed yet, he envies his other brother’s abilities to shift almost completely.

Offenderman:

Second oldest

Believe it or not, he was one of the most reasonable of the older half of the siblings

He was the one who did the most to try and get Splendor to ease up on Slenderman.

For work, Offenderman was a hitman. (This deeply affected his view on humans and the world)

He hated Splendorman’s drinking, but Offenderman fell into that addiction as well as smoking. 

He was doing his very best to provide for the family, and since he was the best at shifting from human to Slender form, he was the one who could work in the human world the best.

Tenderman:

Was the most reasonable of the older half of the brothers.

He was very patient and kind. He sort of took on a motherly role.

He typically took care of cooking, cleaning, and caring for the younger siblings.

Tenderman was the one who took care of Slenderman the most when he was sick. (He still helps him even now during flare ups)

Fun Fact: his favorite season is Winter.

He was the most respectful of boundaries

He didn’t have a very good relationship with Splendorman. He thought Splendorman was too cruel (which he was…)

When it came to making decisions he spoke to Offenderman about these things because he was the other most stable in the home.

Slenderman:

1st of the younger half of siblings

He’s one year older than Trenderman

Started working for Zalgo’s father when he was young

…Got attached to Zalgo

BETRAYAL

Boom, trust issues up the wazoo

Got Slender sickness.

Had to be taken care of for several years. It weakened his limbs as well so he had to use a cane.

Appreciated everything Trenderman did for him while he was sick.

Spent a lot more time with Surrenderman. Helped him learn to read during this time as well.

He also began to realize how much Splendor was manipulating the family, and how Splendor targeted him

He withdrew from Splendorman slowly…

He also got closer with Trenderman after Trenderman began to have trouble with his love life

Trenderman

Oh boy…oh boy oh boy oh boy….

REBELLION

He didn’t care if Splendor got mad, he’d do it anyway,

He snuck out, he snuck people in, he wore what he wanted, and he did what he wanted.

He and Slender DID NOT have a good relationship.

He always thought Slender was babied…(He was not in fact babied, he was VERY SICK and needed a lot of care)

Trenderman was a middle child. He wanted attention, he just almost never got it.

Tenderman always tried his best to spend time with him though, even though that wasn’t the attention Trenderman wanted.

Trenderman wanted attention from his father and mother….he…never got that.

So he started seeking that attention from other people. People he slept with and dated.

He got heartbroken a few too many times.

And he withdrew from people.

During this, that’s when he started to get closer with Slenderman. Because Slender understood what loneliness was like.

He also realized what Slender was going through, and saw him more as a brother than competition.

Trenderman’s love for clothing started when he was 12 btw, he worked as a tailor for several years and then sort of went off to do his own clothing line later on 

He was closest with Offenderman growing up.

Surrenderman

The youngest 

He was the closest to Slenderman of all the brothers, and is still with him today,

He has a stutter that he was born with (his is genetic, his human mother had a stutter and it was passed on to him)

Slender helped him with his stutter as well as making sure Surrender knew it wasn’t his fault and that he shouldn’t be ashamed of it. (Surrender was very ashamed of his stutter because of things Splendor and his father would say to him about it. While Splendor would try to “encourage” him to speak louder, it would also become toxic and demeaning, and Surrender’s father was very cruel, telling him to “learn to speak properly, or don’t speak at all”)

Surrenderman has a passion for cooking! He liked to watch Trenderman cook and bake.

Back Surrenderman being with Slenderman to this day, I mean he lives with Slenderman.

Surrenderman, while his stutter got better, he’s still just a very timid person in general. (this has nothing to do with his stutter, that’s just how he is as a person), and he was never able to find a place to live on his own, so now he lives with him.

Slender finds him the most tolerable of the brothers.

[cosmicladyy]

// not smut, but not exactly pg //

If there was one thing Bowser enjoyed doing the most in the entire world, it was being a ruler.

It filled him with pride whenever he'd give his kingdom a once over, marveling at how much it's grown and developed. His home has never looked better, in his humble opinion.

From the blindingly bright jewels that glitter so prettily in his treasure room from numerous raids to the unwavering loyalty of his many citizens, he was a force to be reckoned with.

there was a weight of respect that came with being the King of the Koopas.

The only thing better than that? Being married to you.

The day he was officially able to call you his was one of the proudest days of his life. After ruling alone for (not that) many years, he finally had an equal to sit next to him and enjoy the spoils of his thriving kingdom.

Someone to help him shoulder any burden that might fall on him to fix. Someone to hold him when he's able to relax after a grueling day of ordering his minions around.

Someone who gets to see him.

he also wasn't opposed to the handsome statues of him that would pop up in various places around the kingdom.

what he didn't like doing, was sitting through meeting after meeting every few weeks with his minions about what they did/didn't do in their assigned jobs around the growing kingdom.

no matter how many times he'd moan and groan about it being 'a complete waste of time' and 'something a super cool king should NOT be doing', he'd always be dragged out by the horns by either you or on the very rare chance, Kamek.

you'll admit, it's not the most fun way you could be spending the afternoon, but it's a necessity to keep the kingdom in order.

he'd try to postpone or get out of it, none of which worked because he wasn't as sneaky as he'd like to think he is.

he once tried to skip it because he claimed he was terribly wounded earlier that day and needed to recover.

(it was a papercut)

Today's focus was mainly touching on any reports or disturbances the minions had from the patrols. Bowser knew that there wasn't anything major that needed his attention, but it was protocol in the kingdom to discuss any and everything that they'd seen.

At least, that's what Kamek said.

He could already feel the headache coming as he begrudgingly got ready, perched on his side of the bed.

"Why can't one of the koopas step in for me? not like anyone'll notice the difference." He tried to bargain, buckling on his signature spiked wristbands.

"I doubt it, you're the only one of your...stature." a grumble is your only answer.

you barely paid any mind to your spikey husband's whiny ramblings, too busy primping yourself for the meeting. you offer him a pensive 'hmm.' and turn to him.

"How do I look?" You ask, giving him a small twirl to take you in, as the fabrics you've dressed yourself in move with you.

"Ehh.." He shakes his hand from side to side.

"Jerk!" You gasp and jump at him, earning a belly laugh as he barely tries to fight off your punches to his firm side, even though they don't hurt him in the slightest. "Easy there, sweetheart, only joking." He grabs your hips carefully and straddles you over his lap.

"You're absolutely stunning, no matter what you wear."

even after all that time together, you can still feel your face heat up at his compliment.

wrapping your arms around his neck, you softly kiss his snout and smile at him lovingly, "Keep talking."

he chuckles deeply and lets out a puff of hot air through his nose.

"you're absolutely alluring. I find myself lucky to be in your presence."

a giggle bubbles in your throat as you bury your face in his scaly neck.

"y'know.." his claws run up and down your back slowly, "we don't have to start on time."

"Oh?" you lean back and raise an eyebrow at him.

"S'not like the throne room's goin' anywhere." you can practically feel him undressing you in his mind as his fiery eyes look you up and down.

you bring your hands up to his rough face and bring him closer, "Someone's feeling needy."

"when it comes to you? always."

you chucked at his attempts and pull away.

"Nice try." you tease, relishing in the dumbfounded look that materializes on the Koopa king's face, and give his cheek a pinch, "C'mon, it's about to start."

your only answer is a deep, bellowing growl as you hop out of his grip.

____

As expected, he was bored to pieces,

Guard after Guard, General after General, he absentmindedly nods in acknowledgment as they drone on about their shifts. Whenever he felt they fell short of their jobs, he'd 'loudly encourage' them to do better.

("Be nice," you whispered at him harshly after he reprimanded a shy guy for delaying an expected shipment from the kongs.

"Well, I would be if I had more competent men," he growled back.

"Watch it.")

He's particularly ticked after learning about a recent run-in with a certain denim-wearing tumbler.

"What do you mean he 'outran' you?" He tensely questioned a high-ranking Koopa who patrolled the outskirts of dark lands, wings nervously twitching behind him.

"H-he, uh, managed to slip into a pipe at the last second, your majesty."

from where you were sitting, you could see him start to sweat bullets as your husband balls up his fist tightly, the fire deep within him close to erupting out of his sharp-toothed mouth.

As he prepares to fire off in a harsh tangent, you quickly jump from your seat and address the general.

"I'm sure you've tried your best, I know slippery he can be," not really, you've probably met him a few times, "just be on the lookout next time and keep up the good work."

The koopa rings his hands out as he shakily glances over at Bowser, who seethes quietly from his seat and looks like he's two seconds away from frying him alive. The general looks back at you gratefully and nods, spouting how he'll be faster next time and won't let you down; he was also thanking you a hundred times over for saving him from scorching demise.

As he moves back to his place in the room, another general, a goomba, steps forward and begins his report.

The giant Koopa next to you lets out an annoyed groan, earning his righthand's attention and a light smack to the arm from you. he sinks lower into his throne and taps his nails on the headrest, counting down the seconds until he's relieved from duty.

Sensing his king's rapidly decreasing mood, Kamek clears his throat and hurriedly addresses the crowd.

"His Royal Highness has graciously allowed time for a fifteen-minute break and not a minute longer. Return here on time or else." The old Magikoopa threatens.

A resounding breath of relief fills the throne room as the varying generals and lackeys all walk out, occasionally bumping into each other to leave as quickly as possible.

Kamek quickly dismisses himself in a cloud of pink and leaves you two alone.

whipping your head around, you lightly glare at your royal pain in the ass.

"Y'know, you could pretend to be interested in what they're saying."

all you get is a "feh." and a backhanded wave as he plops his chin into his clawed hand, holding himself up on the armrest closest to you.

an exasperated sigh escapes your lips. at this rate, he'll burn the place to the ground from boredom and annoyance; or at the very least, turn a few unsuspecting koopas into skeletons.

bribery should work, you think as you lean closer to his aggravated form.

"I'll let you do that thing you really like," you whispered huskily, running a hand up his scaly arm.

almost comically, he shoots up straight on his throne and excitedly looks over at you, "Really?"

"If you make it without yelling at anybody else," you add on.

watching the gears turn in his head, a smug look sweeps across his face, "how about a sample?"

he chuckles at the roll of your eyes but is quickly rendered silent as you pull him in by his collar, your lips connecting with his own.

his eyes slide shut as he feels you move your hands from to hold onto his broad shoulders.

the kiss, starting sweet and welcoming, is quick to turn passionate and heavy as you both chase one another, refusing to part for air.

you briefly pull away, only to hop from your throne to his and straddle his lap, similar to the position you were in a few hours ago.

he chases after your lips and pulls you in, sealing your lips together as he claws at your top, the other slowly climbing up your thigh.

the air around you is steadily growing hot, the previous silence being filled with moans and groans of a different nature from both of you.

bowser pulls a breathy, loud moan out of you as he grinds into you in a way that has you seeing stars. a growl rumbles deep in his chest as you run your nails along his fiery, red hair by his neck.

as quickly as it started, it ended when you pulled away, having already heard the echoing marching from the incoming troops.

bowser narrows his ruby-red eyes at you as his chest heaves, "So that's how you wanna play it?"

his only answer is a satisfied smirk as you fix yourself in your seat as if you didn't just pull him into a soul-searing makeout session.

the doors are swung open as guards of different sizes pile into the room once again, random conversations filling the once-quiet atmosphere.

You greet the returning group with a smile, watching as they take their seats and mentally prepare to hear the rest of the reports.

Kamek appears right next to the larger koopa in the same cloud he left in and looked expectingly at his king, "Shall we continue?"

You can practically feel his piercing gaze on the side of your face before hearing him whisper to his advisor.

"How about a quick bathroom break?"

"Bowser!"

[dreamerfms]

[ … ] ❀ you’re not from around here , are you? i figured because you totally just missed { KEZIA KINGSTON } walking by. don’t tell me you don’t know who { she/her } is ? they kind of look like { C.ARLACIA GRANT } and i could be wrong but i think that they might be { 29 } years old right now. they’ve been living in palmview for the last { 29 years }. and i don’t know if anyone has ever told them this before but they kind of remind me of { VERONICA MARS } from { VERONICA MARS }. if you stick around the town long enough you might catch them in action working at { SURF 'N' SAIL } as a { OWNER }. you see this town isn’t really that big of a place, some folks like to call them the { REBELLIOUS UNDERDOG } of palmview! they took a liking to the name too after a while, go figure. oh crap, they must have heard me yapping. they’re coming this way. i got to warn you though, rumor has it they can pretty { RECKLESS } at times. i wouldn’t take it too seriously though, from the times i’ve spoken to them they seemed pretty { LOYAL } to me. we see each other all the time since they live in that { 2 } apartment beside me over in { OCEANS EDGE }.

full name : kezia ( keh-zee-uh ) kingston nicknames : zia, kingston, kiki ( father only ) birthplace : palmview, florida date of birth : march 22'nd, 1995 parentage : jamar kingston ( incarcerated ) marie-claire hart ( absent since birth ) sibling(s) : potential half-siblings, unknown. occupation : owner of surf 'n' sail relationship status : single gender identity : cis female ( she/her ) sexual orientation : pansexual

background

tw include armed robbery, incarceration, care system.

kezia has spent her entire life in the sunny coastal town of palmview, florida. born and raised in this close-knit community, kezia’s early years were shaped by her single father, jamar kingston, a hardworking man who loved her deeply and did his best to provide for her. however, life took a devastating turn when kezia was thirteen. struggling to make ends meet, jamar became involved in a robbery that went terribly wrong. though he wasn’t the ringleader and never harmed anyone, he was caught and sentenced to over two decades in prison. the crime was a desperate act from a good man trying to care for his daughter, but the harsh sentence shattered their small family. with no other family to step in, kezia was thrust into the foster care system, a challenging and often isolating experience that forced her to grow up quickly. adapting to life in foster homes wasn’t easy. the sting of abandonment, coupled with the judgmental whispers of a small-town community, turned kezia into an angry and defiant teenager. labelled a troublemaker, she often butted heads with authority figures who wrote her off without ever giving her a chance. though she wasn’t perfect and got into her fair share of trouble, much of her rebelliousness stemmed from frustration at being misunderstood and unfairly judged. despite the challenges, kezia refused to let the world break her, though the fight to stay afloat wasn’t without its scars. when she aged out of the system, kezia decided she would take control of her life. she found solace and strength in the one constant throughout her chaotic childhood: the ocean. surfing and sailing became her escape, a source of peace and empowerment that helped her process her anger and pain. over time, she worked tirelessly to transform her life, learning to channel her energy into something productive. kezia saved every penny she could from odd jobs and eventually took a leap of faith, starting her own business: surf 'n’ sail. her tough upbringing has made her fiercely independent, but it’s also given her a compassionate side. she has a soft spot for kids and teens who remind her of her younger self, and she’s known to offer free lessons or advice to those who need a little guidance. often known for taking in those who are struggling, her home by the ocean has had many lodgers over the years. her relationship with her father remains complicated. though she loves him and understands the desperation that led to his crime, she still feels the weight of his absence in her life. she visits him occasionally and writes letters, but she also uses his story as a reminder to break free from the cycles of hardship that once defined her family. she’s more than her past. she’s a fighter, a survivor, and an entrepreneur with a deep love for her hometown and the ocean that raised her. she may have been knocked down, but she’s proof that with determination and heart, it’s possible to rise again — stronger than ever and ready to face whatever life throws her way.

wanted connections

childhood friend - a childhood friend from kezia's early years in palmview, this person was one of the few who saw past her tough exterior and understood the anger that came from her family’s struggles. though their lives took different directions, they’ve remained connected over the years, often finding themselves drawn back together in times of need. best friend - this person is her rock. always there to offer a listening ear or a word of encouragement when things get tough. with a shared history of overcoming life's challenges, they balance each other out. despite their differences, they’ve forged a bond built on mutual trust, respect, and a deep understanding of one another. ex-friends - from her late teenage years, this person once shared a close bond with her, but as life became more complicated, they chose to distance themselves for their own reasons ( utp ). they turned their back on her at a pivotal moment, leaving lingering resentment and unresolved tension between them all these years later. past romantic interest - a former love interest who knows kezia well and has a past with her, possibly someone she had a complicated or turbulent relationship with. they might still have lingering feelings for each other or have unresolved issues. i hate you, so why do i like you ? - someone who constantly rubs kezia the wrong way, often sparking heated debates or disagreements whenever they cross paths. despite their constant bickering, there’s a palpable tension between them that others can’t help but notice — a mix of rivalry and unspoken attraction that neither is willing to admit. their interactions are often filled with sharp words and challenging glances, but when it matters, there’s a strange undercurrent of care that neither can fully suppress. more tba.

[cultofdixon]

Fight for Yourself, Fight for Me

Daryl Dixon [PLATONIC] • They/Them Pronouns • You were always going to be your father’s little archer…even when all the responsibility for several lives rest on your shoulders • ANGST/SFW • TW: Anxiety Attacks / Nightmares / PTSD / Scars / Canon Violence / Illness / Injuries / SH Scars / Depression

Requested by: Anon

“Look at that” Lori smiles pointing out to Daryl the way Carl was trailing his kid around the campsite. “What yea think they’re talking about?”

“Anythin’ but the hell going on”

Y/N has always been like that. Talk about anything else BUT what was happening around them. To give people a sense of normalcy back but also for the kids.

“Wait so Batman has like. No superpowers at all? Just that his parents died and now he seeks revenge?”

“I wouldn’t really call it revenge. He never uses a gun. Never kills. Uses his gadgets to catch the bad guy and like. Shakes them down until they spoke” Y/N continues as they loaded up their hunting rifle which on cue made Daryl whistle for them. “Should find you some comics. Doubt it’ll be batman but hopefully something interesting”

Carl was about to ask them more when they started to head toward Daryl and Lori causing him to sprint over.

“Where are you going?”

“Y/N is going hunting with their dad. They’ll be back in a few days”

“Can I go?”

“No Carl. You need to stay here. Where it’s safe”

“But they get to go! They’re a kid—-“

“They are eighteen.” Daryl hands them back their pack as Carl continued to glare slightly. “They are my kid. But an adult to yea”

Y/N couldn’t help but notice the kid’s eagerness to go with them resulting in Daryl growing impatient.

“Y/N we gotta—-“

“I’ll meet yea by the tents, old man” Y/N states hearing him grumble as he left. “Carl you can’t come. Cuz you’ve got an important job here”

“What is it?”

“Hold down the fort. Dad and I are gonna get food, and the Atlanta group is out. Leaving only a few to keep an eye on everybody. Can I trust yea to keep the house afloat?”

Carl nods smiling as Y/N ruffles up his hair smiling themselves.

“Good. Be back in a few days, buddy”

It’s been two so far since they left to track down the deer Daryl had spotted tracks for a bit ago. Y/N followed shortly behind their father staring at their feet for the most part since it’s been a bit with no signs of the deer. They suddenly ran into Daryl when he stood still for a moment catching them off guard.

“I’m not playing statue in the middle of the woods, dad…”

“Did yea want a sibling?”

“That’s random” Y/N scoffs, stepping ahead of him to ready their aim and take the shot on the squirrel. “But no. I like being an only child…would’ve wanted more time with mom though”

“Mm. Me too, kid” Daryl watches their surrounding so they could pick up their catch. “You’re close with that Grimes kid”

“I wouldn’t really say talking about superheroes makes us close”

“You used to only talk to me about superheroes”

“Are you jealous of a child?” Y/N laughs a bit, even more when their dad groaned to the question.

“Nah. Just.” Daryl shrugs kneeling to check the faint tracks to see how long it’s been. “Little shit looks up to yea is all. Don’t want that going to your head”

“I don’t think it will…?”

“Listen. I don’t mean like what the cop is having. The savior complex shit. I’m talking the toll that raising kids can have on somebody” He admits as he picks himself up continuing to follow the tracks with his kid shortly behind him. “You care a lot. You’ve always have been that way…even for people who don’t deserve it. Like Uncle Merle. But I don’t want yea to forget about yourself. How you’re feeling will always matter, kid. I don’t want something terrible happening to make you forget that”

Y/N didn’t know what to reply to that with, but Daryl knew that they understood the best that they can.

Even when he watched their kid grow protective of the youngest Grimes. Then the youngest Greene.

He doesn’t want to lose them, or want them to lose themselves…

“Let’s go hunt” Daryl gestures with his eyes to outside the house the group was currently staying in after the barn burned. “We’ll be back soon”

“Can I come?” Carl tugs at Y/N’s jacket as they quickly shot it down with a new reason of having to keep an eye on his mother for her and the baby’s safety. They managed to get him to listen by giving him tasks that keep him there.

As they were heading out, Rick stopped Daryl talking to him about scavenging places as well as finding whatever meat they can get their hands on. He even tried to join them but Daryl drew his line clearly. He wanted to be alone with his kid, without any more drastic changes.

“I think Andrea could still be alive”

“Maybe” Y/N kicks a door open to one of the abandoned houses in their neighborhood. “She did almost kill you so, I’d let her back in but not with open arms”

“I’m still standing aren’t I?”

“She also gave a knife to Beth when she was thinking of killing herself.” They instantly went toward the kitchen to find any canned foods. “Might have to knock some sense into that son of a bitch before letting her back in. Hell. Not even my decision…everybody following Rick…”

“You’re allowed to share your thoughts, Y/N”

Y/N’s body tensed hearing such as they felt like anything they would say to Rick wouldn’t get anywhere. He and Daryl are one and the same when it comes to protecting their blood…but Rick making all the decisions made it hard to think for oneself.

“Rick won’t listen. He’s just protecting his kid”

“You’re protecting his kid and wife more than he is. You have them your blanket, your extra rations,…hell, saved that kid from walkers more than he did.” Daryl frowns watching Y/N take all the cans they can carry. “I’m looking out for yea, Y/N. I don’t want to lose my kid to somebody else’s short comings…”

“You’re not gonna lose me…I just wish things were different”

I just wish things were different

Y/N frowns watching Maggie stumble out of the prison in tears with a small baby in her embrace. They noticed Carl’s frozen state when he stepped out and how Rick fell apart upon hearing the news of his wife dying. They slowly approached the kid as he looks up at them with a blank expression that suddenly turned to silent tears rolling down his cheeks.

“C’mere kid” Y/N brought Carl into their embrace comforting him the best that they could. All he wanted was to cry for a moment in the comforts of someone who he knows he’ll be safe with.

Their dad’s declare about “not losing another” made everyone act on such. Daryl left with Maggie to get formula for the baby, Hershel checked her out with the help of Beth, the rest of the group took care of investigating the rest of the prison. Leaving Y/N to take care of Carl while Rick was indisposed.

“What was it like for you…”

“What?”

“When your mom died…”

Losing a parent tends to always feel like it just happened yesterday. Even if Y/N was ten when they lost her.

But for context.

Y/N wasn’t a mistake. Or planned really. Daryl hit it off with their mom who was a total stranger he met and asked out one day. First date hit it off to where the slim chance of getting pregnant did indeed happen. He was scared, of course. Didn’t want to be like his father. Didn’t want to be in the bullshit he’s in with Merle with a baby around. But she was ever so kind and patient that the 9 months they had gotten to know one another.

Then life slowly became all about Y/N and both of them were happy on such. Even Merle cleaned up most of his act to be able to spend time with the little one.

Their life was perfect in its own special way. Didn’t need much of anything besides their family.

Missing field trips meant spending time with Daryl at the garage he worked at

Weekends were always a new adventure to anywhere

Bad days were always met with cuddles from their mother

Bullies never bothered to mess with them when Uncle Merle was the one to pick up the kid

The list could go on…and last about ten years. One day Y/N was sat at the couch by both of their parents having a talk about what it means when someone gets really sick. Again, they were ten. Old enough to understand what being sick means, but still young enough to not believe that their mother was sick and one day wasn’t going to come home.

It was sudden. She just. Never came home. The only thing that came home were her belongings and a broken Daryl.

I can never forget the look in my dad’s eyes when he tried so hard to tell me without breaking Y/N frowns looking at Carl with their own pain resurfacing to that question. “One day she was here. The next…she was gone. It’s been years but I’ll always be sad about it. Your mom meant the world to you…the pain will be awful at first, but as life goes on, you’ll always remember the good things you had with your mom. That’s all that matters”

To be frank. Y/N never wanted to become a parent, and in the apocalypse that confirmed matters. They didn’t want to raise a child in a world that they could die at any given moment compared to the old world. Hell. They were still a kid in Daryl’s eyes, always…so when Lori died, this switch in them flipped and all that mattered…was making sure her kids were safe. Taken care of. Loved.

“Y/N coming back today?”

Daryl nods looking up at Carol and her offering of food she has just prepared. He’s been waiting at their spot all morning and was relieved none of the spawn came around to take their attention away. But he thought too soon on the matter when Carl came running over.

“They back yet?”

“Nope. Just waiting” Carol smiles noticing Daryl tense expression. “Hey, how about we go find that favorite blanket of theirs and get it to their watchtower?”

“But I—-“

“Come on. You know they’ll appreciate it more coming from you” Carol smiles directing Carl out of there which relaxed Daryl enough to have a good mood when seeing Y/N’s bike approach the gate and the Woodbury folks took care of opening it to let them in.

As Daryl got up from his spot, Y/N rolls up next to his bike putting the kickstand down before getting off and hugging their dad when he draws close.

“Run into Michonne?”

“Yeah, brought back some of the shit she found along with my findings” Y/N smiles setting their pack down on the bench he was sitting on previously to show him what they’ve got.

“You’re really spoiling them kids” Daryl laughs a bit finding things like books, comics for Carl, formula and baby blankets for Judith, a few clothes for Beth…at least they got canned foods amongst other things that benefit others. “Did yea find what yea needed?”

“No, but it’s cool” Y/N picked up their pack once more to carry it all inside. “There’s also arrows on the back of the bike” and with that last note they went to put everything away and give such to whoever they went out in the run for.

Soon Y/N found themselves on the top bunk of their place trying to rest as Beth laid on the bottom one reading one of her books keeping company.

“How’s Uhm. What’s his face?”

“Zach? We aren’t anythin’” Beth says in a hush whisper in mind of the baby sleeping in its makeshift cradle that was a laundry basket. “I don’t think he notices me”

“I wouldn’t wait for him to make a move. You really like the guy? Just be honest. Honesty doesn’t hurt” Y/N states as Beth rises from her place in the bunk closing the book a bit too loudly making the resident on the top bunk tense.

“Yknow what! Imma do it”

As Beth leaves, Judith started to sob from her spot making the exhausted Y/N rise from their bunk jumping down to the floor before picking up the little baby. They picked up the little baby sitting on the floor leaning against the bunk beds gently rocking the littlest Grimes.

Daryl went to check on them after giving them some time after returning. He stops at the gates finding Judith asleep on their chest as they were also fast asleep with their head back on the bed.

“Someone’s gotta take care of yea” He whispers taking the little baby from them returning the sleeping baby into the basket before carefully picking up his baby and laying them down in the bunk.

It’s been this way for months. Y/N taking trips out and returning with things everybody else needs or ask of them to get. But ultimately forgetting themselves in the mix. And especially the way they are protective over “their” kids that when the illness came through…Rick had carried their passed-out sick form to the cellblock.

When Daryl came back he heard about Y/N and haven’t left their side while they rested. He kept everyone out of their quarantine cell. Wouldn’t let anyone see them because they put everyone else above themselves and granted he should’ve done something sooner about it…but others hardly noticed their struggling.

“Yea ain’t allowed to die. Fuckin’ won’t have it. Told yea that when yer mom died.” Daryl frowns squeezing their hand hearing his heart pound in his ears making him stress even more. “Lost her, lost Merle, you ain’t following them”

It was weird that Y/N wasn’t waking up instantly like the others when the medicine has been in their system for a while. But they were exhausted.

Even when the prison fell around them.

No dad. No kids. No anybody. Y/N woke up to nothing but injuries of the fallen debris. Nothing too concerning but enough to frustrate their tired form as they crawled out of the rubble and to the surface of their collapsed cell block finding dead people and walkers.

Dad…

Carl…

Beth…

Judith…

It kept repeating in their head when they managed to get out of the infested area with the little belongings they scavenged.

Y/N felt like they were walking for days with no end. They saw the signs for Terminus and thought about heading that direction but if shit went south they had virtually nothing to protect themselves or anyone who joined along the way. They eventually found themselves in an abandoned house curled up in a corner listening to the sounds of nature and the rapid beating of their heart.

What if I don’t find anyone

Did I just lose my remaining family to an attack

They could be dead

Where’s Carl

Hopefully the kids are safe

They could be dead

Hershel’s remains were in the field…where’s Maggie and Beth

Who the hell got Judith

Where is my dad?

They could be dead

They could be dead

They could be dead

The panic settles in and before the scream ripped out of their chest out of frustration, exhaustion, depression…footsteps drew close. Several. But it wasn’t any of their group.

•

“These are good people…” Daryl frowns watching Joe keep his grip on Rick as he scoffs toward the archer.

“See…now that’s a lie”

Right before the other Claimer was about to grab Daryl, his body dropped to the floor. Confusing everyone in that heated situation. But given the open window Rick took out the leader while Michonne took out the one pinning her. Daryl went for the ones behind him while the swordsman was heading for the guy pinning Carl but right before she even drew her sword, the sound of a shotgun rang through as the guy splatters against the car sliding against the rusted metal until he met the floor. Carl scrambled away from the dead man feeling Michonne’s protective hold wrap around him as the two heard footsteps approaching from the tree line.

“Holy shit” One of the remaining claimers paused in the middle of fist fighting Daryl to see the figure emerging. “You’re still alive?!” He snaps and right before Daryl could land another punch, he dropped the Claimer when a knife was thrown right at his skull.

“I’m a goddamn roach…”

Daryl quickly turned toward the voice finding Y/N drawing close to grab their knife. But add more insult to injury by crushing the man’s skull with their foot. They both drew their handguns to take out the one approaching from behind Daryl and without a second thought after the assholes were taken care of, Y/N wrapped their arms around their dad feeling him tighten his grip on them.

“I’m so tired, dad…” Y/N sobbed holding onto him as he let them fall apart in his embrace relieved they were alive.

The five settled where they were to give them all a break of what had happened. Michonne stayed with Carl in the car with Rick keeping watch as the Dixons were outside of such leaning against it.

“I thought I lost yea…” Daryl frowns resting his head on top of theirs that was perched on his shoulder. “Thought I lost yea to the illness, then the collapse…”

“I should’ve taken better care of myself…then I wouldn’t have gotten sick, and sort of left there”

“I didn’t want to leave your side. I stayed with yea until the Governor came crashing into our home. I tried to go back but Beth saved my ass from getting killed trying”

“I’ll thank her when we find her”

Finding her dead wasn’t what either expected and neither of them hesitate to take the cop down after she shot Beth. They each took their own toll on the matter.

Couldn’t save her, does that have future indications toward his own blood

Couldn’t save her, was there really a consequence for mattering for oneself for a change

Daryl frowns watching Y/N sit beside him after watching what he did with the cigarette in his hand. They brushed off the ash from the burn checking how bad it was as he took his hand away.

“It’s not as bad as what my dad did to me”

“Still shouldn’t have done it. I still need yea around, old man”

The archer rolls his eyes before wrapping his arm around their shoulders bringing them in.

“What did we learn from this?”

“It’s okay to fight for someone else…as long as you don’t forget yourself”

“Good”

[hooked-on-elvis]

🥳 Happy Birthday to beautiful Jan Shepard! 🎂

Born Josephine Angela Sorbello on March 19, 1928, Jan is turning 96 years young today. ♥

Jan Shepard interviewed by Joe Krein (2007)

Joe: Can you tell me a little about yourself, where you were born and raised? Jan: I was born in a little town called Quakertown, Pennsylvania, in Bucks County. It’s about 40 miles north of Philadelphia. I had a wonderful time there growing up, it was a tiny little town and everybody knew everybody. You got to do everything when you were in high school. I was a cheerleader and a drum majorette. I was in drama. I loved growing up there.

(...)

Joe: Did you want to become an actress? Jan: Ever since I was in second grade I was Miss Cleanliness, in a way. I got up on that stage and something happened. I saw all those people and it made me want to do something nice. So I did two class plays. I did junior high and senior class plays as the leading lady. I did summer stock when I got out of high school. I did that for quite a while and that was great fun. Joe: So did you go to Hollywood and say “I want to be a star”? Jan: I went to New York first and I got a terrible cold. I had gotten a reference from Samson Raferson, who did a lot of plays. He lived in our area. He sent me to Sherill Crawford doing Brigadoon. So I went there and I could barely talk. You think to yourself once they see you that you would be in Broadway by the weekend. You just think that they are waiting for you. But she said go back home and do summer stock. Do as much as you can of that. It was one of those things that you are so eager and you had no clue as of how to become an actor. So I went back home and then I had a chance to visit some relatives in California. So I never went back to New York. Joe: So what studio did you sign up with? Jan: I did some things with 20th Century, but mostly I did television like ABC, CBS and then Paramount. So I was working all the time. The kids that were under contract with Paramount, they had a class picture taken, and I wasn’t in it because I was the only one working. Will never forget that. How I wish I was in that picture. Joe: You must see a lot of turn over, kids coming and then going home. Jan: Yeah. You know there is a lot of wonderful talent walking the street, and honestly it’s a matter of luck. Plus it helps with who you know. What helped me was I moved in with Amanda Blake from Gun Smoke. We shared an apartment and Ross Hunter had an apartment in the same building. I was working a regular job then. We would walk together in the morning to work. There was an agent that also lived in the building. I was out sunning myself one day and he came over and started talking. He said, “Do you need an agent?” I said yes. That’s how it all started. Quite by accident. Joe: You worked in television? Jan: About 500 episodes. I did so much television. I did so many pilots and series. One of my first series was with McDonald Carrie, who was Doctor Christian. I was a regular on that show. I did two soap operas. Day in Court and Clear Horizons. I did so many Westerns. Every show that was in the fifties and sixties, seventies. At least five hundred television shows.

(...)

Joe: Were you an Elvis fan? Jan: No (laughing). Joe: Don’t feel bad, a lot of people have said that to me. Jan: It was so funny because I was sitting with Dan Duriah. I was doing a two hour film. We were sitting on the set. I had the reporter in front of me and it said “ELVIS PRESLEY”. “What kind of a name is that?” He said, “I don’t know.” I said there’s some kid in the south called Elvis Presley. I said he’s never going to make it (laughing). That was the first time that I had ever heard of him. So I didn’t know who he was. I happened to like his voice. I liked his voice but I am not the kind of person who is adoring movie stars. There was maybe one or two that I adored or would like to work with, but I was never like those type of people. But once I met him, I just adored him. Joe: When did you find out that you were going to do an Elvis film? Jan: I was doing a play at Paramount, with Dolores Hart, who is my goddaughter. She is now a nun. Joe: Oh, yes, I know who she is. Jan: She used to be under contract with Hal Wallis. Dolores came up to me after work. She said, “Jan, there is a part in this movie I am going to do with Elvis Presley you would be perfect for. The part would be playing his sister.” I said, “Yeah, right, terrific.” I just let it go at that. But the next thing I know she calls me and says Hal Wallis wants to see you. “I’ve talked to him about you.” So I went up there. He said to me, “I would like you to make a test.” So they gave me the script. When I arrived at the studio, there was four other girls that were testing. I figured I would be the only one. I was in shock, I almost walked out. Peter Baldwin, who was playing the Elvis role, who was a friend of mine, he said, “Stay, stay. These other girls are no way better than you.” I was the last one to be tested. After I just went home and prayed that I would get this role. I got it!

Elvis, Jan and Dolores Hart on set during making of King Creole, 1958.

Joe: And this was for...? King Creole! That was Elvis’s favorite movie. Plus it’s the fans favorite movie. It’s also mine. Jan: Yes, it’s mine, too. But I have only seen two movies of his. I only saw them because I was in them. That’s nothing to do with Elvis. It’s just because I was working all the time. I was doing soap operas. Different scripts every day, learning new lines every day. You just don’t have the time to go out and see movies. I had no social life at all. If you do have five minutes on a weekend, you want to sleep.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Joe: Can you tell me how you met Elvis? Jan: When you’re assigned a film role, you have to go to the doctor, because of the insurance company. They have to make sure you don’t have a bad heart, any of that nonsense. They made my appointment for me at the studio, so I was there and I had on a white shirt and these slacks my mother had made for me that were like wine coloured. I went in the office and I was waiting to be called in. In walks Elvis with two of his buddies. I looked at him and he looked at me and we started to laugh. His jacket was the identical material and colour of my slacks. He looked at me and he said, “Honey, I’m either going to have to give you my jacket or you’re going to have to give me your pants” (laughing). That was my first meeting with Elvis. Joe: Goodness. Jan: Girl scout’s honour. Joe: Did you get along with Elvis? Jan: Oh, wonderful. He said if he had a sister, he wished it would be me. We got along so great because we worked alone the two of us the whole first week of the show. I would come to work and I would find on the set a pair of earrings he put there for me that cost about ten cents that he had liberated from the set. I have a marvelous picture where we are waiting to perform and we were just sitting down at the dining room table. I handed him this jewelry and I said I can’t take these from you, Elvis, you know it’s too much. You’re the last of the big spenders. He is there laughing so hard and they snapped this picture of the two of us. It’s a fabulous picture of him. But he would do little things like that. And he would play music on his guitar. He would ask me what I wanted to hear. Elvis loved Danny Boy.

Joe: Did you ever date Elvis? Jan: No, I was married (laughing). Joe: Oh, sorry, I didn’t know that. Jan: No, I was married, honey. But the thing was: Dolores Hart gave me a surprise birthday party. All the kids from Paramount studio were there. It was a big surprise to me. I was there for about ten minutes and in walks Elvis with the boys. He had this huge stuffed tiger under his arm. He knew I loved cats, so he had this stuffed cat and he named it Danny Boy. He gave me this big box. For weeks I had been asking Elvis for pictures that I could give the kids in my neighborhood when they had heard I was doing a picture with him. They all pleaded for photos of him. So I would always ask him for pictures for the kids. “Come on, please, I need pictures.” So he hands me this box and I placed it off to the side. He said, “Oh, no, you need to open that now.” So I opened it and it was a movie camera with a light bar and film. He said, “Now you can take your pictures.” You know if Colonel Parker was there, he would not had allowed that.

Early 1958. Elvis and Jan during surprise birthday party to Jan Shepard.

Joe: Oh, you’re right. Jan: Dolores said the next day she ran into Elvis and she said, “I was so surprised that you came.” He said I had to come, “She’s my sister. I wouldn’t miss her birthday party” (laughing). I ran into him in the studio. He said to me, “I hear Elvis was at your birthday party.” “Yeah, he was”. He said, “You know he never goes anywhere, people go to him, he never goes to other people’s homes.” Joe: That’s very true. Jan: I said I think we bonded a little bit. Joe: Was Elvis a good actor? Jan: Wonderful! Oh, just marvelous! I will never forget. You know every person that sings is a good actor. Because they have the sense of timing, the sense of rhythm, a sense of what words mean. He was a brilliant actor because he didn’t need any advice. He knew automatically what to do and act, as the show was going on. I kept saying to him, “Oh, Elvis, for God sake, you’re doing such a great job.” So one day we went for lunch. We were sitting there at a table and in walks Marlon Brando. Elvis was sitting with his back towards him. There was a table right behind Elvis that was empty, so Brando saw Elvis as soon as he walked in. So Brando got into the chair right behind Elvis. I said to Elvis, “Marlon Brando is sitting behind you.” Elvis said, “Oh, my God” and his head sunk into his sandwich. I said, “Look, he wants to meet you, I saw him looking at you, just say hi to him.” Well, that’s exactly what happened. He got up and bumped his chair. Marlon stood up and the two of them shook hands. They did a little small talking. Elvis was very cool. Elvis then walked out of the café very cool. But the minute we got outside he leaped up. He couldn’t believe he met Marlon Brando. He was so excited, we just danced all the way back to the studio. Then one day after the show had been released, someone sent me the review of King Creole. The title was “Bourbon Street Brando.” I raced over to Paramount and I grabbed Elvis and I said, “Look at this.” I showed him the “Bourbon Street Brando”, he just couldn’t believe it. I said, “See, I told you, you were going to be great in this!” Joe, Elvis was!

Scene of King Creole, 1958. Elvis as Danny Fisher and Jan Shepard as Mimi Fisher, Danny's sister.

Joe: Now you did another movie with Elvis. Jan: Yes, Paradise Hawaiian Style

Note: In Paradise, Hawaiian Style (1966) Jan Shepard played Betty Kohana, wife of Danny Kohana played by actor James Shigeta who's a friend and eventual business partner of Elvis' character Rick Richards.

Joe: Can you tell me about that movie and how you got the part? Jan: I had gone over to Paramount to have lunch with Dolores Hart. She was getting a wardrobe fitting for some picture. I ran into Paul Mason. He said, “Hi”. He asked what was I doing there. He said, “Hey, we need a wife for Jimmie Sakita for a movie Elvis is doing. Would you be interested?” He said, “It’s not a huge part, but it’s a good part.” I said, “Yeah, ok.” He told me to go up and see Hal Wallis. “I will give him a call and tell him you’re coming.” So I went up there. Well, Hal Wallis’s office is full of art. He has originals of Remington’s and Chares Russell, all those wonderful western painters. I walked in and I said, “Oh, my God, you have a Remington!” I knew art because my husband is an artist. Hal Wallis was very impressed, he asked me if I wanted that role? Yeah, fine, that would be wonderful! That’s how I got the part. Joe: Now what did Elvis say when he saw you? Jan: Well, the minute he saw me he asked how was Dolores because now she has been a nun for the past year. And I said she was good, I’ve seen her, I’ve gone there. And Maria Cooper, Gary’s daughter and I were the godmothers for her when she went into the monastery. And I said, “I’ve been there and she’s doing great and she, you know, I said you know if they let me wear eyelash mascara, I’d go in that place and say it’s beautiful. She’s home. This is where she wants to be and he wanted to see if she was okay and how you were doing. You know, and I noticed he was not the Elvis that was the little teddy bear that would run across the stage and pick up and swing you around. He was not that anymore. Joe: He changed? Jan: He was never in his dressing room and you know King Creole. He is always out with a group and having fun and playing the guitar and, you know, just a lot of fun. And he went to his dressing room and it was closed and I noticed he was drinking a lot of water. He had lot of glasses of water and he was drinking. Also, there was an attitude that was so different. He was kind of jaded and at the movies, he and I knew Charlie Afura who did all his choreography. Charlie was showing him something on stage, some dance moves or something, and he was just looking at Charlie, like “Charlie, I’ve done this four or five times already. I know what you want,” because it was the same movie every time. Joe: Right. Jan: He was always doing the same movie and I know he was tired of it.

(...)

Joe: When was the last time you saw Elvis? Jan: I saw him in Las Vegas. We went to a Casers Palace and I was so disappointed because he was into the karate stuff and he was turning his back to the audience all the time. And I just wanted to just go up there and spank him, you know. Joe: Yeah. Jan: Because he was just not him. You know. I think that when his mom died, that was just a terrible blow and that if she had lived Elvis would still be alive today. Joe: Yeah. When you were working in the movies, did you have the chance to have one on one conversations? Jan: Oh, yeah, all the time. Especially on the Creole, but not as much on Paradise Hawaiian Style. Yeah, like on the weekend it had rained all weekend and on Monday morning when Elvis came into the makeup room and I said, “Well, what did you do this weekend?” “I was on the phone with my mom all day, I didn’t go anywhere.” He told me one time they were on the road and they stopped at a diner, this was in the fifties. This big guy came over to him and picked him up by his shirt. He said, “I don’t like you”. Elvis said, “What’s wrong?” “My wife carries your picture around in her wallet.” Elvis said, “Hey, sir, I’m sorry, but that has nothing to do with me. I’m sorry, she should do that.” He let Elvis down and they took off. He had so much of that we had to fake people out when Elvis left the studio. We would send out a limo, the fans figured Elvis was in it. But Elvis was getting shoved into a taxi in the back of the studio. Elvis would be laying on the floor. Elvis said, “I know they don’t mean to do it, but sometimes they hurt me. They grab at me, pull my hair”. They have scratched his eye while trying to get some of that beautiful black hair. “I’ve been hurt,” Elvis said. “That’s why I don’t go anywhere.” We had a lot of conversations. One time I said to Elvis, “Why don’t you record Danny Boy?” He loved that song because he would sing it to his mom. Elvis said, “They don’t want that. They won’t let me sing something like that.” It was so funny, one day Pat Boone came walking on the set. Elvis spotted him and he started singing April Love, just the way Pat would sing it. Pat just grinned from ear to ear, Pat then came over and they met. But he never had the chance to become apart of the young Hollywood scene, because he was afraid to go out with the other young people who were at the studio. If he went to go to a movie, he had to rent the whole theatre. You know, Elvis never had a dime on him, he would follow me to the apple machine. I said to him, “You want an apple, right?” “Yes, please” (laughing). He never had any money. Joe: I know that to be true all the way up to the seventies. His men would carry his money and his keys. When did you hear that Elvis had passed? Jan: I was sitting with a friend at her business. The phone rang and they asked if I was there. They asked me if I had the radio on or had been watching television. I said no, why? “Elvis died.” I just couldn’t talk. When I was able to talk, I said I was so angry at him. I was so angry I could not even cry. Because he was doing all the wrong things and he knew he was, damn it! I could see that when I went to see him in Vegas. I said to myself, “That’s not my Elvis.” Joe: But you know the man was the greatest entertainer of the 20th century. Jan: There will never be another like him. In the Creole days he was just a big teddy bear. I asked him one time, “Ok, Elvis, when did all this swinging your hips start? Why do you do that?” “I do it for fun, I know just when to break it off.” I used to watch the little negro boys in his town, how they would sit on the curbs and sing. And they would stand up and dance. He said that’s where he got that from. They would sing and move their hips.

(...)

Joe: Well, I would like to thank you for talking to me today. Jan: You’re welcome, Joe.

Phone interview with Jan Shepard, done by Joe Krein, on June 22, 2007. YOU CAN READ THE FULL INTERVIEW ON: ELVIS100PERCENT.COM

Early 1958. Home movie. Birthday party to Jan Shepard. ♡

[tales-from-the-blu-team]

Muses and rules

Rules:

I am primarily interested in RPing with OCs due to having pre existing lore ideas about cross faction relationships but will play with Red muses/ blogs ( red engineer might be a bit of an issue as i have more own lore with him related to blu engineer)

Sfw only- Im not interested in NSFW.

I have a preference for paragraph/ literature style replies as that's what I'm used to writing wise but I don't mind if you do script style. Just be aware that I will do Literature style replies ( I'm a fic writer I can't help it)

I don't respond right away sometimes. This happens from time to time. If it's been a few weeks please poke me.

if you want to drop a thread just let me know.

I will take Asks like an ask blog but this is primarily an RP blog.

Don't god mod/ mode.

I've never played the Game so everything is Second hand knowledge for me

Muse list:

Primary muses:

Blu engineer:

Mac Conagher- doesn't want to be here but is obligated to due to family ties. He is Much More Aware of a Lot of things that the others aren't but he can't say anything. A former Civil Engineer with 6 PHDs, a Wife he loves dearly ( Irene) and two daughters. Will either have a son later or has recently had a son. Is absolutely horrified at the realization that he's doomed this poor kid to take his place.

Has an excellent sense of smell. Allergic to smoke.

Blu Spy: Matthieu ???

one of the unofficial leaders of Blu. Generally talks things through with his team. Scouts uncle ( scout knows this). Still mysterious but more open and protective of his team. Scout especially, as he's taken up the role of father figure when possible. Will often train and go over battle performance etc with his team mates.

Butts heads with Blu Soldier.

Has a crush on Blu engineer but is aware that he's married.

blu soldier -John Doe ( real name???)

An Orphan who became both friends and eventually brothers with Blu Pyro growing up. Was abandoned as a child due to his mother - a young widow - being pressured to give him up as her new husband ' wasn't going to raise a kid that wasn't his'. He was too young to remember his real name and only has vague memories of his mother. Has a half sister out there who wants to connect.

Stubborn, quick to react and can be kind of a hard ass on his team. Tends to follow his gut Instinct.

Fiercely protective of Pyro. A former soldier who did actually fight in WW2. Post war, he went around doing odd jobs, never really feeling like he knows what he wants.

Like Spy, he trains the team but his methods are more like that you'd find in the military.

Blu Pyro: ????

Blu soldiers best friend and unofficial brother. Grew up in the orphanage due to his parents dying in the winter due to an accident.

Has a fear of being wet/ cold due to this. Copes with Fire. About 5 years younger than John and is fiercely protective of him. Where he goes, Pyro follows.

Loves childish things due to making up for all the childhood things he never got to have or do. Has a one sided rivalry with the red pyro.

Secondary muses: ( a wip for later)

Blu medic: Fritz Humboldt

His family has a long running medical research/ pharmacy business. Is currently competing with his brother to see who takes primary control over it although the plan is for both of them to work on it together

Has a wife and a 12 year old son. Polite but not very Open as he has a past as working a field doctor/ had many a patient die on him that he tried to save. Took up the job to work on cutting edge medical research ( may or may not end up coming to terms/ accepting the whole you could have saved More people but didn't thing via Respawn).

Expresses his feelings through private writing. Created the kritzkreig and reverse engineered the Uber via what Blu spy knew. Does not like red medic but has respect for his work.

Blu scout: Thomas ???

Blu spys nephew, looks up to him a lot. A former track and field athlete at school. Youngest of three brothers. While not academically terrible he's not great either and doesn't excel at anything in particular.

His uncle and mom were not thrilled about him wanting to join the Merc life but spy promises to look after him. Knows some Spy skills and tendencies. Can be really quiet and knows some knife tricks.

The youngest on the team, he has trouble connecting with the others but tries. Knows some conversational French. Gets along better with Spy than his red counterpart

blu Demoman : ????

the second youngest on the team, he was good at Chemistry and working with his hands but unlucky with getting a job. Where red demo is Scottish, Blu demo is Irish.

His parents sacrificed a lot for him and he wants to make them proud. Miss Pauling came to him with a job offer- he didn't know it was a Merc Job. But he knew it involved explosives and thought he was gonna do like construction with explosives.

Wants to make his parents proud and doesn't want them to know what he's really doing. He hates lying to them but he's so afraid of what they would think of him if they knew he was killing and being killed.

Friends with Blu Engineer.

Blu heavy: Dimitri ????

Blu sniper: ????

[wrongtvrns]

❝ I THANK WHATEVER GODS MAY BE FOR MY UNCONQUERABLE SOUL. ❞

STATS:

Name: Bear Ludlow

Age: 35

Face Claim: Brandon Sklenar

Occupation: Park ranger & Tracker

Neighborhood: Jackson Hill

Gender & Pronouns: Cis male & he/him

BIOGRAPHY:

Trigger Warnings: child abandonment, drug abuse and addiction, kidnapping

A feral youth was spawned by growing up in poverty. Bear's parents weren't the wealthy kind. They started from young love, too young, and thus never really amounted to much of anything. Not for not trying, they unfortunately handicapped themselves before they could really get going. Their first child came too early, just after graduating high school, and life turned from youthful discovery of the world ahead of them to working to make ends meet and provide for the family they hadn't planned for. Bear came next some five years later and was an absolute accident. Something he felt strongly his entire youth. Then there was one more oops after him.

When the youngest Ludlow hit the terrible two's that as when Bear's mother made her great escape. To this day no one is quite sure where she ended up or what happened in her life post Woodside, but he doesn't really bother himself with those thoughts. Not too much, at least. This event left his father to be the sole provider and caretaker of 3 children and to some extent that caused him to subconsciously check out. He did work 3, sometimes 4, jobs but he was never around or present for his children. How could he be? At most he made sure they had some sort of roof over their heads and did his best to provide food and clothing. Everything else? That was up to the Ludlow children.

For Bear that meant getting up to no good. Little scrapes with the law. Petty crimes. Though, for him, it was a gateway into the world of drugs. With too many burdens on his shoulders far too young and a heaviness in his chest drugs were a wonderful escape. Going down that path only further drew a line between himself and his peers. The friends that were much better off and doing well in school. As kids they'd never once cared that Bear was poor, as teens, however, the divide was prominent. Loneliness only fueled his drug use and hooligan antics. The moment Bear was saved was the sheriff dropping him on his grandfather's doorstep. The old man was a no bullshit kind of man. Old school. When he saw the mess that Bear was, not missing the potential in his eyes, he resorted to breaking him down and building him back up the old fashioned way.

With some begging, laboring jobs took on Bear, likely seeing the potential in the strapping teenager as well. He was built strong, tough, there was grit in him. Fisherman's Landing was where he started and with hard work enforced on him, Bear sweated out the drugs. Quickly he became almost militant in his servitude. He'd grown quiet and knew to listen, follow, take orders. The young man became reliable and as someone weathered for hardships he didn't balk when things got a bit tough. After obtaining his GED Bear was able to go onto community college, earn his Associate's, and then move onto a state university to get a degree in parks and recreation. It was a strategic move. He had no designs on raising working in community, Bear simply thought it would be useful.

With his grandfather's property edging along the state park borders Bear often went exploring and learned both from trial and error but also from his grandfather how to be a survivalist. The old man was the one that taught Bear how to track. At first it was simply for hunting purposes but then as Bear built the skill he began to make it more useful outside of that. Working as a ranger it benefited him when it came to finding lost hikers. It also led him to seek out rewards that people offered to help them find missing persons. His success rate hasn't been perfect but it's damn good.

The path to state park ranger and tracker came two ways — experience and education. Bear had grown up in the forestry culture, some from his grandfather but most from being taken in by laborers that offered him work when it came to lumber yards and mills. He went where he'd been told and did the hard work prescribed to him. This was often working heavily forested areas. Perhaps no one would point Bear out for his intelligence but the man has never been dumb. Quiet and attentive he learned every step of the way. Coupled with his education he was easily streamlined into the position he has now. It's one that's beneficial it many ways, garnering him important connections while keeping him in confidence with the conservationists that want to keep the parks open and free. It feels like a win-win.

When it comes to family Bear feels he's the guy anyone can turn to at anytime and he's there to lend a hand. The man is a skilled gunsmith (something learned by way of his grandfather), an excellent shot and hunter, he's big and brutish and someone you want on your side in a physical fight — he's useful. Most importantly, Bear is loyal.

CONNECTIONS:

Is blood thicker than water? — the man has an older brother and a younger sibling. none of them were ever all that close, especially since they were mostly on their own when it came to care, but when bear went down the bad path it certainly drove a wedge between them. there's also a future plot here between the siblings!!

You gave me a hand when everyone else gave me their back — the best friend without the actual label because they don't hangout and treat each other in that way. they always have each other's backs and keep each other's secrets. always a call or text away, will definitely help hide a body if needed.

childhood friends turned adversaries, people he wronged when he was battling his addictions, friends, neighbors, flings, hookups, etc.

[dragonologist-phd]

Introducing: Thalia Hawke

In Summary:

Champion of Kirkwall

Mage (Force Mage)

Main Weapon: Primal & Force Magic

Direct; Self-Reliant ; Combative; Assertive

more rambling:

Backstory:

Her magic manifested at a young age; using primal spells such as lightning came easily to her but control was much more difficult, and her family was forced to move often when she was young

When she was older, she earned money for her family through a variety of odd jobs, usually involving manual labor or farmwork.

She actually got along better with Carver than she did with Bethany; this changed after the destruction at Ostagar Bethany's death, both of which created a rift between Thalia and her brother

Upon arriving in Kirkwall, she opted to join Athenril and the smugglers

Major Choices:

Mainly chose Aggressive options

Carver became a Templar

Aided mages whenever she could

Dueled the Arishok in single combat

Sided with Larius in Legacy

Sided with Orsino and the mages

Party Dynamics:

Very complicated relationship with Carver. They were very close as kids, but as they got older their similarities- such as their temper and reluctance to talk about feelings- made it harder for them to get along. They had a falling out that lasted for years, but in the end they were still family and they stood by each other

Varric was another complicated relationship. They had terrible first impressions of each other, but after trauma bonding in the deep roads, they became inseparable friends who still bickered constantly

Held a lot of resentment towards Aveline after Leandra's death. Their friendship was already strained before that, and after, it never recovered

Was very close with Anders until Act 3, when they started growing in different directions. Even so, she would never have been able to kill him

Did actually like Sebastian a lot, almost in spite of herself. She still feels guilty about what happened

Had an initially rocky relationship with Merrill for a number of reasons. When she learned her own father had performed blood magic, however, she began asking Merrill more about it, and the two ended up becoming close

Romance:

Has a chaotic taste in partners that drives Carver crazy. She hooks up with Athenril during the first year in Kirkwall, then as soon as that's over starts flirting with Fenris

Her relationship with Fenris has its ups and downs, but they were very important to each other. Their Act 2 hookup and resulting fallout left them both reeling

Hawke dealt with all this by then hooking up with Isabela, who up to that point had been her best friend. They agreed to not bring feelings into their hookups, an agreement which Hawke was terrible at keeping

After much complication, Hawke could no longer deny that they'd fallen in love with both Fenris and Isabela. The three of them finally managed to talk things out and began a polyamorous relationship

Epilogue:

Hawke, Fenris, and Isabela took to the seas after Kirkwall, staying on the move and hunting slaver ships

Hawke reluctantly showed up to help the Inquisition after hearing of Corypheus's return. Inquisitor Genevieve chose to save them in the Fade, but they didn't trust the Inquisition at all and tried to convince Varric to leave them with them, with no success

Misc:

Hawke becomes more comfortable in their nonbinary identity over time; in Act 1 they use she/her pronouns, and gradually move to using a mix of she/her and they/them as the game progresses

They're elf-blooded, though it's not immediately obvious. Being raised in the Circle, Malcolm didn't have much connection to elven culture, and neither does Hawke. They learn more from Merrill, but still have complicated feelings about it

They get terrible insomnia, and probably rival Anders for title of most all-nighters pulled

They do try to learn healing but are absolutely terrible at spirit magic and never really get the hang of it

Their mabari is named "Bones", often referred to as "Bonesy". They got him from a kennelmaster they worked for, as he was the runt of the litter and wasn't expected to survive. Hawke took him home, and Malcolm used healing magic to help him survive

[br1ghtestlight]

my thoughts on what happened w/ the (many many) absent father figures on bob's burgers

mr frond was the result of a very short relationship between his mom and dad. was raised by his single mom and never even met his dad (dad might not even know frond exists) which led to a lot of attachment issues as a kid that followed him into his adulthood. scared of having children bcuz he's worried that he would abandon them in the same way his dad abandoned him and he doesn't want them to grow up without a father

teddy's dad was around when he was a kid but he was pretty abusive and terrible and didn't like teddy all that much. he wasn't the son his dad wanted. he was abusive towards teddy's mom and sister too and teddy found himself w/ responsibility to defend them and be the peacekeeper in the family. they finally got divorced when teddy and his sister were adults and in college/navy and teddy didnt really keep contact with his dad after that. his dad died when he was in his late 30s which brought up some COMPLICATED emotions he simply does not have time to unpack. he also has mother issues but its easier to ignore those and have a relationship with her

mort's dad went on long business trips for most of his childhood so he didn't really see his dad all that much and they didn't have a great relationship. basically raised by a single mom w/ financial support from his dad who would visit every few months and bring him like a Keychain or something but he didn't really care to get to know his son or his interests. when mort was a teenager it came out that his dad had been cheating on his mom with other women throughout his childhood so they got seperated and his dad moved out (not that he really lived with them to begin with) and probably got into a relationship with a younger woman or something idk. he died when mort was in his 30s or 40s but they barely kept in contact so it wasn't a huge emotional thing for mort. his dad DID request that mort do his funeral service and cremation in his will which was kinda his way of showing his support and love for his son and his passion/job. mort did the service and it was Not awkward at all (lying)

bosco's dad was around for his childhood and was very strict and generally kinda terrible and miserable (as was his mom. and so is bosco tbh) like a real asshole who punished his kids for the tiniest mistakes and never said i love you or ANYTHING. alcoholic. fought with bosco's mom all the damn time and made life miserable for him and gary even though gary was obviously their parents favorite. refused to get divorced even though they made each other miserable in that 80s sitcom type of way and when bosco was in his early 20s and going through school and everything his dad had a medical emergency and died before he had grandkids etc. bosco has a very weird complicated relationship with his dad and his memory and considers him both somebody he never wanted to become and also his biggest inspiration in life who he wanted to impress. always hyped grandpa up to his kids but also resents him for his fucked up childhood and emotional state. god help him

[warriorwoman13]

My life has melted down completely. I lived in more than 18 different places from the ages of 5-18. I had very few friends. I didn’t date. I didn’t go to a prom. I didn’t graduate high school. I grew up in a house full of verbal, emotional, physical and sexual abuse. I was sexually abused/assaulted by 7 men by the time I was 17 years old. I was basically my own parent at the age of 14. I had no soft place to land or call home. No one to encourage me or protect me. I felt so tiny and insignificant growing up. I was so incredibly lonely. Like the world was so big and I didn’t matter. No one knew I even existed. No one cared. I was never enough. When I got married I thought that would change. It didn’t really. He would listen to me. But that’s about it. His mom was mean to me always. He never one time protected me from her disdain. She had the chance to love a young girl who had never really been loved but she chose to judge me instead.

My whole life I’ve had to fight. To prove I was enough, that I was worthy of being loved. I have rescued people (and animals) my whole life. I never wanted anyone to feel the way I felt. Discarded, lonely, unloved, worthless. I tried to save my sister many times before she died, at 17 borrowing a car and driving 8 hours to go rescue her when I found out she was a prostitute at 15. Adopting and raising her little girl as my own so she didn’t give her to the state of California as she was threatening to do. I tried to save my little brother in many ways too before he was killed by a gang member at the young age of 21. I tried to save my sister’s child, Andrew/AJ when he came out for my sister’s funeral and I found out the terrible conditions and life he was living - filing for custody immediately. I’ve helped and tried to save other family members (you know who you are) from addiction, health issues, grief. I’ve been there for each of my children through some incredibly hard situations that resulted because of generational trauma and addiction.

Most of the time I faced the darkest, hardest moments alone. Completely alone. The people I expected to be by my side weren’t. Always some excuse. I was always expected to show up for everyone and fit in the little box they made for me. They could all be as messy as they wanted but I had to put on a smile and figure everything out. Be strong. I never did it perfectly. I didn’t know how. I had no role models. There are no instructions for healing this kind of generational trauma. Did I make lots of mistakes? Yes. Did I get angry? Yes. Did I have every reason to? Yes. Did I always keep trying? Yes. Did I push myself to the point of exhaustion too many times? Yes. Do I wish I could go back and do so many things differently? Yes.

My husband never really invested in our family. He took a backseat. He had every advantage I didn’t. Two parents. Stable home. Family vacations. Graduated from college. Girlfriends. Dates. Proms. College. Masters. Great jobs. Great income. During our marriage I tried to save him too. Long talks- lots of encouraging. When he couldn’t write his dissertation for his Doctorate Degree at UT I said it’s ok we’ll figure it out. He lost jobs, had a very serious suicide attempt. Looking back, I didn’t know the whole story. He didn’t share everything. His dad’s motto was never volunteer information. He’s always had secrets. I always felt that in my soul. But I still stood by him. I didn’t know how to give up. Still trying to rescue him and prove I was worthy. Even after I found out about the pornography for the last time I arranged a little meeting for Sarah and I to help him with an important interview. I helped him find new jobs. I tried to talk to him, sent text messages, emails, called, arranged dates. BUT HE WAS NEVER HAPPY. He never had the courage to walk away or go after what he really wanted. So he strung his family along for decades while he lived a double life of pornography and god knows what else. Even after the betrayals and lies in the marriage, even after hurting our children doing all of this in front of the kids multiple times, even after he slinked away like a coward, even after ghosting me after 38 years together, even after he’s lost all the jobs and is in the process of ruining us financially, even after the emotional, psychological abuse and gaslighting, even after he accused me of being a bully and making choices our whole marriage without considering what he wanted - like he didn’t have a voice - like he’s not an adult - like no choice is a choice- like he’s not in charge of himself, even after forcing me to waste thousands of dollars I don’t have on attorney’s fees by not providing any documents as required by law for our temporary orders hearing on 4/17, even after making sure he found a way to stick me with most of our debt on my $20/hr salary, even though he continues to live in his dad’s condo on his dad’s dime at the age of sixty six - He still refuses to seek help for his addiction and continues to lie and say that he is getting help. He is a pitiful excuse for a human. But I won’t play his stupid game anymore. I’ve tried to hold this whole thing together. Stressing about how the house payment is going to get paid and a thousand other things every day. He doesn’t stress. He doesn’t try to heal his family. He calls me a narcissist- that’s fucking hilarious. I’m not going to try and keep everything together anymore. I’m going to take care of me. Period. I’m not sure yet exactly what that means but I know I can count on me and I’m gonna take the pressure off me and take it one day at a time.

I’ve put myself in this little jar and put it on a shelf for years waiting for everyone to be ok so I can take her out. I’ve been a good girl and played by the rules. Waiting for someone to love me, take care of me. The wait is over. TODAY I CHOOSE ME. The person I was trying to save this whole time was me. The truth is I can’t save anyone else. I will never again abandon myself. Today I will start showing up for me. I am taking a journey. I was led to believe it was my job to take care of everyone else. It’s my job to take care of me. My kids are grown now. And now I get to give them the greatest gift of all. What it really looks like to heal and truly love yourself. I look back on my journey and I’m so damn amazed at myself. I am so freaking strong and resilient. I’ve been so worried that I’ve only taught my children bad things. But I know now that isn’t true. I’ve stood in the face of hundreds of trials over my life. I’ve lived things most people can’t even imagine but I am here and I still choose to love people. I am so grateful for the family and friends who do truly love me and are part of my life - I wouldn’t be here without you. I am so excited about what’s to come. I feel more free than I’ve ever felt in my life. And today I don’t give a damn what anyone else thinks anymore. I care what I think. This is my life. I CHOOSE ME ❤️

[despair-to-future-arcs]

Honestly, if you want to blame someone, blame the school for brainwashing Miaya into thinking that her psychology knowledge would be enough to erase Bitch-Sensei's terrible nature.

Indeed, the thing with Hope's Peak Academy and my years upon graduating; it lead to a lot of former Classmates of mine not growing up at all and staying stagnated for years which the school ecourages us to use our talents but doesn't really help us grow up or get prepare for the working world.

Myself and my wife had raise Nagi to not worry about talent, to raise her to be a kid and just let her figure out what future she wants instead of letting some school to defy her; we felt that we rather not make the same mistakes my own parents made.

Even for me as well, I was from the Reserve Course, always told my talents wasn't good enough and just thought I could never amount to anything beyond being a nurse which I've accepted that...

While yes, raising our daughter to not think of talent lead to some issues later down the line but I don't think I change it any other way... that school has cause a lot of problems for everyone and while I don't agree with Junko's methods I don't think we can deny that Hope's Peak Academy was the main source of the tragedy.

Indeed so Nagi... I know you were angry with Miaya for what she did and yes, your anger is understandable but I do think that we can fault Hope's Peak Academy for putting the idea that if you have some title like Ultimate that means you are better then others or can do anything or think your a super human or immoral that can't make mistakes - just remember that.

Right... I suppose that is true, so Dr. Gekkogahara - I do apologize for snapping the way I did and I know you have a lot of pressure put on you so for that, I'm sorry...

No no, it's quite already; I do thank you for being understanding and I think I am realizing where I went wrong; I believe thanks to you and Makoto, you made me re-focus on my efforts with the Neo World Program which I think me and Mr. Nanami would like to announce something...

Right, I did hear you both wanted to announce something to us and it's about the Neo World Program, right?

Yes, I like to announce that after years of work and effort of the 7th Division, the Neo World Program has been complete and finish!

Wait, you mean... the Neo World Program is done?!

Are... Are you sure, it's really done now?

You mean the Neo World Program after years of being work on has been complete dad?

It sure has after so much blood, sweat and tears have been put in; as of January 2013 to October 2017, we finally got it finiiiish!!! Gyhahahahaaaa!!!

Is...Is he okay? He seems really eccentric...

Ah, sorry about my husband but he was just excited to reveal this news and couldn't wait. However, seems the entire team was very tired from all the programming; for a moment I was worried about their health.

But yes, my husband and the entire team have finish the Neo World Program after so long!

Oh that's great, I can't believe we got it finish!

Yeah guys, congrats on finishing it; you all did a great job.

[bearludlow]

❝ I THANK WHATEVER GODS MAY BE

      FOR MY UNCONQUERABLE SOUL. ❞

STATS:

Name: Bear Ludlow

Age: 35

Face Claim: Brandon Sklenar

Occupation: Livestock Inspector

Affiliation & Position: Top Hand for The Cowboy Mafia

Gender & Preferred Pronouns: Cis male & he/him

BIOGRAPHY:

Trigger Warnings: child abandonment, drug abuse and addiction, kidnapping

A feral youth was spawned by growing up in poverty. Bear's parents weren't the wealthy kind. They started from young love, too young, and thus never really amounted to much of anything. Not for not trying, they unfortunately handicapped themselves before they could really get going. Their first child came too early, just after graduating high school, and life turned from youthful discovery of the world ahead of them to working to make ends meet and provide for the family they hadn't planned for. Bear came next some five years later and was an absolute accident. Something he felt strongly his entire youth. Then there was one more oops after him.

When the youngest Ludlow hit the terrible two's that as when Bear's mother made her great escape. To this day no one is quite sure where she ended up or what happened in her life post Paxton, but he doesn't really bother himself with those thoughts. Not too much, at least. This event left his father to be the sole provider and caretaker of 3 children and to some extent that caused him to subconsciously check out. He did work 3, sometimes 4, jobs but he was never around or present for his children. How could he be? At most he made sure they had some sort of roof over their heads and did his best to provide food and clothing. Everything else? That was up to the Ludlow children.

For Bear that meant getting up to no good. Little scrapes with the law. Petty crimes. Though, for him, it was a gateway into the world of drugs. With too many burdens on his shoulders far too young and a heaviness in his chest drugs were a wonderful escape. Going down that path only further drew a line between himself and his peers. The friends that were much better off and doing well in school. As kids they'd never once cared that Bear was poor, as teens, however, the divide was prominent. Loneliness only fueled his drug use and hooligan antics. The moment Bear was saved was the sheriff dropping him on his grandfather's doorstep. The old man had a small ranch and was a no bullshit kind of man. Old school. When he saw the mess that Bear was, not missing the potential in his eyes, he resorted to The Cowboy Mafia.

With some begging, the Hands took on Bear, likely seeing the potential in the strapping teenager as well. He was built strong, tough, there was grit in him. The Feedlot was where he started and with hard work enforced on him, Bear sweated out the drugs. Quickly he became almost militant in his servitude. He'd grown quiet and knew to listen, follow, take orders. The young man became reliable and as someone weathered for hardships he didn't balk when things got a tough. After obtaining his GED Bear was able to go onto community college, earn his Associate's, and then move onto a state university to get a degree in agriculture (animal husbandry). It was a strategic move. He had no designs on raising livestock of his own, Bear simply thought it would be useful.

After years of proving himself as a Finger he finally earned his brand and became a Hand by helping turn over a board patrol agent. Bear was the right hand and main aggressor to a Hand in the kidnapping, interrogation, and striking up a deal that garnered windows of time where border patrol would look the other way. Something that further ensured the movement of their product and adding to their capital. While the brand is something he's proud of, The Cowboy Mafia had saved him and completely made him someone rather than the early grave he was headed towards, he is sometimes conflicted about being involved in the drug trade. In many ways it makes him a hypocrite. This lifestyle, however, offers him that little dance with death that he's known since he was a young teen.

The path to Livestock Inspector came two ways — experience and education. Bear had grown up in the ranching culture, some from his grandfather but most from being taken in by The Cowboy Mafia. He went where he'd been told and did the hard work prescribed to him. The was often working on ranches and with livestock. Perhaps no one would point Bear out for his intelligence but the man has never been dumb. Quiet and attentive he learned every step of the way. Coupled with his education he was easily streamlined into the position he has now. It's one that's beneficial it many ways, garnering him important connections while keeping him in confidence with the remaining ranchers around Paxton. It feels like a win-win.

When it comes to family Bear feels he's found it within The Cowboy Mafia. He's the guy anyone can turn to at anytime and he's there to lend a hand. The man is a skilled gunsmith (something learned by way of his grandfather), an excellent shot and hunter, he's big and brutish and someone you want on your side in a physical fight — he's useful. Most importantly, Bear is loyal.

PLOT ARC:

The Cowboy Mafia saved him. He was doomed to a life of nothing more than being a drug addict before. He knows this, and is deeply grateful to them. His current position as a Livestock Inspector garners him special connections with Livestock Agents, and various Department of Transportation offices. He's well connected to help the Cowboys move product completely under the radar.