#he poisoned people. it was a manipulation thing. it was about getting ‘sick’ people relying on him

[theywontletmebeprincipal]

hey i’m proud of you for being open about your desires, sadomasochism is healthy and when done safely it is fun and hot and a great way to do fetish stuff! i hope you find someone safe to explore that stuff with <3 !

thank you anon I love you anon. really I think a lot of My Issues with navigating sadomasochism aren’t about the kink itself or even that it’s a kink that I have, they’re more with the fact that my being into it feels like a bit of a betrayal, yeah? like I’ve loved scary shit my whole entire life, I’ve made some of my best friends in the world bonding over scary shit. n naturally that comes with people harassing you n your friends, often when you’re too young to even know what they’re talking about, because the way you dress or the music you listen to or the movies you like are all somehow an indicator that you’re some sort of Sex Murderer being barely restrained by the bounds of polite society. I’ve had friends bullied off the internet very very early in our teenage years for allegedly being into kinks they’d never even heard of. so of course when I get older n I start discovering this part of myself it’s really alarming — not because I believe all the crazy shit that’s being said about hardcore kinksters, but because I can no longer say “hey, it’s ok, none of us are sex freaks here.” because now it feels a bit like I’m selling my friends n really my scene as a whole out by being the Fucked Up One even though I Know that’s total bullshit, n I know there’s plenty of us, n that there’s nothing even inherently wrong with being a sex freak in the first place. but even with those complicated feelings I’ve realized like, I can’t talk a big game about being pro kink unless I stop being a little loser baby about my own kinks yknow. I can’t keep being so accepting towards others while simultaneously being so hard on myself. the only way out for me is to unlearn all that, n that starts with oversharing in my tumblr dot com tags I guess _:(´ཀ`」 ∠):_

[celtrist]

This was the piece that I had started before my extensive vacation (of coughing). Once again, Alastor is consistently the bane of my existence with his... well everything.

No matter! Anyway, this is something I like to call the Obsession AU. To sum it up real fast: Everyone is yandere for Alastor. I think it would just be apart of his punishment in Hell, being consistently forced into or desired in romantic/sex which he's never had much interest in. I would describe it as a dark comedy thing, but it can be as comedic or as dark as you want here. With that said, please be on guard with any mentions of darker content that treds towards a certain dead bird territory when I get a bit into how I imagine some of the characters. Again, it doesn't have to go that far if you're interested in this premise of an au and wanna focus on the more light hearted stuff, feel free.

This au is just poking a bit of fun at how everyone in the fandom wants to put Alastor in romantic situations constantly (whether it be with themselves or the other characters) despite Alastor probably being the least interested in the subject in the whole show. This is by no means a hate train or making fun of people who do enjoy shipping Alastor, it just more of a funny thing I think comes off as pretty ironic for his character and hopefully, others can enjoy that too. In this au he leans pretty much on the clear-cut side of aromantic and asexual with no interest in romantic affections at all. With that said, if you want to explore Alastor genuinely being interested in one of the other characters romantically or something similar, feel free to explore that! I can see some interesting dichotomies there. It's just within the actual "canon" of this au, he's not at all interested with that sort of thing. And just with a last final reminder to get into some character things I have in mind, some of the content mentioned does get pretty dark, particularly with Valentino but I don't think anyone's surprised there. But there might be some triggering content of the following mentioned here with characters but no crazy details really: Manipulation/Gaslighting, forced feminization, Non-con, Munchausen syndrome, Poisoning, Possessive, Drugging, Love bombing And I will be sure to give a quick warning to each character it might apply to, please feel free to let me know if I missed anything!

Rosie (Munchausen syndrome, Poisoning): Rosie has 100% poisoned Alastor before to make sure he relies on her. They started off as good friends but at some point Alastor began getting ill and Rosie offered to take care of him. This leads to Alastor staying in bed for full days, only really seeing Rosie who took care of his every need from food, clothing, washing, and so on. At some point, Alastor caught on that Rosie was putting something in his food to make him sick and he managed to escape with their friendship tarnished much to his dismay. He's often uneasy around Rosie but is upfront about his knowledge of Rosie's deeds. Rosie, in turn, acts like it is a lighthearted situation and often offers Alastor over for lunch, which he often denies. Any food he gets at his doorstep from a secret admirer or a lunchbox he finds at his seat in an overlord meeting goes straight into the trash. Alastor will still use Rosie's assets to his benefit of course, but is always careful as to what she might try to get in exchange. He has had more awkward lunches with her with his homemade meal versus the buffet she catered for the occasion, with the two gossiping like old times. Alastor is still uneasy during these times, but he also revels in the false pleasantries due to not having many others he's able to associate himself with due to the curse.

Lucifer (Controlling, Possessive, Manipulation): So I'm not 100% clear how I wanted to approach Lucifer. He and Charlie are probably the most similar I suppose? He wants Alastor as his queen (either alongside him and Lilith or only with him, he doesn't mind either way). He doesn't force him into dresses or anything, but Lucifer does consistently make doting moves and talks about how Alastor would make a good father to their children. Marriage is one of the mind and Lucifer probably gets a bit possessive with him. He also tries to guilt trip Alastor a lot, or manipulate situations in one of their arguments to get Alastor to say something he doesn't mean.

Charlie (Controlling, Possessive): Probably the most tame of everyone quite honestly. Charlie can be a bit controlling but does step off when Alastor expresses his dislike of her doing so, even if it takes a couple times. She likes doing things for him, is super affectionate, and daydreams about her, Vaggie, and Alastor all getting married. She can get pretty possessive with him, not being pleased when anybody does anything against Alastor's will or hurt him. The only exception to this rule is Vaggie, to which Charlie sees it like two cats getting along and finds it very endearing.

Vaggie (Forced Feminization, Controlling, Murder): Depending on how you look at it, Vaggie's one of the more fucked up obsessions or one of the more funnier ones. Because she's automatically inclined to like Alastor quite a bit with the curse thing but her personality doesn't jive with his for her own taste (in terms of their first meeting), she both hates and loves the guy. She's obsessed with trying to murder Alastor with traps around the hotel or outright standing over him with her spear. The hatred comes primarily from not wanting to feel the way she does about him, I guess like a fucked up tsundere if you wanna go that route. At the same token, however, she does want Alastor to be involved with both her and Charlie romantically. There's just one little problem: Vaggie has about the same amount of interest in men as she does in canon. So to sort of "fix" Alastor, she consistently tries to force him to be more feminine in clothing, offering different feminine names, and even trying to force him to get a sex change. Alastor is pretty slippery though, so it never quite works out in Vaggie's favor aside from the occasional dress or skirt being worn, which solidifies her attraction to him. Then he takes it off and looks more like a man again, and it solidifies her frustration/hatred for him.

Angel Dust (Drugging): To start, while I think Angel would love to have sex with Alastor, he 100% would not force it. Wouldn't even do touches or anything. Potentially he could just like as a coping (to be in a situation where HE'S the one in control), but that is a darker route that I don't think will be exactly true for this AU. However, he very much enjoys drugging Alastor similar to Rosie. Not only just as a bonding thing since Angel would also do the drugs WITH him, but just to get the not-quite-lucid compliments from Alastor and maybe a snuggle then and there. He wants to dote on Alastor with him drugged out in his bed saying nice things to Angel. Admittedly this one's a bit of a workshop as I just knew I didn't want Angel to be focused on sex like somebody, but wasn't sure what to do here.

Valentino(Non-con, LoveBombing): I mean... it is Valentino, what did you THINK he'd be trying to do with Alastor? There's really not much to say here, Valentino essentially tries pulling all the stops trying to get Alastor in bed while also love-bombing the hell out of him. Which really doesn't work. Valentino is pretty open with sharing Alastor, but again, does this surprise anyone? As long as he's participating in some way, he really doesn't mind.

Vox (ALL warnings): Pretty much the worst version of himself that people make him be sometimes for those darker stories in the fandom. While more interested in having an enthusiastic partner, I don't think Vox would be opposed to forcing himself onto Alastor. He consistently tries to manipulate and gaslight, while enjoying both the suffering and pleasure of Alastor. Much like Vaggie, Vox is obsessed both being in love with Alastor while also downright hating him to the core. He's possessive and likes the idea of being both sweet and heinous with Alastor. He pretty much is every other character wrapped up in one fucked up TV man. Vox acts the most well-adjusted of the characters here, but he's probably got the obsession the worst.

And of course, pretty much every other conceivable ship is up for grabs here. I did think about maybe unfallen angels are able to resist the obsession curse, which would possibly make a funny team-up of Alastor, Adam, Lute, and Emily. Alternatively, I thought maybe the other canonically asexual characters in the show wouldn't be affected instead, meaning another oddball team-up of Alastor, Octavia, and Mammon. Then there is of course the "nope, there's no escape for deer man". Not sure yet, maybe I'll workshop it. I have more normal things in the works rather than this messed up little au, but darker content is a guilty pleasure of mine.

[donotpercieveme123]

I haven't really seen anyone do this, so here's the founders and their love languages! A little late for valentines day but fuck that I headcannon them all as aro in some way anyway.

IZUNA

First how he tends to express his love for others. Biggest ones are acts of service and quality time/ giving them his undivided attention, and valuing their intellect and interests. Also physical touch! He unabashedly really enjoys casual affection like that.

His entire life has been in service of others, as clan heir it's his duty to sacrifice himself for those who depend on him. This strongly forms how he shows his love for others, and he thinks actions speak louder than words anyway. It can be something as small as helping Madara wash his hair, or cooking dinner and cleaning up after him if he's had a rough week, or looking after people if they're sick. Or bringing Tobirama food to his lab if he's been holled up for too long, then force him to sleep. Besties lol.

The second isn't so much how he shows he cares, but how you know for a fact that he deeply loves and respects you. His time and undivided attention are not something he gives away for just anyone. So if he not only listens but actively engages with what someone has to say, and especially with their interests then you know. For example, he'll spend a lot of his free time with Tobirama, either at his lab or his house, talking about anything from politics to the molecular intricacies of jutsu (which he doesn't know much about but goes out of his way to learn about), and the properties of poisons and medicinal herbs (which he knows a lot more about since Naori is a poisons specialist and they've been friends since they were in diapers lol).

He's aware that not everyone is comfortable with or cares for physical touch so he only does it with few very close people (mostly people he's known all his life). Madara used to cuddle with him when they slept as kids, and he kind of misses it, but they're still very casually affectionate. And he's not necessarily the type for hugs (and never hand holding lol) unless he's drunk, but he'll let people he loves into his personal space, he'll enjoy just sitting close to them or leaning on them. He's closest with Naori in this sense (wlw mlm besties all the way). It shows he's comfortable above anything else and that's one of the biggest indicators of love to him.

In terms of how he feels loved most, quality time and people valuing what he has to say and taking interest in his interests is probably the biggest one. Closest way to his heart really is if someone appreciates his insight and trusts that he's competent and knows what he's on about lol. And if they take the time to engage with the things that make him happy... you're already his favourite person! Madara definitely values his insight, but he's completely clueless and has no interest in the arts or fashion or the intricacies of social conventions or how to manipulate people. His interests he shares primarily with Hikaku and Naori, and when Tobirama took active interest in what he had to say about it (and actually went away and learnt about it himself), he fell in love a little lol. Like bestie you have my heart, you're never getting rid of me now. They both info dump on each other all the time. It's how they show their love lol, especially since you can't really do that with most people.

Acts of service he either really appreciates, or really hates (depending on who it comes from and what it is). He needs to feel like he can do it all, thinks others should rely on him not the other way around, so it can come across as slightly insulting. He only really accepts it from those close to him, or if he's personally helped them and they present it as returning the favour. But only once they've communicated in some way that they don't think he's less for accepting help. After that he secretly really appreciates little acts of service (especially if he knows that's how the other person shows that they care, he loves being appreciated whatever form that comes in). Especially if it makes his life a little easier, and definitely if it's things he hates doing lol. If someone offers to do it for him he just kind of melts a little, and instantly grows a little more fond of them.

He only likes casual physical affection from people he already cares about and is comfortable with (but he does enjoy the pretence of it with strangers when he's drunk at parties or whatever). If someone who doesn't seem like the type for physical touch (cough Tobirama) accepts him into their space and not only allows him to be affectionate, but reciprocated in their own way, that means the world to him. You're definitely not getting rid of him at this point lmao.

[mismaeve]

♕ Burning Lights ♕

Chapter 6 of the Burning Lights series Pairing: Katherine Pierce x Elijah Mikaelson Warnings: None POV: Katherine _________________________________________________

Charlottesville was cute for a small town. Katherine had asked the concierge for directions for the nearest park, and as she walked around looking for a place to sit and relax, she felt herself slowly unwind. She picked a secluded bench nestled in neatly between shrubs and flowerbeds. Katherine sat down and enjoyed the pleasant silence. She closed her eyes for a moment, relishing herself in the serenity which surrounded her. She took a couple of deep and soothing breaths and opened her eyes again. If there ever was a moment to contemplate one’s life, it was now.

ㅤ

She was human now, she had allowed that reality to set in the day after she had met Elijah. But was she really human? Unlike in 1492 when she had been as human as one could possibly be, it was different now. She had been a 544 year old vampire before Elena Gilbert had shoved the cure down her throat causing her to loose her immortality and turn human. Did anyone really know how the cure worked aside from the very obvious? Were there any side effects? Say if she were to get hurt, would vampire blood heal her? And more importantly, if she wanted to be turned back into a vampire, would that be possible? Katherine sighed. These were the questions that were really important to her, questions she needed answered in order to get a picture of how she should live her life. Sadly for her, no one had any answers seeing how Katherine, to the extent of her knowledge, was the first vampire ever to be cured of vampirism. Not even Elijah could provide her with any insights. She had to know for sure whether she was human or simply a cured vampire. She supposed she could ask Elijah to lend her a hand in figuring this out. She could cut herself and then have his blood heal her to see if it would work. 

Say it would work and his blood would heal her, it would also mean that she could turn again, wouldn’t it? Katherine didn’t like this, too many variables, too many gaps. She wanted to live, no matter whether she was vampire or human. If only she would know for certain that it was possible to turn back into a vampire. It would provide her with a sense of security. That was settled then, she’ll tell Elijah of the experiment she has in mind, and then she would take it from there. Assuming he would go along with it..Why wouldn’t he? It’s not like she’d ask him to turn her, just a drop or two of his blood to heal a pesky little cut on her finger. As simple as that, no muss no fuss. 

ㅤ

And if it didn’t work and his blood wouldn’t heal her? A heavy sigh escaped her lips. Katherine wasn’t one to panic or brood, so if his blood wouldn’t heal her, she would deal with it then. Just like she had dealt with things in her past. Even though becoming human was the last thing she ever wanted to do, she would deal with it. Katherine didn’t believe in self-pity or self-loathing, she didn’t believe in moping around or wallowing in one’s misery. No, that wasn’t her. She was a survivor. She knew she would survive this because she had survived worse. If she had to live her life as someone who couldn’t be healed by vampire blood, then she would live accordingly. After all, that’s how humans lived anyway. She glanced over to where people were taking their daily strolls in a park, slowly, casually, seeming carefree and serene. She would bet her life that none of them knew of any supernatural existence. Were their lives better off that way? They didn’t know that they could be healed by vampire blood. They lived their lives as always, and if something happened, sickness or accidents or you name it, they went to a doctor who would do their best to patch them up and send them on their merry way. She would have to do the same. Katherine nodded to herself, worst case scenario and Elijah’s blood does nothing, she will live, she will take care of herself as best she can and she will try her absolute best to make a life for herself. What was so bad about a ‘white picket fence’ type of life anyway? Okay, maybe not that, but a penthouse in New York sounded appealing, or a Malibu beach house.. And who said she would have to stay in the States? She could leave for Paris or Barcelona, hell, she could move to Bali and live out her life on the beach with a tropical drink in hand. A tiny smile crept up on her lips as she listed all the possibilities. Her brow furrowed some as she felt something flutter inside her stomach. A tiny voice in her head said that she was missing something. Something or.....someone? 

ㅤ

With a heavy sigh, Katherine slouched on the bench she was occupying. Elijah freaking Mikaelson. Now that the Original vampire wasn’t looming over her shoulder, she figured she could allow herself a moment of brutal honesty. Currently, Elijah was being a royal pain in her ass, preaching about the perks of her having turned human never once permitting her to express her feelings on the matter. She expressed them alright but he didn’t seem to hear it, he dismissed them as one dismisses ramblings of a lunatic. That appeared to be the case with their other issues as well. Elijah Mikaelson, the man who claimed to know what’s best for her. As if. If he could spare a fraction of his time to actually listen to her and take her feelings into account, maybe then they could move forward one way or the other. But for as long as he remained set in his ways, she didn’t stand a chance at being heard, let alone accepted. She could live with his rejection, but what she couldn’t live with was him refusing to let her be her own person. My Katerina, he used to call her and at the time it seemed kind of sweet but she was more than that. Katerina was innocent, naive and believed in true love. She had lost her innocence the night she had fled for her life trying to escape Klaus, and if anything of that innocence was left after that, it had shattered into a million pieces when she found her entire village and family slaughtered. She stopped being naive once she saw just how cruel the world could be, so in order to survive in it, she had to become crueler still. She wasn’t just Katerina, she was also Katherine Pierce. Strong, wilful, resilient, smart, cunning, independent, confident, fierce and brave. She no longer needed to rely on others, she didn’t need a hero and she sure as hell didn’t need to place her faith in anyone else other than herself. Her faith was in herself and her alone. Yes, she had been forced to do some despicable things to survive, she had manipulated and she had lied, and she had killed. So freaking what? She refused to believe that the noble Elijah Mikaelson hadn’t done the same and worse. His brother had. Elijah wasn’t noble, he was a hypocrite as far as she was concerned. 

ㅤ

Katherine bit her lip. And yet.... If she closed her eyes and evaded all her reason, she knew that she loved him. She wanted him. But she didn’t need him. Katherine Pierce sighed and allowed herself a moment of innocent daydreaming. If Elijah managed to pull out the stick stuck up his ass, listen to her and allow her to be herself, she could consider giving him a chance. Even him apologising, sincerely so she knew he meant it, would go a long way. Katherine chuckled lightly, wouldn’t that be a sight to behold - Elijah Mikaelson on his knees begging her to forgive him. Her smile slowly turned into a sad one as she knew better than that. She knew heaven and earth would move before Elijah would even consider begging her for anything. He once told her that him wanting to believe her was like a disease, maybe her loving him was her disease. Maybe the sweet poison that was Elijah Mikaelson had poisoned her so deeply to her core, that no antidote would ever rid her of it.  

She had decided to stay for a moment longer, not really thinking about anything. There was only so much heavy thinking one could do before their mind threatened to run away screaming. She let herself enjoy the last moments of peace and quiet before getting up to head back to the hotel. As dusk settled over Charlottesville, Katherine entered the fancy hotel they were staying at. 

_________________________________________________

[howtowhumpyourhiccup]

Winter Whumperland Day 9: Planned

Summary: Written for Winter Whumperland Day 9. Set in a Modern AU, follows up on Day 8 'Lucky'. The police aren't coming for him and he doesn't know if his friends or family even know where to look. With not just his own health and safety on the line, Hiccup knows that if he wants to escape, he wants to do it in a way that ensures Viggo can never lay a hand on him again.

Rating: Mature

Characters: Hiccup, Viggo

Pairing: Vigcup, past-Hiccstrid

Words: 5 218

Fandom: How to Train Your Dragon

Prompt: “countdowns”, “running out of time”

Whumpee: Hiccup

Author’s Notes: Ah, another prompt that started out as a 2,5k something and has now become a 5k monster. And Day 12, at 6k, IS STILL NOT FINISHED YET! :'D

At the very least, it makes me curious to see what the final word count will end up being.

Anyway, here it is! The chapter that reveals both Hiccup's previous plan to escape as well as what he saw on the computer in Day 3.

Constructive criticism is appreciated! Including on the tags, because holy hell, they get more difficult with each one-shot!

Enjoy!

Ao3

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

The police aren't coming for him. As days turned into weeks and weeks into months, the hope of being found by the people meant to find him seemed to slim with every morning he has to wake up next to Viggo Grimborn.

It's through Eret that Hiccup will find out that they aren't looking for him at all, that they've simply arrested the first guy they could conveniently get their hands on and called it a day. It apparently didn't matter whether they got the true culprit, or culprits in this case, or if they even find a body or not. Hiccup's disappearance is a closed case.

But before that life-ending trip in the mountains, well, life-ending for at least two someones, Hiccup has no idea what could be keeping the cops from finding him for so long. It's a disheartening thing. For all those tv-shows and movies about the police going through hell and back for the civilians they're supposed to serve and protect, Hiccup is feeling strangely abandoned.

And he can't see his friends ever coming for him, though he knows they must have surely looked. And his father, he's more the "let the right authorities handle it" kind of man, but he must've searched for him, too.

But if they have any idea where to look or how to go about helping him, he wouldn't have been here for as long as he has. His best hope of getting out of Viggo's clutches is to find a way out himself. Ironically enough, he means to break free through those authorities his father so relies on.

Hiccup could remove the watch, could somehow safely remove the shock band from his ankle he hasn't tried yet, take his prosthetic from the safe, take his clothes, take his cat, and then finally take his leave. He could go home, be surrounded by friends, tell everything to the police, ... and then what?

Give Viggo and Ryker the chance to destroy everything related to him and disappear? Allow him the time to make up an iron-clad tale about how Hiccup had run away with him? Having no idea his friends and father didn't know of his plan to run away until they were in too deep? And really, young people can be so crazy when it comes to love, he wouldn't be the first to run away for the sake of the person they think is The One.

And Stoick, such a big man, they've all seen how angry he can be on his first and last press conference. Viggo believed him when Hiccup told him his father was physically violent with him and just wanted to keep him safe! And he is especially bad when drunk. You can't blame a foolish man with too good of a heart for getting himself into trouble trying to help this young man out.

Besides having the money to get him the best lawyers money can buy, Viggo is also a master manipulator. Playing on Hiccup's need to help others to get close to him, earn his trust, and get to know him well enough to know which buttons to push to break him makes that clear to him now. Viggo can spin any tale he wants and Hiccup fears the number of people that will believe him.

He's seen it before, innocent people painted in such a bad light that they are bullied and ostracized to the point of disappearing, too afraid to come out and speak the truth any more. He doesn't want people to see his father that way.

It's true that Stoick has a temper, but against his son, he's never so much as raised his voice. He doesn't want Viggo to hurt his family, too.

Viggo is nothing like Dagur. Dagur was more like your run-of-the-mill obsessed stalker who believed that he deserved and needed a boy three years younger then him to fill the missing void his deceased parents left him with. He was a tragic product of his life, of loss he couldn't process. And if he can take Heather's word, Dagur has been putting effort into getting better.

Hiccup thought he knew what obsession looked like through him and so he didn't recognize the warning signs in Viggo.

Viggo, who doesn't have a tragedy that shaped him to be the way he is. Viggo, who is unrepentant in his ways, who doesn't care who he hurts or how bad. Viggo, who is so selfish and arrogant that he would rather bury a failed project six feet under and start over than ever admit defeat.

Hiccup never saw the warning signs.

"He swallowed up two hours of your time, Hiccup!"

His last conversation with Astrid suddenly comes to mind. Dagur demanded his time as well, but that's just it, he demanded it. Viggo was 'nice' about it in that he asked and then played on Hiccup's emotions without him realizing it to get him to say "yes".

A master manipulator. This is why Hiccup needs evidence if he wants him convicted. If it becomes a "he said, he said" kind of trail, he's already lost. And really, who'll believe him when he tells them Viggo... did things to him, a man.

And then there is another possibility that he's afraid of. The police not arresting Viggo quickly enough to keep him from coming back for Hiccup and doing gods know what to him in retribution.

At least that's something Dagur tried to do, too, when he heard of the restraining order placed on him. He was to be arrested for breaking it, for breaking it multiple times as a matter of fact, and he couldn't bear with that. Though in that case, Dagur had blamed Hiccup's father and his friends for keeping them apart and tried to convince Hiccup to disappear with him. It was the only way they could be together in his eyes, if they started over together somewhere far, far away. He completely blindsided that it was Hiccup who wanted that restraining order in place.

If Hiccup leaves the Grimborn mansion, he wants to be sure he'll never have to see it again. And he'll want to make sure he doesn't mysteriously vanish the second someone blinks. He doesn't want White Spot to inexplicably die from poison or from being run over either.

And, oh Gods, what if he's out there and he comes after Astrid? Snotlout? Fishlegs? The twins? The sanctuary isn't chock-full of cameras either, what if they manage to hurt Toothless in some way? Or pay someone to hurt Toothless? His father seems untouchable, but what about his mother? There are too many ways in which the Grimborns can get back at him and Hiccup would rather spend the rest of his life rotting away in that basement than let anything happen to them.

And that is why he needs to get onto that computer, why he snuck into the study while Viggo's at work and Ryker is sleeping off another hangover.

He's stolen the key to his bedroom and locked it from the outside. If he wakes up before Hiccup finishes what he intends to do, there'll be hell to pay. Wooden doors don't really stop a man like Ryker.

But who better to break into Viggo's computer than someone who knows his way around one?

Hiccup hobbled into the study using the crutch they'd provided him with, begrudgingly so on Ryker's part as Viggo sees it more as something they can take away if their guest is being ungrateful, and he sits down at the desk. It takes only a minute or two, but he manages to get past the password.

A breath of relief quietly leaves him, he's become a bit of a quiet person, and he sags.

Viggo better not see him, he disdains a bad posture. Hiccup can't even begin to count the amount of comments or "corrective slaps on the wrist" he's gotten for not sitting or standing up straight. At some point, when Viggo was particularly sick of Hiccup sitting slouched, he tried to buy him a corset so that maybe he could finally sit with a straight back for once.

But Viggo isn't here and Hiccup gets to sag. He can threaten him if he's not here.

At first, Hiccup isn't sure what he's looking for. Something illegal, for sure, but what? The party guests from the other day have given him the idea to try and look for something. Viggo's company specializes in import and export, surely, he has to have something shady saved on his computer. He has the ships and containers, he can take things in and out of the country without a problem.

Someone as smart as Viggo isn't going to look up "how to treat broken ribs" online, so it's not like it's as simple as looking up his browser history. Would he search and buy the medication needed to stave off pneumonia online? Drugs can be found on legal sites, he wouldn't even need to worry about turning any heads.

What Hiccup needs from this computer is virtual evidence, but searching for it isn't going to be a walk in the park.

Hiccup rolls his shoulders and adjusts his position in the chair, it rolling in place.

Sitting in this chair is difficult. He'd lean back, but he can't. And just sitting there isn't doing him any favors either. There are painful welts all over his back from last night's games in bed and that makes just about everything a little difficult for him.

He'd let Viggo do it. Because if he didn't it would happen either way and then it would be made so much more unpleasant.

So while uncomfortable as he possibly can be does he look deeper into this computer, doing everything mostly on a glimpse alone to get through it all quick. He can't afford to dilly dally in every file. And if he doesn't get this done, there will be many more nights of these "games".

Viggo isn't like most people, he doesn't have games or other files or apps he would deem unnecessary on his computer. Most of what takes up space on his internal hard drive is what he considers important. For him, that seems to be stuff that he's taken home from work and nothing more. And they're all fairly recent as the oldest file Hiccup has come across is a little less than two years old.

And then he clicks on something inconspicuous and a little window pops up and asks for a password. Hiccup raises an eyebrow, suppresses the need to comment on it, and quietly gets by this one as well.

Finally, after what Hiccup realizes has been a quick two-hour search, he's found something promising.

There are folders named with serial numbers that translate as dates to him and the many files within are also coded with numbers following that same date. The oldest one appears to be from a little over half a year ago, the hard drive has last been cleaned out then. Just as he thought, Viggo isn't a fan of leaving a trace.

He clicks on one of those documents and then another and another and another. Hiccup's expertise may not be with economics or Viggo's branch of work, but he is often smarter than people give him credit for. He can still figure out that what he's looking at is some seriously shady stuff. Everything from exporting fake goods to exotic animals and even drugs, no wonder Viggo is a rich, rich man.

So Viggo isn't just a criminal that kidnaps and abuses people, he's very into the black market, too. A terrifying thing, honestly. He's seen movies, he knows how these things go. So he turns his attention to a different crime he might be able to exploit.

Embezzlement, bank fraud, insurance fraud, forgery, just all kinds of fraud and all that gained him, and only him, money. And that, that can work in his favor. Because if there is something people don't like, it's when someone else is hoarding money. Especially if it's all garnered illegally.

taking his eyes off-screen for a moment, Hiccup strains his hearing to see if he can pick up any sounds inside the house. It's still quiet and that means Ryker must still be asleep.

So focusing back on the screen, he gathers as many of these suspicious documents as he can find and then searches for the e-mail app Viggo uses, which is the only one present on this entire device.

He pauses for one nervous moment as he clicks on it, grimacing and holding his breath, and sees that Viggo is apparently the kind of person who legs himself off after every use.

He's lucky. He can log on with his own address and log back off without drawing suspicion.

But then he realizes he doesn't actually know where to send all of these to and briefly does he almost panic.

He doesn't have a lot of time here and Viggo does sometimes have the tendency to come home unexpectedly to "surprise him".

Does he send all of these to the police of his city? Do police even handle cases like fraud? Surely, they do? And do police stations even have e-mail addresses to mail to?

Hiccup feels a sense of anxiety creeping up on him. He doesn't have a lot to work with and he realizes the chances of this plan working aren't big, it all boils down to a gamble. His freedom, it will depend entirely on whether or not they will check an e-mail from the outside or not.

But his chances are good enough, aren't they? His full name is right there in his e-mail, they're not going to ignore a message coming from "Hiccup Haddock", right? Even if they've given up on him?

He doesn't feel like he has much of a choice. It's not like he can put all of this on a USB, run away, and personally get it to the police. He can't even leave the house, not even to get into the yard! And even if he did, he'll run into the same problem of risking giving the Grimborns enough time to either disappear, hurt him more, or both.

So Hiccup swallows his worries, feeling like he can't do this if he lets his fears get to him like this. E-mailing the police will have to do.

To distract himself, Hiccup continues his search for more incriminating information. He's not going to fit all of it in just one measly e-mail, but the more the merrier.

On his search for more, Hiccup comes across another one of those inconspicuous folders like the others he's looked through. Though this one, for some reason, is titled differently. Instead of the numbers used with the other folders, this one is named "personal project".

Despite the name change, Hiccup is confident he can find more evidence in this.

The second he clicks on that folder, he regrets it.

There are photos instead of files in this one, a lot of them. Some are very compromising, sensitive, the kinds you'd only find on one particular site on the internet.

And they're all of him.

Some were taken before his abduction and clearly without his knowledge. Like someone had been hiding behind corners with a camera and followed him in his daily life. There are photos that come from online, he recognizes the ones his girlfriend took and posted with his permission, which Viggo has stolen without.

And then some were taken after his kidnapping and those are the worst.

Because these are so humiliating. So, so humiliating! Compromising positions, in several states of undress, from almost every part of his body, ... And to make matters worse, he can't remember any of these ever having been taken.

What he does remember? The many, many times when he would randomly pass out during his time in the basement.

Staring at the countless pictures, Hiccup feels like he's burning. The fire that eats him alive isn't made out of a physical flame, it's the shame burning him to a crisp. Like he's been soaked in gasoline and lit up with a match, like he might actually writhe and scream.

Before he can stop himself, he's crying.

He's not thinking of Ryker when he does. Hunching forward, his face in his hands, he sobs and hiccups and sniffs. He's not quiet about it either.

He had no idea these pictures were being taken, no idea at all. But here they are, staring at him in the face, mocking him. He feels so humiliated.

It takes him a while to pull himself back together again. He doesn't know for how long he sits there, bawling his eyes out, struggling to breathe. The weight of what's been done to him has come crashing down on him once more and now it feels like he's drowning.

He wants to delete these pictures and hope that Viggo doesn't have them saved anywhere else. He wants to throw the whole damn computer away just to be sure, take his crutch or something heavier and then smash it to bits.

But he can't. Because if Hiccup does get rid of them, Viggo might notice that they're gone when he revisits them. And he's going to notice a missing or broken computer and that'll mean the end of him.

So as horrible as it is, he has to let every single one of them be.

Or maybe he doesn't quite need to leave them alone.

Pure anger on his face and tears still in his eyes, a white-hot rage that he's unfamiliar with coursing through his veins, he faces those pictures again.

Viggo thinks he can just make these pictures without his knowledge, without his permission, without expecting them to be used against him?

Fine. He, too, can play that game.

Viggo and Ryker will rot, even if it's the last thing he'll do.

Even if it means he'll be drawing his last breath at the end of all of this, they will pay.

Hiccup adds them to the list of things he'll be sending to the police. He'll worry about how these will make him look later, right now he's not in the right mindset to worry. He just wants Viggo to face the consequences of his actions.

This is proof of some of the abuse he's had to suffer through thus far, it's proof that he's been stalked prior to his abduction, and it will only make their list of crimes bigger and therefore the time they'll be serving longer.

Or that's what he hopes.

The police station of his choosing has a neat little "send e-mail" in their contact info and that's what he clicks on. He clicks on it several times, each e-mail filled to the brim with incriminating photos and files and all send from his address. The black market stuff they'll hopefully find on their own. That is, if Viggo is apprehended too quickly to wipe his device clean.

Hiccup hits send on the last one and has to take a breath.

He's an exhausted mess, his sleeves are wet with tears and filthy with snot. He should get cleaned up before his "beloved partner" comes home.

But he allows himself a moment of sweet, sweet vengeance.

"Well now, Viggo, I hope you like living with a timer." Hiccup tells the man, though he isn't here. From the second he met the man to the night of his kidnapping he's lived with one, whether he realized it or not. Now Viggo gets to live with one for a change.

And hopefully, this one will run out a lot quicker than his did.

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

When Hiccup ran away in the snow, Viggo wasn't expecting to be caught as quickly as he was, maybe there was a chance he wouldn't even be caught at all.

Wandering aimlessly in a forest with one foot broken, the other missing, and unprepared for the cold, the chances of Hiccup surviving at all were slim, to say the least. And that fishing town, they weren't close enough for someone familiar with the area to reach it in time, let alone someone who has never been there before.

But here he is, sitting at a table in an interrogation room in a police station. Not Port's as he's already been handed over to a different station. More specifically, he's been brought to New New Berk's.

But the agent standing opposite to him with a carton cup of lukewarm coffee in their hands, they're not from around here and that makes Viggo wonder what exactly he's been caught for.

Is it for fraud? Blackmarket dealings? But all of that information should be locked behind a password and he's been meticulous in what he keeps and deletes. he's even gotten rid of an entire hard drive just to be sure.

And yet, he knows Hiccup messed with his computer, he's caught him crying in front of the screen through a hidden camera. Though, he has figured by now that it meant he'd found Viggo's personal photographic collection of him.

It was amusing at the time. It served Hiccup right for sticking his nose in places where it didn't belong.

But that collection was protected, too, and so maybe Hiccup found more than just those photos. As a matter of fact, it might even be the most likely scenario. he regrets admitting to not thinking of Hiccup figuring out what he was looking at when he saw those hidden files.

But if it is only that, then maybe he can still get off with a relatively light punishment.

As Viggo is having his inner monologue with himself, Agent Mackle stares at him with a look the man can only call contempt. He finds the way the younger Grimborn brother is sitting there horribly arrogant. With his posh suit, polished look, expensive jewelry and accessories, straight back. The only signs of what might be distress are the heavier than usual bags under his eyes and the slightly frazzled hair, that latter is a feat with how short it is, and he only knows because he's seen pictures of Viggo before.

But it's not enough, not with a monster such as this one, and Viggo Grimborn has been a monster to many people.

They should be doing an interrogation, however, so they speak up.

"He was found, just so you know." Viggo looks up to the agent.

"Your brother. Dead, head split open with a shovel, you didn't even try to hide his body, did you? Bad enough that you don't care about laws and morals, but then not only did you decide to disregard human life, you also decided that your brother's wasn't worth it." Mackle starts, completely astounded by the lack of any feeling or remorse in one man. How much the victim must've suffered with him.

Or rather, victims.

On his own brother's death, the suspect doesn't have a comment and Viggo even looks away again, seemingly uninterested. Whether this is a ploy or because he truly doesn't care, Mackle finds both options agitating.

Viggo had been caught trying to leave Port to go back home, taking his luggage, and planning on taking his personal boat to get away. A messy escape for someone who looks like he prizes himself on his tactics and thinking things through.

But then, Port police also found his brother face down in a thin layer of snow in what was clearly meant to be a shallow grave, so something must've gone down that made the suspect want to pack up and leave in a hurry.

He hadn't even bothered to cover Ryker grimborn with a blanket or a tarp or anything, he just left him to be feasted on by foraging scavengers. What brotherly love there must've been between these two.

But oh, they do have something to say that might be interesting to Viggo.

"And oh, he was found, just so you know." Viggo, again, looks up to the agent, who sips from his cup. Except, this time he doesn't look as bored as he probably figures who they must be talking about.

"Hiccup Haddock, your little "pet project"? That's what you called him, right? He was found alive, despite you and your brother's best attempts at silencing him." There is a certain flavor to telling a criminal that they haven't succeeded in destroying a life. Well, haven't succeeded in destroying this one.

"And it's thanks to him that you won't just be charged with fraud and all that good stuff, but also multiple counts of kidnapping, murder, abuse, and, the most fun of all, all kinds of sexual assault. That's a long, long list Mr. Grimborn." Agent Mackle tells him, their disgust barely hidden. They're in their late twenties, maybe earlier thirties. Viggo can't pin an exact number on them.

He raises an eyebrow at the usage of "multiple counts", but he's not responding otherwise.

"I can already hear you think. How do they know? How can they arrest me for any of that with no bodies?" Mackle walks around, imitating how they think the suspect before them might sound as they pace, and then they face him again.

"Well, your last victim has a pretty good idea of where your brother buried your victims since you two were kind enough to take him to your murder cabin to kill him there, too, if, and I quote from Hiccup Haddock himself, he "didn't fall in line". He was kind enough to tell us in return." Mackle informs Viggo, making it clear they've been talking to him.

It worked for as long as it did because of the cabin's isolated location. It was on private property, which means people would keep away from that part of the forest. And kids, if they snuck on and saw something they were never meant to see, they would keep to themselves for fear of getting into trouble. Keep to themselves and very possibly repress everything they might've seen until it one day comes back to haunt and ruin them.

For effect, they lean on the table, cup still in hand.

"We've searched the property, Mr. Grimborn, and we're digging every single one of those poor souls up as we speak. We'll be making a lot of families happy this holiday." They continue.

"Well, probably not happy since their missing loved ones were found dead, after all, but they'll have close at long last." There is only a little sense of justice here. Viggo's arrest and sure to be punishment will not bring all those people back, but at least he'll finally be stopped. And it'll all be because of Hiccup.

There is still not a word from Viggo, but what did they expect? They have to suppress a sigh as they straighten.

"You were hard to catch, I'll admit that. We've recovered three of the bodies, so far. Their clothing, personal effects, and even physical traits helped us identify them. Let me tell you, we never would've linked them together." Mackle takes three of the case files he has on a neat stack on his side of the table and flips them open.

"There is no connection between gender, appearance, ethnicity, religion, and with your latest victim, no connection between sex either." He skims through some of the pages. There is even a "John" amongst those three.

The one thing they do have in common, though? Smarts.

"A med, student, a biochemist, an ambitious lawyer, and now an aspiring expert in draconic behaviors. A dragon whisperer if you will." Well, that is what the victim's closest loved ones have told them.

Closing the case files, they grab them and drop them back on the large pile of suspected victims, making quite the bang on the table. Viggo doesn't jump as badly as they would like.

"So tell me, how does it feel to know you were taken down by one of your pet projects? One of your many, many victims? I'm sure you thought you were smarter than all of them." Agent Mackle asks, hoping to finally break Viggo with at least one of these. All they want is a little crack in that stoic façade.

And finally, there is a response on Viggo's face, but not one they'd like to see. A smirk appears on his face.

"You ask me how I feel?" He asks and his gaze meets Mackle's.

"Hiccup and I know each other. The reason I could keep him under my thumb for so long is because I know him and therefore know where to push. I know how to get him to make certain sounds, I know how to make his body react that way I want it to react, I know how to make him obedient to me, the point is, agent, I know Hiccup through and through." Viggo takes a pause, enjoying this little confession of his.

"To the world, I'll be known as a monster, but I will also have my business empire-"

"Had. I don't think many of your partners or clients will want to have anything to do with your business anymore. Especially not now that they'll know you've been frauding your way into all of that money for your own gain." Agent Mackle quickly retorts, not liking Viggo's energy and enjoyment in all of this.

"However," Viggo completely ignores them, simply continuing to talk and sounding as arrogant as he possibly can. "Hiccup will only ever be known as the one who got away and he'll be lucky if that is all that he's known for. Even you only refer to him as my victim."

Mackle doesn't know what to say, furrowing their brows while Viggo's smirk remains true.

"So no matter how much he fought to get away from me, Hiccup Haddock will never escape the fact that he still belongs to me in the end." Viggo looks away at that, taking this as another checkmate. And the brand will prove that, too. Even if he has it removed, there were still be the scar of where it once used to be.

Mackle has seen a picture of it, seen the "V.G" burned into his flesh. They've seen many pictures depicting Hiccup. That a 19-year-old boy had to go through something like this... Age is another thing that didn't factor into what Viggo sought for in a future victim, but two of the identified bodies and a good amount of the suspected victims are young. Though Hiccup definitely stands out as the youngest of the bunch.

The worst part out of all of this is that Viggo isn't showing the slightest bit of remorse. He got caught and all he shows is a sick sense of pleasure in the knowledge that he and Hiccup will forever be connected through this.

He couldn't even care less about the death of his older brother. All that matters to him, is Hiccup.

Feeling sick to their stomach, Mackle takes their cup and the stack of yellowish folders, each thicker than the last, and leaves the interrogation room. They leave Viggo to wallow in his bad, bad thoughts.

[oohnoniall]

Queen of Serpents || Galan Ashryver x OC [Chapter Six]

{WARNINGS: adult language, fantasy violence, woman owning her sexuality and her body, woman using her sexuality and body as a weapon, woman saying “fuck emotions i’m scared”, manipulation mentions, toxic main character but she learns, toxic parents, self-harm in the form of self-poisoning, self-hate, fucked up family}

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four 

Chapter Five 

        Arya took Lord Middleditch's hand, noting the lack of callouses and the way his cuticles looked almost as nice as her own. He was a man who not worked for anything. A man who had never held a sword in his hand. He'd be so easy to play with. It had been far too long since Arya had been able to play her favorite game. Playing with the heart of men had been a pastime since she had first realized that she was something more than beautiful.

        She was sensual.

        She would seduce the man, sleep with his wife or betrothed, and then she would watch as he struggled to pick up the pieces. She had a habit of creating insatiable lust. She had a habit of becoming someone that no one could ever have. She was an untouchable woman. 

        She just had to keep reminding herself that it was safer to play the game than to be played. Dorian Havilliard had been the only man who had ever come close to breaking her heart. A heart that she wasn't sure she even had.

        Thomas' hand was stronger than she expected, his hold on her waist was tight enough to entice her. She fought the urge to smirk up at him. She wanted to make this last longer than it probably should. Seducing him within moments would only make the game end before she had her fun.

        As the two danced, she could feel a gaze on her. It caused an unfamiliar heat to rise in her stomach and spread across her chest. She knew without looking that Galan was watching them. She wondered if he realized that he had no claim over her. Just because he had been nothing but a gentleman since they had met meant nothing. Princelings often thought the world belonged to them. Any beautiful woman was theirs. Any possible thing they could wish for was theirs for the taking.

        Arya would never let that happen to her. She didn't care if she had to stab him to make her point widely known. Although, stabbing him would bring attention that she did not want. It seemed as though the princess was bound to make a terrible decision when it came to Galan Ashryver. It didn't matter what she wished.

        "I must say," Lord Middleditch's voice drew her out of her thoughts. His voice was a seductive drawl, deep and dark like the ocean's abyss. "I didn't expect you to show tonight."

        "And why is that?" One of her brows rose just slightly as she watched the smirk grow on his face. He was handsome enough. The worst part was that he knew that he was. That was bound to cause trouble.

        "Our prince is many things," he started, thinking over his words for a moment before continuing. "An idiot just happens to be one of them."

        "Is that so?" Arya tried to mask the amusement in her tone. "I thought he was quite revered. He fights for his country and is quite dashing. Surely that garners some respect."

        "Only an idiot would fight on the frontlines. Galan thinks he can take on Adarlan by himself."

        "Careful," Arya said before Thomas dipped her gently. "He happens to be my closest friend here."

        "Is that why you've been avoiding him all night?" So he was perceptive. That would have to be taken care of. Arya didn't need anyone seeing through her nor her plans. If he managed to find out that she was just trying to find a husband and steal them away to Kalthanen, who knew what would happen.

        He might decide he was the best man for the position. He might assume he'd be the best king for Kalthanen. She would never let that happen.

        "I have no idea what you're talking about," Arya gave him a demure smile. This man was sure to be someone who she watched for. He wasn't playing the same games that she was. "All I've done was dance with a few men. I'm allowed to do as I please. Free will is man's one true strength, wouldn't you agree?"

        The smirk on his lips chilled her to the core. He looked like a member of Kalthanen's court. The snake-like eyes, the handsome features that masked a horrid heart. She wanted to be sick just looking at him. She took a breath through her nose, knowing that she was being oversensitive. He didn't know anything about her. He would never know anything about her.

        No one could see behind any of the masks she wore. No one ever would. Hell, Arya did not know who she was. How was anyone else supposed to figure it out?

        "I would," Thomas spoke, twirling her just before the song ended. "You seem to have a choice to make." He stared over her head, watching someone nearing the two of them. "You can either spend the rest of your night with me or you could continue to give our prince hope."

        Arya did not glance behind her. She did not listen to the pull in her gut telling her that this was a bad idea. Her instincts normally protected her. She had made a habit of listening to them rather than anything else. She would get into trouble otherwise. But this was a decision that needed to be rationalized. She couldn't just listen to a stupid little pull in her gut. She had to think about what was best for her. What was best for Kalthanen.

        "Lead the way," Arya didn't know if she was going to regret her decision. She didn't think she cared. 

        Thomas took her by the arm, leading her out of the ballroom. As they slipped through the door, she turned her head to see Galan. A look of hurt on his face.

        Her stomach seemed to knot itself but she said nothing, did nothing, as Thomas walked her to the gardens.

        "I find it easier to think out here," he explained as they exited the castle through large, glass doors. The gardens were beautiful in the daylight but in the moonlight they were exquisite. She wondered how hard Galan had worked to make it that way. Had he even noticed it? 

        She didn't know why she was thinking of him. 

        "Yes, it's quite lovely," she said as they passed whispering couples and one who seemed more inclined to fighting than intimacy.

        Arya took it upon herself to note who was nearest them. In case anything happened, she wished to know who she might be able to rely on for protection. 

        It seemed as though the Fae had preferred the gardens to the crowded ballroom. Two Fae couples stood in the gardens, one just along the eastern wall. The woman was small, petite against the man's large frame. Her hair was the deepest ebony and she looked up at the man with the light of a thousand stars in her eyes. The man did not appear to be swayed by her otherworldly beauty. His tanned skin seemed to glow golden in the moonlight, shadows playing around him. He looked as though he was ready to destroy everything and everyone. But his large hand held the woman's smaller one and he appeared almost content. The other couple stood beside the hydrangea bushes just to the south of Arya and Lord Middleditch. The man's face held a tattoo that she could not make out, his white hair flowing down his back and a dark glare on his face. The woman's golden hair was braided in a crown on her head, an impish smile on her face as she said something that Arya couldn't hear. The tattooed man's face grew darker.

        "Don't let them frighten you," Thomas told her with a slight sigh. "They think just because the Ashryver's have Fae blood that they're allowed here. It's quite disgusting if you ask me."

        "I didn't," Arya stated as they sat down on a bench just outside of a maze that was filled with roses and jasmine. Arya briefly wondered how they managed to keep the jasmine alive in Wendlyn. She allowed herself to think of the land back home, where the jasmine grew wild and where she had spent hours in her youth laying on the ground and watching as the flowers bloomed around her. Arya truly loved Kalthanen, even if she knew it could be a horrible place full of equally horrifying people.

        "No, I suppose you didn't," he said with an amused chuckle. No warmth was in his laugh nor in his eyes. "Now, Arya, tell me what you're doing here."

        "Kalthanen needs new trading partners," the lie slid off her tongue easily.

        "Don't lie to me, Princess," the lordling said. "I know better than that. You and your dearest cousin are here for a reason. Now, I can be of service to you, or we can keep lying to each other about our intentions."

        "And what exactly are your intentions?" Arya looked at him, her eyes filled with boredom. She would not let any man get under her skin. She wouldn't allow anyone to tell her who she was or what her plans were. No one had any right to try and control her. No one would ever be that important to her. She had known that from a very young age.

        "What else would they be?" Thomas questioned, looking down at her with a raised brow. "I intend to sweep you off your feet and leave Wendlyn as far behind me as I possibly can."

        "You have faith in yourself," she almost snorted before remembering herself. "I don't intend to give anyone my heart, my Lord," she said the title with more venom than anyone could have mustered.

        "I didn't say anything about stealing your heart," he shrugged his shoulders once as he looked down at her. "Make no mistake, you're beautiful. Any man would be lucky to have you. But we both know that you don't want Galan. I assume that you didn't manage to snag Dorian Havilliard. There are few princes left in this world."

        "There are several island nations left." Arya pointed out.

        "Yes, but what would they do for you?" Thomas questioned, taking her hand in his. She didn't quite hate how soft they were. "They wouldn't strength Kalthanen. If anything, it would just weaken your country. No, you need something better than islands. You need someone from Wendlyn or Adarlan. Since a prince won't do, a Lord would be the next best thing."

        Arya didn't correct him. How could she? He had read her mind.

        "Besides, we can take over from your brother and your cousin in due time. For now, we would be playing the happy newlyweds."

        "What's in it for you?" He was offering too much. There had to be something he wanted. No one was this eager to marry someone they did not know. Briefly, thoughts of Galan went through her mind. What would she do if he found out? What if he learned that she was marrying someone she didn't know despite the way he looked at her? Despite how he made her stomach knot and her heart hammer.

        It was for that reason that she was considering this whole, stupid mess. She didn't want to think about Galan anymore. Didn't want to think about the task at hand. He was offering her a chance to get away from here before she lost some integral part of herself.

        "I'd get off this miserable rock," he stated as he turned his face to look at the stars. The moonlight bathed his skin in silvery light, causing his golden skin to glow. "I'd be able to lay about in a palace by the sea, have a beautiful woman in my bed, and never hear my father's voice again. The potential to become a king consort is also quite tempting."

        "Power and escape," Arya's voice was soft as she stared at the maze in front of them. The twists and turns of the hedges matched by her train of thought. This couldn't be this easy. It made no sense for anything to be as painless as this whole thing. "Do not expect me to love you."

        "As long as you expect the same from me," Thomas said, his gaze turning to her. His eyes were black in the moonlight. She could not tell what was iris and what was the pupil. Did it even matter? She wouldn't be falling for his eyes. Wouldn't be blinded by the fire that blazed within them.

        "Allow me to think on this." She didn't need to think on anything. It was the best she could ever do. He would be the one she would be able to take back to Kalthanen. They would marry and she would kill him after they were crowned.

        "Of course," Thomas stood then, taking her hand as he did. The fluidity of his movements made her wonder if perhaps he had some Fae in his bloodline. He brushed a kiss to her knuckles before releasing her hand and disappearing into the night. She didn't know if she was grateful to be alone or not. 

        She could hear the couple fighting from earlier. The man telling the woman off for hiding a weapon in the lining of her gown. Arya was almost impressed that she had managed it. The woman seemed to think it was nothing. Their voices drowned out the sound of footsteps coming from behind her.

        "You disappeared," his voice caused an unwelcome chill to go through her spine. Her hands gripped the bench, her white knuckles hidden by her voluminous skirts.

        "I needed air," lying came so naturally to the manipulator. The would-be-queen knew that she didn't need to lie to him. But it was easier than admitting to what had just transpired. "The gardens are quite beautiful at night. I don't know why you hadn't thought to bring me before."

        "I saw Lord Middleditch with you," he ignored her words. Arya bristled at that, but he continued before she could say anything. "You can't trust a word that man says. He's the closest thing to evil I know."

        "Careful, Galan," she refused to look at him. "You almost sound jealous."

        A sharp intake of breath came from him. Arya wanted to look back and see his expression but she did not allow herself to. It was none of her concern what Galan Ashryver thought of who wanted to know her.

        "I doubt I have anything to be jealous over," he said as he moved to sit beside her. "You have better taste than him."

        "You don't know me well enough to know that," Arya spoke softly, still refusing to catch his eye. She didn't want to see the grin on his face. Didn't want to see what the moonlight did to him. If it made Thomas look beautiful, she was certain that Galan would look ethereal. Those Ashryver eyes would surely be brighter than stars, his smile would look as though the gods themselves had blessed it. It was too much for her to take. "I nearly married Dorian Havilliard. That should tell you everything about my taste."

        She felt him stiffen beside her, his arm tense where it brushed against hers. She knew that it was not due to the muscle that had been built up by years upon years of training.

        "Then I know that you deserve better," his voice was soft. Barely a whisper. Goosebumps rose along her skin at the very tone of his voice. She hated it. Hated how she reacted to him.

        "You don't know what I deserve, Galan. You barely know me," she stood then, clenching her fists to avoid him seeing how her hands were shaking. She didn't want him to ever see her as weak. She didn't need that from him. "Don't pretend to know me. It will only lead to you being dreadfully disappointed."

        "Nothing you could ever do would disappoint me, Arya," he stood with her, taking her hand in his. She hated how it felt. His calloused hands were bigger than her own, rough and ready to fight at a moment's notice. Without his crown and the way he carried himself, one would never realize that he was a prince. She wished he was more like a prince. Like some pompous ass who she would sooner put a blade through than bed.

        "He asked me to marry him," Arya nearly winced when Galan's hold tightened. It did not hurt. It had just been unexpected. The look on his face, however, was not.

        Galan's easy smile had been replaced by a wounded look. Though his square jaw was set, his lips thinned, and the tendons in his neck were showing he did not appear to be angry. His eyes burned with a fire that told her the truth. He hated to think that anyone else would ask her for the time of day. But what right did he have? What right did any of them have to expect anything from her? 

        "Did you say yes?" She hated how his voice didn't break, hated how he could sound so solid despite his eyes betraying him. It made everything far too easy and yet also made it the hardest thing she'd ever done.

        "Yes," another lie. All she had ever done was lie to him. Their entire relationship was built on the fact that he couldn't trust her. That no one could trust her. "We'll leave for Kalthanen soon enough."

        Galan dropped her hand, staring straight ahead at the maze of roses. "Stay, Arya. You ... You should stay. At least until the season changes and it's safer to sail."

        Arya stared at him for a moment, shaking her head slightly. "I should go. It's growing late," her voice was strong despite the fact that she wanted it to break. She wanted to be able to show that she felt something. But she couldn't. She didn't. She'd been trained for years to avoid anyone ever seeing her. From anyone being able to touch her in a way she didn't like.

        She slipped away from him, avoiding her chambers and Calanon. She walked down corridors that were filled with laughing couples and sconces blazed with warm, friendly light. She passed them as though she were a ghost amongst them. She didn't want to be one of them. She had always wanted to be the one who rose above everyone. She wanted the power, the responsibility. She wanted to change the world. To protect Kalthanen from every bad thing that would ever happen to the island nation.

        Even if it meant selling her soul.

        Arya caught sight of Lord Middleditch as she passed by the ballroom. Her feet ached, her chest felt as though it was breaking, and she could barely keep standing. He, on the other hand, looked as fresh as a daisy. His smile was radiant, his laughter hollow as he drank from a golden goblet.

        She walked back into the ballroom, her chin held high and her back as straight as she could make it. She didn't care anymore. This whole mess with Galan needed to end. The looks they sent each other, the way she felt when he was around her. She couldn't handle him. Couldn't handle what she felt around him. That was why she needed to do the one thing she was sent for.

        "Lord Middleditch," the name fell from her lips as easily as a lie. They would, after all, be spending the rest of their lives lying to everyone. "Might I have a word with you?"

        "Of course, Your Highness," he gave her a small bow before he excused himself from his friends. Arya led him towards a small alcove that overlooked the high windows at the back of the room. Moonlight poured through them, giving the appearance of a sanctuary.

        "I've thought over your proposal," she knew it had been too fast. She knew she should have waited until the next day to speak with him. But Galan had left her flustered. She never wanted a man to leave her flustered again. She was supposed to be the one in control. She didn't care if Calanon was angered by not knowing of the plan. She didn't care what he did to her. Luna would take care of him if he became too much of a problem.

        "And?" Thomas looked at her curiously. His dark eyes were not just a dark color. They were black. She wondered if it was a warning sign of sorts. But she was beyond thinking clearly.

        "I accept," she didn't bother to smile at him. Didn't bother to pretend to be happy about their betrothal. It was business not pleasure. They both knew it. They could pretend for the rest of the world, but she would not pretend with him. It would be stupid to let him think she would ever care for him.

        As soon as he was no longer useful, he would cease to breathe.

        He lifted his goblet then, a grin on his lips. His teeth were straight, blindingly white. A sinking feeling filled her gut as he stared down at her. Had this been a good idea? Would she grow to regret it? Arya didn't allow herself to think of this. She wouldn't question her own choices. Not when there had been nothing else for her to do.

        "Long live the queen."

[myzoowiktoriaizydorczyk]

Amnesia The Game Trilogy

Amnesia is a Trilogy of Games, the first one being “Amnesia: The Dark Descent”(2010), then “Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs”(2013) and the last one “Amnesia: Rebirth” (2020)

“Frictional Games” is the studio that developed the first and the third game in the Amnesia series. They started out in 2007 as a virtual company of 25 employees around Europe, later on they set up an office in Malmö,Sweden which consists of half of these employees and interns.

“The Chinese Room” is the studio that developed “The Dark Descent”, the company originated as a mod team for Half Life 2 based in University of Portsmouth in 2007, in 2018 they became a subsidiary of Sumo Digital.

About

All of the Amnesia games are first person perspective survival horror adventures, all of the protagonists are amnesiacs that explore mysterious and dangerous locations while solving puzzles, maintaining sanity and avoiding monsters. Even though this is a horror game, there are only few jump scares - the game relies on music and atmosphere to manipulate the players mind into making the games scarier than they actually are.

The player has to avoid and run away from enemies since there is no way of fighting back. The locations are usually dark so you are forced to carry around a lantern and light up torches you find, if you do not do that then the character’s sanity will decrease and eventually lead to death.

Each of the games is taking place in a different locations and at a different point in time, there is also a different protagonist in all of the games. The main protagonist wakes up in a abandoned location, with no clue of what they are doing there. They explore the are and find their own items, notes and diary entries of his own dairy. As they collects those items he starts to remember what happened.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent

Story

The protagonist - Daniel -goes on an expedition to Africa in 1832 to find an Orb which has supernatural powers and has influenced history of Britan. During the expedition he finds it, however the floor collapses and he is later on rescued by Arab Diggers. He is forced to come back to England, however his team suddenly disappears, Daniel then realises that everyone he comes in contact with dies soon after his visit. Paranoid that he is next, he manages to find help from Alexander of Brennenburg.

Turns out that Alexander is torturing animals and humans to extract an essence (”vitae”) which is used to activate the orb, he manipulates Daniel into helping him to kidnap and torture people as doing this will free him of the “Shadow” that is killing everyone around him, but in turn he can use the orb for his own purposes.

Daniel get’s filled with guilt as he realises what he is doing, he decides that he wants to start anew without those horrible images so he drinks a poison that causes amnesia - only leaving him self a not with his name, his willingness to forget, and resolve to kill Alexander for what he has done. This is where the game begins. 

Then he is on a quest of escaping form the “Shadow” and trying to prevent Alexander from completing his ritual but most importantly to kill him.

Trailer

I like how the trailer started zooming in on a colapsed tunnel, they tried to build tension but It would have worked better if they had music building up there. Instead they bump up the music when they show the character wandering around the castle, even though there is nothing there the tension builds up but it’s ruined  they cut between two different locations, the music just stops and changes to a different one.

After the character jumps into a hole it blacks out after a while to show a chase scene - it would have made more sense if it switched instantly mid jump. 

Then again after an intense scene the character just walks infront of an enemy and crouches there staring at him - which makes no sense. This trailer would have made more sense if they decided not to show the enemies which would have created a intrigued people and made them want to buy the game.

Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs

Story

In 1899, the protagonist Oswald Mandus returned from a disastrous expedition to Mexico, he was hit by fever and has returned home. He falls asleep for months, he dreams of a dark machine until he wakes up - when he does he hears his children calling for him.

During his search Mandus hears a machine, then a phone calls him to tell him that if he wishes to save his children he needs to repair the machine. When he manages to do so, he realises that he has been betrayed as he has killed his children before falling asleep and the voice was his other half of his soul that is combined with the machine. 

The machine unleashes an army of pigment into London, Oswald then goes and destroys the machine learning that he killed his children after seeing a vision of their death in WW1. He then destroys the machine, dying along with it. 

Trailer

This trailer starts off with a child talking which is always a scary feature to add to a trailer, aspecially if like in this cas, there is a demonic muffled voice talking along with them. They use those high pitched sounds and build the tension from the very start, which is absolutely great, then they do a montage of locations that switches in the rythm of the music.

One of these scenes I find hilarious as they show that the protagonist is starting to pull a lever, but then they suddenly stops - this is because in Amnesia games a lot of people struggle with interacting with things such as doors, levers etc. as the mechanic of that seems a little broken: they could have easily redone that moment and they would only waste 5 seconds.

After the exploration of the locations, they do a well executed transition from calm to sneaking around in absolute since with no music but horrifying sounds of the pigman. Unlike in the previous trailer, this time they don’t show the monster which is amazing as they make the player scared just using the noise and saving the suprise of seeing it for themself.

Amnesia: Rebirth

Story

This game is set in 1937, Anastasie “Tasi” Trianon wakes up in a crashed plane in an Algerian dessert. She searches for her missing companions, as she travels she finds notes that give her back the memories. She discovers that she has a relic that can make her jump into other realities and then she remembers that she is pregnant. 

She ends up at an abandoned French fort, the military killed for unknown reason. She remembers they were here before, she manages to find a radio and contacts one of the survivors who tells her to go to a village nearby. However the building crumbles and she falls deeper into the ruins, she has to avoid ghouls which try to attack and kill her. She finds her self in the alien world, where she learns that the ghouls are there hunting her since they want to capture them and create “vitae” to extend their lives. But the world was destroyed  and “Shadows” have emerged, these shadows decided to chase after Tasi as she had to use an Orb to return to her reality. 

After returning her pregnancy developed few months, she discovers the remains of an expedition from the first game. As she is about to rift to the village, the shadows cause her to go to the alienworld where she discovers that her child is really sick, a spirit tells her that vitae can cure her child ( players choice), she also discovers that the spirit was the ruler of that land but an uprising stood against her which destroyed the other world. 

She finally finds the village but her pregnancy developed once more and everyone there is dead, she enters a tower where one of her companions is turning into a ghoul - the ghoul dies by the hand of her other companion and Tasi gives birth in a nearby cave but they steal her relic and her child. 

She runs into the other world, she remembers that the spirit offered to save the group after the crash in exchange for the baby. When Tasi denied, the spirit tricked them into drinking a fountain that infected them and started causing them to turn into ghouls - hence why taxi’s companion stole the child, to bargain for a cure.

Tasi kills her companion and is faced with a choice weather or not to give up her child to the spirit or not. Leaving her would mean that the child would live, however taking her means that she would eventually die.

Trailer

This trailer shifts from the crashed plane and the protagonist exploring the mysterious ruins around her. As the man in the radio get’s more desperate, the protagonists starts panting and runnining for her life the music builds up until it suddenly stops when she gets trapped.

After a few seconds with no music, we are blasted with it, there is so much of different sounds that you cannot wrap your head around them - this represents how the protagonists must feel as she is once again fighting for sutvival

sources:

https://amnesia.fandom.com/wiki/Amnesia:_The_Dark_Descent

https://amnesia.fandom.com/wiki/Amnesia:_A_Machine_for_Pigs

https://amnesia.fandom.com/wiki/Amnesia:_Rebirth

https://frictionalgames.com/about-frictional/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chinese_Room

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1nY_5-UrY4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZV6Fwx_Sf4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NiQAlGUw_o

[ofimmortalfangs]

Alucard/Arikado’s bio. 

This is video game Alucard only. His portrayal is only based off of the video games. 

Full name: Adrian Farenheights Tepes. In CV 3, SOTN, and Nocuturne of Recollection he goes by Alucard. In Aria of Sorrow, Dawn of Sorrow, and GOS he goes by Genya Arikado. 

Date of birth: December 21st 14xx 

    Height: 6’3    

Weight: 187lbs 

Family: Vlad Dracula Tepes (father), Lisa Tepes (Mother), Kid Dracula/Dracula/Junior (brother), possibly Elvis/Yves (brother) 

Alucard appears in Dracula’s Curse/Castlevania 3, Symphony of the Night, Nocturne of Recollection, Aria of Sorrow, Dawn of Sorrow, and Grimorie of Souls, and Moonlight Rhapsody. He’s 18 years old in Symphony of the Night due to his eternal slumber, preserving his age. 

Canon Backstory: Alucard’s father was born as a human named Mathias Cronqvist. He came from a wealthy family and he worked as a tactician for the church. In secret, he practiced alchemy, which was deemed immoral by the church. When his first wife Elisabetha died he renounced his faith in God and manipulated his best friend Leon Belmont into saving his fiancé from a vampire named Walter. Sara was bitten by Walter and was starting to turn into a vampire. She didn’t want to live as one, so she decided sacrifice herself.  She wanted to use her soul to create a weapon called the Vampire Killer. The Vampire Killer is a whip that has the power to destroy vampires and evil creatures. With the help of an alchemist named Rinaldo, they placed Sara’s soul to an enchanted whip called the vampire killer. Leon then used the whip to kill Walter. Death, a former servant of Walter stole his soul and gave it to Mathias who turns into a vampire with the soul and a powerful stone called the Crimson Stone. Mathias asked to turn Leon, but he refused. Leon saw no point in being immortal without Sara and believes it’s his job to prevent others from ending up like Sara. Mathias could not accept Leon’s decision so he, forced Death to fight him. With the Vampire Killer, Leon defeats Death and vows that his kin will haunt monsters and kill Mathias one day.  

Years later Mathias became the king of the vampires and went by Dracula. He meet a young doctor named Lisa who happened to be the reincarnation of his first wife Elisabetha. Dracula married Lisa and she gave birth to a dhampire named Adrian. Adrian lived a happy life with his parents, inheriting his father’s supernatural abilities and his mother’s compassion for people. He mostly lived at his father’s castle and did not venture out much or interact with any humans.  

When Adrian grew up his mother was killed by humans who believed she was a witch. When Lisa dyed she asked Adrian to not hate the humans for killing her. Adrian became distraught by her loss, but promised to not harm them. A friend of Adrian’s mother named Lydumil tried to stop Lisa from being killed. The village kicked Lydumil out for being “a devil” and conspiring with a “witch.” Lydumil had no where to go, so he reached out to Adrian and offered himself as a servant. Apart from Lisa, Lydmuil became Adrian’s first interaction with humanity. Adrian, happily accepts Lydumil as his first real friend. For the time being Adrian is not alone. However, Ldyumil ends up being hurt by a monster, and is believed to have died. 

Dracula, finds out that his wife has been murdered by humans, and desires to wipe them all out. He gathers his necromancer friends Isaac and Hector to help destroy humanity. When Adrian finds out about his father’s plans, he tries to put a stop to them. Dracula refuses to listen to his son and Adrian changes his name to Alucard. The name Alucard, symbolizes that Adrian will be the opposite of his father. While Dracula, hates God and humanity, Adrian bares no ill will to them. 

In 1476, Alucard teams up with three humans to defeat his father. Their names are Trevor Belmont, Sypha Belnades, and Grant Dynasty. Trevor, is the descendant of Leon Belmont, and he, is a monster hunter. Trevor’s family has been excommunicated by the Catholic Church for their use of “dark magic”, despite being a holy family who wants to save people from evil. Sypha Belandes is a sorceress, who works alongside the church by masquerading as a man. And Grant Dynasty is a thief. Together the four of them destroy Dracula. Once, Dracula is defeated, Trevor and Sypha get married, and Grant helps the people rebuild their homes. Alucard, comes to the belief that his blood is cursed, and that he is plague to humanity. He locks himself, away in a coffin to sleep forever. 

However, Alucard awakens in 1797. In the game Symphony of the Night, Alucard finds out that Dracula was resurrected from the dead, by Richter Belmont. Richter was a vampire hunter, and the descendant of Sypha and Trevor. Alucard, returns to his father’s castle, determined to put an end to him once more. When he arrived at the castle, he met Maria Renard. Maria is a sorceress, and Richter’s adoptive sister. Alucard and Maria, found out that Richter was under control of a dark priest named Shaft. Alucard, freed Richter from Shaft’s control, and went on to kill his father once more. After the castle is destroyed, Alucard intended to go back to his eternal slumber. However, Maria, having grown attached to Alucard goes after him. She convinced him, that he was not a monster and offered him a place to stay. Reluctantly, Alucard accepted her request and moved in with her. 

In Nocturne of Recollection we find out more about Alucard and his life with Maria. A year after Alucard moved in Maria, rumors in the town spread of a vampire drinking the blood of young women. Alucard, was believed to be responsible for this. It is revealed, that Alucard is not the one behind the deaths of these villagers. Lydumil, is revealed to still be alive 300 years later. Somehow Lydumil was turned into a vampire and is now under mind control. Alucard, managed to free his friend from his mind control, returning him to his true self, right before he dies. Alucard came to the realization that he cared for his friend Maria, he never told her how much her friendship meant to him, knowing that she too would die someday. 

Centuries after Nocturne of Recollection, Alucard goes to defeat his father once more in 1999. With the help of Julius Belmont, Alucard traps his father’s castle in an eclipse as he kills Dracula once and for all. Alucard ends up staying on Japan and gets a job working for a government agency that deals with the supernatural. He’s kind of like a Men in Black agent. He ends up changing his name (again) to Genya Arikado and takes on a more human appearance. (Said human appearance makes him look like a clone of his father) 

In the year 2035, it’s revealed that Dracula has reincarnated into a teenager named Soma Cruz. Arikado was tasked with looking out for the boy and making sure that he did not become the dark lord. 

Information 

Relationship status: Single. 

Religious Beliefs: Christian. He’s well aware of the horrific events and actions that churches and Christians have caused on others throughout history and doesn’t align himself with those actions.   

Personality: Alucard comes off as stoic and unemotional, but that is far from the truth. He has a lot going on down below is a caring and compassionate ally he prefers to show his care for others through actions instead of words of acts of intimacy. He’s driven and devoted to protect humanity and honor Lisa’s dying wish. He has a rather cynical view of the world and himself due to visiting his mother’s death and having humans try to hunt his kind. For these reasons he is very secretive and vague and hesitant to enter into relationships especially the romantic kind. After centuries of struggling with hating himself, watching hunters try to kill him, and being forced to pretend to be human Alucard doesn’t know how to properly open himself up to others or be himself. Not to mention that all his friends are mortals that he will have to watch grow old and leave him. He can be intimidating and manipulative at times specifically failing to inform people of important things (usually Soma) 

Positive personality traits: ambitious, driven, determined, devoted, brave, diligent, focused, quiet, compassionate, responsible, calm, loyal, strong willed, and knowledgeable. 

Negative personality traits: cold, distant, detached, bossy, unemotional, self damaging, self hating, pessimistic, sullen, unflirty, cynical, aloof, bossy, vague, secretive, workaholism.

Powers and abilities: Soul Steal, Dark Metamorphosis, quick healing, inability to get sick, fire manipulation in the form of fireballs, shape shifting (wolf, bat, or poisonous mist, Arikado), super human speed, super human strength, enhanced senses such as being able to smell and identify a human by their blood scent, flight, teleportation, hypnotism, ability to turn others into vampires, and immunity to all holy items/symbols and places.

Weaknesses: silver, silver mirrors, running water (without the holy snorkel) (baths and showers are fine), to much sunlight, his thirst for blood, and an obsessive desire to count things. 

Weapons: swords, fangs, claws. He will rarely if ever use his fangs or claws as weapons, and mostly relies on his sword skills. 

Friends: Trevor Belmont, Sypha Belnades, Grant Danasty, Lydumil, Sonia Belmont (you will not pry her from my hands, canon), Richter Belmont, Maria Renard, Yoko Belnades, Julius Belmont, Lucy Westerna, Avis/Elvis/Yves, Charlotte Aulin, Jonathan Morris)

MBTI: INTJ 

Hobbies: Reading, drawing, sleeping, researching working, and practing his swords skills. 

Pets: Three fruit bats named Charles, Terrence, and Edmund. 

Appearance: In his vampiric form he has porcelain pale. He is very tall and lean, but still muscular. His hair is white. It’s long and curly, reaching all the way down to his waist. His eyes are very narrow and he has arched eyebrows. His nose is long and thin. And his lips are thin and pale. 

In his human disguise his skin is still incredibly pale. His face and body shape do not change. However, his hair is black and wavy. It only goes down past his shoulders. His eyes have changed from their usual golden color, to a dark gray. 

Regardless of what form he is in Alucard dresses very conservatively, in expensive and fancy clothes. He always wears long sleeved clothing, in dark colors. Around his neck is usually a scarf or a cravat.

[solartranslations]

VF Ash Chapter 3: Lies or Truth

Although he doesn’t trust easily, his strong desire to save Joshua causes him to act…

~*Scene: VF Ash’s Cabin Deck 2*~

Ash: You are seriously violent…

❤≪Ash≫ Seems irritated

Daily: Why does she have to kick me just for being naked!

Person: Don’t stare at people, Strawberry Head

Place: But it’s a good thing I didn’t go alone…she saved me

Ash: And turning into tiger when I look in a mirror is just a characteristic of mine…or something!

Ash: I told you to feed me an apple beforehand, right?

Ash: If I tell you something in a situation like that, you better believe it’s important

Felicita: …

Ash: And don’t freak out just because I’m naked. If people weren’t around, I’d just be like that all the time

Ash: What’s wrong with being naked in my own home? And you seriously had to kick me…

>Shut up

(-5 Amore)

>Well you’re being annoying too

(No Amore)

Ash: Geez. You’re so ungrateful

Ash: You are really getting on my nerves

Ash: We’re done talking about this. It’s going nowhere

❤≪Ash≫ Seems irritated

Person: Such a pain

Arcana: There’s still things we have to do

Person: I have my reasons

Ash: And we have better things to do

Ash: First, I want to ask you about this “Justice” Tarocco that might be possessing Joshua

Ash: He wanted you to use the power of the “Wheel of Fortune” on him. What does that mean?

~*Flashback*~

Gli Amanti: When you have the resolve to lose anything, you can use the power of “Wheel of Fortune” when necessary

Gli Amanti: I don’t know what will happen with “Wheel of Fortune”. But…

Gli Amanti: It will certainly change the relationship between the Tarocco and its master

~*End Flashback*~

Ash: So you don’t know what will happen, but it will change the relationship between the Tarocco and its master…

❤≪Ash≫ Seems concerned

Arcana: So it doesn’t change that Strawberry Head is my secret weapon

Person: She doesn’t…fool me

Daily: She’s good person but I’ll use it…

Daily: We need information and power

Ash: “The resolve to lose everything” means the compensation we talked about yesterday, right? Guess you can’t use it right away even if I asked

Ash: You are all seriously a pain, Arcana Famiglia

❤≪Ash≫ Seems irritated

Person: I was the one who caused Joshua to touch the Tarocco

Arcana: I can’t believe I let this happen

Person: I’ll keep my promise to my dad…

Pain: Loneliness

Ash: All I wanted was to return the Tarocco to this ship…

>……You can’t think of what to do?

(No Amore)

>If there’s anything I can do…

(+10 Amore)

Ash: Yeah. So be quiet

Felicita: …

Ash: But you don’t know anything about the Tarocco, right?

Ash: Then while those skeletons around, there’s nothing you can do

Ash: *sigh*……

Ash: Strawberry Head…would any of your friends know how to turn Joshua back?

❤≪Ash≫ Seems to be hiding something

Daily: What’s the fastest way to get results

???: I can’t see very well here

>I think Jolly might know

(+10 Amore)

>I don’t know unless I ask

(No Amore)

Ash: That’s the alchemist with the sunglasses…

Ash: I see…

❤≪Ash≫ Seems to be hiding something ❤≪Ash≫ Seems to be hiding something

Person: I’ll save Joshua

Pain: My promise with my father…

Daily: What’s the fastest way to get results

Pain: My promise with my father…

Person: I’ll save Joshua

Daily: What’s the fastest way to get results

Ash: Please, Felicita

❤≪Ash≫ Seems to be hiding something

Daily: I’ll use anything to achieve my goal as quickly as possible

Person: It’s best to get her to act while I hit the books

Place: The books in the hold should have some clues

Ash: It can be tomorrow morning, but can you ask your friends for help? They won’t answer if it’s me

Ash: I want to save Joshua as soon as I can

❤≪Ash≫ Seems to be hiding something

Person: That should get Strawberry Head to act

Daily: I’ll use anything to achieve my goal as quickly as possible

Link: I’ll save Joshua

Pain: My promise with my father

>Ash, you’re hiding something important. I want you to tell me the truth

(+20 Amore)

>Are you being sincere?

(+10 Amore)

>I can tell you’re trying to use me

(-10 Amore)

Ash: I’m not hiding anything… Why would you think that?

Ash: Joshua’s a good person, right? He’s the only one on this ship I can talk to during the day

Ash: This can’t go on. I’ll lose my…precious family

Ash: …Of course

Ash: Strawberry Head, you’re not as easily swayed by emotion as you look

Ash: I misjudged you. I didn’t think you would say that with how you talked to me this afternoon

(Skip the next dialogue choice box)

Ash: ……

Ash: That’s a terrible accusation

(Skip the next dialogue choice box)

❤≪Ash≫ Seems to be hiding something ❤≪Ash≫ Seems irritated ❤≪Ash≫ Seems irritated

Person: …That was unexpected

Pain: I’ll save Joshua

Person: My promise with my father

Daily: I’ll use anything to achieve my goal as quickly as possible

???: I can’t see very well here

Link: I have to fool her

Person: …That was unexpected

Daily: I’ll use anything to achieve my goal as quickly as possible

Pain: I’ll save Joshua

Person: …That was unexpected

Link: I have to fool her

Daily: I’ll use anything to achieve my goal as quickly as possible

Pain: I’ll save Joshua

❤≪Ash≫ Seems to be hiding something

Daily: I’ll suggest that we split up and look…

Link: I have to fool her

Pain: Joshua is like family

Person: My promise with my father

>Joshua is like family?

>You want to split up and look for a way to help Joshua?

Ash: …Yeah. We’re not actually related

Ash: …That would really help

Ash: ……

❤≪Ash≫ Seems irritated

Daily: …I have to trust my intuition

Pain: What’s this…weird feeling

Person: Has she always been able to guess what I’m thinking?

Felicita: …

Ash: …Hey, Strawberry Head…

❤≪Ash≫ Seems to be plotting

Daily: Your skirt’s been flipped up ever since you kicked me and I can see your panties

???: I can’t see very well here

>……

>……!

(*blush) Felicita: Wah!

Ash: I can’t actually see them

Felicita: !

(*kick)

Ash: And…there’s the kick

❤≪Ash≫ Seems confused ❤≪Ash≫ Seems confused

Person: …So it’s true…?

Person: …So it’s true…?

Ash: You guessed exactly what I was thinking. And with confidence too

❤≪Ash≫ Seems irritated

Pain: So I was the one getting fooled

Daily: It’s not like me to rely on other people

Person: That’s sick

Ash: I thought it was just a quirk or something that you always stare at me…but it isn’t, is it?

Felicita: Wha

Felicita: …!

Ash: It doesn’t make any sense for your face to go red in the middle of our conversation

❤≪Ash≫ Seems irritated

Person: The hell!

Daily: I have my reasons and that’s all you need to know

Person: She’s been staring at…my heart?

Arcana: Is that really possible?

Ash: You also don’t talk a lot…and it made me uneasy

Ash: You’re like the ghosts on this ship. Even if I don’t say anything, they talk as if they can see through everything

Ash: What you say is too accurate

Ash: Is that…the true power of the “Wheel of Fortune”?

Ash: If there’s a power that lets you impersonate another, then it’s not strange for there to be one that lets you read minds

>No…

>It’s not the “Wheel of Fortune”

Ash: Right, the “Wheel of Fortune” isn’t a power you can use whenever you feel like it…

Ash: Then are you just naturally perceptive like that?

Ash: It’s not…? What do you mean?

Ash: Talk

❤≪Ash≫ Seems irritated

Link: Am I this mad because I trusted her?

Person: Strawberry Head just didn’t tell the truth

Person: I will make her talk

Daily: I have my reasons and that’s all you need to know

???: I can’t see very well here

Felicita: …

Ash: Nothing good will come out of keeping quiet

Ash: You think I’m nice enough to forgive you for not telling me?

Ash: There’s no telling what I’ll do once I lose my patience

>I’m hosting two Tarocco

>I’m also hosting “The Lovers”

Ash: Two Tarocco…how so?

Ash: “The Lovers” and the “Wheel of Fortune”…so it’s possible to host two Tarocco at once…

Ash: That means the power of “The Lovers” is to read people’s thoughts/p>

Ash: So the power of “The Lovers” is to read hearts

Ash: Does that mean everything you’ve said up until now is just you repeating whatever you saw in my heart?

>You’re wrong

(-10 Amore)

>It doesn’t let me see everything

(-10 Amore)

Ash: How am I wrong!!

Ash: Can you prove that I am?

Ash: It’s sick that you would pry into people’s hearts without permission

Ash: As if you could!

Ash: You don’t need to see everything. Do you know how complex human thought is?

Ash: But you can understand what holds the most weight in a person’s heart…It must be pretty fun for you to manipulate things to go your way

Ash: Do your friends even know about your powers?

❤≪Ash≫ Seems to be mocking

Daily: Calm down and don’t forget to analyze

Daily: There should be a price relative to how great the power is

Person: That’s sick

Ash: If they do, it’d be odd for them to let you use it…that would be crazy…

Ash: When I used my powers to transform, my stigmata glowed and grew warmer. Is it the same with your power from “The Lovers”?

❤≪Ash≫ Seems irritated

Pain: I can’t take this!

Felicita: Yes

Ash: Show me your stigmata

Felicita: ! …

Ash: I see…If you won’t show me then I guess you don’t want to apologize

Ash: This makes me sick…you steal and spy into my heart…Arcana Famiglia seriously is a criminal organization

Ash: I was right to bring the Tarocco back to this ship. It’s impossible for people like you to not have any regrets

Ash: I’ll do something about Joshua on my own. You stay out of it

Ash: …You’re seriously sick…

(*bam!)

Fukurota: Hoot…

Felicita: *crying*

Liberta: The door to that room is open!

Nova: Is someone there!?

Felicita: *crying*

Liberta: Ojou! W-why are you crying!?

❤≪Liberta≫ Seems confused

Person: W-w-what!? What happened!?

Person: O-Ojou!?

Nova: …Calm down and tell us what happened. You too, Liberta

❤≪Nova≫ Seems concerned

Daily: I’m the calmest one here right now

Person: Of course she would be upset!

(*glare) Liberta: Calm down? Calm down!? How are you even being so calm!

Nova: *sigh*…Shut up. Come on, go find her some water

Nova: Have something to drink and calm yourself. Liberta can check for poison so don’t worry

~*Scene: VF Ash’s Cabin Deck 2*~

Nova: …I see. So that’s why you were crying

❤≪Liberta≫ Seems concerned ❤≪Nova≫ Seems as usual

Person: It’s not Ojou’s fault

Person: Wasn’t he the one trying to trick her in the first place!?

Daily: Of course that would happen

Arcana: But this isn’t that bad

Person: Is she okay…?

Liberta: That’s terrible!! How can that guy just say all that without knowing anything about us!

Liberta: He didn’t even know that we were born with our stigmata!

Liberta: It’s not our fault that we have our powers

Nova: But even if she had told him, he could still say that about the other Major Arcana

Liberta: I know! I’m saying that it’s not fair for him to put all the blame on Ojou!

Nova: That’s true. But, it’s clear that this Ash felt hurt by what happened

Felicita: *sigh*

Liberta: Mm…well I guess I understand that he wasn’t okay with it

Liberta: But he’s the one who only thought of using us and stole the Tarocco in the first place, so it doesn’t change that he’s totally in the wrong too

Nova: But, how she was using her Arcana Powers is a different matter

Felicita: Yeah

Nova: I believe I’ve told you before that you shouldn’t look so easily into other people’s hearts

Nova: Couldn’t you take this as an opportunity to reflect on using your powers in thoughtless ways?

Nova: We live on our little island…surrounded by a small population of people that understand us

Nova: You shouldn’t think of that as a given

Felicita: Yeah

Liberta: Don’t you and he seem kinda similar?

Nova: We aren’t. This Ash is clearly narrow minded. He’s more similar to you!

Liberta: What!?

>I want to apologize to Ash

>Thanks, you two

Nova: Yes. That’s the best

Liberta: We’ll go with you, Ojou. I personally want to give him a punch

Liberta: It’s fine! Come on, Ojou. We’re going to look for him, right?

Nova: Why are you deciding that?

❤≪Nova≫ Seems concerned ❤≪Liberta≫ Seems concerned

Arcana: That’s exactly why she’s Papa’s daughter

Daily: She’s grown

Person: This is exactly when I want to help!

Pleasure: Hehe!

❤≪Liberta≫ Seems concerned ❤≪Nova≫ Seems concerned

Daily: A smile really does look better on Ojou!

Person: This is exactly when I want to help!

Arcana: That’s exactly why she’s Mama’s daughter

Daily: She’s grown

Liberta: Okay, let’s go!

(*rattle)

Liberta: …It won’t open

Nova: How can that be

(*rattle)

(*turn) Nova: It really won’t…is there something in front of the door?

(*thump) Nova: Eek…!

❤≪Nova≫ Can’t seem to handle it

Pain: It’s all his fault

Place: We can’t waste our energy right now!

Liberta: Huh? What was that for? What’s there?

Nova: N-nope. We can’t go into the hallway

(*creak creak)

Liberta: Waaah!? It’s fine, Ojou! You don’t need to look!!

❤≪Liberta≫ Can’t seem to handle it

Place: It’s all his fault

Daily: It’s times like this when we should remember what Dante says!

Liberta: There’s an insane number of skeletons outside. We can’t open this! Nope! No way!!

Nova: Based on what you told us, the skeletons should be gone by morning…let’s wait until then

Liberta: Ojou, Nova and I will both stand guard so let’s all wait until morning! We’ll call it a tactical standby!

Nova: Right. It’s dangerous to run out recklessly like this

Felicita: Yeah

~*Scene: VF Deck*~

Ash: …So, what is it that you want!

Joshua: I seek…the “Wheel of Fortune”…

Ash: That’s just the method! What result are you after!

Joshua: I wish…to return to my proper form…

(*glare) Ash: …Can you explain more clearly. I’m going to lose it!!

Ash: What is it with the Tarocco…nothing you say makes sense!

Joshua: Humans…can never understand…

Joshua: Find your way to despair…Un Labirinto Atmosferico

(*whirring)

Ash: GAAAAAH!!!

Ash: I…have to retreat

Ash: Guh…ugh…I can’t…I really can’t do this on my own…

~*Fade*~

Liberta: Ojou, I know you’re worried, but you should get some sleep…

Nova: If you think you hurt him, then ask yourself what you can do

Nova: You might see the answer in your dreams, so that thought might help you sleep

Felicita: Yeah

Liberta: How poetic of you…Nova

Nova: Shut up. I’m going to sleep

~*End of Scene*~

Special Voice obtained. It can be heard in the Profile section

(Continue to Ash Chapter 4)

(Back to Directory)

[myherorp]

THE QUIRK DATABASE HAS BEEN UPDATED !

incoming information on villain, chef.

get to know them !

faceclaim: kim seokjin

name: seong shik

villain name: chef

gender & pronouns: nonbinary | they/them

age: 30 

association: anyone who pays for their services (evil or restaurant-related)

occupation: runs a small restaurant near u.y. academy called “Shaping Plates” | run for 5 years now | it’s popular with students, teachers, and civilians!

reputation: when a villain is in need of information or a hit that doesn’t trace back to them or even just a temporary secret hideout, seong shik is your person. with the proper payment and necessary ingredients, they’ll carry out the job no questions asked. most villains are wary of shik, though, because while they don’t ask questions, they are observant and seem to always know what’s happening among the villains and heroes. information is their bread and butter so villains know to hold their secrets close to them when around seong shik, but that doesn’t seem to stop chef from discovering them.

the quirk !

quirk name: food coma

quirk description: controls whoever eats their cooking

abilities:

when their cooking is consumed, the person’s will is taken over

it’s sort of like when someone goes into a food coma and they feel like they’re in a hazy dream

they can give orders and the victim has to follow until the task is complete or the trance wears off

if the dish is the person’s absolute favorite, the effect last longer (12 hours)

the dishes are created from a clay that coats their hands, all they have to do is shape the dish how they want and it becomes the food—tastes delicious too!

it’s a regular old dish that doesn’t brainwash if they don’t use the necessary ingredients (dna)

so they use their ability to run a restaurant when they’re not doing evil deeds

weaknesses:

needs the other person’s dna to incorporate into the dish (hair tends to be the easiest to use)—think poly juice potion from HP but for brainwashing

lasts until the food leaves their digestive system (about 8 hours)

if the dish is the person’s least favorite food, the effect doesn’t last as long (4 hours)

mutation: There’s a clay that coats their hands and turns soft when they’re using their quirk

the history !

triggers: violence, bullying

there was little in life seong shik wanted as a child—a roof over their head, food in their belly, stability, and people to share these things with. seong shik grew up to have some of these things…less of others.

born and raised among a poor family—their parents were always struggling to keep their children fed and clothed. often, shik had to fend for themself, finding food, maybe persuading pitying adults to give them hand-me-downs or scraps. they shared what they gained with their younger and older siblings, but more often than not, they left shik with nothing. shik was bullied by their siblings, classmates, and adults who saw the child and nothing but a nuisance or street brat.

all seong shik wanted was to have a full belly, nice clothing, and the world to leave them alone.

their quirk manifested in grade school when they were doing crafts. shik noticed that their hands were producing small amounts of clay as they were making a rendition of a plate of food with paper, glue, and cotton. instead of questioning it, they used the clay on their craft project—but a kid at some point decided it’d be funny to put a tuft of their own hair into shik’s craft.

shockingly, it turned into a real plate of food! seong shik was surprised, but it turned to alarm and anger when the same kid who messed with their project ate said plate of food! shik glared as a glaze came over the child’s eyes, looking exhausted all of a sudden.

shik, in their anger, demanded an apology—the child apologized immediately. they told the kid they needed to do better than that—get on their knees and bark like a dog if they really felt sorry. the kid did and shik was shocked, to put it simply…and very confused. they had only said it out of anger, not really expecting to demanding the kid actually do it. what was going on? shik looked at their clay hands, but no answers were forthcoming.

they played with their clay quirk in their free time and discovered it only took the shape of food, but that food was real and delicious and even better, free! their parents realized shik had an amazing quirk that would keep food on the table and less worry to have about their family. shik became the family’s provider, even going so far as to sell their creations on the street. their parents half-joked that shik should open restaurant when they were older.

to shik, it was no joke—maybe they would open a restaurant. no one would go hungry if they ate from shik’s kitchen. they’d make sure of that.

their siblings became jealous because of the praise and attention shik received from their parents and others—so they decided to get back at them. the children did what any bully does—destroy shik’s work.

they did the unthinkable, putting their own nail clippings and hair (one even spat) into shik’s half-finished dish. in a rage, seong shik took that same plate of food, finished making it, and then proceeded to serve it at dinner that same night. they made sure only their siblings had to eat it. after all, shik’s parents had done nothing wrong. with a sweet smile and earnest eyes, shik insisted their brothers and sisters eat every last bite—they’d worked hard on it and this family never took a meal for granted. with their parents’ encouragement, shik’s siblings reluctantly took bites from their respective dishes—and a glaze came over their eyes, just like that child from so long ago.

the siblings didn’t respond when asked how they liked the food, shik’s parents becoming concerned after heartbeats passed without so much as fluttering of eyelids. seong shik panicked, thinking they had accidentally poisoned their siblings. they pleaded for their brothers and sisters to say something.

“something.”

…was that a joke?

“that’s not funny,” their parents had chastised, but there was no response. a suspicion hovered at the back of shik’s mind and they decided to test it.

“apologize”

they did—interesting.

“hop on one leg and bark like a dog.”

suddenly, the dining table was surrounded by barking children hopping on one foot.

at the pleading of their parents to explain what was happening, shik turned excitedly to their parents and told them what they only just now realized their quirk can do—brainwash! the look of horror their parents gave them wasn’t completely unexpected, but why were they so upset? the others obviously deserved it. they were always bullying shik and now the quirk they hated so much was making them look like idiots! shik couldn’t be happier! their parents scolded shik, telling them to release their quirk, but shik refused.

instead, they told their siblings to tell their parents everything they’d ever done to shik—maybe then their mother and father would understand, even praise shik!

it changed nothing, though.

or rather, it changed shik.

they discovered the limitations of their quirk—that the effects would wear off once the food had passed through the person’s digestive track.

their family turned on them—where love and pride had been only days before, now sat fear and horror. shik’s quirk no longer seemed as wonderful as they had first thought and shik…shik could not possibly be their child, right? none of the seong’s other children had such…sinister quirks and shik’s parents certainly had no brainshwash-like abilities. their powers were all similar—mineral-manipulation and production.

well, except for shik’s great-grandmother who had been able to do something similar to the child—manipulating the water in living things. she’d been a notorious villain because of it.

would seong shik become her?

they weren’t going to wait to find out

seong shik woke one year later to find their home devoid of their brothers, sisters, and parents; their clothes, car, and favorite toys missing in an otherwise untouched space.

seong shik was only 12 when they became homeless, getting by on their quirk (food coma, they decided to finally name it), though they made very little money from their small corner on the street. it didn’t escape shik’s notice that many heroes were quick to pity, but slow to help a homeless child struggling to survive on their own. they’d grown to realize heroes couldn’t be relied on.

shik knew they couldn’t survive like this—they needed to make money and fast. and seong shik had just the idea.

there was a local gang of small-time villains that often used shik as their personal punching bag—claiming the corner shik occupied belonged to them and shik refusing to relinquish the one space they had stayed since their family had abandoned them. they made good money, shik knew, based on their own loose lips, vendors in the area, and heroes who had made polite conversation with shik while waiting for the young child to finish making their order.

that day was no different—shik took the beating, but this time they fought back, aiming for the guy who was clearly more important than others as he always stood back and watched the violence with a sick grin on his face. it was all shik needed, managing to pull out a couple strands of hair.

shik made what they guessed was the man’s favorite food (they had watched him purchase hotteok from a nearby vendor on more than one occasion). they waited patiently until the goons’ head was seen making a trip to the hotteok cart. stealthily, they replaced the hotteok the vendor prepared with shik’s own quirk-filled treat.

and what a treat it was to watch the man take that first ecstatic bite, seize, and take on the same trance-like state as shik’s siblings had. it was easy after that to issue orders and gain access to the small gang’s bank accounts, wipe them out, swiping what looked like important documents for good measure—in case shik needed leverage to keep the jerks from killing them outright if the villains figured out what they’d done.

little did shik know that those documents held information important to a far bigger, badder, and more important group of villains. it took the villains a few years to trace seong shik, now 15, and attending middle school. the young person had used the money they’d stolen to pay for a small room in a low-end part of the city, sharing it with other struggling children. from there, shik started school again, determined to make a better life for themself. it was finally looking up again, only using their quirk when money was a bit tight and to keep their belly full.

when the villains caught shik on their way back to their shabby apartment, they had been watching the teenager for awhile, observing, and coming to the conclusion seong shik was more useful to them alive than dead. seong shik was offered a deal: become an informant, hitman, whatever they needed from shik’s quirk—and they’d give shik access to the best education and good pay. shik didn’t need long to decide—this was the opportunity they’d been seeking since being abandoned.

for the next decade, seong shik worked under this group of villains, earning themself a reputation among the villain community and even among some heroes for being a capable and elusive figure who’d do the dirty work…for the right price.

shik earned their freedom from the group after the villains had been caught by a group of heroes. shik had managed to escape, but not before covering their tracks so no one could figure out shik’s connection to the group. and it seemed the villains they’d tagged-teamed with for so long had also kept their mouths shut about the brainwash-quirk user.

with the money they’d accumulated from their under-the-table jobs, and having completed business school, seong shik decided to pursue their childhood dream—they opened a restaurant. they cooked meals for their patrons, garnering popularity and a steady stream of return customers, including villains, heroes, and nearby u.y.a students.

seong shik was widely known among the villain community and once their restaurant opened, many sought the brainwasher for dirty jobs—hits, robberies, cover-ups, espionage—and shik provided them the use of their quirk. heroes had some information on the elusive villain, “Chef” as they were known by, but no information on who they were or what they looked like or where they currently resided. funny since many heroes had come face-to-face with Chef, praising their skill in the kitchen.

present day, seong shik, 30, is flourishing as the owner of Shaping Plates, and is a successful villain too. they had everything they’d hope for as child—a roof over their head, food on the table, steady income…but nobody around to share these things with.

maybe…seong shik didn’t have everything they wanted after all…

the personality !

“chef,” as many refer to seong shik as, is known to many to be quite friendly on any given day. always prepared with a warm welcoming smile, many feel right at home in their presence…enough so that many feel they can tell chef all their problems. when they walk away, many realize they’ve told shik much about themselves and yet learned nothing about them. seong shik can charm anyone and that makes it easy to get their target’s guard down, easily using their food coma quirk to get the dirty work done for clients. shik is prideful and won’t take kindly to insults about their cooking, quirk or no. you’re expected to eat every last bite or face seong shik’s anger. while they have plenty of clients, shik is not one to have many friends. after all, they’ve worked hard to keep under the radar and out of the prying eyes of heroes; friends make it harder to hide who you are..even if shik desperately wants to have people to open up to and trust. this means holding secrets above shik’s clients’ heads so they keep their mouths shut and never allowing themself to become close to the friendly students, heroes or civilians that frequent their humble abode. it makes for quite a lonely life…one that shik often finds themself desperately wishing they didn’t have to live.

[incognitowetrust]

I finally got this done. Now I can move on.

Bruhs I guess this technically has been, like, a month, huh? Fuck. 

Well, I know for most of you following me, this won’t be very relevant, but because I got into MK, I had to make two OCs. It took me a long ass time to make the references, because I wanted to have decent enough shading/coloring. I often spend a lot longer on the 1st drawing of a character, because I’ll be designing the character as I go along, and it’s all about planning out and making an idea into a actual image, which is why I often add a lot of detail, because it’s another thing that’s part of me thinking out and processing what I want the smaller details of a character to be like. 

Well... I hope you can get some enjoyment outta this friggin’ mess. Lol, now proceed to watch me never draw or use these characters again. Jk Jk... probably. 

Adding the text details and backstory garbage under the “read more”.

Naknada OC, “Strayer” also known as “Mama”:

Personality: Difficulty trusting others, solitary, critical, resentful towards greed, resentful towards Outworld, respects the shaolin, soft spot for children and young adults, surprisingly caring.

Fighting style: She doesn’t like opponents to get within stabbing or grabbing distance, that’s probably why she gravitated towards using a halberd, which has some reach to it, as well as a whip, which can be used to snag or snap at foes. Knives always have their uses, so she carries those as well. Due to being self-preservative, she would rather avoid dangerous situations, but she’s no coward, and will fight tooth and nail if she has to. 

Overview: Strayer is a female naknada who was originally a slave in Outworld. She once had a son, and though being slaves is obviously a rough life, Strayer wasn’t willing to attempt an escape or something of that sort in fear of the punishments she or her son could face. Her son was quicker to break obedience, and became extremely defiant, as well as being a troublemaker, which ultimately caused him to get killed. Distraught, and deciding she had nothing left to lose, Strayer lost much of the fear that kept her in line, and decided she was going to leave her slave life one way or another, even if it was death. She managed to escape, and, figuring she was pretty much done with Outworld altogether, decided she’d be better off if she fled to Earthrealm. Not that she expected to meld with human groups or anything, far from it, it was more of a matter of her believing Earthrealm would be an easier place for her to be safe in. Before she did move to Earthrealm, she spent a while gathering and stealing supplies, some of which included items with magic properties, so that when she left Outworld to be a loner she would feel at least a bit more prepared. 

It had only been in earthrealm a matter of days before Strayer encountered Kitty, who was only around 6 years old at the time. Strayer’s reaction to Kitty was perhaps comparable to how humans react to finding orphaned baby animals (in fact, based off of this and Kitty’s name, Strayer sometimes refers to Kitty as “kitten”). Other species babies are always cuter after all. It wouldn’t be hard to argue that as a naknada, Strayer’s decision to take in Kitty could have been motivated by greed, but she would have helped Kitty regardless, she is far from heartless and if she acts selfish, it is likely from self preservation and survival, not greed. After all, Strayer was once a mother, she doesn’t want to see children getting hurt, and wasn’t willing to assume that the next person who might stumble across Kitty would be benevolent. 

Strayer would have returned Kitty to her family, but upon inquiring to the young girl about the circumstances of her situation, Kitty confirmed that she didn’t really have anyone she could turn to (or at least, that’s what she thought. Jun Shi had a lot of recovery to do, and was a lot more of a brotherly than fatherly figure, but he would have attempted to watch over her). With that, Strayer basically adopted Kitty right then and there. She isn’t an outwardly affectionate type, but got attached to her new weird daughter very quickly. At first, she attempted to discourage Kitty from calling her “Mama”, but when she got used to it, she simply accepted it as another name. 

Mama now takes her protective role pretty seriously. Sure, there is technically some selfishness in how she is overprotective of Kitty, sometimes it may be difficult to decide if some of her behaviors are protective or possessive, but ultimately she cares a lot about Kitty, and does make efforts to keep her happy. She does feel some guilt around the fact that due to their lifestyle, and often strict rules, contributes to Kitty often feeling lonely from being largely isolated from other people, but Strayer tries to do whatever she feels is best for both of them. She is distrusting towards the world (er… worlds), having had come from such a rough background, and does not believe she can rely on others to help or protect her. 

Knowing that there very well could be a time when she cannot keep Kitty safe herself, Mama Strayer at one point made the decision to move to and stay around the Henan province. Strayer isn’t exactly someone who socializes easily, so she doesn’t like to get “too” close to where the shaolin monks are… but she actually has a bit of a soft spot for them, considering them a trustworthy group of people. Strayer has instructed Kitty that if a dire situation should arise, she should flee to the shaolin. 

Human/earthrealmer OC, “Kitty”, also known as “Kit”, “Kitten”, and “Gilder”: 

Personality: Open, friendly, fearful of loss, fearful of electricity and deep water, lonely, blunt, well-meaning, innocent and a little naive but not entirely dumb, can be goofy and flirty, dislikes blatantly selfish people. 

Fighting style: She uses her gold magic to smash, pound, burn, melt, and jab her opponents. She’ll throw whatever she’s got. Opponents within close proximity had best watch out for her molten metal vomit, she can spew it at will. She has a habit of going all-out, but over time will tire, which will leave her with more vulnerable openings to be countered by an opponent who has high endurance or evasive skills. 

Overview: Kitty Gow Gilder was originally born in Scotland. Her mother (Maisie Gilder) also had magic to manipulate metal, but didn’t produce gold. However, it’s safe to assume that Kitty most likely inherited the gold trait from somewhere in her family line. Her parents weren’t fighters, instead opting to use metal magic to assist in their metal smithing/crafting. Kitty’s father (Gavin Gow) passed away when she was a toddler, and her mother remarried a few years later. The stepfather was Chinese (Cheng Li), and, seeing the idea of moving to a new region as a good way to have a new start, Kitty’s family moved to China, and took up residence in a modest village, where Kitty’s mother continued metalworking, and Kitty’s stepfather made elixirs with all sorts of uses, as well as overseeing the growth of two pupils. The stepfather didn’t have any children of his own, and was perfectly happy to see his stepdaughter and pupils as his children. 

Kitty’s young childhood was stable and decent for a few more years, but when she was six, both her mother and stepfather died via a betrayal from one of the stepfather’s pupils (Qi Fan), who attempted to frame the other pupil (Jun Shi) so he could succeed their master. Kitty’s mother got sick, which wasn’t all serious, but Jun Shi wanted to make her feel better anyway so made an elixir to do just that, however, Qi Fan poisoned it, resulting in Maisie dying. But things didn’t really go as planned, and Kitty’s stepfather and Jun Shi figured out that something was up… so, long story short-ish, “shit went down” at Kitty’s family’s house, and during the skirmish Cheng Li was killed. Kitty was present for the event, and was beyond a state of panic and confusion. She hardly knew how to use her magic yet, but the surge of adrenaline and fear caused her to projectile vomit a large amount of molten metal, which nearly killed Qi Fan, but he survived, and was driven away to flee in agony. Jun Shi has been terribly injured by Qi Fan, and though he did survive after his fellow villagers came to his aid, he had fallen unconscious, to Kitty appearing dead, and she didn’t stay around long enough to see him be safe.

Confused, disoriented, and so frightened she hardly understood what was going on or what to do, she fled from her house and into the forest outside of the village, and subsequently wandered aimlessly, and became lost. Though, she did not believe she had anyone to turn to regardless. 

She found aid from an unlikely source when she crossed paths with Strayer by accident. Both were pretty surprised at each other, but considering how scary a naknada look to some children, Kitty wasn’t startled at all. Due to the fresh trauma, it took her time to climb out of a shocked, exhausted, and frightened shell that had left her struggling to even think or speak straight, but her condition improved dramatically after Strayer took her into her tent, fed her, and allowed her a safe place to have a hard sleep. 

Kitty struggled with stress and grief early on in Strayer’s care, by no fault of Strayer of course, she was troubled from what she had to go through. Over time, she found happiness again as she and Strayer became comfortable around one another, and slowly developed their own type of family. The first times Kitty referred to Strayer as “Mama” were actually accidental, the same way a kid might slip up and call a teacher “mom”, but after a few years Kitty started saying it in earnest. 

Her life wasn’t perfect, but Kitty settled into her new existence pretty well. She and Mama Strayer took care of one another, and lived in their own sense of “normal”. Having a good deal of spare time on her hands, Kitty spent hours a day self-educating herself on how to use her gold magic through experience. She never received much in terms of formal training to fight besides whatever advice and guidance Mama could offer, but she gained enough self control to which she could fight and hold her own. Since she has reached adulthood, Strayer has allowed Kitty to have a little more independence, though she is strongly discouraged from being overly friendly towards strangers. She is especially discouraged from flirting… yeah, no bringing dudes home to the tent or staying overnight anywhere. Kitty complies with most of Mama’s rules, with the understanding that Mama has a lot more life experience, and has never really done anything to her that would give her a reason to distrust her, so she tries to keep a good level of self-awareness with her actions. Despite not being able to know a lot of people, Kitty still wants to be friendly, so does this by secretly giving people gifts, often gold, or made of gold. She has a want to be helpful and kind, or to at least make people happy, even if she doesn’t get to see it all the time. Like Mama Strayer. She has a strong dislike for greed, if someone was to hound her for gold, namely if that person doesn’t need it, she may possibly respond with violence. If someone in need comes to her out of desperation, she will likely not respond with aggression, but demand that if she grants the person the gold they ask for, that they do not speak of it or her. 

 Item guide. 

1 and 2- Bags

Strayer/Mama and Kitty each have their own bag they use to carry useful items in. While the bags' space is not infinite, they bear a magic property that allows them to carry a lot more than they look like they should. Strayer/Mama is not above stealing items she feels like she needs to. After meeting Kitty, her need to steal in order to get by decreased significantly, since the two can use gold to trade for pretty much whatever necessities they need. Though, ol' Mama Strayer still maintains a certain level of social avoidance. Despite the often distrusting naknada being overprotective towards Kitty, as an earthrealmer if the two gotta speak with earthrealmers, Kitty naturally has the home field (and resting friendly-face) advantage, and Strayer accepts that being glued to Kitty 100% of the time may do more damage than good. The two only part ways for short periods of time when they do, and remain within a reasonable distance. They're rather nomadic, as well as preferring to keep a low profile. Kitty often feels lonely and isolated, due to the lack of people she actually gets to be friendly towards. 

3- Peanut butter and honey

Kitty has a fondness for honey and peanut butter. When Kit was younger, Mama would let her have a spoonful here and there as a treat for good behavior. 

4- Some whistles

A whistle is a good item to have if you need to get someone’s attention in a pinch. Sometimes it’s easier than yelling, and Strayer and Kitty don’t want an avoidable accident killing or badly hurting either of them, so they usually each bring a whistle with them if they have to be out of eyesight of each other, so that if one gets hurt, the other can rush to help. 

5- “eyebaubles”

A pair of magic trinkets. Two people each carrying one can see what the other is doing, or at least get an idea, because one eye shows what’s in eyesight of the other, and vice versa. 

6- Tenthouse

The set up tent that Strayer and Kitty use as a house a good deal of the time. Like the bags, it is bigger on the inside than the outside. Strayer doesn’t bother collecting tons of items she does not consider useful, but she has collected some wall hangings to make the makeshift house more customized and homey. The tent cannot be taken down while there are sentient beings occupying it. Otherwise, when the tent needs to be moved, it will disappear when the anchoring spikes are removed. To set up the tent, someone simply needs to get one spike in the ground, and the other three will move to the appropriate placement on their own. 

7- Purification flask

A container with magic properties. It purifies water to a crystal clear high quality. Water filtered in this flask may assist in keeping wounds safe from infection if poured on, or soaked into the wound. 

8- Sewing and knitting

Both Mama Strayer and Kitty know how to sew and knit, though Mama is better at it. 

9 and 10- Bouncey ball, and Kitty’s doodlepad and crayons 

Strayer wasn’t always obvious about gestures of affection towards Kitty, but one thing she did regular give Kitty as a child were toy balls with a good bounce (because Kitty liked seeing how high she could launch them), and basic drawing supplies. Though grown up, Kitty still enjoys making drawings with crayons. 

11- Gold objects

While a lot of the gold Kitty produces comes in the form of molten metal and chunky nuggets, she is able to manipulate her gold with a decent level of skill. She likes making little figurines of people and animals, and she can also mimic/print her own coins. Though she does not get to socialize a ton, sometimes she’ll sneak little gifts to people in the form of objects she has made, or non-specific shaped gold if she is not carrying a region’s usual currency and feels like someone deserves a bit of money. Strayer has mixed feelings about Kitty secretly gifting people, because she likes that Kitty is good hearted, but is concerned that Kitty may draw unwanted attention to herself if she isn’t careful. 

12- Kitty’s gold magic

Kitty is by no means a violent person, and she does not look particularly threatening either. However, over the years she has figured out and honed her magic pretty well, and if she ever needed to defend herself from an attacker, she’s far from completely helpless. Gold, being a heavy but soft metal, is not the best metal to make stabby things with, but because she can mix in an alloy of other metals, she can harden her gold up enough where she could make a good jabbin’ spike. She is better at simply forming big chunks of heavy gold and battering foes with it, because she can lift her gold with a good deal of ease even if she couldn’t lift another object of the same weight. One of her more nasty offensive moves would be related to her magic also being able to manipulate molten gold. She can spew large amounts of the hot melted material from her mouth, and will willingly projectile vomit on someone she deems as being too much of a threat. She will “clean up” after herself and cause gold to break down and poof into dust, which could be needed if she had to hide any evidence of her having been somewhere. She doesn’t typically wear footwear, since keeping metal on her feet acts as a makeshift shoe via being harder than skin. 

Kitty’s hands, feet, mouth, and insides can heat up. She is more temperature resistant than an unprotected average human, but extreme temperatures aside from her own can pose a threat to her without much trouble. She has a fear of lightning and electricity, because she is naturally a strong conductor. 

[strikecommanding]

Okay so imagine if in your prof jack au ; reader has tried to switch which college she is attending due to convenience or maybe she says that there are classes she wants to attend that they don't have there and then Jack finds out because one of her teachers low-key snitches by talking about being concerned for her. But the transfer hasn't gone through yet and he is pretty pissed about it? Sorry for the long ask but like I wanted to share lmao

i almost made this too soft 🤔

this is a story chapter btw (with some artistic liberties, ofc lmfao)

previous updates and extra content

—

You sat in front of your laptop, mindlessly refreshing the page that displayed your current grades for the semester. Your orgo grade stood glaringly at the top, having risen from bottom tier ever since you started meeting privately with Dr. Morrison. Normally, the sight of an A in the class you’d been struggling with the most would have thrilled you, but you knew you didn’t earn it by your own merit. You knew what it actually took to get you there, and thinking about it made you sick.

Once you finally tired of the repetitive motion of clicking, you slumped back in your chair to reflect on the direction your life had abruptly taken as of late. You were aiming for pre-med when you first started attending classes here, but you were discouraged by your remarkably low grades, along with all the other factors that simply prevented you from being able to do better. So when Dr. Morrison initially showed compassion and sympathy for your situation, you thought you’d finally be able to turn things around for the better. But it could never be that easy.

The light at the end of the tunnel, your goal of eventually becoming a nurse and helping people who were suffering, had already begun dimming significantly, but the hopelessness of your situation extinguished it even faster. What was the point in studying if the people who were supposed to guide you only wanted you around for sick and twisted things? How could you eventually make a living off the filthy grades you managed to acquire in exchange for your body?

It was only when some distant voice deep in the back of your mind whispered the words ‘drop out’ that you quickly shook the thoughts out of your head, and jumped back up in front of your laptop even faster.

You didn’t want to become a college dropout. You expected too much of yourself, and you didn’t want one sinister man to change the entire trajectory of your life. Doing so would just confirm for him the amount of control he had over you, and you wanted more than anything else to prove to him that you were your own person.

You looked up your university’s transfer policies, along with other universities you could easily commute to. All things considered, your only option was the local community college, but you felt anything that got you away from Dr. Morrison would be a godsend.

Your eyes strayed from the information in front of you long enough for you to notice the time and realize you were due for yet another ‘appointment’ with Dr. Morrison. You scowled before deciding quite soundly that you simply wouldn’t go. A plan was hatching in your mind, and you’d be damned to let him get in the way of it.

—

The transfer center was efficient and accommodating when you went in to ask about their procedure. While you wanted to sort everything out as soon as possible, you only had so much time to sit and talk before you had to head to your next class. So the woman there sent you off with a transfer sheet to be filled out for the records, and you promised you’d come right back as soon as you had the chance.

You were still looking over the form and scanning its details as you headed to your English class. Because you were more focused on reading and relying only on cursory upward glances to ensure you were going in the right direction, you couldn’t react in time to avoid the pair of strong arms that grabbed you and pulled you into a small, empty classroom. The door was shut and locked before you could process what had happened, and you suddenly found your hands empty of the one thing that would grant you freedom.

Dr. Morrison looked at the transfer form he snatched from you with a growing scowl before crumpling it up in a single fist. “I was wondering why you missed our appointment, but it seems you’ve got plans to go somewhere.”

He’d tossed it blindly over his shoulder, and you had more dignity than to scramble after it. Glaring up at him, you coolly said, “You can’t keep me here. I’m not just property that you can fuck and humiliate whenever you feel like it.”

His cold gaze narrowed as he closed the already slim distance between you and him, backing you into the wall and caging you between his arms. You willed yourself not to be intimidated, but his physique was truly something to marvel every time you were faced with it. “Stop being selfish. There’s more going on than you could possibly realize.”

You growled and gripped his wrists in an attempt to shake him, but he was unmoved. So you let your words fight where your body couldn’t. “You found me suffering from tough circumstances and you took advantage of that, you sick pervert. What else is there?”

“It’s too soon to tell you,” he murmured, and you frowned at his cryptic answer. Abruptly, he shook your hands off of him and you found yourself with your wrists restrained instead. “But at the same time, you’ll never find out if I let you leave me now.”

Because you couldn’t back up any further, you tried to sidestep him. In an effort to get around him, you just made it that much easier for him to pin your back against a nearby table. You fell uncomfortably on your heavy backpack, but he easily rid you of it along with your shirt and bra. When he tried to slip your pants off your legs as well, you started kicking at him. “Don’t fucking touch me!”

Dr. Morrison stunned you with a sharp slap to the face, immediately followed by his fingers wrapping around your neck. Now that you were too preoccupied with trying to get him off of you so you could breathe, his free hand could go about undressing you without hindrance. Your legs kicked uselessly on either side of him as he found a comfortable position between them. “Until you decide to behave, you don’t get a say in what I choose to do to you. You need to be reminded that your place is next to us, always.”

With ease, he managed to rip your thin cotton panties right from your body, pulling an indignant sound from your throat. The sight of him unbuckling his belt before you was nothing new, but that didn’t make it any less upsetting every time it happened. Letting your head fall back in defeat, you weakly croaked out, “Please, I have to go to class…”

Predictably, he ignored you in favor of stroking your lower lips and clit with his hot length, making you involuntarily shiver. You weren’t completely wet yet, but that didn’t stop him from pushing in past the resistance of your tight walls until your body took him in as deep as it could. His persistent thrusts into your unprepared heat made you bite your lip to maintain the dignity of not squealing out in pain. He stared at your pitiful expression before leaning down to try to capture your lips in a kiss. “I don’t think you realize how much pull I have in this place,” he mumbled between kisses you continually tried to deny. “One word from me and the transfer department could conveniently lose all your paperwork. You could keep trying to meet someone or have it go through, but you’ll just find yourself at a stand still each time.”

His remark turned your blood to ice. You knew Dr. Morrison himself was a corrupt man but for that poison to reach as far as other departments was a rude awakening. The implication that the entire university could be manipulated just so he could keep you here was shocking for a number of reasons, with the most notable one being that he would go that far at all. Weakly gripping his wrist, you pleaded, “Please, I’m sorry… I’ll be good…”

The hand that wasn’t clenching your throat came up to pet your cheek affectionately. Judging by his ragged breaths, you could tell he was close. “What are you going to do to be a good girl?”

“I won’t leave… I’ll stay here,” you choked, feeling tears brim at the corners of your eyes. “I’m sorry.”

Your voice was pathetically small, as you’d lost all your ferocity when the illusion of your wonderful university was shattered to pieces. That expression of absolute powerlessness on your face must have been enough to bring Dr. Morrison over the edge, as he finished with a harsh thrust and a groan that made you shut your eyes and turn away. He didn’t pull out immediately, instead adding insult to injury by holding you close, affectionately, like a lover would. As he kissed your tears away he murmured, “I’m glad you’re starting to see things my way.”

He lingered, as if waiting for a response from you, but he would be disappointed. You did little more than tremble and sigh as his breath tickled your skin, only letting your own breaths escape when he finally parted from you. Once he stepped out of the room, you got dressed and gathered your things, leaving your crumpled transfer form behind.

[cat-in-a-basement]

The Last Hope Rewrite

For about 2 years now, I’ve slowly but surely been creating a rewrite of TLH that is meant to give a good story and send off to several characters. Not necessarily because I think I can make a better story, but because this idea to rewrite it has grown and grown, and I don’t want to back out of it now. I’m serious, I’m going to rewrite it.

That being said, I want to give a basic idea of things I would incorporate into the story.

Big wordy words below.

* The Dark Forest has been training all their afterlife to explicitly kill. Therefore, it should logically take the strength of more than one Clan cat to match the skills they have amassed.

*In that regard, Dark Forest trainees have also been trained by these same cat for the explicit purpose of killing. This can either work to the Clan's favor for cats that betray the Dark Forest, or greatly hinder them.

* The tunnels are a great place for cats who don't know how to get out to get lost in there. StarClan can't find them, and the Dark Forest doesn't know either. There are two cats who do know how the tunnels work, and they are ideologically opposed. Hollyleaf and Sol.

* Just as well, the cats can't always predict when it is going to rain...

* Why haven't we seen more psychological warfare from the Dark Forest? Tigerstar showed that he could send nightmares to Lionblaze already. If StarClan's power is waning, does that not mean the Dark Forest's power grows in it absence? Also, isn't Hawkfrost supposed to be a master manipulator?

* Adding to that, it could be highly advantageous for the Dark Forest to kidnap or kill a cat close to the Three in order to provoke them to act in their favor.

* Brokenstar tells Ivypool the Dark Forest is always watching them. A lot of people complain that Ivypool never tells Jayfeather anything about the DF trainees. So why not make that threat more present? Eventually Ivypool is going to slip up, and eventually she may have to do morally reprehensible things to keep her cover.

* Clearly the Dark Forest trainees have reasons for training in the Dark Forest. So what are they? Do they know about the resident's crimes? If they do, do they care?

* This is a war. Not a battle, but a war. So perhaps things shouldn't be so clear cut on who wins and loses. If the Dark Forest is far superior in skill, the war needs to reflect that.

* The Clans each have the own flaws. RiverClan likes to ignore their wrongdoings. WindClan gives up too easily. ShadowClan is too weak willed. ThunderClan thinks they are the hero. And StarClan...StarClan thinks itself as pure. So what do they do when RiverClan is faced with their monsters of the past? WindClan faces a situation where giving up means death? If ShadowClan falters in their loyalty or will they never rise again? ThunderClan can't solve everything? And StarClan is forced down from their pedestals?

* Just as well the Clans all have their unique territory. ThunderClan climb trees, RiverClan swim, ShadowClan have their swamps, and WindClan the open plains. Why not include this? Fights high in the tree tops, battles in the river and water, escaping and fighting in the swamps, ending up on the open plains, only able to rely on their speed to run fast enough to evade death.

* The Gathering is a sacred time where there is no fighting or bloodshed. I would find it satisfying and ironic to have the final battle set there.

* Firestar was famous for playing dead. Jay, Lion, Holly, Sedgewhisker and Heathertail all discovered they can escape the flooding tunnels by holes in the tunnels leading into the lake. Hollyleaf has a way of fighting the Dark Forest has never seen. Deathberries are poisonous and can easily be hidden in prey. The cats who have journeyed to the mountains know about covering their pelts with mud to hide themselves. There is abandoned twoleg nest cats have gone to when they were sick on ThunderClan territory. Tigerheart, Flametail and Dawnpelt all helped fake a sign from StarClan to make Blackstar believe in Starclan again. Why not use these points again to advance the story narrative?

* Some of the Dark Forest have grudges against the living. Mapleshade has vowed to destroy the lives of Appledusk's descendants. Crookedstar famously took that satisfaction away from her. Mistystar stood in Hawkfrost's way of becoming deputy. Sorreltail ruined Darkstripe's plan to keep her silent about meeting with Blackstar. Lionblaze told Tigerstar he was already dead, as to why he didn't kill him. Brokenstar's kit escapees, Brightheart, Brackenfur and Thornclaw are still alive. Clawface was killed by Graystripe. Thistleclaw might have a grudge against a few dead StarClan cats. Why not explore these possibilities?

* How would some Dark Forest cats react to learning their apprentices were traitors the entire time?

* Also, what rules says StarClan can't have cats go against StarClan, or Dark Forest cats go against the Dark Forest?

* What if the Dark Forest slowly eroded away the minds and sanity of its inhabitants? To the point that only the strongest of emotions remained.

* Some cats still hold terrible secrets. Eventually, these secrets will find some away of rising to the surface. 

* What do you do when you are banished from your Clan, yet a wanted traitor for defecting from the Dark Forest?

[ramenfallsbutnotudon]

3% Season 1 Episode 1 Re-watch (w/ spoiler commentary)

(by spoiler commentary I mean my stream of consciousness watching and thinking about the entire 2 season series)

·         I didn’t realize how prevalent Marco was in the beginning. We see him walking behind Michele and even leaving his home’s caretaker (?) with the note for his son.

·         Michele seems to have just been waiting for this day. She gratified her walls to keep track of time like a mock calendar, and of course the photo of Andre (her brother).

·         I didn’t notice the wooden-faced man (forgot his name) seen her pass in the window on the way to the procession.

·         Ivana, The wooden faced man, and I’m assuming the other dude (the one who works with Joana in S2) ((Silas??) are in that La Causa meeting – along with another I can’t recognize or remember right now.

·         Joana speaks to Rafael because his registration is fake. We find out hers is as well. Although hers is “official” so to speak, maybe she wanted to see if it worked.

·         Homegirl really did take that kiwi from Rafael’s bloody hand.

·         Rafael was willing to do anything to pass (steal the cube) because he knows this is his only chance after stealing his brother’s registration and failing La Causa the first time. This also seemed to resonate with Joana, since we know why she can’t “go home” and who she’s running from.

·         They think the fruit is too sweet because they have no goddamn fruit everything is on the offshore. Could also be an analogy for the pretty, sweet appearance of the off shore. Like it’s too good to be true.

·         Bruna was shown La Causa’s symbol and asked about her opinions of them. This should be some sort of foreshadowing. Also Bruna’s little sister standing alone with three other girls, and the camera dramatically panning to her leaving up the stairs – going to a place her sister and family can no longer reach. (RIP girl)

·         Did Michele help Fernando because it was a part of her cover, or because she actually wanted to help him? She grabbed that necklace in the beginning and also seen the wooden faced man, so it’s safe to assume the moment she stepped out of her house she was in anarchy mode. If Fernando hadn’t helped her, she would have been eliminated. Interesting the two moles both couldn’t pass the test, but one relied on himself and the other outside help. This mirrors the s2 ending where Rafael is alone trying to help himself and repair things with his girlfriend Elisa, and Michele is asking Fernando for help.

·         Fernando really does hate his father. My first time watching this series, until his dad double crossed him I thought maybe he was exaggerating. But he really does detest him and doesn’t want to be like him. He also mentions something about wanting his mobility back, but we know that’s a lie because he’s comfortable in his wheelchair. Unless, he did feel that way but after his elimination those feelings also went away. Or maybe it was when he was told he could walk again and confided in Michele? Either way, this is something to look out for.

·         Marco really isn’t shit. I knew this my first watch, but seeing him again lie and (seemingly) flirt with the interviewer just re-affirms that. Then bragging about how he is an Alvarez to Agata. Then decided to play “good guy” and breakup the mob that was attacking Rafael. Again, interesting that they have this parallel again but instead Rafael is trying to stop Marco from harming people.

·         Joana is an absolute fucking genius, I mean can we just give it up for her? She was my favorite, along with Rafael and Fernando being a close third.  11 cubes? Seeing through everyone’s bullshit but not getting involved? Catching Ezequiel’s eye early on?

·         Speaking of Ezequiel, during his speech he looked up to where Julia used to stand. He also did some jedi mind fuckery with speaking to certain candidates. Still not sure how he pulled that off.

·         Michele, like Gloria in s2, does not repeat Ezequiel’s mantra the first time he has everyone else repeat it.

·         Vape Goddess™ Aline was serving looks and being sexy as all hell. Even dare I say, a bit intimidating? She really got Ezequiel good about his wife’s suicide, would have loved to have seen the outcome of that before he was interrupted.

·         Of course, Ezequiel enjoys half drowning himself because it reminds him of his dead wife who soothed him with water and sensatory manipulation. His stress triggers him to resort to that.

·         The murder had just taken place where Andre murdered someone after finding out the truth of the founding trio.

·         Also before the process began, we saw some religious founding couple fanatics praying outside. I think Fernando rolled by and gave them dirty looks.

·         I forgot how tiny the offshore really is. 4,000 miles away by submarine.

·         They hyped the hell out of the Alexandre character by showing him, his interview, and his suicide. I thought he was going to be one of the main crew during my first watch, but I see it’s just an early on way to show what the process does to people. And hits at the “coping methods” (i.e. have a fuck ton of kids for our sterile island of passive-aggressive hell). I think he would have passed if he just shut the fuck up when the lady was smiling.

·         Did I already mention that Ezequiel has a hard on for Joana and that he probably knew who Michele was as soon as she was passed and got the mole news?

·         Joana is great.

·         Its funny Ezekiel called Denise in to talk to her and decided to drown her and she thanks him. I know Aline is appalled, and I don’t know if that was some sort of dog and pony show he was putting on – but can we talk about how toxic that water dunk has become? It was initially sensual and calming, but mixed with E’s feelings of grief and his slim grip on shifting power paradigms, it’s turned into something terrifying. Forcibly shutting out the world – silence – but also a sort of sick rebirth for those he manipulates. I think of Michele a lot writing this bullet point and her s2 relationship with water after Joana tells E to go fuck himself and Michele becomes the protégée.

·         “I do this every day to remind myself that what we do is a matter of life and death” so maybe it is also to bury feelings of guilt, shame and inadequacy – the voluntary near death drowning in a glass sink thing.

·         “Thank you for almost drowning me, I loved it. I’ve learned so much, you’re such a great mentor”  “You’re welcome, young grasshopper” as Aline looks on disgusted lmao.

·         I bet Ezequiel is into some really kinky shit since his wife died. Maybe bondage. He seems the type.

·         Oh, fuck off Cassia.

·         I love how the snake Michele already knows what’s up when they call her and Bruna away. I could point out that there were other people at that table and Fernando couldn’t have been the only one who was around, but then again he might have been the only one who cared. Although the candidates are a small bunch, they seem to have their own cliques and groups. And Michele and Fernando became friends in the cube test.

·         Michele also mentions that she’s sorry for talking shit about the process and/or a candidate. Does she know that they record everything? They are constantly being surveilled? Or most likely, it is a part of her act.

·         Michele put her head down, got her lies together and started the spin of lies for Bruna. The rare snake Michele is born.

·         “…Bruna, please” I felt like this was more of a “please lie for me/cover for me” and not a “please believe me”.

·         SHE SAID “TRUST ME, OKAY?” before getting her best friend killed. Is that not what she told Fernando at the end of s2? This snake is a work of art. In a bad way.

·         In the Michele flashback where the wooden man is coaching her, it reminds me of the scene when Rafael meets Elisa. The computers didn’t pick up in their personality analysis that Michele was lying. Elisa and Rafael were not compatible. Can the machines only pick up certain personality types and not deviants? Do they rely on honesty? Because Marco lied through his teeth, Michele lied through her teeth, Rafael lied through his teeth…Does this have something to do with the Founding Trio or a modification by the Founding Couple?

·         Of course the old man wisely advises Michele to stay away from his protégé Ezequiel. She should have listened too, we could have been spared the poison catastrophe later on.

·         I think she really is grieving Bruna’s death, but it’s interesting the conversation of “holding back tears” comes to her mind just before her actions. Like this is Michele now, crying and grieving before going back to the snake mole that she is 98% of the rest of her time there.

·         Can we talk about homegirl’s shoes though? Are those suede booties? ·         

Is this what Ezequiel has candidates running around in? lmao

·         Fernando stay away from the snake baby boy, she’s no good for you.

[icharchivist]

I apologize if you’ve been asked/discussed this before, but could you share your thoughts on how Killua and Gon’s respective upbringings and treatment from their parental figures (Killua’s physical abuse, Gon being abandoned)influences their behavior?

Heyo!!

Aah it’s okay nonny :3 I do think I may have mentioned it before, but at this point my tags are a mess orz finding anything about it is hard.

For Gon, abandonment can have a lot of effect on people. Especially this special patern that happened when it came to him. He didn’t know he was abandonned before he met Kite - Mito told him his parents died. So, first Gon lived with Mito as a parental figure and I don’t think he truly realized the absence of his real parents, not to such a degree, except to the fact that aside of Mito and his Grandma, he didn’t have a lot of people to rely on. 

However, learning at once that Mito lied to him, and that his father abandonned him, was likely a blow. At that point, considering he never confronted Mito about that, I think he closed himself in a bit and started to make decisions on his own, without really seeking other people’s advices. 

Gon, especially wonders “what would be so great to leave him behind” - he devalues himself as a person because he expects that everything else must be better than being with him. That’s the kind of idea that the abandon created. He doesn’t expect people to stick around him, which is why he lives pretty well when he gets separated from friends for normal reasons, or that he is so grateful toward Killua when Killua stays with him in Greed Island. He doesn’t exactly expect people to stick around.

That justifies also why he’s friendly, he can share a lot about himself, seemingly without consequences - because he doesn’t especially expect anyone to stay around long enough for it to have an impact. That create a sort of weird dynamic where he’s strangely opened about himself, but is actually not getting too close? Idk how to explain that. 

It makes him also generally more reckless. He’s desperate to know more about Ging, and thus, he pushes himself to the limits. Ging insisting for him to pass trials to find him adds to that, because it encourage Gon’s reckless behaviors. He’s desperately seeking for the approval of the missing person. I don’t know if he ever expect Ging to care for him, but i think it would be a let down (and it was a let down) that Ging didn’t care at all. 

So Gon passes himself second, think he cannot be a priority, that others things are more important than him, that people will move on with their lives, won’t stick around, and that it’s fair to be reckless to prove himself.

For Killua, Silva’s abuse didn’t stay physical - it was also emotional in many levels. Illumi always acted with the accord of Silva, and Silva knew about the needle - concealing Killua’s emotions, not allowing him to feel things, to remember what he cared about - are emotionally abusive. 

His whole life had been about being controlled. Being stripped from his agency, being a puppet. His whole family cultived this abuse. It makes Killua believe that he has to follow a set of rules, a path ahead of him - that’s why he got fed up, and says himself “who wants to follow a path already set up for you”. He was controlled to the point of suffocating, of having only The Plan in head, and thus, he didn’t project himself further away from The Plan, from who he was supposed to be.

While manipulative, when Illumi did what he did in the Hunter Exam, he also reminded Killua that he had no thoughts of a possible future outside of the family. That Killua isn’t “like the others”, and that he could never blend in. That’s also a result of the isolation Killua had suffered from all his life, thus leading him to not know how to blend in in a normal crowd, especially when he was taught to not get attached because he would want to kill anyone on his way anyway.

One of the important emotionally abusive thing Silva did was in one of the books, where Killua found a dog that was sick and he asked Silva if he could keep it, and Silva agreed and had him promise to always take care of the dog. Killua grew very close to the dog, until one day the dog got poisoned, and it’s hinted in the text that it’s Silva who poisoned it, making it look like an accident. Thus, he told Killua to kill the dog himself since he couldn’t protect it and that it was better this way.

Thus, Silva encourage Killua to remain alone because he cannot even keep a dog alive, and will end up killing it anyway. It makes Killua afraid to bound with people, believing he breaks everything he touches. And it keeps him in controle.

The physical abuse lead Killua to believe this huge amount of suffering is normal. It pushes his limits, hurts him, and to him, he considers it a means to an end. That’s why for him, using himself as a shield, of hurting himself to get what he wants or to protect who he wants to protect, is completely understandable, because he can stand it, and he therefore doesn’t realize the horrors of the things he had been through.

The emotional abuse though is really worth noticing because it isolated Killua to the point of having him frightened to even do something wrong. He was taught he would always be a killer, thus he  is scared at the moment he starts to feel he cannot protect his friend - that it would be just like killing them by not acting. 

Toward the course of his storyline, Killua learns to take back control - by taking away the needle, by confronting his father, by getting Alluka’s back and facing Illumi - Killua’s story is about being in controle of himself, and not being someone else’s pawn. To make his own choices. 

Killua is pro-active in fighting what this abusive patern put him through, unlike Gon who follows the behavior those abandon issues created.

That’s... the best I can do right now, it may be a little confusing but orz I don’t know how to write more there. There are so much more to both of their characters and what they went through - but it’s clear both their family affected them a lot.

What’s interesting is to see the abuse from the point of view of, Gon’s issues happened because of a father who didn’t care at all, while Killua’s issues happened because of a father who cared so much he wanted to controle him.Underbearing VS overbearing, pushed to the extreme, i’d say?

But it left them both with very different paterns, and one more insidious than the others, thus more difficult to fight.

I hope it’s... clearer than it seems to be for me orz

Take care!

[oohnoniall]

Queen of Serpents || Galan Ashryver x OC [Chapter Five]

{WARNINGS: adult language, fantasy violence, woman owning her sexuality and her body, woman using her sexuality and body as a weapon, woman saying “fuck emotions i’m scared”, manipulation mentions, toxic main character but she learns, toxic parents, self-harm in the form of self-poisoning, self-hate, fucked up family}

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two 

Chapter Three 

Chapter Four

The ball came too quickly for Arya's preference. It seemed as though she had slept once and then was being woken by her maids to prepare. There had been no time to prepare a conducive plan. She was rather anxious that things were going to go horribly wrong before the night was ever over.

        She did not know how she was supposed to handle the night. Dancing in front of whatever fae representative would make her look ridiculous. But the art of seduction had always relied on a dance for her. Dance and then ignoring her partner for the better part of the night. 

        "Settle down, miss," Miliana huffed as she pinned a thick red curl to the back of her head. "I don't want to restart your hair again."

        "The dress is ridiculous," Arya seethed as she reluctantly quit moving about. She had never been so anxious. She found it hard to quit repositioning herself, to quit tapping her fingers against her thighs. This one night would determine the rest of her life. She felt rather sick to her stomach.

        "It's beautiful," Genevive smiled kindly at her, her hands busily folding linens. She'd already helped Arya to dress and had done her makeup. "You look like a queen."

        "Yes, but not of Kalthanen." Arya stared at her reflection in the mirror. She hardly recognized herself. Her lips were not painted in the normal shade of red, instead opting for a brown-toned nude lip paint. Her eyes had been lightly lined with kohl with a gold shimmer on her eyelids. Her imperfections powdered away, color brought to her cheeks by heavy pinching. Her gown was not of Kalthanen design, but one of Wendlyn's. Heavy skirts, a tight bodice, sleeves of lace that felt trapping. Luna and Nox would not be coming because of this. She did not want her darlings to be against anything that was not her skin.

        Arya did not feel like herself. Everything that had made her Arya had been stripped and polished away. But that night she was not supposed to look like herself. She was supposed to be anything other than the woman she had become.

        Wendlyn's lordlings would fall in love with her. The perfect princess they couldn't have. Whoever hated Galan would do whatever they could to get her on their arm. Yet, those were the men that would need to be avoided. Unless their hatred made them biddable. Oftentimes, men were blinded by the hate in their hearts. They would do whatever was deemed necessary to combat whoever had made them feel that way.

        Arya just didn't think anyone could hate Galan. She had certainly tried. He was too ... Likeable. His sharp edges did not exist. He was charming, full of warmth, he could make even the bleakest days bright. She wanted nothing more than to despise his bleak optimism. She hated herself for not hating him.

        "Once this is all over, you'll be the queen we all deserve," Genevive assured her, a kind smile on her face. "I just know it."

        It seemed more people in her life were dripping with optimism that she herself did not possess. She wondered what it was like. How did it feel to see the bright side of life? To look at things and just know it was going to work out? It didn't seem as though it was a good way to live one's life. 

        Life was not butterflies and rainbows. Life was harsh, bleak. There was never anything that mattered. Just going from one goal to the next. Arya just needed to find what mattered to her. Something that wasn't just Kalthanen and the throne. She knew that was not all that she could hope for. 

       After all, even she was not heartless enough to kill her own brother. She could perhaps convince Calanon to do it, but the guilt would eat her alive. The only thing that would keep her sane was knowing that Kalthanen would thrive under her hand. Even if she would never get the throne. She'd have bigger challenges than just her brother.

        "We'll see," Arya spoke softly as Miliana finished her hair. Half of it had been pinned up, the rest curled and falling past her waist. The long, red locks would look like fire in the warm light of the ballroom. They'd be perfect to capture attention.

        She dreaded feeling Galan's fingers in her hair. Dreaded knowing how it would feel, dreaded dreaming of it. There was absolutely no reason for this stupid little princeling to be the reason she failed. He didn't matter in the long run. He was just a distraction. Someone who would cost her a kingdom and perhaps her sanity. She wasn't someone who he could love. She wasn't worth it.

        Arya had always known it.

        She stood slowly, the skirts of the dress falling gracefully as she did. They seemed to envelop her in a mountain of silk and taffeta. She hated every second of it. It was too bulky, too big. There were far too many layers if she wanted to bed someone or run. It was no wonder Galan had been drawn to her scant outfits and the sight of her bare legs. 

        Her maids did not follow after her as she headed towards the door to her chambers. Despite her anxiety, her hands did not shake as she reached to open the door. 

        Just as her hand brushed gently against the knob, a soft knock sounded.

        Arya took a soft breath through her nerves, painted a smile on her face, and opened the door. Galan stood there. His fist still raised from the gentle knock, an amused smile that made his blue eyes brighter was playing on his lips. She tried to ignore the way it made her stomach knot. 

        "You certainly don't waste any time," he teased as he moved to bow gracefully to her. It almost felt as if he were asking her to dance with him already. "You look beautiful, Arya."

        "Why thank you, Galan," her smile reached her eyes for the briefest of seconds. At least until she realized she was not faking that smile. "I assumed Calanon would be waiting to escort me."

        "He was," Galan's cheeks turned a shade of pink that would have looked sickly on another person. The heat in his face highlighted his high cheekbones, the upturned corners of his lips. It made him look alive in a way she had never been. "I told him he could take the rest of the night off. I thought that we'd be more comfortable without your chaperone."

        One of Arya's brows rose slightly.

        "Not that I think we'll be doing anything improper," Galan quickly stammered out, his cheeks turning more red instead of that lovely pink flush. "I just meant I thought we'd be able to speak without worrying. I meant no offense."

        "None taken," she told him, offering him her hand. 

        He took it gratefully, his smile coming back in full force. He seemed as though he was nervous for this whole ordeal. She didn't understand it. Galan was, by all counts, handsome. His thick, brown hair hung just to his shoulders in waves that she wanted to run her fingers through. He looked strong. His shoulders were broad and his arms filled his tunics rather nicely. He was a prince from a fairytale.

        That night he looked especially promising.

        He wore a crisp white shirt with a cobalt blue jacket and black leather breeches. His boots went to his knee and were polished enough that the torchlight reflected off of them. For the second time, she saw him wearing a small crown. The gold matched his hair rather nicely, making it appear almost brighter. Arya hated herself for thinking of how beautiful he looked.

        "Shall we?" He asked, nodding his head once to her. 

        "We shall," Arya looked up at him. Despite being a tall woman, he seemed to tower over her. Far more than Dorian had. More than any man ever had. 

        She prayed that it was a common trait for Wendlyn men to be tall. Maybe then he wouldn't stick out as much in her mind. Maybe then she could ignore him and the way her heart pounded when he smiled at her.

        It was ridiculous that a boy was wrapping his way around her. There was no reason for it. He wasn't any more charming than Dorian had been. Nor was he better than anyone she'd ever spent time with. He was no different than the boys she had already taken to her bed. Yet, something felt different. Something made her want to be beside him. That something needed to be squashed.

        By the end of the night, she hoped it would be. Praying would do no good. The goddess had already betrayed her.

        "So are Wendlyn balls any fun?" Arya found herself questioning him as they headed down corridors and down staircases. She never realized how far her chambers were to the ballroom. It gave her time to quell the roaring anxiety.

        "Are Kalthanens?" Galan responded, one brow rising slightly.

        "Perhaps you'll find out one day." The smile that graced her features was more sultry than she had meant it to be. It sent another flush through his cheeks. She wondered if it was so easy to make him blush for anyone else.

        She didn't need the answer.

        "Perhaps," he told her as the sound of violins began to reach them.

        The light coming from the ballroom was bright and warm. Already she could hear laughter and the gentle music of a soft waltz. The scents in the air were of pine and cinnamon. She would have assumed they were winter scents but it was only early fall. Still, the air had begun to turn chilly. The scent was enough to remind her that things could still be wonderful despite the cold.

        Arya knew this was silly. She didn't care about scents or sweets. She cared about her throne. Her kingdom. Without her at the helm, Kalthanen would surely fail. She didn't trust anyone else with her home. With her crown. Galan was just someone who was in the way. She could not worry herself over any silly boy. Could not worry herself over what might happen if she did break his heart.

        He deserved it. She just was unsure why. 

        It must have been because he dared make her feel anything. No one was supposed to get inside of her head. No one was supposed to make her feel as though they were enough for her. She was supposed to be better than that. But with Galan ... She felt as though she wasn't. She felt as though she was another silly girl who would fall for any boy with pretty eyes.

        "Presenting His Royal Highness Crown Prince Galan Ashryver of Wendlyn and Her Highness Princess Arya Nostariel of Kalthanen," a man in the Ashryver livery called from the balcony. 

        All eyes fell on the two. This was normally where Arya shined the brightest. She adored having attention placed on her. Loved it when she knew who she was tricking into submission. Although, this was an entirely different battlefield. It was harder when she felt unlike herself.

        Galan did not release his hold on her, a bright smile crossed his features and made him appear every bit the handsome prince. 

        "Friends," his voice carried over the ballroom despite the fact that he had spoken at a normal tone. It was clear he commanded respect in a way that she had never known. She just had to figure out how he did it. "Thank you again for coming to the celebration. I know this has been a hard year for all of us. Adarlan continues to attack our borders, we have only Doranelle as an ally. But we have made friends with Kalthanen."

        He looked to her, raising her hand while he spoke. His eyes shone in a way that made her heart hammer and her palms sweaty. She knew for a fact that this was untrue. Galan was likely hoping for a friendship. Or something else entirely. She had no clue of his intentions.

        "We will be able to hold off Adarlan and keep our borders closed to those who would do us harm. I promise to keep your sons safe. Now, enough discussion of politics and war. Please, enjoy the festivities." Galan lowered their hands then. Before he began to lead her down the steps and into the ballroom proper.

        The lights seemed to glitter as they bounced off of ladies' jewels and men's shining cufflinks and other subtle hints of their wealth. Only a few in the back seemed untouched by the lights. But they gave off something of their own. A power that she had never felt before that was paired with almost ethereal beauty. She did not have to be told who they were. 

        "Would you care to dance?" Galan asked her, his breath gently caressing her ear. She almost shivered.

        "I would be delighted," she spoke honestly as she looked up at him. Arya had never been one for balls, often finding the dancing tedious and repetitive. But it was quite challenging not to want to be enveloped in his strong arms. She felt quite stupid for thinking so.

        Galan's smile radiated far more than any jewel in the room. He looked nearly as ethereal as a Fae when he smiled. It was wide enough to show the dimple on his left side. That stupid dimple made him more handsome than any man she'd ever laid eyes on. How dare he be beautiful.

        He led her to the dance floor. His left hand found her waist while his right took hers. He brought her close enough to remain proper but she could still feel the heat of him. She could smell the scent that clung to his skin. The breeze of the sea, the winds that had swept salt into his hair, and the musk that she found clung to many men. She hated how much she loved it. 

        As the music began to fill the room, Galan swept her into a dance. He was the perfect partner. Calm, gentle, a smile always on his face, yet strong. He would not let her fail. She found that it was too easy to let go of her determination to lead. She would let him have this moment. 

        "You're a beautiful dancer," he broke the spell that had been cast over her. 

        "You're not so bad yourself," Arya told him with a gentle smile. "You fight alongside your men, you know flowers, and you dance. Is there anything you cannot do?"

        "I promise you my faults outweigh my accomplishments," he chuckled softly.

        His laugh was beautiful. Soft like a Kalthanen lullaby. She found herself wishing she could sing him one while running her fingers through his stupidly perfect hair. 

        "Mhm," Arya mused as they twirled around the room. "I'll believe it when I see it."

        "Then I pray you never see the weaker parts of me," Galan seemed to be watching her carefully. As if he truly cared what she thought of him. That or he had seen past her own disguise.

        "I assure you, I've seen much worse." She had been much worse. She wanted to be a good person, wanted to make things better for her people. But she couldn't do anything without a crown. Getting the crown would mean being able to change the world. For now, being someone who everyone else would hate was her only course of action.

        "Perhaps you'll see those parts of me later," his hand tightened just slightly around hers. She could feel how clammy it was. "If things go well."

        "Do you see things going well?" Arya rose a brow as she peered up at him. 

        "I'm not a fortune teller," despite his words his cheeks were flushed. She was rather amused by it. "But I can certainly hope for it."

        Arya laughed softly as he spun her out, the music thankfully overwhelming the awkwardness of the conversation. She had no idea how to tell him it could never be. He hadn't spoken of intentions to court her prior to this. It seemed as though he did have a flaw. Not knowing when to bring up a certain topic. Falling for the wrong girl. 

        She didn't want to hurt him. She knew that as she looked into his warm blue eyes. However, she wouldn't give up the crown of Kalthanen for a silly boy. Even if he was a Crown Prince. How was she to help her people if she ruled an ocean away? How was she to keep her parents' respect if she went against them?

        "Thank you for the dance, Galan," she spoke softly as she parted from him.

        "You're very welcome, Arya," despite the smile on his lips he sounded almost hurt. She ached to dance with him the whole night but she knew better. It would cause a rumor of some sort. One that she would not be able to easily dissuade.

        She gave him a low curtsey before slipping away from him. She managed to disappear into the crowd, her gown allowing her to blend in with the other Wendlyn nobles. She hated how easy it was. To be forgotten, ignored, unseen. She wondered if she would live her life in the shadows. If her family would keep her from becoming the woman she was meant to. All of it seemed arbitrary.

        Arya found herself at the edge of the crowd, breathing as deeply as she could with the damned corset. She had never understood the appeal of them. 

        Calanon was on the dance floor, a beautiful woman wrapped in his arms. He at least looked as though he were having fun. If anyone was to have a good time, it was Calanon. He didn't have to worry about his parents' wrath. Nor did he have to worry about upholding a legacy. All he had to worry about was which plan to kill his cousins would work.

        She looked away from him after a moment, knowing that jealousy would do more harm than good. Besides being jealous of Calanon was like being jealous of a gutter. He was nothing to her, nothing that she could not one day soon be rid of. She just had to play her cards right, despite knowing just how difficult that was.

        "Excuse me," a voice from behind her brought her out of her thoughts and contemplations. She turned her head, peering over her shoulder with a raised brow and a demure smile.

        "Can I help you?" Arya questioned.

        The man's face was nothing special. He had a broad nose that looked as though it had been broken before, thin lips, and watery blue eyes that she did not wish to look at. His golden hair fell to his shoulders and looked nearly greasy. He was no where near what she wanted.

        "I was wondering if you would like to dance with me?" He sounded hopeful. Arya almost felt bad for him. She knew better than to spend her time leading on men who would not be welcome prospects.

        Yet, she found that she could not deny a man who was smiling at her as though she was his last chance. Despite the bitterness within her soul, she could show basic human decency. Kindness was not completely unknown to her.

        "I would love to," the smile she offered him was kind. One that she had not yet used on Galan.

        The man appeared relieved, as though no other woman would have done so. Or perhaps he just did not yet have the nerve to ask the woman he was truly interested in. She didn't know nor did she really care to. He looped his arm through hers and led her back to the dance floor.

        He was a fine dancer. Yet it was not nearly as remarkable as when Galan had held her in his arms. She didn't feel anything as they danced. Nor did they spend time speaking. He seemed more concerned about where he was placing his feet.

        She could feel someone's gaze on her as the dance continued. She assumed that it was Galan.

        She wanted it to be Galan.

        That alone was cause for trouble. She should have wanted Galan to ignore her. To want nothing to do with her beyond some slight flirtation. Galan was to be someone else's. Someone who actually deserved him.        

        Not a woman who was fighting tooth and nail to protect her own crown. 

        The dance ended soon enough, the man bowing gracefully to her. She curtised in response.

        "You dance beautifully," the cool indifference of the voice made her turn. It was not Galan who had been watching her after all. 

        Instead, it was a man who was nearing six feet tall. His cheekbones were sharper than Galan's, his eyes dark and filled with a cold fire that matched her own. His nose was thin, his lips the same. Yet, his skin was golden as though he spent most of his time outdoors. He carried himself as though he were a prince, despite only being a lord. She could tell by the fabric of the black brocade he wore. It was not nearly as nice as Calanon's.

        "Thank you, sir," Arya trailed off, expecting him to give her a name.

        "Lord Thomas Middleditch," he gave a stiff bow before standing. "Might I have this dance?"

        Galan was watching now. His Ashryver eyes darkening as he began to approach the couple. The way he was moving swiftly towards the pair was the only reason for her answer.

        "Yes, you may."