#heads up i might use a suggested song with other characters

[mistresscitrusslice]

The Season 2 Opening. We Must Discuss.

First of all, small beans. Instead of static, lifeless statues, this time we get moving humans. Mel features significantly more than I expected, so she'll probably be a much more major character than I expected for a non-champion character and I'm so happy for her. I believe the use of moving people instead of statues signifies that immense change will be happening. What we thought was literally set in stone in Season 1 will be turned on its head in Season 2.

Okay, on to the really concerning matters.

Yuhuh. Jinx moves too fast for me to get a good screenshot, but she gestures like this around her face a lot. I think we all already know about the Caitlyn-Jinx parallels, but my sister suggests it could be a red herring for the actual resemblances she has to Silco.

Sis gets credit for the following observation, but Caitlyn's daydream sequences about shooting Jinx are controlled and clearly separated from reality unlike Jinx's.

However, sis has not seen ep 2 yet, where Caitlyn does have that moment in the arcade where she shoots her vision of Jinx among the wooden dummies. Not only does this more closely resemble Jinx's hallucinations, it also parallels Jinx shooting the harmless crow in s1 e5. By the time the strike squad are about to leave, she can clearly tell that what she thought might be Jinx was really just a harmless wooden standee. Startling, but harmless. She shoots it anyway.

Caitlyn is totally gonna spiral more, and maybe she'll start losing her grip on reality too, but for now, she has more in common with Silco than she does with Jinx. Did anyone else get reminded of Silco's coat when Ambessa put the supervillain cape on Caitlyn? The collars don't look similar but they still eerily resemble each other, you get me?

Ok back to intro stuff

Vi wipes off her name from her face. That's two tattoos that are rendered impermanent in this opening theme. In the Fenty x Arcane video, they mention that Mel's golden freckles are tattoos. Later in the intro song, we also see her golden freckles gone. Change, impermanence. That seems to be a theme here.

Vi is literally erasing her name from her face. In any normal circumstance, I'd say that means she wants a change of identity, a desire to start over. However, I know that Vi's League lore involves amnesia. Does she really drink herself into that bad of a stupor? Jkjk. I assumed that her amnesia was replaced by the Stillwater imprisonment to explain how she got topside and with the enforcers, but perhaps I was wrong. Maybe they do still intend to go the amnesia or partial amnesia route with her.

The teasers implied that Vi shares the genetic trait that has Jinx predisposed to hallucinations. It's possible that this eventually contributes to her loss of memory, but I wouldn't call it quite yet. However, if this happens during her emo era when I'm assuming she has no support system, she'll be very vulnerable, unlike if it were to happen while she was still partnered with Caitlyn, in which case they could easily fill in most blanks in her memory.

I have no idea what to make of this. It's clear as day what they're paralleling, but why? Why the flashlight scene? My best guess is that they're trying to draw on déjà vu, implying a repetition of history, but why this particular moment? They could've easily chosen anything else in Jayce's s1 arc. He has many more memorable moments than this. Let's see, I'm literally making this up as I go.

This meeting was a pivotal moment for Jayce. Both his meeting with Viktor and his meeting with Mel changed his fate. The Viktor one is pretty self-explanatory, but without meeting Mel, they would've both just gotten exiled or locked up again. With Mel, they had someone in power who could vouch for them.

That begs the question, is Jayce meeting someone new? Or is this a reintroduction to someone he's already known before, a new meeting after a long time apart or after a significant change, maybe a change in them both. I believe it must be someone who was involved in the original hallway scene.

Jayce is either looking at Mel again or at Viktor. Given the amount of Viktor/Mel parallels in Season 1, I believe Jayce is looking at Viktor after he's undergone his likely final evolution. That'll obviously be another pivotal moment for him... but will it be a good one like it was with Mel? Viktor has power now. He's performing miracles. He's, like, two steps away from parting the Pilt River like it's the Red Sea. He seems to hold a grudge against Jayce, though, for *checks notes* saving his life? Jk I know he feels like he's losing autonomy and like Jayce didn't respect his wishes with the Hexcore and Jayce obviously couldn't let Viktor die when he'd fought so hard to stay alive before.

Anyway, I feel like this could easily be both a good omen and a bad omen for Jayce. More than anything, I feel like it'll be an epiphany. He is quite literally seeing the light. The light at the end of the dark tunnel? The light of the heavens at the end of his life? The light of a revelation sent by a god he once knew as a man?

Seeing Mel screaming bloody murder during the opening, this was the first place my mind went to. The pose doesn't match up exactly, and Jinx/Powder's screams are definitely wilder, but I feel like there's definitely something here. Is there anyone else who screams like this, thrusting their head forward and keeping their arms back?

We also see the shadow hands from this earlier shot:

I'm thinking of the Black Rose (is that their name?) kidnapping her in thin air, incorporeal hands reaching at her and snatching my joy the love of my life Mel away. It could also represent people grasping at the power Mel wields, both as the wealthiest Council member and as a Noxian princess, one of the closest people to Ambessa, the one wielding the most power right now.

Mel is really out of her depth right now. Her power and influence is up for grabs if she dares to blink and let her guard down. I'm also surprised that we don't see her fight back at all when there's danger around. I thought she might have more battle experience as she was raised by Ambessa. For those people wondering about her magical powers, I think she would've used them by now if she had them. Council attack aside, which could've been Viktor's magic, she wasn't able to do anything about the memorial attack or her own kidnapping. I think they're trying to show us that Mel is not as untouchable as she presents herself. Under the right circumstances, she's just as vulnerable as any civilian.

The sliver of light? My sister pointed out that it looks just like the crack of light between two double doors. Almost closed... or barely open? It appears in pretty much everyone's shot in the opening, but it's right down the center of Mel's face here. Is she torn between two sides? Is this about an impossible choice she has to make?

The spotlight is also on her. That's two sources of light. It looks like a red sun. All eyes on her as the surviving voice of the Council?

And her expression... shock, fear, horror. The heavy breathing, the look on her face... I feel eerily like I've seen it on someone else before. I can't place who, but I'm getting déjà vu from this. Does anyone else recognize this expression and these mannerisms?

[sadtrashking]

Give me classic vocaloid songs and what qsmp characters might fit them, I wanna do something

[jyoongim]

A Deal With God

Themes: fem!reader, Morningstar!reader, Angst, mention of character death, secrets, religious themeAlastor being Alastor, fluff, slight smut, deal-making,  soul possession, Lilith a shitty mother/wife/sister, established relationship, difficult family dynamic, there’s a trope in here I just don’t know what to call it?

Chapter 1

chapter 2

You had ordered Niffty that some rooms needed to be spruced up and took the liberty to tidy up the lobby yourself.

You hummed to the sound of the song playing on the radio as you neatly stacked whatever plans Charlie was coming up with in the night.

Charlie.

Your heart ached for the Princess.

After Lilith left, the Princess had founded a hotel to help redeem the souls of the damned.

You were unsure of her plan, but you could never deny her.

damn those puppy eyes.

So here you were, seven years later, helping your niece with her wild endeavor.

But you weren’t alone; 

“Aaahh just the doll I wanted to see!” A radio-like voice chirped.

Alastor.

You smiled in greeting to the lanky demon.

Alastor, the famed and fearsome Radio Demon.

You were a bit skeptical when he showed up at your door, but when he offered to help Charlie you took him in.

Who were you to say no to help? You needed the extra hands.

”Hello Al, did you need something?” The tall demon smiled down at you as he shook his head.

”Nooo just thought I would check in. How’s Charlie’s new plan along?” You laughed “ooh their a coming thats for sure” nodding towards the board she had made the other night.

An idea popped into your head “Why don’t you make a commercial Al ” He went to make a comment, but you interrupted him “A proper commercial. The sinners need to know the benefits of the hotel and that there is hope”

you waltz up to him, a soft smile on your as you batted your eyes at him ”pretty please?” You wrapped your arms around him, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

He hummed, seeming to mull over the thought, chuckling

”fine fine”

You grinned “Thank you”

He whistled as he walked out the room, you smiled after him, getting back to your task.

Your phone ringed and you answered without seeing who called. “Hello?”

A nervous laugh responded “Heeeyyy bitch”

Lucifer.

You rolled your eyes “Hello to you too Luci ”

He groaned at the nickname.

”Ugghh so hows things been….” He wanted something.

“Whaaaaat? N-Nothing what makes you think I want something?” 

he couldn’t see your face, but you were making a pointed face.

”Okay okay its just- hows-hows Charlie?” He asked.

You frowned “Charlie is fine, through it wouldn’t hurt if you came by and saw your daughter Luci”

You hadn’t forgave him for setting Charlie up to chat with Heaven months ago when he should have been the one to settle things between them.

Charlie might have a optimistic view of the world, but she lacked experience. You should have been the one to be at that meeting.

But nevertheless.

”I-I don’t know about that…” he trailed off. But you were quick to fix that avoidant nature of his.

”Come to the hotel. Come see what your daughter is trying to do. No one would take this seriously if the King doesn’t approve himself. If not that, just come see your daughter Luci, she needs more than just me around” you felt bad for guilting him but this had to be done.

Charlie was growing into an excellent leader, you were sure she would make a great queen one day.

”so you’ll be here tomorrow? Great see you then. And don’t forget…I can see you so don’t make me drag your ass here tata”

———————————————————————————————

Charlie had gathered everyone to the lobby to come up with ways to recruit sinners to the hotel.

 Charlie was nothing if a perfectionist and always took on more than she could chew.

”Hey babe maybe its time to use some of that royal privilege” Vaggie suggested, she gave a quick look in your direction, making Charlie shake her head feverishly

”no no no my auntie has already done so much! I can’t ask her to do anything else”

You smiled, but chimed in to support Vaggie “She’s right Charlie.” Your niece gawked at you.

You approached her, slipping a arm around her shoulder in comfort “Now I know it’s been rough and weird between you and your father buuuuuuut I took the liberty in inviting him here” she groaned “what? Noooooooo” you shushed her whining

“Now now you’ll get to show him that what you’ve been doing is good for the kingdom. That your heart’s in the right place. He’ll help I promise”

Charlie rested her head on your shoulder, groaning in defeat

”w-when will he be here?”

”Oh in a hour”

”WHAT?!”

———————————————————————————————-

“OH Charlie its so good to see you!” Lucifer exclaimed pulling his daughter into a tight hug.

You smiled, giggling as Charlie choked out a response to her father. You pulled him away from her, giving him a hug

”Nice to see you too Luci” the King blushed and looked around.

”sooooo this is what you two have been up to? It sure got some….character ” he said nervously.

“Well we had some help” you gestured to Alastor. Lucifer eyes narrowed slightly “uuuhhh hhhuuuhh suuurre and who might you be?” Alastor eye twitched before quickly shaking his hand “Alastor! Pleasure to meet you sir… I must say you are…much unimpressive than what I imagined” he mused, causing the man to deadpan.

You cleared your throat “Alastor here has been a tremendous help with the hotel. I don’t know what we would have done without him” you praised.

Lucifer growled as Alastor wrapped an arm around your waist pulling you into his side.

Alastor sneered at the monarch “Aaah yes what creative ladies I have here. I am HAPPY to fulfill any wish they desire” he grinned down at you, giving you a slight squeeze.

”hmmmm sister dear why don’t you show me around” he whacked Alastor’s hand with his cane and pulled your arm away from him with a tight smile.

Charlie and Alastor followed the two of you as you gave a quick briefing of the hotel, letting Charlie take over and show her dad around.

You sighed happily, it was nice to see Charlie interact with her dad. You hoped that he would see the big picture and offer her some guidance and support.

You leaned your head against Alastor’s shoulder, turning to return to the lobby

”Let’s leave those two to catch up shall we?”

He huffed but followed you anyway.

———————————————————————————-

“Well it is a very good plan b-but I don’t know Charlie” Lucifer sighed. Charlie’s face dropped. “Daaad this is the only way to prove to Heaven that sinners deserve a second chance”

Lucifer looked away from his daughter “Charlie you don’t understand-” she huffed,frustrated “what don’t I understand?  That my own father don’t believe in me? If Auntie can why can’t you?” She was holding back tears.

You were on the fence at first too, but you were willing to help her out. You supported her crazy ideas and even encouraged that she gave it her all. 

Yes it might have been far fetched,  but you believed that Charlie could do what Lucifer could not.

”Heaven wont listen to you Charlie! They didn’t listen to me. What makes you think you can change their minds?” 

You knew it was a tough question.

Charlie didn’t know the hardship of how Heaven operated.

How much Lucifer had spent centuries trying to convince them that humanity was capable of doing amazing things.

Hell, if sinners had mortal souls why couldn’t they change after death?

But you knew. Heaven was convinced that the rules were black and white. Hell was made to punish the most severe sinners.

of course this is flawed for several reasons

Hell was a punishment to all who fell.

Lucifer knew this.

But why couldn’t things change?

Charlie turned to you, a look of frustration and sadness on her face. You intervened. “Luci just one meeting. One meeting with Heaven so Charlie can at least try. I know you can’t see that things could change, but think about the possibility. Why should a sinner be damned if there’s a second chance? Heaven shouldn’t be able to decide what a person’s soul is capable of”

Lucifer sighed.

You always had a way of making him see possibilities in things.

If you believed in Charlie, then that must have meant…

”what are the odds in this succeeding” he asked you

You blinked. 

You knew what he was asking.

Your sight of everything was always nearly right.

”Theres a few bumps to sort out, but it’ll be fine” you said.

he grimaced.

”Ill even go to Heaven with her” you offered.

Charlie was going to need all the backup she needed up there.

Angels could be a piece of work.

Lucifer sighed, before turning to his daughter “Fine. One meeting-” Charlie launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his small frame and she jumped around

”thank you thank you thank you!”

He smiled, returning her hug.

Charlie ran off to find Vaggie and tell her while you watched Lucifer.

”It wont stop anything” he said as you ushered him into the office.

You hummed, pouring a cup of tea as you looked out the window into the city on the horizon.

”You don’t know that” you whispered.

Silence filled the air between the two of you.

”H-have you…you know” he started to say nervously

You turned to him, seeing him fiddle with his wedding ring.

Your stomach curled.

”what” you growled out unintentionally 

he swallowed “Have you seen Lilith?”

You stilled. Your wrist burned in warning

promise me

”I can’t tell you that” you said curtly.

Lucifer glared at you “you’ve been saying that for years!”

”and you always get the same response” you said back

He stood up and angrily approached you.

”Have you no shame? I know you. You can’t lie to me!” He was starting to raise his voice

”Luci calm dow-” 

“NO! You can see everything! Everything and everyone! so tell me sister have you seen my wife…have you seen Lilith?!”

he was grabbing your arms, shaking.

You hated the look of despair on his face, hoping that you would at least tell him something.

But your wrist burned at his question, and your anger of being put in such a predicament got the better of you.

You hissed at him “No.” you held his glare, before he sighed letting you go. He ran a hand through his hair, backing away from you “Im sorry i-i didn’t mean that”

You clicked your tongue at him sighing

”Oh Luci…” you cupped his cheek, you couldn’t tell him where she was, no Lilith made sure of that,but you could show what you’ve seen.

Lucifer’s eyes widened as flashes of his wife appeared in his mind. He didn’t know where she was,but she seemed…happy.

”I know you worry about Charlie but I will never let anything happen to her. Heaven can act all high and mighty, but surely someone up there will see reason” you said to him, breaking him out of his trance.

He shook his head slightly, giving you a soft smile, nodding.

“Sooooo you and that bellhop…” he wiggled his eyebrows at you teasingly. You tensed, looking away embarrassed. He laughed “Oh? Shy? Not you” you glared at him, folding your arms across your chest in defense “w-what? Theres nothing wrong with me trying to pursue someone” you grumbled. Lucifer smiled. It was cute at how flush you were. 

You were always the serious one.

Never really doing things for yourself.

You always held duty and responsibility above all things.

So seeing you blush over some tacky, old times fuck  guy was refreshing.

So he teased “Oooh no the Queen can do anything or anyone she likes”

You growled at him, making him laugh harder as he gave you a hug and bid you goodbye as he teleported, leaving you with your thoughts.

“Well that was interesting” you whipped around to see Alastor walking from the shadows.

You laughed nervously, “Alastor! I didn’t hear you come in…how muuuch of that did you hear?”

He smiled down at you, tilting his head “ooooh nothing I wont repeat my dear” he tapped your nose.

He rested a hand on your lower back to escort you to your room like a proper gentleman.

He kissed you goodnight before venturing off to his radio tower. He had to organize some of his thoughts.

Alastor knew you were powerful he admits only that! but he hadn’t expected you to be the Queen of Hell itself.

Yes you were the Princess’s aunt but he just chalked it up to you just having power by blood alone.

The Queen of Hell….hmph. 

Pride swelled in his chest at the thought as well as a wicked smile graced his lips His darling was one of the most powerful in all of Hell that gave him a power trip and a lingering thought

How the fuck were you the Queen? 

Just how powerful were you?

And one last thought before he turned on his broadcast

How could he use that power you wielded?

@dasimp777 @projectdreamwalker @fairyv-ice @stygianoir @k1y0yo @thewinchestah @imgonnadielaughing-blog @purplecatsandhearts @blinderthanabats-blog @saphiresai @th3-st4r-gur1 @evedenn @queenariesofnarnia @yoitsnetto @alastor-simp @alastorsaries @alastwhore666 @alastorsdear @peachedtv

@tpks @siiv3r @markster666 @okay-babe @strawberrypimp666 @coleisyn @simphornies @lunaramune @alastorsdarling @prosciuttosblog @ioniiaa @fizzled-phoenix @horrorartsworld @polytheatrix @dennsfz @yourdoorisunlocked @stawberrypimpsimp @alishii @alleystore @preciousbabypeter @yunimimii @peachedtvs @karolinda007-blog @chewbrry @aviradasa

comment below so i can see if I’m missing anyone who wants to be tagged…ALSO each chapter is linked to the last and next…

[popopretty]

[Translation] Asagiri Kafka's afterwords for The Day I Picked up Dazai novel

Normally, afterwords would be the last thing I read in a novel, but as there are not many changes to the published novel this time compared to the movie bonus version, I was able to skim through the text quickly and get to this. And to be honest, despite not being a writer myself, I was so moved by Asagiri's views about writing and his characters that he shared in the afterwords, that I had to sit down and translate it right away.

This is just my crappy translation, as usual, but I hope it gave you a short, interesting look into the author and the characters. And please do not forget to buy the novel if you have the chance.

The translation is under the cut, thank you!

It has been a while. This is Asagiri Kafka.

Have you been enjoying Bungou Stray Dogs?

This novel, “The Day I Picked up Dazai”, is a compilation of the first week’s bonus novel “The Day I Picked up Dazai – Side A” and the second week’s bonus novel “The Day I Picked up Dazai – Side B” for the screening of “Bungou Stray Dogs BEAST” movie (hereinafter referred to as “BEAST”).

Normally, it is difficult to publish a bonus like this, but since "BEAST” and “Fifteen” that were published earlier by BEANS Bunko were originally bonus novels too, "The Day I Picked up Dazai” was also published in the same way, thanks to the efforts of all parties involved in the Bungou Stray Dogs series.

It is the story of Dazai and Odasaku’s first meeting, where Dazai who wants to die, collapsed in front of Odasaku’s place, who is neither a mafioso nor a hit man.

Why are there two different stores, Side A and Sode B? Regarding this question, please read the novel and see for yourself. If you keep in mind that this is the bonus for the BEAST movie, I think you will be able to understand it better.

Let me reminisce a little bit here.

This story was actually suggested to me by Igarashi Takuya, Director of the Bungou Stray Dogs anime.

Shortly before BEAST movie premiered, I was struggling. It was because I was asked to write a bonus novel for movie-goers again. I said “again” because, as I mentioned earlier, BEAST itself was a bonus novel for the Bungou Stray Dogs DEAD APPLE movie. I remembered having a hard time writing it, because I let myself run wild and wrote a total of 190 pages instead of 50 pages as requested.

But I had learnt my lesson after the last rampage. I can’t just write whatever I want anymore. I have to wrap the story in a reasonable length, like a pro should do.

A proper, professional story.

Huh?

My pen stopped right there. I stopped, looked around, feeling lost.

What is a proper story?

The act of writing novel is quite different in character compared to other types of media such as writing manga, anime scripts, or game scenarios. You can say it is almost a different thing. Writing novels, rather than narrating an event, is more like putting the flow of emotions into specific sentences. You use the sequence of letters to create rhythms, create flows, and create emotions. If anything, it might be closer to composing a song than writing a story.

Therefore, you have to decide “what kind of emotion will be put in this novel” from the very beginning, or you can’t start writing. That is the only and absolute rule.

Now, however, that is where the condition of a “proper story” hung over me.

A proper novel, of a proper volume, with a proper content for a bonus.

In other words, a proper emotion.

I searched through the drawers inside my head. For a proper emotion that is waiting to be brought out.

There was nothing but emptiness there.

A professional story teller is one with the skill to move the readers’ emotions. When people find the chance to move their own emotions, they will happily be paying for it. Human-being is that kind of creature.

And writers are ones who create and sell those kinds of emotions: the fear, the excitement, the heart throb etc., those that make you think. It is that kind of job.

It is supposed to be that kind of job.

Yet I became unable to move forward.

A good story is a story that moves people. I know that. Then what kind of emotion I should put in the story to make it "proper"?

How do I find that emotion?

I mean, how did I even write novels until now?

I stood still. My legs stiffened, my knees froze, unable to take even a step forward.

I then tried to at least pretend that I was moving forward, by listening to music, by taking a walk around the neighborhood at night. But as good as the night breeze felt, I didn’t manage to reach a single story that I needed to write.

What if I stayed like this forever, what would I do?

I felt a chill plunging into my back.

Then I realized, that stories, or probably emotions too, are not things you can search for or come up with. You have no choice but to patiently wait for it to come your way. You have no choice but to humbly and earnestly sit and wait for the story’s visit.

I got that, but the "proper 50-page story” still refused to come.

It was not long before one week passed. Then two weeks.

I was doing other work, while keeping my heart’s door open, waiting for the story to come to me.

At that time, I had an online meeting with the anime staff. I casually asked Director Igarashi, “Do you have any story you want to see?”

The Director gave it a little thought then told me, "I want to see the story of Dazai and Oda’s encounter”.

At that very moment, the story rushed in through my door, like a bang. I could hear that sound very clearly.

Two stories. Odasaku, and the two Dazais. A story where they met, and a story where they couldn’t meet. A story of gain and a story of loss. If I can portray the gain and loss side by side, the amplitude of the heart will be doubled and rise up in front of us.

That was a momentary event. Rather than pushing my way forward, I felt as if something was pulling my hand. Before I noticed, I have already finished the stories.

I came to realize.

It is not the writer who searches for the story. It is the story that chooses its writer, and at some point it will come our way. A professional writer is no more than someone with the ability to catch that call.

Also, this is the most important thing: there is no such thing as a “proper emotion”. Because after all, the feelings of other people belong to them only. That is why there is no guarantee that a novel can move others “properly”. However, you can move your own emotions. You know what kind of novel can and how it will move you. If you do, you can write just that. That’s the only way. That is the truly professional attitude. That’s what I thought.

Well then.

It is a little bit off topic, but as we are talking about “stories that come our way”, let’s talk about Odasaku’s first-person narrative.

Odasaku is a special character. For me, he is exclusively a novel character, and I have never portrayed him in the manga.

He first appeared as the narrator in “Dazai Osamu and The Dark Era”, then “BEAST” and now this “The Day I Picked up Dazai”. All are novels. That’s why for me, Odasaku doesn’t live inside the pictures, he lives inside the first-person narrative passages.

He is an eccentric guy. Even if you prepare the place and tell him to speak, he won’t speak to you that easily. His way of thinking is rather unique, that if I write his narrative after writing other characters’ first-person narrative, I would stumble for sure. Odasaku doesn’t speak. He just sits there in silence, while I can do nothing but sitting in front of my blank manuscript paper, trying to talk to him, like “What’s up?”, “Here, here”. However, he is a guy who won’t speak when it is not necessary. Sometimes it goes days or even weeks without him saying a word. Why did such a character come to me...?

During such time, there is only one thing I can do. That is, of course, to stay with him, sit patiently, and simply wait.

Finally he will start speaking. In his unique rhythm, word by word. His words have the power to cut through the world from a certain angle. That special cross-section is full of things I have never seen before and it never fails to surprise me.

And then when he finishes telling his story, he will swiftly disappear. To a dark and quiet place somewhere – probably, I can only imagine, somewhere like a bar. He will sit there calmly and keep his own time to himself. After that, it will be hard to call him again. It is a backbreaking task to me, but in the end, that is the type of guy Odasaku is, and if I am allowed to sound self-conscious, that is Odasaku's charm.

This story was written in such a way. There is a chance that he will come back again. And when he does, I will patiently listen to his voice again.

This story was completed and published thanks to the help of many people: in the Bungou Stray Dogs BEAST movie’s Production Committee, the anime staff, Young Ace’s Editorial Department, BEANS Bunko’s Editorial Department, and the many people who were involved in the publication of the book. Thank you very much. It is all thanks to you that the book was published without any problem this time as well.

Well then, see you in the next story.

Asagiri Kafka.

[sweetfushi]

YOU AND HIS VAMPIRISM

fluff, suggestive | kento nanami x reader, nanami is a vampire, blood (no blood drinking), tempting him, cutting yourself accidentally, fangs, wound/cut, mentions of pain and stinging | word count. 0.5k

Did you cut yourself accidentally? Perhaps. Maybe there was a part of you that wanted to test Nanami’s resolve, see if he had developed a resistance to your temptations. Either way, the cut hurt, a stinging sensation numbing your index finger.

It’s only a small cut, hardly enough to make you worry. But it was enough to draw Nanami’s attention. He smells your blood flow and feels himself groan, let alone witness the way the crimson trickles down your skin and inflict a tightness in his chest.

You smiled. “Sorry, I’m not helping, am I?”

Nanami lowers his head for a moment, inhaling deeply. Realistically, he’s fine. He’s seen you in worser states. It was your smile that was so tempting this time. Your gaze is so bright yet soft, your smile seductive and beautiful. You were the embodiment of a siren’s song.

He stands and approaches you, licking his fangs. “It’s fine. You’re fine,” he says under his breath, drawing a roll of bandages from the kitchen cabinet. He places it on the counter before soaking a cotton pad in some antiseptic liquid. This he uses to wipe down the blood and your wound.

You hiss. “I can do it myself,” you remind him gently, wincing at the heightened sting of your wound.

Nanami shakes his head. “That doesn’t mean you have to do it yourself. Not while I’m here.”

With that, silence overcomes the both of you as he treats you. As he does, your gaze fixates on him, while his fixates on you. You blush, he smiles.

He wipes your finger dry with a clean cotton pad, before raising your finger to his lips and kissing your wound carefully, his fangs grazing your skin.

Your body feels warm to the touch.

But, he’s quick to remove himself from you and bandage your finger instead of indulge in his desires. Once done, you stare at your finger, then up at him as he loosens the top buttons of his white dress shirt and rolls his sleeves up to his elbows.

“You must be more careful,” he warns, gently ruffling your hair as you purse your lips.

“I was being careful!”

He laughs breathily at your frustrated expression and satiates you with a quick kiss to your lips. “I trust that you were being careful, just not enough.”

You roll your eyes but know he’s only telling the truth. Sometimes you hate how well he knows you.

Nanami washes his hands while you turn back to your chopping board.

“I can do that for you, if you’d like,” he suddenly appears behind you and whispers in your ear.

You yelp and are quick to smack his chest out of sheer fear of the sudden proximity, albeit you’re quick to apologise for doing so. “I told you to stop dashing around like that, Kento!”

“I’m sorry. I should be careful, considering you might cut yourself again.”

You hit his chest again, before a glimpse of his elongated canines has your breath hitching. Nanami notices and comes behind you again to place a hand over your eyes, his cold lips brushing along the length of your neck. He mustn’t give in to his thoughts, he won’t. A kiss is a kiss, not a bite.

“I thought I was tempting you, not the other way round,” you tease breathlessly. Your deep breaths and parted lips amuse him, both signs of your submission to him.

“Try harder and maybe I’ll be the one panting.”

sweetfushi © do not modify, repost, translate, copy or use my post in any way. all that is included in this post, aside from the fictional characters and universes, belong to sweetfushi (zee).

[belovedivies]

Gurl imagine, just imagine a rejuvenated peter with his three ducklings, bumping into raphael's older sibling how would that go?

a/n: THREE DUCKLINGS LMAO- i had too much fun writing this piece. this should have came out on a while back but uni whipped my ass rip- anw, enjoy!! cw: minor spoiler, minor character death, they have fun clowning around and absolutely nothing bad happened. wc: 3.6k m.list

offshore ft. multi

The sky above is pitch black by the time Soongu leaves his dorm and heads to their promised spot. He goes for a casual look that evening: gray hoodie, black pants, a pair of Sketcher that soon gathers dust on the outsole when the guy navigates his way through the city’s park, dry leaves crunching with every step. 

His long legs eat up the distance rather quickly, and there isn’t much until a right turn at the local pub leads Soongu down a dimly lit alley. The streetlights on both sides flicker; it’s a beautiful moonless night. He isn’t on his way to another meeting, not really. There’s a certain ease in his movement, fingers drumming slightly against the lining fabric where he digs his hands into his pockets. Soongu feels lighter, easier to breathe somehow. When he crosses by a traffic mirror attached to a rusty-looking post, a young man stares right back at him. He can almost pretend he’s just another boy; no debt of blood and death marring his youthful features.

The exterior of the convenience store looks tame, but his comrades are already there: lazing around on a long bench that overlooks an empty parking lot through a fairly new chain-link fence. They remind him of a bunch of high schoolers. People with obligations rarely extend outside of the established social circles. It’s Simon who sneaks up to him first, wrapping an arm around the boy’s neck with a cocky smirk.

“Sheesh, took you long enough brother. ” His voice booms against Soongu’s ears like bus tires. “We’re about to ditch your ass.”

“As if,” Soongu replies in faux-annoyance, though there’s no denying how his lips curl up into an amused smile. The years have taken a toll on his old pal, but it’s still Simon at the end of the day and no one else. Lost an arm, chipped a tooth, but still ever the loudmouth who fought with him through life and death during their time as Apostles.

One meter away, Jiwon—the woman of their little team—crosses her legs with a wistful look while Alexander McKing rests his head on her thighs, basking in the little head scratches his owner delivers every few seconds. Simon might have always been the boisterous one, but Soongu was surprised to learn that the hangout today was actually her idea. For someone who constantly fusses and loses her cool over the smallest of mistakes that might give away his true identity, trading her usual gold-plated sanctuary for some simple bonding time on a Friday night is a bit… questionable, if not to say downright odd. 

“Jiwon~” Simon sing-songs, still keeping his arm looped around the boy’s neck as his old pal drags him towards the bench. “Bo— I mean Soongu is here, what are the plans?”

“Shut your goofy ass up.” Ah, there is she. Their blind grumpy old mom. Jiwon uncrosses her legs with an irritated face, brows drawn together behind her near-transparent glasses. “I’m trying to remember the name of that BBQ.”

Simon’s face falls at the insult like a child just got robbed of his favorite toy. Soongu lets out a quiet chuckle this time, and it isn’t long until the two of them jump at each other’s throats for another round of bickering. But tonight isn’t about just that. They are here to hang out, as Jiwon has put it—

(—wasted out of her mind halfway past a bottle of Château Margaux. She lamented through the phone about the horrible hangover she had in the morning, yet somehow the suggestion remained.) 

“You wounded me!” The gray-haired swordsman exclaims. He’s feigning hurt obviously, but it’s those next words that manage to get on Jiwon’s nerves. “Didn’t you remember how you used to hang around little ol’ me and fawn like a pup—ow ow!”

“I. Was. Young. And. I. Was. Stupid!” With each syllable, her hand strikes down Simon’s back in a poor attempt to chastise her jerk of a comrade. “I’d never date you in a million years, not even Peter—“

Soongu cocks an eyebrow at the mention of his infamous codename. Jiwon clamps a hand over her mouth as the realization of what just slipped out hits her. Peter. It would have been fine to mention it if all of them were lazing around in her fancy lair with ice whiskeys on the stainless marble countertop, but here they were out in the open. Not to mention the mutual agreement to only refer to Soongu as… well, Soongu.

“Shit, my bad.” She gulps, a drop of sweat rolling down her forehead. The dog continues to curl up and snuggle her lap.

“Careless, aren’t cha?” Taking the chance to tease, Simon bends his knees and flashes Jiwon a toothy grin that she luckily can’t see, but pisses her off enough to the point her jaws clench, ready to wipe it off his stupid face with another punch.

“You little—”

“Alright, break it up.” As fun as it is to watch the shenanigans carry on, that brief mention of his name reminds the boy to interfere in the little fight. He puts his hands on either of his friends’ foreheads, creating some distance lest they decide to headbutt each other into concussion. “You’re forgetting someone.”

Kageo tenses up ever so slightly in Soongu’s peripheral vision, not used to being the center of attention now that the spotlight is suddenly on him. In his white T-shirt and 6’7 frame, their new companion still ominously blends into the background and contents himself watching every interaction. Old habits die hard, Soongu supposes. Back then those shoulders were unshackled by the weight of hatred and revenge, Kageo was but a shadow standing behind Yuika, serving the girl with all his might. Now with the corpse of his first love rotting on the seabed alongside what’s left of their ship, Kageo is forced to be who he thought he has never been before.

Someone who actually matters.

“I’m fine with whatever you suggest.”

It takes a while for a response to come. Humble and demure, typical for the guy. Soongu can’t blame him; it’s hella awkward for four of them to just stand here and do nothing but stare at each other. 

Simon, unsurprisingly, is the one to break the silence. Taking a step forward, the old man pats Kageo on the back. A classic bro move to let him know there’s no hostility between them anymore. 

“C’mon kiddo,” he clicks his tongue playfully. Simon talks to Kageo like an uncle does his nephew, and Soongu can’t help but wonder if it’s a direct result of months of being an undercover guard at that local grade school, “we’re gonna let loose just this one night. Show a little more enthusiasm, will ya?”

The boy in question tenses up, clearly not used to the casual skinship between friends. Then again, he has only ever been with Yuika, and even then there wasn’t really a time for them to “hang out” between the constant killing and running from authority.

Kageo ducks his head with a loud “Y-Yes, Uncle! I’ll try!” that makes Simon’s smile grow impossibly wider around the edge. Almost hard to believe that the swordsman himself was seconds away from slashing the younger boy’s hand back then. Truly the development of all time.

The atmosphere seems to ease up a bit with that interaction out of the way. While the two of them are busy in their bubble, Soongu turns his attention to Jiwon—who somehow chose to stay quiet throughout the past few minutes. It isn’t very much like her, so he takes his spot on the bench next to the woman.

“Are we going in?” He looks over to his comrade, obviously referring to the store next to them.

“Yeah,” Jiwon hums with a smile, sounding happier than what Soongu usually hears from her. The German Shepherd hops off her lap, instead running up to nuzzle against his legs, which the boy happily rewards the dog with more head scratches.

—

This 7-11 smells… nice. Just the usual cleaning chemicals and lavender spray, but still nice. Anything is better than that funky smell of burnt cheese and melted slurpees.

Soongu hasn’t been to that much to draw the conclusion, honestly. Even back then, all he did as a young and invincible Peter was going on missions from one country to another. Between the seemingly endless list of targets to take down and people to protect, his meals only ever consisted of instant noodles and takeouts. Sitting down at a restaurant to enjoy the food was rare, going to a convenience store for it was even rarer. As an Apostle, the boy doesn’t want to risk a mass shooting that would harm innocent citizens. But as a now just-another-D-rank-Glory-killer…

“Danbi!” 

His mom-comrade calls out an unfamiliar name before rushing past him to reach someone. He turns around to see a girl, the store’s logo plastered on her red apron as well as a beverage-filled box in her hands. Interestingly, she doesn’t end up toppling over despite how quickly the woman sprints in her direction to pull this Danbi into a bone-crushing embrace. 

“You brat—” Jiwon grits her teeth, squishing the younger girl’s cheeks together like Play-Doh. Soongu can’t help but wince just by watching the interaction; she really loved to pull this move back when he first revealed his rejuvenated self, “—where the hell were you?! I called you ten times and you didn’t even answer!”

Her aggressive yelling manages to get the other two’s attention, who up until now were eyeing neatly arranged lines of alcoholic drinks inside a freezer at the back of the store. Kageo gives Simon a mild questioning look when they draw closer to the source of drama, an expression that the old swordsman mirrors. Now it just seems like all three of them are at a loss for this new girl’s identity.

“Ow, ow— unnie!” Danbi squeals like an injured animal. With her hands already occupied, she’s helpless against the onslaught of Jiwon’s pinching. “You’re so mean! You know I can’t use my phone during my shift.”

The blind woman clicks her tongue, unimpressed. “I texted 30 minutes ago too, and you left me on read!”

If she plans to guilt her, it works. Danbi deflates with a sigh. Just before she can say anything else, however, Simon chimes in with a question they’re all dying to know.

“Um… who are you, Missy?”

Danbi’s eyes snap open at the unexpected inquiry. She looks like she doesn’t realize they are right there. Soongu notes how her gaze travels from Kageo’s neutral face to Simon’s amputated arm and then—

—to Soongu himself.

She lingers on him for longer too. Three seconds too long, he counts, with just her blank, doll-eyed stare boring holes directly into his skull.

But then the girl shrivels up, bowing until the box in her hands sweeps the ground, bottles of fizzy drink inside clicking together when she says, “I’m Ahn Danbi, nice to meet you!” then proceeds to straighten up her back with a smile so bright it immediately makes Soongu second guess his decision, but to what?

…to what?

Jiwon grins, the joy evident in her voice. Her affection is softer this time as she returns to wrapping her arms around Danbi’s shoulders. 

“Danbi, these idiots are under my care. Idiots, Danbi here is my cousin—“ Alexander walks up and nuzzles its face against said girl’s legs, “—and protégé, too.

Simon looks shocked by the reveal. “We never knew you had one!”

“Now you do~”

The old man just rolls his eyes before turning to the girl, a big smile on his face as he introduces himself. “Nice to meet ya too, kiddo! I’m Simon.”   

“Hello~” Danbi, still holding onto the box, manages to shift its weight into one hand while squeezing out of her cousin��s embrace just enough to catch a handshake, “Unnie told me a lot about you!”

Uh oh, that scratches a spot. Soongu watches as Simon’s eyes light up like a Christmas tree before his old pal makes a smug face.

“Oh, did she?” The guy pretends to his stubble thoughtfully, though not without the smirk still plastered on his face. “I hope she didn’t blast your poor ears off talking ‘bout me. You know how obsessed she is—”

Jiwon does end up punching him in the face this time. 

—

“So you drain the noodles with these right here…”

Danbi gestures to the tiny dots at the edge of the sealing lid. Using the tip of a wooden chopstick, she pokes three holes before lifting the cup noodle up and tipping it forward so the water can escape through the small space. Above her, Kageo looks strangely out of place as he towers over and watches with hawk-like attention. 

“Here you go!” The girl turns back to him, presenting the now soft instant ramen inside. “Now you just need to add the seasoning.”

Kageo tilts his head. He’s more of a lost child than the unfeeling giant Soongu saw on the Ghost Cruise weeks back, void of Yuika’s cunning giggles or million-dollar chandeliers that render him stationary in the golden lights. When she drowned, a part of him no doubt went down along. But here, there’s a small yet still-there glow in those inky eyes when his friend takes the cup, voice filled with curiosity.

“There’s no water?”

“I saved a bit for easy mixing. Other than that,” Jiwon’s cousin gives him a kind smile. Despite the less-than-ideal introduction to their little team, she seems to have no trouble breaking the ice, “this is a type of 'stir-fried’ dry noodle. You picked Buldak Cream Carbonara, which is usually prepared with just the sauce and powder.”

A small hum leaves Kageo’s throat as he takes in the new piece of information. He then gets to work, finishing the rest of the preparation by mixing two said packets together. The fusion of butter and cheese gives Soongu’s nose a funny tingle, though he isn’t that hungry yet to ask for a bite.

Kageo looks quite amazed at his handiwork, watching as the ramen turns from platinum blonde to a shade of amber—coating in the Buldak sauce and cream powder. Unable to resist, the boy digs in. The flavors left an instant impression on his taste buds, and Kageo’s eyes widened almost comically.

“This is amazing!” 

Danbi beams at the heartfelt praise, even if it isn’t directed at her. “I’m glad! This brand is popular worldwide. Let me know if you need anything else!”

The conversation ends on a comfortable note, with Kageo giving her a quick thank you before heading out to join Jiwon and Simon on the tables outside, whose heads are probably buried in another meaningless argument. Danbi, all smiles and relaxed shoulders, turns back to arranging the drinks into the freezer. She doesn’t seem to mind the silence that follows, nor the fact that Soongu is still here, leaning against the wall a few steps away. She doesn’t even spare him a glance. 

And he isn’t paranoid, definitely not—anyone and anything he’s wary of always turns out to be a threat in the end. Soongu just can’t let loose; he doesn’t know how to. The cool tiles tickle the Apostle’s scalp, his ears buzzing with soft mechanical hums from the AC running above. It’s awfully bright in here, and the more he looks, the more spots and afterimages blind his vision.

Fuck, he needs some nicotine to think. 

And a beer. 

Nicotine and beer.

Soongu fishes into his pants pockets for a nonexistent cigarette, his chest rumbling with a quiet groan. Of course it isn’t there; he barely smoked this month. He sees Danbi in the corner of his eyes, hands on her lap while she sits on her haunches. She stares at him unblinkingly like he’s strange. Like he’s not a real person. And maybe that’s all he needs. Maybe Soongu doesn’t want to drag the painful interaction out longer than a few surface-level exchanges. 

Maybe he’s just that pent-up.

But Danbi smiles again with a glow of satisfaction. She gets up and makes her way towards him, spreading her palms out to reveal a pack of Zest like she’s treating Halloween’s candies to the neighbor’s kids. 

“Last one in stock.” The girl goes on like nothing happened; the same customer service smile with a small hint of sugary emptiness. “Enjoy.”

And Soongu doesn’t know how to feel. He’s very much skeptical, some part impressed, yet not at all touched by the deceitfully thoughtful gesture. There’s a stark difference in how Danbi hugs Jiwon back, shakes Simon’s hand, and guides Kageo through a simple routine versus the stench of death she has been subtly reeking from every small pore on her body.

“And,” the corner of Soongu’s lips curl up into a smirk. It takes two to tango, “how exactly would you know?”

Danbi lets out a small sigh, tilting her head slightly to the side with her arms crossed. A wistful look graces her face, and only there does he finally pick up the first glimpse of blood relation between her and his blind comrade. 

“That was all the guys in Glory ever bought when they crashed.” The way she sounds it out genuinely feels like a complaint. “Lo Crux isn’t out of the equation, but that’s for older men.” 

What a theory. Soongu’s fingers graze one edge of the pack. The sticker and thin wrapper are already peeled, though the whole thing inside remains untouched. 

“Why not?” He quips. “Can’t a young man enjoy his cigar?”

“Not really...”

Danbi giggles, leaning closer.

“Unless you’re Peter.”

Soongu froze, his spine growing cold just as the tiles behind him.

But she provides an easy out, clasping her hands together with a sheepish smile. “Welp, that’s just me though! Everybody has their own preference.”

She places the empty box on the ground aside, leaving him to comprehend her words. And that’s it. The girl crouches down and grabs a few cans of beer when she opens the freezer door with one hand, balancing the drinks in the other. Danbi looks at him with a cheerfulness that is hard-wired into her facial muscles, just the right amount of casual insanity to keep the Apostle guessing.

“Give these to her, ok?” She nags him in an easygoing voice, passing them after she dumps the cans into a 7-11 plastic bag. And Soongu takes it. It’s mainly for Jiwon, but they are all likely to share everything later. One look inside reveals more and more boozes, some brands he vaguely recalls to be his friend’s favorites two decades ago before she trades them for high-end goods.

Eating at a well-known local BBQ and hitting a karaoke booth until morning are their ultimate goal for tonight. He’s sure swinging by here has just been an added bonus for Jiwon to see her sibling and grab beers on the way. Soongu stops humoring Danbi’s mind games for a while, opting to let his gaze trail naturally along the see-through glasses that wall this place with the world outside.

 The moving smudges of brown, gray, and white in the distance are his friends. Comrades. And he appreciates them. He really does. There’s always more to their bond than that of people who share a mutual goal to take down Glory—there’s a common ground too. A dynamic he finds himself growing comfortable with. They knew who he really was, and Soongu thinks it’s nice: he doesn’t have to put up a mask like he does around Yuna and the Doggo brothers. Around them, he can just simply be him.

A dysfunctional family, but still a family nonetheless.

Danbi watches in his peripheral vision, a curious look etched on her face. When the Apostle pulls up to the counter to check out, she waves her hands dismissively with a smile; Jiwon slipped her something much more valuable under the table.

—

You click the door shut behind you, staring up at the ceiling.

They gang up, and you can mostly get behind that logic. 

Kageo is little more than emotionally driven at the moment, but there is plenty of room to grow once the pain mellows out. Simon, too. Goofy and unserious as he is, the man was Peter’s best student back in their days. Even if Jiwon is no match for Johan and his god-like echolocation, she’s still a formidable opponent on her own. Overall a team… a strong one. If they can make it work, they’re bound to be an eyesore for Glory in the long run. 

Then why the hell is he there?

That guy is undoubtedly Kim Soongu, the face you saw digging through the pile of documents one night after Nathaniel’s comment about a certain newbie piqued your interest—you weren’t impressed with what you found. Average stats, average height, no remarkable features. What potential was there to tap into?

Washing down the budding bit of annoyance with a huff, you lean against the hollow metal surface of the door.

“Danbi, is there really no cigarette left?~”

No answer.

“Oh.”

You let out a soft chuckle. 

A few footsteps forward, Danbi’s body rots away near the entrance leading to the store’s dumpster area. She was like that when you first found her—on her stomach with cheeks caked in a thin layer of mud and rainwater. She’s neither moving nor breathing—her skin grows cold and her muscles become stiff. Even then, Jiwon hadn’t been able to pick up the telltale signs of strangeness and death in your movement—letting her guard down around the ones she called family. 

“Huh,” you nudge her corpse with one foot, just enough to get her lifeless eyes to meet yours. “a seizure it is. That surgery sure fucked you up.”

Well, not that’s any of your business!

She’s dead, the security camera is down, 7-11 is empty, and you have a new bedtime story to tell Raphael tonight. Leaving through the door in the back, you bid Danbi farewell with a smile.

Her body is found in the morning.

[nobodysdaydreams]

Hatchetverse Theory: The Parallels Between Paul (TGWDLM) and Grace (NPMD):

More thoughts and parallel screenshots under the keep reading, part of my #hatchetverse theory posts. Sorry these are all awful screen shots, I'm bad at gifs, but I hope I made my point.

The screenshots are pretty self-explanatory, but the parallels between Paul and Grace, especially with what happens to their characters at the end of their respective musicals, has been living in my head rent free, and I want to talk about it.

I've seen a lot of posts that speculate that the reason Grace went crazy at the end of NPMD is because she's just that blood thirsty and willing to kill, and while her character (at least of what I've seen of her in NPMD and what I've seen of nightmare time) is certainly intense, I wouldn't quite go so far to say she's always been that willing to hurt others, even for what she believes.

In fact, after rewatching NPMD, I realized something. When the kids first go to the Waylon Place, the others are the ones suggesting ways they can violently hurt Max. Pete even calls Grace's plan "goofy" and Richie is the one who suggests beating Max up. Grace is the one who tells them that all she wants to do is teach him a lesson and scare him and rejects their more violent ideas.

But after Max dies? That's when Grace's intensity starts taking a darker turn, and it's not as noticeable as it might be in the other kids because "Grace has always been kinda weird and intense" and the show has been playing that up for laughs since the beginning. But when you look at what happens to Grace in terms of her character's choices, she's the one who suddenly pulls a "bury the bully" plan out of nowhere when she was against even beating him up just a few hours ago. She's the one who suggests lying to the cops and trying to cover up what happened. She's the one who has a prophetic nightmare after the incident at the Waylon Place. That's also the moment when she symbolically loses her WWJD bracelet (though others have already pointed that out).

And if the LIB could infect Paul with spores just because he happened to be in close proximity to the meteor, then they could probably do something similar to any of the kids in the Waylon Place (and you cannot convince me that they were not the ones who collapsed the floorboards in the Waylon Place and killed Max).

But why would they target Grace you ask? Why not one of the other kids? That's a good question. I have a few theories.

The first has to do with what I mentioned before about hatchetverse's history of Webby's powers seeming to favor kids, and the LIB powers struggling to work on kids. We don't know how old most of the kids in NPMD are exactly, but the musical makes a point to tell us several times that Grace is "only 18" (Shaprio says she's a legal adult and will be tried as an adult in court). The musical also makes a point to have this be the Homecoming Dance (not Prom), which is in the fall, so most of the senior students wouldn't have turned 18 yet. We can also make an educated guess that Stephanie has turned 18 and Pete hasn't because she sings "wake me up when you turn 18" during their song. You could combat this by asking why the LIB never address Grace during the summoning and targeted Steph instead, which is a fair point. But interestingly, if you watch Grace, Steph, and Pete during the Summoning, Grace is silent most of the song, but looks completely horrified (especially when they tell her that they want what she cherishes most), despite the fact that from our perspective, the LIB aren't talking to her. She also seems to know exactly what the LIB want from her, because the next scene she's in is when she shows up to save Steph and Pete. During the Summoning, Pete, on the other hand, seems to mostly be involved in the conversation the LIB are having with Stephanie, although Grace also seems to understand what the LIB want from Stephanie. It's possible that this was intentional on the LIB's part, since they can see every timeline (in the "Abstinence Camp" episode of Nightmare Time, Grace gets between Steph, Pete, and Lumberaxe, risking her own life so that Lumberaxe doesn't hurt them. Grace might be willing to lose her own life for what she believes, but she might not be willing to lose her friends' lives. If the LIB know this, they'd likely want to make sure Grace understands that Steph or Pete will die unless she's the one who pays the price).

They have a personal reason for wanting her. In TGWDLM, Pokey hates Paul because...well, Paul doesn't like musicals but bigger picture, Paul resists Pokey's hive mind. Why would the LIB hate Grace? Possibly because she hates evil, the devil, and sin to an extreme degree. It could be a point of pride for the LIB: "we got the guy who didn't like musicals to join our musical and brainwash the world, and we got the girl who didn't like sin to devour souls for us." I've also seen a theory that Paul has some sort of resistance to the LIB because he doesn't like musicals and in a way sort of serves as a "prophet" in TGWDLM by warning others that musicals are bad. Grace arguably serves a similar role to Max in NPMD. She suggests Max becomes a better person "before he ends up in hell", which is ironic because then Max goes on to beat up Pete, which turns the nerds against him, setting off the chain of events that eventually lead him to actually being sent to hell (the black) by Grace. I've also seen some other theories suggesting that the LIB getting Paul in TGWDLM was really about getting Emma (since she was the one who starred in a musical before), and following that logic, it's possible that the LIB killing Max at the Waylon Place was really about getting Grace, because she'd still actually be alive. The LIB might have known this would work if they knew Max and Grace liked each other, and as seen in nightmare time, Grace is willing to risk her own life for her friends, and this might be consistent across several timelines.

Speaking of sacrifice, I know I covered this with the gifs, but the fact that Paul's last act was giving up his life, and Grace's was giving up what was essentially her morality and who she was so they could save their friends, only to have themselves turned into the very monsters they tried to destroy? Absolute tragedy.

But what's also interesting to me is how this happens. The way Grace and Paul both seem to lose control of themselves. With Paul it happens in one song and is more noticeable, but with Grace, it's a lot slower, and the more bad and morally questionable stuff she does, the funnier it is, and her character has been intense and over the top from the beginning, so you almost don't notice the difference in her actions until you rewatch the show. But her and Paul asking "Who am I?" has a similar creepy vibe, the screenshots I found for those moments (pictured below) even ended up looking very similar, though with Paul, you can see more of the fight happening during the song, whereas with Grace, it's more drawn out over the course of the show with these little moments of clarity where she has a complete breakdown.

Then of course there's the whole: What do you want thing?

Why do the LIB want what Grace cherishes most? Why do they want Paul to want anything at all?

And why do they phrase it in the creepiest way possible, asking for "a peek at Paul's soul" and telling him to "give up his choice" and telling Grace that they'll get "whatever they want" and that she'll "be forever in their debt?"

Well, probably because that does seem to be what happens. The most obvious screenshot parallels are probably their final numbers in their shows, which I think speak for themselves. The only unknown is what exactly is happening with the LIB and their whole "what do you want" thing. By taking what someone wants, do they replace that "want" in the person with wanting to serve them? How does that work?

At this point, I'm not sure, and I'm too tired to continue the rant, but I'd be happy to hear anyone else's thoughts on this.

I hope you enjoy Starkid fandom. Thank you for listening to my rants!

[danieyells]

So i've said before that Haku was probably the "dear friend" that left Jin's side. This is because Haku was our only known ex-Frostheimer at the time.

However we know now that Yuri implicitly used to heavily associate with Frostheim and no longer wishes to have any kind of connection to them, even professional.

I don't have a screenshot for this yet, but if you suggest Jin go to Mortkranken when he's sick in his Affinity 8 character story, he asks if you have a death wish, meaning he similarly doesn't want to associate with Mortkranken.

But why? Well, Jin suggests that somebody 'sold him out' at some point. Somebody told somebody about his stigma not working.

The faculty know Jin and Yuri have beef. . .but Dante suggests they aren't supposed to talk about it. Perhaps Yuri told them that Jin's stigma doesn't work, and the faculty are keeping it quiet for Jin's sake.

However the Frostheimers know Yuri disgraced himself somehow. Jin lashed out in an unusual way, and Tohma helped Yuri transfer to Mortkranken.

Haku, a second year, wouldn't need help transferring, as you can change houses after you hit second year, but you're stuck in your assigned house as a first year. However Tohma, well trusted by Darkwick, could surely convince them to bend the rules a little for a first year--especially if said first year's wellbeing may be in danger. And if the Frostheimers feel he disgraced himself then if nothing else he's going to have a hard time if he had to stay, to say nothing of Jin possibly wanting to cut his head off. It's better if he change houses--but somebody has to be there for Jin. . .so Tohma took his place.

(Perhaps Tohma resents Haku for being right there already but not being there for Jin? And then he goes and makes himself cozy in another house. . . .)

Jin and Yuri being friends also makes sense. Same music tastes, same attitude of "you're not important enough to speak to me, lesser being", a mutual distaste for Darkwick and the Institute's staff, they both love their mothers--

It makes sense that he might tell his close friend who happens to be a doctor about his family medical history too, I would say.

Jin knows Yuri likes a certain song and is a little irritated when you mention that he likes it.

It just. . .it adds up. They have interests and tastes in common and similar attitudes, they both now want nothing to do with each other or the other's house, and the other Frostheim ghouls close to Jin know Yuri doesn't associate with Frostheim, and even Jiro knows Yuri doesn't associate with Frostheim.

To the point that Yuri doesn't want Jiro going over there and is stressed out at the thought that he may have actually gone to Frostheim despite his orders and is openly relieved when you have proof that Jiro was actually somewhere else. And Tohma believed that Jiro had gone to Frostheim on Yuri's orders, perhaps because he already believed Yuri had told Yumiko about Jin's mother. However I don't believe Yuri would intentionally do something like that--he hates Jin but that doesn't mean he'd want to take part in a scheme to take him down, especially a scheme from a Frostheimer.

But! That does still leave an opening for Haku to have revealed the information. . .or Kaito, who can read lips and thus doesn't need to have heard an exchange to get the information from it, just seen it. Kaito is also a second year Frostheimer after all.

BUT. Until we know more this is all speculation. It's turning out like I was wrong about the previous observations after all. While these make more sense, I could still be totally off base and this could be totally unrelated beef. But it makes more sense than Haku to me. I'm glad we got such a good hint/reveal!

[burn-before-reading]

Long Ways Away

Bucky Barnes x Reader

connection, reconnection, and a small miscommunication. Bucky will travel however far if it means making you smile

wordcount: 4k

a/n: This was originally written AGES ago (2021) for @wkemeup ‘s 9k writing prompts. I had a different blog and posted one or two fics then ACCIDENTALLY DELETED THE WHOLE BLOG. oops 🤷. remade this one and now im back into writing a bunch again so figured i might as well respost it. i had some other bucky fics i never finished writing so who knowsss i might go back and finish them :p

based on the prompt:

Character A calls Character B in the middle of the night crying - something they’ve never done before. They’re several states away. [B] gets in the car without hesitation and drives to wherever they are.

Bucky found himself on the balcony, looking out into the busy New York nightlife. Cars driving through the busy streets. He felt it matched the energy inside the Tower. If he looked behind he would have found Tony chatting away, creating a spectacle and being the center of attention as usual. Sam was playing pool against Scott. Accusing him of cheating by using ants to move the balls around when he wasn’t looking. Steve and Natasha were in the corner chatting away about the last mission. Steve was always a little too focused on work, even when these get-togethers were planned to distract the team from just that.

It was why Bucky needed a break, that's what he would say at least. The reason for this whole party, as much as he hated the whole spectacle. A break from the team. A break from missions. He just needed an out, for now.

It’s at least what he was telling himself.

“Hey Stranger. Found your hiding spot.” He glanced behind and saw you there. Relaxed and leaning against the doorway, a half empty drink in your hand. Smiling like there wasn’t a reason for you to be sad. He smiled back for a second, like he was still going to be here tomorrow.

He would miss you the most.

______

You hadn’t called yet.

He wasn’t too worried at first, the last he heard from you, you had said Steve was planning a mission and you probably would be gone for a while. You didn’t specify what kind of mission. You never did. He hated that.

In all honesty taking this break, full on Move-Into-a-subburb-in-Indiana kinda break, was killing him. It was one of those things he thought he would be fine with. The neighbors were nice. A sweet old lady who was always baking and bringing him cookies and pies. The other was your typical nuclear family. Maybe that was something Bucky would have wanted back in the 40s. Now he’s not so sure.

Bucky’s so called retirement wasn’t that exactly. He wasn’t off the team. It was a break. A long break. A break for some undetermined amount of time, but had currently lasted for almost six months. Time away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Of Avenger life. Steve had suggested it after Bucky had one too many sleepless nights. Giving him time to try and live a life not fighting for something. Somewhere peaceful. He would’ve considered it sooner, if it weren’t for you.

He didn’t know how it had started. The friendship between the two of you. He knows you were the one to first initiate the conversation. It had taken him a while to warm up to you. He’s almost mad at himself that he didn’t keep track of all your interactions. Everytime he heard you laugh. Everytime you sat next to him during a movie night. When Your friendship started bleeding into something else. He felt like the two of you skipped a step somewhere. A line between friends and… something else, something better, started to blur.

You would slip into his room at night right before the nightmares could start. Running your hands through his hair as you softly sung lullabies and old songs. You spent the night more often than not. Fast asleep with your arms wrapped around him. His head delicately tucked into the crook of your neck, arms wrapped around your waist. You both waking up in each other's arms, tangled together in a peaceful bliss.

He knows what ended it. It was his fault. He pushed away.

But Damnit, Bucky did miss you.

At least you called every once in a while. Giving him updates about everything going on at the tower. It was like clockwork, almost. A call springing up at the end of almost every week, updating him on every little detail of Steve's extremely long Disney Movie Marathon. Last update you gave was he just finished the Renaissance era. Swearing on your life that you managed to catch him singing along to The Little Mermaid.

Another time you called just to complain about how bad your sparring session with Nat was.

“I swear someone must’ve pissed her off before it because now I have a stupid bruise on my back and it just hurts all over” you groaned over the phone. he could imagine you lying on the floor in your room. Blankets thrown about and laptop angled so you could still watch Netflix. The thought made him laugh which caused you to respond “Don’t laugh at my misery!”

If it wasn’t a call, you would text, but that was rare. You had confessed early on that you hated texting, but you couldn’t help but send him pictures and videos of the group hanging out. You, Wanda, and Natasha in the lounge watching horror movies. Sneaky photos of Steve asleep in the common area. His favorite had to be when you send a video of Sam spacing out and crashing into a window while flying. He sent back laughing emojis and saved the video.

He never said much about his time away. He got a cat. A little white furball he named Alpine. He sent you a handful of pictures that you absolutely adored.

He would say that the time away has been helping. Less chaos, more calm. He always tried to make it sound like he was enjoying his time away. The neighbors were nice. The place was quiet. He was getting sleep. Enjoying his break.

He was starting to miss the chaos. He was missing you.

He always looked forward to your calls, even though they always seemed to interrupt him meditating, like today. It had been over a month since your last call.

You had changed your ringtone to some upbeat song he honestly couldn’t stand at first but grew on him over time. It couldn’t even finish its first verse before he picked up the phone and spoke with a smile on his face.

“Hey, Y/N. You back from your mission?” He only heard silence back at first, and it scared him. “Doll, are you there?” More silence before he could barely pick up the faint sniffling. “Y/N, are you okay?”

More silence. More sniffling. He was getting ready to call Steve or text him or Something before he heard your voice speak up. A fragile, tear-filled response. It broke his heart.

“I’m Sorry Bucky. I shouldn’t have called.”

Then the line goes dead.

______

“You should go back inside y/n. Go enjoy the party.”

“What's the point of it if the person it's for isn’t even there?” you walk over and lean against the railing so your back is to the view. You stared at the inside for a second before looking at him again. “Excited for retirement?” He rolled his eyes at your half assed joke.

“Its not retirement. Its just, a break.” That made you laugh a little. Your nose scrunched up the tiniest amount and is made Bucky smile. He would miss your laugh.

“It feels like retirement, you bought a house and everything. In Indiana right?”

“Yeah.”

“Kinda far from the tower, don’t you think?” you finished up what was left in your glass and set it on the small standing table to the side of you before focusing your attention back to him.

“That was kind of the point. Somewhere quiet, or well, quieter than here.” He gestured to the city, but part of you felt he meant the team.

______

He doesn’t care that the drive is eleven hours. He doesn’t care that he had to stick his now grumpy cat in a carrier and put her in the front seat. Be doesn’t care that he’s rushed out of his house at three in the afternoon with nothing but the desire to check on you.

He does care that you haven’t answered or returned any of his calls yet and Bucky swears on his life he is going to murder Steve if he doesn’t pick up either. He hears it ring three times before he answers.

“Hey, Buck. Whats up?” Steve says into the phone nonchalantly. It's starting to piss him off.

“What happened Steve.” His voice was cold and his grip on the steering wheel tightened with each second. What happened, what happened.

“Wait what do you mean.”

“Y/N Steve! What happened to her on her mission.” his voice cracked a bit as he tried to keep it together. Something was wrong and he didn’t know what.

“Y/n’s mission? It went fine she got back a while ago and… wait did she call you?” He seemed surprised.

“Yes! Y/N was crying and she just hung up suddenly and…what happened Steve.”

“Nothing. She’s been fine this whole time. It happened a while ago so I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Wait how long has she been back from her mission.”

“Two weeks.”

“Well how was I supposed to know that!” He was getting antsy, wishing this car of his would go any faster.

“I assumed she had already called you. She usually did after every mission but… I’ll go check up on her for you if you want. Let her know you called.”

“I’m already on my way over. Just let me know if she does anything else.”

______

He doesn’t remember how long he stayed out there talking to you. It was more you talking to him. How training went that day, A new movie that had come out that week, Peter coming to you for advice on asking someone out. A dream you had.

He couldn’t help but glance at your arm as you talked. Covered with long sleeves but he knew the scar was still there. Long and jagged, running from your forearm to your wrist. Slowly fading but still ever present. He felt your hand lift his chin up to meet your eyes again.

“Don’t even think of feeling guilty right now.” You teased, but your face showed nothing but sincerity. He gripped the railing tightly and it looked like he wanted to say something, but the words weren’t coming out.

He couldn’t. Not that.

“Do you remember the first time you stayed the night?” You took your hand away and watched him stare off into the distance. “ I felt trapped in my own head, in my memories. I wasn't leaving my room.”

“We share a wall. I could always hear when your nightmares got bad, but Steve was always there for you. But he was gone one day and I… I couldn’t just leave you to deal with that on your own.” Your voice turned to a whisper. Reminiscing on what you two once had. The quiet moments together. Why he stopped them, you only somewhat understood.

______

An hour felt like ten, and the full drive felt like an eternity later. When he reached the tower the sky was now dark, but he didn’t care. It had been far too long since he had been back.

He had Steve talk him through what could have happened.

“It must have been something that happened on her mission, but I can’t pick out anything weird, besides the fact that she insisted on taking this one alone.”

It was a stakeout. Suspicions of an arms deal going on. The plan was for you to just find out who was involved. Collect any information you can. You always sounded bored whenever you talked about it and gave Steve updates.

“Wait, why did she insist on going alone. Those take forever and I doubt she got a reasonable amount of sleep if she was by herself.” Bucky at this point was thinking the worst.

“Nothing happened Buck. She gave updates the whole time. I gave her permission to call you, but from the sound of it she never did.” A realization hit him then and there. The first mission he went on with you alone was a stakeout.

He doesn’t remember what the mission was about. All he remembers is two weeks alone with you. The two of you in a hotel room, spying on… he isn’t even sure anymore. All he took away from that time is he was absolutely in love with you. The way you would talk about Wanda’s crush on Vision at the time and how you kept bugging her to say something. Everytime you tried (and failed) to throw popcorn into your mouth.

By the time Bucky arrives at the tower it's almost three in the morning. Alpine sleeping soundly in the passenger seat. Steve is waiting for him in the parking garage. A concerned look on his face.

“She’s locked herself in her room. She won’t talk to me.” Bucky moves Alpine from the carrier to his jacket, and walks with Steve to the elevators to get to the living quarters.

“Is she even still awake? I got here pretty late.” He glanced at the pajama bottoms Steve was wearing.

“Last time I passed by I heard a show playing, she still might have fallen asleep though. Your room is empty if you wanna get some rest.”

“No.” the Elevator opens up to the all too familiar hallway that now you currently reside in. “I wanna see her now, if I can.” if she lets me. Steve simply pats him on the back.

“You planning on staying a while?”

“I guess we’ll see..” The doors close leaving Bucky alone in the dark hallway. He feels stuck in place. It has been so long since he’d seen the tower. He’d forgotten how much he’d miss this place.

He hesitated knocking on your door. The familiar notch in the wood from when you tried to fire one of Clint's bows. He could hear what sounded like a nature documentary softly playing from the other side of the door.

“Friday?” He whispered.

“Welcome back Sergeant Barnes.” The AI called out.

“Is she awake?”

“Agent Y/N is awake at the moment. Would you like me to let her know you’re here?”

“No, no its alright.” Bucky responded. “I can talk to her.”

He continued to just stare at the door, unsure how to start. He looked down to Alpine who simply meowed at him. Her way of saying to ‘get on with it, I’m tired!’

“Alright, alright.” He nervously chuckled before lifting his right hand up. Three delicate knocks rang through the door.

“I’m fine Steve.” He heard your voice for the first time in person again. Muffled and clearly annoyed, but still perfectly you.

“ Y/n? It's Bucky. Can you please open the door.” The documentary paused. He heard the slight squeaking of a bed and footsteps padding over to the door, till he heard your voice loud and clear.

“What are you doing here, shouldn’t you be in Indiana.” He was surprised by the coldness in your voice.

“What’s going on with you. You called and I got worried. Can you please open the door?” He pressed his forehead against the door, trying to get as close to you as possible.

“I never meant to bother you. Please, Bucky, just go home.” There was pain in your voice and your words. Calling somewhere that wasn’t here his home.

“I’m not leaving till you explain what’s going on. What happened that made you call.”

“...I needed to stop relying on you to fix my problems.” You sighed. Maybe you could tell he wouldn’t leave you alone with just that. “It was a nightmare, okay? That’s all. I can deal with those on my own now.”

“ Please let me in. You know I can help with those.” He whispered through the door. He didn’t know you even got nightmares. “How long have they been happening?”

“Why does it matter to you.” You spat. “I’m not letting you in so you can just… go home”

hesitation…. Bucky thought for a moment.

“I have Alpine. You said you wanted to meet her.”

A moment of silence, and then he hears the lock click open.

______

“I’ll miss you. You know that right?”

You stared at the night sky and he couldn’t help but notice how the lights danced in your eyes.

“You can always call.” he replied.

“Do you know… when you’ll come back?” the hesitation in your voice made him suspect you were going to say “if”. The fear he may never come back.

“I’ll be back, doll. If you ever need me just call and I’ll come running.” The idea got both of you to smile.

“I’d never have you do that for me, but I appreciate the thought.” You laughed before turning your head and staring straight into his eyes. “Just promise me. You’ll come back.”

“I promise.”

Both of your feet took control and suddenly you were now facing each other. In both of your eyes you could see a million words trying to escape. Each of you wanting to say something you didn’t think the other would want.

Stay here

Tell me to Stay

Let me spend one last night with you

Please don’t leave me alone

I love you

I love you

Just let me love you

It felt like you were inches apart. Miles away from the rest of the world. Your hand rose to rest softly on his cheek. He leaned into your touch and closed his eyes. The pad of your thumb gliding across his cheek, the scratchy stubble, till it rested right under his bottom lip. His hands resisted the urge to touch you, the fear of somehow hurting you again, but your touch he relished in. He savoured this moment between the two of you, almost too hesitant to take it any further. Those million words slowly bubbling up to the surface. Falling from his eyes to the tip of his tongue. They tasted like salt. You raised your hand up to swipe something from his face.

Tears. No words. Just tears.

You could taste your own words as well.

“Hey Ms. Y/N - oh Sorry!” The sheepish voice that belonged to Peter spoke out and caused the two of you to draw away from each other. The timeless moment broken. Words gone. Words buried once again. You could tell he felt bad for interrupting what seemed to be a private moment between the two of you.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“No, it's fine. You didn’t interrupt anything. Did you need something kiddo?” You wiped your eyes and tried to look cheerful. Bucky never understood why you had such a soft spot for peter. He talked too much for his liking.

“Tony said you were out here and… He needed to talk to you about something I didn’t really ask uh.” Peter kept glancing at the now brooding man next to you. “happy retirement Mr. Bucky, Sergeant Barnes sir.”

“It's just Bucky,” He grumbled, “And it's not a retirement. It's just… Tony just started calling it that because i'm old.” You noticed the stiffness in his voice so you decided to break the tension.

“Tell Tony I’ll be inside in a second, okay Peter?” He nervously nodded and shuffled back inside. You turned back to face Bucky. He looked down and away from you now.

Miles apart.

“Gotta go back inside, I guess. Don’t stay out too long okay?”

In a brief second of courage you lifted your hand back to his face, and turned to place a quick kiss on his cheek before walking away and leaving him alone again on the balcony. The feeling of your lips lingered on his skin.

You didn’t see him when he left the next morning.

______

You looked just as beautiful as he remembered. Unbrushed hair and wrinkly t-shirt thrown together with an old pair of sweats. He wanted to wrap himself up in your touch, in your scent, but your eyes gave off a tired and standoffish look. Eyebrows scrunched together. This wasn’t the time, yet.

“Where is she.” You asked. Bucky unzipped his jacket slightly and peeled away one side to reveal a little puff of fur. The door opened wider and you stepped aside to let him in. He took a seat on your bed and let Alpine out to walk around. You sat down and alpine walked over and rubbed her face on your hand.

“Cute..”

“Yeah, she is. There's no cat food in the tower, right? I left in a rush and-”

“Bucky.” you raised a brow at him.

“Right, sorry.” He studied your expression, waiting for you to start.

“Can I ask you something, Bucky?”

“Anything.”

“Am I the reason you left?” Your question left him bewildered.

“Where’d you get that idea?”

“It's just,” you started, “we were so close, and I know I pushed your boundaries a little more than the others, but you seemed okay with it. You even pushed things further so I thought we were on the same page. But after-” you turn your arm to show what's now only a faint line running down your arm, “ -this I, I don’t know. You didn’t just step back, you pushed away. You didn’t even look at me for weeks and then suddenly you say that you're leaving and I-”

Tears spring from your eyes. The million words too much. Bucky grabs your hands and uses his thumbs to rub small circles into your wrists.

The night was one clearly neither of you had forgotten. You had just come back from a mission with Steve and went to Bucky’s room to surprise him, only to find he was having another nightmare. You attempted to wake him up, were met with a sharp pain in your arm. The both of you were too stunned by each other's actions to immediately notice the knife in Bucky’s hand and the stream of blood gushing down your arm and staining his sheets.

You never held it against him, but he clearly did.

“It was a rash decision.” He says, “ I care about you so much, you know that… or I hope you do, but after,” he felt his million words bubbling to the surface again, “After I hurt you, I got scared. I was afraid of making things worse and I didn’t even realize I already had. I left to try and figure myself out. After the first week I knew it wasn’t my thing. I was honestly gonna come right back, but you sounded so happy when you called and, I started to think you’d be better off without me.” His voice grew softer with every word.

“What about your neighbors, meditation. You said you were getting better sleep.”

“Mostly lies. The Nightmares just have become more manageable with time, and I don’t need to leave just to sit on the floor in silence. The only good thing to come from this is Alpine.” he admitted and you released a breath you didn’t realize you were holding.

“At the party, before you left. You said to ask and you’d come back. There were so many times I thought about it, but you’d talk about how much better you were doing-”

“All lies, doll. Sorry.”

“ - I thought you were better off without me.” he tugs you forward and you let yourself fall into his embrace. You feel each other relax in each other's touch. He rested his chin on the top of your head for a second before placing a kiss on your forehead.

“I’m so sorry I made you feel this way.” You feel his lips move against your skin. “But I’m not leaving you again. Not ever.” You pulled away just to see his face.

“You’re not going back?” He tucked his head into your hair to muffle his laugh.

“Indiana sucks, I’m here to stay, promise. Besides, you said you had nightmares, right. I’m not just gonna leave you to deal with that on your own.”

He leaned over to kiss your tears away causing you to laugh at the feeling. You lifted your head to meet his lips with your own, and for a second the two of you forget the rest of the world exists. You can taste salt from each other’s tears and he feels himself smiling into the kiss, hands going up to cradle your face when suddenly you both hear a Meow.

Pulling away the two of you watch Alpine nudge your thigh as if to say ‘It's my turn for attention!’ The two of you smiling and crying and holding in a fit of giggles as your stare at the little puff of fur meowing at you and clawing at the sheets.

As the laughter and meowing died down, so did your energy, and the two of you settled into bed. It was almost as it was before. His arms wrapped around you. your head delicately tucked into the crook of his neck, arms wrapped around his waist. A small fur ball settled at the foot of the bed. With the promise of a million more words, and a million more nights together.

[snapghoul]

Moon, tell me if I could send my heart up to you?

Bradley and Jake parted ways with Tyler and Bradley meets Mama and Pa Seresin.

Note: I love using titles that represent characters’ feelings towards each other as subtext.

Warnings: none

Song: My Love Mine All Mine - Mitski

Texas seemed much like Oklahoma to Bradley—just as scorching and flat. He unloaded the duffel bags from their rental car while Jake dashed up the steps of the ranch house and was quickly enveloped in a warm embrace by his parents.

Watching the scene unfold tugged at Bradley’s heart, starkly reminding him of his own lack of family. He longed for moments like these and resented the void left by their absence.

As Bradley approached the porch, Jake’s mother greeted him with a warm smile. “You must be Bradley, come here, darlin’!” she said, pulling him into a gentle hug and cupping his face. Her affectionate term of endearment made him feel unexpectedly cherished.

“You’re quite the looker,” she continued. “I’m Rose, but you can call me Mama Seresin. Jake, what a fine boy you’ve brought home!” Rose beamed at Jake, who turned bright red as his mother showered Bradley with praise. Bradley, equally flushed, found himself overwhelmed by the genuine warmth.

“Ma.” Jake sighed and his father chuckled, reaching out to shake Bradley’s hand.

“Cole, welcome to the ranch, son,” Mr. Seresin greeted warmly. Bradley barely had time to process the introduction before he was swept into the house, his duffle bags being handed off to Jake.

“Lucky for you, I just finished some barbecue,” Rose said as she guided Bradley inside. “Soph and the kids won’t be here for a while, so I suggest you dig in now.”

“Ma, slow down—” Jake began, but his mother waved him off.

“Hush! You’ve never brought anyone home before; let me have my moment,” she retorted. Bradley chuckled softly as the mother and son playfully swatted at each other.

“You’re the first he’s ever brought home, so she’s just excited,” Mr. Seresin explained, gently prying his wife’s hands away from Bradley while she continued to bicker with Jake. “If she gets overwhelming, just let me know. Would you like a Coke or a beer?”

“Coke, please,” Bradley said with a smile.

Mr. Seresin’s calm demeanor was a stark contrast to the lively energy of his family. It was clear that Jake and Tyler inherited their boisterous attitude from their mother. The shorter blonde woman was animatedly chastising her son with a towel, loudly lamenting that Jake hadn’t shared much about Bradley. It was evident that his presence was a significant moment.

Bradley followed Mr. Seresin into the kitchen, where he was handed a freshly opened can of soda.

“Now, darling, let me get a better look at you,” Rose said, her excitement palpable as she made another advance toward Bradley.

Jake quickly stepped in, placing himself between Bradley and his mother, wrapping his arms around the taller man. He glanced back at Rose and said, “Ma, give him some space, or you’ll scare him off.”

“Jake,” Bradley said, taking a sip of his soda around Jake’s head, his hand resting comfortably on Jake’s lower back. “It’s fine. If I can handle you every day, I’m sure I can manage your mom. Sorry, Mrs. Seresin.”

Rose laughed heartily, joined by her husband. “Oh, darlin’ don’t be sorry, you’re probably right. And I told you just call me Mama Seresin.”

“I’d say so,” Mr. Seresin added with a grin. “And if he’s survived a week with Tyler, he’s ready for anything.”

Rose looked to her husband for confirmation, and he nodded in agreement. It was clear that Bradley had already been warmly accepted into the family.

They also noticed how utterly captivated Jake was, his green eyes twinkling as he looked up at Bradley with an unprecedented softness, as if Bradley were the full moon on a clear night. In turn, Bradley gazed at Jake with the same warmth one might reserve for the sun, his arm wrapped protectively around Jake’s waist, drawing him close.

Yeah, Bradley was staying, Mama would make sure of that.

[galadrieljones]

Zabel Interview, Team Delusional Round-up, re: the past few weeks (months?) 💫

(Based on an ask from @natural-blue-26! This post contains spoilers, pertaining to the script leak. If you don't want them, turn back!!)

First, let me say that @twdmusicboxmystery has posted an excellent video covering this topic over at her youtube channel. This post is jumping off of that, with some additional takes and analysis by me!

Also, note that I wanted to wait to post or to talk about this too much publicly until today, as I think there are a lot of genuine shippers who might be let down right now. Not all c*rylers are unhappy, unruly people. Many are shippers just like us, and even though I don't ship it, I support them. I am only putting this in the Team Delusional tag, so anyone who sees this is seeing it either because they follow me, follow the tag, follow someone who follows me, or they went looking for it themselves. I am not making drama or inciting a "ship war." If you're here out of anger, I suggest you turn back. I am just going to go over what I see.

The Facts

There has been a recent spate of events that have lead Team Delusional to a rare and more than modest resurgence. Until now, we were mostly just working with templates and symbolism, with a healthy dose of informed meta and speculation: We were seeing how the season 4/5 template was beginning to unfold toward the Grady arc, which includes Carol in a major role.

BUT. Let's check in with what's been going on over the past six months. A lot of this new resurgence starts with Emily's multiple trips to Europe for TWD cons in the past six months, integrated with her (yet unrealized) insinuation that she has been in studio recording one or more songs that Beth sang on TWD. Massive financial burdens aside, these are unusual undertakings for Emily. While she has done many fan cons over the years, visiting Europe twice in a four month period is bizarre (as well as expensive). She also talked openly and excitedly in the panel at French comic-con about how cool it would be if Beth returned. Further, Emily's "re-recording" of "Parting Glass" and possibly other TWD songs was a fairly big announcement for us at the time, but we haven't seen any more on it since. Speculation went everywhere from "She'll be singing in a flashback in Daryl Dixon season 2" to "Her songs will be part of the soundtrack" to "She'll actually BE in season 2, singing, in the present moment."

A lot of these things, if they were spread out over a 5 year period, wouldn't matter at all. But the fact that they're all taking place in the six-month run-up to Daryl Dixon s. 2, when we've already been able to speculate her tenuous return based on templates and other tells, is exciting. It's been almost ten years to the day of Beth's *death.* Why now? The timing on all of this is very suspicious.

Now, a few weeks ago, there was a LEAKED SCRIPT excerpt, which was claimed to be the final scene of DD 2.6. In the script, we learn that Isabelle has died and is appearing to Daryl in the form of a hallucination while he fights walkers in the Chunnel. This was confusing for many reasons. First, we already know, given their ruthless advertisement of the fact, that season 3 is already being filmed in Spain. So why are they headed to England? Also, where the hell is Laurent? Further, Isabelle's death, while unsurprising to many of us, creates some new questions. Many members of a certain *other* ship were ecstatic to learn about Isabelle's death, as Daryl/Isabelle ship rumors have been rampant in the fandom basically since season 1. Forget the fact that the same ship FREAKED out over Daryl/Leah three years ago (a clear nothingburger). Any time another female character even comes into contact with Daryl, a notable portion of fans must make their "displeasure" widely known.

Moving on. Yesterday, an article came out summarizing a yet-unreleased interview with David Zabel in SFX magazine. You can read it here. In the interview, Zabel makes the following comment about "C*ryl":

"The obvious thing to do, and the easier thing to do would be, 'Okay, now they're falling in love and they're a couple.' But I always felt like that would be a mistake, because it would feel like you were going into the TV book of tricks," he explains. "To me, there was never a question that [their connection] was something other than what it is, and what it seems to want to be, and why it works so well."

Zabel then goes on to hint at a highly-contentious romance with Daryl and Isabelle:

"What happened in season one was that you could see a connection forming, for sure," he says. "We didn't manufacture that but we left room for it. A lot of season two is about the development of that and where that relationship goes, and that little surrogate family of Isabelle, Daryl and Laurent."

Now, the full interview doesn't come out until September 4, at which point, we may get a clearer picture of what's going on. However, it seems that Zabel is politely declining the "C*ryl as romance" narrative. In the quote, he uses the excuse of wanting to avoid TV tropes; however, he then goes on to say (in a portion of the quote that is being wildly misinterpreted among the c*ryl ship) that "To [him]," there was "never a question that [their connection was something other than what it is." He then equates "what it is" with "what it seems to want to be" and "why it works so well." The misinterpretation is coming with that second part. "What it is" = friendship. Zabel is clearly saying that c*ryl "seems to want to be" exactly "what it is," aka: a sacred friendship and nothing more. He's basically saying that this already "works so well," and so why fix what ain't broke? Why create a romance between two characters who are clearly just very, very good friends when he could go another, more interesting direction?

Certain c*ryl accounts have misinterpreted that section of the quote. They seem to think he's saying that the c*ryl ship "seems to want to be" something else, something other than what it is. But if you follow the grammatical logic of the sentence, you can see that they're wrong here. It wants to be what it already is, which is friendship. Of course, to c*rylers, what it already is = romance, but that isn't canon. There's no proof of this. In fact, there's more proof to the contrary, that they're best friends. They're family. Carol was married to somebody else, raised a child with him, still holds a contentious relationship with the other man, allowed Daryl to toil away in the woods alone for five years because she needed to stay with her husband...

In addition to factual evidence from the show, the C*ryl Friendship Campaign has been going strong on social media for MONTHS. In her video this morning, twdmusicboxmystery also goes over quasi-recent comments from Angela Kang which are UNSUPPORTIVE of a c*ryl romance. The notion that this perspective is coming out of nowhere, which some fans are claiming as a way of blaming Zabel for either lying or betraying his fanbase (and the actors), is, frankly, absurd.

Please note that I'm not saying that nobody should ship c*ryl just because it isn't canon. That would be silly. I ship non-canon ships all the time. BETHYL is a non-canon ship! I've written whole fanfics for Beth and Daryl (well, I've tried lol, but most remain unfinished). It's one of the funnest parts of being in a fandom.

What I'm saying is that c*ryl is NOT CANON. It never has been. And the people who get angry about this, who want to get professionals fired over this, who think that they're entitled to getting exactly what they want, lest the show perish, are wrong. They're doing it wrong. It's totalitarian and, frankly, obsessive. This is not how you be in a fandom, and my interpretation here of the Zabel interview in conjunction with the C*ryl Friendship Campaign is that they are TRYING to let this highly volatile and frankly unpleasant faction of the fandom down lightly in an effort to get them off tptb's AND the actors' backs. They don't want to deal with this shit anymore. And by the way, they're actually not leading anyone on. They've been insanely clear here, in their rebranding of c*ryl to a platonic ship, as to what's happening and what's going on, and while I really do feel for the good people who may feel let down by this, I am GLAD to see that the showrunners aren't going to heed the demands of one tiny, loud faction of a giant fandom, and that despite the haters, they're going to tell the story they want to tell.

ANYWAY.

Over the past 48 hours, things have gotten...weird. Zabel's interview dropped less than a day after the TWD Skybound social media accounts appear to have...posted a Bethyl edit out of nowhere. @sweetz1919 also posted early this morning, bringing together a few more Beth-related posts on either official accounts or *near* official accounts, which post promotional material, and which are followed by AMC TWD. One of these posts is a repost on twitter by Scott Gimple, who so rarely posts on social media, that any time he does, it's like a unicorn, symbolically notable and certainly important.

Now, pertaining to the Zabel interview, another wide complaint taking place in the c*ryl camp is that Zabel is likely LYING or he is being taken grossly out of context, because if c*ryl isn't happening, AND Isabelle is going to die, then how could Daryl POSSIBLY get his happy ending?

THIS is where Team Delusional comes in. Of course, we have our theories. Most people think WE'RE the delusional ones. And maybe we are! Lol. I don't really care. Most of our theories are crafted through a TON of hard, circumstantial, pattern-driven, and symbolic evidence, evidence taken from IRL sources, and hypotheses made after paying very close attention to what's been going on and making LOTS and LOTS of connections over a period of many years. Me, myself, I've only been here for four, but some of you guys have been doing this for almost ten, and for that, I salute you! As I said earlier, TD has been theorizing Beth's "return" in DD2 based greatly on symbolic and template-driven evidence alone for a while. A lot of what we're seeing now on social media is playing directly into our hand.

Emily in Europe multiple times in a 4mo period, including a trip to Paris, with her latest stint being just a week before "official" filming for season 3 was set to begin? Emily re-recording tracks from TWD? Leaked script pages in which Daryl mentions Beth specifically AND suggest that Isabelle is going to die? Romantic!C*ryl = not happening? HOW could Daryl possibly get his happy ending now? The rest is TD theory, ie: WHY we think Beth will come back to manifest Daryl's "happy ending." Speculation and theories on how she could come back, the connection to Spain/England/France, that's basically all we talk about lol, each of us with our own interests and niche perspectives, all arriving at the same point.

SO while there is still no proof that she is coming back, all of this is a Good thing, actually. For us. Because while everyone is looking around, freaking out, wondering what's going to happen next, we are seeing and able to read a LOT of signs that others ignore. And rightly so! There's no reason the rest of the GA needs to think that Beth is legitimately coming back. That would overshadow Carol's role in season 2, which is significant. It's just important that the GA REMEMBERS who Beth IS, that she was important to Daryl, and that hey, people used to really like Beth, and they liked Beth and Daryl together, and that was hopeful, and nice for him, and he hasn't had much "hope" or "niceness" since, and wouldn't it be nice if he could have that again...? All of these things are really there to do just this: let the c*ryl ship down easy, and remind people that Daryl once held a very strong connection to a woman whose life "ended" too soon, and who has really never been mentioned again.

While I really have no idea what's coming next, I wonder if we'll begin to see more astroturfed discussion on Beth's *death.* How weird it was, what the hell was going on at Grady, etc. If we don't see it in promotional material, we may hear about it in-show. Because if Daryl is casually mentioning Beth (along with Merle and Glenn) to Isabelle's ghost/vision in episode 2.6, then this likely implies that he's told her about Beth before, and that he's talked to her about what happened. It implies that Isabelle knows who Beth is, which would be a truly insane development, since he's literally never talked about her to anyone, including Carol, as far as we know.

So anyway, as usual, we should all just keep our heads down, chins to our chest, keep hope alive, but with a balanced sense of anticipation. We still really don't know what's going to happen, so it's important to be rational, but it also won't hurt to have a little faith 💫

[johaerys-writes]

Hi! I’m pretty new to the world of Achilles and Patroclus (I read The Song Of Achilles last month) and I just saw your post about your love for them. When you said “there's just so much stuff out there about them (tsoa, hades game, the iliad, a bunch of other myths and adaptations, non fiction books, academic papers etc)” I was wondering if you could touch on the other myths and adaptations part maybe? I’m not exactly sure where to begin there but I would appreciate any guidance you could give!

Oh boy I don't know where to start either because there's a LOT. I don't want to overwhelm you so I'll just list a few key myths and adaptations off the top of my head:

Adaptations

So as far as adaptations go, I will include works where both Achilles and Patroclus show up and that are inspired by the Iliad.

Hades Game: I'm pretty sure you're already familiar with this, just mentioning it just in case!

Aristos the musical: it's a musical as the name suggests, and it revolves around Achilles and Patroclus' lives from Pelion all the way to Troy. It's really lovely and has made me emotional on numerous occasions and I love revisiting it every so often! It also has a Tumblr account: @aristosmusical

Troilus and Cressida: this is Shakespeare's take on the Trojan War and it's quite interesting, not really faithful to the Iliad but offers a sort of different perspective on the characters and the events that led to Hector's death.

Achilles (1995) by Barry JC Purves: it's a short stop motion film using clay puppets, it's on Youtube and it's only 11 mins and I think it's worth a watch! I find it very compelling visually and any adaptation where Achilles and Patroclus are lovers is a plus in my book 🫶

Holding Achilles: this is an Australian stage production by the Dead Puppet Society, I really enjoyed it and I found it an interesting blend of TSOA and Iliad Patrochilles, which also featured some cool new elements that I hadn't really seen before. It used to be free to watch for a while but now I think you have to pay to watch it, there's more info on their website.

The Silence of the Girls: a novel by Pat Barker, it's a take on the events of the Iliad mostly through Briseis' eyes, I personally didn't really like the book or the characterisations but hey both Achilles and Patroclus are in it so it might be worth a read.

There are some other novels I've heard of where Achilles and Patroclus appear (A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes, Wrath Goddess Sing by Maya Deane) and also a TV show called Troy: Fall of a City but I haven't read/watched them so I can't really rec them

Myths

Most myths revolve around Achilles, there aren't that many with Patroclus I'm afraid, but here are some of my favourites:

Achilleid by Publius Papinius Statius: this is an epic poem about Achilles' stay on Skyros disguised as a girl and his involvement with Deidameia. It's interesting but I'd personally take the characterisations and events in it with a grain of salt because Romans were notorious for their unsympathetic portrayal of Greek Homeric heroes but it's still a cool thing that's out there and free to read online.

Iphigenia at Aulis: a tragedy by the ancient Greek playwright Euripides, it's basically the dramatised version of the myth of Iphigenia's sacrifice in Aulis which predates the Iliad, there are many obscure versions of this myth but Euripides' sort of updated version is my favourite, I will never shut up about this play!! Lots of a nuance and very interesting portrayals of Achilles, Agamemnon, Menelaus, Clytemnestra, Iphigenia and pretty much everyone in there, well worth a read.

Lost plays: there are several plays in which Achilles appears but that have been lost or survive only in fragments, but two of my favourites are Euripides' Telephus and Aeschylus' Myrmidons. Telephus takes place before the Trojan War, while the Greeks are on their way to Troy. I really like Achilles' characterisation in the fragments that remain and also the fact that he was already renowned for his knowledge of medicine and healing despite how young he was. The fragments that survive from Aeschylus' Myrmidons I think are fewer but the play was extremely popular at the time it was presented to the public and it sparked a lot of controversy re: Achilles and Patroclus' relationship and who tops/bottoms so I think that's kind of funny lol.

There are lots of other obscure little myths about Achilles that I've picked up by reading various books, papers and wiki posts on the matter and that are just too numerous to list here, but what I will mention and that I think concludes the myths section of this post pretty neatly is that the Iliad and the Odyssey are not the only works about the Trojan War that were written, merely the only works that survived. The rest of the books in the Epic Cycle have been preserved either in fragmentary form or in descriptions in other works, and I think the Epic Cycle wiki page is a good place to start if you want to get an idea of what each of those books contained.

I hope this helped! 💙

[onomatopagu-et-cie]

HAPPY 19TH DGM ANNIVERSARY & some other notes on DGM!

I'm a little late but HAPPY 19TH DGM ANNIVERSARY!!!! Time flies fast and this series accompanied my thoughts and heart for almost two decades now!

This first preface will stay a long time in my thoughts. Thank you for letting us join in on your wonderful journey, Hoshino ⋆｡°✩

I recently listened again to Blue Moon sung by Ella Fitzgerald and ... it's giving me Mana, Allen and Neah (or the whole cast haha) feelings ;;

I had some other notes I wanted to share since the previous post, so here it goes!

(SPOILERS UP TO CH247!!!!)

▶ Innocence & Akuma and Timcampy Innocence is attracted by Akuma, as though they once formed a whole together:

(the imagery here haunts me, especially with a heart in the background and the cross in the middle!!)

-> the story insists on informing us Innocence and Akuma balance each other and hold equal power over each other -> at the Asian branch, Allen’s Innocence reactivates only once he saw an Akuma ; the 3rd generations arm and Allen’s Innocence activated on their own when they were close -> the Innocence takes the shape of a bust deprived of head, arms and legs, but it has wings (and the recent chapters mainly represent Innocence with wings eg. Mugen, Apocryphos and Allen) ; the Akuma egg is a head in itself -> the Innocence’s mark on the exorcists looks like a cross but also the stigma on the Noah’s forehead -> both evolve in the same fashion. However, Akuma seem to me visually more ‘complete’ than the Innocence (eg. in Phantom G ark, even the children, the Prioress and Emilia thought a Level 4 was an angel): some are seen with more defined human features, wings, halo, tail, horns altogether. It’s curious how Level 4 Akuma (and Alma also) are designed with a halo, which is generally a symbol of holiness in art.

-> Skull use what looks like ladybug to create their barriers (which can prevent anyone except Akuma from entering, nullify Allen’s left eye power and his ability to summon the Ark).

In some cultures and languages, ladybugs are often seen as a good-luck charm and are linked to heaven and God. For example, in french, we call them ‘bêtes à bon Dieu’ (something like God’s creature) since the Middle Age. Its name can even be associated with the Virgin Mary (ladybug/bird or in german, Marienkäfer means Mary’s beetle). In japanese, the word for ladybug is 天道虫, ‘tentou-mushi’ which literally means 'Heaven Path bug'. It can also be written with the kanji for 'red' and 'girl' respectively, 紅娘.

Now, this is a wild reach which might lead nowhere (surely like the others 8D), but the Crows are the only ones described by their red silhouettes (you would expect their costumes to be jet black, by their title) and the two red dots on their forehead. There are also many black ladybug species with two red spots on their wings eg. the twice-stabbed lady beetle.

-> Just another wild speculation but if the song heard when the Dark Boots crystallized itself around Lenalee was the lullaby (the only song mentioned in the story along with Lala’s and Maria’s), what to make of it?

While the Innocence only affected non-exorcists (supposedly because its will is overwhelming to them, according to Bookman), Level 4 Akuma seem to have the same head-crushing cry and it incapacitates exorcists, to the point that they struggle to synchronize.

Only the dead like Maria seems to remain unaffected. However, in ch147, Link was still able to move to save Allen from the collapse.

-> The only instances Akuma and Innocence use each other’s attributes are Akuma 4 (wings) and Fallen Ones’ (halo) designs.

-> The Earl is determined to keep the Akuma’s true nature hidden from the Heart, because there’s something in there it could use as an advantage. It suggests something could directly be done by the Heart if it knew that piece of information eg. control both Innocence and Akuma or turn Akuma into Innocence or vice versa? Idek anymore haha

-> Timcampy is the only character to have both the Innocence and the Akuma/Earl attributes, wings and horns. And we also had THIS cover (the second picture, I never saw it colored before I re-read DGM and idk if this was established it was Timcampy):

Not to mention Timcampy’s weird deus ex machina entrance to motivate Allen again in ch53 (when he was giving up on saving Suman)?

▶ The Chang, Akuma, Skulls and Link A detail I forgot to mention in the first post was that Link’s tattoo, as expected, share the same motif with the ones inked on the Chang to link them to Fō as it’s shown in volume 21. Similar tattoos were on Alma’s arms and belly since that magic was also used on him.

Level 4 Akuma and Skulls also share the same marks?????

Fô’s head ‘accessory’ looks like the Akuma egg’s design:

Skulls (the katakana highlighted in green on the screenshots), like the Chang family, are also sorcerers. The manga introduces them in japanese with the title 守化縷 (the kanji highlighted in yellow on the screenshots), which literally can be translated as ‘guard(ian) of the thread’.

Now what's a synonym of thread?

… It’s Link!!!! The coincidence goes even further with Link’s last name, Howard. According to wikipedia’s entry:

????????? I don’t know what to make of this, but this sure isn’t pure coincidence. This and the way Apocryphos and Lavi called Link ‘watchdog’ as well as Kanda ‘Luberrier’s dog’ insists on his role as a guard. But whose? Allen’s? Luberrier’s? Somebody/thing else?

-> According to his profile in volume 20, Edgar Chang Martin, part of a secondary Chang branch, was related to a great sorcerer involved with the Order. The sorcerer was german. Link is also german (like Kiredori, Tewaku, Goushi, Madarao and Tokusa), I don’t believe we have other german profiles in the story nor blondes like him, Bak’s father and Bak himself (oh, and I forgot ofc our girl Miranda!!). Link could be related to that great german sorcerer and thus be an heir of Atuuda, unbeknownst to Zuu (but I wonder how that would be groundbreaking for the story?)

-> the spells the Chang use could be related to/even originate from the Skull’s (given how the manga hints at how ancient Skull’s sorcery is). The operation to bestow the power to cast magic to the Crows could be similar to how the Skull tinkered with the scientists’ head in volume 15.

-> heck, dude could even be linked to Timcampy, they’re both gold (I’m half-joking at this point idek anymore 8D) and Timcampy uses the same sanskrit-inspired magic as the Skulls (eg. when Tim destroys the barrier to save Allen during his battle against Alma and Kanda). Hoshino also emphasizes the importance of the gold color in the manga (the Noah’s eyes, Timcampy, Allen getting hungry over this color, the Campbell mansion’s landscape, …) just as the silver/gray color, so there might be something? Also, Cornelia’s wood can destroy Timcampy. Cornelia derivates from the latin cornix, which means crow…………… Please e x p l a i n

Also, what is this ‘thread’ the Skulls have the duty to protect? Their main duty is to protect the Akuma egg?

Now three things will keep bothering me until we get answers in the manga:

1)

2) These pages following each other (and the last two are literally back to back, it’s more visible when you read the physical copy + it’s Link’s right hand and Allen’s left):

(Of course I know Atuuda acted up once Link subconsciously shook when he thought of Apocryphos and this is a smooth way to have a transition to Neah’s pov, but the panelling is still interesting here)

3) What Zuu really meant to say to Link before he was interrupted by Luberrier (and I don’t think it was the whole ’becoming the 14th’s ally’ because Luberrier was clear on that in front of Link only some pages later)?????

▶ Cross and his mask Hoshino hinted that both Lavi’s eyepatch and Cross’s mask are mysteries to be unveiled. The mark on his mask looks like the Innocence and the Noah’s stigma. It also looks like Mana’s Pierrot makeup, or even the Pillar mentioned in volume 27:

The shape of his mask looks like a coffin? (It could also be a visual recall of Grave of Maria, but who knows!)

It reminds me of the "La" + "Vi" cover and the 'box' protecting the egg also looks like a coffin:

▶ Road We now know Road was even able to manipulate Allen/Neah’s dreams without even interacting with them (unlike with Lavi). She even invited Cross’ dreamy-whatever-consciousness in it (because I’m sure Cross himself was conscious of it to some extent and was able to give some hints to Allen even though he was used by Road), which persuaded Allen to go to the Campbell mansion. Could it be that she also tampered with Lenalee and Allen’s nightmares after she met them (or at the very least Allen, since the manga shows how the dream strongly motivated him to reactivate his Innocence)?

I find it even more curious she’s named like that when one of Allen’s elements of crisis over his identity is following a road already traced by somebody else.

Road might have something to do with the Heart (that and also the fact her iconic door is heart-shaped, with a checked pattern and a crown on top?)?

▶ Apocryphos Ch247 finally established the link between the Cube’s prophecies and Apocryphos: the Cube is regarded by the Order as the official « text » on the Innocence and the three days of doom, the Heart is mentioned but there is no trace of Apocryphos in there. Just as the truth on the 3 days of doom the Noah claim to exist. Also just as the Heart is capable to create dupes to escape the Earl. Apocryphos is a literal reference to the apocrypha, texts deemed unauthentic by religious authorities. According to the Cambridge dictionary, « an apocryphal story is probably not true although it is often told and believed by some people to have happened. » The one the most tricked so far in the story seems to be the Order.

▶ Cross in volume 17

In volume 17, Cross asks Allen « What if I told you that when you become the 14th you will have to kill the people (or someone) you care about? ». To which Allen answers: « What do you mean I have to kill the people (or someone) I care about?! »

In the original version, Cross uses « daijina ningen (人間) » for ‘the people (or someone) you care about’ ; Allen uses « daijina hito (人) ».

Which is curious for Cross because hito (人) would generally be used here: both mean human, but while 人 refers to ‘human’ as a person, 人間 refers to ‘human’ as the species in a taxonomic classification. Is it to highlight the true nature of Neah as a Noah apart from the humans Allen came to care about along his way? Does Cross also set himself apart from the humanity as a 3rd party?

▶ Funny how Link and Mana can be associated in the manga: -> ch137, « Orphan and Clown », introduces Link to Allen when he’s still trying to figure out why the Ark’s partition uses the signs Mana taught him and is questioned by Link about it. It is later revealed in the manga Link was an orphan before joining the Crow. -> in ch183, Allen inadvertently voices his memories of Mana to Link -> in ch212, « Searching for A.W.: Calling You », as Allen loses consciousness, fighting Neah’s awakening, he calls out to Link but instead is greeted by a vision of a young Mana, calling out to Neah. This chapter also introduces the importance of Allen’s name to save him from Neah’s dreams. The original version for ‘Calling You’ is ‘’君を呼ぶ ‘ (kimi wo yobu). ‘Kimi’ is the pronoun both Mana and Link use in the manga ; past!Allen also seemed to use it with Neah. Johnny and Kanda both use omae for Allen.

EDIT: Allen also uses 'kimi' so the chapter's title works both ways (in French, the title was translated as "Écoute ma voix" which is "Listen to my voice", I like the way the calling works interchangeably!)!

-> in ch213, Link faces a mirror shirtless like Mana does later in volume 25:

-> in ch220, « Searching for A.W.: He Closes His Eyes Tighter in a Vortex », Neah recalls the Earl he’s Mana but remains in denial and Link admits being conflicted over Allen and Neah

Link, Neah and Cross share similar positions and the panelling adds to this parallel:

-> Link was given the order to aid Neah but hopes that Allen overcomes his fate as his host.

-> Neah awakens years later and faces the Earl, struggling with Mana’s memory ; he’s determined to destroy him even if he holds him dear.

-> Cross had to witness Mana's struggle against the Earl. Yet he still had to carry on his mission even when the Earl possessed Mana. Then he had to watch Allen being slowly taken over by Neah. Cross's message in ch173 hits even harder given his link with Mana and Neah: "You may not want to listen to someone like me who carries the will of the Fourteenth… But if you think either of us is forcing you to walk a certain path… I want you to know that’s not true. A path forms behind you as you walk. The earth you step on is compressed, leaving a print. You’re the only one who can make your path. So stop wearing Mana’s mask. Walk in your own if you haven’t given up." Perhaps he even said similar words to an anguished Mana (or he wished to have said them). He had to watch them go, one after the other, helplessly.

▶ The moon, D. and C.

Are the D and the C just stylized in Mana and Luberrier’s names? At least for Mana’s and Neah’s, the D. could hold some meaning since it even was ch218’s title. Hoshino dreamed to become an astronaut, loves the moon and the stars (they’re even part of her name and her own mascot) and used it a lot in her previous works.

In DGM, the moon is seen in its different phases at important moments. It mainly signals the passing of time (eg. how long has Allen been on the run) or gives atmospheric context to the scenes, but sometimes it holds a symbolic meaning:

-> The first Noah reunion shows the moon phases on each chair

-> It is part of the Musician's Score's lyrics (from the french official translation): « Tu étincelles, toi, l’enfant né sous une tremblante lune d’argent. » which could be « You shine, the child born underneath a trembling silver moon ».

-> It frames a romantic scene between Crowley and Eliade:

-> The moon and the stars are used in chapter titles eg. ch129, « Black and white, 0° » (a reference to the new moon) and ch144 « Black star, red star »

-> It’s foreboding in Lenalee & Allen’s nightmares and Allen’s prophecy as the Destroyer of time:

-> The full moon appears when two characters reunite: in astronomy, a syzygy is a « situation that occurs when the sun, the moon (or a planet), and the earth are in a straight line. This occurs when the moon (or planet) is at conjunction (new moon) or opposition (full moon) ». Syzygy comes from the ancient greek συζυγία which means junction, reunion.

Mana and Red’s first meeting, as Mana sings the lullaby:

Allen and the Earl’s ‘first’ meeting:

Allen and Link reunite:

As for the D and the C, when the moon waxes it is shaped like a D, and when wanes it appears as a C. Could this be a coincidence? The C in Luberrier could also be Campbell, but for now the mystery surrounding his family is far from being revealed.

▶ Timothy and Allen In ch183, « Wash your face and you’ll be alright », Timothy and the Prioress face the sunset the same way Mana and Red did as later revealed in ch238:

Have a nice week!

[catnatch]

another souyo fic rec list!

this one is exclusively for fics that have never made it off the badbadbathouse/livejournal (to my knowledge/memory). I have my big ass list of every single souyo fill, but this one is curated with summaries, so hopefully it'll be useful to new p4 fans or anyone who doesn't know where to start with p4 on lj!

(these are all from bbbh, so the main post text for all these will be somewhat suggestive, but I will separate sfw fics from nsfw)

SFW fics!

Sunday, 7:43: I've mentioned before but my absolute fav P4 fic <3 even the prompt is the sweetest: a ficcy about the precise moment Yousuke realizes he's in love

Domesticity: Yosuke gets a gray hair :^)

Name That Tune: after Yosuke gives him a mixtape, Souji surprises him with the song he likes the most-- it goes exactly where you think but the buildup is still so good :') this one I feel like I did see on AO3 but I can't find it again if it is

The Frog in the Well (or, Yosuke and the wind.): character study of Yosuke's connection to his element (okay not so souyo but it's got such fantastic use of language...)

Sick Day: good old fashioned sick fic :') actually more of a ensemble fic rather than purely souyo, and the peeks of characterization therein are choice [warnings for vomit]

Cook the Food, Not the Kitchen: teaching the IT to cook- another ensemble fic! but souji def has plans for Yosuke in this one ;) unfinished but very amusing nonetheless

Façade: in order to go out on a public date, Souji elects to disguise as a girl. i like fics where they work thru their issues... but it's still quite fluffy! this one miiiight be on AO3 or ffn

One Way to Start the Morning: Yukiko and Yosuke talk about being in love with their best friends... as much as Yosuke can admit it anyway. realistically awkward but genuine Yosuke and Yukiko friendship, hooray! [warnings for one use of slur]

Whisperwind: Yosuke gains telepathic powers and it's too much (a sorta Carrie au). very surreal but well done horror fic (there is souyo but as you can imagine, it doesn't end well) [no smut but it is very gory so think maybe R? instead of NC-17; major character death]

Contact: souyo's relationship through touch. wonderful sense of tension and space throughout this fic, and i love viewing their progression thru one specific lens

Breaking Up is Hard To Do: Yosuke confesses... the night before Souji leaves. once again the genre is souyo/working on their issues. excellent, naturalistic dialog and not too angsty...

[untitled]: souyo told purely from other character's perspectives. unfortunately unfinished; we really need more outside pov fics !

A Special Report: "I like my women like my coffee" ngl rec-ing purely for Souji's answer ;D (nothing explicit but as u can expect from the prompt, suggestive jokes abound) also sports club trio ftw!!

NSFW fics below cut!

Play Time: Souji likes Yosuke's dick- even outside of sex! i am SUCH a big fan of casual, almost boring intimacy. adult in the best way, funny and so so domestic

The Last Breath We Take: sometime after Yosuke dies, Souji is sure he's being haunted. more bittersweet than outright sad :') (also the nsfw is very indirect and light) [warnings for major character death]

A Night Like This: Yosuke's dad finds out Yosuke's dating Souji and does not take it well. Yosuke isn't a complete pushover (but he is still a sad boy) so that's refreshing! [warnings for abuse]

Bruise My Head: Souji gets a bit fat and meets up with Yosuke years after. flashbacks (one is the short nsfw in this fic) are interspersed in this future fic, and it's an interesting examination how they might change and what stays the same (and how there's always something to work on) [warnings for eating disorders + brief self harm mention]

Technique: Yosuke totally knows what a blowjob is. totally. (smut that doesn't go perfectly >>>>>)

Its a Hard Life: Yosuke falls on hard times, becoming a prostitute and gets a regular who looks very familiar (it's Souji's dad). listen, I'm not gonna pretend that this one isn't carried by pure DRAMA and whump [warnings for dubcon + noncon]

Unfortunate Timing: souyo are having phone sex when Nanako has the WORST timing. Souji's dilemma is supremely entertaining, and we love bratty!Yosuke [warnings for Nanako? she's not a part of/aware of the sex per se but she's in the vicinity if that squicks you out]

Experience: Kanji learns a thing or two from established souyo. the Kanji pov is an interesting angle to view souyo and how well they work together [warnings for dp]

I HAVE NO DUNGEON, AND I MUST TROLL!: Yosuke has a personal blog- very personal- that starts getting hate from one anonymous Souji. this fic is unique for presenting the lj/comments true to life and there's a lovely floaty style to the offline sections; this fic is also an interesting look into Jerkji, who we don't see often in fan characterization anymore [warnings for manipulative!Souji; eating disorders (adjacent); dubcon; suicidal actions]

and finally Sympathy Crime even though pretty much everyone already knows about it AKA the fic where Adachi manipulates Yosuke into a relationship and it takes a tole on the investigation. heed the warnings of abuse, rape, torture, and suicidal thoughts/attempts seriously as the fic goes in depth to depict these, the horrifying effects, and then recovery. It does not pull any punches. The fic really understands how anyone can be susceptible to abuse and how important a support system/lack thereof is. It is incredibly well written- and that is in part because it has a message about horrendous acts of abuse. Additionally, it's a 200k+ (i think) word read so it is A Lot. Sympathy Crime is 100% not for everyone, but if you think you can tolerate reading the subject matter, there is a reason why this is a monolithic fic in P4 fandom history

[hyunlixsbbygirl]

♡︎ Studio Secrets

That time when a day in the studio proves to be more than just recording some vocals and playing around with track curation.

──❥ pairing: chan x hyunjin x felix

──❥ length: 4.5k

──❥ warnings: 18+, idol au, smut, threesome, friends to lovers

──❥ note: the characters don't represent real idols; this is a work of fiction intended for entertainment purposes only. this in no way represents nor reflects real life. this work has been cross posted to ao3 under the username thishippiekid.

© hyunlixbbygirl do not copy, translate or repost my works

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"That sounds great Lix, I personally would add a little more bass in the chorus but not too much, you don't want it to overpower the chorus but you don't want it to be too soft either," Chan instructed as he watched the younger Aussie's fingers glide over the soundboard. The two had been in Chan's studio for the better half of three hours, just mixing sounds together and coming up with lyrics for Felix's next solo. 

"I think I want there to be some groans and moans in the back during the second chorus, what do you think?" Chan thinks for a moment, trying to figure out how it'll sound in his head. "I think it'll sound amazing. Do we need to record them or do you want to cycle through the ones 3racha recorded?" Felix opens up the folder on Chan's laptop marked 3racha other vocals and scrolls through the sound clips. 

"I honestly have no idea..." Felix replied, not fully paying attention to what Chan was saying. The sound of the passcode being entered grabbed both boys' attention as they turned toward the door to see Hyunjin slip into the studio with his backpack flung securely over one shoulder. "Hey guys, I figured you'd still be here. How's the song coming along?" he asked as he dropped his backpack on the floor near the couch opposite the two. 

"It's coming along great, Lix really is learning fast. We might need to add him to the producer group." Chan beams, he really is very proud of his soulmate. "He's thinking about adding in some groans or moans into the backing for the second chorus, what do you think? Who's groans or moans should we use? I have Jisung's, Changbins, mine, and surprisingly some of yours too." Chan says as he takes over scrolling through the sound clips. 

"Shouldn't you use Lix's? It's his song, after all, the groans should come from him." Felix blushes at Hyunjin's suggestion and lets out a nervous cough. "We could! You wanna try recording some Lix? You don't have to but imagine what Stays will be saying when they realize the groans in the song are you. They'll go absolutely feral." Chan starts as he pulls the microphone from the piano nearby and sets it up in front of the youngest member. 

Felix feels his cheeks heat up in embarrassment, "I uh... how do you even... wait what?" Hyunjin chuckles at the cuteness of the younger being so shy. "It's really easy Lix, for the groans Jisung and I tend to like pull each other's hair or kick each other. Sounds barbaric I know but... actually never mind it's exactly what it sounds like but it produces great results." Chan continues as he plugs the microphone into the laptop.

"I'd rather not have my hair pulled or be kicked, can't I just like... fake it?" Felix asks nervously. He had just gotten his hair rebleached so his scalp was understandably sensitive right now and knowing how strong Chan was, even if he tried to kick lightly, it still would hurt. "You can always use my clips Lix, I bet we sound similar anyway. Stays might not even notice that it's not you." Hyunjin says as he walks over to the other two. 

"Let me listen to your clips first and then I'll decide if we need to record them or not, but, I do think you're right. If anyone, you probably sound the most similar to me in terms of random noises." Felix replies as he starts scrolling through the audio clips looking for the ones marked Hyunjin specifically. To his surprise, Chan had at least 20 clips of just Hyunjin moaning and groaning. He clicked on the first clip and immediately the sound of Hyunjin moaning filled the room. 

"Jesus Hyunnie." Felix breathed out, his cheeks dusting with a light pink blush as the lewd sounds echoed in his ears. "Oh yeah, Hyunjin probably has the best moans out of us all. I only got to use them once because they're so seductive sounding." Chan smiles as he pats Hyunjin on the shoulder. Felix hit the space bar to pause the clip when the moans began to become louder and almost needy. "How the hell did you record these?"

Hyunjin smirks and gives Chan a quick glance; "We have our ways." he replies simply. Felix shakes his head deciding he really doesn't want to know the truth behind these moans as he plays the clip again. "Hmm, this one sounds too... erotic." Chan decides halfway through the clip. "The song is more... powerful rather than sexy. At least according to the lyrics we have so far." the older continues as he looks at the dates next to each clip trying to recall what they sound like. 

Chan clicks on another clip and once again the room is filled with the lewd sounds of Hyunjin moaning; this time a little softer with more air to the moans. "Ooh, I like this one," Hyunjin mentions as he leans over Felix slightly. "I don't know... he actually doesn't sound all that much like me. You can tell it's Hyunjin, his voice is higher pitched than mine." Felix says with a slight pout. "Well then we have no choice, you'll have to record your own clips," Chan states as he opens up the recording application.

Felix takes a deep breath, "Okay, I'll try but this is awkward... like am I just supposed to moan?" he asks. "Basically, I mean it depends on the mood you're going for. If you want just simple moans, then just moan. Otherwise, you might need some...assistance." Hyunjin winks. Felix audibly gulps as Chan adjusts the settings on the microphone. "Okay Lix, just relax and think about... how you feel when your muscles are killing you after an intense practice." 

Felix nods and takes another deep breath before letting a small moan out. It's almost too soft for the microphone to pick up and Chan motions for him to continue but this time louder. Felix tries again but the other two can tell he's struggling to really let himself go. "Ugh this is too hard, can we listen to Jisung's clips?" the youngest asks. "If you thought my moans were too high pitched to pass off as yours, then Jisung's really won't pass." Hyunjin giggles. 

"He's right Lix, if you want them to sound like you, you have to record them yourself." Chan continues. "Can you record yourself first? Maybe I'll be able to mimic if I can see how you do it first." Felix suggests. Chan looks at Hyunjin who just shrugs; "I do need more clips of Hyunjin moaning for the danceracha unit song." Chan states as he moves the microphone closer to Hyunjin. "You have to help me again though, I'm not in the mindset for this right now," Hyunjin mentions.

Chan nods and hits record, he then moves to stand behind Hyunjin and presses his lips against the younger's neck earning a surprised expression from Felix. Hyunjin closes his eyes and focuses on the feeling of Chan's lips on his neck; the way his breath lightly sweeps across his skin and the gentle bites he begins to leave. Before Felix can fully comprehend what's going on, Hyunjin's mouth opens slightly and soft moans begin leaking out. 

Felix's eyes widen, he made it look so easy; granted Chan was helping him by seemingly turning him on. The light blush on Felix's cheeks spread to the tips of his ears and he shifted in the chair a little to adjust himself. Hyunjin gave Chan's arm a light tap and the older bit down harder earning him a louder moan that was more lewd than the previous ones they had heard earlier. Chan moved his hands from Hyunjin's back to his waist and then eventually up his torso and chest. 

Chan tapped his fingers against Hyunjin's abs before moving his fingers to the younger's nipples once Hyunjin gave him a slight nod; their silent communication surprised Felix greatly. The two were now pressed against each other; Chan biting and kissing Hyunjin's neck while his fingertips teased his nipples. The room filled with the sounds coming out of Hyunjin's mouth; soft sighs, deep moans, and high-pitched whines.

Felix felt himself getting hard in his jeans; he couldn't help it. The way Hyunjin looked with his eyes closed and lips parted as moan after moan spilled from his plump lips. His hands found their way to Chan's waist behind him, holding him as close to his back as possible; it was pretty pornographic from Felix's point of view. Hyunjin tapped twice on Chan's arm and he ceased his actions immediately, hitting the stop button on the laptop and saving the file. 

"Was that long enough Channie?" Hyunjin asked a little breathily. "I think so, at least for now. I'll have to let you know if I need more once I input it into the track." Chan replies before he turns his attention to Felix again, "Okay Lix, you think you can mimic Hyunjin?" the oldest asks. Felix squirms a little but nods even though he knows he wouldn't be able to produce noises that sensual on his own. 

"Let me just listen to the clip real fast to make sure the microphone picked it up okay." Chan says as he clicks 'play' on the clip he had just saved. Hyunjin's moans began flowing into the studio once more; Felix squirmed more the tighter his jeans felt on his body. Hyunjin smirked once he noticed how Felix squirmed in the chair below him; Chan on the other hand was engrossed in silencing the sound of the air con in the clip to notice. 

Once Chan had finished and saved the clip again he turned toward Felix again and noticed that the younger had his legs squeezed together and his face was flushed. He nodded to Hyunjin who slowly spun the chair so Felix was facing him; Felix was avoiding eye contact with the two older members. Chan opened up a new audio recording window and pressed record, giving Hyunjin a thumbs up to start. 

Hyunjin knelt down so he was more level with Felix's eyes, he placed his hands on Felix's thighs to steady himself before lifting the younger's face so their eyes met. Felix's breathing was staggered and heavier than normal, his eyes were glossed over with need and his lips were slightly swollen from biting them so hard. Hyunjin bit his lower lip as he looked over the younger carefully; he had to admit that Felix looked absolutely beautiful when he was so needy. 

"You're so...pretty Lix," Hyunjin whispered causing Felix to blush even redder. The younger made a small whimpering sound as he adjusted the way he was sitting again; he was uncomfortably hard now and didn't know what to do with himself. "Let me help you..." Hyunjin continued, he placed a hand on the younger's cheek and brushed his thumb across his lips before leaning in and pressing their lips together. 

Felix made a startled sound but quickly settled into the kiss; wrapping his arms around Hyunjin's neck to hold him closer as he felt the older sliding his tongue into his mouth. Both boys let soft sighs slip from them; Chan moves the microphone slightly closer in order to capture the sounds. At first, Hyunjin just wanted to help Felix record his clips, then he wanted to help him get some relief, but now that he was kissing the younger; he wanted to make him feel amazing. 

Hyunjin slides his hands underneath Felix's hoodie finding that he's not wearing a shirt underneath, his skin is heated with desire and he can feel his ab muscles tighten when he lightly traces his fingertips over them. Felix moans softly at the older's touch, his back slightly arching off the chair as Hyunjin slides the hoodie up his torso and eventually breaking the kiss to pull it off of him completely. 

Felix shivers lightly at the cool air hitting his heated body but he soon is distracted from the sensation when Hyunjin kisses him again; his fingertips now tracing over his collarbones and down towards his nipples. Chan moves to stand behind Felix and bends down so he can place little kisses on his neck causing Felix to let out a slightly louder moan to escape his lips. The older smiles against the younger's heated skin; the sounds the younger was making were pure gold. 

"Does little Lix need his hyungs to relieve him?" Chan nearly growls into his ear, Felix arches his back as Hyunjin licks over his nipples causing them to become hard and sensitive. The moans are flowing more naturally now as Felix is touched and kissed by his two members; his body becoming increasingly more sensitive as time goes on. Chan bites down on the area that connects the ear to the neck causing a particularly loud moan to escape the younger. 

Hyunjin moans into Felix's mouth when he feels the younger run his fingertips along his waist and abs; Hyunjin had been so focused on making Felix feel good that he didn't realize how needy he was becoming himself. His hands move from Felix's nipples; being replaced with his mouth instead as he lets his hands drop to Felix's bulge and palm him through his jeans. "Mhm...Hyunnie..." Felix moans before Chan presses his lips against his, replacing Hyunjin. 

Hyunjin unzips Felix's jeans and taps his thigh so he lifts his hips up just enough for him to slide his jeans and boxers down. The cool air hitting Felix's heated length has him whining for contact; Hyunjin has other ideas though. His mouth finds the creamy skin of Felix's thighs as he sucks and bites bruises into the pale skin causing the younger to squirm underneath his touch. Chan has his fingertips rolling over Felix's nipples as they make out with each other heavily. 

When Hyunjin starts kitty licking Felix's tip, he practically melts off the chair. His body is overly sensitive to all the touching he's receiving; he squirms under the two older member's touch as moans pour from him every few seconds. Chan pulls away from Felix, smirking when he hears the younger whine from the loss; "That's it, baby boy, let us hear you moan and groan for us." Chan tells him as he adjusts the microphone again. 

Hyunjin takes Felix completely into his mouth as he looks up at the younger through his eyelashes; Felix looks so pretty with his mouth hanging open, silent moans slipping past his plump and swollen lips, his eyes closed as his tongue rolls over his bottom lip every few seconds. "He's so pretty like this, look at our baby feeling so blissed out already just from your mouth Hyunjin." Chan nearly growls as he palms himself through his shorts. 

Hyunjin lets Felix's cock fall from his mouth as he licks his lips and looks up at Felix again; "He really is. Fuck I wish we had done this sooner so we could see this beautiful boy squirming like this much sooner than now." Chan hisses as he watches Felix reach for Hyunjin; he's extremely needy now and the lack of touches was making him cold. "Carry him to the couch, let's really make this angel of ours feel good." the older winks. 

Hyunjin does as Chan says, he lifts Felix from the chair, gripping his thighs until the younger wraps his legs around his waist. Felix sighs when he feels his cock pressed against the bulge in Hyunjin's sweatpants. The older sits down on the couch making sure Felix is fully straddling him; he then presses their lips together again. Felix slowly begins to move his hips so their cocks are rubbing against each other through the fabric. 

Hyunjin moaned into Felix's mouth as their tongues fought for dominance; Felix's hands slid underneath the older's shirt and pulled it off swiftly as he felt Chan come up behind him and do the same to his own shirt. Chan had moved the microphone so it was closer to the couch so he could get more audio from them all; he knew the sounds they were about to make were going to be incredible and if he ended up not being able to use them for new tracks, he'd always have them in his secret file for later. 

Chan pressed himself up against Felix's back and started kissing and sucking on his neck again; leaving light pink marks on his creamy skin despite knowing he shouldn't. Felix leaned back into the older and tilted his head to the side to give him as much room as possible; Hyunjin reached between them to pull his erection out of his pants and stroke them both off until it was time to take things one step further. 

Felix's moans filled the studio along with soft sighs and groans from the older two; Chan absolutely adored the way the younger's moans sounded. His voice was deep with lust but filled with so much need that he was whining while moaning at the same time. It was like music to his ears. "Need... you..." Felix moaned to neither member in particular, he didn't care which one did it, he just needed to be fucked. Now. 

"Who baby? Channie hyung or me?" Hyunjin asked as he adjusted his grip on their cocks a little. "Hyunnie..." the younger moaned after a few seconds. Chan moved away from the two and walked over to his desk, "Lay him down on the couch for me." He instructed Hyunjin as he opened up a drawer and dug around for a small bottle of lube that he kept there just in case 3racha needed extra help recording their audio clips. 

Hyunjin moved the two of them so that he could gently lay Felix on the couch on his back, the younger whining from the loss of the older. "I know baby, just be patient. We'll relieve you soon," he whispered softly as he caressed his cheek gently. Chan walks over to the couch and hands Hyunjin the bottle of lube before kneeling at Felix's side, "Spread your legs for Hyunjin okay love? He's going to prep you." the older told him, his voice barely above a whisper. 

Felix did as he was told and spread his legs for Hyunjin as the older flipped the cap open and spread some of the cool liquid onto his fingers before warming it up a bit; Chan pulled Felix towards him and pressed their lips together. The kiss was more gentle than it had been thus far, soft sighs escaping both boys as they got lost in the feeling of each other. Hyunjin rubbed the tip of his index finger against the tight ring of muscle that surrounded Felix's entrance. 

The youngest sighs deeply at the feeling, his back arching off the couch ever so slightly; carefully, Hyunjin slides his index finger inside of the smaller boy and slowly begins to finger him open. The feeling isn't completely new to Felix as he will occasionally finger himself but Hyunjin's fingers feel different; their longer and thicker, and he's able to reach the spots Felix can't on his own. After a few moments; Hyunjin slides a second finger into him, the fit is a bit tighter but it seems to be okay. 

Felix doesn't even flinch if he feels any sort of pain; he's completely lost in the bliss of not only being kissed by their leader but also of being touched by the two members he trusts the most in the most loving and passionate way. Chan moves his hand from behind Felix's neck to his nipples again; rubbing the small buds between his fingertips until they're hardened. Felix arches his back up more forcing Hyunjin to use his other hand to hold his hips down. 

"Stay still baby, I have to prep you properly so I don't hurt you," Hyunjin tells him as he continues pumping his fingers in and out of him. Felix was opening up to him so well though, he really knew how to control his body and get it to relax when needed; the older member adored this side of him. "Think you can take another finger baby boy?" Hyunjin asked. Felix nodded and grabbed Hyunjin's hand needily giving him the okay to add another finger into the mix. 

Hyunjin slowly and gently slid a third finger into Felix, holding his hand still as he stretched around his fingers and adjusted to the new size. It stung a little but overall it wasn't bad Felix only whimpered at the start but quickly started moaning again to indicate that Hyunjin could continue his transgressions. Felix's hand moved down to stroke himself needing to get some relief as Hyunjin fingered him harder once he was stretched out enough. 

Felix nearly screamed when Hyunjin's fingers brushed over that one sweet spot deep inside him; his cock twitching and his breath hitching at the same time. Chan pulled away from Felix for a moment to watch as he squirmed and moaned under Hyunjin's touch; "I think he's ready for you." Chan tells Hyunjin. Hyunjin pulls his fingers out, smirking when he hears Felix whine in protest. As Hyunjin smears lube onto his cock, Chan hovers over Felix's cock waiting for the right moment. 

Once Hyunjin is well lubricated, he teases Felix's entrance with the tip of his cock and watches as Chan kitty licks Felix sending his body into over-sensitivity mode again. The two older members have to hold him down so they can carry out their transgressions properly, each smirking as moans and sighs spill from the younger. "Hyunnie...please..." he nearly begs; he needs to cum so badly it almost hurts but he knows that when he eventually does, it's going to wash over him hard. 

Hyunjin enters Felix nice and slow; moaning as he feels the tightness around him. He has to pause a few times so he doesn't cum from the sheer tightness of Felix's entrance; it's nothing like he's ever felt before. "Fuck Lix... you're so tight. God, I could cum right now" Hyunjin grunts. Chan shakes his head at Hyunjin's words unable to believe that the younger could so easily let himself go before giving Felix the ride of his life. 

Once Hyunjin bottoms out, Chan sucks Felix's cock into his mouth as Hyunjin begins thrusting into him. The younger squirmed more than he had been this whole time feeling overwhelmed by all the sensations he was feeling. "How does that feel baby boy? Tell daddy how he makes you feel." Hyunjin tells him, Felix can only manage a few moans and sighs in response. Chan looks up at Hyunjin and questions him about the use of 'daddy'. 

Hyunjin just shrugs not wanting to explain that he's secretly been dreaming about the day he'd get to fuck Felix like this, having him whimpering and moaning under him, having him call him daddy in order to get what he wants. Hyunjin didn't think he was that kind of person but when it came to Felix; he could easily become someone different. Chan feels Felix pulsating in his mouth and eases up on the sucking wanting Hyunjin to get closer to his release before they bring Felix to his. 

"Mmmm...d-daddy... please... harder" Felix moans as Hyunjin laces their fingers together. Chan is completely shocked by how the two younger members are acting with each other, he had no idea they'd both have a daddy kink yet here they were. He'd be lying if he said it wasn't hot as hell even though he'd be a little weirded out being called daddy himself. Hyunjin happily obliges to Felix's begging and thrusts into him harder and harder. 

Felix runs his nails up and down Hyunjin's arms, his moans increasing in pitch and volume as he feels himself getting closer and closer to his release. Chan recognizes the tone and starts sucking him off again, taking him deep into his throat and swallowing around him as he moans; the vibrations from his vocal cords coursing through Felix. Hyunjin grips onto Felix's thighs so he can hit his sweet spot over and over again; he too feels his release getting closer. 

Chan begins stroking himself as he sucks hard on Felix's cock, the pulsating of the member indicating how close he was to his orgasm. "I'm gonna... c-cum... daddy... please..." Felix whines, his stomach tightening as his looming orgasm begins to rise. "Daddy too baby... cum for me. Cum into your leader's mouth, make me fill you up." Hyunjin moans out. All this dirty talk has Chan feeling on edge too though his mouth is too preoccupied to let them know that. 

With a few more thrusts and hard sucks the two older members have Felix shaking when he finally cums hard; releasing into Chan's mouth as his moans become high-pitched and breathy. "That's it baby... oh fuck," Hyunjin moans feeling Felix tighten around him. It doesn't take much longer before Hyunjin spills his release deep inside Felix with a loud grunt; Chan continues to suck Felix clean of his release as he cums all over his hand. 

It takes several minutes before Chan lets Felix's cock slide out of his mouth; his breath slows to a normal pace as he tucks himself back into his shorts. Hyunjin had laid on top of Felix once his release had stopped and Felix was still shivering; his body was completely overly sensitive. Standing up, Chan hits the stop button on his laptop to end the audio recording. He doesn't bother listening to it knowing he'll have to edit out all their talking later. 

Slowly Hyunjin pulls out of Felix and starts gathering their clothes from the floor, Felix on the other hand makes no effort to move even an inch. He's completely blissed out and just lies on the couch panting softly trying to pull himself back down to Earth. "So Chan... how do you think the recording came out?" Hyunjin asks as he steps into his sweatpants. "I'm sure it's fine, I'll have to listen to it later though - can't really spend the time on a second round." he winks. 

As Hyunjin gets himself dressed, Chan takes Felix's clothes and helps the younger get dressed. Sleep slowly threatened to take him over; "Is our baby boy tired now? Hyunjin fucked you so good didn't he?" Felix nods, "Too good...want more...too sleepy" Hyunjin chuckles. "You just came super hard and you still want more?" Chan asks as he pulls Felix into his lap and slowly rocks him from side to side. 

Felix nods but the feeling of being rocked in Chan's arms just makes him more sleepy and he eventually falls asleep on Chan's chest. "I cannot wait to hear what you recorded," Hyunjin whispers as he clicks around the laptop a bit. "What are you doing?" the older asks. "Just sending a preview of the clip to Jisung" Hyunjin replies with a sinister look on his face. In less than three minutes, Jisung opens the door with his phone in his hand and the clip pulled up on the screen. 

"How could you get Felix to moan like that without me?" He pouts. Hyunjin softly chuckles as he places his hand on the younger's shoulder, "Next time Ji, we promise." 

[nickeverdeen]

Hey, so it’s ok if you can’t because you’re not too into the character but I’m like desperate for some Luther (tua) content. Could you maybe do like some what would it be like dating head canons or something? It could be like they both work at a club and she just bar tends or is the manager or something. Sorry if this is a bit rambly, as I said I am in need of any form of Luther content.<3

Hi! Honestly, it’s fine I don’t mind doing him that much 🫶

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Club manager fem!reader x Employee!Luther hcs

Luther might look intimidating, but he’s a total softie around you, often surprising you with sweet gestures

At first, he’d be a bit awkward, stumbling over words or overthinking every interaction, afraid of messing things up

Even though you’re his manager, he takes his job very seriously, and he respects you so much in a professional setting

Luther has a strong work ethic and often takes care of things before you even ask, like staying late to make sure everything’s set for the next day

He’d be devoted to you, the type of guy who would stand by you no matter what, always in your corner

His hugs are warm and secure, and he’s likely the kind to pull you into a hug anytime he senses you’re stressed

Expect a lot of cheesy compliments and nervous chuckles when he tries to flirt

After a shift, he’d suggest grabbing a late-night meal together, finding it comforting to debrief after a long day with you.

Luther insists on walking you to your car or waiting with you until your ride arrives

He’s not overly pushy and respects your boundaries, sometimes to a fault—he needs you to make the first move sometimes

He remembers everything you say and uses it to make your life easier, like bringing you coffee just the way you like it.

Luther constantly reassures you of your capabilities and celebrates every accomplishment, no matter how small

If the club is empty, he might pull you into a slow dance to whatever song is playing

He’s often caught just gazing at you when you’re focused on work, totally entranced

If anyone at the club gives you trouble, Luther’s always close by, offering backup and ready to handle any situation.

Little touches, like his hand on your lower back as he leads you through a crowd, are his way of showing he cares

His idea of romance includes fixing things for you, running errands, and showing up when you need him most

He’s got a classic gentleman side, like holding doors and offering his jacket if you’re cold

His love language might lean toward acts of service, helping with tasks or supporting you however he can

He can actually be really funny when he’s comfortable, and he loves making you laugh

Even during a hectic night at the club, he’s calm, collected, and reassuring

Luther would randomly surprise you with snacks when you’re both working late

On days off, he’s all for staying in and watching movies with you, preferably action or sci-fi

He’d give you shy but heartfelt compliments, catching you off guard with how genuine he is

Working together at the club, you’ve got this unspoken connection where you help each other without even needing to ask

When he’s not with you, he sends little check-in texts or pictures of things that remind him of you

He treats the club staff with genuine kindness, gaining their respect and showing his true character

He might surprise you with flowers or take you on simple dates that feel sweetly vintage

Luther’s aware of the potential chaos in a club and sticks close to you, keeping an eye out

If he ever makes a mistake or upsets you, his apologies are immediate and heartfelt

Though he’s fine with the club’s hustle, he appreciates quiet moments together

You may not notice, but he’s often subtly guarding you in social situations

Once he’s committed, his loyalty is unmatched—he’s got your back no matter what

During late nights at the club or in the quiet hours afterward, he’d open up about his dreams and fears