#his reaction is ‘we have another mystery on our hands’ ‘let’s look for clues’

[ilovefredjones]

today my friend told me about the theory that the reason fred doesn’t have a catch phrase is because he DOESNT GET SCARED????? AND THATS WHY HE ALWAYS SPLITS UP WITH DAPHNE AND VELMA????????? HOW AM I JUST HEARING ABOUT THIS??????????

[xjoonchildx]

snapshot | jhs x reader

summary: after a day at the beach, hoseok has some surprises in store for his longtime love

pairing: hoseok x reader

genre: fluff, smut, fluff OH MY GOD SO MUCH FLUFF y'all i apologize

word count: 4.7K

notes: this fic is a commission fic for the lovely @wwilloww as part of the @armyadvocates fundraising initiative to stop hate crimes against AAPI. miss willow asked for an old house, candles and soft smut as well as a mystery box. i did my best to deliver on all counts because willow is amazing and deserves all good things.

thanks go to @hobi-gif @ladyartemesia and @btsarmy9593 for beta reading parts of this story, thanks so much for keeping me on track ladies! a very special shoutout to @sahmfanficbts who helped me come up with a very *key* part of this plot.

warnings: no one dies? no one is in danger of dying? who am i? standard smut, unprotected sex. liberal sunscreen use. low air quality due to paint fumes and sawdust. references to yoongi, who we can assume is cranky offscreen, references to @untaemedqueen first suggestion of what was in the box.

Warm.

Hoseok is so warm right now, inside and out. He stretches his long body out on the length of his beach lounger, enjoying the feeling of the sun beating down on his skin. His buzz is mellow and pleasant. He lets his eyes drift shut, lulled into a lazy calm by the sounds he can hear all around him.

The steady lap of the waves against the shore. Kids laughing as they run around on the sand. Off in the distance, a bluetooth speaker thumps out a song that’s too far away for him to recognize. And after a few minutes, another sound.

Your bright laughter, carried to him on the breeze.

God, he loves that sound.

“You are such a lightweight,” you tease. Hoseok can hear the smile in your voice. “Two beers and you pass out on me.”

He cracks one eye open to find you standing beside his lounger. The early evening sunlight streams through the strands of your dark hair and warms your bronzed skin, bathing you in a kind of golden halo. He gazes up at you, languid and content.

“I’m not passed out,” he argues with a slow grin. “I’m relaxing. Come relax with me.”

Hoseok doesn’t give you a chance to accept his offer, leaning up to grab your hand and pull you down into the narrow space beside him. You laugh when he wraps his arms and legs around you like a starfish, pulling your back flush against his chest.

“I’m just enjoying the perfect day,” he murmurs, nosing at the back of your ear, “With my perfect girl.”

“Flatterer.”

Hoseok can’t see you rolling your eyes, but he knows you’re doing it anyway. Just like he can’t see the way you flush and he knows you’re doing that, too.

“We should eat,” you say after a while, shivering when he strokes the pads of his fingers up the soft skin of one bare leg. “Grab something before we have to take the bikes back.”

Hoseok hums under his breath as he slides his palm up the curve of your thigh, boldly searching for trouble under the hem of your sundress. You bat his hand away and he laughs, hugging you tighter.

“Alright,” he agrees in a whisper, ghosting his lips down the nape of your neck. You jolt in his arms when he sinks his teeth into the curve of your shoulder, nipping playfully. “Just a quick bite.”

There’s not much difference between a sundress and a négligée is there?

Certainly not from where Hoseok is sitting, anyway.

He studies you as he rides close behind, watching the way your hair whips in the breeze as you pedal. One delicate sundress strap slips down your sun-warmed shoulder, exposing just a bit more of your back. Then the wind grabs a hold of your sheer skirt, lifting it just long enough for Hoseok to get a glimpse of the pretty white panties underneath.

God, he loves those panties.

Could stare at them all day, really.

But instead he forces himself to pedal faster and take the lead, grinning when you take note of his advance and glare. It’s for the best because while you think this is just some meandering evening ride, he’s the only one who knows where you’re really headed. For the best because if he falls off his bike and breaks his face because he’s too busy staring at your ass, the entire night will be ruined before it has the chance to start.

It’s quiet on this street just a few blocks from the shore.

Dolmeori Beach is rockier, more wooded than the beaches preferred by most tourists and that’s always suited Hoseok just fine. When he was a kid, he’d steal away when the weather was warm and hop the train here from Gwangju any chance he got.

It’s always felt like his place, his personal piece of sea and sand.

Pine trees loom high over the pavement, canopies so dense they block out much of the waning sunlight streaming down from above. The shade beneath the leaves makes the heat bearable, but it also makes it hard to judge the time. Hoseok steals a quick look at his watch.

Right on schedule. He hopes Yoongi followed his instructions to the letter.

“Hurry up, slowpoke,” he teases over his shoulder, and he chuckles at the sound of frustration you make as you pedal faster to catch up. It takes a few seconds for you to coast into position at his side.

“You still haven’t told me where we’re going,” you fuss, “Wanna clue me in?”

Hoseok turns his head to smile at you, sly like a fox.

“You’ll find out when we get there.”

The realtor had said the place would need a little love.

Turns out, it needs a lot more than a little. But Hoseok was able to see right past the weathered wooden porch and salt air-worn paint right away. When he found this place online, he knew it was the one.

He slows his bike to a stop as the two of you make your approach, taking note of the warm light that glows just behind the frosted glass pane in the front door. Looks like Yoongi came through.

“What is this place?” you ask, skidding to a stop beside him. You stand over your bike on tiptoes as you survey the house, brow knit in confusion.

“It’s a surprise,” Hoseok grins, hopping off his bike. He shoves the kickstand into place and offers you his hand, which you accept with a suspicious smile. “Wanna go in?”

“Yeah sure,” you shrug. “We’ve probably already stolen these bikes. What’s a little breaking and entering on top of that?”

Hoseok laughs, leading the way to the front door.

He cringes when the porch floorboards creak loudly beneath his feet, making a mental note to put that project next on his to-do list. You stand with arms crossed, watching silently as he crouches down to lift the mat at the front door, fingers feeling beneath for the concealed key.

You stop him with fingers wrapped around his forearm when he gets to his feet.

“Wait,” you whisper frantically. “We can’t just walk into someone’s house, Hoseok.”

He chuckles before leaning down to kiss the adorable confusion right off your face. Then he slides his key into the lock and pushes the door wide open.

“Not someone’s house,” he corrects, watching you peer skeptically inside.

You step slowly through the threshold and scan the candle-lit front room before turning to him with wide eyes.

“Our house.”

“You bought a beach house.”

It’s the third time you’ve said it by now, and not once has the hushed observation been directed at Hoseok. You said it when you brushed your fingertips over the freshly-dried spackle on the living room wall, said it again as you passed your hand over the base coat of stain on the mantle over the fireplace.

You say it again as you turn to him, jaw slack with disbelief.

“You bought a beach house.”

“Yeah,” Hoseok admits sheepishly, uncertain of your reaction. He tries to see the room the way you must see it now, candles and tools scattered across the tables, floors covered in drop cloths, cans of paint and plaster stacked up in the corners.

Yoongi had done a decent job of clearing up most of the clutter before he left, but judging by the astonishment on your face, he’s probably been romanticizing the mess in here.

He’d really hoped to have a lot more done the first time he brought you here, but he’s learned the hard way that some home renovation projects don’t go as smoothly in real life as they do on YouTube. The process has been a bit of trial and error, with a lot more error than he’d originally counted on.

“I know it doesn’t look like a whole lot right now,” he says, rubbing awkwardly at the back of his neck, “But it’s going to look great when I’m done. Yoongi helped me sand all week.”

You shake your head like you’re coming out of a daze.

“Oh my god Hoseok, no -- ” you vow with a shaky laugh, “ -- no, this is incredible. This is amazing. I’m in shock.”

“Yeah?” Hoseok grins, relief melting over him. “I wanted it to be a surprise. I wanted -- ”

“ -- Wait,” you interrupt, one brow quirked high as you step closer. “You said… you said something important. You said this was our house.”

“Did I?”

You narrow your dark eyes at him and he chuckles uncomfortably, nerves kicking in for the first time tonight. The feeling -- and the occasion both call for more booze. Which he’s prepared for.

“Are you going to give me a tour?” you ask.

“Later,” he says. “After.”

“After what, Hoseok? You’re killing me slowly with all this suspense.”

“Hang out here for a second,” he instructs, ducking into the small kitchen. “I’ll be right back.”

It takes him no time at all to find the bottle of Moet he’s stashed in the fridge and the clean champagne flutes tucked away into the corner of his dutifully-dusted kitchen cabinet. He double-checks the contents of the box on the counter, making sure everything is in place.

Then he takes a deep breath.

Your brows lift in surprise when he walks back into the room with that box in his hands. You watch him set it down on the floor, saying nothing when he turns back to retrieve the champagne and glasses.

When he finally returns, you’re on your knees -- examining the package. Lips pursed thoughtfully as you press your fingers to the gold flecks on the fabric lid.

“Hoseok,” you whisper, flicking your gaze up to find his. “I have so many questions right now.”

You look so damned beautiful in this candlelight -- like you brought your golden glow from the beach indoors. Like you absorbed the sun’s rays and you’re emitting them now like some kind of superpower.

“Have a drink with me,” he murmurs, “And I’ll answer them.”

Something in the room shifts then; the temperature changes. The silly fun of the afternoon evaporates, leaving behind something heavy and heady. Hoseok knows you feel it too, when your half-smile slowly drops and you pull your lower lip between your teeth.

“Okay,” you agree softly, “Let’s have a drink.”

You watch him with those focused dark eyes as he pops the champagne. The drink bubbles over the lip of both flutes as he pours, on account of his haste and shaky hands. Then you take one of the glasses in hand and offer him the other, which he quickly accepts.

“To this surprise housewarming,” you declare, raising your flute for a toast.

Hoseok clinks his glass against yours, taking note of the way you watch him carefully over the lip of your glass as you’re tilting back the flute to take a sip. He decides he can’t keep you -- or himself -- in suspense any longer.

“You know how special you are to me, right?”

You make a face.

“Did you bring me to your new house to break up with me?”

Hoseok’s startled laugh turns into a cough and tears prick his eyes as champagne bubbles blaze a path up his sinuses.

“Yes,” he says dryly, once he’s managed to collect himself. “I figured dumping you by candlelight sounded like the most romantic option.”

You tip your head back when you laugh, light playing off the curve of your neck, your collarbones, the tiny gold pendant that sits in the pretty dip at the base of your throat.

God, he loves your skin.

Hoseok looks at you long and hard before lifting his flute to take a long drink.

“This is for you,” he says quietly, acknowledging the box out loud for the first time.

“What’s in it?”

“A human head,” Hoseok snorts, flinching when you reach over to pinch his leg. “Don’t be a pain. Just open it.”

Your eyes light with excitement as you smooth your hands over the lid and Hoseok can’t help but smile. But your excitement turns into confusion the moment you open the box and find the neat row of plain white envelopes inside.

“What is this?”

“Quit asking me questions,” Hoseok deadpans, pouring himself another drink. He tops off your glass, too. “And start at the front.”

You shake your head with a wry smile as you work the first envelope open, slipping your fingers in between the paper folds to fish out the contents inside. Hoseok sips his champagne as you produce the polaroid photo, head cocked to the side as you study it.

It was cold that day, he remembers that. You’d been bundled up in a pretty scarf and matching belted coat. In the photo, the mid-morning sun flares behind you, illuminating your profile as you squint up at a display of laminated menus.

“This is me,” you murmur, mouth quirking into a disbelieving smile, “At the coffee truck outside of work.”

“Yup.”

“We’d just started dating.”

“Yup.”

“How did you take this without me noticing?”

“Easy,” Hoseok laughs. “You stared at that menu for five minutes straight. I’ve never seen someone take coffee selection so seriously. Thought you were gonna order the most complicated drink in history.”

You roll your eyes but you laugh. So does he.

“Turn it over.”

You flip the polaroid over in your hands, eyes moving over the neat block handwriting on the back.

coolest girl i ever met

“This is the day I knew I liked you,” Hoseok murmurs, “Like, really liked you.”

Your eyes are a bit glassy when you look up at him now, the corner of your mouth tugging into a soft smile.

“You were that sure that fast, huh?” “Yeah,” he admits, scratching self-consciously at the back of his neck. “Yeah, I was.”

You move onto the next envelope, this time prepared when you pull out yet another polaroid picture. This one is harder to place, taken in the dark, mostly black but for a few splashes of vivid light.

“I don’t know this one,” you frown, ghosting your finger across one particularly colorful blur of red and gold. “I can’t make it out.”

You turn the polaroid over, looking once again for Hoseok’s neat block letters.

she’s into me

You laugh out loud.

“That was the lantern festival in Cheonggyecheon,” Hoseok explains. “I’d invited you, but you’d had plans, remember? And I was just going to get Yoongi to go with me but you called me last minute to say you’d decided to come.”

“I remember,” you say with a smile. “Yeri invited me to a movie, but I cancelled on her. I wanted to hang out with you instead.”

“Yeah, well that’s the night I knew you really liked me.”

“Cocky,” you smirk, reaching for another envelope. “But warranted.”

Your eyes light with recognition the moment you pull the next picture out. You’re crouched down at the edge of his mother’s koi pond, one finger making ripples on the surface of the water.

“First time we ever went to Gwangju together,” you muse quietly. “First time I met your parents.”

You flip the polaroid over.

pretty sure my mom loves her more than she loves me

“Okay, this might actually be true,” you tease, taking a sip of your champagne. “Your mom and dad love me.”

“Yeah, well that was the day I decided I loved you, too,” Hoseok chuckles. “The point where I kind of knew there was no turning back.”

You look up from the photograph then, eyes glassy with emotion when they find his. Candlelight flickering across your face as you look at him fondly.

“You still feel that way?”

“Hell yeah, I do,” he laughs, scrubbing a hand down his face. “Keep going.”

The next polaroid is a selfie of Hoseok in bed but it’s by no means sexual. There are dark circles under his eyes and his skin has a sallow tint. Next to his pillow, the bedside table is littered with cold medicine and empty cups.

“Is this when you had the flu?” you ask, flipping the polaroid over. The neat block lettering on the back confirms your theory.

she took care of me

“You were so pitiful,” you laugh, shaking your head at the memory. “Wrapped up in your blankets like a burrito. I swear, men have zero tolerance for discomfort.”

“I nearly died,” Hoseok protests dramatically. “But you dropped everything to come take care of me. That’s the day I knew you loved me, too.”

Your smile is brilliant now, open and sweet as you reach for the last remaining envelope. Hoseok takes another swig of champagne, slugging it down as you pull out the polaroid and study the image.

You are wearing your delicate sundress, leaned up against the wooden railing that separates the sand and rocks. Standing just next to your bike, nose in the air as you breathe in the salt carried on the wind.

“This is today,” you murmur, brows knitting together when you flip the picture over and find the back side blank. “And you haven’t written anything here.”

“Yeah, well,” Hoseok starts and stops, clearing his throat. “I haven’t had a chance to write it in yet.”

“Oh.”

“That’s the day I asked you to marry me.”

“Oh.”

You blink. Once, then again. Hoseok can hear the shaky breath you take in when your mouth parts in surprise. He sets his champagne flute down, sufficiently bolstered by the booze.

“So that’s what I’m doing right now. I’m asking you to marry me.”

You’re still mute with shock, eyes wide as they go from Hoseok to the picture and back to Hoseok again.

“But uh, the longer you don’t say anything, the less confident I feel about this entire plan,” he chuckles awkwardly.

You take him off balance when you throw yourself at him, wrapping your arms around his neck and your thighs around his waist. He keeps you both from toppling over with a palm flat to the floor, laughing as you pepper his face with kisses.

“So is that a yes?”

“Yes,” you sigh, pressing your lips to his temple, his neck, his jaw. “Yes. To you and to these amazing pictures and to this beach house. Yes to all of it.”

You pull away from him to grab the champagne, eyes flashing mischievously as you take a drink straight from the bottle. “Yes to champagne, too.”

Hoseok feigns shock. “Naughty.”

You kiss him deeply then, thoroughly, enough for him to feel the remnants of the carbonation on your tongue. You tease him with a barely there roll of your hips and his cock responds instantaneously, at the mercy of the warm friction he can feel straight through the thin material of his board shorts.

“You know what I’m thinking?” you murmur against his mouth.

“I think I’ve got a pretty good idea, yeah,” Hoseok chuckles, sucking a breath between his teeth when you bite the skin just below his ear.

“We have a lot to celebrate, right?” you reason, tone light. “But we came here for a housewarming.”

You lean back just far enough to pull your sundress over your head, tossing it carelessly aside, leaving you in nothing but those pretty white panties he loves so much.

“So we should warm it.”

Hoseok grins, pulling the champagne bottle out of your grip. He turns it up just like you did, finishing what’s left before setting it back down.

“I like the way you think.”

The only bedroom in this house is buried beneath a two-inch thick layer of sawdust right now.

Not that making it to a bedroom seems high on your list of priorities.

The fact that you’re both sitting on top of a drop cloth on Hoseok’s living room floor isn’t stopping you from threading your fingers into his hair, slipping your tongue into his mouth, grinding against his lap.

“You’re full of surprises, aren’t you?” you laugh, pressing your bare breasts to his chest once he’s managed to untangle himself from your limbs long enough to shrug out of his shirt. Your pebbled nipples drag across the lithe planes of his chest and his cock jumps in his shorts.

“Clever.”

“That’s me,” Hoseok murmurs against your lips, deft fingers slipping beneath the damp cotton between your thighs. He slides the pad of one long finger across your wet slit and you gasp, rocking against it.

“Gotta get you out of these panties,” he laments, pulling one nipple into his mouth and working it with his teeth. You shudder in his hold. “Quick.”

“What are you in such a hurry for?” you tease, circling your hips to chase the perfect pressure of his fingertips. “We have all night.”

“We have about three more minutes if you keep grinding on me like this,” Hoseok laughs, shifting your bodies to lean you back onto the floor. “So give me a break because I want to enjoy this.”

You lie back for him dutifully, dark hair spilling onto the drop cloth around you, skin gleaming in the candlelight. Your gold pendant twinkles at the base of your neck.

God, he loves the way you look like this.

Flushed with excitement and anticipation. Like a feast laid out just for him. He rids himself of those pesky board shorts as fast as he can, leaning over you on hands and knees.

“You’re gonna marry me,” he muses, burying his face into the soft skin under your jaw. “You already said yes, can’t take it back now.”

Your laughter is echoing in his ears as he trails hot, open-mouthed kisses along the curve of your neck, across the bronzed planes of your shoulder. He can taste the day on your skin; the ocean salt and sunscreen mixed with that flavor that’s so uniquely you.

“I don’t want to take it back,” you sigh, whimpering when Hoseok kisses a path down the velvety skin between your breasts. He travels lower, kissing just below your bellybutton as he starts working your panties off with one hand. “I’m gonna keep you.”

Hoseok chuckles as he tosses your panties away, off to somewhere unimportant. What’s important is the way you take a deep breath and hold it when his mouth hovers coyly over your cunt.

“Look at me,” he directs, peering up at you from beneath heavy eyelids. You open your eyes to meet his gaze, candlelight dancing over your pretty face.

“I love you,” he breathes, lowering his mouth to make contact with your clit. The air leaves your lungs in that moment, a soft exhalation of air that makes the hairs on the nape of his neck stand on end.

“I love you too,” you sigh, hips jerking at the contact, fingers digging hard into his hair. “So much.”

He knows you by now, knows how you like to be touched. Your rhythmic panting goes a bit ragged, when he slides two fingers into your cunt, crooking up to stroke you the way you like while his mouth works your clit.

God, he loves this part.

The part where you lose any semblance of control. The desperate sounds you make when you start to come apart beneath his mouth and hands.

“Hoseok -- “ your voice is strangled when you call out, “ -- Hobi, I’m gonna come.”

Something about the way you say his name goes straight to his dick. He grits his teeth when your nails dig almost painfully into his scalp as you start to tremble, shuddering against his mouth.

“That’s it, baby,” he soothes, pinning your hips down with his strong hands, keeping you from pulling away from the pleasure that borders on pain. “That’s it. Sound so good when you come for me.”

Hoseok stays face first in your cunt, nose and tongue pressed against you, until he’s certain the last wave has come and gone. Between his own legs, his cock pulses painfully, leaking pre-come at the thought of finally being inside of you.

Your body twitches with the aftershocks of your release as he slowly kisses his way up your thighs, your mound, your stomach.

“How was that?” he asks with a teasing tilt to his mouth, stealing your ability to answer when he kisses you deeply, fitting his slim hips between your legs. He reaches down to grab his stiff cock, sliding it across your slick entrance. You clamp your thighs together to tighten the drag and he groans at the friction.

“Amazing,” you sigh, dragging your nails over his ass, up the lean muscles of his back. “Perfect. You should let me return the favor.”

His dick practically jumps at the suggestion, stomach contracting hard at the prospect of feeling your pretty mouth wrapped around it. But Hoseok is too worked up, too riled up by the alcohol and the excitement.

“Can’t tonight,” he pants, arousal shooting up his spine when you wrap one hand around his now-wet cock. You pump him lazily, trailing soft bites from his jaw to his shoulder. “Need to be inside of you.”

“Yeah, I’m ready for that too,” you admit, guiding the blunt head of his cock to your entrance.

He surges forward then, pushing past the tight grip of your fingers, groaning as he’s enveloped completely by your warm cunt. You whimper at the stretch, locking your legs around him, gasping when he bottoms out.

He pulls back to the tip only to drive in again, earning another strangled moan. You’re squirming beneath him, breathless and dewy, looking like some kind of wet dream.

“I’ll never get over how good it feels to be inside of you,” Hoseok admits, burying himself as deep as he humanly can into you.

You’re so wet he can feel you spilling out onto the base of his dick and for one fleeting moment he wishes you knew how good this feels for him. How wet and hot and tight you feel around him. How being inside of you like this makes his brain go haywire, reduces him to only instinct and need.

You lift your hips to meet each snap of his, the wet sound of your joining echoing off the walls in this mostly empty house.

He hears you moaning his name in between the other sounds you make, in between the panting and mewling that makes his balls tighten. You grip his forearms as he grinds against you, kissing you in between desperate breaths.

“I think I’m gonna come again,” you gasp against his mouth. “Don’t stop.”

“Oh, fuck,” Hoseok groans, pulling back to get to his knees. He hooks one of your legs over the crook of one strong forearm, using his one free hand to press a thumb to your clit. His rhythm falters as he watches himself slide in and out of you, hypnotized by the sight of his body joined to yours.

You lift your ass off the floor, back arching as you chase the pressure of his fingers. Hoseok strokes you desperately, feeling his orgasm looming menacingly at the base of his cock. It takes just a few more strained pumps of his hips to set you off.

The second he feels you clamp down around him, Hoseok folds back over you, arms braced on either side of you as he thrusts through his own orgasm. He shuts his eyes and groans as he empties his cock inside of you, thrusting until he can’t anymore.

He collapses onto you, heart racing as he tries to catch his breath.

“Don’t leave me,” you groan when Hoseok peels his damp skin away from yours to get to his feet.

He strides across the room, completely nude, grinning when you turn onto your side and go up on one elbow to ogle him.

“Just for a second,” he calls out, pulling out every unorganized drawer in the kitchen until he finally comes across a pen. “Gotta finish something.”

He makes a show of holding it in the air as he walks back into the living room, opening the gold-flecked box, and pulling out the last unmarked polaroid photo.

You’re smiling the entire time you watch him pen the last caption on the last photograph.

she said yes

tag list!

@japzalileo @dionysusrage @hey-itsmina @myimaginationsrunningwild @hauntedlilies @spring2787 @suppbeccc @veronawrites @minyoongiboongi @katbonv

[sorenzi]

VnC: What is Love? Grandpa de Sade and the relationships between teacher and student, the adult and the child

This is a really rough draft of the theory but I need to brain dump somewhere cause I have a an actual case study to finish writing. (An actual case study for my real life work not VnC.)

So this builds up on the theory that Teacher is Paracelsus. There are a few clues that state Teacher and Paracelsus are one in the same. The world formula is described to be twinkling stars like constellations as Noe visualizes them. In Noe’s childhood memory, Teacher told the history about the world formula, vampires and Babel to Noe. 

In our perspective it is safe to say that Teacher is also very likely to withhold information as Ruthven hinted to Noe when he first visit Castle Carbunculus with Vanitas. There’s also a panel where Noe is called to the rooftop breakfast with Vanitas where he comments that the ability of tinkering with the world formula is amazing (something along the lines of that). Vanitas has a solemn look but changes the subject afterward. This is likely another hint that there is something about the Babel incident the audience, Noe, Domi and other vampires don’t know about. (Or at least the younger vampires don’t). Also is very likely that these are the memories about the Vampire/Babel origins that Vanitas can’t ever share with anyone.)

Teacher and Paracelsus is shown to to be connected to such stars when they are introduced in the story. Much like how Teacher has two stars on his cane, and such star decorations are within his mansion (like Domi and Louis’s childhood bedroom). These stars are also shown in the mysterious parts or shadows in Noe’s Volume 2 art where Teacher extends his hands These stars are somewhat similar to how the world formula is drawn in the novel.

So let’s assume the theory that Teacher = Paracelsus is correct. We know Paracelsus researched the world formula with the ideal that there would be potential to eradicate all diseases in humankind, perhaps creating the ideal world that would become a paradise that ceases the suffering he saw in the late  15th century. 

Instead Paracelsus and his colleagues created the largest calamity that brought out strange materials and beings that weren’t there before, which we know to be Astermite, Vampires and the bio-luminous flowers that grow where the world formula had been tinkered with. I can only imagine what the reaction would have been with Paracelsus waking up as a vampire himself (if he is alive and turned out to be The Teacher.)

If Teacher was turned into a vampire then and there, isn’t he also one of the first vampires then? Faustina is the considered the First Vampire of the Red Moon. It makes sense why he’d be around to serve her before he left to do whatever he’s doing now. But this creates three questions:

What was his relationship to Faustina before they both became vampires? 

Why is Teacher so interested in the Blue Moon Vampire/Book of Vanitas?

Why does Faustina look just like Luna?

Mochijun uses every opportunity to foreshadow parallels in her work whether that be events, relationship or intentions of her characters. My guess, is that Faustina is Grandpa de Sade’s biological child or student when they were human. I suspect Teacher is trying to revive Faustina (if she’s even dead or whatever at this point) just like how Chloe and her father had all those centuries ago. The research is not successful and Chloe has come to terms of her identity as a vampire and her desire to be loved as she is. At the end of the day, awakening as a vampire when she was 4 years old was out of her control, there wasn’t much she could do since the rest of the research team has died at her castle and it was only her and Jean-Jaquces.

But Teacher is different. He has the academic background to do the research, caused and witnessed Babel happening as an adult. While he plays the observer role, he lets the other vampires do the work and is seeing if he has some control or ability to change the results. He may be trying to revert Faustina to her human form.

This would make sense why Teacher chooses to be a mysterious character if whatever he’s plotting he doesn’t want anyone to stop him or muck with his plans. Ruthven believes Teacher’s intentions aren’t clear but it may very well be the same, just of different purposes. Perhaps the other vampires are unaware of  Teacher and Faustina’s relation, (since she’s been ‘dead’ for a while). This would make sense why he put his adopted family and grandchildren into his previous position of power to retain an eye on the power play happening within the Senate and matters to Faustina as he does his distant observations.

For the other two questions, on why Teacher is interested in the Book of Vanitas, and why Faustina and Luna look the same, there are two possibilities that occur here:

Faustina and Luna are twins, therefore, Luna will also be a child of Teacher’s.

Luna is the remains of Faustina’s consciousness or will. (If they are the same person.)

Veronica has introduce the concept of twins in vampire lore to be a symbolism of misfortune. This is a recurring theme in Jun’s work, where those representing misfortune are shunned by society. (Like Lacie, Break and Vincent in Pandora Hearts.) In the case of VnC, it is Louis and Dominique. Since few vampires know of Louis’s existence, they were told that Louis was a year older than Domi, and therefore the knowledge of their twin status is unknown. Domi could still have a normal life in public and the de Sades wouldn’t have their name dragged into the mud.

So, if Faustina and Luna are twins, why did Luna not have a name previously to meeting human Vanitas and Misha? Who gave them the name Vanitas?

Faustina’s name is a latin word meaning ‘fortune’, which is ironic to concept of misfortune here. The blue moon is also a symbol of misfortune here. My guess is that Faustina is actually her true vampire name, and her human name is something else. 

Faustina could have likely forgotten what happened during Babel, but Luna is likely to remember the true origins. Since we see Luna not to be the menacing character history made them out to be, I believe Luna had a disagreement with the other older vampires, Faustina and maybe Teacher about how to manage a society with normal humans and enhanced humans (vampires) and left. The rest of vampire society ‘casted’ out Luna, and they’ve had a reason to create the Book of Vanitas. Not quite sure about the moon colours here, but Luna turned out  to be a different sort of vampire than the other ones and may have to deal with other abnormalities in their vampire awakening. Somewhere along the way lost their concept of humanity they were born with (or memories of it) and which is why they don’t ‘have’ a name or abandoned it after losing sense of humanity, so they’ve accepted the name ‘Vanitas’, which is likely to echo the empty feeling of lost humanity or character from the inside.

The red moon vampires are likely to feel fortunate due to the powers they possess and expanded lifespan, but Luna must have felt differently about it. The name Vanitas becomes much more meaningful here if they’ve felt totally empty with personal lost of identity and connection to others. (Even more so when they advise a young human Vanitas about how ‘everyone is alone in this world, but one day, even you, who’s forever cold, will find someone to keep you warm.)

The alternate theory is that Luna is Faustina’s human consciousness separated from her physical body. Luna maybe a manifestation that has become another otherworldly being before breaking down, but this is quite a stretch from the theory that Faustina and Luna are likely to be twins.

What is Love?

This was definitely something that Teacher did not teach Noe, but Noe is more than capable of being curious about asking and learning on his own. This begs the question, what would Teacher think the concept of love here then? If Faustina/Luna are children or precious students of Teacher, perhaps Teacher’s goal of bringing ‘Luna’ back to life or turn Faustina back to human are his own actions of love because Babel happened because of him and it turn both of the twins into vampires. Perhaps his desire to reverse the vampires into human is a form of salvation he wishes to grant them as a way to redeem himself for two kids who looked up to him.

But Noe, who is the student to Grandpa de Sade’s teacher role, may switch it up. Because Noe is witnessing acts of love and salvation at the will of others right now. Since he is young, he and Vanitas aren’t so sure what these two mean (you can read a little more about it on my Vanitas/Noe Birth flower post linked on my blog). So if Teacher doesn’t teach him, he can tell or teach his teacher on his observations. This can serve as a turning point in the story too.

I think Teacher also told Noe to seek out the Book of Vanitas in the beginning was to understand why human Vanitas was going around to stop curse bearers and how it relates to Luna’s ‘death’. If Teacher wanted both Faustina and Luna alive, he needed to see what Human Vanitas was doing and had to stop him. Judging from Memoire 54 part 2, it looks like he stopped Misha and their fight because he saw Noe protecting Vanitas and his granddaughter protecting Vanitas too. Both of children that he’s cared for are resisting his current experiment and he’d like to know why.

And if Faustina forgot everything, but Luna didn’t, having Noe around to access those mémoires would be helpful for teacher if there is info that must be accessed. unfortunately, Vanitas won’t let anyone take them from him and Noe doesn’t like to intrude either.

Anyways that is all. I’ll delve a little more into this theory later.

[creativeashproductions]

Songbird Shenanigans // Charlie Gillespie

IN WHICH: The reader will routinely sneak away from her band/hotel to continue her tour shenanigans in parking garages. A way for the young star to return to the stupid years where the concert venue was a car and the mic was the steering wheel. As each city comes and goes with the tour, one thing never changes, driving to parking garages to scream songs at the top of your lungs.

Warnings: Swearing, Mamma Mia songs (oops), and fluff

Words: 4.0k (with lyrics included)

A/N: There’s something endearing about Charlie randomly going a stranger in a duet and dance without a care. This was loosely inspired by the chaotic live they did when Jeremy and Charlie stayed at Owen’s place. I loved Charlie’s tropical shirt giving Animal Crossing vibes.

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Masterlist

A moment you had desired for a while finally came around in Oklahoma City during the free day between the two concerts. The pure quiet away from the interviews, photoshoots and demanding life of a musician. Yet despite wanting this time, you definitely felt bored, which only meant one thing.

A new video for your followers as you had done since the beginning of your successful career. Back before, you had the prominent following you had; now you would travel singing in your car, and then one video got viral. That elevated your following until you had signed a record deal with your brand new agent.

A series was then born of driving at night to the parking lots and garages in the city you temporarily visited. You'd park and sing any suggested songs from a previous video for an hour to see if a fan could find you. It was a fun game you had developed.

Y/N Y/L/N: Another installment of Songbird Shenanigans. From 9pm to 10:30pm, I'll be somewhere in Oklahoma City. Come find me for the prize!

Your agent both hated and loved the series as it brought attention to your career and songs but also was a hazard during the tour. The risk of losing your voice made your agent nervous, but the positives outweigh the negatives.

"What song are you doing?" Maddie asked from her chair in your hotel suite with a ratty book in her hand. Her rich dark hair pulled up in a high bun with a few pieces of bangs pulled down to hang free.

You didn't know if you could do what you do if you didn't have Maddie by your side as your singing partner and chief stylist. Maddie also always knew without looking on social media when you had a new installment coming.

"My most requested video is Train Wreck by-"

"James Arthur." Maddie snickered with her grey eyes pinned to the page she was reading faithfully. The book had seen better days, but it was her absolute favourite one by far and one of the only physical books she had.

"Somehow forgot you had it on repeat for a week straight." You snorted, shoving a hat on your head for warmth. A plain black coat pulled over your arms that matched the warm boots you had chosen, "I'll send you my location."

Maddie waved on hand in response, having known the routine since you first started this fun series. It allowed you a bit of your old life when the concerts you performed was solely in your car with the steering wheel as the microphone.

Judy, your agent, was sitting in the lobby with her binder surrounding her when she looked with a sigh. Without a word, she tossed the keys to the rented car she knew you'd need, so in each city, she rented one. A smile of gratitude shared before you were out the door with your hood up.

"Be careful!" Judy exclaimed just as the sliding doors closed behind you, sending you out in the cold night.

Almost instantly, your cheeks turned a light pink in the cold winter air, even if the walk to the war was short. As requested, the car was a newer model but one that would blend in with other city cars. It made finding you harder, but the windows couldn't be tinted.

"Here's to hoping I get a place with good acoustics." You muttered, starting the hatchback vehicle. Despite the cold winter weather, the road conditions were surprisingly okay, but then again, you were from a small town. Roads were shit in general.

You didn't bother playing music as you used the drive to find a parking garage and warm up your throat. Your vocal coach would have your head if you didn't warm-up, and then Judy would kill you even more.

You lucked out in a parking garage to a building that seemed to be a renovated warehouse with insanely cool windows. The metal was a dark shamrock green with a multitude of small rectangular glass between the metal. The panes swung open upwards in a fascinating design.

"Perfect." You muttered, signalling to turn into the parking garage that was easily accessed and without any trespassing signs. It was desolate, with cars parked here and there in the stalls.

A bright orange Subaru definitely took the cake as the most 'flashy' vehicle among the more nondescript ones. Not that it caught your attention when you lowered your windows marginally while simultaneously clipping the phone onto the dash. Immediately you double-checked for any apparent signs to your location before declaring it safe; with a tap of your finger, your Instagram live began.

"Welcome to another part of our Songbird Shenanigans. This time I'm in Oklahoma City for a two-day concert. The most requested song is Train Wreck by James Arthur."

Laying in the silence

Waiting for the sirens

Signs, any signs I'm alive still

I don't wanna lose it

I'm not getting through this

Hey, should I pray? should I pray

A natural instinct of closing your eyes as you got more into the music occurred. Your voice belted into the garage beautifully. Tons of comments appeared in the insta live chat of both supportive and haters.

username3: I suggested this song!!!

username88: Your voice goes perfectly with the song.

The song came to an end quicker than you would have liked since it was definitely one of your favourites to sing.

Unchain the reactions, I'm not ready to die, not yet

Pull me out of the train wreck

Pull me out, pull me out, pull me out

Pull me out, pull me out, pull me out

No action was helped back from taking a swig of water from the reusable bottle you had brought along. Your eyes scoured the comments for more suggestions or things that stuck out.

"Why don't you include hints in the Songbirds?” You read out from the comment section with a smile barely held back, "Why would I? You all know that my windows are often down, and even the most unoriginal locations have tells. There's been a few people that have found me."

Username13: I think I know where you are (insert heart emoji)

          ↳Username63: username13 where?! How do you know?

          ↳Username13: jatp is streaming all day and the guys are in a car. Same background

Your eyes read the short but interesting conversation between the two different accounts on something called jatp? Whatever that was.

"Any other requests?" You asked, scrolling through the suggestions, "Sing something from jatp? I'm sorry, guys, but I have no clue what that is? Is it a movie? OH! It's a show. My bad."

The comment section was flooded, "Okay! Let me look up the lyrics and the melody!"

Three males: a blonde and two brunettes, walked between the rows of both occupied and unoccupied parking spots. The blonde wearing a black t-shirt with BEANS written across the chest and the brunette with short slicked-back hair crowded the middle guy. All three pairs of eyes watched the iPhone stream the television series.

"I call shotgun!" Owen spoke as the car in question came into view, "We gotta Livestream in the car again!"

"Your neighbour sucks, man." Charlie groaned, nudging Jeremy to unlock the car when the older man hesitated.

"If we're going live in the car, we should cover your license plate," Jeremy suggested to a resounding agreement. 

Charlie drove an obscenely vibrant coloured car that could be picked out quickly, so he didn't need any help in broadcasting his location. Owen grabbed the book from the passenger seat to angle it to lean against the plate.

"Done!" Owen called, racing back to climb into the car with his friends. The blonde-haired man bounced in his seat as the owner of the vehicle set up the screen.

In seconds, the streaming went from the app on the phone to the car's built-in screen to the boys' delight. In a moment of what some may call brilliance and others stupidity Owen went live on Instagram with Charlie joining him swiftly.

"Do you rem-"

Username76: Songbird chose a shitty location.

           ↳Username 39: Or we just got a Hail Mary hint

"Who is Songbird?" Charlie questioned, leaning closer to his friends in the front, catching a few comments.

The comments were mixed among other unrelated ones, but all had Songbird, Shenanigans or both words. The mystery was so intriguing the boys turned down the show to scour the comments for tidbits.

"Wait? Do you hear that?" Jeremy questioned, scanning the parking garage with his blue, green eyes. Soon his head was sticking out the window, "Someone is singing here."

Jeremy's hand turned the key of the car, "Is that-"

"Oh, no." Owen groaned, seeing that specific light appear in Charlie's eyes just as it did each time one of the songs came on. His pink beanie slid around his long blonde locks.

The two guys watched as the second oldest in their group did some kind of shimmy after pushing his phone to Jeremy. Jeremy's hand scrambled to get a grip on the phone as Charlie delved into his love for these songs. Sharing a look, Jeremy and Owen followed the Canadian to a car with a girl singing in the open hatchback car.

(Italics is you! Italics and bold is Charlie and you! Just bold is Charlie!)

When you were lonely, you needed a man.

Someone to lean on, well I understand

It's only natural

But why did it have to be me?

Your eyes remained shut as you neared the middle of the first verse. You completely stopped when a voice joined. Your e/c eyes met the twinkling brown of a handsome guy with the best voice you'd heard in a long time.

Nights can be empty, and nights can be cold

So you were looking for someone to hold

That's only natural

But why did it have to be me?

Your lips parted in a grin as you grabbed the hand being offered to be pulled out of the car; on your way, your hand nudged your phone. Your phone was in a mount attached to the roof of the hatch. When you followed the stranger, the phone turned in perfect view. Your free hand turned to hover over your forehead, legs bending to feign a swoon.

I was so lonesome, I was blue

I couldn't help it, it had to be you and I

Always thought you knew the reason why

Charlie beamed playing being shot by the arrow you pretended to shoot with a grin planted on your own lips. Charlie's hand flirted with your hip as you sashayed around his body from his left to his right. Hand grabbing a first full of his white with light teal with light pink design to tug him chest to chest.

I only wanted a little love affair

Now I can see you are beginning to care

But baby, believe me

It's better to forget me

In turn, Charlie grabbed your wrist to twirl you into his arms straight into an impressive dip with the toe of your shoe pointed to the far wall. Your fingers just barely caressing the rough paved lot.

"I'm Charlie," Charlie murmured during the instrumental between the chorus and the second verse. Your eyes scanned his features with an expression you would later be glad was hidden from the lighting in the garage.

"Y/N." You breathed, clutching his shoulders still low in the dip, hoping subconsciously that your breath was still fresh.

"Wanna finish this?" Charlie spoke, searching your eyes with his own; up close, you could see his eyes were a mixture of colours. You only nodded before he continued singing to the music.

Men are the toys in the game that you play

When you get tired, you throw them away

That's only natural

But why did it have to be me?

"Are you seeing this?" Jeremy whispered to Owen as they watched Charlie literally sweep a stranger off her feet. Owen could only nod as Charlie went into the next verse, still dancing as if he was in Mamma Mia 2.

Falling in love with a woman like you

Happens so quickly, there's nothing to do

It's only natural

But why did it have to be me?

Charlie spun you back away from his body in a graceful twirl your choreographer would be incredibly proud of. The moves you made somehow made sense, with the movements matching the spontaneous duet-er.

I was so lonesome, I was blue

I couldn't help it, it had to be you and I

Always thought you knew the reason why

Once more in his arms dancing, he dipped you once more as you finished the end of the last chorus breathing heavily. The two strangers staring intensely into each other's eyes with an intense look that had tensions in the parking garage.

I only wanted a little love affair

Now I can see you are beginning to care

But baby, believe me

It's better to forget me

"Intense." Owen chuckled as Charlie raised you back onto your feet with a matching grin to yours, "Oh! Look at the comments!"

Username24: Holy shit! They ooze chemistry!!

           ↳Username9: lol, okay Alex. 

"You aren't a viewer, are you?" You breathlessly laughed, taking a step away from Charlie as the music faded away.

The equally breathless spontaneous performing partner laughed as well, "I heard the song and hoped for the best."

"Are you Songbird?" Came a voice from a few feet away. Behind the once upon a time stranger stood two males approaching slowly.

"Oh!" You gasped, turning on your heel to see where your phone was pointing, "Well, that's convenient! One moment."

Jeremy and Owen flanked Charlie as you repositioned the phone at the moment with practised precision. You kept the three people out of the shot for privacy reasons.

"There is about ten minutes away from the end of this installment being over. For the first time since we started this series, I had a duet." You playfully laughed, looking over at the trio, "It's completely up to my sudden partner, but would you like to meet your audience?"

Charlie simply shrugged, "Sure. They've seen you be serenaded by a stranger."

A short laugh came from the three individuals around Charlie as he moved into the camera frame with a large smile. As soon as he was in sight, the comment section went nuts, furthering when Owen and Jeremy came into view.

Username1: DREAM COME TRUE

           ↳Username4: omg jatp in Songbird Shenanigans?? Life accomplished.

You couldn't hold back the snort at the comments you could read quickly as they disappeared after new ones. The three guys couldn't help but chuckle as well.

"I've never seen these guys before. If you could introduce yourselves." You asked the three guests, to which each sent a reassuring smile to your hesitance.

"I'm Charlie Gillespie, and these are my friends Owen Joyner and Jeremy Shada." Charlie took the liberty of introducing both his friends and himself. His heart fluttered at the adorable smile that had appeared on your pretty face.

"I'm afraid this concludes this edition of Songbird." You apologized to the camera as the time passed the allotted hour and a half. The comments turned sad before most of them started sending questions, "I'll let you know when I do another edition! Bye for now!"

Your finger clicked the end button firstly before clicking the save button for when you would upload it to your account later.

"Thank you for doing that. I'm Y/N." You chuckled, shaking hands with Jeremy and Owen, who each grinned back, "So what brought you guys to the parking garage with three phones and a live-action Animal Crossing shirt?"

Amusement was found on all four young adults in the parking garage, pinning a gaze at the material. You had to admit you kinda adored the shirt, or maybe the person wearing it was the reason.

"We're trying to get Julie and the Phantoms to number one again." Owen offered as he displayed the live still going on his phone. 

"That's a tv series. That was the second song I did on the live before Charlie joined the little concert." You told the boys all the while aware that thousands of people watched from the phone still streaming.

"The phone's about to die." Owen piped up, catching the single decimal number broadcasting the percentage. Without any prompting, he ended the live to save it solely for the little performance Charlie did.

"Did you save it?" Jeremy asked, lifting on his tiptoes to check the phone Owen had commanded for the last half hour. Like Owen, Jeremy wanted to save it solely for the stellar performance.

"So, how'd this series start?" Charlie questioned, pushing his hands into his pockets, ignoring the subtle glances of his best friend.

"I needed an escape from touring so many cities. It's reminiscent of the days before I was discovered. When my audience was the dials in my car and my family." You half-smiled, recalling all the times you had simply driven around to sing.

"You're a musician?"

"I am. I'm currently on tour for my second album. Every second or third city I'm performing in, I take the rented car to parking lots or garages to sing. I always have a prize for the fans that find me."

"Could I get your number?" Charlie hesitantly questioned. His features twisting with the manipulation of nerves.

His palms had gone clammy enough to inconspicuously wipe them on his legs; this version of Charlie was unfamiliar. Owen and Jeremy had only ever seen him as this bundle of joy and energy, not to say he didn't have his low days, instead of nervous. Owen slipped his fingers behind his back to cross them. He hoped his Canadian friend would get it.

"You don't leak mine, and I won't leak yours." Your e/c eyes twinkled with the brush of Charlie's warm fingers on your own. The new contact waiting for his information, "Maybe we can meet up with each other?"

"I'd love that."

Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, Unspecified Date

The sounds of screams and heavy instruments blocked by the unique in-ears explicitly made for your ears alone. You'd heaved, catching a breath after such an energetic song you'd just performed for the sold-out venue. You just jogged to the side for a chug of water as your band switched instruments.

"Are you having fun tonight!" You asked the crowd who had fought tooth and nail for tickets. The crowd screamed back louder than before.

Selling out MSG for completely insane even after touring the country with your band three times. It was still a little jarring, going from a nobody with untapped potential to selling out concerts and very successful albums, in all honesty.

"That's what I like to hear!" You beamed, pushing a strand of your unruly hair away from your face. Your eyes momentarily cast to the side stage with the equipment hiding the crew, "I have a surprise for you. A couple years ago, I had a spontaneous duet partner during one of Songbird Shenanigans. I'd like to invite my fiance Charlie out here."

The crowd went nuts as Charlie wandered towards you from the side of the stage away from Owen, Jeremy and Madison. Charlie's hazel eyes scoured the oceans of your e/c eyes he got to wake up to each morning. Mostly when Julie and the Phantoms had been offered to open for you; to be frank, it was more of an unspoken co-headlining.

"Can we tell?" You asked, keeping the mic covered and away from your body. Your body bounced, waiting for the smile from him.

Charlie nodded, accepting the guitar from one of the crew members. It was a song you had written a few months back. Charlie had memorized the entire piece with the deep adoration he felt for it.

The couple perched on the bar stools brought to the middle of the stage with a secret smile. One that only they and their immediate family understood.

Three months ago, you had sat Charlie down in your home to play him a little song that changed everything.

Charlie placed the last bag of groceries on the counter when he felt arms wrap around his midsection. He immediately knew that it was you welcoming him home from a very short trip to the store. In a swift move, he had manoeuvred you to sit on the counter while he scooched himself between your legs.

"Hi." Charlie breathed, rising to press a kiss against the smooth skin of your cheek, leaving heat in its wake.

"I want your opinion on a song." You burst out, unable to refrain from showing him a song you had been secretly working on. The French Canadian was beyond intrigued by the sudden announcement from his fiance.

"Oh?"

"Come." You coaxed the man from the kitchen to the designated music room filled with instruments of all kinds—even a recent addition of a recording booth in the corner with high-end equipment.

You bypassed everything for the grand piano you didn't play as often as you wished to be able to. Your fingers brushed the ivory keys for a mere second before you began playing the melody.

I, I have known love before

I thought it would no more

Take on a new direction

Still, strange as it seems to be

It's truly new to me

That affection

The smile that grew across Charlie's expressive face was uncapturable from the best of the best; he adored your voice. He had a personal ringtone you had explicitly done for him a few months into the relationship.

I, I don't know what you do

You make me think that you

Will change my life forever

I, I'll always want you near

Give up on you, my dear

I will never

You thrill me, you delight me

You please me, you excite me

You're all that

I've been yearning for

I love you, I adore you

I lay my life before you

I only want you more and more

And finally it seems

My lonely days are through

I've been waiting for you

Charlie's frown, however, faltered as your face ever so slightly paled with trepidation coating your pretty irises. Your voice even quivered with nerves he'd never heard before, but it made sense from the third verse started.

I'll carry you all the way

And you will choose the day

When you're prepared to greet me

I'll be a good mum, I swear

You'll see how much I care

When you meet me

You finished the song with the last note drawn out ever so softly, freezing as the room went quiet once more. This song was definitely vulnerable and personal; you felt naked under Charlie's silent stare.

"You're really?" Charlie breathlessly chuckled, his wide eyes screaming disbelief.

After a few years together with an engagement ring on both of your fingers after you had both proposed to each other, with the relationship very serious, you two had decided to stop contraceptives and let everyone happen if it was too happen.

"Yeah." You laughed as he swept you off the bench into his arms, "We have little Birdie to prepare for."

"I love you so damn much." Charlie choked out, spinning the two of you around in his arms. The smile never fading as he drank in the special moment of learning you had created a life together.

PRESENT

"With the impending arrival of our child, I will be taking a break to prepare. Even though I wouldn't be performing, I will still do Songbird Shenanigans. I'll just have to up my game on staying as hidden as possible." You informed the audience as the song came to an end. 

Next thing you knew, you couldn't discern between the crowd and your friends now on stage screaming. You were able to feel Charlie's hand on your barely-there baby bump and his lips pressed against your temple.

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[thechangeling]

Tell me a story

Ty doesn't believe in fate.

A shout out to @ilikebooks8 for convincing me to make a fanfic about autistic!Eleanor Blackthorn. Autism is genetic so it makes sense for Ty to have autistic ancestors. If you are autistic I guarentee you have someone in your family who is also autistic they just haven't been diagnosed yet. For me, I've got my dad.

Cw: mentions of ableism, abuse and the death of a minor character. Very anti Andrew Blackthorn.

"Tell me a story," Tiberius' asked, in that mature, matter- of-fact way he spoke. Ty was only eight but already he sounded like a boy twice his age in terms of his vocabulary and the way he spoke.

Although he still had the voice of a child which was rather amusing. Eleanor turned to face her son with a groan as she felt searing pain shoot through her bones. She had been laying down all day due to feeling extremely unwell. The noises and lights of the outside world were especially brutal, but she had gotten used to it overtime. She had learned to cope. To smile and nod and make eye contact. To control her movements and still her hands and laugh at their jokes.

Eleanor played the part of the proper shadowhunter and the dutiful wife, the attentive mother. It didn't matter that it had changed her. Had completely turned her into a different person, someone harsher and colder. Someone who was so quick to anger and venomous hatred.

Someone who only knew how to be in pain.

She always tried to not let that side of her show to her children. They didn't deserve it. But the past few weeks in particular had been brutal. Her body felt broken and it was becoming harder and harder to put up that facade.

She faced Ty with the best fake smile she could muster. "Which story would you like to hear?" He climbed up on the bed beside her and sat down in an odd twisted position where his legs were in a W position. He began tapping his hands on his knees as he appeared to contemplate his choices.

Eleanor could remember a time when she was younger when she used to do that. Before her parents had stopped her. She knew she should really tell Tiberius off to discourage him from doing these things in public. He was so blatent and open in a way that frightened and almost angered her. There was no telling what kind of reaction The Clave might have.

She didnt want him to end up with the dregs, or worse.

"I don't know," Ty said finally scrunching up his eyebrows. "I can't think of one right now. Could you make one up?" Eleanor smiled in spite of herself. She had always loved making up stories ever since she was a kid. She had always been a creative person, painting and drawing as often as she could. Shadowhunters didn't really appreciate a creative streak.

Eleanor nodded. "Ok sure, let's see." She took a breath, trying to ignore the agony spreading through her back and shoulders. "Once upon a time there was a prince who was trapped in a tower that was guarded by an evil ogar. The prince had been rumored to have special powers so he was forced by his parents to stay locked away in the tower forever to keep him safe. He wasnt allowed to make friends with any other children so he grew up alone. Teaching himself how to read and write and playing games to amuse himself."

Ty rolled his eyes. "Isn't that rather cliche? The whole prince trapped in a tower story? I've definitely heard that before."

Eleanor laughed. "Where did you hear the word cliche Tiberius?" Ty shrugged, not seeing the amusement in the situation.

"It was in a book. Can you keep going?" He whined impatiently. "I wanna hear the rest."

Eleanor sighed, shaking her head good naturedly. "Alright then. So the prince was trapped for a very long time. Then one day a mysterious adventurer came exploring nearby the tower."

"Can it be a detective?" Ty interrupted, bouncing up and down. He had been obsessed with Clue lately.

"Alright sure, it was a detective. He was searching the answers to a murder mystery. The murder of a young women."  Ty instantly looked interested. Perhaps murder was not the best subject for a story being told to an eight year old, but Ty was a shadowhunter. They were trained to deal with blood and death.

"His was searching for information and came across the tower," she continued. So he decided to investigate. He snuck passed the ogar and into the tower, where he was ambushed by the prince!"

Ty gasped excitedly, wriggling in place. "What happened next? Did they fight?"

Eleanor opened her mouth to continue, but then the bedroom door flew open, startling them both.

It was Andrew. Instantly Ty shrunk himself down, hunching his shoulders. Eleanor knew that Ty didn't always get along with his father but she knew Andrew still loved him deep down. He glared at them both.

"Ty your mother is meant to be resting," he said pointedly.

Eleanor shook her head. "Oh no it's alright. He wasn't bothering me." Andrew didn't seem to hear her.

"Tiberius let's go," he said harshly. Ty hesitated for a moment, looking up at her.

"But I wanna hear the rest of the story!" He protested. "I wanna know what happens to the prince!" Eleanor sighed solemnly. She didn't want to disappoint Ty, but she was feeling pretty worn out.

"Another time baby," she assured him. "I promise."

But unfortunately she never got the chance. She never got the chance because little did they know, Eleanor Blackthorn had cancer. Something that silent brothers couldn't cure. Something that shadowhunters were powerless against.

"What are you thinking about ?" Kit murmered from his spot curled up against Ty's chest. His breath tickled Ty's chin.

Ty paused, not quite sure how to answer. They were lying on the roof of the LA institute again. It was their special spot. Kit had suggested a night of star gazing for a date since the weather was nice.

Things has been a little weird between them lately. Kit had been pretending that everything was fine and he was unfazed, but Ty could tell that something was bothering him. And he had a feeling he knew what it was.

At Magnus and Alec's anniversary party, Jace made a joke about how Kit and Ty would probably be the next ones to get married and Ty immediately went into a blind panic. He completely froze up at the mention of marriage. At the mention of him getting married. His body instantly went into a complete overload almost as if he was on the verge of a meltdown.

He didn't take the time to think about any of it. He just snapped and yelled that he wasn't getting married. That he wasn't ever getting married. Ty wasnt even sure where it came from. Kit was pretending like it wasnt a big deal but Ty knew he was hurting. He could tell.

Ty traced a pattern across Kit's arm. "Honestly it was nothing," he assured him. "I just-." Ty stared at Kit, studying his face. The curve of his lips, the adorable blush of his cheeks and the tiny beauty mark under his eye that Ty loved to fixate on. Everything ached, but it was a good kind of ache.

Ty loved him.

"I just want to stay like this forever," he murmered. "Here with you, where I feel safe and warm. And loved." Ty nuzzled his nose against Kit's. "I want to be with you forever."

Kit smiled distantly before breaking into a slight frown. "Then why don't you wanna marry me?" He asked sadly. And Ty could instantly hear the old ghosts of self loathing and insecurity still haunting Kit's thoughts.

Ty sighed. "It has nothing to do with you I promise. I just really don't want to get married and I'm not even fully certain of why exactly."

Kit stroked his cheek slowly. "Is it the idea of a big wedding? Because we don't have to do that you know. We can totally just skip it," he said assuredly.

Ty shook his head. "That's part of it but it isn't the only reason." He paused to contemplate what exactly it was that was making him feel this way, feel so afraid.

Strangely enough, Ty kept coming back to his mother. His mother who was always a little peculiar in private. Who always seemed sad and exhausted even before the silent brothers diagnosed her. Who was constantly going along with whatever her husband wanted for whatever reason. Because she assumed he knew what he was doing? Because she didn't want to make waves in a society so rigid and obsessed with conformity?

Ty had been considering it more and more lately.

He sat up, displacing Kit from where he was resting. "I think my mother was like me," Ty admitted in a shakey voice. "I think she was autistic and that's why she ended up in the situations she did."

"Ok?" Kit looked confused. "But that still doesn't explain-."

Ty interrupted him. "She was trying so hard to fit in and do the right thing and she would just let him control her. She kept compromising for him because she thought that's what she was supposed to do and also because despite it all I think she really loved him! And it made her so stupid!" Ty shouted.

"I just don't want to become trapped like that," he confessed.

Kit was silent for a moment, just staring at him with a puzzled expression. "Ok, but Ty you realize that I'm not your dad right? Like I would never try and control you or make you into something you're not. I'm not trying to own you, I'm trying to love you!" He argued. "Ty, marriage isnt supposed to trap you. It's about making our relationship into an Offical legal thing that everyone's forced to acknowledge and accept."

Kit took Ty's hand in his. "It's about making each other family."

Ty looked away. He couldn't meet Kit's eyes when he was staring at him looking so hopeful and desperate. It did strange things to Ty's insides. He squeezed his eyes shut, scrunching up his face along with his fists for a moment before letting go.

"I just don't want to let someone have power over me in that way," he explained. Kit sighed, then smiled softly before leaning forward to rest his forehead against Ty's. Ty let out a little moan as he let the tension release from his body with a sigh. Kit placed his hand over Ty's heart.

"But don't you get it Ty?" He asked softly. "You already have, whether you meant to or not. I'm in your system sweetheart, in your blood just like you're in mine." Ty felt him smile. "Like we were made for each other. Like we've spent our entire lives waiting for each other."

Ty pulled away from him. "No I don't believe that," he stated firmly. "I don't believe in fate or destiny or soulmates. I think it's an overt  romanticization of life and the human condition which can have disastrous consequences. It leads people to believe that they are somehow incomplete without a romantic partner which is incredibly problematic." Ty realized he was probably going on a bit of a tangent as he was known to do. But he couldn't be bothered to care.

Kit pouted a little. "Yeah I get that. But I don't know. I like to romanticize things in life. After everything that I've been through, I guess it just makes things feel better you know?" Kit glanced at him hopefully."I don't care if you don't believe in any of those things. I do. And despite what you might believe, you aren't always right about everything," Kit said pointedly.

Ty scowled at him. Kit was undeterred. "And I get that you're coming at this from a scary trauma place. I understand that. I have those too. But you don't have to be afraid of me," he pleaded.

Ty couldn't resist reaching out and touching him, pushing a curly lock of hair behind his ear. "Can I maybe think about it?" Kit smiled and snuggled up against Ty's chest again. "Of course," he murmered. Ty leaned back and resumed his earlier position, staring up at the sky.

He nuzzled his face against Kit's hair. "I'm glad you're not mad at me anymore," said Ty.

Kit snorted, turning to face Ty. "I'm never mad at you love. It's pretty much impossible." Ty grinned and leaned forward to kiss him slowly, savoring the feeling of Kit's lips against his.

Kit broke off and kissed Ty's cheek, then his orbital bone. Ty giggled and closed his eyes which prompted Kit to place a kiss on each of his eyelids.

"I love every inch of you," Kit whispered. Ty couldn't speak. He was too overwhelmed. He just wrapped his arms around Kit even tighter and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

They lay in peaceful silence for several moments before Kit spoke.

"Tell me a story."

In case you missed it, the story Eleanor was telling Ty is the story of kitty in Lady Midnight basically. Also. Not me projecting my fear of marriage onto my comfort character! 😂

Tag list: (lmk if you wanna be added/removed) @playwithravenclaw @lavender-scented-rat @knifescythe @ti-bae-rius @dianasarrow @jazzkaurtheglorious @waterlillies @zfoxdraws @julieandthefandoms @older-brother-kit @ilikebooks8 @nott-the-best @stxr-thxif @magnus-the-fabulous-entp-bane @foxglove-airmid @littlx-songbxrd @heloisacosta23 @adoravel-fenomeno @eutonyinwhisper

[thehouseoflamentation]

Breeding Season (11 vs 1) ~NSFW~

You knew the brothers had been acting strange for the past few days but this was just ridiculous. First it started with excuses to avoid hanging out with you, then they began ignoring your messages and calls, and now here you were sitting in the dining hall for breakfast with none of the brothers in sight. You could expect this kind of behavior from Mammon or Levi but Beel? You knew he wouldn’t miss breakfast for the world so the fact that he wasn’t at the table inhaling a stack of pancakes was more than enough proof that something was wrong.

Mammon wasn’t in your room that morning either and you know Lucifer would never wake up this late so you started searching the house for any clues that would shed some light on your current circumstances. You tried calling them and checked all of their rooms but none of them were there, not even Levi which only made you more concerned. After spending an hour scouring the house you ended up back in your room, exhausted and not a single step closer to finding the reason behind the brothers’ disappearance. It wasn’t until you collapsed on your bed that you noticed a red envelope sitting on the edge of your nightstand. Your name and today’s date were written on the back of the envelope. It wasn’t there when you went to sleep last night which only made it seem even more suspicious. Tearing through the paper covering, you pulled out the letter from within and began to read.

“MC, as a valued exchange student your presence is requested at the Demon King’s Palace for further instruction in the program. We hope you have enjoyed your stay in the Devildom so far but due to recent developments we believe you need additional guidance. Sincerely, RAD Student Council.”

Well, that explained why they were nowhere to be seen that morning. Still, the whole situation felt rather odd. Diavolo would never call the brothers out so early unless it was some kind of emergency and even then he would have made at least one of them stay with you for safety’s sake. Not to mention it didn’t clear up why the brothers had been giving you the cold shoulder for nearly a week now.

Following your only lead, you decided to go through with Diavolo’s request, hoping to get to the bottom of this mystery somehow. As you approached the gates of the palace you were surprised to find Solomon waiting at the entrance as well. You could only assume the demon prince wanted to have a word with all two of the humans involved in the program which made you feel a little more secure knowing that you weren’t the only one being put on the spot. As you walked past the gates towards the front doors you started to feel anxious. Diavolo’s vague letter and the brothers’ dismissive behavior made it impossible for you to shake the feeling in the back of your mind that something was wrong. Solomon was quick to notice your apprehension and reached out for your hand, lacing his fingers between yours to settle your nerves.

“Don’t worry, there’s no way Diavolo would harm either of us. It would go against everything he worked to establish. Just calm down and try to relax….trust me you’ll need it more than you think....”

You flinched for a second, unsure whether to feel comforted or concerned over his words. Just as you were about to question his last comment, the doors of the palace suddenly parted revealing Barbatos on the other side. He welcomed you both and immediately led the two of you down a number of hallways and stairs until you found yourself standing in front of another set of doors. Following his lead you entered the room only to realize you weren’t brought to a meeting room but Diavolo’s private chambers, the demon prince himself along with the rest of the brothers stood in waiting. They stiffened and fidgeted as their gaze fell on you but they quickly reigned themselves in as Diavolo began to speak.

“I’m truly glad you could join us today MC. I’m sure you must have many questions but I’d like you to take a moment to remember your last….exchange student review.”

At those words your mind quickly flashed back to that fateful day you spent in Diavolo’s office. You remembered how you toyed with him until he snapped and bent you over his desk to ravage you to his heart’s content. Your face started to grow heated as the memories came flooding back.

“Since you were so eager to help me last breeding season, I assume you have no objections to being a little more generous with your body this time around?” he continued as he slowly drew closer to you.

Your eyes scanned the room. Each demon seemed like they could jump at you at any moment, their restraint held back by a thread as your intoxicating scent permeated the room. It all made sense now. Why they were acting so strange, why they were ignoring you, why they distanced themselves from you at every turn. They weren’t avoiding you out of spite or hatred, they were avoiding you because every single one of them was in heat.

You gulped silently before nodding at Diavolo’s proposal. It amazed you how one small gesture instantly changed the demaneor of everyone in the room. They all looked at you the same way predators stared down their prey, each of them just as ravenous to have you for themselves. You heard the doors of the bedroom shut and lock as Barbatos smiled back at you, his placid expression perfectly hid his true intentions. Before any of them could lay a hand on you, Solomon cleared his throat and straightened up to face the small crowd of demons in front of you.

“Aren’t you forgetting something? Or perhaps I should remind you all of our little agreement?” His smug expression drew out curses and looks of disdain from the others, but even then Solomon simply let out a chuckle at their reactions and proceeded to pull out a worn piece of paper from his pocket, “Why don’t you tell MC about our deal, Diavolo? After all it's only fair that they know what you’re about to put their body through. Don’t you think?”

You could feel the tension in the room start to rise but Diavolo proceeded with his explanation regardless, “Breeding with a demon is one thing MC, but to breed with several demons at once we needed a spell strong enough to induce the human equivalent of a heat cycle within your body to make it capable of breeding with all of us without the risk of over exhaustion. And while the spell does exist, it’s so rare that we weren’t even able to find it within Satan’s mountain of spellbooks. Solomon was kind enough to lend us the only copy left in the three realms but on one condition...”

“Go on...” the sorcerer smirked and playfully prompted the demon prince to continue despite the dirty looks he was getting from around the room.

“.....he gets to have you first...” Diavolo’s voice trailed towards the end as he crossed his arms and took a step back allowing Solomon to move closer to you.

You understood now why everyone was on edge. Standing before you were the seven rulers of hell and the demon prince himself and yet Solomon, a human, was holding them all back telling them to wait their turn. Each of them were beings made to give in to their deepest desires so the fact that they could only sit back and watch while they supressed their heat induced urges felt like nothing less than torture for them.You’d be lying if you didn’t admit this was the most clever and twisted power move you’ve ever witnessed.

After giving you one last look of reassurance, Solomon pulled you in close and began reading the incantation scrawled on the paper. You could immediately tell something was different as warmth began pooling at the center of your core, quickly spreading to the rest of your body. It was starting to get hard for you to stand so Solomon carried you to Diavolo’s bed, placing you gently onto the sheets as your body adjusted to its new heat cycle. Once you got used to the new sensation coursing through your veins, Solomon started undressing you until you were bare for all to see.

Meanwhile, Diavolo, Barbatos, and the rest of the brothers started shifting into their demon forms from the side lines. Your scent was already irresistible but now that you were in heat, it was impossible to stand there and watch without letting some tension out. Claws, tails, and wings all began manifesting as each of them shed their clothes and approached the bed. Even though they couldn’t indulge in your sweetness just yet their desperation drew them as close to you as Solomon would allow.

The sorcerer was just as affected by the spell as you were, his restraint long gone as he eagerly left kisses and hickeys all over your body. One of his hands played with your nipples while the other dipped between your legs letting your arousal drip onto the sheets. As shady as Solomon was he wasn’t malicious by any means so he allowed the demons a bit of solace to satiate their lust. Without stopping his administrations, he took your clothes and threw them off the side of the bed. It wasn’t much but the fabric had your concentrated scent and they were eager to take in as much of you as they could while they rubbed themselves off.

You were already so wet from your heat but Solomon’s teasing was far from over. Removing his hand from between your legs he took a moment to admire your arousal coating his fingers before bringing them back to his mouth, moaning as the salty taste hit his tongue. He didn’t have to look away from you for a moment to know how badly he was tormenting the others. Grumbles and hushed remarks could be heard throughout the room but they did little to relieve that passionate fire burning deep within each demon present. Still longing for more, Solomon spread your legs apart and peppered your thighs with kisses before plunging his tongue into your deepest part. You could feel him smirk against your skin as he drove the rest of the demons to the brink of their jealousy. Your hands delved into his silver locks bringing him closer and making it easier for him to curl his tongue around your weak spots. When his mouth moved away you groaned at the lack of contact but soon realized he was only stopping to give you something much better. Positioning his cock at your entrance, he rolled his hips forward coating his length in your arousal while he grinded against you making your eyes roll back reflexively as you let out a loud moan. Your voice, your scent, your body, it was all too much for the demons to bear and yet it felt so far away, so out of reach from where they stood.

After than moan, there was little left to hold Solomon back. He snapped his hips forward, shoving his length deep inside of you with a single motion. He was going to give you some time to adjust but with the way you were rocking your hips against his you were basically begging to be fucked. He wasn’t gentle. There was no need for him to treat you so delicately while your voice and body cried out for him to ram his cock into you until your mind went blank. With every thrust a new wave of pleasure hit you stronger and more intense than the last. The ecstasy of it all made you unable to do anything but move in sync with Solomon’s hips and moan his name endlessly much to the envy of the demons that surrounded you. After grinding against a particularly sensitive spot, you could feel yourself tighten around him as the heat inside your stomach continued to build. After several more thrusts all the tension in your core was suddenly released as you came, your walls closed in on his cock driving him past his limit and milking him until every last drop was either inside you or spilled on the sheets.

As Solomon pulled out of you and rolled off the bed you could feel the mattress immediately dip under new weight. Before you had the chance to fully ride out your orgasm you found yourself being flipped onto your stomach as another cock was shoved inside of you. The feeling of having your walls suddenly stretched from such girth made you dig your fingers into the sheets, tears welling up from both pain and pleasure. Diavolo hummed to himself as he rubbed your back and left a trail of kisses down your spine in an attempt to calm you down. Even though he wanted to start moving as soon as he entered you he gave you a moment to get used to his size. Being a demon, he was much bigger and thicker than Solomon so he had to be careful if he didn’t want to break you, he could always do that later anyways but for now he wanted everyone to get a chance to feel as good as you made him feel last breeding season.

Once your breathing settled down, Diavolo’s hands left your back. His fingers now traced up your neck and pushed into your mouth, padding over the soft flesh of your tongue as you feebly drooled and licked his digits. “Lucifer, why don’t you take the other end?” Upon hearing those words your half lidded eyes shot wide open. You felt a sharp pain as your hair was gripped and pulled, forcing your head to be level with Lucifer’s dick. He pressed his member against your cheek, precum already dripping from the head. Diavolo’s fingers left your mouth only to be replaced with Lucifer’s cock, his length reached far deeper than any fingers could as he grabbed your head and pushed himself further and further down your throat.You flinched and struggled beneath him while your throat stretched to accommodate his girth which only increased due to being in his demon form.

Through all your tears and quick shallow breaths you were finally able to take in his full length, your lips now wrapped around the base of his dick. With your body penetrated from both ends, you tried to calm yourself for a moment but found yourself suddenly choking as you felt Diavolo’s hips suddenly crash into yours. Neither of the demons before you could wait any longer. You closed your eyes and braced yourself as claw-like nails dug into your soft thighs while Diavolo pounded into you from behind. Ever the sadist, Lucifer proved to be no easier to handle. His hips bucked and thrusted into you while his hands remained buried in your hair ready to give you another sharp tug for every second you failed to service him adequately.

Despite being preoccupied with two demons, the others felt no need to restrain themselves from having a taste, a touch, a small piece of you to help them ease the tension that coursed through their bodies. While Lucifer and Diavolo’s wings made it hard for the others to come near you, it sure as hell didn’t stop them from trying. At first, you couldn’t quite tell who was where but you were certain you felt hands roam up and down your back and stomach. You felt teeth drag across your chest, only stopping to bite and pull at your nipples. You could only assume Beel started getting impatient and wanted to sneak a nibble while Lucifer was focused on face fucking you. At the same time you felt something smooth and cool brush past one of your legs. You looked down only to realize Levi’s tail had coiled itself around your thigh giving you a good squeeze every few seconds. Every part of your body felt like it was being ravished from different directions, the tension inside swelled once again as you drew closer to your second orgasm.

Diavolo’s hips were now moving at a reckless pace, every inch of his dick rubbed against your walls as he slammed into you mindlessly chasing the climax that was just beyond his reach. Lucifer was just as reckless and twice as merciless compared to Diavolo. His fists tightened around your locks as he spent every bit of energy he had shoving his cock down your throat over and over again. At this point he didn’t care if you choked, if anything seeing you gag and cry as you sucked him off was probably just what he needed to push past his breaking point. If only he knew he was about to get exactly what he asked for.

As the three of you grew closer and closer to cumming you suddenly felt teeth sink into the crook of your neck, striking one of your weak spots and sending a jolt through the rest of your body. Your ass backed up against Diavolo, inadvertently causing him to ram his dick directly into your deepest, most sensitive parts. At the same time your stifled moans made your throat vibrate around Lucifer’s cock. The stimulation was so amazing he couldn’t stop himself from thrusting into you as deep as he could, hitting the back of your throat and making you choke in the process. Your body tightened and convulsed around both of them sending all three of you off the edge at once. Neither of the demons moved an inch until they released everything they had inside you. Your legs trembled as you felt Diavolo spill his hot seed deep within you, the thick fluid only made the warmth in your core grow and intensify until it was almost unbearable. Meanwhile Lucifer took pleasure in watching you squirm and struggle to breathe as he pumped his load down your throat, his hands gripping either side of your head as he forced you to swallow every last drop.

When they finally pulled away you barely had enough energy left to stay on your hands and knees. Your body fell onto the sticky mess of sheets as you focused on steadying your breathing and preparing yourself for the next round of demons. From the corner of your eye you saw Mammon smirk to himself as he approached you. You thought nothing of it at the moment until your eyes met his and the realization finally hit you. The sudden bite that triggered your climax earlier wasn’t just a random act in the heat of the moment, it was planned! The last time you and Mammon got it on he covered your neck in hickeys and accidentally stumbled across one of your weak points. He never mentioned the incident again so you thought he had forgotten all about it. You never expected him to use it on you to make his turn come sooner. That sly bastard!

Still, you couldn’t complain when he swept your hair to the side to kiss your face and comfort you as you tried to calm yourself after being dominated by two of the strongest demons in hell. You let your mind slip for just a second and in that small amount of time you found yourself now lying on your back. Mammon left a trail of kisses and hickeys down your body starting from the weak spot on your neck and leading down between your legs. His mouth only left your skin to growl and hiss at his brothers who were far too pent up and eager to wait for the second born to finish toying with you.

"Damn it..l was your first so I should have been...well whatever it doesn't matter. I wasn't your first this time but l'll be damned if l'm not the best guy you get today!!"

Greedy as always, Mammon kept his wings outstretched making it hard for the others to even get a glimpse of his precious human. Even so his victory was short lived as a certain envious demon finally had enough of his brother monopolizing your attention. Once Mammon positioned himself between your legs and started entering you, Levi made his move. In one smooth motion he crawled on top of you and straddled your torso, effectively blocking Mammon’s view of your face with his back. Before the avatar of greed could retaliate you wrapped your legs around his waist forcing his cock to sink deep inside of you before he even had the chance to react. You could feel your walls stretch once again but the slight amount of pain was worth it seeing the great Mammon reduced to a sensitive quivering mess. Payback never felt so good.

Once you adjusted to Mammon’s size your focus soon turned back to Levi, he licked his lips while his eyes roamed between your face and torso as if deciding which to indulge in first. A low rumble came from his chest and erupted from his throat as a deep, almost deranged laugh.

“Ahhhhhh....hahh....ahHahAhHAHAHA!!!! I’ve always….ALWAYS!!! WANTED TO TRY THIS!!!!!” Without any hesitation, he moved his dick between your breasts, placed his hands on either side of your chest, and pushed your soft mounds together until they pressed against his shaft. He always dreamed of rubbing his hard, slick cock against your chest and now he could finally fulfill that desire. Seeing you in such a lewd, needy state must have worked him up more than he led on as his tail coiled around your wrists, securing your hands and forcing your arms above your head. As restricted as you were, you still found a way to tease the demon before you. Levi continued fucking your chest, rocking his hips back and forth when suddenly you leaned your head forward to take the tip of his dick into your mouth. Your tongue caressed the underside of his shaft and flicked across his slit as you bobbed your head in sync with his thrusts.

Before you got too caught up pleasuring Levi, Mammon slammed his hips against yours to pull your attention back to him and make you remember just who was fucking you. You had never seen either of the boys become as possessive as they were right now. Greed and envy manifested in their purest forms, dominant and unwilling to yield so much as an inch of you to anyone else. Mammon’s thrusts were rough, erratic, and sloppy but still managed to hit all of your most sensitive spots. Every time your insides twitched and clenched around him he pounded into you even harder, gripping onto your thighs for leverage until dark red marks appeared on your smooth skin.It wasn’t long before you felt yourself being driven to the edge once more, your core tightened around Mammon while you moaned against Levi’s cock. The avatar of greed truly lived up to his name as he pushed into you as far as he could on his final thrust, marking your deepest parts with his seed. Levi on the other hand did the exact opposite, marking you in a completely different way. At the last second, he pulled away from your mouth and chest and started stroking himself instead. You were confused for a moment but soon realized what he wanted and stuck your tongue out eagerly taking in whatever cum coated your mouth as he came all over your face. Neither of them were willing to part from you but they knew they couldn’t keep the others waiting. After coming down from his high, Levi uncurled his tail from your hands and moved off of you before wiping the remaining fluids off your face with one of the sheets. Mammon on the other hand wanted to enjoy the feeling of you wrapped around his cock for as long as he could but once he pulled out he couldn’t help but smirk as he watched his cum slowly drip out of you.

As soon as he took a step back Satan took his place, not wasting a single second as he rammed his full length inside of you and started thrusting. You winced at the sudden intrusion but quickly adapted to his size and pace once the dull pain you felt melted into pleasure. Seeking a bit more leverage, he hooked one of your legs over his shoulder and turned you on your side making it easier to pull you close and shove his cock into the deepest parts of your core. You were so busy keeping up with Satan’s reckless pace you almost failed to notice something hot and wet drip onto your cheek. When you finally had the strength to realize what was going on you found yourself just inches away from Asmo’s dick, his arousal already leaking onto you. Your throat still burned from Lucifer and Levi’s abuse but that didn’t stop you from taking him into your mouth. You immediately began sucking on him, swirling your tongue around the head of his cock before moving down to his shaft.

You had to admit though, it was hard to stay focused on Asmo with Satan fucking you at the same time. The moment he entered you his hips kept going at a rapid pace, mercilessly pounding into your core without a single shred of restraint. However, the avatar of wrath still wasn’t satisfied. Holding onto your leg in a vice, he craned his head down leaving deep bites on your inner thigh. It made you shudder to think about the amount of scratches, bruises, and bite marks he would leave behind when he was done with you but at the moment you couldn’t care less. Your mind started to drift from the pleasure when suddenly out of nowhere, Satan stopped moving and pulled out completely. Confusion was apparent on your face as you shook your hips for him to continue, wondering why he stopped in the first place. It wasn’t until you saw him realign himself with you and shoot you the dirtiest look imaginable that you understood what he was planning. You closed your eyes and braced yourself as you felt him thrust into you again with full force. His pace was different now, as he pulled himself out each time only to slam back inside you with all his strength. His movements were so rough every part of you jolted and trembled each time his body collided with yours.

Meanwhile, even with Asmo’s dick still in your mouth you had trouble staying still long enough to service him with how erratic Satan’s thrusts had become. If only you knew how royally fucked you were for neglecting the avatar of lust during his heat. Asmo paid no mind to his brother, he was no excuse for you to stop paying attention to him and he was going to make sure you knew that. Asmo’s hand brushed away the tears and sweat that formed on the side of your face before tilting your head up. His smile was sweet but only skin deep. You could tell from his eyes there was nothing but carnal desire and jealousy behind that pretty face.

“You know MC...if there’s one thing I can’t stand it’s being as perfect as I am and STILL BEING IGNORED!!!” Yanking your hair by the fistful he held your face in place, forcing you to look up at him while he fucked your mouth however he pleased.

You didn’t think things could get any rougher until you felt several sharp teeth bite into your back, right between your shoulder blades. The pain made you jolt and squirm but you could barely move away with Satan and Asmo gripping onto your body. Beelzebub was beyond starving now, he wanted to sink his teeth into anything and since you were the tastiest thing in the room you had his full attention. As Beel left bite marks and hickeys down your back you felt a firm tug on your wrist. The bed was already crowded but Belphie wasn’t about to sit back and let everyone else have fun while he was left to pleasure himself on his own. He took your hand and guided it back to his erection forcing you to stroke him as he thrusted against your palm.

The stimulation from all four of them was too much. Before you knew it the heat and tension within you built up until it all came apart as you passed your limit once again. Even as your walls tightened around Satan he still wouldn’t stop pounding into you until he poured every drop of his thick load inside you and rode out the afterglow of his orgasm. Asmo was just as relentless, waiting until you swallowed everything and licked off the remaining cum that dripped down his cock.

Once Satan and Asmodeus pulled out and stepped back, Beelzebub and Belphegor were quick to trade places with them. As Beel hovered over you he started licking, sucking, and biting all the parts of your body he didn’t get a chance to put his mouth on yet. There wasn’t an inch of you that wasn’t grazed by his teeth and tongue. The ecstasy of it all made you feel like you were melting. Too preoccupied with Beel you failed to notice Belphie slowly slip his body under yours. After positioning himself beneath you right where he wanted, Belphie nodded at Beel signalling him to continue with the next part of their scheme. In one effortless motion Beel wrapped his arms around you and lifted you up, your head rested against his chest as he moved to seat himself on the bed and lower you back down….onto both his and Belphie’s dicks.

You flinched as you felt their hardened lengths poke at your entrance and feebly clung onto Beel’s torso as you braced yourself for what was about to happen next. Tears started welling up in the corners of your eyes as the twins pushed your hips down stretching your insides until you took in every inch of them. Your arousal and all the cum that had been pumped into you made it easier for them to slide in but it was still an arduous task nonetheless. You tried to adjust as best as you could but neither of the demons had any patience left to spare. If you wouldn’t move, you were simply going to be moved. Burying their fingers into your hips and thighs they moved in rhythm, Beel lifted you up while Belphie forced you back down, both of them thrusting into you in sync as they bounced your hips. You couldn’t do much aside from wrap your arms around Beel’s neck and bite down on his shoulder as their pace got faster and rougher. Seeing you so vulnerable was such a turn on for Beel and after covering you in bitemarks he found it cute that you tried to leave your own little mark on him.

Meanwhile as Belphie continued pounding into you he became fixated on your back, a clear view of all the bruises and bitemarks that peppered your skin caused a devious plan to form in the back of his mind. Facing Beel there was no way you could see what he was up to, making it all the more enjoyable for Belphie. Without warning he raised his tail and brought it down on your lower back. A sharp pain ran through your body making you curve your back from the sudden contact as your hips jerked forward unconsciously. At first Belphie only did it to tease you but after feeling how you tightened around him as he whipped you, he now had all the more reason to continue. Several loud slaps echoed throughout the room as Belphie delivered strike after strike leaving dark red stripes down your already battered back. With each successful hit your back arched and your walls squeezed tighter and tighter until the two demons on either side of you reached the end of their ropes. Both of them gripped onto your waist forcing your body down while they thrusted into you as deep as they could one last time. Having taken in so much already you could feel your belly start to swell as even more cum was pumped into you. With barely enough strength left you slumped against Beel’s chest for support as both of their cocks twitched and pulsated inside you still dripping semen into your core. Once they pulled out of you, all the cum that had been poured inside began dripping down your thighs and onto the sheets.

You were so full you didn’t think you could take another load, luckily that’s what the spell was for. By now your body had nearly gone limp from the ceaseless pleasure you were subjected to but even so your heat gave you all the energy and libido you needed to last as many rounds as you could take. Each of them had their chance to fuck you but it was far from over. As long as they were still in heat, they would need to breed with you until the season was over or until your body gave out. Which ever one came first. Too tired to move you noticed a familiar figure step into your field of vision once again. Diavolo looked down at your bruised, bitten, cum covered body and merely smirked while his hands reached to cup your face, planting a kiss on your forehead.

“Such a good, obedient human....I knew we made the right decision choosing you.”

For the rest of the afternoon, they each took turns sharing you. There wasn’t a moment when your mouth, chest, hands, or entrance was left unoccupied. You weren’t sure how you were able to fit Beel’s girth down your throat or how you managed to survive both Satan and Lucifer taking you at the same time but you attributed it to the effects of the spell. In the heat of it all your mind grew hazy as you struggled to process who was doing what to you. All you could comprehend was the feeling of pleasure washing over your body as the demons bred you to their heart’s content. Your body had been marked by each of them in one way or another; be it scratches, bitemarks, or semen, not a single inch of you was left untouched. You weren’t sure when it happened but as passion and desire pushed you past your physical limits you lost whatever consciousness you still had and drifted off to sleep.

When you woke up you were startled to find you couldn’t see, speak, or even move. You were blindfolded, gagged, and bound with ropes; still naked and just as sore as you last remembered but now you were clean and no longer sticky with saliva and cum. You fought against your restraints until you felt the familiar feeling of leather strike your skin causing you to groan helplessly into the gag as you tried to process what was going on.

“They were quite the handful weren’t they?” A familiar voice rang out from the silence.

“Being a butler is never an easy job you know. Always following orders, barely having any time for yourself, putting all of your desires aside for the whims of your master. Though I must admit there is one rewarding perk Diavolo promised in exchange for taking care of you...”

As his words trailed you felt a hand run through your hair seconds before it formed a fist pulling you up to face him.

“....I get to have you all to myself”

With that he dropped you back onto the bed enjoying the sight of you struggling futilely against your bonds. As you stirred on the sheets and tried your best to loosen the ropes around your wrists and legs you noticed a faint sound just beyond earshot. You stilled yourself for a moment to figure out what it was only to realize it was your own voice, moaning and crying out in ecstasy as wet slapping noises played in the background. Confused and embarrassed you began to writhe once again, wondering just what kind of game Barbatos was playing.

“Hehehe….you always act like such a perfect, innocent little human. To think in reality you’re nothing more than a dirty cockslut who’s only desire is to be bred over and over again. Now I admit, it would be easy to use my powers to rewatch your little performance as many times as I like but having a video copy at my disposal makes it much more convenient.”

As his words ran through your head it finally dawned on you. Diavolo, Lucifer, Mammon, Leviathan, Satan, Asmodeus, Beelzebub, and Belphegor, you had sex with all of them but not Barbatos. You realized now he wasn’t holding himself back or letting the others go first simply out of duty or courtesy as a butler, he was getting off on recording every shameless, perverted thing you did that night. Now he had a full uncut video of you drunk on sex, mindlessly sucking and fucking several demons at once without a care in world. As the video played you soon became too embarrassed to respond or struggle any longer, accepting your circumstances and lying silent on the sheets.

“Don’t worry, I won’t share it with a single soul. In fact, I’ll even delete it if you want! But only if you behave and be a good little slut for me just like you were for them last night. Now does that sound fair?”

You didn’t have much of a choice so you accepted his offer, nodding with the blindfold and gag still in place. In the background you could hear the rustling of fabric and the sounds of a belt being undone as footsteps drew closer to you. The gag was the first to go, only being removed to be replaced with Barbatos’s cock. He made no effort to be gentle with you as he immediately forced his dick down your throat. He had enough watching and waiting. He’s served the needs of Diavolo his whole life and now it was his turn to be serviced. Taking out all his tension and frustrations he quickened his pace, ignoring your pleas for air as he let his hips move as rough as he wanted. It was hard to use your tongue with how fast he was going but you managed to rub a particularly sensitive spot on the underside of his shaft. You couldn’t see his face but from the way he was groaning and twitching in your mouth you could tell he was close. With one last thrust he reached his limit, coating your throat with his hot seed before pulling out and letting the rest of his load spill onto your face. Attempting to catch your breath you lied on your stomach, panting and coughing from Barbatos’s rough treatment. You barely had time to recover before you felt the ropes around your legs come undone as he gave you your next order.

“Lift your ass and spread your legs. Now.”

His tone was cold and stern, an ever present reminder of what was at stake if you failed to obey him. As you curved your back up and parted your legs you felt the same sensation from just a moment ago, a whip. The strike was just as harsh and unforgiving as earlier except now it struck you right across your ass. One after another Barbatos laid into you until your supple skin was marred with red, swollen welts. Still under the effects of your heat your arousal had dripped down your legs and stained the sheets by the time Barbatos was finished toying with you. You were more than ready for him now. As he joined you on the bed you could feel his weight shift on the mattress. It was the only warning you got before he pushed his length inside of you and started moving at his own pace without a single moment to spare. With one hand on your back and another on your hip he pushed you against the bed as he plowed into you harder and faster with each passing second. Unable to see with the blindfold on, your senses intensified making every thrust rack your body with unimaginable amounts of pleasure. While Barbatos ravaged you from behind you stilled yourself under his grip, panting and moaning out his name as you drooled on the sheets. The familiar feeling of heat pooling deep within you was a clear sign you were close causing you to start rocking your hips in rhythm with his as you tried to get as much friction going as possible. You could feel yourself start to tighten, your release just seconds away when Barbatos bent down, his lips softly brushing against your ear.

“Don’t cum until I say so. If you really aren’t the needy slut that you appear to be you can at least do that much.”

Tears dampened the blindfold around your eyes as stray droplets rolled down your cheeks. You were already teetering at the edge of your own limits but now you no longer had a choice. Gripping at the sheets till your knuckles turned white, you pressed your legs together and hoped beyond all hope that he would give you permission to cum before you surpassed your breaking point. As you finally managed to calm your breathing down it felt like you just might have a chance at completing Barbatos’s order until…..*SLAP* You felt his hand strike your ass just as hard as the whip from earlier. It wasn’t fair by any means but he never said he wouldn’t play dirty. Each strike was harder than the last and just as satisfying. The heat and tension inside you built up much faster than before. With one last slap everything you were holding back came undone. You finally had the relief you desired but all at a price.

“Such a shame. And I was just about to let you cum too. Oh well...” his voice feigned pity as he picked up the pace once again.

Despite being sensitive from your climax Barbatos had no restraint or mercy left for you, overstimulating you until your moans became incoherent and your mind went blank. It wasn’t long until Barbatos joined you in your ecstasy, letting his hot seed stain your insides before pulling out and covering your body with the rest of his load. Once he pulled out he undid the ropes and the blindfold but you made no effort to move from where you were. You failed and now that video was proof of it. You expect Barbatos to reprimand you, tease you, or degrade you but to your surprise he did none of those things. Moving to sit beside you he brought out his D.D.D. and deleted the video before your very eyes.

“I know I said I’d only delete it if you behaved for me but I don’t think I’ll be needing it anymore… after all you’ve just given me something far better.”

As he stood from the bed you soon understood what he meant. Scattered around the room were several video cameras. Each of them immortalized your little breeding session with Barbatos in different views and angles. You weren’t sure if this was better or worse, you could only sit there in shock as Barbatos collected the cameras and excused himself from the room leaving you behind with your thoughts.

You closed your eyes and tried to get some rest before any more demons came but you were only successful in getting a few minutes to yourself before the door swung open once again. This time however it wasn’t a demon intruding on your peace, quite the opposite actually. Rolling onto your side you were once again greeted by Solomon who was now dragging a blushing Simeon in by the collar.

“I bet you didn’t know this MC, but angels actually have breeding seasons too! They’re just really good at hiding it. Isn’t that right, Simeon?”

The angel gave no response in return only shielding his eyes with his hands once the heat in face became unbearable.

“You were so adamant about holding yourself back even though I was kind enough to invite you from the beginning. I can only guess you were trying to protect your virtue as much as theirs but after what the demons did...well...why don’t you take a look at what’s left of them?”

Reluctantly, Simeon did as he was told parting his fingers just enough to get a glimpse of you. What he saw next made his heart sink. Over the past few months he’s spent with you, you’ve gained a special place in his heart. He treasured you more than anything and now here you were, his precious little lamb lying before him covered in countless bruises and bitemarks while your body was marked with the scent of demons. Words couldn’t describe the emotions that ran through him as he stared at you, a dull twinge of pain slowly spreading across his chest. A part of him couldn’t believe what they had done to you and yet….another part of him couldn’t believe what he missed out on. As soon as that notion crossed his mind Simeon shook his head as if doing so would realign his morals and purge himself of all the sinful thoughts that slowly crept into his conscience.

“It’s not too late you know. They’re just as eager as you are and besides the effects of the spell won’t go away for about a week. Don’t you want to help them?” Solomon’s words were as sweet as honey but Simeon wasn’t going to let himself be swayed so easily.

“I-I...I....” Simeon’s lips trembled as he turned his head to the side, fighting the urge to give into his desires and take away whatever innocence you had left.

“Hmm...the way I see it you have three options. You can leave now and let me have MC to myself, you can stay and watch me have my way with them, or….you can fuck them like you’ve always wanted...” Solomon’s words tempted the angel more than anything he’s been through before. Still withholding a proper response, Simeon remained silent where he stood, his fists clenched so tight his nails dug deep into his palms. Solomon’s persuasion had worn him down to his core, however the sorcerer still had one last card up his sleeve. Striding towards the bed, Solomon began removing his clothes before pulling you into a deep kiss.

“Well Simeon...whether you choose to leave or stay it seems you’ve already decided not to lay a hand on them...and if that’s the case then I’m sure you won’t mind if I go ahead and just-”

“NO!!!”

Raising his voice for the first time, something inside Simeon had finally snapped. The room went silent as Simeon pushed past Solomon and joined you on the bed. His heart was heavy with guilt and jealousy but that didn’t stop him from cupping your face and claiming your lips with his own. Though filled with passion, the kiss was softer than anything you experienced these past few days. His touch was just as delicate, gracing the surface of your skin to avoid causing you any more pain. After carefully massaging your chest he bowed his head down to lick and suck at your nipples while his free hand travelled between your legs. In all his gentleness, he never let his mouth part from your body, tenderly kissing over every bruise, bitemark, and lash until no part of you was left untouched by his lips. Slipping in a finger then two more he worked you up slowly until he was pumping and curling his digits inside you at a steady pace. When he finally shed his clothes and positioned himself between your legs he couldn’t muster the strength to look you in the eyes, too shy and embarrassed at how far he had fallen into his own desires.

Placing your hand on the side of his face you stroked his cheek with your thumb, making him turn to face you once again. As you gazed into his eyes you noticed something, a feeling that went beyond any form of lust or perversion. Love. You had seen glimpses of it in the others before him but it seemed to radiate off Simeon as naturally as light from the sun. Wrapping your arms around him you pulled him into a warm embrace, the sudden contact made him shudder due to the effects of his heat but he accepted your affection whole heartedly. It wasn’t until Simeon’s hardened length pressed against your thigh that you both recalled the situation you were in. Moving back between your legs he eased his member inside you until you took him in from tip to base. His pace was slow as he thrusted into you, cradling you in his arms as he buried his face in the crook of your neck.

“MC...my sweet little lamb...you have no idea how much I’ve longed for this...for your body, for your love, for you….”

Simeon’s breath was hot against your ear as he whispered sweet nothings to you between his moans. His thrusts soon became faster and rougher as he finally gave in to the effects of his heat. In a split second you felt a change in the air and a quick flash of light. Looking up, you realized the source of it was none other than Simeon, his snow white wings now visible and outstretched on either side of you. You felt so heavenly to him he didn’t have the restraint to hide his angel form any longer. While he pounded away at your core you felt yourself getting close once again, your walls tightening around his cock until he reached his limit with you. As you came together he pulled you close against his chest, letting his wings envelope you in their warmth as he finished inside you.

With both of you collapsed on the bed Simeon cuddled up against you unwilling to let you out of his embrace for even a second. It took awhile for you to notice but as you looked away from Simeon for a moment you realised that Solomon was nowhere to be found. His clothes weren’t there so he must have left in the middle of your lovemaking. You considered telling Simeon but you had a feeling it could wait. You were literally resting in the arms of an angel, there was no need to ruin it with some trivial detail. Closing your eyes you laid your head on Simeon’s chest enjoying his warmth as you began drifting off to sleep...until an irritated voice pulled out of your slumber.

“Who let the angel in?” Lucifer’s brows furrowed as he stood at the doorway, his brothers just a few feet behind him.

“I did!” Solomon piped up from behind them, “Consider him my plus one.”

Once they entered the room their eyes widened in shock as they got closer to the bed. All the marks they left on you the other day had healed. Not a single scratch was visible on your skin. They all stared at you for a good minute before shifting their gaze to Simeon. Turns out those angel kisses were more than just a sign of affection. None of the brothers were all too happy with what they saw. All the scratches, bruises, and bites they marked you with were gone, as if they never happened at all. The tension in the room started to grow but luckily Diavolo arrived just in time to resolve the situation.

“How kind of you to finally join us Simeon! Up until recently it seemed like you had no interest in our little meeting but from what I’m seeing now I guess it’s safe to assume you’ve changed your mind?” Diavolo took a step towards the angel, his demeanor still calm and composed while Simeon’s face flushed red as he stared at the floor and gave a quiet “yes” in response. Diavolo chuckled at his shy display of honesty before gesturing for the others to come closer. Taking your chin in his hand Diavolo tilted your head to meet his eyes once more, “This isn’t quite what I had imagined when I said I wanted to unite the three realms, but then again who am I to turn down such a golden opportunity...”

A million different things ran through your head as each of them drew closer to you, surrounding you from all sides, however one singular thought remained in your mind, “This is going to be a very long breeding season.”

For the next two weeks, all classes at RAD were postponed under the order of Lord Diavolo. None of the students could complain about a sudden two week vacation….except for a certain exhausted exchange student….

[quadballz]

𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐓; one

࿔*:･ﾟi.

next: ࿔*:･ﾟii. | table of contents

BOTH GIRLS sat in the lobby of the hospital, (y/n) still flipping through the pages of the book. "So, are there any clues as to who he is?" asked Yasuho as she rested her chin on the other girl's shoulder. (y/n) shook her head, scanning over the pages like she had been doing ever since they had found the man a day prior. "I want to say that he's a Joestar but I can't confirm anything unless we find a family tree or something," sighed (y/n), closing the book with a huff, "plus, once great-great-grandma passed away, my Kishibe-side put that motto in place so I doubt we have any recent information on the Joestars."

Yasuho pouted solemnly as her grip tightened around the two packages of Sesame Honey Dumplings. (y/n) looked at the other girl from her peripherals, with a soft smile. "I'm sure we'll figure out who he is," (y/n) paused to place a hand on Yasuho's shoulders, only for her to whip her head to look at her with a furrowed brow. "What even are the mottos you're talking about?" Yasuho asked while scouring the other girl's face for answers and only receiving a strained smile.

"Well, as a Kishibe, I was told to never trust a 'Jojo' but as a Speedwagon, it looks like I always have to help a 'Joestar'; and as you can tell, there's a 'Jo' in 'Joestar'," she explained to Yasuho who still wasn't too satisfied. (y/n) smiled and stood up, holding out a hand to the pink-haired girl. "Don't worry," she assured as Yasuho took her hand, "I'm definitely going to fulfill my role as a Speedwagon. Even if he isn't actually a Joestar." Yasuho gave her a smile that made her heart skip a beat and her ears burn.

After pulling Yasuho up, (y/n) turned away, looking at the passersby without a clue as to why she was doing so. "P-plus, it might take a while, but I'm sure he'll figure out who he is eventually! In the meantime, why don't you take those dumplings to him?" Yasuho looked down at her gift and (y/n)'s lack of one. "Hey, didn't you say you'd get him a get-well gift?" Yasuho questioned, while (y/n) gave a playful scoff. "Yeah, of course! I have it right-" (y/n) froze at the sight of her great-great-grandma's old notebook— she forgot.

(y/n)'s gaze robotically fell onto Yasuho's second box of dumplings. "Yasuho, darling," (y/n) began with a few 'seductive' blinks of her eyelashes and with an arm on the wall by Yasuho's head, "think I could have that second box of dumplings?" Yasuho's brow furrowed as she gave (y/n) a knowing look. "That won't work on me, honey. The other box is for Joshu." (y/n) groaned and put her face in her hands, hoping to cover her flushed expression. And also because, ugh, Joshu existed and she just had to be reminded.

"Ugh. Right. That asshole is here too," (y/n) groaned while Yasuho began pushing her in the direction of the gift shop. Yasuho seemingly didn't have a comment on (y/n)'s hatred for him but the girl was far too nice to ever really have such a strong opinion on someone. "Do I have to get him something?" (y/n) whined while Yasuho gave her a tight-lipped smile, "aww, but Yasuhoo, I don't wannaaaa." "If I had to, so do you."

After a reluctant trudge over to the shop, the two girls found themselves standing in front of a shirt with an out-of-date slogan on it. While Yasuho looked through other clothes, (y/n) looked at it with proud tears in her eyes. "I...I think Mr. Joestar would love this," she said with a smoldering look, "I think it would be good to see him in it as a reference for that character I was telling you about." Yasuho looked at the shirt and back to (y/n) with a raised brow, "oh, c'mon (y/n), don't use the poor guy as reference material."

(y/n) hummed and took one final look at the shirt before tilting her head to the side, a pout on her face. She was really hoping to use him as a reference but if Yasuho was telling her not to, she'd have to listen. Well, at least while Yasuho was around. As she put the shirt back, (y/n) saw a bright pink scarf with sequins on it. In an instant, it was in her arms— a tacky gift for a tacky guy by the name of Joshu.

"Is that for who I think it is?" Yasuho asked while stifling a laugh, "please tell me it is." (y/n) gave her a wide grin before showing it off. "If you must know, it is for our dearest friend Joshu who requires some sparkle to bring back his eyesight." Yasuho doubled over before taking hold of the fabric, "I can't wait to see his reaction." "What's he going to react to? The feeling of the scarf?" Yasuho was reduced to a giggly mess while (y/n) smiled and turned to look through the stuffed animal section.

"I think I'll get Mr. Joestar one of these cuties," (y/n) said aloud once Yasuho's laughter had died down. She had placed her chin on (y/n)'s shoulder while the girl picked up a fluffy blue bear. "Think he'd like it?" asked Yasuho while fiddling with the ends of the pink scarf. (y/n) hummed for a moment before scanning the shelves, spotting a yellow dog with a sailor hat. "Hey...doesn't it kinda look like Josuke?"

Yasuho stared at the puppy with a fond smile, making (y/n)'s face burn— up close, Yasuho was awfully pretty. "You know, that guy kinda reminds me of him too." (y/n) brushed off her thoughts and held out the stuffed animal to look at from afar. While squinting, she somehow saw the guy's face. "Heh, you're right-" Yasuho stepped back, leaving (y/n)'s shoulder uncomfortably cold, "-I think I'll just get him this." Once purchased, and despite (y/n)'s complaints, they were off to Joshu's hospital room.

"(y/n)~ Yasuho~ You've come to visit little ol' me~?"

(y/n) grimaced as Joshu puckered his lips and batted his eyelashes while Yasuho gave him a hesitant smile. "Y-yeah! Just making sure you were okay, haha," Yasuho had mustered out before handing him a box of dumplings, "oh, and I got these for you." "Thank you, my little straw~ber~ry~," breathed out Joshu while (y/n) was on the verge of throwing up, preferably aimed into Joshu's gross mouth.

"As for you my favorite otaku~ Did you get me a get-well-present?" Joshu asked with a pout while she gagged. Yasuho nudged her and (y/n) was left to reluctantly pull out the scarf she had been previously excited to give to him. Sadly, the fool still had his vision so the joke was way less hilarious than she had hoped the exchange would be. "A scarf." Before he could say another word, she had chucked it at him and dragged Yasuho out of the room.

His faint shouts were like music to her ears and the sound of nurses rushing to his room to stop him was like a symphony. "So, what room is Mr. Joestar in?" (y/n) chirped as if she hadn't left her childhood enemy screaming at her in a different room. Yasuho hummed and then pulled a slip of paper with a scraggly set of numbers on it. "326," she replied simply, taking the lead instead of (y/n) who had really only visited the hospital to sit in the lobby and draw people when Yasuho was off hanging with her (now) ex-boyfriend.

When they reached the room, however, it was empty. (y/n)'s brow furrowed as Yasuho scanned the room— she had finally met a descendant of one of the people mentioned in her great-great-grandma's diary and now she lost him. Sure, it wasn't like it was of utmost importance but it had been a great inspiration for her new manga. And now it was all gone. "Dammit!" "Ow." Yasuho and (y/n) shot a glance at the mattress where the mystery guy just so happened to be.

"Holy shit!"

The two girls grabbed at each other, screaming in unison as the guy stared at them from the least expected place. "What in the world are you doing?!" screeched Yasuho as (y/n) remained glued to her side. The guy gave them both a sleepy grin that made (y/n) look away while biting her lip— she'd be lying if she didn't say that the Jo-guy wasn't hot and at that very moment she had been thanking her ancestor for passing down such a motto. Helping him meant staying around a pretty face after all.

"Hey, what's with you?" questioned Yasuho as (y/n) was pulled from her fantasies, "what're you doing down there?" Yasuho was definitely the better of the two for asking these questions. "What? Just what it looks like. I'm sleeping. The people wearing white clothes said I couldn't leave for a while," he replied while (y/n) crouched down and placed her chin in her hands, "what Yasuho meant to ask is why you're under there in the first place." The guy raised a brow from under his mattress, looking between the two girls.

"You mean people sleep on top? How would they put pressure on their bodies then?" Yasuho turned to (y/n) who could only muster half a shrug. "Sounds like a fetish or something," (y/n) said halfheartedly, "I mean, my great-great-grandma's friend said her friend had a thing for mosquito bites." Yasuho cringed just slightly before turning to the guy and holding out a box of dumplings that was smaller than what she had given to Joshu.

"Here, I got you a present. I thought I'd bring you something since you were in the hospital. (y/n) did too." As if on command, (y/n) held out the stuffed animal with a lopsided grin, "it kinda looked like you. Yasuho thought so too." Yasuho smiled in agreement and then started rambling about Joshu, his injuries, and why the two had come to visit while (y/n) nodded intermittently and the guy started to slide out from under the mattress. As he did so, the hem of his pants slowly slid lower and lower-

Four balls.

(y/n) broke out into laughter and turned away while Yasuho grimaced and shut her eyes tightly, crying out for him to stop before any more of his pants could fall off. While her friend had spiraled into mumbling against the wall, (y/n) had turned back around to find him examining the stuffed animal. "Like it?" (y/n) asked as he held it out in front of him, letting its limbs flop around. "Yes," he answered, turning to look at her from over his shoulder, "what is his name?" (y/n) hummed aloud in thought while plopping down onto the mattress.

"Mmm...Rohan is a cool name," she said with a smile, "but it's yours to name." The guy looked at her and then at the stuffed animal, setting it down next to her thigh and letting it flop on its side against her. "I like that name too." (y/n) felt the tip of her earns burn— it wasn't as if he had just flirted with her but she found his actions somehow attractive. The guy had now turned to Yasuho's gift, turning over the box and opening it carefully. "What are these?"

Yasuho had turned back around then with a raised brow, walking up beside him, "never had one? Morioh is famous for them." (y/n) watched fondly as Yasuho began to break into detail about the origins of the Sesame Honey Dumplings; ever since they were little, Yasuho had always had an addiction to them which eventually spread over to (y/n) when they became best friends during middle school. "...there's a special way to eat them. You gotta make sure not to bite with your front teeth."

"Oh, don't forget about chewing with your back teeth on the first bite," (y/n) added while the guy tentatively placed a dumpling in his mouth, doing the complete opposite of what he was supposed to. The black cream shot out from the gap between his teeth she hadn't realized he even had. It was...cute. As Yasuho reiterated what she had been saying, (y/n) couldn't take her eyes off him, especially when his odd-colored eyes glimmered with surprise.

MAN, OH, MAN DID SHE HOPE HE WAS A JOESTAR.

this cuts off at a weird spot but i felt this was pretty long already so yeah...lol

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 289: Looks Like the Gang’s All Here

Previously on BnHA: Horikoshi was all “you guys don’t really need to know what’s gonna happen to Deku and Shouto right now” and cut away to Toga and Ochako before anyone could get a word in. Skeptic utilized the power of Freak Shounen Coincidence to magically zero in on Ochako and Tsuyu amongst the fleeing crowd. Toga was all “IS THAT OCHAKO” and immediately leaped down to fight them, ignoring Spinner’s heartfelt speeches about Villain Found Family because fight now, hug later!! Down in the streets of some unidentified crumbling city, Ochako was approached by a sweet old lady and was all “I better help this sweet old lady who is definitely not leading me into a trap”, which unfortunately turned out to be poor decision-making on her part. Anyway so now she and Toga are going to throw down. AND ALSO, P.S., BEST JEANIST IS STILL ALIVE, and that doesn’t really have anything to do with anything right now, but BY GOLLY I JUST HAD TO SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS.

Today on BnHA: Iida and Hadou are all “is it our turn yet”, and Horikoshi is all “yes”, and so the two of them finally burst onto the scene and are all “hello Shouto, Gigantomachia is on his way, btw do you need help” and so they all get ready to fight Tomura together. Meanwhile in Unnamed Ochako And Toga Fight Town, Toga is all “what’s up Ochako, oh is this the All Might doll Deku gave you, I guess you must like Deku as well, just like me, we truly are the same, btw I can use other people’s quirks now” before she vanishes in a flurry of knives and ambiguity, as mysteriously as she came. So that’s a thing that happened. The chapter ends with Gigantomachia and the League STOMPIN’ ONTO THE SCENE, JUST IN TIME FOR ENDEAVOR TO WAKE UP AND BE ALL “OHHHHH SHIT.” YOU’RE DAMN RIGHT, “OH SHIT.” Finally the pieces are in place for Dabi to reveal his true identity to Hadou and Iida, JUST LIKE WE ALL EXPECTED.

before I start, thank you so much to everyone who sent birthday messages on Wednesday!! I had a good day; my quarantine impulse purchase guitar that I ordered months ago but had been backordered finally arrived, and so now I can do something productive with my time as I continue to while away these months in isolation! not to say that capslocking over fictional characters and their shounen escapades doesn’t also count as being productive lmao. anyways, my fingers hurt so typing is kind of a bitch right now, but I’m having fun still. IF KAMINARI CAN DO IT THEN SO CAN I

anyway so let’s see what mishaps my various catastrophe-prone children are getting up to this week

okay there are several things happening in this panel which I want to comment on

IIDA!!!

HADOU!!!

“some time after” jesus fucking christ though, how long have Deku and the rest actually been fighting?? like it’s absolutely absurd to imagine that they’ve been managing to hold off Tomura for more than a few minutes, and yet everything we’ve seen these last couple of chapters suggests that this is indeed the case. which is just pure insanity tbh. excuse me sir, but I have an emotionally maturing son, a homewrecking grandpa, and a sleep-deprived one-legged platonic husband who are all in DIRE NEED of medical attention just FYI

lastly, I direct your attention to these two cool cats in the background who are both riding on hover surfboards. living it up like it’s Back to the Future. why are there two of them. do they both just happen to have the exact same quirk. what are the odds. ARE THEY TWINS. I want to know everything about them dammit

anyway so Hadou is asking Iida why he’s tagging along, because unlike the others, he can’t fly and is thus vulnerable to Tomura’s attacks and such

well Hadou I’ll have you know that it his DUTY AS THE CLASS PRESIDENT to tag along and THAT’S WHY

oh shit you guys IIDA SAID “FUCK THE LAW”

“plus Bakugou-kun, whom I am not particularly close to, but nonetheless hold nothing personal against!” well uh, kind of a weird distinction to make there bro, but okay. listen everyone, it’s a tense situation; if Iida feels the need to clarify the ins and outs of his interpersonal relationships with each of the people he’s rescuing then please just respect that okay

anyways though have I mentioned how much I fucking love Iida Tenya though you guys. feels like I haven’t mentioned that enough. I LOVE HIM. there

FINALLY

AFTER THREE WHOLE WEEKS WE FINALLY CUT BACK. OH MY GOD. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW LONG OF A TIME THAT IS TO BE HOLDING YOUR BREATH. [EXHALES]

is it bad that my immediate reaction to this page was A LOT OF LAUGHING, though. fkldlksh this entire situation is SO ABJECTLY TERRIBLE that if I were Shouto I would almost be fighting the urge to look around for a hidden camera at this point. ASHTON KUTCHER WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING HERE. OH THANK GOD, IT WAS ALL JUST A PRANK

anyway so uh. heh. how screwed are we at this point, exactly. oh and also, whose speech bubbles are these. who the fuck would look at this situation and these bleeding children and say “HA!” what kind of monster. just ignore that paragraph right before this one please

OH SHIT, OH SHIT, OH SHIT

TOMURA I CANNOT BELIEVE I’M SAYING THIS, BUT PLEASE LISTEN TO AFO FOR ONCE AND JUST LEAVE

pretty please. we kind of have a situation here. not that I wouldn’t love to see what this icy flamey boi could do if push came to shove, but I also have had just about enough of watching children get maimed for today though

OH SHIT

THE TIMING OF THIS MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE AT ALL BUT I DO NOT CARE!! THE CAVALRY HAS ARRIVED THANK GOD

“WHAT UP GUYS, WE BROUGHT YOU SOME TERRIBLE NEWS” FKLSHLKHLK

WELL GEE IIDA THANKS SO FUCKING MUCH!!

lmaoooo a wild Lida has been spotted what the fuck is this translation though

I don’t know which is better, the “Lida” (DO YOU EVEN READ THE SERIES BRO), or the “CHRIST” gkfhkg. CLASSIC LIDA

OH SNAP HADOU

sobbing at Manual cradling the still-warm corpse of Gran Torino like a tiny baby khlk;h. BUT ANYWAYS HADOU SAW HER TEACHER ALL BLOODIED UP AND IS READY TO THROW DOWN, YESSSSS, THE MY LADIES ACADEMIA ARC CONTINUES

(ETA: listen you guys, there were many things at the end of this chapter that brought me joy, but perhaps none more than the inclusion of Hadou in the final two page spread looking all serious alongside the Todorokis, as if she has any fucking clue at all wtf is going on slfkhlkhgghsl. what I wouldn’t give to see her and Deku and Iida all making frantic bewildered eye contact at each other throughout the next chapter lmao.)

GOD FUCKING DAMMIT DEKU

ARE YOU PROPPING YOURSELF UP WITH YOUR ARM THAT’S IN SPLINTERS, I CAN’T EVEN BELIEVE YOU RIGHT NOW. SOMEONE PLEASE SLAP SOME SENSE INTO THIS CHILD. SIT YOUR ASS DOWN

LMAO TODO’S READY TO TAKE AFOMURA ON. THE SHARED HERO BRAINCELL HAS ALREADY EXPIRED. FUCK IT LET’S DO THIS

“true, I already watched him murder my dad, my boyfriend, my other boyfriend, my teacher, and dozens of other people, but gosh darn it, I just feel like the fifteenth time’s the charm you guys.” shit, I ain’t even mad. who’s up for yet another episode of Todoroki Shouto Attempts to Murder a Bitch

-- “TIME TO CUT AWAY!!” laughs Horikoshi as he gleefully dodges out of reach before I can punch him, that SON OF A --

goddammit. you’re just lucky that I’m invested in the girl power fight too

YESSSSS OCHAKO

DON’T BE SORRY FOR KICKING ASS! NEVER BE SORRY FOR KICKING ASS

damn, looks like she managed to touch Toga’s shirt but not Toga herself. both of them are so fast

now Toga is monologuing from the shadows

we’ve all been there, Toga. sometimes you see someone you really like and it’s just like, ahhhhhh gotta kill them am I right

lol I love Toga so much you guys, but I’m also kind of wincing in anticipation of whatever essays are gonna materialize out of the fandom this week explaining how hero society has failed her utterly and she is just a victim here. CAN YOU NOT SEE HOW SHE JUST WANTED FREEDOM TO BE HERSELF AND MURDER A BUNCH OF PEOPLE flhkklhl

OH SNAP SHE WENT AND TOLD HER THE THING!!

and it was fucking awesome and scary as shit, Ochako. like damn, still sends a chill up my spine just thinking about it

anyway so now Toga is continuing to explain that she can use the quirks of whoever she transforms into

and Ochako is kind of freaking out, which I don’t blame her for, since it’s probably really upsetting to hear that your stolen blood and quirk were used to murder a bunch of people. shit

so now she’s all “WTF WHY WOULD YOU EVEN TELL ME THAT”

??? was this somehow the wrong answer?

for fuck’s sake. Toga you literally came down here to ask her if she would be willing to kill you, and here she is telling you “I would never be happy about killing someone, that’s fucked up”, and you’re all “......”

like come on though, what else do you want her to say?? and why does Ochako look so shocked now

OOP

LMAO

THEIR FACES DKSLHFKG. TOGA NO THAT IS MEAN. and jesus christ Ochako it’s just a toy. I know it has Sentimental Value and shit but is this really the thing to be getting distracted about right now

FOR FUCK’S SAKE

JIN-KUN WHOM OCHAKO HAS NEVER FUCKING MET?? THAT JIN-KUN??!

OM NOM NOM

this entire confrontation makes absolutely zero sense to me you guys. just. Horikoshi was all, “this is the kind of stuff girls talk about when they’re battling to the death, right?” just, are you okay my dude

anyway so Toga has somehow deduced that Ochako got the doll from Deku, which means that she and Ochako are exactly alike in every way, and this is somehow an important plot point, and now they’re finally getting back to the fight lulz

OH SHIT

OCHAKO BOUT TO SLAP THE SHIT OUT TOGA WITH THIS BOOKCASE ON A STRING AND THIS LOUIS BAG OH FUCK

so now Toga’s all excited and she’s all “THERE’S SOMETHING I OUGHT TO TELL YOU, I’M NOT LEFT HANDED EITHER” oh snap

fuck, it almost feels like she’s trying to warn her. Ochako idk maybe you should run shit I do not like this ( ﾟдﾟ)

but of course she is not running, and she’s all “I’ll have you take responsibility for your actions”

HEY NOW

WHAT IS FUCKING HAPPENING, DID TOGA JUST FUCKING MURDER TSUYU, WHAT THE FUCK. I AM TERRIFIED, I DON’T WANT TO SCROLL DOWN, SHE THREW LIKE FOURTEEN KNIVES INTO THE DARKNESS, WHAT THE FUCK

OH

IT’S POSSIBLE THAT I MAY HAVE OVERREACTED

so did Toga just Swip a bunch of knives for no reason and then abscond, lol what. CAN ANYBODY PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT THE PURPOSE OF THAT ENTIRE SCENE WAS. ASIDE FROM GETTING TO SEE OCHAKO TRY AND YEET A BOOKCASE AT SOMEONE

fuck, she was crying??

DID MY GIRL TOGA JUST KILL AN OLD WOMAN, NAKEDLY LURE OCHAKO INTO A BUILDING, ANTAGONIZE HER INTO SAYING “I’LL MAKE YOU TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR KILLING A BUNCH OF PEOPLE JUST BECAUSE YOU FELT LIKE IT”, STEAL HER DOLL, GIVE HER DOLL BACK, TELL HER “OH SO YOU LIKE DEKU TOO HUH? BTW I CAN USE OTHER PEOPLE’S QUIRKS”, AND THEN RUN AWAY CRYING??? BRUH

-- OH SHIT, OH FUCK

[SIRENS BLARING WILDLY] [AUDIENCE LEAPING OUT OF THEIR SEATS] [T-SHIRT CANNONS BOOMING IN THE AIR] [VIKING WAR HORN SOUNDS IN THE DISTANCE] FUUUUUUUUUCK

well never the fuck mind about Ochako and Toga and WHATEVER THE FUCK THAT ALL WAS SUPPOSED TO BE, I guess, BECAUSE!! MACHIA MADNESS HAS ARRIVED. SPEARS SHALL BE SHAKEN!!! SHIELDS SHALL BE SPLINTERED!!

AND LOOK WHO WOKE UP FROM HIS NUMBER ONE HERO BEAUTY NAP RIGHT ON CUE, TOO!!! ATTENTION ALL PASSENGERS... IIIIIIIIIIT’S TOUYA TIMEEEEEEEE

[listentothelittlebird]

This was a first draft to Protect Our Own, from my Code Bat series on Ao3! It’s a reimagining of Jason Todd breaking into Titans tower, in a world where Robin is a myth and Tim Drake goes by Alvin, unnamed vigilante, with the Titans. Enjoy!

Shit. Jason was screwed.

Even as he held the tablet in his hands, watching the very concerning stalker-level footage that the League had gathered, he knew. He knew without a doubt that he was watching the new Robin. The target chosen for him was, of all the options the world could give him, Robin.

“This boy is a member of a group of young superheroes known as Young Justice. They recently went under the mentorship of older superheroes, to become the newest team of Teen Titans,” Talia Al Ghul explained passively, and Jason did not like the gleam in her eyes as she watched the young boy fight, “Lady Shiva met the boy, once, and agreed to train him. Even she is unaware of who his previous mentors were.”

Thank goodness for small mercies.

Then Talia turned to Jason. “You have done an admirable job of controlling your Pit Madness,” she smiled sharply, and Jason was reminded of all the deaths he had caused, all the people who had taught him and were murdered by him, using their own tactics, “And you have learnt fast. As promised, you will complete one contracted kill, and you will be released to exact your own revenge.”

Jason gave himself a mental pat on the shoulder, because even in the early days of crazed anger, not once had he given proper clues towards the fact that his killer - the one he wanted to exact his revenge upon - was the Joker himself. “White-faced asshole” could just be a white man, and “fucking green-haired piece of shit” could still just apply to anyone with green hair.

The Robin secret was still safe, surprisingly. Code Bat was still safe.

The assassin base was in the middle of nowhere, but there was still a little town nearby, with enough reception to surf the internet on a phone he had nicked from a particularly rich-looking traveller. 

Talia did not control what he knew, the League did not control what he knew, so even while he learnt of the Joker still being alive, he also learnt about the helicopter crash, how Batman had purposefully fled empty-handed. Truthfully, he still wanted the Joker dead - but he recognised that there was a chance that no matter how many times they tried, the bastard would come back. He would rather not try than to get stuck in a never-ending loop, something that B- that Bruce must have realised.

There were other stories he found. Jason could not deny destroying several rooms in the base when he read the kid’s story. All the money in the world, and his very-much-alive parents could care less than Jason’s own barely-there mother had. 

He had not known if the boy had taken up the mantle after him, but he was unsurprised at the confirmation in front of him. Robin was as much a part of the Wayne family as champagne, fancy suits and camera smiles.

“The boy is young, and already he is excelling in combat, research, and investigation. In a few years, he will be a real threat to the League. This is your final assignment. Kill the boy, and we will let you go.”

Well, fuck. 

Jason carefully controlled his reaction, turning to meet Talia’s eye with his blue-green eyes. “You want me to kill a minor,” Jason spoke slowly, allowing his incredulity and a tinge of anger to slip into his voice.

“Either you take the job, or you will continue training, until another opportunity arises,” Talia replied evenly. Which meant anything from a week later to never. 

Jason gritted his teeth, sucked in a deep breath, and pushed it all out at once. “When are we leaving?” he questioned. Talia’s grin was sharp, like a predator before their strike.

-

Double shit. This just got way more complicated.

Jason had bargained with Talia for a week of preparation work - a week to scout out the Titans tower, as if he had not memorised the layout of the old one. As if they had not built the new tower in the exact way as the old one had been.

“We will have League members surrounding the building,” Talia announced, a day after they had landed in the city. Jason raised an eyebrow at her. 

“We are curious as to who has trained this boy,” Talia explained, “Subdue the boy’s teammates, and make him vulnerable. Don’t block radio transmissions. If the boy has maintained contact with his mentor, they would come running at their call.”

Jason cursed inwardly, keeping his face carefully blank as he nodded his assent.

He had to play this right. 

-

“I don’t trust this,” Bruce rumbled for the fourth time, in full Batman mode despite being in a casual sweater and sweatpants.

Dick hummed along, casting a concerned glance Tim’s way.

On the table was a note, delivered through an unassuming envelope. 

It stated a date and specific hour, and, Don’t call the Code. 

“The code,” Tim mumbled, “Like, Code Bat? There’s no way they’d know that, though, right?”

The note was written on red paper, flecked with green and yellow. Tim’s tone was wavering, lacking its usual confidence. He was always so sure when it came to cases, but this? 

“What’s happening at this time?” Dick wondered. Bruce pulled up his own schedule for the following week, and Tim mentally went through his own plans. Nothing of note, but-

“I’ll be in Titans tower,” Tim stated aloud, and there were gears turning in his brain. Wild gears that were nearly off their hinges, but they were the same gears that had made the Batman-is-Bruce-Wayne connection, and he had learnt to trust them.

“Is someone trying to warn us?” Tim voiced, “I get a lot of speculation from the public, about what my official superhero name is, but also where I came from, who I trained with. What if it’s not just the internet wondering?”

Bruce pursed his lips in thought. He turned to Tim, his eyes hard and determined in that certain manner that meant he was being overprotective.

“No,” Tim blurted, “I’m not staying at the Manor during that specific timeframe.” Bruce shut his mouth and blinked down at his adopted son.

“Whoever this is, they risk being found out if I don’t show up,” Tim gestured to the note, “It might just escalate from there, anyway, if we prolong whatever is supposed to happen.”

“It could be a trap,” Dick pointed out, and now he too had taken up the overprotective undertones of discomfort. Tim squared his shoulders and smiled reassuringly. “I’ll be fine,” he promised, “I’ll stay in the tower. Besides, all my teammates will be there. If anything happens, they’re right there.”

Bruce and Dick exchanged worried glances, but eventually Bruce sighed and clasped a hand on Tim’s shoulder. “Code Bat has always been for your safety,” Bruce stated firmly, “I don’t care if our enemies find out about us - if it gets out of hand, if it looks like a trap, call us.”

-

The morning of the date stated on the note, Tim found another one in his Teen Titans bedroom.

They want you dead. Play along.

What jolted Tim was the symbol at the bottom right corner of the note - it was one of the made-up symbols that Dick had taught him. The symbol on the note meant “burn after reading”.

The handwriting was not Dick’s, nor was it Bruce’s. It was cursive, almost like Alfred’s, but it was also much more scrawled and uneven, like someone still unpractised in writing. 

The gears in Tim’s brain must have really come unhinged this time, because the only name it could conjure was Jason. Jason was dead.

Tim was quietly uptight right until the hour came. He almost did not realise his teammates were being picked off, meticulously, skillfully, one by one. Almost.

Tim still had yet to press his emergency beacon. He had not activated Code Bat. He wanted to see where this went, before anything else.

Then the mysterious attacker descended on him, a blur of black and the smallest glimpse of white, and Tim was fighting for his life.

The man moved like an assassin - Tim had met some League of Assassins members, back when he had trained with Lady Shiva. He moved like them, but there was also something else to his movements.

Tim dodged a hit, and that was too short to be aiming for his throat, that would have been a non-lethal hit-

The man was not aiming to kill. He fought like Batman. He fought like one of them.

Tim opened his mouth, made to say something, although he was unsure what. He was swept off his feet before he got the chance.

“Who trained you, kid?” the voice growled, and it was a deep voice that should have unnerved him, but something struck him as familiar. The drawl, the barely-there accent.

Jason, his brain screamed.

Real answers, please, Tim pleaded.

The man pulled him by his tunic collar, and he shifted to pull him towards his face. There was a glint of metal on the man’s uniform - a recording device. 

“Who are you?” he growled again, with Tim pulled close. 

Tim got a good look at the man’s face, and while he instinctively bantered back, he was internally reeling. Looks like his gears were working, after all.

“Just a kid with a dream,” Tim smirked, a crooked smile already leaking some blood. 

Jason - because this man was Jason, somehow, how was Jason alive - interrogated Tim while punching him out. His blows hurt for sure, but Tim swore that he was aiming for the areas that would cause the least injuries. He swore that when he grunted as a rib was broken, Jason had paused minutely, cringing slightly, before he barreled on.

Something was placed on his chest. 

“Say goodnight, kid,” Jason sing-songed, and there was the sound of a gun cocking. Tim barely registered that when the gun shot, it had shot at him. There was the hard thump of something near his chest, just above his chest, but it had barely touched his tunic.

Jason tapped a finger-signal, a “stay low and don’t move”, and Tim remained where he was. He waited as footsteps receded, waited for several minutes, with a bag of fake blood leaking from his chest, bruises and other injuries blooming in pain underneath his uniform.

He felt rather than heard the presence appear beside him. The looming figure crouched down and gingerly maneuvered Tim into a firm grasp. 

His “assassin” stared down at him. He had switched out his black assassin get-up for casual clothing. He was… tall. Built like Bruce. His eyes were different, too, and he had a white lock of hair curling just above his eyebrows. Yet…

“Jason?” Tim croaked out, and Jason Todd smirked. Tim knew that smirk - Robin wore it a lot, when he watched him. “You better be damn glad no one can hear you, anymore,” Jason gruffed, and started moving with Tim in his grasp, “Let’s go somewhere else, though, for good measure.”

They ended up in Tim’s room - sound-proofed, and therefore the safest location in the tower for this conversation.

“You’re alive,” Tim blurted out, as Jason dressed his wounds. His hands stuttered before resuming their work. “I died,” Jason stated flatly, “And I dug myself out of my own grave. Talia found me, and threw me into a Lazarus Pit.”

Jason raised his eyes to meet Tim’s, and Tim could see the eerie green glow in his eyes. 

“Don’t tell Bruce about me,” Jason rushed out, and Tim immediately jumped to object, but Jason was faster, “Don’t. Listen, I-” Jason breathed deeply, “I’ve killed, alright? I’ve broken his big rule and all that jazz. I might still find myself going back to the streets of Gotham, but to the Manor? I’m not ready to face that shit.”

Jason paused for real this time, having finished taking care of Tim’s more visible injuries. He cringed. 

“You should get Alfie to check you out, just in case you have internal bleeding or whatever the fuck I gave you,” Jason waved his hand around uselessly, “Lie low for a few days, alright? I need to make myself scarce. They’ll find out I didn’t follow through with the deal, and I’ll need to have disappeared, by then.”

Tim was silent for a few long moments. “Will I see you again?” Tim finally asked, his eyes wide and hopeful, “They miss you, you know? We miss you. We all do.”

Jason swallowed, and blinked back the water gathering in his eyes. “How can you miss me?” he chose to ask, “S’not like you knew me very well, before… well, before.”

Tim grinned, bright and eager. 

“You once snuck out for patrol on your own,” Tim informed him, “And got stuck on a rooftop that you flipped onto with your grappling hook, because the other buildings around you were all too far away to grapple towards. You had to slide down the water pipes and run across an empty street to make your way back home.”

Jason sputtered, because that had happened, he did remember that, but when the heck did he hear about it?

“How the hell do you know that?” Jason asked, unable to keep his dismay from leaking into his voice. 

“I’ll tell you when I next see you,” Tim smiled cheekily. Smartass.

Jason checked the time. “Your Superboy buddy will be waking up soon,” Jason reported, “Don’t come looking for me, alright? I’ll… I’ll return to Gotham soon. I just have to make sure the League’s off my back.”

Jason got up and hesitated. “When I return to Gotham,” he warned, “I’ll come in guns blazing. There’ll be deaths. It won’t be pretty. Just- just stay out of my way.”

It would have been more convincing, if Jason had not spent the last thirty minutes treating Tim’s wounds.

“Who are you?” Tim called abruptly, Jason hovering at the door, “You come in and take us all out, one by one. They’d want a name. Who are you?”

Jason smirked sharply. 

“Red Hood,” he droned, “Call me Red Hood.”

He slinked away, and like a true Bat, was out of the tower in seconds.

[leviiattacks]

Two Faced | Chapter Eight

↳ levi ackerman, the very person who was about to kindly behead you by a surprising turn of events manages to become your loving husband? you would be elated if this was true love, but it’s all thanks to a mysterious magic spell that your life is spared, for now at least.

pairing :: duke!levi x duchess!reader genre :: royal au ??? (at this point idek) angst, fluff, slice of life etc ?? word count :: 4.8k author note :: i’ve been very ill so yeah, not the best writing but i really can’t go that long without wanting to write so i ended up writing an update, i hope you enjoy it, it’s longer than usual :D sorry for any mistakes it hasn’t been proof read at all :-( → next part coming soon!!

“Hey, newbie you haven't spoke about your home town much have ya?"

You lift your head, verifying Reiner's suspicions with a nod. You recall he's the same distasteful blonde brute who made those snide remarks about Hange. He must be at least a towering six foot if his shadow is able to cover the majority of the Sun's rays from hitting you.

You would maybe bother to give him and his inquiry more attention than you currently are if he hadn't been so unnecessarily impolite during the morning speeches.

Calves yelping in stinging pain from the first tastes of the full time training regime you simply cannot find the effort to strain your mind with small talk.

Temples throbbing it feels as if a sword has been forced through the side of your head,  but that's not it at all. Reiner has thrown a small rock at you and you hear him chuckle under his breath.

Twisting your position so you face him you glare in displeasure.

Although you don't particularly enjoy the idea of joining Levi's unit and having to become a concealed agent of sorts you can't really take your pickings at how it is you wish to survive. You're going to have to deal with it and you've come to the stage of acceptance now.

However, you are not willing to respect the attitude some of these cadets are giving you, it's clear there's already a strong hierarchy in place.

Reiner just so happens to be one of the big guns from what you've been able to observe. He possess strong upper body strength and his hand to hand combat isn't a laughing matter either. That means he's higher up in the ladder of cadets, that's for sure. To top it all off you know you're not as powerful as other members in the team in terms of skill and he's probably silently making a mockery of you for it.

Pursing your lips you decide to play this game cautiously, asking him what it is he needs from you isn't the best option. You're aware he's after something, it's written all over his face. You practically know every deceptive look in the book off by heart. You suppose it's the only perk you got out of living in a noble household for most of your life.

"Why do you care?" You bluntly question him.

"Ohh, you're feisty. Might not want to butt heads with Annie."

"Not sure who that is but I don't plan on it."

Turning away from him it look like you're distracting yourself by collecting pieces of firewood. Trailing around you act as uncaring as possible to annoy him. You need to gauge this man's reaction somehow.

Your plan seems to be working in your favour because you're able to see his footing shift from his natural stance, it looks as if he's about to risk charging at you due to your vulnerable position but you rotate again offering him a knowing smile.

You don't tell him you're conscious of his suspicious nature but if he's quick witted enough he'll be able to figure out you aren't a threat and apparently don't have a clue what it is he's up to. The only reason he'd even consider attacking you would be if he saw you as an issue. For now your act should at least keep him at bay.

"Fine. I'll tell you about my hometown, I'm just..." You pause to make yourself look believable and proceed to look up at him through your lashes, you dart your gaze away and awkwardly scratch the back of your neck exuding coyness.

"I'm incredibly homesick. I miss mother. I always made supper for her, now I can only pray she's not eating burnt chicken." Your act has to be working because his eyes soften and he takes half of the firewood in your arms offering to help you carry it.

"My mum's a great cook, can't relate squirt."

"Who you calling squirt?" You playfully snap back.

"I call everybody that, even Captain Levi... Well, when he isn't around to hear it."

You bite the inside of your cheek at the mention of the Levi's name.

“So you and the Captain? What’s that all about?” His question makes no sense at all, one minute he wants to prod and poke in your personal home life yet the next minute he's asking questions about Levi. The doubts you have surrounding him only thicken.

You take a moment to consider his question,

“Whatever do you mean?” Clueless, you're delivery is excellent. Acting naive is easy enough, everyone within the corps has already decided that's what your automatic disposition is.

Reiner gives you a skeptical look then smiles faintly, “Glaring daggers at Jean after he got handsy with you?”

You cover your mouth with your free hand and laugh so hard the firewood nearly flies out of your grasp.

“Me and Jean are friends, and Levi? He just wanted to find a reason to get mad at us probably.” You hope the explanation suffices because you truly have no idea why Levi had done what he did.

Reiner hums in approval at your answer but he then grins.

“You on first name basis with the Captain?”

Fuck, you called him Levi.

Play it cool.

“Huh? When have I ever said his first name?” Clueless. Your delivery is still perfect.

“Just now.” He fires back, Reiner doesn't seem to be letting up but he doesn't know how smooth of a liar you are.

Living with your father for all those years conditioned you in ways you hadn't even noticed until quite recently.

“Did I? Pardon, I didn’t mean for it to slip out. Sometimes I silently curse him out in my head and forget to add his title.”

Your acting is impeccable, Reiner has no reason to doubt you. As you expect he doesn't instead he shifts the conversation to his hometown, just like you he doesn't explicitly mention a name. Reiner is sharp but he hasn't noticed the way you've left a name out just like him. He's terrible at catching out his own kind.

You decide at that moment that Reiner Braun is a liar. The accusation is more of a hunch meaning more investigation is required.

You won't inform any of the higher ups about it just yet.

The walk back to base is filled with excruciatingly troublesome small talk and you make a mental note to take Mikasa along with you next time it's your turn retrieve the firewood.

You can't afford any more close encounters with Braun or any of his possible accomplices.

Sniggers batter your ears as soon as you step foot onto the grounds, you have a sixth sense when it comes to spiteful bad-mouthing and after the abysmal day you've had you anticipate there will be unpleasant commentary.

"Seen the way Y/N ruined the assault course today?"

"We're the finalized cadets across all the regions of Paradis. That means we have to rely on that embarrassment to fight titans."

"Good Lord, someone have mercy on our souls."

Fellow cadets press on in their criticism thinking you aren't within earshot. That, or they purposefully aim for you to pay attention to the disapproval they have of your presence.

But, you do understand where they're coming from. You make another mental note - practice a bit more later today.

The gossiping isn't anything you're unfamiliar with, your father's palace never offered kindness to you or your existence. In fact it's rather comforting being talked badly about behind your back.

That statement sounds absurd but you can't explain it. Maybe it's due to Levi typically hurling his unnecessary remarks right at you without warning. Then again he does provide everyone with that treatment, even Commander Erwin.

As you hurry away increasing the distance between you and your loud mouthed team members you spot Levi from the corner of your eye. He's in conversation with Hange but you notice how his jaw is clenched in frustration, you feel a pinch over your skin when he spares you a fleeting look. Eyes acquainting yours. Paying  no attention to him you walk away as fast as you can.

The cadets only blow up in volume now, they definitely want you to hear what they have to say.

"Maybe we should ask the higher ups to throw her ou-"

"Questioning authority? Pesky mutineers aren't you?" Levi's booming voice shakes anyone within a five metre vicinity, he comes out of nowhere and seems nothing short of furious.

"You're all," He continues, voice rising, "Incredibly spineless aren't you?"

One of the cadets embellishes their face with a scowl, it doesn't go unnoticed by Levi but he astonishingly doesn't lash out, physically at least. His deathly glare is more than enough to finish the job.

Stupidly you suffer feeling your heart palpitate in your chest watching him talk to the group of three. Stupidly, you're getting your hopes up again.

He scoffs coldly, "If you're all talk why not offer to duel her?"

It doesn't take long for your heart to stop throbbing with its previous intensity. You know it was too good to be true. Levi suddenly defending you that is.

The gesture isn't done to protect or shield you. No, you're sure this man loathes you and is intending to persist on making your life as bleak and dreary as possible.

"Up to a battle Y/N?" The unnamed blonde cadet's scoffs in derision and you find yourself wanting to punch her square in the jaw.

Irritation sears through you but you meekly shake your head mumbling a weak "No thanks.", you're much too afraid to duel anyone just yet and you don't remember her from the training sessions. She must have been in a corner keeping to herself.

With all that being said and done you pathetically withdraw, and just like the past few days you sense Levi's piercing gaze erupting into your soul.

The blistering Sun hits every nook and cranny of the training ground. Waking up early already has you wanting to pass out and the heat isn't any help.

The crowd of cadets mumble in fatigue but observant Mikasa jabs you in the shoulder pointing out how far away Jean has stood from you.

You feel guilty that Jean had to suffer through the humiliation tossed at him yesterday but you are grateful to not deal with his constant questioning and talkative self this early in the morning.

All the way at the other side of the throng of soldiers he stands with Bert, who might you add is a mammoth of a man.

Through some digging (more like asking Mikasa) you've discovered he's close with Reiner and the blonde cadet from yesterday's confrontation, turns out she's the Annie that Reiner warned you off.

"ATTENTION!" Hange sing songs at the front of the training ground. They're jumping around along with Squad Leader Mike checking if everyone's in the correct uniform - Apparently the year prior a cadet showed up wearing a thick cardigan and fainted from heat stroke...

“Today’s exercise is a time to redeem yourself!” Hange’s eyes dart towards you and you smile at one another.

“A FIGHT TO THE DEATH!”

Everyone murmurs looking at each other in pure confusion.

“A fight up against another person. Whoever wins their individual fights will receive extra special privileges." The explanation seems simple enough and you’re confident that if you’re put up against the right people you can make it out safe.

The promise of a reward is also enticing.

The 104th Training Corps are thrilled, there’s nothing too hazardous about the task and it’s nothing difficult to ask for. Even you’re looking forward to it. The chance to rescue your reputation has you pumped up with adrenaline.

“My, my my. Don’t excite yourselves just yet little hens, there’s a pretty little catch.” Hange's voice is laced in mischief. This can't be any good.

Everyone stops breathing in unison and it’s pin drop silent.

“You must cause harm to your opponent in some way. Whether it be making them faint, breaking an arm, breaking a leg. There are no rules when it comes to playing dirty!”

With a playful shrug of their shoulder Hange hops off the podium.

Squad Leader Mike pulls out the list of competitors. He’s decided the line-up on his own and begins the announcement with Bertholdt.

“BERTHOLDT HOOVER..."

Bert turns to look back at Reiner hesitantly and for such a giant it’s adorable how worried he is when everyone else is perturbed thinking about the poor individual who has to go up against him.

"AGAINST Y/N L/N!"

The crowd falls silent and your mouth is wide, this is unjust there’s no way this is allowed.

“Hey, don’t you think that’s kinda unfair?” Krista speaks out for you even though Ymir is by her side trying to talk her out of getting involved.

“She stands no chance against him.” Reiner is supporting your cause too.

Mikasa takes a step forward. “I agree, it’s not right, may I take her place instead?”

“No, no! It’s alright, I’ll go for it.”

Honestly you don’t want the corps to see you as a coward. Bravery and courage is what brought everyone here. Your story is different. You’re here to selfishly save your own life, you aren’t anywhere near as valiant as the rest of them. The very least you can do is partake in activities correctly.

Stepping up to the podium you stand by Bertholdt he gives you a pitiful look whilst he mutters an apology.

Mike continues announcing the names. A few include Jean against Mikasa (Jean may as well forfeit), Marco against Annie and Connie against Reiner - that pairing eases you. At least you aren't in this alone. You and Connie stand no chance against those beasts.

Everyone lines up in their separate areas and again Bertholdt is profusely apologizing asking if you want to fake faint or anything of the sort. You shake your head and promise to give it all you've got.

And then the games begin at the sound of the bell, and damn that Bertholdt because he isn't keeping to his end of the bargain. He lunges forward viciously aiming to crush your entire body but you swiftly dodge, he tries the same approach but when you duck out of the way again he stops knowing he needs to rethinks his strategy.

"Just give it up I'll win either way."

Well, the Mister nice guy act was definitely a believable performance. He was so convincing you even contemplated feigning unconsciousness when he proposed the idea to you.

Bertholdt is much slower than you giving you more time to deliberate your incoming moves. If you can get him to edge close enough to a nearby tree and deceive him into colliding with the oak trunk you should win - only on the condition that he passes out.

The scheme is far-fetched but it's your only hope.

Dashing from various corners he flies after you, each time unable to catch up to you.

That is until you stumble and lurch to the ground. The wind is knocked out of your lungs and you panic when a large hand clutches at your ankle. Your solution? Booting him right in the teeth.

However with an earth-shattering amount of force Hoover's hold on your ankle doesn't weaken. Instead he tightens his hold like a vice. You feel it bruise and the violet discoloration that'll be present in a few hours makes you wince.

Entire body going limp on command, you stop yourself from breathing - another talent you picked up back at the palace to avoid extra beatings.

When you no longer thrash around Bertholdt stalks in to check in on you and as expected he’s now towering over you, blood overflowing in terror.

"SQUAD LEADER HANGE, CAPTAIN LEVI SHE'S NOT MOVING!" He's roaring for their help frantic and anxious. If he's caused any permanent damage he's as good as dead meat.

"Oh my Lord. I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."

Bertholdt's voice is fractured in unadulterated horror and judging by the direction you hear it at he has to be facing away from you.

Unbolting your eyes you learn your assumption is correct and despite hurried footsteps being within audible range you take your chance by the reigns.

Leaping to your feet and with no forewarning you swing your leg to the back of his neck. Stunned by the surprise attack he falls to his knees and you situate yourself in front of the oak tree you've been eyeing from the time the exercise began.

"You cunning bitch." Staggering back up he makes a swift rebound. At this point all mercy has left him and his one true aim is to completely pulverize you.

Everything is falling into place. All you need to do is wait for the right moment and finally you come across it when he suddenly pounces for you. Darting to the left you leave the space open for your prey.

Poor Bertholdt falls right into the palm of your hands like a rag doll. His momentum can't be controlled and he smashes headfirst into the trunk with a loud crunch sounding out. Bark splits and scrapes off the tree upon impact.

His head has to throb and you don't want to imagine how painful it is to feel the rivulets of soreness.

He doesn't get up and only groans, you feel half bad but after the tricks and antics he pulled you come to the conclusion that it's all deserved.

"Well, Y/N, you've proven yourself to be quite quick witted." Hange's praise is strange to hear but you beam proud that you've proven your worth.

"Oi, don't get ahead of yourself." Levi orders. "It could have been pure luck."

In spite of Levi's pessimism you bask in the glory of your win.

A week into joining Levi's unit you're becoming more accustomed to the new environment, in fact the gossiping and horrible rumours stop completely after your win and interactions with your fellow comrades feel easier and lighter.

You think the taunts will have only got more relentless after the duel fiasco but you suppose Annie chose to be considerate and take pity on you.

"Your progress has been remarkable so far." You jump when you hear Jean's deep voice appear right next to you.

Looking around to see if any other cadets are around you finally release a breath you didn't even know you were holding in.

"Ah. Thank you." You murmur quietly.

"I know it's been a week since I was scolded by the Captain but this won't count as flirting will it?"

Impeding the one sided conversation you're reflecting, you're not sure what exactly about. Probably whether or not you should maintain the discussion - if it can even be referred to as such.

Forget it. You know what they say, you only live once.

Flicking his forehead you roll your eyes, "We were never flirting he's just an over dramatic, bitter hag. I put my money on the fact he's never felt the touch of a woman before."

Jean's eyes widen in disbelief, you half expect he'll split open in tremendous laughter but he looks terrified. Then you become conscious of the fact he's not even staring at you, his eyes are engrossed by whatever is behind you.

Unfortunately for you your body tells you all you need to know. His cologne floods into your nostrils, you can't even reassure yourself and pretend it's anyone else, you know he's the only one who smells that strongly of fresh linen.

Being unable to see him doesn't stop you from imagining his dark lifeless eyes accompanying themselves with what is before them.

It doesn't even take Jean a minute to abandon you, he breaks out into an awkward smile, hurriedly pats your shoulder before dashing away, dispersing all the way to the other end of the hallway in a matter of seconds and turning the corner away from you.

Heart rate soaring you hesitantly spin on your heel. Levi's stood there, looking beyond unimpressed.

You intend to breeze past him, cool and collected. You take a step forward but God has never been one to bless you with luck, stumbling and tripping over thin air lands you flying.

Ready for impact you brace yourself but it never comes, instead solid hands are firmly placed at the small of your back steadying your position and your palms have unceremoniously landed atop his torso.

"Play along." Levi's voice is low and rumbling, and you can't look him in the eyes. Not out of fear or dread, more so exhaustion but you muster the energy to look to your left. There Erwin and Hange stand giggling to themselves like children. As quick as you spot them they vanish in the same fashion. It's as if they were never there.

You're worn out and fatigued wanting nothing more than a good night's rest. If there's one thing you haven't grown used to it's the lack of sleep.

"Let go." Moving to shift his hands away from your waist you halt your movements when he without warning lets go of you, not even giving you the opportunity to renovate your balance.

Flying to the ground and landing with a thud you rub your backside at the blow.

Mirthlessly chuckling the lack of amusement is clear in the way he composes himself.

Making a dash for it sounds tempting but you may as well let him have his way. There's no action you can take to avoid him reprimanding you. It's your fault for having the gall to make that crude and foul-mouthed comment in the first place.

You gulp comprehending the situation is even worse now since you really only said it for the sole reason of Kirstein's amusement.

"Y/N, I'd like to have a word with you."

Hesitantly you look up at Levi, he has an indecipherable expression on his face, it's been a while since you've last been left in his company alone.

The two of you are stood in his office, his desk is flooded with papers, they're haphazardly scattered all over the place and spikes of worry weirdly make them self present in your belly. This isn't right. He'd never leave his work space in this state.

"Are you okay?" You ask it because you’re sure he isn't.

His shoulders and spine stiffen. "Cut the crap and keep the formalities to yourself." He chides, most definitely defensive in his stance.

Without asking him you shuffle to his desk stacking the papers into organised piles, most of the documents are related to an up and coming expedition and it's all beginning to add up. Even humanities strongest soldier has moments where he cracks.

Then you notice your name on the formation plan but before you're able to make anything out of it Levi snatches it off his desk and away from you stuffing it into his pocket.

Without another sound he observes you cleaning the rest of the mess away but doesn't ask for you to stop. There's no reason for him to.

If you do this maybe he'll go easier on you, yeah that's what your motivation is. That's not exactly the truth, really you're just concerned about whatever has him worked up.

Placing the last document in its rightful place you want to give your mind a moment to recollect itself but Levi doesn't think the same.

He places his arms on either side of the desk, trapping you with no way out. Oddly, there's nothing threatening about him looking down at you this time, the greys and blues of his iris' captivate you.

"Do you enjoy making a mockery of your husband?" The question is whispered. It's unanticipated and the title of husband is uncharacteristic coming out of his mouth.

"It was just a joke." You mumble your answer under your breath.

"Would you have spouted that shit in front of the rest of the unit?"

Mildly shaking your head he then sighs. He’s not angry, he genuinely seems let down.

"Do you prefer him over me?” You swear you hear the faintest hint of self-doubt.

His questions are getting more out of the ordinary by the second and you’re waiting for him to crack a malevolent grin before he ridicules you like he always does.

“Of course I don’t prefer him over you.”

“Prove it.”

Tilting your head up towards him you have no idea what he wants for you to do or say, why does this suddenly even matter to him?

And then you imagine it happen, him digging his hands into your shoulders. Your weight along with his shifting up against the desk making it creak. Your mind details how he would kiss you agitatedly and you flush thinking about how you would feverishly return the favour.

It seems like your imagination predicts the future. He grips your jaw with his hand, his touch isn’t firm and for once it’s quite soft. Relishing in the new experience as he leans in you secure your eyes shut in expectation.

Stroking your cheek with his thumb the warm sensation that courses through your body is rather pleasant. His hands come out to run against your body, pinching the sides of your waist. The motion makes your heart stall for a second. Involuntarily, you find yourself leaning into him.

“This seem like a man who hasn’t felt the touch of a woman before?”

And just like that he leaves you hanging. You flutter your eyes open and there he is. He’s back, the same cynical man, smirk etched onto his features, his body still parallel to yours.

You find yourself enraged at how he's just lead and dragged you on, you should have stuck with your gut feeling and not given into temptation but you know what they say, curiosity killed the cat. It's very obvious who the cat is in this situation.

Brows furrowing you can’t face him ever again after the scalding embarrassment inhabits your abdomen.

"Going to cry, Cadet?" He's pushing all your buttons, eagerly choosing to provoke you.

The frustration you’ve been feeling fills you to the brim and you clamp down on your bottom lip. If you must turn to inflicting harm onto yourself just to muffle the sound of your whimpers you will.

“Did you need to do that?” You choke out your response feeling helpless, still not looking at him.

“Simply gave you a taste of your own medicine.”

Silence.

"Sometimes I wish you killed me back then."

Silver eyes become dark and he visibly flinches at your confession.

Still boxed in-between his arms you attempt to push past but he continues to obstruct the exit. He's not done yet.

"I gave you another chance at life." His blunt one-sided view is about to drive you crazy.

"Within my first day at this unit I had to avoid being attacked by another cadet in the forest if you call that a life I do-"

“Who?”

“Not important."

“If you know what's good for you, you'll spit it out."

For the sole purpose of irking him you heavily shake your head to emphasise your refusal to give in and name the culprit. It's not like you want Reiner to fall into trouble because of you. He hasn't shown any suspicious or out of the ordinary behaviour since then and you worry what Levi is capable of doing when given a reason to hurt someone.

Glancing at him dismissively you try to make your point again. "They haven't done anything since. Therefore, it's of no importance."

Conflicted emotions scurry over his face as he looks at you.

"It's of importance if my wif-" He growls and stops midway. His hands grip onto the desk even harder, knuckles turning white.

Was he about to say, wife?

Levi immediately realizes what he's nearly just said sounds exceedingly questionable. A look of uncertainty flashes over his face and then it seems he loses all regard for self-control. His willpower isn't enough to get him through this situation and he only amplifies.

Encroaching further into the very little space amongst the both of you his tone is icy. "Tell me." He's glowering and for Reiner's wellbeing you decide you should just come out with it now. He'll be in an even more difficult spot if you don't.

"Reiner, it was Reiner." You gasp out the answer, shallow breath ragged. Head turning away to the side you're not particularly sure why you're so shaky and why you feel a tremor flood past you inundating your movement. It may all be a combination of how close he's standing to you and how intoxicatingly strong his aura is.

Or, perhaps it's due to how he nearly referred to you as his wife during his primal outburst of anger.

He turns away. Automatically creating yet another blockade between the two of you.

"You're dismissed."

[stxrrywildflower]

vigilante

pairing - bau team x teen!reader

summary - the team meets one of the most reputable vigilantes during a case, suprisingly, it’s someone they least expect

warnings - mentions of case, cursing, past death, abuse

word count - ?

when you were 15, your parents were shot and killed right in front of you. as cliché as it sounds, that was the start of you story.

after moving in with a relative, you started online school. from that moment on, you trained and took the law into your own hands. sure, it was partially illegal and there were a lot of questions from your family, but, you couldn’t sit around in your city and watch other people suffer just as you did. you were currently 17 and as strong as ever with no plans of slowing down. especially with the severity of the most recent crime.

your signature was a spade. whether on a card or a piece of paper, it was at ever crime scene letting the police know you had helped.

this case was like no other. one man or woman, you weren’t quite sure yet, was murdering victims of all age ranges throughout town. after the second body was found, you began your own personal investigation. the way you worked was going to crime scenes either before or after the police were there and found whatever you could. there were a ton of times you found clues and either called in an anonymous tip or wrote it down on paper.

the bau team landed down in pittsburgh after a fairly short flight. the local police department had called the team in once more victims had turned up. the victimology was all over the place and they needed to find every possible ounce of information.

“we have an anonymous tip line but our usual caller hasn’t given us anything. other than that, you can set up in the conference room and boards are in there too,” the deputy announced. hotch was the one who thanked him while the team headed into the conference room.

“usual caller?” j.j. whispered to morgan who then shrugged. “who knows. could just be some local crime fan,” the agent responded. with that, the bau team went to work.

for the next two days the team and police force worked tirelessly to find something that would help them catch the killer. but alas, absolutely nothing. no calls on the tip line and no new bodies found. that was, until they had caught you.

“some jogger just reported some suspicious activity. said they saw someone in the alley on the ground with another person standing over them. it’s a stretch but it could be something. i’ve already sent some officers out,” the deputy alerted.

“alright, keep us informed if they find anything,” hotch responded.

it was a bit unusual for hotch to not send anyone to the potential crime scene but that was just it, it was only a possible scene.

it couldn’t have been more than ten minutes later when a few cops walked in. all heads shot up for one reason. they were pushing along a teenage girl in handcuffs.

you were dressed in black jeans with a black and white plaid jacket. combat boots were your choice of shoes accompanied by a beanie on your head. you looked exactly like the rebellious teenager in some movie. your knuckles were bruised pretty badly and you had a small cut on your lip. the team was obviously shocked to see that an arrest was made, nonetheless a teenager.

“who is she?” rossi asked.

“y/n y/l/n. we found her at the crime scene with the body,” the deputy explained.

“where are her parents?”

“she lives with one of her relatives. they have been notified but are choosing to let us deal with the situation since they are on a trip.”

“and you think she did it?” hotch questioned just as you were led to one of the interrogation rooms.

“all i’m saying is that she has motive. her parents died a few years back during a home invasion. adding on the bruises and the fact that she was found with the body, it’s a possibility.”

“prentiss and rossi, head down to the crime scene and examine the body. if you don’t mind i would like to speak with her,” hotch spoke. upon seeing a nod from the deputy, he followed him back to the room you were in. the rest of the team stood outside of window, peering in to watch the interrogation that was about to go down.

meanwhile, you sat back in your chair, keeping your head low as you moved the handcuffs back and forth across the bar on the table they were attached to. the cops had already searched you for weapons, not like you had any.

when the door opened to the interrogation room, you didn’t even bother looking up all the way. out of the corner of your eye, you did see two men walking in. one was the deputy, you recognized him, but the other you had never even seen before.

a file folder with the fbi logo and bold lettering was then placed on the table. your eyes widened slightly, maybe you were in more trouble than you thought. you hadn’t intended to be caught, that was obvious, but the police arrived and reprimanded you even before you could formulate a plan.

“do you know what this is?” the deputy spoke harshly.

the still mystery man held his hand out as a way to tell the deputy to stand down. “hi y/n, i’m agent hotchner with the bau profiling team. would it be okay to ask you some questions?” hotchner asked. you nodded slightly.

“what were you doing at the crime scene?” hotch questioned outright.

“i was investigating mr. hotchner,” you answered plainly.

“you were investigating a dead body? sounds like bullshit to me,” the deputy butted in. it didn’t take a profiler to know that he was becoming restless with the case.

“don’t you want to know who i am?” you snapped.

“i know who you are y/n. you’re on the wrong side of the law and a suspect in a series of murders,” the deputy responded.

“honestly you couldn’t be more wrong dan,” you spat, using the deputy’s first name. with the limited mobility you had, you reached into your coat pocket. both of the men in the room visibly tensed. “relax, i’ve already been searched.”

you tossed the familiar spade card onto the table before sitting back and resuming your motion of staring down.

hotch looked towards the deputy who swallowed nervously and scrambled to grab the card. the fbi agent furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he motioned for the deputy to follow him. after the door slammed shut, you were left in complete silence.

“what was that?” hotch asked the second they exited the interrogation room. the rest of the bau team had witnessed the encounter and joined the two men for answers.

“ever since a year-and-a-half ago, we’ve gotten calls and been given clues through that as well as at crime scenes. at first we thought it could be a potential signature of the criminal but after a couple cases, we realized that this person was actually helping solve these cases and finding clues we couldn’t even see. i never would have thought it would be a teenager,” the deputy responded.

“how does y/n manage to do all that?” emily spoke up. “we’re not sure. she’s always managed to be there either before we get there or even after we leave.”

“if y/n has been investigating the crime scenes, she may have seen the unsub without even realizing it,” rossi added. “that’s true, though i’m not sure she’ll be willing to talk after that.” the teams eyes all drifted to the one-way glass were you still sat, head down and running your fingers over your bruises.

you eventually lost track of the time you spent in the interrogation room. but, by your judgment, it was around three hours. a blonde woman was the first to enter the room. she sat down at the table for a moment, introduced herself, before offering you water.

“no thank you mrs. jareau,” you had replied.

the second agent to enter immediately tried to make feel more comfortable despite the situation you were in. you had to admit, the terrible jokes he told did make you smile slightly. he offered you water too. just like with j.j., you replied with “no thank you mr. morgan.”

with the responses you gave, the team decided to regroup without the pressure of the local police department. “did you notice how y/n addressed the deputy by the first name but all j.j. and morgan as mrs. and mr.?” spencer commented.

“the deputy did mention that she has a history with the police department,” hotch started before returning to morgan, “call garcia and have her fly in. y/n can relate to her the most.” morgan nodded at hotch’s request before exiting the room to call the tech genius.

you bounced your leg out of pure nervousness. a significant amount of time had gone since morgan had talked to you. just as you were starting to realize that they could only hold you for a certain amount of time, the door opened once again.

in walked another blonde woman, this time with bright clothes and accessories on. she sat down at the seat across from you and pulled a laptop out of her bag. you finally met her sympathetic gaze. “are you another fbi agent?” you asked softly.

“oh no, i wouldn’t last five minutes in the field. well my name is penelope garcia, i’m the technical analyst for the team.”

“and they called you in to talk to me? with all due respect ms. garcia, why are you here?” you responded. “okay, first things first, you can call me penelope. second, i can get those handcuffs off for you. i’m sure they’re hurting,” penelope offered.

once your wrists were released, you rubbed them as they had become red from being detained. “i know you really don’t want to talk about what happened but we do really need your help catching the criminals who did this,” penelope spoke. “like i said before, why are you here,” you added emphasis on the ‘you’.

“i have a past like you. i was my own type of vigilant after i lost my parents.”

while you knew penelope meant well with that sentence, you couldn’t help but grow angry. “you know nothing about me,” you seethed. penelope was slightly taken aback by your reaction and tone.

“my parents died because some deadbeat cops were out drinking instead of responding to my call. why do you think i do what i do?” you practically yelled, “i take the law into my own hands so people don’t have to suffer the same way i did.”

the second you were done your slight outburst, morgan walked in. you collapsed back in your chair. “derek i’m fine. you don’t need to be in here,” penelope whispered, hoping you wouldn’t hear. you did, however. “alright. i’m still going to stay in here if you don’t mind,” derek responded.

there was a slightly awkward silence that fell over the room. neither penelope or derek really knew what to say to you. they had both seen how you reacted to penelope trying to connect to you.

“it’s not like my family knows or cares. i don’t even know if i should really call them that. i was only taken in because they pretty much had too,” you grumbled.

both derek and penelope noticed you flinch at the mention of your family. and the bruises you acquired were never revealed how you got them.

“honey are they hurting you?” penelope asked softly.

tears slowly began to trickle down your cheeks. you held your hands close to your chest as the full on sobs started. in an instant, penelope was moving her chair over to sit by your side. “a group of hackers became my family after my parents died. stayed with them for awhile before i was recruited by the fbi and found such an amazing and loving team. it does get better, i promise you,” penelope offered.

you stayed like that for a few moments, just leaning into penelope’s side as she wrapped a comforting arm around you. “i’ll talk to mr. hotchner again. see if anything i concluded can help you,” you spoke.

with one final squeeze to your shoulder, penelope stood up and left the interrogation room with derek. hotch replaced the two, handing you a file for the second time that day. you took a deep breath before relaying all the information you had found out.

meanwhile, on the outside, penelope was close to tears. “her family is hurting her derek. people who are supposed to love and protect her are hurting her!” garcia exclaimed. morgan walked over and took her hands in his. “hey, baby girl. i need you to calm down. we’ll figure out a way to help her. but right now, we need your head in the case. reid and prentiss have some names for you to run. can you do that for me?” morgan asked. penelope nodded and got to work.

____

you were released from custody when you were done speaking with hotch.

the information provided was more then helpful. there had been a few key details that even the profilers had missed. they all wondered what you would see if another body did in fact turn up. a card with everyone’s phone numbers on it was provided to you incase you needed anything or they needed help. penelope had offered to stay with you. you had accepted, mostly because you didn’t want to be alone and she wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

when you and penelope were having breakfast the following morning, her phone had began to ring. “another one?” you questioned when she hug you.

“yeah. hotch requested your help. just as another consult,” penelope smiled slightly. you nodded as a way to agree, just because you were caught and revealed some things about yourself didn’t mean you were going to stop from doing what you always did.

morgan picked you up from your house. as you got into the back and penelope into the front seat, morgan leaned back and handed you a coat. “what’s this?” you asked. “if your going to be on the crime scene with us, you’re going to need some identification.” you simply shrugged and slipped on the jacket. big bold yellow letters spelling out ‘fbi’ were on the back making you let out a breath.

on the crime scene, you and morgan ducked under the police tape and walked over to the sheet covering the body. just as you kneeled down, the team all glanced around at each other.

never in a million years would they have thought they would be using a teenager in an fbi jacket as a consult.

you gave everything you knew to hotch before going back to the car to sit with penelope. “so, any plans for school?” she asked, trying to start a conversation. “i’m not really sure if i want to go to college. not even sure if i could get in.” penelope frowned, unsatisfied with your answer.

the unsub was caught four days later, your clues giving the final push to identify the killer. you were back at home with penelope as the team was finishing up at the police station. before departing, she would need to pack up all of her stuff.

“before i go, i want to talk to you about something. now just listen first. i’ve may have done a thing and figured out a way to get you out of this home. it’s a little confusing to explain but it’s only a fact that you can’t be here anymore,” penelope spoke.

“pen-” you started, “where am i even supposed to go?”

“that’s the best part. if you agreed, we can bring you to d.c. with us and you can be our under my care until your 18. my team travels all the time but i stay in the office to do my work. if you agree, we can get you into a good school or even just a stable job. you’re incredibly talented, i’m sure it want be a challenge.”

tears began to well up in your eyes. “you really want to take care of me?” you choked out. penelope nodded with a grin before pulling you into a tight hug. “this sounds a little suspicious,” you laughed.

“yeah well i’m a hacker. i’ll do anything to help people out,” penelope replied.

it was absolutely crazy that all it took for a teenage vigilante to find a new family was just to be caught. and honestly, it was well worth it.

[ginkgomoon]

Cyril- Character Analysis

This post was based on an ask made a while ago concerning Hypnos’ character. I personally think his appearance enhanced the development of the game for the Winter World chapters, additionally with the depth of MC’s character. Hopefully this post will help clarify some things in relation to who he is and why he is important to the game’s progression. Please enjoy his well-deserved character analysis post. And yes- lots of spoilers! Please don’t read if you don't want to be spoiled on future content from Chapters 19+.

“This is the world you wanted.”

Hypnos first appears in the Epilogue of Chapter 19, when MC escapes her dream (the one with the separate routes of the guys) and begins to enter the Winter World through Black Cabin.

A soft hue appeared amidst this world of frozen white. A handsome, elegant young man walked towards me from the mist. Snow fell upon him, but as if he was protected by some force, none stuck on him. For a moment, I felt that this person looked really familiar, but it was someone I’ve never met. His eyes seemed detached, yet full of pity.

“This world’s pretty interesting, don’t you think?”

I did not sense any direct threat from him, but I was also unable to let my guard down.

“Is this not the world you wanted? You were aware of it long ago. No need to go on deceiving yourself.”

His tone was peaceful, but there was a chill to it that made me shiver.

“In this world, time’s been frozen. Everything you fear hasn't taken place. It was not I who made this world, but you. Everything you have experienced is a product of that which you yearn for the most. If everything could start over, if life could return to normal, if none of this had occurred...”

He saw into my heart effortlessly, tearing down each fragile wall I’d made with each word that he spoke.

The man’s gentle expression turned cold. His smile faded into subdued indifference.

“You think everything you’ve experienced is fake? Everything is real. Everyone in this world had sunken into the same dream. We will forever remain in a dream land.”

The man chuckled gently. Snow and wind blurred his form, blurring my vision. -Chapter 19 (Epilogue)

Some people would probably have the reaction of ??? and others would think he’s a new love interest HAHA.

It’s clear that this section of the chapter does not give much insight into his character, his name or who he is all. But, we can (hopefully) tell from what we are given, that he will play an important role in the future since he has an actual VA, and is (quite confusingly) going on about “the world that she wanted”. Though, this will be all cleared up later. From here, he makes small appearances in the next few chapters, which helps foreshadow and gradually help set the final showdown to conclude the Winter World.

While my mind wandered, I accidentally ran into someone in the corner. Even more unluckily, as I retreated backwards I stepped on a slick patch of ice, almost sending me sprawling.

“Careful.”

A light laughter fell on my ears. Before I could react, I was caught by the person I bumped into.

“Are you okay?”

I looked up and was met with a pair of gentle green eyes. A handsome face filled my vision. For an instant, I felt that he was familiar, and the sight of an ice-covered world seemed to appear before me. He gracefully let go of my wrist in a gentlemanly manner, stepped back to a more appropriate distance. -Chapter 20-17

A man walked out onto a rooftop covered with snow and held out his hand, catching a snowflake falling from the sky. The snowflake in his palm turned into an exquisite, white robin with its eager wings spread as if escaping a prison and flying into the sky.

He looked down from on high, surveying the city blanketed in dazzling white snow, a faint smile on his face.

“Truly something to look forward to- a long cold winter.” -Chapter 21-25

At this point, we still don’t even know who this man is. Or if he even has a name! But finally, the chapter after reveals a little bit more to help us come to somewhat of a conclusion about his character.

Chapter 22-5

The automatic vending machine behind me kept repeating the same sentence. I turned around to find that the machine wasn't on the fritz- there was actually someone continually trying to make a payment. I couldn't help but go over to see if they needed help.

A pair of eyes clear as glass turned on me. Although there was a gentle look in his eyes, there was a subtle feeling of distance.

I suddenly recognised that face! It was that famous piano player- Cyril!

MC: “Excuse me, do you need help?”

A hint of warmth suffused his cold eyes, as he gestured in frustration at the vending machine.

Cyril: “Just want to buy a bottle of water, but I don’t know how to use these machines.”

(*Intense vending machine purchase in process*)

Instead, I decided to just point at the app on my own phone and give him a brief explanation, afraid that I would miss my bus.

MC: “This time, I’ll buy for you. This is the one you want?”

Cyril: “Right, thanks.”

When I accidentally brushed against his long, slender fingertip, there wasn’t even a hint of warmth.

MC: “Your hand is ice cold. How about I buy a warm drink for you?”

He seemed a little hesitant, but he gave a slight nod and accepted my proposal with a smile.

The drink thunked down into the dispenser, and before I could react, he already bent down and retrieved the bottle and mine from the machine.

When he extended the drink to me, I realised that at the bottom, there were two kinds of paper, which appeared to be tickets of some kind.

I lifted them up and carefully looked at them. They were tickets to an upcoming and very sold out piano tour. Moreover, this was for the final VIP performance aboard the HMS (Abbreviated for “Her Majesty’s Ship”) Victoria.

He may not look like it, but he’s actually quite a warm, kind person.

The silver haired man watched as the bus drove away, and the drink in his hand turned solid ice without him noticing.

As snow drifted down around him, a faintly perceptible smile formed on his lips.

“I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.”

We find out that the young man’s name is Cyril, a famous piano player. During this exchange, Cyril is taking his time to observe MC and how she’s responding to the Winter World. He appears to be genuinely surprised about MC’s display of kindness, even though she’s been tossed out by the men most important to her, and into a foreign world wreaked of havoc.

He lets MC purchase the warm milk tea for him, and they both talk about the most mundane things ever. This may seem like just filler conversations, but actually holds importance because it actually influences how he views the world and MC in the future.

Cyril then uses this chance to extend his invitations to his sold out piano performance on the HMS Victoria. MC thinks he’s “quite a warm, kind person”- to which, we will find out if she’s wrong later. We also can confirm that he is an Evolver as we watch him turn his drink into solid ice, as well as the same man who was left unidentified in the previous chapters.

Chapter 23-13

??: “At this point, we’re all certain that the one behind this “Eternal Winter” is one of our former members.”

??: “Another traitor?”

??: “One with the power to traverse time and construct dreamscapes. There's only one that it could be.”

??: “The traitor code-named Hypnos?”

With those words, a deathly stillness fell over the air, as if some indescribable darkness had stolen into the room.

True name: Unknown. Age: Unknown. Evol: Time travel, dream construction.

Pitifully few clues to go on, not even a single photograph.

Was that person who trapped me in that dream and the traitor the same? If it was true that everything before happened on another world’s timeline, then does that mean this person had jumped through into this world timeline?

??: “Just what is he planning to do?”

??: “Whatever it is, since he’s a traitor to the organisation, it’s bound to be contrary to our goals. We must put a stop to him.”

??: “Continue the investigation. We must find the satellite coordinates. We cannot let him interfere with our plan.”

If this mystery mastermind had such powerful abilities, then what chance do I have at stopping him?

The hexagonal crystal symbol wasn't a major part of their discussion, but it stuck a faint chord with a hazy part of my memory. I finally remembered- that ticket to the concert!

They consider this powerful Evolver- Hypnos, a traitor to Black Swan and the individual behind the Eternal Winter incident. But nobody knows what he looks like. However, MC notices that the hexagon design is seen similar to the tickets that Cyril gave to her for his performance on the HMS Victoria. She now knows that Cyril is Hypnos, then realises that the satellite launch isn’t on land, but on sea. She knows how to stop the winter from spreading.

Here we automatically assume that he’s another Black Swan bad-guy-turned-traitor. What is his true goal? And why does it have to be that handsome piano player, out of all people?

Chapter 24-5

Before we could enter the main hall and check out the situation, a sonorous piano melody was belated through the ship’s speakers over that whole patch of sea.

The gentle tune formed an invisible yet unbreakable net in the air. Everyone in proximity to it became the piano music’s prisoner, unable to escape.

I felt a strong feeling of drowsiness. I tried to stop it but it seemed to have already gotten into my veins. Every cell in my body reverberated with it.

Everyone in the hall was swaying like soulless puppets, and on the stage, Cyril held his eyes slightly closed as he played the last requiem for them.

Chapter 24-7

MC travels to confront him on his ship, and watches him entrance people with his piano playing. This is how he got his code-name “Hypnos”. (Similar to how Kiro can charm and control people). Thankfully, Helios appears, his Evol is powerful enough to command MC to escape this.

“Why can’t a lie... be a good thing, too? Is this not the world you wanted?”

An anonymous voice seeped into my consciousness, accompanied by a dim, far away sounding piano.

The false warmth swooped in, and exhausted as I was, I chose to accept it.

My hand was originally grasping at air, but just then I distinctly felt the touch of something solid and warm. I could faintly feel someone grabbing onto me tight.

I forced open my heavy eyes, and a familiar outline filled my blurry vision.

“K- Kiro...?”

For a second, I couldn’t tell if I was in a dream or reality. His face was in shadow, and those usually sea blue eyes now flashed golden, as beautiful as the night stars.

He shouted at me, loud enough to hear over the inescapable piano music-

“I command you to awaken!”

Although without a hint of warmth, his eyes were like the first rays of dawn filtering through the curtains, melting away the fanciful dreamworld clouding my brain.

-

“I’m not like Ares. I don’t care about any Queen. If you want to influence the outcome, you have to do it your own way.”

Cyril still didn't stop playing, and instead kept moving his fingers across the key in a self-satisfied manner. The audience were completely under the spell of his melody, sunken into the deepest depths of a dream.

A black pistol was pointed straight at him, but the enraptured pianist did not let that stop his performance. Helios wasn’t in a hurry either, waiting quietly for the perfect, culminating core for this piece.

Just as the final note was stuck, Helios resolutely pulled back the tigger. A stream of smoke rose from the gun, but Cyril was somehow unharmed, blocked by an invisible force field.

Helios: “You constructed this dreamscape long before.”

Cyril: “I just don’t want this performance to have any interruptions.”

He rose elegantly from his piano bench and took a deep bow toward the hall absent of applause. Then he sauntered off the stage and looked at me.

Cyril: “You finally came.”

Chapter 24-9

Cyril: “Thank you for teaching me how to use the vending machine.”

I didn't expect him to speak up first, much less did I expect him to bring up that. As if we weren’t staring into the upcoming apocalypse, but just another utterly normal day.

Cyril: “It was you who showed me a different side of life. Although I still think, milk tea tastes better iced.”

MC: “But that doesn’t mean you have to wipe out the people who prefer drinking it hot.”

Cyril: “I think you misunderstood me. Just like you, I love this world. I love the complexity and uncertainty humanity has brought to it. I just think, it just doesn't have to move so fast.”

The smile he had showed- made me believe that from the bottom of his heart, everything he did was to make the world better, and that he should not recover any blame or interference from anyone.

Cyril: “Before one fully understands oneself, power beyond control can only be dangerous. Just like if I were to ask you now, do you truly understand yourself? How would you answer?”

He chuckled at my inability to respond.

The thoughts in his heart were hidden beneath a glacier, and all it showed on the surface was the very tip of it, preventing me from ever getting a clear idea of what he was thinking.

Cyril: “I’ve prepared a little gift for this kind of world.”

A giant steel tower shot upwards and stood tall between the water and sky. The satellite launch tower!

Cyril took hold of my hand and causally moved the key from his own hand. Before I had time to stop him, I saw crystal clear ice form at his fingertips. Pure and unblemished, but also dead. Just like this world before us.

Cyril: “Isn’t this a nice way to end things? This. Is the world you want.”

He then hands MC to press the button for him, then freezes the key to the Black Cabin. Cyril here genuinely believes that what he is doing is good for MC, as he uses the satellite launch platform from the ocean to spread the “Eternal Winter”- the “perfect world”.

Black Swan still pursues evolution of all humanity, but Cyril doesn’t agree with their methods. He knows MC is the Queen and thinks that in this Winter World, this is how she will only grow- without those she loves- if she had not known the boys and everyone she cares about. "If none of those things in the original world had occurred..."

What Hypnos stated reminds me of the Winter World Helios and what he said from when he saved her in Chapter 21.

“The weak should learn to survive on their own. No one will help them. Do everything you can, by fair means or foul. Give up everything in your past… even yourself. If you can’t do that, then go back to the world you came from.”

Which is a little nice touch because Helios appears to save her again with his Evol- but this time, MC is saving the world in her own way. She is not identifying with QUEEN first- but as herself. She had seen and been through so much pain to grow her mental and emotional strength to persevere and save this world with her kindness and love for humanity. MC, herself, has evolved.

Chapter 24-10

Cyril: “Not going to give the button to the launch a push? Perhaps you’ve forgotten, this is only my dream. Any decision you make here won't affect the outside world. Aren't you at least curious? The perfect world I wanted.”

What is the meaning of existence in a world of unrealistic perfection!?

MC: “If I do that, wouldn’t I be like an ostrich, sticking my head into the sand?”

Cyril: “If people found the perfect pile of “sand”, who knows if they’d stick with reality- and choose not to escape? After all, in reality, no one can predict what's going to happen from second to second. But in a perfect dream, everything always unfolds exactly as people desire.”

MC: “I can’t answer that for others. But it shows that the decision for how to answer should be left for each individual person.”

Cyril: “The way I see it, those who have no ability to judge never had the right to choose in the first place.”

Naturally, traitor though he was, he was still like others in Black Swan, holding a disdain for normal people, deep in his bones. When he rebelled against wasn't the thinking of the organisation, but their methods. But no matter which method of theirs it was, they all wanted to force their ideology on the whole world.

Did the world really need their brand of reason? Did humanity really need their idea of progress?

Everything in existence follows its own, original path, with absolutely no need for human intervention. And what I had to do was to maintain this balance.

I abruptly placed the remote back in his hand and told him my final decision.

It’s clear that Cyril doesn’t have that much experience with normalcy or identifies with at least humanity. He believes that it’s better to ignore reality and to live in a dream without the memories of the past or mourn the loss of others. Frozen without emotions, pain, or progress- the “perfect world”.

Chapter 25-4

After MC accepts her QUEEN identity, she finally uses that power to unite all timelines ultimately defeating Cyril, then returns back to the original world. Weirdly, he appears in front of her when she wakes up.

Cyril: “I believed I warned you long ago, no matter what world it is, it doesn't make much of a difference. You assume too much. In this world, I am just like you, a normal person. Think of it… as the price I’ve paid. My choice… was made for you. You were growing too slowly. Maybe that world was best suited for you after all. Too bad, you were too muddled to realise it. This world may soon experience a change, and it’s the kind of change that has nothing to do with you.

Time Subway

Time Subway takes place before Cyril leaves, after MC is hospitalised in Chapter 32. It reveals more about MC’s power and spiritual connection to Loveland City, the rest of the worlds and their timelines.

They meet on the train, though MC can’t remember meeting Cyril before. His piano music continues to play as the train moves backwards. (And that’s the thing about the subway- the train goes in cycles to each station, to the memories and worlds MC has previously lived in.)

Chapter 5

MC: “This train is really strange. It’s going backwards.”

Cyril: “Does the direction really matter? Though, I’ve never been on a subway train. Perhaps, there are a few imperfections.”

MC: “How did you get on the train?”

Cyril: “Same as you, I guess.”

MC: “Do you know where this train is going?”

Cyril: “To a place you want to be. So embrace your imagination. Think of everything you ever wanted. Eventually we will arrive at the perfect ending you’ve longed for.”

Chapter 6

MC: “I feel like I’m forgetting something. My memory has been foggy ever since I boarded this train.”

Cyril: “You do know me. You have to recall those memories on your own. Do you want to remember everything? Or, do you prefer to give up the past and start again right here?”

Cyril seemed to be hinting something, I felt that he’d always use such implicit language, but I couldn't remember when…

Chapter 7

Somehow this train gave me a sense of security. I could feel a familiar resonance between us. As if it was closely linked to me in the first place.

A thought slowly came to my mind, maybe I could decide on its direction at some point in time.

MC: “Why do you want me to go to the past?”

Cyril: “Back to when everything hadn’t taken place, isn’t that what you wanted? I’m only doing this for you. Sorry I didn’t ask for your permission. But you’ll be my best work.”

Chapter 8

Cyril: “This world belongs to you. My power doesn’t work here. I’m nothing more than a normal person in the real world. I’m going to use my power one last time. And this will be my final work. A perfect world is still what I’m after. It was you who broke free from the world I created. You showed me my limit. Indeed, the power triggered by your emotion outshined my skills. That’s why I chose your spiritual world, as the raw material of my final work.”

MC: “So this is just an infinite cycle within my spiritual word, isn’t it?”

Cyril: “I won’t say you are wrong. In this train, you can choose any stop and choose any exit you want. When you step out, this world becomes more complete. Meanwhile, this dream will continue the everlasting cycle, which is also your karma.”

MC: “So do I stay here?”

Cyril: “You can choose to leave… if you have the power to battle yourself. If you leave, this world will continue to exist all independent from all time space.”

MC: “How do I leave?”

Cyril: “You have to discover that for yourself.”

MC: “...Cyril, I need to go. If there’s really a perfect world you want, just take this world as my gift to you.”

Cyril: “I see, thank you... If only you could eventually put an end to this cycle.”

Chapter 32-1

Cyril- “I came to say goodbye.”

MC: “All that stuff that happened to me after losing my Evol has something to do with you. Starting from when “I ran into you” on the train, it was all a part of your plan.”

He smiled slightly, met my hostile gaze without a hint of displeasure. He didn’t deny it, but he didn’t admit it either. There was an undercurrent of tension to the stillness, but also some unusual and subtle peace.

This pianist… I’ve never seen anyone so out of touch with the world.

MC: “The vending machine, the scammer in the square, thorns on a flower, you don’t have much experience with everyday things, do you?”

Cyril: “However, it really has been a long time since anyone’s talked with me about such things.”

I may have been imagining it, but I seemed to detect a hint of nostalgia in his voice.

MC: “Just what are you after, coming here to see me like this?”

As he spoke, he reached out and put his hand at the back of mine. His fingers were ice cold.

But in this brief moment, a flurry of images flashed before my eyes.

Four white walls, an empty room, a triangular piano of translucent crystal placed in the corner. The figure of a man gradually emerged before the piano bench.

His thin graceful fingers danced daintily across the keys as snowflakes fell upon him and settled undisturbed.

That gentle piano melody reverberating in the shadows also came out as a muttered groan from the girl as pain hit her.

Suddenly, the piano playing intensified, the tempo building to a frenzy like a subway train rattling through a tunnel.

I saw a boy get up from the piano, walk to the front of the stage, and take a bow to the thunderous roar of applause.

The scene shifted. The boy was once again standing in the gloomy storm, holding a white rose to his chest, listening in silence to a priest delivering a eulogy.

??: “Keep playing, Little Cyril. Use your power and help Mummy make the perfect world.”

Cyril: “A perfect world… I’ve got it.”

I saw his past, present and future. I saw the boy slowly growing up and playing that final melody in the centre of a frozen plain. He played tirelessly, as if he’s trapped inside in a world of memory.

Cyril: “Can you tell me what you saw?”

In those crystal clear eyes, I saw my own expression, and there was an ineffable expression of sadness to them.

MC: “Is a perfect creation… really that important?”

Cyril’s eyes were flat, like the negative space in an ink wash painting.

Cyril: “The sad fact is that they will never be able to achieve it.”

MC: “But absolute perfection doesn’t exist. Everything has blemishes and faults. But that doesn’t mean that they’re not good enough, and it certainly doesn’t mean that they don’t have a right to exist in this world.”

Cyril: “Perhaps. You’ve certainly proven that point yourself. One final thing before I go, of course, you can choose not to believe it. Perfection has never been an illusion; everything in this world has a singular, perfectly-suited exit. Although, I think you already found it.”

MC: “Where are you going?”

Cyril: “A world that belonged to you, but now belongs to me. Thank you for the world you’ve given me, and the interesting memories. And that bubble tea, I quite like the flavour.”

His words fell softly, as if shrouding me in a tranquil, pure white dream.

Upon seeing his past, present and future, all that MC sees is Cyril playing the piano. It turns out, his true motivation for creating the “perfect world” was for his mother when she passed. With MC’s help, he finally admits that it cannot be achieved. He isn’t directly hostile like the other Black Swan members either, and calmly admits his defeat and accepts MC’s decision.

Behind the Curtain- 6 (Chapter 28)

??: “If you want to see it, go. The door being opened will be closed soon.”

The black box grows bigger, and fills the entire vision in black-

Cyril: “Do you know the origin of the name BLACK SWAN?”

I see an elegant young man standing inside a luxury gift shop. There, piano pieces are playing. He looked down at me. The black box reflects in the cool eyes looking a lot like snow.

MC: “Am I inside the box?”

Cyril: “BLACK SWAN” is a word that means an unexpected event. Humans have no way to predict the impact of the event. When I first heard their name, I immediately saw the appeal. I also wanted to be a part of it. But…the majority of them still live in this illusion. Only a few were aware that humanity is ignorant. They can't help me to complete my work.”

While speaking, he pressed the crystal piano keyboard. The jolting sound echoes—

Cyril’s Mum: “With your power, continue this and please show me the perfect world.”

The woman lies on bed, looking at him with those beautiful eyes that looked a lot like that boy’s. There’s no strength in them.

Cyril’s Mum: “For one last time, I want to experience the beauty of this world with my whole being. That’s also the reason for your existence.”

The boy then grows up in the snowstorm and turns into an innocent boy. His outline became sharp, becoming an elegant young man.

The snowy wind pushes the window open and surrounds his mother. She then transforms into white snow and suddenly disappears.

The man doesn’t notice the occurring snowstorm, but instead concentrates on the graceful piano playing.

A piece of glass shatters and lands on the piano. The young man engrossed in playing keeps an eye on the keys.

MC: “Look out!”

The piece of glass cuts the young man’s long finger. A line of blood flows, on the skin like ice and snow.

The young man finally stops. As if time had been frozen, the lingering sound of the piano remained in the room covered with heavy snow.

He looks up. Like an innocent puzzled child who touched the piano for the first time, those eyes come into mind.

Cyril: “Who…are you?”

MC: “...who am I?”

Cyril had been stuck all this time within his memory of his promise to his mother- in pursuit of the “perfect world”. His world was biased upon thinking that humanity- even Evolvers, were ignorant and unable to help him achieve his goals. This demonstrates the divide and individuation between each Black Swan member of not being able to work together effectively to achieve the collective goal- of the “New World”.

It was nice to see MC being able to overcome her self-doubt and enter Black Cabin by accepting the QUEEN title in a world so foreign to her. Her hope, love and determination had saved the world again. Cyril played a huge part in this chapter of her life, almost like prepping her for the final prophecy of fate.

And “Doomsday” is coming.

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #173: Sherlock Holmes

Yes we’re going out of order, but I have a very good reason for this! ...Well, not really. We were already in the geniuses section, and any excuse to not think about summer while it’s still 40 degrees out is one I’m going to take.

Anyway, today we’re making the man famous for discombobulation, Sherlock Holmes! Track down mysteries, show up everyone else in the party, and kick ass with Baritsu. Easy stuff.

Check out his build breakdown below the cut, or his character sheet over here!

Next up: Chaldea’s other resident genius.

Race and Background

There are some theories about Sherlock’s race, but for simplicity’s sake we’ll call you a Variant Human, giving you +1 Dexterity and Wisdom. You also get Sleight of Hand proficiency for some close-up detective work, and the Keen Mind feat, giving you +1 Wisdom, the ability to always point north, perfect time telling, and the ability to recall anything from the last month in-game, a.k.a. the DM’s nightmare.

You know a lot yourself, but you also know how to build and maintain an archive, so the closest background to match would be the Cloistered Scholar background, giving you proficiency in Nature and Religion. Arcana and history would suit you better, but I’ve got something in mind for that, and good things come to those who wait.

Ability Scores

As you’d probably expect, your Wisdom and Intelligence are pretty freaking high. You are Sherlock Holmes after all. You’re pretty strong, but the reason you’re so scary in a fight is because of your technique, so we’re going with Dexterity here instead. You snort cocaine like it’s going out of style, so your Constitution has to be able to keep up. This does mean your Strength is a bit low, but you’re practically an anime protagonist, there are some things we just can’t get in a balanced build. Finally, dump Charisma. Half the reason you drag Guda along on your cases is to talk people out of thinking you’re the murderer, honestly it’s kind of embarrassing.

Class Levels

1. Rogue 1: You’re a skilled guy, and rogues get skills for days. You get proficiencies in Dexterity and Intelligence saves, as well as four skills- Deception for disguises, and Insight, Investigation, and Perception for cases and clue-catching. You also get Expertise in two skills, doubling their proficiency bonus. Right off the bat I’d suggest Insight and Investigation so you can hopefully get to the bottom of things quickly. Foiling a plan at the last second is thrilling and all, but utterly shutting down a villain is so satisfying.

To help with that, you can use a Sneak Attack once per turn if you’re using a ranged or finesse weapon and either have advantage against a target or a friend within 5′ of them. You also learn Thieves’ Cant, it’s a language that will be especially helpful when you have to navigate the criminal underbelly of a city.

2. Monk 1:None of that was Baritsu though, so we’re bouncing over to monk for some Martial Arts. You can use Dexterity instead of Strength on monk weapons (this does not make them finesse), and spending an action to attack with one also lets you make an unarmed attack as a bonus action. Your unarmed and monk weapon attacks also do at least a 1d4 of damage.

You also get Unarmored Defense, making your AC 10 plus your dexterity modifier plus your wisdom modifier. I don’t care how hot it looks, that corset isn’t armor.

3. Cleric 1: Last multiclass, I swear. Since you can literally make clues appear like magic, we kinda need a bit of magic. Clerics get Spells that they cast and prepare using their Wisdom, which you might have noticed is becoming a pretty important ability for you.

If you want clues, you’ll need knowledge, at least enough to know that the Knowledge domain can help with that. At first level you gain the Blessings of Knowledge, making you proficient in History and Arcana and doubling those proficiencies as well (hey, see what I said about waiting?).

You get three cantrips for joining the clergy, Light gives you some of those cool magnifying spotlights you carry around, Thaumaturgy for some parlor tricks, and Guidance for when you really have to focus.

For first level spells, Command gives you a basic command spell, and Identify teaches you all about the magic affecting an item or creature. Normally that would be more of a research montage, but some times you’re in a hurry. 

As far as actually prepared spells go, anything with “Detect” in the name is a good pick.

4. Rogue 2: Now that we’ve got our spread, let’s build some of these classes up. Second level rogues can make Cunning Actions, Dashing, Disengaging, or Hiding as a bonus action. If you already spent your action rifling through someone’s files and they’re about to burst into the room, you’ll thank me.

5. Rogue 3: There’s really only two possible picks for your subclass, and we’re saving the Mastermind for Moriarty. As an Inquisitive, you have an Ear for Deceit, giving your Insight rolls a minimum of 8 on the die. On top of that, your Eye for Detail lets you make Perception and Investigation checks as a bonus action, further speeding up the process. On top of that, your Insightful Fighting uses your bonus action to make an Insight check versus a creature’s Deception check. On a success, you don’t need advantage to make sneak attacks against that creature for up to a minute. Finally, your Steady Aim uses your bonus action to get advantage on an attack if you don’t move that turn. I’d just use your insightful fighting, but your rival might push you to your limit.

This is a lot of stuff to do on your bonus action, and it’s only going to get worse from here.

6. Monk 2: Back at the school of Baritsu, you gain Ki Points that you can spend to make two unarmed attacks, dodge, disengage, or dash as a bonus action. Doing either of the latter two also doubles your jump distance for the turn. You also gain Unarmored Movement, increasing your movement speed by 10 feet while not wearing armor.

7. Monk 3: We need the most technique in the fewest levels, so that means we’re turning to the Way of the Open Hand once more. Your Open Hand Technique gives extra benefits to your flurry of blows. On each hit, the creature either can’t take reactions for a round, must succeed on a dexterity save or be knocked prone, or must make a strength save or be pushed 15′ away.

You can also Deflect Missiles as your reaction, catching an incoming attack and reducing its damage, possibly sending it back at the enemy if you bring it down to 0.

8. Monk 4: Our first Ability Score Improvement will instead be used to make you Observant, bumping up your Wisdom by 1, giving you +5 to passive perception and investigation, and allowing you to read lips. You can also Slow Fall as a reaction to take less fall damage. Hey, any help to survive the Reichenbach is well appreciated.

9. Rogue 4: Back in rogue now, your second ASI is going towards your Dexterity for stronger and more effective attacks, as well as a higher AC. 17′s pretty good for a corset.

10. Rogue 5: Fifth level rogues get an Uncanny Dodge, allowing you to react to an incoming attack and halve the damage. 

11. Cleric 2: You didn’t think we forgot about this one, did you? Knowledge clerics get two Channel Divinity options each short rest. Turn Undead is your bog standard option, or you can gain the Knowledge of the Ages, spending an action to gain proficiency in one skill or tool for 10 minutes. Protagonist powers, activate!

12. Cleric 3: Third level cleric, second level spells. Suggestion is a more open ended command spell, and Augury is more “telling the future” than deduction. That being said, you do get Calm Emotions to keep your cool, as well as Find Traps, Locate Object, and Zone of Truth. 

13. Rogue 6: You know I’m a sucker for quadrupling things, so for this round of Expertise double up on History and Perception. You’re good at everything, but especially current events.

14. Rogue 7: At this level you get the powerful Evasion feature, turning your failed dexterity saves to avoid damage into successes and successes into no damage at all.

15. Rogue 8: Use this ASI to bump up your Intelligence. It’s a shame we had to wait this long for it, but better late than never.

16. Rogue 9: Your Steady Eye gives you advantage on perception and investigation checks as long as you’re moving at half speed. Unless your DM’s really keen on mapping out rp situations, this is pretty much permanent advantage.

17. Rogue 10: Another ASI, another bump to Intelligence. Does it really do anything? Probably not, but you can feel smug about it regardless.

18. Rogue 11: Your Reliable Talent means you skill rolls are always 10 or greater on checks you’re proficient with. And thanks to your knowledge of the ages, you can be proficient in just about anything.

19. Rogue 12: Use your last ASI to max out your Wisdom for more AC, stronger spells, and more skilled Baritsu.

20. Rogue 13: Your capstone ability is your Unerring Eye, an action to sense illusions, shapechangers, and the like around you. You can sense something’s off, but will have to investigate yourself. You can use this a number of times per long rest equal to your wisdom modifier.

Pros

Your minimum rolls in Insight and Investigation are 27 and 26 respectively, making you an ace detective. Your ability to root out lies, plus your photographic memory, will make any mystery you play through a breeze. (You the player still have to connect the dots, though.) Also, literally being able to see through illusions is a big plus.

Maxed out wisdom also means your open hand techniques are as strong as possible, giving you a good amount of battlefield control to beat down enemies and push them around.

Knowledge of the Ages plus Reliable Talent equals you being really good at everything when you need to be, and you’re much faster a switching things up than Hundred Personas. 

Cons

Since we only splashed into monk, your baritsu isn’t that great an option for damage. It also comes with the caveat that you can’t use your sneak attack unarmed, so you will have to carry the murder weapon around with you.

Despite being a melee fighter, your hp is pretty low, making straight confrontations a bad idea.

We really wanted Unerring Eye, but as a consequence we could only get a couple levels of the other classes. This means your ki points and spell slots are rather limited. But I mean, you’re Sherlock freaking Holmes, you’ll know when you need to use them and when you don’t.

[thoughts-on-bangtan]

Hi, I know you’re a fan of namjoon so I wanted to ask your thoughts on this ring thing? I’m kinda new and assumed all these namjoon is married with kids stuff were a joke. But some people seem to totally believe that. I mean where he’d get the time to see a partner and kids is beyond me but who knows? Anyways I was looking at some of their recent pics and he doesn’t wear it all the time - which if it was a couples ring - wouldn’t he? I thought maybe he would only wear it if they were appearing on Run or Korean shows, but he didn’t have it on for either of the new shows they’ve been on recently, as they may not have been as widely watched. I mean I guess it’s none of our business - but I’m trying to rip of my delulu hat for making me think Seokjin gave it to him 🙈

Hi anon, I hope you don’t mind that I’ll combine my answer for you with my answer to another ask since I feel like they fall into the same kind of category, as in people taking things too far and/or blowing things out of proportion. And, coincidentally, both have something to do with rings.

I’ll start with your question though and give you another example that followed a very similar trajectory as the omg namjoon is married with kids because ring narrative/theory. Some months ago, Namjoon posted a few pictures on twitter and among them was a picture of him with another guy wearing a green sweater. His face though was covered. At first ARMY didn’t think much of it, but then, eventually, someone started a joke that “remember that sweater Joon wore for BV4? The guy is wearing the same one, what if that's his boyfriend?” and it went viral.

It started out completely harmless with hundreds of positive and funny tweets made in good humor, no one taking it that seriously knowing that we’d never find out even if it were true. But, as the jokes started to simmer down, everyone had their laugh, the next wave came in and this one decided that this isn’t a joke at all but serious matter. Quickly this harmless fun turned into a witch hunt of “ARMY” trying to figure out who the guy might be, if he is Namjoon’s mysterious friend that once sent him a coffee truck with custom drawn designs on it, perhaps the same one with whom Namjoon already once posted a picture sitting on this garden porch swing type thing, some even trying to prove that the guy is either Seokjin (in which case, what would be the need to cover his face?) or Florist Isaac whom they met during that one RUN episode.

So, very quickly a few idiots turned harmless fun into something almost malicious and got into fights with ARMY who were trying to tell them to stop.

The ring thing followed a similar story. It was once a harmless joke based on the fact that Namjoon wants to have kids one day, so some made jokes about what if he’s already married but we just didn’t know etc. But very quickly that got out of hand as well, going as far as people claiming the little girl in his pictures which he posted around his birthday or something is his daughter (even though it was said it’s probably the child actress from BTS WORLD) and that him making jokes (during a BangtanB while trying on glasses before their MOTS7 press con) about his child being able to read/write hangul at a very young age wasn’t jokes at all but solid proof of the fact that he is married with a child (despite the fact that he would’ve had to have gotten married and his wife pregnant not long after their debut for the timeline to even work out somehow which makes it seem even more ridiculous). This even went as far as people spamming the comments during this vlives with questions about it, flooded his selcas on twitter with questions and “jokes” and, again, attacked anyone who told them to stop.

In all of this, watching it happen from the sidelines as someone whose bias is Namjoon, I was confused why these particular rings (which I don’t even think were the same ones each time) caused such a reaction. The members have all worn so many different rings over the years, on all fingers, sometimes even like eight at the same time, and yet it wasn’t until 2020 and their KBS interview after their first BBH100 #1 that things went bonkers. All because Namjoon decided to take the ring off before they started filming or something.

In all of this I see two things that make me wonder:

When would he have the time to find a girl (since same sex marriage is not a thing in Korea) with whom he would have enough time to befriend her, trust her (considering who Namjoon is, that one is a major thing), fall in love, date and be together for a few years, and then get married? From Seokjin we know they have maybe two or three days off a month and work at least ten hours a day on their BH regulated schedules. Add to that the time they spend in the studio working on music outside of schedules, gym time, a few hours of sleep, and perhaps a few scarce hours of free time to (in Namjoon’s case) go to a museum or ride his bike, does that really leave enough time for romance (with an outsider) that leads to marriage (and a child)?

Is age 26 at the height of their career really the time for marriage? Even more so when you are someone like Namjoon, the leader of the world’s biggest group with more responsibilities than we can likely imagine as outsiders. Sure, he said he wants kids, but he can still have those in his thirties, he can also get married in his thirties, after all, life does not end once you hit thirty despite what some teens believe.

Lastly, I actually think that if it were true, Namjoon, or really anyone from the hyung line, would be the ones who wouldn’t have to hide it, at least not when compared to the maknaes. You could argue that “it would threaten their career” but would it really? Perhaps if the ring were from a man (some namjinists did make jokes that it’s like his promise ring from Seokjin or whatever, but it was all in good fun, nothing more than that), then yes, but connected to a woman? That one member from EXO also came out and said he’s getting married because his fiancé was pregnant and all it did was cause a few fansites to close and a handful of people to “protest” in front of the SM building. 

Little correction about my comments about that EXO member, though even with this my point still stands:

From anon: Re: your last post about namjoon’s rings! I agree with everything you said but just a small correction. I’m not an EXO stan but it wasn’t just a a few “protests” or fansites closing. From what I read online, he his fiancée and later wife, and his child were harassed, threatened and stalked to the point where he enlisted early just to give his family some relief. We all know there are people like this in every fandom and I know BTS would be aware of these things, so they’ll be extra careful.

Would there be delulus like this who’d go crazy if Namjoon were to say “ARMY, I’m (getting) married”? Of course. Would it ruin BTS’ career? I seriously doubt it. Do I think Namjoon would actually come out and say it if it were the case? No, but not because it’s bad idol etiquette or because BH wouldn’t allow him, but because people are insane and who knows what they would do.

It’s the same with times when people argue “I wish X ML members would just say he has a girlfriend so the ship wars would end” without taking into consideration the girl’s safety and the fact that a partner different than the one X member is shipped with has never been that big of an obstacle for some before. Just create a conspiracy theory about the company forcing this upon them and voila problem solved. We’ve seen that before when the tattoo scandal happened, and people thought JK might be dating that tattoo artist and therefore it would mean he isn’t in a relationship with Jimin or Tae.

Whatever happens in the members private lives, it is safer for all parties involved if it stays private, even more so if their romantic partners were non-idols, or non-celebrities, or another member.

Now onto the second ring question:

From anon: I am a young army and I am slowly losing my bearings. I've seen Vlive S, H and V. Many say it was a Tk*ok day (?) And all three emphasized it, and the V even wore the friendship ring for Jungkook. Is it true? I don't understand anything about it, I don't see it. After the last BTS interview on TV, I thought Vmin are best friends, not Tk*ok. I thought V said he didn't want Tk*ok and yet he was so happy during Vlive because it was Tk*ok day? Help!

Now this one, I was curious if we’d get an ask about this, even more since, if you’re a reader of our blog, you likely already know what I’m going to say.

Let’s start where you usually do—at the beginning. The day of the vlive coincided with what T*ek*okers have decided on is T*ek*ok Day, based on how supposedly some years ago this was the day Tae and JK named their subunit like this. I tried to find where exactly this happened, as in in which piece of official content, but I couldn’t find anything except for a screenshot. Anyone have a clue or a link?

Side note: T*ek*okers love using the “ship” naming as proof that not only are they real but also proudly showing it off by giving themselves a name but continently forget that they are not the only ones who gave themselves subunit names. After all Jimin and Namjoon named themselves MiniMoni, or Yoongi and Jimin who are MiniMini, Namjoon and Seokjin calling themselves RJRJ last year, or that one vlive with JK, Jimin and Seokjin where they also put together their names the way you build ship names. At the end of that vlive Tae, thanks to come prompting from the chat, named their trio vsope, so does that mean they are a romantic ship now too?

If you were watching that vlive as it was happening, and decided to look at the chat, then you know what was happening. For those who did not, basically the chat was flooded with comments about T*ek*ok Day, asking where JK is whom Tae loves, where his boyfriend JK is, congratulating Tae for T*ek*ok Day etc. Basically shippers took their shipping into a space where it doesn’t belong, into a space where the members can see it, and therefore purposefully broke one of the shipping rules (I even saw some tweet about how they were proud of themselves for literally spamming the chat with T*ek*ok comments which is so wrong, and I mean that regardless of which ship we talk about). In between those were the usual other comments like speak English or say hello to XYZ or say XYZ in whatever language, and very few comments that actually reacted to what the members were doing on screen. Like when Tae said he didn’t shave, instead of telling him that it’s fine, which it is, it’s his face after all, some decided to tell him he should shave more often, basically telling him what to do, which he saw and read out. Great job.

But all the madness came to a “climax” when Hobi was reading comments and among some other ones read out T*ek*ok, just the word not the T*ek*ok Day ones, and unfortunately we all knew he wasn’t reading out the Korean word for Thailand, which sounds the same though it is spelled a little differently. In that moment all hell broke loose. Focus cams of Tae’s facial expression in that moment went viral among shippers, most of course claiming he looked so happy, while other non-shippers claimed he didn’t look happy at all. It’s a micro moment so I won’t get into it, who knows what Tae thought in that moment and what his facial expression meant and if it even had any connection to the word and Hobi reading it out loud at all.

Because he read that comment, Hobi was basically crowned the new leader of the T*ek*ok shippers (I thought that role already went to Jimin?) and twitter basically had a meltdown.

As for the ring, I know this is something a lot of ships have, with romantic connotations according to their shippers, so I was curious how these rings supposedly look like in T*ek*ok’s case and if they even match the ring that Tae wore in the vlive. If it would, fine, if not, well…

If it’s not clear from the picture, the “supposed couple” or friendship rings are very delicate and thin, and sure enough I did find a lot of pictures in which both Tae and JK wore them, usually at different times, I will admit that. But the ring Tae wore during their vlive recently was much thicker and had some kind of design on it, therefore it’s a completely different one. Sorry. Why he wore it, if he bought it for himself or received it from someone, what emotional connotation to may or may not have, those are things we won’t know anything about unless he would tell us, so there's no point in speculating.

“Many say it was a Tk*ok day (?) And all three emphasized it” now this is curious to me since I watched the vlive as it was happening, and I didn’t see that at any point in the vlive. Sure, Hobi read that one comment, but if 95% of comments were about that, I wasn’t even surprised by it. Perhaps he thought that it would get people to stop? Perhaps he just read whatever comments his eyes landed on? Perhaps something else entirely? We have no way of knowing it so there is no point in trying to fixate on it. But besides that, they were talking about many other things and having fun making their smoothies, decorating them and just having a good time together with each other and with ARMY. 

So, this way of presenting the vlive basically comes down to shipper perception, confirmation bias, and simply, almost, rewriting history.

Rings do not determine who your best friend is (according to a quick google search, wearing a ring on your index finger simply means friendship or self-esteem/authority), after all many of the members have rings either from each other or ones that match, like Namjoon buying Jimin a Cartier ring for his birthday a few years ago which Jimin proudly wore since it’s really pretty, or pink and blue rings (there are several different ones, actually) that Namjoon has worn with Seokjin in the past (which fits into the Namjinist pink and blue agenda), or the rings Jimin and JK have together according to their shippers, and many more. Jimin and Tae have a whole plethora of matching jewelry in form of necklaces, rings, bracelets, even contact lenses (as in wearing one of each pair to match each other), some which were chosen by their stylists and others they bought themselves for themselves (which are all conveniently “forgotten” by those who ship either big ML ship). Though we’ve seen that even with clothes given by their stylists they were still the ones to choose their own accessories, like Namjoon choosing a pair of glasses from a whole box of different ones, or the members choosing rings from two big boxes before going on stage.

Tae himself said, on multiple occasions across multiple years, that Jimin is his best friend, even his one and only best friend, and that he’s the one he likes most which he even proclaimed on national TV. As long as Tae doesn’t say that this has changed in the last, what, two weeks and suddenly JK is officially his new best friend, those who claim otherwise are basically nothing but shippers pushing a narrative that willfully ignores Tae’s own words. Just like they ignore and twist his Weverse comment about how T*ek*okers should get out of their imagination. What doesn’t fit is ignored or adjusted until it does fit.

Lastly, sure enough, Tae really was happy during that vlive but I’m fairly certain (though neither you, them or I will ever know for sure, we’re not in Tae’s head) it had absolutely no connection to T*ek*ok Day, something shippers created and not Tae and JK themselves, seeing as Tae has been in a very good and happy mood for a few months now. Whatever makes him so happy, I truly hope it’ll continue making him happy and I wish shippers (and solo stans) would stop trying to force a reason (which fits them) upon his emotions.

I know it’s easy to get confused by how loud shippers are online, especially as young ARMY (in this case both ARMY who are young age wise but also young in the sense of being new to the fandom), but shipper opinions, in many cases, are just noise, and also noise twisted and skewed a certain way to suit them. If you kept to OT7 spaces on the day of that vlive, no one really paid attention to the ring, most were annoyed by and furious at the shamelessness of the shippers in the comments, and tried to just focus on how fun the vlive was instead.

[life-rewritten]

Manner Of D*eath Analysis: The role of Tan, Friend or Foe?

Manner of Death has been a whirlwind of emotions, and intrigues and angst in just the first three episodes. I don't know who we can trust, but the story and the clues are slowly starting to come together to give us the big picture, and that is about Jane's suspicious d*ath. From Episode 1, we have been intrigued and scared to fall for Tan; he's mysterious, attractive, some times shady, and also at times flirty and swoon-worthy. It's been a confusing time because I don't want to give my heart away to a murderer or someone who is involved with the murder of women, and I'm sure that's also what Bun is feeling, yeah Tan is gorgeous, and we all want to jump on him including Bun who can't seem to keep his wants at bay, but we must remember that so far Tan is shady? So here's an analysis focused on Tan is he friend who we should we protect and love with all our heart, or is he a foe who we shouldn't yet trust and believe in. Let's find out.

For me, Tan is a big suspect with all the clues pointing to him in episode 1-3. You could argue about the many facets of his personality shown to us so far; that indicates that there are layers to him and that's exciting because it means that he's going to be a three-dimensional character to break down and learn about. Right now I don't trust any smile, or moments with him and Bun because I'm pretty sure that secretly he has not yet even romantically thought about Bun in the way we think he has. Reason one because I don't even think he's ever thought about love or even had an experience with it; funny because he's the person who's the assumed boyfriend of our  victim Jane. However, I don't think Tan even feels emotions or is allowed to feel emotions pertaining to romance and love.

He's wearing a mask, and the mask he wears aligns to what role he's meant to play for different people;

Is he the boyfriend who is mourning and desperate to find out who did that to his girlfriend?

Is he the shareholder and teacher at the school who is obsessed with biochemistry and making students learn?

Is he the protective partner who will fight anyone from trying to steal his lover as he did for Jane when he beat up Pued?

Is he a friend to Bun who is actually determined to work with him to prove he's not the suspect and also help with the case for Jane?

Or is he actually the real monster behind the mask, is he the actual suspect of his said girlfriend; was he involved in her m*rder because he wanted her not to reveal the truth she discovered?

Is he Dam the gang/mafia second hand who has a gang of children as his followers, who's absolutely violent and scary when it comes to protecting what's theirs?

Is he righteous and just was as determined as Jane to prevent corruption from happening but then, something went awry?

These are the questions we have to ask about Tan from what we know so far from this show from episode 1-3. The way he controls all his masks and which ones he should show is scary. I feel like we haven't even gotten to see who he really is, Bun hasn't met the real him yet, right now everything that comes out of his mouth comes with a motive. The question is what that motive is? Let's analyse even further:

THE ROLES OF TAN

Tan as Jane's Boyfriend

The first sign that Tan isn't maybe who he says he is; is from watching his interaction with Bun when we're introduced to him, he's not shocked/upset at Bun for kissing him instead he's intrigued, he teases, he flirts, he hints and takes up his personal space. It's odd for someone who's meant to be devoted to their partner. Upon seeing Bun again, he smirks and enjoys his discomfort and likes the fact he makes him feel anxious. It's even more interesting when he, later on, becomes protective of Jane being dragged by Pued. Pued says it's because he's been her ex before,  it was just one of those types of scuffles, but the way Tan beats up Pued and the way he violently reacted was not just some random act of jealousy. Like all Pued did was drag Jane to speak to her, it's not okay for him to pull her the way he did like some object forcefully, but it was also weird how he just brushed of Tan beating him up as a jealousy thing.

Tan's reactions later as well to Jane's loss is weird, he immediately is unfeeling, no emotions of stress or depression at the news of his girlfriend, it's like he anticipated it and he found it bothersome to be questioned about it. First, take a look at his reaction when being interviewed in ep 1, he's tired and looks annoyed but not shaken up at the fact that someone he possibly loves committed suicide, he's colder and frustrated, and a little bit defeated. He proceeds the next day to go teach, and act like everything is normal, and he shows discomfort at people prodding into Jane's death, especially the students. Maybe he's just really cold and emotionless to when someone he loves and cherishes dies because he's used to it, but his reaction is more like someone who expected it to happen and is frustrated by people trying to make it more serious, and that's not how a boyfriend should act.

Next, he also proceeds to warn Bun to stop looking into the case, and Bun notices his distant aura. But also it's like he's moved on, he's more focused on Bun when he sees him, on teasing and flirting but he also gets irritated when Bun tries to blame him for the murder. As a boyfriend he does not seem like someone who really cared about Jane's well being he says the reason why he wants to work with Bun is to really find out who the suspect is, but truthfully it's odd when you think about how he says it, he should have said that with more of vengeful or angry way because the person took someone who he apparently is very protective of.

Tan, as Jane's boyfriend, also brings this question of his role when focusing on foreshadowing in the show. For example, the little mermaid is mentioned as a cautionary tale of a girl who died for love. Now, this could be predicting Jane's reasons for her death, and why she got entangled with the suspect of these girls or it could be a foreshadowing of the relationship brewing with Tan and Bun. (Tan falling in love in Bun and being forced to at the end choose one of them to live or d*ie the same with what happened with the original little mermaid). But we can talk about this later on.

If Jane supposedly became a victim for love then the first person to question is Tan, what connections does he have that connects to her death, why would she die for him, why would he be hiding why she d*ied, and what is his plans now that people seem determined to find out why she died. This is if Tan and Jane are in 'love', but we've found out that she was more affected by Pued, she went into massive depression before meeting Tan because of Pued, so Pued could be the reason for why she did for love. But then Tan is still in the know then for why she died, because he knows Pued has something to do with it.

This brings this question of is Jane and Tan really dating? Were they as happy in a relationship as they say they were, or is this role one of Tan's masks? My guess? Yes, it's one of his acts, he's clearly playing a protective role with her, he either was keeping an eye on her or she and he teamed together to protect her from whoever it is that is trying to murder her. So this means he is involved in this somehow because either he was part of the reason for why it happened (when he kept an eye on her for the suspect) or he was part of the reason because they both had their plans ruined when she was gone. So he knows more about why she could have been a victim.

It's interesting because her final words to him in episode 1 contradicts this fact, in fact, she tells him she'll let him know more as he worries about her state. So again this suggests he didn't know fully what she was involved in unless he pretended he didn't know and she also didn't know his actual role. See it isn't straightforward, Tan's mask as Jane's boyfriend is the role where he's not even trying the most to make it seem real, he acts more like she was a step/ job to do and then he moved on.  The worrying thing is we need to know what he was to Jane, so we also need to understand if that's his same plans for Bun. Is he doing precisely the same thing; is he wearing another mask with Bun to keep an eye on him just like he did with Jane assumingly or is he wearing another mask with Bun to protect him from Jane's suspect. It could be either, right now I'm leaning towards the latter because it's unveiled he knows the person who's sending Bun threats and he's involved in that.  Which brings me to his next role:

The teacher

Tan is interesting. We've introduced to him apart from the whole Bun kiss thing; we're introduced to him as a shareholder of the school (so he's wealthy) and a teacher for biochemistry. The students he teaches; we see are involved in this murder case, one is Nam a girl who is slowly being inducted into this mess, and the other was Nat who is already a victim of the suspect at episode 1

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Pause, he's also teaching Sorowit who from his story we see he was beaten up by That who is part of a gang that is quite v*olent and protective over their own. Sorowit explains that That works under Dam, this violent Mafia second hand to Por (Pued's father). So Tan is very acquainted with everyone connected to this mafia and murder case. Which makes him even more suspicious because first, he's dating one of the victims, he's a teacher of a to be victim, and he's also a teacher of the other victim. It's interesting.

The reason I bring up the teacher role though is because I think it's another mask/role he's forced to play. I believe there is a lot of corruption going on in this show, with whatever Gang/Mafia organisation Tan or Pued is involved in. They are powerful enough to control the justice system, it seems like they've placed a lot of their people in places of power to hide and assimilate, Tan could also be a teacher, for this reason, being a shareholder of the school puts him in a very favourable position. Also if this Mafia is grooming kids, it makes it easier for him to control his little gang of That and others as Dam, that is if he is Dam. It's a way for him to stay undercover as whatever role he plays in the Mafia.

The kids are essential; it's That who's sending the scary threats to Bun (probably under Tan's orders) it's Nam who is the next victim showing signs of the previous murders. The kids are who are being inducted into this Mafia, and I think Jane wanted to come clean about it finally and that's why she died. She tried to hold a sense of responsibility because she discovered what was going on, and she felt guilty knowing what happened to Nat. Instead, the suspect stopped her to shut her up.

Is Tan the psychopathic, and heartless suspect trying to prevent his cover from being blown? Maybe but then that makes his other future roles as our love interest in this show, will be very angsty and sketchy. It also means we're headed for a terribly sad ending if he is. However, I don't think he is. I still stay with my opinion that this gang is like a family affair; the watch they wear is probably a sign of blood and unity, and it hints at wolfpack Alpha vibes.  We see that That is very protective of who he calls his friends, the reason why he gangs up on Sorowit is to stop him because he hurt one of his friends who lied to him that Nam was his girlfriend. That showed regret, but you could tell that with his gang loyalty is important, they don't ask questions they protect each other and get rid of what bothers their peers.

I think Tan is also part of the organisation with rules like this; he's been groomed by either family or Pued's dad to be someone unfeeling, and a protector of his group. Clearly, someone hurt Jane, and he's being forced to keep it a secret, so the group is not unveiled, so the organisation is not broken because unity comes first. I don't think he's ever had his own aspirations or goals; he's just followed the organisation rules and has a job that is probably not his own dreams/wants, a girlfriend that he was set up with to either protect or keep an eye on. Thus he has a protective role for the organisation. Like a bodyguard/ henchman he fights for them, (just like he showed he could, with Jane) and it's just like what Sorowit said about Dam if you cross him or his gang he will beat you up. I think Tan is Dam and he's a teacher as a way to keep a role undercover and also to keep an eye on the kids who work beside him.

So now we look at his other roles that he's starting to play? What other secrets is he not showing?  

The FACADES OF TAN

Pued's rival

I don't know if I've said this before, but I don't think Tan and Pued hate each other. In fact, it's even more proved to me that they are in this together, Pued goes missing in episode 3 and Tan is the last person to be with him because it's a hoax, Pued wasn't  taken, he was faking it to scare Bun and others who are trying to pry. Tan and Pued are determined to hide the truth about Jane.

This brings me to similarities Tan and Pued have with each other;

Pued and Tan both have a connection with Jane, Pued and Tan are working for the system; Pued is a prosecutor for the justice system, (this again brings up proof that his father's power or control is placing people in places of power and control).  Tan is a massive shareholder of the education system and a known teacher there. Pued and Tan both wore that watch, Bun remembers it faintly by staring at it, but the person he saw with that golden watch is also Tan if you look carefully at the flashback.

They are in the same Mafia; it's why they both look at each other suspiciously, not angrily when they walk past each other when he goes to convince Bun to drop the case. They both are working together right now to prevent Jane's truth being found. The question is, why? If they are working together, why would we see Tan beat Pued for Jane? My answer; it's a cover, it's not real, it's a show, don't know why they are doing it, but it's clearly to make people not think Tan and Pued know each other. But if Tan is Dam like I believe and Por is Pued's father, then Tan and Pued are closer than we think. Tan may even work for Pued as a bodyguard as well. Or the fight could suggest that he and Jane loved each other so much and he was planning on running away from the Mafia with her, and they didn't like that, so they stopped her, made him feel defeated and forced him to cover up the truth. I mean that also could be why, but Jane's last words weren't like that, she knew more than Tan did or she assumed she knew more than Tan did; they weren't working together on anything to do with romance and love.

If they were working together, then Tan was hired to protect her by her, and she didn't know he worked for Pued's dad. These are just speculations, but if Tan is Dam, Pued and Tan are closer than we think, and they are working together to hide Jane's truth Whatever Jane did, it was to mess up the organisation, and both Tan and Pued don't want it to be ruined, or Tan is being forced to protect the organisation's secrets. I think he's protecting the suspect so I assume the person is part of the organisation and it could be Pued, but I still think he's a red herring.

Bun's lover/friend

This is the one that keeps me on my toes. Tan does not have any feelings yet whatsoever for Bun, maybe the kiss they had, made him excited and attracted, but he definitely isn't going to Bun with those ideas. He's with Bun, making him stay with him at his, to keep an eye on him. It's either to protect him as I said from the suspect or it's to keep an eye on him and prevent him from finding out who it is. Right now from my analysis so far, I don't even think he's ever had to care for someone in that way (apart from priorities he has to protect).

I think he's playing another role with Bun, and we haven't seen him fall yet. There are moments where he smiles that I do believe is genuine, Bun makes him intrigued and smile, and want to tease him and for someone who I think hasn't ever had to think about what he wants or his emotions, I think that's a sign that he likes Bun without knowing it. I don't think he cares about Bun's welfare yet; I think he's still more focused on the job because he's the one who's sending That to scare Bun away, if he's Dam then he doesn't want Bun to interfere with his organisation. Bun is like Jane, a dangerous target, a whistleblower; someone who either needs to be stopped or eliminated. Now I don't think Tan wants to eliminate  Bun because I don't think he's evil or anything, just forced by his environment. So yes that cactus probably is bugged, his reasons for wanting Bun to stay at his house is the same, he wants to stop Bun from uncovering the truth, but it could change later to wanting to protect Bun.

I think this is why the little mermaid could be foreshadowing for them with Ariel and The prince in the original story; the mermaid has to choose either her life or the prince's life, she chooses his for love, and then ends and grow a soul. Tan is, in my opinion, is going to be forced to get rid of Bun but the more he falls for him, which hasn't happened yet, the more he'll struggle with that. I'm excited for when we get there. Tan is going to notice that Bun brings warmth to him, he's already cooking for him, and showing him he's attracted despite being cautious, I think he's going to start becoming more afraid of Bun finding the truth. The question is, will Bun find out who he is before he changes his agenda with him. Or will Tan soon realise he wants to protect Bun from the organisation with the disguise of keeping an eye on him? We'll find out. Either way, it's going be an angsty, dramatic and passionate love story. And I can't wait.

THE REAL TAN

Obligations vs Wants

As my analysis has shown I think Tan has many masks so far, this doesn't make him  the suspect but he's more in a situation where he's forced to be part of the reason why Jane was hurt. For me, I think he's never really had a chance to be good/righteous. Actually, I won't be surprised if he was inducted into the Mafia when he was a child like That. Cause it seems like that's what they do. Either that or his family is involved as well in the Mafia.

He could have been forced to protect the people he sees as family, as he's meant to as Dam, to be the protector role. He's probably always had to protect someone in the group despite being wrong like That does for his friends. I want to keep watching out for this, but I do think That and Sorowit are going to be mirroring Tan and Bun's relationship, Sorowit is innocent and naïve and That is working under the organisation with Tan as Dam. He also seems protective of people he sees as his own, and he appears hurtful and even under orders. It's the same way I view Tan.

They're like puppets for this organisation, and so even if Tan didn't kill Jane, he was either forced to hide her truth because it's a norm for him to do so without feeling with everyone. She was just a problem to the organisation, and his love for her didn't matter, or he never even saw her as someone important to him, and he was just playing a role. Now that role is over, he doesn't need to act like he cares about her, and he needs to move to the next part which is to do the same thing all over again with Bun. It makes it a more delicious plotline when he falls for Bun, and he has to try now and protect something he wants for himself. Bun is going to be a surprise, instead of following orders, and rules, he's going to find himself falling on love and wanting to stay with him.

Masks vs Smiles

Which brings us to this question. Have we even seen the real Tan? Have we seen Tan when he's not under the organisation or doing his roles? I think we've seen small snippets of him, moments like when he accepts the kiss from Bun surprisingly showing he liked it, or moments where he smiles when Bun says something about Jane, he notices Bun is a good person, but Tan can't be trusted right now. He's always probably had to wear a mask, slowly we'll see his real self uncovered soon, his genuine smiles, and who he actually wants to be. But for now, I think he's still playing a role with Bun. We'll soon start to see his mask uncover because we see him interact with That at the end of episode 3. We'll finally maybe see what's been going on with him.

Attraction vs Confusion This makes it even scarier for Bun for now, because Tan's intentions aren't pure. Bun is very attracted to Tan, and he finds him self forgetting that he shouldn't trust him, so he's going to be very blindsided by the truth, I wonder if he'll soon find out Tan is Dam, if he'll find out Tan is secretly sending threats for him to stop, but it's worrying though romantic when he asks Tan to sleep on the bed with him, he agrees to stay over at his house, he decides to work with Tan to find Jane's murderer. But he'll be fine like I said, Tan is not a crazy psychopathic , he's not the suspect he's the protector or connected to the person, but the more time shifts he'll switch and change his roles, he'll become protective of Bun no matter what. Let's hope we still get a happy ending after all this angst.

Let me know what your theories are with Tan. Do you think he's a friend or a foe? I just want to say Max is so brilliant as this character; he's so good at showing nuances and moments when Tan's mask shifts, it's been fun and exhilarating to see him play this role. And as for the plot if my theory is right, then Tan and Bun are going to be very angsty, passionate and Romeo and Juliet esque. We've had many stories where someone from the wrong group falls for someone who could be their downfall (little mermaid for example), where you have to betray someone, where you have to lie and hide who you are as you fall for someone. This is a really great plot and a love story to see unfold. It'll be crazy, dramatic but it'll be so fun and so romantic at the same time. Perhaps it'll even make us cry.

Either way, I'm enjoying manner of death, it's nice to piece together slowly the mystery, for now, there is definitely corruption of the justice system, so the police is not meant to be trusted, students are being pulled into this mess, and there are secrets about dr*ugs and s*x and money that still needs to be uncovered. Why are these girls willingly being d*rugged for the money? Was Jane involved in this was she also in dire need of money? Or was she connected to someone with who she found out what was going on overall? Is Tan a right person or a wrong person is he being forced to be harmful, or is he a red herring, and we're all falling for someone who is the villain?  Let me know what you think. Thank you.

[shirebarbie]

Okay not to be okay (Maxwell Beaumont x Riley)

Author’s note: a random little fanfic about my favorite LI from the Royal Romance series on choices. please be kind :’)

Summary: hurt & comfort, Maxwell’s reaction to his father’s plan to take the crown princess away and Riley’s attempts to make him feel better.

After the horrible and shocking meeting, everyone from the friend group slowly started leaving the room, their faces confused and spirits low. The ones who voted in favor of the princess being taken away left quickly, probably in order to avoid more conflict with the ones who opposed the idea. Hana was one of the last people to walk through the door as she cast a sad glance in the direction of the princess Annabelle. Duchess Riley followed everyone out with her dark eyes, but she couldn't oversee the fact that her husband barely moved at all. Maxwell stood up from his chair for a moment, took a few steps, and then sat down heavily again with hanging shoulders on another chair. Olivia was sitting in that one, Riley thought, the only representative of the Great Houses that voted against Barthelemy's horrendous scheme.

Annabelle was sound asleep in her pram, her little face angelic and perfectly calm – she was lucky to be unaware of the recent events and their possible effects on both her childhood and her future. Riley cast a sad but loving look on her daughter as she slowly turned to face Maxwell who was staring blankly ahead with his usually smiling lips in a straight line, and his ocean eyes no longer friendly and mischievous. Riley crouched down so she could meet his face and she raised a hand to gently place on her lover’s shoulder.

“Max, are you alright?” she inquired carefully, although the answer was clearly written on his face. However, in his typical fashion, he quickly put on a braver façade and attempted something similar to a smile.

“Let’s not talk about me right now, we have things to handle and we need to come up with a strategy to get our baby out of this horrible- “

“Darling.” Maxwell’s ramblings were quickly cut off by his wife who knew him well enough to know he would put everyone else’s needs before his own, even when his little family was directly threatened by his own father. That was just the way he was, but Riley didn’t think that was the time to brush off something so serious.

“It’s completely okay to feel betrayed, hurt, or anything else you may be feeling now. He’s your dad, Maxwell, nobody could ever judge you for being upset with this situation.”

Before she even completed what she was saying, Riley saw Maxwell’s eyes fill with tears and his ruse was no longer. He was properly devastated, and he had no clue what to say at all. He knew Riley and Annabelle would support him and love him through everything, as they proved day after day, but he felt like he was failing them and like he could do nothing right, even though he knew nothing about his father’s malicious scheme beforehand. Through his flurry of thoughts Maxwell felt his wife’s warm hand squeeze his own, the wedding band secure on her ring finger, and her other hand reached up to stroke his cheek.

As she was looking at Maxwell, Riley’s heart broke just a little bit. She brushed away a stray tear from his right cheek while he was still staring into space, breathing becoming heavier.

“My darling angel,” she began, her soft voice dripping with love and worry, and she knew he would feel it too, “none of this is your fault to any extent. You have never done anything to endanger our family – quite the contrary – and I could never put any blame on you. For any of this,” she gestured vaguely and shook her head. “I love you and Annabelle loves you and we know you love us, which you continue to prove every single day. For goodness’ sake, you literally saved our lives once already, darling. I think that’s all the proof we could ever need about your feelings and intentions towards us.” Riley shuddered at the thought of that overwhelming night when their daughter came into the world, knowing that it wasn’t something any of them would get over anytime soon.

That one tear on Maxwell’s cheek was soon followed by many more, and quiet sobs started to ripple through his body. Riley reacted immediately and pulled him into herself, allowing one of her hands to slide into his soft hair. It was always incredibly hard to see him crying, because he was usually the happy one who saw the good in everything, but even people like that have their breaking points. Considering the overall situation, it was more than understandable that Maxwell happened to face his breaking point at that moment. Initially, when Riley hugged him close he left his arms down, but hesitantly he encircled his wife’s shoulders and waist.

“I’m a-“ he started, but the duchess knew in which direction his thoughts were flowing. “If you dare to say that you’re a royal screw-up, I’m banishing music on our next ball completely!” This made Maxwell stop talking immediately, and Riley thought she heard a faint chuckle cut through the quiet sobs and sniffs. “Good,” she smiled, but the man in her arms still didn’t seem to be doing better. With every little sob of his, her soul began to hurt a little more. Unsure of what to say next to alleviate some of the pain, the duchess settled on a gentle chorus of “it’s alright” and “we’ll be fine”, even though she herself wasn’t sure if she truly believed those words.

Maxwell was simultaneously feeling safe and scared, and after everything he had gone through with his father (and very much his absence, too) he certainly deserved to look after himself a bit, and focus on arranging his own feelings and thoughts first. Riley firmly believed that, but she knew that, no matter how tough the situation was, Maxwell would always put her and Annabelle first. She was extremely grateful for that the whole time, and she made her appreciation clear. However, it was high time for her to give better than her best for her husband now, in spite of the fear that was bubbling up in her heart.

“My sweet, sweet boy,” Riley eventually whispered as she rubbed Maxwell’s back, “if anyone in the world is trying their best for their loved ones, it is you, Max. Our friends would agree too, I’m sure of that. But it’s perfectly normal to take it easy every now and then, and look after yourself, baby. You need it.” Maxwell’s crying died down at least a little by that point, and he pulled away from his wife’s arms just a bit (he still adored her hugs and affection, and was always ready to soak all of it up, any given chance), so he finally attempted looking her in the eyes. The warmth and care that were so blatantly obvious on her lovely features almost made his heart stop for a moment. Even when he was a crying mess, she still looked at him as if he was the most perfect and precious human being in the whole universe. And he was exactly that to her.

Maxwell let out a slow, shaky breath, and he looked away again “I can’t… believe he would do something like that. To his son’s own family.”

“I know, my love, I know.” Riley bit her lip worriedly and rubbed her hands up and down Maxwell’s arms. “And I can’t even imagine how you must be feeling right now. But I do think you’re incredibly brave, unbelievably strong, smart, and loving, and I don’t have a sliver of doubt in my mind that we will manage to figure something out together.”

“You think so?” Her husband wondered out loud, his eyes regaining a slightly more hopeful and joyful look, which Riley grew to love very quickly into their friendship. He always saw so much good, and sometimes she couldn’t even fathom how and where. But that was just Maxwell.

“I know we will, Max. Just look at everything we have managed to accomplish so far, sunshine! What’s another epic fight for our amazing team, huh?” The duchess tried to offer her brightest smile, her hands still on her lover. “It has been scientifically proven that we can do anything.”

Finally, Maxwell cracked a little smile and squeezed his wife’s hands. “We are the world’s greatest superhero team,” he croaked out with a little sniff, and Riley almost melted right then and there. In her eyes, his smile was unmatched, and she wanted to be the reason behind it as much as she could. She was not sure whether she was right about any of the things she said, whether everything will really go the right way or completely awfully, and she didn’t know whether Maxwell believed her encouragements either, but at that moment what mattered was the fact that he seemed to be feeling better, at least momentarily, and that was a small victory she was willing to take.

“Maybe we should take our little sleeping princess to her royal bed,” Maxwell said in a voice that was barely above a whisper, nodding his head in the direction of his beloved daughter.

“Good thinking,” Riley nodded and finally got up from her uncomfortable position on the floor, and she extended a hand towards Maxwell. The second they were both standing up, he pulled her into the tightest hug possible and inhaled her comforting scent. “I love you,” Maxwell exhaled, some of the tension leaving his body, “and I love our little ray of sunshine too.” In return, Riley pressed a loving kiss on his lips which communicated all the love she had for him without having to say a word. They just knew.

Maxwell picked up Annabelle from her pram gently, but securely, and held her little sleeping form close to his body as the family of three exited the meeting room. More than once, as they walked to their private quarters, Riley noticed an unreadable expression on her husband’s face, but every time he glanced at their baby or she fidgeted a little, he seemed to brighten up too. It was normal – one can’t let go so quickly of something so painful and confusing. Maxwell needed time, hell, they both needed time, patience and strength to tackle the newest threat in the kingdom. Riley’s brow furrowed when she started putting the pieces together: after a mysterious coma that lasted for almost two decades, Barthelemy was suddenly perfectly well and had a very elaborate plan put together and already set in motion. Something didn’t seem completely right, but that was a conversation for another day – she couldn’t bear the thought of possibly causing Maxwell more pain and sadness than what he already had to put up with.

While Maxwell put Annabelle to bed, Riley went to change into something less formal and get something from the kitchen. In one of the halls she ran into her friend Drake, who seemed to be in an equally bad mood (to be fair, he often was, but not with that intensity). He looked at her with so much sadness that she felt like someone knocked air out of her lungs when their eyes met. When he spoke up, it was barely audible, as if he was scared of talking about the imminent threat too loudly – maybe it would make everything go down sooner.

“I’m really sorry you’re going through this,” he said. “Both you and Maxwell are really good people, and it’s high time you both got some rest and just, you know, enjoy life.” Drake chuckled humorlessly.

“Oh well, it seems like I am destined for drama. Me, and everyone around me too,” Riley shrugged, trying to stretch her lips out into a smile, at least a small one. “For now, Maxwell seems to be taking it much worse, which makes a lot of sense.”

Drake almost shivered at the mere thought of what his friend must be feeling at the time. “Hell, imagine getting such a horrible surprise from your own, supposedly dead, father.”

Riley just looked down in silence: it was extremely hard to find any appropriate words. Sensing the shift in her mood, Drake just awkwardly squeezed her shoulder as he started to leave.

“I really hope you guys get through this, and we will all help as much as we can. I know I will,” he said in a quiet voice, laden with emotion. Riley offered him a thankful smile and a curt nod before going to her daughter’s nursery. To her surprise, Maxwell was dozing off in the armchair next to Annabelle’s crib. He usually wasn’t the type to take naps – quite the contrary, he was unbelievably energetic half the time, but Riley let him be. There was enough on his plate, and rest was absolutely necessary. The duchess carefully covered him with a blanket that was thrown over the armrest, and after pressing a soft kiss to her husband’s forehead, she quietly exited the room.