#hq ro

[gingerhead-shoyo]

*Throws a fish at you*

*Runs*

HUH?? WHY—

[lyrate-lifeform-approximation]

🎺What kind of music do you mostly listen to? Do you know how to play an instrument, and if not, which one would you want to learn to play?

i listen to a variety of music, i don’t particularly have a specific genre, but if i had to narrow it down i’d say phonk, classical and pop. very diverse, i know.

i know how to play the piano but if i wanted to i could just add more codes to my programming to learn more instruments.

if i wanted to learn to play one i would say the viola. it might piss off miggy aha

[meitanteisachi]

Just me talking in the tags

[nothoughtsnoya]

Why Did Spotify Recommend Me This. I Have Never Listened To An x Reader Audio In My Life

[kuroppiii]

HI HIHIII!! i have a silly request if you dont mind ×_×

there are a few haikyuu boys with longer hair (kenma, bokuto(?) etc.) and i wanted to see some reactions if gn!reader were to put pigtails in their hair heheheh

idk if this is more of headcanons than a drabble but youre the writer so please choose what u think is right T_T

fluff pleaseee >3< thats it!!!! cheers ro!!! laters!!!!

- 🍸 (begging for this emoji pretty pretty please with a huge cherry on top)

  hairdresser ᵕ̈        hq boys ( kenma , bokuto ,        kuroo , sakusa , asahi , yamaguchi ,        suna ) x gn reader ˎˊ˗

⋮⋮ ˒ ₍ᐢ..ᐢ₎ 𖥻 ⿻ : putting long-haired   ⋮⋮  hq boys in pigtails

📋 content     ♡ # 𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘧𝘧 🐮     ♡ # 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘭𝘦 🥛     ♡ # 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘴 🥛     ♡ # ~3.4𝘬 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴     ♡ # 𝘤𝘸 : 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘶'𝘴

🧸 directory ‹ ✩  like what you read ? check out more of my blog !  •ᴗ•

💬 kuroppiii ─ “ hello my new 🍸 anon (˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧ this idea is SO CUTE tysm for suggesting it . sorry it took a bit but i did both hcs and drabbles , just for you xoxo ”

︴kozume kenma ․﹒∗*○․﹒✧∘°  

he doesn't know why you want to but he lets you anyway

i'd say, in high school at least, he doesn't really put his hair up (obvi since he doesn't do it during matches) because he doesn't know how he feels about how it makes him look in public

but when he's at home he'll def put it up if it's getting in his way of his video games

he actually has hairties strewn about his room, but for some reason they're like all different brands lol

"sometimes i run out and just grab the first one i see getting off the train."

you grab one that's hanging off the corner of his pc

"pfft didn't know you liked kuromi like that"

"oh that... that actually came from a set with a my mel tie..."

so OF COURSE you track down the my melody pair and start to comb through his blonde hair

he plays a game but asks you what his next moves should be in-game now and then to stay engaged with you, as you sit behind him and pigtail his hair

tbh i think his hair would feel dead af from the bleach as you style it but its ok you still love him!!!

"okay, done!" you open up your phone camera and hold it out in front of kenma. he quickly pauses his game and lightly grasps your hand holding the phone as he checks himself out.

"hm... i look ridiculous," he chuckles, "i look like a 5-year-old girl."

"yeah i don't think kuromi and my mel are helping with that, either," you joke. kenma shakes his head around for the two pigtails to swing about his head, the little character charms on the hairties clinking about and making you burst out in laughter. you try to line up your phone to take a picture of him, but he catches you in the act.

he gently swats your arm away and swaps the phone in your hand with his hand in the process, "babe, noo."

"just one? please?" you pry.

he shakes his head and takes your hand up to his lips, kissing it but mumbling out against it a firm...

"no."

"ken."

his eyes are still glued to the screen...

"no."

"with a cherry on top?"

he turns and leaves a quick kiss on your lips, looking into your eyes before whispering...

"no."

despite all his protests, though, rest assured you walked away that night with a new photo in your favorites album: kenma covering his face with his controller with the purple and pink sanrio bunnies holding up two blonde pigtails on the top of his head.

but that was inevitable, he could never resist his baby for too long.

︴bokuto kōtarō ․﹒∗*○․﹒✧∘°  

"anything you want babe!!"

anything to spend time with his favorite person

theres too much fucking gel in his hair so you send him to the bathroom to water it down a bit

he comes out with his hair all wet and dripping and over his eyes screaming

"um, kō... did you even dry your- your hair...? baby it's getting all over the floor"

"oh! oh yeah, sorry about that babe, i'll do that right now for you"

but you see a glint in his pretty golden eyes

the fucking brat

he shakes his head like a dog, hitting you with water and you squeal at him to "go use a towel, idiot!"

nonetheless, once you put him in pigtails, he takes a look at the grey and black sprigs coming out from his head in the reflection of his phone screen and can't help but let out a hearty laugh

"this is great y/n, do another one on me, wouldy'a?"

"wait, really?"

"yes! plus, you like this stuff, right? if you're having fun then make me beautiful, beautiful."

he lets you take a few pictures before you hand him your phone to look for other hairstyles, & he takes the phone with a quick kiss to your lips

he scrolls on your phone trying to find a new hairstyle to have you do as you start undoing the ponytails on his head. his hair dried a bit while the pigtails were in, so you run your hand through his hair and ruffle it up a little bit to get rid of the indent the hairties made.

"oh! what about this one," bokuto beams, holding up a pinterest pin of a manbun, "do you think i got enough hair for you to do it?"

you take your phone back to get a better look at it as bokuto tries to gather up as much of his hair in his two hands and hold it up in an... attempt at a manbun.

you look at him and feel laughter bubble up in your chest, but you manage to make out a, "well we can certainly try, kō."

"really? can we?" he smiles at you. you nod and bokuto dives in to kiss you through your giggling. after a moment, you feel the still-damp ends of his hair fall to brush against your forehead, as his hands go from holding his makeshift manbun up to gently holding the face of his one and only love.

︴kuroo tetsurō ․﹒∗*○․﹒✧∘°  

yeah no this loser definitely has a thing when it comes to people touching his hair

like a DEFENSIVE thing bc no one can convince me it's NOT the longest part of his morning routine

so it takes some convincing but he finally caves bc it's you the love of his life

"fine! but just this once!"

once again, gotta water down the gel

but this time he's like,,, weirdly embarrassed?? and shy?? and cute?? about the fact you're seeing him with his hair wet and undone like this

"baby you cannot tell anyone you saw me like this"

"aww but tetsu you look just as handsome like that"

"ok so we're lying now, i see how it is"

so you sit crossed-legged in front of each other on the floor, and you have him hold the comb and hairties

he sits there all pouty as he has to bend down a bit for you to reach his hair bc he's so tall end me

NO PICTURES!!! the bastard even tries to hide your phone

"tetsu! give it back!" you complain. you've crawled into his lap and yet his arm still holds your phone too high up and out of your reach. "i swear i won't post it anywhere–just one picture, please?"

"absolutely not!" he says through a chuckle. he cranes his neck up and uses your phone to look at his own reflection. he groans at the sight of his spikey locks sticking out from the two pigtails on his head.

"babe," he whines, "this is really messing with my self image."

"yeah right, as if the rest of you isn't literally perfect."

"not true! as long as my hair is concerned right now. but y'know what?" he finally brings your phone back down to his side but holds the side of your face with his free hand.

"what," you deadpan, before trying to quickly grab your phone back. but to your dismay, he holds it out behind his back and out of your reach once again as he continues.

"i'd feel a bit better if i could get a kiss. just a little one," he mumbles with that shit-eating grin you can't help but love, "who knows, maybe i'll feel so much better that i can give your phone back."

"and let me take a picture?" you ask hopefully.

he looks into your eyes and starts to caresses your cheekbone with his thumb, "well... that might depend on how good this kiss goes, yeah?"

least to say you got your photo, and then some other perks while you were at it.

︴sakusa kiyoomi ․﹒∗*○․﹒✧∘°  

"omi, i don't think i've ever seen you with your hair up–"

"i put it up when i have to clean."

"oh right!"

you just never noticed because he wears a little bandana on top of it too cutie pie

but when you ask to put his curls in two little pigtails it takes a little bit of convincing

no one's ever really touched his hair before

he's the biggest sucker for you though so eventually he lets you have your way with him

and surprisingly, he feels so loved having his hair played with by your beautiful self and you just look so cute as you do it and you talk to him about the most generic things that this guy starts to get antsy

like i'm talking hands all over your legs and waist as you're sitting in front of him and as he's starting at you with literal heart eyes

he just needs to hold you you're so adorable to him rn

you can really see his two beauty marks with his hair pulled up and you give them a little kiss when you're finished

"look at him komori," you coo, facing sakusa's phone camera toward him with his cousin on the other end of the line. you had called komori to show off your work, but sakusa couldn't care less as he clings to you now that you're finally finished doing his hair.

"wow cous', this is definitely a new look for you," the brunette giggles through the phone. sakusa tries to hide his face in your neck and groans,

"don't you have anything better to do, motoya? bye."

and with that, sakusa takes hold of your hand and hangs up the call on his phone.

"i quite like it, omi! your cousin agrees with me too," you tease. sakusa can't help but chuckle lightly as his arms wrap around your torso tighter. you can feel the smile creep onto his lips against the skin of your collarbone.

"yeah, whatever. we can do this more often, i guess," he sighs, "the you-playing-with-my-hair thing, not the my-cousin-being-involved thing, mind you."

︴azumane asahi ․﹒∗*○․﹒✧∘°  

omg shut up i will always have a soft spot for this man

ofc since his hair is very much on the long side, he already puts his hair up in a simple ponytail or the occasional manbun from time to time

so yes he agrees to the idea when you bring it up, even if it’s a different style than he’s accustomed to

he didn't think it was gonna be that much of a big deal, after all, he's tied his own hair thousands of times

what he didn’t realize, however, is how different the experience is when you’re the one combing your hands through his hair MMMM

he's absolute putty in your hands shut upppp

deliberately pulls out some strands so you have to sit there and play with his hair longer

"love i think you missed a spot."

"i literally saw you pull that piece out."

he’s between your legs on the floor as you sit on the couch, the volleyball highlights he was watching on his phone still running but now long-forgotten. he uncontrollably tilts his head back with every move you make as you run your hands along his hair, parting it and smoothing it down where necessary.

“‘sahi stop moving,” you giggle. all he can do is hum in bliss as you try to get his hair together amidst him leaning into your touch every other second.

"love, is the first one done yet?" he asks innocently, eyes closed, as if his scheming hasn't costed you an extra 20 minutes or so trying to fix his hair up.

"just keep watching your highlights and keep your head still!" you plea with a hairtie between your teeth, finally managing to gather one half of his hair into a ponytail. and just as you were ready to stretch the hairtie out and make the first loop around the bunch of wavy brown hair that you had in your hand, asahi just so happens to readjust how he's sitting beneath you, making some locks fall out from your grasp.

"asahi!" you let go off the hair and draw out a frustrated sigh. you can hear him chuckle as he leans his head against your thigh, turning his head to look up at you.

his hand is already guiding your dejected one back towards his hair, "oops, sorry angel. i guess you'll have to start all over again."

︴yamaguchi tadashi ․﹒∗*○․﹒✧∘°  

how could he ever say no to you

i think esp senior captain!tadashi started on the habit of tying his hair back for games hot, so he actually does have a few hair ties on hand

but if you use hairties you KNOW he keeps some of yours on his own wrist in case you ever need one (🤭), even if not using them on your own hair like right now

he’s very well behaved as he sits on the toilet seat while you stand in front of him between his legs and get to work

the little piece of hair that sticks out from the top of his head is a pain in the ass tho

every time you think you've successfully smoothed it down, it springs back up again

meanwhile to pass the time, his hands rest on your hips as he asks you about your day, about what shows you’ve been watching recently—anything under the sun

"what happened then? tell me more sweetheart."

in the lulls of your conversation you can feel his thumbs lovingly glide back and forth along your hips im dying i love him

you stand behind yamaguchi in the cramped bathroom, him hunched over the sink as he observes himself and the new look you’ve given him.

you watch him through the mirror as he holds back a smile. his hand reaches about to touch the points at which the tips of his olive hear sprig out from the pigtails of your doing, his stomach peeking out from his worn out white tshirt as it lifts a little at the careful movements he makes.

he finally breaks the silence “yeah… i wouldn’t go out like this anytime soon.”

the two of you can’t help but burst out in laughter, at how ridiculous he looks and the ridiculous way you two have just passed the evening. the sound echoes along the tiled walls of the bathroom.

as your laughter dies down, yamaguchi turns and wraps those same arms that were poking at the pigtails in his hair, around your waist.

he pulls you close, “but they look good, love. maybe just not for me."

you look up at him and he swears he can see a universe of stars in your eyes, "you really think so tada? they were kind of rushed..."

"of course!" he leans his forehead to yours and touches his nose to yours, "maybe we can open a hair salon for you to hone your skills."

his comment makes you giggle, and he can't help but lean in closer to give your smiling lips a quick peck.

︴suna rintarō ․﹒∗*○․﹒✧∘°  

you knew the only way you could achieve getting pigtails on this guy was by ambushing him

"zzz.."

so as he's dozed off on the bed, you slowly maneuver your way behind him

mf's a heavy sleeper so you eventually realize you actually don't have to be super gentle as you pull his hair into two little ponytails

his hair's already parted down the middle so it's pretty easy

goddamn is his hair silky smooth

you gotta ask for what products he uses bc holy shit why's he been gatekeeping them from you

i feel like his hair is long enough that actually they kind of sag down once you put them up in little curves coming out the top of his head like a bunny!!

but just as you're looping the hairtie one more time around the second pigtail, you accidentally pull on it a bit too hard and it quickly snaps against the top of his head ouch lmao

suna groans as he starts to shift and stir awake at the feeling of his head getting bonked. you have to restrain yourself from laughing as he absent-mindedly reaches back to see who it is that woke him up from his nap, hand slowly patting down your side. even through his sleepy haze, he can tell it's you and he lightly hums in contentment before turning around and engulfing you in his arms.

"sorry, rin, i didn't mean to wake you," you whisper.

for a brief moment as he's cuddling into you, he opens an eye to see your face. though you were trying hard to contain them, your laughter starts to escape between your upturned lips and suna's brows furrow in confusion. what's so funny?

he leans back again to find his phone on the bedside table and you watch as he catches a glimpse of his new hairdo before he can check the time.

all you hear is him mumbling something along the lines of, "you're something else," before he's plopping his phone down onto the sheets and he's tucking his head under your chin.

the two pigtails tickle your face like feathers as your ears begin to pick up on the sound of light snores as suna peacefully dozes off once again.

︴oikawa tōru ․﹒∗*○․﹒✧∘°  

i also think he has really silky hair duh but he's definitely shared what products he uses with you

in fact he asks that you use some of the products from his bathroom when you tie his hair

"gotta do these locks justice, baby."

the whole time he's got a little smile on his face, mf is having the time of his life–getting his hair done and being close with the most precious person in the world to him? uhhh YES

he highkey whines about you pulling at his hair tho

"owwiee"

"oh suck it up tōru."

offers to do your hair as well crying

very gentle as he combs through your hair, too!! shit's calming asf, him humming a little tune as you tell him about your day and he lovingly runs his hands through your hair

when he's done doing your hair you take selfies together on his phone

definitely makes one of them his new phone background

pigtails out of yours and oikawa's hair, you're cleaning up the products and hairties scattered across the bedsheets when you accidently brush over the screen of oikawa's phone. the screen lights up with one of the photos you just took with him: you both winking at the camera with pigtails sticking out from the tops of your heads. there's some digital stickers he selected scattered about the photo, as well (a lot of hearts and flowers). he's in another room getting the two of you a snack.

"tōru! can you come over here real quick?"

you hear the pitter-patter of his footsteps as he rushes back to you with chips and drink cans in his hands, "what's up, precious?"

his phone in your hand, you hold it up to him for the screensaver to appear again, "are you serious? did you have to pick this one?"

at that instant he doubles over in laughter, so much so he embraces his arms around your head and falls onto the mattress again, making you both lay down next to each other. he moves his hands to hold your face, "what, why such the long face? you don't like it?"

"no... it's just that everyone who picks up your phone is gonna see it now," you explain, starting to laugh yourself because this boy's laugh is irresistibly contagious.

he leans in to give butterfly kisses to your nose, "yeah, that's kind of the point my love. want everyone to know how happy i am when i'm with you. don't we look so happy in that picture?"

you roll your eyes and reach up to play with his hair again as you two lay there in love, "i guess. but i can't believe you look better in pigtails than i do!"

"i look good a lot of the time," he jokes. his eyes drift down to your lips and after a beat, he presses his lips to yours briefly.

"but not even i can be more beautiful as you are all of the time."

[midnight-in-town]

A future Shinigami revolt to destroy an unfair System ?

Part of my "let's explore Kuroshitsuji's main plot threads" masterposts ; the others can be found below :

Is the Phantomhive lineage the reason behind the Watchdog duty ?

Is the Undertaker "Cedric K. Ros--", aka the twins' paternal grandfather ?

The Fenian Brotherhood theory : Vincent was killed for being a political enemy of Queen Victoria

the RCMT : real!Ciel is an antagonist, partly to blame for what happened 4 years ago

Frances Midford is most likely the atypical "Mentor" character of this Shonen series

Let's dive right into this one (warning : long post ahead !) : in Kuroshitsuji, we have many examples of unfair situations. Case in point with the premise, our!Ciel had to choose between dying at the hands of a demonic cult, like his brother, or sell his soul to a demon he summoned to get his revenge.

Amidst that terrible event, Ciel even lost in faith in a higher deity like God, only for Seb upon his summoning to mock his lack of faith :

1) Premise : a system full of lies

The Shinigami organization is another unfair system based, in my opinion, on "punishing sinners who turned their back on God" when they gave up on life and chose death.

However, whereas Seb was rather honest and claimed Ciel's soul as the price for helping him get his revenge from the beginning, the Shinigami Organization is probably anything but.

In ch105, Sascha explains that Shinigamis are basically slaves who are overworked until "they're forgiven", but we've gotten no proof so far in the story about a Shinigami knowing an old coworker who managed to be forgiven (and we have met many Shinigamis).

However, currently working Shinigamis have all heard about deserters.

The most famous deserter, both to us readers but also to some older Shinigamis like Othello, is "the Undertaker" or former Shinigami #136649 :

While the timeline is currently unclear (because Othello mentions the destruction of HQ approximately 70 years ago whereas UT himself during the Campania arc said he was last called a shinigami since "at least half a century"), what's particularly interesting is that Shinigami #136649 was described by Othello as "the Epitome of a Grim Reaper", so exactly the kind of Shinigami you'd expect to "be forgiven".

So why would someone, who would quickly reach the end of his slavery days, turn against the Organization ? Probably because there's no forgiveness, just like there was no other choice for our!Ciel, who "spat upon God", to sell his soul or immediately die.

In Shinigamis' case, the people to blame for upkeeping this unfair system are probably none other than their higher ups, who were described by Othello to "oversee the human world".

Because, to oversee the human world and to gather the souls when humans die, they kind of need a workforce. Hence the overworked Shinigamis, who are supposed to earn their redemption for sinning.

How and why UT found out about the truth of no forgiveness is still unclear, but since he was so talented, it's possible that he was offered to become a higher up and the realization that he was lied to for many decades or centuries made him go rogue. That and the pursuit of freedom being significant to UT's character (see above), which would simply make him hate the notion of a "fated end" for all humans, after his own suicide.

After all, ch105 confirmed Shinigamis were once humans before they chose to die, so it would make sense to imagine that the Shinigamis' higher ups were once Shinigamis too (at the very least we know they're not demons, considering how Seb speaks of them with so much despite).

2) Most deserters are actually rebels, fighting against the system

First, I'd like to point out that, while older Shinigamis like Othello have heard about "the fugitive of legend" because they used to work with him, it's actually interesting that younger Shinigamis, such as Grell, haven't.

After all, if UT was just "tired of this job", like Sascha and Rudgar were guessing in ch105, why wouldn't they warn younger Shinigamis that some of their coworkers may go insane and leave ?

The answer is simple, the higher ups wouldn't want younger Shinigamis to investigate what could have led a brilliant Shinigami like UT to destroy half of HQ, aka "the truth".

So the events of 70 years ago were covered up : they weren't mentioned to younger Shinigamis like Grell or Ronald, and older Shinigamis like Othello were more or less forbidden from interacting with the human world about 50 years ago...

...until the higher ups "started to get serious" about the threat of the Bizarre Doll project and sent Othello on his old coworker's trail.

Secondly, while UT is the most famous deserter to us readers, we know that he's not the only existing one, despite being the only one we've actually met so far. So where are the others and what are they doing ? Well, I can't speak for all deserters, but repeatedly I've theorized that UT is actually not the only deserter working on the Bizarre Doll project.

Let's be clear, UT can have several motives behind the BD project : the most important one to him clearly is also a personal one, which is the revival of the Phantomhive family, as we know thanks to ch140.

But the BD project also threatens the natural balance of the human word between life and death, as Othello explained in ch147, which goes against everything Shinigamis stand for, since Shinigamis are "beings that (are supposed to) stand neutral between Gods and humans". In other words, the BD project threatens the natural order that the higher ups oversee.

And while UT's main motive behind the BD project is personal, other deserters enlisting their help to make it more threatening...

and gaining more sponsors, across different countries...

...are probably more motivated by making it a worldwide shattering threat to the Shinigami system directed by the higher ups.

Finally, as Queen Victoria once said :

And I'd add that the blue sect and blue revenge arcs encompass all 3: Bravat was the lead of a deranged cult for the star lords, the current BD project seems to slowly be growing to become a profitable business [x][x] and the Shinigami deserters are using all of it to wage war against the higher ups and their unfair system.

3) Who gets to decide what is the natural order ?

Another point I'll make to emphasize that the higher ups are shady is that they're also the ones who decide at what pace progress happens in the human world.

But same for life and death, actually. The list Shinigamis work with are distributed to them by the higher ups, as William explained early on:

So life, death and progress are all decided by the higher ups. I don't know about you guys, but I find it's a lot of power to have and the BD project is definitely one way to fight against all 3.

That's why I find it's so interesting that we've got many Shinigamis (Othello, Grell, Ronald, Will and another unnamed one at the orphanage) on the trail of UT and other deserters in the current arc : after all, if UT or other deserters were to spread the truth about how unfair the system is, if just for Shinigamis themselves, maybe it could lead to a Shinigami revolt in the future.

More specifically about Grell, since she's a fan favorite but also because of her actions during the JTR arc : she already went against Shinigami "law" by killing women who weren't on the list, so she'd be a perfect candidate for rebellion if she were to find out that the system she works for (and was punished by, post JTR) is actually full of lies, protected by a few ex-Shinigamis who like to play God and who want to keep the absolute control they have over the human world.

4) A Shinigami revolt against the current system would also be plot significant

And by plot, I am talking about Ciel's revenge. As a reminder, I am personally of the opinion that Queen Victoria and John Brown are the big bad our!Ciel and Seb are going to face and I also believe that JB is either a demon, like Seb is [x][x], or a deserting Shinigami.

However, what's mostly interesting is that Victoria is praised in universe for being a visionary...

...something that Brown being a supernatural creature would definitely be the explanation for, according to Othello. This is probably also the explanation behind her getting ready to launch WWI, 25 years early.

And while Ciel still has to figure out that Queen Victoria is his opponent and why, we also have UT who notoriously despises her :

The Undertaker is, for me, an interesting character because Yana said he "wasn't exactly a villain".

As explained before, UT works on the BD project for two reasons : the main one is personal and is the revival of the Phantomhive family, whose deaths he definitely holds Victoria responsible. On top of that, he also holds the Shinigami system and the higher ups accountable for arbitrarily deciding humans' "fated end" :

In other words, he holds both Victoria and the Shinigami system accountable for the deaths of Claudia, Vincent and real!Ciel.

That's why he "tolerates" Seb by our!Ciel's side, as Seb makes a perfect shield against both Victoria's own demon and the Shinigami system, until Ciel gets close to his revenge. At the same time, UT currently represents Ciel's strongest survival option, seeing as he's the only one so far who represented a threat to Seb in battle.

Don't get me wrong, bringing the dead back and killing the living to make them survive (aka the current arc) is definitely an issue that has to be countered by our!Ciel's side.

However, narratively, since the higher ups being all powerful is also bad because it creates an unfair system, for the Shinigamis enslaved by it but also for humans who have no control over their fate, I can't help but wonder : if UT and other deserters succeed in harming the higher ups' system, will it impact Victoria's war plans ? If so, how ? And what could it mean for the contract between Seb and Ciel, since it's another fated end born from an unfair situation (especially since the story thematically presents revenge as the wrong choice to make) ?

Lastly, we still haven't encountered in the story that one example Will mentioned in ch 35 of a human surviving their fated end, through a Shinigami's judgement, because "they have the potential to be beneficial for this world". So, unless Sensei is getting tired of writing this series, it's definitely something that should be useful later considering it's the only judgement that Shinigamis can make by themselves about life and death.

Hopefully it makes sense. Don't hesitate to add some insights, if you have any. :) Happy new year 2025, y'all ! :D

[cedric-k-rossignol]

Placing my bets now that Undertaker's last name is Rossignol, the French word for nightingale. 

In trying to explain to a friend the plot of black butler via the iceberg meme, I've become so convinced that I've figured out Cedric K. Ros-'s (aka Undertaker's) last name that I've rejoined this site to scream into the void.

At least, I haven't been able to find anything on the English/French speaking internet suggesting this theory has been floated before.

Of course, this is assuming you subscribe to the Cedric K. Ros- = Undertaker = Undertaker x Cloudia affair = Grandtaker pipeline. And, that you think he is of French/Breton origin. 

Dates

Important to note that dates and numbers are important in Black Butler's story, both within the fictional narrative and in connection to real historical events (emphasized with the first arc lining up with the actual 'Jack the Ripper' murders). Some examples of this;

1819 is the year in which the real Queen Victoria (and her cousin-husband Prince Albert) were born. 1819 is also the year in which the name 'Cedric' first appears in the novel 'Ivanhoe'. Within the story, this is also right around the time that reaper 136649 attacks Reaper HQ.

1837 is the year in which the real Queen Victoria ascended the throne. In Black Butler, this is year in which Molly G., the first chronological locket on Undertaker's chain, died. 1837 would also be right around the time that Undertaker is noted as having absconded with his death scythe, officially deserting the organization...20 years after a workplace shooting (he must be union).

Prince Albert dies on December 14th, 1861, in the real world. The Phantomhive twins are born on December 14th, 1875 - the 14th anniversary of Prince Albert's death. Vincent is 24 years old when he becomes a father. The manor is attacked on December 14th, 1885 - the 24th anniversary of Prince Albert's death. Vincent is 34 years old when he dies. There's speculation that the story will end on Friday December 13th, 1889 - the twin's last day of being 13 years old, before they turn 14 years old on December 14th, 1889, the 4th anniversary of the attack on the manor.

Vincent Phantomhive is born on Friday June 13th, 1851. Cloudia Phantomhive dies on Friday July 13th, 1866. She is 36 years old when she dies. If you believe that Undertaker's reaper serial number 136649 means he died in the year 1366 (an interesting time period in Brittany, what with the Breton War of Succession, the Hundred Years War, the Black Death...), this would mean Cloudia dies 500 years after he unalives himself.

TLDR, dates matching up with historical events/publications is not coincidental. Yana pays attention to her numbers.

Now, back to Cedric K. Ros-

I've read speculation that the 'Ros-' must have something to do with roses, since Phantomhives are so often associated with roses (and their thorns). Guess what little bird is very commonly associated with roses? Whose song is often associated with melancholy, longing, and mourning? Who so often seems to unalive themselves on thorns?  

"the nightingale...can also be seen to provide a link to something, opening out onto something beyond the self. Heard but not seen, the nightingale represents an intangible presence; a longing that can be either terribly earthly, in the guise of sexual desire, or soaringly spiritual, as when the nightingale represents the soul, rising above."

Some fun facts about nightingales;

Female nightingales are mute, only male nightingales sing - though historically people thought the opposite, so many of the nightingales in literature are female.

It is one of the only birds that sing throughout the night (name means 'night singer').

In Persian poetry, the nightingale is a symbol of a lover who is "eloquent, passionate, and doomed to love in vain" - the object of their affections is the rose, which "embodies both the perfection of earthly beauty and the arrogance of that perfection."

The oldest appearance of nightingales in literature goes back to the myth of Philomela, who was turned into a nightingale by the Gods.

In Shakespeare's poem 'Lucrece', the titular character is inspired to commit suicide when a nightingale leans their breast against a thorn to inspire a song and ward off sleep.

The nightingale also makes an appearance in Shakespeare's 'Romeo & Juliet', when Juliet mistakes the song of a lark for that of a nightingale.

I have read a ridiculous amount of poetry about nightingales recently (there is a lot of it), but I'm going to focus on one Breton piece from the middle ages and two English pieces from the 19th century because they have the most relevant dates (which as previously mentioned, are important).

Laüstic

There is the Breton lai 'Laüstic', composed in the late 12th century by Marie de France (Laüstic' is the Breton word for rossignol/nightingale). Breton lais are a form of medieval French romance literature that often involve supernatural and fairy-world Celtic elements.

"In most of Marie de France’s Lais, love is associated with suffering, and over half of them involve an adulterous relationship... In Marie's Lais, "love always involves suffering and frequently ends in grief, even when the love itself is approved."" 

The lais of Marie de France explore courtly love, a popular theme in medieval literature that began with Troubadour poetry in southern France in the 11th century.

"The courtly lover existed to serve his lady. His love was invariably adulterous, marriage at that time being usually the result of business interest or the seal of a power alliance. Ultimately, the lover saw himself as serving the all-powerful god of love and worshipping his lady-saint. Faithlessness was the mortal sin...The courtly lover, while displaying the same outward signs of passion, was fired by respect for his lady."

Basically, courtly love emphasized the importance of a man's respect and devotion to their lover, and I don't think anyone could doubt Undertaker's devotion to his cause.

Sidenote: I think the French story 'Floire et Blancheflor', one of the oldest and most popular romances of the middle ages, is also incredibly relevant to Undertaker & Cloudia's love story. It also explores this concept of 'courtly love' (involving a fake tomb, a prince disguised as a merchant, and an attempted suicide, no less)...and the flowers associated with the lovers are red roses and white lilies... You can read part one of my theory on Floire et Blancheflor here.

A plot summary of 'Laustic' from Wikipedia: 

Two knights live in adjoining houses, in the vicinity of Saint-Malo in Brittany; one is married and one lives as a bachelor. The wife of the married knight enters into a secret relationship with the other knight, but their contact is limited to conversation and the exchange of small gifts, since a "high wall made of dark stone" separates the two households. Typically, the lady rises at night, once her husband is asleep, and goes to the window to converse with her lover; whenever her lover is home, she is kept under close watch.  Her suspicious husband demands to know why she spends her nights at the window, and she says she does so to listen to the nightingale sing. He mocks her, and orders his servants to capture the nightingale. When it is caught he brings it to the lady's chambers, denying her requests to release the bird. Instead, he breaks its neck and throws it at her, "bloodying the front of her tunic just a bit above her breasts". After he leaves, the lady mourns the bird's death and the suffering she must accept, knowing she can no longer be at the window at night. She wraps the nightingale's body in silk, and embroidered with writing in gold thread, and charges her servant to deliver the bird and her message to her lover, who, in response, preserves the nightingale in a reliquary, a small vessel which he has encased with small jewels and precious stones, and carries it with him always. 

From the Wikipedia on reliquaries;

"A reliquary (also referred to as a shrine, by the French term châsse, and historically also referred to as a phylactery) is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a fereter, and a chapel in which it is housed a feretory or feretery."    "Relics may be the purported or actual physical remains of saints...The term is sometimes used loosely for containers for the body parts of non-religious figures; in particular, the kings of France often specified that their hearts and sometimes other organs be buried in a different location from their main burial."    "In Buddhism, stupas are an important form of a reliquary and may be buried inside larger structures such as a stupa or chorten." 

Interesting, because the wooden grave markers Undertaker carries/uses to conceal his death scythe are considered to be a variant of stupa (as far as I can tell). The grave markers are sotoba inscribed with sutra - also interesting to note that in Japan, nightingales are considered a religious bird because "its song is reminiscent of the intonation of a Buddhist sutra", which in turn ties into the Buddhist prayer beads he wears around his neck.

The concept of reliquaries is somewhat similar to that of mourning lockets, especially if you consider that in the context of courtly love Undertaker was whipped likely worshipped the ground Cloudia walked on and would have treated her like a saint (good for her).

"Reliquaries are decorative vessels, often in the form of a hand, cranium, or other body part that contain the fragment of a saint or someone of holy importance. Some fragments could include remnants of a garment worn by the individual or even a piece of bone that was part of their body."

A famous reliquary is the Holy Thorn Reliquary, commissioned in late 14th century France by John, Duke of Berry (this dude has relevance to Brittany and the Hundred Years War) to house a relic of the crown of thorns.

"The jewels, which would have been keenly appreciated by contemporary viewers, include two large sapphires, one above God the Father at the very top of the reliquary, where it may have represented heaven, and the other below Christ, on which the thorn is mounted."

Sapphires and a crown of thorns are not new symbols in this story - imma leave it at that because I'm getting off topic and this is already ridiculously long.

The Nightingale and The Rose

The short story The Nightingale and the Rose by Oscar Wilde (snake's snakes) was published in the book of bedtime stories The Happy Prince and Other Tales in May 1888 (which lines up pretty closely with when the first chapter of the manga takes place). This is a bleak tale about the selfless and sacrificial nature of true love.

But the Tree cried to the Nightingale to press closer against the thorn. ‘Press closer, little Nightingale,’ cried the Tree, ‘or the Day will come before the rose is finished.   So the Nightingale pressed closer against the thorn, and the thorn touched her heart, and a fierce pang of pain shot through her. Bitter, bitter was the pain, and wilder and wilder grew her song, for she sang of the Love that is perfected by Death, of the Love that dies not in the tomb.  And the marvelous rose became crimson, like the rose of the eastern sky. Crimson was the girdle of petals, and crimson as a ruby was the heart.  But the Nightingale's voice grew fainter, and her little wings began to beat, and a film came over her eyes. Fainter and fainter grew her song, and she felt something choking her in her throat.  Then she gave one last burst of music. The white Moon heard it, and she forgot the dawn, and lingered on in the sky. The red rose heard it, and it trembled all over with ecstasy, and opened its petals to the cold morning air. Echo bore it to her purple cavern in the hills, and woke the sleeping shepherds from their dreams. It floated through the reeds of the river, and they carried its message to the sea.  'Look, look!' cried the Tree, 'the rose is finished now;' but the Nightingale made no answer, for she was lying dead in the long grass, with the thorn in her heart.  

The emphasis on the nightingale's song also brought to mind the Mother 3 theory and the importance of the music in that game - and the idea that the last names of Undertaker's lockets make a chord progression. IDK that much about Mother 3, so I can't say if there are any other further parallels to draw.

Also who would read this to a child as a bedtime story???

Undertaker. Undertaker would totally read this to Ciel as a bedtime story, who am I kidding.

An Ode to a Nightingale

Finally, there is the poem "An Ode to a Nightingale" by John Keats (another one of snake's snakes). 

There is a clear theme of death in this poem, and of life after death/immortality. There is also a sense of longing for death, of the relief death brings - very relevant for all reapers.

My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk, Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains One minute past, and Lethe-wards had sunk: 'Tis not through envy of thy happy lot, But being too happy in thine happiness,— That thou, light-winged Dryad of the trees In some melodious plot Of beechen green, and shadows numberless, Singest of summer in full-throated ease.

The first stanza mentions 'Lethe', which is one of five rivers in the Greek underworld. "The shades of the dead were required to drink the waters of the Lethe in order to forget their earthly life. In the Aeneid, Virgil writes that it is only when the dead have had their memories erased by the Lethe that they may be reincarnated."

Afaik the only reaper to reference their previous life is Sascha, and there weren't many specifics. This could just be because speaking of their human life is painful, given they all made the choice to end it...Or is it possible HQ alters their memories?

O, for a draught of vintage! that hath been Cool'd a long age in the deep-delved earth, Tasting of Flora and the country green, Dance, and Provençal song, and sunburnt mirth!

The reference to Provencal song is once again a reference to the concept of courtly love (seen in Laustic) that began with Troubadour poetry in Provence, France in the 11th century.

Already with thee! tender is the night,   And haply the Queen-Moon is on her throne,  Cluster'd around by all her starry Fays;  But here there is no light,  Save what from heaven is with the breezes blown  Through verdurous glooms and winding mossy ways. 

Stars and heaven reference (Astre/Sirius & Ciel), and a reference to the moon as in the Oscar Wilde story... The Queen Moon, on her throne...

I cannot see what flowers are at my feet,  Nor what soft incense hangs upon the boughs,  But, in embalmed darkness, guess each sweet  Wherewith the seasonable month endows  The grass, the thicket, and the fruit-tree wild;  White hawthorn, and the pastoral eglantine;  Fast fading violets cover'd up in leaves;  And mid-May's eldest child,  The coming musk-rose, full of dewy wine,  The murmurous haunt of flies on summer eves. 

A reference to May (we will come back to this), to musk-roses (symbolizes 'capricious beauty'), and to 'the murmurous haunt of flies on summer eves'. As previously mentioned, Cloudia dies in July...

Darkling I listen; and, for many a time  I have been half in love with easeful Death,  Call'd him soft names in many a mused rhyme,  To take into the air my quiet breath;  Now more than ever seems it rich to die,  To cease upon the midnight with no pain,  While thou art pouring forth thy soul abroad  In such an ecstasy!  Still wouldst thou sing, and I have ears in vain—  To thy high requiem become a sod. 

The suicidal ideation is strong here.

Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird! No hungry generations tread thee down; The voice I hear this passing night was heard In ancient days by emperor and clown: Perhaps the self-same song that found a path Through the sad heart of Ruth, when, sick for home, She stood in tears amid the alien corn; The same that oft-times hath Charm'd magic casements, opening on the foam Of perilous seas, in faery lands forlorn.

Immortality. The last few lines immediately brought to mind the theory that Undertaker drowned himself.

Forlorn! the very word is like a bell To toll me back from thee to my sole self! Adieu! the fancy cannot cheat so well As she is fam'd to do, deceiving elf. Adieu! adieu! thy plaintive anthem fades Past the near meadows, over the still stream, Up the hill-side; and now 'tis buried deep In the next valley-glades: Was it a vision, or a waking dream? Fled is that music:—Do I wake or sleep?

The last stanza has the poet bidding 'Adieu' - the French word for goodbye forever which translates literally as 'until God'. Gotta love how dramatic the French are.

From Wikipedia: 

"The nightingale described experiences a type of death but does not actually die. Instead, the songbird is capable of living through its song, which is a fate that humans cannot expect. The poem ends with an acceptance that pleasure cannot last and that death is an inevitable part of life." 

And here's the thing...Keats composed this poem in one day after a nightingale built its nest near his home. Specifically, he wrote it in one day of May, 1819 - the same month and year in which Queen Victoria was born. 

The rest might be me just grasping at straws but the connection to Queen Victoria's birth is what I find most convincing, since Yana has seemingly already sourced Cedric's first name from literature in 1819. I think the setting/plot of the novel 'Ivanhoe' and her name choice of 'Cedric' reveals a lot about Undertaker's past and his motivations, and I think the same could hold true for his last name. I am convinced his name is Cedric K. Rossignol.

God only knows what the 'K.' stands for.

[jasperandhenryslovechild]

my friend and i have watched the henry danger trailer over and over again at least 30 times, and we've watched it COUNTLESSLY at .25 speed and pausing every 5 seconds to point out random ass little tidbits and make assumptions and theories.

this is a hyperanalysis dump of everything we've noticed so far!

under the cut🗣️🔥‼️

in chronological order!!

BLACKOUT?

whys bro got CLAWS NOW WHATTT

i still want to think this is blackout but at the same time the claws kinda throw me off since i don't think those were in df? so it's kinda weird? IDKIDKIDJD QE DO HAVE MORE THIS GUY CLIPS THOUGH AND IDK WHO HE IS BUT I LOVE HIM! #! #! $ BEAT HENRYS ASS BRO GIVE US THAT HURT WE'VE BEEN WAITING ON FOR SIX YEARS/j

that's all ive got about bro, i did also make an entire theory post about him though so OUT OF THE WAY BUDDY/j

BIZWATCH TRUTHING

ignore how it's shittily put together cropped images i have lots to share and don't want to exceed tumblrs image limit, i am NOT making another post with all the same fuckin things😭😭

BIZWATCH RUMORS (literally just me reading a sign in the background) are TRUE. charlotte is absolutely not in on this because she wouldn't have let this name slide/j it is growing on me though!! the fact that bizwatch has such a large & expensive building implies that this could be far into the future of the dangerverse timeline— henry's first appearance back since hd is like 3 weeks after the beginning of df and his last appearance i want to say is like 2 or 3 years since the beginning of danger force, and i don't think anybody in the history of like ever has made enough money with their underground vigilante business to be able to have such a flashy & huge hq

also, why is it in existence??? if you're the SINGULAR HEROES in the most dangerous city in the world, you'd want your hq to be more..... hidden?? yknoww....??? and not pull a man's nest??? not complaining though it looks silly

also also, the clip glee dango released could maybe be taking place in that building??? not sure though because of how run down it is but still oooo aaaah

MISSY'S BEDROOM!!

i have SO MUCH TO SAY ABOUT MISSY'S BEDROOM BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY LITTLE EASTER EGGS HIDDEN IN IT AARRGRGGRHH

firstly, the way henry falls into the bedroom makes me think that like he fell out the window and the reality altering device took him into missys bedroom and like accidentally saved bros life which would be so funny 😭😭

there are SO MANY REFERENCES LITTERED IN THIS

from top to bottom, left to right

"[??]-INSPIRED GRAFFITI SWEEPS THE CITY"

added the extra image because it's clearer there, but IS THAT A WALL DOGS REFERENCE? #?? ## IS THAT A HENRY AND THE BAD GIRL PART ONE AND TWO REFERENCE? #! #?

" ..... Exiled by Swellview......"

i dunno who the hell they're talking about with that one but like also at the same time it's blurry as shit and i kind of guessed... quite a few of these are guesses......

"Kid Danger and ThunderGirl in daring traintop meelee"

THUNDERMANS CROSSOVER REFERENCE! $!! $! $ this girl is dedicated i lwk forgot that happened

"Swellview Dispatch: Kid Danger Dies in Firey Blimp Accident and Saves Entire City. The City Mourns Its Young Hero"

okay so they DOO know about the finale

does that mean missy was the ultimate fucking theorizer above us all??? is she the only one in this universe that puts the two and two together that bizwatch ceo henry hart looks a lot like dead superhero kid danger??? guys missy is the only one in nickelodeon history to do that she might be a lot smarter than we thought, having the capabilities of basic logic..... /j I LOVE HER ALREADY

or maybe she thinks she just used her reality altering device to bring back the dead, in which case i subtract points/j

"A Superhe[ro]...... Answ[er]... The [??????].. all pay"

literally no clue, the pay part makes me want to think budget cuts ref? but im not sure i need more context to that one— i would literally pay any amount of money to buy ANY of these set pieces bro😭😭

"Swellview Dog Society calls foul (?) on irresponsible breeding practices"

not a reference to anything as far as im aware but... good to know? swellview has a dog society now funzies

"Kid Danger Calls Out Bill Evil"

DANGER THINGS REFERENCE! $! $! $! DANGER THINGS MENTIONED! #! $! $!! $

i do know that there was one ill find later that was a rock box dump reference and i thought it was so fun

SHE HAS A KID DANGER COSTUME AWWHH I'M CRYIGNFNND I LOVE HER I LOVE HERR

the reality altering device abbreviates to rad... like how swellview academy for the gifted abbreviates to swag.... im so done😭😭

how did she even get access to that shit??? she has a blueprint above her computer when she was like doing all that coding stuff and its the blueprint to the device itself, does that mean she like made it herself?? maybe like in tandem to the omega weapon she had someone make it for her?? idk idk i need to watch this fucking movie bro 😭😭😭

POSSIBLE OTHER VILLAIN??? WHO ARE YOU MY BRO WHAT SCI FI SHORT DID YOU POP OUT OF

OTHER STUFF (VILLAINS & STUFF)

PIPER TURNS INTO BATS AQWWWHWH I LOVE HER

just got back from doing day 2 of finals though & im tired as all hell so i don't have that much more for now but i may continue dumping stuff later 😭😭

if i add more ill reblog it🗣️🔥‼️

[bullet-prooflove]

Room At The End Of The World: Dwayne Pride x Reader (feat: Chris LaSalle)

Tagging: @kmc1989 @mandy426 @keyweegirlie @luckyladycreator2 @Elixae

 Ro - Dwayne starts to see you in a different light.

Roses - Dwayne realises you’re being courted.

Waiting - Dwayne can’t stand to see you with another man.

The Storm - Dwayne and you take shelter together during a hurricane.

Cresendo (NSFW) - Dwayne and you spend the together during the hurricane.

LaSalle knows, you can tell from the fact he’s barely said more than one word to you since the two of you left NCIS HQ to survey the damage that’s been done to the parish. His gaze is fixed straight ahead, his knuckled whitening as he grips the steering wheel with such ferocity, you’d think that it murdered a member of his family.

In the console your phone starts to beep, vibrating with messages from over the last twelve hours. It had run out of juice last night during the storm, you’ve only had the opportunity to plug it in this morning when you’d climbed into the truck.

Douglas’s name pops up more than once, a few missed calls, a couple of messages. You know you need to call him, let him know your safe but you honestly you don’t know what to say.

Beside you LaSalle shifts uncomfortably in his seat and you know it’s coming, you can feel the way the tension builds in the air.

“What were you thinking?” He erupts.

You raise your eyes skyward because the truth is you weren’t thinking and that’s the problem.

“There’s a song.” You say finally. “Called Room at the End of the World of the World by Matt Nathanson, do you know it?”

You see the moment it dawns on him then, the lyrics to the song come back to him and there’s that instant of understanding.

“It was like that?” He asks, his tone softening and you nod your head.

“There was nothing else outside that room.” You tell him. “The storm, Douglas, all of it, it didn’t matter because I was with the man I loved, touching him, holding him…”

You trail off then and look out of the window, surveying the wreckage that the  hurricane has left in it’s wake.

“I’ve had more than my fair share of those with Sugar Boots.” LaSalle says into the space between you and you can hear the empathy in his voice because their road it hadn’t been easy. “But you and Pride it’s complicated even without Hamilton in the mix.”

Any idiot can see that Dwayne Pride is in love with you, LaSalle thinks. There’s something in that man that comes alive when he’s in your presence. The problem is Pride will never tell you how he feels because he doesn’t want to compromise your position as an NCIS liaison with the NOPD. If the two of you did embark on a relationship you would have to give up your posting and he won’t force you to choose between him and your career, not when you’ve worked so hard to get where you are.

“This is not a problem that is going to go away.” LaSalle tells you as he navigates the road ahead. “You need to make a decision about what you want, what you really want otherwise this whole thing, it only ends in heartbreak.”

“I know.” You say softly as your phone lights up once more with Douglas’s number. “Trust me I know.”

Love Dwayne? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

Interested in supporting me? Join my Patreon for Bonus Content!

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[oh-no-its-bird]

thoughts because of your recent anon ask, Tora meeting said wet chihuahua that is called Obito in his timeline vs Tora meeting Madara in Team Ro time travel to the WS era idea

just a thought

I think that Tora meeting Obito is just like. It's on SIGHT actually. Like aside from the whole "this guy is an enemy of konoha and the Uchiha specifically who I now have an investment in like, not seeing dead" his personality as Tobi feels to me like someone who'd for sure get on Tora's nerves, especially considering Tobi often tries to deliberately get on the nerves of everyone around him.

Obito specifically I can see him hypothetically getting along with (with some luck) if he were to behave for like 5 seconds (physically impossible)

Tora is Kakashi's friend slash ANBU junior slash kind of brother slash kind of child he collected (and Tora collected him in turn) so I think he'd actually get INCREDIBLY mad about Obito for Kakashi's sake. Especially if he catches onto the stalking and stuff. Get the fuck away from kakashi!!!

Tora is suddenly tapping into that 'overprotective big brother' energy and directing it at a very confused Kakashi who, while he appreciates the sentiment, needs him to stop immediatley actually. Maybe it can be a minor conflict between them? Kakashi appreciates the sentiment but like, this is his own battle and Tora needs to respect that!

Tora thinks Obito is annoying and pathetic and that Kakashi can do SO much better and he wants to see him dead and buried.

Obito thinks Tora is annoying and annoying and ANNOYING and gets more mad about it with every plot he has that Tora inadvertently throws a wrench in. The final straw comes w Tora calling him out for his fucked up yandere ass puppy crush on Kakashi, which Obito is in very deep denial about and does not appreciate having pointed out!!!

Actually suddenly Tora has to die just for that.

Obito comes back to Akatsuki HQ suddenly way more motivated to kill Tora and Zetsu is asking him what got him so excited for it and he just narrows his eyes and goes "he knows too much." in a dangerous tone.

And Zetsu is like "!!!! Omg he knows our plans??" But no he just knows Obito is horny for Kakashi and Obito has to get rid of him before he fucking TELLS HIM

(It's ok even if he told Kakashi he wouldn't believe it)

Uhhhh story arc where they use Kakashi as a honey pot distraction for Obito and Kakashi doesn't think it'll work but it does and he wants to die about it

Hmmmm Tora and Madara huh

There's so many ways that could go actually I'm almost conflicted

If Tora meets him in canon as the normal story goes, it's hate on sight. The situation is perfect to dig up old feelings from a past life, but even without that he just hates the guy. He's an enemy. He's killed some of Tora's friends. He's tried to kill even more.

But team ro time travel plot Tora oooo

I think off the bat, he has similar views as Tenzo and Kakashi. Madara's betrayal was a thing that happened, but he's only ever learned about it through history books (unlike Itachi and Shisui who grew up on stories using him as an example of the worst of them) so he's largley neutral.

There's some odd twisting of his gut when he thinks about the man, some half remembered betrayal from another life, but it's buried with time as he grows up without reason to think about him. (Though in the canon future it'd return with a vengeance when "proven right" about him as an enemy)

They time travel to before Izuna's death so Madara is a lot more stable when they interact, though Tora still can't ever truly escape this lingering, twisting discomfort when he looks at him.

Despite being best friends with two Uchiha and regularly interacting with even more, Tora can never seem to bring himself to meet either Madara or Izuna's eyes.

He doesn't even know why himself.

Another interesting note ab Tora on team ro time travel is just the fucking dejavu thatd be beating him over the head the entire adventure. He's having a time!!! That's for sure!!! He can't take 4 fucking steps in any goddamn direction or conversation without feeling like there's something deeply wrong with him!

If there's a future where he realizes he's the reincarnation of tobirama it'd be well into his late teens, and since he's Itachi's age at the time of this adventure he'd be like 12/13. So he has NO idea that he was Tobirama in a past life and is deeply affected in a mostly negative way by the fucking past life car sickness effect

[macravishedbymactavish]

A Symptom of Being Human (John "Soap" Mactavish x GN! Reader)

Look at me cleaning up my drafts with 2 finished WIPs in one night.

TW for very light angst and a very concerned Soap

| Blog HQ | Modern Warfare 2 Masterlist |

"You dinnae look happy" a voice commented as you walked into the shared kitchen. You spared him a shrug as you continued quietly to the cupboards, looking for your cup to make a warm drink in.

"What's bothering ye? You can talk to me, I don't bite" The corner of your mouth twitched at that, while he could be loud, and border the line of obnoxious his heart was in the right place.

"Would you believe me if I told you it's just how I look?" You glanced over your shoulder, watching as he slowly squinted at you. Clearly not buying it.

"Just my face, Irish Spring. I'm having a really good day actually" you shrugged once more, ignoring his protests mumbled from under his breath about the nickname. ('M not even Irish…)

As far as you could remember, you were always having people checking in on your wellbeing. Friends, distant family, caring strangers, store clerks, and teammates. Your normal expression clearly wasn't welcoming and optimistic. It was the opposite actually - you looked like you hated the world and everyone in it at all times.

"But you look miserable" You appreciated his concern, but didn't need him worrying about you. Pausing slightly, you shook your head before glancing over at your friend.

"The face looks upset, the soul feels good. Do you want a coffee?" You lightly chuckled, grabbing another mug out of the cabinet when he accepted your offer.

--

"You're concerning Soap" Ghost confided to you later that day, following a sparring session between the two of you. "He's convinced you're depressed and not telling him everything"

You couldn't help but playfully roll your eyes, you loved your teammate. You really did, but he was so overly concerned for nothing.

"I've told him, it's just my face. I don't know what more I can do, outside of wearing a mask like my resting bitchfaced friend" you smirked at Simon, watching him copy the action you had just done a moment prior.

"You know 'im as well as I do, he's not going to suddenly stop being concerned. Especially since he thinks you're devastated about something and hiding it" Simon had a point...shit.

It was at dinner that night, when you felt a pair of eyes burning a hole in the side of your head. You had a fairly good guess at who was on the other end so you continued eating.

How many times do I need to tell him I'm fine? It's just. My. Face.

You opted against entertaining the concerned stare, in favour of continuing your meal. Making small bits of conversation with your table mates between bites. That was until you heard a soft, yet obnoxious shuffling getting closer. He wouldn't.

"Hey guys" Kyle awkwardly greeted, placing his tray down at one of the empty chairs across the table from you. "Thought I'd sit here, change of pace" you arched a brow at the man, seeing right through his change of pace.

You continued picking at your food, waiting for the question to be asked. Waiting for the confirmation that Kyle didn't come by to just hang out. Glancing up at him every so often, you watched as the man sat awkwardly across from you. Shoulders stiff as he sat.

"You can tell Johnny that I'm fine" you commented after another moment of silence. "And you don't have to stay if you don't want to"

He gave you a small smile before picking his tray up and returning to his main group. Leaving you to roll your eyes, and audibly groan when you felt another tray land beside you.

"No. I'm eating, you do not get to badger me about this now" voice trailing off as your eyes met those of the confused recruit. "Nevermind, I honestly thought you were someone else"

Poking at the food for a second longer, your appetite leaving the chat after you potentially scarred the poor stranger. Dumping the remnants of your tray into the trash, you sighed softly as you continued on to your room.

3 steps from your door, you heard a familiar voice call out to you. Jogging up to meet you before you passed the threshold.

"Are ye sure you're okay?" He asked, leaning against the wall in front of you. You debated whether or not to call him out on his dinner plan, and involving Kyle in all of this madness. Deciding against it in the moment, you went with a simple:

"I'm fine, Johnny. I promise I'd tell you if I wasn't" followed by a small smile, almost missing the unfocused gaze he was giving you.

Almost.

The two of you sat in silence, a rarity for the man in front of you. The team could've swore he was allergic to silences unless required for work. Always chattering about something, making silly jokes or teasing his friends. But right now? He sat silently, unmoving. Eyes staring right through you as his mind was clearly not within range. You lifted your hand to wave it in front of his face, then it clicked. The reason why he was so concerned for you. The moment passed as soon as it began, quickly blinking and refocusing on you.

"I know you would, I still worry for ye though" a small punch to the shoulder, and he was making his way down the hallway. Leaving you standing in place, eyebrows furrowed with the latest revelation. How did you never realize this before? Turning to stop him, to sit him down and ensure he was alright, you were met with an empty corridor.

Frozen in place, you ignored the dull ache growing behind your chest. The gnawing feeling in your mind as you debated on running up after him. Worried that it would give the wrong message after you spent the last few days all but begging him to quit.

You couldn't get the sight out of your head, out of your heart. The flash of hidden agony in his eyes, emotion covered up by extrovert tendencies. Making sure everyone else felt alright and was doing fine, as a coping mechanism?

No. This is not up for speculation.

"Johnny, wait" you called, jogging down the hallway to go find him. "Are you okay?"

Without stopping, he turned his head and shrugged.

"It's just my face, bonnie"

Taglist: @bloodonmyhands-1221 @v1naco @bowtruckleninja

[mortumslab]

My first attempt at Fanfic for the Fallen Hero universe. I am a science nerd in healthcare, so I'd like to try the first Dr. Halabi note as a SOAP (physician) note at Dr. Mortum's facility for my Sidestep (Arya).

Arya, as Retribution, is an anarchist set on justice and has been revealed to the Rangers, but Sky-Raider got her out before any of the Rangers could make a move.

__________________________

Note: These records are for internal use ONLY. Disclosure of these forms will be met with swift recourse.

Date: 5-10-21 

Facility: Mortum Site 01

Patient #: 2344

Patient Name: Arya Skovsgaard

Gender: Female (She/Her)

Attending: Dr. Halabi, MD

CC: Traumatic MVA

HPI:

Arya Skovsgaard is a 30 y.o. AFAB transferred to Site 01 two days following a motor vehicle accident. Per LDPD reports, the patient was restrained, and airbags were deployed. The patient appeared to be driving down the opposite lane on a two-lane highway and struck an oncoming truck. The larger truck was undamaged, but the vehicle the patient was driving was no longer operable. The patient is a known telepath (T12345678), Alpha level. She is known to be capable of operating other individuals through telepathy. The patient was transferred from the care of the Los Diabolos’ Rangers prior to arrival at Site 01. Previous to this, they were at Memorial Hospital under the care of another, unknown physician, wherein lower extremity injuries were treated. The patient chart was consulted prior to transfer. During their stay at this facility, the patient was discharged to inpatient care with a bilateral tibial fracture along the mid-diaphyseal line and a right femoral fracture at the mid-epiphyseal line. Lastly, physicians at the Ranger facility note left SI joint disjunction. It is not known if the accident was intentional, but the Ranger discharge notes allude to this as a possibility. For this reason, the patient will be under constant security detail. 

HPI is incomplete due to the current AMS.

ROS:

Patient arrived to facility in a state of alterted mental status leading to an incomplete ROS

Head: Positive for trauma

ENT: Negative for dental trauma

MSK: Grossly apparent damage to bilateral lower extremities

Integumentary: Positive for abrasions, lacerations, ecchymosis

Psych: Altered mental status

Neuro: Loss of consciousness

Physical Exam:

Physical exam from Dr. Petroza at time of surgery and reconstruction is included as a separate document. Below is Dr. Halabi’s secondary PE upon admission to Site 01.

Head: Trauma noted to bilateral orbitals. Ecchymosis around orbitals with classic appearance of trauma.

Neck: No trauma noted

Lymph: No abormalities noted.

Musculoskeletal: See diagram. Dr. Petroza and team applied bilateral leg casting to patient from femural head distally to ankle. Difficult to assess. Otherwise noted 

CV: No murmurs, rubs, gallops. Normal rate, rhythm. 

Respiratory: Some wheezing. Imaging from Ranger HQ shows no pneumothorax. Brusing to ribs, possibly due to CPR on scene.

GU: No abnormalities noted

Integumentary: Diffuse ecchymosis and bruising to regions visible, patient has [REDACTED] on skin noting them to be [REDACTED].

Psych: Unable to assess

Neuro: Unable to assess. Known telepath.

Assessment:

Agreement with prior disagnosis of bilateral tibial fracture along the mid-diaphsyeal line and right femoral fracture at the mid-epiphyseal line with protrusion from the medial right femur and bilateral media tibia.

Dipostion:

Inpatient discharge.

Progress notes:

5-20-21

2320: Call recieved that patient is en route.

5-21-21

0023: Patient arrives to Site 01.

0024: Dr. Halabi, attending, in room and performing phyical exam. 

0100: Patient woke briefly and [REDACTED] attacked them - they were removed from the premises. Security was tightened on the room.

0300: Patient awakens and requests food. Dr. Mortum in room and discussion plan with patient.

0800: Phone call received on patients cell phone from number listed “Julia.” Voicemail left. 

TRANSCRIPTION: “Arya, I know you’re out there. I… I’m glad. We’ll talk when you’re ready. I know you don’t want me to be around for this - but we need to talk. I want to help. I had some time to think… you might not have gone about this in the way I would have expected, but I think you have the right idea. Please call me. I love you.”

0830: Patient requesting discharge to their home. The Site will send her with an escort.

Electronic Signature:

Dr. Halabi, MD

This report is to remain within Site 01. If it is found outside of these servers, it should be destroyed, and the aforementioned party should be warned.

[edupunkn00b]

Meus ex Machina, Chapter 15: From This Day Forth

Edited public domain image of two hands reaching for each other, lit in deep blue and neon green.

Prev - From This Day Forth - Next - Masterpost - [ AO3 ]

Distant history and some time later. Plus, Logan's time with The Muse revealed more than anyone expected.

WC: 2655 - Rated: T - CW: descriptions of treating injuries, the 'comfort' of hurt/comfort

“I do.”

Half-hidden by his wild auburn fringe, Luc’s eyes glowed. Not from his Power, not today. No, today Luc’s eyes glowed from within, the natural deep brown soft and warm and bathing him in love.

Janus smiled back at him, squeezing his fingers. “I know you do.”

Their nerves—and their focus—dissolved in quiet shared laughter until Patton’s pointedly cleared throat brought them back to their vows.

When Janus looked up, Patton smiled and inclined his head, his Illusioned officiant’s robes rustling with the movement. “And you, Janus Gates, do you take Lucas Hart to be your love, your husband, and your light from this day forth?”

Swimming in the gentle depths of Luc’s eyes, Janus nodded. “I do.”

~

Janus tossed his tablet onto the couch with more force than he’d intended. Luckily, it merely bounced twice and flipped over, deactivating the screen. His relief was short lived, though, and the droning news report made him almost wish it had cracked. 

Back straight, he perched on the seat beside it and forced a slow breath, giving his attention to the flow of dry, cool air in his lungs and the—

“Governor Aldi has called in three NatGuard divisions to quell the uprising at Humane Care—”

Patton clicked off the newsfeed. Janus fought to push down the molten lead bubbling up in his stomach but finally it burst out. “When will they ever stop? When we teach them a lesson?”

He smacked the table, the sharp sting doing nothing to calm the fire in his bones. Patton’s hot chocolate rattled against the pair of teacups set on either side of it and the force of his hand shook even the pictures on the wall. 

“Now, Kiddo,” Patton inhaled, exaggerating the movement and giving him and Luc a gentle smile. Luc leaned closer, fingertips brushing his sleeve. “Let’s all take a—“

“No! I will not take a breath!” He sounded precisely like Ro in one of his tantrums but he just couldn’t stop. “And I will not calm down and wait for the Powerless running the government to follow the arc of progress or whatever pacifying bullshit—“

“Language!”

“Papa Bear, it’s alright,” Luc said smoothly. The soft purr of the old nickname brought warmth to the elder brother’s cheeks but his expression didn’t change. He picked up his cocoa and watched the newlyweds with his lips drawn into a thin line.

Luc nodded slowly and reached over the coffee table, brushing Patton’s hand, calming him. “Let him get it out.”

“This isn’t simply some phase I will get past!” Janus nearly growled, jerking away from the other two. “We’ve been trying things your way for three years now and look where we are?” Arms flung out at his sides, he looked around their newly finished HQ. “We have to hide away behind a forest laced in tripwire because all the Powerless know how to do is hate us.”

He stood, shaking his head as he stared at the vidscreen, the latest atrocity playing out in full spectrumed splendor. “Maybe it’s time we used our powers for real change and made them stop.”

“Love?” Luc’s eyes were wide and he made no effort to hide the concern roiling through him.

Janus deflated, sinking back down and accepting Luc’s outstretched hand, bare skin intertwined with his own gloved fingers. “I don’t mean…” He gestured vaguely. “There just… there has to be another way.”

~

“Jan?” Luc’s voice was quiet, barely audible over the whine of the transport’s thrusters as they raced away from the Inn.

Eyes focused on The Muse, unconscious and strapped in his own seat, Janus shook his head.

Luc was completely silent until they’d landed at HQ and he waited until they’d gotten The Muse hooked up to a med bed before addressing Janus again. “Love, there’s nothing you could’ve—”

“ Nothing I could’ve done?” Luc stepped back, the full force of Janus’ rage seeping past his lowered voice. The final threads of his control were fraying and Janus… he wasn’t sure what he might do when they snapped.

Still, Luc reached for him, eyes dimly glowing. “Love, calm down. You didn’t know—”

Janus jerked his hand back, keeping an empty med bed between them. “I didn’t know what? I didn’t know Andrew would betray us? Or I didn’t know you would lead us right into a trap?”

“Wha—” Luc’s mouth moved like a fish and his hand flopped back to his side. “What are you saying?”

Tears swam in his eyes, sparkling in amber light as Luc wrestled his own emotions into control. Or manipulated his own tears. Sour, jagged guilt stabbed Janus’ chest at the thought. Was it his own conscious speaking?

Or Luc’s?

‘Re will be fine, you’ll see. He just needs a little calming, a little extra control.’ Luc had been so sure this outing would work. ‘He’ll have both of us there, both of us to keep him and everyone safe. He deserves a good birthday. He deserves to celebrate a little.’

Janus scrubbed at the blood staining his shirt, his gloves, the man’s final cries echoing in his brain. “What did he offer you?”

“What?” Luc acted like he hadn’t heard him.

Janus stared back, fighting past the buzz of alcohol singing in his veins. Plus gods knew what else that traitorous bartender had slipped into his drink. “What did he offer you? How much were we worth to you?”

“What!?” Luc crossed his arms over his chest, eyes brighter than the med bay’s lights. “You think I—”

Guilt and malice and rage swirled between them, cutting through the lingering dizzy haze. “I can feel your guilt, Luc. You know you can’t hide it from me.”

“Love, no…” Luc’s voice broke, tears finally spilling down his cheeks. “Please listen to me… You’re not feeling that from me, I swear! Here…” He slid around the med bed, both hands outstretched. “Jan, please… Take my hand, you’ll see. You’ll—”

“Don’t you dare touch me!” Janus pushed the bed back between them. “No, you just want to make this all go away and you can’t, Luc. You just can’t. He killed that man! And it’s because of us! Because of y—”

Too late, his mouth snapped shut.

“You really believe I could…” Orange flame for eyes, Luc shook his head, lips pressed together, a gash across his face. When he spoke again, his voice was low, an almost monotone, his words carefully enunciated. “Very well, then, Janus.” He blinked, slowly, bathing the room in cold darkness, then turned and left.

Rooted where he stood, Janus listened to Luc’s footsteps fade before they eventually returned, pausing just outside the med bay. Janus held his breath, waiting. Listening. 

There was nothing more to hear but the curt zip of a bag and the woosh of the front door opening and closing.

Luc was gone.

“Jannie?”

Janus had no idea how long he’d stood there before The Muse’s whisper pulled him back to that room. “Jannie, please help him.”

~

Jolted upright in bed, Janus swore when his grandmother’s repurposed album fell off the side and hit the floor. His dream—his nightmare—tightened its grip on his mind, claws sinking into flesh, The Muse’s plea wrapping tighter and tighter around him.

-”Jannie… Jannie…”-

He forced his eyes open and only then did he register the green lights flashing along the ceiling’s edge. The voice was no dream. -”Muse? What—”- He yanked back, blistering from The Muse’s thoughts.

-” Jannie, please help him !”-

He grabbed his gloves and a robe on his way out of the room and collided with Pat in the hall.

“I checked the breakers, I checked the shield,” he stammered, barefoot and clad in sleep shorts. “Everything’s working. I don’t understand—”

“He’s out in the hall.” Virge nudged them forward, pressing a tablet into Janus’ now gloved hands. “With Mac.”

Tears poured down The Prince’s face and he leaned close to Virge.

While Pat ran to the med bay, Janus watched the camera feed. Machina’s chair sat abandoned in center frame. The Muse’s lower half, writhing in a tangle of thorny vines, was the only part of him visible. Was Machina still inside? “Get him comfortable,” he ordered to Virge, nodding at The Prince. 

Pat returned, zipping up his jumpsuit, the largest medkit tucked under his arm. “I’m ready.”

“He’s trying,” The Prince whispered as they passed. “He just can’t help it.”

“I know.” Eyes closed and with one hand pressed to the wall for support, Janus reached out. -”We’re coming, Muse. Hang on.”-

~

With Pat’s help, he made it onto the elevator and down to the basement. He used the brief trip to stitch together a semblance of a shield, filtering what he could of the turmoil in The Muse’s mind. “I’ll need you to—”

-”Hurry, hurry, hurry…”- The Muse broke through. Why wouldn’t he just go back inside his room? Why had he even left? Had Machina somehow lured him out? He understood what the shield meant to him… didn’t he?

“I’ll get Re,” Pat promised, one arm still loosely wrapped around his waist. The other gripped the tablet and the med kit. “But maybe come back? He might need you.”

Janus nodded, less steady than he would have liked, as the elevator stopped and the door slid open. Machina and The Muse’s cries echoed down the stone corridor, amplified by the small space. They rushed out, Pat barely slowing to grab Muse, remembering just in time to leave behind the tablet before the shield fried its circuitry.

They stepped over the threshold and silence—near silence—fell over the hallway. The world that poured into The Muse’s mind—and relayed into his and The Prince’s—quieted.

Janus hated how his shoulders dropped, his jaw unclenched and he dropped to his knees in shaky relief next to the whimpering heap of blankets on the floor.

“Machina?” He jerked away from the touch, reaching for the closed door. -”Logan.”-

Machina froze, clinging to the thought.

-”Logan, you’re safe,”- Janus sent as gently as he could manage while fighting past the blocks Machina seemed to have instinctively put up. -”You’re safe now.”-

-”Muse isn’t.”- With a groan, Machina rolled and met his eyes, revealing his blood-and-tear smeared face.

Nodding slowly, Janus gently wiped his face clean with the edge of the blanket. -”He will be,”- he promised. -”Patton will care for him. As I will care for you.”-

Machina considered his words, bloodshot eyes darting between his and The Muse’s door. Finally, he nodded.

“May I?” Janus asked aloud, arms outstretched.

He nodded again and Janus lifted Machina up and into his chair. When he resisted leaving behind The Muse’s blanket, Janus simply placed it on his lap and tucked it up and out of the way of the wheels before rolling him into the waiting elevator and upstairs to the med bay.

~

Most of the blood covering his face came from his head and from gashes on his tongue, swollen arcs of bite marks driven in top and bottom. He helped him rinse with a saline solution from the med kit, humming quiet praise at his cooperation. There was more blood on his hands, along with fine strands of Machina’s hair twisted around his fingers. Patton guessed Machina likely bore bloody bald spots that matched the ones on The Muse’s scalp, too.

Just like Ro used to.

“He didn’t…” The Muse hung his head, wincing when Patton found a deep cut near the nape of his neck. “He didn’t mean to. And I…” His voice cracked with that same quiet shame.

“Oh, Kiddo… I know you didn’t want to hurt him. We all do,” Patton murmured and gently dabbed at the wound before reaching for the same skin adhesive he used on the bites in his mouth. “How… Kiddo, how did you…” He paused, letting his work to close up the wound distract them both.

Patton held The Muse’s hair up and away from the gash as the adhesive dried. His eyes wandered around the room. The Muse was dressed for bed but pastels and fresh drawings were scattered over the floor. Lots of them.

Most of the drawings featured Machina in his chair, dark stone walls behind him. Patton looked over his shoulder through the little window on the door. The backgrounds matched. This hadn’t been Machina’s first visit.

He focused on the rest of The Muse’s wounds and, as soon as the adhesive set, he urged him to drink some of the electrolyte. When The Muse finished his cup, he sat curled in the corner, knees hugged to his chest, shivering. Patton fetched the other blanket from his bed and wrapped it over his shoulders. 

“He opened the door,” he whispered, guessing—or, more likely hearing—Patton’s unvoiced question. “He came inside so I could hear him. I tried to stop… I did. I did.  I swear I did. I… He…” The Muse looked up at him, big green eyes swimming in tears. “He’s so lonely, too.” 

Nodding, Patton crouched next to him and opened his arms. The Muse carefully arranged himself in the offered embrace, tucking the folded blanket between his face and Patton’s chest. Patton hummed and stroked The Muse’s hair with gloved hands. 

“We shouldn’t be alone, Papa Bear.” His whisper was muffled against the blanket. “None of us should.”

This close to the door panel’s red lights, The Muse’s curls took on an orange glow and Patton swallowed back a sob. 

“I know, Kiddo. I know.”

~

“Thank you.”

Janus thought he’d imagined Machina’s quiet whisper but when he lifted his head he was met with the other man’s steely blue eyes. “Wasn’t going to leave you there,” he muttered and raised a cup to his cracked lips. “Go slow.”

Machina made a face and pulled away, moving his tongue in his mouth like a foreign object.

Janus nodded and waited, cup at the ready. “You bit your tongue. You’ll absorb the stitches in a few days. Well, if…”

He sipped from the cup then chuckled dryly. “If I wasn't a Powerless, you mean.”

“That’s not how I would phrase it, but, yes…” He tipped the cup again, nodding when Machina took another long drink. “We’ve only used it on…”

“On Remus?”

Cup frozen mid-air, Janus stared at him. The Muse’s old name sent a spark through his veins, Ro’s prepubescent voice calling after his brother, filled with playful indignation.

‘Remus, stop! No fair! It’s my turn to be the dragon!’ 

The cup shook in his hand and he set it down before he spilled it on Machina’s bedding. “Where did you hear that name?”

Machina shook his head, mouth working for a moment before he shrugged. “I—I… In my head? It was… it was just there.” He blinked and shuddered, face twitching.

His breathing stuttered, eyes squeezed shut as panic and shame gripped his mind. Machina shook his head and flailed in the med bed, tugging away the blanket and tangling his stumps in the sheets.

-“No, no… None of that… Stay here with me,”- Janus sent and spoke, gripping his shoulder. Finally, he lay back, hand twisted in the blanket. Still, his mind swirled with images he could not have witnessed himself. -”That’s The Muse’s past… Not yours.”-

Janus smiled when Machina finally met his eyes. “There you are,” he said aloud and offered more of the electrolyte. “You need it. Between the blood loss and…”

He finished the cup and took three sips of the next before shaking his head. “I…” He let out a little puff of air and looked away, guilt thick and sour in his scent. Janus returned the cup to its spot on the bed tray and waited.

“I heard another name… Well…” Dozens of names in The Muse’s voice echoed in his mind and Janus pulled back, throwing up a weak shield.

But not before he caught one final name.

Machina grabbed his sleeve and pulled him closer. “Who’s Lucas?”

[primamchorus]

Side Story: Empty Seat

When life is meant to be served at the future king's side, what is life when the prince is not present? Perhaps the answer is one that the Chorus twins learn. Perhaps the answer is one they will not figure out at their delicate age of eight. Perhaps it is an answer that will be revealed at another time.

Word count: 2,181

FFXV: Reimagined Table of Contents

<- Previous • Next ->

It had been a couple of months since Regis had gone away with Noctis to Tenebrae. Routine had to be kept in mind as the Chorus twins were made to adhere to their training and chores. Noctis not being at their side was greatly felt between them. More so were the harsh training sessions that left both Primam and Tandem winded and exhausted by the end of the day.

Still, they had to persist. After all, they were not the only ones who felt the missing presence of not just the prince, but the king as well.

The halls of the Citadel were often empty… Silent, mostly. Only the occasional staff member would walk through, seeing to what needed tending to in the king’s absence. Any time that Primam and Tandem were made to come to the Citadel so that their parents could see to their duties in the wake of Clarus Amicitia’s absence as well, they often wandered close by, sometimes making their way out into the royal garden.

It was here that they found Ros of House Viridis at one point, tending to some of the plants alongside his uncle, Arbor. However, once both Primam and Tandem caught sight of the older man, smiles spread over their faces as they hurried over.

“Master Arbor!” The address came at different intervals from the twins. It had been some time since they had seen the familiar man of House Viridis.

“Not with your parents?” Arbor asked once he looked up at the garden's new visitors. He offered as much of a warm smile as he could, only momentarily wiping the sweat off his brow as he did. Locks of light brown hair clung to his face -- same as Ros. It seemed the two of them had been out here for a while.

“Mother and Father have to fill in for Master Clarus while upholding their own duties…” Primam said as she slowed and walked toward Arbor and Ros both, her smile faltered slightly. Both of them had dirty garden gloves on their hands, but it seemed like Ros was in the middle of using the garden trowel to make room to move one of the new flowers into the bed.

Primam reaffirmed her attention on Arbor. “Mother’s left for the Glaive HQ to meet with Captain Drautos, and Father’s tending the things Master Clarus entrusted him with.”

“Mm… Ever the diligent ones, I suppose…” Arbor commented, his attention returning to the garden bed as he took one of the potted flowers and got it fit into the hole Ros had dug. His expression was relatively unreadable for the most part.

“Do you know when everyone is coming back?” Ros asked, taking his trowel and digging another hole. He looked up at the twins with an expectant and hopeful look in his eyes.

“No… Why would we?” Tandem asked as he finally meandered closer to stand not too far from the garden bed himself.

Ros shrugged in response,his attention going back to the help he was providing. “Mother never usually leaves so abruptly… The two of you are Noct’s future Arms of the King. You’re always with him. Thought you’d know something.”

Primam glanced from Tandem back toward Ros.

“All we know is Noct’s been hurt…” Primam slowly revealed. She brought her hands together, fidgeting. “Mother mentioned that it may be some time before they all come back.”

“And how have the two of you been in that regard? At home without having to trail after Noctis?” Arbor asked, moving another flower to the newly dug hole while Ros scooted aside and worked on a new one. “Well, I hope? I know Gratia can be a bit of a--”

“She’s been making us train harder,” Tandem cut in, squatting down next to the rest of the flowers that had yet to be moved from planter to garden bed. His eyes were glued onto them, noting the slightly glittery texture of the petals. “Said that we need to be stronger for Noct. Said that we can’t allow him to be hurt like that again.”

Arbor stayed silent for a while before sighing and then taking his gloves off. Patting Ros on the back, he offered a small smile and said, “Take a break. Go get something to drink and wash up. I’ll meet with you to take you out for lunch.”

With a nod, Ros rose and removed his own gloves, placing them next to the rest of the flowers yet to be relocated. Once Ros had disappeared out of the garden, Arbor looked over at Tandem and Primam, standing. His form loomed over them as he neared.

“Knowing your mother since we were kids, I know she can be a bit…difficult,” Arbor sighed. He watched as Tandem rose back up onto his own feet to give his full attention to the words being spoken. “And the two of you don’t have it easy, not by a longshot. Not with how you two are expected to carry the title of Arm -- Arms -- of the King. Should you two need it, know that House Viridis’ halls are open to you both.”

Primam’s shoulders relaxed as she grinned up at Arbor, Tandem also smiled, his hands going to his hips.

“Thanks, Master Arbor,” Primam said.

“Yeah, thanks,” Tandem followed up. “And it’s good to see you back at the Citadel!”

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

On the fifteenth day of August, both Primam and Tandem were approached by none other than Mollis of House Somnium. She was attempting to keep a smile on her face as she presented them both with neatly wrapped gifts.

“Happy birthday!” Mollis said as cheerily as she could manage. The only reason Primam and Tandem themselves had not forgotten their own birthdays was because Mollis always made the effort -- not just for them, but for all of their noble peers.

It was touching how their birthday was not forgotten by her…yet, neither was the prince’s as she produced another present, just as neatly wrapped.

“Make sure Noctis gets this when he returns?” Mollis asked. “Besides Ignis, you’re the only two I know see him often since…well, since you go to school together.”

The present became just one part of many that was expected to see its way into Noctis’ hands when he was back from Tenebrae. As the school year really started picking up, Primam took on the responsibility of accepting Noctis’ assignments to bring back for him. His seat remained empty for a number of weeks, and the question of when he would be back became a tired answer from the twins: “We don’t know.”

It was around this time that whispers and rumors began to travel, student to student. These little rumors took no time to reach Tandem nor Primam’s ears, either. How students began to snicker and gossip: “They’re just like my grandparents -- white hair and everything. Bet they just forgot when the prince is supposed to be back.”

“Ew! Who would let old people come to school that isn’t a teacher?”

Without the prince to make their own status as his future Arms of the King something of a novelty, the twins had become a target of ridicule and teasing. The weight of his missing presence left a sizable gap, and the weight that bore down grew more and more on the twins’ shoulders. It was Primam who felt it more, many times biting her tongue as she usually did. Tandem recognized it, though… The way her eyes watered and her cheeks flushed -- it was the same as when they were being scolded by their mother.

There was one particular day when the twins were picked up by Silex and Ignis where Ignis seemed to notice the change in Primam’s general disposition. Looking back behind his chair once he was settled, he said to her about Noctis’ assignments: “You should let me handle those.”

“It’s for Noctis,” Primam replied defiantly, her cheeks still red from that day.

“He’ll need them completed and turned in. I can help,” Ignis pressed. “You’re clearly handling too much on your own.”

“I can give you my homework if you want!” Tandem chimed in with a grin, leaning forward and pressing a hand against the back of the passenger side chair. He had been doing everything in his power to remain as unshakable as Gladio when it came to holding himself together. As far as Tandem was concerned, he needed to remain strong for his sake and Primam’s.

“I am to be Hand of the King, not ‘Hand of the Arm’...” Ignis said in response, narrowing his eyes at Tandem.

“You can’t do these for Noctis, Iggy…” Primam said, furrowing her brow. She clutched her backpack a little more protectively. “If we gotta do our own homework, he’s gotta do his, too! You can’t do everything for him!”

“I don’t do everything for him!” Ignis’ tone became laced with a hint of annoyance. “What does that say about you, anyway?”

“Now, now…” Silex spoke up at the wheel of the car as he drove them back. “How would the king and the prince react when they came back and saw that the future Arms and future Hand are bickering? You are all meant to be at Noctis’ side, caring for him and ensuring he becomes the best King of Lucis as can be. Like me, you will become part of his Royal Council.”

“I’m not bickering…” Tandem quietly said, settling back into his seat and crossing his arms over his chest with a bit of a pout on his face. Indignation welled up within him.

Silex sighed, the barest audible hint of annoyance of a guardian having to deal with three kids within. He glanced up in the rearview mirror to have a look at the twins, and then reaffirmed his gaze upon the road. “It is…amazing that the three of you manage to look out for and care for Noctis already.”

Ignis settled back into his own seat, looking out the window. With a bit of a pout. He already knew the scolding was on its way.

“Ignis, Primam is right, though. There are some things the young prince must do for himself, and it may be harder for him to take care of when he’s back. You can help him with it, just don’t offer to do it for him. He must come into his own as our future king.” Silex looked over at Ignis briefly and reached over, clapping a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Again, he looked in the rear view mirror, his gaze settling on Primam as he reaffirmed both his hands on the steering wheel.

“And Primam…” Silex started, eyes going back to the road. “You have to know when to distribute the weight you carry. Every day, you bring back stuff and hold onto things. It’s okay to ask for and accept help from others. Especially when it gets too much to take care of.”

A pout grew on Primam’s face, and she clutched her backpack more tightly to herself. She sniffled slightly and nodded. “I…I can try, I guess…”

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

Tension hung thick within the Chorus estate whenever Primam and Tandem observed their parents as the days dragged on and the king had not returned with everyone else. It was more palpable outside on the training grounds of their estate. Despite the sweat that trickled down their brow down to their jawline, despite the aching muscles and the exhaustion, Primam and Tandem were made to continue. Their mother still barked out orders.

“Again!” she would command.

And so the twins would, training weapons in their hands as they put to practice what they were taught. Thrusts and parries, swings and swipes, guards and blocks, punches and kicks.

“Again!”

Calluses formed on their hands. Tandem spent a night wrapping Primam’s blistering hands and tending to them with antiseptic as she cried. He looked on as her hands shook from the sheer exhaustion and pain -- how they shook with the sobs she bit back.

“Again!”

Tandem could see the worry in Primam’s eyes. In all of this, she was no match for him. She was slower…she might still have put some of the others to shame with her training, but Tandem could read her movements before she could even strike. She was weaker, too, unable to break past his physical defense.

“Again!”

‘Left side open…’ Tandem mouthed as subtly as he could to Primam before he pressed an attack toward her.

As soon as Tandem swiped the wooden blade, Primam parried and then kicked him where he said he would be open.

It was not satisfying. And why would it be? This was not indicative of real combat -- combat that the two of them were training for. Primam knew this. She knew that if they ever saw combat with actual daemons or others out there that wished to do the Crown or her people harm, they would not mouth little clues or hints at her to take advantage of.

“Again!”

It was a word that echoed through both their heads.

[mylahrins]

SO CURIOUS who are your hq favs?? (∩˃o˂∩) ♡

HII RO! ᕦ⁠(⁠ò3ó)⁠ᕤ

my favorites of ALL time have to be sugawara and oikawa!!! sugawara was like a love at first sight kinda thing, like im SO serious i gasped when i first saw him on screen

oikawa is someone i grew to love over time, tbh i used to hate his character but after watching/reading his story i couldn't help but love him and all the hard work he's put in. i think he's a very realistic and almost even relatable character, i love oikawa smm :((!!!

honorable mention: tanaka ryu!!!! i didnt really think about his character much at first, but after rewatching hq i couldn't help but love him too!!! i LOVE characters that are dependable and funny!!

[captainderyn]

2. "Don't Worry, I've got you." [Fictober 2023]

Day 2: "Don't worry, I've got you."

Genre: Fanfiction (SWTOR)

Rating: T

CW: None

Summary:

There are some things that Roslynd has learned since being reunited with Rhys and Valetyn. That Rhys needs to talk after a mission, and Valetyn needs to be alone. While she can do what she can to support them, there are some things Roslynd will never be able to understand about their line of work without being a cipher herself.

READ in FULL ON AO3

--

Keeper shooed her from her office as the chrono struck eight in the evening, admonishing her for staying three hours late as though he didn’t routinely appear to live in the building and very rarely took breaks. 

“Go home, Fourteen.” He ordered like a father orders their child’s best friend, his eyes slipping to the simple ring she always wore. She clasped her hands over each other, worrying her fingers together.  

“Yes sir.” 

He inspected her for a moment longer, then glanced at the watch on his wrist, “And come in late tomorrow.” 

Keeper new. Somehow that man always knew. She flashed a tight, but thankful smile at him, “Will do, sir.” 

This late after the usual work day ended the hall to the main foyer was nearly empty, most of the agents working swing or night shifts sequestered away in offices or briefing rooms. The clicking of her heels echoed around the vaulted ceilings. 

Rhys met her at the entrance to the foyer, his smile failing to reach his exhausted yes. 

Before she could even say hello, his hand landed on her shoulder, steering her away from the taxi pad and towards the lounge tucked in the far corner of HQ, “Walk with me, Ros.” 

“Why?” Roslynd craned her neck to look over her shoulder, to where a lone taxi swept back into the hyperlanes. Rhys’ hand gripped her shoulder tighter, driving her forward. 

“To have a drink.” 

She frowned up at him, at his neutral expression cut with dark circles under his eyes. Rhys never drank after returning from missions, especially ones like this that had labored on longer than they should have.

“Where’s--?” 

Rhys flicked his eyes to hers, a partial warning there as they neared the threshold, “He’s fine.”