#i know it's not always what it seems I'm aware but

[cybergoth1]

the evil eye | dick grayson x fem!yandere reader

synopsis: ❛❛detective (and vigilant by night) dick grayson turns to you as a last resort to solve a case involving a new serial killer terrorizing blüdhaven. after years paying for your crimes in the depths of arkham asylum, the last thing you expected was the police showing up at your door, desperate for your help. even more surprising is the overwhelming, unsettling and obsessive pull you start to feel toward him as you two work side by side❞.

warnings/tags: 18+, major dark themes, fem!reader, yandere tendencies, yandere!reader, reader's a ex criminal, ex serial killer, reader is the hannibal to dick's will graham. detective dick grayson is a warning. sexual content. mentions of killing, mentions of psychopathy and narcissism. mentions of time in arkham. gaslighting. reader literally killed people, be aware. inspired by hannibal and silence of the lambs. obsessive behavior. stalker!reader. batfamily hates you.

— ❛❛THE EVIL EYE'S CONTENT:

PROLOGUE: but you belong to me.

CHAPTER 01: you set my soul alight.

CHAPTER 02: she ate my heart and then she eat my brain.

UNLIKE MOST OF your fellow prisoners, you’d never actually been involved in a mass breakout. You’d usually overhear their elaborate escape plans over the awful prison food, nodding with a bored expression. Then, you’d simply be escorted back to your cell, spending the rest of your free time before lights out reading a dog-eared copy of Pride and Prejudice. You vaguely remembered when Harley Quinn’s voice suddenly grew unbearably loud, and the tempers of the other prisoners began flaring far beyond their usual levels. The unbearable noise seemed to slither through your brain like a slippery snake, making you roll your eyes. You saw them as little monkeys — unpolished and uneducated — acting impulsively with the few brain cells they had left in their heads. Good thing they don’t like you either. Most of them just saw you as a snobby bitch, looking down on them as if you weren’t just another miserable soul trapped in the abuses and horrors of Arkham Asylum.

“Hey, is it true that you killed a guy just because he stepped on your foot on the subway?” you heard Harley’s annoying voice again, this time interrupting your beloved sunbath. You sighed loudly and made the foolish decision to glance at her curious figure.

"That's fucking stupid" you said, closing your eyes again to feel the sun on your cold skin.

"Yes! That's what I told Ivy," she said cheerfully, her high pitched voice growing louder as she come closer to your body. You felt a persistent, almost irrational urge to strike her "you never killed for shallow reasons!" this makes you open your eyes and examine her closely. How could she possibly understand your motivations? Sometimes it was hard for you to wrapped your head around it. Harley felt your questioning gaze and shrugged.

"Oh, come on, I'm a psychiatrist. I have a Phd, for godsake".

"Yeah, I know".

"You always choose victims who offend your morals and your personal sense of justice. We should totally be friends".

You sigh loudly again. You wouldn’t call them victims — but none of it mattered anymore. Harley keeps rambling about your personality traits and psychological evaluations, like a true psychiatrist would, while you let your mind wander, staring at the other prisoners. They all look as beaten down as you did. You could still feel your busted lips aching after a guard punched you in the face for not taking your meds — you run your tongue over the wound, savoring the metallic taste.

"Hey, Quinn?"

"Hm?"

“When we’re out of here, look me up. We could go out for a drink.”

Twelve years, eight months, and twenty days. That's the total time you spent locked up, basically rooting, in Arkham Asylum since your pre-trial detention, watching the sun rise through a small square window while trying not to kill your annoying cellmates by suffocating them with pillows and dirty sheets. The guards were well aware of your tendencies and unpredictable behavior, making sure to threaten you at every possible moment.

"I killed people for less, you know that, right?" that was always enough to earn you a new torture session at the hands of the guards, you usually just call them dogs, and sometimes even the nurses when they were having a bad day. But, in the end, you always considered yourself strong, capable, and with an impenetrable mind. And you were, in fact, all of that and more — so much more that you endured the horrors of that place for over a decade as if it were a walk in the park. A long, agonizing, shitty walk in the park. And now you’re walking as a free woman after twelve years, feeling the wind on your face while clenching the cheap cigarette between your teeth. Almost free, at least. You're serving the rest of your sentence in a parole due to your impressive good behaviour.

Under certain negotiation and strict conditions, you were released two weeks ago, seizing the opportunity to finally disappear into anonymity in another city — unfortunately still close to Arkham. You had to settle for Blüdhaven during the legal arrangement, since you couldn’t leave New Jersey during your parole and you’d rather eat your own feet than spending another day in Gotham. You got yourself a small apartment in a horrible neighborhood, cheap enough to cover the rent with your new part-time job as a cashier. No one there cared enough to check your criminal record or ask why you always had to be home early, or why you occasionally had to report to the police station just to confirm you hadn’t left the state. That's the life.

“To new beginnings,” you said quietly, raising your glass to the empty living room before immediately downing the whiskey. It taste like dog piss — better than anything you had in prision.

The first four months of your newfound freedom were tainted by the bitter taste of mediocrity and a gnawing sense of inferiority every time your eyes fell on the crumbling walls of your apartment or the stack of papers from your public defender, detailing the suffocating limitations of your parole. The justice system had reduced you to a chained dog —muzzled, restrained, and stripped of dignity.

But you were destined for greatness — you felt it every time you looked in the mirror, every time you saw your own perfection. You were intelligent, strategic, and able to perceive what others could not. Those fortunate enough to be part of your life should be grateful for your words, your brilliant ideas, and the sheer privilege of your presence.

Thanks to your sharp intellect and keen observation, it didn’t take long for you to identify the patterns in your part-time job. Your boss, the supermarket manager, was a disgusting man who took pleasure in belittling his employees, particularly the young women. He exploited his position to satisfy his vile desires, acting as a reprehensible predator. Throughout your shift, you spent much of your time thinking of ways to rid the world of his vile presence. You believed you would be doing everyone a favor, even if they couldn’t understand it — few had the courage or capacity to do what was necessary for the greater good. That's why you existed. You were the necessary evil.

But since you needed the money, you chose a more effective approach than simply eliminating him. You manipulated him, exploiting his own immorality to gain what you desired — more perks and less work. You allowed him to believe that one day, if he keeps helping you out, you would let him take you to a cheap motel, or his car, and fuck you like a brainless fleshlight, just the way he wanted.

You kept him on edge, making him believe he was in control while portraying yourself as a vulnerable girl who needed an older man to take care of her — both emotionally and physically. You told countless lies, fabricating an abusive ex and a negligent father, allowing him to revel in his foolish fantasy of being needed by you — while he was nothing but a fun game to play. Now that you had your boss on a leash, desperate for you, he stopped bothering the other girls, too busy looking at your ass and tits every time you passed in front of him. You made a point to wear tighter pants and unbutton a few extra buttons on your uniform.

That's the necessary evil you belived so much.

Unfortunately, your peace of mind was short-lived. Just as you were beginning to earn enough money to continue your life in a less humiliating way, a knock at your door ushered in a reality you would have preferred to avoid. You rose from the couch, the cigarette still lit and clamped between your lips.

“I didn’t order anything,” you said, looking at the five cops crowded at your door. Two of them weren’t in uniform, only the large, shiny badges identifying them as part of the Blüdhaven Police Department. The only woman in the group looked at you with a blank expression, calling you by your last name before taking a step closer.

"I'm detective Montoya, this is my partner detective Grayson" she said pointing to the tall figure on her left side. When you finally looked at her partner, you felt the cigarette between your lips become flat under your force as you clenched your teeth tighter, struggling to suppress a sicking smile. Those were the bluest eyes you had ever seen, watching you warily, his black hair falling gracefully over his forehead. He stood behind Montoya, carefully analyzing your posture and movements. Smart, but you were smarter.

Montoya mentioned something about the police and FBI wanting to talk to you. You were too consumed by the overwhelming, nauseating feeling rising within you as you stared at the stunning man in front of you — it’s happening again. You fought to suppress a wild smirk, your pupils dilating as shivers ran up your spine. He looked back at you with those beautiful eyes, like a piece of the sky or even the ocean.

You already knew what to do.

“I guess one talk won’t hurt,” you said, then opened the door for them.

get in the mood: I. monster, II. bad romance, III. judas, IV. toxic, V. supermassive black hole, VI. teeth, VII. criminal, VIII. radar, IX. gimme more.

author's note: well, reader is fucking insane, but she's slaying ok. please let me know if you want to join the taglist.

[diminuel]

I was already talking about it on bluesky, but I have to add my Dragon related observations here too. I'm reading the German manga and it's possibly a translation mistake but there were some interesting things in volume 60 and 61.

In chapter 539, when Iva calls Dragon to ask him how the RA took the news that Luffy is his son, Dragon comments that the RA is glad to know that their "scary/ creepy" ("unheimlich") leader is a flesh and blood man after all. It's funny that he calls himself scary, though it does give a bit of a hint towards what kind of leader persona he projects to the RA nowadays.

Also, Iva makes a comment that Luffy must have his penchant for stirring up shit from Dragon which Dragon comments with a "..." Again, this either hints at the fact that Iva knows a Dragon who used to be a lot more chaotic OR Dragon thinks that the kid's actually got that from Crocodile and not him ;3333

And now to volume 61, chapter 596! In this chapter Robin decided to go with the Revolutionary Army and here's where the translation might be off because I remembered it differently. The RA guy said that Dragon has always wanted to meet Robin, but they were "irritated" by the fact that Robin had joined Crocodile. Which is interesting because German Dragon knew that Robin was with Crocodile but... what...? couldn't bring himself to visit his ex to check out Robin? It also implies that the RA must have been aware of what Crocodile's been up in Alabasta which does make sense since they deal in revolution, wouldn't they go check out what's going on? It's suspicious that they didn't. But then again, if Dragon's a coward who can't face his ex even for a girl he's been looking for and who would help the revolution then it's maybe not too surprising X'DDDD

And the second interesting bit of this scene is that we see the ship (or one of the ships) the RA uses in the East Blue. It is huge, it seems to be armed like a marine warship (with canons) and the decoration it has are wings. Looks like Sky islander wings. Hm hm.

And that's it from me and my German manga reading report! It'll take ages until we see Dragon again I think...! Wah.

[rosurie]

Noé and Damsel relationship chart ♡

Damsel's Relationship Breakdowns:

Noé - "My precious baby brother Noé ♡"

- Noémie and Damsel are thick as thieves. she's also kinda the reason he has such a skewed view of romance, whoopsies ♡. Noé is precious to her, and she let's him get away with far more than anyone else in the orphanage. her precious baby brother that occasionally gets her off ♡

Kylar - "My cute little pet!"

- Kylar is obsessed with her. she finds that hilarious. she loves Kylar in her own twisted little way, but if we're being honest, most of what she feels for Kylar is just a lust-filled power high. despite this, she is incredibly possessive of Kylar. she'd further isolate him if he even considered falling out of love with her. she craves the validation he provides. Kylar thinks she's a perfect angel who can do no wrong.

Whitney - "My bitch ♡"

- Whitney wants to fuck her so bad it makes her look stupid. Damsel is aware of this. she thinks it's sooo funny. Damsel feels this odd mixture of actually liking Whit as a friend sometimes and wanting to beat her ass on the daily. Ultimately Damsel thinks she's kind of pathetic and that she purposefully picks fights for her to humiliate her. cute ♡

Robin - "Don't fly too far, Robin. You owe me."

- Damsel resents Robin as much as she cares about him. Robin thinks Damsel is amazing and feels indebted to her, plus he has a crush. Damsel takes advantage of that. She teases him a lot and keeps him at low confidence because it makes her feel more powerful. it's the least he could do for her.

IW - "Who...were we?"

- Damsel is...wary of The Wraith. she's interacted with them enough to know they have some sort of connection..but what is it? she is The Wraith's precious pearl. she's not sure what they mean by that. she's also pretty sure she's seen them before, in those months where she had disappeared.

Harper - "Doctor Harper..."

- very mixed feelings. on one hand, he did help her post-reappearance. on the other hand, he very clearly is the shadiest fucking doctor she's ever seen. but also she thinks he's kinda pathetic for attempting to hypnotize her into kissing him and performing sexual acts on him. she thinks that's cute ♡. Harper thinks she's lovely, she was pretty compliant during her treatment. shame she doesn't come around much anymore.

Niki - "I think I'm in love with you. I have to die."

- Damsel is so down bad for Niki that it genuinely embarasses her. if anyone ever found out how often she thinks of Niki, she'd die immediately. she's going stir crazy thinking about him. Niki thinks she's cute and a great model. they like her more than they let on.

Landry - "She's almost like a mom! or an older sister."

- Landry and Damsel have a very playful relationship. they both tease Mickey when they're together and Damsel thinks Landry is a pretty nice woman, all things considered. Landry thinks it's a little odd how many important documents and items Damsel manages to her her hands on and to sell, but hey, she hasn't gotten caught so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

Bailey - "I hate you. [I don't]."

- Complicated feelings. She doesn't like other people demanding money from her and she doesn't like how quick he is to try to literally sell her. but...she was very attached to him as a kid and that's hard to shake off. [she also thinks he's hot but she'd jump from a building before admitting that]. Bailey thinks she's reliable. sometimes he still looks out for her.

Noémie's Relationship Breakdowns:

Damsel - "My tiny older sis ♡. I'll keep you safe."

- he does everything he can to keep her safe. he also feels a bit entitled to parts of her but I go into that more here. Damsel was the first person he attached to at the orphanage and some things never change. despite not being around her much physically during the week, he does seem to always know how to find her if he needs to.

Robin - "We grew up together. You should be less naive."

- he's noticed Robin's attachment to Damsel but he doesn't really bother with it. Robin isn't a threat. Robin tends to see Noémie as an extension of Damsel because they interact him in similar ways and so he's got a very confusing boner for Noé.

Kylar - "You're not good enough for my sister. You're lucky she likes you."

- if he could get rid of Kylar without Damsel being upset, he would. he doesn't think Kylar is worth any of Damsel's time, even if she's just using him. Kylar views Noé as a roadblock to Damsel and him living happily ever after. he's partially right (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶).

Sydney - "Fall into my arms, I'll guide you."

- Sydney is naive and pliable, the perfect subject to convert into his devotee. he wants to drive Sydney into calamity just to be her savior so he can be her new god. Sydney's low-key losing it because of his teasing and she's falling hard.

Jordan - "You seem so innocent for someone in such high regard. Curious."

- so curious about Jordan. how can someone so innocent be a priest for this fucked ass Temple?? wants to ruin Jordan but also thinks he's fun like this. likes to subtly flirt with him because Jordan is very easily flustered. Jordan thinks Noé is sweet and kind! even if he can be a bit of a smooth talker. he's choosing to ignore how that affects him.

Bailey - "I spent a lot of time around you when Damsel and I were young. You seemed so different then."

- he gets pissed off when Bailey attempts to sell off Damsel [before she made bank of course]. there's still some bitterness there, but he also still thinks of Bailey as that guy Damsel used to cling to and admire so he's not completely on his shit list. Bailey doesn't like to be around him too long because the air around him is always ice cold, but Noé pays his dues so he doesn't have any strong feelings about him.

Relationships I didn't add so the chart didn't get too confusing

- Noé is very interested in The Wraith and their interest in Damsel. however he's also like...please stop trying to impregnate my sister with your parasite babies ♡

- Noé likes Niki [btw my Niki is amab but uses he/they pronouns so if you see me hopping between those now you know why]. they treat Damsel well and she doesn't get harassed nearly as much in his photography studio. he's Noé approved.

- despite her bad blood with the Temple, Damsel actually really likes Jordan! she feels a bit bad that she doesn't visit him more often. also she low-key wants to get in his pants but she's choosing to ignore that.

[droodlebug]

thinking about tokyo debunker again big surprise i know. but im thinking about,, the concept of the ghouls' stigmas being directly based on whatever they wished for. im going to go in order of house and just through everyone bc i like thinking about it

Frosty

Jin– stigma is to be able to literally command people for a time. it seems it is directly tied to his mental state whether or not he can use it (outside of the enhancement of the ring). hes the son of the president of anamolous research; it could be he wanted to be listened to either by a parent thats too busy or be listened to Over his father. With its connection to his mental state, maybe it has to do with an event where something happened specifically because he was unable to get people to do as he said because of an internal conflict. or it could be as simple as "i am the son of an important person i want everyone to do what i say"

Tohma– her stigma is described as being able to "send vibrations." this allows for destruction and for sending what are essentially radio signals to be able to telepathically talk to people, though its unknown if it allows for being able to hear anything back or if its just a one-way system. My idea is tohmas wish was to make an impact. To "make waves." Vibrations allow for this to happen literally and physically as well as allowing social influence via sending messages straight into peoples heads. We also know tohma used to be in vagstrom, the house given to those that pursue change and freedom. Shes now in frostheim, the one for ambition and unchanging goals. These also both happen to fit really well in line for someone who wants to make things change, make waves, make vibrations.

Lucas–it is probably the Most straightforward one. He wears his heart on his sleeve we dont have to guess too far. Lucas wants to protect people. It Wants to be a protector that is his goal in life. To use his power to help and protect. His stigma is to be, essentially, a shield. With him carrying around snacks and implying he used to always keep them specifically for its brother, we can infer that he was always protective of its twin. Maybe it was even a wish specifically to protect his brother that was painfully twisted by whatever demon granted that wish.

Kaito– We don't know Exactly what Kaitos stigma is. Hyde says it has to do with seeing auras, but Kaitos ability to see Luca's powered up stigma, to see usually far, and even to be able to near perfectly read lips can be inferred in our time with her. Taking into account her want to fit in with crowds and be up to date on trends and gossip as well as kaitos staunch awareness of how shes treated, we can guess the wish may have been along the lines of wanting to see more. Depending on what all Kaito can see, it may be a wish given vaguely and twisted. Or, it could be more specific, like wanting to be able to see people better, to see things first, to see how people are feeling, to see why people treat her differently, etc etc. With as vague as it is now, there's quite a few different variations that could apply. Given Kaito's clear lack of self esteem thats made up for by desperately trying to fit in, I'm inclined to believe it was something along those lines.

Vaggy

Alan– his stigma is unnatural strength. a wish to be strong. That's a pretty common wish, and a common feeling. Even if it wasnt meant literally, this is a really clear way to turn that wish into a power. Especially when it's someone like Alan, who is to the point and wouldnt add flowery language. Even assuming the demons just inheritly Know what the wishes theyre granting for someone are, wanting to be stronger physically is, again, not uncommon. Especially not for someone with an implied (and stated) tumultuous past like Alan.

Leo– Also realllly self explanatory. Leo has amplified hearing. personality-wise, he's a rat–a snitch. he thrives off using information to get his way and blackmail people and to presumably further his online career. Of course he'd wish to be able to hear people and eavesdrop on shit.

Sho– their stigma is ??? to jam stuff?? which includes opening doors and pushing ghosts and a myriad of other loosely connected things? Keeping in mind their implied estrangement from their family (and leo, especially since we dont know if theyve known each other before the demon pacts), it could be a wish to want to keep people away, or to make it easier to run away. If he knew leo before make the pacts and, considering how leo treats sho and how sho doesnt Really seem fond of leo, was pressured into it, maybe it has something to do with wanting to get away from leo ? hard to say on this one

Jabber

Haru– his stigma is to move fast. of course the ball of restless energy would want to be able to move fast and do a bunch more stuff. this stays in line whether we think of them now as they are in jabberwock, or as of his how he was in (presumably) sinostra. haru is a buzzing busybody. No stretch to say hed wish he could Do More.

Towa– another nebulous stigma. Lets put all the individual information of what he can do under an umbrella and say we know towa can control weather. Specifically, he seems to have a strong handle on lightning and wind in particular. Focusing on lightning, we know via conversations with Ed that towa used to have a disdain or hatred for humanity. This is also something we can still get glimpses through in her lack of care for people (and anomalies) being or getting hurt and their flippant attitude toward death. If we think of someone who has no care for life and a sour attitude toward people, well, wanting to hurt or cause destruction would be a good wish, wouldnt it? Which falls in line with Towa's reliance on lightning, which in many cultures and religious mythologies symbolizes anger, destruction, and vengeance. retribution.

the bigger question is whether or not towa is human (likely not), if being nonhuman is a source of some (still a ghoul) or all (not even a ghoul) of his powers, or if she has multiple stigmas giving him multiple powers, or a combination of any of the above. if we go along the line of them having multiple stigmas, his control over the wind may be indicative of a second wish to be able to help who she cares for (haru, most likely). Wind pollinates, carries, cools, and in many places you can see wind symbolizes healing and positive change. Alternatively, if all of towas powers come from one wish and he was a mortal being before making a pact, the powers of weather as a whole are great forces of destruction in enough capacity. and we have seen how destructive and scary they can be when they are upset.

or maybe this guy is just an anomaly, a forgotten small god such as the one in chapter 13, and darkwick has been keeping her there and haru was the first person to treat him like a person and "wish" to her which restored their faith in humanity to a degree (and is why he seemed in pain right after haru prayed to the other god) and this is where all her powers come from no demon input. or maybe still some demon input. who knows! i love him. so much to chew on.

Ren– SO. all we know for his stigma as well is that it's "good for cleaning messes." ok. whats good at cleaning messes (and is often a mess itself) that ren also happens to have an intense phobia of and avoids at any cost. water. i dont see ren being the kind of person to just go along and make a lact with a demon. Unless. It would help him avoid water. To never have to go near it, especially since it is explicitly not just the ocean, but Any body of water he fears. What better way to grant the wish to avoid bodies of water than by giving someone the ability to conjure or manipulate water?

not directly related but this would be a fun tie in to the hints of ren being the mermaid whether or not he even knows it, and that his fear of water is connected to that. (and if Ren doesnt even know what he is, that would be why he isnt in obscuary. clearly the guy doesnt go swimming so it wouldnt be a stretch at all)

Sinostra

Romeo– bomb stigma. the things he values most blow up the biggest. if we take into consideration his family having been passingly mentioned as losing their designer brand, we can start to connect some dots. romeo is materialistic, hot-headed, and prideful. so, in the fall of his family's brand, its easy to picture him in a rage at incompentence costing him what he is owed. Then, he wishes to make sure that he never makes the mistake of blowing up his assets. Then, he's given that in the most purposfully literal way possible. His most valuable assets are the ones he can blow up the best

Taiga–Also one of the easy ones. Heavily implied that its stigma allows it a glimpse into the future at the cost of his memories. the guy is a gambler and a generally risk-taking criminal. wishing to see the future to ensure you never lose, never miss a mark, it's very classic. and coupled with its memory loss is a fun bit of irony

Shinjo– another straightforward one! she can harden her body to take any blow. her goal in life is to be the most prestigious lawyer in the history of ever. so. you want to be able to take anything that can come at you. especially if we keep in mind the rumors of shinjos father being corrupt, which could mean dangerous clients and associates.... protection is important. she already has the legal knowledge and smarts to stay protected there, so the physical is the only flaw to fill. this would absolve the work of having to train, giving more time allotted to work and study. its the inverse of luca, she wouldnt be considering the protection of anyone but herself. wish to cast a shield on the only part unprotected–the physical.

Hotorubi

Suburu– his stigma is being able to see all te thoughts and memories of everything and everyone he touches. Whatever shady shit he may or may not be doing, subaru is unequivocally an anxious mess. what is a common wish during anxiety? wishing to know what everyone is thinking. and now he does, whether he wants it or not.

from here on is where it gets a bit dicey due to lack of knowledge

Haku– ok this is the one i have Nothing on. no clue what his stigma is other than he is almost certainly the one that conducted the stigma test for the MC. no idea what his desires are. other than the lack of information, haku is already the exact kind of character/person i struggle to understand on a base fundamental level tbh. moving on

Zenji– ??? dont know their stigma or of they can even use it as a ghost

Obscuary

Rui– His stigma allows him to ease other peoples physical pain for a while. we see through every interaction with rui that he is a person who is constantly thinking of other people and trying to make things better and easier for them. it stands to logic that he would wish to be able to help. well. ease people's pain. thank goodness he doesnt have to touch people to do it i suppose. small mercies

Edward– Unclear if anything hes done is his stigma or if its all just been old vampire knowledge and powers only so another harx ???? for now

Lyca– his stigma is ? following smells. the only reason we know thats not a werewolf thing is because he verbally activates it. but. we also know a lot about lyca. much like alan, he is a very straightforward thinker and doesnt mince words. he knows exactly what he wants. it os unclear if he was a ghoul when taken by darkwick, but he was taken and immediately imprisoned on a murder accusation so that does seem unlikely. (and also does like ? does darkwick even Know lyca is a ghoul or do they think he is still Just a wolf boy) Itd stand to reason Lyca was taken advantage of in the vulnerable state of a prisoner by a demon. We already know what lyca has been wishing for this whole time. To reuinite with Neros. And what would help that wish come true? Being able to follow anything and anyone hes smelled before.

[wrongtvrns]

"Alright," the broad, thick man sighed with a playfully petulant gesture of his arms flapping at his sides, "I guess I'm gonna have to be the one that teaches you." That came from a man that wasn't qualified to teach anyone anything other than some survival skills for a venture into the wilderness. Which was why she should laugh but then she'd admitted to not being great at reading the room. "So, no awareness at all? Just that uncaring about anything going on around you?" Especially your people, he'd wanted to add but refrained. Bear had sensed something deeper to her comment about commitment. "I wonder why that is these days." People's attention span, lack thereof, seemed to have crossed into all aspects of life. "Used to be that people valued relationships and now it's all hookup culture and fleeting short lived romances." It was a negative turn in evolution, in his humble opinion. Also why he stayed away from people even more these days, he didn't want to be dragged into that.

With a coffee refill in hand, thanks Mary, Bear listened on as the brunette beside him spoke about far off places. Destinations he's only see in print or on his tv. Not that he turned it on much. "Paris and Tokyo I'd think would be unforgettable experiences for far more than a touristy trip." Bear smiled at her, the woman beside him had achieved a lot in her young age. "What was your favorite thing you saw?" For a man that loved sights it was an expected question. Not that she knew that about him. "Oh," a low rumble of a chuckle rustled up his throat and Bear set his mug on the counter, "I haven't really been to much. I've traveled up north mostly and some places around the country... for the job."

The sound of his fork lightly grazing his plate filled the space for a brief moment. The hungry Bear took a few bites of food before he jumped back into the conversation with Leti. "I know you're kidding and all but please don't get lost out there. Especially in this cold. I know you're from California and aren't quite aware of the dangers of hypothermia, so yeah... I'm your company." In a way, it was always more enjoyable to traverse familiar trails with someone seeing them with fresh eyes, for the first time. He went back to eating, nodding his head as he shoveled forkfuls of the hearty meal in front of him into his mouth. "Do you enjoy break or are you one of those people that needs to constantly be doing something?" Bear thought about it for a second but ended up shrugging. "I'm always busy so you just tell me when and I'll make it happen." It was up to her really when she felt motivated to get out there in the wilderness in this cold.

"She taught me a lot of things, but that wasn't one of them," she teased through a small grin. Her mother had taught her something of the sort, but it was too fun to tease and truth was, she needed something to smile about. Had she known that she could've found it in the form of a vertically gifted man with a solid sense of humor and a charming wits about him, she would've rolled into the diner way earlier than she had. "I'm terrible at reading the room. Also pretty terrible at commitment on various levels," she admitted, somewhat as a joke, somewhat as a validation to her insecurities. Her relationship with Kira hadn't been the only thing she'd lost in the whirlwind of false narratives and silence on her end.

Leti offered another smile at his confirmation, a small, halfhearted nod following. She missed that about San Diego, the food, the people, her family. The midfielder blew out a huff of air as she considered his question. Coolest place she'd been? That was a tough one to nail. "Paris was cool. Tokyo would've been cooler had we gotten to be tourists," she trailed off, not wanting to mention what had kept them locked into the Olympic village for their stay. "But, if I had to pick, I'd say the Netherlands. It's gorgeous and there's a lot to see. What about you? Coolest place you've ever been?"

Fingers danced against the side of her ceramic mug, her gaze practically glued to the man she was slowly learning about. "Oh, I've never felt more special," she countered with a lazy wink and quiet chuckle. She only tore her eyes off him long enough to thank the waitress for the refill. By the end of it, she'd have enough coffee in her veins to keep her up for a week straight. "As much as I'd like to get lost out there for awhile, I'd appreciate the company." For once, she didn't want to run from her problems. Not that she considered breathing the same air as her ex a problem. If anything, it felt more being at home again. "Well, off season ends soon, which means back to training before the regular season kicks off. Until then, it's just me and whatever I want to do. What does it look like for a park ranger right now?"

[thecherrygod]

.

[lgbtlunaverse]

Thinking of the Nie disciple that told Nie Mingjue it was Meng Yao who stayed behind to clean up corpses on the battlefield today.

Nie Mingjue didn't just randomly stumble upon poor lil meowyao eating bread in the novel, he was already looking for him to thank and reward him for his work.

That's what makes it so fun that nieyao's first conflict will end up being about someone else taking credit for Meng Yao's work.

And I'm sure that Nie Mingjue's actual opinions on plagiarism are a lot more nuanced, all we really get from him in this scene is "well you shouldn't kill someone over it!" which leaves a lot of room for what punishments he thinks are appropiate. But I bet that it isn't occuring to him in this moment that the only reason he knows Meng Yao at all, the only reason he got such a capable deputy, is that he noticed someone was taking care of the dead and cared enough to want to know their name. And then the Nie disciples didn't lie to him. The disciple he asked could have said "it was me, Zongzhu" to rise in the ranks himself, but he didn't. He went and asked others, who all also could have taken the credit, but they didn't. Someone saw Meng Yao working and decided to be honest about it and that simple decision is the catalyst for Meng Yao becoming Nie Mingjue's deputy.

Meng Yao can't just work hard to get results, others have to acknowledge that work. If they don't, it's as if he didn't do anything at all.

[the-busy-ghost]

The fact that there has never been an In Our Time episode devoted to Aelred of Rievaulx is bizarre to me, out of all the subjects that are tailor made for that programme and its interests, as well as the specific background of its host, I mean come on

[fragmentedblade]

Not to be a jingfu on main, but it's so cute that Jing Yuan thought of Fu Xuan with those jelly beans

[sondersil]

reminder: stop asking SO their opinion on my art.

spoiler: it's always disappointing.

[iguessitsjustme]

I have regrets

[yiangchen]

why is it so fucking hard to get over the people that have hurt you the most??? how can you know how terrible they are for you and still want them???

[izzy-b-hands]

Ahh someone else came out and made them turn the music off entirely

I don’t know that that was necessary; they just needed to turn it down some!

My head does appreciate the quiet tho

[neverendingford]

.

[thetriangletattoo]

.

[gaypirate420]

Kaleidoscope // Viktor

S2!Viktor x gender neutral!reader.

Summary: You're staring at his eyes.

Fluff. Spoilers!!!!

Viktor stares at his hand, that purple flowing and metallic skin. He just healed? Cured? an addict from the undercity, his mismatched pupils look up.

At you.

You followed behind when he left Jayce's lab, you were too determined and he didn't fight as hard as he wanted, in other times he would tell you to stay with Jayce, stay safe. He didn't keep you away from the Hexcore without reason, but he couldn't fight, as much as his mind was screaming at him, he just nodded monotonously after a couple of pleas.

Your eyes meet his, you sit down in front of him, whimpering slightly, after the explosion of the Council left you with an injured leg.

His eyes dart back down, he could just reach out and you wouldn't be in pain anymore but he closes his fingers and lowers his hand to his lap. He needs to understand a little more about this new... identity of his before he even attempts to touch you in any sort of way, he doesn't want to risk it. Sky disappeared in front of him like dust in the wind, he can't do that to you.

You smiled softly. His furrowed eyebrows soften.

"How are you feeling?" You asked with a soft whisper. He sighs, his eyes don't leave yours, in one hand he isn't feeling pain, that ache, that little needle-like sensation that infested his leg and back since he had memory. But on the other hand, he doesn't feel much, he isn't scared but also not happy, he isn't completely aware of what is happening but he is not mindless.

You keep looking at him, that smile doesn't falter and that is comforting. You're not scared of him not even after what you just saw.

"I don't know." He answers, there's a small shiver down your back, his speech pattern has changed, it's slow and monotone but there's some sparkles of emotions in it, it's not like he has talked much for you to completely understand yet.

You nod at his words, God you were so patient with him, always have been.

Your eyes don't leave his, the amber eyes he held are nowhere to be found, now a duller color replaces them but there's this drop of cyan, maybe crimson at times that moves around the two irises.

"Is there something wrong?" He asks, you shake your head.

"Nothing wrong, Vitya. I'm just looking at your eyes." You speak softly, scooting a little closer towards him.

Vitya.

His lips twitch ever so slightly, yes he is your Vitya, at least he thinks he is and you don't seem to look at him any differently, there's still that deep affection in your eyes, of course there is worry in your gaze, but the devoted love remains.

"What's with them?" He speaks again.

"They're different..." You whispered as you leaned your face closer. He doesn't move, he remembers the feeling, after years of being with you his heart still went wild when you approached, but now it's dull, but it's there. He knows it is, it's just a little distant, just in the tip of his fingers.

"Like- copper...but...there's this- bleeding of color.." You whispered as your eyes fixated on his, you were so close. Your breath against his face, lips near that beauty mark you loved to kiss.

"Like a kaleidoscope." You whispered, you didn't pull away, you missed having him so close. Viktor nods at your words, he hasn't seen himself fully yet.

You two stare at each other for a couple of seconds. Your hand hesitantly reaches up and cups his face, muscle memory is a hell of a thing, he immediately nuzzles his face against your hand. It's familiar yet he feels like this is the first time touching you.

He feels you. Not just your gentle hand or soft skin, you. It's a different kind of touch, like he's touching your soul, your very being.

You contain your excitement. He is still there. You smiled softly. His eyes flutter as he feels a faint sensation of your lips against his beauty mark.

He stays silent. It was dull, like a ghost touched him yet like every star in the sky placed a kiss upon his face.

"Will you do that again, please?" He whispers, meeting your eyes once more.

A/N: (Divider) Hiiii, hope you like this, I wasn't sure about writing something so fast, but I needed to get rid of the feeling. I loved Act 1, it was worth staying up til 5 am, Viktor has bewitched my soul completely, I don't have a lot of opinions, just questions, I'm going to wait until the whole season is over to talk about it and the characters. Enjoy the fic! Send requests please.