#i maintain that this is a trick question actually none of this is true

[chaotic-super]

Back To Krypton - Chapter 16

Astra, ever the general, talks first. Neither sides of the table want to fight, both want explanations and acceptance, yet an awkwardness fills the air. How does one start a conversation when tentative trust could be shattered once they ask questions?

The sound of their breathing fills the air, the only sound in the room. It’s loud, like someone is banging a drum on the table between them, too much to ignore. Still, none of them speaks, waiting for the others out in hopes that they break first.

Even Kara, whose heart longs to trust her aunt, her familial confidant, cannot bring herself to speak first for fear of saying the wrong thing, waiting for someone else to set the mood of the conversation.

Lena’s wristwatch fills the air with its steady ticking, putting them all more on edge than they already were. Tick. Tick. Tick.

None of them are really sure how long they sit there before Astra sighs and pulls out a little spherical device and taps it a few times to get it to open up with information.

“I suppose we can start here.” She places it on the table and shows Kara specifically since it is in Kryptonese.

Kara skims the text, her eyes getting minutely wider the further she gets along the lines. She tries to hide it, clearing her throat and then trying to play it cool. “What do your stock levels have to do with us? Do you need us to pay you back for any food we took?”

Lena’s heart thuds in her chest, her anxiety rising higher. If they keep getting themselves into these situations, then she is going to have to have an actual heart attack, she just knows it.

Astra knows what she’s doing, that she’s trying to cover their tracks and the knowing expression on her face tells both Kara and Lena that she knows.

“We all know that isn’t the reason I’m showing you this.”

Lena has been in situations like this many a time. Business meetings often looked similar to this, both sides wanting to win, to overpower the opposition with knowledge. Lena doesn’t like losing but when she’s opposing someone so important to Kara she can’t use her usual dirty tricks to get her ahead. Namely gathering as much intel as possible and then spewing a few thinly veiled threats.

“In that case, why are you showing us this?” Lena tries to maintain direct eye contact, trying to act braver than she currently feels, maybe then her bravado will become real.

Astra takes a visible breath and her lips twist ever so slightly as she tries to formulate the right words. Despite the fact that they are the only ones in the room she lowers her voice considerably and leans forward.

On any other day, Lena would take this as a sign that she is going to threaten them, but her demeanour seems softer somehow, almost apprehensive.

“I know you two aren’t alone and I don’t blame you for not telling me but I can’t help you keep it from the rest of The Rebellion if you don’t tell me everything so I can cover it up for you.”

That shocks both Kara and Lena, not because Astra figured it out but because she is seemingly going against the Rebellion, her own cause.

They share a look while Astra watches on before Kara speaks. “Why would you go against them when you’re their general?”

Astra sighs and rubs her eyes tiredly. “We don’t have the time to dig into all of the bureaucracy but here, while we all have the same cause, not everyone here shares the same methods. If I treat you with too much leniency then my power will be called into question and much harsher methods may be implemented across the planet. I want a peaceful resolution, that isn’t true for everyone here, but I need these people.”

Lena nods in understanding, she knows the feeling, albeit on a much smaller scale, from when she first took over Luthor Corp. She can still see the quiet hesitancy in Kara’s eyes, but she decides to dive for the both of them.

“Three women and a child.”

Kara’s eyes shoot up, trying to meet Lena’s but her own emerald orbs are fixed onto Astras, conveying a silent plea – please don’t use this information against us.

Astra’s eyebrows are in her hairline at how quickly Lena gave up the intel. “I have to admit, I thought that I would have to convince you.”

“Normally, no amount of convincing would get me to talk but I know that Kara trusts you on some level and I trust her. That’s not the only reason though, I also know you’re right, if we want to protect our people then we will need your help.”

Kara sits beside her, silent and pondering.

Astra keeps her eyes locked on Lena’s, doing her best to show her that she is being sincere and that she will help her niece and anyone she holds dear to the best of her abilities without compromising on her duties to her cause.

“Little one, I wish to know your thoughts.” Astra addresses Kara, longing for her input. As fond as she is of Lena, she wishes to keep the decision within the family, as is their usual way, not that this is a usual situation.

Kara has a blank look on her face that they can’t read. It’s odd, at least to Lena since she knows her so well, knows her face, knows what every little twitch or movement means. It’s unnerving.

No words come, just that blank stare fixated on the wooden desk, not really taking anything in. Her breathing seems steady, or steady enough, so Lena isn’t too worried about that but she’s still worried.

“Kara, are you alright?”

No response.

Lena’s hand finds Kara’s arm, trying to draw her attention to her, or at least get her to lift her head. “Kara, can you hear me?”

When she once again gets no response, Astra rounds the table, kneeling at Kara’s other side. “Lena, do you know what is happening to her? Has this happened before?”

That’s when it hits her like a Kryptonian fist under a yellow sun right to the face. The ship, their arrival, it’s happening again.

“Yes, it has. She’s too overwhelmed, we need to ground her, help me get her onto the floor.”

Astra doesn’t wait, doesn’t hesitate at all. She grabs Kara around her back and underneath her knees, settling her down on the floor and awkwardly kneeling at her side, unsure of what to do now.

“She needs to feel us near, we need to let her know that we are here for her and help to clear her mind.”

That triggers something in Astra, she knows now what she must do.  She gathers her up into her arms, sitting fully on the ground with Kara cradled in her lap, her head pressed to her chest right where her heart lies.

“Speak with me Little One, let us heal your mind together with the help of our good lord Rao.” Lena wants to ask what she means but she is cut off by a string of familiar-sounding Kryptonese. “ehl fidh i ehrosh :divi — ehl kypzrhig i raogrhys.”

She recognises the words, the phrase one that she’s heard Kara whisper to herself under times of stress and feels a little dumb that she’s never connected the dots, that she didn’t realise that it’s a Kryptonian prayer.

“ehl fidh i ehrosh :divi — ehl kypzrhig i raogrhys.” Astra repeats again, then moves on to a translation which Lena knows is for her sake. “Star, make my life light. Star, build my power.”

The star in question is Rao, she sees that now and the whole scenario is making Lena’s brain hurt. One second they were negotiating through a tough situation and the next Kara is having a mental breakdown – again.

She can’t blame her, not really. She’s sure a mental breakdown of her own would serve her well and as awful as it is, she knows for certain now that Astra is being truthful about her care for Kara, the sight of them curled up together as Astra murmurs to her is enough to convince her.

Lena can’t take her eyes off Kara, a selfish part of her wishing that she could be the one to hold her instead, but she can see by the way her lips are curving around the familiar words as she begins to mouth along with her aunt, that this is how Kara is best comforted.

She wants to reach out and take her hand at least but the pair appear to be in their own little bubble, away from reality.

Astra’s touch is gentle, much more caring than Lena had believed that she could be, even with the stories Kara told her about her childhood and how close she and Astra were, upon meeting the general she just couldn’t make herself believe it. She believes it now though.

Kara’s descent back into reality is slow and to the people that care about her, it’s painful. Together, Astra and Lena watch as Kara’s eyes gradually acclimatise to her surroundings again, watch as they flit around the room trying to make sense of everything, watch her eyebrows furrow and body tense when she realises that she’s on the floor and in her aunt’s arms.

“Kara, we’re here. Just rest.” Now that Kara is somewhat aware of everything, Lena feels comfortable enough to take her hand, wrapping it up in both of hers and tucking it beneath her chin so she doesn’t do something stupid like kiss it in front of Astra. They don’t need more questions.

Kara squeezes her hand when she gathers enough energy, letting Lena know in her own way that she is just fine, or at least as fine as she can be right now. She opens her mouth to speak but before she can utter a word she is hushed by Astra.

“Hush, we’ll have plenty of time to talk soon. Just let yourself rest for a minute, allow Rao to strengthen your mind for a little longer.”

Kara has always gotten more comfort from her Kryptonian customs than any Earth customs she has tried and having Astra’s voice muttering a prayer into her ear brought her right back to when she was a little girl playing chase with her favourite person. It’s magical.

“I’m ok now, I promise.” She doesn’t lift her head from Astra’s chest though, just stays sitting there, draped across Astra with her hand being choked by Lena.

Lena seems to notice just how hard she was squeezing Kara’s fingers because she drops her death grip rather quickly and settles for a tender caress instead. She waits for a moment where she is sure that Astra isn’t paying attention to lean down and plant the much-desired kiss to the back of Kara’s hand.

She actually thought she had gotten away with it until she spots Astra peering at her from the corner of her eye, a sly smile on her face. Yep, she knows. Crap.

“Can you stand?” Astra strokes the hair out of Kara’s face, holding her tight to show that she isn’t rushing her.

“Yeah, I don’t know about you, but I’d rather sit on a chair than on the floor.” Kara smiles, a chuckle lodged in her chest as she tries to joke.

They aren’t really in a joking mood after Kara spiked their stress levels but for her sake, Astra and Lena force out matching half-laughs.

Together, they get her up and onto one of the chairs again, Lena dragging it back away from the table so she can be dropped right onto it without any major manoeuvring.

Kara isn’t really sure why they bothered asking her if she could stand because the two worrywarts held most of her weight anyway without any prompting, they practically just lift her right up. It’s the closest she’ll get to flying when under a red sun so she may as well suck it up and enjoy it though.

 “Thanks.” Her voice croaks slightly, her throat dry.

Kara clears her throat and Lena jumps right to it, filling a glass with water from a pitcher on the table and handing it to her. “Here.”

“Thank you.” The glass is cool in her hand and it with the refreshing feeling comes clarity. “Both of you.”

“You do not need to thank us for that, you just have to promise to give us a break before you give us any more big shocks.” Lena takes a leaf out of Kara’s book, but it falls flat, not reaching its desired mark.

Instead, it makes Kara feel guilty. She knows that she can’t control it and she is lucky that it happened in private but it doesn’t ease the restless feeling inside of her that makes her want to crawl up into a ball and cry and wish that this whole thing could be over so she can go back to eating pizza and potstickers in front of the TV in her loft with Lena snuggled into her side.

“I’m really sorry, I wish I could control it, so you don’t have to deal with it.”

Lena’s heart sinks at the guilt-ridden words, immediately regretful of her joke, she was trying to lighten the mood, not send Kara down another spiral into a mental breakdown. “No, no. That’s not what I was saying at all, darling. Listen to me. We were just worried about you, but we will happily take care of you forever if that’s what you need.”

Her words come right from the heart, and it shows in the devotion that pours from her lips, setting Kara’s cheeks ablaze when she feels it wrap around her like a soft fuzzy blanket of warmth and love.

“I second everything she just said, Little One, but I mean it in a more family-oriented way whereas Lena means it in a romantic one.”

Clearly, Astra never learnt tact on Krypton because even if her words have some truth to them, now is obviously not a good time for this tomfoolery.

“Astra!” Lena lets out a startled complaint, beyond humiliated to have been called out so brazenly. “Do you really think that now is a good time?”

Astra has the gall to smile at her, pulling her chair around the table to sit beside Kara. “Some truths should not be hidden for they are not a danger to oneself nor others, they only bring joy. Clarity often follows times of hardship and I trust my niece to make wise decisions, you should take the time to be honest with each other.”

Kara covers her face with her hands. Her aunt really has some terrible timing. “Aunt Astra, I forgot how good you are at meddling.”

“I do not meddle, just as our ancestors did not fight a losing battle. We correct wrongdoings to create peace and life. Perhaps that’s a lesson you could learn.” She slowly makes eye contact with them one at a time to get her message across loud and clear.

Lena swallows, she can’t do this right now, everything is raw, and her heart is still beating out of her chest. She needs to get back into some kind of comfort zone. “How about you leave that to us to discuss at our leisure? We can go back to our discussions, business always seems to suck the joy out of everything, and we don’t need any more fun.”

Astra takes in her niece’s slumped form and reluctantly nods her head. Perhaps bringing it up so soon wasn’t a good idea but it was a matter she had felt was a necessary topic to address. She stands by it and will now move along as requested.

“Kara, perhaps you would like to sit this one out and rest?” Astra tries to coax her into taking a step back and caring for herself, but Kara’s never been one to do what’s actually good for her.

“I’ll be perfectly alright, you two discuss and I’ll just sit here and let you go at it, I have no problems with spectating unless I need to jump in for any reason.”

Lena can’t help but check her over, running her eyes across her body to ease her mind of its worry. She knows it’s a pointless task anyway because Kara’s problems are mental not physical but seeing her sitting there in one piece does ease her mind somewhat anyway.

“Alright then, let’s get started,” Lena announces, keeping her grip on Kara’s hand, afraid she could float away again at any moment. “What do you need to know about our people in order to protect them?”

Astra gets right into it, coming in strong, watching Kara from the corner of her eye but continuing on, nonetheless. “I need to know their approximate location or at least an estimate so I can keep surveillance away from those areas.”

“That’s out of the question.”

“How can I protect them if you won’t tell me where they are? I can’t keep my guards and soldiers away from them without the location.”

Lena’s silence is enough to answer Astra’s question. She can’t protect them without it. “Fine, but we can’t promise they will be there, they’re stupid enough that they could be on their way here now in some poor attempt at a rescue mission.”

“That is not good.”

It then dawns on Lena that no, that isn’t good. If they get caught then that’s game over for them, they don’t have a Kryptonian general for an aunt to protect them. “Is there anything you propose we do to protect them from your people should they be found?”

Astra thinks, pouring herself some of the water to buy her some time. “Perhaps there is something we can do but you won’t like it.”

“Try me.”

“We get my guards to be on the lookout for them and bring them back here too should they be spotted. We say that you got separated and upon our talks, you asked for our help in locating them. The only issue with that is that my people may demand payment for such a task.”

“What would The Rebellion do to them if they were found without knowing who they are?” Kara can’t help herself, she has her own questions, and this is too important of a topic to be sitting on the sidelines.

Astra meets her eyes, not hiding anything. “They would likely be tried and executed as spies and traitors to the people of Krypton. They wouldn’t think that there would be any other reason for them to be out here.”

“Even Esme? The child, I mean.” Kara gasps.

“I am unsure, but it is in everyone’s best interest if we don’t leave it to fate to find out.” Astra is blunt in her delivery but with a shared glance, Kara and Lena both know that they have no choice but to agree to Astra’s suggestion. They can’t let their family be in any more danger.

Kara nods at Astra. “I’ll give you a description of them and the last known location as well as a general map of what would have been our expected route in case they continued on without us but no details, that way if we have to, we still have something to protect us. It won’t be much, but it will be something.”

“I agree that may be best and I will push for your repayment to be low and easily achievable, however, given our familial ties, they may take it out of my hands to avoid any bias.”

Lena can already sense how bad this is going to turn out for them, there’s no way that being indebted to a terrorist group is going to end well.

Kara’s palm is sweaty in her own, the feeling is kind of gross but she’s glad she has her here with her, even if Astra has set them up for an awkward conversation later on.

“Ok, I believe that we can discuss this further later. I would like to request that you retire back to your room for a few hours so I can get some work done.” Astra stands and rubs her hands on her pants legs awkwardly.

“You can just say you want us out of your hair, and you want me to take a nap.” Kara smiles at her, weariness setting into her bones from the mental stress.

“I can have multiple reasons, can’t I?”

Lena wraps a steadying arm around Kara’s waist as she stands. “I think your reasons are valid, this one needs to get some rest and I wouldn’t mind some time to relax either.”

“Excellent, then I will send someone for you later so we can talk more.”

Read the first 15 chapters on A03

Read 4 more chapters here

[spookylittletownhq]

DOROTHEA “DOTTY” OR “THEA” HAMPTON has arrived in Albion. While they may seem STRANGE, they are connected to the LOWER VALLEY HAMPTONS. Their passport was stamped at Falls Inn and shows that they are 28, 5’8”, with BLONDE HAIR and HAZEL EYES. Mrs. Kuiper at the Inn said that they seemed CURIOUS and SELF-REFLECTIVE, though they were seen MUTTERING TO HERSELF IN AN EVER MORE AGITATED TONE as they departed St. Catharine’s Depot. Be wary, and report any sightings to Madame Lange’s Tea Room.

January, 1915.

Mother says I should keep a journal, one that maintains a record of who I am and what I have been going through. She often seems to view my gifts as a trial. My siblings… they have all managed to grow up. They have left the home. It is just me and them now. Though to even say them is inaccurate. Father is so ill, he has been for so long, that he never even leaves the bedroom. I am forbidden from entering the room unless I am asked. Do not think I am complaining, to be in that room is to be communing with death itself. I can sense the water that fills his lungs. Once, when I was naive, I asked my mother if I could possibly try to use my gift to see if I could ease his pain. I can still feel her palm on my cheek. The waters nursed the sting though. I dream of living within those waters, as free as they are, as certain of who I am and should be as the fish that populate them. The waters are my only escape from this torment. The constant cries, the screams, the anger, and the prayers they grow louder every second when I trapped in this home. I must find a way to freedom. The river is calling for me. I will return to write in this.

December, 1915.

Father has passed from this world into the next. Mother claims that he has found himself in the embrace of their lord and savior. I could only nod and agree, though my heart was not in it. She needed the peace I could give her then, I suppose. The truth is that in these months I have realized some things. They may claim that their deity, their hero, their almighty is giving them all of these blessings but I can only see the suffering he has caused them. The farm was difficult to maintain when father was healthy. Next year, mother and I will have to attempt to keep it alive ourselves. She refuses to allow me to use my blessing to try to aid us. She demands that I keep myself separated from that aspect of myself. How dare she? Truly how dare she? I am offering her a gift and she spits in my face over her outdated belief of righteousness? If her deity is as great as she says how am I not a vessel he must be acting through? The old deities speak to me. They whisper to me in my dreams. Telling me to swim deeper, to reveal the secrets, to grow my power… to join them. I must do it. I need to grow more powerful to have a chance at working closer with them, to be more in tune with the water, the very force that gave me my true life. They buried father in a box. Left him in the ground. I wish they had sent him to the river.

September, 1919.

Mother and I have done all we can to keep this farm sustainable enough for us to survive. We have succeeded, barely, in just enough of a way that we have managed to find ourselves able to keep surviving and subsisting on the fruits of our labour. The question remains as to how much longer we will keep this up for. She and I rarely speak anymore unless it is of the work. Though I can still hear her prayers at night. The wretched cries that intermingle with it. None of my siblings have visited. Nor have they written. We are alone now, my mother and I. She goes to where they buried father’s corpse every weekend. I take the time to see the river. It is such a spiritual refreshing. I feel so strong afterwards, I could trick myself into thinking I could direct it through the valleys of this land. I met a very beautiful woman along the hill the other day actually. She is the new schoolteacher, the previous had been married. The way she smiled at me… it was like the river washing over me again. Yet, it is certainly just a flight of fancy. Nothing will ever be able to come of it. No matter how badly I may wish for a future with the wonderful Ms. McAleer.

November, 1921.

A week after the harvest it happened. Mother collapsed in the kitchen as she was preparing a meal for the three of us. Even with Victoria’s help the last two years, my mother’s aging body could only have held out so long. She is dying. Myself and Victoria will have to go it alone this next year. Though with her remaining as a schoolteacher, this will mean I will bear the brunt of this work. I am not made for this. I am not a woman of strength, I am a woman of the mind. How could I have forgotten that through this last few years. Yes, I had helped where I could before father passed but I had never been the driving force behind the plow, I had never been the one who had to determine where we could harvest and for how long. Tonight is a night of utter suffering. Mother is dying. I doubt she will recover. And I do not know how I will be able to maintain this place on my own. Even with Victoria’s help.

February, 1922.

Today was my birthday. It was the worst day of my life. I am hidden, stuck in a forest grove near the river. I had tried in the last few days to till and to prepare as much of the soil as I could, but it was futile. Mother died two days ago. I… I had hated her, yes. Yet now I feel this intense guilt for this longing and this desire I have for her, I need her here with me again. When I got home, and I heard the silence I knew. The fields had taken so much out of me… and when I entered her room she was there. A corpse on a bed. I had begun to cry. I had silently wished the water would take away this anchor of a farm that choked me every day until I would wither and die like this woman who laid in my mother’s clothes… I don’t recall trying to bring the water up. Maybe it was an accident. Maybe it was a deepest purpose within me. The river burst from its banks. It came like a monster, ravaging the town, the homes, the farm, the people. I survived, of course. But when I walked out of my home, the people were there. There must have been rumors for years of my true nature. The girl born of water, the water spirit incarnate. They came at me with torches. They threw rocks. They wanted me gone. The most terrifying sight of it all? Victoria McAleer... she wasn’t fighting them, she wasn’t defending me, she was at their head. She had organized them. Called them to come and punish the “evil water witch”. To drive me from my home. I wonder if my heart will ever recover. Tonight, I am 28. I will wander this path. I will see where it may lead me. And hopefully, one day, I will be able to rebuild a life for myself. Tonight I toss this book in the river. To rest with what I have forgotten, with my home, and my family. The waters will lead me. The river will be my guide. Farewell forever, beloved home. You were my prison. And yet you were where I belonged. Farewell, and may I live enough days to see this town swept away by the river’s fury.

—

Welcome welcome to the valley! Please send in your account within 24 hours – and follow the checklist to get set up. ���

[adelinelives]

🦋

a    set    of    thought    provoking    questions    based    around    character    development    :    accepting.

🦋          »        what    would    your    character    do    if    they    knew    they    could    not    fail    ?

trick question :   adeline knows she wouldn’t fail at doing anything.

if she could truly have her way, she would cut contact with her parents and revert to a baser, more normal life. she couldn't follow through, knowing that she'd still see herself on social media: she cannot go unwatched to either the world or her parents. a sordid gift for their baby girl. and even if she holed herself in an apartment under her own name, her bank account is conditional. love me in my own way and you'll never want for anything – quite the contract to sign before she could grow hands.

maybe she'd try a step back then? relocate to an almost-drab cabin in switzerland beside the ski lodge, open to holidays and any other visitations. except her mother would get on the first plane to drag her back to their apartment overlooking the nondescript greys of new york (and the square of green called central park, the sparkling waves of the bays just within sight and the atlantic ocean that she could paint based on memory alone).

and...   she would make herself a cup of coffee.

[wickwrites]

Wonder Egg Priority Episode 4: Boys’ and Girls’ Suicides Do Mean Different Things (But Not in the Way the Mannequins Want You to Think!)

So, let’s talk about this for a second. After I got over my initial knee-jerk reaction, I realized I wasn’t sure how to make sense of exactly what the mannequins were arguing for here. So let me rephrase their statements to make the argumentative structure more explicit: Because men are goal-oriented and women are not, because women are emotion-oriented and men are not, and because women are impulsive and easily influenced by others’ voices and men are not, boys’ and girls’ suicides mean different things – girls are more easily “tempted” by death, and therefore, more likely to require saving when they inevitably regret their suicide. While Wonder Egg Priority, so far, seems to agree with the vague version of the mannequins’ conclusion, namely that boys’ and girl’s suicides mean different things, it refutes the gender-essentialist logic through which that conclusion was derived.

The mannequins choose a decidedly gender essentialist approach in explaining the difference between girls’ and boy’s suicides; they argue that the suicides are different because of some immutable characteristic of their mental hard wiring (in this case, impulsivity, emotionality, and influenceability). Obviously, this is a load of bull, and Wonder Egg Priority knows it. The mannequins are not exactly characters we’re supposed to trust, seeing that they’re running a business that is literally based on letting these kids put themselves in mortal danger. As faceless adult men, they parrot and possibly represent the systems that force these girls to continue to be subjected to physical and emotional trauma (it’s probably more complicated than this, but four episodes in, it’s hard to say more). So, we’re probably supposed to take what they say with great skepticism. Also, the director, Shin Wakabayashi, has recently said that in response to these lines, Neiru was originally going to object, “When it comes to their brains, boys and girls are also the same,” (which unfortunately is not exactly true and is somewhat of an oversimplification, but the sentiment is there). While that line ultimately did not make it in, Neiru does reply with a confused and somewhat indignant, “What?!”, a reaction that gets the message across.  Neiru is not a fan of gender essentialism, and as a (more) sympathetic character, we’re supposed to agree with her.

That is, the differences between boys and girls is not something inherent to their biology or character, but something constructed by culture and experience. This rejection of gender-essentialism is apparent in Wonder Egg Priority’s narrative, which takes a more sociocultural perspective on the difference between boys’ and girls’ suicides. It says, well of course boys’ and and girl’s suicides don’t mean the same thing, that’s the whole reason why we’re delving into the experiences specific to being a girl (cis or trans) or AFAB in this world – to show you how girls’ suicides are influenced by systems of oppression perpetuated by those in power (ie. the adult, in this specific anime).

And all the suicides we’ve seen up until now tie into that somehow. For instance, Koito is bullied by her female classmates who think that Sawaki is giving her special treatment. This is a narrative that comes up over and over again, in real life as well: that if a young girl is being given attention from an older man, then it’s her fault – that she must want it, or at least enjoy it somehow, and that it signifies a virtue (eg. maturity or beauty) on her part. And if Koito is actually being given such treatment by Sawaki, an adult man in a position of power over her, that is incredibly predatory. 

And we all know that child sexual abuse is something that overwhelmingly affects girls, with one out of nine experiencing it before the age of 18, as opposed to one out of 53 boys (Finkelhor et al., 2014). Regardless of whether Sawaki was actually abusing Koito or if the students only thought that he was, Koito’s trauma is ultimately the result of this romanticized “love between a young girl and adult man, but not because the man is predatory, but because the girl has some enviable virtue that makes her desirable” narrative. Similarly, in episode 2, Minami’s suicide is driven by ideas related to discipline and body image in sports, which while not necessarily specific to female and AFAB athletes, is framed in an AFAB-specific way. For instance, take the pressure on Minami to “maintain her figure”. Certainly, male athletes also face a similar pressure, but we know that AFAB and (cis and trans) female bodies are subject to closer scrutiny and criticism. We know that young girls are more likely to suffer from eating disorders. And Wonder Egg Priority situates Minami’s experience as decidedly “about” AFAB experience when her coach accuses her change of figure due to her period as a character failing on her part.

 Likewise, episode 3 delves into suicides related to “stan” culture, this fervent dedication to celebrities that is overwhelmingly associated to teenage girls. And Miwa’s story, in episode 4, explicitly shows how society responds to sexual assault. When Miwa does have the courage to speak up about her assault, she’s instantly reprimanded by basically everyone around her. Her father is fired because her abuser was an executive of his company. Her mother asks her why she couldn’t just bear with it, telling her that her abuser chose her because she was cute, as if that’s supposed to make her feel better about it. Wonder Egg Priority shows that this sort of abuse is a systemic problem, a set of rules and norms deeply engrained in a society and upheld by all adults, regardless of gender, social status, or closeness (to the victim). Wonder Egg Priority says that, yes, girls’ and boys’ suicides have different meanings, but it’s not due to some inherent difference between the two, but the hostile environment in which these girls grow up. Girls are not more easily “tempted” by death, they just have more societal bullshit to deal with.

But Wonder Egg Priority goes further than just showcasing how girls’ (and AFAB) experiences are shaped by sociocultural factors. The story also disproves the supposedly dichotomous characteristics that the mannequins use to differentiate girls and boys (i.e. influenceability/independence, impulsivity/deliberation, emotion-orientation/goal-orientation). If the mannequins are indeed correct, and that girls are just influenceable, impulsive, and emotional, you’d expect the girls in the story to be to be like such too. Except, they aren’t. Rather, they’re a mix of both/all characteristics. This show says that, certainly, girls can be suggestible, but they’re also capable of thinking for themselves. For instance, when Momoe asserts her own identity as a girl at the end of episode four, she rejects the words of those around her who insisted that she isn’t a girl. If she were as suggestible as the mannequins believe her to be, that would never have happened – she would have just continued believing that she wasn’t girl “enough”. But, she doesn’t because she is equally capable of making her own judgements. Likewise, Wonder Egg Priority shows that girls can be impulsive, but they can also be deliberate and pre-mediating. When Miwa tricks her Wonder Killer into groping her to create an opening for Momoe to defeat it, she’s not doing it out of impulse – it’s a pre-mediated and deliberate choice unto a goal. And Wonder Egg Priority continues, girls can be equally emotion oriented and goal oriented. Sure, the main girls are fighting because they have the goal of bringing their loved ones back to life, but those goals are motivated by a large range of emotions, from guilt to anger, grief, compassion, and love. 

Being emotion-driven doesn’t mean you’re not goal-driven, and vice versa. In fact, in this case, being emotional drives these girls toward their goals. In other words, none of these traits that the mannequins listed are either “girl traits” or “boy traits”. Being one does not mean you can’t be the other, even if they seem dichotomous at first. Wonder Egg Priority’s diverse cast of multi-dimensional female characters allows it to undermine the mannequins’ conceptualization of gendered roles, refuting the idea that these (or any) character traits should be consider gendered at all.

As an underdeveloped side thought, I think Wonder Egg Priority’s blurring of gendered roles is also well-reflected in its style. There’s been a lot of talk about whether Wonder Egg Priority constitutes a magical girl series, and I think that’s an interesting question deserving of its own essay. Certainly, it does follow the basic formula of the magical girl story: a teenage heroine ensemble wielding magical weapons saves the day. But it also throws out a lot of the conventions you’d expect of a magical girl story – both aesthetically and narratively. Aesthetically, it’s probably missing the component that most would consider the thing that makes an anime a magical girl anime: the full body transformation sequence, complete with the sparkles and the costume and all that. Narratively, the girls are also not really magical girl protagonist material – they’ve got a fair share of flaws, have done some pretty awful things (looking at Kawai in particular; I still love you though), and aren’t exactly the endlessly self-sacrificing heroines you’d expect from a typical magical girl story. On the other hand, the anime also borrows a lot from shonen battle anime. We get these dynamic, well choreographed action sequences full of horror and gore, the focus on the importance of camaraderie between allies (or “nakama”, as shonen anime would call it) exemplified through all the bonding between the main girls during their downtime, and in the necessary co-operation to bring down the Wonder Killers. That said, this anime is not a shonen; the characters, types of conflicts, and themes are quite different from those that you’d find in a typical shonen. The bleeding together of the shonen genre and the magical girl genre, at the very least (and I say this because I think it does way more than just that), reflects Wonder Egg Priority’s interest in rebelling against conventional narratives about girlhood and gender.

[thehaitanis]

𝔟𝔞𝔧𝔦 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔯𝔞𝔫 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔦𝔯 𝔠𝔯𝔲𝔰𝔥

❮★❯ summary: how will baji keisuke and haitani ran act around their crush.

❮★❯ warnings: none, maybe bad writing.

❮★❯ disclaimer: english is not my first language, so forgive me for any mistakes.

he doesn’t even realize he has a crush until someone else points it out to him, probably chifuyu seeing as he is one of the only ones to actually have some sense of romanticism amongst the toman guys. baji probably thought that he felt so infatuated with you because he admired you and would think nothing of the sudden impulses he has to kiss you until you jokingly tell him to take a picture of you so it would last longer and when he actually did, you were too shocked to realize the way he was blushing.

after that little “incident” where he understood his feelings for you, it is gonna be mad obvious to everyone just how much he likes you. you would obviously realize too because baji is not exactly the type to stop himself when it comes to flirting and touching you, although he would always be careful when getting closer to you in case you don’t feel comfortable with all the touching. if you do feel comfortable, then you only need to smile at him for baji to always put his arm around you, his own smug smile showing everyone how happy he feels. however, if you don’t feel comfortable with the sudden proximity, he would always be careful around you until you accept his shows of affection, this guy would also be on the lookout in case anyone else tries to get too close to you. if he can’t be near you then it means no one else can.

he’ll be nicer around you but it would cost him a lot to maintain that very same attitude if someone he knows is close simply because he doesn’t want to appear weak for you or lovesick wich he is but that’s not important now baji would put his position in toman first simply because he doesn’t think his crush on you would last, at least not with the same intensity it has now which is wrong again.

although i don't think baji would put a lot of effort in showing you that he likes you, you’ll know just by interacting with him. he isn’t discrete and uses every opportunity he has to make his intentions clear in hopes of being with you for some time and then forget about the pain in his chest every time he sees you with someone else. however, this dumb belief would soon disappear the moment you decide to reciprocreate his feelings. his “dumb crush” would quickly escalate to real love and, after that, it is over for baji and his heartbreaker popularity.

will he tell you about his crush? he won’t tell you directly about his crush on you because he feels like it is pretty obvious by now, besides, baji thinks that by telling you everything would be more serious and that is something he’s trying to avoid at all costs, that's basically what he thinks at first before everything changes and he has to eat his words like the lovesick idiot he is.

ran would probably be very aware of his crush on you and it’s basically because he isn’t really interested in anyone else apart from his brother and the few people he has been with during his teen years. at first he would pass it as pure curiosity, it doesn’t matter if you are super intelligent or if you are talented at sports, whatever it is, the older haitani will act upon his instincts if he considers you could be someone entertaining to him. he’ll even tell rindou about his intention of spending more time with you just so he could look the other way in case he also took a liking to you, he loves spending time with his brother but sharing is a no.

his crush on you would be obvious only to his brother, to anyone else it would seem as something normal in him, after all, ran is no stranger to making people nervous and the more you fall into his tricks, the more happy he’ll be to be around you. he’ll take a special liking to seeing you blush and be nervous around him because it gives him the confidence to do whatever he wants just to spend more time with you. however, ran will immediately stop if he sees you getting uncomfortable with his teasing.

although this guy likes to make you shy and nervous, once he realizes his true feelings for you he’ll try to be more real around you, asking you questions about your day and overall being interested in you. he’ll want to know everything he can about you before deciding on doing anything beyond simple teasing.

even if he thinks of himself as the most handsome guy out there, ran is not blind, he knows you can change your mind about him so he will try to make you see him as the only good option to date, there’s no one that can compare to him and you will soon realize that, it doesn’t matter if you feel insecure at first, that’s why he’s so nice and reliable, you can trust him with anything because ran has made very clear that he is more than capable of taking care of you and your necessities if you do manage to be important to him.

he will tell you about his crush only when he’s 100% sure you are gonna say yes to his proposition. he’s not especially interested in having a relationship right now but with you he tries to make an effort, or at least that’s what he tells himself because right now, there’s not other thing he thinks about than you and your cute little face.

❮★❯ requests are: open!

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 21, second part

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Stuff) (Previous Post)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Flute Solo

For some reason Wei Wuxian has decided to take a walk outside of the fortress, or behind the fortress, or something? Can people just take a stroll outside during wartime? Seems unwise.

There are guards and these extra-bossy crows herding some Wen prisoners along, and Wei Wuxian stands up above and gets totally overwhelmed by resentful energy.  

He falls to one knee while clutching his chest, in the spot where all cultivators seem to stow a bag of holding. I guess this is the Xuanwu sword? Or maybe it's his surgical incision; those things can take a while to finish healing. I think the golden core is further down in the abdomen, though; this is right over his heart. 

Wen Qing, Granny, and Fourth Uncle are in the group, but Wen Qing has her hood up so Wei Wuxian can't see her, and he's unlikely to remember the other two, since he only saw them that one time at the shrine, and he doesn't remember people he's literally had dinner with.  

The guards decide to be assholes and beat the shit out of a prisoner because he fell down, which inspires some extra aggressive crows to swoop in and attack the not-dead guy on the ground. That is...not how carrion-eaters behave, generally. They're pretty good about waiting for you to stop moving.

Wei Wuxian continues to struggle, obviously having an orgasm in a lot of pain, and starting to leak resentful energy.

(more after the cut)

He brings his flute up and starts playing it, which causes the wind to rise, rocks to fall from a nearby cliff, and the whole group of people on the ground under him to start having Yin Iron lines crawling up their faces.

Would Wen Qing be a beautiful fierce corpse? She would. 

Eventually Wei Wuxian stops torturing everybody, having gotten it out of his system for a bit, and stands up.  The group gets up, skin clearing up, and starts moving along again, a little shook. Wen Qing looks up and sees Wei Wuxian and hides her face in anguish.

She was there in the dungeon, listening to the same flute music, when he was resentfully slaughtering everyone around her in Yiling. Does she understand what she’s seeing, what he’s become? 

Her hood is off and it seems that he sees her, or at least that he is trying to figure out what he's seeing. But Jiang Yanli arrives before he can do more than look puzzled and cast his eyes around.  

Jiang Yanli asks him what just happened and he laughs and says it was the strong wind, in an extremely transparent lie that Yanli nearly chokes trying to swallow. She drags him back to the meeting while he continues to look troubled.

War Council

Meanwhile, the war council is meeting. This is mostly a boring rehash of stuff we already know, but someone has drawn a nice big map that's been installed in a custom frame. Because apparently the table with the mountains on it is not a good enough representation of "and then we will walk from our house to Wen Ruohan's house," which is basically their plan. The gist of this scene is that Wen Ruohan having the Yin Iron gives him an advantage, in case we needed to be reminded of that. 

The doors fly open and Wei Wuxian and his fabulous ass literally blow into the room. 

Everyone reacts in a comically extreme way. 

He casts his eyes malevolently and/or sexily over to Lan Wangji, who is still grumpy with him, while Jiang Cheng comes up and stands almost as close to him as Lan Wangji used to.

He tells everybody that he might have something to counteract the yin iron.

Everybody: Really? Do tell!  

Wei Wuxian: Happy to!

Wei Wuxian: *theatrical side-eye at judgy ex boyfriend* 

Wei Wuxian: Actually, nope.

He says "we'll see in about a month" while fondling whatever is hidden next to his ribcage.

This behavior, while ridiculous, isn't quite as absurd as it seems from a corporate-meeting standpoint. Part of what cultivators do is invent and refine spiritual tools. So when Wei Wuxian makes this speech, the people in the meeting are going to infer that he is creating a spiritual tool to counter the Yin Iron.

Now it's Lan Xichen's turn to ask everybody’s favorite question. Lan Xichen wasn’t at the party when everyone else asked him, and we're apparently supposed to believe these gossips haven't been talking about the not-sword-carrying 24x7.

Wei Wuxian says he's just not in the mood, and we get to see Lan Xichen's impressive ability to hold his face completely still while he represses his desire to slap someone.

Jin Zixun complains about Wei Wuxian after he leaves, but for once his bitching is on point; he correctly surmises that the counter to yin iron is...yin iron. 

Now, to be fair, the yin tiger amulet is different from the yin iron because it exists in the novel Wei Wuxian specially refines it to be more manageable than the sword it started from. And maybe it’s gel coated to be easier on the stomach. But it's basically the same shit.

Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue exchange intense gazes, just to prove that the young people aren’t the only ones who know how to eye fuck. 

Lying Is Forbidden 

Lan Xichen talks to Lan Wangji, and we discover that Lan Wangji is perfectly capable of lying. He manages to maintain a reputation for not lying but I think the trick is that he just avoids talking in general, so when, for example, people in later years say "who's your masked boyfriend" he just doesn't answer, which isn't really lying. (How many times did Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen ask “where did you get this kid?” and just not get an answer, I wonder.) 

At other times he actually directly lies, as when he claims he is “just passing through” Yiling on a night hunt. The current conversation with Lan Xichen definitely involves actual lying.

Let's play multiple choice answers with the Lan brothers!

Q:  Why is WWX so confident we can have Yin Iron against WRH in a month? 

a.) Because he's been walking around with that Xuanwu sword for months, and it is obviously made of Yin iron b.) because he used a fucking ghost flute to flay Wen Chao more or less in front of me, so he is clearly down with some dark magics c.) I don’t know

Q: Was the death of people in the Yiling supervisory office really related to yin iron?

a.) obviously b.) maybe he was using some other source of overwhelming necromantic power c.) no, he’s not like that

Q. When you approached Yiling, was there anything unusual?

a.) yes, the talismans had been altered to draw in evil spirits b.) yes, everyone except his particular friend Wen Qing had killed themselves in horrifying, outlandish ways c.) are there rules already set for everything in the world?

Xichen, bless him, actually lets Lan Wangji change the subject like that and answers his question honestly.

Xichen: Actually, rules are pretty much shit Wangji: fucking hell, you're telling me this NOW? What have I been doing for the past 18 years then?

They both look just ridiculously beautiful in this conversation. Lan Wangji’s affect with his brother is so interesting. He’s trusting, emotionally open, willing to be seen...but only because he knows Lan Xichen won’t push past his barriers, won’t force him to speak the truth of what’s on his mind.

Awkwardness

The Yunmeng bros roll up, and awkwardness ensues. 

Wangji is frowning hard. His frowns are of the micro variety just like his smiles, but boy they are consistent and Wei Wuxian and Xichen both know how to read them.

Wei Wuxian gives Lan Xichen a small, sunny smile--it seems genuine, not like the fake ones he's trotting out on demand for his family. 

Then he gives Lan Wangji a pointed gaze of yearning and reproachfulness, which Lan Wangji returns, switching from frowning to a softer expression that seems about equal parts hurt, apology, and thirst.

Wei Wuxian reacts to that by bowing again and leaving, with Jiang Cheng quickly following, wondering what the fuck just happened.

Lans Xichen and Wangji pivot gracefully to watch them go, which Lan Wangji should know is not correct post-breakup behavior; you're supposed to act disinterested, my dude. 

And then Lan Xichen asks Lan Wangji what the fuck is going on. Lan Wangji gets one more lie in, saying he's not worried about Wei Wuxian, before reapplying his frown and walking away from the conversation.

Macroexpression Brothers

OP was wrong about Wei Wuxian not hugging Jiang Cheng any more--here he is hanging on him just like the old days, and Jiang Cheng is shoving him off, just like the old days. However, it emerges that this is mostly an act that WWX is putting on to seem normal. 

Jiang Cheng wants to know what's wrong between him and Lan Wangji, and asks why they broke up. Wei Wuxian points out that Jiang Cheng didn't like him dating Lan Wangji before, so why is he pushing him to get back together with him now, and Jiang Cheng says that now they're allies in a war, so Wei Wuxian needs to do his duty and help keep Lan Wangji in fighting trim, nudge nudge. 

Then he starts lecturing Wei Wuxian about sword cultivation and generally good behavior, and Wei Wuxian theatrically nods and give him appraising looks, telling him he really seems like a clan leader now.

Jiang Cheng headshakes this away. Wei Wuxian actually giving Jiang Cheng a sincere compliment here, disguised as teasing, and he's not wrong. Jiang Cheng has matured and is becoming a strong leader. Not strong enough to ignore peer pressure, but that’s true of most clan leaders in this environment. They’re not supposed to ignore peer pressure. 

Wei Wuxian is pointing it out for his own reasons - he doesn't want to be having this conversation - but it's nice to see him giving his clan leader his due.

Jiang Cheng walks away as Wei Wuxian smiles after him; as soon as he's out of sight the smile falls off of Wei Wuxian's face as fast as fast as gravity can take it. It's like someone snuffed a candle.

No one bites back as hard On their anger None of my pain and woe Can show through

But my dreams, they aren't as empty As my conscience seems to be I have hours, only lonely My love is vengeance that's never free

More Awkwardness

Lan Wangji and his ambivalence come looking for Wei Wuxian, standing outside his door and raising a hand to knock before changing his mind and fleeing. 

Lan Wangji is on the back foot for the first time in his relationship with Wei Wuxian; this boy who pursued and pursued and PURSUED him is now a man who won't speak to him.  This boy who hung on every one of his words, and saw through all of his minute facial expressions, has become a man who won't listen to him. Lan Wangji is in the position of pursuer, now, and it's not a role he's well equipped for.

Yanli stops him as he's bailing. He looks so relieved to see her, but he tries to escape immediately after greeting her. She stops him so she can ask what the fuck is going on. 

Unfortunately, Wei Wuxian rolls up while Lan Wangji is in the middle of talking to her.  He's telling her about the heterodox cultivation, and Wei Wuxian busts him. Wei Wuxian steps up and asks what he was telling her, and Lan Wangji says "Wei Ying," but doesn't get much further than that.

Nunya

Wei Wuxian reminds him that he told him to stay out of Jiang Clan business. Now, here I want to mention that "private" and "not your bidness" are culturally specific concepts. OP, for example, grew up in version of Irish-American culture so secretive that the problems of a person's life and (often) the cause of their death are things only discovered by whoever inherits their papers. [OP inherited 3 generations of letters a few years ago, and HOO BOY]

In the version of Chinese culture which we see in this drama, your choices, thoughts & troubles belong to the family and clan, not just to you.  Wei Wuxian, in shutting his elder sister out of his struggles, is not family-ing correctly. Jiang Yanli is right to try to get around that by asking his friend. His friend is also right to give her--in sanitized form--the information she is asking for. 

Wei Wuxian has zero trust in Lan Wangji at this point, unfortunately. He doesn’t know that Lan Wangji has been lying to cover for him; he just knows he’s being a grumpy aggressive holy roller. Now, when Lan Wangji has just been given permission to disregard all 3000 rules and look at a person’s heart, that person’s heart has been hardened against him. 

Yanli is used to dealing with Wei Wuxian's moods at this point -- after all, a lifetime of Jiang Cheng has got her used to volatile little brothers, and Wei Wuxian is clearly a new, not-improved man since his return. 

She tries to get him to chill out while Lan Wangji gives him a death glare -- not a return to the earlier generalized frown, more of a specific "I can't believe how full of shit you are" frown.

Wei Wuxian calls him Lan Er Gongzi, like a dick. Lan Wangji started this but at this point Wei Wuxian is kind of in the lead for who is being The Worst. Lan Wangji executes a beautiful 180 and walks away at top speed. 

Wei Wuxian asks Yanli if he talked about Yiling and when she says he didn't, he realizes he fucked up. 

He goes running after him and calls him Lan Zhan and says "listen to me" but Lan Wangji is no longer in a listening mood. 

Eat A Dick Sword

Lan Wangji is so far in his feelings at this point that he just hauls out his sword and goes after Wei Wuxian, taking complete control of the interaction and forcing Wei Wuxian to concede the fight. Aww, he’s so angry! I love him. 

This is a rough moment for Wei Wuxian. He really genuinely can't hold his own against Lan Wangji, unless he's going to directly use necromancy against him the way he does later in their final confrontation. 

When they first met he was able to defend himself on the rooftop without drawing his sword, but he's weaker now; Chenqing is an adequate hand weapon against most cultivators and puppets, but it's not a match for Lan Wangji's full attack. 

Wei Wuxian is not enjoying this fight, and can’t win in, so he just throws in the towel, exposing his throat and trusting Lan Wangji's control.

On the surface, this fight appears to re-establish their former rapport, but it puts them on such an uneven footing it might actually drive a larger wedge between them.  I think that Lan Wangji has made a strategic error in doing this.  

Lan Wangji seems to want to prove to Wei Wuxian that his new style of cultivation is inadequate, that he would do better with a sword. Swordplay was the beginning of their relationship; their matched power was the source of their mutual attraction. Lan Wangji can't accept that Wei Wuxian has given it up; he doesn't (yet) respect his agency enough to assume that he has a good reason.

This fight functions as yet another punishment that Lan Wangji doles out to Wei Wuxian; not a physical one, this time, but a psychological one, and their relationship pays the price. 

By attacking Wei Wuxian and forcing him to concede, Lan Wangji is showing that they're unequal. By criticizing Wei Wuxian's lack of progress and asking him the same goddamn question everybody else is asking him -- where is your sword? -- Lan Wangji is humiliating him. 

This encounter does not re-establish Wei Wuxian’s trust in him; it just forces him to accept Lan Wangji’s authority, for now. Which is not what either of them really wants. 

Soundtrack: Behind Blue Eyes, by The Who

Writing Prompt: What would Wei Wuxian have said if Lan Wangji had listened to him instead of drawing his sword?

[rhenuvee]

The Heart in You pt2 (Fred Weasley x reader)

Request: Could you do something along these lines? Love you soo much <3 your imagines make me happier. It would mean the world to me if you could do this!! Request: Could you write a Fred Weasley imagine where the reader is Fred's best friend but they never really show affection, they insult each other all the time and occasionally Fred flirts, teasingly. But Fred gets all nervous and goes soft when y/n is visiting their home since its so small and you know.. they're poor and stuff... thanks <3

Link to pt1: Here

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

You were peacefully walking through the corridors, ready to spend a cozy Sunday afternoon being warm from the cold with your friends. It was quite surprising how little disturbance there was, as if you were in a scene in a movie. 

That is, until you heard the sudden roars of laughter, clapping, and awe. You gritted your teeth- you knew that the peace was too good to be true. You decided to change your direction, hoping that this path would bring an end to this once and for all. 

This was something you’ve been dealing with for the past week, and it’s been pissing you off. You found the source of the crowd of noise, seeing that it was coming from out in the courtyard. It was just as you expected. 

“-and then there I was, cornered! Like a poor gazelle standing out in the open!” narrated a voice you knew too well. You stood watching from a distance with your arms folded, seeing as a specific redhead told a story you almost knew by heart by now.

Just as rehearsed for the past seven days a week, you saw the same dramatic gestures by none other than Fred Weasley. His stupid chocolate brown eyes which you couldn’t bother to look at, his stupid smile which you swore he had on 24/7- Although you had to admit, something even more stupid was the first and second years genuinely interested and believing in his anecdote. 

“I almost died, but I stayed strong!” you facepalmed as he scrunched up his face way too dramatically. “She- the lion, sneaking up, ready to jump out and-”

“WEASLEY!” you yelled interrupting him, hearing enough of his crap. It seemed to scare some of the first and second years as they jumped and turned to see you.

“It’s the lion! Run!” shouted Fred. The kids yelled their lungs out and ran in all different directions all to get away from ‘the lion’. You marched your way to Fred, trudging your way towards him. You didn’t care about your shoes getting wet from the snow, all you cared about was slapping that smirk off his face.

“Yes?” he said rather casually from his spot, leaning against the wall.

“Yes? That’s all you have to say to the ferocious lion?” you asked incredulously. He chuckled.

“Actually, I do have something to say, though we may need a spell to translate between your roaring.” You scoffed at his terrible joke.

“I hate you.” 

“We know that’s a lie, love.” You rolled your eyes. You knew that the reason the story started in the first place was because of that day you asked him to the yule ball. He tricked you, and his ego was just getting bigger. 

“And what makes you think that?” you retorted.

“You’re the one who asked me to the ball, love.” he said scoffing. You mentally slapped yourself for having a question with an obvious answer. The term of endearment definitely didn’t help in trying to hide your embarrassment. 

“I was drunk.” you replied quickly. Fred in turn laughed at your quick statement, causing you to laugh a little.

“Really? Then you should get drunk more often.” 

“I think you’re drunk, gazelle.” you said poking his chest then turning to leave. Though, this didn’t stop him from hopping from his place and catching up with you.

“Am I now?” he asked pressing further.

“Yes Fred, bye.” you said as you were about to leave him and turn a corner.

“Alright, don’t miss me too much darling!” 

“Fred!”

---

“Hey (y/n)!” called someone from behind you. You stopped and turned to see George who was slowing down to stop near your spot. 

“Hey George. What’s going on?”

“Are you doing anything this holiday?” he asked.

“Hm, probably just gonna go home for the break, same as every year... why?” 

“I was wondering if you’d like to come to ours for Christmas.” Your eyes widened at his offer. You had never been to the burrow before.

“You don’t have to, but I know it would make a certain gazelle really happy.” he teased. You rolled your eyes.

“If it would make him happy, why couldn’t he ask me himself?” 

“Well riddle me this, would a gazelle purposely perch itself out in the open where any predator- ow!” You playfully punched George in the arm, seeing as the story was starting to rub on him.

“Sorry- what I meant to say was, it would also make myself, Ginny and Ron really happy. You’re our best friend (y/n)... also, mum’s been asking for you as well.” 

“Your mum? Asking about me?” you said shocked.

“You’ve been mentioned here and there.” he said casually. You bit your lip, trying to supress a smile. You were invited to the burrow, which you’ve heard only good things from Harry and Hermione. 

“Alright, I’ll send an owl to my parents and ask them.” you said. He nodded with a grin, knowing his twin would be ecstatic to hear this. 

---

Your parents were a little surprised that you were going to spend the holidays at the burrow. They’ve never met the twins, just like how Arthur and Molly only heard a few things about you. Nonetheless, they were glad to see you so happy to be with your friends. On another note, you were very very nervous. Maybe it was because of seeing the rest of the Weasley family, but also for very stupid reasons. 

“Oh (y/n), it’s so good to finally meet you dear! Come inside now!” You were welcomed by Molly herself, engulfing you in a tight and warm hug.  You smiled, instantly relieved that Molly liked you enough to hug you.

“I’ve heard so many things about you.” she said maintaining a bright smile. 

“And I’ve heard that you heard many things, all good I hope.” you said.

“Only the best.” she said swiping your cheek then turning to lead you deeper into the house. You walked in, and your eyes couldn’t help put to move left and right. 

“(Y/n)!” You then saw Ginny appear, running as fast as she could down the stairs, then jumping and hugging you just like her mother did. You both squealed in excitement. 

“Hey idiots! Your favourite person is here!” Ginny yelled calling for the twins. 

“Ginny!” scolded Molly with her arms crossed. You giggled. You watched as the two tall figures stepped down to where you were.

“Well look who it is.” George said smirking and leaning in for a hug. Once you pulled away, you saw Fred, but you couldn’t help but notice something was weird about him.

“Hi.” he said curtly, but with a small smile. 

“Hey...?” you greeted, letting your confusion be slightly present. He also went in for a hug, though it was a lot lighter than the ones you’ve received so far.

“Do you want any food?” asked Fred. 

“Um sure.” you shrugged. You thought it was a little strange that Fred was being so ‘nice’ to you. I mean, like George said, would a gazelle let itself stand in the open and offer food for a predator? But you decided to brush the thought off, besides, you really ought to get that dumb story out of your head.

The first evening with the Weasley’s went well. You were able to meet the rest of the family as well as Harry and Hermione which you realized later that they were here. Molly’s cooking was delicious, and you were glad to be apart of the holiday gathering. You were glad that everyone was willing to welcome you, despite being new to the burrow. 

It wasn’t until a couple hours after dinner, when it was late and you spotted Fred and George sitting on the couch, fiddling with what you expected was some of their future joke shop products.

“Hey.” you said heading over to sit with them. George smiled, then quickly jumped up to leave.

“I gotta go to the bathroom. See ya!” he said a bit too joyfully. I mean- tis the season, but one could not be that excited to go to the bathroom. You then scooched closer to Fred, and he noticed with a small grin. 

“Hey you.” he said bringing his lanky arm to wrap around you and bring you even closer. You blushed at the extremely close proximity between you two, but if you were being honest, you didn’t mind one bit. This was secretly what you wanted, right?

You remembered the day you asked Fred to the yule ball quite clearly. After that incident, he was a huge ball of chaos and energy. You remember him skipping down halls, and how you had to chase him to shut up when he started the gazelle story.

And when the night of the ball finally arrived, you were a big bundle of nerves- and Fred was being a cocky little shit as usual... but aside from that, there were things he did that made you have the most fun you’ve ever had in your life. You didn’t forget how much he made you laugh and smile that night. 

And now, you let the thought of his silence creep over again. He spoke and cracked jokes during dinner, but he was still quieter than you’ve experienced. You sat in the same silence as he seemed to be fixing a product.

“Fred...?” you said looking at him, a little surprised that your faces were closer than you expected. 

“Hm?” 

“Uh, are you okay?” you asked. You tried to ask it in the most subtle way possible. He only looked at you with an unreadable expression. The weirdest thing being that he had no witty comeback, or any line to start your typical banter. 

“Yeah.” he said giving a closed mouthed smile again, then looking back at the joke products. Jeez, why did boys have to be so hard to read? To you at least. 

“I just, ‘m surprised you accepted when George invited you here.” he muttered, but you heard it loud and clear. 

“And why would you be surprised?” You didn’t know what to feel. His head pointed downwards- suddenly this moment felt really familiar. You were a bit skeptical if you were being truthful. After a long pause, he suddenly chuckled awkwardly to himself and sat up, leaned back until his head was tilted back on the top edge of the couch.

“I’m mad for you.” he said shifting himself so that his head was still tilted back but facing you. All your jumbling thoughts couldn’t force itself out of your mouth. You just sat there, your eyes bulging out of your head, and mouth in an o shape.

“W-what?” you managed to say. Now you were very very skeptical of what was to happen. You do not want to be tricked by him again, and leave you a blushing mess. 

“I’m mad for you- do you need me to spell it out?” he asked. With the dim lighting you couldn’t see the slight flush of red on his cheeks. He brought his hand to cover his eyes, still showing his lips which were curved up in a flustered smile. 

“I- are you being serious?” you asked in confirmation. 

“Am I- yes I am (y/n), I’m mad for you. I said it three times, now you gotta believe me.” he said taking away the hand covering his face. You didn’t even try to hide the pink tinting your face. You shook your head, not knowing what to say.

“You still don’t believe me do you.” he deadpanned. You didn’t answer to that. He chuckled, already knowing your answer. In one swift motion, he cupped your cheek with his hand and brought you in closer for a kiss. You closed your eyes as his lips pressed against and moved in sync with yours. 

You moved so that you were able to put both your hands on his shoulders to bring him closer. You could feel the hum from his lips when he heard you let out a little noise. Both of you were speechless blushing messes once you pulled away with the ‘smooch’ sound.

“Believe me now?” he said in almost a whisper. You nodded frantically, earning a smirk from Fred, as well as a beckoning gesture to ask you to cuddle next to him. You followed, snuggling up to his side, resting your head on his shoulder.

...

“I always knew you had a heart in you.” 

...

“Excuse me?” 

You tried burying your head further inwards, as you attempted to stifle your giggles about to erupt. Yes, you really did just pull that card on Fred Weasley.

“What did you just say?” asked Fred ducking his head to your level, trying to get a glimpse of what he hoped did not just come out of your mouth. 

“Nothing!”

“You did not say nothing, princess.” he said trying to pry your hands clutching your face as you finally gave in and let out your laughter. You made the split second decision to bolt out of the living room and into the dining room to run away. Fred of course had no problem running after you. 

You were both giggly as heck as you both circled the dining table, which happened to be the only thing protecting you.

“Take it back!’

“No!”

And once you said that, he made a dash for the tight corner and was able to capture you from behind. You squirmed with your legs kicking out as he held you tightly and swung you in a circle.

“Take it back!” he said in your ear.

“I won’t! This is what you get Weasley.” 

“What I get? For what?”

“For...-” You realized then that if you said the reason, he would know that he was the reason you got flustered in the first place.

“What? Am I too handsome for you?” he asked as he placed you down, but still pinned you to the counter. 

“In your dreams!”

“And in real life too.” 

“Ugh, you’re so annoying.” you huffed crossing your arms. However, your attempt at trying not to smile failed horribly when you turned your head away from him.

“That means I won, princess.” he said smirking and tilting your head back to face him.

“Oh shut up Fred, you-”

“Make me shut up-”

“Whoa whoa whoa!” You and Fred both jumped when you saw George and Ginny intrude. And worse, when you were both getting riled up at each other. 

“There will be no ‘make me shut up’ in this house.” said George mockingly as Ginny stood next to him laughing. You deadpanned at Ginny clearly not helping the situation.

“You’re not going to encourage them? It’s about time.” said Ginny.

“Gin, if you knew me, you’d know that I’m not even surprised.” replied George sarcastically.

“Oh sod off, both of you. Bein’ two creeps.” said Fred shooing them away. George and Ginny gave each other a knowing look and did as told. Fred then immediately turned back to focusing on you.

“So, what were you thinking on making me shut up?”

[robininthelabyrinth]

Fic prompt: lxc pretends to be lwj. For a day? To fool... somebody? For fun?

…just run away.

Lan Xichen was not often given to bad moods. On the contrary, he had always been praised for having a sunny outlook and a pleasant demeanor, and it had become something he prided himself on. He preferred to greet people with a smile; even when he was insulted, he preferred to let it roll off his back, knowing it would never harm him. It was very hard for mere words to affect him – to get under his skin.

Unfortunately, irritating words appeared to be the one area in which Nie Huaisang excelled.

Nie Huaisang had come to Gusu for help with a problem at the most inconvenient moment, sobbing his heart as he always did, and Lan Xichen had had to send a letter to Jin Guangyao explaining that he would likely be unable to make their appointment as a result. It had been especially annoying because he’d hoped to use the opportunity to give Jin Guangyao a book for his birthday, which Lan Xichen would be forced to miss the date this year due to certain responsibilities at his sect; he’d mentioned in his letter that he would ask Lan Wangji, now more than a year out of his ‘seclusion’, to bring the book instead.

He hadn’t expected Lan Wangji to refuse outright to even consider going to Lanling.

Still, none of that was enough to seriously bring him down, and his mood cheered up even more when he realized that Nie Huaisang’s problem, which had been held out as the sort of sobbing, gasping, threatening to die type of problem, was in fact easily solved. That in turn meant that, if he hurried, he would likely be able to make to his appointment with Jin Guangyao – a few shichen late, yes, but it was better than not going at all.

He’d just been finishing up tea with Nie Huaisang, thinking happily about what a surprise his unexpected appearance would be for his sworn brother, when Nie Huaisang had said –

That.

Lan Xichen didn’t even remember how the conversation had gotten to that point, only that Nie Huaisang had been laughing, face bright and happy, when he’d said it.

“I wish I was more like er-ge, not concerned of what other people think; I take you as my role model! It would be so much nicer to think that whenever I encountered any serious problems, I would just run away!”

Just run away.

The words were like a thorn under his skin.

“What makes you say that?” he’d asked, fighting and failing to maintain his smile, not that Nie Huaisang noticed.

“Well, isn’t that what you always do?” Nie Huaisang asked, his eyes wide and innocent; he was still a child, even after years of sitting in the sect master’s seat. “You ran away after the Cloud Recesses to save the books, you ran from one place to another during the war, you ran away when da-ge died –”

Nie Huaisang had been sitting in Nie Mingjue’s favorite place, wearing clothing that looked just like Nie Mingjue’s, drinking from the tea cup that Nie Mingjue had liked, and he’d said that.

Lan Xichen had gone to get help, to find medicine, to do something. He hadn’t run away.

It wasn’t – it wasn’t running, during the war. He’d been a courier, taking news from one place to another; the Lan sect had been rallied to war very effectively by Lan Wangji, and he hadn’t wanted to step on his brother’s glory. It had been useful, necessary…

He had run away when the Cloud Recesses burned, though. He hadn’t wanted to, but his uncle had begged him to prioritize the saving of their sect’s most fundamental treasures.

Maybe that’s why it bothered him so much.

Nie Huaisang had moved on shortly thereafter, nattering about his birds; he hadn’t even noticed how effectively his words had stabbed Lan Xichen – but that was Nie Huaisang in a nutshell, wasn’t it?

Lan Xichen had taken his leave shortly thereafter and headed to Lanling, but it was still bothering him.

He kept going back to it, turning it over and over again in his mind, indignation warring with guilt; as a result, he wasn’t smiling the way he typically did when he landed at the entrance to Koi Tower.

It was also why he didn’t notice at first that people had started calling out “Lan-er-gongzi” to him instead of addressing him as Sect Leader Lan or Zewu-jun, just absent-mindedly nodding at them as he swept past the gateway and headed inside on paths he knew well.

He was already halfway to his destination when he realized – they thought he was Lan Wangji.

Lan Wangji, who’d already developed a reputation for having, and this was a direct quote Lan Xichen had overheard, “a bitter facial expression that made him look as though his wife had passed away.”

(Lan Xichen hadn’t liked hearing that. It was all the worse because it was true.)

It wasn’t actually funny – Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji looked alike, yes, but not that much – but at this point Lan Xichen was so desperate to think of something other than Nie Huaisang’s irritating words (just run away) that he seized on it at once, deliberately arranging his face in something a little like Lan Wangji’s cold-faced glare.

It was childish of him, of course. But wouldn’t it be even more of a surprise for Jin Guangyao, to come in with a resigned polite expression (he’d never understood why Lan Wangji so disliked him) and then to find the person he’d actually hoped to see? It would make him smile, and Lan Xichen could give him the book in person and apologize yet again for missing his birthday…

Yes, it would be perfect. Jin Guangyao’s joy would be the ideal balm for Lan Xichen’s unexpectedly hurt feelings.

Lan Xichen felt positively mischievous, even a little wicked. He hadn’t played a prank on anyone in years, certainly before the war started –

(Just run away.)

He wasn’t going to think about that.

Lan Xichen made it to the Fragrant Palace – it had been years now that it belonged to Jin Guangyao, since he had taken the place of sect leader, and yet it still seemed as though it were his ‘new’ quarters – and nodded to one of the door guards, announcing, “I will wait for Lianfeng-zun inside,” in a way he would never have done if he weren’t pretending to be Lan Wangji.

Of course, once inside, he found himself with a dilemma: the Fragrant Palace was a classic building, full of servants and Jin sect cultivators, any one of which could catch Lan Xichen in an unguarded moment and ruin the whole surprise. If only there was a better place to hide…

The bronze mirror in the corner caught Lan Xichen’s eye and he pressed his lips together to hide his amusement. He couldn’t do that.

Hiding in another sect leader’s treasure room would be offensive, after all, a trespass – though Jin Guangyao was always saying that Lan Xichen was welcome anywhere he was. And he could do it; after all, it had been he himself who had taught Jin Guangyao the trick of how to enter…no, he shouldn’t.

A high-pitched voice travelled through the hallway, and Lan Xichen abruptly remember that Jin Guangyao wasn’t the only person with free access to the Fragrant Palace – his wife, Qin Su, was equally the mistress here, and worst of all it seemed like she was heading straight towards the room he was in.

(It wasn’t that Lan Xichen didn’t like Qin Su – it was that she didn’t like him, her smile fading a little every time she saw him. He couldn’t hold it against her: it had been to Lan Xichen that Jin Guangyao had turned for comfort after the death of their child, not his wife, and Lan Xichen had indulged his sworn brother in his grief when he should have reminded him not to leave his wife to grieve alone. Lan Xichen was a painful reminder of that painful time, now, and he couldn’t blame her for not wanting to see him.)

Jin Guangyao would understand and forgive a small trespass, Lan Xichen decided. It would be easier to explain a little thing like that than to have deal with the fallout of making Qin Su cry again.

The mirror worked the way it always did, and he stepped through –

There was a blank period in Lan Xichen’s memories after that.

It was as if his brain had simply stopped working, refusing to accept the evidence his eyes were presenting him with. The sight filling his eyes, the smell filling his nose even through the scented incense that filled the treasure room, the feeling in his fingers as he lifted them to touch the cheek he remembered so well –

By the time the haze that had fallen upon him had lifted, Lan Xichen was far away from Lanling.

He wasn’t sure where he was – he vaguely recalled, as if remembering the actions of another person, that he had staggered out of the treasure room and gone to the window, leaping onto Shuoyue and flying straight out of Lanling in violation of all prohibitions on using a sword within city limits.

He hadn’t had a direction to his chaotic flight, he’d only been desperate to –

To run away.

I’ll do what er-ge does, and just run away – isn’t that what you always do?

He was still clutching Nie Mingjue’s head in his arms.

His da-ge, his friend – he should have been buried safely in Qinghe. Under Nie Huaisang’s lax supervision, yes, but still, he should be there. Not – not in pieces.

Not in Lanling, like some sort of sick trophy.

Trophy.

A-Yao, his A-Yao, he’d – was it just grave-robbing? Some sort of perverse triumph over Nie Mingjue, who had only ever wanted the best for him even if he were not very good at showing it? After all, Nie Mingjue had died of a qi deviation, in public, there could be no question…

He’d died in Lanling.

He’d been speaking to Jin Guangyao before he died, and his final rage had been aimed at him, and –

And Jin Guangyao liked to keep trophies.

Lan Xichen had always known this, of course, but it had been little things: wanting to pin up a flag from a battle he’d helped win, keeping letters of old correspondences, things like that. Not – not like this.

Lan Xichen’s mind was rebelling against him.

His A-Yao – Nie Mingjue was his sworn brother. He couldn’t have –

He could.

It wasn’t like he didn’t know all the things Jin Guangyao had done, after all. It was only that he’d always believed that there was a reason behind them, some justification that made sense.

Just run away. Isn’t that what you always do?

Nie Huaisang’s innocent words had been right. Lan Xichen ran away: from the facts, from the truth. He blinded himself because he didn’t want to believe it.

He couldn’t run away this time.

Nie Mingjue’s head is in his arms, but Lan XIchen can feel the pulse of resentful energy already – his sworn brother had died a violent death, betrayed by someone he should have been able to trust; there was no soul-calming ritual in the world that would keep him from becoming a fierce ghost. The head was already straining in his arms, as if seeking to fly off, seeking –

The other pieces.

Nie Mingjue’s soul was still there, divided into pieces and bound; Lan Xichen recognized the horrific array that had been painted on him. It was vile, ghastly, an abomination.

It called for an answer.

No, there would be no running away this time.

At least Jin Guangyao would have no choice but to confront Lan Xichen this time, now that he knew that Lan Xichen knew –

Lan Xichen’s entire body gave a sudden start, and a chill filled his heart.

He didn’t know.

Jin Guangyao – Lan Xichen had been pretending to be Lan Wangji, hadn’t he? He’d hidden Shuoyue’s hilt, he’d mimicked his brother’s expression, he’d wanted to give Jin Guangyao a surprise…

Jin Guangyao, who Lan Wangji had never liked and who had never especially liked Lan Wangji in turn, would have no reason to think Lan Xichen knew.

He would think Lan Wangji knew.

And after all, they had comforted each other over the death of one brother – why not another?

Lan Xichen had put Lan Wangji into terrible danger.

He had to find his brother.

He had to find him right now.

[petri808]

Hauntober prompt Vampires

Nalu requested by @mccnfairy

“You guys are leaving already?” Natsu questions the group of girls as they get ready to leave his Halloween house party.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be back later.” Lucy pats the man on the cheek. “There’s just one more place we wanted to check out tonight.”

“Oh, okay cool! Just be safe out there, lots of creeps out tonight.”

“We will,” this time it’s Levy who responds with a giggle. “Besides, we have an Erza. Pity the fool who dares to harass us.”

It had really been a silly idea, but why not have a little spooky adventure this All Hallows’ Eve. The friends, Lucy Heartfilia, Levy McGarden, Erza Scarlet, and Cana Alberona had heard about this abandoned old mansion at the edge of town that was supposedly haunted. According to Levy’s research, the structure dated back to the days of the Civil War and may have been owned by a plantation owner killed by his slaves in revolt. Of course, there was no way to confirm it because town records seemed sparse or missing from those years and most of it became folk tales passed down through the generations.

At one point a haunted house attraction was actually run inside the building, but as of the last six years or so, it had been left vacant with only a fading ‘For Sale’ sign outside its massive iron gates. Until recently, that is. Someone has actually bought the property and according to the large sign out front it would be demolished in three weeks to make way for a new apartment complex. Hence the girl’s temptation to check it out before that happens.

“Be careful,” Erza warns the group. “We don’t know how structurally sound this place is.”

The four girls armed with flashlights slowly make their way into the creepy building. Every hair on the back of Lucy’s neck stands up as soon as she enters; she shivers. This was such a bad idea...

Wham!

The front door slams shut behind them causing everyone to jump and scream.

“I-It’s just the wind,” Erza reasons. “Just stay close everyone.”

All the nervous energy made the sounds around them seem heightened. Every creek of a floor board or scuttling of creatures through the debris. Broken windows allowed wind to funnel through creating eerie drafts to tickle their skin and the groans of the building were like fodder for a horror movie. But they pressed on, determined to explore.

‘There’s no such thing as ghosts,’ Lucy reminds herself. It’s all just made up stories to keep kids in line. She had no reason to believe that supernatural creatures existed.

“Look at all this stuff left behind,” Cana remarks as they pass through what used to be a kitchen. “It’s all the haunted house props.”

Even in the dark they could see fake blood splattered or holes cut in the walls for actors to pop their heads through. Rubber body parts, broken skeletons, old looking medical equipment, basically every cliche thing you could think of. Different props for different themes.

One by one they make their way through the first floor of the house. It was such a huge place. Sitting rooms, pantry’s, a game room, bathrooms, dining hall, a living room, and that’s just the first floor! A grand staircase took you to the second floor which had one long hall way leading to all the bedrooms, then further to a second staircase that took you to the third floor servants quarters and attic.

By the time the girls had made it to the second floor, their guards had been somewhat lowered. Despite the creepiness of the old building, there was nothing really paranormal to scare them. Lucy began to trail behind out of curiosity, stopping at each bedroom to take a better look inside. Some of the rooms still held old furnishings from a bygone era. Large postered beds and ornate dressers or armoires, oil lamps, and old ripped paintings on walls. She could imagine how grand this home must have looked in its hay day.

But when Lucy steps out of the room she was in, the sudden realization that she was alone fuels a wave of goosebumps to ripple along her arms. “G-Guys?!” She couldn’t even hear any of her friends voices. Oh no! Where’d they go? Upstairs? Back down stairs?! The house was as still as death, no more creeks and groans, just the empty darkness beyond the beam of her flashlight or moon glow filtering through the windows.

She books it back downstairs to the front door as the safest alternative. Eventually her friends had to leave, so she’ll just wait there patiently for them. While she waits, Lucy turns on her phone to distract herself from the silence. It was Halloween after all, and social media was flooded with photos of parties and trick or treaters.

A soft shuttling sound causes Lucy to stiffen up. ‘It’s just a mouse, it’s just a mouse, it’s just a—’

Measured thuds, boots over wooden floors in her direction! Wait! None of them were wearing boots! Lucy spins around with her flashlight gripped tightly in her hand. “W-Who’s there!” She gasps as the beam hits a human chest not three feet from her. “Natsu?! What are you doing here?!” But he was dressed differently. His hair was slicked down, wearing an old style black suit and shoulder cape like the dapper dons of the 1800s.

“Why, I live here, that’s why,” he grins wide, his pearly fangs catching the beam of her flashlight.

Was his fangs longer than she remembered? “What are you talking about?! We just came from your house.”

“Oh, that’s just one of my other homes. This,” he motions with his arms, “is where I lived centuries ago. You see I have to maintain a sense of normalcy to blend in.”

“Haha,” Lucy’s hands fall to her hips. “Very funny mister class clown. You’re just messing with me.”

He strides over without hesitation and grips her chin between two fingers, lifting it to meet her eyes. “Am I now?” His eyes grow hooded, amorous as his lips hover centimeters above her own. “It was I who started the rumors to peak humans curiosity. An easy way to lure victims for me to feed on.”

Lucy’s breathing slows and falters at the seriousness of his tone. This was nothing like the silly jokester they’d come to know and love! “Oh my god,” she breathes out. Her fear response screaming in her head but her body was frozen in place.

“There’s no god here tonight,” Natsu utters, then quick as a flash bites Lucy’s neck.

She screams with bloody intent as her heart pounds and pulse drowns out all sound, mind latching on the pain... that wasn’t there?! What the?!

Just as quickly as he’d bitten her, Natsu pulls away from the stunned woman, holding his stomach from laughter as she frantically checks her neck. “I so got you good!”

“What?!” Lucy screams and launches herself at him, pounding her fists against his chest. “You scared me on purpose?!”

He only laughs harder from her weaker strikes. “One of the guys overheard your plans and it was too tempting not to. I-I didn’t know which would end up the victim, but you came out first.”

“Omg so mean Natsu! You really scared me!”

When he focuses away from the amusement and realizes the true panic still left in the girls clouded eyes, Natsu felt a prick in his heart. Crap, maybe he’d gone a little too far this time. “Shit, I’m sorry Lucy, it was just a joke.”

She crossed her arms with a frown. “Well it wasn’t funny!”

At that point, more thuds coming streaming down the staircase. “What’s going on?!” They hear Erzas voice asking as the rest of the girls make it the first floor. “We heard a scream from the third floor and came rushing down.”

“Just a stupid joker,” Lucy points at Natsu. “He even fake bit me!”

“Wait, what?” Erza steps forward as Cana and Levy hold their breaths. “Natsu, you did what?!”

He pulls the fake vampire teeth out of his mouth and holds it up, “it was just, I was only teasing. Come on, it’s a Halloween prank.” When he sees Erzas eye brow raise, he holds up his hands. “Truce? I’m sorry!”

“Tch, you better be,” Lucy spits back. “Better make it up to me somehow.”

“I’ll do anything.”

“Take her out on a date!” Cana blurts out.

“Dinner and a movie!” Adds Levy.

Lucy squeaks in blushing embarrassment. “W-Wait! Hold up, that’s not what...”

“Pfft, I’ve been dying to do that since freshman year!” Natsu laughs and clasps his hands together in hope. “Whatdya say Lucy? I promise I won’t bite this time.”

With the other woman applying pressure through looks and hand gestures. Lucy groans and rolls her eyes. “Why do I feel like this was all a set up?!”

He pouts and gives her a puppy dog expression. “Is that a yes, or no?”

“Oh ya damn goof, I’ll go out with you, but yes! If you bite me this time I’ll return the favor!”

“Promise?”

[readerinsertfanfiction]

Nemo, I would like to request a Faun!Keiji from you. What you want to write with it I will leave up to you as long as it's not angsty ^^ I hope this is gonna be fun. Love ya and thanks *heart emoji*

Oooh, Faun!Keiji, that actually suits him so stupidly well. Or what I have come to know about this dude. 

No angst for Mama! 💖💖💖

Fandom: Ikemen Sengoku

Character: Keiji Maeda

Prompt: Fantasy AU!

A/N: I tried a new style here, a mixture of an unreliable narrator in the first pov and what I tried before with the God!Shingen story. Enjoy! 

Where there are old things there are stories to tell, the imagining of the youth of a tree that was struck by lightning and thought to be dead only to grow branches once more, or what of one bearing fruits in strange forms? Even by giving an object a name it is enough to give power to the tales shared and to be immortalised through tell from old to young. This story is no different, what with the belief that once the legends lived amongst us, only to be forgotten.

Let this be a cautionary tale, that not all are what it may seem. I was a mere child when it happened and even then I’m not sure what had happened and if it had been real. After all, the imagination of a child is a wild one and their fantasies endless. This doesn’t change much when one is a writer, for the borders between reality and fantasy seem to blur, just as their sources of inspiration come from the littlest things. Alas, let me continue my story of how I met a certain faun.

A faun, yes. To get to the point. Half man, half a goat. Mischievous creatures, truly, but captivating and charming despite the hairy stocky legs on which they stand upon. I’m quite undecided whether it is the music following them, or them following the music that makes them so amicable to the crowd, but that’s all I seem to remember clearly. The music that they played and they joined and danced to. And that is another thing about an artisan, for musicians are the same as authors, just as artists tend to be; alive in their heads and their dreams without a distinction of their own reality or where it starts and blurs.

It was this music that the young me heard one sunny day in which I found myself lost in the forest desperate to look for some twigs to burn in the fire. The adults often told us not to wander off too deeply into the treacherous dense tree mass, but when the days are pleasant and the berries numerous and the village dull, one seems to have an affinity for finding trouble. Added to it was the pleasant tune so cheerfully played that it could not be anything else but a little party and one quickly forgets caution in exchange for excitement.

Now quickly, just to add, I was not alone, certainly not. We children are always braver in a group, just like adults tend to be at their worst together. Just like you dear spectator, we are not much different despite our ages apart after all. But if you ask any of the cowards I called friends then today they would deny it. They will speak of a wandering vagabond who happened to play us a pretty tune instead, but they have not seen the hooves as I have. Yes, hooves in place of feet, how curious, isn’t?

So the day was sunny, with the berries sprouting freshly on the bushes we passed as we were gathering firewood in the forest and there he sat. A handsome lad near that big old tree we have today, but back then it was still a young sapling amongst many. Panflute in hands and a pretty tune to follow out of it. Captivating, trance-like for we couldn’t help but feel ourselves pulled by the sound and gather around the lad and it was only when we gathered around him that he stopped playing, as if he wanted us to be around.

Now, children, please remember that if a stranger in the forest ever asks you a question you’re best off not answering it with the truth. These mischievous creatures have a way around words and turning it against you. Don’t make promises and never give your name, or ask them for a favour or even express gratitude, for a debt to one of these creatures is a debt to the forest.

“What are you doing?” I asked, fairly innocent still and suspecting nothing yet.

“Growing the tree,” the faun had answered, now still a man in our eyes, for they have a way of hiding their legs, or at least to distract us from them. His answer most certainly did, for who had heard of growing a tree through song? Isn’t it always through the sun and water? We asked him that as well, but he refused to answer, perhaps because he knew that it involved a secret of nature and one does not share those secrets openly with strangers. Not when they use the trees to burn their fires and build their houses with. Not when whole forests disappear just like this disappeared leaving only this special tree underneath which I tell you the story.

Of course we were quite confused by this stranger. He had strange manners and sang foreign songs, but they captivated us, pulled us in. For little village children for whom the world was no larger than the borders of the village and some trees into the forest we didn’t know better than that to be our world. But the faun he had travelled and through song he would tell us. At first out of free will, giving us a sample of the dozens of stories he had to tell. For one must understand that for all their mischief these creatures are unable to lie. Later on, it came with little favours. Pieces of bread, some paper, new strings for his lute and eventually…

“How do we go on the same adventures as you?” We had asked him this to which the faun only had one answer:

“Follow me.”

And so we did. Or at least, the bravest of us did as some made excuses stating that our parents wouldn’t like that. Others had other reasons. Such as chores undone, or promises made to visit grandparents and the likes. He allowed those to leave, for the faun valued such obligations above anything else.

“If you want to see the world you will have to step out. If you want more you can live like me, just come out and join!”

In hindsight the trick is always obvious. But we didn’t know the rules of the game yet, or how these creatures tricked us into promises we could not get out of. None of us children realised other than that we knew we were bored of our little village and longed for an adventure outside. You can imagine what answer came from that boredom and what consequences there were.

With another song he led us away and on that we went on our greatest adventure. I met the elves, who are even trickier and may steal your name, but our faun protected us well from them. Though he did allow us some elvenbread. For it is said that elvenbread increases the lifespan so greatly you may be mistaken as immortal. It is the secret of their long lives and as children we wished for our days to extend forever. But there was another secret to the bread and the faun made us promise never to break that vow.

And there were also fairies who will hold onto a grudge for longer than a human lifetime if you don’t treat them or their flowers well. Remember, always be kind to flowers even when they’re not blooming, for there is something tending to them, just like the fruits they bear, or the dragonflies we see on the water on a hot summer day. Our faun protected us once more from these creatures, teaching us how to be kind to all what surrounds us and how song could help grow a sapling into a sturdy tree. By the time we were done exploring and had to return home it felt like decades had passed, though our hearts remained the same.

The adults said so as well when they finally managed to wake us up underneath this tree that had moved on from the sapling it started to be. Our appearances were still youthful, as if no day had passed and the faun had disappeared, but our souls had grown richer and more knowledgeable with all these wonders still lingering in our minds like a beautiful dream. And a dream it was indeed, for soon after many of us started to forget, thinking that it was indeed just a dream we happened to share. And the older we got the more we forgot. We forgot how to be kind, we forgot the elvenbread we had shared, we even cut down the trees that gave us shelter in our youths making room for more of us. We had forgotten what it was like to dream and to imagine and to maintain our youth.

The silence that fell after the story was an awkward one, the children staring at the now ancient tree rather uncomfortably before turning their eyes at the storyteller. “So, how old is this tree? And how old does that make you?”

You laugh at the honest question posed, looking up at the tree towering over you as you shrug. “Lost count, I suppose,” was your answer and none could make out if that was a joke, or the truth.

“And what happened to the faun, and the fairies and the elves?” This question was expected and once more you smiled as you looked up at the crown of the tree, lush and green, offering shelter and shade on this hot sunny day.

“Wandering around, growing trees,” you smiled widely at the unsatisfied faces of the children before you pushed yourself up, a deep breath escaping you, the simple move not so simple anymore as you gestured for one of the children to help you up. “I suppose,” you grunted, “he is still looking for some children to share the elvenbread with.”

With another wink you’re finally on your legs, the cane helping you along as a third leg to support yourself as you move on, ignoring the numerous questions the children had for you. If you remained to answer all, you would indeed stay underneath the tree for another eternity.

“A handsome young lad? Really?” a mischievous voice comes for you, and you chuckle at the flamboyant presence nearing into you, offering an arm in support. Red wild hair and a sunny smile beamed at you in a familiar way you had never forgotten, just like promised.

“Why so? I’m only faithfully relaying the account of my youth and what I perceived to be true,” came your answer as you leaned against the extended arm, grateful for the steady support it gave you.

“Ah, and I imagine that there is no bias involved?” Another tease and you pinch the arm you hold, earning a yelp from the man that had come to pick you up and return you to your little hut, the morning soon to be over just as story time had come to an end in the village.

“Most certainly, only a truth for I quite like what I see now as well.” This earned a blush from the man, who for some reason was not as accustomed to the compliments of man even after all these years.

“Will you tell us another story tomorrow?” one of the children piped up, catching up to the two of you with curious eyes and excitement written on their faces. You could only nod, glad for their enthusiasm as you pointed at the tree behind.

“Same place, same time?” you rang the question that had been asked of you all these years before and that satisfied them, little fists bumping into the air as they ran off in a flurry of giggles. Only one remained, a pensive young child that didn’t seem quite satisfied, but perhaps just a little too shy to ask what they wanted.

“Yes?” you encouraged them and the child looks down at the ground, their eyes roaming over the soil as if the answer could be found there.

“What’s the faun’s name?” they finally ask and your smile grows wider as you shake your head.

“That I cannot tell, you will have to ask him yourself.” Your answer was as mysterious as it was suggestive, a twinkle in your eye as you continued your way, leaving the child alone who stared after you and your chaperone in confusion.

Had the child paid attention to the footprints instead they would have noticed that there was only one pair of human feet, the other being hooves instead.

[iturbide]

If you don't mind multiples can I please ask for Brady and Phoenix Wright? And if I recall you have not played much Binding Blade, but if you feel comfortable enough with the character to answer, Idunn please?

Of course I don’t mind multiples also excellent choices

How do I feel about this character? 

BABY BOY.  I love Brady so much with his scary face and intimidating scar as the rough exterior over an incredibly soft heart and boundless compassion.  I love how gentle and kindhearted he is, I love how he talks like an absolute gangster but wants to use the violin to express how he really feels, and I love that he gets teary over the small miracles in the world like flowers growing in difficult places.  He’s a delight and deserves to be popular with the ladies.

Who do I ship this character with romantically? 

Nobody, really!  I don’t have any real romantic ships for the second gen Awakening characters -- usually I joke that I ship them with happiness, because it’s what they deserve after everything they’ve suffered through.  Just so long as he’s in good company with people who appreciate him for who he is, I’m happy for him.

Who is my brOTP for this character? 

OWAIN.  But honestly Owain is my answer for any and all second gen brOTPs because Owain is great.  The fact that he appreciates Brady as he ought is just icing on the cake.  I also really love him and Yarne, especially for him actually helping the scaredy bun to toughen up (and undoubtedly offering healing support so that Yarne doesn’t go extinct).

What’s my Unpopular Opinion™ about this character? 

Brady is underappreciated and it’s a crime.  He’s so good but he’s one of those characters that gets passed over for kids like Inigo (who has predatory tendencies and is also a huge jerk in multiple supports) and Severa (who is manipulative bordering on abusive and also a huge jerk in most of her supports).  I legitimately do not understand why people don’t appreciated the soft-hearted gangster so I will instead love him that much more because they won’t (which is why I got him to +10 in Heroes).

What’s one thing I wish would have happened with this character in canon? 

I really, really wish that he’d gotten a chance to play his violin for his mother in their support chain.  I know that in his chain with his father she tricks him into playing it, but I really think it would have been incredibly poignant if Brady had traded all those attempts at learning Maribelle’s hoity-toity speech and just played from the heart, something so profoundly touching that she came to realize it’s not the words that are important.  Yes, their supports are funny, but...I really would have liked something more heartwarming for them.

How do I feel about this character?

I love Phoenix Wright so much.  I love his snark, I love his improv, I love how he literally rolls with everything no matter how ridiculous even if he does kick himself mentally when he does.  The man interrogated a parrot on the stand, literally what is there not to love about him.

Who do I ship this character with romantically?

Miles Edgeworth.  That’s honestly it.  I do see him as bi and I do think that he loved Iris while she was pretending to be Dahlia, but that was a long time ago and they’ve both grown as people to the point where they can (and I think should) remain friends, just not romantic partners.  I have a major soft spot for him and Edgeworth though, it’s my hands-down favorite ship in the entire franchise (even though I put them through the wringer in fic).

Who is my brOTP for this character?

Does Maya count?  Because I absolutely see him and Maya being like siblings, with Phoenix as the long-suffering older brother and Maya as the occasionally obnoxious younger sister.  I can’t see their love for each other as anything other than familial, so them as a brOTP just makes sense to me.  Iris, too, if we want to get technical: their romance ended, but I like the idea of them being able to maintain a friendship.

What’s my Unpopular Opinion™ about this character?

He’s more of a realist than people give him credit for.  Fandom loves to joke about Phoenix being dumb or unobservant, but while he certainly can (and does) leap before he looks, he’s smart and his incredibly wry internal monologue heavily implies to me that he’s most often rolling with the punches rather than blundering blindly into them and reeling into success through luck alone.  He’s pretty savvy in my view, and it irritates me that fandom likes to play him as the eternal butt of the joke (since they also like to forget Larry exists -- apparently Phoenix is the one they substitute in for him).

What’s one thing I wish would have happened with this character in canon?

To be honest...I kind of wish the events leading into AA4 had never happened.  That timeline legitimately breaks my heart because I love Phoenix, and seeing him so broken -- even if it is in part an act to trick the one who set it all in motion -- is more than I can bear.  I really wish we could have just gone forward with Phoenix staying a defense attorney and succeeding, bringing Apollo on as a successor and teaching him in much the same way he learned from Mia, rather than piling yet more trauma onto a man who has never deserved it and who has already lived through too much of it after three games.  

And while it’s true that I haven’t played Binding Blade, I do still love Idunn in Heroes, so:

How do I feel about this character?

This sweet child did not deserve this and I am going to protect her at all costs.  Similar to Grima in how she suffered at the hands of others, only her abuse came from dragonkind first before humans sealed her and Zephiel turned her into a weapon to achieve his own ambitions -- only heartbreakingly they stripped her of her very soul, making her a shell of her true self.  So I love her, I want her to be safe and cherished, and I want to see her recover from all she’s gone through.

Who do I ship this character with romantically?

boy I’ve said this a lot tonight but no ships!  Idunn...well, first off she’s still trying to recover her personal autonomy, and second of all she got sealed very young and so has a lot of growing to do mentally once she does.  She’s not really a character I’m comfortable shipping at all until she’s gone through a significant amount of therapy, and since that needs to come first and foremost rather than setting some romance as an end goal (which would be creepy), I’m just not even thinking about it.

Who is my brOTP for this character?

FAE-FAE.  BEST TINY BABY SISTER A DRAGON COULD ASK FOR.  Fae seems like the perfect dragon sibling and I love the idea of them having a sweet sibling bond where "big” sister Fae is taking the lead while "little” sister Idunn follows her lead and learns from her.  Also the Grimas, as both guardian figures and fellow victims of heavy-handed cruelty; having their grounding influence for stability, especially when she slips in her recovery, would be very important, and the more of herself she gets back the more I think she would appreciate that unspoken concern.

What’s my Unpopular Opinion™ about this character?

are there any popular opinions about Idunn out there?  I don’t see her too much sadly but I’ll just go out on a limb and say that she enjoys flowers and all things colorful and still struggles with doing things on her own unless someone asks her to directly; deep down, she also really likes being taken care of, told stories, and taught new things like making simple crafts and flower crowns, because none of it is a real responsibility falling to her that she has to see through.  It’s just a quiet kind of relief that comes with such low-stakes activities.

What’s one thing I wish would have happened with this character in canon?

Probably the big thing is I wish canon would have given us more of a resolution for her.  You only have a chance to save her in what amounts to a secret ending in Binding Blade, and her fate remains pretty heavily in question from what I understand?  I wish canon had given us more.  Tell us if she recovered, and what she was like if she did.  Tell us what she ended up doing, whether she stayed with Fae in her village or left it at some point, or if they eventually left to travel the world together when Idunn started doing better.  Basically tell me that my dragon daughter ended up happy.

Give Me a Character

[jeremys-blogs]

Belos: What Does He Want?

Disney has a long history of great and memorable baddies, and with the Owl House they've given us one more to add to that list in the form of Emperor Belos, the mysterious despot of the Boiling Isles. The supreme figure of the witches who rules over them and their society with an iron fist. Throughout the first season we're told of him and his "big plans", but it wasn't until the emotionally devastating Agony of a Witch, near the season's end, where we finally saw him. And that, coupled with the actual season finale, definitely set him up as a force to be reckoned with. This is no joke villain like Yzma or Captain Hook, this is a guy that it would be most unwise to take lightly, and since our heroes have already gotten on his bad side it's likely we'll be seeing a lot of him when Owl House returns to us. But I'm not here to discuss the character, but rather his so-called big plans. Because thus far we have no concrete answers as to what Belos' endgame is or what he's trying to achieve. So today, I'm going to try and piece together what we know about his schemes and try to guess what it could be leading to.

To start off, let's just lay out what we know about Belos so far. He's been ruling the Boiling Isles for a long time (about fifty years) and established the coven system to prevent witches from mixing different types of magic. Additionally, he believes only he and those directly working for him have the right to use more than one school of magic, and that anyone who breaks away from this control he has is to be deemed an enemy of the state. He is a revered, if secretive figure in witch society with many speaking of him in a way that suggests less a leader and more a deity-like being. According to him, he is able to communicate with the Titan, the ancient corpse that makes up the Isles themselves, and that everything he has ever done has been by that creature's wishes, adding more than a touch of zealotry to his personality. And on top of everything else, we know that his plans involve getting hold of Eda's portal to the human realm, which he is at least partly successful at by the time the first season is over. Aside from that, and his clear mastery over magic, we know very little about him, though this is likely to change once the second season comes along.

Admittedly, this quick rundown of him tells us very little other than the fact that he's an incredibly powerful control freak. And as such trying to figure out his plan is going to be difficult. The one concrete thing we've been able to find out so far is that he needs the portal to the human world for some reason. And this opens up a rather interesting thing to consider. You see, at the start of the series it was established that every bizarre thing humans have in their culture is a result of something from the Boiling Isles crossing over into their world, such as griffons. And even entire species, like giraffes, can be banished there wholesale. This tells us that, at least at one point, travelling to the human world was something that used to happen a lot more frequently for the denizens of the Isles. But this has clearly changed, and it seems that Eda's portal may be the only door to Earth that's left to the witches. Because it's not unreasonable to assume that, if there were other portals out there, Belos would simply try to find them instead, rather than going for the one owned by someone famous for escaping his clutches for who knows how many years.

When I first heard that Belos was after the portal, my first suspicion, as well as the first suspicion of many in the audience I'm sure, was that his plans involved invading or conquering Earth. After all, this is a tyrant who wants to get to another world. Nine times out of ten that scenario always involved wanting to take over said world. Yet Belos outright stated in the finale that ruling Earth is "not part of the Titan's plans", indicating that he doesn't want ownership of the human realm. Now, this seemed to undermine my initial prediction of his goals, until I remembered that Belos has already shown himself to be a massive liar to others. Remember, he deceived Lilith and got her to capture Eda so he could get that portal, going back on his promise to heal her curse. So it's established rights away that he'll say anything to get what he wants. Because of this, I maintain that he pulled a similar move with Luz. Telling her he's not going to conquer Earth as simply some means of convincing her to part with the portal, only to then go back on that assurance once he actually got it. So as of this posting, I'm harbouring the belief that conquest is still on the table for him, even if he hasn't admitted to it.

However, for the sake of argument, let's just assume that what Belos said to Luz was true. Yes, I know that ascribing honesty to a dark overlord in a fantasy story is a tall order, but let's attempt it all the same. So, if we take his assurance that he's not planning to invade Earth at face value, we have to ask what other interest that world would have for him. And there was one moment in the season finale that gave me an idea of what might be happening. In Luz's brief fight with Lilith, the two stumbled back through the portal and onto Earth, and Luz attempted to use her glyphs against Lilith, only to find that they don't work. But Lilith's magic, by contrast, was successful. So we learn that Luz's brand of magic doesn't work in her own world, and only works in the Boiling Isles. This is the first time this information comes to us, and I can't believe that it's coincidence that we learn this at the same time we learn about Belos' desire for the portal. There is a chance, however small, that his plan to get to Earth is somehow connected to the fact that witch magic is the only kind of magic that works there.

I think it's also important to consider that this is a modern Disney cartoon that we're talking about, and as such it's entirely possible that we're going to get one of their more recent staples, that being the surprise reveal that causes us to question what we thought we knew about a character. And Owl House has already done this a couple of times, with characters like Amity and Lilith. Behaviour and actions that were shown as negative being revealed to have some other motive behind them that, once shown to the audience, caused those actions to be seen in a new light. Amity cut off her friendship to Willow, but it was shown that she did so in order to ensure the girl had a chance of getting into school. Lilith served the Emperor and hunted Eda down, but it was then shown that this was all in order to fix her greatest mistake and heal her sister. As criticized and maligned as the "twist reveal" has been in recent stories, Disney has already primed us for seeing Owl House as a show that gives us more to its antagonists than meets the eye, and there is no doubt in my mind that they might try to pull the same trick with Belos.

As for what that reveal might be, I have my suspicions, mostly from the fact that everything we've seen of Belos thus far has been, for lack of a better word, off. He's unlike any other witch we've seen in the show, both in his mannerism and, more importantly, in how his magic works. Owl House has been very good in establishing very strict rules for how magic goes in this world, and the one consistent rule is that, aside from Luz, witches need circles to perform it. Belos, by contrast, uses no circles, and seems to have a brand of magic all his own. And the way it seems to work just comes off as disturbing and unnatural, even when compared to some of the more unnerving imagery we've seen in the show. Additionally, his staff is unlike any other witches artefact seen so far, having more of a technological bent, rather than the wood and palismans we see in the likes of Eda or Lilith. Belos is someone out-of-step with every other witch of the Isles, and that's interesting because there's one other person in the show for whom the established rules of the Isles don't seem to apply, and that person is none other than central character Luz herself, whose differences in magic have all stemmed from her being a human, rather than a native witch.

Now, I'm sure a lot of you can already see where I'm going with this, and yes, my prediction here is that Belos will eventually be revealed to be a human who, like Luz, came over from Earth. Remember, travel between the two worlds is apparently old enough for numerous myths about creatures of the Isles to take root in the human world, and given how old those myths are, it seems unlikely that no human besides Luz has ever made the jump to the Isles before now. Also, consider that when we're given the true history of the Isles, as told by King at the start of the season finale, it makes no mention of Belos prior to his establishing of the covens and his ascension to Emperor status. As far as the Isles are concerned, the guy just came out of nowhere one day and immediately started having an influence on the place, which sounds an awful lot like Luz's own arrival. What I'm guessing here is that Belos is someone who started out much like Luz, and who went on something of a similar journey, learning about the Isles and its magic, but unlike her went in a wholly different direction, winding up as some sort of dark reflection of her and as a form of cautionary tale of what she herself might be if she stays there too long.

Imagine, for a moment, a young kid, over fifty years ago, perhaps no older than Luz. A boy who obsesses over fantasy and adventure stories, and whose interests have isolated him and made him something of an outcast among his friends and family. Then, one day, he happens upon one of the entrances to the Boiling Isles, and with his over-eager thirst for discovery, goes through. Here, finally, he has his escapism, a whole new world to explore and a fantasy epic he always dreamed of, but a dangerous and often horrific place where magic is unlike anything he'd ever expected. Though bewildered and taken in by such strange new sights, he eventually comes to a conclusion. This place is all wrong, and so is the magic. This isn't what he dreamed of when he imagined other worlds in his childhood. No, this world needs to change, and he, as the "heroic youth" from the ordinary world, is clearly destined to be the one to change it. So, he sets to it, learning all he can about this world and, more importantly, its magic. The work is long and difficult, but in the end his efforts bear fruit, and he emerges onto the scene as a powerful magic-wielder. He finally makes his presence known and, eschewing the identity of his original world, takes on a new name for himself; Belos.

Thus, Belos begins his efforts to reshape the Isles into his perfect vision, his perfect fantasy. It takes years, but finally, he manages it, becoming the undisputed ruler of all witches. Then, both to ensure that he is the only one of Earth to come here, and to ensure he can never go back to his ordinary life, he seeks out and destroys every portal to the human realm, succeeding at eliminating all but one, which will one day wind up in Eda's possession. Content that he has fulfilled his self-appointed destiny, he enjoys his position of lording over everyone else, even going so far as to use his unique human-based magic to prolong his life to experience this reality forever, making him less and less human as a result. But as the months lead into years, and the years lead into decades, his love of this new life begins to fade. And eventually, he realizes that he's made a terrible mistake. He sees the Isles not as an escape, but a prison he's made for himself. And so he devotes himself to a new cause, finding a way home. And this new plot eventually leads him to discover the final portal, Eda's portal, which he pursues relentlessly, until he finally gets his hands on it with his battle with Luz. But once again, he's denied his way out, with the portal engulfed in Luz's flames, causing him to have to try some other means of using it.

So, there's the theory. Belos is a human who travelled to the Boiling Isles and wanted the exact same things Luz did. Adventure, wanting to feel special, all of those things. But while Luz has managed to grow out of that, Belos didn't, and as a result he was twisted into a selfish tyrant who now wants to go to Earth for the exact reason he left it in the first place. Escapism, plain and simple. And he knows that human magic, his magic, won't work back on Earth, so his hope is that, once there, he can undo whatever he did to himself to make him the way that he is. His feeding on palismans? A way not to extend his life, but to alleviate the pain he feels from having already extended it himself. His day of unity? Not an attempt to unify witches, but to unite himself with his old life, and maybe whatever family he left behind. After all, it wouldn't be the first time Disney would have revealed the construction of a mysterious portal to really be an effort to reunite with lost loved ones. Taking the portal instead of asking for it to get home? Merely a result of spending decades of getting what he wants by force. Belos will, I think, be revealed to Luz as someone she herself might become, or could have become, had she not gone down the more selfless path she had walked by the time the first season was over. That's my speculation, but hey, I could just be totally wrong about it all. That'd be fine too 😅

[justforbooks]

The Lisa Hardware

Reporting on the technical specifications of a computer toward the end of an article is unusual for BYTE, but it emphasizes that the why of Lisa is more important than the what. For part of the market, at least, the Lisa computer will change the emphasis of microcomputing from “How much RAM does it have?” to “What can it do for me?” For example, it is almost misleading to say that the Lisa comes with one megabyte of RAM, even though the fact itself is true. That doesn’t mean that the Lisa is sixteen times better than machines that have 64K bytes of RAM. Nor does it necessarily mean that the Lisa can work on much larger data files than other computers; its application programs each take 200K to 300K bytes, which significantly reduces the memory available for data. It’s more instructive to say, for example, that the Lisa with one megabyte can hold a 100-row by 50-column spreadsheet (as its advertisements state). With this in mind, let’s take a look at the Lisa.

“Lisa” stands for Local Integrated Software Architecture, but it’s really just an excuse to retain Apple’s pet name for the project. The Lisa has a 68000 microprocessor, which is a true 16-bit microcomputer that has a 16-bit data bus, a 24-bit address bus (giving access to 16 megabytes of memory), and 32-bit-wide registers (all but the 16-bit status register). The 68000 in the Lisa runs at a frequency of 5 MHz. It can have up to 1 megabyte of memory with parity and comes standard with one megabyte (1024K bytes).

The video display is a 12-inch monochrome monitor (black and white, not tinted) with a resolution of 720 by 364 pixels. The interlaced image is refreshed at 60 Hz, which eliminates the possibility of eyestrain from subliminal flickering. The video display is completely generated by internal software, so the Lisa can use multiple character sizes and fonts without restriction. It also means that Apple is not restricted to any one style of video image; the designers can radically change the behavior of the system with a new release of software.

The Apple 871 disk drives design (called “twiggy drives” inside the company) are significantly different from conventional floppy-disk drives. Each one uses a 6504 microprocessor as a “smart” interface between it and the Lisa. The drives use special high-density, double-sided floppy disks that have two oval cutouts in the jacket (see photo below). These are essential because the two disk heads, in addition to being on opposite sides of the flat magnetic media, are not pointed at each other with the magnetic media between them, as is the case in all other double-sided floppy-disk drives. Instead, a pad presses the rotating magnetic media to the disk head on the opposite side of the media as is conventionally done with single-headed floppy disks.

Each formatted disk holds 860K bytes of information at a density of 62.5 tracks per inch; together the two drives (standard on the Lisa) hold 1.72 megabytes of data. Each drive also contains a mechanism that releases the disk for removal under program control, which prevents the user from removing a floppy disk prematurely. As with other Apple products, the floppy disks rotate only when the drives are reading or writing data, thus extending the lives of both the drives and the medium.

Apple has done several things to achieve its unusually high data density. The designers used an encoding scheme that keeps a constant data density of 10,000 bits per linear inch; this allows the outer floppy-disk tracks, which have a larger circumference, to store more data than the tracks nearest the center of the disk. In addition, the disk-access system software can move the disk heads in fractions of a track width to search for and find the middle of the track. That’s an important feature when you’re reading disks with small variations in track width.

In addition, the Lisa comes with one Profile (Apple’s 5-1/4-inch Winchester-type hard disk) to the Lisa through its parallel port. It adds 5 megabytes of magnetic storage to the Lisa system, and speeds up the overall operation of the system. Additional Profiles can be added via interface cards.

The Lisa computer is never really turned off. It stores “system preferences” (things like speaker volume and video contrast) and system-configuration information inside the computer. Even when it is turned “off,” it draws enough power to keep the clock/calendar and CMOS memory containing the above information working. When it’s unplugged (for example, when it’s being moved to another location), internal batteries preserve the clock/calendar status and CMOS memory for up to 20 hours.

The Lisa includes two programmable serial ports and one parallel port as well as three expansion-board slots, each of which connects directly to the system bus and has direct memory access (DMA) capabilities. Because none of these slots is filled in any “basic” configuration of the Lisa, they are available for future expansion (unlike the IBM Personal Computer’s five slots, most or all of which are used for much-needed video-display and memory cards). Other features include a built-in speaker and a real-time clock (which can be programmed to execute tasks or turn the computer itself on or off at a given time), a microprocessor-controlled detachable Selectric-style keyboard, and a mouse.

I must thank Apple for including something I’ve wanted to see for a long time: unique serial numbers encoded into memory. The Lisa has two of these: an actual serial number An interesting aspect of the Lisa is that it abandons hardware graphics chips like the NEC 7220 for system software that requires the 68000 microprocessor to generate and maintain the video image. At first, I questioned the wisdom of this decision because it makes the 68000 assume a heavy computational burden that could be transferred from software to hardware. But according to the designers, the use of a dedicated hardware graphics chip would itself limit and slow down the system (for a discussion of this, see the interview on page 90). In particular, the 68000 clock was set at 5 MHz instead of the usual 8 MHz to give the hardware just enough time to access the 32K bytes of screen memory during the machine cycles in which the 68000 is not using the address lines. This gives the Lisa access to the video memory that is transparent to the 68000 (hardware graphics chips severely limit access to the video memory) and results in a static-free image. (Much of the static or “hashing” in graphic video images results from the system accessing the video memory while the circuitry is using it to generate the video image.)

Apple will also be offering the Apple Dot Matrix Printer and the Apple Letter Quality Printer. Apple’s engineers tested many existing printers, chose two (from C. Itoh and Qume, respectively) that best met their needs, then had the companies produce modified versions with Apple-specified hardware and software changes. Apple needed such exacting print quality because the Lisa software is very demanding of both printers. For example, both printers will reproduce almost exactly both the text and graphics that can be displayed on the Lisa screen. In addition, Apple has created special print wheels for its Letter Quality Printer so that you can print normal, italic, underlined, and bold characters without changing print wheels (quite a nice move who’s going to change print wheels several times a page just to get true italics?). The amazing thing about the Apple Dot Matrix Printer is that Apple plans to sell it for around $700 (the Letter Quality Printer will sell for about $2100). Unfortunately for Apple II and III owners, these printers’ tricks are done entirely in software on the Lisa and won’t transfer to other Apple computers.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

[azritesx3]

Let Me Show You My Love - Lucifer & F!Reader

Anonymous: Hey! I have a request for LuciferXreader! I really love the idea of the reader and Lucifer getting into a fight (cuz of all their pent up emotions and thinking that each of their love is unrequited) and the reader storms out only to get mugged/attacked. Luci goes to make up from the fight and finds her injured in an alley way or wherever you wish and takes care of her and they admit their feelings Heeheehee and maybe bang lmao or at least some smoochin.

Description: You've known Lucifer Morningstar since he returned to Earth five years ago. You tried to pickpocket the Devil, and instead of punishment he gave you a job as his "personal human". After so many years your infatuation turned to love, and unknown to you he felt the same, but neither of you know how to say it. Until the fight.

Rating: Explicit Warnings: Swearing, Dirty Words, Smut

AN: My first request! [eee!] Hope I’ve done you proud Anon! :) AN: Updated August 23, 2020 - Grammar. Reupload!

AO3 / Fanfic Net / Wattpad / DeviantArt

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

"He still isn't here?"

"Hasn't been here the whole night." Mazikeen of the Lilim pours you a shot.

"Let me guess," you down the shot, "Out with the Detective?" Mazikeen gives you a pointed eyebrow and refills your shot. You down it.

The day Lucifer Morningstar met Detective Chloe Decker became the worst of your life, and you had a lot of bad days. Ever since that first case he would not shut up about her during your talks.

Can you believe it, y/n? A human able to resist me!

He became infatuated with her, and with that came the realization that you were jealous.

Yes, you felt the pull that everyone, well almost everyone, felt when they met the Devil, but you were stronger than most. Life on the streets and having to bid to men's commands just to eat some food made a thick stone wall around your heart.

But now, the Devil himself was beginning to chip the wall down. It was slow, but as the years passed you saw the man more than his title.

And yes, you knew he was the actual Devil. That night when he made you that proposition he showed you his true self, mainly so he could see how it would affect a living human.

And boy did it fuck you up. You were a mess for a month, but instead of leaving you on the streets unable to defend yourself in that state, he took you in. He gave you a whole level of his skyscraper club to call home. He maintained a distance while your mind was fucked, but always made sure you had food and hadn't killed yourself.

He was so...happy that night you came up to his penthouse of your own will. That's when your stone wall began to crack.

But now you desperately wanted it back up. You hated this feeling. This jealousy for a man. You were always Miss Independent.

How could Chloe Decker compare to you? Sure, she could resist his charm, but she didn't even know the real Lucifer. Not just the Devil part, but the man. The Angel. The Lightbringer who created all light in the universe.

Besides, Lucifer never once tried his little mind trick with you. He never even tried to get you in bed with him.

So why…

"Why is she so special?" You whisper more to yourself, but the ever loyal demon refills your shot, pours herself one and clinks the glasses together.

"No idea." You both down your shots.

"Is the party already over?" Lucifer calls as he descends the stairs.

"Been over for an hour," Maze drawls back, taking another shot.

"Ah. Pity." Lucifer walks over to the bar and motions Maze for a shot.

But you notice that he's been holding his side.

"Lucifer, what happened?" You look at him seriously.

"Whatever do you mean, darling?" He brushes you off and takes his shot.

You know him though. You push his body on the stool so he's facing you, and pull away his hand.

Blood starts pooling on his shirt.

"What the hell?" You began to panic and cover the wound with your own hand to make it stop, "How did this happen?!"

"He didn't tell you?" Maze looks at you questionably.

"Tell me what?"

"That pet Detective of his makes him vulnerable." Maze takes another shot and watches as you face Lucifer with a look of shock while he looks at her with a look of "Father damn it Maze". Maze becomes very amused.

"Aka killable."

"She knows what it means, Mazikeen." It was never a good sign when Lucifer used Maze's full name.

But right now you didn't care. You forced the Devil off the stool and into the elevator, pushing the button for your floor. As soon as the doors open you pull him towards the bathroom.

"Take your shirt off." You command as you pull out the first aid kit.

"Well well, y/n. I-"

"Lucifer." You look at him sternly and in no way in the mood for his flirting. He gives an exasperated sigh and removes his top. Thankfully the wound didn't look very deep, so no need for stitches. You spray peroxide on it and bite your lip at the hiss of pain he makes. You put a cloth on the wound then a bandaid on top to hold it.

"You know, I could get used to having a personal nurse." Lucifer crosses his arms, which buffed his chest out a bit, and smiles flirtatiously at you as you clean up, "Can I convince you to wear a sexy nurse number while you take care of me?"

"Why?" You whisper.

"Well it would lift my healing spirits up a considerable-"

"No, Lucifer." You face him and stand tall, "Why didn't you tell me she does this to you?"

Lucifer shifts, "Because it's none of your concern."

"It's all my concern!" Your voice rises, "You need to stay away from her!"

"You have no authority over me." Lucifer's voice and tinted red eyes would make anyone cower in fear.

But not you.

"I do when your life is at risk!"

"NO!" Lucifer's Devil face is out and he towers over you, "NO ONE HAS AUTHORITY OVER ME!" His grasp cracks your countertop. He focuses on that in order to calm down. He saw you take that small step back.

"Lucifer-" he leaves you alone in your bathroom. Which is probably a good thing because your face is now wet with angry tears.

Fine. If I have no authority over him then he has none over me.

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

The next night, while Lucifer was out yet again, you tell Maze everything that happened. You even confess how you felt about him.

"Well, duh." Maze downs a glass of whiskey, "Anyone with eyes can see how you feel."

"He can't."

"That's because Lucifer's stupid to that kind of stuff." Maze passes you a glass of whiskey and leans forward, "You know, he feels the same way for you."

You laugh, "I highly doubt that, Maze."

Maze smiles, "Then let me tell you how you can make him confess."

Maze proceeds to tell you to start your act again. Bring back that slut of a poor street girl to the club, and see how he reacts.

You really, really didn't want to. You swore to be over with that life. You even told Lucifer.

But...if it could get him to confess to you…

Fuck it.

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

You started off slow. For the first couple nights, even without Lucifer there, you began to actually talk to the patrons of the club. One night Lucifer was there, and even though his whole focus wasn't entirely on you you did see him look over every time you talked to a new man. His looks became more frequent when you started to touch their arms or caress their face.

After a week of this going you decide it's time to start the "act". The club tonight was particularly packed. Lucifer was swimming in women and men, so you weren't quite sure this would work.

But a nod from Maze told you to go for it.

You pick your target, a young man with sandy blond hair and beautiful green eyes. He was tan like a surfer, and definitely built like one. He even dressed expensively appropriate for the club.

Perfect.

You walk over and start the small talk. An arm touch here, a thigh tough there, and finish off with a caress. Lucifer took no notice of you while you performed these acts, but when the man answered your touches with his own and leaned forward to whisper in your ear you could see Lucifer's focus was entirely on you two.

Score one for y/n.

When a ronchi song begins to play you pull the man to the dance floor. He was unsure at first, but once you started touching and grinding on him he replied in earnest.

When the young man started to lick your neck and you hovered your hand over his crotch you were forcibly pulled from your dress into the chest of the one and only Lucifer Morningstar.

"Sorry to ruin what is most likely your happiest night ever gent," Lucifer's smirk was one of intimidation. He wraps an arm around your torso, pushing you closer against him, "But this human is mine."

The young man looks terrified, and runs quickly away mumbling apologies.

You hated possessiveness, but when Lucifer said that you couldn't ignore the spark of heat that started in your core.

Lucifer pulls you to a quieter part of the club and hisses, "What the hell do you think you're doing y/n?!"

"Whatever do you mean?" You feign ignorance.

"Why are you acting like that again?!"

"Maybe I just want to have some fun again." You shrug.

"Fun?" Lucifer looks at you like you are crazy, "You told me you detested that life. You swore to never do it again!"

"Minds change all the time Lucifer."

"NO!" He points at you, eyes glowing red, "Don't ever do that again!"

"You," you shove his finger aside and point at him now, "have no authority over me!"

"Of course I do I'm-"

"The Devil." Your cross your arms building a barrier, "And I'm your little 'personal human'. Well, I'm not. I'm just your human test dummy who you can't let go."

"No, your-"

"Why do you even care, Lucifer?" You probably shouldn't have interrupted him, but you were upset now, "You've shown zero interest in me, so why care who I sleep with or show attention to? Shouldn't you be more concerned over that precious Detective of yours? You've clearly shown affection for her, and she doesn't even know you like I do! Why her and not me?!"

The air becomes heavy between you two as Lucifer processes your sudden confession. Your body starts to shake and you desperately want to run and cry somewhere.

When Lucifer continues to stand dumbfounded, you do just that.

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

Instead of hiding on your floor, like you should have done, you leave LUX and walk the blocks down to your old life.

Probably not the smartest thing in the world, considering what you were currently wearing and how everyone on these streets knew you were living it up with The Morningstar, but you didn't care. It was these very streets that taught you to be strong. To never give away emotion or give emotion to another.

Right now, you needed that.

"Well well, look who's walking our sidewalk again ladies." You look up and see three familiar female faces.

Ah. These three bimbos.

"That playboy finally tire of you sweetie?"

"Yeah. Think you can come back and steal our customers again?"

"From what I hear about that guy, he probably loosened her pussy too much. Tossed her out."

"Well ladies, why don't we rough her up just to make sure she doesn't take our customers." The three of them crack their knuckles and run to you.

Thank you Maze for teaching me how to fight.

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

"Excuse me, have you seen a woman with h/c hair and e/c eyes wearing a fabulous red number walk by here?"

Lucifer asked this to every other human just to make sure he was on the right path, and he started to get more and more concerned when he realized where you were going. He really wishes he would've chased after you before you got this far.

But he needed to have a long think, and a very hard drink.

She cares about me, Maze.

About time you figured it out.

What do I do?

Go get her.

As Lucifer gets closer to the dirty part of the city he sees you walking his way.

"Y/n!" He smiles and runs up to you, but stops dead in his tracks when he can see you clearly.

Your hair is a mess of knots in every angle possible. Your dress is torn so badly that you have to hold it up. Scratches are up and down your arms. You're walking barefoot because your heels cracked. And your face…

You have bruises on your forehead and nose. Your lip is busted to the point of bleeding, and you have faint, finger like bruises on your neck.

Despite how much pain you were in, you give Lucifer a smirk, "I won."

He runs up to you, takes his jacket off and places it on you. He then picks you up bridal style and walks back to LUX.

You want to protest, but it felt so good to be in his arms that you just wrap your arms around his neck and rest your head on his shoulder.

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

To your surprise, Lucifer takes you to his penthouse. He sat you on his bed and went to his bathroom. When he came back he carried a first aid kit.

"Figured it'd be a smart move to have one myself now," Lucifer replies to your pointed eyebrow.

He gives you an ice pack to put on your forehead, then he puts first aid cream on each individual scratch along your arms. He rips off a small piece of cloth and sprays peroxide on it. He dabs the cloth on your busted lip, making sure the blood has stopped. After all that he takes the ice pack from you, puts all the first aid supplies away, and pulls a comb out of seemingly thin air.

"Oh you don't have to-"

"Hush." You stay quiet as Lucifer Morningstar brushes the knots out of your hair.

"I'm sorry." You whisper as he gets the last knot out.

"What?"

"I'm sorry for how I...acted," you sigh, "I just...I was jealous." He kneels before you again and takes your hands in his. He runs his thumbs over your swollen knuckles.

"Whatever for?"

"For a lot Lucifer," you huffed a sad laugh, "You saved my life. You trusted me, a street hooker, enough to show your Devil face. You took care of me even after I screamed and clawed at you. You gave me a home."

You rub his hands with your thumbs back, "Through these years you took care of me, and, well, I started to care for you. I started to see the man, Angel, behind the face. I never feel jealous over the ones you bring to bed. I know that's just your lifestyle. But-"

You take a breath in and look down at your jointed hands. You can't look him in the eyes anymore.

"When you met Chloe is when I started feeling jealous. You just seem so...fascinated whenever you talk about her. You're always with her. You're always flirting with her and trying to get her in bed."

You say quietly, "You never flirt with me, truly anyways. You never try to get me in bed with you. You never even tried your trick with me. That just makes me feel…" Lucifer puts a thumb and index finger to your chin and lifts up your head so you can look at him.

"Makes you feel like what, darling?"

"Like I'm not special."

"Oh, y/n," Lucifer starts to caress your cheek and gives you a small smile, "You are incredibly special to me. You accept me while knowing the whole truth. You look out for me. You care about my well being. You. Not my Father or siblings, but a lovely human being who cares for the Devil. I-" but Lucifer's throat closes up, making him unable to continue.

"It's ok Lucifer," you caress him back and smile, "I know these kinds of words, emotions, are hard for you."

"Yes. You do know. So," Lucifer leans forward, centimeters away from your lips, "let me show you my love."

The first kiss is soft, hesitant. You look at each other deeply, and you go back in. You press your lips harder against his, subconsciously telling him it's ok.

He gets the message. His tongue goes over your lips and you open up to him. As you two make out he slowly rises until he's over top of you on the bed and you're lying on your back.

He breaks the kiss to kiss along the bruises on your neck. Then he travels down, slowly. As he kisses down he pulls what's left of your dress with him. He gives chaste kiss down the middle of your chest, your stomach, down one thigh leg foot and goes back up to kiss the other thigh leg foot.

He towers above you and stares. You are bare under him except for a pair of lacy black panties.

"You are truly beautiful, y/n."

"And you are truly wearing too much clothing." Lucifer laughs loudly as you rip open his shirt, not caring that all the buttons fly off.

As soon as he shrugs the shirt off you wrap your arms around his back. While he's still hovering above you you follow the same path of kissing his neck, going slowly down his toned torso, down to the start of his trousers. You lick him with the tip of your tongue from the belt up to his navel, and your core fires up at the shudder his body makes.

He lifts you up by your underarms and moves you further up his bed. He crawls to you and gives another passionate kiss while both his hands massage your breasts. You moan into his mouth when his thumbs gently rub your perk nipples. His mouth leaves yours and latches onto one nipple. He swirls your nipple with the tip of his tongue then sucks, pinching the other nipple. You grip the bed sheets tight when he does the same to the other breast, then he licks one line from your chest down to your panties. He tickles your abdomen with his stubble while his hand rubs you through your underwear.

"Fucking Christ, Lucifer." You pant, "Are you always this much of a tease?"

"No. Most of my companions like to get straight to the point, but you my dear," he pulls your panties down and off your feet. He comes back up slowly and parts your legs. He positions his face in front of your core and his hands hold your thighs back, forcing you to be completely open to him.

"You I want to savor."

As soon as his tongue hits you you moan loudly. You grip his perfect hair as he swirls his tongue inside of you. One hand leaves your thigh so he can put two fingers inside of you, and you force yourself to keep that leg where it was at because you knew he would be pleased.

And pleased he was. He moans into you and rewards you by lightly biting your bud. Your grip on his hair becomes tighter as his fingers work inside of you. His fingers swirl your walls, expanding you. He then curves his fingers and begins to pump. He watches your chest rise and fall rapidly, loving the way your breasts move.

Your head rolls back and your back arches as his pumping increases. Unable to hold your leg anymore you curve it around his head. You pull him closer when you can feel your release creeping up.

But he removes himself from you before you could feel that bliss.

"Oh, fuck you Lucifer Morningstar."

"I hope you will y/n l/n."

He gets off the bed to stand before you. You rest on your elbows and watch with parted lips as he slowly removes his belt and pants.

"Oooh," you lick your lips and smile, "So the Devil does go commando."

"Always." He smirks seductively at you, and you get on your hands and knees and crawl on the bed towards him. You give his member a chaste kiss to the tip, then with the tip of your tongue you lightly lick off the pre cum.

Lucifer moans deeply as you take him inside your mouth. You cover your teeth with your lips and open up your throat, making you able to take his full length. He grips your hair with the same strength as when you gripped his. You bob your head up and down, vibrating for extra texture.

He pulls you off of him sharply and pushes you back. You lay on your back and open your legs wide for him. He settles in between you and you immediately cross your legs around his back. He positions himself at your entrance, then looks deeply into your eyes.

"Don't break eye contact." He orders you. You follow his command as he pushes his tip in. You moan and roll your head back slightly, still able to hold his eyes.

Without warning, he thrusts himself inside of you fully and quickly, and you can't help but squeeze your eyes shut and roll your head back more, screaming to the heavens.

He attacks your exposed neck with love bites as he thrusts. He leaves a particularly large mark on you, "You are mine, y/n."

"Oh yeah, I can agree to that. But," you raise your head and wrap your arms around his neck. You attack his neck with the same strength, leaving your own sizable mark on him, "Only if you agree to be mine, as well."

"I can agree to those terms."

"Good."

He kisses you passionately as his thrusts increase intensity. You both moan into each others mouth. Reaching closer and closer to your climaxes.

You reach it first, gripping him tightly around his hips and neck as you moaned his name loud enough for the club to hear. He follows you, his hold on your hips leaving finger marks as he empties inside of you.

He lays next to you on his side. He positions your body on your side facing him, still keeping you two connected.

You try to control your panting, caressing his face you look at him with all the affection you can muster.

"I love you, Lucifer."

Surprising you, he caresses your face and stares at you with so much passion that you, even him, didn't think was possible for the Devil.

"And I love you, y/n. Always."

[anangelicday-mrwolf]

Wolfsbane : Noblesse Fanfic (post-ending)

(previous chapter)

Chapter 45 – Suspicion with Good Cause

“Miss Lunark, what was the codename of that agent you ran into? Was it Kespar?”

“Yeah. What about it?”

“Are you sure? Are you sure it was Kespar?”

“She specified it herself. And my ears are more loyal than you’d think.”

Lunark added a touch of playful sneer in her reply, but in turn Tao’s face was rendered much more serious than she had envisioned.

Making a slight regret that perhaps she sounded more aggressive than she had intended, Lunark lifted her gaze to find the largest monitor blinking with life.

Immediately she cocked her head, upon the sight of a woman she had never seen before.

Judging by the color tones of the screen and the faint noises, she presumed she was looking at a screenshot of footage from a security camera.

“Is this what she looked like?”

Lunark’s bouquet-like hair waved side to side.

The picture could have used some magnifying, but difference of appearances of the rat she met and the one in the screen was so very obvious. Even the blind would have noticed they were two different people.

“Eyes, facial line, hair color, hair length... I could go on forever to point out the discrepancies I see. Who is this?”

Tao squeezed his lips for a second upon her retort.

“...This is Kespar.”

Say what?!

Her exclamation silently echoed inside her voice box, having contracted regardless of her will.

“This is Kespar...?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure you’re not mistaken?”

“I’m positive. I give you my word I’m not the one with a misunderstanding here.”

“...Are you absolutely sure? I know what you can pull off with computers and all, but there’s possibly no way that you’d know every single agent ever registered in the Union.”

Her argument was legitimate; despite the fact that she was once the elder of the Union, during her history as one she had never once memorized names and faces of all agents.

And with the topmost personnel not setting a good example, things were nothing different for lesser agents and researchers.

Not to mention there was no need to stress out one’s brain to do the job, with computers readily available to provide A to Z for whoever they seek.

However, Lunark had overlooked one thing – she was talking to none other than Tao.

“Since my time at the Union, I have taken a liking to hacking. It’s both my specialty and hobby. I used to surf through and collect all sorts of data stored at Union whenever I could, to nobody’s knowledge.”

“...You mean you already knew about this agent?”

“Yep. It took me some time to remember ‘cause I first got to learn about her long time ago, but a conversation with you managed to refresh my memories. And based on what I know, the one you met is not Kespar.”

“...Any chance that you might have learned wrong in the first place?”

“There’s none. This screenshot is not the only file I have to show you what she looks like, and most importantly... Kespar died several years ago during a mission.”

By the end of Tao’s sentence, the invisible net that had been keeping Lunark’s heart barely safe from downfall at last snapped.

In an attempt to somehow retrieve her heart from plummeting towards the soles of her feet, Lunark posed one last question.

“You swear that... That Kespar is dead...?”

“As much as I’d sound like I’m joking, I can swear upon this mansion and everything under its roof. Kespar is dead.”

Nobody would ever swear upon Frankenstein’s possessions as a joke or a lie or an assumption.

Upon processing the fact into her brain, Lunark suddenly felt like the entire world began to shrink into the vortex centering on the bottoms of her feet.

Kespar is actually dead.

However, that orange-haired modified human dubbed herself as Kespar.

Just like the list of dossiers she received.

“But why...?”

Her lips mumbled on their own, momentarily cut off from her cognition.

Tao interpreted the situation as how he viewed it and began to spill the unasked.

“Probably because she had to hide herself – but not too much. Because Kespar is the best alias you could make use of if you want to conceal your true name but maintain your identity as a Union agent.”

<What do you mean by that?>

Tao asked, his curiosity nudging at his mouth.

“According to what I found out when we were still part of the Union, most people there had considered Kespar as a missing-in-action or a renegade, instead of a deceased. And I believe that hasn’t changed.”

<But how is that possible? Even when a random agent that nobody really needs goes dead in no man’s area in Antarctica, Union would have no problem finding out who-when-where-what-why-how and composing detailed record in less than a week.>

“That would have been the case for any other agent. Or should I say, any other time? In Kespar’s case, however, she died at a wrong time, in a way. Back then there was a political struggle of a sort within the Union, and they decided to make Kespar’s death handy. So Kespar’s real data – which happens to be in my collection – is the only record containing her death; any other data have her marked as missing. And they did a really good job of veiling her current status. If you even blink during your search, you’ll end up with the faux data.”

“And with Union’s system completely tattered as of now, nobody would be willing to correct her information. Does that mean it’s safe to suppose she will be remembered as missing-in-action or renegade?”

“Precisely.”

Tao nodded in agreement, with Lunark still frozen in silence.

She could not spare even the slightest of her attention to her surroundings, her mind caught up in review of anomalies that finally started to glint.

During her first encounter with the agent who called herself “Kespar,” she voluntarily flung the name at her, even demanding that she will keep it stuck in her head from now on.

Which is against the fundamental rule and value for any Union agent: anonymity is the greatest treasure.

Now there was more than enough reason for Lunark to suspect that she wanted her to believe she was Kespar.

To top it off, there was another reason why Lunark has come to recognize the orange-haired modified human as Kespar.

On the list submitted by 3rd Elder, the picture of the woman with orange hair and blue eyes was labeled as Kespar for codename.

And there was only one conclusion she could draw from such fact: 3rd Elder and the false Kespar deceived her, and the odds are terribly high that they are as a matter of fact in secret alliance.

“Why, you sly fox... You dare to play tricks on me?”

Just like that, the lab was hit with an unseeable blizzard, her tone throwing delusions at them as if they are stranded in the middle of Siberia during winter.

They kept their eyes fixed on the werewolf warrior, not moving an inch.

“I gave you a warning, and you know it...! You took all that hospitality that you did not even get close to deserving, and you decided you’ll stab Frankenstein in the back! You useless piece of unrecyclable garbage...!”

“W-what do you mean by that?”

Lunark gave them a brief explanation; now she could see no reason to hide it. She could see hiding would be no good at all.

She told them about help she requested from 3rd Elder to deduce who could be shutting down Crombel’s secret facilities, along with the list he produced for her.

She also told them how on that list she read the real Kespar’s dossier adorned with false Kespar’s picture.

The RK’s faces turned awfully beyond pale upon her confession.

“If this is true... There’s no telling what he could be plotting behind our backs as we speak.”

<And there’s no telling what he’ll do to Frankenstein in the future.>

“That does it. I’m going to see Frankenstein right now.”

And make sure I give that sneaky little bastard an unforgettable kiss with the Earth’s core.

Lunark was about to turn upon her heels as she gritted her teeth, before Tao yelled, “Wait! I know you’re in a hurry – and for a good reason – but could you please give me a moment? There’s something I’d like to give you.”

“Do you have to do it now? Can’t you see I’m busy?”

“It’s something that can help my boss. So please...”

“Spit it out. And be quick.”

Bewildered at how fast Lunark changed her stance, Tao grabbed the USB on his desk.

‘Sorry, boss.’

Tao knew that if Lunark is to walk up to 3rd Elder now, chances are more than high that there will be a physical skirmish.

And chances were horribly high that Frankenstein would be made part of the skirmish.

At the same time, Tao knew what Frankenstein is going through because of the Dark Spear.

Which is why in preparation of cases that require Frankenstein’s participation in a combat, he had been picking and sorting data that could prove helpful for him.

‘I know you made me promise not to tell anybody. But I’m afraid I can no longer keep your secret.’

Sighing with guilt tugging at his conscience, Tao began to unlock the USB.

The screen shimmered with several programs, and the lock was nearly removed when Tao lamented, “Oops, my bad. Wrong USB. Sorry about that. Seriously, my mind is not in its right sta...”

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep...!!!

Out of blue, red-toned noises spread throughout all monitors.

They noticed what this was about; it was similar – no, identical to the phenomenon they witnessed when their computers and communications were made useless on the day they first initiated the QuadraNet.

“No...!!”

Luckily, they had Tao, a master artisan like none other in computers, who experienced this before.

With him as the firefighter, the fire was put out in no time.

“What just happened? Why did we see reenactment of trouble from the QuadraNet incident?”

“...Miss Lunark, did you see how I was trying to remove the lock on the USB just now?”

“Of course I did, though I failed to recognize what exactly you were doing.”

“What about you, M-21? Did you identify the steps I was following?”

M-21 merely tilted his head upon his inquiry.

He would not have recognized it, if Tao did not tell them what he did just before was unlocking the USB.

The only thing Tao did ever since he implanted the USB was playing around with basic programs installed in every computer, in the following steps:

Opening and closing MS Paint for 3 times.

Entering what looks like a secret code on Notepad and saving the file.

Opening a new Notepad file and typing in the same code.

Opening Calculator and deleting the first Notepad file in the meantime.

Entering a certain calculation into Calculator before closing it, to go ahead and close the second Notepad file.

The moment his mind retraced the last step, M-21 felt something knocking on his head.

“Wait a minute...”

“That’s right. It’s the unlocking procedure for the secret USB.”

“Secret USB...? I don’t think this is my first time hearing it.”

“I bet it isn’t. A secret USB is the Union invention created for agents in the old days, when they were sent for infiltrations. If you plug them in like a regular USB, they will display files that seem no worthy of interest. But once you follow a special procedure, it will yield hidden files. And to unlock it, you must carry out the exact steps that make use of basic programs that are installed in every computer available in public.”

“Yeah, now I remember. The procedure is less than a yawn for modified humans proficient in device control like you, but it was deemed inefficient for cases of battle or emergency. Hence it was abandoned by Union long ago.”

“Quite. Which is why I chose it as a method to unlock my USB. At least the current Union agents wouldn’t even dream of such method to dissect my kits.”

The moment Tao’s speech was marked with a period, the lab was enveloped by a dreadful silence.

Because the USB Tao just used was not the one he had kept for Frankenstein, but the one that was laid right next to it, wrongfully chosen by the supreme computer technician due to his lack of coherence.

“...So this is the USB that Yuhyung gave?”

“...Yes.”

It turned out the mostly-new USB that belongs to Yuhyung is to be unlocked like a secret USB.

With new revelation came a new missing link for the occasions they could not dare point out or discuss.

And their question grew into suspicion with good cause.

Now that they have found what could serve as an evidence, they realized evasion is not an option anymore.

Even though some mysteries remain, they will soon be deciphered, once they capture and investigate the human who is to return home.

“I believe I can leave him to you guys. Isn’t that right?”

“You can count on us. You go ahead and give Frankenstein a claw he needs.”

(next chapter)

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen - it’s not Adne but Yuhyung who is the traitor! Very soon his past progress as a traitor will be revealed, via the hints I inserted in the previous chapters. By the way, the secret USB and its unlock procedure are my creation, unrelated to the original webtoon, so I hope there won’t be any confusion regarding this. And we’re slowly moving on to the highlight of this fic. Even though this is a Noblesse fic, I’m aware that there were battles on rare occasions. Which will be made up by the highlight that is approaching. It’s always a challenge to compose battle scenes, but I’ll do my best with this! :)

[tuwam]

in the warmth, you’re there.

@urianius //

ahyeon realizes that she has none, she has it where she thinks it matters, but probably not where it should matter most.

where’s that?

cue the scene.

hyuck tugging on her hand with the same youthful innocence that they should’ve left when stages got bigger and scripts got longer. he’d never let go of it and by default ahyeon understands that she never has either. it doesn’t show as much on her as it does on him, but he’s the one pulling and she’s the one following. right? that counts for something. counts for all the people who comment that she’s too serious, too strung up or caught up in what she could be and what she has to be. for herself, her parents and maybe a bit for her sanity.

that youthful innocence doesn’t leave, it just stores itself away, tides away for people like hyuck to pull tug and coax it out. wherever that may be. sometimes it’s in the corners of the backstage curtain, hyuck’s faces cheering her up before they’re scheduled to walk out and present an award. maybe it’s in the late hours of a script reading, the tick of a pencil against hers and a quirk of her lips that only he can catch and the camera couldn’t. maybe, it’s the fastening of a scarf around her neck and his hand pulling her off and into this world.

a world that lets stardom be bright as well as joyful, not just blinding and far away.

they’re not headed somewhere so abstract today though, it’s abstract because he hasn’t quite told her where it is. he’s just told her to be prepared, chastised her for how thin her jacket was and dutifully wrapped her up in an extra scarf. 

any complaints on how warm she already was were lost in the feeling of hyuck yet again - pulling her to a new adventure. because that’s what it would be, that’s what it always was. amongst all the frowns, all the clicks of her tongue or the raise of her brows, somewhere along the line her hand started to squeeze back and her feet started to fall into step. 

no resistance, just trust in how she feels, and how she always feels when she’s around him.

“where are we going?” ‘don’t worry about it.’

it’s warmth, despite wind cutting across her cheeks, despite snow fluttering through her nose and over her eyelids, despite how they close against icicles and the fabric of the blindfold and fits of laughter as he ignores her questions. even in the unknown of their destination, she’s almost sure it’ll include the same.

there’s steps and awkward fidgets of a lock, of doors and more steps. the air gets colder, significantly colder and she’s seeking his hand as he seeks to pull the blindfold off.

‘why are you looking at me like that?’

there’s even warmth in that - in the skeptical look he gets as she looks around and recognizes the stadium they’re standing on the edge of. a stadium she’d often come with areum, when they were younger, pliable. when areum actually had dreams for her hobbies and when they weren’t as rebellious as they became. their parents would drag them to the stadium when it snowed, because areum was more in the mood when surrounded by snow and she’d skate day in and day out. ahyeon isn’t a fan of it but she’s familiar with it, learned to laugh with it and smile at the memory. 

cue her confused as to why hyuck’s brought her here and why he looks like he has no idea why she’s giving him the look she is.

“minjae taught you how to pick locks?” ‘no - no of course not. whaaaaat.’

cue ahyeon, unimpressed. though she’s also pushing back thought of how cute hyuck looks when he’s flustered and trying to hide something.

“you know this is more my sister’s scene right?”

it is, and she says that with no disappointment, no malice, she just says it with a straightness that people often mistake for such things. she’s used to that, and she’s not accusing hyuck of doing it - it’s just a regular. after meeting both her and her sister, people usually associate the exciting things, the things that girls normally like with areum. ahyeon is dolled up and girly by default, because it fits her, areum is cut-up, rough by rebellion and rebellion only. 

and hyuck - hyuck knows her too well to make this mistake which is why instead of the offense most people take from her words, he’s just smiling even wider and lifting a pair of skates to her. 

‘you trust me right?’

it’s the smile, it has to be the smile that has her taking them with no hesitation. it’s the smile that has her setting her jacket down and seeking his hand out onto shaky steps on the ice rink. 

“why are we here?” ‘to skate silly.’

ahyeon’s not bad at it, but she’s nothing like her sister, it’s the one area that areum’s perhaps more graceful than her in. but ahyeon learns fast and they’ve both inherited that same stubbornness that even the embarrassment of shaky legs and hands gripping to hyuck’s arm cannot stop. her cheeks color with each time he catches her, with each lift that has her face far too close to his and his smile just a tad too wide. 

“you’re enjoying this.” ‘why would i come here if not - to enjoy this.’ “you’re the worst.”

but she keeps it up, because hyuck’s suddenly become more encouraging, and more of an anchor. like in the ways he’s been during their journey as actors and actresses. he’s always been somewhere, even if it wasn’t right beside her it was somewhere, movement in the corner of her eye that brings relief, or a quirk of a smile.

like when she hears they’ll be at the same music station for a special, or the guest hosts for an award, or even if schedules align for him to wave at her from across the sidewalk. she’ll balk, maintain her composure but let a smile pass and maybe a text later when he admonishes her for it.

‘you’re not so bad.’ “shut up.” ‘almost better than areum.’ “shut up.”

because that’s not true and it’s never something she ever needs to hear. areum’s got this thing, about loving it when people say she’s different from ahyeon, but still as gorgeous or as demure. she’s heard that soonyoung will make such comments about how he prefers areum - and ahyeon wouldn’t have it any other way. if soonyoung ever said the opposite it’d be her fist in his face. the thing is - she’s never wanted to nor does she enjoy comparing herself to her sister since she’s long realized their differences and accepted it.

much in the way areum would never accept that there are things about her that ahyeon would long for, especially in her youth, in the freedom areum would tackle everything and the structure with which ahyeon did her own. 

she couldn’t possibly be better than areum at this, skating is her sister’s domain. on the ice or on the dirt. but when hyuck says it, cheekily and knowing it’s a lie but he can say it like it’s the truth. it colors her cheeks and the warmth against the cold of the stadium makes it so obvious she wants to bury herself. except the only thing to bury herself in is hyuck’s shirt and she shouldn’t - she couldn’t but she leans forward and does it anyway.

and hyuck? he just accepts it, with a hand against her back, another atop her head and carrying the weight of her as he skates backwards and she glides forward. 

“when’d you get so good at ice skating?” ‘a magician doesn’t reveal his tricks.’

and really what kind of tricks does he have? ones that can drag her out the cold into an ice skating rink in the middle of the afternoon. one that have her laughing so loud that it bounces off the arena, an arena that they’ve obviously snuck into. that has her clinging to him with no hesitation with no concept of how the proximity between them is lost and just the space between a few breaths and few more laughs.

are they tricks? they’re nothing so trivial, they’re genuine and real.

“are you going to tell me?” after a break and thirty more minutes of ahyeon skating, getting a feel for what she can do and what her sister so easily craves to do. of ahyeon realizing all the time spent with her sister in here did build some things and she’s not as clumsy on the ice as she thought. of hyuck cheering and clapping like a fool and her smiling and eating it up just the same. 

‘tell you what?’ he’s packing up and making sure to fasten the scarf around her neck, something she swears she could do herself.

“why you brought me skating.” ‘can’t i take you on a date if i want to?’

that effectively - very effectively shuts up any questions for the rest of the evening. for the walk home, with his hand in hers, for all of areum’s questions and texts blowing up her phone. ahyeon’s cheeks are still warm when she gets a text from her manager.

[XX-XXX-XX ] you’ve got an audition for an upcoming drama. here are the details for the role. it’s a stretch but we’ll still go for it. don’t stress it too much!

she’s confused at first about why it’s a stretch but looks over the script anyway. she glosses over minor things, the age, the names, the plot...and she lands on a rather important feature.

.... ice skater ....

the little devil.

her heart warms even more.