#i would also not trust the man who stabbed me the first time we met and then put me through werewolf american ninja warrior

[crumb-crumblet-s-crumbington]

freedom

[zentraex]

Summary: You made a lot mistakes in your new job, but do you regret them? Nope, not a bit. But who can blame you for it? If you wouldn't have done them, you never would have met this pretty boy.

Remember: German Grammar is a lot different then English grammar. I apologize for any mistakes.

Pairing: Francis Mosses (doppelganger) x gn! Reader

(A/N): I usually write for mha, but this men dominates my fyp on TikTok and I can't stop grinning like an idiot about all this fanarts. My men is just too attractive for his own good. Nevertheless, Tumblr has too few fanfictions for him, so I had to do it myself. Still, I am not that proud about how it turned out. It certainly sounded better in my head, but I don't care. One shitty fanficion is better than none.

Art by @asteriscks on TikTok

This game is not mine, but Ignacio Alvarado. I also used phrases from the game.

Mistakes? Yes, but no regrets.

It's been a week since you started working for D.D.D as a doorman. 

You can remember your first day so well, it could have been yesterday. 

Well... probably because your life is constantly at stake. 

_

It started with a mistake that you ended up here. It was completely unexpected since you always made sure, that you sent your rent to the right account. 

Surely no one can blame you for a small typo, right?

Well, your landlord, who kept pounding on your door until you woke up, surely did.

"What?" you asked, annoyed, as you opened the door.

"When do you plan to finally pay your bill? The date has already been overdue for two weeks!" he complains. 

What?

"Sorry, but I've already transferred my money to you."

"Well, I didn't get anything. Do you still have the receipt for the transfer?"

"No..."

You already knew what that meant: double payment.

"Look, today, I'll transfer it to your account again, okay? If it doesn't work this time, it's not my fault."

You were about to close the door, but your landlord had other plans when he held the door open with his foot.

 "No no no. You will give me the money now. I don’t trust you. Why would you transfer it to me today, when it should have happened two weeks ago. You will give it to me now."

Your eyes widened. 

Now?

"But I don't have that much money in my hand? Who's got that?"

"Then I'll have to kick you out for now. But don't worry, no one is going to buy an apartment here anytime soon, so you can move right back in as soon as you give me the money."

Staring stunned at his smiling face you could have sworn you were about to hit him. 

"The keys?" 

With watery eyes, you grabbed your keys, placed them in his outstretched hand, and frowned.

What kind of person had such sharp fingernails as he does?  

You were sure that he could definitely have stabbed someone with them.

Thank God, I didn't hit him. 

"When do you plan to give me the money? I've heard that all banks closed today. Some kind of holiday among them, I've heard."

What!?

How were you going to get through the day today? You intentionally left everything in your apartment since you were so sure that you could have given the money to your landlord in a matter of minutes. 

"You’re telling me this now!?"

"If you had paid, you wouldn’t need to know." 

That filthy bastard.

No matter how angry you were at that moment, your panic was overweighting.  

What were you going to do now? 

Shit.

"Man, I really wouldn't want to be in your situation...", the landlord murmured.

Fuck the nails- This guy deserves a punch.

Just as you raised your fist, he speaks again.

"But maybe we can agree on something.

Then you stopped. 

"The D.D.D., which is responsible for the safety of all residents in this area, is looking for doormans. Ours has recently...quitted, which is why we are urgently looking for one. They pay three times the amount of your rent in a week. If you take the job, I can overlook your sloppiness this time."

Three times your rent? In a week? And for what? To sit there and check a few documents. You'd be crazy not to take the offer! 

"Okay. I'll do it. Where can I apply?"

"Don't worry, I'll sort it out for you. Tomorrow, you can start”

_

Looking back, it should have been clear to you that something was wrong. Starting with the sudden his sudden threat, the fingernails and this stupid story about the holiday of the banks. 

Maybe it was just because you were too panicked at that moment to think rationally.

But let’s be true here: when are you thinking rationally? If you did, you would certainly have quitted after your first day.

_

"Welcome and congratulations on your new job."

After watching the short video, a man in the yellow suit came to your window. You are so shocked that you can’t even answer.

I'm going to die today!

After all, you know it yourself: you're too gullible for the job. There's no chance you'll unmask a doppelganger who copies someone well.

“As you could see on the introductory film, your job is to verify the entry of the neighbors of your building. Each day there will be a list of individuals who will request entry to the building. It is possible that there are individuals who request entry and aren’t on the list. In which case you will mark on the checklist that they are not on the list and proceed to question the individual. Also, you must verify that the ID and the entry reqest are correct and have the respective D.D.D. logo. Don’t forget to also check the expiration on the IDs. Remember it’s Febuary 1955."

Your gaze wanders to the note that was stuck to the wall. 

Arnold Schmicht F02 – 01

Anastacha Mikaelys F02 – 04

Robertsky Peachman F01 – 02

Steven Rudboys F03 – 03 

Mia Stone F03 – 01

Rafttellyn Cappuccin F03 – 04

Admittedly, you don't know any of your neighbors, neither by character nor really by sight. You were never the type to care about your neighbors. 

"I wish you good luck."

C’mon Reader, be like Henry…

But better.

The first inhabitant was Mia Stone and you already started to sweat.

"Good evening."

Was she real? Was she a doppelganger? 

With shaky hands, you reached for her ID and entry pass, only to find that everything was fine. She was also on today's list and her appearance doesn't show any deviations either, right?

Just to be sure, you looked into the folder that described her appearance: 

Long hair

Small round nose

She has freckles

...

...

...

Freckles?

Your eyes wandered again to the woman in front of you, who was waiting patiently behind the window. 

You narrowed your eyes a little and leaned forward to get a better view of her.

No matter how long you stared at her, you didn't see them, her freckles. 

"You look different...", you murmur after a while.

"What's wrong with my appearance? I think everything is fine with my appearance."

Her photo on her ID and Entry Pass both have no freckles. 

Perhaps a mistake on the part of the D.D.D.? 

You're about to press the green button, but then you see her grinning slightly out of the corner of your eye. 

Shit. 

She almost had you. You're really not made for this job.

Your hand slammed hard against the red button, causing the siren to blare and the metal window to crash down. 

"3312," you murmur to yourself.

"You have contacted the D.D.D.. A group of agents has been sent to your building. Please wait for the cleaning protocol to run."

Cleaning protocol? 

What happens to those who were cleaned? They certainly won't be killed, will they? 

What if they will?

What if your judgment was wrong?

What if...

Your thoughts were interrupted as the siren fell silent and the metal window went up, only to reveal the yellow man.

"Cleaning protocol completed. You can continue your job."

It took a while until someone finally came again. 

This time, your heart was pounding faster. Significantly faster. And this time, you can't even say for sure that it's all out of fear. 

Milkman...

You definitely can't deny it: he's probably one of the most attractive men you've ever seen. 

You don't even have to look at today's checklist to tell he's not on it – a face like his would have caught your eye right away. 

"Francis Mosses, huh?" you murmured to yourself as you looked at his ID. "You're not on today's list."

"I’m not on today’s list because I had to leave due to an emergency."

Long nose

Thin chin

Tired eyes

Short hair

Wears a hat

It all fit. The only thing left now was a call. 

Just as you began to spin the wheel of the phone, he said, "You're new here, aren't you? I've never seen you here before."

"Yes, today is my first day."

"Must be hard, huh? I've heard that more and more doppelgangers are appearing and they are becoming more and more error-free. It would be a shame if such a pretty face as yours were to disappear forever."

Your cheeks turn red and suddenly you feel shyer than you actually are.

"B-But your job has to be hard as well. I didn't think that being a milkman would rob you so much sleep."

Francis smiles a little. So little that you almost didn't see it at all.

"It's not. I just stay up for a very long time. If you like, I can bring you some milk sometime. It's refreshing, calms the nerves."

You bite your lip slightly when you have to refrain from a question.

What milk do you mean exactly?

My God, why were you just such a sucker for handsome men?

"I'd be delighted, Francis."

You talked to him for a while and you quickly forgot that you were actually going to call someone. 

"I'd like to talk to you more, but I don't want to stop you from your work. I'll see you tomorrow, right, Reader?"

And you quickly forgot that you never told him your name. 

You pressed the green button.

_

"Shh," whispered the voice of Francis next to your ear. 

It was your third day, your third time to change shift.

Well, it usually would have been.

Your vision and mouth were blocked by the bloody hands of the doppelganger who claimed to be Francis.

He had killed the doorman, that should have taken over your shift.

You had to admit, that you were more than inconsiderate. After all, you didn't ask for his entry pass, nor the reason why he wasn't on today's list.  

"I'll let you go now, yeah? No wrong move, okay?"

He laughed softly as he released his hands from you and turned your chair, so you were facing him. 

"We don't want to hurt you, do we, Reader?"

The sentence shouldn't have given you hope, because after all, you were more than sure that you were going to die one way or another.

Maybe you should have shown a little resistance. For your honor, but....

Oh?

He is so close to you that you can practically feel his body heat. Or was it your own? Your face, despite your situation, was burning. 

Even though he said he was letting you go, his hands ran over your body and you couldn't deny that it did something to you. 

Were you so shameful?

"Actually, I wanted to wait, but I couldn't take it anymore.  I've been patient long enough, haven't I? It was so much work for me, to let you get this job."

You didn't know what to say. Honestly, you didn't know if you would even be able to answer him. 

His breath touched your throat as he spoke, "I think I deserve this, don't I? What do you say, Reader? Do I deserve my reward?”

If you were going to die anyway, why not enjoy the last few minutes?

Regardless of whether he was a doppelganger, he had lived up to his title as "Mlikman" that night.

_

"You killed the real Francis Mosses?" you asked the next day. 

Francis grins, almost so much so that his real form was threatening to show itself.

"Yes, of course. What would have happened if he had come before me? You would have sent the D.D.D. after me."

Well, he had a point, huh?

No matter how wrong it was, you were glad it didn't come to that. 

You didn't know the real Francis Mosses. That's probably why his death was so insignificant to you.

"Have you killed more people?"

"Just more doppelgangers you let through."

Your eyes widened. 

You were so sure you caught them all. The false success was the reason why you didn't quit…well, it was one of the reasons.

"How many have I let through?"

Francis just continues to wear his smirk as he gives you a kiss on the forehead.

"Don't rack your pretty head over it, okay?"

You just nod, smiling.

"Are you going to kill others...?

You don't know why you added your next question. Probably because you wanted to feel special. 

"Would you kill for me?"

"Hooooonn"

When you turn your gaze to his face, two white pupils stared at you and his grin is inhumanly wide and black. 

You don't know if it's joyful or sadistic, but it definitely made you feel special.

_

Looking back, you made more than a few mistakes. 

But honestly? 

You don't regret a single one of them. After all, all of them have led to an all-too-familiar knock on your window.

When you look up, he waves, the milkman. 

[miley1442111]

the problem with arguing

a/n: Hi, this is my first story, any constructive criticism is welcomed. This had not been properly edited nor read through because icba lmao :) also I wrote it for a fem!reader but I don't think there's much mention other than Jack calling reader 'mom' so... yeah :)

pairings: aaron hotchner x reader, platonic BAUteam x reader, motherly(If that's a word?)reader x teen!jack hotchner

summary: aaron and you are in a fight, but what happens when a meeting with a witness goes south?

warnings: criminal minds levels of violence, angst, fluff, couple fighting, reader in distress, reader getting injured, mentions of knives, mentions of being stabbed, mentions of being tied up, mentions of hospitals, mentions of killing, mentions of general injury, mentions of guns/shooting, minimal use of y/n.

1.6k + words.

“We’re here, we’ll update you if anything comes of it,” Morgan promises Hotch over the phone as we walk to the front porch of one of our witnesses. Something about his story is messed up and we were the unlucky ones who had to go talk to him. It’s a pretty house I guess, a little expensive for what a 26 year old man could afford, and what he would want to buy. It’s all fifties style, the entire estate is. Big-enough bungalows with pastel walls and inviting doors with a small porch, just enough for the entry-way and a chair. I knock on the door, exhausted from the past 72 hours. Aaron and I got in a fight before we got to Ohio, it was unnecessary, but we fought all the same. He was mad at me for giving Jack advice that led to a fight between them. I just wanted to kiss and make up 3 days ago but he won’t budge. Maybe it’s because he knows I’m right and doesn’t want to confront it or maybe it’s because I took it too far and overstepped. Jack calls me ‘mom’, I live with him, and Jack came to me for support, he wanted guidance and I gave him it. He was mad at his dad because he missed meeting his girlfriend. His girlfriend, Ava, was a lovely girl, I had been the one there when Jack brought her over for dinner, I was the one trying to suss out if they actually liked each other, and I was the one Jack sat down with for 2 hours after and told everything about her to. All because Aaron was too busy with paperwork in his study. Jack was hurt, which is difficult to do because he’s such an understanding 16 year-old boy. It was also hard because I saw both sides. I’ll be the first to admit that what Aaron did was wrong, but our job is hard and demanding, especially his since he’s the leader of our team… But Jack just wanted 2 hours of his time, not even, just a dinner. A dinner to meet his girlfriend, and Aaron still couldn’t make it. 

I knock again as I huff. 

“Everything alright?” Morgan asks, the regular playful glint in his eye. 

“Tired, mad, over this job. You?” I sigh. 

“Sounds about right,” He chuckles. “How’s Jack doing?” 

A smile spreads across my face. “He has a girlfriend,” Morgan’s face lights up in a smile. 

“My man,” He smirks and I chuckle. “You two met her yet?” 

My face drops again. “I have, Aaron… couldn’t make it to the dinner though. She’s lovely, perfect for Jack. It's so funny, it’s just opposites attract. Jack is so sporty and outspoken and she’s one of the quieter, more into her studies kind of person.” 

The door swings open and we’re met with David, our witness. 

“You two know what time it is?” He yawns. 

“Oh trust us, we know,” Morgan sighs. “Can we ask you a few more questions?” 

“It’s 10pm at night? Can’t this wait ‘till the morning?”

“It’ll only take a few minutes,” I reassure. 

He looks between us for a moment, then sighs. “Quickly.”

We walk inside and are immediately hit with an awful smell. I know that smell. That’s when I see it, a body.

And that’s when it all goes black. 

I wake up in a new room, tied to a chair. I don’t see Derrick anywhere. I don’t see David anywhere. I’m all alone in this grey room. I don’t see a door but I notice a camera, and a screen in front of me. I see Penelope on the screen, then a sign above it with “Don’t make noise” scribbled. I look to my left and see a plastic window, I see Morgan through it, tied up too. He sees me. 

“Y/n? Y/n?! Where are you?” Penelope squeals. I shake my head and she picks up her phone and tries calling mine, it rings and I feel something go into my side. I scream out in pain as I see the blood start trickling out of me. Penelope drops her phone, then picks it up, dialling someone else’s number. 

I get switched to a joint call with Penelope, and the rest of the team, excluding Aaron. 

“Y/n?” Spencer asks and I nod, sobbing in pain. Spencer runs off-screen, leaving Jj and Emily to stare in horror at me.

Spencer comes back with Aaron and we make eye-contact through the screen, and he starts breaking. He’s shouting orders at the policemen in the precinct, he’s shouting orders at the team, and he’s trying not to cry. I know that. I also know I’m the only one who knows that. He hides it pretty well but not from me, not after all of our years together. His eyes squint, his eyebrows furrow more than usual, he starts biting at the skin around his nails. 

“We’re coming to find you. We will find you,” he promises me. I nod slowly as the pain in my side becomes unbearable as the knife is pulled out. 

“Is Morgan with you?” Emily asks and I nod as I bite my lip until it bleeds to stop myself from making too much noise. 

“Is he in the room with you?” Spencer asks. 

I shake my head no. After what feels like an eternity of yes or no questions, they think they’ve located us.I hear banging on the door and then it opens. Spencer is standing there with an entire Swat team behind him. I shake my head to tell them to not make noise but they talk anyway and another knife is put into my leg, I don’t have the strength to stay quiet this time and another finds its way into my arm. I pass out. 

I wake up in a hospital bed, an IV in my arm, Aaron on one side and Jack on the other. Aaron’s asleep in a chair on my left, I grimace, knowing his back will hurt. 

“Mom?!” Jack exclaims as he sees me open my eyes. “Mom!” His eyes fill with tears as he gets up and wraps his arms around me on the bed. 

“Jack,” I sigh in relief. 

“You’re okay! You’re awake!” He smiles brightly, happy that I’m alive. 

Aaron wakes up from the commotion and rushes to my side. “Honey?” He takes my hand and squeezes. “You’re okay.”

I smile at both of them. 

“I’ll go get the doctor,” Jack smiles and he rushes off to find a doctor. 

“Honey I’m so sorry I shouldn’t have-” He starts but I cut him off. 

“I love you.” 

“I love you too,” he sighs, tears welling up in his eyes.

“Don’t go all soft now Aaron,” I joke. 

“You make me soft,” He smiles and presses a soft kiss to my cheek. 

Jack comes back in with a doctor. She tells me that I lost a lot of blood and that I will be out of the field for a few months, with 2 weeks of mandatory bedrest, then 4 weeks of physical therapy. 

The next day, the team come in to visit. 

“Hey,” Spencer smiles, walking in first. I’ve always been close to Spencer, he’s always felt like a little brother to me. 

“Hey,” I smile and wince when I hug him, but I know it’s worth it. The rest of the team filter in, smiles on their faces.“So what happened after I went out?”

“Well, they got me, no injuries apart from a concussion,” Morgan says. 

“We got the guy-” Emily starts.

“Aaron got the guy,” Spencer interrupts. “He saw him and just shot him-”

“And then he beat the crap out of him,” Jj says. “It was pretty intense.”

I nod along as they tell me the story, and then we just talk about whatever until Aaron comes in and says visiting hours are over. Spencer leaves me a few more books to read and Jj brings Jack to Ava’s house for the night. Aaron walks in with my dinner on a tray. 

“Hungry?” He smiles. 

“You shot someone for me?” I ask as he places my tray down.

“Yes.”

I roll my eyes and smile at him. “Is he alive?”

“No.” 

My face drops. “Oh.” 

“It was the combined bleeding and head trauma that killed him.”

“You shouldn’t have done that.”

“I did.” 

I look at my food. “I understand you wanted to protect me-”

“I did that because he doesn’t get to live after doing this to you. Honey, you and Jack are the most important people in my life and I would do anything if it meant that you were safe and sound. Do you want to know how it felt to have what could’ve been my last words to you be ‘stop bothering me’? I was an asshole to you over the Jack situation because I knew you were right. I knew it wasn’t fair to not go to dinner when I was in the house. I knew it was important and it just felt too real. It felt like he was growing up and I just couldn’t take it because I missed so much of his childhood! So I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry that I said everything I said and did what I did, but I am not sorry about hurting that fucking monster,” He takes a deep breath. “Now eat up, it’ll go cold.”

“I love you Aaron, it’s ok. It wasn’t your fault, being a parents is hard.” 

His eyes fill with tears and he looks at me like an injured puppy. 

“Come here,” I smile and move over, allowing room for him to sit with me. He climbs into bed beside me and wraps his arms around me, being careful of my wounds. 

“I love you,” he whispers as I slowly eat my food. 

“I love you too.”

[motherjoel]

arms tonite (joel miller/reader)

summary: basically its YOU who gets stabbed by the baseball bat. joel isnt good with feelings. david does not exist david cant hurt anybody. a bit of angst and a bit of fluff. also LOOSELY based on arms tonite by mother mother

a/n: yawlllllll it has been a MINUTE but i am back for some tlou cause i just really wanted to write for these characters i love so very much. i apologize if the timing of their travel is fucked, i truly have no concept of geography so we can ignore that.

wc: 3.5k

warnings: just general tlou gore, nothin too bad

-

-

You couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment you fell in love with Joel Miller. But as you lay here, Joel's hands soaked in your blood as he attempted to stop it from pulsating out of your abdomen, you knew it was love that you were feeling. It was supposed to be simple. After your brief stay in Jackson, the two of you were supposed to take Ellie to the fireflies. Yet, nothing seemed to be simple these days, especially not around this girl.

In the amount of time the three of you had spent together, you developed an unbreakable bond. Ellie became a sort of surrogate sister to you- you’d lost your family when you were just a kid during the outbreak and you never had the chance to become a big sister. At least not for long. And then there was Joel. You weren’t quite sure what he meant to you yet, but you’d be lying if you said you wouldn’t die for him. For both of them, really- a life without them wasn’t worth living. Of course, you never planned on telling them that.

The day started fairly nice- with Joel allowing Ellie to make her own decision about who would be taking her to the fireflies. Sure, you and Ellie would be fine with Tommy, but Joel had failed to consider the bond the three of you shared when making this decision. He was thinking of only himself and his fear- this is what you had told him last night after his fight with Ellie.

“What the hell was that?” you asked him after he stormed out of Ellie’s temporary room. 

“It was nothin’. Doesn’t concern you,” he replied, brushing past you as he made his way to the couch where he decided to set up camp for the night. 

“Um, it sure as hell does concern me, Joel. Are you seriously going to abandon us? After everything we’ve been through, after how much that girl trusts you, Joel!” you raised your voice a bit, trying to keep yourself from alerting Ellie upstairs. Those words stung him a bit. He didn’t see it as abandonment- he saw it as protection. After everything you went through together, he never once put himself first.

“She doesn’t know a thing about what this means,” Joel turned to you. “She- she’s just a kid, she-” he stopped himself, trying to gather himself. “I can’t bring her. I’m not capable, I’m slowin’ down and I just can’t. Do. It,” he exhaled, dropping himself onto the couch. 

“Wow,” you replied, softly sitting next to him. “You’re really underestimating yourself,” you sighed, Joel, lifting his face to look at you. “I mean, not only yourself but me, Joel. In case you’d forgotten, I’ve gotten myself through some tough shit. And Ellie? Man, she's the toughest kid I’ve ever met. Hell, she's one of the toughest people I’ve ever met,” you said, observing Joel’s worn face. “I mean… don't you think she at least deserves a choice?” you asked, hoping to convince Joel to come to his senses and realize who he was.

“I’ll take the couch. Bedrooms down the hall,” he grumbled before turning his back to you and lying down. There was nothing left you could say at this point, so you decided to spare yourself and make your way to the bedroom. The bed was pretty big. It could’ve fit two people.

The moment you saw Joel in the stables the next morning, you could feel your heart soar. Before he said a word, you knew he had made the right decision. The three of you squeezed onto the horse, Ellie sandwiched in the middle, and you were off. You and Joel sat in peaceful silence for a while, occasionally responding to Ellie’s rambling to show you were listening. Before you knew it, you were arriving at the so-called firefly base. 

“What the fu-” you started.

“Holy shit! Are those monkeys?” Ellie exclaimed, pointing at the crowd of animals before you.

“Must be from the old labs,” Joel muttered, a hint of interest in his voice

“Look at them go!” you giggled.

“First time seein’ a monkey?” Joel asked the two of you. 

“First time seein' a monkey,” you replied in unison, both awestruck. A smile crept onto Joel's face at this- the togetherness he felt in rare moments like this is what kept him going. 

You soon came across the fireflies symbol painted on a couple of signs, but no guards appeared nearby. You all dismounted the horse before making your way inside, guns drawn. You in the back, Joel in the front, and Ellie sandwiched between yet again. The building you came across was abandoned from the looks of it, with papers scattered about. 

“They just left,” Joel said, coming across a packing list among the scattered supplies. You suddenly heard a clang from another room, drawing your attention.

“Maybe not all of them,” you replied as the three of you carefully moved towards the sound. Your heart picked up its pace- whatever was in that room couldn’t be a firefly. Maybe a raider, you thought, which didn’t help your anxieties. Joel put a finger to his lips before opening the door, signaling for your silence. Relief rushed through you as you saw the source of the noise was just a few stray monkeys. It was only moments later that you heard voices- voices that certainly didn’t come from an animal. Peering out the window, the three of you saw a group of men, presumably raiders.

“Shit,” you murmured, instinctively grabbing Ellie’s arm.

“Out the back,” said Joel, leading the way for the three of you to make your escape. You ducked behind some sandbags for a moment before making your break to the horse. As Joel untied the horse, you heard footsteps quickly making their way over to you.

“Joel!” Ellie screamed as the man swung his bat at his head, hitting it on a tree and breaking it in two. While Joel dodged his attack you jumped on the man and banged him into the tree behind him before he knocked you back on your ass, banging your head on the ground. You’ve had your fair share of concussions, and you knew that's exactly what just happened to you. Joel quickly recovered from the first attack before grabbing the man, a wave of anger in his eyes as you’ve never seen before. His arm tightened around the man's throat, unrelenting in its strength. Struggle as he may, it wasn’t long before his neck was snapped. You remain on the ground, adrenaline pumping through your veins as you look at Ellie, shakily holding her gun. Her eyes darken as they shift down to your stomach. Your eyes follow hers and you finally see what she’s looking at. When the man hit the bat into the tree, it must've snapped in half. One half was on the ground a few feet away from you, while, unfortunately, the other half was buried in your stomach.

“Shit,” Ellie said, lowering her gun and walking over to you. Your hand reached down, adrenaline still pumping through your body, and you instinctively pulled the wooden piece out of your abdomen. You barely even felt it. Joel was silent the entire time, and you couldn’t quite tell what he was thinking. You threw it aside before noticing three more men coming your way. As fast as possible, Joel hiked himself up onto the horse and grabbed you while Ellie pushed from the ground before pulling herself up, you now sitting between the two. Joel didn’t let himself focus on the anxiety in his chest that blurred his vision- he needed to get you both to safety.

“Fuck,” you sighed, adrenaline wearing off a bit and pain seeping in. 

“Go!” Ellie yelled to Joel as you began to move. She grabbed her gun and shot backward at the men- she didn’t have the best aim, but it certainly deterred them from advancing anymore. Ellie kept peering over her shoulder, on high alert. If you weren’t putting all of your focus on staying conscious, you’d have noticed her slight tremble. You would have noticed Joel's body tense when your breathing slowed, his occasional glance over his shoulder. His erratic heartbeat as he tried to keep you talking.

“We’re gonna get back to Jackson and we’re gonna get some help,” Joel said over his shoulder. There wasn’t a hint of emotion in his voice- he was excellent at hiding how he truly feels. 

“No,” you uttered, using all of your strength.

“Sorry, no?” Joel questioned.

“Get her to the fireflies,” you whispered before your vision began to blur. Your lifeless body crumpled off the horse, Ellie attempted to hold on but it all happened too fast. The cold snow was stained red, the warm blood leaving your body melting the snow directly beneath you. Joel and Ellie quickly hopped down, one on each side of you. 

“Fuck fuck fuck,” Ellie panicked, hands shakily reaching towards your abdomen. 

“Ellie,” Joel said, voice laced with panic. He motioned for her to grab his pack while he placed his hands onto the wound, blood seeping through the gaps in his fingers. He had never felt so helpless in his life- at least, not since Sarah. That same shuddered breathing coming from a person he loves- he couldn’t bear it.

“Joel, what the fuck do we do,” she asked. Joel continued to silently work on packing your wound with an extra flannel he had in his bag.

“It’s ok,” you croaked. They immediately turned to you on the ground, almost stopping in their tracks. “Just help me to that house,” you said, motioning towards a house about 50 yards away. You were struggling to breathe under the pressure of Joel’s hands on your wound- it almost seemed useless, you were still losing blood like crazy. Joel tied the flannel around your waist to try to keep the blood from seeping out. Once he decided you were situated, he picked you up bridal style and led you to the house. When you arrived, they gently placed you at the entrance, Ellie staying with you while Joel made sure the house was clear. He returned to help you inside, lying you on an old mattress. You let out a small laugh as you got situated.

“What?” Joel asked, a hint of irritation in his voice. How could you be laughing right now?

“Don’tcha think it's kinda cute?” you asked as he fussed with your bandages.

“What’s that?” he asked gruffly, not exactly in the mood for your attitude.

“Oh, just that I might be dying in your arms tonight. I dunno, feels like a movie,” you said, your pale lips curling into a smile. He gave you a look, pausing briefly to peer into your eyes. You wordlessly pleaded with him to lighten the mood a bit, for Ellie’s sake. He didn't say a word.

“Joel, what the fuck do we do?” Ellie repeated herself in her panic.

“It’s ok. You guys go. Now,” you said. Joel's eyebrows furrowed at this. “You leave, go north. Go to Tommy.”

“Um, the fuck?” Ellie asked. “I don’t know what you think this is but we're not leaving,” Ellie said, frustration creeping into her voice. She looked hurt by this, and it broke your heart. Were you doing the same thing Joel had done just last night?

“The kids right,” Joel said as you turned to look at him. “You’re either comin' with us or we're all campin’ here for the night. No in-between” Joel finished. You pleaded to him with your eyes again, begging him to just give up on you. The two of them would be fine, you knew it. But you didn’t know the emotional toll it would have taken on the stubborn man in front of you. He was stubborn, but so were you. Only you didn’t get a chance to prove just how stubborn you could be before you couldn’t fight the darkness that crept into your vision. 

-

You woke with a start the next morning. You often woke in a panic these days, but the feeling was only further cemented when you realized you didn’t quite recognize your surroundings. The only thing you could recognize was Joel’s eyes on you, which brought you some semblance of comfort. When he noticed you awake, he rushed to your side. As much as you could imagine Joel to “rush.”

“Hey, you uh, awake. You’re awake,” he said softly, trying not to wake Ellie asleep in the corner of the same dilapidated room you’d been in for a while now. 

“It would appear so,” you replied, attempting to sit up a bit.

“Hey, hey, relax,” he put his hand on your shoulder, urging you to lay back down. “Your infections bad. We managed to trade for some penicillin but it's not gonna be enough. We gotta figure out how to get you back to Jackson,” Joel said, lightly lifting your shirt to look at the wound.

 You cursed the heat rising to your face as Joel's fingers brushed your bare skin. You’d never been intimate like this before, though this was barely intimacy. He hadn’t ever touched your skin like this- with such delicacy. You were fragile to him at this moment, and you needed to be handled with care. You hated being a burden, but you’d be lying if you said it didn’t feel nice to be taken care of for once.

You were too busy focusing on your own reaction to this gesture to notice Joels. His hands shook as he cared for your wound, wincing as he saw that it really wasn’t getting any better. He didn’t know what this meant- he wasn’t a doctor by any means, but he knew this wasn’t good. 

You were in and out of sleep throughout the next day or two, letting the dull, throbbing pain lull you into sleep. It hurt to watch Joel and Ellie worry about you, especially because there was nothing you could do to help. Your days felt numbered- the amount of penicillin was scarce and you weren’t feeling any better. You barely had the strength to keep your eyes open, much less speak. 

“Joel,” you managed to croak- you couldn’t even spare the energy to seethe at the pain pulsating throughout your body.

“Yeah, sweetheart?” he replied, kneeling next to you. He only called you sweetheart when he needed something- what did he need from you now? To live? “Whatcha need?”

“You’re special, you know that?” you whispered, a tear rolling down your cheek.

“And why is that?” he asked, wiping the tear.

“You really know how to make a girl fall in love,” you smiled- this isn’t something you ever planned on telling him, but as you lie there, vision blurring around the edges as the darkness caved in on you, there was nothing else you wanted to say.

Joel felt panic consume him when your eyes closed.

“Hey, hey darlin’, wake up for me, okay?” he pleaded. Ellie stalked over, panic heating her chest. “Ellie, grab her legs,” Joel said. It was like he was kicked into a new gear- he was going to do whatever it took to keep you with him.

-

You didn’t know where you were. The walls were unfamiliar and white- stark and sterile. The first thing you noticed was the couch in the corner of the room, occupied by your two favorite people. Joel sat upright, arms crossed and eyes closed. His brows were furrowed like he was having some sort of nightmare. Ellie’s expression mirrored his, as she lay on her side with her head resting on his leg, arms curled into her chest. Your heart warmed at the sight- he was becoming a father figure to her, as much as he didn’t want to admit it. You tried to sit up, failing immediately as pain shot through your body. You winced, perhaps a little too loud, as Joel’s eyes shot open. Ellie remained in a deep sleep on his lap.

“You’re up,” he acknowledged, almost like it was too good to be true. He carefully shifted his body so he could move Ellie from his lap and onto the couch before he stood to walk towards you. “She hasn’t gotten much sleep, be best not to wake her,” he said, leaning down to brush a hair from her face. Seeing him be this gentle with her melted your heart. 

“How, um, how long was I out?” you asked, lifting the sheets to see your wound. It was covered and clean, but you knew it was there from the way it throbbed.

“About a week. Scared the shit out of… the kid,” he said, sitting on the edge of your bed. He bit back what he truly wanted to say- you scared the shit out of him. But he wasn’t going to admit that you had that much of an impact on him. The second he lets others affect his life is the second he gets weak. There wasn’t a place for vulnerability in this world. “It was, a, uh, miracle that you lived.”

“Oh yeah?” your eyebrows raised. “Shit. I’m sorry for worrying… her,” you glanced at Ellie again as she snuggled into the couch. “How did I, um how did you guys get me here?” you asked. Your voice was hoarse from lack of use, but you tried to remain strong.

“We, uh, we gotcha back on the horse. Ellie led the way, I made sure you were safe, I mean, I just made sure you didn’t fall,” he replied, looking at his feet. “Took us awhile to get back, I… I didn't think you were gonna make it,” he replied, coughing to cover up the break in his voice. He was still in disbelief that you even woke up.

“Well, it looks like you’re stuck with me,” you laughed weakly. Then it was silent for a few moments, the two of you stewing in your thoughts. “You know, I think if it had been anybody else with me, I would’ve just died,” you remarked. Joel shook his head.

“Well, that’s not true. You’re strong” he said quietly.

“Well, yeah, sure I’m strong. But I can choose not to be. I honestly would’ve been fine to die if it was in your arms. But I couldn’t do that to you. Not… not again,” you paused, gathering your thoughts. “It’s just… you’re it for me, Joel. You and Ellie- you guys are it. And if I can’t have you guys, well, let's just say I wouldn’t mind staying asleep,” you confessed, avoiding eye contact.

“Ahem…” you heard Ellie clear her throat from her position on the couch. “Sorry, I have a habit of snooping, but holy shit you’re awake!” she squealed, bouncing over to you and plopping herself onto you in a hug. She knocked the wind out of you, and you may have cared if you weren’t so happy to see her.

“Hey, hey, easy on her now,” Joel said, pulling Ellie back from you a bit. He was still quiet, processing what you had just said to him.

“Ahhh, my sweet Ellie girl, how I missed you so,” you smiled, pinching her cheeks.

“Bullshit, you were definitely just dreaming about Joel the whole time. Must’ve been nice, sleeping that long,” she laughed. You ignore the first part of her sentence.

“Yeah, I guess I’m pretty well rested,” you smiled, ruffling her hair and pulling her into another hug.

“I’m gonna go get someone, a nurse,” Ellie excused herself from the room, leaving you with Joel yet again.

“I’m sorry if that was too mu-” you started before Joel cut you off.

“No, no, don’t apologize, sweetheart,” he said softly. It wasn’t a whisper- it was just soft. He’d been so soft with you. “I… I can’t say I don’t feel the same,” he looked down at his shoes.

“Oh, uh, you do?” you blushed. You felt so childish, like you were admitting you had a crush on him, but it was more than that. It was a partnership, a dependency- a loyalty to one another that didn’t need a label. Only, you couldn’t hide the way you felt anymore.

“Gosh, I can’t even tell you how it felt to see you like that. It should’ve been me, you know,” he said, disappointment evident on his features.

“Um, no, it shouldn’t have. Besides, how would we have gotten your big ass back to Jackson?” you giggled, grabbing his hand. His expression changed then as he looked down at your intertwined hands. “Joel, what does this mean?” you asked.

He chose not to respond with words- they were never his strong suit. Without a word, he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on your lips. It was soft and it was sweet and it was like nothing you had ever experienced before- not from someone you loved. You reciprocated, weaving a hand into his hair to pull him closer.

“Yeah, they’re just in here-woahhhhhhh!” Ellie yelled, giggling and running out of the room. Joel quickly pulled back and pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

“That little shit,” he sighed.

“Well, she was gonna have to find out somehow,” you giggled, pressing a kiss to his bruised knuckles.

[dolicekiss]

Hi,

could you write a one-shot, where fem reader,a friend of Alana and Will, meets Hannibal, but doesn‘t really trust and thinks something is off about him.She is concerened about her friend‘s safety, but also feels this pull to him? (With smut?)

♡: its givin enemies to lovers fr

Wild entanglement

PAIRING: Hannibal Lecter X fem!reader

CONTENT WARNING: SMUT (18+, mdni please), enemies to lovers (a little), tension, unprotected sex, forced kissing, mention of little blood, fingering, foreplay, hair pulling, praise kink, public sex, dominant hannibal.

SYNOPSIS: When Alana and Will introduced you to their friend, Hannibal Lecter, let's just say your senses heightened in the male's presence and you caught a whiff of the danger he was. With nothing to prove your words and feeling, you decided to keep your distance but stayed worried for your friend. Hannibal on the other hand grows more and more curious about you and asks Alana to bring you to the opera.

The first time you met Hannibal Lecter, the alarms went haywire in your mind.

He was not a good person. You could already feel it absorb into your bones but you had nothing against him.

When he'd touched your hand to shake it, chills danced down your spine. The feeling was foreign — something you couldn't quite put your finger on. There was uneasiness in the pit of your stomach but why? You had no idea. You'd try to speak about it with Will and Alana but they shrugged you off.

You'd attempted to console yourself. If two behavior analysts could not catch onto the evidently bad vibes you got from the man, then maybe it was in your head. It was only worry for your friends.

It had to be.

But everytime you crossed paths with Hannibal, your uneasiness consumed you. It did not rest.

And it didn't allow you to rest either.

Distancing yourself from him, putting an abrupt end to conversations, disarray decorating your face now and then. Hannibal picked up on it, so did Will and Alana. They couldn't understand why you disliked the charming man so much.

But you knew something was wrong.

Beneath the facade for witt and charm lurked something dangerous, something dark and evil.

Despite your wearisome behavior, Hannibal had asked Alana to bring you along to the opera house. At first, you declined and were not up for it, hoping that both your friends would leave you alone but they simply couldn't. Will and Alana both wished to see you get along with Hannibal, so that there won't be any tension when the four of you spend time together.

Alana had forced you into a sultry long dress made of silk, hung by two thin straps over your shoulders. Hair put up in a messy bun with a sharp clip. Paired with the dress were heels and you felt like some doll when Alana was done playing dress up with you.

“Cheer up. Try giving him a chance, he's a good person.” Alana said but your heart did not agree with her.

You ignored her attempt to warm up your heart to Hannibal. The drive to the opera house was short but upon arriving, you both were met with Will and Hannibal. Dressed in black tuxedos, hair slicked back and lips carrying smiles.

You'd never been to an opera house before and deep down were looking forward to the performance, excitement brewing inside you.

“You ladies look absolutely lovely.” Hannibal complimented you both, but his gaze was piercing through you like a vicious stab of a needle.

You nearly snarled at him. Dislike for him pouring out in your expressions and Hannibal found that completely captivating. The only woman who couldn't fall prey to his ensnaring charms. You were adamant and stood your ground.

And extremely smart too.

To be able to see right through his calm and neutral facade.

“We know.” You responded, bitterly and walking ahead into the opera house with Will.

Alana shot Hannibal an apologetic look but he only smiled. “I don't understand her distaste for me. Have I done something to offend her?”

Alana only shrugged. “I have no idea,”

Hannibal offered her his elbow and she took it, entering together in the premises. You caught a glimpse of them and didn't like how he stood close to your friend, wasn't fond of how he had them both wrapped around his finger. There was something off putting about Hannibal and you were going to find out.

“Relax.” Will whispered into your ear, leading you to your seat.

You released a tender sigh, shoulders finally slumping. Long gone was the uprightness of your posture from being in Hannibal Lecter’s presence. “You don't get this very eerie vibe from him, Will? Or am I the only one going insane over the safety of my friends?”

Both were genuine questions.

Was your brain playing mind games on you or was it only warning you against the danger lurking beneath Hannibal’s beautifully decorated mask.

He pressed his hand over your back. “It is your mind. I understand you're worried about us but Hannibal has never proved to be harmful towards me or Alana.”

You let out a frustrated sigh.

They were blinded.

By his charm which worked as a soothing balm over their minds meanwhile it only heightened your curiosity and apprehension.

Alana and Hannibal also settled right next to you, Hannibal your right and Will to your left.

You didn't like how he sat next to you but the performance was soon going to begin, so you didn't say much. Focused on the soothing voices which brought you aural satisfaction.

Hannibal gazed at you, tongue running over his lips. He couldn't deny that you looked absolutely gorgeous. Ever since he'd laid his sight on you, the man was captured by the invisible hands of one sided tension.

You felt his eyes boring into the side of your eyes, so you turned to him. Eyes fierce and full of dislike. “Has anyone ever told you staring is considered, probably rude?”

Your tone was disrespectful, snappy and full of poison. Hannibal disliked rude people and preferred to feast on them but here you were, getting away with your prudence.

Hannibal only chuckled. “Earnest apologies, love. You're just seem very enthralling.”

You rolled your eyes. Your own gaze found his, staring at him and you couldn't deny that the man was beguilingly breathtaking. He was like the scorching ray of the sun.

“Stay away from my friends, Doctor Lecter. I know what you are.” You whispered, glaring at him. You only found amusement on his face.

He leaned into his seat. “And what that might be, love?”

You were taken aback by the name he gave you. It was a compliment and a deep compliment it was but you didn't want to appear impressed by it. There was no way you could blush over his praise.

“You're—” You inhaled, trying to keep yourself together. Truth to be told, you had no idea what he was. Your empty words were only to threaten him. You decided to stand up from your seat, walking out of the place to find a bathroom.

The distaste you felt for Hannibal was becoming like poison on your tongue.

After asking a worker there about the directions to the bathroom, you ended up right inside it. Face carrying a sour expression, all because of Hannibal Lecter.

You stared at yourself in the mirror, the thin strap of your dress hanging down by your arm.

A tired sigh left you.

Ever since you'd met Hannibal Lecter, you simply could not take him and throw him out of your mind. Like a parasite, he lingered there in hopes to suck blood out of you. No matter how much you fought and struggled, worry had always kept you on edge.

The worst part was that you had no material with which you could prove these bad feelings regarding Hannibal Lecter.

Everyone laughed at his sense of humor but to you it didn't seem like he actually had a sense of humor. It was downright eerie and dark, how he chuckled over the most absurd things. It left you a bit disturbed too and you couldn't bear to be in his company anymore.

The door opened and your head snapped into its direction. Hannibal stood there, an impassive expression decorating his features.

“This is the woman's bathroom.” You reminded him, in case he'd forgotten. “Get out.”

He didn't listen to you. Instead he took a step towards you, shutting the door behind himself. Because of the opera performance still carrying on, everyone was seated and the bathroom was deserted. Hannibal, with each predatory step closed the distance between you two and stood before you.

Panic filled your being.

With shaky fingers, you reached for the pin in your hair and pulled it out causing your bun to unravel and your locks to cascade down your back. Your hand tightly held onto the sharp bend, holding its pointy end towards the man.

“Don't come near me.”

Hannibal tilted his head, before coming closer.

The sharp end of the clip pressed into his chest but he didn't stop, as he continued shrinking the little space left between the two of you. “Do it."

You inhaled sharply, watching as the sharp item pierced through his skin. A small spot of blood saturating the white fabric of his button up. He was pushing on it, as he trapped you against the wall. Hannibal wanted to see how far you'd go to protect your friends.

To prove your dislike for him.

“Hurt me and prove yourself to be capable of protecting your friends, beautiful.” You nearly snarled at the term of endearment he'd used to describe you.

He'd cornered you up on the wall, his tall frame towering over you. Hannibal was intimidating and the polite smile he often carried was long gone. His face leaned forward, closer to yours and your lips trembled at how close he was.

“Stay away from me and my friends. They don't see right through you but I do.” You threatened, still firmly holding on the sharp clip and he finally smiled.

It was an eerie smile. Like he found you humorous but his gaze had entirely darkened, leaving you bemused.

“Oh but I want you to see right through me. I want you to see me for what I am, know me, feel me.” Hannibal whispered, his fingers to wrap around your wrist. Your wrist faltered and the weapon fell — colliding with the floor.

You watched its demise. The pearls embedded in its design tripping and falling apart, spreading everywhere on the bathroom floor.

Just what was about to be done to you.

Lifting your gaze back up to meet his, your glared into his eyes but Hannibal had other plans. It was true that you found him attractive, the most beautiful man you'd ever seen but you knew better than to engage.

Though right now your restraint was slowly slipping.

Hannibal found you adorable like this. Cornered and scared, yet he could see the fierceness in your unwavering stare. Somewhere you were akin to a loyal dog who'd do anything to protect its owners but he didn't like who that loyal was directed towards.

He wanted it all for himself.

He kissed you and it left you speechless. The tension was already there but you hadn't expected him to be this bold. Hannibal felt your little fists pushing at his chest but that was only a minor intrusion. He didn't care much for it. His lips were firm over yours, already winning this battle for dominance.

But you didn't rest.

You tried to slap him but that gave Hannibal the perfect opportunity to grasp both your wrists and pin them over your head. His lips moved with vigor over yours and after a minute or so of constant struggling, you also gave in.

He parted open your lips and slithered his tongue inside to captivate yours — a bound never to be broken. You felt him consume you by delving deeper into the kiss and a whimper escaped you in the process.

Hannibal broke the kiss and you were quick to shift your face to the side. You couldn't even look at him, specifically when he'd kissed you by force. There was already a battle boiling within you and Hannibal kissing you confused you further.

Hannibal released your wrists, one hand finding itself in your hair. His grip tightened as he made you face him and there it was, that same expression of distaste on your face.

Eyebrows furrowed, lips dangling in a frown and anger swirling in those eyes of yours.

Hannibal chuckled. “Bewitching, you are.”

You stared back at him with a grimace and his hold on your hair tightened. His lips once again found yours and you whimpered at the tight lip lock, hitting him in the chest over and over again with your free hands. Hannibal reveled in the feeling of superiority over you, he knew he was above you.

Above everyone else.

His free hand slid down to the little slit in your dress, allowing him entrance to your most intimate parts. Your resilience was proving to be useless as it only turned him on furthermore. Hannibal caressed your inner thighs with his thumb, the action sending waves of sparks running down your spine.

“Don't.” You said, although your body betrayed you as it leaned further into his gentle touch. “I will scream.”

“Do you really want to scream? I could be fucking you right now, change your mind about me.” You flinched at the abrupt drop of his mask.

Hannibal’s voice had fallen a few octaves lower and you swallowed, staring at him. You didn't move, nor did you push at him. Torn between both this sudden pull towards him and your morality.

Hannibal parted open your thighs, slipping his hand between them. You felt him slide your panties aside and your breath hitched — chest rising up and down in a damaged rhythm. His hand cupped the entirety of your soaked cunt and when he felt your arousal with his finger, he inhaled.

“You're drenched.” He whispered. “Is this supposed to prove your distaste for me?”

The mockery in his tone made you wish a hole would open up and swallow you into the ground. “Shut up. You're unbearable.”

Hannibal’s fingers traced along your cunt, one slowly sliding inside you. Your hands immediately flew to his shoulders, holding onto them for support. He stared at you, analyzing your expressions and the minor details of your beauty that he never got the chance to gaze upon.

You were absolutely fascinating.

A rude woman who he wanted to feast on, but this time, differently.

He fucked you with his fingers, feeling your soaked cunt sucking him in. He groaned at how you'd feel around his cock and it stirred in his pants. Dipping his face into your neck, he bared his teeth and bite down onto the skin. Tugging and sucking, leaving you completely breathless.

This was risky.

Anyone could enter the bathroom.

Hannibal’s fingers were thick and filled you up which left little to imagine when it came down to how good his cock would feel. Your eyes squeezed shut, head tossed back into the wall and lips releasing little whimpers of pure pleasure.

“All this time when you'd look at me with pure disgust or run away from my presence, ignore me, it only worked to harden to my cock for you.” Hannibal sultry said in your ear before grasping it between his teeth.

You arched your back when his fingers twisted and curved inside you, managing to find the sweet spot. “H-Hannibal.”

His cock twitched.

Hannibal albeit had his own complicated relationship with God, now found himself begging to be bestowed with patience.

His thumb worked in circles over your swollen pink clit. It only increased your desire and need for an orgasm.

You were like a beautiful puzzle finally coming together piece by piece in front of him. He left open mouthed kisses over the circular purple bite marks as immense pleasure took over your body, causing it to tremble.

Your fingernails dug into the crisp of his ironed suit and Hannibal picked up his pace.

Plunging his fingers back and forth, repeatedly hitting that little sponge of nerves.

Your stomach twisted and flipped with anticipation, thighs reflexing at the pleasure which grew potent with each harsh thrust of his fingers inside your pussy. Hannibal sighed, pulling his face out of your neck to stare at what he'd made of you.

A complete mess.

With just his mere fingers.

“Hannibal, I'm g-gonna—oh fuck.” Your face contorted and your lips fell apart, nails digging into his shoulders. Hannibal earned your release, drawing it out of you with sensual little strokes. Your face buried in his chest when you came all over his fingers and he held you.

Tears had sprung out of your eyes and your hair was now a mess from the friction of the wall. You could feel his large palm set on your hair but then slowly it accumulated your hair into a tight hold — pulling your head out of his chest.

“Show me how you look.” He ordered, staring at your flushed state. You were the same woman that had threatened to end his life mere moments ago and now you were a complete mess.

He couldn't be more pleased.

“Come.” He said, pulling you outside.

You were confused.

But you followed along.

The distinct sound of the opera singers now became more prominent when you two left the bathroom. You walked in pursuit of him as he dragged you up the secludes stairs. The opera house was massive and beautiful too and surely Hannibal had been here before with how swiftly he moved.

He took you into a dark corridor and pinned you over the velvety red wall — staring down at you. Hannibal didn't waste time with picking you up and unzipping his own pants, pulling out his cock. You were left speechless when he picked you up.

“You're not going to—”

“What did you think was going to happen, my dearest? If I don't fuck you now, I will go crazy.” His chest was moving vigorously, trying to drag in oxygen and then you felt his cock head press over your clit.

You whined, your cunt throbbing and clenching around nothing but air in need of him. Finally, Hannibal entered you and you tightly wrapped your arms around his nape, allowing him to sink inside you.

His cock stretched your cunt out to its extent, leaving you gasping. Long enough to reach your womb almost — you couldn't believe you'd gone from running away from being in his mere presence to being in his arms as he fucked his cock into you.

You were overstimulated from your climax from before and your body shivered everytime he thrusted in you. Hannibal held you tightly, his bone crushing hold on you didn't hurt in front of how his nails pierced through your skin.

Your little body bounced up and down on his cock, back glued to the wall. You cried out but Hannibal unwrapped one arm around you, pressing his palm over your mouth to conceal your loud moans. His hips harshly thrusted and each time he did, the sharp sound of his skin colliding with yours struck like lightening through the quietude of the hall.

“I wish I could consume you.” Hannibal growled, perspired forehead pressed against yours. You were oblivious to the dark meaning behind his words as he felt your cunt clamp down on his cock.

Hannibal was a mess.

His neatly done hair was now tousled — strands hovering over his forehead. Tickling your skin. His suit was dishevelled and his coat was long gone, his sleeves rolled up to his arms, exposing the protruding veins. You only found him more attractive, seeing the man who was always well dressed now a complete mess.

It awoke something inside you.

“If I knew you would be this endearing when I fuck you, I would've done it a long time ago, my beautiful.” He panted as his hand shifted, fingers slithering over your throat. Hannibal cut your air supply short, only for a moment before releasing you.

Then doing it again.

He found it hot how your eyes squeezed shut and your face went red when he applied pressure on your throat.

Your sweet life dangling right in the palm of his hand. He could end you with one single squeeze and as tempting as it was, he knew you were worth more.

Hannibal felt himself near and so did you, wild animals running wild in your stomach. You let out a high pitched whimper when Hannibal slipped past into your womb, feeling his bulge inside you to a new extent.

“Please.” You begged with tears sliding down your face. “Too much— can't take it. Hannibal, can't take it.”

Hannibal ran his tongue over his lips, watching you with a lascivious gaze. “Can't take it now? I don't care. You're going to take everything I give you, each little thrust inside this cunt of yours. Each drop of my cum, you will savor it.”

You wanted to cry.

But your cunt clenched around his cock upon hearing his words. Its like your body enjoyed the way it was being treated right now.

Hannibal drove himself into you like some animal, desperate to mate and you wrapped your arms tightly around him to bear yourself for the orgasm that was about to tear through you. Your whole body was convulsing and your unbearably tight cunt pushed Hannibal over the edge.

Holding you with one hand, he slammed the other down on the wall as he came inside you.

Body desperate and moans growing heavier. Hannibal appeared out of breath, his delicious tan skin glistening with sweat. You felt him shoot rope after rope of cum inside you as you also unraveled, biting down on his shoulder in an attempt to silence your loud announcement of your climax.

Hannibal stayed still, panting like some wild beast who'd ravaged you. Head hanging low on your frail shoulder, he tried to catch his breath. Your own body felt tired and drained, as you hugged him for support.

Hannibal nearly melted at that action.

He hadn't expected any sort of affection from you, especially in this state but the hug warmed his insides. He circled an arm around your waist, fixing you on the wall as his hips continued to move inside you in slow sensual thrusts.

He forced back all his sticky load inside you.

“Hannibal.” You whined, grasp tightening.

Once he was satisified, he allowed your legs to fall down as he brought you to the floor to stand properly. Your thighs quickly went limp, legs jelly and lower abdomen possessing no power to bear the strength of your upper body. Hannibal was quick to hold onto you and he chuckled, looking down at you.

“I was too hard on you, huh.” His tone was sensual, still. “You shouldn't have tempted me with that pin of yours.”

You delivered a harsh slap to his face, fixing the loose straps of your dress. Just because he'd fucked you, it didn't mean you'd forgotten all about how you actually felt about him. “Just because you fucked me doesn't mean I have forgotten how I actually feel about you.”

You collected yourself and walked away, only sparing him a glance and Hannibal’s lips tugged up into a smirk.

You were adamant.

He liked that.

[nyarumie]

Ruined Flowers, Beautiful Flowers.

hoshina soshiro x f!reader — 3.6k words. Mentions of stabbing, reader had an outburst, attempt at angst, established friendship, extreme fluff at the end because i cant stand making my characters suffer. Not proofread!

Author's Note: It's my first time writing something involving drama, feedbacks are highly appreciated! I tried my best and got carried away with the length. 💔

Author's Reply: A request from anon here. Kinda hit way too close to home when you said reader is afraid of falling in love 😭 (also guys pls send me Narumi stuff too I want to make more content for my guy)

Ask box is open! Also cross-posted on ao3.

Cheers erupted from your platoon, exhausted strength from the fight seemingly replenished as you dealt the final blow to the Honju once again. Their eyes sparkled with victory, anticipation filling the air as they immediately chatter to plan another celebration for your win. Familiar words of praise reach your ears, but none of them truly reach your heart. What's there to praise about when you're just doing work as expected?

You offer a soft smile to your platoon who is now approaching you, finally engaging yourself in chatter. You were never one for loud occasions, but you have a reputation to keep. They went on about your elegant strikes in battle, your speed and agility that beats even the fastest of lightning, and the reputable “silent, but deadly” strides you have.

“Man, I sure would always keep my distance from our platoon leader! Might get caught up in her Kaiju kill with how silent she attacks, y'know?” one of them joked, a series of awed agreements emerging from the others.

That's right, keep your distance. Getting too close… might just kill anyone.

You close your eyes as you listen, basking in the enthusiasm exuding from your officers. To them, the hushed strides you've perfected in battle is nothing more than a technique. To you, it's just the one thing that keeps your peace, and no one will be able to understand it the way you do.

Except, there's this one person—too persistent for your liking, so much more than your comrades asking you to mentor them. Scratch that, he's not persistent; he's simply way too highly attentive, it scares you just how much about you he already had figured out.

From a distance stands Hoshina Soshiro, the esteemed Vice Captain of the division you belong to. His watchful eyes never miss anything. You fail to ignore his all too familiar peering gaze even as you try to indulge yourself in the antics of your platoon. You don't understand, you never will. Why does he desperately want to unravel you? Closing your eyes really was the best option. That way, you'll avoid making eye contact with him lest he sees through you again, as if he's starting to pick up the puzzle pieces bit by bit. Curiosity getting the best of you, you peeked one eye open to see what he's up to.

Ah, he's now making his way to you. Well, damn him.

Concluding that you have no escape from what's about to come, you sighed and bid your platoon a (short) farewell, leaving them the promise of a celebratory feast tonight. You walked and met him halfway.

Vice Captain Hoshina was already grinning from ear to ear when you neared him, as if he wasn't mentally piercing through your own mind moments ago. You pouted. In an instant, his arm is heavily draped over your shoulder, his other hand playfully ruffling your hair. 

A series of complaints were heard from you, only causing him to let out devilish laughs and made an even more mess of your hair. 

“Vice Captain! It took me almost an hour to fix and style my hair, and we have a celebration to attend later!” you complained, begging him to stop.

“Fine, fine! Ya did another excellent job today. No wonder Captain Ashiro always trusts you a hella bunch.” he said, satisfied with today's operation. “However…” 

And there he goes.

He stood too near you, still hearing clearly enough despite how hushed his voice became. “You're a lot worse today. Still not spillin' the beans? I'm your closest friend here, ya know?”

You looked away from him, finding a car ruined to smithereens apparently far more interesting than whatever this is right now. “Must be your imagination. The Honju just so happened to be tougher today.”

Lie. Today's Honju had a lower fortitude compared to last time. You both know that. And you both know there's no fooling him from what he saw.

You stood atop the Kaiju's corpse after neutralizing it. Back facing everyone, holding your head up high. To the rest of the Division, you were basking in your victory, trying to keep your breath steady after all the action that took place. But there was no fooling Soshiro's eyes.

His keen gaze traveled over your entire figure. Breath ragged, chest heaving as if deprived of oxygen, a clenched grip on your thin, sharp sword forged akin to that of a rapier—in contrast with your lax hand holding your pistol, careful to not fire a shot. You looked like you were in complete agony and exasperation. Soshiro knows that you were heavily sobbing. Silently. Alone. Exactly how you do things your way.

You were only snapped out of your unrest when cheers finally erupted from your platoon. The smile you offer, to a stranger's eyes, is soft and gentle. To him, it's sad—as if it was a struggle for you to smile wide without hesitancy. Your deadly silence in battle wasn't so silent today at all. He can hear it far too well, that each slash of your blade and each shot of your pistol is accompanied with restlessness, each attack heavier than the last.

The Honju has been reported to have no vitals detected, but you kept slashing and shooting, ‘just in case’. Outrageous. You were literally taking out whatever storm is in your head to the Honju's corpse. Not that he minded the Honju, but he cared for you. He is your friend, you can pour your heart and mind out on him instead of a corpse of a monster. Why won't you? Why is the inside of your mind much more different from what you show others? How do you do it?

He doesn't understand. Or maybe he does, but you won't let him in. He wants to be with you, even at your lowest. And he's already failing.

“I see. If the Honju is indeed tougher today,” he started, “then report to me later, Platoon Leader. Post-celebratory report will do. Take it easy for now.” 

Was he upset? He rarely addresses you by your position. You carefully turned your head back to him, afraid that he's finally fed up with your bullshit. You're insufferable. Maybe one day he'll ask you to serve another Division. But instead, you see him grace you with a real, soft smile. It makes you want to cry.

'Take it easy for now.' You wish you could unhear it. You hate how easy his words always go through you. How can you take it easy when you try so hard to not be a burden? You don't want him to know any more than he already does.

“...I've no need for rest. But thank you.” You finally feel the tiredness creeping its way through your system.

Post-neutralization banquets are rare, happening annually at most. Somehow, your platoon members managed to smooth talk their way in securing an approval for tonight's celebration. For what, you don't know.

Everyone had their eyes on you when you entered the hall, bright smiles and expectant faces greeting you. This unnerved you, knowing full well what they're requesting with their doe, puppy eyes.

“Ahem. If you're expecting a heartwarming speech, I'm not the person for the job. You all should wait for the Vice Captain for that.” you said, earning a handful of groans from your members.

A hand suddenly lightly ruffled your hair, an action you’ve grown quite accustomed to. “Wait no more! Allow me to handle things, then!” the Vice Captain cheerfully said. Taking this as your cue to sit down, you excused yourself from him, feeling his slightly disappointed gaze trailing you as you sit.

Cheers echoed from the team as he finished his short spiel, everyone’s hunger evident as they hurriedly fill their plates with food. Your tablemates are no different, they're rushing here and there to get the best pieces of meat and pour each other some drinks. You decided to wait, not wanting to contribute to the mess the hall has become.

A plate filled with juicy meat and a bowl of your favorite stew was placed in front of you. Now someone is also taking up your space? About to reprimand whoever placed them in your eating area, you looked up to see that it was just the Vice Captain.

“Eat up. Keep waitin’ for the chaos to calm down and ya will be left with nothin’ to munch on.” He sat beside you, carrying his own set of food.

“Thanks. But I can grab my own fill just fine.” That's what you said, but still started eating what he gave you.

“Mhm… Just accept it in earnest. You never happily accepted any help I offered ya.”

“That’s because no one can give me the help I need.” you absentmindedly said, almost mumbling to yourself. Soshiro remained silent, now looking at you instead of his food. Maybe you shouldn't have said that. “... Let's just eat.” 

As the end of the celebration approached, he wanted to test the waters; he got up and collected the plastic flowers adorning the tables, wrapping them around a ribbon he miraculously spotted somewhere—his own version of a small, makeshift bouquet. 

He sat down beside you again, earning your attention. You raised your brow at him upon seeing the makeshift bouquet in his hand, a silent question about what he's up to.

“Ta-da! They aren't the real deal, but I did a pretty good job, won't ya say? This one's yours, ya look good with it.” He made a gesture for you to take the flowers, which you did, studying it closely for a while.

“Vice Captain, you shouldn't be taking the establishment’s props.” you said, frowning. “We should get back to your office. Let's get today's report over with.” 

Internally sighing, he doesn't know if you're purposely acting dense or just straight up ignoring his subtle advances. Maybe he needs to tell you outright. You once told him that words and actions come hand-in-hand.

It's surprisingly cold tonight even through the heat of the celebrations. He went outside the hall, leaning against the corridor’s wall to wait for you. You told him you have unfinished business to take care of, which is scolding your far too drunk officers who took their drinking competition to another level. Groans and wails from the inside resounded through the door, probably from officers begging you to lighten their punishment. 

Finally, he saw you stepping out of the hall. No makeshift bouquet in hand spotted. “Where’d ya put it?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

“Oh, the flowers? I told you we’re not supposed to take them. So I kinda dismantled the ribbon and put them back in place…” you said, looking away guiltily.

That surprisingly stung, despite knowing you didn't want to intentionally hurt him. He knows you’d leave it there, but dismantling them is another. He struggled putting it all together, after all.

“Makes sense. Let's get the report done.” he smiled, ruffling your hair again. This time, it's his way of saying ‘it’s okay, don't feel guilty about it’.

You threw him a look of concern, the playfulness absent from his smile. “I didn't—” 

“Are ya cold?” he suddenly asked. Before you can even answer, he removed his work jacket and draped it over your shoulders. “Please put the sleeves on. Yer hands are shakin’ so bad.”

Oh, you didn't even notice. Silently, you put them on as he asked. It's so… large. And oddly comforting. You hated it, somehow. The sleeves extend way beyond your hands and it would look like a mini dress if zipped up.

Satisfied with this, the Vice Captain started walking, pace slow. You followed suit, opting to walk behind him. You looked confused. You feel overwhelmed. Why is he always doing so much? You prefer your friendly banters, the idiotic laughter you share with each other after stupid musings; you dislike the foreign feeling and lingering intention in each action he does towards you. You don't understand.

He once gave you a poetry book about flowers, saying it was like a reflection of yourself. It wasn't. You told him to stop mocking you.

You never asked for company on boring work days, but he was somehow finding his way towards you, offering an invitation to train new recruits. He knew you loved helping others, imparting your knowledge and watching them grow. You turned him down, saying he's more than capable of mentoring them himself.

Once, you were feeling a bit too competitive. Your platoon urged you on, daring you to make a bet with the Vice Captain. The losing platoon must prepare a banquet according to the winning platoon’s wishes. He can hit you in your sword sparring as many times as he can, but hit him once in the given time limit and you win. But you just so happen to miraculously strike him at the last second. He lost on purpose. But you didn't attend the banquet.

Then a tragedy occured. A citizen hiding from the Honju was left undetected, causing you to accidentally inflict a fatal wound on them as you attacked the Honju. Had you known, you would've prioritized their safety. He didn't have to cover this up. He was there. He should be reprimanding you. You were at a loss then.

You bump into his figure, letting out a sound of surprise. You were already inside his office? Perhaps your mind has been too occupied all the way here, you don't even know if he said something on the way here or when he opened the door for you.

Soshiro looked too serious at the moment. You shouldn't have agreed to report to him, because the Honju being tougher today is bullshit. This leaves you with nothing to report, and god you want to miraculously vanish into thin air at this instant.

“What's goin’ on in that li’l head of yours? It's unlike ya to get so out of focus.” he asked, crossing his arms.

“Vice Captain. I’d like to proceed with the report, please.”

“But ya don't have anything to report. I saw it well with my own two eyes.”

He can barely hear you, your voice only a mere whisper. “...Then report to me instead, Soshiro.”

He walked closer to you, your breath almost stopping. Why is it like this?

"What do ya want to know? I'll give you everything." 

Your fists clenched in frustration at his words. He's doing this on purpose, saying something that totally means another.

“Why… Why do you insist on staying by my side? Why do you care so much? I don't understand. You're my friend, but you're doing so much for just a friend. Why do you do these things? The book—the poetry book you once gave me, saying it reminded you of me—it doesn't make sense! It's full of flowery words, it speaks of beauty, but none of those are me. You’ve seen what mess of a person I am. You say you’d give me everything, but I can't even give you a single thing, Soshiro!”

You grabbed the front of his shirt, lowering your head as you failed to stop the tears from flowing.

“You should've let me rot in bed when you found me in a sickly state. Should've reported me to the higher ups for making a careless mistake. Should've distanced yourself from me, I did nothing but unintentionally hurt you when all you wanted was to look out for me.” 

You bit your lip, not wanting to spill more than you should've. A warm pair of arms went around you, causing you to cry harder, your body relaxing against your wishes.

“I see. Do my actions confuse you?” he softly asked. 

“...I can't accept them.” 

“That doesn't answer my question.” 

Still sobbing, you answered, “I don't know. You confuse me. I don't want to rely on anyone. I don't know what to make of them. I hate the lingering, unspoken intentions. I hate not understanding. I hate pushing you away, but it feels overwhelming when you're too close. I hate the comforting feeling you give me. Please don't waste your energy on me. I’m filled with dirt, my hands are covered in more blood than you know about.”

You’ve never spilled this much before, Soshiro noted. He thinks that's a lot to unpack, but he has all the time in his hands to walk you through it. You were a ticking time bomb, the impending explosion only delayed by taking out your anguish on all the Kaiju you’ve slayed. 

Soshiro caressed the back of your head, speaking. “Then I’ll help ya understand. I like you and I like bein’ with ya, even if you think otherwise. If you don't wanna rely on me, then don't. But I’ll be here when ya need me. I’ll walk you through everythin’ slowly if you’ll allow me. And I still think you're as beautiful as the flowers I keep tellin’ you about.” 

He tried holding your hand. You pulled it away when you felt his, but he insisted. “And these bloodied hands ya speak of, tell me more, please? The stains might be impossible for you to wash away, but I’ll gladly hold ‘em still.” 

He isn't the type to deliberately fool others, even if he humors himself with being a menace to others. You looked at him and was met with surprise as you were met with the soft pair of red eyes and gentle smile you’ve deniably always found comfort in. Were you deserving of this, even after unintentionally turning him away?

You let out a shaky breath, bracing yourself to recall a scenario that has haunted your mind for years. 

“A Kaiju attack. Was a yonju. It was small, but I can tell it's dangerous. Grabbed anything sharp, anything heavy I can get my hands on. I closed my eyes and kept swaying my makeshift weapon around, in hopes of defending myself. I know my sister was hiding somewhere, but it all happened too fast. I heard a piercing scream right in front of me. The yonju had found her somewhere and used her as its shield. I didn't know that even a yonju could think of that. I… accidentally stabbed my sister. She died. I should’ve kept my eyes open. I was weak and was only 14 then. Today's neutralization location is the exact same spot where it happened.”

Tears filled your eyes again. “The day… when I accidentally hit a hiding civilian. I felt my mind shut down. The same scenario replayed over and over again. Had it not been for you, both I and the civilian would've been long gone now. I was only able to take a breath when they got stabilized by the medical team.”

“I’m sorry. I understand if you don't want to involve yourself with me anymore. But thank you for… being my friend.” 

Instead of letting you go, you felt his arm wrap even tighter. “I told ya, didn't I? I’ll walk with ya through everythin'. What happened then doesn't make you any less of a person in my eyes. You’ve saved more lives than any of us can count. I’m sure yer sister will be immensely proud of ya.” 

"And! I haven't kept my end of the deal for our bet. Ya didn't attend the banquet for it." 

How persistent. But he's always been like this. It comforts you, how he's still being Soshiro even after your heavy outburst.

You cleared your throat. “You said you like me.”

“Mhm? And what about it?” 

“...I’m sorry for unintentionally pushing you away, or if I was rude sometimes. I didn't know how to handle it.” 

He let out a laugh of relief. “Dear, that was nothin’ at all! Ya don't have to reciprocate, I only wanted to do what I can for ya. That won't change anytime soon.”

Back to his playful self, he let you go and squished your tear-stained cheeks. “I’ll go with ya anywhere, even if it's straight to hell.” 

What a fast turnaround of mood. You don't mind it, though. There's no use drowning in your anguish. You wanted to get better.

You frowned. “Don't want you to go to hell, ‘Shiro.” 

“Was kiddin’. Get some rest?” 

You tiredly nodded at him, eyes heavy. “Vice Captain. I’m officially giving you a chance. At the same time, I’ll start getting better.”

He shot you an incredulous look. “My title? Really now? Fine then, Platoon Leader, as a reward for taking your first step, let me bestow this upon ya. Close your eyes.”

What is he up to now? You’ll punch him with no hesitation if he kisses you on your lips.

You felt something cold wrap around your wrist, his own hand gripping the back of yours.

“Open up.” He held up your hand to your face level. It's a floral bracelet. He always loves associating you with flowers. You don't understand why, but someday you know you will.

“Perfect match, ain’t it? Now, for the cherry on top…”

His next move took you by surprise. With no hesitation, he kissed your palm. “There. I hope that wasn't too much?”

Receiving no reply, his eyes snapped to your face, worried if he overstepped his newly established boundary.

The sight that greeted him was something to behold. You were looking at anything but him, unable to control the redness of your face. Ah, so that was quite the shot to your heart then?

“Hello? Earth to you?”

“I’m fine! It's okay! Just… not used to it. Do give me a warning next time for my sake, please. And we're not yet in a relationship, mind you.” you said, shyness still evident.

He heartily laughed, still not letting go of your hand. “I’ll walk ya back to your room now. The princess needs her long needed quality sleep.”

And sure enough, it was indeed the most peaceful night you’ve ever had.

[xkaidaxxxx]

Villain's love

Dabi x reader

Mentions: scolding, torture, pain, betrayal, heartache.

no proof read. Will be a part 2!

“You’re a disgrace to us heroes. How could you stoop so low and fall in love with a villain, and who is the right hand man of the leader of the LOV!” Midnight yelled. Mr.Aizawa, a.k.a your father called you to the principal's office. At first you thought it was about the fact you skipped school for 3 days while he was gone for hero duties. The big 3 are your best friends and they would beg you to attend class and you refused.  “ What have you told him?” Principal Nezu asked sternly. All you could do is cry and grip your father’s shirt. “ I haven’t said anything and I don’t plan to.” you replied. “ How did you meet him? How do you even talk to him? These past couple days have you been with him?” Midnight asked so many questions it was overwhelming you. Aizawa gave a dirty look at her signaling to leave his daughter alone. “ I was walking out at night in the city because I needed to clear my mind and I wanted to be alone… There was a group of men… They tried raping me..they tore my clothes off…then Dabi beat them and burned them alive… He tossed his jacket to me due to my torn clothing… I knew he’s a villain..that he’s in the League of Villain. I was terrified and he saved me. I thanked him. He walked me back to campus..he stayed across the street hidden just in case. After about a week later we bumped into each other and we just talked..we set up a day and time to meet up. I needed to give his jacket back… we spent the whole saturday hanging out..No villain shit to be clear. From there we just met up multiple times…We’ve been together for 6 months.” You replied crying. The teachers stayed silent. They felt bad about what could’ve happened to you. “ We can’t trust her..I’m sorry Aizawa but we have to report her to the authorities.” Principal Nezu said. “Are you kidding me? This is my daughter! She’d never do such a thing! She’d never betray UA. If she did, the LOV would’ve made a move long ago.” your dad defended you keeping you close to him if he had to fight. 

“ We can’t automatically accuse her of being a traitor without any proof. We can bring in a doctor to give her a lie detector test. His tests are a bit more painful.” All might, said. “I’ll do it. I’d never do anything to hurt people.” you replied. Little did you know it would be painful on the next level. 

You were taken to a room and a man started strapping you down to a table. Cables were being attached around your body. You were scared and confused. You looked at the large glass mirror knowing everyone was on the other side listening and watching. You whimpered as a doctor injected a large amount of a clear liquid in your neck. “ What the hell did he inject?” Aizawa asked. “He’s not only checking her heart rate and her brain but also forcing the truth out of her. The serum is the very painful part. If she lies it will torture the truth out of her and if that doesnt work they have other ways apparently.” a nurse replied to him starting the recording.

 “I’m going to ask you simple questions and If you don’t want to feel like you're being stabbed or shot continuously you will answer.” the doctor said looking over at your vital signs. “ Are you Y/n Aizawa?” He asked, “ Yes, I am Y/n Aizawa.” “ How old are you?” he asked. “ I’m 18 turning 19.” you replied scared of what crazy he will eventually ask. “ Your heart rate is up a bit. Are you hiding something?” He asked, writing something down on his tablet. “ No.” You lied and suddenly felt pain through your body. “Tell me the truth,” he ordered. Your body twitched. “ Yes! I am hiding something. I’m scared about all of this.” you said as sighed in relief. “Mhm see how easy that is. “ Who is the villain you fell in love with?” he continued with his questions. You started crying. “ I’m in love with Dabi.” you replied. “ You’re crying? Are you sure? Is he forcing you  to say that?” he asked, looking at the high tech monitors. “ I am sure. I’m in love with him. He isn’t forcing me to say anything.” you replied knowing this will lead to you being tortured. “ How did you meet him? In detail.” the doctor said. “ I walked alone in the city at night. There was a group of men who grabbed me and took me into a dark alleyway… I tried my best to get them off me… They called me dirty things..like I’m a slut..and whore..that I would be a good treat to them.. They tore my clothes off and their hands roamed my body. Dabi showed up throwing them off me..he took his coat off and covered me..then proceeded to beat them up..he burned them alive. He walked me back to campus making sure we were unseen by anyone. He stayed across the street from campus hidden, making sure I got inside safely. I thanked him for saving me and said goodnight. ” you replied crying. Hating to remember how the men tried raping you. Take your innocence away. “ Did you meet him again after that encounter?” he asked. You nodded yes. “ We bumped into each other a week later after the incident.” you replied. You saw two nurses walk inside with a weird machine. “ Where did you see him again and what was done?” He asked, signaling the nurses to start setting up something. “I saw him by the park…it was around 6am. I was out to do basic errands for myself. We ended up spending the entire day together. No villain activities were done.” you replied. “ What were your errands for that day? Were you planning to do more that day? How did no one recognize him? What activities were done?” he asked. “I needed to get to the store to buy snacks, a heating pad and some pads. I got my monthly period. I was planning to do more. Just watch movies, play video games and eat junk food. No one recognized him. He was wearing a hoodie and he had a face mask to hide his burned face. I saw Tamaki and asked him to take my things to the dorms. After that Dabi and I talked for hours and played some stupid games.It was fun” you replied smiling. 

The questions went on and on. Then the difficult ones came up. 

“ Have you met any of the other villains?” he asked. You refused to answer because you didn’t want your father to hate you. Your body shook and twitched. Your body moved so much, the straps held you down. “ They’re hurting her! Give her a break!” Aizawa yelled, grabbing a nurse's collar. “ Stop, she agreed to this.” All might, said. He did feel bad. “ Give her another one.” the doctor said. You felt a prick. Another dosage of the truth serum. You screamed in pain. “Yes! I have!! Shigaraki, Toga, Twice and Kai!” you yelled. You cried and cried. “Has any of them asked you for information or threatened you?” you couldn’t handle it. You needed a break. You were overstimulated. “ Y-Yes!!! Toga. She asked for Ua intel on what we have planned. She threatened me.” you replied. “What did she say she’d do?” the doctor said. You couldn’t say what she said to you. “ She’d kill me.” you lied. You cried out in excruciating pain. “If you don’t answer our questions we won’t inject more serum. We’ll just use the old way. Electricity doesn’t seem nicer.” he said. “She said she’d kill my papa! She’d give him a slow and painful death !I don’t want him to hate me if he gets hurt! I can’t let him get hurt! I don’t want him to hate me! My dad is everything I have!”you cried loudly,trying to relax. Failing at it. “ Did you give them any information?” he asked. “No. After that Dabi told Shigaraki to not let anyone lay a finger on me. To keep me out of it. Since then I’ve been safe. He takes great care of me.” you replied breathing heavily. “Why do you think he takes care of you?” you looked at the doctor in rage. “He saved me from two horrible situations and maybe more after this! You and other heroes only care about the greater good!” you yelled trying to get out of the grip of the straps. “You’re talking like a villain alright. What makes you think that? Are you planning to betray the heroes? You’re father?” he asked, taunting you. You fell into it. “ Heroes would sacrifice someone for the greater good. It could be a loved one..a friend..or a civilian. It sucks to know that you don’t matter as much as you think you do to them. At the end of the day they will more than likely sacrifice you…a villain would burn the world to save someone..a loved one and random person who needs help. Dabi knew I was eraserheads daughter. A hero in training and even then he stepped in. He saved me. He’s done so much for me in 6 months. I know every one who knows about him and I highly disagree but it's the truth. I know my dad would never give me up. He’d protect me in the end regardless if he’s a hero or not. He’s the best dad ever. Better together. I’m lucky to still have him even after I caused all this mess. ” you replied. “Him doing so much is the truth and you have a strong bond with your father, you're not in any pain. You are very lucky and privileged” the doctor agreed. You were asked more questions and they let you go 2 hours later. Your dad and All might make sure to take you to the hospital. You stayed there for about 2 weeks. Missing Dabi like crazy.

Your quirk is an amazing one. Very strong. You hold multiple quirks and can create new ones. You were scared. Having to control multiple quirks was difficult as a child. Most parents would keep their children away from society. Your dad didn’t. He sent you to daycare, elementary school, middle school and now High school. To him you grew up fast. He loves and cares for you, his daughter. He’s so proud of the woman you’ve become regardless of who you are in love with. Yes it’s crazy but you found kindness and love within Dabi and the other Villains they just were treated horribly in their past and had no one to help them. They had to fend for themselves. They lost it along the way.

You communicating with Dabi was not through anything cellular. It was through handwritten letters. You managed to buy a bird through the black market. He gets the job done in delivery and fast.

As soon as you were discharged from the hospital and back to your dorm you fed the little fella and started writing.

Dear Dabi,

The heroes found out about us and I don’t know who and how someone saw us together. Don’t worry since I don’t have any info on you guys besides Toga threatening me, you’re all fine.They tortured me badly. They asked how I met you and it was hard to tell them what had happened. It was terribly excruciating pain. All I thought about was trying to relax, being honest and needing you.

I was at the hospital for 2 weeks. I miss you a lot. We should meet up soon. Actually they’re probably going to escort me when I need to go into the city so after awhile.

How are you? Has anything come up? Are you safe? No cough or cold? No fever? Are your friends being nice, if not let them know even if you need to scare them.

I love you very much. Please stay safe. Keep the the love of fire within you ( you’re telling him to get a new hide out or move to a different one.) Keep in touch if you can.

Love you very much. I’ll respond every 3 days after I receive your letter okay so no need to worry if I’m okay.

Much love, Haru

(both agreed on your code name being Haru after all you met in clear weather and since then you felt love and joy.)

Pt.2 will come.

[triflesandparsnips]

I'm not seeing enough deep-dive nonsense about the new Good Omens season 2 poster drop on my dash, and by god that means I must be the one to deliver it.

For those who haven't seen it yet, behold:

...there's a lot in here to go a wee bit feral over, if one was so inclined, and lord knows I love an inclination.

The Obvious Stuff

1. There Was Only One Bed Chair

This is the bulk of the commentary I've seen, and tbh, it's pretty great. "I am bored/busy and ignoring you but also what is personal space, never heard of her, we will not be taking questions at this time."

Notably, however, this is the second time we've seen them back to back-- the majority of the poster art we saw for the first season had them side by side. In both cases they're in a position to face some third thing together-- the difference, perhaps, is that side by side might imply equality of situation, while back to back implies implicit trust that the other won't stab you there.

2. The bookshop

Aw, look at them. Look at it. What a glorious little mess. This is them in London. Arizaphale looks pleased with the situation; Crowley looks bored af but he's also squished up on that one dang chair, so there's a "cat sitting next to you because parallel play and mirroring are the Best Interactions" feel to it.

3. Tea and wine

Arizaphale's got a teacup, Crowley's got a wine glass, this is very Them and indicative of their Vibes. Tbh, I think this is just a nice bit of design work, but it's worth calling out.

4. The outside street

The shop across the way is using a Gothic and reads "GIVE ME" before being cut off. No clue what it means, but it probably means something.

5. The tagline

The previous tagline we got was "Something's going down in the Up" (with that grey feather falling between their black and white wings)-- this tagline reads "Everyday it's a-getting closer."

Easiest interpretation is, oho, we're getting closer to the second season, and gosh there will be some Plot in it. And sure, yes, it works for that too, huzzah. But leaving aside the "it" and what that may mean-- "a-getting" is a fascinating word choice. It evokes similar constructions like, say, the somewhat obscure "Sumer is icumen in" (a song about the changing of the seasons and also encouraging a cuckoo to go lay some eggs in other birds nests if u no wat im sayin eyyyyy)-- and the significantly less obscure protest song "The Times They Are A-Changin'", whose ending stanza is:

The line it is drawn

The curse it is cast

The slow one now

Will later be fast

As the present now

Will later be past

The order is rapidly fadin'

And the first one now

Will later be last

For the times they are a-changin'

Gosh.

Now the Real Fun Starts

This poster is a composite image (as so many ads are), composed of different bits and pieces to form a whole impression -- based on fun stuff like relative pixelation and whatnot, you can often tell what portions of an image were there to start with, and what were specifically added in after the fact. How packed this poster is in tiny details -- which is exactly where I would hide fun hints to things -- is generally a cue for me to take a closer look, and I have been, I think, rewarded.

1. The books with legible titles

Zoom in on Aziraphale's book-- he's reading Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities. The "two cities" in play are Paris and London, and the book is set before and during the French Revolution.

It's the story of a man who had been previously imprisoned in the Bastille for 18 years, and then was released to go live with his daughter -- who he has never met, what with the whole "imprisoned" thing -- in London.

The opening paragraph is:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

The pile of books in the foreground have two visible titles: the topmost one is Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (a "novel of manners" that's considered a heavy-hitting romantic classic, and also yes the leads are both prideful and prejudiced and it takes an entire book for them to clear that up) and Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island (a young adult coming-of-age adventure story about a kid who finds himself on an adventure with a bunch of pirates to discover buried treasure).

Of note: A Tale of Two Cities, Pride and Prejudice, and Treasure Island also all have note tabs sticking out of them, and are the only books that have them. This is reminiscent of how Arizaphale studied and referenced Agnes Nutter's prophecies.

Some of the books beneath the window technically have titles, but they appear to be about as pixelated as the rest of that section, and so I suspect they're just part of the scenery.

Similarly, most of the books on the background shelves are like that as well, except:

Joseph Heller's Catch-22 (A satirical novel set in World War II; Wikipedia briefly explains that "the novel examines the absurdity of war and military life through the experiences of Yossarian and his cohorts, who attempt to maintain their sanity while fulfilling their service requirements so that they may return home." The book also coined the phrase "catch-22," which is a situation someone can't escape because of paradoxical rules-- in the case of the book, you can't ask to be evaluated for insanity so that you can be exempt from flying dangerous missions, because "anyone who wants to get out of combat duty isn't really crazy.")

Iain Banks's The Crow Road (and a first edition, perhaps? I haven't read it, but apparently it's a Scottish family drama about a perfect murder against the backdrop of the 1990s Gulf War. Its opening line is "It was the day my grandmother exploded." The phrase "the crow road" is a euphemism, in the book, for death.)

Joseph Conrad's Lord Jim (Sparknotes says it's "the story of a man named Marlow's struggle to tell and to understand the life story of a man named Jim" -- a young man who goes to sea, makes a terrible and cowardly decision while following his leaders, and then spends the rest of his life haunted by it.)

There's at least one extra, partially obscured title:

It appears to read "THE BODY ------ and ------", which makes me wonder if it's an anthology of murder mystery short stories.

Leaving aside the uncertain book, commonalities between many of these books include:

soldiers, war, and the horrors/absurdities thereof

doubles and parallels

death and murder

a young/inexperienced protagonist thrown in with more experienced/weirder folk

fragmented and out of order narratives, sometimes having to be pieced together from multiple viewpoints

...pirates

2. The strange but noticeable inserts

There are several images that have been inserted into the poster that -- unlike the teacup and wine glass mentioned above -- don't seem to make a lot of contextual sense and are therefore, perhaps, extra information. These include:

a. the three lizard boys

b. the broken smartphone

c. the matchbox with the quote on the side

d. the camera

e. this statuette that seems suspicious

f. this record and scroll that seem out of place

g. the clockface with the missing hand (which may be just for the Aesthetic, but whatever, I'm including it)

What do they mean? No clue. I suspect it will become apparent as we get trailers and/or the actual show.

In Conclusion

Uh.

Look. Design teams can do all sorts of things for all sorts of reasons. All of this could mean absolutely nothing.

But.

Using my magical powers of bullshit deduction, I might look at all this, and that grey feather falling from the earlier poster, and say... well... the war's still ongoing, yeah? So maybe... maybe there needs to be a new angel keeping an eye on things on Earth. Or an eye specifically on Aziraphale and Crowley.

And that would look SUSPICIOUS, right? So this is an angel who's maybe... a little bit Fallen. For the sake of the Mission. Like, they've agreed to sin just a lil bit, just enough to justify being thrown out of Heaven, and they're not actively in Hell because they're, oh, just stopping off, or maybe just going really slowly, or maybe they were sent back up from Hell because they were still "too good" and all that Pureness of Spirit was stinking up the place--

Whatever. Point is, they're on Earth, they're very confused, it sure would be nice if these very Established metaphysical elders could give them a few hints about how to get on. We'd then get to enjoy a Guide to Living a Totally Normal Human Life given by these two disaster dorks, plus whatever nonsense is derived from, idk, various extraneous plot shenanigans, probably involving a Murder and maybe a MacGuffin Maltese Falcon.

And most importantly: this new angel? Wow no they couldn't possibly be a spy because again WOW, what kind of angel would deliberately Fall? Wouldn't that require doing the wrong thing to do a right thing? ...okay maybe, but can it really be wrong if it was done by command? ...well, wait, it surely must be wrong because otherwise the mechanism wouldn't have worked-- but then, wait, which thing was the wrong thing--

And Aziraphale and Crowley would watch this bouncing volley of cognitive dissonance with great interest, also possibly while holding hands.

[theyanderespecialist]

Runaway Fiance~ 1 (Mini-Series) Yandere Ra Al Ghul X Marie (DC)

My Co Author For This: (Who Marie Is inspired after) @mamamaries

(No one's pov)

Marie slowly opened her eyes, not moving at all at first. She was waiting to hear footsteps. And she did.

She tried to visualize what she was hearing. She's only have so much time. Only such a brief window. She could probably lie if anyone saw her.. but she'd rather not deal with it at all.

When she'd first met Ra's- he seemed..like a dream come true. Courteous, polite, well-spoken, well-educated. Maybe a little too educated because..god he was much smarter than her- but he seemed like a dream.

She never expected him to show interest in her, she never expected they'd be together.

He seemed so old school. But she didn't mind, he didn't push her for intimacy. Something she often appreciated. She was too scared to kiss and it just..it had to be the right moment. They hadn't gotten too far- aside from that one time in the hot tub- that got...quite intense.

He always talked about how he loved this planet, like she did. How people had to be better for each other and for the world.

That was true- but he lied to her about what he did to achieve that- what his league did to achieve that.

How do you go about telling your girlfriend, now fiancée that you just so happen to not only be suspiciously loaded but..oh, I don't know..run an entire league of assassins and call yourself the demon head of it- trying to murder whole cities worth of people, blackmail, weapon smuggling- how do you even try?

Well, she could tell you. You don't. She found out by mistake when she got a little too curious.

Which is why she was leaving. She swore to him when he proposed that he'd be her family now, that she'd be a part of his world and he'd be a part of hers- but she didn't want that.

She didn't even bother taking anything but enough money to just- grab a ride and go. Go somewhere. She didn't care. Maybe she'd die of frostbite out in the snowy tundra but she didn't care.

All she cared about was running. And run she did. Through the snow, through the harsh wind. Her legs- she couldn't even feel them anymore. She finally reached a village and managed to get someone to take her on their plane after begging enough. Wherever it was going. That's where she'd live. She couldn't ever go back home. That's the first place they'd look. It took weeks to finally get somewhere she felt was safe, and even now, she always was worried they'd find her...and they'd kill her. No doubt.

She was settled down, working in a small shop and being helpful in any way she could. She even flirted with one of her coworkers. He was not Ra, but he was sweet and a very good man. John was a simple man who came here to help out his grandfather, the owner. She was happy to work with him. But she never let anyone take her photo, as the risk of it getting online. She lived her life the best she could but she also now lived in fear.

"Morning Mar!" John says as Marie walks into the shop. "I am so glad you came in, we will be busy today, the festivals start tonight! I-I was wondering if you wanted to go with me to the first night! You know l-like a date!"

John was nervous but he wanted to ask Marie out to have a date with her.

(John I am sorry but you will die XD)

(John is done for he's cooked) 

(XD Yes he has sealed his fate XD) 

She hadn't dated since Ra's. Her first and only relationship- it was.. not ideal. She didn't trust anyone.

"A..date? I... I don't.." she stopped. "I haven't..dated in a long time. I'd..I'd like that." She didn't know if she actually would.

She would not even admit it to herself, but she was still attached to Ra. Her deep connection still had her attracted to him, that is what made finding out about him hurt all the more. She was the first man she was ever fully attracted to and wanted to be with in real life. So when she found out the type of man he was it was like a stab to her heart, but she still loved him on some level, and that made it hurt the most.

However, if she does not learn to move on and learn her heart come to terms she cannot be with Ra... Then she will never heal.

"That is great!" John grins so happy he was over the moon, he really liked Marie and could not wait. 'I will close the shop tonight, so you can have time to get ready!"

Marie nodded John was so different like a puppy dog almost wanting to do everything to make Marie happy.

She gave him a sort of tense smile. She never told John the truth, only half of it. She had a dangerous Ex, one who could never know where she was. That's all he needed to know.

"Thanks, John." She said.

They continued to work in the shop and had a great time. The day was busy and John made sure Marie took plenty of breaks so she did not get overwhelmed

She had some pretty serious social anxiety. No one could come behind her or from the side- he had no idea what her ex did, but it had to be bad.

"Well, that's it for the night, you go, I'll stay behind and lock up," John said as Marie slowly waved and began her journey back to her shitty little apartment.

She was unaware that one of Ra's assassins was in town for a job, and he saw Marie crossing the street.

"I be damned." He says and pulls out his cell phone on the third Call Ra Answer.

"What is it, I am busy in this meeting." He says as he pulls the victim's eye out of his skull.

"I just caught sight of your fiance, Marie." He says and Ra's froze, it had been a year... a year without her and she was found.

"Where are you?" He demands stabbing the victim in the head and ending his meeting. 

[azlan-snow]

Broadcast Husbands

Chapter Seven: Talk Time

(Told from Vox’s POV)

I sit there, on the bed thinking about the meeting with the first man. Adam wasn’t very cooperative and ignorant, after all. But with the extermination now moved up, we’re on a time crunch.

“Vox,” says Al, his voice sounding like a whisper. I look at him, trying to make sure that it was him who spoke and not my imagination. “Can you hear me, beloved?”

“Yeah, sorry. I was deep in thought.”

“About?”

“Will you promise to keep a level head?”

“Of course.”

“Adam the first man, was the one we met with and the one who moved extermination up for no reason. He threatened and ridiculed Charlie. It was terrible.”

“I should have went with you.”

“He wasn’t actually there, so you wouldn’t have been able to kill him anyway.”

“When the extermination happens, I’ll kill him then.”

“No, Al. He’s quite strong. I advise against that.”

“Very well. But I want the chance to fight him then.”

“Maybe. We’ll see.”

“But other than that, how was the rest of your outing?”

“She barely wanted to go shopping with me, so we didn’t go to the tower. She just wanted to get back as soon as possible. She was in tears and in her demon form the entire way back. No one dared to come near us. Not even fans. Which was a nice change of pace. It hurt to see her in such pain.”

“Well, she’s happy now. Husk is here and willing to give this redemption thing a chance.”

“Really? Isn’t he still an Overlord?”

“Yes, but he said that it wouldn’t matter. He would still take care of the club and be here also.”

“If that’s what he wants. Just be nice to him. I like Husk. He’s much nicer than Niffty.”

“Just because she stabs you doesn’t mean she’s dislikeable! She has plenty of quality perks to her!”

“Al, her obsession with men is unnerving, to say the least. At least Husk has respect for others, compared to her.”

“Fair. But still. She does keep everything clean, doesn’t she?”

“Yes. But that’s all we need her to do.”

“Glad we’re on the same page.”

“Other than that, should we go?”

“Where would we be going?”

“The tower.”

“Take the Princess. I’m sure she’ll enjoy it.”

“That was the plan, but I don’t know if she’s willing.”

“She will. Trust me, Darling.”

“Okay.” I get up and kiss Al on the X on his forehead, and exit the room. As I walk towards Charlotte’s room, I get a feeling of uneasiness. When I reach the door, I hear crying on the other side. “Charlie?”

Surprise Surprise! I thought about waiting 'till Sunday to upload this, but I already have Chapter Eight done, which I will upload on Sunday. Thanks for reading!

[tobiasdrake]

Sneaky-snakin' my way back to the lab, and trusting none of my friends. THIS IS FINE.

Thinking about it, I realized something. Shinigami said we should keep Fubuki and Vivia's abilities in mind but didn't necessarily say they're complicit in the crime.

I may have been onto something when I was musing on Fubuki. Neither of their powers allow them to do things but both of their powers allow them to know things.

I've been circling this idea that Yakou might, himself, be our killer. Yakou may have been the person who did not beat the gas chamber. He may be dying of the poison, with his stabbing (by Jawline?) masking the cause of death.

If that is true, it's possible that Vivia and Fubuki know. Vivia's been saying that solving this case doesn't matter because it won't help us in any way. I've been under the impression that he means "Yomi doesn't give a shit about the truth so what will it matter?"

But if Yakou killed Huesca? And Vivia knows? Then "The truth won't help us" takes on a completely different meaning. Because. Like. That means we did it. Yomi's decided apropos of nothing that we did it. That's why we're in this mess. If we in fact did it, that's not helpful information for our predicament.

Fubuki's been practically catatonic since we found Yakou's corpse. She's barely said anything substantive. She may have found out what Yakou allegedly did in time loops we didn't get to see. As a matter of fact, the first thing she's contributed at all since we reached this room was volunteering to come with us and find the security logs.

If she knows? Halara might have saved us from having Fubuki save-scum the destruction of evidence behind our back.

...there is a non-zero possibility that Fubuki has already save-scummed the destruction of evidence behind our backs.

This is tense.

Yeah, these two chuckleheads. Fortunately, they seem to be distracting themselves by searching for more bankable eBay loot. Police corruption sure is convenient sometimes.

Shit! Yuma kicked a can. Unlike Huesca, these guys aren't deaf, which makes sneaking around this room tricky.

Sure would be nice if we had our time-rewinding (and possibly evidence-destroying) bestie right now, WOULDN'T IT!?!?

HOLD UP, we may or may not have murdered the doc but I'd hardly call that--

Oh. Right. The bombing attacks. Yeah, okay, Terrorist Detective is an apt title. Well. We're doing this all by our lonesome so. Um. Don't suppose I could bribe you guys to look the other way?

I. Have. No money. But I can pay you in debt to Halara. I'm flush with that! It's like accepting a bribe only backwards!

VIVIA YOU SWEET BEAUTIFUL MAN YOU.

What did I say? What did I fucking say!? There is no problem-solving resource more valuable than another goddamn human being!

Man, if we get out of this, I promise to carry your casket!

...unless you're here to obstruct the investigation because you don't want me finding out what Yakou did. In which case, I hope you live to be 1,000.

That is absolutely terrifying and I would like you to not elaborate, nor ever bring it up again.

Also, please dispose of it and acquire a new syringe. It's been used. Don't share needles.

...those guys on the floor shared that needle. But they're fascists so fuck 'em.

Oh, he does not, Shinigami. We both know that Vivia rarely does any walking. He's been more vertical in this one case than he has since we met him.

He knows. He's not uninterested in the truth of this case. He's aware of it. That's why he keeps saying it won't help us. He knows what Yakou allegedly did.

Thank goodness for lazy assholes. Huesca was exactly the kind of person to be like, "I'm the only person who can even access this room without dying horribly. What's the point of locking my computer? It's an inconvenient nuisance!"

Well, this is the point, asshole. Now outsider spies can easily access your data. I'm in your lab committing corporate espionage because you didn't want to spend half a second jamming out 8 digits of keystrokes.

My home laptop is more secure than the most confidential research console that our Corporate Overlords possess. Do you know what they call that? Hmm?

They call it entirely realistic. Our digital security is a shitshow. Every leader in both the political and corporate hierarchies should be ashamed of themselves.

But Huesca checked that while we were on the comm with him, and he said that security never faltered.

Yeah, we know that. Let's look for things we don't know. Otherwise we wasted a perfectly good syringe full of what might be sedatives but, knowing Vivia, there is an equal possibility that he killed those two guys.

Right. That's about three months ago, when that one scientist was tasked to bring Huesca his shipment of food supplies. Yakou/Jawline/Fink was not hiding in this room for 90 days. Absolutely not.

This isn't new information. It corroborates what we already knew. The killer didn't deactivate the security features. They either got around them or went through them.

There has to be more here.

Never crossed my mind that the logs could have been tampered with, but it might have crossed someone's so it's good to close that avenue off.

This might have something to do with Huesca's plan to flee the city. He had an arrangement with someone to get him out. That might be what Jawline was doing here. Or it could be what Yakou was doing here.

Either one of them could have been trying to save Huesca, rather than kill him. That would especially click with Yakou's behavior earlier. He was adamant that we need to beeline it to the lab and take Huesca into custody.

So perhaps I had Yakou right the first time. After causing a distraction to buy us an opening to reach Huesca, Yakou tried to hunt down Fink the Slaughter Artist and take him down. He lost the fight because he is a stick figure doodled on the label of a beer bottle, and that's how he ended up where he was.

That could make sense of why he was here. One way or another, this all connects to a personal motive. The woman in the picture. But it wouldn't explain why the letter was sent to our sub to begin with. Also, while the killer could have waded through the gas chamber and accepted death, that still wouldn't explain how they bypassed the--

No. No, Yakou could bypass the panel room if he had Fubuki to help him. I said before that the only way we knew of to beat the Panel Room is temporal brute-force, which the killer couldn't have done. But if the killer was Yakou, then he could have beaten the panel room the same way we did.

So maybe the person on the other end of this message was Jawline. He attacked Yakou to protect Huesca, but was too late to stop it. Maybe.

But. That still doesn't work. Huesca was alive when we reached the intercom. We separated from Yakou, with him going the opposite direction while we bee-lined it to the lab. There's no way Yakou could have gotten past us then, and Fubuki was with us at that time.

Oh, Huesca wanted out 'cause he's been committing corporate espionage. I want to be surprised by this but I'm not.

Okay, dude on the other end probably isn't Yakou. But they may have hired Jawline as a silencer, to keep Huesca from ever talking about what they've been doing here. That would explain why a hitman was sent in the first place. But if it's as straightforward as that, why the uncharacteristic death threat letters?

Oh yeah, this guy definitely sent Jawline. Or is Jawline. Or something.

Well, now we know why Jawline was here.

I thought he was talking about some kind of conspiracy to undermine him. But this now suggests espionage was the cryptic topic.

Someone at Amaterasu. I suggested before that if Yakou's our killer, he could have sent the letters to pin the blame on the famous hitman Fink. But if Jawline is the man that Huesca was working with, he could have done it for the same reason.

On that note, we cannot prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Makoto isn't Jawline but. C'mon. There is no way he has a rounded, muscular jaw. This man weighs 45 kg/152.6 Furbies. A stiff breeze would carry him away.

Huesca's been selling company secrets since before Makoto even arrived. Wow. Six months ago would be enough time for the food shipment 90 days ago to be messed with in some way. But we already know the killer hasn't been chilling in the lab for 90 days.

He could also be the hitman. We can't be certain Fink the Slaughter Artist was ever here.

Oh, hey! Uh. Hi, again. *glances at computer* Yeah. This. Uh. This is exactly what it looks like. I'm not even going to try and bullshit you.

I like to think of myself as a carefully placed thumbtack on your chair.

Suppose it's time for Mystery Labyrinth, then. There's no getting out of this otherwise.

Ha! Shinigami can possess the doc's body once this is all settled. Huesca himself can suddenly stand up and explain, "This is how I was killed, thank you!" and then fall back down. That'd be even funnier than when the killer does it.

I'm gonna hold you to that. When I get back to the sub, I expect to see Kokohead Sewage opened up on the map.

Kurumi will be super jealous. She's never pissed off the Peacekeepers enough to have a waste treatment facility named after her.

[sarith-kzekarit]

Hiya! Thanks for all your comments/tags on my Sarith arts! Would it be okay to ask how his story went in your campaign? I’ve heard so many cool ones over the years!

Hi!! I'm a perfectly normal amount of insane about Sarith and am always on the lookout for more content of him and OOTA in general (I've found very few other fans, sadly). I love your stuff, including your Sporeblood comic, and it always makes me really happy to see anything you share. :)

Anyway, I'd be happy to share some info about our Sarith!! I'm our group's DM and we are currently in the second half of our OOTA campaign, where Sarith is alive and well.

His background (that my party is aware of):

Sarith belonged to a lesser noble house of Menzoberranzan. They aren't a ruling family.

He attended Melee-Magthere and prefers stealth and ranged fighting.

Due to certain experiences, he privately questioned Lolth's propaganda early on and doesn't subscribe to her ideology.

Partially out of a desire to spend as much time away from Menzoberranzan as possible, he pursued a career in cartography. His job was to explore across the Underdark and map out new areas. He's very passionate about his work and once stabbed a man for ruining a map by marking it with a knife.

So far, the above points are unique to us and not in the module.

(MODULE SPOILER) This is how he ended up in Neverlight Grove. In our campaign, he and a traveling partner discovered the previously-unknown myconid colony. Sarith gained a strong appreciation for it and deliberately didn't mark it on his map. During their stay, the myconid Stool grew attached and followed him when his journey continued.

(MODULE SPOILER) Sarith and his partner were infected without knowing it, and it was only a matter of time before one turned on the other. Sarith lost control first and murdered said partner in front of witnesses at a trading post. He doesn't remember the act.

Sarith was arrested and taken to nearby Velkynvelve, where he met the party.

The story so far:

Early on, Sarith was sullen, guarded, and distrustful, but he was fiercely protective of Stool. After observing their relationship dynamic, the PCs told Stool what a father was and how to refer to Sarith as "dad" in Common.

Sarith's health was slowly deteriorating throughout the early campaign, and he made significant efforts to hide this weakness out of fear of being left behind or killed off.

He cooperated with the party for survival, but he also went out of his way to refuse any attempts to help him personally, expecting that he would owe the others something in return.

Despite this, the PCs were determined to befriend him, and slowly but surely managed to break down his defenses. His personality began to shine through: that of a shy, quiet man who preferred being in the wilderness over being around people, and who would ramble passionately about his interests if you could figure out what they were.

As he grew to trust the party enough, he started encouraging them to travel to Neverlight Grove, which he considered to be a safe haven. It would have plentiful food and water to sustain them, and was mostly unknown by outsiders.

(TW terminal illness) As they got closer, Sarith got sicker, and he was prepared for the grove to be his final resting place; this way, at least he would die free, Stool would be returned home, and the people he'd grown fond of would be safe from their pursuers.

(MODULE SPOILER) Thankfully, the PCs were smart and picked up on the hints I sprinkled along the way. They were wary of all the strange behavior, kept a close eye on Sarith, and sent a very small PC-only team to investigate deeper into the grove. After experiencing The Horrors™, the party fled and vowed to find a cure for Sarith.

With more knowledge of exactly what they were dealing with, the PCs found small ways to help manage Sarith's symptoms until he could be properly treated by healers at a major location.

(MODULE SPOILER) As the party got closer to reaching their goal of the Surface, Sarith began to fear what would happen to him when they reached it. There was no place for him in the world above, nor did he have a place in the Underdark. But to everyone's surprise, the least likely person stepped up to offer him a home: the dwarf Eldeth, who he'd previously had a lot of tension with during Part I of the campaign. She had gained a lot of respect for him in the past months (especially from one particular event) and now considers him "one of us."

(MODULE SPOILER) During the Intermission - which the PCs spent on the Surface - Sarith and Eldeth stayed in Gauntlgrym and grew surprisingly close. The PCs insisted on keeping in touch via letters, and when the time came for them to be summoned by King Bruenor, Sarith was fully prepared to follow his friends back into the Underdark.

Present day:

Though Sarith is no longer terminally ill, he did develop a chronic illness as a result of the internal damage done to his body. Old habits die hard, and he's doing his best to hide this so he can be useful to the party.

Two of the PCs are currently in the process of courting Sarith into a poly relationship. It's going well. :)

I love this man so much and have a lot to say about him, but this is by no means exhaustive lol. I'm actually writing a private fanfiction for OOTA (which may or may not ever see the light of day) exploring his character and various themes more in-depth...

Anyway, thank you for asking!!

[tenebraevesper]

Five Nights at Freddy's: Nothing Remains, Night 28: We Know The Ending

''Mr. Hopp never stops hunting for a victim. Floorboards pop, stomach drops, heartbeat starts to quicken. No one hides from his eyes, dark and unrelenting. Your demise is his prize, Nana knows the ending.''

 – Nana Knows The Ending by Random Encounters (Mr. Hopp's Playhouse)

xXxXxXx

Emma was glaring at Sam and Springtrap, looking rather furious. She took a deep breath, rubbing her temple as she tried to calm down and listen to their explanation on why they brought a black bird-like animatronic back home before she yells at them for their stupid idea. The bird-like animatronic, on the other hand, looked nervous and wasn't exactly pleased to be here, but he didn't appear to be another killer robot, as far as Emma could tell. As a matter of fact, he looked rather uncomfortable when Emma glared at him, but truth to be told, so was Springtrap when Emma met him, and he was a murderer.

''Um, Mum, this is Raven,'' Sam introduced the bird animatronic, who waved nervously, even though he looked like he was about to run out of the house as fast as possible. Emma rose an eyebrow, staring at Sam intensely, who sighed. ''Okay, I can explain this; please, don't get mad.''

''Okay, I'm listening,'' Emma said, crossing her arms.

''So, to keep it short, Raven is an animatronic who had been tortured by Connor, but he had managed to escape and told us that he would help us getting rid off Connor,'' Sam told her. ''Also, he isn't a haunted animatronic, at least not the same way Springtrap is.''

''I used to be a vessel for a man named Bran Crawford, who was at the time Connor's best friend, at least before he had murdered him,'' Raven added, figuring that Emma would trust him more if he told her the entire truth. ''However, his spirit had abandoned me a long time ago. The only connection I have to him are his memories and his last wish.''

''I see,'' Emma muttered. ''I hope that this man, Bran, had the common sense to attempt to leave Connor before he was murdered… Or was he in on it?''

''No, he wasn't,'' Raven replied, shaking his head. ''However, Bran knew about Connor's fascination with death, and he was aware that Connor wasn't mentally stable, but he tried to brush it off. When it became too much for him to handle, he tried to leave, only for Connor to stab him and cover his death up. He was also the first person Connor had ever murdered.''

Emma fell silent, with Sam, Springtrap and Raven waiting anxiously for her judgement. She eventually took a deep breath, sighing.

''Fine, as long as you are going to help end this nightmare, you can stay,'' she said.

''Don't worry, it won't be for too long,'' Raven replied. ''I apologize for causing so much trouble for you.''

''It's fine, I don't think you caused as much trouble as a certain other person,'' Emma said, glaring at Springtrap, who just rolled his eyes. ''I am used to this.''

Sam snorted, feeling guilty that she thought that her mother's response was somewhat amusing, especially considering how she was primarily responsible for introducing Springtrap into her and Emma's life.

''Anyways, Spring, Raven's staying in your room, so could you bring him upstairs? I want to talk to Mum in private,'' Sam said, drawing everyone's attention to herself. Springtrap, Emma and Raven stared at her for a moment, wondering what she was up to. Sam's eyes narrowed, with her voice, while polite, becoming assertive. ''Please, now.''

''Okay,'' Springtrap muttered, pointing towards the stairs, with Raven quickly nodding and following him. Emma rose an eyebrow as she looked at Sam, who sighed.

''If you want to lecture me, go on,'' she said, glancing at her mother. ''However, I'm not going to step down from this, especially since we just had a breakthrough thanks to Raven. This should all be over soon.''

''I am not going to lecture you or give you a hard time for this,'' Emma told her, patting her head. To Sam's surprise, she was smiling. ''I'm already used to your antics and I know that you're stubborn enough to see this through no matter how bitter the end might be. I just hope that things are going to end well.''

''Trust me, they will,'' Sam said confidently. During the past few weeks, the insecurity she felt was slowly being chipped away, breaking apart when she confronted Tessa. Several weeks ago, her confidence was almost non-existent, the feeling of emptiness and loneliness being hidden behind a fake smile. However, now, she was ready to take down the one person who had caused her and her family so much trouble and worry. All she wanted is to assure her mother that she'll get out of this situation alive. ''Don't worry, I will handle this.''

''Okay,'' Emma said, knowing that nothing she said would change Sam's mind. She then added in an assuring tone, ''I trust you, sweetie, as long as you get to keep your word.''

''Thanks, Mum,'' Sam said, hugging her mother. Emma hugged her back, wishing that she could do more for her, but this wasn't something she could really contribute to. This was solely Sam and William's territory and, despite her worries, she was aware that they knew what they were doing. However, she still hated the fact that Sam was involved in this mess. ''I'm sorry for causing so much trouble.''

''It's okay,'' Emma told her. ''You have my support.''

Sam smiled, nodding. She already knew what she needed to do.

xXx

Raven still felt a little uncomfortable, despite Sam and Springtrap assuring him that things were fine. Frankly, the look Emma gave him was much creepier than Connor's. It felt as if she was staring right through him, at his non-existent soul. He had to give props to Springtrap for actually having the nerve to stay here, especially considering how it was obvious that Emma heavily disliked him, if not outright hated him. He could only imagine what had happened when the two met for the first time.

Currently, it was quite late in the night, with him sitting on the bed of the guest room, while Springtrap was sitting on the couch, questioning him about his experience with Connor and trying to get as much details as possible in order to assess the situation and figure out what their next move is going to be.

''…I guess I was lucky that they didn't break my endoskeleton,'' Raven said, having placed his hand over his chest. ''Connor and the Drawkills knew exactly how to keep me from trying to run away.''

''He may be insane, but it seems that, when it comes to practical aspect of his abilities, he remained just as sharp as he used to be,'' Springtrap said.

''I'd say that he's less of a technican and more of a torture expert,'' Raven replied. ''However, I do agree that he is lucid when it comes to tormenting people. Nevertheless, I feel that this makes him only more dangerous.''

''I think that our biggest worry is that he might become too unpredictable when unhinged,'' Springtrap muttered, then looked up at Raven. ''Do you think that you'd be able to lead us to Connor's hideout?''

Raven nodded confidently, his eyes flaring up.

''There is no way I would forget where he is,'' he replied. ''That is, unless he decided to change his location.''

''Do you believe that he would do that? Would he change his location on such a short notice?'' Springtrap asked.

''I don't think so,'' Raven replied. ''He may be lucid when it comes to torture, but, as we both concluded, he's quite mentally unhinged to think clearly. Currently, his sole focus is to find you, no matter the cost.''

''Did he specify why he was so focused on trying to find me?'' Springtrap asked.

''Not exactly, but what I had managed to figure out was that he is still afraid of death,'' Raven said, shaking his head with an exasperated look on his expression. ''He's already dead, rotting inside his own mess of a body, so what else has he to fear?''

''I'd say he's more afraid of permanent death, essentially losing his only connection to this physical realm,'' Springtrap replied, adding in a quiet tone, ''He wouldn't be the first one.''

The two fell silent for a moment, with Raven sighing. ''I hears bits and pieces about you, things you and Sam talked about when you tried to repair me or what Connor said.'' He looked up, staring at Springtrap. ''I don't care about who you are or what you have done. Your story is not part of mine and the only reason I tried to find you was because I needed someone who could help me to finally get rid off Connor. If there's something you want to tell me, that's okay, as I will listen.'' Raven snorted, looking rather tired. ''I guess that's all I could do for the past months – listen to whomever decided that I wouldn't be able to retaliate or voice my opinion.''

''I'm sorry you had to go through that,'' Springtrap said. Raven shook his head.

''Don't worry about me,'' he replied. ''I'm thankful that you and Sam allowed me to roam around once again. Without you having repaired me, I would've been stuck forever at the Machinations Factory, either scrapped or burned to ashes.''

''I had figured that, if Connor was tormenting you, it would've been better to relieve you of your pain just to spite him,'' Springtrap replied. ''Speaking of which, what about the murders? As much as I know, a young girl and a young boy had been murdered, with Quentin and Virgil being the ones involved in the latter murder.''

''Connor used Dahlia to murder the girl,'' Raven added. ''He did the same with the other animatronics, switching from Virgil to Quentin to lure the kid away and kill them in cold blood. I believe that, while he was still alive, he placed devices that would allow him control the animatronics remotely.''

''Sam and I had already assumed that possibility, so thank you for confirming it,'' Springtrap said. Raven nodded.

''As much as I know, after Connor murdered his victims, he would soak metallic parts in their blood,'' Raven said, feeling a chills flowing down his endoskeleton as he remembered Connor's deranged expression as he worked on his next murder attempt. ''I believe that he thought that he was running out of time and that the blood of his victims would help him live longer, despite how mangled his body and soul are.'' Raven frowned. ''As you said, he is probably afraid of permanent death and is seeking a way to stay alive, not caring at all what he needs to do to achieve that.'' He glanced at Springtrap. ''That's the reason why he wants to find you, isn't it? You know how to achieve that kind of immortality, right?''

''Even if he found me, I wouldn't have helped him,'' Springtrap said. ''That idiot has no idea what he is doing. Murdering more people and adding their remains to his own body won't do anything to expand his lifespan. Remnant doesn't work like that.''

''Pardon my curiosity, but may I know what exactly remnant is?'' Raven asked. Springtrap fell silent for a moment, as if unsure whether he should explain it to Raven.

''It's rather complicated and, honestly, even I don't know everything about it, despite the fact that I was the one who had discovered remnant,'' he admitted. ''Essentially, remnant let's a soul get attached to a physical body, but I feel that there's a lot more to it. Remnant forms after the death of a person and it can be molded, but breaks during high temperatures. I believe that this is what happened to you and Bran. I noticed that you were left in the boiler room and, if you were exposed to constant heat, it might've been enough to break apart and let the soul leave.''

''I see,'' Raven muttered. ''The soul may have left, but I still have Bran's memories.''

Springtrap shrugged. ''I don't know how to explain that. I ceased investigation on remnant a while ago, as I had figured that enough people had suffered on my account and destroyed whatever was left.''

''Even if you decided to stop involving yourself in this mess, there are always people like Connor out there, who might accidentally discover the possibility of gaining this type of pseudo-immortality,'' Raven said, feeling a sting of guilt. ''Unfortunately for everyone, he had no idea about what happened at Freddy's until Bran told him about it.''

''Really?'' Springtrap stared at Raven in surprise, who nodded.

''Bran was making jokes about haunted animatronics, dismissing them as rumors and whatnot, but it seems that Connor's fascination with death was what caused him to believe that all of this was true,'' Raven replied. ''Going by Bran's memories, Connor had a near-death experience after becoming the victim of a car crash and I guess that's what changed him. Bran actually blamed himself for not seeing the monster Connor had become, feeling furious that he couldn't do anything against him.''

''I don't blame Bran for this,'' Springtrap replied. ''If Connor was actually a decent person, he wouldn't have decided to go on a murder spree later on or even have murdered his best friend. Not to mention the fact that he had created a bunch of murderous animatronics.'' He sighed, pausing for a moment. ''Still, I got the impression that the Drawkills would turn on Connor if given the chance, right?''

''Yes, but there is an issue,'' Raven replied. ''They have their free will, but Connor can still control them by using some kind of device that he implanted inside them. He essentially torments them into listening to him.''

''I believe I know what kind of device it is,'' Springtrap replied, remembering the black device he and Sam had found, which would distort the system of all the animatronics that were close to it. ''Speaking of the Drawkills, do you really believe that we can trust them?''

''I'm not completely sure,'' Raven admitted. ''However, I know that they hate Connor and that they want to get away from him, but they can't. If we offered them our help, they would accept it, no questions asked.''

''I see,'' Springtrap muttered, looking up at Raven. ''We'll talk tomorrow to Sam about it. The sooner we get on with our plan, the better.''

''I guess that's it, then,'' Raven said, lowering his head, smiling. ''It is a bit surprising that Sam wants me to stay, despite the fact that we only met a handful times. However, I understand that she probably feels sympathy for me.''

''You're right,'' Springtrap told him. ''Sam's sympathy and compassion is the reason why I'm still here.''

''However, you don't seem to mind it,'' Raven continued without skipping a beat.

''It is your decision, isn't it?'' Springtrap replied. ''When it comes to it, I feel that death isn't something people should afraid of, but they should be concerned with the idea of whether there is anything after death. I have learned that, yes, there is life after death, but I'd rather stay here than return back to Hell.''

''I'm not surprised that you'd want to stay here,'' Raven replied. ''I assume that you actually have a rather nice life being with Sam. You obviously really care about each other.''

''You're right about that…'' Springtrap trailed off. He sighed. ''I'm actually thankful for this second chance and that I had managed to help her improve her own life. I'm certain that she'd know how to take care of the situation if something like this happens again.'' Raven stared at Springtrap for a moment, noticing a soft purple glow in the bunny animatronic's eyes. Springtrap looked up at Raven, smiling. ''You and I are not that different when it comes to the decision we made.''

Raven was silent for a moment, still staring at Springtrap as he realized what the former was telling him. ''Are you going to tell her…''

Springtrap shook his head.

''No,'' he whispered. ''I know that I promised that I would never lie to her, but I believe that she'll eventually understand.''

xXx

Drawkill Freddy punched the wall beside him. He was furious at Connor, but also at himself for what had happened to Drawkill Bonnie. He felt helpless watching his companion walking around like a puppet, controlled by the person he loathed. He wished that he could do something to save him, but he knew he lost all the opportunities he had because of his own hesitation, his own doubt. He may be an intimidating machine, a literal walking flamethrower, but he was weak.

''Damn it,'' he growled. He felt a hand on his shoulder, turning around and seeing Drawkill Foxy, who shook his head.

''There is nothing we can do, mate,'' he told him. His eyes flared up. ''However, I'll be damned if Connor tries the same with me. I won't go down without a fight.''

''Same here,'' Drawkill Chica said. The three glanced at Drawkill Bonnie, who was leaned against the wall, deactivated. They knew that Connor would soon send them out again.

''I sincerely hope that Raven is going to find Afton,'' Drawkill Freddy whispered, despite knowing that Connor hadn't taken control over Drawkill Bonnie yet. They were all in despair due to the loss of their friend and they had put their trust in Raven, believing that he would find Afton and that they would be able to finally get rid off Connor.

However, the question that remained was whether Afton would allow them to live. They were aware that he'd be reluctant to actually help them, but he was everything they had left. They were ready to take any opportunity to escape this awful life, not caring what methods they would use to achieve that.

Rest assured, while Connor's life was slowly coming to an end, their own future still remained uncertain.

xXx

''I hope that you're happy now,'' Matt told Devon and Corey while they were sitting in a booth at Ricky's Wonder Shack, waiting for the pizza to arrive. Devon just grinned, as if he won some kind of prize, and continued talking to Corey, ignoring his older brother. Matt was fine with it, figuring the less communication they have, the better for both of them. Even though they were sitting across each other, they were miles apart.

It also helped him to focus more on his surroundings. He, Devon and Corey were at Ricky's Wonder Shack, with Matt finally having given up and agreeing to take the two here, with the boys being excited to try the food and play the games that were there. Matt, on the other hand, had noticed the strange atmosphere in the restaurant.

The children were oblivious to it, but the adults had a wary look on their expressions, sneaking suspicious glances at the employees and adults that hadn't been accompanied by children. Matt was aware that this was because of what had happened in the past few days. They didn't want their child to be the one to die in another accident. Even though the management assured them that they took all precautions to prevent something like that from happening again, it was clear that they didn't want to take any chances.

Liars…

Matt looked around, his gaze focused on the stage, where Ricky, Max and Dahlia performed. Virgil was, as usual, as the prize corner, but Quentin was gone. Matt was aware that the management at Ricky's had removed the animatronic due to safety reasons, but he felt that there was something they were keeping secret. There had been an odd chill in the air, with Matt sensing what was left of the previous tragedy. He wasn't sure what to call it; remnants of suffering, lingering agony… He still tried to figure out how to refer to that feeling, but he knew that multiple tragedies had cast a shadow over this place.

He had to admit that he wanted to know more about Ricky's and what had happened, but something told him that it would be better for him to stay away from this place. He tried to see whether there was anything last night, but was unsuccessful. While he wished that they would've gone to Freddy's, he was still curious about what exactly was lurking inside these walls.

''Hey, Matt, are you going to eat that?''

Matt suddenly snapped out of his thoughts, having not noticed the pizza an employee brought them. Devon and Corey snickered as Matt took a slice of pizza, but didn't eat it, being still focused on the strange feeling he had. It seemed that the animatronics had something to do with it, as Matt noticed that Ricky and his friends had finished the show and started to walk around. As Dahlia had passed by them, Matt felt as if she was watching them. It wasn't the blank, robotic gaze one would imagine, but it seemed as if she knew exactly what she was looking at.

After eating the pizza, Devon and Corey decided to leave the table, excited to play a few games at the arcades. Matt, meanwhile, kept a close eye on the animatronics, wondering if he should approach them. He was a little creeped out by them, but this creepiness was what had drawn him to them. He eventually stood up, deciding to approach Dahlia, who was busy entertaining a bunch of girls, who attempted to copy her dance moves.

Matt attempted to lock eyes with her, but once he did, he realized that the gaze she gave him earlier had vanished. Surprised, and a little confused, he looked at the other animatronics, Ricky, Max and Virgil, wondering whether he was just seeing things. As he looked at Virgil, he noticed that the animatronic was staring at him, giving him a look similar to the one Dahlia had earlier. The animatronic then walked away, having been called over by a few children who held up their tickets.

Are these guys haunted? It doesn't feel like it, though.

Matt frowned, keeping a close eye on the animatronics and determined to figure out what was going on.

xXx

''This game is boring,'' Corey said, stepping away from the arcade machine.

''I think that's because you keep losing,'' Devon mocked him, with Corey playfully punching his friend in the arm. Devon smiled, rubbing his arm and looking down at the Ricky plushie he had won thanks to his good aim at the basketball game. His smile faded when he noticed Max approaching him.

''Do you boys have fun?'' Max asked them. Devon nodded, but Corey shook his head.

''I want to play another game,'' he said. ''These are kinda boring.''

''What if I told you that there is another game you could play?'' Max told them.

''Really?'' Corey looked excited, but Devon was a little sceptical.

''What kind of game?'' he asked.

''Follow me, and I'll show you,'' Max replied.

The two boys exchanged glances and shrugged, figuring that they might as well follow Max in order to see what he was up to. He led them to the back of the restaurant, away from the crowd, with the two noticing Ricky standing in front of the entrance to a hallway.

''I'm glad that you could come,'' Ricky told them, sounding quite happy. ''I have something special for you.''

Corey and Devon stared curiously at Ricky as the animatronic beckoned to them to follow him, with Max standing behind them. At this point, they felt a little weirded out, but decided to go along with it nonetheless.

''What do you think you're doing?''

However, before they could follow Ricky, an employee appeared. He looked quite annoyed as he stared at Devon and Corey, who realized that they were in trouble.

''We just-''

Suddenly, Max stepped behind the employee, slinging his arm around the man's neck and ramming his surprisingly sharp cutlass through his back, the tip potruding on the front of his chest. He pulled the blade back, with the man falling down on the ground, blood flowing out of his chest. The boys stared at the man in horror, only for Max to suddenly grab Corey and drag him away, slamming him on the ground and wrapping his fingers around his throat, choking him to death.

Devon was too shocked to even cry for help, feeling the adrenaline suddenly kicking in. He attempted to run, but he managed to take only three steps before Ricky grabbed him, a predatory look on his expression. He looked up, catching a glimpse of his older brother staring at him in shock, only for Ricky to turn him around.

The last thing he saw was Ricky's cold stare, his eyes glowing as he pulled out a knife from his suit. He didn't even scream he felt a sense of pain exploding in his chest, with darkness enveloping him. Then, he felt nothing.

xXx

Matt stared in shock as Ricky pulled out a huge kitchen knife out of his suit and grabbed Devon by his arm, stabbing him in his chest. Blood splurted as Ricky removed the blade from Devon's chest and then rammed it at his head, piercing his right eye. The animatronic then let go of the boy, looking up at Matt, who noticed his glowing eyes, and seemingly grinned.

''My work here is done,'' he said, speaking in two voices, which sent chills down Matt's spine. He then slowly stepped back into the hallway, into the shadows. Max, meanwhile, had broken Corey's neck, and stepped back, staring at the mess of mangled bodies and blood.

There was an eerie silence as Matt approached the mess, a blank look on his expression. He felt absolutely nothing as he stared at his brother's lifeless body, with Devon's blood soaking the Ricky plushie that fell out of his hand when Ricky grabbed him. He knelt down next to him, grabbing the blood-stained plushie. Then, after what felt like an eternity, the silence was interrupted by a shrill scream.

Matt could hear screams around him, adults and children crying in panic as they attempted to abandon the restaurant once they realized that someone had died. His mind was still blank as he stared at what remained of Devon, aware that his brother was long gone. He felt someone grabbing his arm, another employee, and dragging him away from the corpses. The woman was telling him something, but he didn't register her words. The screams and cries were eventually replaced by the sirens in the distance.

Matt remained silent as he sat down on a bench, having placed the Ricky plushie into his backpack. He was still staring ahead with a blank look on his expression, being surprisingly calm despite the murder he had just witnessed. His mind was racing as he tried to figure out what had happened.

That animatronic…

He felt pure evil emitting from Ricky, aware that this wasn't the first time the person controlling the animatronic had murdered someone. He had taken away someone's life and Matt was sure that he would do the same in the future. He glanced at his backpack, at the Ricky plushie that he had hidden inside it, knowing that this wasn't his smartest move and that he would get himself in trouble, but he felt that this was the right decision.

No matter what they say, Devon isn't completely gone…

xXx

''We have to shut them down, they're too dangerous…''

''This is the end…''

''Why are you feeling so down? Those machines have murdered two people in front of everyone!''

''I have gotten a call from Wolfrun Corporation. They are going to shut this whole place down for good.''

''If they don't do it, the cops will for sure.''

''I guess that means I can kiss my job goodbye…''

''Shut up! Don't be so insensitive!''

Connor chuckled heartily as he listened to the manager and several employees argue as they attempted to restrain Ricky and place him into the back room. The case was clear and everyone was sure that they were dealing with a malfunctioning animatronic. Adding to the previous accidents of missing and murdered employees and children, it was obvious to him that he would eventually destroy the reputation of Ricky's Wonder Shack, and frankly, he didn't care. He wasn't part of this establishment anymore and his only concern was whether they would scrap Ricky and The Misfits. To his luck, they just decided to lock them away and forget about it.

It was no use though. Unless, the animatronics had been taken apart, Connor could easily gain access to them and control them. Once everyone left, he would let Ricky and his friends roam free without any restraint. As a matter of fact, he planned for them to finally leave the building and join him at his hideout. It wasn't just out of convenience, especially since Ricky's Wonder Shack would be closing down, but also because of a rather interesting visit he had earlier that day.

While he roamed around as Ricky, a familiar figure had approached him. He had to admit that he was a little shocked to see her, the girl who would constantly accompany Afton, but then he smirked, interested to see what Sam wanted from him. She was glaring at him, with Connor feeling slightly amused to see how much she despised him.

''I hope you're enjoying yourself!'' he told her cheerfully. Sam didn't react, only stepping closer to him.

''We'll meet again after hours, at Freddy's,'' she said coldly. ''That's the only offer I'll give you.''

She then left, with Connor feeling surprised about what she had told him. The last thing he had expected was for her to tell him to meet up with her. Nevertheless, he would accept it. His thirst for blood hadn't been satiated yet and now, there was only one thing in his mind.

Sam would be his next victim.

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#Five Nights at Freddy's: The Untold Story (Masterlist)

[leatherbookmark]

thinking abt jin rusong again. specifically his death. sorry songsong

there was this person who argued that it was shown in an obvious manner that jgy was the one who killed jrs, because jgy explains that the dagger’s blade shows the faces of people it killed -> qs looks at it --> suddenly grabs the knife and kills herself, the obvious interpretation being that she saw jrs’s face. and it’s plausible! especially if you consider that jgy’s feelings towards his son were, shall we say, conflicted, and that he as a weaker cultivator would probably have a harder time resisting the dagger’s Murderous Aura. it would have been enough for jrs to accidentally wander into the secret torture room!

but personally i have 2 problems with it, namely

That’s Not What Sect Leader Yao Said!

jgy’s fear of other people.

ehhhhh

1) in itself is uhhh problematic because sect leader yao is not the most reliable source of information etc etc. at the same time, i feel like wwx, who managed to figure out the thing with the soul-eating goddess statues and well as everything about jgy post-guanyin, wouldn’t just miss something as obvious as this.

i’m talking about the fact that according to sect leader yao, jrs was poisoned. not stabbed. last year i made a post about it based on cql subtitles, but i checked both the japanese translation and the original novel text, and indeed: 毒殺, 毒害.

of course, one could argue that wwx doesn’t really give a fuck about jgy and the whole case is just an interesting puzzle to him. well, sometimes he goes “oh yikes”. he would have no reason to care about how exactly jgy’s kid died, whether by poison or a dagger. but again, after the events of the guanyin temple he talks about jgy’s mother, even though with his current knowledge of jgy having done It All Some Of It, it would be perfectly understandable if he gave even less fucks, bye everyone, the bushes are waiting.

2) is... slightly complicated, but basically it just doesn’t work for me characterization-wise. jgy says to nmj in the stairs conversation that he’s scared of everything -- not only the heavens, but also people. obviously, that applied to nmj in particular, but also there’s jgs, who holds jgy’s life in his hands, there’s madam jin with her less spectacular but no less painful physical abuse, there are people in general, powerful cultivators or not, who wouldn’t bat an eye before tearing him down one vicious rumor after another, and finally, there’s everyone in that he just doesn’t feel safe. he doesn’t trust anyone not to turn away from him, not to withdraw their friendship and affection when he’s not convenient or helpful to them anymore. according to his words, the man is in a state or perpetual paranoia and insecurity.

he doesn’t even tell his future wife that they’re siblings! i’m firmly in the camp They Were In Love -- otherwise why the fuck would they fight for the marriage to happen -- so imagine the state of mind jgy must have been in to hide something like This from the woman he loved. from the woman that loved him first! and fought people to be with him!

why am i talking about it? because people like to call jgy an expert manipulator, and i’d like to call bullshit.

an expert manipulator probably should not be shaking like a chihuahua for every single moment of their life. some ways of manipulating people, crowds in particular, are easy -- you don’t need to be a genius to carefully drop a few allusions to the yiling patriarch and how dangerous he might be, etc, etc, and Just So Accidentally end up with an angry mob. but i feel it it significantly more difficult to get a specific person to do exactly what you want, in particular when that person is in a state of extreme shock. you’d have to feel confident that you can predict all their reactions, and this is not something jgy would say about himself.

because... qs says she wishes she’d never met him. she slaps him. who’s to say that she wouldn’t grab the dagger and stab him? or even -- if she couldn’t bring herself to do it -- scream and say what she saw reflected in the blade? jgy knows why wwx&co are there, and he knows that another accusation wouldn’t help him. out of possible outcomes, there’s one that ends badly for qs, silencing her forever, and at least two that end badly for jgy himself. and if anything can be said about jgy, it’s that he does everything he can to survive. i just don’t think he’d risk that! also -- others could look at the dagger too, and confirm that qs said the truth, and while technically jgy could say that wellll yes, the murderer killed a-song with this dagger... it really falls apart quicker than a wet tissue.

so: either jgy is scared of everything and everyone all the time, OR he’s a skillet skilled manipulator. if he was a skilled manipulator, he would’ve avoided many unpleasant things, having manipulated people out of hurting him. he would have manipulated the jianghu into thinking he’s the best dude ever, lxc into never ever ever doubting him, and qin su into... that as well. she’d get the letter and her first thought would be ‘my a-yao would never...! someone is trying to frame him!’ and poor bicao would be dead fifteen minutes later.

(bonus: re: sending jzxuan after jzxun, i’m... not quite sure. of course, it would be perfectly valid of him to want to kill two annoying peacocks birds with one yiling laozu stone; i think the fact that everyone kissed the ground jzx walked on when he was an awkward mess at best and a pompous asshole at worst, when jgy wasn’t even the son you push into the background but a literal servant doing the dirtiest, most humiliating and unpleasant jobs, was already infuriating enough to warrant wanting at least one person dead.

still: as jgy said, he couldn’t have predicted that things would go this bad, and i choose to believe him. it would’ve been bad enough if wwx had lost control and made wn fight, not kill or injure but just fight jzx -- that would show everyone present that he’s not harmless at all, and the lanling jin sect is doing a good thing by seizing his superweapon and dealing with him. and the fact that wwx helped their case so much, well. shit happens?)

finally, 3) or my personal thinky thoughts:

if he wanted to kill jrs, thinking him an abomination, why wait? why allow him to be born at all, if he could have slipped qs appropriate herbs into her morning tea many, many times? okay, technically she could have gotten over losing the first pregnancy and asked him to try again -- but he could have refused and given her many arguments, including but not limited to “i’m still grieving what could have been”, “i’m scared it’s my fault”, or even “sooo there was this night hunt and uh. my dick doesn’t work anymore :-(”. jl was already the heir, and jgy wasn’t everyone’s favourite, so it wasn’t like it would be a huge disappointment (or a surprise) if he and qs had no children.

and like. yes, i guess “only son dying tragically as a toddler/child” would traumatize qs more, but there’s still no guarantee that she wouldn’t eventually ask him for another child! it’s a Very Weird way of purposefully making sure you never have to bang your sister again, is what i’m saying.

finally -- okay, suppose that that one sect leader really was stubborn and bitchy about the watchtowers. why doesn’t lanling jin, the richest of the sects, simply pay him to shut the hell up? i’m not saying jgy is the most logical of men, but surely that’s easier than fabricating a whole murder and killing a whole sect as punishment.

[fasterthanmydemons]

[ Speedster of the Galaxy ]

“No, it’s not that I’m upset you told me,” Mantis clarified when he apologized. “It just… hurts. Your hand, I mean. I feel it.” Whenever she had to heal people or ease their pain during a mission, she ended up exhausted, but it was worth it. Then Pietro started telling her why he never told Wanda about his hand, and despite listening to him, Mantis was confused. “When I asked if you told your sister about this, I meant the way you feel regarding Vision. It is okay, though. You can talk to me about anything.” She wasn’t sure why Pietro trusted her as much as he did. Just like Drax had done, telling her about his daughter shortly after they met. Her right hand felt sore and she tried not to cry at the misfortune Pietro and his sister had gone through. The fact that people would just let them live on the streets was surreal to her. How? How could anyone let two young kids be homeless and hungry, forcing one of them to steal? How could someone just stab a child through the hand? Why was she surprised? She had seen Ego being cruel to his own children over and over again. Yet cruelty against children kept surprising her for the worse. “If the pain in your hand gets really bad, tell me. I will make it go away for a while. You do not deserve to feel such pain all the time.”

She was happy to let the conversation turn lighter when she pointed out the comet. “It’s pretty to look at, is it not?” Mantis asked, her gaze following it. Letting its light overcome the darkness that threatened to follow her from the remains of Ego’s planet. Mantis liked to just watch and feel inner peace at the reminder of what she was trying to protect. The galaxy was cruel, but also incredibly beautiful. Underneath her antennae, millions of thoughts and ideas would rearrange at the sight of celestial bodies of any kind; talk to me, she always wanted to say, what are you trying to tell me? Mantis often wondered if that was a part of her nature as a Celestial hybrid who had lived most of her life on another Celestial being, or just a part of her curious nature. Maybe a combination of both.

“Yes, it was fun,” she agreed when Pietro made a remark about the anecdote Mantis told him. “Gamora and Rocket kept yelling at Quill for trying to pilot and watch comets at the same time. And he was trying to be sneaky and fumble with the Zune, too, and–” Mantis was interrupted by her own laughter. “The rest of us were standing up at first, and kept colliding against each other, luckily from shortest to tallest. Groot collided against Rocket, who collided against me, I collided against Gamora, who collided against Drax, and we all screamed as Quill yelled at us to sit down and put our seatbelts on. Funnily, the song the Zune had settled on was called Ready To Die by a guy named Andrew, and Drax actually took it as a sign that we were going to die, but he was not scared; he was having too much fun.” Mantis crossed one arm over her abdomen, bending her body slightly forward as she laughed uncontrollably. She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. “I really loved it. The stars look so majestic and mysterious from Earth, but life among them is messy and sort of ungraceful.”

This particular comet was bright, relatively small. Small, yet boldly flying across the galaxy on its own. Mantis hoped she could be as brave as that little comet, one day. It was tiny… Like a child. “Costel,” she whispered tonelessly, eyes shifting in Pietro’s direction. “His name is Costel. He lived in Sokovia with his sister, Zrinka, who you found very beautiful. You had very few things to play with as a child, so you thought of getting him a ball.” Her voice was somewhat monotone, as if reciting something from memory. “The Hawkeye wanted to save him. His real name is Clinton, but you called him ‘old man’. He is a father, so he wasn’t going to let Costel get hurt.” At some point, her already large pupils had grown until the small whites of her eyes were gone. She stared at Pietro without seeing him, her eyes but two inky openings like portals to deep space, black holes so dark they didn’t even reflect the light of the comet anymore. Light was shining from her antennae instead, albeit dimly. “Ultron did not shoot you because he wasn’t happy you betrayed him. For that matter, he wasn’t even shooting you at all. He was shooting them. You simply…” Mantis slowly tilted her head to the side. “Got in the way. Without second thought. You feel it is your duty to always protect those who need it.”

Mantis then blinked and lost her balance, stumbling forward, lifting a hand to her temple; the light of the comet reflecting in her eyes once again as her pupils regained their usual size, the glow of her antennae disappearing. She peered up at Pietro for a moment and chuckled. “Oh, this… This happens sometimes. I took your hand while you were nervous, and I did not look inside your head, but… when a mind is too agitated, it becomes chaotic, and my powers, erratic. And things find a way to reach me even when I’m not trying to reach them.” There was a hint of sadness in her voice. Mantis wished she could understand her own powers better. Ego taught her how to use them for his own benefit, but Mantis still didn’t know enough about them. He taught her to deeply fear them, too. Her lack of knowledge combined with the somewhat volatile nature of an agitated mind was enough to shake the way her powers would function, and the empath looked down. “I’m sorry… I hope I did not scare you.”

Mantis hesitated a bit, but spoke again: “It was very selfless and brave of you to do such a thing. I’m sure Costel and Clinton will be eternally grateful.” She glanced at Pietro again, and a playful smile tugged at her lips, softly nudging him with her elbow. “So… Zrinka, huh? She must have been really grateful as well, you saved her little brother.”

__________

“Oh, well then let go of it!” Pietro said with a sudden protectiveness, as if Mantis was laying her hand on a hot stove or something. He was instantly shocked and extremely apologetic. “Am so sorry, I didn’t know it was doing that to you. Don’t… I don’t want you to feel this. I don’t want anyone to feel this.” It was one thing for him to feel it. He was used to it and it had been years since he’d known anything different. But his heart was beating faster with the sudden panic of causing something else that pain. He tried to calm down. “Sorry to overreact like that, but I don’t want anyone to hurt because of me. Not ever.” He’d have to be more careful about that if Mantis was going to keep touching him. “Here have this one. You can touch this one anytime you want and it shouldn’t hurt you at all,” he said, offering her his other hand.

“Oh!” His face turned beet red with embarrassment. Gods, he was really fouling things up left and right wit his idiocy today, wasn’t he? “Sorry, I… Am sorry. I misunderstood. Sorry for wasting your time.” His whole face felt like it was on fire and that only made him feel more mortified. “Yes, I… I told her about how I think of Vision,” he said concisely, not wanting to talk anymore. he’d already said enough, too much, and he was making an ass of himself like he usually did. “Is fine,” he said when she seemed to feel it was okay for him to tell her anything, looking at his sneakers as he scuffed them on the floor. No, he’d done enough and needed to shut up. But then she was offering to help him with the pain in his hand and he felt like even more of an asshole. “No, no, is fine, am used to it and dealing with it, please don’t worry about it.” He shrugged. “Who says I don’t deserve? I didn’t protect my sister or my parents like I was supposed to. maybe I do deserve, who knows.”

He was glad that she’d moved on to lighter things, his smile returning slightly to hear her talk about the Guardians antics in space. They honestly sounded reckless, dysfunctional, scatter-brained, and like they had more issues than a magazine rack… and Pietro thought he might just get along perfectly with them. “Sounds like it was fun. I hope I can have some of that fun along with you guys. And yeah, who knew looking out at majestic space that people in it were just as goofy as they are on Earth,” he said with a chuckle. It actually made him feel better that they weren’t perfect and had a lot of problems. That lowered the pressure for Pietro to conform to some kind of unsustainable ideal, like he’d felt with the Avengers.

When Mantis started to… well, for lack of a better word, memory-dump all over Pietro, using his own memories no less, he froze in confusion for a time. Then, once he noticed how much blacker her eyes were and the dazed almost hypnotized way that she was speaking, he stood perfectly still and silent, not wanting to interrupt. Wanda’s powers sometimes went haywire too, or if Mantis’ weren’t going haywire then she at least needed to concentrate. Pietro knew what interrupting an empath in the middle of them trying to connect with someone else’s mind could do to their own, so he didn’t want to risk hurting her in any way. He was still as a statue and silent as the dead as she gleaned all sorts of things from him, mostly from his last days in Sokovia. But then she was suddenly finished, or whatever had taken hold of her had finally let her go, and she started to stagger. “Woah, woah, is okay, grab on…” he said, gently holding her arms so she wouldn’t fall over, until it looked like she had regained her balance. “You okay?”

She began to apologize and she looked so sorry for what she’d done, but Pietro really hadn’t been bothered by it. He was already used to people being in his mind because of Wanda, and he didn’t mind Mantis doing the same. He certainly wouldn’t have said he’d let just anybody be inside his head, but Wanda and Mantis were okay. “No, am not scared, you’re fine. I just… That didn’t hurt you, did it? What, is like… your powers going bonkers for a second, or…?” he asked, curious and trying to better understand. But as she explained, he once again felt responsible. “Oh, am sorry… I didn’t realize. Maybe… is bad for you to be around me?” he asked, unable to keep the disappointment from his voice. He didn’t want Mantis to have to keep away from him to protect herself, but if that was necessary. “I don’t want to cause you problems with your powers, so… if you need to keep your distance from me, is okay, I understand,” he said rather sadly.

The compliment made him feel somewhat awkward. “Nah, I mean... I feel like anyone else would have done the same. Is not like you can just stand there and let a little kid and a father die for no reason,” he said, shrugging. When she asked if people were grateful, Pietro shrugged. “I guess so? I don’t know about Zrinka and Costel, I never saw them again. I don’t even know where they are right now, so even if I was on Earth, I couldn’t talk to them. Clint and his wife are grateful, though, I think, because… he kindof… named his new son after me. Well, sort of. His middle name is Pietro.” And he seemed to beam a little about that. “Is pretty cool, I think.”

[valleynix]

Chapter 18 analysis LETS GOOOOO

I wanted to get this out sooner but I’ve been so busy lately 😭

Anyways congrats on 39k hits and 1100 kudos on ao3‼️‼️‼️

1:

THEY CARE‼️‼️ I now believe everything lunny says, since they never lied before. I trust in lunatic intuition

2:

Man.. I Wonder who do that 🤨🧐🧐🧐

Truly an unsolved mystery

3;

MY HEART

Daniela loves reader sm omg

And reader really is someone who grounds daniela, considering that she didn’t go feral when they were bleeding in front of her the second time and the fact she literally drank their blood

SHEE NEEDS THEMM

4:

You sure about that 🤨🤨

I’m assuming reader is gonna tell Bela the truth next (since telling Alcina is scary af) and I’m really excited for the scene to happen

5:

SHES IN LOVE OMGG THEYRE SO CUTE

This whole scene had me giggling and kicking my feet they're so cute together 😭

I also think Bela is going to be the next person to confess her feelings to reader, AND I CANT WAIT I LOVE BELA

6:

I love jealous reader LMAO

7:

I was worried for a second that lunatic still wanted to work for Miranda, but thankfully they were just faking it 😭 (correct me if I’m wrong) but I wonder, was Miranda watching them from nearby for them to fake it? Or was she doing some mind stuff?

8:

This part was when I kinda knew that it wasn’t lunatic causing any of the hallucinations. Cuz if I remember from part one, the hallucinations that lunatic shows were mostly of the dimitrescus being very.. uncomfortable? I guess? (I don’t really know how else to describe it) and maybe some other stuff about them crumbling/dying. But I never remembered lunatic showing them something about reader themselves (correct me if I’m wrong).

9:

NAH WHO TF R U

I NEVER MET YOU IN MY ENTIRE LIFE ☝️

Okay but this scene really got my brain GOING, the writing was great 😭

And the part with that other voice monster thing was very unsettling. My guess is that the young version thing and the monster thing are the same person, since reader said something about seeing something dark underneath their skin

And I’m glad reader wasn’t really tricked by the weird voices of anything, they know their beloveds would never

10:

THEYRE EVILLL

my guess is that watcher made a deal with Miranda to bring them back to their reality if they torment reader

And for this part I think the someone else is that weird monster voice thing. Maybe watcher was trying to distract reader until the monster attacked them and reader accidentally attacks the dimis? And then lunny snaps them back to reality?

11:

You don’t even try to fight her moving away from you, her brows furrowed as she glances between you and your copy. “You… We trusted you-“

OH MY HEART

This scene was so sad but I’m glad Bela was okay. One thing I really love is how you make the dimis put their family first over reader.

12:

In one last ditch effort to gain her attention away from everything else, you muster what’s left of your strength and energy to mutter out a rough, weak, “Mother.”

BROS MAKING MIRANDA RETHINK HER LIFE CHOICES RN

Her mother instincts kicked in

I do Wonder what’s going to happen now (if mother Miranda is still conflicted with this), like is Miranda going to try to be a ‘mother’ to reader now or?? I LOVE MIRANDA ANGST

13:

You blink once, twice. The third time, your eye does not reopen.

Let me just say- THIS WHOLE SCENE GOT ME GOING

LIKE DAMN READER REALLY ALMOST DIED

Like the other times it was just really bad injuries, but girl really stabbed straight through their neck💀 I am so excited for the next chapter with this reader angst

AND THE DIMIS?!?

omg I wished we were able to hear what they were saying cuz they just witnessed their love getting brutally stabbed 😭

14:

Some time during your spiral, you feel something settle beside you, some weight nudging against your back. When you peek your head out from beneath the blanket, you see that crow leaning into you, watching the door intently. Your copy says nothing to you, no smart comment or even a noise. They watch the door, never straying from their protective position beside you.

THEYRE LOOKING OUT FOR THEM‼️‼️ PROTECTIVE LUNNY THEY CAREEEE

I’m really excited for how their relationship will go, and so happy that lunatic is officially (I think) on reader's side. They’ll be able to talk to each other about everything that happened, cuz even if cass and Dani know they never really remembered anything. So they’ll be there for each other

THIS CHAPTER WAS AMAZING AS ALWAYS

I wanted to say more but I’ve been so busy and burnout lately 😭😭

Keep up the great work ❤️❤️

PLEASE TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF FIRST!!! you better be getting lots of rest and drinking plenty of water/eating plenty of food or ELSE >:(

but onto the analysis <33 i saw the notif pop up on my phone and couldn't stop grinning BAHA

Lunatic has canonically never lied!! maybe omitted some things or said things they truly believed at the time or what they were told, but they've never intentionally lied :3 always a treat to go back and read the things they've said while knowing that bit of information

you could never guess who did that :)

I LOVE THEIR RELATIONSHIP SO MUCH- they literally need each other, both help the other stay grounded and in reality and they're just so sweet and caring and they love each other so much PLEASE MY HEART

i have plans >:3

i already have her confession scene planned out AND IT'S SO... BELA???? IM SO EXCITED TO WRITE IT AND SHARE IT AAAAAAA

jealous Reader my beloved <333

bro was just feeling edgy in the moment 😔 and it was a bit of both! she was definitely monitoring their progress mentally while keeping an eye on them after they took over, which is why she knew exactly where to find both of them. Lunatic, thankfully, also knew she was watching them so they could pretend to be on her side to keep both of them alive a little longer

you're right!! this entire scene was actually meant to be a clear show that Lunatic hadn't even done anything to them; whatever was happening in their head was from an outside party looking to clearly harm them or cause them distress. Lunatic strictly showed the Dimitrescus looking a little wrong or showed specific memories of the Dimis dying/crumbling/injured, but never anything like what they were shown here

i will give you a hint and say they're the same person; it's only a matter of who this person is and what they want with Reader :3 and they know their beloveds would never do such a thing!! they'd never guilt trip Reader for things out of their control

the way i giggled at this MWAHAHA but it's a really good guess!! i suppose we'll see soon enough if your theory is correct >:3

THE DIMIS WOULD PUT THEIR FAMILY OVER ANY READER/OC AND I STAND BY THAT. these mfs who have only had each other for years would NOT betray their own family for some little idiot they've known at MAX a few months. nuh uh. i don't believe it

EHEHEHE I HAVE HORRIBLE THINGS PLANNED >:3 i loved writing this part and having Miranda be utterly conflicted with what to do as she finally saw them after all this time and through all these many different experiments... my heart :(

GENUINELY A VERY SHOCKING MOMENT- like, how does one even recover from something like that?? trick question, but i can let you in on what the fruit flies were doing: Cassandra went straight for Miranda upon seeing Reader fall, which is who we saw as like a blur chasing after her. Bela was completely in shock and unable to hold Daniela any longer, who went to Reader's side and tried to get them to speak to her or do anything to show they were still alive and could see her. Cassandra was then either knocked down or killed (haven't decided which was worse), which caused Daniela to try going for Miranda to help her sister, and that caused Bela to finally snap into action to save her family. it... did not end well

I LOVE PROTECTIVE LUNATIC SO MUCH!!! my poor baby just wants to be loved and appreciated and they're finally realizing that Reader could be the one to give that to them. they're my favorite traumatized siblings and i love them so much <33

AAAA BUT THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR THOUGHTS!!! i've been mentally exhausted lately so i understand being burnt out, and i want you to take care of yourself >:/ take breaks where it's needed and worry about yourself first!! or else!!!!

i appreciate you so much and it has been an honor to read your analyses and see the wonderful art you've created <333333