#if I ever get kidnapped everyone just pretend it didn't happen. we are going to move past it. when I get back nobody mention anything /lh

[babyangelsky]

BL Challenge 2k24 ✨Day 7✨

Hello and welcome to @negrowhat's 15 Day BL Challenge! Full challenge can be found here.

Favorite Villain: Korn Theerapanyakul

It isn't often that we get an actual villain in a BL. We have plenty of love rivals but those are rarely ever villains in the true sense of the word. We also have a large, unfortunate array of shitty parents and parental figures, some of which absolutely do fall into the villain category, but they don't deserve my effort or your attention.

But then we have Korn.

Korn is a villain. Make absolutely no mistake about that. This man has dedicated his life to playing 4D chess with everyone around him, including and especially his sons, and he's brilliant at it. There is never a moment where he isn't in control, there is never a moment where he hasn't thought at least five steps ahead, and he has very few blind spots.

What gets me—and what makes him that much more insidious in my opinion—is how he presents himself to the world.

♡ gif by @guzhufuren from this set

"This man, a villain? Never! He's just a nice, soft-spoken dad in a sweater vest! Sure he's a bit intimidating but he's in the mafia, it's to be expected. And just look at how accepting he is of his gay sons! He's looking at a photo of his son and his son-in-law and smiling, isn't that lovely?"

False!

Korn's image is perfectly curated and if you only look on the surface, from the outside that's exactly what he is: a nice dad and a respectable businessman. He's rational, calm, and level-head, especially when you compare him to Gun—which you can't not do. It's impossible to have a conversation about Korn without talking about Gun, who is absolutely just as bad and who I easily could've chosen.

The difference is that Gun's evil is overt and in a way, it's more...honest because of it. He's not out here pretending to be a good person or trying to be anything other than exactly what he is. What you see is what you get. However, I chose Korn precisely because of that insidiousness, because his evil appears so much more subtle but only when it remains in the shadows.

♡ gif by @kinnbig from this set

Because when everything gets brought to light? Hoooooo BOY.

This man kept his foster sister in isolation under lock and key for years after he killed her husband and took her away from her two little boys. Then he left those little boys in the care of a degenerate gambler and watched them sink further and further into debt. And that's only the thin end of the wedge! If we got into all the ways he fucked up his OWN boys, we'd be here all damn day.

Kidnapping on perhaps more than one occasion, a hit squad, Kim's entire personality, Kinn's emotional range, need I go on?

But getting back to Porsche and Chay, Korn could've helped them at literally any point but he didn't lift a finger until they grew up and became useful to him. He could've cleared their debts, paid for Chay's education, provided for them, kept them from getting remotely close to a situation were men were beating them and trashing their home. But he did exactly none of that because whatever sense of obligation Korn might have felt toward them absolutely pales in comparison to his need for control.

♡ gif by @kinnbig from this set

That's what this all comes down to: control. The world is a chessboard and everyone in Korn's orbit is a piece on it. He proposed an outcome for himself and he got it.

He made sure Kinn was cemented as head of the main family and found a way to cement Porsche as head of the minor family. He got rid of Gun and the threat he presented and succeeded in burying the truth of what happened to Porsche's parents with him, because the truth that Korn gave simply is not the whole truth. It never will be because divulging the truth means giving up control, and that is something he will never do.

I could literally talk for hours about Korn. He's a fascinating character. He's got so many layers. Bottom line?

Este señor es el mismísimo diablo. This man is the living breathing devil.

[dairy-farmer]

If you like, (as I saw you indeed do, from an ask) De-ageing promts/asks? Consider THIS~!

Everyone always hitting our poor baby boy Tim with that De-Ageing! As though his puss ain't tight and assets perky! Rude! You know who SHOULD be hit?

>:Dc Bruce~

Because him and Ra's are once again going at it. Bruce is not blind and DOES NOT appreciate this man panting after his Son. Is he a hypocrite? Maybe. But he's still gonna punch Ra's about kicking his boy out a window and the various bits of leering.

They do the Traditional by now, Dramatic Heroic/Immortal Sword Fight near the pits.

Ra's makes A Comment(tm). Of what he'll do when Bruce is dead. Since Bruce has failed to join him, Talia failed to give him a Worthy Heir, and Tim proven... Interesting(tm).

Can't do SHIT without limbs, Ra's. Bruce sees red and tries to feed the fucker his own entrails. Very calm. Toooootally thinking clearly.

It was, rather predictably, a trap. But Bruce is a talented man. So now they're BOTH stabbed pretty badly. Very homo-erotic, which is also traditional. Because with Ra's of course it is. Regardless, Ra's has NOT survived this long just to die to Daddy "don't fuck my son".

Into the pits we both go!

Which? Honestly, he's been trying for YEARS to get Bruce to use. So he can see reason. Ra's can admit the irony.

They struggle. Are drowning. Healing. Still impaled. Break free of each other, even as they try to grapple each other into submission. Again, the homo-eroticism is thick enough to choke lesser men. All the while? The pits are healing.

The wounds, yes. But also everything ELSE. They ARE submerged after all. Ra's? Expects this. Bruce? No idea what's coming.

He drags Ra's blade free of his body and breaks surface. Pit furious and seeing green. Damn near baby faced, at JUST under 20.

Turns out taking care of your body means there's less to "Fix". Self destructive Missions come back to bite him once again. But? Shit. Ninjas. Pouring in to help a fresh faced Ra's. Late 20s and in his prime once more. Damn it!

This isn't over, he growls.

Does NOT like the amused way Ra's is smirking.

One fight out and a stolen jet later? Bruce gets to stare in horror at his Twink-ification. Half his sons are physically OLDER then him. There is no way in hell he can hide this with make up. Luckily, it's Gotham.

He stages a kidnapping of himself. "Unknown chemical agent" combined with the INFAMOUS Gotham bay water. Clark, pretending to be him (once he's done laughing) goes in, Twink Bruce comes out.

People believe it.

Brucie Wayne is too dumb to make this up, after all. And stranger things have happened. Once cleared by the hospital? He heads home.

Now what.

He LIKED his Dilf status. His "silver fox in the making". He didn't have to "date". Booze it up or party. He was FREE damn it. He sulks. Jason and Dick are laughing at him.

Tim let's him hide in his office. Starts crafting "new lease on life" PR campaigns. They are, unfortunately, going to have to attend a Fad Pilates-Yoga-Samba Fusion Dance class. He's so sorry.

It's awful.

What's WORSE?

Is he forgot how HORNY he was at this age. It Does. NOT. Stop. Just an endless stream of wanting to thrust and fuck and lick and suck and-. It literally keeps him up at night! Even after patrol! And Selina? She won't touch him with a ten foot pole.

He's "an infant".

Call her when he's fixed.

He ALMOST considers some of the girls in his god awful class. But then they open their mouths and say some of the most soulless, casually cruel, things he's ever heard. And THAT reminds him he has standards.

He manages to find NICE ones, but then THEN start talking? And good lord, they are BABIES. Where are their fathers and why have they failed these wonderful young ladies? Have a college fund. Bruce is your father now.

And STILL horny.

Possibly in hell.

He tells this, even though he probably shouldn't, to Tim. Rants really. Because Tim let him hide again. Brought him coffee and dinner. And? Frankly? TIM is reasonable! Bruce wouldn't BE in this situation if he could find even a SINGLE woman like him!

And Tim watches Bruce pace. Muscles rolling as he walks. Still in work out gear. Young, nearly his age, so hot Tim wants to choke himself on his... Well. Tim COULD point out the obvious. Fleshlights. Modern toys that Bruce could no doubt improve.

OR~ Tim could shoot his shot and go for glory.

......fuck it.

Witness Him.

Tim deliberately splays his legs. Sprawls, open and inviting. And muses, not looking at Bruce of course, if Bruce needs a Woman or just the right hole?

Bruce freezes. Because of course not. He's Bi AF, just REALLY want to fuck a... wait. Wait(tm). Bruce's brain starts punching out Options. Why Would Tim Ask That? He looks at Tim. His body language. Considers if he wants to ignore it or take this clear offer.

He's across the room and plucking the tablet from Tim's hands in a handful of strides. Naked. Now.

Young Bruce is the HORNIEST, NEEDIEST fuck you can imagine. Once you let him in? It's all over. You're gonna wake up to that morning wood pounding your puss. Spend breakfast, being his desert. As he eats you out. Humping your leg like a dog in heat. Gotta go to work? Well not before his good by fuckies! Needs to shoot his load nice and deep, so you know he loves you.

Visit you at the office. Finger fuck you at your desk. Worship your clit like he's trying to win a medal. When you finally can't concentrate any more? Pull you from your office chair and fuck you til you're a sloppy mess on the floor. Don't worry! He brought a plug so you won't mess the change of clothes he brought you! See you at lunch~!

And on and on and on. Because Bruce is physically in the horniest phase of his life, has his FULL Batman stamina, and? Realized almost IMMEDIATELY? Tim cuddles when he's well fucked and exhausted. And Bruce misses him.

So Bruce is gonna take advantage of the situation.

Can't drift away from me and go off to join some random hero team, if I'm the Best Dick Of Your Life. If your body craves me. You get so used to my constant fuckings, your day is incomplete without them~

Use my WORDS? Pshhhhh. No. I'm just going to use a seventy step plan to permanently tie Tim to me for life with my dick! Because I love him! This is a reasonable and well adjusted way for me to act, I'm gonna get such a good grade in Dad. Now if you'll excuse Bruce, he's gonna go fuck his son.

-🐼🐼🐼

!!! oh my god bruce getting deaged would be his worst nightmare ever- having to join 'new age' spritual things like something-yoga or eating some trendy new food because it aligns with his 'brucie' character- add that in to him not being able to fuck within any age group. his new '20 year old peers' are so incredibly immature and he can't fathom breaking his morality enough to fuck them and the older ones wont let him near them because THEY feel like creeps. so tim being the only logical choice left and bruce also being able to kill two birds with one stone by being able to 1. get off and 2. make sure tim stays close to him😭😭😭

[misseviehyde]

BETTER ME, THAN YOU

"Well I can't believe you tracked me down. It's been such a long time since we last spoke. Please sit down and enjoy the drink my butler prepared.

Ohhh, it's too bad you got so sick just before we were ready to test the Elixir. I know it was your dream to try it - but we couldn't afford to let the delicate solution deteriorate whilst we waited for you to recover. I simply had no choice but to try it myself.

Now, I unfortunately have to have a regular supply of the Elixir in order to maintain my new body and there's just not enough for both of us I'm afraid. I already hid all of the equipment and destroyed all the remaining notes along with your grandfathers journal before leaving town. It would take you decades to piece together even the smallest bit of our research, you really are wasting your time.

Look - it isn't just a simple matter of maintaining my physical form. Everyone thinks my male alter-ego is dead and I moved to this town for good reason. I have no intention of ever turning back into that loser.

Since arriving here I've insinuated myself into the richest family in town. I read about their young daughter being kidnapped all those years ago, and knew that if I turned up and pretended to be her after all these years, I could easily replace her. I am Olivia Hyde now .

Frankly - Mrs Hyde was desperarate to believe I was her long lost daughter and any irregularities in the way I behave and act have been overlooked due to my trauma. I of course have no memory of my kidnapping all those years ago.

Awww you think I'm a bad person for impersonating a dead girl? She's probably long gone and these fools would never have found her. Better that I should have all the money and power that would have been hers. Better that it is in my hands and I be the spoiled rich girl I always should have been.

My troubled past gave me an excuse for knowing so little about makeup, hair, girls clothing. But I was a fast learner and with an unlimited supply of money I quickly spoiled myself rotten. I know it all now loser. I know how to dress like a tease and make boys do what I want. I know how to bully and manipulate people. They all think I'm so innocent but I'm the biggest bitch you'll ever meet.

That's right - I'm a spoiled evil slut just like I deserve to be. Assuming Olivia's identity is hardly the worst thing I've done. I'm a bad bad girl and bad things happen to people who get in my way.

Don't you get it simp? The Elixir made me into a fucking Goddess and the more I drink, the more perfect it makes me every day. I'm smarter, stronger and more powerful than any human deserves to be.

So what if the Elixir numbs some emotions? Who needs pity and remorse when you have a tight pussy and can suck big cock when you want? Who needs love when you can have power, money and sex.

You have no idea how good my body feels loser. Soft perfect skin, firm boobs, silky hair. I love how ultra-feminine I am. I love that I can manipulate and control anyone.

The truth is - I wanted this power all those years ago, so I took it from you. I put laxatives in your food - I ensured that it would be me to drink the Elixir not you. I remember how hard I jerked my cock thinking of taking the power from you.

But if I thought jerking off felt good - I never orgasmed so hard as that first time I transformed and became Olivia. As I felt my nails lengthen and my face change I knew that I was finally becoming the person I always should have been. As I grabbed my ass and felt my tits swell up - I knew I would do ANYTHING to keep this body.

Ohhh whoops - did you drop your drink? Are you feeling okay? You look kinda woozy.

Shhhhhh. Don't fight it.

Did you really think I'd just let you waltz in here and take all this away from me. Haha - didn't you learn anything all those years ago.

I spiked your drink again - only this time it isn't laxatives. It's just a little something to help you sleep.

Shhhhhh it will all be over soon. I'll go on living this deliciously evil life and you'll finally be at peace.

You could have had all this - but now it's mine to enjoy. I won't even think of you at all after today - but it will be satisying to know that chapter of my life is over.

Yessss, close your eyes and just... sleep.

Don't feel cheated. Before you go, you just have to accept this was always my destiny.

Better me than you...

[8bitsupervillain]

Higurashi When They Cry Hou Ch. 4 Himatsubushi pt. 3

The first of the TIPS in chapter four gets rather philosophical. It's a lot about how intertwined people truly are, simultaneously not at all, but could be connected in a big way.

The second of the TIPS is about the Inukai child who was kidnapped. The kidnappers talking around him about how he needs to calm down, and also if he doesn't vague threat vague threat.

The next morning Akasaka tries to wrangle a little tour of Hinamizawa using the cover of being a photographer who wants to capture the natural splendor of Hinamizawa before it gets submerged by the dam construction.

And just like that he's invited into village under the guise of a simple tourist. Quite surprising that those in charge of the village and the Onigafuchi Guardians would just let some rando in, but hey we need the plot to progress somehow. On his way through town he spies all manner of anti-construction/anti-government protest signs along the roadside until he arrives at his stop.

If you ever feel the need to ask yourself if you seem suspicious, you probably do. Nine times out of ten it'll just be nerves, but it's that one time you have to worry about. Especially when you're conducting a wee bit of espionage.

I'm surprised we didn't get the eyes at any point during chapter three. Seems like during the many many many many many many many many many many scenes of Keiichi going on about how he needs to kill X Y or Z it would've popped up, but surprisingly they didn't. I missed them, I missed the feeling of dread they gave. I don't think they're really wise to the fact that he's a cop, I think they're probably just giving him the suspicious stare because he's an outsider. The villagers seem certain that every person from outside Hinamizawa isn't on the level, so it makes sense they'd be untrusting of this random yahoo from Tokyo who just so happens to be wanting to have a poke around during such a sensitive time.

After getting off the bus filled with suspicious villagers Akasaka finds a small bus stop, which is filled to the brim with Rika and posters and such with protest slogans.

Akasaka, you're now two for two on saying things someone who isn't suspicious should say out loud. Stop it.

Seems even six years ago in the past Rika is fully aware of what's going on in the narrative. Although her calling Akasaka Tomitake Mk. II makes it seem like she's aware of the fact that Hinamizawa seems to be stuck in a time loop going back even further than the constant looping of June 1983. Since Rika is the physical reincarnation of Oyashiro, does she experience time non-linearly? Was I wrong about the notion that everyone knows about the time loop except for Keiichi?

Thinking about it I think I might be able to work out how it's happening, to an extent. Rika is the one going through the time loop. For whatever reason she keeps getting plonked back into June, 1978 and is forced to relive the events going from then until the end of June, 1983. Since she's relived these events however many times she's gone through them she's tried influencing events in an effort to escape it. Only for June to end, only to find herself back in 1978, and repeat the whole process over and over. And each chapter is a new wrinkle in the ever repeating process. This, for instance, is the first time she's interacted with a cop pretending to be a nature photographer. Hence: Tomitake Mk. II.

Akasaka suffers from the same instantly trusting of a person he just met disease Keiichi has (I almost described it as falling in love, but that felt wrong). It's explained away it's because Rika is his vision of what the perfect child would be, and his own wife is about to give birth to their own child. Brief tangent, and I apologize in advance, but I just thought of an absolutely wild theory that has no chance of being correct. What is the subplot of Akasaka having a child is somehow tied into the cult of Oyashiro? What if Rika is somehow trying to impart the spirit of Oyashiro into the unborn child of Akasaka and his wife Yukie, in an attempt to break the cycle?

After a nice drive around Hinamizawa, Akasaka is taken to the Furude shrine where he is able to do some light reconnaissance into the inner workings and strength of the Onigafuchi Guardians. He also meets the mayor of Hinamizawa Kimiyoshi (I want to say his first name is Keiichirou, but I don't remember off hand). Who is now slightly more relevant to the plot, as he now has a character art. Also there was this:

Which, I would like to thank the internet for making innocent terms sound extremely dirty and wrong. Also:

Anyway, during his brief wander around the Furude shrine grounds, Rika pulls him aside.

This particular chapter seems to be speed-running the usual song and dance of the chapters by getting to the central plot creepiness quickly.

"The girl I had spent time with... Rika Furude... would not speak like that." Akasaka, you've known this girl for maybe four hours. You don't know her, at all! How can you honestly stand there and say there's no way she'd act like this? For all you know, this is how she'd normally act! Just because you're mentally trying to imprint the idea that this unknown child is how your unborn kid will act doesn't make it so. Also, that's kind of a weird thing to do, but then again I'm not a parent, so who the hell knows, maybe expectant parents act like this all the time.

I'm now envisioning that scene from Disco Elysium where Cunoesse is taunting the detective into shooting her. Only replace the detective with Akasaka, and Cunoesse with Rika.

I think the Rika who was warning Akasaka to go back to Tokyo was the "real" Rika, the cute child with the meeps is an act. It's a facade she puts on to make other adults trust her, and disregard her as a helpless, safe creature that they can safely ignore and speak candidly around. I reckon, that in the future, 1981 and forward the only ones who see the "real" Rika are the other heads of the three families.

You can't really tell, but I'm pretty sure behind the text box here is the good old soulless stare. Also, I have to say, even looking at the box art (I know it's not an actual boxed game, but I don't know what you call the art on Steam and so on that have the title. Key art? I know there's an actual term for it, I'm just blanking on it.) I wouldn't have guessed that the chapter would take place six years before the other chapters and be the Rika and Ooishi chapter.

[phanfictioncatalogue]

(TW) Heavy Angst With A Happy Ending Masterlist

before/after (ao3) - katesofheaven

Summary: Dan and Phil have a dying daughter and they deal with it in different ways, both before and after she goes.

Butterfly (ao3) - A_Million_Regrets

Summary: Phil Lester, a lonely writer, finds a dying boy with beautiful black wings on a cold, rainy night in a dingy alleyway. He recognizes the boy as one of the winged men hated by human society. They are considered to be wild, ferocious beasts, but Phil's sympathy forces him to help the boy.

What happens when the boy, considered to be a wild beast, gets too attached and follows him home with an innocent, dimpled smile?

Can We Just Pretend (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: After being seen cuddling with a childhood friend, Phil thinks Dan is cheating.

Change Will Come (ao3) - rainbowchristy

Summary: Dan’s a depressed university student. Phil’s just a cute coffee shop barista who writes notes on Dan’s hot chocolates.

Choking on My Thoughts of You (ao3) - Anonymous

Summary: The first time Phil coughed up a petal, he thought he was seeing things. He blinked, staring at its perfect edges, almost as if to will it out of existence. There was no way something so small and perfect could have come from his lungs. That couldn’t be possible. Yet there it sat, perfect and white as can be, cupped in his hands.

Phil loved Dan so much it was killing him.

dollhouse (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: dan's parents are fighting, again.

Expectations (ao3) - my_happy_little_bean

Summary: They expect you do well. They expect you to succeed. That's everyone's expectations.

You, however, have different expectations from different people.

And you're tired of them.

helplessly helpless: I’m alive, can you hear me? (ao3) - MANIAvinyl

Summary: Dan’s been in a relatively good place. He’s kept his head screwed on tight recently. So because the worst of the storm has passed he feels like it’s on him to help the world to de-stigmatize talking about mental health. When he mentions this to Phil, though, it’s finally revealed how much the last few years have impacted his best friend, too.

Really, I just wanted to explore Phil’s side of the story regarding Daniel and Depression. Because mental health doesn’t just affect the individual; it also affects those close to them, in ways we can’t imagine until we’re the ones on the other side.

hippo milk is actually pink (ao3) - deletable_bird

Summary: In Which Dan Is Drunk, Phil Is Also Drunk, They Hook Up, And Things Just Kind Of Go From There

Maybe I miss you (ao3) - Misha_with_wings

Summary: Phil leaves Dan for several months to temporarily live in New York City and work on a movie set.

The distance between them drove them both insane, but neither of them could voice the reason why.

When Dan comes to visit Phil in New York his feelings are threatened to spill after an encounter with one of Phil's new friends, but he keeps lying- to both Phil and himself.

Hopefully he can eventually tell the truth, because Phil gets another long-term job opportunity in California and Dan can't take any more distance.

Maybe It'll Last This Time (But I'm Gonna' Love You) (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: “Because, if you could love someone, and keep loving them, without being loved back . . . then that love had to be real. It hurt too much to be anything else.” -- Kill Me Softly, Sarah Cross

You love him, but it's a little complicated.

Missing (ao3) - Misha_with_wings

Summary: "So we have a new update on the serial killer running loose around London-" Dan turns the tv off, he didn't want to hear anymore. He just wanted Phil back home, safe and sound.

Seized (ao3) - rainbowchristy

Summary: It started out as a fun day at the park but it ended in terror. Phil takes his little Dan to the park and while Phil is not looking, Dan suddenly gets kidnapped. What will happen to Dan? Will Phil ever see his boyfriend again? Did Phil have something to do with it?

To Love You (ao3) - A_Million_Regrets

Summary: Dan is a rent boy, a male prostitute, a cheap whore, another slut for hire . . . He's heard many more derogatory terms used against him in pointless arguments, regardless of whether it be with friends, family or a random stranger in a dingy pub. He's ashamed of who he's become, but he never says it out loud. He hides things, things like his shame, his pain, and the fact that he's helplessly in love with his bestfriend, Phil Lester.

Unrequited (ao3) - thiccennugget

Summary: Phil doesn't believe in soulmates. Dan's been searching for his for years.

Wonders Never Cease (ao3) - Yiffandquiff (paradisobound)

Summary: Dan and Phil were one of the 'it' couples at their high school until one day, Phil blindsides Dan with a break up. Hurting and seeking comfort, Dan befriends Tyler who helps him get through the first tough few months of the break up, mending his shattered heart. But Dan doesn't want to move on. He wants to be with Phil and maybe, just maybe, in the end, he'll still get to be.

[rigginsstreet]

Sometimes I get so mad that Billy antis watched season 2 where Lucas stalked Max and then he, Dustin and Mike got offended and angry when she told them to stop then watched Billy while he implies to Max that his dad beat him for having of color friends and warned her not to hang out with Lucas after he watched Lucas follow her for an entire day (I would also tell a younger sibling to not hang around with someone who yells at you for setting personal boundaries and makes out that you're a bad person for not wanting those boundaries violated but that's just me) and decided that Neil isn't racist and Billy is? I don't see any of them complaining about the fact that Lucas was made a villain for half of season 4 or that someone tried to murder him with their bare hands or that a guy was sent to r*pe and murder Erica. No one called out Mike for his racist jokes in S1/2 they don't complain about the fact that Dustin is often overly rude to him or how they thought he was weird for taking what happened in s2 to heart and changing how he treated Max offscreen. Why didn't we get to see Max and Lucas' relationship develop but we get Mike losing it over Eleven developing interest in being something other than the girl locked in his basement. No Billy yelling at Lucas after he accidentally helped Steve kidnap Max and pretending that he would run over him is the worst thing anyone has ever done to Lucas. We all know the Duffer brothers doubled down on Billy being a racist after everyone called them out for Lucas's storylines and how they made him behave in season 2. It wasn't exactly subtle timing. Sorry for ranting.

i dont know that anyone was out here tryna rape erica. granted i did not watch season 4 but.... i dont know that that was what was happening

but regardless of that, its lack of media literacy on the audience's part. everyone has failed english and fully bought into the notion that so long as a protagonist says its correct, then so it shall be. like this is precisely why so often old media is looked back on and we're like "oh, hey, this was kinda fucked up actually". its perspective. and the stranger things audience lacks the hell out of it.

contrary to popular belief, the writers are not god. and you actually have to take into consideration WHY they chose to frame things the way they did. billy is a character thats written because they needed a villain. they literally said themselves they wanted a "human villain". and it was supposed to be steve but that failed so they created billy. and thus decided to put all this shit on him, despite it actually making no narrative sense and you dont need a microscope to see it. like its laid out plain as day. there is such a lack of follow through and blatant contradictions between how billy is meant to be viewed and what is actually taking place in his interactions with other characters. antis are just willfully ignorant. must be nice going through life that stupid but i dont share that experience so fuck me i guess.

[pantherlover]

A Local Habitation Re-Read: Part 7

Hello again! Here's part 7.

Chapter Twenty-Eight:

It really is creepy thinking about April luring people out so Gordan could try to digitize them.

Chapter Twenty-Nine:

April's room being decorated so childishly makes everything soooo much worse.

"Damn. Just once, can't the villains look suitably villainous?" Give it a couple months Toby! You'll meet one soon enough.

I still think Jan's plan was to essentially put Faerie in the Metaverse. What would happen if the servers broke down? April had like a million failsafes and she still ran the risk of being turned off permanently if the power failed. I feel like, beyond the near impossibility of the task, there were a lot of issues everyone at ALH failed to consider.

The person in charge of the knowe being completely against you is a really scary thought.

Chapter Thirty:

'"Perhaps he'll stay dead this time," he said, nonchalantly. "Tybalt, I snapped. He gave me a look, as if to say 'what?' then began studying his nails.' I know that look. If he was my mom's cat he would've rolled on the floor to show how totally nonchalant he was feeling about the situation, which is maybe not as dignified as Tybalt was going for but would've gotten the feeling across the same.

I didn't think that Barbara was a very good Queen of Cats, but she might've been a *slightly* better one than I gave her credit for. Elliot said that Barbara was upset that the cats kept dying; if she wanted the testing to stop and ALH decided to keep going, that might explain why she decided to sell them out to Riordan. Which doesn't actually help the cats under her care, but it does explain why she'd 'bend at the knee' to a child of Titania.

Chapter Thirty-One:

Toby keeps saying that she's super paranoid about everything; if anything I think she's not paranoid enough.

'I was starting to see the blood trail on the floor, marking out the way in blotches and streaks. Only half of it was real blood. The rest was potential blood, ghost-blood, made visible by the magic I inherited from my mother.' I don't think that Toby's ever tracked someone through potential blood trails after this? I'm not sure if that's because everyone she tracks after this is bleeding enough she doesn't need almost blood, or because tracking people through their magic is more reliable.

"We go now, because there's no time left. Tybalt, can you-" "I'll guard him. I should be able to coax him back to human form." Tybalt really does understand what Toby needs. He knows that she needs to go save Quentin, someone who's her responsibility, and he knows she'll be able to focus on doing that if she's not also worrying about Connor.

Elliot's soapy tidal wave is actually pretty cool. I love the way that people stretch their magic to do things they technically shouldn't be able to do.

Chapter Thirty-Two:

If Gordan was always planning on experimenting/murdering Toby, why didn't she do it sooner to stop her from investigating? Or was there too big a risk that that would spook Jan into sending someone to bring Sylvester to Tamed Lightning?

Oh man, Gordan, if you think some type of hierarchy wouldn't be established in the digital world, then you don't know people very well.

Gordan makes me wish we got more changeling characters. I feel like we don't get a ton of them, and it seems like they tend to be unsympathetic characters instead of characters who have a lot of reasons to be bitter (but still don't default to murdering people).

'Then, quietly, [April] asked, "For right now, until they come and take Gordan's hardware... can we pretend that you'll take care of me?"' Oh nooooooooooo. Trust me, April, if it was even slightly possible, Toby definitely would've taken care of you.

I feel like this book was Toby's biggest failure professionally. One Salt Sea was probably her biggest failure personally, but she stopped a war from happening and rescued a kidnapped child then. In this book, only 2 out of 7 people actually survived (although to be fair, she did get to bring most of them back later).

Chapter Thirty-Three:

I know Tybalt stayed behind to avoid Toby until he could process what he'd learned about her (and to take care of the cats), but I'm still glad that April wasn't left alone with the dead. (Actually has anyone written that fic? Now that I'm thinking about it, Tybalt could probably give April a lot of advice on running her fiefdom and how to look after her people)

I wonder if Jin has a running tally of all of the ridiculous injuries she's had to heal when Toby gets involved. Maybe the healers have bingo cards and they win a prize if theirs gets filled up.

'No one knows exactly when Amandine went crazy; she collapsed a few years after I vanished, moving into an internal world far stranger than the Summerlands. She doesn't spend much time in the tower anymore. Most reports place her wandering endlessly through forests and standing, motionless, at crossroads. I wish I knew what she was looking for.' I remember feeling sorry for Amandine the first time I read this part, and hoping that Toby would eventually get her mother back. I no longer feel this way. I guess losing another daughter (and potentially her only chance at getting her other daughter back) is what caused her to snap. Also, I'm not sure if this is the intended association but 'wandering endlessly through forests and standing, motionless, at crossroads' is making me thinking of Tam Lin/Janet breaking the Ride.

"And Toby... he's not angry. You did the best you could. Both of you." This might be the last time we see Luna and Toby's relationship be uncomplicated/good. The next time we see them after this scene is when Luna's sending Toby to die for her.

That's it for A Local Habitation! I'm excited to get into An Artificial Night; this was the book that really pulled me into the series. See you next time!

[bonnixd]

See through?

Summary: After Xavier escaped too, you must consider how to proceed. And it seems one person saw through your plans...

"Do you know what happened to Xavier? He was gone for the night and his face looks like he got in a fight" Enid told Wednesday. "That was y/n". Said Wednesday. "What...?" Enid asked in disbelief. "He kidnapped Xavier, as did Tyler." Wednesday said calmly. "And how do you want to know that?". Enid asked anxiously. "Thing told me. I got him to watch y/n because I found something under his bed.” Said Wednesday. "And where was Xavier?" "At the old Gates mansion." Wednesday said quickly. "But don't confront him and pretend you don't know anything," Wednesday said seriously. "Why?! Y/n hurt and kidnapped our friend” Enid yelled. "If y/n finds out we know about the kidnappings then it will be a lot harder to confront him," Wednesday said loudly. "Why?" asked Enid. "He's a never." "A what?" asks Enid questionably. Wednesday went to her desk and took out an old book, she turned a few pages. "Here". She said. "A never is a person who gets their powers from an object." is available on Wednesday. "Huh?" said Enid. Wednesday sighed. "The plague doctor mask, y/n wears it all the time. This mask makes y/n stronger, faster, smarter etc. If y/n doesn't wear this mask anymore, then she/he is just about as strong as a normal person.” explained Wednesday. "I didn't know people like that existed." "There aren't many in this world either." "Only this mask also brings negative things with it." Said Wednesday. "It says here that the item amplifies feelings of revenge and makes them feel more intense." Next Wednesday. "That's why he kidnapped Xavier?" asked Enid. "I think yes, I have to ask Xavier why y/n kidnapped him".

"Hey... Wednesday" Xavier said tiredly. "You woke up". "Yes...but I...I'm still a bit tired". said Xavier. "I have to ask you something urgent Xavier" said Wednesday seriously. "Ask me…I hope I can answer." "Why did y/n kidnap you?" she asked. "y/n said that my father was to blame for his sister's death and that he would take revenge..." Xavier said tiredly. "I knew it, he acted out of revenge," she murmured. "What?" asked Xavier. "I'll explain to you later" said Wednesday and left.

Wednesday, Ajax, Bianca and Enid met in the dorm of Enid and Wednesday. "And how are we supposed to get our hands on the mask?" asked Bianca. "Ajax, has y/n ever taken his/her mask off in front of you?" asked Wednesday. "No never. Y/n also told me that he/she never takes off the mask in front of other people". Ajax replied thoughtfully. "And how do y/n eat then?" asked Bianca. "He/she pushes the mask up a bit, I observed that in the weathervane." Wednesday said. It was a thoughtful silence. "I guess there's only one option left. We have to take y/n his/her mask off.” Wednesday said firmly. "And how are we supposed to do that, you said yourself that this mask strengthens the body." Said Enid. “Yes, but this mask also increases the feeling of anger. If we fight so that y/n doesn't land a punch, then eventually he'll become unfocused. Then we pounce on y/n, hold him/her down and take his/her mask off” Wednesday said. "That sounds like a good plan. But what happens when y/n doesn't have the mask anymore?” Bianca asked. "We'll see". said Wednesday seriously. "All right, then we have a plan." Enid said excitedly. Everyone shakes hands. When Ajax and Bianca left, Enid got ready for bed. "You have feelings for y/n or Wednesday?" Enid asked Wednesday. "What makes you think of that?!" asked Wednesday, horrified. "I can sense it in your voice and in your plan. You could have just called the police, but you don't. You want to protect y/n.” She said firmly. Wednesday looked at her for a while. “I….Y/n is different from the others. At y/n I have a feeling in my chest.I don't know what face is behind that mask, but I guess I have feelings for y/n.” She said slowly. "Wednesday Addams is going soft for one person. That I can experience that.” Enid laughed. "One more sentence and I'll cut off your tongue and feed it to you." threatened Wednesday. Enid smiled and lay down.

hey i'm still a big beginner. I hope you like it anyway and I look forward to your criticism. I wish you a nice day ;D

[therebecreatures]

Random women I adore on Criminal Minds

The woman who saw her face on a missing persons poster, knew the cops had ignored the first woman, and immediately went and bought herself a shotgun and holed up in a motel room for 3 days straight, and only called in when she knew she couldn't stay awake any longer.

That one episodes where killings are happening very similarly to a series of murders from like 25ish years ago, and they brought one of the surviving victims back to the barn where she was tortured to try and spark any more information, and she's yelling at the killer's wife, demanding to know what she thought her husband was doing in that barn and why she didn't do anything, and the woman is like, uh I killed him. Came home, saw the barn, knew what he was doing and took him out.

The episode where the killer was taking notes from the how to pick up girls class, and the fbi were going to all these clubs handing out posters with the killers likeness, and Reid had that cute encounter with the bartender, magically pulling the card with his number out of her hair, and then later she sees the killer hitting on a woman, and she dumps water on her, takes her to the backroom to "help her clean up" and then tells her to stay there while she calls the cops (though it always drives me crazy that she leaves the room to do it) and then at the end of the episode she mails Reid's card back to him with a lipstick kiss, calls him right as it arrives and goes, "Is this your card?"

The woman who ran the daycare, and was kidnapped with 4 kids by that guy obsessed with numbers, and they were like trapped in the room being gassed or something with the masks evenly spaced out to force them apart, and was like closing the door on the kids one by one. I don't think we ever actually hear any lines from her, but I love how hard she tried to take care of those kids in the worst situation of her life.

That mom in the cult episode, early season 4 I think, who called like cps or whatever it was, pretending to be her daughter and saying that the cult leader was having inappropriate relations with minors, which he was. And then she helped Emily get everyone to the escape tunnels later. The amount and strength and courage that women had after years of conditioning and brainwashing into accepting what was going on in that cult was immense.

Totally not related, but I just remembered the episode from a later season with the siblings that are taken hostage by they're uncle? I think it was, and they find out that the brother had spent time with the uncle while he was in prison, and it looks like he's with them willingly, and participating in the trail of bodies they're leaving, and the sister is like super alone in this, and towards the end the brother crashes the car on purpose and you find out that he was terrified the whole time but knew the uncle somewhat trusted him and thought going along with it was the only way to protect his sister. Special shoutout to that kid

Obviously there's like a million more, this was just off the top of my head.

[jaythelay]

"nor do I want to become the victim of a genocide"

wow you really typed that. You really unironically typed that and thought it was okay.

Nobody deserves Genocide. Sure wish you'd understand your existence doesn't rely on another dying, and to claim that to be moral, is repugnant.

In fact I wish you'd drop the gun ya got to Palestinian's heads and stop chanting "It's me or them"

Didn't we send 45bil to Israel and the day after they committed more warcrimes? Aren't our cops trained in Israel/by Israeli? Do we not pay for their free healthcare?

To act like Palestine is irrelevant would be rather daft given the Billions with a B we've sent the genocider country to further genocide them.

I guess tax dollars aren't political tho. Definitely shouldn't demand better, because then dems might give up! Dear Leader has no necessity to listen to the citizens, just to send money for genocide and put rainbows on the bombs.

You can demand better and vote for Kamala.

Only people saying otherwise are blue fanboys that're splitting the community by claiming genocide isn't an important discussion piece, but your problems definitely are at the fore-front and all else needs to take a backseat.

Ya'll got a whole decade of visibility and cushioned discussions to the point when someone does have it worse than you, all you can see when people discuss them is that your special label is peeling away to show you're just another person with nothing special about them.

Anyways if ya'll feel like dem voters are going to sabotage ceasefire talks as much as my gay trans ass thinks, then feel free to vote third party! I won't be mad, I'm too busy being used as a prop to obscure discussions of a Genocide to care who you vote for.

Imagine saying: Guys they're just being BOMBED, RAPED, KIDNAPPED, and MURDERED, but I don't want that for myself!

Clearly my problem is the only problem worth focusing on and any focus on palestine is anti-lgbt!

Imagine feeling that self-important. We're never gonna get shit solved by pretending one sufferer supersedes all other's suffering. This ain't a damn ladder to climb it's a door for us all to escape through, and ya'll are purposefully standing in the doorway, pushing Palestinians away, claiming there's not enough space for all of us.

And then getting mad at your own party for calling you out on it.

This is disgusting behavior by people who grew up in better times than their ancestors, and they didn't reach now by claiming their issues supersede all others and we shouldn't discuss what's happening to people of color because that takes the spotlight from us gays, amirite.

No they called out the bullshit and protested. Demanded better. Cooperated. They didn't tell EVERYONE to put their lives on hold until they're equal. They demanded. Better. As you should for anything, from the free market to government.

Incredible how much easier it is to work with anti-genociders than it will ever be to morally compromise my morals to work with pro-genociders.

Ya just demand better and vote for the person most likely to resolve it. Now that Kamala is here, that's a possibility. The real fear, is are ya'll going to tank possible ceasefires by claiming it to be anti-semetic...

Because that's why people are going third party.

The disgusting meatshielding of minorities against minorities is beffuddlingly disgusting. It speaks volumes when voting dem and being anti-genocide are NOT seen as universally the same anymore by dems.

I'd LOVE for dem voters to agree Genocide Bad No Matter Who, vote for Kamala, and demand better, but ya'll want your special treatment and label. Sorry, but nobody is sending billions to bomb you and Dump already lost as is. We can demand better without acting like your life is on the fucking line in doing so.

Let's demand better, instead of pretending we can only work on one minority at a time, like jesus christ how depraved have we become.

This is why, despite once being staunchly solely democrat, I simply cannot trust dems to do the right thing. Just the most selfish, depraved things they can be but with an angle of morality I find disgusting.

Do Better. Be Better.

Y’all, what’s happening in Gaza is awful. But guess what, this election isn’t about Gaza. This isn’t a referendum on how we’ve handled the Palestinian genocide. This election is about our democracy, and about if there will be a genocide HERE in THIS country. I personally don’t want my right to vote taken away, nor do I want to be the victim of a genocide. So for all the people who are smart enough to see what’s at stake here, and smart enough to understand that protesting this election will only end with more deaths, vote blue no matter who, up and down the ballot. 💙🌊🇺🇸

[bookwyrminspiration]

The post you made about the second hand embarrasment from the kidnapping scene is. Very relatable. Everything about it just seemed a bit too invasive and... icky? Idk how to describe it well.

Exactly!! You get it! It's not just the kidnapping scene that gives me this kind of reaction, but it is one of the most prominent ones in the series and it is. So visceral. I have absolutely no control over the all consuming cringe that washes through my body

It's not even that it's abhorrent to watch these people invade their privacy and physically hurt them, that it's awful and hard to read about these bad people doing awful things. It's that it's embarrassing to read about it happening to Sophie and Dex! How completely vulnerable and defenseless they are against something like that when in real life we've been taught to be strong and resilient and that we should be able to endure things. Being kidnapped feels like it shows that you weren't strong enough, and that not being strong enough is embarrassing or something. We've gotten it into our heads that we're supposed to find a way through anything, and that anything less then is bad and should be avoided and is humiliating.

So reading about it through Sophie's perspective and putting myself in her position, my mind doesn't think of the absolute terror she's experiencing, or the pain, or the homesickness, or the uncertainty, or any of the other much more pressing things. I'm just like "I should be better than this." Which is so irrational??? But also involuntary. how invasive it is shows how vulnerable and defenseless they are against that kind of thing, which again goes back to the not being strong thing.

Being kidnapped just sounds so humiliating. Like you go through all these awful experiences and now everyone associates them with you, and people know it happened to you and it's so icky. Maybe that's part of it, the amount of personal information people now have about your life.

Then there's the vulnerability of being kidnapped. People seeing you in that condition with so little control, especially if it's friends...this is where some of the other scenes come in as well.

The scene in Flashback when Lady Gisela is kidnapping Tam and she knocks him unconscious...I hate it. I always pretend that he was taken awake because the idea of being knocked out in front of your friends also feels so embarrassing.

Another one that hasn't happened in kotlc yet as far as I can remember is nosebleeds? I see people mention them and be like "yea! using a lot of power and having a dramatic nosebleed! during battle! the power!!" and I'm just like god that is so embarrassing.

You know I think the problem is just being perceived. And them being perceived in a moment like this where they're actively out of control and were unable to fight back against it is uncomfortable because it's worse case scenario for a lot/some of us. People seeing them in a situation where they fought back and lost...that is so embarrassing. They were fighting but the enemy fought better and everyone witnessed them loosing. Awful.

[something-about-sunflowers]

Re that bizzare ask about Ed being the victim because he had to commit violence against Izzy. Loved your response. I definitely think people forget all the power Ed for some reason. maybe it's a power imbalance they are not used to idk. But Izzy is Ed's employee. But I digress, I was shocked when they said Ed had to commit this act of violence. Ed didn't have to do shit. He did not have to hurt Izzy, he chose to. No one (least of all Izzy) was forcing him to maim Izzy.

Thanks! Honestly, I'd say its not that people forget about the power imbalance and Ed's power over Izzy, or they're not used to it, so much as they like, pretend that its not actually like that? I'm sure it doesn't necessarily come from a place of malice, some people prefer a certain dynamic with their ships and if canon contradicts that there's really no inherent issue in using the dynamic anyway in transformative works like fan fiction. The problem comes when 1. They try and force everyone else to conform to their preferences, even insisting that it's canon. And 2. They attack and/or defame people for enjoying a different dynamic or preferring the actual canon.

(Though I'd also argue that there's a 3rd issue in that they take agency away from the characters when they insist on the 'uwu Ed's really just baby and he was happy and sweet and totally a morally upstanding person with no nuance and Izzy's a mean ol' abuser forcing him to be a mean scary dom when he only wants to cuddle and not fuck, never ever ever ever fuck how dare you even think that with Stede uwu' but that's a whole other can of worms that I'd rather not open lmao.)

Anyway, they prefer the dynamic where Ed isn't actually Blackbeard (And where Stede isn't also more than a bit of a maniac who likes the Blackbeard side of Ed) because it works better for their fluff and for their angst. That's fine. Really, it is. But to insist that everyone has to prefer or enjoy this, honestly, kind of flat take and anyone who doesn't is some kind of horrid monster, I think we can all agree (At least those of us who have more than two brain cells to rub together), is ridiculous.

And, honestly, there's quite a lot of 'other woman'-ing going on with Izzy and how he's treated by certain fans? The amount of times I've seen people go on at length about how proud they are of the fandom for not treating Mary like shit because she 'got in the way of their ship', as it happens in other fandoms where there's a female character that's either canonically or assumed to be the main love interest while the fandom ships the male character with his best friend or something similar, is kind of ridiculous when you consider that Mary was never actually Stede's love interest and the fact that they turn around and treat Izzy like that instead. Because, whether or not he is a potential love interest for Ed, Ed is a potential love interest for Izzy and that would get in the way of their ship.

I say this as someone who ships Ed/Stede, by the way. I also say this as someone who ships Ed/Izzy, Stede/Izzy, and Ed/Stede/Izzy. I enjoy a plethora of dynamics and I don't see the point in pushing my preferences on other people. Hell, I also ship Izzy/Jack. I know that's not everyone's cup of tea and that's fine. I know how to sit in my own little corner of the fandom and enjoy it with like-minded people.

But some people just can't live with the possibility of their otp not being together, even in someone else's fan fiction, so they have to make up reasons for it to be some type of moral issue. And they do that by making Izzy out to be much more of a villain than he is or even really has the potential to be in canon. So. 'Izzy forced Ed to maim him. And to kill Lucius. And to maroon the crew. And to kidnap Jim and Frenchie. Etc.'

[wendynoire]

I am separating it from the previous part because I don't want it to get lost in the other stories from the prompt

It had been about an hour since she had brought the little love interest back, and as of yet there was no sign of movement from the hero. So much for the love story they were trying to play.

She practically flew to the room she had put the woman they had just rescued as soon as she heard the crash. She knew the hero's powers, there was no way for them to have gotten in without being noticed.

A sigh of relief came when she saw the hero wasn't there.

The little love interest had half woken up and was now in a pile on the floor, trying to move.

"Where are you going?" She asked the little heap.

"Need to go to work." The woman on her floor mumbled, pulling herself along the floor.

"No you don't, you need to go back to bed." She laughed, hoisting the petite woman back onto the bed.

"I do?"

"Yes, sleep well, I'll see you in the morning." She stroked the woman's hair, something she seemed to have enjoyed before.

The woman fell asleep quite quickly, the power used to make her fall asleep in the first place still surrounding her, and her eye bags deeply etched.

'Cute.' She though with a cat like smile, watching the small breaths as the woman buried herself in the duvet.

-----

"Good morning." She greeted the little love interest cheerily.

"How long did I sleep?" The woman pushed herself up from the soft bed.

"A little over a day. I've called my partner to give you a medical checkup, until then we should talk about the basics. My name is Nori, what about you?" She smiled, the sunlight from the window behind her catching the loose strands of hair and making it look like she had a halo.

"I'm Magee. Sorry for sleeping so long, I hope I haven't caused you any problems." The small, short haired woman's cheeks burnt.

Nori laughed, it was more beautiful than bells. Her teeth looked almost exactly like pearls.

"Sweetheart, I kidnapped you, with permission but still. Please don't apologise in situations like this."

"Ah, sorry." Magee looked down.

Nori shook her head with a sigh. If she pressed further about the apologising now it would end up as a loop, they could work on it later.

"How old are you sweetheart?" Nori was worried that someone so young was wrapped up in this game of heroes and villains.

"I'm 20, what about you?" Magee looked up shyly.

"23. How did this start?"

"The hero is doing the same course as me in my uni. We were put in the same group and they never showed up to do any work, and they would never even communicate with us. I wouldn't even have minded too much if they pretended they had an ill family member or a chronic illness, but we got nothing until we had already handed it in. Then they told us they're the hero, which can't even have been a good idea with how their identity is a secret. I didn't even believe them, so I gave them a bad review. After that is what everyone knows." Magee fumed over her memories with the hero. "If I had powers I would end them myself."

"You do have powers." Nori's voice was always very soft, but not it sounded like waves whispering on the shore.

"Really? What is it?" Magee tilted her head in confusion, she really couldn't think of anything about her that could be considered a power, though that was far from uncommon.

"You have fortitude against mental attacks. I couldn't make you fall asleep by you looking into my eyes, which is a mental ability. Have you ever been through something similar?" Nori asked, leaning forwards, hair falling over her shoulder.

"Well there was this creepy group of villains. They said they would hypnotise me, but nothing happened. In the end they broke my arm." Magee raised her right arm, wincing. "Still isn't the same."

"Aegle will look at it when they come." Nori pushed Magee's hair back.

"I swear you need to stop promising my services to people." A tall, plus sized, pale skinned person with shoulder length hair that was tied back in a ponytail leant against the door frame.

"Well I just kidnapped her, nobody would believe that I have brainwashed her yet, you're my only choice." Nori grinned at them.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Aegle rolled their eyes, approaching Magee in the bed.

"I'm sorry." Magee said before she could stop herself. It didn't feel like she was kidnapped, more like she was at a friend's house.

"Have you been to a healer after the instances you were injured?" Aegle took Magee's hand.

"Yeah, I mean I don't think the hero would be able to keep up the charade without taking me to a healer each time. I didn't always need it, and more often than not it was interrupted by reporters shoving microphones in my face." Magee rolled her eyes, she didn't want to go back, she didn't always want to feel like she was here as a holiday, but this was so much more comfortable.

"Good, I'll see how you are physically." Aegle pressed harder on the fleshy part between Magee's thumbs and index fingers.

It was like a cold breeze rushed through her. When it reached her lungs, though only for a moment, she felt like she was drowning, and when it reached her head it made her cry out in pain. Nori lay a hand on her shoulder as Magee stuck with the discomfort to get properly diagnosed.

"You said you were healed." Aegle suddenly sounded cold, making Magee, whose hands they were still holding, flinch.

"Yes, I was." Magee's voice was small.

"Who was the healer you went to?" Aegle's eyes were fierce.

"Ersatz, he's the main healer at the Hero's fights." Magee was confused about why they were suddenly talking about the healer.

"That Bastard!" Aegle yelled, dropping Magee's hands and throwing a pillow across the room. "Listen here, he is not a healer! He cannot heal your injuries! What he does it make them near impossible to detect, but they are still there. They can no longer be seen and you can't feel them, but they wreak havoc on your body still."

"Aegle." Nori sounded firm and worried as she called out their name. "Calm down. Yes, he's a piece of shit, but the person you are yelling at is not him but his victim."

"Sorry." Aegle took a deep breath to calm themself. "Anyway, I also don't have the powers of a healer, so you are just going to have to recover normally. You're still recovering from a pretty serious concussion, so you are not getting out of bed for at least a week. No screens, no stress. Nori, can you stay with her?"

"Will do," Nori winked at Magee, laughing when the 20 year old squeaked with a blush.

"Do you remember if you blacked out when you got that concussion?" Aegle turned back as they reached the door to get some medication.

"Of course I did, I was hit in the head in order to make it easier for one of the more unpleasant villain organisations to kidnap me. I don't think I was fully out, but I definitely blacked out." Magee almost felt like the pain of the whack was returning.

"Alright," Aegle sighed. "Also you are causing yourself physical harm from the stress, so I am going to bring some flowers that reduce your stress and the physical symptoms of it."

"Oh, thanks." Magee tried to adjust her position, but found that her body wasn't responding to her. "What?"

"Sorry, Aegle can stop injured parts of your body from working, tell me if you're uncomfortable and I will help you adjust." Nori crawled into the other half of the large bed, pulling out a book. "Want me to read to you?"

"What are you going to read?" Magee allowed herself to sink into the pillows.

"The Faraway Tree among others." Nori looked at the front of the hard back book she had selected.

"Sure." Magee couldn't move her arms thanks to the injuries and Aegle, but honestly she wasn't annoyed. Getting kidnapped was always an excuse to get some rest.

Aegle was stronger than they looked, carrying two large plant pots with the flowers they had talked about before growing in them, in one arm. The flowers looked like eyes and faded between a deep blue and flame red, their pollen wouldn't trigger hay fever, which was lucky due to how thickly it covered the room. Aegle placed one by the door, and the other by the window on the other side of the room. In their other hand they were holding a box containing ointments and other medicines.

"Take these." Aegle instructed over Nori's reading, handing over some painkillers.

Magee did as she was told, accepting the peace and fatigue that washed over her. She fell back asleep before long, Nori's soft voice washing over her as the pollen made her finally let go of the stress she had been holding for several months, since the hero had decided to mess with her life.

-----

"Congratulations," Aegle looked over Nori taking care of the sleeping Magee. "You've been crushing on her for how long now?"

"Oh shut up." Nori rolled her eyes at them affectionately, laughing and smiling.

"What? I'm being serious." Aegle laughed back.

"She's cute, can you blame me?" Nori smiled down at Magee.

"I didn't say I did." Aegle shook their head, waving their hands.

Do you want more?

Helloooo there!!!

I just wanted to say that I read your “hero with a terrible job” repost and IM IN LOOOVE!!!

I was wondering if you could do like a two-shot or a drawing of it??? It’s amazing!

But no pressure, I understand if you don’t ;)

Bai bai!!!

- ♥️ anon!!

I may or may not be planning a drawing for it and to turn it into a full story, so wish will absolutely be granted, though it will likely be longer than a 2 shot.

[storiesbyastrocraft]

Three Months pt 3

Yandere!Hawks x Male Reader

Slow Burn?

No matter how slow, Hawks is a bit much-

Warnings

Some Season 4 Spoilers

A/B/O elements

“Well, yeah, what did you expect?” Hawks shoved the last of his yakitori into his mouth, “What heroes have chill fans? Hey, are you done here, cause I’ll totally eat the rest.”

“At least pretend to care, you glutton.”

“I know, I’m awful right? But like I said, I can’t control my fans.”

Endeavor had spent the last few minutes trying to get Hawks to apologize to y/n. Something about the hero's code that number two couldn’t seem to care less about. Y/n didn’t even want an apology, but who was going to tell Endeavor that? Not him.

“You know, I’ve dealt with a lot of crazed fans before. Can’t say anyone has ever used their quirk against me though. Some kind of warning would have been nice.”

“Look kid, you knew this job was going to be intense. Why are you surprised? You can always just quit.”

“Hawks!” Endeavor slammed his hands on the table, wild flames caused both reporters to dive back. “Heroes should nev-”

“Heroes should never fail their exams? I agree. Although that does put a damper on things when you are trying to recruit the son of the number one hero.”

“How dare you-”

Y/n shot Sasaki a panicked look. The fire reflected off the glass smothering the reporter in a blinding red light.

‘Do something’ The green-haired reporter mouthed out, “I can’t say anything. UA, remember?”

Y/n looked between the two heroes.

Endeavors flames towering above them. Parts of the ceiling curling under the proximity. The heat causing y/n to flinch. Despite the burning light inches from his face, Hawks leaned back in his chair with a smirk. The position of his chair being the only acknowledgment of the number one’s flame. So the same as usual.

“Recruit? You mean like the UA internship program?” Y/n picked up his chair and moved it further away from Endeavor. “I thought you worked with that bird kid?”

“Hmm? Oh yeah, Tsukuyomi! He has potential. But I did scout Shoto after the sports festival. His ice is impressive, if you ask me.”

“Then it's a good thing no one asked you,” Endeavor muttered. “I didn’t come all the way to Kyushu to talk about this nonsense. Tell me why I’m here.”

“Don’t tell me you have forgotten already, old man. It’s about the rumors.”

“Ominous.” Sasaki stiffed a laugh at y/n’s remark.

“Don’t mock this, boy. You have yet to understand the gravity of the situation!”

“Oh give him a break Endeavor! The nomu situation is above his pay grade.”

The room fell silent at the mention of the leagues’ monsters. Panic had fallen over Japan after the recent attack on a camp full of UA students. Everyone from the average citizen to the most popular hero spent their days waiting. Waiting for news. Waiting to hear what had happened to the kidnapped student? Waiting to hear what was UA going to do about it?

Y/n remembers having to write about Bakugo’s kidnapping. The entire time he thought back to what people had been saying about him after the sports festival. Sure there were mixed reactions, but the general opinion was that he was too aggressive to be a hero. Now that he might never come back everyone was singing a different tune. Y/n didn't envy the kid.

Almost immediately after y/n had finished writing his fifth update on the boy, there was more news. All for One was back. And All Might was fighting him. This was the league's plan from the start.

Even before the LOV was making such dramatic moves, they used the nomus. Since the first few appearances, Y/n had been researching and comparing all information on the monsters.

“This conversation could have been over the phone Hawks, why did you bring me here?”

“It's like I said, there have been multiple sightings here. New nomus. More advanced than what we have seen. There has to be a warehouse in the area we can bust.”

“Have you seen the warehouses? I’ve been trying to figure out how these fuckers are made- they seem to be mass-produced in a way? Right?” Y/n pulled up nearly five months of information on the monsters and showed it to Hawks. “How much more advanced are we talking? “

“This- this is a lot of information, kid. When did you manage to do this?”

“Oh- um- consider it a hobby?”

“Some hobby.”

“Have you reported this information to the HPSC?” Endeavor grabbed the phone from Hawks. “This could greatly help the heroes.”

“The HPSC doesn't like to take direct information from reporters.” Sasaki sighed, “Unless they work under the commission full time.”

“The best I can do is update the heroes I work with on what I know. But most of my recent work has been on that Bakugou kid and Allmight.”

The group stared at the phone in silence. So much information. Information that could save people. Information that was being ignored.

“How many heroes know?” Endeavor took a video of the information before handing it to Hawks who did the same.

“Aside from the two of you, not many. Kamui Woods, Nighteye, Mt Lady, and 13. I’m hoping 13 told Nezu.”

“So few? I thought you were some amazing reporter.”

“I have to agree with Hawks, this information should have been shared faster.”

“Being a reporter isn’t like being a hero,” Sasaki grabbed a large binder from his bag and laid it on the table. “These are the interviews I’ve been able to snag in the last two months.”

Y/n scanned the papers as Sasaki separated them into piles on the table. One for Mandalay. One for Ectoplasm. One for Hound Dog.

Three interviews in two months. Three interviews that had to be fought tooth and nail for. Heroes are busy and very few are willing to sit and talk. They don’t get paid to do that.

Y/n crossed his fingers to get one interview every two months.

But one a month?

How many interviews do the other reporters get a month?

Darkness was cast over the room. A rain cloud? No. It was clear when they walked in. Y/n shifted his gaze to the window in front of him. A black spot blocked out the sun. A growing black spot. A quickly growing black spot.

“Hawks?”

The winged hero didn’t reply. The dot grew limbs. Long arms. Strong arms. And legs. The dot grew larger.

“Hawks.”

Y/n stared at the dot’s jaw. Too many teeth crammed into a space far too small. Sharp teeth. Long teeth. The dot’s- the nomu’s- eyes were stuffed into its pulsing brain. Eyes that were focused on him.

“HAWKS!”

Y/n activated his quirk making a small shield around the table moments before shards of glass exploded around the room. The impact strong enough to send him to the ground. Pounding. His head was pounding. It seemed to echo around the room. Pounding. He could feel it. The nomu was pounding on the barrier. It wouldn’t last long. He couldn’t last long.

“Y/N!” Sasaki leaped over the table and grabbed the injured man’s arm.

A bright light, brighter than Endeavor’s flames, crowded his vision. He floated in nothing. The pounding had stopped. It was quiet. In the back of his mind y/n was aware his quirk was still active, if only because of the faint thumping. Thumping?

“Once I let him go the barrier is gone. We need to do something!”

Sasaki sounded so far away. Y/n didn’t hear whatever reply was given. He felt himself being moved.

“You sure? But the barrier-”

Y/n was ripped back into reality. The nomu charged at him but red feathers dragged him away before the monster could land a hit.

Hawks held both reporters by their jackets as he raced them out of the building. A loud crash and the roar of flames. Hawks let go. A free fall. And a new flight path.

Red feathers once again dragged y/n away from danger. But this time? Away from a story. The reporters were once again dropped. Onto the roof of some building with a horrible view.

"I can get us closer."

[belphies-cuhm-sluht]

So a scenario (please please please feel free to ignore it if it's not your liking, no pressure on you, I really really appreciate your hardwork and I love your writing thank you so much for all of this amazing fanfics you keep bringing) where f! Mc urges Lucifer to take break from his relentless overworking but Luci refuses and says something harsh which he didn't mean, Mc get's extreamly upset and leaves the house to get fresh air but she got kidnapped which Luci didn't realise till 2-3 days because he put spells on his office door to keep away his brothers and MC's whinning but when he comes out he sees whole house on rampage Because mc was missing and they can't sense anything with pact Because it was fading and Everyone is extremely angry at Luci, Luci realises his mistake and finds his Mc almost half dead where before falling into coma Mc makes Luci realise how much they (his brothers & Mc) all need him to be physically with all of them and Mc ends up in Coma, end it with fluff (wake mc up) please I beg you 😖 I know you love angst but I don't think I can take more angst I cried whole night yesterday after reading your "A question of time", love you and please take care of yourself ~ 💜

House of Stone (Lucifer x GN!MC)

There you were, skipping into his office as you always did, the softest smile gracing your lips as you reached his desk, leaning over it to look at him, but he didn’t look at you. There was no time to play your games, there was no time for anything, not when Lord Diavolo had his desk constantly stacked with paperwork that needed to be completed. He didn’t mind doing it, not before you came along, but now there was the constant pressure of keeping you occupied and satisfied while also trying to complete the never ending work pile. His pride never allowed him to put you at the top of his list of priorities because as much as he cares about you, he needed his Lord's respect, and he owed it to him as well. “Lucifer, you should take a break. You’re working too much, and way too hard. We’re all worried about you.” Your voice broke through his thoughts and his head whipped up to look at you finally. His eyes narrowed, and he found it almost laughable that you’d try to have a say in how much or how little he worked. He scoffed at you, flicking his wrist to shoo you out of his office. “I don’t need your opinion, or your worry, Y/N. If you’d stay out of my office and let me concentrate, maybe I could actually get something done. You think you can do that?” 

For once you didn’t put up an argument, you actually backed away from his desk and left his office quietly. He knew that what he had said was out of line, but as always, his pride kept him from going after you to apologize, well, it kept him from apologizing at all. You meant well, but he also had to finish his work, and it’s not like what he said wasn’t entirely true. If everyone would just leave him be for a little longer he could finish what he had to get done and maybe he could actually get some rest, which is what everyone was apparently worried about. The door was quickly put under a spell, no one would come in and no one would get out, and by no one, it meant him. He wouldn’t allow himself to leave until every single sheet of paper on his desk was read and signed off, no matter how time consuming or exhausting it was, he would get it done. Along with what was basically a locking spell, he also soundproofed the room, the only noises he could hear was his own breathing and the sound of pen against paper as he scribbled his name at the bottom of each paper. What he hadn’t heard was the sound of the front door slamming shut and all his brothers begging and pleading for you not to leave, and then the sound of their fists pounding against the door to his office as they tried to tell him that you had left. 

How much time had passed since he had snapped at you, since that spell had been placed on the door? He’s not sure, and if it wasn’t for the coffee pot that he had set up in his office, he would have figured out sooner, but the fact that he was able to survive somehow on solely coffee and stale bread while he was working made it quite easy to lose track of the days and how many had passed by. The work on his desk was finally done though, and he could finally leave his office, and he was hoping that the home that he had left to the care of you and his brothers was still standing outside of his office. Long legs and arms stretched out in front of him as he finally pushed his chair away from the desk, gathering up all the papers and preparing them to be taken to Lord Diavolo. “Then I’ll see how Y/N is doing…” He told himself, because deep down, he knew that he had been too harsh. It wasn’t that he didn’t want you or his brothers to worry about him, it felt nice to have people actually care about him for once. His brothers usually cared about themselves, well, most of them did, and you, well… you always cared about him, although he didn’t know why. 

As he took the spell off the door, that’s when he first heard it. The commotion of his brothers outside of his office, although they weren’t right outside the door, they were speaking loud enough for him to tell they weren’t all in their own separate rooms, which was strange. His first thought was that someone had unintentionally burned the kitchen down, or maybe they had made a hole in the wall while fake wrestling, and he was entirely prepared to brush it off until he got an adequate amount of sleep, but then he opened the door and saw all of his brothers rushing around the halls, their phones in their hands as they fervently typed out messages, others had their phones up to their ears, growling loudly when they clearly didn’t get an answer. “What is going on?” Every head in the room turned to look at him, all of their eyes were shooting daggers in his directions, and for once, he was the one who didn’t have a clue of what was happening or why everyone seemed so irritated. 

“Y/N is gone!” “I don’t know what happened!” “-Just walked out the door, looked like they were crying!” “-Not answering their phone!” “I don’t feel it anymore…” “-Like the connection is fading.” All of his brothers were speaking over each other, but all of their words were directed at him. You had walked out, you had left the house, and he felt this strange sense, a pang of guilt mixed with worry. He was worried about you, as were all of his brothers as well. It looked like none of them had gotten a wink of sleep, not even Belphegor who looked like he was struggling to keep his eyes open just to glare at him. “Will you all be quiet!? Mammon… tell me what’s going on!” All of the tiredness he had felt before had quickly vanished as soon as he heard that you weren’t there, and now the only thing that he wanted to do was make sure you were okay, to get you back home safe. Mammon would know what was going on better than any of his brothers because other than himself, Mammon was the one who kept a close eye on you, he was the one who made sure you stayed out of trouble. 

“After leavin’ yer office… Y/N just walked straight out the door. We tried callin’ for them, but they weren’t listenin’. We tried callin their phone too, and textin’, but they ain’t pickin’ up. Now… we can’t feel ‘em anymore… like the pact is fadin’ or something.” It was like everybody in the room froze, because that “or something” wasn’t good, the pact fading wasn’t good. Although he himself hadn’t made a pact with you, he knew that his brothers weren’t lying, because he didn’t need a pact with you to feel a connection, and now that he was out of his spellbound office, he could feel that something was fading, he just didn’t know for sure what it was until his brothers verified it for him.

How long had he actually been locked up in his office? How had he allowed something like this to happen? He knew this was his fault entirely. If he would have just gotten up, satisfied you just enough to make you feel better, pretend that he was getting some sleep… anything but scolding you for caring… this wouldn’t be happening. But then again, his pride won’t ever allow him to admit that he was in the wrong. This was somehow his brother's faults for not stopping you, for not going after you. Why hadn’t they tried to stop you, why didn’t they follow you? They knew well enough that it wasn’t safe for you outside of the house, that you shouldn’t be roaming around the streets of the Devildom by yourself, but they let you go. Maybe this was more of his brother's faults than he thought, but he didn’t have time to argue with them. 

“We have to find them. Mammon, Asmo, and Levi, you take the upper side of town, Beel, Belphie and Satan, you take the lower side, I’ll stay in the middle and look around. If any of you find them, you call me immediately and tell me exactly where you are. Now go.” He’s hoping that you hadn’t gone far, that nothing terribly bad has happened to you, although their words of the connection with you fading has him beyond worried, and he’s almost terrified of what he or his brothers will find if they do find you. There’s only one reason why pacts would fade, and that’s a reason that he doesn’t want to dwell on too long. If he starts believing that you’re dead already, he’ll give up, his brothers will give up, and that’s something they can’t risk. As long as there’s some type of feeling… no matter how faint, it means that you’re still alive. You’re somewhere, and they’ll find you, and hopefully it won’t be too late. 

The groups dispersed and Lucifer went out on his own, searching everywhere and anywhere for you. Places he never would have stepped foot in, he was right there. He was on edge, and every second that passed just set him further into a panic. “Where…?” Where could you possibly be? None of the brothers had texted him, so they clearly hadn’t found you either, and he was starting to feel hopeless, like he would never find you, and if he or they ever did, you surely wouldn’t be breathing. His brain was fogged with worry, and he couldn’t even begin to think of where you could have ended up, or what could have happened to you. At this point, he was walking through the streets in a daze, he wasn’t even watching where he was going, and that’s when he ended up in a back alley that was almost too dark to navigate. It led to a dead end though, and just as he was about to turn around and walk back out onto the street something caught his eye. A single shoe sticking out from behind a pile of rubbish, and he felt the bile rise in his throat as his blood began to boil. He knew without a doubt that it was you, he knew those shoes, and he knew they were yours, and he immediately ran over, pulling your body up off the ground. “Y/N…” 

He could barely hold himself up on his own two feet anymore, just the sight of you like that had made him weak, and he was seeing red. If he hadn’t known any better, upon first look he would have thought that you were dead, but your heart was still beating, although feably. “Just… hold on a little longer… Okay?” Did you even hear him? Your entire body was limp, and even though he knew there was still some life in you, it was fading fast, and you already appeared lifeless, and you weren’t responding to him at all. He had hoped for the best, but no amount of preparing could have gotten him ready for this. 

There was no time to rush to the castle, and until he knew just who exactly had done this to you, he didn’t trust anyone in the Devildom except Lord Diavolo, Barbatos, and his brothers. His arms wrapped around you tightly as he zapped you and himself to the castle, standing in the entryway, and he didn’t even know what to do, and he couldn’t find his voice to call out for the butler, so he was more than grateful when the demon walked around the corner and kind of froze when he saw him standing there with you. 

He wasn’t the type that asked for help, but in this instance, there was nothing else he could do, and even though he couldn’t voice the word, he was pleading to Barbatos with his eyes to do something, anything to fix you, to make you better. “Right.” Was all the butler said as he rushed over to grab you from his arms, but he wouldn’t allow it. Wherever Barbatos planned on taking you, he would go to. All he needed was for the butler to lead the way, and he would follow. The last thing he wanted was to be away from you again. 

Hours, days, weeks passed by, and he never left your bedside. You had been laid up in one of the guest bedrooms of the castle, it had been turned into a makeshift hospital room, the slow, steady beeping of the heart monitor had been the only sign to him and his brothers that you were still alive. Other than that, you were lifeless, a shell of the person that you used to be. “Lucifer, it’s alright if you go back home. Y/N will be fine here, and you’re just making this harder on yourself sitting there and staring at them.” Diavolo’s voice sounded from the doorway of the room, and for once, Lucifer disagreed with him. He deserved all the pain that came along with seeing you like this because it was his fault that you ended up like this in the first place. 

“I’m staying here until they wake up. It’s the least I can do.” You were always there for him and he had shooed you away, he had pushed you away, and this is how you ended up because of that. He’ll sit by your bed for another week, for another month, he doesn’t care how long it takes, because when you do wake up he wants to be the one you see first. “Lucifer, I understand… but your brothers need you back at the house. They’re just as upset about this as you are.” As if he didn’t already know that. They weren’t just upset about what happened to you, they were upset with him, as they should be, because he was the reason behind it. That wasn’t the thing that was keeping him from going back though, it was you. You were keeping him from leaving, because he refuses to go back to the house when you’re not there, because as much as his brothers and you need him, he needs you and his brothers just as much. 

“Lucifer…” He had fallen asleep, and it happened so scarcely that once his eyes shut, he found it difficult to open them again even if he did feel fully rested… but that voice… it wasn’t Diavolo’s, it wasn’t his brothers, it was weak… soft, almost a whisper. It was you. He sat up straight, his eyes shooting open to look at you, and a sigh of relief escaped him when he realized that it wasn’t just a dream, that he hadn’t heard your voice calling his name in his head. You were awake, and you were saying his name, and Father, it sounded so sweet. “Y/N… I’m…” How does he say he’s sorry? Would you even accept it if he did? Why would you? Why should you? He didn’t expect you to, but he still felt the need to say it. To push his pride aside for once and actually own up to his mistake, because this was the biggest mistake he had ever made. 

“I know you’re sorry…” You had said it for him, before him, but it wasn’t enough. He needed you to hear it from his own voice, because this past month as he sat beside your bed wondering if you’d ever wake up again, he realized that he doesn’t just need you, and he doesn’t just care about you. “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean what I said… and I hope that you can forgive me.” Because he loves you, and he never wants to go through the fear of losing you again. He needs you more than you’ll ever need him, and although his pride would never allow him to say it out loud, it’s the truth, and he doesn’t know what he’d do without you. 

[hanemiso]

Operation: Dairy For Dazai

>>>a dazai osamu x reader<<<

request: "omg i love your post about Dazai and his possibility of having lactose intolerance hahaha, i wish you could do a fanfic out from that"

a/n: um this is such a great idea??? this was so much fun to write omg i hope y'all like it! also i know dazai doesn't necessarily drink coffee with milk and sugar/creamer, but for the sake of the story he does! also sorry if the gif looks weird, i couldn't find his weird little run anywhere else.

synopsis: no one has seen dazai drink milk or consume dairy of any kind...it's up to the agency to figure out if dazai is lactose intoleralnt or not!

warnings: one swear word, dazai not being able to handle dairy

"hey atsushi, you ever notice that dazai doesn't consume dairy?"

"what do you mean, y/n?" atsushi asks, glancing up at you from the computer.

"think about it. have you ever seen dazai drink milk? eat cheese? buy ice cream?" you press on, raising your brows.

atsushi takes a second to think before responding with, "now that you mention it, no i haven't...why are you asking anyway?"

"i think dazai is lactose intolerant."

you now have atsushi's full attention as he rolls closer to your desk and furrows his brows. he looks around the room for the brunette you're talking about before turning back to you, "you think so? i don't know...maybe it's like a dietary thing."

you deadpan, "you really think the man who goes out of his way to try new attempts at committing suicide--the one who came into the office with a hallucinogenic mushroom from a random mountain--is concerned with his own nutrition?"

atsushi goes silent and nods his head in agreement.

"come on, atsushi. i mean, why would that be the one thing out of his entire diet that he'd choose to cut out?"

"that's true, i've seen the kinds of things he eats...but why is this something you're interested in?"

"because, atsushi, the thought of THE dazai osamu even having one slight weakness--and the fact that it very well may be dairy, of all things-- is amusing. you don't find it interesting? that he can survive things like bullet wounds and getting kidnapped without any problem, but a glass of milk could completely ruin him?"

atsushi was beginning to take interest in what you were talking about. you had a point, he couldn't deny that. they don't know much about dazai and his life as it is. just as it began clicking in his brain, kunikida walks over to your desk to tell you both to get back to work. at the sound of his footsteps, you turn towards him and before he can say anything at all, you ask him the same question as atsushi. kunikida has a smiliar reaction and response to atsushi, which just adds to the curiosity of dazai's possible dairy problem.

"i don't pay attention to that idiot's diet anyway, nor do i care." he says matter-of-factly.

anyone could tell that kunikida was slightly interested, just by the way he was continuing to linger by your desk as you continued talking about it with atsushi. soon enough, tanizaki had joined the conversation; then ranpo and kenji, and soon everyone in the agency other than fukuzawa. everyone was huddled around your desk, sharing memories of dazai's lack of dairy consumption. it was then decided that this theory of dazai being lactose intolerant would be put to the test when dazai returned to the office.

ranpo had come up with the idea, it wasn't too elaborate but a simple plan that could trick even the likes of dazai into drinking a glass of milk. during the discussion of dazai's dietary habits, it was also brought to everyone's attention by kunikida that it seems dazai doesn't have a high spice tolerance either. with that in mind, the plan was for the agency to have a joint dinner tonight, with curry on the menu tonight; spicy curry to be exact. dazai always flirts with you in the office, so it was your job to distract him by indulging in his pick-up lines and such. once he takes a bite and realizes it's too spicy for him, he'd try to find water to alleviate the pain, but coincidentally there is no water in sight. because of this, he'd be forced to drink the glass of milk you hand him. of course, if this didn't work, for dessert you'd give him a cup of coffee with milk and sugar (he uses non-dairy creamer in his coffee anyway).

you and kyouka set up a table to put the bowls of curry on, while atsushi and kunikida began bringing in the curry. tanizaki, naomi, and ranpo were in charge of getting the desserts to really sell the image of a nice gathering. kenji and yosano were in charge of tinkering with the water pipes to close off any possibility of access to water. this task was treated with such care, as any mission brought into the agency would be. each and every one of you were interested in learning about this side of dazai; are you going the extra mile for such a minuscule detail of someone's life? yes, but will it be amusing to find out the truth? also yes.

soon enough, dazai is spotted out the window. the truth is about to be revealed, and you are all nervous but excited.

"remember guys, act natural! operation: dairy for dazai starts now!" you exclaim quietly.

you can hear everyone take a deep breath and begin "talking" amongst themselves as dazai walks in. he stops in his tracks as he eyes the table holding all the bowls of curry and widens his eyes in surprise.

"oh? what's this?" he asks, gesturing to the table.

"y/n suggested having dinner in the agency tonight, so we got some curry and desserts." atsushi explains.

"have a bowl, dazai-kun." you smile at him as you hand him the bowl of spicy curry.

"ah, you're too nice, my belladonna!" he exclaims and grabs the bowl.

so far so good, you think.

you can feel the tension in the room as everyone waits for dazai to take a bite. the conversations carry on amongst people, but no one was truly paying attention to what was being said. the gazes of each member of the agency shifted to dazai as he raised the spoon up to his mouth. you could hear the sound of everyone in the room holding their breaths, even kunikida was sweating.

once the spoon had been placed in his mouth, everyone froze in place. you and atsushi tried to pretend to not be paying much attention to dazai, but it was so hard not to when all of a sudden he stopped chewing. you both slowly turn your head towards him and see his eyes go wide once again. he hurries to the nearest trashcan and spits out the spoonful, quickly turning and looking for a cup of water on the table.

"w-what's wrong, dazai-san?" atsushi asks, also sweating.

"h-hot! spicy curry! atsushi-kun, i need water! please!" dazai exclaims.

you run to the table and pretend to look for a cup of water before grabbing the glass of milk and hurrying towards dazai.

"sorry dazai-kun, i couldn't find any water, but i heard milk helps with the pain!" you hold out the glass of milk.

it feels like time stops as dazai sits there, breathing shallows breaths in attempts to stop the fire in his mouth, and contemplating whether he wants to try his luck with continuing to gasp for air or drinking the milk. he hates suffering, after all. in his mind, all that matters at this moment is extinguishing the flames dancing on his tongue. he grabs the glass, just as planned, and drinks a couple big gulps. everyone is now turned to him, asking if he's okay.

"i'm...fine." he says between pants.

now it was only a matter of time. the dinner continued as normal, but dazai wasn't as social as usual. he sat down with you and atsushi as you continued to talk about different missions.

"oh yeah, dazai-kun, do you remember--" you turn to look at him but realize he's staring at the ground intently as sweat beads on his face, "dazai?"

he blinks once and tries regaining his composure as he looks up at you with his usual smile, "yes, belladonna?"

"are you feeling alright?" you ask with concern laced in your voice.

"of course i am!" dazai tries to reply cheerily, but his bright tone is cut off by a rumbling in his stomach that makes his face twist.

he tries replacing his expression with a smile again, but it looks more pained as another low rumble emits from his body. at this point, everyone in the office is stealing glances. he looks back at the ground as his eyes widen yet again, and only two words are uttered before he takes off running to the bathroom:

"oh shit."

everyone stares at the door, processing what just happened. it was so silent, the only sound you could hear was dazai's rapid footsteps echoing down the hall.

"i knew it." you smirk a bit to yourself.

but your feeling of victory is brief as the horrid smell invades your nostrils. your poor co-workers get assaulted by the same stench, and you all are forced to evacuate.

operation: dairy for dazai was a success, but at what cost?

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

BONUS: how chuuya found out about dazai's lactose intolerance

chuuya was the only person who knew of dazai's problem with dairy, but the way he found out was purely accidental and scarred him.

the event took place when they were 17, and they were both stopping for a drink at a local cafe after a mission. the mission wasn't too bad, but it was early in the morning and chuuya wanted coffee. dazai told him it would stunt his already lacking growth, so chuuya wasn't in the greatest mood; he never was around dazai.

"i wanna sit down so you can order for me!" dazai claps his hands together.

"hey! i don't wan-" chuuya begins to protest but dazai cuts him off while walking away.

"you know what i like!"

chuuya grumbles in annoyance as he heads to the counter and orders two drinks. in his fit of anger, he accidentally ordered two coffees with milk and sugar, but failed to notice as he brought the cups to the table dazai sat at. he narrows his eyes as he sets the cup down in front of dazai and sits across from him. chuuya stares out the window to try and tune out dazai when he hears dazai ask him something quietly.

"is there...milk in this?"

chuuya scoffs and replies, "what's wrong, can't handle a bit of milk?"

he was obviously joking, but the sound that emits from dazai's body in response makes him realize it was no joke. dazai quickly stands and runs to the bathroom while chuuya sits there in disbelief, but with the hope that the rest of the day won't be ruined because of it.

that was wishful thinking though, as they frequently had to stop at public restrooms on their way home and chuuya had to deal with the rancid odor that followed dazai as closely as his own shadow.

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