#it's a comfort story for me but it's long and not very original nor particularly cool

[meliohy]

.

[staycalmandhugaclone]

I saw one of your story posts mentioning you might take writing requests for trauma comfort... I've been struggling to write this story myself, and I'm looking for a particular flavor of comfort story.

Everyone seems to always latch on to how Hunter is so perceptive and notices things... but there's things he doesn't notice, even with all his sensitive senses. Particularly when there's not an actual immediate danger with a straightforward solution of "shoot it dead" or "talk to it"

Would you be willing to write something where Crosshair is the one to observe, first notice, and recognize tbe fact their new female member of the team, despite being a very active useful member, is tip-toeing around under the weight of past traumas? Then goes out of his way to take care of someone just as stubborn as he is.

I used to live with abusive housemates. While they weren't physically abusive, they were very creative in every other way of hurting their resident empath and later, attacking my whole family. It took me months after we finally kicked them out, for me to realize that i was literally tip-toeing in my own house afraid to make any noise and break tbe quiet, because i used to get badly berated for even small things like rolling in my office chair to my secobd desk while i did filing and paperwork. I didn't sing or play music for a long time, and i still find myself struggling to talk to people.

I like the idea that Crosshair would be the first to recognize long term behavioral patterns while Hunter is very fast in the uptake with someone who's state has changed in the moment.

You're under no obligation to settle this, of course, so please don't feel pressured! I just love the detailed and thoughtful, realistic way you handle writing about things like this.

My sweet darling, I am so sorry it's taken me so long to finish this. Your request became incredibly personal to me, and I both found myself inspired and struggling with how to respond! I'm honored you came to me with this request - I know how hard it is to admit to being hurt like that. Please be kind to yourself as you heal and know that I'm always happy to offer whatever support I can!

Sharp Eyes, Gentle Hands

Warnings: reference to past emotional abuse, fantasy profanity

WC: 2,253

The silence following the gentle hum of the ramp closing left me sinking beneath a deep sigh of relief. Wrecker had sought me out to say goodbye, and I’d peaked from the little kitchenette of the Marauder in time to wave to Hunter and Echo, but Tech and Crosshair were already out of sight. Still, I found myself treading lightly about the ship as I restocked supplies, updated the inventory manifest, and addressed minor maintenance needs that didn’t warrant Tech’s expertise.

This was the beginning of my second three-month tour with Clone Force 99. I’d been assigned to them as something of a secretary in the hopes of improving their less than ideal track record of finishing their paperwork, but had gradually taken on additional small tasks as time passed. While skeptical at first, the boys seemed to have begun warming to my presence, and I was too eager to maintain that trend, even if I was still only trusted to guard the ship during actual missions.

At present, that extra task consisted of reattaching a cabinet door in the storage room that Wrecker had been a bit too forceful with. After muscling it back into its original shape – mostly – all that was left was to screw it back in. I was so caught up in my work, I barely noticed the hum resonate through my chest, nor the moment that tone gradually gave way to murmured words until, just as I stepped back to appreciate my work, I found myself shamelessly singing aloud.

Satisfied, I gathered the tools and headed into the cockpit to return them. It wasn’t until the shouted gasp tore from my throat, body shying back so violently that I nearly slammed into the wall that I even noticed him. Crosshair wordless lifted an eyebrow at my reaction before returning his attention to the helmet in his hands, fingers skillfully toying with the internal gages as though nothing had happened.

“Um, sorry I-I didn’t realize you were still here.” The apology clawed stiffly up my throat, fire burning across my face. He didn’t bother looking at me as he merely responded with a disinterested grunt. Teeth gnawing against the inside of my lips as I vainly willed my heart to ease its panicked pace, I rushed to quietly place the tools back in Tech’s storage, shoulders tucking firmly about my chest.

“Why do you do that?” The words slipped from his lips almost as though he was talking to himself instead of me, but I balked at the silence that followed, fingers shifting nervously at my sides.

“Wh… do what?” The beginnings of an apology sat like poison atop my tongue, demanding to be voiced in the futile hope that it might defuse whatever confrontation was to come.

“If you’re that scared of us, why did you stay?” His arms crossed his chest, confusion just breaching the innate impatience in those sharp eyes.

“I-I’m not… um, I’m sorry you thought that, but I promise I’m not-” My words died the instant he stood from the chair, helmet laid forgotten atop the seat. My gaze instantly darted to the worn metal beneath us as that too-familiar dread locked around my chest, breaths carefully shallow, silent, lest even that somehow worsen whatever offence I’d already made. But he said nothing in the long seconds that followed, and, hesitantly, I stole a timid glance at him. His brow was cocked, but, still, he made no effort to lash out or reprimand me, merely waited for me to finally grasp his point, and my heart dropped.

“No - I’m sorry; it’s not…” The flurry of excuses tangled over my lips, the beginnings of a tremble just beginning to creep over me. “I’m not… I’m not afraid of you, I’m just… trying to stay out of the way.” I assured him, but he merely rolled his toothpick to the other side of his mouth, those frightfully intense eyes burring into me.

“You practically flatten yourself against the wall when we walk too close to you. You stopped eating the yellow ration bars after Wrecker mentioned they’re Hunter’s favorite, even though they’re your favorite, too. I don’t think you’ve ever instigated a single conversation unless it was to update a report, and even then you act like…” His teeth ground together, words suddenly falling silent. I’d felt myself sinking beneath every wretched observation, shoulders bunching around me, expression carefully blank; waiting.

“Look, I’m not…” When I risked another fleeting look up to him, I was shocked to see his glare turned pointedly away from me, jaw shifting stiffly around unspoken words. “You don’t need to… hide every time we’re in the same room.” The discomfort in the softness he was trying to force into his voice was obvious, but the simple fact that he was making an attempt left me speechless.

“Kriff, I don’t even know what I said that made you so damn timid.” A touch of that impatience returned, fingers snatching the toothpick from his lips, but I knew it wasn’t directed at me, and that made the guilt stirring in my chest all the more prominent.

“It… it wasn’t…” My hands drew together in front of me, thumb absently picking at my nails. “My-my last crew was… pretty strict with me.” I barely breathed the excuse, unable to risk meeting his eyes. “I just… I didn’t want to cause trouble here, too.” He leaned absently against the back of the co-pilot chair, watching me with a silence that left my skin crawling.

“You realize we share living space with Wrecker?” The skepticism in his blank statement wrenched a burst of laughter from me before I could rein it back, teeth clicking together even as my lips still pulled up into a small smile. For the briefest moment, something like relief seemed to flash through his eyes, and a sliver of that tension slipped from my shoulders.

“We’re not regs.” He continued dismissively. “Whatever osik they pulled with you isn’t how we operate here.”

“It wasn’t regs.” I felt myself tense for some reprimand in the face of my quiet correction, but he didn’t move, gaze watching me silently; waiting. “I was assigned to a mercenary battalion before this.” His head tilted back slightly, eyes narrowing. “That’s part of the reason I ended up here: I requested an assignment with a clone squad, but the regs don’t usually work with freelancers, so…” I motioned subtly toward him, shoulders drawing tight into my chest.

Crosshair was silent for a long moment, expression painfully unchanged. My mind raced for some way to anticipate what he was thinking – was he annoyed to learn the reason I’d ended up with them? Was he enraged that I feared the same treatment from his brothers that I’d received from the mercs? Was he completely indifferent?

Movements unrushed, void of the impatience I’d expected, he retrieved his helmet and started toward the ladder.

“Gonna do a patrol.” He explained, slipping on the bucket. “I’ll let you know when I’m back.” I couldn’t begin to fight the shock from my eyes, the silent gasp from my lips, immediately aware of his unspoken offer: he was giving me space; allowing me a moment to collect myself in the comfort of isolation… and I didn’t have to fret over not realizing when he returned…

“You should sing more often – Echo and Wrecker like that sort of thing.” Again, I found myself utterly frozen, jaw shifting uselessly around words I couldn’t begin to form, but he didn’t wait for a response. With a few swift movements, he was gone.

-

Things changed after that. Not with any grand or outwardly notable gestures, but it seemed to shift the very dynamic of the squad in the most subtle ways. It started with caf.

It was hardly unusual for the sniper to be the last to force himself into the kitchenette to join us, jaw ground against the early morning grogginess. I was just finishing the breakfast scramble as he trudged to the caf machine. Without a word, he set a steaming cup on the counter beside me before taking a seat with his brothers. I stared blankly at it for a moment, only then realizing that I’d fallen into the habit of waiting for the others to get their own cups before getting some for myself. When I stole a brief glance toward him, he showed no indication that he’d done anything abnormal, head tilted back against his chair with his eyes closed as though he might steal even a few seconds’ more sleep.

Then it was the arguing. Echo and Tech’s banter rarely escalated, but when it did, neither were innocent of resorting to shouting on occasion. I couldn’t remember what had prompted the latest disagreement, but their voices boomed throughout the entirety of the Marauder until even Hunter stepped in in a futile attempt to silence them. I’d made the mistake of treading into the cockpit just as things between them began to grow heated intending to merely return Echo’s power calibrator and quickly found myself frozen in the corner, waiting for a safe moment that wasn’t soon to come.

Long after the Sergeant had joined the fray, succeeding only in adding to the chaotic flurry of raised voices, Crosshair stormed down the ladder, brows pinched and lips wrenched into a scowl, but then he saw me, sharp eyes instantly noting the tool clutched in my grasp. Ignoring his brothers, he merely held his hand out to me, motioning for the device. I tried not to let him see the slight tremor in my limbs as I hesitantly placed it in his waiting palm. Saying nothing, he merely nodded toward the ladder. I was halfway through the porthole when I heard the loud thud followed by a shocked cry of pain, and, in the next breath: silence.

That was the last time any of them got into a shouting fit like that around me. Twice, just as tensions were beginning to rise, Hunter went so far as to conveniently find a reason to summon me. It didn’t take long to realize he’d caught on and was too willing to use my presence as an indirect means of quelling tempers. The second time, he shot me a knowing wink, and I found myself biting my lips against the fit of quiet laughter.

When we found a rare moment of calm, Crosshair pressed things a bit further. A fire crackled in the stillness. We didn’t have to return to Kamino for a few days, so we made camp beside a small lake, secluded in a forgiving wilderness. I barely noticed the lithe man lean toward Wrecker, lips shifting almost silently, but then his brother’s eyes shot open, excitement lighting his face.

“You can sing?!” My heart dropped, body instantly going stiff.

“…uh…” Caught, I could only stare at him in shock, gaze darting briefly to see the subtle smirk on the Sniper’s lips before the towering clone was talking once more, pleading.

“Will you sing somethin’?! We hardly ever get to hear music!” The refusal clawed at my throat, aghast at even the thought of denying the innocent delight in his request.

“Wrecker.” The warning in Hunter’s voice was enough to dampen the large man’s glee, and I found myself distraught to see his smile fade.

“M… maybe just one.” I agreed nervously, and the thrilled gasp it earned was nearly enough to ease the frantic racing of my heart. Echo and Tech glanced up curiously, and I had to pointedly ignore the feeling of everyone’s eyes watching me.

The first words left in something nearer to a whisper than a melody, but the hint of pride just threatening to shine in Crosshair’s gaze emboldened me in a way I would never have expected. By the second verse, I left the lyrics dance over my lips. My cheeks were still flushed, blood still pounding through my ears, but I couldn’t dismiss the simple joy as I took in the wonder in Wrecker’s face, Hunter’s quiet smile, Tech’s datapad lying forgotten beside him.

In the days that followed, I’d caught most of them occasionally humming the tune, and, more than once, found myself joining them with a shy grin.

That innate need to tuck into the wall as we passed each other slowly began to fade, but the next few times it happened with Crosshair, he wordlessly touched his hand to my arm and guided me upright. It was never a quick movement, the gentle pressure an invitation instead of an order, and each time, I found my heart racing long after he’d left.

After several weeks of those quiet moments, I intentionally bumped his shoulder with mine in a moment of frightful bravery. The look of pure shock in his suddenly wide eyes nearly sent me fleeing, certain I’d made a terrible mistake, but then his lips curled into grin, breath catching in a silent chuckle. His hand reached up to carefully ruffle my hair before he continued on his way.

It wasn’t perfect. I still found myself unable to find my voice unless someone else spoke first; felt that panicked dread if I set something down too loudly or made simple mistakes, but that fear faded quicker, my responses felt a little less meek as they drew me into quiet conversations more often. It wasn’t perfect, but the patience and kindness they offered allowed me to take those first steps toward making it better.

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[magpiefngrl]

2022 Book Review

so the first thing I noticed, looking back at what I read this year, is that I haven't read any books that blew me away (with one exception, see below). Unlike 2021 (see last year's posts here and a short one here) when I read books that left me with my jaw on the floor. The other thing I noticed is that in 2022 I went for a lot of rereads. I'm a big re-reader, if I love something I want to expose myself to it as often as I can, but this year I reread way more than I normally do. Then again, I've had a super busy summer and some pretty tough months following that, so it's not so surprising I sought out familiarity and comfort.

Total books read: (if I finish current read) 82 81

Books that stood out in 2022 and other musings:

I. The Queen's Thief series (you'll also see me refer to it as The Thief). Prob my most enjoyable read of the year. Two of the six books thrilled me in a way I hadn't felt in yonks and the other four were pretty good too. Also: A. I'm proud of starting and finishing a series in the same year, it doesn't always happen. B. jfc I have a new blorbo I'd die for.

II. The Wimsey books. I started going through them chronologically and read all of them (bar one, I think). I'm pleased that I started the series and finished it--like I said above, it doesn't often happen, esp in recent years. These are murder mysteries featuring a Duke's younger brother as the amateur sleuth. The mysteries aren't Agatha Christie level of competence (I figured out several murderers before the reveal and I'm not even particularly good at this), nor are all the novels equally good, but Sayer's witty prose was a true joy and her dialogue is a masterpiece.

III. Other top books of the year:

Siren Queen (queer SFF), Black Sun (native American inspired SFF), The Atlas Six (dark academia SFF), How to Bang a Billionaire (contemporary m/m romance), The Goldfinch (contemporary literary), Hogfather (fantasy, humour), and Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (historical fantasy, am at 70% and really loving it).

IV. I'm always excited to see fanfic authors moving on to original fic and I try to support those authors when I can. I've now created a shelf on my GoodReads so I can keep track. This year I read A Restless Truth, the sequel to Marvellous Light by Freya Marske, which was tremendously engaging, and I also read the self-published duology Magpie Ballads (Elegy is the first novel's title) by Vale Aida (only on Amazon atm). This author is superb, I truly love their writing style and how confidently they handle their craft (description, dialogue, narration etc). I have Thoughts TM on plot and story, but overall a very strong debut.

V. The exception (mentioned above): Lymond. What else. I finished Pawn in Frankincense in January and it destroyed me. Absolutely left me in a puddle weeping on the floor. I'd stalled in the book (and series) halfway through for years now. Each 1st Jan I'd be like "...and I need to finish the Lymond books this year!!!!" and it never happened--but then, in 2022, it (almost) did. I also read The Ringed Castle in autumn and am one third in Checkmate. Progress! (I had high hopes of finishing CM before NY but alas. Still trying to finish another long book.) Anyway, Pawn in Frankincense is the novel that blew me away in 2022.

VI. The new thing of the year: receiving daily-ish emails in my inbox with chapters from a classic book. I didn't go for Dracula as I read it some years ago but I signed up for Dangerous Liaisons. I was familiar with the plot, having watched the amazing adaptation (and the other, less than amazing one), but I still enjoyed the book a great deal. Receiving the letters in my inbox was a new and fun experience.

VII. Disappointments! Let's have some of those. The Glass Hotel: found it bleak and dull; DNF'ed it but I might return to it when I've got the energy for a slow story. Wilder Girls: not quite a disappointment but it could've done a lot more with that unique premise. Time Is A Mother (poetry collection): sacrilegious perhaps, but Vuong's Night Sky with Exit Wounds is unparalleled and this one suffers in comparison. Alix E Harrow has turned out to be a hit-or-miss author for me after all. Although I loved the first installment of her fairytale verse, I found A Mirror Mended lacked the depth of the first novella. Good but not memorable. And finally Nghi Vo's Into the Riverlands, the third novella of her Singing Hills Cycle, was OK. A decent read but nothing more.

VIII. I don't read non-fiction at all, it's really not my thing, unless it's books on the writing craft. I used to seek them out avidly, but not anymore. After going through a couple dozen of these books, you realise they all start sounding alike. That being said, writing craft books can be motivating during times of block and often you might find a few gems of advice that can be very inspiring. This year I only read one such book (Writing 21st Century Fiction by D. Maas), which was nothing ground-breaking but included a few exercises that I'm eager to try.

past years

2015 2016 2019 first half of 2020 top 5 books of 2020 2021

[cha-melodius]

I feel bad for sending you this when you’re almost done catching up with your inbox requests, but I’m such a sucker for your Lokius whumps 😂Here are the prompts I really wanna see for Lokius if you don’t already have plans to write these for other fandoms: 17 hang by a threat or 20 it’s been a long day 🙇

(Congrats anon, you've unlocked a story I'd been meaning to write for a while: a whumpy time loop! Thanks so much for your support and enthusiasm, it means so much to me. This is chapter one of ??, posted now so I could hit the deadline for the 20th. So here you go: No. 20, "It's Been A Long Day".)

It's Been A Bad Day Lately

Read it on AO3 (T, 3.3k, 1/?)

“Up and at ‘em, sunshine!” someone nearly shouts at him, jolting Loki to alertness where he’d apparently fallen asleep on a table in the archives. Again. He looks toward the source of the voice and sees B-15 smirking at him from a short distance away, pruning baton in hand, already geared up for the operation. “Today’s the big day,” she continues, at a slightly more sedate volume now that she’s woken him, “and you’re sleeping on the job. Did you even go back to your room last night?”

“What’s the point?” Loki asks through a yawn. “This table is about as comfortable as the questionable piece of furniture you people insist on calling a bed.”

“You’ll have a lot bigger problems than that if today doesn’t go well,” she retorts, eyeing him with mistrust. Not any more than her usual amount, though. A normal level of suspicion, really. “I still think it’s too early for your first field operation.”

It’s been just over two weeks since he arrived at what seemed to be an alternate TVA to find that anyone he might have counted as a friend no longer knew him, and sometimes he forgets where he is. Or— when, maybe. It’s all very confusing. He’s still unsure whether the B-15 standing before him is the same person as the one he knew, or perhaps something else altogether. The only thing he’s pretty sure of is that they’re not variants of the people he knew, because he’s looked, extensively, there’s no sign that there’s another TVA out there somewhere in the multiverse. The people he’s surrounded by now are nearly identical, except when they are decidedly not, and pretty much all the ground he had gained in earning the trust of his former associates, he’d lost in an instant. It’s annoying, to put it mildly. Still, there are times like these when he wakes up and it feels as if maybe the whole Void thing was just a bad dream, until someone says something that snaps him back to reality.

“As I have informed you before, this is not my first mission with the TVA,” Loki says wearily. “Nor even my first mission with you.”

“Right. In that alternate TVA of yours,” she says, her tone making it clear that she doesn’t fully believe him. Even knowing who Nathaniel Richards is, even knowing what his variants have done and are still trying to do in the timelines, the idea that the TVA itself changed when He Who Remains was killed is beyond comprehension for most of them. Loki doesn’t fully blame them, honestly. Still—

“Mobius believes me.”

“Mobius has a soft spot for you.”

There are some things that make Loki hold onto the hope that the ‘original’ versions of his coworkers are still in there, those memories locked away. The fact that this Mobius seems awfully fond of him, even though he didn’t know who Loki was until he stumbled up to him in the archives, is certainly one of them. Everyone else is justifiably suspicious of him, and Mobius is, too—his Mobius always knew better than to immediately believe whatever Loki told him, after all—but he’s more likely to give Loki the chance to make his case.

Which is how he ended up here, about to go out in the field in pursuit of particularly wily Nathaniel Richards variant. It had taken Loki some time to convince the TVA to let him help, but everyone had frankly been at their wits end with this one. Most of the Richards variants are brilliant scientists, which is a big part of the problem, but this one, number 456, is somehow even worse than most. Once Loki finds out about him, he suspects he’s well on his way to becoming the next He Who Remains, and as much as multiversal war is a drag, he’s in no hurry to have some egomaniacal despot deciding every moment of his life again.

The thing that makes NR456 so troubling is that he always seems to know that they’re coming. At first, this meant he’d disappear not long before they arrived, but as things have gone on he’s started luring them into traps, trying to take out as many agents as possible. They had been sure they had a mole in the organization—which should have been expected, given the TVA’s history—but they’ve never been able to find one. The agents that are left, few though they might be, are loyal; everyone else is gone, disappeared into the fabric of the multiverse.

And so: enter Loki, stage left, full of new ideas based on what he knows about the man given his conversation with He Who Remains. He ends up spending late nights in the archives with Mobius, chasing down leads, and he aches with how very familiar it is but so very not at the same time. At least they don’t lock him in a cell during the night cycles in this TVA, though the small dormitory room they offered him in is hardly better.

“You ready for this?” Mobius asks as Loki takes his place next to him for the briefing.

They’re both wearing tactical vests under their jackets, while the hunters and minutemen around them are decked out in full gear, armed with their pruning batons. The batons are still the TVA’s only weapon, even though no one really knows what’s going on in the Void anymore with He Who Remains gone. Loki certainly hadn't been keen to check. Richards’ men, on the other hand, will be shooting at them with guns and rigging explosives. It hard feels like a fair fight, but Loki’s suggestions that they go get something with more oomph from a timeline have, frustratingly, fallen on deaf ears.

“Not really,” Loki answers honestly. “But I suppose I’ll have to be.”

“Remember, just stick close and follow the plan. If we can surprise him—”

“You can never surprise him.”

“—if we can surprise him,” Mobius repeats, more forcefully, “then we might have a chance.”

“Well, that is as true as it is unlikely,” Loki replies dryly. “Are you sure we can’t pop in somewhere for some real weapons?”

“We’ll be fine. This is how we planned it. It’s gonna work this time, I can feel it.”

They do get close. Closer, as far as Loki can tell from what he’s read about the previous operations, than they ever have before. Richards doesn’t seem to have been forewarned of their arrival, but the building where he’s set up his base of operations is, unfortunately, extremely well-defended regardless of that fact. Loki is exceedingly familiar with the costs of war, but even so, this is brutal. Richards’ men are far better armed and fight with the tenacity of true believers, willing to give their lives for the cause. Ironically, they have a chance to live, if they can survive in whatever’s left of the Void; the hunters and minutemen they shoot down have no such opportunity.

In the chaos, somehow he gets separated from Mobius. He doesn’t even realize it at first, which is disconcerting, because ever since Loki returned from the Void he’s been hyper-aware of where Mobius is at all times. It doesn’t mean anything, it’s not like he’s all that concerned, but he knows that Mobius was never much of a fighter, and he has no reason to suspect that he gained any expertise when he was reset or whatever in Hel’s name happened. Now, though, Loki has no idea where he is, and there’s a rising sense of something making his chest tight and shortening his breath—panic, it’s panic, and he doesn’t know what to do with this realization—and he’s so distracted that he almost gets gutted by a henchman with a knife.

Ok, it wasn’t that close. The panic is frankly far more distressing than his attacker had been. At least he got a knife out of it.

Henchman dispatched, and the others around him occupied, he takes off down the hallway, calling Mobius’s name. Where Mobius could have gotten to, he has no clue, but the longer he goes without finding that familiar silver hair among those still fighting in the hallways, the shakier he gets. Which is insane. This isn’t him, he doesn’t get like this. It’s just the adrenaline, is all.

Finally, finally, he nearly stumbles over Mobius another floor down in the compound, on the way to where they suspect Richards is hiding out, assuming he somehow hasn’t managed to escape already.

“Oh, thank the Norns,” he huffs, doubled over with his hands on his knees as he tries to catch his breath. “What happened to you?” “Nothing, nothing,” Mobius says quickly.

Too quickly. Loki hadn’t really thought he’d have actually gotten into trouble, but now that he looks closer it appears that Mobius is kind of… listing to one side and pressing one hand to his abdomen. Loki makes a grab for him, ignoring Mobius’s squawk of protest, and pulls his hand away at the same time as he peels back the front of the jacket.

“Fuck, Mobius,” he says, horrified by the sheer amount of blood he finds staining Mobius’s clothes. There’s so much of it, and it seems to be everywhere but where it should be. “What happened?”

“It’s fine, ‘m ok,” Mobius insists, but he’s so, so pale, whiter even than his hair, and almost immediately afterward he staggers, knees buckling beneath him and sending him careening into Loki’s arms.

“We have to get you out of here,” Loki says. He’s already trying to hurry Mobius back down the hall, desperate to get out of the building so they can open a time door, but the other man puts up a surprising amount of resistance. 

“Loki, wait, wait—” Mobius heaves a huge, shuddery breath as he manages to drag them to a halt. “We can’t leave. You can’t leave. We’re so close. You should go— go after the variant.”

“What? You’re being ridiculous, Mobius, we need to get you help. We’ll get him another time.”

“We’ve n-never been so close. We c–can’t give up. Not now.”

“I’ll come back, then—” Loki tries.

“No!” Mobius shouts, startling him. He tugs Loki a little closer, until Loki has no choice but to meet his gaze, full of fear and pain but also hard, stubborn determination. “’M not gonna make it, Loki. ’M not.”

Loki opens his mouth and closes it again before he manages a weak, “You don’t know that.”

“Yeah, I do,” Mobius sighs, “and so do you. Look at me. I’m toast.” He hiccups a laugh, then winces in pain. “Sorry we never figured out what happened to your TVA. Maybe— maybe you get to this Richards variant, and he can tell you how to fix it.”

What does it matter, if you’re not there with me? The question rises unbidden and unexpected to his lips, and it’s only by luck that he doesn’t actually speak it out loud. Loki is very aware that his feelings for the Midgardian are far from usual for him, that he might have grown a little attached, but for him to be indulging in this kind of sentiment… that takes him wholly by surprise.

“You’re a g— a good man, Loki,” Mobius says when Loki doesn’t respond, his words slurring together even more than they were before. He presses a hand weakly to Loki’s chest and leaves a bloody handprint behind on his vest. “Make this worth it.”

Something inside of Loki breaks at that. Maybe it should mean less, since Mobius doesn’t really know him anymore—doesn’t remember all his terrible history, though Loki has hinted at such more than once—but somehow, it doesn’t. Somehow, it’s just as shattering as when Mobius had stood before him and told him you can be whoever you want, even someone good. He’d watched Mobius die then, too, before they found out that pruning was less than permanent, and even though he hadn’t let himself acknowledge it at the time, revenge had driven him on after that just as much as anything else. History, it seems, as a way of repeating itself.

“I will,” he promises, squeezing Mobius’s hand in his own before he finally tears himself away.

Unfortunately, finding the Richards variant in the labyrinthine building is no easy task. This Richards may not have an Alioth but he certainly has tried to build the equivalent out of henchmen, and there’s no putting all of them to sleep at once. Even with full use of his magic, Loki is stretched thin, pushed to the very limit and only able to stay there thanks to the white-hot fury coursing through his veins. With the help of a few minutemen, he cuts his way through to the deepest level of the compound, where he finds the variant apparently just… waiting for them.

“Oh,” Richards says, looking slightly taken aback, when Loki bursts into his inner sanctum. He doesn’t, however, appear particularly worried, despite the fact that Loki has a gun taken off a henchmen trained on him. “You’re new. How intriguing.”

“That’s all you have to say?” Loki scoffs. “Intriguing?”

Richards just grins at him, leaning nonchalantly back in his chair, and Loki is briefly thrown back to the citadel at the end of time with He Who Remains before him. This Richards is less flamboyantly dressed, preferring instead a simple but well-cut suit and tie, but he has the same unhinged smile and the same confident insouciance. Loki can’t figure out how he could be so cavalier about being cornered like this, until Richards stretches his arms behind his head and he catches sight of some kind of watch-like device—that is nonetheless clearly not a watch—strapped to his wrist. A type of tempad, perhaps, like He Who Remains wore, which he no doubt intends to use to escape this situation.

“What more would you like?” Richards asks, quirking an eyebrow at him.

Richards wants to do casually threatening? Loki excels at casually threatening. He lowers the gun, just slightly, and pastes a cruel grin on his face as he takes a few steps forward. “How about some acknowledgement that the TVA finally caught up to you?” Loki counters. “That’s got to be pretty galling.”

“We-ell,” Richards says, drawing out the word and smirking like he’s in on some secret that Loki is not. “It’s not, strictly speaking, the first time this has happened.”

That… doesn’t make any sense. There’s nothing in the TVA’s files that indicates they’ve ever gotten this close. No reports of anyone even seeing this Richards variant before in person.

“In fact,” Richards continues, “it’s not even the tenth time. This one was more of a surprise than most, I’ll give you that. Too bad it won’t matter.”

“And why, pray tell, is that?” “Well I could tell you, since it won’t make any difference, but honestly explaining it has gotten tiresome. So let’s just have it over with, shall we?”

With that, Richards unfolds his hands from behind his head and stretches them out in front of him instead, then starts to adjust something on the device strapped to his wrist. His way out, which he certainly can’t be allowed to exploit, not after everything that’s happened today. Loki practically launches himself across the remaining distance and tackles Richards to the ground, spilling him out of the chair and onto his back. Conjuring the knife he took from the henchman, he pins Richards’ sleeve to the floor and presses the gun under his chin, and it is so, so tempting to end him right then and there. Norns know he deserves it, but something stays Loki’s hand. This Richards is probably his best bet at finding out what happened when the TVA was reset, and the lure of that knowledge is powerful.

Then there’s the way that Richards grins up at him, looking more than half-crazed, and goads, “Go on, take the shot. You know you want to. Do it.”

And that’s just fucking suspicious.

“A tempting offer,” Loki muses with a cold smile, before he slants his eyes toward Richards’ wrist. “But I’m more curious about this.” Then he grabs the device and yanks it off in one smooth motion, snapping the band easily. The way Richards’ expression flattens into utter terror is almost comical, and Loki’s smile sharpens further. “So it is your exit strategy, then. How does it work?”

“You don’t know what you’re doing,” Richards tries, now struggling ineffectually underneath him. For how dangerous variants of this man can be, he’s still only a Midgardian, and no match for Loki’s strength. “You can’t—”

“Can’t what?”

Unfortunately, he doesn’t get to find out. Chaos erupts in the hallway again as more henchmen finally arrive to tangle with the minutemen who’d been guarding the exit, and Loki swears under his breath. His choices have now become get answers or get out, but before he can make up his mind on whether to leave Richards alive, one of the henchmen appears in the doorway and takes aim.

“No!” Richards screams, but it’s too late; a one of the rain of bullets finds its home in Loki’s neck, and quite abruptly, everything goes dark.

~~~~~

“Up and at ‘em, sunshine!”

Loki startles awake so hard he falls out of the chair. The chair in the archives at the TVA, where he’d been sleeping. Sleeping, not dead. He immediately lifts a hand to his neck and finds it whole and unmarked—he’s alive. Norns, it was all a terrible dream. Letting out a long, shaky breath, he looks up to find B-15 giving him a powerfully bemused look from where she stands a short distance away, pruning baton in hand, already geared up for the operation.

“Seem a bit on edge, there,” she says dryly, then continues: “Today’s the big day, and you’re sleeping on the job. Did you even go back to your room last night?”

Which is… odd. Loki is certainly not going to be the one to question the existence of premonitory dreams, but to his knowledge they are rarely so startlingly clear and painfully accurate. As the fog of sleep clears from his mind, he’s left with the unmistakable feeling that it wasn’t a dream at all, which is impossible. There’s no haziness to his memory, though, nor are the details slipping through his fingers the way that dreams do when you try to grasp them more fully. He can still remember exactly what he had answered.

“What’s the point?” he says carefully, watching B-15’s reaction. If there’s weird time stuff going on, safe to say that the TVA is probably involved. “This table is about as comfortable as the questionable piece of furniture you people insist on calling a bed.”

If she’s heard any of this before, she makes no sign of it. “You’ll have a lot bigger problems than that if today doesn’t go well,” she retorts, word for word, eyeing him with the same typical level of suspicion. “I still think it’s too early for your first field operation.”

That definitely seals it. Something is wrong. Maybe the Norns gifted him with an exceptionally detailed premonition of his future, but if they did, then what happens during the operation today… well, he doesn’t really want to think about it. Shaking his head, he tries to push himself off the ground, and it’s only then that he realizes that there’s something clutched in his hand. He hadn’t been holding anything when he went to sleep, nor had he woken with anything in his hand in the dream, so he doesn’t really know what to expect when he opens his fist. Certainly not what’s inside. He might forget how to breathe for a minute or ten.

Because there, cradled in his palm, is a watch that’s not quite a watch, its strap broken, and a splatter of dried blood on its face: the same exact device that he’d pulled off Nathaniel Richards’ wrist shortly before he’d been killed.

“You know,” he says absently, still staring at the device, “I think you may be right.”

[danganronpadespairtime]

Bonus Episodes + Other Questions

Briefly, I will open up the askbox again, because I think there may be some questions.

You can send in questions here. A Tumblr account is not needed to ask questions.

There may be chapter 1 spoilers.

Anonymous asked:

Can we get color palettes for the characters? It's hard to get the right colors from the sprites since there are so many gradients, and not every character has a CG. Sorry to inconvenience you.

I color pick from sprites, because when the gradient is removed it may make certain colors look lighter... But if that isn’t a concern for you, then I will provide flats.

Anonymous asked:

What each of the cast member’s clothing preferences? I want to do fan art of them in casual clothing, so I’m pretty curious! 

Sorry, I have a bad fashion sense and it may limit my responses, but I’ll try to answer to the best of my ability

Eden: She enjoys cute fashion, but she also enjoys wearing androgynous style clothes.

J: Refuses to wear feminine things. Likes dark colors and hoodies.

Teruko: Her fashion sense diverges from what she’d actually wear. Secretly she wants to wear girly, cute things, but is unable to afford that kind of thing. She likes skirts.

Nico: Like Teruko, wants to wear girly things but doesn’t due to external factors

Hu: Wears modernized casual hanfu. She also likes long skirts

Veronika: Complicated, lolita-like fashion

Min: She cares more about practicality than looks. She wears comfortable clothing

Levi: Fashionable

Arturo: Something that appears expensive... Designer clothes, faux high fashion

Whit: A similar style to the clothes that he is current wearing

Arei: Cute,Girly

Ace: Sporty

Charles: Semi-formal, but he doesn’t care too much about appearance

David: Semi-formal. ‘professional’ and stylish look

Rose: Eccentric and colorful, and not delicate

Anonymous asked:

This question doesn’t relate to the episodes, but rather the comic: would you say that the comic is also canonic and prior to the events of drdt? 

No, it was just a joke.

Anonymous asked: 

Was the Ultimate contest for eminent students part of the Korean Hope’s Peak, and then Min later came to america?

Currently there is no confirmation that Korea has built a Hope’s Peak. I think there may be some assumption that because someone has a foreign name, they can’t be american nor have grown up in america. This isn’t really true.

Stated explicitly, every member of the cast is American, and has spent a significant portion of their childhood growing up in the US.

That being said, Min has always been serviced by america’s Hope’s Peak. Whenever DRDT references Hope’s Peak, it will almost always be in reference to the American ones.

Anonymous asked:

Why Xander has both eyes? What happend to his eyepatch?

Xander presumably received his eye injury shortly before the start of the the events of DRDT, so it’s not like he had it for most of his life.

Anonymous asked:

sorry im so confused... is chariton like, a country that xander is from or something?

Chariton is a fictional town in an unspecified state in the US. North C is a city that is north of Chariton, in the same state. Both receive water from Chariton River (also fictional) that flows from north to south. 

There is a real town and a real river named Chariton but that is an unintended coincidence.

Anonymous asked: 

Is there gonna be more Bonus episodes? 

That is all there is for now. More bonus episodes may come after chapter 2.

Anonymous asked: 

Is there a fully body for Xander's casual outfit in the bonus episode? I think it looks really awesome!

Anonymous asked:

Do you have a rough estimation of the next chapter release? It’s ok if you don’t!

No to both, sorry. Regarding the second thing I am so early on in the production process that I cannot even begin to fathom a release date.

Anonymous asked:

Are both "unnamed students" the same person given that they have the same voice actor? Or is it just a coincidence? Also, why is Nico called "Nico Kasabyan" in the prologue? Was that his original name?

1. Same person

2. That was a mistake

Anonymous asked:

Not exactly an important question, but did Ace’s hair turn more dull?

Yes. He is getting a little sloppy with his hair dye maintenance, and/or he stopped caring.

Anonymous asked:

What year does this take place?

I don’t want to be too specific with dates nor places lest I accidentally invoke some real-life associations. DRDT takes place 70-80 years after the events of Danganronpa, somewhere in the US. That’s about specific as it gets.

Although you’d expect things to be very different after almost a century, much of that time was devoted to rebuilding post-Tragedy, so it is about analogous to our present day.

Anonymous asked:

Will Duke Spurling be mentioned in the main story at all? The story in the side episodes intrigue me a lot, and it makes me wonder if they’ll ever cross over.

I should clarify that the bonus episodes being “not plot important” doesn’t mean that none of the content will show up in the main story, just that if any events in them are plot important, then they will be also discussed as necessary within the story themself. That is to say, you can skip them and still understand the main story.

I do realize now this may be misleading wording on my part, so I apologize. That being said, some of the people and events mentioned, particularly in the second episode, may come up in the story... sometime in the distant future... Please remain patient!

koivoid asked:

How many students were in East Class 27? 

16 students, with (including) one randomly selected Ultimate Lucky Student. This is standard for all Hope’s Peak classes, with very few exceptions. In addition the classes are always “evenly split by gender” (in theory).

Anonymous asked:

are Nico's eye fades red or gray? Cause I noticed some inconsistencies between the videos and cast page. I'm not sure if it's intentional or the cast page is old and needs to be updated.

I changed them to gray after seeing that too many characters already had red eyelashes, but I haven’t updated the cast page. If there are any discrepancies within the cast pages or photos, they’re usually insignificant.

[pastelpaperplanes]

You mostly draw Megatron with Crusade in his Cybertronian look but in your canons it was said that while carrying the spark Megs wore his Marauder look. Did Megatron changed bodies or is the Canon changed?

yes! haha so hmm let’s see. So far up until A Little Too Familiar I have tossed Crusade into my Crackship AU—because with the Cybertron’s future AU with a whole lot of my other sparklings, ones that have considered backstories, they wouldn’t exist because of Shamus and Envoy!—and yes in the Crack AU, Megan does sport his Marauder Upgrade.

I’m still 1000% open to keeping Crusade as like,,a cameo for the Crack AU but I will say I’m getting far too attached to their character to better NOT explore them more in a more intricate backstory kind of sense! Many of the asks I’ve answered previously about Crusade’s personality and future are still canon—with the exemption that Crusade has a far more present/loving relationship with their Carrier, who as a literal helicopter parent is near suffocating in his protectiveness and efforts to keep his sparkling away from the hands and influence of the Autobots, even if that means locking them away on the Nemesis far too much to be healthy, and lying straight to their face, and others, about their origins.

Since the TFN 2021 S4 kickoff script reading I’ve been leaning towards guess what—a whole other AU that continues RIGHT after that point, much like where the CF AU would—only certain rescission within the timeline have been changed leading to, in some relationships, a vastly different setting for a next generation! (No, I don’t think I’d create a whole ton of other sparklings in place, for example a planned Strika/Lugnut kiddo wouldn’t happen for obvious reasons, nor would Shmaus or Envoy exist!! Who would remain, THAT I will figure out later down the line.) So Megatron is not in his Marauder form, Optimus is named Magnus, Jazz is with team Prime/Ninja Corps, Sentinel is still a dick figures, Prowl is still dead and so forth.

What I have planned is sort of like where the Deceptions sport a retreat after their bust on Earth when attempting to take over the central line of techno organic energon. The Cons faced losses, high command was scrambled and still very much injured from their cruel, and unusual keeping within Trypticon, heavy sacrifices turned out to NOT reap greater rewards, and the troops are still starving—and starving, scared mecha are far more dangerous than angry ones.

Optimus is still coming to terms that he is due to lead Cybertron, under the title of Optimus Magnus as soon as he’s back, whether he likes it or not as the front lines are still very much on edge with the evermore increasingly violent rouge Con raids.

I made some commentary on the reading as a whole which was PHENOMENAL and I’m still riding the high that is the fanTASTIC work that was put into is, like god. There was a brief but hilarious moment from Rattletrap where he attempted to sell off a crudely photoshopped Megop photograph as dirt—a part of me thought it would be even MORE hilarious if said photo was actually, used and Op was left sputtering after a double take going like how did they find that. HOW.

My poor, poor fanfic loving heart got going on of course the What if the Enemies Were Fraternizing Throughout the Whole of The Show, Morals be Damned in Those Stolen Moments Because I Like YOU For Some Reason trope. Wow is me, be still my beating HEART. It did not stop—so I made another AU :D yayyyyy

Basically the creation of Crusade follows along in this timeline in that sense. They were a product of one too many lonely nights in some far off abandoned cave that never could quite seem to end with a civil conversation, let alone spark apprehension from the other when it came to going toe to toe of the battlefield for the sake of their Causes. A Comfort without Strings relationship, even if they did come to grow fond of each other, not that they’d ever admit it—a confession, in a sense, would only hurt both parties knowing that the two would never give up their motivations in the ‘impossible ‘case that said feelings were mutual.

From the looks of it, the Autobots did not once tend to the Deceptions during their stay at Trypticon. Megs still sported bare struts and tattered armor up to his escape—it would be believable that medics never once ran scans, let alone were ordered to get anywhere near the high command. With already being in such poor shape, battered, humiliated, starved, violated (those minicons?? homage to Trepan??? yikessssss) and sedated—it would be believable that Megatron wouldn’t pay notice to a small flutter in his spark amongst all the pain and anxiety, at least until he finally could gather his bearings under the lockdown of his temporary fortress stuck on Earth.

Megatron, knowing he was alone, now extremely vulnerable, heavily outnumbered and out favored by his remaining struggling troops, called upon his definitely not most favorite sub team to cower behind—the DJD, to meet his blaring distress beacon.

Tarn and his crew, with the help of the rest of high command’s signal dampeners, are able to as covertly as possible—minus the world sweeper size of the Peaceful Tyranny and the paralyzing droning on of the Empyrean Suite that Tarn just loves so dearly—made it off planet save for a few bumps and bruises from the small force of Team Prime. The High & Mighty Megatron was no where to be seen in the action. Probably off in a hurry to lick his wounds in retreat after getting his ass handed to him, many assumed, but Nickel knew better. Tarn knew better. Something was terribly wrong in order to resort to a ‘cowardly’ extraction and evasion mission.

You can see where I’m going w this—so anyways YES that is the general gist of where this AU kicks off!!! Megs and Op, particularly Megs, got unlucky on their last night together—eventually all leading to the introduction of the previously secretive back up weapon that was the DJD. Coming to the rescue of their Fearless, All Powerful, and Resilient Leader?? A strange, but instantly understandable measure to resort to once Megatron reveals himself as a carrying mech, the beholder of a true heir and a testament to the resilience that is the Deceptions though the terrible reign the Autobots have held against them through the eons.

I’ll go into why he keeps Crusade on a tight leash and Op out of the loop entirely for as long as he possibly could—and how the rest of Megaton’s troops behaved around this clearly, half blooded Con sparkling their leader doted on— later!

Needless to say, Crusade’s reputation from the moment they were born was tottering on a fine line between that of pitiable condolences for their leader, and that of true Decepticon pride knowing that the one to lead them to glory some day is none other than one of the Autobots’ very own descendants.

Hope that kinda better explains things! I like Meg’s Cybertronian design, it’s sleek, it’s sexy, it’s easier to draw, and since S4 gave us a fresher design to admire of Optimus, why not have the same for his other half!

YEAHH. so new AU :D AYOOOO I’ll tag this timeline/future mentionings of Crusade and their journey as Cybertron’s Legacy AU

extremely stupid doodle under the cut! I can’t get over the duality of Old Written vs New Written Crusade ahhh 💀💀

I found a horrifically perfect tik tok audio for these two oml

Swapping Megatron stories!

[fallstreakfeathers]

[More] Obey Me Headcanons

[ I didn’t edit this at all, really, but I have around 30 headcanons so far that I’m using for my fic and would like several backups- so, I’m posting it here.) 

The ‘Devildom’ is a planet that is larger than ours. ‘Hell’ refers to a part of each territory the Avatar’s govern that is reserved for retaining and torturing human souls. These areas are actually quite small compared to the rest of the land. Each environment is unique, with its own native flora, fauna, land formations, climates, and dangers.

The Devildom resides on a tall, mountain-ringed plateau that towers over the lands around it. It is not the tallest point in the demon world.

Demons have elemental affinities that also define certain weaknesses. A demon that’s used to the heat and gasses of flowing magma would have difficulties in the colder parts of the world, or fighting against a demon or creature who uses a lot of freezing attacks.

There are many places in their realm that even Demons refrain from going, or simply cannot. One such area is a vast frozen land in the far northeast that drops to temperatures low enough that even demons that are developed for icy area’s cannot survive without magical assistance. However, this also makes the area a great place for criminals and the exiled to live should they be able to fight the cold. Demons and such that failed to pass the test of the cold are frequently found encased in the tall, pointed ice spires that jut from the ground- trapped in an unending preservation until the end of days.

There’s a massive crater in one part of the world, in the land Mammon governs, that’s referred to as the ‘Fear Pit’. It’s the aftermath of a massive battle between two demons, and the entire area is cursed with illusions that prey on your fears. It gets worse the closer you are to the bottom. Demons occasionally travel to test their own resolve, though few ever make it to the center- usually opting to turn back before their fear drives them mad.

Beelzebub dislikes thunder because it sounds similar to some sounds he heard in the war

Demon’s are immortal only in that time cannot destroy them, They can still die from wounds and even disease.

Not all demons can speak human languages. There’s plenty in the Devildom/Hell who’ve never set foot in the human realm and have never bothered to learn the realms languages.

On that note, there are more than a few specific demonic dialects spoken in the devildom. The Avatars and most high nobility are required to be fluent in the most common 3 demonic languages.

Demons who came to the Devildom by falling from the Celestial Realm are not considered ‘true demons’, and many have challenged the Avatars solely because of their origins

Demons may have pacts with multiple humans. If a demon who has more than one pact is ordered to do something by multiple pact holders, the demon will obey whoever has the strongest bond with them OR the orders will cancel each other out.

Many species found in the Devildom/Hell and the Celestial Realm are not exclusive to one or the other- dragons and unicorns are found in both, for example, but with different traits and personalities. Dragons in the Devildom are ugly things that spit an acidic venom, while those in the Celestial Realm are sleek and able to shoot blasts of fire from their throats. Some creatures remain the same in each realm, but are referred to by different names. Many mythic creatures from every human culture can be found in both the Devildom and Celestial realm

Though their human forms look rather perfect, everyone who fought in the Celestial War bears a great number of physical scars, some of which affect their human guise as well

Belphegor's right eye is completely blind in all his forms. He tends to hide it in his human appearance because it’s sometimes seen as a weakness by other demons who might try to challenge him. He has the most trouble with demon’s attempting to fight him because he’s often seen as the weakest Avatar due to his sleeping habits and general outward appearance. This is, of course, a massive mistake.

Belphegor frequently wraps his tail around himself (like a hug) for comfort- particularly when he’s alone

Belphegor’s horseshoe was broken during a fight with a demon who wanted to challenge his title/status.

Demons don't usually bury their dead because many simply disappear upon death. How they disappear depends on their primary sin (Wrath erupts in a blast of fire)

Leviathan changes the order of the smiley pins on his clothes depending on his mood (green for happy/content, yellow for neutral, red for angry/upset)

Satan dislikes chocolate

Demons are practically infertile. Children born naturally (human standard) are extremely rare. As such, all demon children are cherished and protected by modern demonic societies as a whole, and intending to harm one is punished harshly.

Lucifer may have birthed Satan from rage, but a demon can create another being from any emotion so long as it’s powerful enough (love, envy, etc). This is much more common than the physical way of creating children. The offspring will generally exhibit whatever emotion spawned them and will behave accordingly to whoever the emotion was directed at. After their birth, they grow very fast until they appear 10-15 years old, and their growth slows immensely.

A specific ritual is required for a demon( or angel) and human to crossbreed with each other, as they are completely different species. It would be like trying to cross a dog with a giraffe. These births are always extremely dangerous for the human mother. There are a few exceptions to this, such as Incubi/Succubi but successful crossbreeding is still extremely rare.

The older a demon is, the more horrific their true forms are. Anyone who has existed before the Celestial War is referred to as an ‘Ancient/Old World’ demon. Those born after and those who fell are considered ‘New Age/Modern’ demons. There are a handful of creatures referred to as ‘Primordials’. These beings are neither demons nor angels, but are immensely powerful and are very secretive. Not much is known about any of them, and they rarely show themselves. They also rarely partake in the social/political conflicts of the three realms. They did not have a presence in the Celestial War.

These titles have no bearing on how civilised someone may be.

There are technically four realms known. The Celestial, Devildom, and Human realms are commonly spoken about but the fourth realm is known as ‘Oblivion’ and isn’t so much a world as it is multitudes of platforms floating throughout a nebula. It’s useless overall but is used as a prison and punishment for the worst of demonkind. Few have ever made it out, but those that have come back a blubbering, maddened shell of who they were. Diavolo and Barbatos both are capable of opening a portal to it.

All demons/Fallen have the capability to return to a monstrous form, but Ancient demons have a particularly difficult time making themselves look human again (some Ancient’s are incapable of returning at all). New Age demons are able to transform much more freely, but if the transformation is brought on by strong negative emotion (rage, fear, or a physical reaction such as pain), it takes much longer to change back

The final stage of demonic courtship involves seeing each other's truest self. This display is a form of trust in the highest regard, the goal being total acceptance of each other. It should never be taken lightly. Not every couple goes through this, but those that do form a deeply personal and permanent bond.

A demon in full form is rare outside battle, though some choose to remain in their appearance as a way of showing off.

Some demons (nobility and such) have several forms outside of their human/humanoid guises

Demons are compelled to chew on things. There are several businesses specializing in ‘demon chew toys’. Gnawing on these can release both stress and anxiety and also helps maintain healthy teeth.

Demons shed their horns, scales, teeth and fur, and will often use these shed materials in their own clothing, jewelry, and other such items. Shedding season differs for every demon- it happens to some every half year, year, couple years, or even centuries. Being given an item made from a demon’s shed is considered a personal gift

Demons can tell the basic emotional state of any human they have a pact with. Whether they react to it or care is another story.

Despite the common opinion that the Devildom doesn’t have a sun, the sky brightens every 3 human world days thanks to the passing of a dwarf star. However, it would be a mistake to believe that the demon world is devoid of light without it! There are plenty of natural light sources that provide the lands with a way to see (for those without night vision), such as glowing crystals and mushrooms, magma, etc.

The Devildom’s planet’s core burns hotter than ours, which counteracts how cold it would be otherwise (though it’s still quite chilly in many parts of the planet)

When Diavolo ordered that no human be harmed in the Devildom again, he also banned all media portraying humans as prey. These books, videos, and movies are now sold on the black markets and hoarded by those who disagree with Diavolo

[goldheartedsky]

I told myself I wasn’t going to make a post like this—that I wasn’t going to stoop to the level of making call-out posts—but I really can’t stay silent after what has happened in the last day or so.

The TOG fandom has a serious issue with excusing antisemitism and allowing people who have painfully hurt marginalized groups to continue to ignore, dismiss, and refuse to acknowledge their limits of intersectionality in regards to social justice. I have seen it myself, been on the receiving end of it, and have talked to other Jews in this fandom about what’s been going on and it needs to start being addressed.

Now, I’m not going to name names or tag people (mainly because I have been blocked by almost all of them for this very issue) but if you message me I will gladly tell you the users involved in this. Also, if you have doubts of any of this’s validity and would like screenshots, feel free to reach out to me here or via Discord and I will share them.

A lot of this started when a member of the All&More server had brought up the scientific and medical “discoveries” during the torture and medical experimentation that took place during the Third Reich and how a lot of the origin of it isn’t taught. LR made a comment saying that “we are three-dimensional creatures who are stuck moving forward in time and can’t go back” and added that not using the research won’t make past horrors not happen. When the original user added that there has been a movement in medicine for removing Nazi scientists names off discoveries and that progress was slow moving, she deflected the conversation onto herself, saying “Not using research won’t make my family not harmed by the Japanese” and then immediately pivoted into admitting that, from what she understood, there weren’t any particularly valid scientific discoveries made by them. She then said, in regards to said Nazi atrocities, “Take it, learn about it, put it in context, and then own it and transform it.”

A Jewish member of A&M voiced their discomfort about possibly taking medicine that was a direct result of the murder of their grandparents and other relatives, to which LR said, “Still stuck in the 3rd dimension, still moving forward in time.” I brought up the fact that medicine was built on antisemitism and racism and that starting over would be better than a lot of the procedures we have now. There is a longstanding issue in medicine of disregarding black pain and so much of what we have now is created by eugenicists—including Nazi scientists. There is still a lot of Jewish trauma due to medical experimentation and that is oftentimes dismissed.

LR then made a flippant comment about “Does this count as Godwin’s Law?”—which is about how all internet discussions lead to someone being compared to Nazis/Hitler. When called out on the inappropriateness of the comment, she did not respond and was backed up by one of the mods of the server. There was no apology made nor an acknowledgment about the casual antisemitism of the comments she made and the dismissal of Jewish trauma/pain.

Now, fast forward a couple months when I was contacted by a third party who had not been in the server at the time but had joined and heard about what LR had said there. H said they were friends with LR and had concerns about antisemitism and would like my perspective. I explained what had happened and offered screenshots if they would like them, which they did. They thanked me and apologized that it got to a point that I felt unsafe in the server and had to leave, which I appreciated.

A couple weeks later they reached out to me again and offered to broker a conversation between LR and myself because the situation wasn’t sitting well with them. I was skeptical (because I had been blocked at that point) and didn’t have a lot of hope that this conversation would actually take place but I felt a responsibility to try and be the bigger person and deal with what had been said head on, so I agreed to sit down and have a discussion with her as long as there was a third party in the chat as well—given our history.

After a couple weeks of back and forth with H and hearing that LR had said that she would “think about it”, she finally agreed. I was asked for a time and date and I gave my availability and was told she would be asked for the same. A couple days later, I was suddenly told LR would only be comfortable with this conversation if H acted as a “literal go-between” with us copy-pasting our responses in their DMs so we can “sit with the message and everyone can get to them when they can” rather than it being a session with an actual back and forth and was asked if I was okay with that. I honestly said no, because this was supposed to be a situation where she and I sat down and discussed what she said in the server, not a back and forth message relay where the conversation got dragged out for days or weeks or however long it was going to take. I said if she was serious about meeting me halfway on this, she needed to be able to sit down and actually talk.

H copy-pasted my response to LR and came back that she had backed out of the conversation, which part of me had expected from the beginning—even though all I wanted from this sit down was for her to understand how hurtful the antisemitic comments were and an apology.

These comments that were made in the server are not a secret. It’s pretty well known what was said and again, these were all on record, not privately made in some DM. She has still not owned up to the comments she said, nor has she ever apologized for them. She has ignored message after message about them and blocked more people than I can count. Many of the people defending her when the discourse begins have also been messaged about the comments she’s said and also either block people or ignore the messages completely and refuse to acknowledge them.

Now, this being said, in the most recent conversation about fandom racism, someone brought up the post that was made reducing users on ao3 to faceless, nameless numbers without saying who they were, what they had done, and how they were specifically contributing to the problem of racism in this fandom. They made the comparison of other situations like HR looking at pay stats to see how to fire and included “Nazis, capitalists, and colonizers.”

This is not an invalid argument. There have been other Jews in the fandom who specifically voiced feeling uncomfortable for the exact same reason. However, another person, LT, decided to specifically make a post calling the OP out and drag them for having the audacity to liken it to the Shoah (which, mind you, this person is not Jewish nor did they decide to capitalize Shoah or the Holocaust as they should have). She received a reply saying, “you’re offended by antisemitism? Here’s LR’s (someone LT has agreed with multiple times over racism in fandom) track record of antisemitic comments” which outlined everything I delved into previously.

LT said that they were “unaware of this incident until a couple days ago” but agreed that it was an upsetting display of casual dismissal of Jewish pain and hoped that LR had apologized. She was then called out for being aware of it and still continuing to reblog LR’s posts even after knowing about the comments and was linked to my post clarifying that LR had not apologized and refused a discussion about it, to which LT said that she had gotten “quite a different version outlined in the post linked and corroborated by a third party” and “felt uncomfortable” making a value judgement, insinuating that I was not being truthful about my side of the story.

I messaged LT off-anon and said that I was not lying nor over-exaggerating about what had happened in the server or about the following discussion about trying to broker a conversation with LR, and was immediately blocked by her. I am also not the only Jew who has sent her messages about this topic, only to have their messages ignored.

Now, am I surprised that I was immediately blocked after voicing my issues with what LT had said in that post? No.

She has a history of making antisemitic comments, most of which happened during the brunt of the Israel/Palestine discussion happening, which included statements such as “You cannot be considered indigenous if you hold a position of power”, that, despite having been displaced for 2,000 years, the Jewish diaspora was “integrated” into their respective communities (a wholly untrue statement), as well as linked to and promoted a website with extremely antisemitic articles including one about “Spartan Jews” and how Israeli Jews are violent to “send messages to their deprived self-esteem” that they won’t be victims again. Half of the comments on the site’s front page included such hits as “Death to all Jews” and “Wow, I had no idea this was happening—I guess it is true that Jews control the world and the mass media.” This website was repeated in multiple posts as “unbiased” and “a good resource” for other people to truly know what was going on.

Jewish dissent on the content of some posts and that website went unacknowledged and dismissed.

Being that LT is a relatively big user in the TOG fandom, her posts got circulated frequently. Seeing things like that touted as unbiased was extremely triggering for me and multiple Jews in this fandom that I’ve spoken to.

Now, the reason I made this post in particular was because I have seen a lot of echoing of the sentiment: “no matter how much you disagree with their sentiment, aligning yourself with racists is...well aligning yourself with racists.”

This statement NEEDS to become intersectional. If we are criticizing the work of people because of who they hold company with, why does that end at racism? If we are going to have a discussion about racism in this fandom, why are we letting it come from people who have openly said antisemitic things, people who have stood by them and supported them in silence, and people who have silenced Jewish voices speaking up about this issue.

These are not separate issues. This is a really good post regarding the white washing of Jews in social justice discussion and it comes full circle into the medical experimentation discussion. Jews were not seen as white during the Holocaust. The Nazis were trying to cleanse the Aryan race because they did not view Jews as white. They experimented on them because they did not view them as white and, thus, disposable.

Every Jewish diasporic community is still vulnerable. Even though the US has half the world’s Jews, over 50% of the religiously based hate crimes are consistently anti-Jewish even though Jews make up 2% of the population. Chinese Jews are still holding their holiday celebrations in secret due to government crackdowns. The attempted genocide of Beta Israel was less than 50 years ago. Across the Middle East and North Africa, Jewish communities are barely hanging on after centuries of attempted destruction. These are not just Jewish issues but racial issues as well because when people make the sweeping generalization of “Jew” and they only mean white-passing Ashkenazi Jews, it erases so much of our community.

I absolutely agree that this fandom needs to have a discussion about race and portrayal in fic and what we can do better moving forward—and I want to see that done—but we also need to acknowledge what so many people starting this discussion have said and the marginalized groups they have hurt along the way. I see these posts come across my dashboard and know exactly who they're coming from and what they think of people like me. If we are going to say, “No matter how much you disagree with their sentiment, aligning yourself with racists is aligning yourself with racists,” then we NEED to be saying, “If you are aligning yourself with antisemites, you’re aligning yourself with antisemites.”

We all need to move forward. But that means moving forward together. Jews included.

[imnotgrimimjustagrumpyreaper]

Everything you never thought to ask and never wanted to know about my Josépan playlist/history with and opinions of the ship.

Intro:

The journey of this playlist has been a long one, starting on Amazon Music and my old, janky and now defunct Ipad.

STRAP IN, CHILDREN AS I TAKE YOU BACK TO A MAGICAL TIME WHEN NEITHER LEGENDS OF THE THREE CABALLEROS; NOR THEIR CAMEO IN DUCKTALES HAD BEEN ANNOUNCED YET, MY BLOG ON TUMBLR DIDN’T EXIST (THOUGH I WAS LURKING) AND PANCHITO WAS STILL THE LEAST POPULAR CABALLERO, otherwise known as around late 2017.

A word on the origins of the playlist:

The playlist was not initially Ducktales focused because the two didn’t exist in Ducktales yet. I was rather unenthusiastic back in the day about this ship (oh how the times change) but I had stumbled across a song that didn’t fit them and Donald but fit just them very well and wanted to make an animatic of it. So, I cobbled together some songs I thought fit the vibe and made a playlist.

The history behind the story that inspired it:

I’ll spare you from starting at the very beginning. But, when “The Town Where Everyone was Nice” premiered I was already thoroughly and utterly obsessed with the cabs; I remember how beyond ecstatic I was for the episode. My hype for the Ducktales versions of José and Panchito continued far beyond what seems to have been normal for the average cabs fan. I found myself drawn to the ideas put forth by those versions of them. I don’t really remember what the tipping point was for me to break down and make my own college AU but eventually I did. It was affectionately dubbed “The TV Show That Will Never Happen AU.” José and Panchito were enemies to lovers or at least to friends. And it was around that time I began to go CRAZY with the headcanons as I got more active in the fandom. While my ideas for the Ducktales versions of them grew and grew, so too did the time between them appearing in “The Town Where Everyone was Nice” and their alleged next appearance in the show. When fans noticed the distinct lack of José and Panchito in the season two finale of Ducktales, Francisco Angones, @//suspenderofdisbelief on Tumblr answered these two separate asks that I might have engraved on tombstone one day:

I was GONE for the ship after that. I developed another AU for them based around their time in Baia trying to get people to fund their attempts to become famous musicians. Also, slowly falling in love... It was affectionately titled “The Fan-Comic that Will Never Happen” but not yet connected to my college AU. I don’t have much of a timeline for it after this point, but with that AU I really hit my stride for interpretations of the two characters and their dynamic. The version of them I hold dear in my heart and headcanons came to be. Then “Louie’s Eleven” came out and absolutely destroyed a lot of my headcanons (just kidding, just kidding). Since the new canon material didn’t really jive with a lot of the wholesomeness I had built up I was left with a lot of something else: angst. I LOVE angst, but the two’s bitterness and arguing...It was hard to accept at the time. Me and @cartoon-lizard on Tumblr, my IRL best friend, wound up writing a Josépan fic fueled on a bit of that angst and by her grace, a lot of my headcanons. I titled it “My Reverie is Being Haunted by That Ass.” In it Panchito makes an ass (rimshot noises) of himself by running off with a producer he met by chance during a visit in Duckburg to try to become famous. And doing so without so much as a second thought to the person he’s been living with/sort of dating for over a year. It took me a while but eventually I figured it out. These weren’t three separate AUs, these were three separate pieces of the same AU. And so my masterpiece never meant to be made came to be: “The Trilogy: College/Baia/Reverie.”

“The Trilogy” Itself:

The story will never be written for a variety of reasons, personal and practical. But if it ever were to be written it would be three separate fics, aka: College, Baia and Reverie.

College encapsulates their college years (duh).

To set the stage:

Panchito: A friendly, arrogant and easily excitable musician with big dreams, good grades and a whole lot of anxiety and insecurity. He has complicated feelings towards his identity as both trans and pan and how that might affect his dreams of becoming famous, but is overall bright eyed and innocent enough.

José: A lazy (depressed), charming, pessimistic, tbh kind of a douche and deep in the closet gay man. He tends to push forward a very “Manly man” persona to make up for his own deep seated internalized homophobia brought on by a shitty upbringing. He just got away from said shitty upbringing and doesn’t really have any hopes for his future...Maybe to travel a bit?

José and Panchito start as enemies, both fearing losing their one real friend, Donald, to the other. Despite this the three start a band and the two’s rivalry becomes far more friendly. They get particularly close during the trip down to Acapulco for spring break where the general feeling of being disconnected from life and reality leads to several rather romantic moments between the two...They almost become a thing several times but never quite do. However, they are very good friends by the end of college. The three stay in contact for a while after college but eventually lose touch…

Baia timeskips forward 13 years later (I know it's only 10 canonically, I always say 13 for reasons) to a conversation between Panchito and José on the Sunchaser at the end of “The Town Where Everyone Was Nice.”

Panchito: Life hasn’t been kind to Panchito...His need to be famous, to be something in order to be someone has led him to push a lot of people out of his life so he can better focus on “Work.” Or drive them out by constantly asking for their support, financial or otherwise. He has no friends and even his relationships with his loving and supportive family are strained. Currently, he’s working freelance as a performer at childrens’ birthday parties (in his eyes: a clown) and goes home to a sad, empty apartment every night to stare at a notebook full of half written songs and muster enough energy to eat cereal for dinner for the third time in a row. Needless to say, his optimism is wearing thin.

José: A lot of hard work on his part, some good therapy and mmm; drugs have put him in a pretty good place. He’s more or less got his life together now, is way less of a douche and is more of a realist than a pessimist. He’s also pretty much completely comfortable in his identity as a gay man. He’s been trying to explore romantic relationships, but unfortunately (likely due to the loveless marriage between his parents making him strive so hard to believe that love is real that he puts the unrealistic goal of true love above all else) feels incomplete without one and double unfortunately has a tendency to be drawn to toxicity and abusive situations. So other than a string of (short lived) bad relationships, he’s actually doing great!

Panchito has already asked Donald to drop everything and stay with him down in Baia to try to get funding for the band. Donald said no. José has a steady job, a decent apartment and a supportive friend group back home. He's also long since lost interest and hope in their college dreams of being famous...José says yes. The two have a bunch of wild and wacky shenanigans trying to get funding and both dance around their growing feelings for each other until it explodes and overwhelms them. They rush into a romantic relationship head first with no real ground for it to be built on and unrealistic expectations of what the other can give them. Despite all this, things seem quite happy...for a while…

If you've made it this far, <3, CONT. in pt 2.

[theanimeview]

My Nitpick Issue with Sherlock in Moriarty the Patriot

By: Peggy Sue Wood | @pswediting​

It may surprise some of you to know that I have degrees in book reading and writing. While earning those degrees I studied one specific time period more than the others--that being British Literature from late-17th/18th century through the early 20th century. This is to say that it is a time period I know a little more about than you might think. And early 1900s is probably my favorite period out of that timeline, particularly England under Victoria’s rule. 

And, perhaps, because of this strange obsession I have with the period, I presently have a small bone to pick over Moriarty the Patriot. 

It’s not the minor inaccuracies of the clothes, nor the adaptation of character designs. It’s not even the adjustment to social tendencies depicted that are more Japanese than British-English of any period thus far either--because those kinds of things happen frequently in adaptations. And it's not Moriarty or his backstory too! Because, again, this is an adaptation, and liberties will be taken to fit the new story (besides, even in the original works by Doyle the man’s backstory was inconsistent). 

My issue is with the character of Sherlock and his supposed “deductions.” Well, maybe more accurately it's with the writing of Sherlock. 

You see, Sherlock is almost always introduced the same way in an adaptation. He makes a judgment about someone (usually about Watson or the Watson stand-in) and then proves it using his observational skills. This introduction is important because it clarifies that the world of the characters is one based on where common sense and science not only work but make sense. His deductions are logical and based on some semblance of rationality. Here is an excerpt from the original novel: 

“I knew you came from Afghanistan. From long habit the train of thoughts ran so swiftly through my mind, that I arrived at the conclusion without being conscious of intermediate steps. There were such steps, however. The train of reasoning ran, `Here is a gentleman of a medical type, but with the air of a military man. Clearly an army doctor, then. He has just come from the tropics, for his face is dark, and that is not the natural tint of his skin, for his wrists are fair. He has undergone hardship and sickness, as his haggard face says clearly. His left arm has been injured. He holds it in a stiff and unnatural manner. Where in the tropics could an English army doctor have seen much hardship and got his arm wounded? Clearly in Afghanistan.' 

How does this prove we are in a world where common sense and logic works? Well, because he didn’t pull any of these deductions from thin air. He just used his eyes and common knowledge to make a quick judgment. 

In the example above, everything that Sherlock assumes is true and based on reasonable assumptions about the time period and about what he can observe of the person before him. 

The tan of Watson’s skin is something he notes because London is usually dark and wet around this season, so you’re unlikely to get a tan. The way the man walks and stands is also a thing he can observe, and fresh military men walk very differently from the average citizen or gentleman. These two observations, coupled with noticeable injury and limp could lead one to think that maybe he has just come back from the current war (the First Anglo-Afghan War). Of course, maybe he wasn’t injured in the war at all--maybe something else happened; however, you can make a pretty good guess that an abled bodied soldier would not be home and looking for a room in the middle of war-times if something hadn’t happened to him on the battlefield.

My point is that all of Sherlock’s deductions come from observing details, paying attention to the basics of the world (such as the ongoing war or understanding rigor mortis), and using your senses. Sure, there may be a few things the average person doesn’t know that Sherlock does, but that’s because Sherlock has studied different things and to a more serious degree. The level of understanding is different, but not impossible to achieve in one’s own time or effort. And, as another note, Sherlock is not perfectly observant all of the time. There are plenty of examples of him needing to take breaks, of him closing his eyes to block out distractions so he can better focus on what someone is saying, and of him smoking to zone out for a bit so that he can come back to a problem with fresh eyes at a later time. 

It’s absolutely vital to Sherlock’s character, and the original story, that all of the deductions are based on the “possible,” which is why the introduction of Sherlock in Episode 6 of this adaptation immediately irritated me. Here is the scene:

Side note:  I’m sorry it’s shown as a poorly made gif--I literally could not find a copy of the clip with English subtitles on YouTube so I could not include it as a video. If you want to look at it in the episode itself, it starts at about the 13:00 minute mark. EPISODE LINK)

Here is what bothers me so much. Why would a mathematician be checking to see if the staircase on a ship fits the golden ratio? More importantly, why would that in any way matter to Moriarty as a character? Based on what we’ve seen so far of this character, and we’ve had 6 and 1/2 episodes to define him so far, none of Sherlock’s statement makes sense here. 

Like, at all. (And I know that this also happens in the manga--doesn’t make sense there either.)

You know what would make sense though? For the time period and the character development we’ve seen of Moriarty thus far? A pause to consider-- and maybe even compare--staircases on the ship between the main steps for passengers and the steps for commoners or staff. 

Why would that make sense? Oh, thank you so much for asking. Time to get real nerdy here for a minute: 

Class issues were a serious problem in Victorian England (as they are now, though in a different way). These issues were not necessarily the same as depicted in the show but it was still consistently present throughout the society as a whole. (A good, short read on the subject can be found here for those of you interested: Social Life in Victorian England.)

One way that this issue came out was in the very architecture of homes. In Victorian England, nobleman homes and estates were built with main staircases, where the residents and guests walked, and servent staircases, where the staff and other temporary employees walked. The difference in these stairs was huge, as the servant staircases were basically death traps. 

In the late 1800s, a mathematician (and architect) named Peter Nickolson figured out the exact measurements that would generally ensure a comfortable and easy walk upstairs: 

BTW: Here is a great video on the subject and how they were death traps: Staircases in Victorian England

However, Nickolson’s math and designs were not used regularly in the design of houses for years to come. 

By the setting of the story, and given Moriarty’s interest in maths, his understanding of class issues, and beyond--this kind of knowledge would make far more sense than searching for the golden ratio in a man-made set of stairs. 

Moreover, the golden ratio is generally interesting to mathematicians (to my understanding) because it can be seen in nature frequently. It is a pattern found everywhere, from the way that petals grow on flowers, to how seashells form, to freaking hurricane formations! So why on Earth would Moriarty be interested in an architect's choice to use such a ration when planning a staircase? 

He wouldn’t, I believe. Nor would Sherlock generally be able to make that assumption based on his time gazing at the staircase, distance from said staircase, nor angle. 

So what can he deduce, if not that? Well, he may be able to deduce that Moriarty is a nobleman based on his attire. He may also be able to deduce that the man is a student based on age, as in an earlier episode we were told he’s quite young to be teaching in university and appears close in age to his students. Maybe he’s a student of architecture? But, if he’s a nobleman--as we suspect he is based on his attire--then it's unlikely he works a labor-intensive job or one close to it. So, he must be in academia for academic reasons such as mathematics. Physics during that time, as an academic subject, focused more on lighting, heat, electricity, magnetism, and such. And, Sherlock notes that Moriarty is specifically looking at the stairs, not the lights of the ship. 

So, BAM! I’ve deduced Moriarty is a young nobleman who is likely a student of mathematics. Perhaps he’s recently had a lesson on staircases or another algebraic concept that’s caused him to pause with momentary interest. 

It makes a heck of a lot more sense than finding a “golden ratio” in a man-planned and man-made staircase... don’t you think? And, maybe, we can even deduce that rather than a student he’s a professor who has just thought up an interesting lesson--though that would be a BIG jump from the data we’ve been provided here. 

Deductions that come from major leaps in logic make it seem like Sherlock is doing magic... and he is--because it is magical that people find it impressive or believable. It’s not. And I would argue that the original character would find it insulting based on his comments to Watson regarding being compared to other fictional detectives.

Pay in mind, I have this feeling about several adaptations, so my judgment on Moriarty the Patriot isn’t technically exclusive. It just hit me so hard in my first viewing that I felt I needed to share because generally, this issue of deductions becoming magic rather than stemming from logic doesn’t happen in the first two minutes of meeting Sherlock Holmes.

So... yeah. Thanks for coming to my absurd history/lit lesson through Moriarty the Patriot. I appreciate you sticking with me to the end and hope it was enjoyable.

You can watch the series on Funimation.com right now at: https://www.funimation.com/shows/moriarty-the-patriot 

Overall, it’s a pretty good series; although there was a lot more child-murder than I expected...

[heloisedaphnebrightmore]

Warmness [Ron Weasley x Reader] - Heloise’s Christmas Calendar - Challenge

December 2 – Warmness [Ron Weasley x Reader]

Title: Warmness Pairing: Ron Weasley x Reader Word count: 1.7k Published: 2 December, 2020 Author: Heloise Daphne Brightmore Summary: On a dull, rainy winter day, the only thing you need is your boyfriend, Ron Weasley and a cup of hot chocolate. Challenge: [x] [x] Notes: It’s part of Heloise’s Christmas Calendar where I post something each day from 1 - 25 December. I have also written this piece for @jamilelucato​ and @whack-ed‘s A Very Harry Potter Christmas Challenge with Day 2′s prompt 

Warming up with a hot chocolate. 

Heloise’s Christmas Calendar Masterlist

Harry Potter Characters Masterlist | Masterlists

If you enjoy my stories, please consider donating and supporting me on Ko-fi. Of course, it’s completely your choice, I will continue updating for free anyway :) Thank you <3

It’s been quite rainy and dull in London recently. Everything seemed grey, dark clouds taking over the sky, bright colours long gone from the horizon, no sun to warm up the coldness, to dry off the wet grounds.

In the winter, people expected snow and colourful lights hung around the city. Roads covered in white silk, trees holding the heavy white substance, fairy lights decorating the houses, shops covered in all the Christmas ornaments.

But instead it was grey, dark and dull. You didn’t start decorating, nor did you start preparing for Christmas. It was too early for you and the weather didn’t give you the usual Christmas joy just yet.

It was freezing outside and so was inside. The heating was barely working, and it didn’t seem to want to budge even when you used magic against it. You wrapped yourself up in two layers of your boyfriend’s sweaters and a burgundy blanket that usually laid across the end of your bed. You cupped the hot chocolate in your hands, enjoying the warmness it sent through your nerves, its steam heating up your face as you took a sip of the hot beverage.

You sat on the window-seat in your room, listening to the heavy rain outside, the raindrops furiously attacking your window-seal. You held onto a cup of hot chocolate, warming yourself up from the spreading cold weather.

You liked rain, it made you feel melancholic, it made you think, it made you remember all your stupid little decisions, all your happy moments and what would come in the future. For some reason the rainy season always offered you a dull, but calming time in your life, where you just sat down and reflected on the decisions you have made, the feelings you have harboured, the happy memories you have experienced.

Although it was dark and colourless, it relaxed you, it gave you a silent comfort, which you gladly accepted as busy thoughts were swirling around in your head.

You weren’t particularly sad or lonely, you weren’t happy or enthusiastic either. You were just lost in your thoughts and it seemed to be the right thing to do.

You didn’t realise another presence in the room, nor did you hear him clear his throat. The only time his presence seemed obvious to you was when his arms wrapped around your torso and he hinted a small kiss on your temple.

You smiled at the feeling of his hair tickling your cheek, his lips gently touching your skin, his arms tightly wrapped around your body, his natural scent finding its way into your nostrils, making your body relax against his naked chest. In contrast to the cold you felt, shooting through your bones, his body was warm, almost too hot for such cold weather.

“Are you alright, love?” He asked, his voice hoarse from waking up late. Indeed, it was a lazy day. It was dark and least productive. You didn’t have work, nor did Ron, both of you looking forward to a day of doing nothing, which was long awaited.

“Of course, just thinking.” You replied with a sweet smile as you turned back to meet his curious blue eyes and messy ginger hair.

You loved his hair when he woke up, his locks reminding you of a bird’s nest. It was comical, but somehow it also meant home to you. Each time you saw his messy morning hair, his subtle stubble, his wrinkled pyjama bottoms and the way he rubbed his tired eyes, made you feel home. His mere presence made you feel as if you have had everything in one person. A friend, family, love, partner and home. He didn’t even know, but he was your everything.  

“About what?” He asked as he moved around you and held your hand to help you off the window, taking your hot chocolate and placing it on the side of the window-seal.

“Just memories, feelings. I guess I’m just thinking about everything.” You chuckled, scratching the back of your head awkwardly. “I am making no sense at all, am I?” Ron chuckled at you as he lifted your head with his index finger, his sweet smile making your lips curl involuntarily.

“Nope. Not at all. But if it makes you feel better just keep on thinking about whatever you want.” He chuckled as his arms sneaked around your waist, his face hidden in the crook of your neck, inhaling your scent as you placed your hands on his naked chest. “Can you just come back to bed and keep thinking there?” He asked, his voice muffled by your skin.

“Don’t you want to do something more productive?” You asked and he lifted his head, looking out the window, his face turning into a grimace.

“I’m not leaving this house today.” He shook his head, his face still deformed.

“We don’t have to leave, but we could do something, we could come up with something.” You tried to convince him, but he didn’t seem to want to agree.

“The only productivity I plan on doing is holding you in my arms. Love, I understand you want to do something, but it’s been weeks since we have had the same day off. Can we just lay in bed all day and-“ you waited for him to continue, but the boy froze. You frowned at his unexpected behaviour, even more so as a large grin started appearing across his face. “Love, just stay here.” He instructed you and quickly let go of you, grabbing his bathrobe from the hook on the door and running down the stairs of your house.

You stood in your room, looking around, complete confusion taking over you. You walked to the bed, sitting down on the edge, your foot slowly tapping on the ground, waiting for Ron. The minutes seemed to pass rather slowly, your boredom making you groan. You let yourself fall on to the bed, your hands laying across the silky cover, your eyes fixed on the ceiling.

What Ron was planning seemed to be getting to you and you just wanted to investigate. You stood up from the bed, wrapped your bathrobe around you and started tiptoeing over to the door, the wooden floorboards creaking under your weight. The door was loud as you tried to slowly open it, avoiding being caught by the ginger boy.

You pushed your head out of the little crack between the door and its frame, hoping to hear or see something, but instead a loud squeaky sound left your lungs as you found yourself face to face with Ron.

“I knew you would be spying, love.” He chuckled as he got hold of your hand and started gently pulling you after himself.

“What were you up to?” You asked, but the boy just shook his head and chuckled at your curiosity.

“That’s for you to find out.” He snickered as he led you towards the living room. You frowned at the secrecy, knowing Ron wasn’t keen on keeping secrets. You let him guide you, waiting in anticipation of what made him so abruptly disappear, but you didn’t have to wait for long to find out.

He stepped aside as he walked into the living room, leaving you with a clear view of the place. Your eyes widened in surprise, your lips parting involuntarily.

The room was originally warm, it’s colours mainly consisting of red, burgundy, orange and gold. But this time, it was more than that. Ron placed tiny candles around the room, lighting up the place in a warm yellow and orange colour, reminding you of the sun. The fireplace was heating up the room, the wooden logs crackling in the fire. A yellow and red plaid blanket covered the carpet in front of the burgundy couch, two cups of hot chocolate and little sandwiches placed on the tiny table beside the blanket.  

It was warm and romantic, something you didn’t know you needed, but now that it was right in front of you, it made you break into a happy smile as a tiny teardrop left your watering eyes.

“Are you okay?” Ron asked worriedly as he saw the tears appear in your eyes. You nodded furiously and pulled him flush against you, kissing him lovingly, enjoying the feel of his lips on yours and his arms around your body. It was an intimate moment each time you kissed him, but the warmness surrounding you made it even more cosy.

“I’m just very happy, Ron. This is beautiful.” You smiled again as you looked around, your cheek laying against Ron’s chest.

“I hoped you’d like it.” He spoke. “I even prepared some muggle board games.” He pointed at a little box on the table, making you chuckle. You remembered the muggle toys as you played with your family on a similarly dull day. “Both lazy and productive.” He grinned happily as he kissed the top of your head.

“I love it, Ron. I really do love it.” You lifted your head from his chest and stood up on your tiptoes to kiss him again, trying to convey how much it all meant to you, how proud you were of him and how much you loved him.

You walked over to the blanket and waited for Ron to sit down, before you got comfortable between his legs, your head laying on his chest. He offered you one of the cups of hot chocolate and you immediately took it from him, enjoying the hot beverage sliding down your throat. You didn’t feel the coldness anymore.

Ron reached for your hand, interlocking your fingers as he placed a tiny kiss on your temple. You turned back around, looking into his loving eyes, before you closed the gap between you, enjoying the feel of his lips on yours.

“Thank you so much.” You whispered against his lips as you turned back to watch the fire battling with the wooden logs, swallowing them gracefully.

“Anytime, love.” He replied as he hinted a small kiss on your cheek, making you smile.

The moment was just perfect, and you were happy to add another beautiful memory to your collection for another dull and rainy day.

Harry Potter general taglist: @inkhearthes​ @hufflefluff-writer​ @fific7​ @haphazardhufflepuff​ @kalimagik​ @accio-rogers​ @queendcnn​ @harrypotter289​ @nebulablakemurphy​ @iliveiloveiwrite​ @mytreec​ @chaoticgirl04​ @idont-knowrn​ @mayaaa-l​ @imboredandneedalife​ @pregnant-piggy​ @prongsies​ @holdupwhat​ @ravenclea​ @kashishwrites​ @izzytheninja​ @timogtrrz​ @wassup-peoples​ @levylovegood​ @msmimimerton​ @bbeauttyybbx​ @kiwi-sloan​ @moatsnow​ @pandaxnienke​

Christmas Calendar taglist: @a-classic-eye​

Harry Potter - Golden trio era taglist: @nhcwdw​ 

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[4ragon]

oh, can you do a character analysis for a dgs character of your choosing?

Whoo boy. Let’s see if I can...

I love the DGS duology a lot, even though I’ve only been through it once a few years ago. I think it’s a mark of a fantastic game that I can still have a fond place in my heart for all these characters. But if I have to talk about one character for an unreasonable amount of time, I think there’s one character that stands out in particular.

That’s right everyone. It’s your favorite detective and mine! Herlo

It’s

It’s your favorite detective and mine H

HErl

It’s your 

It’s Herlo

Fuck I can’t I can’t do it I was going to make a joke about the name translation but typing it out hurts me so much why that??? Why make it that??? Was there no better name they could change it to???

Anyway. Sherlock Holmes.

I’m not a particular fan of the Sherlock Holmes mythos. I’ve never read an original story, nor watched any of the old movies. I’ve seen the RDJ movies, and watched I think 2.5 seasons of Sherlock, which, you know, were fine, I had fun with them in college. I love murder mysteries a lot, particularly murder mystery games, but I’d never really found myself interested in Sherlock Holmes as a character.

This Sherlock Holmes though? God. I fell in love instantly.

He’s basically a supergenius hyperactive five-year-old in the body of an adult man. He’s a single father, which, again, I do have a soft spot for, and he’s also just. Ridiculous? Silly? Eccentric but not in an asshole way? He’s not nice, per se, even though he was perfectly willing to let two strangers live in his attic so long as they were willing to put up with him playing a broken violin and crying about how he’s no longer talented or dying his hair wild colors. He’s certainly not polite but there’s still this goodness to him under that wacky demeanor.

He’s unpredictable in the best way possible. You talk to him in one room, he bids you a fond farewell, you go upstairs, and he’s climbed through an upper floor window and then got distracted and read a book, and you’re like “What the fuck are you doing” and he’s like “Oh hello my friends have you read this book before? Also here’s twenty new things to talk about.” Like??? He’s so fun to interact with, because he’s this incredibly smart weirdo who perpetually has no clue what is going on around him and also already knows the answer and also kind of doesn’t. You’ll talk to him and he’ll have both solved the mystery and somehow attributed it to flying snakes trained in the art of mortal combat and also everything you know about the case is wrong and he can prove it and also he’s hanging upside down from a coat hook on the wall.

And minor spoiler in this paragraph, if you’re avoiding that, but the new mechanic? The Joint Reasoning (or the Dance of Deduction if you watched that AA Orchestra Spectacular or whatever please just TRANSLATE DGS PLEASE I’M BEGGING YOU) is just such a fun mechanic to work with. It embodies all the parts of Sherlock that I find so fun. The way that his brain is clearly working a million miles an hour to the point that he can’t even fully make sense of things, and you just have to steer him in the right direction (which, like, same). He’s able to make these inventions that logically make no fucking sense, time period or otherwise, and yet when you ignore him too long he curls up in a corner and gets very sad until someone comforts him. It’s so good!

(Also and I won’t spoil it since DGS2 is harder to experience but there’s a Joint Reasoning thing with Sherlock and another character and it’s so fucking great so y’all have that to look forward to, anyway)

He’s absolutely one of the best parts of DGS. He steals the show any time he’s on screen. He’s funny and fun. He drives the plot along in a lot of ways. He’s just bursting with personality.

Also, I love everything about his relationship with Iris. His little roommate who takes care of him as much as he takes care of her. He’s not the best dad but he clearly loves this kiddo so much and she loves him. I mean, he clearly is not equipped to be caring for a child, but he does his best and you can really feel it throughout. There are especially a lot of parts in DGS2 that I loved a ton, but again. No spoilers.

Anyway, if you’re reading this, and you haven’t played/watched DGS, please find a way to do it. It’s so fun. Hopefully they’ll give us a version to play in the next year. I just. It’s so good.

[cybernaght]

We have dubbed it at home as “the trauma drama”

Here’s my review of sorts of To Dear Myself/亲爱的自己

This one is a 2020 contemporary slice of life series about thirty-somethings living in Shanghai: struggling with money, trying to negotiate with their families, getting betrayed by their friends, getting their hearts broken by their lovers, failing in their professional ventures, encountering day to day hardships as they try to find themselves in the big city. It’s low-key anxiety inducing and not at all escapist, and I somehow got drawn into it still. Watching it was at times was a bit like pulling teeth: there is only so much pain you can take, only so many little drawbacks and injustices, only so many long shots of people breaking apart before you need to have a breather.

The story centres around three women. The protagonist, Li Siyu (Liu Shishi) is a career woman, daily taking high risks hoping for high rewards. She is also balancing her high intensity life with a relationship with her down on his luck boyfriend, who is wonderful in many ways but fails to understand how being self-sufficient is part of her identity, taking it as a personal affront. Watching their relationship was a little bit like watching a train speeding towards a cliff in slow motion. The most beautiful thing about it was that you can see both of their perspectives: in his eyes, she is impulsive, reckless, and needs to be stopped for her own good; in her eyes, he is envying her success and wants her to be a housewife. Both of them are wrong. Both of them are right. 

Li Siyu’s half-sister Gu Xiaoling (Cheng Miqi) just wants to find a wealthy Mr Right to look after her, as she is constantly hiding her mischievous, vulnerable self behind a mask of superficiality. She sees her own beauty as her only asset. She likes pretty things, but she is also incredibly lonely. Her partner on screen is a man with a massive crush on her, whom she does absolutely not want to date: partly because he is not rich; partly because his sense of entitlement to a relationship with her is grating as all hell. 

Their cousin Zhang Zhizhi (Hang Qingzi) is a married woman, working, raising a daughter, desperately trying to elevate her social status in the eyes of others, all while trying to breach the gaping void stretching between herself and her terrible husband. None of the men in this show are particularly endearing, but between claiming that he is his wife’s career and blaming her for his unfaithfulness and violence, he has to do a lot of work to deserve the viewer’s grace.

It’s just like this - the story of three women, and their romantic interests, living their lives. Nothing more, but also, nothing less. The script is written by a woman as well - and it shows. Admittedly, my cdrama watching experience so far mostly consisted of BL series and loud, dumb, action-y type things, but this is the first time I have seen a text which could be said to have an explicitly feminist reading. It tells you in no uncertain terms that no, you don’t need to get married, and no, you don’t need to have another child, and yes, you can actually just settle on living your own goddamn life. 

To Dear Myself is well plotted for most of its 45 episode run, with a sense of push and pull between all the various little storylines. Ups and down of every characters’ lives are woven together in a way which resembles a dance, it’s harmonious and satisfying, and the pace of the show sits between leisurely and achingly tense. Unfortunately, in the last ten episodes the rhythm of the show falters somewhat: the plotting becomes contrived, and the narrative steamrolls ungracefully to a barely satisfying conclusion. It’s truly bizarre, how something that has been so soft and so meticulous for so long gracelessly falls on its back in the last couple of episodes. 

Some of it has to do with the antagonist, such as there is. She is not a villain, but she is the originator of a lot of the misfortunes for the majority of the characters. You wait, and you wait, and you wait for her crimes to come out and for her to get her just deserts, but her last actual scene is the one of comfort. We are told in the narration that something bad happens to this person, we are neither witnessing it, nor the aftermath of it.

On one hand this tracks with the fact that this is a feminist text: said antagonist is just a woman whose agenda clashes with the characters we care about. On the other hand, she has been set-up to be a manipulative, cunning person for the entirety of this show. The audience has been told not to trust her in the way she is framed; the audience has been told that she is trouble in no uncertain terms. I don’t quite understand why the show would frame someone as a villain and then refuse to give them a resolution the villain would get. That’s just not satisfying. 

As for Zhu Yilong - this is probably my favourite role of his so far. 

After a pretty terrible year I have found myself connecting with his character, who spent the first half of the show show unemployed, lonely, and scraping to find some kind of dignity as he suffocates in the city which is sucking him dry. Watching his journey was a little bit frustrating - especially in the second half - because apparently one dysfunctional relationship was not enough for this man, but it was still exhilarating. Besides, after seeing this actor in a whole bunch of roles where his characters would do their absolute best to hide their hearts and use a selection of masks to keep people at arms length, it’s delightful to see his Chen Yiming wear his heart on his sleeve. It’s wonderful to witness him insecure, scared, giddy with joy, butterflies-in-the-stomach in love, achingly tender, utterly devastated. He is still a brilliant actor, and, once again, the camera does love him quite a lot. 

The visual aspect of the show is great: it’s high budget and incredibly pretty. The costuming and makeup are wonderful. I have never been to Shanghai, but it’s framed so lovingly I want to go now. 

So, is this one worth watching? I… honestly can’t tell. It is for the cast - and I’m not just talking about Zhu Yilong, all of the cast have done a tremendous job here, very impressive acting all around. It’s worth for genuinely well written story of self-discovery as a thirty-something struggling with a mass of pressures. But, not going to lie, it’s not an easy watch, and the final couple of episodes left me kind of feeling dead inside. 

P.S. The narratively significant product placements were cracking me up lots. There were.. a lot of important thermoses is what I’m saying. Also, the amount of alcohol the cast consumed on set was quite alarming. 

[hakutaichou]

[CN] Main Story: Chapter 33-3 (Lucien Route)

⚠️ SPOILER AHEAD ⚠️

🚨 Warning: This post contains REALLY BIG spoiler from main story which some of them have not been released in JP, TW, Global, nor ASEAN servers. 🚨

A/N: cuz the cn server using “Wuhui”, in english means “ball, dance party, and prom”, I’ll use “ball” like victor’s dance date?

- Part 0 -

Waiter: Miss MC, are you going to the ball alone?

MC: ...Yes.

Waiter: Let me have a clear eye.

I put the invitation letter on the tray and walked into the hall of venue under the guidance of the waiter.

***

Three days ago, Commander Leto publicly announced that he would hold a Evolver Ball, inviting the backbone of society, which has almost become hot topic in the city.

Lucien, who was also invited by Commander Leto, agreed with me to meet directly at the venue.

The splendid banquet hall was full of chatting and laughing guests. I searched for a long time, but I didn’t see Lucien.

On the other side of the venue was a long floor-to-ceiling window, and the long table under the window was full of self-gathering food. I walked over unhappily and picked up a glass of champagne.

As soon as the champagne was brought to my lips, my phone suddenly rang--- It was from Lucien.

Lucien: Has arrived?

MC: Yeah, I looked for you for a long time but couldn’t find you.

Lucien: Don’t worry, there’s still some time before the ball begins.

Lucien: Compared with this, I’m even more curious why you chose to “get drunk” as soon as you come.

MC: Can you see me? where are you?

I quickly put down the champagne glass and looked around, but still didn’t find his shadow.

A low laugh came from the other end of the phone.

Lucien: Now turn around, go straight in the direction of 9 o’clock, see the long table at the entrance?

I followed his instruction and walked to the table near the entrance.

MC: And then?

Lucien: When people are not paying attention, squat down.

MC: What?

I clutched my phone, and squatted down in confusion according to his instructions, feeling quite an kind of undercover joint.

At the foot of the table lies a self-defense knife, which looked very familiar.

Lucien: I just remind you that something dropped when you came in.

Lucien smiled in a good mood. I was stunned. I quickly picked up the knife when no one was paying attention, and my face flushed.

MC: Lucien, where are you?

I stood up while whispering, but when I turned around. I was stopped by a strange man.

Strange Man: Miss, can I ask you to dance?

I covered the earpiece, put down the phone, and waved at him awkwardly.

MC: Sorry, I already have a partner.

The man walked away disappointedly.

Lucien: Mm, good job.

There was a low laugh on the phone, Lucien seemed to say something, but was disturbed by the intermittent noise. 

There were more and more people in the venue, and the signal was intermittent. I looked at the floor-to-ceiling windows and the terrace outside, and I had an idea.

Pushing open the door leading to terrace, the distracted voices and music are isolated, and the cool night breeze awakens people’s spirits.

MC: It was too noisy to hear you, what did you say?

Lucien: I said, you can turn around.

This time, the sound came not from the earpiece, but from behind me.

I froze for a second, the turned around abruptly.

In the blurry night, Lucien stood behind me, his dark eyes smiling.

Lucien: Why didn’t you speak?

MC: ...I thought that your hide-and-seek game would continue.

Lucien: Because my partner seems to be very popular, I can’t just sit back and watch.

He looked down at me, the curvature of his mouth bends again.

Lucien: Any interesting findings from the ball just now?

MC: No, it looks like a normal ball.

I thought this ball must be full of traps, but after so long, I couldn’t find any clues.

MC: But you must know something, right?

Lucien: To reveal the answer in advance, it’s better to experience the process of solving puzzles in person.

MC: Is it the same as before?

Lucien is noncommittal, at this moment, the door behind him was suddenly opened untimely, and a strange man walked towards Lucien quickly.

???: Professor Lucien, Commander has something to discuss with you.

Lucien turned around, looking at the man in front of him coldly.

Lucien: I don’t want to be disturbed right now.

???: But this is very important to Commander, you must...

Lucien: Do you want me to say it again?

The man was stunned, a trace of unwillingness flashed across his face, he turned and left.

MC: Lucien, that person was...

Lucien: It seems that this isn’t a suitable place to talk.

He blocked my question lightly, I didn’t speak, and looked straight at him.

MC: If you have important things to discuss, I can wait for you here.

Lucien: I don’t want my partner to be taken away again.

Lucien smiled softly, he leaned down, and kissed the back of my hand.

Lucien: Miss MC, can I ask you to dance?

His voice was gentle and tender, even the kiss that fell on the back of my hand was soggy.

In the depths of my mind, that similar and cold memory automatically played back---

[Flashback: Chapter 23-10]

Lucien: The one and only Black Swan Queen, I will witness your coronation.

.

[Present]

I bit my lips.

MC: Lucien, the person you are invited is Queen or MC?

Lucien was startled slightly, as if he understood what I was thinking, and the asked back.

Lucien: Will you accept Ares’s invitation or Lucien’s invitation?

I shook my head and looked at Lucien firmly.

MC: To me now, it’s all the same.

MC: No matter what your position is, since I have agreed to your invitation, This dance will always stand with you.

MC: Even if you and I choose a different position after this night, I will prove it to you in my own way.

Lucien tilted his head, meeting my sight, the breeze blew his forehead, and time was silent.

Lucien: Then I should cherish the time of this last dance.

He took my hand.

Lucien: It seems that it’s still too noisy in here.

Lucien: I know a secret place that won’t be disturbed. Would you like to go with me?

***

The door to the venue was opened at this time, and the long overdue star walked into the venue amidst everyone’s exclamation. His eyes looked around, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

Victor casually rejected the champagne handed by the guests who came to show off, and he walked alone to the empty deck, putting on a specially constructed headset.

Outside the venue, the officer lurking in the dark turned on the communicator, and reported to the other side.

Officer: Report to Captain Gavin, their action is about to begin.

.

- Part 1 -

The noisy voices gradually drifted away behind me, I followed Lucien, and ascended the last step of the stairs.

He seemed to be very familiar with the structure of building here, and he let me straight to this very hidden attic.

The floor was white with moonlight, the ball downstairs seemed particularly lively, and the sound of music could be heard clearly even in the attic.

He turned to face me, leaned slightly, and made a silent invitation.

I put my hand on his palm, as if I was giving out my heart at the same time.

Lucien held my hand, like the leader of this dance, but very gentlemanly catered to my unfamiliar pace.

The distance was close, and I can almost hear his expanding breathing and heartbeat.

In the dim attic, the light floated up and down, and the surrounding objects turned into fuzzy black shadows, shaking in my field of vision.

For some reason, my consciousness seems to drift further and further with the music, and it doesn’t belong to me at all.

Even the body seemed to have lost control, it only moves with the lead of the person in front of me.

The chaotic mind seemed to be covered by fog, and only a vague voice echoed from far away.

???: MC.

Who is calling my name?

I tried my best to chase this voice.

MC: Lucien...

I murmured that name, and my thoughts were pulled back to reality.

I seem to wake up from a dream, my consciousness is a little fuzzy, and I don’t remember what just happened.

Lucien: Are you awake?

I looked at him blankly, my temple still aching.

Lucien watched me quietly, with surprise in his eyes, but also a little relieved.

Lucien: You really became stronger.

MC: What happened just now? What’s wrong with me?

Lucien didn’t speak, and let me to the stairs.

The air is extremely quiet, only music flows slowly in the air.

I followed Lucien’s eyes suspiciously to the meeting place downstairs.

I just noticed that, there were no people talking in the entire ball hall, nor the clicking of champagne glasses.

The people who originally danced were pinned in place motionless, with dull and hollow eyes.

Lucien: These Evolver are controlled.

MC: Controlled? Since when?

Lucien: That dance just now.

His gaze swept across Commander Leto on the stage, his voice was low.

Lucien: This piece of music combined with some kind of sonic jammer will have an effect on Evolver’s brain waves and play a hypnotic effect.

Lucien: Once they walk into the sound field of this melody, they lose their self-awareness.

MC: So I just....also because of this song?

Lucien’s words made me gradually realize the seriousness of the situation.

MC: In other words, Commander Leto’s motive is actually to control all Evolver?

Lucien nodded lightly, and looked back at me.

Lucien: These invited Evolver are all important figures in society.

Lucien: Once they are controlled by Commander Leto, his resistance to doing things in the future will be much less.

Thinking of the true motive of this ball, I shudder. Once this plan succeeds, the consequences will be disastrous.

Lucien seemed to have guessed my mind and comforted softly.

Lucien: Don’t worry, his plan won’t succeed so easily. Moreover, not everyone will play his tricks.

Lucien said very firmly, the anxiety in my heart eased a bit, but suddenly thought of another thing.

MC: Wait, did you let me be hypnotized just now?

Lucien gave me a calm look, and there was a curve in the corner of his mouth.

Lucien: In fact, this effect in quite interesting. I also want to see your reaction.

MC: Interesting? You won’t take the opportunity to order me to do something, will you?

Lucien: You might guess as well.

He suddenly drew closer, grabbed my wrist playfully, and pulled me close to his arms.

Lucien: Do you feel any difference?

His voice was stained with a faint ambiguity, and accompanied by a warm breath burrowed into my ears.

I ran away from his sight, the voice became smaller and smaller under his watch, with a guilty conscience that I didn’t even understand.

MC: No... I just feel dizzy, my consciousness is completely out of my control... It’s like being held tightly by someone.

MC: But what exactly did you order me to do?

Lucien: Just kidding.

Lucien: You woke up before I thought of something of a fun way.

Lucien: Perhaps this is what makes you unique as a Queen.

There was a smirk on his lips, I wanted to say something, but a strange noise suddenly came from behind him.

The sound of footsteps echoed in the empty and silent attic, Lucien turned his head, saw the person coming, his eyes became cold.

Lucien: It seems that some disobedient people are bothering us.

As soon as the voice fell, a person in black walked over from the side of promenade.

In the darkness, a small snake wrapped around the person’s wrist hissed, and the scales glowed with blue light.

The brightly lit hall behind her, with a snap, plunged into darkness.

.

- Part 2- (Mission stages)

.

- Part 3 -

Lucien: Why are you here?

Lucien turned to face the incoming person, the whole person seemed to have faded away from the illusion of gentleness, which easily made people feel a kind of fear.

Artemis: To solve you and Queen.

Lucien: Whose order is it?

Artemis: It doesn’t matter whose order is, you just need to know that tonight is your death date.

As soon as the voice fell, Artemis raised her hand, the gray mist that was born out of thin air carried a suffocating danger, and instantly rushed toward me.

Before I could react, I was pulled by Lucien and held firmly in his arms.

Even after avoiding that attack, the cramped attic had almost no room to escape.

There was a tension in the air, and I could feel Lucien’s tight murderous aura.

Artemis frowned, raised her hand again.

MC: Be careful!

The gray mist like a living creature, swiftly attacked him like a snake.

Without thinking about it, I raised my hand, feeling the convergence of the abilities flowing in my body, the kind of fluctuation that I had once appeared again.

The transparent water ripples that appearing out of thin air, spread out in circles, like a white barrier blocking us.

Artemis was shocked and ran back a few steps, the gray mist slammed back and disappeared into the air.

Succeeded!

The crooked attack was threatening to save his life, I happily looked back to Lucien, only to find a trace of complex emotions that I couldn’t understand flashed in his eyes.

MC: It seems that I forgot to tell you, this is the new power I have gained soon, although I’m not very skilled in using it.

Since I got Evol back, I have often rushed to many dangerous places in order to investigate. Several times I used this unskilled attack to resolve the crisis

Lucien: You did very well.

Lucien’s voice was very soft, and I thought in a daze that the expression had passed by just now was my illusion.

Suddenly Artemis stopped, put her head in pain, as if fighting desperately against something.

Even if I don’t know what happened, I dare not to relax my guard.

After hesitating to attack again, Artemis raised her head again, and looked at me.

This time, the expression in her eyes was more murderous than before.

MC: Lucien, she is...

Lucien responded with a faint smile, showing an expression that he could watch the game in his spare time.

Lucien: Let me see your growth.

MC: ?!

Before I had time to say anything, a thicker gray mist came towards me from Artemis’s palm.

I took a deep breath, tried my best to use my abilities again---

The next second, a whirlpool-like white beam pierced her.

Artemis who was got hit, clutched her chest and coughed violently, with a trace of blood on her lips.

I turned my head nervously, but Lucien gave me an approving look.

Even though she was injured, Artemis didn’t seem to feel any pain or mood swings.

She is like a murderous machine who has been programmed.

It’s no way to laugh like this all the time, my heart sank and calmly took out the knife hidden at the base of my leg for self-defense, and pressed it in the palm of my hand.

MC: Wait, you must have a reason to kill me!

Artemis still walked towards me indifferently, looking at me like a dead thing.

While she wasn’t paying attention, I threw the knife out quickly---

When the tip of the knife brushed her hair, it was corroded into a piece of scrap iron by the black mist in her palm.

The spreading mist was too fast, I couldn’t avoid it, and my arm that was rubbed instantly felt a tingling burning sensation.

Artemis forced me into the compelling space behind her, looked at me condescendingly, and raised her hands wrapped in black leather gloves again.

Lucien: Enough.

The gray mist that was going to swallow me in the next second, disappeared without a trace as Lucien’s voice fell.

The pain as expected didn’t come, I opened my eyes, saw Artemis’s had was tightly coppered by Lucien.

He stared at Artemis, there was a sharp and cold breath in his sight.

Lucien: It seems that you have a lot of laziness these days in the organization, and you have actually fallen into his plan.

Under his shackles, Artemis couldn’t move, she could only look at him angrily.

Artemis was about to fight back, but Lucien slashed the back of his neck with hand knife, and collapsed unconsciously to the ground.

I clutched my wound, looked at Artemis who was lying aside, a sense of unreality arose in my heart.

Lucien didn’t speak, squatted down and looked at me, checked my wound.

Lucien: Does it hurt?

I shook my head nonchalantly, I just wanted to speak but I didn’t know where to start.

Lucien: Sorry.

Lucien: I originally wanted to see where your abilities have grown, so I didn’t make a move for the time being.

MC: My ability?

Lucien: Mm, It’s far beyond my imagination.

I shook my head gently.

MC: Actually, you don’t have to be sorry... If I were to attend the dance alone, I would definitely encounter the same danger.

MC: If I can have more experience in the battle, maybe I can last longer.

Lucien was stunned, then smiled, and carefully treated the wound briefly for me.

Lucien: The wound is not serious, you can only endure it for a while. Follow me.

I followed Lucien and walked to the lower level of the attic, and there was a faint sound of messy and dull footsteps in my ears.

The brainwashing music stopped at some point, and the controlled Evolver gradually woke up.

A group of men in black with guns quickly broke into the hall and aimed their guns at all Evolver in the venue.

Man in Black: Don't move!

I couldn't help but take a step forward, have a panoramic view of the chaos in the entire venue.

MC: What's happening?

Lucien: Commander Leto just issued the shooting order.

He leaned against the wall, looking down at the chaotic scene below.

Lucien: The Evolver who came to ball tonight, none of them will go back alive.

MC: His brainwashing plan was ruined, so he wanted to seal it off?

Lucien frowned, suddenly walked to the corner of the attic.

He lifted the black oiled paper there, I took a breath---

There is a sniper rifle already prepared.

Lucien knelt on one knee, checked the magazine without hesitation.

Several dull gunshots were heard below the venue at this time, and the short flames were quickly extinguished in the dark, and it seemed that Commander Leto's men had started the action.

I looked at Lucien nervously, faintly guessing what he was going to do, but I was not sure.

MC: Lucien, you---

Lucien: Don't worry, just teach them a lesson.

Bang---

The sharp whistling sound brushed his ears, and the bullet's fire flashed in the distance.

Lucien's eyes reflected a touch of brilliance, his slightly squinted eyes, pointed the muzzle at the panicked man in black through the scope.

The messy gunshots and screams, mixed together to become the most perfect cover, and almost no one noticed what was happening here.

He calmly pulled the trigger again.

[Bang]

With a "bang" gunshot, another man in black fell over his shoulder.

It was the first time I saw Lucien like this, he was like a dangerous and calm predator.

The gunpowder turned the direction of the gun. This time the person he aimed at was, Commander Leto.

There was a faint smell of burnt in the air.

The bullet flicked over Commander Leto's head, hit the wall behind him like a joke.

Commander Leto, who was unable to control the development of the situation, realized the severity of the situation and quickly ordered his men to protect himself.

I looked at Lucien subconsciously, not understanding his intentions.

He wiped the muzzle, looked at the chaos underneath with interest, as if it was just an impromptu performance at the official festival.

He loaded the gun sharply again, squinted at the scope, and fired.

[Bang]

With the last shot, the bullet clanged to the ground.

Lucien turned towards me, as if not caring about what happened behind him.

Lucien: Never mind.

The gentle tone that seemed to have passed away made me feel unreal.

I looked down the venue, faced each other. STF officers still don't know where the bullet came from, and Commander Leto on the stage collapsed with his shoulders that had been shot.

It was only then, I suddenly remembered a fact that I had ignored just now.

Whether it was fighting Artemis just now or shooting right now, Lucien never used his Evol from beginning to end.

If as he said, Commander Leto's music is aimed at Evolver, then why can Lucien stay sober?

MC: Lucien, where's your Evol?

Lucien lowered his head, said briskly while removing the magazine.

Lucien: I threw it away.

.

- Part 4 -

The silent corridor was empty, my ears were still buzzing with gunfire.

Thinking of what Lucien had just left behind, I couldn’t calm down.

When was he, why did he abandon his Evol?

I raised my head, looked at Lucien who was walking ahead, hesitating to ask this question

MC: Lucien...

Before I could finish speaking, Lucien suddenly stopped and dragged me behind him.

Lucien: There’s a situation outside.

On the other side of the corridor, the cumbersome human voices and footsteps passed by, almost hitting us.

Fortunately those people didn't stop, they all continued to chase forward.

I was close to Lucien's chest, his steady and powerful heartbeat beside my ear.

It seems that he is so calm and powerful no matter what the occasion, It was nothing like the person who had just hit the commander with one blow.

After a while, the corridor gradually calmed down.

Lucien: Never mind.

Realizing that Lucien's direction was not leading to the venue just now, I couldn't help asking.

MC: Don't we need to go to the hall to see the situation?

Lucien: Don't worry, someone over there has taken over. Those Evolver will be fine.

Lucien's tone was very brisk, not as if it was fake, and my heart that had been hanging high since just now finally fell back to where I was.

Only then did I realize that Lucien brought me to the central control room.

The door of the central control room was hidden. Perhaps it was the chaos that had transferred everyone away, but there was no one to guard it.

Large and small surveillance screens were broadcasting the situation in the venue at this time, and indeed another team rushed over.

Lucien called out the archive monitored in the ball hall, copied a copy to me.

Lucien: I watched your new show, maybe these will help you.

MC: Thank you, I didn’t expect you to pay attention to these...

Lucien: Since my program consultant has not received a formal termination letter, I will still do my best.

Knowing that he was joking, my heartstrings were still lightly touched by his words.

In the half-bright and half-dark light, the computer behind me made a faint operating sound, and I suddenly had the illusion that Lucien would accompany me to work overtime at the company.

If everything goes back to the beginning, he's still the famous "program consultant" and I'm still the clumsy little producer.

Since then, those ordinary but unique memories in my life, he took me to appreciate it.

Many words come to the lips, but only one "thank you" is left.

Lucien tapped my forehead lightly, and the corners of his lips burst into laughter.

Lucien: What are you thinking?

I shook my head and smiled at him.

MC: I was thinking that the cooperation between us has been very pleasant.

When leaving the ball hall from the back door, the streets at midnight were quiet and deserted, and the helicopters hovering in the sky kept roaring.

Gunshots reverberated occasionally in the venue, the gate was heavily blocked, and team members wearing NW uniforms kept coming and going.

I looked at the tall building that was blocked behind me, realized that the night was over.

Lucien: Does the wound still hurt?

MC: It's better already.

I hesitated, but still spoke.

MC: Lucien, I have a question to ask you.

Lucien: What is it?

Lucien looked at me quietly, as if waiting for a long time.

MC: You... why you give up your Evol?

The flickering light spots swayed in his eyes, making me unable to see the emotions hidden deep in his eyes.

Lucien: Don't you ask how I did it?

MC: Because it is you, I feel that you can do anything easily.

MC: I never doubt that you can do everything you want.

MC: But in fact, many times, I just want to know the reason.

As I spoke, I looked at Lucien and waited for him to continue.

His expression was faint, as if he was talking about something ordinary.

Lucien: If you want to pursue true evolution, you must cut off some extra power.

Lucien: Those redundant branches may bear sweet and huge fruits. Many people will be attracted by these fruits and even forget that their ultimate goal is to grow upward.

Lucien: And such a person will die of his own greed, sooner or later, buried in the rotten fruit.

Lucien stopped and looked at the shadow of the tree swaying in the night. The shadow was stretched very long by the street lamp.

Under his calm eyes, there seemed to be a deeper shadow than eternal night.

This kind of Lucien gave me a strange sense of familiarity, as strong as the first I knew him, but it seemed that there was something more.

Police: Are you two the guests who attending the ball tonight?

The silence was broken, and a man in a police uniform walked up to us from the other side of the road.

MC: Who are you?

Police: I'm the police officer in charge of investigating this dance.

The man showed his credentials, his eyes flashed with surprise when he looked at me.

Police: Wait, are you the producer of "Miracle Finder" on TV today?

MC: Have you watched my show?

Police: Of course, it's not just me, people in our entire bureau are watching.

Police: Thanks to these programs you made, we learned more about the truth about social events.

Police: Since both of you have been invited to this ball, is it convenient for me to go back and make a report with me?

I looked at Lucien hesitantly, a trace of apology appeared on his face.

Lucien: Sorry, I still need to go back to the institute for something urgent.

Lucien: MC, can you do it yourself?

I let out a sigh of relief, smiled and waved goodbye to him, and the haze that had filled my heart that night seemed to gradually dissipate.

Lucien looked at the girl who was going away, put a smile away, and walked in the other direction.

.

Next: [F4, Assemble] Chapter 33-4

[bestworstcase]

I just wanted to say that despite my being a cassunzel shipper and not necessarily agreeing with all of your TTS takes, I do really appreciate your work within this fandom. Or at least the little space you've carved out for yourself. I believe it's okay to have differing opinons about ships or characters or plotlines in a fandom like TTS. It's okay to not vibe with a ship and folks shouldn't take criticisms of the way a ship is presented in canon as an affront to their personhood or a blanket statement to not ship it. You can do your own thing and be just as happy. At least that's what I've come to think after being in fandom for so long. It's just not worth it to get wrapped up in all that and let it make you upset. That's a quick way to let Tumblr or fandom culture in general ruin a thing for you. That being said, I think your analysis posts keep me on my toes, as you often have ideas I've never considered. Which I think is a good thing! Getting outside your comfort zone and trying something a little different than the norm, you know? Plus, I think it takes a lot of skill and work to expand a story like TTS in the way you have in Benighted Snow and I so super respect that story. I was originally quite intimidated by the idea of it and avoided it for a while cause I'm pretty firmly a cassunzel shipper but I'm really glad I read it when I did. Your writing is just really amazing and inspiring in ways I am continuously impressed by. Seriously, reading that story and Bitter Snow has honestly been such an eyeopener when it comes to understanding Cass' character and trying to engage with the lore of the show on a deeper level. There's so much I could say about how much I respect your work. It's got me wanting to understand the lore of the show better or wanting to write for the fandom in general. Your work is so engaging for and extremely detailed and thought through. And in general, I'm always curious about your thoughts about TTS plotlines or characters or whatever cause it always makes me think back on the show in different ways, consider things I hadn't before and want to re-analyze everything. Your ideas have about the show have opened my eyes in a lot of ways. You obviously care deeply about Cassandra and other a lot of other aspects of TTS and expanding and engaging with the lore of this universe! So thank you so much for all of your writing and your many interesting thoughts! I'm always coming back to your blog to see what you have to say (Sorry this is so long)!

my blog is like 95% long ass posts ya never need to apologize for rambling to me kjsjkd

but thank you!! yeah i don’t expect or need or even particularly want folks to agree with all of my thoughts™ and for sure like - i mean sometimes i’m making arguments or writing out analysis about the text and i do tend to have very strong opinions but i feel like just as often i’m talking about nebulous ideas and storycraft and how i would tune tts to suit my particular tastes, which is an exercise that is about me and what i like and only concerns the text in that i am talking about a hypothetical platonic ideal thereof. and i do try to make that distinction clear when i’m writing a post but also first and foremost this blog is for Me it is the junk bin where i keep my thoughts and i know what i’m talking about so sometimes a post starts off as analysis and flips into hypothetical platonic ideal talk halfway through without warning and you all just. get to deal with that LMAO

the past like week or so has been funny because i had that night of like adhd hyperfixation brainmelt a little while ago and ranted semi-coherently at three in the morning while answering some of the really old asks that have been collecting dust forever and then my inbox just EXPLODED ksjdfjk

anyways the point being. i’m preaching to the choir here obv but i am not the arbiter of what tangled opinions are Good and Correct, nor am i trying to be because that would be insane ajklsdfjk

also bitter snow has been such an undertaking and i’m very proud of it and i’m just !! always so grateful for the sheer amount of enthusiasm for it. like the combination of rarepair fic + protagonist is a polarizing character half the fandom despises + just literally the fact of eldritch fantasy civil war fic of a disney princess show kind of guarantees it’s always going to be sort of a niche fic and - i’ve said this before but when i started posting it i really did not anticipate the amount or the quality of engagement it got. but holy moly bitter snow has the best group of commenters in the entire tts fandom, i swear - the amount of you who are leaving like LONG comments on every chapter or almost every chapter with your thoughts / feelings / speculation / analysis is bonkers!! i appreciate it so so much!! i’m a very quality over quantity person in the kind of reader response i want to get and the quality of the reader response to bitter snow has been and continues to be just overwhelmingly high and i am continually amazed and thankful 💜💜💜 

[thenovelartist]

His Greatest Gift - MLQC AU Headcanon

I was inspired by the “Double Seventh Time Travel” cards (and some other stories I’ve read.) After sitting on this for well over a month, I finally finished it.

Premise: The boys are given a gift; they just don’t expect that gift to be a person.

  Gavin

For his acts of bravery on the battlefield, Gavin was promoted in his rank as well as endowed with a gift.

He insisted it was not necessary; Gavin never had need for material objects unless they assisted him in completing his mission.

However, he was told by his lord that it would be in his bedchamber come evening.

Gavin didn’t know what sort of gift to expect, but a girl sitting on the edge of his bed was definitely one possibility he never thought of.

People aren’t gifts, after all. They aren’t meant to be traded like some material object.

So, he sent the woman away.

However, what surprised him was her thankfulness of his action.

It was clear she hadn’t a choice in the matter. Which pissed him off even more.

When he told his lord that he could not accept a human as a gift but that no other gifts were necessary, his lord said he understood.

“Then I suppose I’ll take her as mine.”

Gavin quickly retracted his words, which only pleased his lord. It was clearly a purposeful trick, but Gavin wasn’t about to let her be taken advantage of, either.

He soon learned that she had been orphaned, her father having passed on before paying off a debt to their lord, meaning she was at his service until she paid it off.

Gavin didn’t want his lord to take further advantage of her, so she became a servant-slash-attendant to him of sorts.

He didn’t have a large dwelling, but she kept it clean as well as cooked for him when he was home off the battlefield.

And she sang.

It was accident he found that out, but the moment he heard her mellifluous voice ring through the air of his home, he knew he wanted to hear it again and again and again.

So while he didn’t ask for much of her—their agreement consisted of he gave her protection and a place to live while she kept his house and cooked so he wouldn’t have to (her cooking skills far outranked his, anyway)—he did shyly ask for her to sing more frequently.

And she happily complied.

He’d actually fallen asleep to her voice many times. It soothed and comforted him, particularly after a long day.

Her smile had a similar affect, he soon realized. The burdens of his heart would ease at the sight of her smile.

He didn’t quite understand it; the only other person who could accomplish that was his late mother.

No one other than his mother had cared for him beyond caring how useful of a pawn he could be.

But now, MC was the exception.

The amount she fussed when he came home with scars or bruises made him feel valued.

It also made his little heart go “pitter patter.”

He never thought that he would dread going out to battles or skirmishes. He just didn’t want to leave her.

But, the boy is dense and didn’t realize what that feeling was for months.

However, when he gets it, he doesn’t waste much time. (He does not count time spent weighing the potential negative effects of admitting to the woman who worked for him that he had feelings for her as ‘wasting time’.)

Any fears of his confession putting her in an awkward or uncomfortable position vanished the instant she admitted she’d also grown feelings for him.

Que walks together, shopping trips where he carried the purchases, or horseback rides where he carried her all around the territory.

But Gavin’s favorite thing was to spend any warm afternoon together in a field outside the city, where there was only the two of them resting in the golden fields that waved in the breeze. Sometimes they talked, sometimes one or both of them took a nap. It didn’t matter to Gavin.

With things going so well, it was only a matter of time before he married her.

Occasionally, he did think about how she had originally been a ‘gift’ to him, only for the purpose of warming is bed and entertaining him. How ironic that she’d become the greatest gift he’d ever received.

  Kiro

He was a prince visiting a newly conquered territory.

He did hate the chaos and bloodshed of war, but he thought the cost worth it to liberate an oppressed territory.

And the people seemed to be thankful to be free of their ruthless dictator.

To show their thankfulness, they said they had prepared a gift for him.

Though he assured them it wasn’t necessary, he loved gifts and was always happy to accept.

However, he was less pleased to see that gift was a woman: the daughter of some noble family.

“She’s the finest lady in the land, your highness. For your harem.”

Except… he didn’t have a harem. And wasn’t looking to start one.

However, Savin, his advisor, accepted on the prince’s behalf.

He said something about ‘politics’ that basically meant ‘we’ll take her as a political tool.’

Kiro was not fond of it, but knew there wasn’t much that could be done.

So, he decided the only thing he could do was treat MC as well as he could.

However, she was not informed of his plan, nor was anyone else.

Which lead to MC ending up in his bedchambers that evening.

While…not where he wanted to have a conversation, he assured MC that he had no intention of using her in such a manner.

That resolve was fortified when he saw relieved tears come to her eyes.

He hated tears, so he did his best to cheer her back up and, thankfully, succeeded.

Later, she confessed to him that she’d been picked not because she was the prettiest girl in the land (her words, that Kiro strongly disagreed with; she was truly beautiful) but because her family was among the poorer of nobles, and she was not able to find a good match in time to avoid being given to the prince as a concubine.

Kiro was not happy to hear such a thing. Apparently, the nobles of this territory still needed close monitoring.

When they got back to his castle after leaving the one he’d acquired with the territory, Kiro was sure to treat her well, as well as ensuring that everything was up to her standards.

He had the ability to give her anything she wanted, but he soon discovered that material goods didn’t fascinate her as much as his kingdom itself.

So, Kiro designated a whole day to take her on a full tour of his castle and the city.

And seeing her eyes light up with wonder at their adventure was all that it took to get Kiro addicted to her smile.

From then on, he took her on any adventure he could think of. The pond behind the castle for a picnic? The kitchen for sweets? The town to escape Savin? They’ve been on all of them.

Kiro lives for these adventures. They seem to be better with her.

Her smile, her laughter, her expression of awe and wonderment… they did things to Kiro’s heart.

He’d do anything to get those little gifts from her.

Savin only gets mad when Kiro ditches his work for those adventures, which… is often.

As frustrating as it is, Savin is a little pleased to see Kiro so happy with a woman. It meant an heir might come sooner rather than later.

And when Savin voiced as such to Kiro, Kiro… couldn’t deny it.

He’d taken quite a liking to her. Her smile and laughter, how willing she was to go on adventures with him or just spend a quiet afternoon together. Don’t get him wrong, he loved it all, but it just didn’t seem like enough anymore.

The possibility of more… of taking her as his wife and having a family with her…

That was the end of Kiro’s heart. It had been stolen by a very beautiful thief.

So, with a new determination, he confessed.

His heart soared when she confessed back.

They didn’t date longer than a week before they started making plans for a wedding.

There really was no point in waiting any longer than that. Not when Kiro knew he wanted her to be his princess.

He wanted to bet that all the ladies back in from her territory were jealous now.

Though, to be fair, he didn’t realize just how precious of a gift she’d be to him back then, either. But he swore to never, ever take that for granted again.

  Victor

As Emperor of his region, he knew marriage would be inevitable. He had an obligation to produce an heir.

He had plenty of women throwing themselves at him, practically begging for his attention.

And he found all of them severely lacking.

It exasperated Goldman, his right hand man.

At this point, the emperor’s court decided that it no longer mattered her status, if the emperor showed even the slightest interest in a woman, even if that was just the hint he didn’t hate her, they would make her his bride immediately.

So, a poor, unsuspecting MC arrived at the castle with a plea for her village for the emperor.

And her stubbornness, passion, and determination caught his attention.

Goldman about fainted when Victor smiled at her and answered that he would send his answer within the week.

A week later, Goldman was the one to deliver the supplies. However, unbeknownst to a certain emperor, he may have added a condition to her village receiving those supplies.

And that was how she became a bride presented to him by the court.

Victor was not amused. And he certainly was not amused that said presented bride had been coerced into his bed chambers that night.

But when he tried to send her back, she snapped. “You called me here as your bride in return for the supplies to my village, and then you have the audacity to turn me away?”

Victor’s brow furrowed as his face turned red in anger. “What do you mean ‘in return for supplies’? That was never part of the condition.”

Needless to say, a very pissed Victor had to refrain from sending people to execution right then and there.

After having rectified the situation in his court, the situation remaining was what to do with the girl.

He knew he couldn’t send her back because her village was waiting anxiously for her to become the new empress.

Which meant striking a deal with MC.

“We will keep up appearances. I will marry you in name only, but you must learn how to act like a true noble lady in order to act perfectly as my wife.”

Que lessons.

Victor supervised, AKA, micromanaged.

And MC was always fiery enough to shoot insults in retaliation.

Actually, it became the highlight of his day.

One day, Victor took over her lesson.

Oof, strict teacher.

But the pressure became too much, and MC finally snapped. “I’m doing everything I can! I can’t give you anything else. If you disliked me this much, you shouldn’t have agreed to marry me.”

Shocked at the tears in her eyes, Victor finally composed himself enough to swipe them away. “It’s not because I dislike you. It’s because I know that you’re strong enough to meet my challenge that I demand so much.”

A mutual understanding passed between the two of them then. Victor did his best to not be so strict, realizing too late that she was under so much pressure already that his strictness was not helping her.

He stopped interfering with her normal lessons, causing him to almost… miss her… a bit.

He decided to satisfy that longing by giving her quick, private lessons at the end of the day. She would show him what she learned, and he would gently correct anything he saw wrong.

And afterwards… they couldn’t bring themselves to part.

So, they would simply walk around the gardens and talk.

And soon, as a way of keeping her around even longer, Victor showed her his secret of actually enjoying using the kitchen.

While it originally surprised her, MC quickly became a more than willing taste tester.

Despite the increased amount of time together, Victor still hated parting with her.

Which was why Victor was very pleased at MC’s sudden new habit of bringing tea to his study when he was working.

It was both a blessing and a curse, because when she did, he got the honor of spending time with her, yet he also neglected his work in the process.

Eventually, Victor found that in the span of just a few months while a proper wedding ceremony was being put together, he’d come to regret the deal he made with MC for their marriage to be name only.

He… actually could see himself happy with her.

He debated telling her or not, and in the end, he was a man and confessed his feelings to her a few days before the wedding was set to take place.

He was surprised by her tears at his confession, only to be met with a confession of her own.

The deal was thrown out that night.

And on the wedding night, their marriage became one of not just name, but body and soul.

He would thank Goldman later because—while Victor still did not approve of Goldman’s methods—had it not been for his interference, Victor would not have such a precious gift in his arms now.

  Lucien

He was part of a group of war lords aiming to increase their territory.

He’d conquered a large portion of territory, gaining an army that could then overthrow a comrade’s territory.

Lucien gladly did, taking on the man with no remorse or shame. In fact, he conquered with a smile.

“How dare you turn against me, Ares.”

“Forgive me, Hades,” he said, tone holding no remorse whatsoever. “But I grew tired of your… rather chaotic ambitions.”

Upon defeat, Hades was forced to surrender everything. Land, army, resources,

And a woman he kept very much hidden in his private castle.

Lucien remembered the fear in her eyes the first time they met. She was trapped in one of the rooms, and he’d caught her trying to break the lock on the window.

That fear didn’t dissipate even as a fire lit in her eyes. “I won’t cower to you!” she shouted, glaring at him even though she trembled.

In that moment, Lucien found her easily the most fascinating woman he’d ever seen. Was she driven by courage… or naïve hope?

Either way, it was clear Hades hadn’t broken her yet. Which Lucien was thankful for. She seemed far more interesting like this.

“You could waste time trying to break that lock before certainly injuring yourself in your escape from this third story room. Or, you could just let me show you the way out.”

She looked utterly shocked at that.

He chuckled. “Let’s just say your former master no longer has hold on you. Or anything, really.”

It took a moment for her to process those words. “Are you saying he’d dead?”

“No, not dead. But I do own everything he has as of now.”

“Including me?”

“Including you.”

The fire went out of her eyes a bit at that—what a shame, he quite liked it blazing so brightly—as she eventually followed him from the castle.

He did not dare stay in that castle. Frankly, burning it down would please him the most, which was what he did. He set free those who wanted to find work elsewhere and promised work at his own castle to those who wanted it.

Only a few stayed with him, most unwilling to work for a rogue warlord, but surprisingly, the girl was among them.

“I don’t have anywhere else to go,” she admitted when asked. “If you’re promising work, I’ll take it.”

Lucien found himself very pleased at that. But at the resigned look on her face, he couldn’t help tease her a bit. “Even if I assign you the job of warming my bed?”

She froze, her eyes wide with shock before a fire sparked inside them again. He liked that fire quite a bit. “I tease,” he assured before promising legitimate work for her.

Even after that, she still followed him.

How fascinating a woman she was.

It took three months to learn just how fascinating she was.

He came home wounded after a scuffle on his border. He’d already seen a battlefield doctor to treat them. He would heal just fine.

He asked MC to bring him new bandages. She did so quite quickly, and then she offered to change them for him.

Curious, he accepted.

“Don’t you fear me?” he questioned.

“Why should I?”

“I am no better than your former master.”

“That’s not true!” she cried, looking at him. “You are ruthless, but fair. The people in your territory are able to thrive under your rule.”

He paused, surprised at her words. “And what do you think of me?”

“I think you are gentler and more trustworthy than you present yourself to be. I never worry about my safety or the safety of any other maids here in your home.”

That was all it took for new feelings to spark in Lucien’s chest. Feelings that were so foreign to him yet fascinating to explore.

And he started that exploration by calling on MC to keep him company frequently.

Those meetings varied from walks in his garden to keeping company over tea.

Over time, it became clear just what those feelings in his chest were.

One day, he called her to join him in the library, where they could talk privately.

He wouldn’t confess first. He would talk in a roundabout way that got MC to admit that maybe she felt similarly close to him before he would admit his feelings for her.

He wouldn’t trap her. He would ensure that she felt like she could leave without consequences. But he also knew that if she felt at all similarly, she wouldn’t leave.

And in the end of that conversation that made MC blush bright red and Lucien smirk triumphantly, she agreed to date him.

Which would result in marriage six months later.

Lucien easily felt like the luckiest man alive. He’d conquered many territories and accumulated wealth and riches, but he could say that the only true treasure he’d ever acquired from his efforts was her.