#learning how to trust raven while he learns to take care of her

[steampunk-raven]

do you ever think about the fact that han mi was *at most* 13 when her mom was killed?

do you ever think about the fact that there's a non-zero chance han got her first period while hiding with her parents, given her general age range was the average time people first start menstruating?

do you ever think about the fact that, if she did get her first period, her parents likely wouldn't have enough resources to help her through it? They wouldn't have been expecting her to get it, not like how han's mother would have (probably) prepared enough supplies for herself.

do you ever think about the fact han mi's mother died buying tampons?

do you think she blames herself?

[lizzieheartsfanclub]

The most effective thing about Ever After High is that every student has their own personal struggle that adds another element to just how life-ruining the destiny system is.

Apple is so terrified of what will happen to her if she doesn’t follow her destiny, that she is willing to compromise everyone else’s happiness to make sure it happens. This disregard for other people is only encouraged by the influential adults in her life.

Ashlynn has to be a servant to an abusive family and live knowing that the ultimate end to her supposedly happy ending is dying to set the stage for her daughters traumatic backstory, starting the whole cycle over again with no chance for any of them to escape.

Blondie feels so pressured to fit in to a deeply classist/monarchist society and ashamed of her parentage that she constantly presents a fake version of herself to everyone she knows, even her best friends.

Briar has to spend her whole life waiting for the moment her destiny comes and she falls asleep for a century. She knows that when she’s woken up, she will be forced to marry a boy dozens of years younger than her who she’s never met and live knowing that everyone she ever loved is dead and gone, the very things that she watched cause her mother’s emotional breakdown.

Cedar’s father was so afraid of watching her repeat his mistakes that he overcorrected, making it impossible for her to ever learn lessons for herself. She is also forced to share incredibly personal details with anyone who asks her questions, and can’t be trusted by her friends with any of their secrets, and it’s all because of her father’s past trauma.

Cerise has to hide who she truly is and never gets to see her family together and happy despite the fact that her parents have potentially the most healthy and mutually beneficial marriage in the whole franchise.

Daring was groomed from birth for a destiny that ends up not actually being his at all, leaving him aimless, feeling as though he has no purpose and has wasted his entire life.

Darling is forbidden by patriarchy and destiny to become a knight, the only thing she really wants, and at which she would be better than both of her brothers. She has to hide who she is and what she loves from everyone she knows

Dexter lived his whole life never knowing what his destiny would be but also knowing that whatever it was he’d have to commit to it forever the moment he discovered it at Legacy Day.

Duchess has spent her whole life knowing that the story she’s commited to living out ends in tragedy for her, and then had to watch the very people she’s been jealous of for years because of their seemingly happy endings give up those endings, while Duchess, loyal and rule following Duchess, is still stuck with her tragedy.

Faybelle tries so hard to commit to what she sees at her destiny that she’s never had a real friend in her life. Even still, no one recognizes her for all that effort and all she’s given up to be a suitable villain. Everyone is more afraid of Raven, who doesn’t even want to be evil.

Hunter has to constantly go against his moral compass to fulfill his destined role as a Huntsman and to try and make his father proud of him.

Kitty has been taught over and over again to value her Mother’s approval over all else, even at the expense of her friends. Her destiny is to create mischief, but how much more mischief can a dissolving world take before it’s too much?

Lizzie finds it almost impossible to express love or care for anyone else due to her mothers excessive conditioning that’s nearly akin to brainwashing. The saddest thing might be that her mother is actually, in her own way, trying her best to prepare Lizzie for a world that will only ever see her one way—as a villain. Now she lives in Ever After, princess to a kingdom that might not even exist for much longer, having given up everything for a destiny that may soon be impossible.

Maddie is a refugee forced from her home into a world she barely understands at a tender age. But she cannot express any angst or negative feelings about this circumstance, because to do so would go against her character. She lives in a world obsessed with destiny and stories while not even knowing if she’ll ever be able to return home and live out her story.

Raven is judged by almost everyone around her for her mothers crimes, many of which were required of her by destiny in the first place. She is nearly forced to commit to becoming a tyrannical megalomaniac (and almost falls into it herself, several times) who would be sentenced to lifelong punishment and torture for committing acts that weren’t even her idea in the first place, and the one punishing her would have been the very girl who begged so often for her to stop being so difficult and just follow her destiny.

[ljubimaya]

♱ 𝐑𝐔𝐍 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐌𝐄 Keisuke Baji x Reader: 𝐃𝐀𝐘𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊

SYNOPSIS: Your first full day at your grandmother's house couldn't have been any more chaotic, but among the chaos, you uncover long forgotten memories. However, with the decline of your grandmither's help, can you afford to ponder over them for too long? And most importantly, can you learn to trust Keisuke?

C/W: gn/afab reader, mentions of an unnamed sickness/symptoms, mentions of death, grief and mourning, food mentions/cooking, werewolf! Baji, mention of memory loss (?), idc how tall you are Keisuke is taller than you, subtle manipulation, barely proofread, dark content and smut in the other parts so mdni

W/C: 6,8k words

Previous Masterlis Next

Keisuke was right about you two receiving a lecture from your grandmother. As soon as you stepped down the stairs, you were sat down at the table along with the raven haired man, though two chairs away from him upon your grandmother's order. The elderly woman wasn't even looking at either of you, preferring to stir the bubbling stew while she preached the importance of modesty and averting one's gaze. “I expect you to dress modestly from now on” demanded the elderly woman “And I expect you to drop your tough guy attitude, Keisuke. This isn't how your mother raised you” You watched the ravenette nod from the corner of your eye. Satisfied with the lack of talk back, your grandmother turned around, a cherry smile playing on her lips as she placed two bowls of hot, steaming stew in front of you and the quiet man.

The remainder of the day remained relatively uneventful: your mother drove home, officially handing over the caregiver position to you. “Remember, if it gets too much for you, you can always call me” she offered, her hands firmly holding your shoulders as she looked at you ”I know your grandmother can be a lot to handle. If you ever feel overwhelmed, call me, and we'll find a substitute " "No” you vehemently shook your head, unwilling to back down anytime soon “I promised you to take care of her for as long as I could, and I am going to keep that promise. You didn't raise a quitter” A small smile played on her lips, satisfied with your determination “You're right, I didn't raise a quitter” were her last words before she took her leave. 

Throughout the day, you noticed that Keisuke wouldn't leave your grandmother's side. He'd be close to her, offering his arm to her whenever her walking stick was misplaced, fluffing her pillows whenever she'd want to lay down, and bringing her whatever she asked him to get her. It was truly a sight to be seen: a rugged looking man, tattooed and ready to stare you down, acted like a lap dog to your grandmother. Thoughts ran through your head as you watched them interact, trying to decipher what the nature of their relationship was. You were still unsure why he was even at your grandmother's house when you were the one who was asked to care for her; you weren't even sure who Keisuke was. All you knew about the mysterious ravenette was that he was intimidating, remained silent most of the time, and seemed to care greatly for the elderly woman. 

Hours went by, and you remained sat by the kitchen table, watching the raven haired man prepare Earl Grey tea for your grandmother. Your eyes remained glued on the tall man, watching his every move like a hawk eying a mouse. Could he be a distant relative?, you pondered, absent mindedly taking a bite of the apples you initially peeled and cut for your grandmother. They do act super familiar with each other, but that can't be it. He looks nothing like us, you noted, remembering his sharp jawline and even sharper eyes. Besides, you were sure you'd remember his face from past family gatherings. You were so caught up thinking about the ravenette that you mindlessly stared at his back, not noticing that he had turned around until it was too late. Keisuke's eyes met yours, and the intensity behind them caught you of guard; there was no friendliness in his chocolate brown eyes as he stared you down. There was no doubt that you'd lose if you ever held a staring contest with him. Heat rushed to your face as you sheepishly turned your head away from his glare to look at your grandma next to you, trying to act like your gaze just happened to land on the ravenette. The elderly woman was sitting next to you, knitting socks with the vibrant red Keisuke brought over. She hummed the tune of an old lullaby she'd used to sing you when you were younger. Keisuke placed two cups of tea on an old iron tray before he walked over to the table. He placed the tray down carefully and placed one cup in front of your grandmother.

Tea was served, and your grandma finally put her silver knitting needles down before grabbing her cup carefully. "I'm gonna have to leave now. It's getting dark, and I have stuff to do in the morning, " he spoke to your grandmother. She took a sip and nodded. "I understand. Thank you for coming over today and helping me out. " After taking another sip, she added,"You're always welcome in my house. Come visit us again if you'd like. " You lifted your head to catch a look at him, wanting to thank him first his efforts, only to see that Keisuke was already looking at you. Your mouth ran dry, and you felt your throat constricting at the sharp glare he sent your way. Without saying another word, the ravenette left. You listened to the footsteps become quieter and farther before letting a sigh out. As soon as he left, the atmosphere seemed lighter and less tense, so much so that you could rest your back against the chair rather than having to sit upright.

"Intense, isn't he?" You jokingly asked. Turning to face your grandmother again, she simply drank her tears before answering, "Yes, but he's always been this way. Still a very nice and helpful man." "I would have just appreciated it more if you would have warned me beforehand about him," the elderly woman cocked her eyebrow. Confusion was written all over her face as she seemed to process your words. "I mean, I would have rather known about him coming over. Seeing a stranger in your kitchen really freaked me out. " She put the warm cup down and looked at you with raised eyebrows. "But he's not a stranger, deary." She lightly smacked your shoulder."You two used to play together when you were younger. Do you not remember him?"

Sighing at your clueless expression, she continued, "Keisuke used to come over and play with you whenever you came to visit me. Grandpa even took photos of you two playing near the forest. " She weakly pointed to the bookshelf next to her pantry shelf."The thick, brown book is a photo album. Take a look for yourself"

Reluctantly, you nodded before standing up. You went towards the old bookshelf, eyes scanning through the worn-out cookbooks and magazines your grandparents collected throughout the years before your gaze landed on the photo album. You carefully took the book out of the shelf, making sure not to drop the heavy book before you walked back to the kitchen table. "Open it," your grandmother encouraged. Complying with her, your fingers grazed over the cover, admiring the golden and cursive letters forming "Family album" at the center of the book before opening the first page. The same faces you admired on the walls of the hallway were starring back at you, this time in more casually: Pictures of Weddings and birthdays, of children playing and crying, pets and items were plastered all over the pages. One particular picture caught your eye, however. Next to a picture of a black pup, you recognized your own face – though chubbier and rounder. A wide smile grazed your childhood features while you held the hand of a boy. Your eyes widened. There he was, grinning widely into the camera and holding your hand. There was no mistaking him. The little boy next to you was Keisuke Baji. Your eyebrows were knitted in confusion as you took in the information that you were presented with. Silently, your grandmother turned the page for you. "There's more," she stated, waiting for you to look at the other pictures.

She was right. There were plenty more pictures of you and him. One showed you two swimming in a lake, another picture of you and him picking wild berries, and the other one at the lake. From the looks of it, you were friends. "I don't understand, grandma. I can see that me and him were playing when we were kids, but" you paused as you turned the page to the first photo. Your eyes remained on the two carefree children smiling into the camera. "How did I forget him?"

Your grandmother placed her hand on your shoulder, the warmth of her palm comforting you. "Oh honey, you were just a young child when you met him. Friends come and go, and sometimes, they return." The elderly woman's hand slid to your back, lightly patting you."Forgetting people from your past isn't entirely bad, you know? Meeting him again gives you the perfect opportunity to get to know him again"

"If it were that easy. He doesn't talk to me, " you sighed out, remembering the one conversation you two had at the doorway that morning. Somehow, your grandmother saw this opportunity to fill in the blanks for you. You came to learn that Keisuke moved to the village around the same time you last went to your grandmother as a small child. Apparently, his mother was born here and decided after the passing of her husband that she needed to move back. Being busy with work, Keisuke's mother had your grandmother start to look after him for some time until he was old enough to stay home alone. As it turned out, he's a massive animal lover and studied to become a veterinarian. All the additional information your grandmother dumped on you made you question her intentions – you didn't have to know about his compassionate nature and unwavering loyalty, and you most certainly didn't have to know that he was single.

The night progressed, and you eventually helped your grandmother to her bed and headed towards your own bedroom. That night, you went to bed with a heavy heart. You would try and cover your body, wrapping yourself in the warm blankets, yet still end up feeling so cold. The feeling that there was still more to Keisuke Baji, the stranger from the train, your supposed childhood friend, kept you awake for hours, yet in a strange twist a deep sense of shame of having misjudged the man overcame you. Maybe he doesn't hate me, you thought to yourself in an effort to ease your racing mind, maybe he had forgotten me too. Maybe he can tell I forgot and isn't pleased with it – though you weren't sure if there later thought was better than the first.

             ⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧

The sun rose too early for your liking, and with it marked the start of a new day. Sleeping in wasn't an option for you, as you knew your grandmother would wake up no later than seven a.m., waiting patiently in her bed to be greeted and led down the stairs to enjoy a light breakfast. One look at the clock told you that you had just twenty minutes to get ready and prepare breakfast for her before you'd have to help her with her morning routine. So you didn't precisely that: you found a dark red off the shoulder and black trousers and decided to pair with a silver cross necklace. As soon as you were dressed and freshend up, you heard scratching sounds coming from the other side of your bedroom door, followed by soft meowing. You chuckled to yourself, opening the door for the orange feline. Marigold purred as she approached you, rubbing herself on your leg as you bent down to scratch her head affectionately. "Morning to you too," you whispered to the cat. The cat leaned into your touch, meowing softly at you. "I know, I know, sweet girl. I'll feed you in a second"

You walked down the stairs past the familiar portraits and headed to the kitchen, where you would look for the cat food. Marigold merrily followed you to the kitchen before she walked straight to her bowl next to the dining table. You quickly found the dry food and poured some of it directly into her bowl before watching the feline greedily swallow her food. It was idyllic, and such a stark contrast to your usual morning routine: usually, you wouldn't have the time or energy tomorrow wip up something quick to eat, opting for left overs or whatever Emma has cooked that day before rushing to your university with little to zero care of how you looked. Here, you had the time to pick out a nice outfit and ruminate through your grandmother's kitchen to cook a light and easy soup. You usually watched your roommate prepare for you. Even if you didn't sleep well last night, it was still more and better sleep you would usually get back home. Somehow, taking care of your grandmother gave you the opportunity to also take care of yourself.

Deeply in thoughts, you didn't realize how quickly you managed to chop the vegetables in fine pieces and added them along with the seasonings and other ingredients into the pot along with some stock. As you put the stove on medium heat, you decided it was high time to check up on your grandmother. You stalked the stairs up but headed to the opposite direction of your bedroom. The long corridor ended at her bedroom door, which you knocked on softly before entering. You didn't have to wait long for an invitation, hearing a faint "Come in" coming from inside the bedroom. Twisting the golden door knob, you opened the door and stepped into the light flooded bedroom of your grandmother. The elderly woman smiled as she saw you enter, weakly pushing herself up in an attempt to sit. "Good morning, gran. Here, let me help you, " you offered, walking towards the king-sized bed and reaching your hands out for her to grab. "Thank you, honey," your grandmother took your hand before you pulled her up. "My back isn't what it used to be. Sitting and standing up on my own has become quite the chore for me. " You managed to pull her in a sitting position before you let go of her hands. "I know grandma, mom has told me about it" your paused, watching the older woman's face contort in pain as she stretched "I won't get better if you don't seek out professional help. Don't you miss being able to stand on your own?"

"No," she replied without missing a beat, her eyes averting to her hands. "What I miss is your grandfather," your gaze followed hers – a thick golden ring adorning her finger caught your attention. An uncomfortable silence filled the room as you watched her play with her wedding band. You could tell she was spacing out, possibly even reminiscing about your grandfather. Guilt riddled, you realized you should have approached her softly about pursuing medical help. You needed to get her mind off him, and you needed to act fast.

"I have cooked breakfast for us," you stammered out. "It's a breakfast soup my roommate often makes. I made some adjustments for you, so I hope you'll like it. " Surprised, she ripped her gaze from the ring as she heard you. "You cooked? Oh, I didn't know I'd see the day you'd developed cooking skills. I was sure there was no cooking bone in your body. " Worked better than anticipated.

You helped your grandmother get ready for the day before carefully leading her down the stairs and into the kitchen. By the time you have sat your grandmother down on a kitchen chair, the aroma of the soup you've let to simmer engulfed the entire kitchen. Placing the plate in front of her, you watched a genuine smile form on your grandmother's face as she admired the soup. "This smells lovely deary. My mouth is watering at the sight, " she praised, slowly taking the spoon next to her to dip it into the soup. Just when when she was about to taste it, someone rang the doorbell. "Don't worry, grandma. You eat, and I'll see who it is. " Reassuring her, you hurried to the front door. You would be lying to yourself if you weren't at least a tiny bit annoyed at the sudden intrusion, for you were looking forward to taste your soup as well. Who would even come by before ten a.m.? Taking a deep breath, you calmed yourself down, figuring you shouldn't angrily swing the door open. After all, your grandmother was a very old-fashioned woman, and one thing she didn't tolerate was rude people and unpolite people. There is no need to have a second lecture today. You reminded yourself of the lecture you had to endure the day before. Opening the door, you prepared to smile and politely find out why someone would interrupt breakfast until you saw the person on the other side of the door.

Your face fell, both in relief and confusion, as you saw none other than Keisuke Baji standing outside. He intently watched your expression change, mild amusement flickering in his eyes. "Not happy to see me?"

"No, just didn't expect you out of all people to come over." You carefully replied."I thought I heard you say you would be busy today. " The ravenette's eyes traveled over your body, taking in your appearance. You suddenly became very self-conscious of your clothing, and the sweater you wore showed off your neck, collar bones, and shoulders – which was too revealing according to your grandmother. Yet, the fear of being scolded by your grandmother paled in comparison to the way the ravenette made you feel whenever he looked at you. Hungry was the closest you would describe his intense gaze as, staring into your soul was a close second. A shiver ran down your spine, feeling uncomfortable by his sharp stare.

"Yeah, I got it done quickly," Keisuke's voice grumbled out. "Wasn't a big thing to deal with. That silver?" He pointed to your neck. Your hands flew up to clutch the necklace hanging from your neck, tightly grasping at the small cross in an effort to ease your mind. "Yeah, sterling silver to be exact." "So no pure silver I take?" He pushed, his eyes finally meeting yours. "No, I suppose not?" you answered, unsure of the importance of his strange inquiry. The man hummed in response, seemingly pleased with your answer. Without a warning, the raven haired man pushed past you inside your grandmother's house, not waiting to be invited in. "I brought some stuff for your gran. My mom wanted me to bring over some fancy wine. " The ravenette turned to look at you again

"You might wanna change into something different, though. I didn't come over to endure yet another lecture. " Without waiting for a reply, the ravenette walked straight into the kitchen and loudly greeted your grandmother. Awestruck, you remained by the front door before you closed it. You didn't think he would be so bold and straightforward about your clothing choices. But he's isn't wrong. You sighed in defeat. Warm faced and embarrassed, you stalked up the stairs to your bedroom to change into something your grandmother approved to wear in front of men. While you were rummaging through your closet, a thought wouldn't leave your mind. Why was your grandmother bothered by you showing a bit of skin? No matter how hard you tried to remember, no memory of your grandmother freaking out over your clothes came to your mind. You eventually found an oversized dark grey hoody that would fit loosely on you and cover everything up. Perfect. Could it be because of Keisuke? You wondered as you pulled your red sweater over your shoulder and threw it on your bed. Sure, you found his staring weird. He had a tendency to creep you out, but surely he couldn't be that bad. The conversation you had with your grandmother the night before echoed in your mind. He was your childhood friend, even if you can't remember it. You had to give him the benefit of the doubt. Besides, grandma wouldn't trust him so much if he truly was dangerous to be around. You tried to soothe your mind as you put on the grey hoody. Yet, despite your trying to rationalize his behavior, your feet wouldn't walk out of the comforts of your bedroom. So you took a deep breath and counted to ten, pushing the worries aside as you forced yourself to leave your bedroom and walk to the kitchen, where the raven haired man awaited for your return.

You eventually arrived at the kitchen and saw your grandmother peacefully eating her soup with the ravenette by her side. The elderly woman turned her head to see you standing by the doorway, a small smile on her lips "Oh there you are" she patted her free hand on the chair next to hers, signaling you to come sit down with them "What took you so long? Did something happen?" You remained at the doorway, hesitant to join them at the table. Keisuke watched you lean against the doorframe, and for a moment, your eyes met his. You didn't dare look at him longer than a second. The irrational fear of him pouncing on you made you avoid looking at him. Out of sight, out of mind, right?

So you returned your gaze back to your grandmother, trying to focus solely on her and not the man next to her. "Ah, just a quick call to my roommate. Had to tell her about finally cooking something for you" The elderly woman nodded in approval, slurping on her spoonful of soup and humming in delight "Ah, I have to admit I didn't think you'd be able to whip up something so delicious. Tell your roommate that her recipe is amazing. " "I will, " you promised as your eyes drifted back to the ravenette beside her. You caught a light, amused smirk on his lips before he raised his glass to his mouth and drank from it. Strange how he managed to catch your eye when he wasn't staring at you like you were a piece of meat.

A loud yawn brought you back to reality, and you moved your gaze to your grandmother before Keisuke could see you admiring him. "This was lovely, but I fear I need to rest after breakfast" You frowned at the elderly woman, confused about her sudden need to rest "But you just woke up half an hour ago" You walked towards the older woman when she reached out a hand for you, helping her stand up "Maybe a short walk to your favorite bakery would be great" She shook her head at your suggestion. Up close, she didn't look tired and sick, her under eye circles dark, and her eyes unfocused. You noticed her grip on your hand was weak and her fingerpads cold as they softly held onto your warm hand. "No, deary, I just need to rest up. We could visit the bakery another time, surely. " Defeated, you nodded, forcing yourself to stop yourself from countering her empty promises. Truthfully, you knew she didn't mean it, but tried to calm your worries with a promise you knew she wouldn't be able to keep.

You left her out of the kitchen, though she suddenly hated at the doorway. "You are welcome to stay, Keisuke," your grandmother called out weakly to the raven haired man who remained quiet the whole time. He cleared his throat before answering her. "Thank you. I'll make sure to help around while you rest. " Satisfied with his answer, your grandmother continued walking with your help towards her bedroom. The elderly woman climbed inside her bed, head immediately hitting the pillows as soon as you pulled the blanket over her. "Would you close the blinds for me, please? I need it to be dark to fall asleep properly. " You complied with her wish and close the blinds for her before wishing her a restful sleep and silently left her bedroom. As soon as the door fell shut, you couldn't help but notice the stark difference between her somewhat energetic appearance from yesterday to her severity weakend self. Yesterday must have been a lot for her, you theorized, remembering the time intensive stew she made and her efforts to walk on her own, albeit with her walking stick. You felt sick to your stomach, unable to shake off the nagging voice in your head telling you to dismiss her wishes of not involving any doctors and dragging her to the hospital. Your stomach churned at the dilemma you found yourself in. All of the energy you had seemingly left your body as you limped down the stairs as dark thoughts coursed your mind.

You walked back down to the kitchen, seeing none other than the ravenette still sitting at the table. "I didn't think you'd actually stay," you mumbled out as you remained at the doorway. Despite barely being able to steadily stand on your own, you hesitated to approach him. You found it unreasonable, stupid even, that the ravenette invoked a deep fear within you when he didn't do anything at all. All he did was visit your sick grandmother and help her – if anything, that should make you trust him. You wanted to trust the man badly, but something about him put you off, something that you couldn't put your fingers on.

"I promised I'd stay," He simply replied, not even looking at you as his eyes remained trained on his phone. Silence fell overthe both of you, the only sound you could hear being the ticking of the clock above the door and the occasional tapping on his phone screen. Minutes passed, and not once has Keisuke even looked at you. This sudden switch up baffled you, threw you off the loop even, as his sudden avoidance didn't seem like him. Or did it? You weren't entirely sure what to think of Keisuke, but the idea that you might have simply misunderstood his constant staring came to your mind already a handful of times, but this time, you were actually starting to believe it. You came to realize that when he was paying attention to other things other than you, he seemed just like a normal guy. Eventually, your legs began to grow tired, and all of a sudden, the chair you sat on before leading your grandmother back to her bedroom appeared so inviting to you. He's harmless, you told yourself in an effort to get rid of every last tidbits of doubt that your mind harbored. So you walked over to the table and sat down af the table, the wooden floor creaking under every of your footsteps. The silence continued on as Keisuke seemed preoccupied with the phone and didn't seem to be interested in talking to you. You didn't like that one bit. You weren't used to being around silent people, as Emma would chew your ear off at every possible moment, and you weren't used to being the one initiating the talk either.

"So, how's uni?" You started remembering your grandmother mentioning he was studying veterinary medicine. It seemed like a safe bet to you, as you were so used to talking about academics with your peers and exchanging your impressions about courses and professors. "You're a vet student, right?"

"Yeah, I am," Keisuke lifted his eyes from his illuminated phone. "It's alright. My courses are hard as fuck but it's gonna be worth it in the end" he narrowed his eyes "how do you know though?" You began to lightly drummed on the table with your fingers, palms sweaty and nervously laughing at his curt answer. Somehow, you expected him to give you more details on his studies instead of a somewhat dismissive and uninterested reply, hoping the ravenette would reveal more about himself in the process. "Well, grandma told me about it last night" That seemed to pique his interest. The ravenhaired man turned his phone off completely, giving you his undivided attention. The way he looked at you told you he wanted you to go on, the curious glint in his eyes making you almost forget of the predatory the gaze he would usually sport.

"She said you moved here years ago when you were a child. Your mother was born here if I remember correctly. " "Mhm, anything else she told you?" Keisuke inquired in a lazy tone. He sounded mildly interested, but you knew better than to take his non chalant attitude serious; you knew there was one thing he wanted to know from you, waited to be told by you, and you knew the indifference, the boredom, was nothing more than an act. You took a deep breath and gathered the words you wanted to tell him.

"Yes, there was one more thing," you carefully started, watching him closely to gauge his reaction. "We knew each other already apparently," Keisuke's expression remained unreadable, giving you no insight as to what he was feeling and giving you no clue on what he was thinking. The silence from earlier returned, though, with the revelation that you and him were friends at some point hanging deep in the room, you found it this time to be unbearable. Doubt soon crept up your spine like an ugly spider, weaving nets of uncertainty and shame. Was that not what he what he wanted to hear from me? You tried to think of other important tidbits of information you retained from last night's conversation, but to no avail. Nothing seemed to hold the weight as the revelation that Keisuke technically was no stranger to you. Maybe he forgot about me too, you tried to explain to yourself, trying to make sense of his lack of response. "I know this seems like such a random, strange thing to say. I was shocked in the beginning too until grandma showed me the old photo album" you nodded your head towards the bookshelf "I can show you the pictures if you'd like to. There's some really cute pictures of us. " "I know. I've seen em before. " Keisuke cut you off before you could finish. "You saw?" you questioned carefully, eyebrows knitted in confusion as the realization that he knew all along set in. "You didn't forget me?" He ran his hand through his thick, dark locks and let out an exasperated sigh. "Of course not. I don't forget that easily, you know?" The non chalant facade broke, and you were sure you heard a hint of bitterness as he spoke to you. "So you forgot? You forgot me?"

Guilt washed over you, and for a second, you wanted to appease him and deny having forgotten about him if it meant he wouldn't be upset with you, but you didn't have the hard to lie to his face. "It's been years – more than a decade even," you tried to justify. "And we weren't even friends for an entire summer. I can't remember every single person from my past. " "I know that, " Keisuke scoffed."Figured you've forgotten me when I saw you on the train. That face you made" he pointed at your face with his index finger "told me everything I had to know" warmth rushed to your face as you remembered the sheer fear you felt at the ravenette's presence – you must have looked like a fool to him. You opened your mouth to argue, to explain that he couldn't possibly expect you not to be scared when he appeared out of nowhere and sat on a seat near you, but the words died down on your tongue before you could even utter a single sentence. He probably assumed I still remembered him, you defended him, trying to see his point of view firstly, and secondly, burry any thoughts of doubt. Instead, all you can muster up was a meek 'I'm sorry'. You didn't know what you were even apologizing for – for forgetting about him or for overreacting?

"Don't have to apologize," Keisuke knitted his eyebrows. "Life happens. I'm not takin it against you. " He sighs and averts his eyes before meeting yours again."So you here for the old hag? How are you gonna help her get better?" You welcomed the sudden change of topic with open arms. Humming you rested you head on your hand, mentally going through your options "I won't lie to you, I do think think there's anything I can do to heal her" you sighed, imagining your grandmother's frail body and dark under eye circles "At first, I thought it might be something psychological. Thought she might have taken grandpa's death too hard. You know how distress affects the body? " You saw him nod along with your theory."Yeah, true. She was a mess after he died. " The ravenette paused, seemingly pondering over something before continuing eyes trained on yourself."Ya know, we thought she'd die of a broken heart or something. Refusing to eat, drink, and to take baths. " He sat closer to you, leaving his previously occupied chair to sit on the one that separated the two of you. The sudden closeness reawakened the fright you felt whenever he was around. Your hammering heart could not stop beating aggressively against your ribcage, both from the primal isntict to run away, and the weird, newfound want to stay close to the ravenette You were completely surrounded with him – his body, his smell, even his touch as you felt his leg accidentally bump against yours.

Blood rushed to your face when Keisuke leaned closer to your face "You know, she's a very sensitive woman" he gruffly whispered, keeping his voice low "We both know how it will end if she's not going to see a doctor anytime soon" "It won't end pretty" you muttered back "It's won't end pretty" Keisuke confirmed lowly. Shuddering, you left out a shaky breath. "But how do we convince her? Gran doesn't want to go to the hospital. It's like she -" You paused, unsure if you should say it.

"Doesn't want to get better?" Keisuke, seemingly knowing what you wanted to say, completed your sentence for you. The ravenette scoffed as he narrowed his eyes at you. "I bet she doesn't. Wallowing in self-pity is always the easy option" Up close, you noticed smaller details that you never paid attention to. Somehow, you would always find yourself drown in his dark brown eyes, but with him being closer to you than ever and the light hitting his irises, you saw that they weren't just brown – they were a beautiful reddish brown, like the black tea you loved to drink every morning at home. Small scratches were plastered all over his skin. You assumed they were from the animals he tended to. But to your surprise, neither his eyes nor his scratches, or even his hands were what you paid attention to the most. It was his mouth. Whenever he opened his mouth to talk to you, you would be met with the sight of long and sharp canines akin to those you would see dogs have. How macabre, to have such sharp eyes and the fangs of a wild dog.

"There ain't no other way out. You gotta force her to seek out medical help. " Keisuke's voice pulled you back from your daydreaming. You fidgeted nervously in your seat as the severity of the dilemma hits you, the same opposing ideas swirling in your head when you just brought your grandmother back to her room – Respect her wishes of having no medical professional involved with the risk of her condition worsening beyond repair, or put your foot down and force her to take her health more seriously? Her will, or your will?

"Oh Keisuke, this isn't an easy decision to make" you frowned as you looked at him, trying to ignoring the way he looked at you made you feel so small and weak "I can't physically force her, that would be overstepping her wants and boundaries-" the ravenette cut you off with a loud huff "You actin like you're blind. This woman's health is in danger, and you're thinking of her boundaries. " His glare hardened, hand tightly gripping your chair."You didn't see her get worse like I did. You didn't see how hard it was for any of your relatives to take care of her, how emotionally and physically draining it was for them. Be the first with some fucking common sense and let me drive her to a hospital"

You shuddered at the harsh words Keisuke threw at you. A part of you agreed with him, your grandmother was past the point she could decide for herself, and God forbit you'd contribute to her health worsening; yet you found it hard to agree with the way he worded it. It sounded so cold, devoid of any sympathy. You wanted to tell him that perhaps you could find a middle way. Maybe there was a way to convince your notoriously stubborn grandmother to go to a doctor – and maybe that's wishful thinking. You began to wonder if Keisuke tried to talk some sense into your relatives only to have his idea blatantly rejected. Surely, the raven haired man saw the decline of your grandmother's health with his own two eyes – unlike you, who only heard of her condition through your mother. Surely, he's been having enough of it.

Keisuke's tone left you thinking he wouldn't stand any attempts of talking back to him. Something in you told you that he will keep insisting he drive her to the nearest hospital with or without her knowledge. You hated fighting. You hated arguing with the people you love, but most importantly, you didn't want to anger Keisuke any further. Defeated, you finally nodded your head. "You're right. This is getting ridiculous," you admitted. "I will let you drive her to the hospital, under the condition that I'll be there too. I want to be there when she will receive her examinations"

A wolfish grin spread over Keisuke's face, seemingly satisfied with your obedience. "I knew you had a smart head on your shoulders. You won't regret your decision, " the ravenette reassured you as he leaned closer to you and whispered in your ear,"I will come back tomorrow morning at the same time I arrived here. Be sure to have everything packed. " The little hairs on your neck stood up as he gravely whispered. Your pulse quickened, and you were sure the ravenette heard the thundering beat of your heart the way he leaned so closely to you. He didn't remain so close to you for long, as he got up from the chair and stretched his arms over his head. "I'll be going," Keisuke announced as his arms fell to his sides. You turned your body sideways to look at him. "Where to? I thought you'd want to stay a little longer"

"Nah, I got other things to take care of," the ravenette insisted. He swiftly turned to walk towards the door, halting by the doorframe to turn to face you "No getting no cold feet, ok?" Keisuke asked, though it sounded more like a demanding than a question. "No, I won't," you confirmed. "I'll make sure we're already waiting outside when before you arrive." "That won't be necessary. Just wait inside until I come over. " He cut you off. Immediately, you shut your mouth tightly, your lips forming a thin line. Slowly, you nodded your head before replying back. "Yes, of course. Have a good day. " Keisuke's lips formed a small smile, a sight you haven't had the chance to see up until now."Good. She's going to wake up soon. " he nodded his head up."Don't tell her about tomorrow yet. Don't want her to get a heart attack, do we?" "No, of course not," you muttered out a 'goodbye', sure that he didn't catch on to it as he was already halfway through the kitchen door. His footsteps grew more and more silent. The last you heard of him being the thud of the front door closing.

Your muscles relaxed as soon as the ravenette left, a sigh of relief leaving your lips. How stressful, how intense. Despite having agreed to get her admitted to the hospital tomorrow, you weren't sure if you made the right choice. It didn't sit right with you to go behind your grandmother's back and make a decision you knew she would be against. However, you also couldn't deny that Keisuke was right. Her health comes before her ego, whether she likes it or not. Or at least, that's what you're trying to tell yourself. You leaned your back against the chair's backrest, mentally preparing a checklist of the things you'll need to pack for your grandmother and an excuse on why she would have to get inside Keisuke's car without growing too suspicious.

[stardust-and-snickerdoodles]

fall asleep, close my eyes, and disappear pt. 1

fandom: X-Men

pairing: Charles Xavier x Reader

summary: Charles Xavier is familiar with the weight of his students' past traumas, including yours. At least that's what he thinks, until a mission-related injury prompts him to delve into your mind, uncovering a deep-seated trauma you've repressed. Fearing he's caused more harm, Charles works with you to reveal this forgotten memory and heal from your past experiences.

tags/warnings: injury, rape aftermath/recovery (implied), anxiety, panic attacks, emotional hurt/comfort, charles xavier trying his very best not to invade someone else's privacy

word count: 2089

Charles Xavier is well-acquainted with the traumatic past lives of his students. It is easy to see how many of them had come from terrible circumstances, how many had been ridiculed or hurt or abandoned. He has seen his share of darkness as well, and he wishes to protect his students from any more of it.

Amidst all the sadness and despair that clouds the minds of the youngsters, there is you. Old enough to be a teacher, but new enough to your powers to still be a student. You are close with Charles due to your age, but keep him an arm’s length away. You, too, had been hurt in the past. You don’t want to trust your heart to anyone… yet.

Being surrounded by all the young students, you know you have to put on a brave face. You smile in the hallways and laugh and tell jokes. And things are fine – you enjoy your pseudo-parental role at the school.

But something is missing. A heaviness weighs on your mind, something dangerous that you subconsciously suppress. All you know is that sometimes you wake in the middle of the night gasping, and it feels like you’ve lost something.

Charles knows of course – Charles always knows – but figures you’ll come to him when you feel comfortable. He learned his lesson about prying into people’s minds long, long ago. And he doesn’t want to push you away the way he’d pushed away others (Erik, Raven, Jean – no, he shouldn’t think of these things). He cares for you far too much to lose you.

That being said, as time passes, Charles can't help but grow more and more concerned. He hears you lying awake at night, or even worse, in the throes of a nightmare. Yet in the morning, it seems all is well. You carry on as always, no worse for wear. It worries Charles. The temptation to just read your mind and see what plagues you is all too strong. But he respects your privacy.

But he can’t stay out of your mind forever, no matter how much he wants to.

The X-Men had been sent off to assist a crew of miners who had been trapped in a cave. A small mishap led to a few injuries amongst the team, nothing serious but certainly enough to warrant a visit to Hank after. You received the worst of it – your powers of telekinesis meant you were in the thick of it, pulling rocks off the imprisoned crew – when a section of the wall crumbled away on top of you. You managed to block most of the debris, but a well-timed drop of a boulder managed to clip you on the head, knocking you unconscious for a brief interlude. You woke shortly thereafter, already on the ship and headed home, but the team insisted you get checked out despite your protests.

When you arrive back at the school, Hank and Charles wait with matching anxious expressions. You stumble along with the help of Kurt, trying to look like you aren’t leaning too heavily on him.

Charles and Hank rush to you. Hank comes up on your left to support that side, while Charles sweeps his eyes over you protectively. You wave them off with a bloodied hand. “I’m fine, guys, seriously.” You aren’t – your head is pounding – but students are standing at the doors to the school, and you know you have to put on a brave face for their sake.

Hank side-eyes you. “You’re bleeding.”

“Hank, take her to the lab. I’ll be down shortly,” Charles says, barely keeping the worry out of his voice. You flash him what you hope is a reassuring smile. It doesn’t seem to change his expression.

Down in the lab, Hank runs a myriad of tests, all while you complain and insist that you are fine. Eventually, he lets out a sigh. “Well, everything looks okay.” You move to hop off the exam table when he holds out a hand to stop you. “But I want Charles to take a look to make sure you didn’t goof up your brain. I can’t see everything on a CT scan.”

You groan and settle back in. Charles, always with a talent for dramatic timing, enters at that precise moment. “How are you feeling?” he says as he rolls up to the table.

“Like I said before, I’m fine. Just a little bump, is all.”

Charles stares at you, as if trying to read your mind without actually doing it. His eyebrows furrow before he turns to his colleague. “Hank?”

Hank crosses his arms. “Her scans all seem fine. A bit of rest should take care of the residual ache. But I’d like you to see for yourself. Just in case.”

Charles nods and looks at you again. “Are you alright with that?”

You shrug. “Go for it, professor.”

Charles wheels himself a little closer. “Lay back,” he murmurs, positioning himself at the head of the exam table.

You do as he asks, and Charles places two warm fingers on your temple. Your eyes flutter shut as you feel him enter your mind.

Charles weaves through the lanes of your conscious, seeking out any damage. He takes in your recent memories, watches the rock wall crumble on top of you. He digs deeper, searching further into your past. He watches as you come to the school, watches you trudge through the rainy streets as a homeless beggar, watches your family leave you. Charles breezes past those memories as quick as he can – no sense in dwelling on the things that cannot be changed. He races down neural pathways and connections, spotting nothing of note.

That is, until he slams into a mental wall, one so thick and aversive that even he might have a hard time getting through it. He is so deep into your mind that he isn’t sure you even know this exists. Concern courses through him as he attempts to break through the wall. But it won’t give, at least not without causing you distress. Already he can hear you – outside your mind, in the real world – whimpering in anguish.

Charles pulls away, mentally and physically, drawing his hands from your temples. Your eyes shoot open, and for a moment there’s a flash of fear in them. But it’s gone in an instant. Charles realizes how starved for air he seems to be and takes in a deep breath.

You sit up quickly. “All good?” you ask.

Charles nods, unable to speak, and you hop off the table. Before he or Hank can get another word in, you are out the door and on your way.

“Charles?” Hank looks at his friend in confusion. “What is it? What did you see?”

The professor stares blankly at the table. “Her mind… There’s something… I’m not sure.”

“Is it from the accident?”

Charles shakes his head. “No, this was… deeper. Further back. Something she’s repressed. I doubt she even knows it’s there.”

…

Upstairs, your fellow teammates greet you with sighs of relief and gratitude for making the mission a success. Someone proposes the idea of drinks, and all of a sudden people are putting coats on and discussing plans for the night.

“Um, I think I’m going to pass on this one,” you announce, wringing your hands together nervously. You’re afraid to miss out on the festivities, but your head is aching and you know you should probably rest.

Your team wishes you well and heads out, and soon you are left in the kitchen alone. You trudge up the stairs to your room, nearly ready to collapse from exhaustion. It seems fate had other plans for you though, for as soon as your back hits the mattress, there’s a knock on your door.

You groan quietly and twist your hand in the direction of the door. It opens with a soft click and soon you hear the telltale sound of Charles’s wheels on the floor.

You squint at him out of one eye as he makes his way to the side of your bed. “Yes?” you question when he doesn't say anything. “Did you need something?”

“No, no,” Charles reassures, his voice soft. “I just wanted to make sure you truly were alright.”

“Well, my head hurts something awful but I think I just need to rest,” you reply honestly.

Charles nods and you turn on your side to face him, pulling a pillow under your cheek. Again, the professor says nothing more, just gazes at you with those striking blue eyes of his. You watch him for a moment, before you feel your eyes begin to drift closed.

Just as you’re about to fall asleep, you hear him murmur. “What?” you grumble, slightly annoyed that your peace was disturbed.

Charles clears his throat and speaks up. “I wanted to ask you something.”

“You know you can ask me anything,” you yawn. Sleep pulls your eyelids closed again.

“Would it be alright if I looked into your mind while you were sleeping?”

You snort out a laugh. “I love when people ask before they violate my privacy.”

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-”

You snap your eyes open, only to see him starting to wheel away. “No, Charles, it’s fine. I was joking.”

“Right.” He comes closer to the bed again.

“Did you see something wrong earlier?” Panic creeps into your voice at the thought. “Is there something wrong with my brain?”

“No, darling, of course not,” Charles rushes. “You’re… perfect. I just want to make sure. Sometimes things can be revealed in sleep that are not present while we are awake.”

That seems to make sense to you, so you settle further into your pillow, letting your eyes fall closed again. “Well, just… have fun digging around, I guess,” you mutter. “Don’t break anything.”

Before long, you’re out like a light.

Charles wastes no time in laying his fingers on your temples again. This time, he knows where he’s headed and he makes his way along the pathways quickly. He can feel a heaviness begin to weigh on him as he comes closer to the mental block. Perhaps this is what causes your nightmares, your occasional zoning out, your sad disposition that hid behind a cheerful façade.

Charles prepares himself as he approaches the wall, trying to get a sense for its depth and meaning. He can tell that this blockade was formed long ago. Perhaps not in your childhood – it isn’t that far back – but maybe as a teenager. And it’s so strong, it rivals his own mental walls.

Carefully, Charles begins to pick away at the wall. He pushes and pulls at the tenuous strings that make up the outer barrier, then chisels away at more cemented bits further in. The further he goes, the heavier the darkness seems to become. His own mind is beginning to feel fatigued, but he can sense he’s close. Whispers of this forgotten memory slip through the cracks that form, not enough to make out but he knows they’re there.

Finally, finally, he breaks through. And instantly, he wishes he hadn’t.

No.

Stop.

Please!

Charles forces himself out of your mind, his breaths coming in short gasps. The room has darkened with the approaching night, and your still-sleeping form is illuminated by moonlight. Charles runs a shaking hand over his eyes. What have I done?

As he looks on, your body begins to shake and tremble. You let out heart-wrenching cries as a nightmare overtakes you. Those same cries that he hears every night, those same cries he just heard in your subconscious. “Don’t break anything,” you had said. Has he broken you?

The wall. He has to put the wall back in place. This memory, this horror… He has to protect you. With trembling fingers, Charles re-enters your mind.

Already he can see the memory seeping out, its darkness spilling into the recesses of your mind. Charles feels his heart sink as he realizes the damage he’s caused. It’s like Jean all over again.

Except this time, he is determined not to lose you.

Brick by brick, string by fragile string, Charles rebuilds the barricade around the memory. He seals in as much of it as he can.

Not forever, no. Not like Jean.

He will help you reveal it yourself. And then he will help you heal.

But to let it all out at once… that would destroy you.

>>>

part 2

[inafieldofstarflowers]

hello madi!! how are you?

i was wondering about your thoughts on the various jean ships? :)

-@you-know-i-get-itt

hi gia !!

i’m slightly stressed by life but have fun weekend plans, so it evens out :)

after some thought about this question i think the only jean ships i can speak on are with kevin, renee, neil, and jeremy because i don’t have enough thoughts about others to speak on them (also this got longer than I thought so ~my bad~)

Renee: I do like them together however I also think Renee was right when she said they were the right people, wrong time. Renee meets Jean and makes a point of keeping in touch with him, and then goes to great lengths to help get him out of the Nest, and I think that her offering him love without expecting something in return is super important for him as he starts to heal, because the whole time he's known her, she's been showing him that, in her eyes, he's worth a lot outside of anything he can do, which directly contrasts his life with the Ravens. Whether in a romantic way or not, I think understanding the value Jean places on his relationship with Renee is necessary for a complete picture of him as a character/his growth.

Jeremy: (I may be biased because I just love Jeremy BUT) I love what we've seen of their relationship so far--Jeremy does initially get USC to bring Jean in for Kevin, but like Renee, Jeremy makes efforts from the actual start of his relationship with Jean to help him because he wants the best for Jean, and while it definitely hasn't been perfect (because they're college students and Jean is healing from the trauma of literally being tortured and Jeremy doesn't know that), there's been consistent work to establish boundaries and build up a support network, and the fact that Jean is willing to tell Jeremy when he's crossed a line is a big deal. I'm interested to see how things develop as we learn more about Jeremy because right now I could see it going lots of different ways, but as things stand I support it as a long term thing (in which Jean takes time to heal before entering a relationship)

Kevin: Kevin and Jean give toxic situationship in a way that I genuinely don't think either of them could have avoided, because the root cause of it is that their bonding happened while they were being deeply traumatized--basically, I think that the two of them being in a relationship would be deeply unhealthy, but that it would be unhealthy in an incredibly compelling "I need you even though you're bad for me and this is actively working against my personal growth sort of way, which offers a lot of room for character exploration. I think that the balance they have of trusting and defending each other while maintaining bitterness/guilt over what they went through (and specifically everything with Kevin leaving) is fascinating, and I think it's worth noting that a lot of Kevin's moments of softness/lowering his guard (calling Jean after learning about Evermore's move, telling Neil he can trust Jean, reaching out to Jeremy, the magnets and postcards, etc.) involve Jean.

Neil: to me jeanneil is neither inherently romantic nor platonic but a secret third option. Jean and Neil really haven't known each other long or spent much time together, but their connection is strong and the two of them give each other trust a lot more quickly than they would usually allow (which, yes, is partly due to winter break, but the fact that it endures means a lot). I do believe that Neil cares about all of the Foxes by the end of the series, but the way he interacts with Jean is distinct from how he interacts with anyone else, and the lengths that he's willing to go to for Jean specifically put him in a category with Andrew (and, to some extent, Kevin, but Neil and Kevin's relationship is a whole post of its own and this is already toooo long). Their relationship is also interesting because so much of it is held in "what could have been" and the idea of them being misplaced forever partners (I think Jean specifically wonders what it would have been like to have Neil, who is an instigator at heart, in the Nest, not only because he would have had a partner but also because Jean's acceptance of his fate/role is an active choice that he made because it was the way he could survive, and I wonder if he would have chosen the same if Neil had been there with him), but they are also making the choice to not leave it at "could have beens" and to instead have a relationship

[masterskywalkers]

OC Meme - Vincent Laidir

Tagged by the always lovely @lindira! Thank you so much 💖 Make sure you all go and check out her answers for her amazing Pa'ani too, you can find them here!

General

Name: Vincent Laidir.

Alias: Rook.

Gender: Male (he/him pronouns).

Age: 44 at the beginning of Veilguard.

Place of Birth: a Dalish encampment just outside of the city of Llomerryn, Rivain.

Spoken Languages: Trade, Rivaini, Elvhen, Tevene.

Sexual Orientation: Homosexual.

Favourites

Colour: Gold and royal blue.

Entertainment: Listening to performing bards - both song and music. Learns to play Wicked Grace through Varric and Harding, but also enjoys other group games with friends. Caring for animals - especially Assan, who he is always sneaking truffles to.

Pastime: Researching into any potentially interesting artifacts he's found and reading / decoding or translating anything he's found during his adventures. While he knows a few languages himself, Vincent knows a few actual linguists from his work within the Lords who he trusts. He collects gold trinkets that aren't of any cultural value, especially any jewerly.

Food: Couscous Salad (but only when he's in Rivain. Vincent complains that nowhere else knows what to properly add to it otherwise), bananas, chocolate, pumpkin bread, Tevinter honey and nut pastries.

Drink: Rivaini tea, hot chocolate (he discovers he likes it when Lucanis takes him to try coffee, but Vincent is too interested in the hot chocolate instead), dark Lloymerym rum.

Books: Anything that he finds on his adventures or historical resources that help around the topics he researches into. Adventure stories (loved them when he was a young boy and it's what inspired him to want a life like that for himself. He still enjoys them when he's older, but also likes to comment on them having had his own number of adventures himself). He grows to enjoy poetry after being with Emmrich long enough, mostly because Emmrich reads a lot of it to him.

Have they ...?

Passed University: Vincent never had any real schooling, other than what he learnt in his clan. He's not a scholar in that sense.

Had sex: Yup.

Had sex in public: Yes, although that's partly due to his life of travelling. He tries to be as private as he can in such instances but ... well there are times where privacy hasn't been easy.

Gotten tattoos: His vallaslin is for Dirthamen, who was the keeper of secrets and master of ravens. The bird like marks - along with Vincent's skill for cracking puzzles - are what inspire Varric to nickname him Rook. He also has a large tattoo of a snake curled around a collection of diamond-like shapes on his left arm, which he had done after he joined the Lords of Fortune. It’s meant as a rememberance of his past slavery, and how he was able to come away from it able to rebuild a new, better life for himself.

Gotten piercings: No.

Gotten scars: Yes. He has some faint whip scars on his back from his years spent as a galley slave, and a few smaller scars from his days adventuring. I imagine after the events of Veilguard he has one around the lower part of his chest from where Ghilan’nain's tentacles wrapped around him before he was trapped in the Fade Prison. Because of the weeks in there and the fact he was thrown quickly into battle again on his return - that and his fight with Elgar'nan injured him further - it wasn't able to heal properly.

Had a broken heart: No. His relationships have never been serious enough in the past.

Been in love: Yes, he falls pretty hard for Emmrich.

Are they ...?

A cuddler: Very much so! Vincent loves a good cuddle.

Scared easily: Not really, no. He faces danger on a daily basis, so he knows the risks, and he has his own beliefs on what death means. The only time he has ever really been frightened was when he was trapped in the Fade, because for a good while there he didn't think he'd find a way out.

Jealous easily: No. I don't think Vincent even knows how to be jealous.

Trustworthy: Absolutely! He values trust highly, and Vincent can be trusted with anything.

Family

Siblings: Vincent is an only child, although you wouldn't guess it. He grew up amongst a number of other Dalish children, and they all feel as close as family to each other. Although he hasn't gone back home in a long while, they still exchange letters from time to time.

Parents: They sadly passed away; his father during the years he was a slave, and his mother a year or two after he found freedom once more.

Children: He pretty much adopts Manfred once him and Emmrich become more secure in their relationship. Manfred loves it, he adores Vincent, especially since Vincent is always ready to teach him new games to play.

Pets: Once things are settled after Veilguard, Vincent turns up back at the place he shares with Emmrich after one of his adventures with a cat he's found. He more or less plonks it in Emmrich's lap and is just like 'say hi to our second child'. Emmrich happily allows it, amused not for the first time at Vincent's love for cats.

I'm not sure who out of my followers wants a tag, but I'll throw one out to @owlpockets, @rannadylin, @flyppa and @ohlawsons. If anyone else wants to have a go though please do, and feel free to tag me as I love reading about other people's OC's!

[bestworstcase]

something interesting that popped into my head re: maiden talk. objectively between winter, weiss, and jaune, winter is the one most committed to atlas the nation; her line to ironwood, "I have never wavered in fighting the enemies of this kingdom, and I won't start now" has always stood out to me and I find it... interesting. Winter has the winter maiden powers and is probably the most high-ranking Atlas official to survive the fall. Raven, in committing to her tribe, places herself squarely in Mistral. Cinder steals Amber's powers in Vale, a country historically against Atlas (notably in the Great War), therefore aligning with her own sentiments. I doubt there is actually anything to this, but it feels like more reason to believe the Summer maiden will be in and associated with Vacuo. also as I rewatch the ironwood fight, he says that he never expected Winter to betray him... I have to wonder if he groomed Winter into joining the Atlesian military, or planted the seed in her mind, thinking that if he could mold someone into the lieutenant he needed that he'd never have to worry because he would have been totally responsible for them. (as in, taught them everything and shaped their morals and scruples). we know that as head of atlas he is the headmaster of the atlas academy but what better way to make sure that your protege never gets any "ideas" by picking someone who is isolated and desperate to escape, who wants to be cared for and about by someone and especially someone like him? if they never go to the academy they won't have the distraction of "friends" and "teams" and "allegiances." this could in part explain why her sword and rapier (?) are like ironwood's bfg and due process- she modelled them after him. also of course must be mentioned that when James realized Winter had inherited the maiden powers, he says that the destiny he chose for her had arrived. he must have known that it means penny is dead, but that doesn't matter to him at all. i think that's part of why winter is so pissed when she says "you chose nothing. this was a gift." she has to grieve her friend and a man who stands before her claiming he feels betrayed doesn't even seem surprised or sad about the death.

…hm yeah. throws that on the "gillian asturias is the summer maiden" pile

the WOR episode on huntsmen implies this pretty overtly, as ozpin notes that atlas academy has been under increasing scrutiny for "indoctrinating" its students into the military and pressuring graduates to enlist as special operatives, and…

ironwood also personally invites weiss to enroll at atlas in V4, and he knows jacques personally--prior to the fall of beacon it's implied they were political allies even, so he certainly knows what kind of person jacques is and how he treats his children. and then the way he talks to the kids when he gives them their licenses in V7 implies an expectation of personal loyalty--he needs huntsmen he can trust at his side.

i think he probably saw it as himself opening doors and taking a personal interest in promising students, much as ozpin does--bc ironwood very much does view himself as ozpin's most important lieutenant and natural successor, based on his unilateral actions after the fall--without necessarily recognizing (or caring) how manipulative and exploitative this sort of behavior is. but 100%, absolutely he was surprised by winter's "betrayal" because he thought she was his perfect protégé, never realizing she could still think for herself.

the funny thing is, projecting absolute obedience and deference while keeping her true thoughts and feelings behind a faultless mask is almost certainly a survival skill winter learned to protect herself from jacques, and she slips seamlessly into doing that the instant ironwood begins to make choices she disagrees with.

ditto her decisions in V8: winter sees ironwood murder a councilman in cold blood, going past "martial law" all the way to "military coup," and she sees the ace-ops brace up and fall in line. so what does she do? quietly stays put and starts doing what she can to sabotage him. she lets JYR go, then--upon realizing that they must have been the ones to blow up the whale, and thus probably survived--immediately turns around and declares they're going back to ironwood, no searching for the hostages, they'll tell him something else blew up the whale in person. jumping in to "arrest" marrow before ironwood shot him wasn't the moment winter "came to her senses"--that happened when she saw ironwood shoot sleet. it was just the moment when she saw she could do more good by leaving than by staying to mitigate ironwood's excesses. & i would bet anything that is exactly how winter was with her siblings when they were children: appeasing jacques and presenting as the perfect obedient child, and using the relative freedom that gave her to make things easier for her siblings in small, quiet ways.

ironwood just never noticed that he'd burned through all of winter's trust and all the chances she was willing to give him.

as for his reaction to penny's death: another moment i think about fucking constantly is this:

the way her focus goes right to penny's sword. the pause before she responds "sir?" to ironwood's greeting because she's so caught up in her worry for penny. (watts being… watts, and silently gloating at her because he can tell how bothered she is. framed between ironwood and harriet, who don't see penny as anything but a weapon to get under control.)

there's a reason winter is such a storm of feelings when she lets JYR go to try to save their friend, and the reason is she's terrified and angry and disgusted by whatever ironwood did to penny while she was being fitted into that brace, unable to intervene or protest.

so a day later, when penny dies and ironwood shrugs? it's not just that he's indifferent. ironwood is directly responsible for penny's death--he made the devil's bargain with watts, he authorized that virus, he is the reason penny was forced to leave her robotic body behind, he made penny vulnerable to cinder--and winter knows that.

[bri1234]

Meet my MC: Ella

MC of the Month

TCH Masterlist

General

Book: The Cursed Heart

Love Interest: Kieran

Pronouns: She/her

Birthday: March 19th

Zodiac Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: A tiny village

Current location: The Moon Palace

Found Family: Kieran, Longclaw, Sir Monty, Oleander

Magical Animal Friends: Leaf, Plum (thistle bat), Kieran's ravens (occasionally, depends on the day)

Personality: Kind, caring, trusting, patient, loyal, curious, accepting, resilient, honest, imaginative, stubborn, clever, empathetic,

Many believe that Ella's kindness and willingness to trust others is her weakness, but it is truly her greatest strength. She defeated the Sun Court and a power-hungry Fae after all. She even was able to get Kieran to warm up to her, which seemed like a near-impossible task for a while. Her warmth and generous nature shine through in almost all her interactions.

Physical Appearance

Hair: Orangy redish, wavy with curls

Eye color: Blue

Height: 5'6"

Hobbies

Reading: She picked up reading while in the Moon Palace and became a huge bookworm. Kieran would often have to pry books out of her hands to get her to come to bed.

Healing: Despite this technically being a job, she loves being able to help others. She often finds herself reading about all the different Fae plants and learning more about their magical properties from Longcalw, which she finds fascinating.

Ice skating: Winters were normally brutal in the village she grew up in, but her parents would take her to a nearby lake to ice skate on days when the weather was decent. She became very good at it and often would challenge the other village children to races and "skate-offs," as she called it. She explained ice skating to Kieran and he couldn't believe that humans would willingly stand on blades just so they could move on frozen water.

The Past

Childhood: Ella has always been a curious girl. She often would find herself wandering into the woods despite her parents warnings. She dreamed every night of the world the was just past the woods, wonding whether or not the grand, magical tales her parents would tell her before bed were real.

Besides her curiosity, her mother trained her in the art of healing. Ella would often assist her in treating those who were ill in the village and others in neighboring locations. As a young child, she could tell you about any plant growing in the woods, whether it had healing properties, and if it was safe for humans.

When her parents died from illness, the owner of the local tavern took her in. That is where she stayed and when she was old enough, worked until the beginning of TCH 1. But, she did dabble in healing here and there when someone was ill. I like to believe that if fate hadn't brought her and Kieran together, she probably would of become the village healer, following in her mother's footsteps.

The Future

What happens in my HC: Honestly, I'm not really sure yet. I know for a fact that Ella and Kieran get married, but I'm still unsure if I want Ella to stay mortal like how book 2 ends, or somehow find a way to make her become immortal. Maybe I'll have to expore this in a fanfic someday, I'm just not sure when I'll make up my mind lol.

What doesn't happen in my HC but is fun to imagine: Kieran gives up his immortality at the end of book 2. Ella and him get married, have kids, and grow old together. I touched base on this in a fic I posted here. Genuinely want to continue this because I loved writing it soooooo much, so stay tuned lol.

Tagging @choicesficwriterscreations

[rwbyuser24]

Were Ruby's group justified in lie to Ironwood?

I'm back.

Look, this is a controversial and divisive topic. I'm not even sure how to start.

What was hidden, why, and when was it planned to be revealed?

Well, what was hidden was about Ozpin. Why he disappeared and about Salem's immortality.

The reason they hid information is stated by themselves:

"We're really not gonna tell Ironwood about what happened to Oz? What we learned about Jinn? About Salem?"

"We will. But you saw how things looked when we flew into Atlas."

"The General's heart seems to be in the right place, but that doesn't mean we should trust him yet."

"We need to play along for a while before we make any major decisions."

They didn't like the situation in the kingdom, and they don't know if they really should trust Ironwood. It's not known when they planned to reveal it, it's only known that they were sure to reveal it… someday.

2. Was it different from what Ozpin did?

Well… It's complicated. I've seen people defend Ruby's group by saying that they were at least letting Ironwood prove himself, which is more than what Ozpin has done.

However, just because this is better than what Ozpin has done doesn't make it right.

IMHO, I do think it's different from what Ozpin was doing. Ozpin planned to never tell them the truth. With Ruby's group, at least they're claiming that they'll tell the truth eventually.

"Ruby, Oz only trusted himself with the whole truth. You're trusting others, but you're making sure they prove themselves first. I think that's a pretty big difference."

The problem comes with them waiting a while before telling the truth. How much time passes between episode 4 (Pomp and circumstance) and 5 (Sparks) of volume 7? How much longer did they plan to hide the truth from James? Because they did tell him the truth in the end, but he had to tell the truth to Robyn and the council to fully gain Ruby's group's trust. If Ironwood didn't do that, would they have kept the truth from him indefinitely?

3. Maybe they were distrustful because they were let down by authority figures in the past.

Well, if we're being frank, they never really say that's the reason they didn't trust Ironwood.

"We're sorry we kept it from you, too. We didn't know who to trust."

That's what Oscar says.

Also, really, who were the authority figures who let them down? Leonardo, okay, he worked for Salem. Ozpin who was hiding the truth from them all this time. Cordovin didn't let them cross the border, then she made a scandal with her mecha, on top of that, she's racist.

Then there's Qrow… Who isn't even an authority figure. And while his alcoholism is a bad thing, it's not like he let them down either. I mean, he stood by them all the time, he got depressed and decayed, but at the end of the day he's been protecting them and guiding them.

There's Raven. I don't know if I should count her, I mean, she was one of Ozpin's antagonist all the time.

So… They weren't really let down by many authority figures.

4. Telling the truth is a very serious thing

I want you to know that telling the truth is very important. Therefore, it's normal for the kids to be afraid to tell the truth.

When they arrived they saw an impoverished Mantle, turned into a police state. On top of that, the city had few defenses.

"Look around. The embargo, the military presence, the restrictions on assembly. He's a bit prone to overreacting."

You could say that Ironwood is justified in his actions. The embargo is to prevent Salem from infiltrating Atlas. The military presence is to protect the people. And the assembly restrictions are to prevent people from being attacked by Grimm. Even the lack of protection of Mantle is because he prioritizes Atlas over Mantle, and Atlas is the capital, the head of the kingdom, and where the academy and the relic are placed. Is Ironwood really overreacting, or is he just being careful?

Still, that doesn't take away from the fact that his actions are affecting Mantle. They don't know if Ironwood will increase Mantle's burdens even more if he knows the truth. He's already made sacrifices. 5. Hiding the truth is a dangerous thing

Look, I'll just get one thing straight. Amity's plan isn't a bad plan even considering Salem is immortal. Reestablishing global communications is already a good thing because, well, it helps Remnant: It restores trade and all that. Not to mention that it allows the world to unite, which is also a good thing. Even if Ironwood knew the truth, he would still continue with Amity's plan. There are those who say that he would just drop the embargo and border closure which would end Mantle suffering. However, he would continue with both since Amity's plan is still necessary. Salem wins by dividing the population. With Amity, mankind can be unified. Yes, Salem may not be killed, however, but if there is a chance of defeating her, it will be with humanity united.

That aside. I mean, certainly telling the truth would allow everyone to make a better plan for Salem. They could devote more military resources to a plan to contain her instead of spending resources on a plan that seeks to kill her.

6. Does Ironwood know more than them because he's more experienced?

One thing I read was that if they're not willing to make sacrifices, then they should retreat. This is a war, after all.

However, consider that everyone believes that what they do is right. How are they supposed to believe that sacrifices are necessary? They obviously believe that what they do is right. One assumes that if one believe in something, it's because that something is right.

They're young, obviously they're going to believe that there are sacrifices that shouldn't be made. If so, why would they assume that "Ironwood knows best"? Most of them are already adults. Do they really have to assume that Ironwood knows what is right just because he has more experience? Qrow is also experienced and yet, he supported them in hiding the truth from Ironwood. 7. About hypocrisies and contradictions.

" I am so sick of secrets! If we just told everyone about Amity, about Salem--"

Nora says she is sick of secrets. However, she has no problem with keeping secrets from Ironwood.

"Everybody thinks what they're doing is right, but usually, they're just looking out for themselves and their secrets."

She was obviously referring to Ozpin, even if Winter didn't know it. Anyway, she is also being hypocritical, she criticizes Ozpin when she is also keeping secrets.

8. Some changes.

Personally, I would have liked the characters to argue a lot more. To see the point of view of Jaune, Ren and Nora as well. It would have even been interesting if they had formed 2 groups: Some would be in favor of telling him and others would be against it. Oscar, Yang and Ren would be part of the first group, and the rest would be part of the second.

You know, more variety of opinions and all.

9. Conclusions.

Look, I think the right thing to do would have been to tell the truth. However, I think they had reasons for not telling the truth.

Nevertheless I think, first and foremost, they ultimately had to feel guilty for what they did. To apologize together, yes, even Weiss and Nora. The only one who had the decency to apologize was Oscar.

I wish there were more consequences for their actions. Sure, Ironwood lost trust in them, but we as viewers are supposed to consider Ironwood to be wrong. Plus, even if they didn't lie to Ironwood, he would have arrested them anyway.

Ironwood trusted in them and he received distrust from them.

[rwby-encrusted-blog]

This has probably been asked before, but what’s your favourite RWBY ship and why? I’m curious

You're forcing a bisexual to make a choice! this is a warcrime!

...

In all seriousness, I can't quite say. My favorite waxes and wanes, ebbs and flows. Obviously I have my favourites but no one ship takes the cake for me, but if I had to give to whiteknight, which I can really only explain why I like by comparing and contrasting it to my inarguable second favorite ship, Bumbleby.

Bumbleby is generally well crafted. Yang and Blake are opposites of each other, not reflections of each other.

Yang and Adam using their anger and pain to bring others down, but one of them learned to handle their negative emotions while the other was swallowed by them.

Blake and Raven ran from people that cared for them, to go back to familiar haunts, but one found her way back to her team, while the other stole herself away, forever.

But I have a few issues with it.

Most of Yang and Blake's growth seemed to be more for each other than anyone else. Mostly Blake,but that's because CRWBY handled most of the faunus stuff poorly. So I suppose it's less a problem with either Blake or Yang, but the fact that the biggest problem for blake (Before she learned about Salem) was the rights of faunus.

The confession scene, looking at it in hindsight, kinda feels like it forced them to confess, but it feels good to watchm and listen too.

But whiteknight?

It's two kids with the weight of their family legacies on their back.

Weiss, lonely and self-centered, who is used to having nothing but perfect expectations put on them, and to hold, and both have it met and to meet those expectations, who can't trust others, learns to be kind, let people make mistakes, and to be supportive, and to learn to trust others, and be genuinely trusted in return.

Jaune, with nothing but perseverance and friendliness, who presumably had low expectations put on him, who wanted nothing more than to be a hero and to be celebrated for it (He also really did want to help people. Truly.) was taught how to be that hero, and with that lesson also learned the truth behind being a hero.

Weiss gained the family she never had, and Jaune gained the life he always wanted.

And in the beginning they were horrible for each other. Jaune was annoying and pretty dumb, Weiss was far too stuck up.

But now? Weiss learned to be herself because of and For team RWBY. Jaune learned to be smart and stopped caring about getting recognized.

Weiss has seen Jaune at his lowest and Supported him. Jaune has saved Weiss, and protected her, and She's done her best to protect him in turn.

They're both utility on their teams, they both work best in supportive roles, and they both wield swords.

Plus I headcanon that Jaune's Dad took Mama Arc's name when they got married, because he loved her so much he didn't want her to change for him, which I only just realized as I wrote this, makes for a damn good parallel with Jacques and Willow.

[penny-the-pissed-poltergeist]

Rwby volume 3 episode 3 rewatch thoughts, RWDE/Critical opinions inbound

.I've started skipping the intro because it's not nearly as good as the first 2

.Weiss being excited to see Winter would be cute if it wasnt for what happens later

.Weiss hitting Ruby doesn't feel nearly as bad as what happens later just because Ruby never had "abuse survivor" as part of her back story

.Winter she literally won, everyone misses a few strikes your just an unreasonable ass

.And Winter just hit Weiss over a tiny misunderstanding... I don't care that it's comedic, don't make jokes about characters who canonically survived abuse getting hit by people who should care about them, it's gross

.I can't trust Winter asking if Weiss is eating "properly" after she was hyper critical

.On a lighter note, Winter phrasing it as Ruby "taking an interest" in Weiss makes it sound like Winter think Ruby and Weiss are dating and that's really funny actually

.Winter why should your standards apply to sister's ro-actually considering how much of an OSHA violation that dorm is maybe her changing it would be for the best

.Like the drunk-o-vision on the Qrow POV

.Raven eavesdropping like always

.I love Qrow here but who doesn't?

.Atlas was always built up as hateable well IMO, it's just that I don't like how they demonize Ironwood way later

.The thing is I'm am 100% sure that your supposed to be rooting for Qrow because Winter is written to be a complete asshat in this episode

.I love Mercury randomly showing up and just immediately noping out of there

.I do like this but does have some of issues that a lot of later volume 4+ fights have like cutting a bit to much and being bit faster then it needed to be IMO

.The speed line shots well never no look out of place to me because the show never uses them after this season.

.Qrow is only person aside from Blake and Adam(?) to use aura slashes to my knowledge, so Blake must be leagues above her teammates on learning that stuff

.Qrow wins by calling Winter's dad (Jacques doesn't count)

.Qrow disliking Ironwood here feels more 100% more natural then in the "hating him so much he wants him dead" way later

.PENNY AND RUBY WAVE AWWWWWWW

.if they don't call back to "Did you miss me... No" in volume 10 we riot, and not just because epilogue Qrow seem to not actually miss them that much

."If I was one of your men I'd shoot myself" I still one of the best lines in the show. But because I'm contractually obligated to defend Ironwood, I don't think firing on someone working for you after they destroy military property and attack a ally is unreasonable, like... at all.

.Qrow is being 100% based while he's complaining about his coworkers

.I love how this show set up a semi-romantic rivalry between Qrow and Winter and then did absolutely nothing with it when Winter showed up again! /s (This happened with Yang and Neo too, this show makes fun rivalries and then just forgets about them completely)

.The Oz gang was so good and it lasted for so little time ughhhhh

.Everything with this talking scene is a 10/10 minus besides like, Qrow's dialog being a bit over-explainy, but that's it

.I wish the later Grimm were less disappointing with how much they get built up

.I swear to god Ruby's eyes took out half of Cinders brain post V-4, remember how clever she is here?

[marcr125x]

“You are now in the kingdom of Chromeria. Welcome to Verdant Town!”

I know it’s been awhile since I’ve shared anything Forbidden Chroma related but I wanted to show off more of it, starting with some of the major residents of Verdant Town, the first location Powder & Kuropi explore within the main story of Forbidden Chroma. Here is where they meet 3 new friends & future party members that they will venture around Chromeria with. Their names are Pidge, Esper & Zoe.

Pidge: Pidge is the first person Powder & Kuropi meet when they first arrive in Chromeria as they end up entering through the basement of her house. She’s very outgoing & energetic, easily being able to make friends with mostly anyone. Pidge is also always seen around town with her pet bird that she nammed Chip & carrying around her custom built buster sword. While not the brightest person in the world, she knows how to lighten up any conversation & keep positive vibes between those she knows & trusts, hence why Powder is normally most calm when around her. In terms of design, I intended to make Pidge the Kel to Powder’s Sunny/Omori but while also using a character I made in Picrew randomly back in 2022. I did however also take some inspiration from RWBY’s Yang Xiao Long when it comes to her personality as Pidge is friendly but can get serious & angry when those she cares about get hurt. Her sword has the ability to ignite into a blazing blade with the click of a button which is partially inspired by Shulk’s sword, the Monado.

Esper: Esper is a young cyber elf, a species of elves that are born with cybernetic powers. They are some of the most inteligent beings within Chromeria…or at least, they were. Due to mass politica & social conflict, the cyber elves home of Amber City became the epicenter of a war between them & the cyborgs. This war left many cyber elves dead & the cyborgs would’ve probably made them extinct if not for the army of Prince Lithas & Princess Arian intervening & by proxy ending the war. However, this forced many cyber elves to live in the wildlands of Sepia Valley, with Esper being one of them. Him & his family did eventually find refuge in the friendly neighboorhood of Verdant Town, but that didn’t prevent the months of fear that the young Esper had to live through, learning how to defend himself from monsters to ensure the next day wouldn’t be his last. Esper’s story, both that of his backstory & the character arc that he goes through are inspired primarily from the Megaman X series as well as his race, the cyber elves being based on the beings of the same name from Megaman Zero. However, instead of making them living computer programs, I made them kind of more similar to that of the Reploids but with similar powers to that of the cyber elves. Esper doesn’t have full mastery of his powers, but he has controll over multiple elements but is most proficient with electricity.

Zoe: Much like Pidge, Zoe grew up in Verdant Town. However, due to her parrents being members of the royal army & constantly being busy, she was left under the care of her Uncle Wyatt & his older sister Abigail. It was through them that Zoe had learned all about many mysteries of the world as well as several forms of black magic as her whole family are black mages. In exchange of this wisdom, Zoe agreed to assist her dear uncle’s magic shop Firefly Hollow when not busy with adventuring and/or studies. She quiet, yet friendly & has an aura of confidence that make others feel safe around her when out on adventures. In her now young adult years, she helps Uncle Wyatt with buisness at Firefly Hollow full time & also on her off time, loves hanging out with her friends or mesmerizing young children with either her magic or the stories told to her by her uncle. Zoe is the first of many characters who don’t have inspiration from other characters in media. Originally, I thought of making her a character similar to Raven of the Teen Titans, but I decided to make her a more simple character who is just a goth black mage who in game would help guide you as Powder through a small tutorial of the game’s mechanics. Her Uncle Wyatt is inspired by someone, however that will be discussed in a later post.

I hope you guys like these characters. I want to try & post more stuff relating to Forbidden Chroma as I’m working more on things relating to it. Even with school & my part-time job being more important at the moment, I plan to share more about it whenever I can so please stay tuned.

[rnm-magic-space-xsd]

“Juju?” Shiri asked worriedly, concerned about her lovers’ whines. “Love, I’m right here! What is it? What happened?” Shiri added, immediately hugging her beloved’s head that was leaning on her chest.

“Did you have a bad day, my sweet?”

“Mmhm..I just. I need a long hug. Just cuddles with you would make me feel better, my Shiri..”

“Hugs it is then!” Shiri then comfortingly embraced and swayed her JujuBear from side to side, like the tide of the waves.

“But are you sure hugs are enough my HanniBun? I could make you something delicious to eat while you hug me from behind, we could cuddle together on the couch or in bed, munch on some yummy snacks and watch your favorite ‘My Cat From Hell’ and watch how even the most ‘mean’ cats can find love, peace, health and joy with their families. Just how we found our home in each other and helped each other become our better versions of ourselves!”

“Or do you want to talk about what happened to you today that upset you? I’m here to listen to you my love, and comfort you! Anything that I can do for you, I will! As long as it’s legal and would really make you feel better.”

“Hahah, love, you’re blubbering again.” “But, mhmmmn..” Juju hummed, nuzzling closer to Shiri’s petite chest, enjoying listening to the comforting beating of her heart. “I love it when you do that. It’s cute”

“Alright then my sweetest bunny, I’ll hug you from behind as you prepare our bowls of favorite ice cream : coffee for me and bubblegum for you. We could even feed each other…God, I want to drown in you Shiri. Into your warmth and sweetness that envelop and comfort me like fuzzy winter blankets when it’s storming outside, and your love that tastes like honeypie and mead. So sweet it makes me feel dizzy and drunk..”

“I want us. Now. To cuddle in bed and kiss you all over and hear your giggles that heal me like heavenly angel magic and then hear all of your loving whispers cooing at me..as I snuggle closer to your small chest and breathe in your scent, my Shiri”

“H-hhhhghn??? O-Oh my gosh.” Shiri’s face flushed rose pink, speechless by JujuBear’s confession of adoration, heart fluttering fast.

“Uhm. Uh. Okay! Ice cream bowls, snuggles, coos of love and lots and lots of kisses! Be right backkk!!” Shiri tried to scuttle away due to embarrassment, only to be tightly embraced by JujuBear once more.

“Nouu. I changed my mind.” Jumin nestled his face into the curve of her neck, taking in her candied and clean scent, filling up his heart.

“I don’t care about ice cream. I want you with me, so don’t go, my HoneyBunnyBumbleBee.”

“Awwwhhhh, hehe. JujuBear my HanniBunches being all needy and cuddly is the sweetest thing. I’m right here my love.” Shiri turned around to face her beloved husband.

“Always here.” Shiri soothed, petting Juju’s raven locks of hair and hugged him tightly, reassuring him of her constant love and affections for him

“Wh-…What do you love about me, my love Shiri?” Jumin wondered, voice hesitant and insecure. Vulnerable, hushed and raw.

“Oh, Juju..” Shiri cooed sympathetically, holding her beloved close.

“Hm. I love how you’ve blossomed into the man I am in love with today and I love the you I first met all those years ago.”

“You were caged inside your own heart, afraid of trusting and opening up to others..It broke my heart to see you hide away from learning love due to the fear you developed from seeing how weak your father was with physically attractive gold digging women. How he fell for their ploys every single time.. It showed you how ugly people can be when blinded by their greed for money.”

“I wanted to soothe you. But my love for you goes beyond my sympathy and care for your sad and lonely soul that called out to me.”

“I love how passionate you are with Elizabeth and I, I love how gentle you are with animals, I love your silly humor that sometimes floats above my head and sometimes makes me giggle, I love how intelligent, reliable and perceptive you are in judging peoples’ personalities and ulterior motives.”

“I love how protective, romantic and possessive you can be towards me. I love how straightforward, honest and fair you are with the people you trust. I love how silly, awkward and inexperienced you are with understanding emotions. It’s so cute and precious..”

“I love how your heart warmed and softened after we fell in love. How I love you in your winter, and how my spring sunshine melts away your deep and thick bed of snow, leading you to the blossoms of our hearts, enveloping and filling us with our love for each other.”

“I love your courage in trusting me, opening up your heart to me; I love your softness and your sharp edges..I love your everything. Just, please. Know that I am not a prize or a pet to be ‘owned’ or ‘caged’. Love is much more rewarding when it is not forced. No matter what life throws at us, I will always cherish, love and adore you my Juju. From the depths of my heart and soul”

While speaking, Shiri felt that the front of her shirt felt a bit wet.

“I will always love you my JujuBear.”

“Yhgh-Yiuh ahwre mhai houummn my wuvv” Juju whimpered, muffled crying warbling his words. He was overwhelmed by the overflowing of love he was showered with so naturally by his special wifey Shiri, his one and only love.

‘I am so blessed to be married to them’

[plinko-mori]

share your theory about mori's past with that oc of yours- kenkichi aizawa

Excellent idea!

I'll use a lot of facts from the Vita Sexualis book, the life of the real life author and some headcanons of mine 🫶🏻

The structure of this is: Ougai (Rintarou) Mori and Kenkichi Aizawa (OC) are friends since they are children, have adventures together

First it will be how old they are and what's the lost important thing that happened

6: They meet each other, Kenkichi asked him «isn't it pathetic for a man to pick up flowers?» and after that they get to know each other

7: Rintarou and Kenkichi talk about how adults are scary by showing books difficult to understand (porn pictures) and how dirty (bad hygiene) they are

8: They start learning Dutch and French together, comparing each other with an animal (Mori a seagull and Aizawa a raven/crow)

9: Based in those animals, they give each other nicknames to call each other since Mori hates his name (Mori becomes Ougai and Aizawa becomes Karasu)

10: They get surprised by the fact that girls don't have a penis, find it curious and important to not hurt them while playing

11: They move from Tokyo to Yokohama, got disgusted by a kid who wanted to go fishing in the manor garden pond, got annoyed at girls who were always whispering in a mockery way at him... But met a very good friend: Waniguchi

12: Ougai confessed how he almost got rapped last year, clarifying where his "suicidal behavior" that started a little ago comes from

13: Waniguchi helps him a lot even if he's clearly exhausted with his family business, Ougai starts using a military strategy to understand how to socialize, also Mori graduated from a school like the genius he is and introduces himself like «Ougai Mori»

14: Wanaguchi kills himself, affecting Rintarou's mental health and actually tried (more than once) to kill himself

15: Ougai always got bullied, now gets bullied a lot more, and has a deep chat with Kenkichi about society

16: Mori got into a letters University with Kenkichi

17: Mori loved the hygiene of a girl and shared it with Aizawa, although Kenkichi is more worried about how Ougai's relationship with his parents are getting worse everyday

18: Mori doesn't want to get married and his mother is mad at him, they fight, Kenkichi is there for him

19: Ougai didn't have the best relationship with geishas because they expressed bad a fact, but gets graduated from military with Aizawa

20: Mother called her son Rintarou invalid and he's planning to go away. Rintarou definitely changes his name after his father agrees with her. Mori's trust in his parents is completely broken and from now on he's Ougai Mori

21: Ougai travelled to Germany with Kenkichi after those two got recommended by their German teacher, studied there, and met Elise

22: Ougai got experience at the military because of some issues that were happening in Germany, healed many people, although was "very problematic and had a knowledge above a student"... Kenkichi traumatized Elise too

23: Mari Mori is born, life is more happy for Kenkichi and Ougai. Although Kenkichi is full of stress because he writes too many things for the company he works in

24: Ougai becomes a military doctor boss after all the good things he has achieved even if he has scared the people above him

25: Ougai is forced to go back to Japan, Kenkichi takes care of Elise. The friends stop communicating

26: Yosano and The Great War happens normally, while Kenkichi takes care of both Elise and Mari

27: Ougai is clearly traumatized after the war, his mental health is horrible, Kenkichi wants to help him but the influence of Natsume not letting Mori go to Germany makes Karasu hate him

28: Natsume hires Fukuzawa like Mori's bodyguard since the adult childish man started to go back to kill himself or prepare scenarios where he could die

Note: I'm not sure where or when Mori could have met Natsume, sorry

After that... Well it's the canon, although in my AU, Kenkichi makes Mori go to Germany and Aizawa becomes the PM boss

[writeforfandoms]

IN TEARS imagining ghost trying to remain indifferent while seeing her run herself to the ground with no sense of self preservation sees her reject the kindness the boys offer her to maintain a professional distance I'm sobbing she must have been so lonely all those years without a pack and he gets so annoyed (worried) he's like take??? Care??? Of??? Yourself???

-🦄

Mwahaha yesssss! Especially since ravens are social birds, she was probably dying for a pack and for proper socialization, but she just couldn't. She was trying so hard to chase Ghost that she pushed people away.

And when she does finally catch up to him she doesn't know how to accept kindness from Gaz and Soap! She'd be very cautious for a while and very suspicious at first. It would definitely take time for her to learn to trust them. And of course meanwhile she's holding herself back and running herself into the ground trying to be good enough, and Ghost is about ready to tear his hair out. This is not what he wanted for her!

And eventually tensions just boil over and he more or less scruffs her and growls at her for not taking care of herself

[gay-dorito-dust]

Not a request and apologies for this being long.

Even though this is very late to share with you… Here’s something I’ve been thinking about after re-reading the Deadweight series, mostly about the relationship between Vax and Reader. (And this is only just a thought that got ridiculous long that I apologize once more)

We know that Vox Machina have been concern and overprotective of Reader, trying to reform a connection that’s been lost (because I honestly want to believe that there was one in the beginning when Reader joined/traveled with them before drifting off); but out of everyone, Vax has been the one putting more effort than the rest. Not that I’m saying he’s better than the rest, it’s just that the focus between the two is more noticeable in the series because in the end, all seven of them did fucked up when it comes to their relationship with Reader.

Yet considering how this is a canon divergence with Reader being the Raven Queen’s champion instead of Vax? Where Reader prevented Vex’s death (at the cost of their own) that would’ve caused Vax, out of desperation to save his sister, to be the Matron’s champion? When you think about it: Vax trying to save Reader, in a sense, would have been meaningless than saving Vex because a bond between siblings is nothing compared to a very distant, possibly even one sided at this point if there’s anything, friendship (Reader see themselves as deadweight and believe no one would actually care if they die when, in fact, Vox Machina did and realizes too late of how strained their relationship with them has come, after they been revived and been given the group a cold shoulder afterwards, for when it happened.)

If Vax’s plead had been accepted, Reader would only end up resenting him even more than they already have to begin with. A resentment that would only continue to grow if Vox Machina were to leave them behind in the next town they come across (because Vax would be wearing the armor instead of them) or become more protective out of fear of losing Reader again (which Reader doesn’t even like because it will only seem that the group only started to actually care about them after they died.)

I like to believe that the Raven Queen foresaw that happening and denies Vax’s request (even when his intentions were good) because it’ll only do more harm than good. While Vax would see it as her taking advantage of Reader wanting to feel a sense of belonging somewhere, it was her way of granting the group an opportunity of a second chance at being able to make amends with Reader (even when she got herself a champion as well).

So, I can imagine the reason for Vax to go to one of the Raven Queen’s temples (like in episode 11 of s2) is so that he could ask his questions, the worries that he has, to her about Reader being her champion. And I like to think that Reader does have a sense of understanding of what it means to be her champion (rather it’s through their interpretation from the visions they received from her or perhaps she already told them before being revived, who knows).

Not sure if Vax would become one of her followers. Maybe he’ll look more into the beliefs of those who follow under her religion since Reader follows her (even if it’s because they’re her champion), who knows. I guess it’ll depend if he is satisfied with the answer he receives? Or he’ll learn that he doesn’t have to have faith in her, but to Reader instead because they have made a deal with the Raven Queen, not Vax. They understand the terms and conditions of their deal.

And I believe we won’t fully know what that deal is until next season because it’s too soon for Reader to tell Vox Machina. The rekindling progress of their friendship just started, it’s currently weak and needs to be nurtured to become bright once more. So until then, there’s no reason for Reader to tell Vox Machina what that deal is because there’s not enough trust to do so yet.

When the time does come for them to do so, it’ll be when Reader will start to feel dreadful as the day to fully fulfill the deal draws near because at the time it was made: Reader didn’t want anything to do with Vox Machina anymore and only stayed because they’re the owner of the vestige that is needed to help defeat the Chroma Conclave, so completing the quest was something they were looking forward to.

However, that will slowly begin to change over time as Reader continues to get close to Vox Machina once more. Which will only lead to a decision that Reader would have to make as ‘The End’ draws near: Will they tell the group about the conditions of their deal, or keep it to themselves to spare the group the pain of what’s to come?

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I apologize once more for this being long and it being a Vox Machina ask (because even though it’s not a request, it’s still closed?). Take care and enjoy the rest of your day!

Reading this makes me wanna go back and at least give it it’s part 8/9 (idk I lost count lol)

The deadweight series was originally just gonna be a silly little cliffhanger one shot that expanded into something more, something I didn’t expect and honestly I love it, mainly for these types of in depth analysis type feedback because it shows that at least some people like it.

It really warms my heart seeing these types of things for something I created on a silly/goofy whim, not thinking it was going to go anywhere…

I’m still waiting for season 3, whenever that maybe, so that I can finish up the first section/chapter, season -however you wanna call it- for you lot before moving onto the next chapter of the deadweight series. Which I hope you all will join me on and continue to badger me to keep adding more parts 🤣

Other then that, I just gotta say, wow, thank you anon for this message bc it reinvigorated me to continue to do more for the deadweight series in the future and I can’t help but thank you for that.