#like???? great now we know where your loyalties lie

[femgoddess-hecate]

The way the tra side of the internet is all for being as "tolerant" and "kind" as possible (lies btw) until they have to defend a TIM saying ableist slurs. Like actually no I don't think the women who see that, or the disabled people who see that misunderstood it or took it out of context. Why are u defending that so hard?

A slur is a slur is a slur I hope that helps

[idkfitememate]

I really like your stories, especially about the Creator otter. It would be great if when the truth is known, they take the Creator otter to the "true creator" and when he tries to hurt the otter, the attack returns on its own or something happens. to prevent him from harming the beautiful otter and so it is known that he is the true creator, I imagine he would have many more pamperings than before

The Otter Chronicles Pt.3

⋘ Previous Part » ♡︎

૮꒰˶ᵔ ᗜ ᵔ˶꒱ა Pairings : GN! Otter Reader x Fontaine

૮꒰ྀི∩´ ᵕ `∩꒱ྀིა W.K. : 2.2k

໒꒰ྀིᵔ ᵕ ᵔ ꒱ྀི১ Tags/CW&TW : Angst, some fluff, many mental breakdowns

໒꒰ྀི˶˙Ⱉ˙˶꒱ྀིა Author’s note : I. Am. So. Sorry. You have been waiting for months for this but I didn’t know how to continue and then I got writers block and UGH-

But I’m here now :). And your gonna get your wish :3

Future note, this will probably be split up into at least one more chapter because I know for a fact I won’t be able to write all the idea, plus, I have an idea on how to finish it!!~~

As you snoozed peacefully, the quiet seemed to seep into the room, suffocating everyone within it.

“So… the otter sat on your lap… sleeping… that’s the creator?” Finally, Wriothesley broke the silence that had consumed the room, making Furina jump and you chitter under your breath, snuggling into her stomach.

“Do we have any proof?- I mean, besides what happened with the Primordial Sea-“ “Do you need more evidence?” Neuvillette interrupted. His face was stern and cold, hands gripping at his pants.

“Well… it’d be nice to at least know for certain?” Wirothesley sighed out, a hand pressing to his forehead. He leans forward in his seat and took a breath before speaking again. “I mean, genuinely, can’t you see where I’m coming from? Sure, you might trust your gut or whatever magical power you’re keeping from us, but this is a little hard to believe for a guy like me. I mean, who knows! Maybe it was coincidence the Primordial Sea went back into the lock!! Because I’ve personally never seen a creature besides a human jump in there, have you? Maybe it’s all just one big joke I just-“ He stopped, huffing, hands shaking.

“I… we gave our everything… to the Creator. And now I’m finding out it was all a lie? If it’s true, and they really are THE Creator… then I’ve just been lying to myself?? That everything I’ve went through, every trial I’ve faced, every man I’ve stared down as we sent him to his death, every challenged I’ve faced… that i convinced myself that I would get through for them… that it was just a test to prove my worth… my loyalty… would it be for nothing..? I’ve…” The man stood up, chair knocking back behind him as he rose, tears staining his cheeks. Neuvillette also stood, putting a hand in front of Furina. Chlorinde simply sat with hands drawn to her lap.

“I’ve devoted my LIFE to them!! I’ve given my EVERYTHING to THEM!! I thought… I THOUGHT… I THOUGHT THAT THEY WOULD SAVE ME FROM THIS DAMNNATION OF SOULS GRIPPPING TO MY CHEST, CRYING OUT THAT I COULDNT SAVE THEM!! MY SIBLINGS, MEN I KNEW COULDNT HAVE BEEN GUILTY AND AND- YOU WANT TO SAY ITS ALL BEEN FOR NOTHING?!?” “CALM YOURSELF WIROTHESLEY!-“ “NO! BECAUSE THIS IS FUCKING RIDICULOUS!”

A shouting match began between the two men, Chlorinde jumped up and wrapped herself around a now shaking Furina who was about to cry again, holding your form close to her chest. As the men screamed at each other - and teacups started being thrown - you finally stirred, opening bleary eyes at the scene unveiling before you.

Why were people screaming..? What… You looked up to see Furina shaking and silently sobbing over you, Chlorinde hushing her and whispering into her ear, though you couldn’t hear what she was saying. Wriggling around enough to face the shouting, your eyes widened at the sight of Neuvillette and Wirothesley screeching at each other, both Visions glowing wildly at the emotions of their wielders.

It was getting to a point where your ears were starting to hurt, so you leapt of Futuna’s lap, which led to her and Chlorinde whipping their heads to you, and ran over to the shouting men. You didn’t know what had come over you, seeing them both fight - something you never thought you would’ve witnessed honestly - and ran between them paws raised. Both paused for only a second, before Wirothesley started arguing again and Neuvillette followed. You tried to chitter and call over both of them, not getting anywhere with their raised voices.

You took a deep breath, focusing. This had been something you wanted to try since the beginning but just never had the time nor the energy to do so. But if there ever was a time, now was it. Your brows furrowed as you focused on any and all water in the current room, imagining the water following your command, as though alive and you its master. You grunted, catching Furina’s attention as she called for you to come back.

Cups suddenly started shaking in the room, only the Archon and Dualist taking note. It also didn’t help that the entire building was surrounded by water, though luckily you were able to mostly focus your attention on the small bits of water in the room. Neither Wriothesley or Neuvillette stopped to look at you as you raised your little paws to your head, the shouting mixed with your focus bringing on a headache.

Finally, it came to a close when Wriothesley shouted at the top of his lungs; teacups shattered and liquid swirled around the room, tea and water and otherwise swimming around the room like a raging typhoon, slamming into walls and knocking over objects. Finally the Duke and Sovereign stopped looking just as shocked as the Duelist and Archon. You pressed your paws forward, all the liquid slamming onto the arguing duo, pushing them into wall on opposite sides of the room.

Neuvillette looked remorseful while Wriothesley was shocked, eyes as wide as possible and jaw slacked. After a moment of silence you dropped your paws, allowing the two to fall to the floor drenched and standing in puddles.

“Holy… Holy Shit. They are the…” Wriothesley looked towards Neuvillette who nodded. Wriothesley fell to his knees, hands gripping at his hair and tears filling his eyes.

“All my life… was a lie?” You rushed to his side before he could spiral, rapidly chittering and crying, wishing you could speak so you could comfort him. In fear of another argument you began to cry. You sniffled and placed paws on his arm, practically begging him not to fall down that dark hole of spiraling thoughts.

Suddenly, you felt a hand on your head. Fingers gently carded through your fur, and you looked up, meeting Wriothesley’s eyes. They were still teary, filled with grief and sorrow, but there was something behind it, something bright.

“Mm… don’t cry little guy. I didn’t mean to uh… scare you?” His smile was shaky at best. You whined and climbed into his lap, paws pressed to his cheeks and small kitten-licks to the tears he evidently didn’t know about, rubbing away any others you couldn’t get. His eyes widened, quickly trying to rub away any stray tears he caught.

The others watched the scene, not daring to speak. Eventually Wriothesley picked you up to stare at you. All his life had been spent worshiping one person, they fell from the sky one day, and he figured that’d be it. He got live in the generation that saw the return of their blessed Creator. Never to have them look him in the eye or anything.

But here you were. An otter. And you had already done so much more for him than the Creator had in such a short amount of time.

It would take a while, he figured, till his mind really did say that you were, in fact, the real and true Creator, till his mind could finally let go of the notion that he’d never get to see them because here you were, in his arms, caring for him.

“… Y’know… you’re a pretty cute little otter.” Everyone’s eyes snapped over to him when he spoke, more tears falling from his eyes. You squirmed around, desperately trying to get close enough to wipe them but were caught off-guard when instead Wriothesley wiped tears out of your eyes.

You cried, squirming in his arms to wrap your own around his neck. Everyone was silent as this happened, watching as his arms gently curled around you, slowly breaking down.

Neuvillette turned away, ashamed that he had lost his cool, and watched as Furina got up from the couch and walked over to you and Wriothesley. She couched down and sat beside you both, laying a head on Wriothesley’s shoulder.

You chirped quietly into the mana chest, letting him silently sob into you.

Only the sound of moving water disrupted the calm.

૮꒰づ˶• ༝ •˶꒱づ ˚ʚ ꒰⁐⁐⁐⁐୨🍯🧁🥥୧⁐⁐⁐⁐꒱ ɞ˚

That meeting was weeks ago, and now your little group was coming up with a plan to bring this news to light before all the other nations.

It had been well established to them that creatures of Teyvat, from small bugs to the largest beast, would all listen to you under any and all circumstances.

Like now.

While they all spoke under the moonlight inside Wriothesley’s office - one of the most secretive places in all of Fontaine - you swam just outside the walls in a raft of otters, all in all just having a fun time until the inevitable.

The rebellion.

Naturally everyone in the room was pissed, especially since it had been years at this point that that false ‘Creator’ had sat on a throne that was rightfully yours. They could see the effect your presence had on Fontiane.

The sun shone brighter, the water seemed clearer, less Meka broke down, flower bloomed easier, crime even dropped. It was great.

Everyone and everything seemed and felt happier.

Much happier than with that fucking liar.

A map of the large, floating Sanctuary and Shrine that was supposed to house the Creator was laid out across a table, specific entry point circled in red.

“Next week marks the beginning of the *Creator’s Walk. Defenses will grow as this week passes but the first day of the walk, there will be no Acolytes.” Neuvillette broke the silence by pointing towards the circles on the map.

“But they’ll still be in the perimeter. I should know, I was apart of the last Creator’s Walk.” Chlorinde spoke up, adjusting her hat. “I can’t think of any entrance we may have left ungraded, even if from a distance.”

They were silent as they thought. The Creator’s walk was a Month Long holiday where the Creator would walk nation to nation - by themselves - in order to hand out blessings, push back monsters for a following month of no attacks and to retrace their original path between Nations, a show that they were all still connected.

The quiet was broken by the sounds of you chittering, the door opening and revealing you wrapped in a Melusine themed towel, Sigewinne trailing right behind you.

“Thank you Sigewinne for returning them to us, now if you would mind-“ Neuvillette started but was interrupted by the Melusine, “You’re talking about the plan right?” Everyone stared at her while you took it upon yourself to climb into Furina’s lap.

“How did-“ “Uh, duh. I’ve known all along? I would’ve figured you’d have guessed that by now, especially with all the other Melusine and Meka treating them so great? Come on Monsieur Neuvillette, you’re smarter than that!” The sentence was ended with a giggle as she skipped over to the still shocked older man.

Neuvillette shook himself from the sudden stupor, sighing and nodded, before his eyes lit up.

“That’s right. We have all the Meka of Fontaine on our side. They’d do anything for ma moitié. How in Archons name did we forget we have an entire army on our side?” Everyone stared at Neuvillette sheepishly, shrugs and mutters filling the room. Neuvillette sighs and hangs his head, but quickly rebounds.

“Well in that case, most Nations haven’t fought our Meka-“ “But they have fought Ruin Guards.” Chlorinde spoke again. Neuvillette bit his cheek, she had a point. While Meka were different, it wouldn’t take to much the Acolytes to find weaknesses due to said Ruin Guards.

Silence again.

“The Local Legends and beasts alike could be of use. I mean, I doubt anyone’s fought giant crabs before.” Furina mentioned, though most of her attention was on you, drying you off and petting you.

“That is true, Lady Furina.” Wriothesley agreed. Eyes drew back to the map, taking in every spot on the thing.

“There!” Sigewinne was the one to point to a point on the map, near the back to the left of the large estate.

“What’s the spot?” She asked, Wriothesley took one look and responded.

“That’s a window to their wine cellar. Pretty unused but still guarded, why?” Sigewinne looked up with a grin.

“Because it’s closest to a body of water.” Chlorinde looked closely at the spot, and her eyes widened a bit.

“She has a point, and on top of that, while it is still guarded it’s much more lax, especially considering it’s not to far from where the ‘Creator’ will be leaving but far enough where anyone would doubt an entry. On the other hand, it could only appear that way.”

“That’s where Meka and monsters could come in.” Wriothesley started. “When we’re protecting the place we more expect other people than monsters considering they’re all scared of the place.”

The plan started to come together, more pieces being added and who should go first and so on and so forth. Furina was too busy playing with you to really care, but looked up with a confused expression.

“When are we going to tell the others? Vision users, I mean. And… how?” Everyone looked towards her.

“…Fuck.” And a new can of worms now needed to be opened.

໒꒰ྀི˶˙Ⱉ˙˶꒱ྀིა Author’s note : IM SO FUCKING SORRY I CANT DO IT!! I swear I will be keeping this idea in mind tho because I now have a plan to map out all of the creator stories I swear it I’m just tired omg I’m sorry but I hope this suffices for now-

… This is so disappointing I’m sorry-

[shikai-the-storyteller]

A lot of people (including some QSMP members) are theorizing that the Eggs are evil or are being controlled by the Federation, but I disagree. Even if the Eggs are somehow acting as spies or agents of the Federation, I don't think it's willing and I don't think they know it. Why?

Because of Chayanne.

moti_otp on Twitter made a thread that compiled ALL of Chayanne and Richarlyson's signs from their conversation (Phil's May 3 VOD, Timestamp 3h 7m). Here's the transcript:

Richarlyson: How are you Chayanne?

Chayanne: I'M OKAY Richarlyson and you?

Richarlyson: I am great!! Happy to meet you but I am concerned about my dad's plans.

Chayanne: I'll ask you some questions is that ok?

Richarlyson: Sure :D

Chayanne: What are your dad's plans?

Richarlyson: They plan on building the biggest favela in the server :D

Starts innocently enough, right? Chayanne knows Forever is one of Richarlyson's dads, and he knows Forever is interested (a little too interested) in Phil, so it's normal that he wants more information.

But then it takes a turn.

Chayanne: Where do you come from?

[No response is given]

Chayanne: How many people do you know on this island?

Richarlyson: Uncle Fit, Roier, and Foolish Bobby and Leo and now you

Chayanne: Do you want to hurt anyone?

Richarlyson: Just bulls they broke my egg rights

[Context: they lost their first life to a bull]

Chayanne: Why I never saw you before?

Richarlyson: There was not enough Brazilian aura (the ship was late bc don't know how to drive boats)

Chayanne: How long have you been here?

[No response is given]

There are a few things we need to keep in mind here: Richardlyson isn't one of the original eggs. Like Tallulah, he conveniently happened to show up right when a new Egg was needed... but his appearance was a little too convenient.

Chayanne: give me 3 reasons why I should trust you

Richarlyson: I have style :D

Chayanne: Should I keep an eye on your dad? Did someone else arrive with you? Or are you alone?

Richarlyson: I… maybe!! But if he gets mad he would probably try to take down any mountain nearby he is dangerous for the nature

Unlike some of the other Eggs on the server who (canonically) only know a little bit about what's going on (either through osmosis, overhearing things, or getting information directly from their parents), Chayanne knows more about what's going on on the Island than most for one simple reason: Phil trusts him.

Any information Phil learns, he tells Chayanne. At first I was a little worried, but as time goes on, it seems more and more like Phil had the right idea. He wants Chayanne to be careful and be prepared for the worst, especially since Chayanne only has 1 life left ("Living Hardcore mode"), and Chayanne has taken this to heart.

A lot's going on right now and everyone's a little big suspicious, but I think Chayanne has proven where his loyalties lie.

Bonus:

Chayanne: Why does your dad wants to date my dad?

Richarlyson: I think… 2 things 1. He's a bit*h 2. He is crazy

Chayanne: My dad is happy married to my dad Missa thank you

Richarlyson: He is cheating.

[wonderland-smile-stories]

~ Chapter 1. 04 ~

I apologize in advance for any spelling or grammar mistakes and how poorly written this fanfic is. English is not my first language and together with my dyslexia ass things can go wrong I'm sorry.

My head was bobbing to the music that was playing through my headset while I was finishing doing the dishes. The rest of the day went by normally. Nobody was weird and everything was just normal.

Normal is all I needed right now in my life with not too much stress.

I turned around to grab something from the counter when my ears began to ring. Grabbing my headset I took it off thinking it was that, but it was still there.

"What the hell," I mutter when it got louder before completely disappearing.

Great, put that on the list with the other things I have.

My phone went off that was on my couch making me snap out of whatever that just was. When I grabbed it I saw that it was Ji-su. She asked if I could come to her apartment because she wanted to let me hear something that she made for a song we were working on. I typed yes, but also said I needed to change first because I was still in the clothes I wore to work.

I took a grey long-sleeved shirt from the chair that I had in my room slipping it on before taking the black dress with spaghetti straps from the door where it was hanging. Taking my phone from the counter I walked to the door and put on my black covers.

The moment I walked out the door something felt wrong. The air was so thick that it almost was hard to breathe. I could feel my stomach turn telling me that something was off. I had had this feeling before. Every time I walked into the orphanage and it was so quiet I could feel that something was wrong or something bad would happen.

Most of the time I would be right because quickly afterward there would be a fight in the orphanage where someone would be in danger and whatnot. I'm pretty sure I developed it because I have had to be in survival mode my whole life there. I always had to look over my shoulder making sure I was safe.

Quickly I just shrug it off telling myself that it's all in my head and that I'm safe here. I came around the corner where the elevators were and saw Eun-hyuk standing there.

"Hey, going to work?" I asked grabbing his attention.

"Yeah. You?" He asked pressing the button for the elevator.

"I'm going to hang out with a friend that lives upstairs." He nodded looking away before talking again.

"Do you know how Eun-yu paid for her lessons?" I gave him a confused look.

"Why would I know that?" I asked with a laugh at the end.

"You two hang out a lot and I'm pretty sure you're the only one she talked to for the last couple of months." A frown came to my face at first, but then it hit me.

She told me she quit her lessons, but I guess she doesn't want him to know that. I didn't want to lie to him because he was also my friend.

"Eun-hyuk you are putting me in a tough spot here. If I tell you I would betray Eun-yu's trust, but I also don't want to lie to you. It's like asking to choose between you guys," I said scratching the back of my head.

A chuckle left his lips while he looked down before looking back up at me.

"I admire your loyalty to my sister and my friendship. It makes you a good friend, which she needs because she hasn't had one in a while. Maybe you could keep her out of trouble as well." I was happy that he understood what I meant.

"Do you also need a good friend right now? Seeing how you're always working and stuff. I haven't really seen you do other stuff than that," I admitted looking down while playing with my hands.

"You already are a good friend to me." He answers after a few seconds of silence.

I look back up at him seeing him smile at me.

"You're a lot over at our place and you don't ignore me like Eun-yu wanted you to do. We have fun conversations about old video games we used to play or really serious once when you have to wait on Eun-yu because she disappeared again." I let out a chuckle nodding my head.

I can't count on my hands how many times Eun-yu had disappeared in the evening. It always results in a worrying Eun-hyuk standing at my door asking if I know where she is. Most of the time I help him go look for her or try to call her because she would answer more likely to me than him.

"I'm happy you think about it that way," I answer truthfully.

"Can you just do two things for me?" He asked and in response, I nodded my head.

"Can you take care of her when I'm not around? She has the habit of getting in trouble and she needs someone to pull her back when she's going to do something, well stupid." I laugh knowing he was right.

After knowing her for a few months I know her ways to do it.

"The second one?"

"Can you tell me when she did something dangerous even if she asks you not to?" A frown came to my face while I bit on my lip.

If it were my sister I would be worried too and I would be happy if someone could tell me if everything is already with her.

"Yeah, I can do that."

He smiled at me before looking at the elevator.

"That's weird."

With a confused look, I looked at him.

"What?"

He looks up and down the elevator door before answering.

"The elevator isn't here yet. It should have been here a few minutes ago." Because of the talking, we hadn't noticed that any sound or movement was coming from behind the elevator door.

Looking to my right I saw what was wrong.

"Look, it's under maintenance. It's the stairs for us today." I look back at him and see him letting out a deep sigh putting his hands on his neck before looking back up.

"I guess you're right." I let out a laugh while we began to make our way to the stairs.

"So how are you doing lately? Are you still having those nosebleeds?" I didn't intend to tell anyone about it, but a few days ago I was over at their apartment in the evening because Eun-yu wanted my help with something.

When suddenly my nose began to bleed.

A lot.

I was used to it by then, but they weren't. I tried to stop it at first with the tissues she had in her room, but when she saw that it didn't stop she yelled for her brother who came rushing into the room because she never yelled for him. She yelled at him to do something pointing at me which he did. Having a brother who got into medical school is always handy. The bleeding stopped, but I fainted quickly afterward.

I woke up the next day in Eun-yu's bed with her looking down at me. The first thing she said was that I scared the shit out of her before asking me if I was okay. Of course, after that, I had to tell them about how it has been happening for a few days now, but that I have no idea why and that I'm okay.

Eun-hyuk wanted me to go to the hospital and let them check if everything was alright, which I quickly said no to. I don't really like people touching me. It brings back bad memories.

"I'm actually fine. I haven't had a nosebleed or fainted in a day or so now." Which was a miracle because I had them a lot.

"That's great. If it would have lasted any longer I would have taken you myself to the hospital. It could have been something really dangerous." It could be, but it's over now. It was probably related to stress. Seeing how the last couple of months have been before and right after moving here.

"Ooooh, does Lee Eun-hyuk care for someone else than his sister? Eun-yu was wrong and you are a human with feelings and not some super smart robot someone had created to annoy her." I laugh teasing him.

He tried to hide his smile, but I could see the corner of his mouth move.

"Honestly, that is probably one of the more friendliest things she has called me." I laugh nodding at him.

We said goodbye to each other when we finally reached the stairs, both going different ways. Before I took my first step up I turned around yelling his name.

"Eun-hyuk, she isn't in any danger."

A frown came on his face not knowing what I meant.

"Her lessons. She didn't do anything stupid so don't worry about it."

I began to walk up the stairs hearing him chuckle before walking down.

I know that Eun-yu is adopted. She had told me that a few months ago. It was one of the first times she opened up to me. She had shown me a picture of them when they were little with their parents. I knew their parents had died in a car accident, but she hadn't told me that it was because they were on their way to her ballet performance that she begged she could go to.

She talked about how she was an orphan and that now she had made Eun-hyuk an orphan too. I had tried to comfort her, telling her that it wasn't her fault and stupid shit like that happens. I tried, but she didn't believe me. Maybe that was the right time to say that I was one too, but I didn't want to talk about my problems when she had just opened up to me.

My feet stopped walking when I came to the fourteenth floor. The door was open, but the thing that made me stop was the smear of blood that was on it. With slow steps, I began to make my way to it. Did someone get hurt here? I haven't heard anything unusual when I was home.

Carefully poking my head out the doorway I try to see if someone was there.

There was only silence which made things worse. The bad feeling in my stomach returned the moment I stepped a foot into the hallway. Everything seemed normal until I almost slipped on something. Lifting my foot from the ground I saw more blood. I looked up and saw that it was a trail.

Someone who was hurt must have come through here. I bite my lip debating whether to just turn around and get the guard, but then the thought of him being exhausted came back. Taking just a look never hurts someone. If someone is hurt I just call someone for help. Walking beside the blood trail I began to follow it.

The smell of metallic became stronger the more blood I found on the floor. I halted in my tracks when my ears began to ring again. It wasn't like the last time. This time it hurts my ears making me cover them with my hands thinking that they will begin to bleed. It lasted a few seconds before it died down.

Slowly I moved my hands from my hands afraid I would see blood, but there was nothing on them.

"What the hell?" I mutter out taking deep breaths.

My body spun around when I heard a sound from behind me. It sounded like someone was in pain, letting out a low groan.

"Hello? Do you need help?" I was about to make my way back from where the sound came from when someone stepped from behind the corner I just come from.

It was a girl, that was for sure, but the rest of her body was kinda hiding in the shadows because the light above her was broken.

"Hey, are you okay?"

A loud squeal came from her before I heard her voice.

"I'm so hungry." To my surprise, it sounded like the girl I bumped into today.

"Uhm, I don't have anything with me?" I said confused.

I didn't know if the blood was coming from her because she was so hidden in the dark, but when my eyes traveled down her hands I saw something dripping from her hands.

"So hungry."

She took a step forward, making me take a step back not trusting the situation at all.

My eyes widened when I saw her completely now. Her face was covered in blood around her mouth and nose. The blood was definitely coming from her. My body completely tensed up when I saw her hands. They were completely covered in a grey tint that was underneath the blood together with some black vines going up her arm.

I even think that her nails seemed longer than normal humans.

"I'm hungry."

I took a few steps back when her croaky voice came out.

"J...just stay there." I managed to get out my lips.

The girl let out a groan taking more steps forward. How can this be real? She doesn't look human at all. Is she pranking me because of earlier?

"I....I'm sorry I called you a bitch!" I yelled out taking faster steps backward.

My words didn't seem to go through her. My feet stepped on something crunchy, making me stop walking scared I stepped on something she had killed. My body froze completely when she began to charge at me with a loud chilling yell.

I braced myself for what she would do to me when there was the sound of a door opening beside me, a second later someone grabbed my arm pulling me away just seconds before the girl could get to me.

Previous Chapter ~ Next Chapter

——————————————-

Hey guys! I hope you guys are liking the story so far! A lot more chapters are coming! I’m going to update this every other day! So it’s going to be a long ride on this one!

[icey--stars]

Hiiii

I saw your requests are open but feel free to ignore this if it isnt

Oh, Queen of angst

would you please bless us with a story where azriel is engaged but not to Eris

Yes you read that right, but wait hear me out

He is still in love with Eris (no mating bond though just love)

Centuries ago or decades whatver he was forced to end things with Eris because what he thought the IC's reaction was

So he watches Eris longingly at a Highlords meeting and then boom, Eris and his mating bond snaps just like that (prompted or unprompted your choice) And Eris is standing there horrified because azriel broke things off with him and he is still in love with Azriel but he thinks azriel doesnt feel the same

And Azriel standing there shocked but super happy because now no one can say anything about his love for Eris because even the mother belives in it. His fiancee and the rest of the IC are there like 😨 Feel free to ignore this but if you would write this I would be ever so indebted to you 🥺🥺 Okii Thanks 🙏 for reading this far and indulging me

I Could Never Forget You

Azriel is incapable of keeping his eyes to himself and oop... now he's got a mate bond on his hands with Eris who he ended things off with centuries ago. What will they do? - 2k words

Author's Note: Darling anon, I wrote this to the best of my abilities (and actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would so thank you lol). I changed the “Az is super happy” part a tad because I really can’t see them being in anything other than pure shock and horror at the situation even while hope blooms. Hope you enjoy regardless!

I did end things off before we got the IC’s and his fiance’s reactions so if you were especially looking for those, let me know! I can add it in a reblog :) just may take some more thinking

TW: suggestiveness to sexual activities (VERY little but minors beware)

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It had been centuries and that damned face still made his heart flutter like he was some teenage male. It was infuriating. Maybe even more than infuriating. Azriel glanced over at the female who sat next to him. She smiled back warmly, the Illyrian wings behind her twitching some in his direction.

He forced a smile to curve his lips. His fiance. Gods, it was stupid. She was a great female. So amazing that she was practically the only fae Rhysand went to when he needed something handled in the Illyrian camps. She was strong, powerful, demanding, downright gorgeous objectively, and a little bit vain at points. He didn’t know why he felt so guilty.

Azriel’s gaze traveled back across the table. They were in the Dawn Court for the annual High Lords’ meeting to establish trade and peace. And guess who sat directly across from him?

The one and only Eris Vanserra.

His hair was down, which was rare to see. Normally it was worn in complex braids all up and around in Eris’s hair. But the smug bastard still had that smirk on his face as he glanced over at Azriel.

Eris scoffed and turned his head away which was not helpful because it showed off his neck muscles and those damned ears. As per usual, they were covered in jewelry. Chains and rings and dangly little charms. All of it.

And though he was trying to lie to himself, it did look damn good.

Centuries ago, he’d cut things off with Eris. He had to. His family, especially Mor, would’ve hated him. He was sure of that.

And he had a fiance now for the gods’ sake. Why did the damned bastard still make his palms clammy and his cheeks heat up?

It’s possibly the stupidest thing of all time. Yes, he had once loved Eris. But he had responsibilities and loyalties to his court now.

Even if the bastard was way too attractive for his own good.

Azriel sighed and turned his head to try and pay attention to the actual meeting. Thesan and Kallias were having some sort of conversation over trade while Tarquin was trying to cut in with his own plans. Not fighting per say, but definitely close to arguing as usual at these meetings. Nobody truly got along. It was tolerance at best.

Eris swirled his whiskey around in his glass, taking a small sip from it and smirking at the chaos that was being wrought. Likely, it was whiskey brought from Autumn since Azriel knew he hated any other types of whiskey. 

“It just doesn’t burn the same, Az,” He’d argued.

And of course that’s where Azriel’s gaze brought him once again.

His fiance squeezed his hand as if in question and he squeezed back in reassurance. He was fine. He just had to get the redhead out of his mind. (An impossible feat, he might add. Eris had a tendency to effortlessly bring attention to him.)

“Rhys,” Eris suddenly spoke, turning his head away from the arguments beginning. “Was there anything useful you were going to bring to this meeting?”

Rhys sat up a little with Feyre beside him looking exhausted. “Nothing more than news that Hewn City would like to begin trading salt out again.”

Eris’s brows raised in interest. “Salt, you say?” He asked. “Now that’s quite the commodity they’re offering. Shall I talk to Kier?”

“You can manufacture a deal with us,” Feyre spoke up. “We’ll pass it along.”

And here was even more proof that Azriel needed to get Eris off his mind. It would only end poorly.

Eris chuckled softly and hummed in response. “Shall we spar then, Feyre?” He asked. “I’m certain any deals I offer would be more than satisfactory.”

Feyre sighed. “Let’s hear it then,” she replied. Her eyes betrayed her exhaustion, though. Little Nyx was in his teenage phase where he called his own parents and family dumb in order to get independence. Only “Uncle Azzie” was allowed to talk to him now as long as he didn’t bring up anything the little one didn’t want to talk about.

The usual trade talk commenced with bargains going both ways and Azriel found himself just staring at Eris, watching his hair sway slightly when he leaned over the table. He could just imagine pulling it.

“Azriel, do pick up your jaw,” Eris suddenly said, staring directly at him. “I know I’m handsome, but your fiance is sitting right beside you.”

Azriel didn’t even realize his jaw had dropped. He was practically drooling. What the fuck.

And then something happened. He couldn’t describe the feeling well but it felt like something just snapped between him and Eris, yanking him closer to the male. He suddenly felt worry coming down the mysterious thread within his chest.

Then he glanced up at Eris’s furrowed brows.

Azriel took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. Words refused to escape his throat even as hard as he tried.

His fiance rested a hand on his shoulder and he tensed, sitting up immediately.

Rhys seemed to notice now, narrowing his eyes. The daemati knocked on his mind shields and Azriel let them down hesitantly.

What’s wrong? Rhys asked.

He couldn’t respond in words and only pushed the overwhelming feeling towards Rhys’s presence in his mind.

What is it? He asked desperately, hoping, praying that his brother would have the answer this time.

Rhys glanced over at Eris and narrowed his eyes. The other male was also reacting the same way, but he was holding his chest in shock while staring at Azriel.

“Mate,” Eris suddenly breathed in shock.

Azriel’s eyes went wide. That word. It sounded right. Which meant a few things: Eris was his mate. He had a fiance that wasn’t his mate. But he also still very obviously loved Eris despite the centuries. And another thing: his entire family knew. Fuck. How was he supposed to play this off?

“What?” Cassian suddenly asked, leaning over the table. “Did you just say mate?”

“Azriel,” Eris said sharply when he tried to push his chair away from the table to make a run for it.

“What,” he said roughly, his voice scratchy from emotion of some sort. He couldn’t identify it yet. But with Eris’s sharp tone, he also found himself frozen in place.

Rhys had this look on his face. Somewhere between surprise, confusion, and honestly with those furrowed brows, possibly the anger Azriel had been expecting centuries ago when he broke things off with Eris.

His fiance rested a hand on his shoulder again and this time, he flinched violently, letting out a gasp.

“Az,” she tried. “Take a breath,” she commanded.

Azriel’s shadows luckily took pity on his state and rushed up to cover his face while panic creeped up his spine. All conversation had quieted down by now.

“Eris, Azriel,” Rhys began, “let’s go outside for a moment, shall we?”

Azriel pushed himself from his seat at that escape from so many eyes and quickly followed his brother out even as Eris trailed them from behind.

“Azriel, you need to breathe,” Rhys said softly once they were in the hallway alone.

Azriel forced himself to suck in a breath, closing his eyes.

A rush of calm rushed through him suddenly from that string in his chest and his head shot up, shadows falling from his face in shock. It’d been like a jolt to his system to restart and work again.

And Eris was in front of him, tilting his head with concern evident in his facial expression. “Azriel,” Eris began. “Are you alright?”

He let out a sigh before he nodded. “I’m fine,” He managed to get out. He was… not fine, but fine enough for whatever conversation was likely to occur.

Eris scoffed as if he clearly knew it was a lie, but seemed to accept the answer. “Well then, I believe there needs to be a conversation, now doesn’t there?” He prompted.

“Should I let you two handle this?” Rhys asked, raising a brow.

“Go Rhys,” Azriel mumbled. “We’ll handle this. Let my fiance know that I’m fine?” He requested.

Rhys nodded and walked off.

Then he faced Eris and sighed, rubbing his eyes with his forefinger and thumb. “Eris…”

“You want to reject the bond,” Eris finished for him. “It makes sense. You broke things off centuries ago and you have a fiance who loves you. I get it, Az. You don’t care about me.”

Azriel jerked his head back in shock. “I wasn’t going to say that,” He said to Eris, his brows furrowing. He swallowed back his hesitation and sighed. “I do care about you, fireheart.”

Eris’s brows furrowed even more at the pet name. It’d been one of the things that Azriel had called them when they had been dating. It represented his determination, his flames and encompassed part of who he was. Azriel knew he’d gotten the male’s attention with it.

“Then what exactly is your plan, Az?” Eris asked. “You have a fiance.”

Azriel sighed, rubbing his face again as he leaned back against the wall, uncaring of the fact his wings were being partly crushed by the action. “Eris… I didn’t break things off back then because I didn’t want you.”

Eris’s eyes narrowed. “Then why?” He asked calmly.

“My… my family means a lot to me. You know that. I got pathetically scared over their reaction,” Azriel mumbled, a tad ashamed of the fact.

Eris raised a brow, but then he seemed to relax. “So what does being mates mean then?” He asked.

“Maybe it’s proof that I shouldn’t have given up what I loved all those centuries ago,” Azriel admitted, glancing up at Eris timidly.

Eris’s expression softened. “So you were scared?” He repeated. “Are you still scared?”

Azriel paused to think for a moment. Mates were chosen by the Mother. And while he’d met mates that weren’t meant for each other… he also knew how well Eris and he were getting on centuries ago. And though they had changed since then, he doubted it would put a stake through the possibilities of them.

“I can’t be scared if we’ve been chosen by the Mother, Eris. More than half my family knows the significance of the mating bond. I don’t think they’d fault me for trying.”

“And would they fault you if it’s me?” Eris emphasized.

“Going by how Rhys reacts when someone tries to insult Feyre, I don’t think I would physically be able to stop myself if they did try to fault me,” Azriel admitted with a slight chuckle.

Eris rolled his eyes with a smirk. “You do have a fiance, however,” He reiterated. “Are you so certain I’m worth it?”

“I was shocked at first, Eris. But… I want that, Eris. With you. We’d already been planning on how to manage the political situation anyway once you became High Lord. What’s stopping us now?” Azriel asked, a small grin making its way onto his face.

Eris chuckled. “Nothing, I suppose,” he murmured as he took a step closer.

Azriel didn’t try to stop his immediate urge to kiss those lips and practically lunged forward off the wall to grab Eris’s chin and press their lips together.

Eris let out a soft sound of surprise before he melted into it. It was soft. Like coming back home.

It felt like hours before they were forced to pull away to breathe. Azriel panted for a moment, meeting Eris’s gaze.

“You always were a sap,” Eris teased.

Azriel scoffed. “And you aren’t?” He emphasized.

“Oh, I’m unafraid to admit that I am these days,” Eris mused.

For a moment, they just seemed to take the situation in. Then Eris stood up a little straighter. “Speak to your family, Az. Then come find me at the cabin. I think I’m craving a little more than a kiss.”

Azriel scoffed. “Insatiable,” he mused.

“Oh you know I am,” Eris said with a smirk. After a moment, he asked, “Are you really going to end things off with your fiance for me?” There was a little insecurity in that tone.

“Fireheart,” Azriel began. “The only reason I was attracted to her was because she reminded me so much of your spark. She’s become integrated into the family. I think she’d understand. In fact, she might be useful to Rhys while I take a break to deal with the inevitable frenzy.”

Eris scoffed. “And you call me insatiable?” He asked.

“I could never forget you, Eris. You and I are fated.” Azriel replied with a genuine smile.

EXTRA CONTENT: Part 2 w/ reactions of IC and Fiance (only reblogged)

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A/N: Shh… yes I used “fireheart” as Az’s petname for Eris. IT FIT TOO WELL SHHHHHHHH.

Also, this was not edited. I am lazy. Apologies for any and all mistakes. If I ever reread this, the facepalm I'll give myself is plenty punishment.

Tagged in all ACOTAR Stories: @bunnymallowo, @officiallyunofficialperson, @margssstuff, @rebloggiest-reblogger, @inpraizeof, @graciereads, @eos-princess, @bubybubsters, @fieldofdaisiies, @skyesayshi, @lilah-asteria,

Tagged in all Azriel Stories: @ladylokilaufeyson5, @marina468,

[notmorbid]

kaikeyi.

dialogue prompts from kaikeyi: a novel by vaishnavi patel.

a girl needs her mother.

if the gods are good, how could they lie?

the gods do what they must.

i doubt that my mother even likes me.

would you like to hear a story? i have a new one for you.

____ didn't even say goodbye.

so long as nobody learns the truth, it does not matter.

anything in this room is yours to know.

what are you doing up?

you can come and find me, if you would like. if you are ever lonely.

the stories were not frightening enough.

i am so glad you were with me.

i want to be able to protect myself.

does it always feel this way?

it is laudable that you want to help.

i want to have power over myself.

you do not need to prove yourself to anyone.

there are other ways to be strong.

can i not be strong in many ways?

shall we race?

you're too serious all the time.

you don't have to notice everything on your own. that's why you have me.

what will you give me if i win?

you always try to shrink into the shadows.

false vows are worse than worrisome truths.

i don't want anyone else to know.

i always assumed i would have more time to prepare.

you cannot stay here forever.

you have a fine head on your shoulders.

none of us have a real choice.

if you want power, you have to take it.

you are no ____ of mine.

my choices were my own.

your happiness is one of the most important matters i can think of.

everything i say comes out completely wrong.

there's something alive about this place.

where did you learn to _____ like that?

you are very kind, and not at all what i expected.

if you can't fight, run.

between you and me, there should be no secrets.

are you afraid of me? is that why you lied?

i hope you learn to answer my questions directly one day.

it would be in your best interest to trust me.

i didn't realize i had company.

it seems i cannot escape you.

you should have helped me.

why are you laughing?

anybody would have done the same.

this is my burden to bear.

you need not worry any longer.

you did not deserve to suffer.

why would such a great god care about such a small thing?

are you a witch?

you don't have a wicked bone in your body.

i won't always be here to protect you.

i hope you are taking care of yourself.

i think i understand a bit, now. how you must have felt.

i just want to make sure my family is safe.

looking out for one's family is a virtue.

who can you trust, if not your mother?

whatever you tell me will stay between us alone.

i always knew the gods disliked me particularly.

my piety is in short supply, these days.

you must learn to listen and decide for yourself.

what would i do without you?

war is not something to wish for. it destroys people.

rulers have to be wise, as well as strong.

it would be very boring for you to know every detail of my life.

we were not as stealthy as we hoped.

have you nowhere more important to be?

nobody will be angry for anything you say here.

the future cannot be taught by the past.

no one person can know everything. not even you.

i've heard all the names that people call me.

we all must learn to accept what we do not like.

i need to hear you say it.

have we grown dull with age?

i'm not angry with you. i'm angry with myself for letting you think that.

you can be someone beyond your loyalty, and you should be.

if you want more, you should not be afraid to ask.

i see you looking at me. i am not blind.

if you leave me here, i will follow, so you might as well just bring me now.

what happened? i had the strangest dream.

you have exceeded my wildest dreams for you.

what other choice do i have?

if it makes you sad, we don't have to go.

i suppose this is all very new for you.

are you still in pain?

i would like to tell you my side of it, if you wish to hear it.

i thought about you every day.

why would you be sorry? none of this was your fault.

have you the strength to stand?

you should not worry about old stories.

you are so young. you have so much time ahead of you.

if possible, you look lovelier than ever.

i tried my hardest to be like you.

i know much less about ____ than i thought.

i only wanted to show you the truth of this world.

you are not infallible. nobody is.

i have hope, not certainty.

why do you mistrust me so?

you cannot frighten me anymore.

you have grown used to getting your way, but that does not make your way right.

____ has a lot of interesting stories about you.

it is time, and i am ready. do not be alarmed.

i will always love you more and seek to protect you first.

hear me when i say you are not protecting me.

it is not weak to avoid war. it is the strongest thing you could do, to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.

i think i will never be enough for you.

how has so much changed in the span of one night?

you can say anything you want to me.

would you love me if i did something terrible?

you threaten people because you feel a lack of control.

you see only what you wish to see, in order to keep your life comfortable.

no matter what is said about you, remember that you did the right thing.

those who are good question themselves. those who are good always wonder if there was a better way, that would have helped more and hurt less.

this will be terrible, but you are strong. you can make it through.

i do not need them to like me any longer.

you are no ____ of mine.

i do not deserve friends like you.

you truly are the best of us.

my mind is my own. that is all i have left.

everyone else was right about you, and i was a fool.

there is no need to be a martyr.

not everything is about you.

you did your best. i know you did.

everyone i care for, i hurt. every time i try to help, i make things worse.

i have a strange sense that this has happened before.

i thought i would never hear your voice again.

i should have listened to you.

i promise i will make you proud.

[lunarlianna]

Asteroid Circe

Now, moving on with our normal program of astrology and asteroid content. Here we have asteroid Circe and how I would interpret here in a natal chart. <;3

Asteroid number 34, Circe in a natal chart usually represents our inner which, our magical gifts and also can show where you feel isolated (this type of isolation can be from the outer world or self-imposed), also where do you fall in love to quickly. If conjunct the Asc, you can be quite intimidating. If conjunct the MC you can be seen very enchanting and be attracted to the occult.  If conjunct the Moon you may prefer being a night owl and prefer the company of animals.

Asteroid Circe

Circe in Aries/1st house: If you are into witchcrafts, you most probably work with fire and red candles. You may attract people because of your leadership skills, your energetic aura and fun-loving attitude.  Otherwise with this placement you may notice that others are intimidated maybe even scared by you.

Circe in Taurus/2nd house: If you are into witchcraft, you most probably are a garden which. You have a cosy like aura and people feel very comfortable in your presence. Usually, you may cook consciously or unconsciously with intention. You may like to collect crystal or river rock and be a pretty good manifesto for abundance.

Circe in Gemini/3th house: You may be very good at story-telling and have a really charming voice. Usually, you’ll be attracted in learning tarot and lucid dreaming. People are attracted to you because of your knowledge and intelligence. This placement might also indicate feeling isolated from your relatives or impose a self-isolation from them.

Circe in Cancer/4th: People are drawn to you because of your sweet nature and the sense of familiarity that they have when meeting you. Usually if in the 4th or conjunct the IC is an indicator of witchy lineage and you probably work a lot with the Moon energy. Otherwise, you are a healer and can help others heal their mother wound.

Circe in Leo/5th house: You may be attracted to meditation, energy healing and may practice specific manifestations technics. People usually are attracted to you without knowing exactly why. They feel you warm and shiny aura, they just want to revolve around you.  You may also like to collect occult objects.

Circe in Virgo/6th house: You may be interested in homeopathic medicine and alternative healing. You may have a specific everyday routine regarding manifestation or working with crystal or herbalism (ex: You drink a specific tea every day or put cinnamon in your coffee). Circe here can also make you feel isolated in your work life and with your colleagues or you may isolate yourself. Animals are really attracted to you or you may like to have pets.

Circe in Libra/ 7th house: You have a light hearted aura and people are drawn to you. You may be very good at identifying good romantic matches between people or you may work with tarot, astrology etc in order to help others navigate their relationships. If conjunct the DSC, people will have the tendency to be obsessed with you. As a witch you may want to be part of a coven. Also, you may tend to fall in love pretty fast.

Circe in Scorpio/8th house: You may be into really dark occult art and work with divination/entities etc. People are attracted to you because of your loyalty and determination. You can be an energy healer or a shaman due to your transmutation power. Sometimes people may exclude you or you can exclude people because of your practice.

Circe in Sagittarius/9th: You can be a living human lie detector and have a very good intuition. You attract people due to your optimistic aura. Astra-projection may come easy to you and you may astral project from a young age, try to ground yourself very good before going to sleep. You can be a great mentor or a teach for those that are willing to learn under your guidance.  

Circe in Capricorn/10th: With this placement you may be prone to be highly influential and very keen to success. As a witch you probably make great spell-jar for money or you manifest money without trying to. Sometime this placement can indicate feeling lonely in a room full of people. If conjunct the MC you’ll be recognized in the occult world very easily.

Circe in Aquarius/11th: This placement can indicate a passion for astrology or working into astral world. You attract people due to your intelligence and creativity. Sometime you may isolate yourself from your close friends. This placement can indicate an interested in being on social media platform talking about the 1000 ideas you have in your head.

Circe in Pisces/12th: This is a very spiritual place for Circe. Here she is highly empathetic, dreamy and highly intuitive. You know immediately if someone changed their energy towards you. You may have lucid dreams and have a great connection with the spirit realm. You tend to escape a bit to much in the astral world and also isolate yourself. You may dream of your partner before meeting him.

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[anaslair]

Hiii, I wanted to give the match ups a try cause why not. I go by she/her and prefer to be matched with a male character, I’m also underaged. Oh and I’d prefer to be a demigod, personally I think I’d be the daughter of Hestia or maybeee Hephaestus or Apollo, idrk 😭. Anywaysss, about me. I loveee music/art/film, really anything creative, like I have a deep appreciation for them and artists. I actually used to go to a performing arts school. I also love nature and appreciate that as well. Like, I love going on hikes when I can and even just looking at the beauty of the nature wherever I am. I’m not really much of a sports person, like I love playing but I wouldn’t do anything professionally. I do martial arts though, which is definitely a biggg passion of mine. As a person, although it doesn’t necessarily feel like it to me, sometimes I’m pretty sure I’m fairly outgoing, at least more than other people I know. But I’m also the type of person to really open up and become more social and talkative the more you get to know me. Oh and final thing, I think I’m pretty books smart but not very streets smart, if you know what I mean. 😀 Anywayssss thanks for reading all of this if you did, it’d be really cool to hear back from you!! 🫶🫶

OKAY HEAR ME OUT!! HEAR ME OUT ON THIS ONE!!!!!!!!!!!

So, it’s not that well known, but Hestia is actually one of the virgin godesses of Olympus (like Artemis and Athena). But!!! We COULD pretend she has kids like Athena does 👀 ✨just because she wants to✨

Like, Athena’s kids come from her mind… maybe Hestia’s could come from her heart? Like figuratively maybe? She’s the goddess of hearth & home so it could kind of make sense? Pls bear with me this will go rlly well with who I’m matching you with so let’s just go with it 🤓

Also the nature thing UGHHH, I always had this head cannon that Percy became a bit of a nature activist after witnessing Pan’s death 😩😩😩 Anyway let’s get to it, I really hope you like this 🫶

Tysm for requesting!!! Have a great day <3

I match you with…

Percy Jackson!!

-Disclaimer-

The requester is a minor and so is Percy at this stage of the books!!

After the second titan war ended, Percy started to value some things way more than he did before it all went down

Not to say he was an ungrateful person, far from it. Percy really did have a heart of gold and often put his loved ones above his own personal needs. Loyalty was his fatal flaw after all

But there was just some things he felt he didn’t pay much attention to before the war, like Hestia for example. The goddess practically lived on camp grounds and he barely even acknowledged her before she saved him when he needed it the most, reminding him what was most important when everything was falling apart during the war

Or Pan. the god of the wild had practically died in front of him, telling him and his friends that the future of nature, of the world they lived in was actually in their hands. Everyone had to do their part for it to survive

He had to pay them back somehow, honor them

So that’s why he was THRILLED when the first Hestia kid arrived on camp after he made the gods promise they would claim all of their kids and send them to camp Half Blood, where all of the gods would have cabins for their descendants

This was his chance to pay back Hestia for her help!! So he promptly asked Chiron to mentor the new girl and teach her what she needed to know about self defense and sword fighting, since she was practically his age and had to survive until now with the mortals without proper training

In fact, how did you manage to do that anyway?

He didn’t really know, but he felt he was the best man for the job. His sword fighting skills were unmatched, only bested by Luke’s

So, not gonna lie. He was kind of waiting to show off his skills on your first lesson and help you with whatever you needed

He told you he would first show you some hand to hand combat moves before y’all could move on to sword fighting, to which you shrugged it out, being cool with it

Too cool even, you seemed super comfortable with it 🧐

“Okay. First, I’ll come at you slowly and you can try and stop the blow however you feel is right. This will be kind of a warm up to start things off. But don’t worry, I won’t actually hurt you, if you feel uncomfortable in any way, please let me know okay?” He said, smiling kindly at you while taking an offensive stance

You nodded, waiting for him to start

He slowly swung at you, being careful to not scare you out

Imagine how completely and utterly bamboozled he was when he found himself lying on the ground, the arm he swung at you now twisted and pressed on to his back, just enough to keep him on the ground

He was like 🧍‍♂️

And you were like 😄 so what’s next?

Bro what the fuck

That was honestly so impressive that when you offered a hand to help him get back to his feet, his cheeks where slightly flushed

He cleaned his throat, fixing his camp Half Blood necklace back into place

“Okay so I guess you’ve got that part covered” He said, giving you his signature sarcastic smirk

You let out a small laugh in response, explaining to him that you actually loved martial arts and that stuff came easy to you

He was completely fascinated, asking you to help him better his hand to hand combat skills after you guys finished

That was the start of a kind of chaotic friendship between the two of you. You helped him better himself in your area while he gave you sword fighting lessons

You weren’t really a fan of it but Percy was so talented and so patient while teaching you that you were winning sparring duels in no time

Y’all were a power duo in capture the flag for sure. You knocked people out and Percy wouldn’t let anyone get even slightly near you with riptide

You knew some strategies in theory from some books you had read and Percy knew how to put them into action

Iconic

You quickly developed a strong bond, getting closer and closer to each other every day

You always ranted to him about art in general, he didn’t really understand most of the things you told him but he always listened attentively, even memorizing some of your favorite artists to get you stuff related to them when he went home for the school year

You often hanged out by the lake, you absolutely loved how it looked when the sun hit it just right, with the trees reflected on it

One time, Percy took you to the bottom of it, putting an air bubble around you both so you could see how beautiful it was underwater

Your eyes shone bright at the view, but you frowned as soon as you saw a couple of plastic wrappers at the bottom

You asked Percy to lower the bubble so you could collect them and properly throw them out at the surface

That made Percy stare at you with such intensity and admiration that you wondered just what the hell you had done to get him looking at you like that

You avoided his eyes, ears tinted red

It was no secret that you had developed feelings for him, he was so sweet and kind

You wondered if he felt the same

Suddenly, his warm hand met yours as he slowly interlaced your fingers together

You looked at him, eyes wide

The smile on his face made his intentions pretty clear

[lovehugsandcandy]

bound

Pairing: Aerin x f!MC, Blades of Light and Shadow

Ratings: Explicit/18+/N*FW

Word Count: ~1,700

A/N: so @oh-so-youre-a-nerd posted this and I just. Whew. Wow. Ok then.

Summary: Ties that bind.

"Could I perhaps have my hands unbound?"

"No." Raine doesn't even turn towards him as she spits out the answer, buying her hands in the fastenings of the tent and tying them roughly. Annoyance and anger seep into every knot she creates.

Aerin sighs, and the bed creaks underneath him as he sits. "I told you, I am sorry, but I needed time to… I knew you would have questions-"

"I have more than questions!"

"But atonement required that I be out of your way while-"

Raine flicks her braid off her face, turning to fix him with a steely gaze before purposeful strides bring her to his side; his hands are limp in his lap, captive in brown rope, and the beginnings of chafing mar his wrists. While he cuts a pathetic figure, it does not dissuade her anger. "While you left me after the night we spent together."

"That… was less than ideal." He at least has the sense to look abashed.

"Less than ideal?!?" Gratefully, the magic crafted to keep his person in the tent also captured sound, so none of her friends could hear her shriek.

His wrists flex, arms raising as if to reach for her, before sagging against his thighs, regret flashing over his face before he looks down. He fiddles with the rope binding his hands together, and his shoulders sag as he sighs. "I'm sorry."

"Sure." 

"Raine, I assure you-

"You were running away with great reluctance?"

His head bows, but his eyes cut to her through lowered lashes. "Do you enjoy using my own words against me?"

"Well, you leave me such a surplus of choice examples."

"I was of no use to you when I left. You heard the fortune teller; I needed to-"

Her palms shove before she can reconsider, lashing out, hard; without use of his hands to balance him, Aerin falls against the bed, curls pooling against the pillow. 

He smirks. "The maturity of the Hero of Morella astounds." She doesn’t think, just moves, grabbing his bound hands as his eyes widen in shock. Prodding him supine, she lifts his arms over his head. It takes some shuffling; there is a hook by the bed, originally intended for a pack, but it makes a fitting place to drape the rope over. She slides his binds over and, though he flexes experimentally, the rope holds firm.

"Really, Raine?"

"If you will not stay put, I will make you stay."

"Like a kept animal?"

"Like a kept something." She chuckles darkly before her lips turn down, finger trailing down the smooth skin of his forearms before digging in roughly, appeased as he winces, muscles tensing against her nails. "I'm furious at you." 

"You have all the reason in the world." She glares, but he doesn’t flinch, soft and calm until she sags against the bed.

“I just… I was worried.” It had been weeks, and, with no word or sign, she had feared the worst. “I’ve seen the worst this realm can offer.”

“Raine… I’ve been the worst this realm can offer.” The anguish is painted clearly across his brow; even in the dim light, sorrow and guilt war behind his eyes. "I don't blame you for being angry, for worrying. I just ask… I needed to think. Please, don’t lose your trust in me for that.” He blinks up at her, lashes feathering against his cheek, and she is torn between her exhausting rage and pure relief. “I am on your side. In whatever way you will have me." At this, she softens somewhat. The sincerity in his voice, his eyes - she always knew he needed time. She has long lost all doubts of where his loyalties lie. Her heart twists, anger ebbing into something indefinable, pain and sadness and compassion twisting their tendrils deep into her soul. She loosens the grip on his forearms as she shifts to straddle his waist; as her hips settle, the flash of desire in his eyes is undeniable.

“Does that mean you will stay?” She’s sure she knows the answer.

“Right now, I’m not sure I have a choice.” The sarcastic tone cannot hide the way his body responds underneath her; she can feel him twitch right when she is seated, but she remains still, only staring down from above.

When it is clear he will say no more, she grinds her hips down, every point of her body warming where their skin meets, clothing unable to contain the heat between them. “That’s not an answer.”

"I'm not sure that this punishment is having exactly the effect you intend."

She rolls her hips, and the shock of pleasure has her biting her lip. "I think it's having exactly the effect I intended."

"If this is how you greet me after I flee-"

Raine grabs his jaw, leaning over him until she can spot the flecks of gold hidden in hazel eyes. "I will not let you run again."

"I won't." His voice is grave. "I have no desire to leave your side."

There's no possible reply, no response to the truth imbued in every word. All she can do is lean down again, lips finding his, and it's rough, needy. Her teeth dig into his supple flesh, and the answering groan reaches so deep into his core that she can feel his ribs tremble beneath her palms. She rucks up his tunic, hands frantic to get closer to the delicious sound, and he returns her fervor, craning his neck to seal his lips against hers. His arms twist, but he cannot escape the hold.

"Raine… Raine, please." She swallows the words as her name rolls from his tongue. "Untie me."

"No."

"I want to-" His voice breaks, keening as her teeth find the tendon in his neck. "- I want to touch you."

"No." Her lips travel lower, tracing the edge of his tunic to where his shoulder peeks out. "You left."

"I returned."

Her hands are rough as they travel across his chest, down to his hips, marks of her fingertips slow to fade against pale skin. She makes quick work of his pants, and his hips obligingly lift as she tugs until he is bare to her, disrobed and open in every way. Sliding to the side for mere moments to remove her own clothes, even the seconds where she’s not touching him leave her bereft, unmoored.

Once her own tunic has been tossed aside, she straddles him again as his eyes rove ravenously over every inch of skin.

“Raine,” he says, and it’s like the breath of prayer into the night; the only refrain she can give is silent, mouth open on a soundless gasp as she steadies herself and slides lower. This noise, the sound from the back of his throat, this is prayer, salvation and benediction in the curve of his waist, his fingers twining desperately in the rope. Her body answers like a hymn on the wind. After all, they are bound by shared trials, and she will never be closer to a person than this, bodies joined closer than any shackle in all the realms.

Her hips move, almost of her own accord, sinking lower with every thrust as her body reawakens, becoming reacquainted with the feel of skin blazing-hot against her thighs and the whimpers that come unbidden from his throat. Her thighs clench around him, fencing him in so he can't move, hands and hips a taut line, bound and at her every mercy. 

And, luckily for them both, something about Aerin makes her merciful. Whether it's their past, or the pain that flashes over his face when that past is unearthed, or the blush that spreads across his cheeks to reach his ears, she cannot stop bringing their bodies together, over and over.

She braces herself over his chest and he tracks every move of her body: the sway of her breasts, her hand as it trails down her stomach. Her fingertips graze where their bodies move together, flush and as one. Aerin stares, rapt, as every stroke of her fingers brings her higher and higher, blush spreading across her chest, his teeth digging into his lip as her nerves awaken in full force.

"Please, Raine. Please." The word falls from his lips mindlessly, hands shaking in the rope. "Please."

"It’s not very princely to beg."

His eyes on her are wild, feverish, and his voice is low. "I care not. I would do anything. Give anything. Anything, Raine, please." In that moment, she knows he would - do anything, become anything - and it's that thought that finally pushes her over the edge, muscles tensing and releasing in a delicious dance until there are only stars in her vision and his voice pleading her name; she rides the wave until it's too much, it’s all too much. She can't stay upright anymore, collapsing against his chest.

When she returns to this realm, he is peppering tiny kisses against her hairline, the only part of her that he can reach with his hands still above his head. His heartbeat is slowing in her ear, hers a mirrored tempo, and with it comes some semblance of reason.

"You left me." She lifts her head, and his gaze is soft, worshipful.

"I came back. I will always come-"

"No." Her hands find his curls as she stretches languidly over him. "Just don't go."

He nods, gaze never leaving hers, and the movement of his head is reverent, sure. "Could I… could I perhaps have my hands unbound now?"

She eyes him, tunic hiked up above pale torso, pants crumpled against his legs, hazy gaze fixed on her. "Fine." She reaches over to unhook his hands and, with quick work of her fingers, the rope falls to the floor. "But you can't- ooof."

In a flash, his hands are on her hips and her back is flush against the bed, Aerin hovering over her with a saucy grin lighting his features. "Thank you. Because now that I am free, I am planning on paying you back for that."

"Ah." His hand clutches hers, tightly, body an inferno over hers. She asks, "With interest?"

"Of course. We have plenty of time for that... don't we?"

“Because you’re not leaving?”

He squeezes her hand. “I’m not leaving.” 

It’s a whisper more powerful than any rope.

[nerdraging4point0]

Since we're all wrapping ourselves up in the cozy coat of Chris Cerulli, and we've all seen those hot Cherry Bomb dancers on stage with him, what would Chris do to reassure you that he only has eyes for you - because if my man was up on stage with those girls in those outfits, I would be incredibly proud but also a teeny bit insecure.

Is this a "head cannon"? 🤣

Cozy Coat of Chris Cerulli-Nice tongue twister there lol Chris is a flirt. It’s part of his charm. We air signs are notorious for being flirty, witty, and charming. It’s part of the subscription-those that can’t handle that have a problem handling us.

However, Chris knows where his loyalties lie. The first time the dancers were introduced to him he put on the charm making them feel more at ease and comfortable with the costume choices he has picked out for this tour. The first time you saw the dancers in their costumes your heart sank to the pit of your stomach.

While you knew they were just dancers it still set you on edge-but you did your best to hide it. Sitting through the performance you watched as they took their place on stage. The song started and they began to move, it was all fine until at one point during the song Chris bent on one knee looking right at a dancer who playfully touched his face-careful not to smear his makeup. Another dancer at his back playfully walking her fingers up his back.

Your mouth went dry, the feeling that an invisible hole had just been made in your abdomen causing a slight breeze to run through you made your skin go clammy and your hair stand on edge. Those thoughts you always kept in the back of your head locked away in a vault about how Chris was attractive and famous, he could have any girl he wanted, so why of all that would he have chosen you? Began to surface again. You drew deeper into your hoodie that you’d gotten at the merch table as if you could hide all the insecurities in the soft cotton fabric. It’s late when the show ends and the band and crew are still riding the high of their first sold out show, in their hometown no less. Tomorrow they would play in Pittsburgh loading on the bus in just a few short hours-he’d begin a long string of months on tour. A long string of months with those dancers performing at every show. Chris can tell when something is up. Especially now. The high that everyone was on they were loud and excited while you were withdrawn and quiet. When he pulled you into his side you only half heartedly returned the affection, still keeping your arms crossed over your chest.

“You know seeing you in my merch always makes me happy.” Chris mused, trying to lighten your mood a little bit. “Better than a goth playboy bunny?” you’d snap back. And there it was. Chris knew in that moment exactly what was bothering you. He knew the insecurities that you’d had, but after dating for so long he assumed they’d gone away. What was that saying again? Old habits die hard.

Does it upset him that you’re still insecure about yourself and where you stand with him? Maybe a little. Does it bother him more that he didn’t see it coming after he’d weighed all the pros and cons of having backup dancers on stage? Absolutely. He’d planned the costumes, the stage set up, the choreography, all things that he felt would make for a great show but wouldn’t be to suggestive or to much. And when something like your reaction came to his attention he realized that he may have made a huge error.

As a workaholic he spent months planning this out, every second of the 2-hour show where he was center stage planned out and overseen by him in every way. He couldn’t change it now, he couldn’t adjust now, the show was what it was. It was the band’s collective ideas and thoughts; it was everything they had hoped for a Motionless in White tour.

Realistically he is a Libra. His biggest red flag is he is self-absorbed and can’t really process others’ emotions when it comes to his own projects. BUT in the light of the event at hand there is only one thing that he can say that would make it better.

He proceeds to explain to you that two of the dancers are friends, one of whom is engaged to Ryan. The others all have boyfriends of their own. The one single dancer, she’s gay. It’s not much but it is the realness of the situation. “Besides, there is no one else I’d rather see sitting on my couch patiently waiting for me while I’m hyper focused on my work. Nobody who knows me so well that she has food delivered to the warehouse when I’m working late and forgot to eat that day. Nobody who is so proud to see me work that she acts like it’s her first concert every time.”

It’s not the ‘baby I love you and only you’ ‘no one could ever replace you’ response you were looking for. But the fact that he notices all the little things you do for him was enough to make you realize that despite everything you had his heart and he had yours.

[innerchorus]

Arslan Senki Chapter 126 (Part 2)

And unlike Kmanga you don't even have to pay twice for the privilege of having it split into two. SPOILERS for this chapter, I can't stress enough that the ending is a huge fucking cliffhanger so if you don't want to get spoiled please don't look.

That's a piece of the (Un)Holy Master's cloak...

Nicely dealt with by Andragoras!

Anyway, this is proper confirmation that Team Zahhak's clothing has magical properties / a life of its own and can potentially be dangerous even when separated from the wearer.

Given how fast the Master can dodge (or more correctly this is a teleportation style of evasion that I mentioned before where he reappears behind them) it's impressive that Andragoras actually landed a blow, though it's not even close to being a fatal one. Still, he looks like he's aiming to finish the job until the Master tries to regain control of the situation by attempting to blackmail Andragoras with the location of his child!

These panels of a shocked Hilmes in the background just watching all this drama unfold, lol

Anyway, it turns out Andragoras cannot be blackmailed and he'd rather renounce his child than be manipulated like this, which is... very on brand for Andragoras, regardless of what the truth about the child turns out to be in Arakawa's manga.

The Master: tch! Hilmes: Yikes

(Is anyone of the Parsian royal line a good father? Doesn't seem that way in recent generations. Hilmes, please reverse this trend with Irina by your side, I'd love to see you both happy with a family!)

Anyway GUESS WHO'S KNOCKING AT THE DOOR IN THAT LAST PANEL? THAT'S RIGHT, IT'S ZANDEH, PUPPY BOY TO THE RESCUE! And he's still got that little guy who was one of Kharlan's soldiers with him, and that warms my heart for some reason, I hope he gets to live.

Hilmes... 😭

I wonder what Zandeh thinks? It's clearly not 'nothing at all'.

Anyway this makes me really sad because where we saw Arslan open up to his followers and receive their support, Hilmes... can't bring himself to do that. Personally, I feel that at this point, Zandeh would support him regardless (as would Sam, who unbeknownst to Hilmes already knows the truth) but Hilmes can't bring himself to admit it, to admit the fact that he's based his whole life around a lie. Without his claim to the throne, who is he?

It's sad that he can't see that the right to rule and the qualities that might inspire loyalty and love are based on so much more. I'm not saying that he's a worthy ruler right now, unlike Arslan he hasn't even thought about how he'll govern the country for the better, but I do find it sad that his mindset leaves him so isolated here when it doesn't need to be that way.

(I'm going to need an Irina mention soon. At least show that Hilmes is thinking of her, even if he feels he can't speak with her.)

That's it for Team Hilmes content this chapter, anyway.

Who should Team Arslan bump into on the way to Mount Demavant but the Zot with a leashed Don Ricardo, still clinging on to Rukhnabad! So while Arslan did deliberately set out to get the sword, in the end it looks like it's going to happen via a chance encounter (well, if anyone can ever persuade Don Ricardo to let go of it).

Gieve recognising Rukhnabad is a great moment! Even he is so shocked that it seems like he's struggling to form the words as he processes what he's seeing.

I feel pretty sorry for Don Ricardo, he hasn't really recovered mentally from his encounter with Zahhak, he doesn't look to be in a great state, and while the Zot are merely intending to hand him over to Arslan, they can't communicate with him so presumably all he knows is that he's their prisoner, he has no idea what his fate will be and nobody to reassure him. Likewise, they don't know what he's been through.

Team Arslan try to figure it out thanks to Estelle, but Don Ricardo is too distressed, so they decide to find a village to stay the night. It's at this point that alarm bells started going off in my mind.

Narsus says "It's too quiet." (I start thinking of the village he stayed in with Alfarid where Arzhang had killed all the villagers.)

The horses start freaking out (we know they react this way to Team Zahhak)

Team Arslan find bodies of villagers with only their brain eaten (and who do we know of who has an appetite for brains?)

OH FUCK, OH SHIT, OH FUUUUCK

A weird mist begins to seep into the scene; Zahhak in the novels was described as exuding a miasma of sorts, I think it provoked fear in those who were close to it?

PANELS THAT FILLED MY HEART WITH PURE DREAD

Gods, I hope everyone survives this encounter. I don't know how it's going to go down but it strikes me that this could be it, this could be the actual deciding fight as far as Zahhak is concerned, because we have Rukhnabad on the scene right here, it could really be happening in Arakawa's manga right now, and I'm not sure I'm ready?

My head is ringing with questions. What does Zahhak's full form look like (we see the snakes clearly but not what they're attached to)? Is he fully resurrected or are the shoulder snakes just operating on the instinct of hunger? What happened to Kaykhusraw's body? Are any members of Team Zahhak here with the Snake King? If Team Arslan do fight Zahhak here, how do they go about it? One on one? As the strongest warrior, will Daryun take him on? Will Arslan (with Estelle's help) manage to persuade Don Ricardo to hand over Rukhnabad, and will he opt to take on the Snake King himself with the sword's powers?

Man I wish Kubard were here... I've always said he'd set everyone straight about the notion of taking on a being like the Snake King in single combat... Just kill it, any way you can.

Part of me feels like Zahhak won't be defeated yet and this encounter will serve its purpose mainly in showing Team Arslan that he truly has been unsealed, so now they'll know what the sorcerers were working towards and they'll know what they're up against. But will they come through this unscathed? I'm not ready for character deaths!

My working theory as of this post: Zahhak is not fully conscious and is mainly being driven by the snakes' hunger; he is heading for Ecbatana for some sort of ritual involving the head jars where he will truly return in full. The final confrontation will take place after matters in the capital with Andragoras and Hilmes have been resolved, and may involve entering Team Zahhak's lair beneath Ecbatana (ArAkAwA sHoW mE tHe DaRk TeMpLe).

Guys... I am utterly exhausted, this chapter has wrecked me. I'll keep an eye out for raws / somewhere to read the simulpub for free and post a link if I see it.

[quasiquack666]

Chapter 300 Thoughts:

Contains spoilers so I'll hide this under the break.

(Screen readers stop now)

— Already hate that Gestella was immediately sad as fuck about Kayden defending Jiyoung. Holy shit what is with the writing, she is literally like a 50-year-old woman who barely knows him. My face is permanently smacked into my palm.

— Meanwhile, I actually love Gestella herself. 'No point in looking for someone who decided to leave'? It's wise but also hints at sorrow. I really love her. I haven't known her that long but she's definitely a favourite already. Gestella hits different; she's super hot but I also like her moments of depth and think she's a great character.

— Literally the chemistry between Gestella's Handmaiden and Gestella is more compelling than her and Kayden. They're lesbians, your honor. Kayden can fuck off kindly.

— Handmaiden is a super cool sidekick character, actually. She's getting a lot more personality and development than I thought she would. I definitely need a name for her though, like please writers, name drop? Why does Blues get a name so far but she doesn't?

— I love the Awakener world lore, with Gestella seemingly isolated in comparison to the other Top Ten. It's really neat; perhaps she's afraid of letting people close to her that she's unsure are loyal. Because Handmaiden and Blues seem generally loyal, even though Blues is bonkers. But maybe she values the general loyalty?

— The characterization of Blues is super interesting too. He seemed bonkers, like most of the other antagonists, and he is. But he actually does seem to care about Gestella, similar to Handmaiden girl. I mean, he's clearly obsessive and weird, but it's a bit more nuanced? He was actually in tears. I wonder what part of his past made him obsessed with serving her? (Also applies to Pluton and Handmaiden; I really wanna know).

— Jiyoung slaying is always welcome to my humble eyeballs.

— The 300th Chapter extra art is fantastic, I love it.

Overall Impression:

I don't really see how this advances the original plot of Eleceed, not gonna lie. Like what happened to the Jiwoo family arcs, and why did Subin + Jisuk + Wooin immediately vanish from the plotline again, and why is there more of a focus on romance in the recent chapters than the actual plotline?

Kayden did not need a love interest, he should be able to just be a cute dad to his son and take care of cats and love having a home? Seriously.

Nevermind that adding more characters is frustrating because we barely get information on characters who are already in the plotline. Iseul has poofed into an animal or something, Delein is irrelevant despite being the literal first major arc, Cain is gone, Arthur is gone, Vatore is off the planet, Amyeong has become one with the shadows, Subin + Jisuk + Wooin are barely existing anymore. What happened to those initial, extremely important character development arcs? Now it feels like we get a character, then maybe 5-10 chapters on them, and then they vanish.

Like we haven't even had an explanation of Gestella and Pluton's relationship that led to Pluton going to kill/challenge Kayden in the first place. What the fuck, where is that? That's kinda more important than the romance letter bullshit.

Don't get me wrong, I've loved this webcomic enough to write 30+ fanfictions on it and constantly rant to every online Eleceed fan I know. So I'm not a hater, I'm a lover.

But where the fuck is the stuff I actually LOVE?

[the-name-is-z]

SKELETONS | ch. 28

daryl dixon x f!oc

masterlist

a03 link

Summary: Iris and Daryl get a good taste of what sort of business the Governor means. Iris finally meets Merle. Warnings/Information: AMC's The Walking Dead OC Insert | 18+ Advised | strangers to lovers; the slowest of slow burns; gore; angst; horror; humour; m/f; threatening; cult-like behaviour; exile, more or less

Chapter 28 - Merle

Iris watched as Daryl twitched, itching to move forward to where they could see his brother shuffling. As his own crossbow was soon trained on his brother.

She didn’t know what she was expecting when it came to Merle. Daryl was generous, kind, even, when describing him. But he never held back in telling the group how much of a deadbeat Merle was and had always been. Unfortunately, people like that seemed to thrive when the world ended. Though she didn’t think either Merle or Daryl had planned on a situation like this.

“Merle, the man I counted on,” The Governor continued as the guards removed the knife strapped to Merle’s arm and shoved him forward, “the man I trusted. He led ‘em here. And he let ‘em in.” He pointed an accusatory finger at Merle for all to see. “It was you. You lied. You betrayed us all!” It was the subtlest, most unnoticeable gesture of his hand that had the guards around them moving. 

Daryl wrestled against a harsh shove of one of the guards, earning a hard strike across the face. 

“Daryl!” Iris hissed, moving to go to him, but the guard holding her yanked her backward, warning her with a soft prod of the gun in his hand to her hip. Daryl’s face was already bruising by the time he straightened, letting them place a bag over his head just for the show. He let them push and escort him out toward the ring. The man holding Iris followed slowly, staying to the shadows while he quickly tied a gag tightly around her mouth. Close enough to see, but far enough to be hidden from view.

Merle said nothing as he faced them, watching the guards bring their prisoner forward into the ring. But he knew the frame, the small tattoos, and hell, that was his damn vest. 

“This is one of the terrorists!” The Governor announced as they shoved Daryl into the ring, ripping the bag off. He still wrestled against them, but his fight lessened as he laid eyes on his brother. Merle looked white as a ghost, fear, disappointment, anger flashing in his eyes. “Merle’s own brother!” Iris gasped under her gag as she laid eyes on Andrea, who stood, alive and well, watching the ring with an expression of shock. “So what should we do with them, huh?”

“Kill them!” A man shouted from the audience.

“What?”

“Kill them!” A woman repeated, others joining the rousing chorus. 

“What do you want?”

“Kill them! Now! Kill ‘em!” They all screamed. Iris paled. This was not what she signed up for. Men, women, children. People old enough to be her great-grandparents, all screaming for death. She wrestled against the grip of her captor again, and he shoved her onto her knees, aiming his gun at her own head. No. This would be a terrible end. Andrea looked appalled. Daryl held his own, pacing slowly back and forth with his hands still bound, facing the Governor, facing the crowd.

“You wanted your brother. Now you got him.” The Governor taunted, practically spitting in Merle’s face. He backed away, taking position at the head of the ring. The audience was crowding to the edge, abandoning the bleachers for front row seats. Daryl turned, making eye contact with Iris. There was nothing either of them could do but wait. 

He looked to his brother, who was already looking at him. Andrea was wrestling against the guards, calling to the Governor, who paid her no mind. He motioned to one of the other guards, who moved forward and cut the zip-ties from Daryl’s hands.

“I asked you where your loyalties lie.” He announced, looking to Merle. “You said here. Well, prove it. Prove it to us all. Brother against brother. Winner goes free. Fight to the death!” Iris hissed behind her gag. There was no way.

“Philip, don’t do this! Don’t do this!” Andrea pleaded. Daryl and Merle stood side by side, glancing at one another. It was a hell of a reunion. A few members of the audience called out to Merle, cheering for him to go ahead. Was this something they did regularly? Kill each other for sport?

“Y’all know me!” Merle called back, loudly, raising his un-maimed fist in the air. “I’m gonna do whatever I got to do to prove—“ He halted mid-sentence, whipping around and punching Daryl in the stomach. Daryl folded, coughing as he fell to the ground. “—that my loyalty—“ He paused again to kick Daryl in the stomach, his brother rolling in the dirt. “—is to this town!” Iris grimaced, trying to recall how many hidden knives she had on her, and if she could reach any of them. There was one in her boot, but whether or not she’d be able to do anything with one knife against an army of cult-like soldiers was another story. No one would deny she had talent with a knife, but she was no miracle worker.

Merle landed a few decent blows before the Governor nodded, soldiers Iris hadn’t seen coming out from behind her and leading walkers via what looked like snare poles with medieval man-catchers at the end. They surrounded Daryl and Merle quickly, just as Daryl landed his first blow, a swift kick to Merle’s already broken nose. They both scurried into the circle the walkers made, their forced proximity becoming closer and closer.

Crouching over Daryl, Merle attempted to pin him with his one good hand, though eventually found Daryl’s hands at his throat. Iris flicked her knife out of her boot in one smooth motion, cutting the zip-ties at her wrists. She flipped it over in her hand, pulling her gag out with one hand as the other quickly and quietly slit the guard’s neck open. His blood pooled in the dirt. No one noticed, even when his body thudded to the ground. They were far too focused on their night’s entertainment.

“You really think this asshole’s gonna let you go?” Daryl sputtered.

“Just follow my lead, little brother.” Merle hissed under his limited breath. “We’re getting out of this right now.” He hauled Daryl to his feet, the both of them standing back to back as the walkers circled them.

“No, Phillip, stop this! Stop this!” Andrea cried. Iris stepped forward, inching closer through the crowd with her knife. She didn’t know how to take out every walker, but she’d be damned if she didn’t try. Daryl punched one of them in the jaw, sending it backward into it’s handler, who stumbled back into the ground before falling to the ground. Merle landed a few good hits with his metal stump.

Gunshots rang out, the walkers and a couple guards falling to the ground alongside every citizen, hitting the deck to avoid any bullets going askew. A smoke grenade flew into the clearing, shots breaking each of the floodlights around them until the flaming torches were all the light they had left. Citizens scrambled in the chaos, screaming in terror. Phillip stood still, smiling softly as he cradled his pistol gently. More blood was seeping through his eyepatch.

Iris wasted no time in grabbing Daryl by the collar of his shirt, hauling him away from the chaos. He stooped to grab his crossbow, Iris grabbing her belt of knives.

“C’mon little brother!” Merle called, pummelling a walker’s skull in. “Stay close!”

“Let’s go.” Iris jerked her chin sideward, Merle and Daryl close behind. They followed the running crowds out of the courtyard, a light flashing near the exit.

“Iris! Daryl!” Rick’s voice called. Iris followed it blindly through the smoke, finding Rick and Maggie crouched behind a pair of oil drums waving flashlights.

“C’mon.” Daryl urged, Merle keeping in step as they were led away through the compound. They bolted around the edge of the wall.

“They’re all at the arena. This way!” Merle called, jogging to the head of the group.

“You’re not going anywhere with us.” Rick spat.

“You really want to do this now?” Merle asked, irritation lacing his voice. He moved aside, slamming his metal arm into a loose panel in the wall, taking a few hits before it fell through.

“C’mon man.” Daryl pleaded. “Rick, come on. We’ve got to go.” Iris didn’t need to be told twice, ducking through after Merle, Maggie close behind.

“A little help would be nice!” Merle called, still annoyed, as he started hitting away walkers with his club-arm. Daryl shushed him, quickly shooting the remaining walkers with his crossbow. Iris, Maggie and Rick joined in, clearing the roadway. “We ain’t got time for this!” Merle yelled, bolting into the forest. Iris, Rick and Maggie exchanged looks as Daryl started after him.

“Let’s go!” Daryl growled. Rick nodded and they followed after, uncaringly leaving the hole in the wall open behind them.

The sun rose by the time the SUV was visible on a trail through the woods. Iris breathed in relief, though she felt, for some loud, irritating, redneck reason, that it was too early to relax.

“Glenn!” Rick hissed through the trees.

“Rick. Rick.” Glenn called in response, pushing himself up from leaning against the tire. “Oh, thank god.”

“Now we got a problem here, I need you to back up.” Rick urged, putting his hand out in warning as Merle appeared behind him. Michonne drew her katana, Glenn pulling out his gun.

“What the hell is he doing here?” Glenn shouted as Michonne stalked toward them.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Rick warned.

“Hey, put it down!” Daryl called, standing in front of his brother as Merle backed himself up against a tree.

“He tried to kill me!” Michonne snapped.

“If it wasn’t for him, Maggie would—“

“He helped us get out of there.” Daryl stated for a start. Iris knew how much Merle meant to Daryl, but she was not about to ignore Merle’s atrocities against her friends. Her family.

“Yeah, right after he beat the shit out of you.” Iris hissed.

“Hey, we both took our licks, girlie.” Merle mused.

“Jackass.” Daryl grumbled.

“Hey, shut up.”

“Enough!” Rick yelled. Everyone called out more arguments as their weapons all trained at each other. “Hey, relax! Put that down, now.”

“You better get that thing out of my face!” Daryl snapped, slapping Glenn’s gun out of his general direction.

“Man, looks like you’ve gone native, brother.” Merle mused, chuckling to himself. 

“No more than you hanging out with that psycho back there!” Daryl replied, shoving his brother backward angrily. His twang came through more when he was angry, Iris thought.

“Oh, yeah, man. He is a charmer, I got to tell you that.” Merle admitted. “Been putting the wood to your girlfriend Andrea big time, baby.” He said to Michonne, moaning for comedic effect, though no one found it amusing.

“What?” Glen hissed. “Andrea’s in Woodbury?” Rick turned around in question, eyeing Michonne.

“Right next to the Governor.” Daryl grumbled. Michonne lunged for Merle, but Rick stepped forward.

“I told you to drop that!” He shouted, shoving her katana to the ground. Her eyes were wide, wild with fury. “You know Andrea?” She looked away. “Hey. Do you know Andrea?”

“Yep, she does.” Merle said jovially. “Her and blondie spent all winter cuddling up in the forest. Mm-mmm-mm. Yeah. My Nubian queen here had two pet walkers. No arms, cut off the jaws, kept ‘em in chains. Kind of ironic, now that I think about it.”

“Shut up, bro.” Daryl huffed.

“Hey man, we snagged ‘em out of the woods. Andrea was close to dying.”

“There’s no way she’s with him…” Maggie murmured.

“Snug as two little bugs.” Merle mused, a shit-eating grin curling across his lips. “So what you gonna do now, Sheriff, huh? Surrounded by a bunch of liars, thugs and cowards.”

“Shut up!” Rick barked.

“Hey, look at this, pathetic! All these guns and no bullets in them.”

“Merle, shut up!” Daryl snapped.

“Shut up yourself!” He shot back. “Bunch of pussies you roll—“ With one swift hit to the back of the head from the pommel of Iris’ knife, Merle’s body was on the ground, unconscious.

“You’re fucking welcome.” Iris grumbled, sheathing the knife again. She toed him with her boot. Daryl blinked, though nodding his approval. Someone always needed to shut him up at some point.

“Asshole.” Rick mumbled. Glenn stormed back toward the SUV wordlessly.

-

“It won’t work.” Rick grumbled.

“It’s gotta.” Daryl replied simply. “Look, the Governor’s probably on his way to the prison right now. Merle knows how he thinks and we could use the muscle.”

“I’m not having him at the prison.” Maggie stated.

“Do you really want him sleeping in the same cell block as Carol or Beth?” Glenn asked.

“He ain’t a rapist.” Daryl replied, making a face.

“Well, his buddy is.” Glenn said through grit teeth. Maggie gave him a stern look.

“They ain’t buddies no more, not after last night.”

“Iris, what do you think? You’ve seen them.” Rick asked. Iris exhaled through her nose.

“Anything can be useful if it’s exploited properly.” Iris started. Daryl opened his mouth, but she held up a hand. “I’m not saying we exploit Merle. I’m just saying he could have use. The Governor won’t attack the prison right away. What we did will be taken as a personal attack. He’ll try to think up something that’s going to be worse. That’s what guys like him do. But, I’m not entirely comfortable with Merle just roaming around with the rest of us, and I’ve only known him for a few hours.”

“There’s no way Merle’s gonna live there without putting everyone at each other’s throats.” Rick murmured, nodding at Iris in agreement.

“So you’re gonna cut Merle loose and bring the last samurai home with us?” Daryl scoffed, gesturing over to Michonne, who was guarding Merle’s body dutifully.

“She’s not coming back.” Rick shook his head.

“She’s not in a state to be on her own.” Maggie pointed out.

“She did bring you guys to us.” Glenn argued.

“And then ditched us.” Rick retorted.

“For a moment, for her own thing, like Daryl did.” Iris argued back. Rick tilted his head in acknowledgement, weighing the pros and cons in his head.

“At least let my dad stitch her up.” Maggie offered.

“She’s too unpredictable.” Rick stated.

“That’s right. We don’t know who she is.” Daryl agreed. “But Merle, Merle’s blood.”

“No, Merle is your blood.” Glenn replied. “My blood, my family, is standing right here and waiting for us back at the prison.”

“And you’re part of that family.” Rick said firmly, looking to Daryl pointedly. “But he’s not. He’s not.” Daryl glanced at the ground, exhaling.

“Man, y’all don’t know.” He murmured. Iris bit her lip, turning back to the woods. “Fine. We’ll fend for ourselves.” Iris’ eyes widened. He would really prefer to go it alone with Merle?

“That’s not what I was saying.” Glenn shook his head.

“No him, no me.” Daryl said, straight up.

“Daryl, you don’t have to do that.” Maggie protested. Daryl paused, gritting his teeth.

“It was always Merle and I before this.” He stated softly. 

“Don’t.”

“You serious?” Glenn asked. Daryl looked up at Iris, as if he was waiting for her to protest. She bit down hard into the inside of her lip. If that was really how it was, she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of her argument. “You’re just gonna leave like that?”

“You’d do the same thing.” Daryl shrugged.

“What do you want us to tell Carol? What about…” Glenn trailed off, just briefly glancing at Iris, but it did not go unnoticed.

“She’ll understand.” Iris said, quietly, but not meek. She and Daryl held each other’s gaze for a sharp moment before Daryl walked through the group toward his brother.

“Say goodbye to your pop for me.” He called to Maggie.

“Daryl, are you serious? Daryl!” Glenn called. Rick walked after him, but he didn’t turn back. Maggie stayed, watching Iris carefully. Iris’ gaze drifted and she stared hard into the ground as Rick hissed harshly to Daryl as they walked. Daryl whispered harshly back. Maggie reached out, taking Iris’ hand.

“Take care of yourself.” Daryl said at full volume. “Take care of lil ass-kicker. Take care of Carl. He’s one tough kid.” He slung his backpack over his shoulder, leaving the trunk of the SUV open as he stalked out toward his brother, now lucid and waiting patiently on a log in the woods.

“Daryl!” Glenn yelled after him. Daryl glanced back briefly as Merle happily slung his arm over his brother’s shoulder. The pair walked off into the woods, and Rick angrily slammed the trunk of the SUV shut. 

They all gathered at the car, loading themselves in and driving back toward the prison, minus one archer.

-

TAGLIST:

@heidiland05

@ryoujoking

@catlalice

@maxinehufflepuffprincess

@lowkeyhottho

@fadingpalacebonkpsychic

[panda-writes-kpop]

a question of morality, or a test of loyalty?

A/N: Hi guys, girls, and non-binary pearls! This was written as a birthday present for @ghastlybin , so happy birthday to a wonderful friend and fellow clown. ❤️ Also, this was heavily inspired by the works of @kingmaker-a (you can probably spot the references and thank you to King and @neon-city-dreams for fielding my questions since this fic was a bit out of my wieldhouse)

TW: ACAB and anti-capitalism themes, betrayal, alcohol, food and drink mentions, OOC SuA, a surprise guest at the end :)

Summary: One wrong turn can change your life forever. Some, like SuA, are resistant to change, while others are at the forefront of it all. Where will you lie after everything in your life changes?

♡ Masterlist ♡

"Hey, Geek Squad, over here!"

SuA waves you over with what surely is a weapon in her hand.

"What did you do this time?"

Your lab coat freely flows behind you as you walk towards SuA with haste.

"I think you mean 'What did we do?'" A smirk lies on SuA's face, and the tamed wilderness that rests in her brown eyes should tell you that nothing but trouble is on the horizon. "Watch this!"

With a simple click, the cylindrical object in her hand comes to life. It emits a deep violet color before SuA begins swinging it around. You duck before she swings the object over your head.

"What are you trying to do, behead me?"

She bursts out into a fit of laughter before turning it off.

"No, it doesn't have the capability to do that, but you may have given me an idea for my next project."

"C’mon, be serious. What is this thing for?" You gesture to the object that SuA tosses in the air carelessly before catching it.

"It's a zoning device. The superior asked me to work on it since you haven't had any great ideas as of late."

Your eyes widen as you fold your arms.

"Genius takes time-"

"Genius takes time -" SuA imitates you with a high-pitched voice as you sigh and pinch the bridge of your nose.

"You're acting like a child-"

"You're acting like a child!" She imitates you again, but this time, she uses a deep voice.

"I hate you."

"I love you~"

"That's not what I said." You matter-of-factly say as she lightly pushes against you.

"Well, that's what I heard." She smirks, again, before grabbing onto your arm.

You do your best to hide the shyness on your face as you lead her back to the lab.

"Speaking of genius-"

"Speaking of genius-" SuA bursts out laughing before squeezing your arm. "Okay, I'm done, you can continue on."

"Remember that car design that wouldn't work due to the spring constant-"

"Oh, here we go with the math stuff-"

"It's Physics, Sua," You're quick to correct her, "but I managed to fix it, and I should have the plans for you by tomorrow so you can start building."

"Look at you go, Calculator Watch!"

"You're so mean to me." You joke before poking her sides.

She screams and you flinch before breaking away from her.

"Don't do that! I'm sensitive." She crosses her arms in front of her chest in defiance, but the soft smile on her face tells you that she knows you're joking around. "Are you going to get drinks with me tonight?"

"I've got to change first, but yeah, I'll come." You adjust your lab coat before grabbing your ID from its protector. "Same place as usual?"

"Yup," She nods as you place your ID in front of the scanner, "and I don't think you need to change. You make the lab coat look hot, if I'm being honest."

A bit of red dusts your cheeks as the light in front of the scanner turns from green to red.

"Thanks." You mumble before waving her on. "Let's get this done so we can get those drinks, huh?"

"Now you're speaking my language!"

~

Living in the city had numerous benefits, and one of which was the fact that you could walk from your workplace to home and then back again. You liked taking the scenic route home as you could admire the delicate, dainty work that the city gardeners had created in the small gardens that dusted the sidewalks.

You liked taking the 'good' way home, or at least, that was the name that your co-workers gave it. They didn't like to go through the regular parts of the city due to the high crime rates, so they stuck to their same-old ways. You weren't against the poor and out-of-luck, but safety was a real concern for you, so you take the routine way home every day.

Today, however, was not your lucky day as there happened to be unavoidable construction work on both your regular and alternate route home. That meant that you would have to take the back alleys home, and although you weren't fond of the idea, you didn't want to be late to meet SuA.

Arming yourself with one of your homemade projects, a knife-like object that would send the victim to sleep once it penetrated the skin, you carefully walk through the alleys as you keep your head up. Awareness was a key tool in surviving in the city, especially if you weren't rich or happened to be in the wrong area at the wrong time.

The walk home was nerve-wracking but mostly peaceful. A few stragglers gave you some strange looks, and you couldn't blame them. Your pristine clothes and pure white lab coat must've looked strange next to a worn-down building covered in graffiti. You paid them no mind, and to the stranger that went too close, you flashed your weapon which caused them to quickly back away.

Everything was peaceful, and you felt yourself relax as your apartment building came into sight. Since you were on a main walkway, there were armed guards everywhere, which caused you to slip your weapon back into your pockets. Your quickened steps turned into a relaxed stroll as you tried to find your keys in your pocket.

After giving yourself a quick pat-down, you find the keys in your left pants pocket. You fish them out as you approach the building.

You're stopped by a crowd of people who are talking among themselves. You try to navigate around them, but the crowd's density causes you to reconsider. You'll be heading into the street if you want to do that, and considering how fast most cars go, you choose to stay off the roads.

You shoot SuA a quick text saying that you'll be late, and you slip your phone back into your pocket as you try to weave through the crowd. You stop dead in your tracks when a piercing scream breaks through the hustle and bustle of the city.

With that, the crowd breaks as people go running in different directions. You're left confused until you look to your right.

A girl who couldn't be older than fifteen is shoved against a wall by a couple of guards. She wails again, but they pay her no mind. One guard looks at the other for a moment before pulling out a skinny blue metal rod. You gasp when it illuminates blue after the guard turns it on.

The girl screams and thrashes against the guards, but you're unable to help her. Interfering in the business of the guards in a serious offense, and you don't need that sort of thing on your record.

Besides, if you did rescue her, what would you say?

"Oh, you see that torture device in that guards hand? Funny story, actually, since I'm the one who designed it."

~

Conflicting opinions battle in your mind as you unlock the door to your apartment.

Should you have intervened, even if it meant your own demise? Would it mean anything if you did? Would those above forgive you for the transgressions against society?

You carelessly throw your lab coat on a nearby coat hanger as you nervously pull at a strand of hair from your head.

That image is scorned into your memory, and you know that you can’t go back to work and continue to do what you did every other day before. The thought of it makes you nauseous, but the question remains to be answered.

What are you going to do next?

You try to pick an outfit in peace, and you’re successful for a moment before another wave of guilt crashes over you.

That little girl could’ve grown up to be something great… god-knows-where she is now, or if she’s still alive.

Still alive, you hope as you get dressed, please be alive.

You have to hope she’s alive. Otherwise, the guilt would eat you alive.

~

“Hey, you made it!” SuA roughly pats your back before rubbing your arm. “You look nice, all dressed up like that.”

You nod and bite your lip before ordering a drink.

“You alright?” SuA tugs at your arm as you sit next to her. “I know you’re quiet and withdrawn at times… but this is strange for you.”

“I have a lot on my mind.” You confess as you thank the bartender for giving you a drink.

“Like what?”

“I wouldn’t want to trouble you.” You shake your head as the thoughts come to the front of your mind.

“I worry about you.” Her voice softens, along with her mannerisms. “You can tell me, you know.”

“If I do… you won’t judge me for what I say, right?”

“Not unless you say something stupid.” She shoves you with her shoulder before grabbing your hand. “I’m all ears.”

So you tell her everything.

Everything about what you say. Everything that you had thought in the past hour. Everything, everything, e v e r y t h i n g.

When you finish, SuA quickly hushes you before speaking in a low tone.

“You can’t- you can’t do anything about that girl-”

“That won’t help me sleep at night.” You mummer back. “What do you think?”

“I… You need to move on.”

“SuA, I… I can’t.”

“I know.”

“So?” You softly say.

“So.”

“You can’t… you can’t just say that!” You exasperatedly say. “You need to tell me something.”

“What do you want me to say?” SuA asks with a bit of anger in her voice.

“I need you to tell me anything, SuA, I need you to tell me it’s alright.”

“You’re an adult. You can comfort yourself.”

“I need you to be on my side because I love you!” You raise your voice a moment before lowering it again. “I can’t stand the thought that you believe in these… sick, twisted ideas that this company, this city, this world promotes!”

“You love me?” SuA softens further before embracing you. “I’m sorry that I never said anything before.”

“What do we do now? How do we move forward?”

“I think that’s a question that can be answered after a few more rounds of alcohol.” SuA suggests before pulling away from you.

“Oh… okay.”

“Hey.”

“Hey?” You tilt your head at her.

“I love you too, you nerd.”

~

It was a dangerous plan.

It was a bad plan.

But it was your only option at the moment.

You and SuA would go into work tomorrow like nothing was wrong. During the shift, however, the two of you would be destroying any of your work that could pose a threat. After that, you’d wipe SuA and yourself from the computer system so you’d be completely untraceable. Then, after you had called in a favor from an old friend, you had a couple of electric motorcycles that would get you out of the city before anyone knew anything was wrong.

It was, most definitely, a horrible plan. One error could end with the both of you dead.

It was your only chance to right a wrong, and your chance to escape this nightmare with SuA, so it had to be a good plan that went well.

At least, that’s what you told yourself as you got dressed this morning. After combing your hair into place, you grab your lab coat and head to work.

One last day, you tell yourself, and the rest of your life can be spent doing something good for once.

~

You offer SuA a gentle nod as you clock in with your idea. She smirks before poking your side with her elbow.

“Why so gloomy?”

“I’m trying not to be.” You mumble before walking in the lab. “I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you soon.”

Brief greetings between the two of you were rare, but you had to hope that none of your co-workers thought that anything was wrong. Luckily, no one paid either of you any mind as you slipped into the lab.

You offer a glance backward as you see SuA walk towards the workshop with a phone in hand.

She’ll be fine, you know it. SuA’s a burning fire that’ll do whatever it takes to survive.

You just have to hope that your own resolve can last through an entire shift.

~

The day goes smoothly, to your surprise. In between working on a comfort project for one of the rich families, you’re able to delete or modify most of your work that would’ve led to the development of weapons or something worse.

As you stare at the weapons in front of you, you can’t help but wonder why you didn’t see this before. Was it the money that blinded you, or were you truly ignorant and resigned to what the people above you were doing?

It didn’t matter because you were going to be done with this life in an hour.

An hour. 60 minutes. 3600 seconds.

Yet the time crawls by at any agonizing pace.

One hour.

~

You look at the clock in front of you before pulling your flash drive from the device in front of you.

Three minutes.

Three minutes left, and all of you had to do was remove this flash drive from the premises. Maybe you could take it with you and try to amend the war crimes that you had committed by association, or-

The sound of your boss calling your name causes the hair on your arms to shoot up. You discreetly put the flash drive in your pants pocket before turning around.

“Yes?”

“Did you delete all of your work?”

“I-” Shit. “It was an accident.”

“Liar.”

They step aside to reveal SuA behind them.

Your mind races through a million possible explanations before landing on the one that hurts the most.

SuA betrayed you.

She mouths an ‘I’m sorry’, but you’re too blindsided by her actions to say anything.

She did this? After everything she said last night?

“You can hand over the files, and I’m willing to let this go due to your history of good behavior.” Your boss says as they extend a hand out.

You sigh before fishing the flash drive out of your pocket.

“Good, now just hand it to me-”

You hesitate before gripping onto the flash drive.

Could I really live with myself if I did something like this?

You drop the flash drive on the ground before stomping on it with your foot.

You hear SuA gasp as you dryly laugh.

“Whoops.”

“Seize them!”

~

Public execution.

You knew that was the fate that was destined for you before it came from the judge’s mouth. You had committed treason against one of the biggest companies in the city, which basically meant that you had committed treason against the whole city.

You didn’t really care, though. The one person you actually cared about turned you in, and for what gain?

You thought SuA was honorable, kind, funny, and respectful. There were many nights where you had dreamed of being something more with her. Now, she was repulsive to you. Everything that you had adored about SuA became something that you cursed at. You were so, so wrong about her.

You, however, were right about SuA in one respect: She would do whatever it took to survive.

The guard stationed at your door had told you that SuA wanted to come and see you, but you refused.

Why would you want to see someone who doomed you to death?

Well, you did that part yourself, but it still hurts.

You were numb, so death didn’t seem so bad.

Three days. 72 hours. 4320 minutes. 259,000 seconds.

The amount of time that you had left to rot in this cell before you died.

~

You had stopped eating a day ago after you found out SuA was paying the jail to provide you with meals that you liked.

You’d do anything to spite her at this point. You knew that she couldn’t handle the fact that your blood would be on her hands, so you’d relish in the thought of making her waking hours as torturous as possible.

You trusted her.

You had the two weeks before your sentencing to mourn the loss of that relationship.

In the place of cold, wet tears and lonely nights were fiery anger and bitter words, but you knew that you couldn’t say any of it to SuA.

She’d apologize, you’d apologize, and she’d get the closure she needed.

So you wouldn’t let her get close. If you had to be punished, then so did she.

~

The guard in front of you knocks to signal meal time.

“I’m not hungry. You should already know that.”

When they look at you, you realize that this guard isn’t the same one that you’ve had.

“Sorry,” You grumble before hugging your knees close to your chest, “you must be new.”

“Well, I’d be new if I was a guard in the first place.”

“Huh?”

You quickly stand as the guard tosses their hat to the side. Light purple waves of hair fall down her shoulders.

“Who are you?”

“We’re impressed with your efforts, Scientist Zero.” She smiles before fishing keys out of her pocket. “You’re coming with me if I didn’t make it obvious already.”

“What do you want with me? A private execution?” You bitterly spit as she offers you her hand.

“You can sit and rot in this jail if you want, but I think you have some amends to make, right?”

“How do you know so much about-”

“Do you want to come with me or not?” She offers you an ultimatum, and you sigh before cautiously taking her hand.

“I’m choosing to trust you in the hopes that you don’t stab me in the back.”

“I’d never dream of it.” She jokes, and the laughter squeezes the vulnerable part of your heart.

“I need a name before I fully put my life in your hands.”

“Lee Gahyeon.” She answers before pulling you to the side.

Another person, dressed in similar prison wear, takes your place in the cell before Gahyeon closes the gate.

“Don’t tell me they’re going to-”

“We do what we have to.” Gahyeon darkly answers. “A lot of people have faith in you, including myself, Zero. Is it alright if I call you Zero?”

You pause as you think back to the names you’ve been called before.

Geek Squad, Calculator Watch, Nerd.

“I’ve been called worse, believe me.”

[crownmemes]

Castle Sentences, Vol. 7

(Sentences from Castle (2009-2016). Adjust phrasing where needed)

"That's going to leave a nasty scar."

"I admire your loyalty. I hope you feel that for me someday."

"You just want me to take my shirt off again, don't you?"

"As a single man, I appreciated her assets."

"So, there's no one special in your life right now?"

"Is this how you interrogate people? Because you're doing nothing but pissing me off."

"I didn't lie to him. He never asked me about it."

"They say that dogs can smell fear. Did you know that some humans can as well?"

"If it's revenge you wanted, why not just kill me?"

"People think it's killing that I like, but murder's just an act. It's all about the anticipation, the planning."

"Do you remember the first time you handcuffed me?"

"Do you know how crazy that sounds?"

"If I wake up bald tomorrow, will you still be attracted to me?"

"You do realise that this is still a crime scene?"

"She's not an unfriendly person. She's just... Got walls?"

"Solitude's a very important part of my evening ritual."

"What happened to our family tradition?"

"Let's not be one of those sad, desperate holiday hookups."

"Are we really going to play this game where you deny things that you and I both know are true?"

"I'm not meant to be the bad guy in this case! You are!"

"Men are clueless."

"Is this as bad as it seems?"

"You two are great together!"

"All I hear you saying is a whole lot of stuff that you can't prove."

"Sorry I had to cockblock you."

"I'm 18. I don't have to ask for permission anymore."

"Please don't tell my father!"

"A father would do anything for his daughter."

"You really are remarkable, you know that?"

"I guess I was right about you."

"You know who's behind this, don't you?"

"What's the kingmaker to do when the king no longer follows orders?"

"I'm touched by your concern, but I think maybe you forget who you're dealing with."

"I suppose this means I'm in your debt."

"It's a dangerous world out there. You never know when you might need a friend."

"If I said no, would you really believe me?"

"Are you pathologically incapable of telling the truth?"

"It's all happening too fast and too slow at the same time."

"We're going to a cabin in the woods in the middle of nowhere?"

"Is that holy water? Where did you get that from?"

"Is there not just one tiny part of you that wonders if I'm right?"

[kyouka-supremacy]

Good day/evening!

Sorry for the long post, but I was wondering what your opinion is on whether BSD is critical about law enforcement? I saw people on twt saying that BSD is a story that is critical abt the government, and that the Hunting Dogs (especially Jouno) proves Asagiri has criticisms of police.

But personally I disagree since BSD also has positive depictions of police, like Ranpo's friend. And a major plot point was relying on 'good officers' to turn against the 'bad ones' when it comes to believing the ADA. There's also the way the ADA is also a law enforcement agency (albeit a privately owned one). And the way Fukuchi is an antagonist not because he is a member of the military but instead secretly a terrorist. Jouno explicitly bringing up police brutality is probably the best evidence that bsd is critical of police, but it's also the same chapter where he fought against the real antagonist Fukuchi, sort of giving him a redemption (and also Tetcho saying Jouno is actually good)

I guess I'm cynical about whether BSD is really as critical as people believe. But I liked your previous posts on BSD's treatment of female characters and nationalism, so I wanted to hear your thoughts on this too

Have a great day!

Hello, thank you for your question! I need to preface this by saying that I'm not an expert on the subject, so please forgive me - and feel free to correct me - if anything I say is misguided by possible misconceptions I may have internalized.

For the most part, Anon, I must agree with you. The first time I read the take about bsd beingcritical of police brutality - if I remember correctly, it was from a screenshot from Twitter that made some rounds here when chapter 100.5 was released -, I thought it was a huge case of erroneous recontextualization. Very likely, it was coming from an usamerican person projecting a very usamerican issue to a book that is not american, nor destined to an american audience, nor intended to make of american issues its focus. Not saying police brutality is a phenomenon exclusive to the usa, but, as far as my limited knowledge goes, it definitely isn't in Japan to an extent that goes close to what it's like in the usa (it's also a phenomenon deeply rooted in a kind of racism Japan simply wouldn't have the chance to know, because Japanese society doesn't know the kind of multiethnicism that is present in the usa).

I don't think bsd is, at least intentionally, critical of any police or military structure. You already pointed all the most relevant arguments on why it isn't: most police officers are usually framed sympathetically (hell, even when they are criminals they're framed sympathetically, see chapter 6 (although there the criminal being an officer was more of a coincidence than anything) ), a good chunk of police is supporting the main cast by now, and even the part that isn't isn't doing so because they're police specifically, but rather because the whole world think they're terrorists due to reality-rewriting powers of this magic book™. About the Hunting Dogs, at first they were introduced in a mostly villainous light; but, now that we got to know them, they hardly use as critic of military police. Tetchou is undoubtedly honourable and just. Teruko has been established to always be putting civilians safety before anything (chapter 75), and it's also stated that despite her methods she helped drastically decrease criminality (can't remember where for the love of me but it's there somewhere). Tachihara has always been a character that is vastly sympathetic to the audience, and by now his loyalty doesn't even lie with the government anymore so I don't think I need to get to him. About Jouno, I think a point was made even before his redemption: Jouno is not military. I mean, he may wear the uniform, but as stated in chapter 93 he was recluted by Fukuchi appositely because he was a criminal, and he was never supposed to become a rightful paladin; the fact that he ended up being one is but a mere unintentional coincidence, and even then he isn't there to be representative of military police, nor is his sadism. I'm not counting Fukuchi as military because his loyalty clearly belongs to the cause / the doa, but let's take a moment to acknowledge how ironic it is that he's also the only character who openly crticicizes the military system, and he's the big villain.

I don't think bsd is critical of law enforcement or government (Special Division for Unusual Powers is framed positively and, as you mentioned, the ada itself is an organization affiliate to the government); if anything, I think the military and police systems in bsd are once again expressions of bsd's main core, that there's nothing completely good or completely bad, and just like people constantly oscillate between the two, law enforcement structures also have both valorous and corrupt members in their ranks.

Also like, peoples, bsd is kinda right wing, and right wing is historically very close and supportive of military circles (see, for example, how fascism goes hand in hand with military imaginary). The biggest enemy of the biggest arc in bsd so far is literally an anarchist who among other things vastly criticizes the military system, so take that as you will. I feel like the overall implicit take away of this arc will be “it's true that law enforcement agencies do horrible things, but we must accept it because it's necessary to mantain peace and stability”, but feel free to disagree with me on this.