#married art please I could make things worse for you </3

[artdcnaldson]

can't stop thinking about arts wedding ring, it's ricocheting in my head I NEED HIM I NEED HIM I NEED HIM i'm hyperfixating on it, how outrageously good it looks on his hand, it just looks so completely natural. it fits him perfectly. that man was meant to be a husband, y'know? but i need to be his side piece, i need to be his dirty secret. doesn't matter if he's retired or at the peak of his career i just need to have him, and he needs to be married, an all american family man. kinda fits with the last ask i sent about him telling me he's too old while cuming inside me. i need to feel his ring against my cheek, whether he's holding me gently, grabbing me roughly or slapping me across my cheek. i just know it would feel so good, a cooling sensation, a constant reminder of the weight of what you're doing, the infidelity. need to feel it as he's gripping my ass, lifting me, pulling me back against him. need to feel it as he spanks my pussy for being a brat :((( need to feel like as he's fingering me open on his big fingers :((( I WANT HIM SO BAD need to feel it against my cunt with every thrust of his hand, he does it on purpose, he knows what it does to me. need to feel it against my tongue as he makes me suck his fingers clean. need to have him press his fingers down on my tongue just to make me drool like a little bimbo. AAAAAAHHHHHH i need him to call me a dumb bimbo. omg omg omg i'm sorry i'm tweaking this is so serious.

real time revelation. art donaldson calling me a dumb bimbo. full stop ✋ need to ponder that one for a second... that's very interesting indeed... will ponder on that a little more..........

-🐞

Oh my GODDDD </3

Hnhnhnnggg the cool wedding band digging into your jaw as he grips your face with one hand and slaps it with the other. Makes you keep eye contact as he smacks you again and again. You’re the one tormenting him, stealing him away from his wife and daughter, teasing him with sweet, young pussy he shouldn’t want. He hates you, he hates that he keeps finding himself buried inside of your tight cunt even though he knows it’s wrong.

He wants you to feel the ring, cold and icy against your burning hot skin as he grabs your hips and pulls you onto his cock and makes you bounce on it. Makes you do the work, fucking yourself on him, crying out and babbling about how good it feels, how deep, how much you fucking worship his cock.

The first time he saw you he knew you were going to be trouble. All wet from swimming in the pool with Lily, wearing one of his shirts because your clothes were in the dryer. You looked so pretty in it, wrapped up in something of his, looking sweet and vulnerable and dangerous. He drove you home that night, asked where Tashi found you (friend of a friend), if Lily gave you any trouble (no, Mr. Donaldson), how old you were (almost twenty-one). So young. He had a fucking decade on you and you were looking at him like a meal.

His grip was firm on the steering wheel, knuckles practically white.

“You’re really sweet, Mr. Donaldson,” you said after he parked on your floor of the garage.

“Art.”

You smiled, soft and pretty. “You’re really sweet, Art. And handsome.”

“I’m married,” was all he could think to respond. “Tashi— I love my wife. I love my family.”

“I’m sure you do.”

You sucked his cock in the front seat. When he stroked your cheek, you felt that ring cool against your skin and moaned.

Tashi keeps hiring you, and he keeps going back because he’s so weak. He doesn’t take off his ring— he thinks you like it. You drool around his fingers, tonguing the spot where the ring sits, laving the metal with tiny laps of your tongue. You drool around them, eyes rolling back as he presses them deep, until his fingertips prod at the back of your throat and stringy spit spills from your mouth.

You pull the ring off with your mouth, hold it between your teeth to offer it back. He thinks you’re actually evil.

[milkpup]

｡⋆ʚ♡ a bitch meant for breeding

›› nsfw 18+ jjk oneshot!

art by the amazing @g00miato !!!!!!! literally my fave artist (uncensored is on her twitter and it's wowza holy moly)

FULL SPICY UNCENSORED VER IS ON @g00miato twitter! i am BEGGING u to look!!!

ʚ ao3 ɞ / ʚ kofi ɞ / ʚ fic masterlist ɞ

›› zenin naoya x y/n ›› 18+ f!reader ›› wc: 3,207

‹𝟹 summary: you’re naoya’s wife, and he’s determined to treat you like the pet he believes you are. he takes your sex life up a notch, showing you how he really feels about you:3

‹𝟹 fandom: jjk, jujutsu kaisen

‹𝟹 genres / warnings: petplay, assault / impact play

‹𝟹 tags: au- no powers, spit kink, spitting, breeding, degradation, name calling, pet play, puppy play, light praise, slapping, spanking, choking, rough sex, misogyny, owner / pet dynamic, leash + collar, naoya has a big dick, light biting, light blood, cum swallowing, rough fingering, finger fucking, orgasm denial + delay, throat fucking, mating press, doggy style, missionary

‹𝟹 notes: typically i see naoya more as someone to be subby (bc i wanna put him in his place). but one of my fave artists posted the pic above + the uncensored one, and i went fkn FERAL. like i would be naoya’s dog frfr. i wanna be his pet frfr. this is completely self-indulgent and pure smut. enjoy the ride:3 i made naoya a bit mean, but ultimately i made him a lil nice at the end. my fic and i want nice naoya rn >:(((( (even tho we all know hes a certified misogynist lolol)

!! - again, PLEASE READ TAGS BEFORE CONTINUING - !!

! - ALL CHARACTERS ARE 18+ - !

The Zenin clan was known for its harsh treatment towards the women of the clan. They don’t allow them to educate themselves and they are forced in domestic roles and used to make children. While it gives the woman’s family a good reputation to marry into the Zenin clan, her life usually got worse as a result.

Marrying Naoya Zenin was no exception to this rule; if anything, it was actually worse in comparison. As much as Naoya makes your blood boil, he makes your pussy drip even more. You can’t stand to be around him. His personality is insufferable and he’s a misogynistic asshole, just like everyone else in this hellscape of a family. And despite this, he knows exactly how to pleasure you in ways you never thought you’d be into.

It started out as normal, vanilla sex even before you two were officially married. He never tried anything too crazy, just using your body like he owned you, but never taking it anywhere. Over time, you put up less resistance when he told you to do things for him. While it pissed you off sometimes to be his basically his servant, he always rewarded you in the end and you couldn’t deny how amazing it was every time.

One night, after he had been out late drinking with buddies, he comes home with a shit-eating grin plastered on his face. You greet him at the door, taking care of his coat and belongings. He’s looking at you like a predator. He scoops you up, trailing kisses from your chin to your lips. Naoya bites your bottom lip slightly, drawing a hint of blood as he pushes his tongue into your mouth, meeting yours. He’s tasting every part of your mouth as he carries you to your room.

Despite his drunkenness, his coordination when tossing you onto the bed was surprisingly swift. He pushed you against the bed with such animosity it was like something had possessed him. He starts nipping at your neck, leaving a trail of kisses and spit along your jawline before meeting your lips once more. He twirled his tongue around yours, sucking every part he could. He pulled his lips away from yours, a string of spit connecting you two. “Open,” he commanded. And you did just that. You opened your mouth as he spit into it, telling you to swallow it after.

He watched with satisfaction at your instant submission. You were like his pet. And he wanted you to know that. He kissed you once more before pulling apart and walking over to a drawer, opening it and pulling out a leash and a collar. You were only slightly able to make out his figure, his form quite hazy in the darkness of the room, but you could hear the jingle and clank of the collar.

He walked up to you, a hand offering the collar to you. He had it engraved with your name beforehand, saving this for the right moment. “Will you be a good bitch for me, ____?”

You were looking up at him, eyes wide with a blush creeping across your face. You nod, squeaking out a quiet “Yes sir” in response to his question.

Naoya grinned as he reached to buckle the collar around your neck. “Good girl. Such a good little puppy for me, huh? I’m honestly a little surprised you raised no objections. Such a dumb little puppy, aren’t you?” He buckled the collar and moved his hand to your cheek and caressed you softly right before he pulls his hand away and slaps your face.

You gasp at the impact, looking up at Naoya with a mixture of fear and arousal. His hand snakes its way up the side of your face, before resting on the crown of your head and gripping you by a fistful of hair. He gently tugs your head to meet his, kissing you once more. “Be a good girl for me and I’ll make it worth it, okay?” He says as he pulls back, hooking the leash to the collar recently buckled around your neck. You only nod up at him, eyes saying everything you can’t with your mouth.

He rubs your head a bit, praising you. “Good pup.” You blush at the pet name, feeling heat spread in your body. “Take my clothes off, sweetheart. Be a good bitch and prep me after too, yeah?” He finishes by tugging your head slightly, just enough to add some pressure.

Your hands meet his waistline first. You tug at the drawstring of his sweats, pulling them off. His briefs follow suit, exposing his thick cock. You never would have guessed when you first met him, but he had a piercing going through the tip of his cock. It always added an extra sensation, and it was interesting to look at. You always wondered how painful it must have been.

Naoya’s cock bounces out of his sweats, precum already leaking from the swollen, angry looking tip.  He’s looking down at you, expectantly. You don’t immediately budge, and so Naoya pulls on the leash attached to your collar, pulling you up to meet his cock. “Suck it, slut.” He commands as he’s tugging your head closer and closer.

You meet the tip of his cock, kissing it lightly, trying to be cute. Naoya grunts, pushing your lips open with his thumb and forcing his cock into your mouth. You barely have time to prepare yourself before Naoya is shoving his thick cock down your throat, still tugging at the leash and bringing you even closer into him. Your hands are trying to push away as his cock is pushed deep into your throat, cutting off your air. You can barely breathe through your nose as you struggle to push against him, but this only makes Naoya snaked a hand through your hair and push your head against his cock even more. “I know you can handle it, whore. I thought you’d be a good girl for me, so why are you resisting?” He taunts as he fucks into your throat causing drool to drip from your lips down your chin.

Tears were forming at your eyes as you look up to see Naoya fully immersed in his pleasure, head thrown back as he throat fucks you. He can see the tears starting to form at your eyes, only serving to turn him on more in a sick, sadistic sense of pride. He releases his grip from you momentarily, allowing you to catch your breath for only a few mere moments before resuming his rough abuse of your throat.

He picks up speed, not allowing you to get used to his erratic rhythm as you feel his cock start to twitch, warning you of what’s to come. You don’t really like swallowing, not that Naoya gives a fuck whether you do or not. Naoya does as he pleases. And right now, he would enjoy watching you swallow his cum. He likes the idea of fucking his cum down your throat, but he wants to watch you swallow it instead. Thus, he warns you before he’s about to cum and pulls out. “Open wide for me, pup. Time for your milk~” He purrs as he strokes his thick cock, shooting thick ropes of cum into your mouth.

The taste is horrible, and there’s so much it’s spilling out your mouth, just how Naoya wants you. “Swallow it, slut. Drink it like the good girl you are.” You swallow everything before opening your mouth and showing Naoya. He praises you, before bending down and spitting into your mouth following it with a sloppy kiss. He pulls away before pushing you onto your back on the bed. He pulls your top off first, watching the way your tits bounce when the shirt comes off. He trails kisses down your abdomen before reaching the waistband your pants. He tugs at it with a finger before completely pulling them off, leaving your panties on.

Naoya pushes your legs apart before positioning himself between them. He spits on one of his fingers as his other hand meets your clothed cunt, before pulling the panties to the side. His other finger rubs your slit, feeling how utterly soaked you are from just being teased and facefucked. His long, slender finger slides over your hole before making its way up to your clit, rubbing small circles around it. Naoya can hear your pathetic attempts at stifling your moans like you’re embarrassed, and he makes it one of his goals to make you louder. He wants everyone to hear what a dirty whore you are.

His finger makes it way back to your tight hole, slipping itself inside the wet and warm entrance. Naoya feels you immediately clench at the intrusion, hearing your cute moans as a result. “Good girl, let me hear how much you love me doing this yeah?” He encourages you as he pushes his finger all the way in, before immediately pulling it out and fucking you with it all over again. He wastes no time in adding another finger, trying to stretch your tight cunt open as much as he could. His fingers are drilling into you, making lewd wet slapping noises that fill the quiet room. Your soft moans betray how aroused you are.

Naoya pulls out to your chagrin, before rolling you over onto your tummy across his lap. He spreads your legs open once again before forcing his fingers back into your needy hole. You yelp out in surprise as his fingers slip inside, scissoring themselves and spreading you open. Naoya uses his other hand to spread your ass open, giving him a close up view of your weeping hole taking only 2 of his fingers and already struggling. “You’re taking it like such a good slut, yeah? You want me to stretch you out after?” He asks, feeling you clench around his fingers the moment he finishes his question. He laughs a bit. “I guess that’s your response, huh pup?”

It's that damn pet name again. You moan he lifts his hand to slap your ass. Naoya does not hold back in the slightest, repeating his slaps until he’s satisfied with the redness spreading across your ass. He pushes in another finger, this time feeling your stretch cunt at its limit. He pulls your body up into a sort of doggy position, you on your knees face down onto the bed. His fingers are slamming into your cunt, your juices dripping onto his hand and wrist then onto the bed.

Naoya bends down beside you, purring into your ear. “You’re such a good whore, aren’t you?” Your cunt clenches in response to his praise-degradation and he chuckles beside you. “I love bitches who make messes so easily, and you’re just like that. I bet you’re already close just from me fucking your tight cunt with my fingers.” He smirks at his taunt. You’re moaning into the bed, drool spilling from the sides of your mouth as his fingers continue their relentless assault on your cunt. He brings his other hand to your clit, thumb circling the sensitive nub as he brings you one step closer. Naoya was right, you were close, and he could tell just from your body how desperate you were to cum and make a mess right in front of him.

“You gonna cum, baby? Gonna make a mess for me, yeah?” You could only whine into the bedsheets, face pressed against the mattress as you felt Naoya bringing you ever so closer to your release. His thumb pressed harder onto your clit, rubbing it with more intensity as his other three fingers fucked into you with ferocity. You were drooling all over the sheet as you whined, feeling yourself tighten up around Naoya’s fingers as you feel that knot in your stomach start to snap—

And then Naoya pulls away both his hands, right as he felt you about to be pushed over the edge. You lift your head up, whining as you pout and look at him. He has the cheekiest grin plastered on his face as he brings his fingers to his mouth and cleans your juices off them. “Sorry, pup, but you don’t cum until I tell you to. Got that?” Your pitiful whines come out as a response, still squirming under Naoya at the loss of touch.

You softly squeak out, “Yes sir.” In response to Naoya’s question. You would do anything for him in this moment if it meant he would let you cum all over him. Literally anything. You would bark for him if he asked; he probably would like it given the puppy stuff anyways. Fuck, you’d even do tricks for him if he really wanted to, anything if it meant he praised you and helped you cum.

Naoya smiled even wider, setting a hand on your head and petting you. “Good girl,” he coos. You feel your heart melt and your pussy throb at the praise. He’s making it painfully slow for you, taking his time before he’s going to touch you again.  He pushes your face back into the mattress, scooting your ass closer to him in the process.

Naoya parts your thighs ever so slightly, giving him better access to your sloppy cunt. He lines his thick cock against your hole, pushing his pierced head in ever so slightly. Even with his three fingers fucking your cunt and spreading it out, his cock was still a tight fit for you. He grips your hips with his firm hands as he pushes into you in one sadistic push, bottoming out into your tight cunt. You yelp out in pain as he slams his thick cock into you, feeling every ridge, vein, and especially his fucking piercing. You didn’t think it would feel extra good, but it’s an added sensation that you can’t get from anything else, and it feels fucking amazing.

You moan against the bedsheets loud enough for Naoya to hear as he pulls his cock out and slams it back in. “Fuck, ____, your cunt is so tight. It’s like it’s made just for me, yeah? A hole meant for me to breed, isn’t it? You’re just a bitch meant for breeding, aren’t you?” Naoya asks as he roughly spanks your ass in tandem with his thrusts. “Answer me, pup, what are you?” Naoya demands an answer as he hardly tugs at the leash, pulling you up against him.

The collar is pushing against your airway as he tugs at the leash supporting your weight. Because of this, you can barely choke out the words he was expecting to hear from you. “I’m a bitch… meant for breeding...” You sputter out as his thrusts increase in velocity and force. You moan against him as he pulls your body fully against his, fucking into you from behind.

“Good girl,” Naoya coos  as he places a gentle kiss on your neck before biting down hard in the same spot. He draws a bit of blood, licking the area clean and kissing it once more before he lets go of you and pushes you onto the bed again.

Without breaking contact between you two, Naoya expertly flips you onto your back. He never stops his rhythm fucking into your abused cunt while moving your legs. He fucks you a bit in a missionary position, looking down into you as tears are forming at your eyes. “Fuck, Naoya, it feels sho fucking good~!!!” You slur your words out as you look into your eyes, his thick cock never relenting. You reach your arms around his neck as you pull him down to you into a quick kiss.

He pushes away from you, but not before gently biting on your lip first. He pulls his cock out momentarily as he places both your legs onto his shoulders. He pushes his body fully into yours, trying to feel every inch of your body. He slams his cock back into your messy hole as you moan into him. You can feel his warm breath as he trails kisses from your jawline to your neck, biting you in almost the same spot as before. The sharp pain only adds a distinct sensation that enhances your pleasure.

You can feel the knot building in your stomach again, threatening to snap at any moment. “Naoya, m gonna—m gonna cum, soon!!!” You stumble out your words, trying to warn him in advance so this time he can reward you.

Naoya grins and fucks into you harder, drilling his thick cock into your tight cunt. “Good slut, cum for your owner, bitch. I own you and this cunt, don’t I?” He taunts you as his cock hits your g-spot, hitting that bundle of nerves in such a way that has you seeing stars.

“Th-thank you!! Yesh, yesss you own me Naoya!!! I wanna be your dumb pet pleaseee imgonnacum im gonna cum!!!” Your words are stumbling out now, unable to control any of them as you feel the knot in your stomach break and you get not pushed over the edge, but metaphorically kicked into your orgasm. It feels like you’re crashing into the pleasure that is Naoya’s cock as you basically scream, feeling yourself squirt and make a mess around Naoya’s cock and the bed.

He reaches a hand to grip around your throat, cutting off your loud proclamations of pleasure. “Be quiet, bitch” He spits his words out as he rams into your cunt. You can feel his cock twitch and release his thick load, grunting as he fills your womb to the brim with his cum. His grip around your throat releases as he pushes himself off of you, pulling his cock out. Some of the cum overflows from your cunt, dripping out of your hole. He reaches a finger down, lapping up some with his finger and pushing it back inside, placing your panties back in the same position as before.

“Don’t let any spill out. You’re my bitch that’s meant to be knocked up by me. I’m sure you’re so excited to be a mommy, aren’t you?” In your fucked out state, all you can do is nod in a stupor as you try to catch your breath.

Naoya lifts your head and props a small pillow behind it as he climbs to in front of you, cocking staring straight at you. “Be a good girl and clean me up, pup.” You look up at him with half-lidded eyes, still reeling from your mind shattering orgasm mere moments before. Naoya’s thumb opens your mouth as his cock meets your lips. You stick your tongue out, placing kisses on his cock and licking his cock clean.

Once he’s satisfied with your cleanup, he moves beside you and kisses you. He pulls away and looks into your eyes as he caresses your cheek. “I love you, ____. You’re such a good girl for me.” You look into him and grin, as he playfully smacks your cheek. He places a kiss over the slight red mark he leaves before getting up to gather clothes for you.

‹𝟹 notes: how this fic got me feeling:

but frfr this pic got me going crazy im like feral and unhinged. i rly am a monkey. i think geto suguru was on to smthn frfr. i see hot jjk men i start fucking hooting like a monkey, going crazy when i see their bananas frfr

- if u wanna be tagged in my works / updates, pls lmk :3c!

‹𝟹 notifs: @vvxxccaa @arylaa @starshipxoxo

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(･ω･)つ divider creds to @/cafekitsune and @/eloquentreverie

[rxverriess]

God, I'm not your strongest soldier

୨୧‥∵‥‥∵‥‥∵ ‥‥ 🐈‍⬛ ‥‥∵‥‥∵‥‥∵‥୨୧

Summary: Running away from the past is already challenging, and now the girl I never thought would acknowledge me has something against me and wants me to work for her. It could have been worse, but at least I'll get paid... but at what cost? Let's see how working for Aeri will turn out for the better or the worse. Hell, maybe even both. Pairing: Aeri (Giselle) x Fem! Reader Featuring: Yeonjun (TXT) and Woo Young (Ateez) Warning: Brief self-harm mention, Blackmail, Cursing A/N: Hello everyone :3!!! I finally finished writing and making this story and currently working on the next chapter (if this story turns out well ^^; ) thank you very much for your patience and I hope you enjoy this upcoming series. I was very inspired by @rosemaeridream story "Hate is no better than Love" (which I very much recommend and send love to the author) This is my first ever time writing fanfic, and would love to receive some feedback and criticism would be nice to make the storyline more smoother and enjoyable to read :D. Thank you again and hope you like this! Credits: dividers by @dollywons

I have always struggled to find a career path since I was young. Nothing has interested me, no matter how hard I try. I have hobbies, don't get me wrong but I never really saw them as career paths, even if I did my passion would be shut down by my parents saying “That's not a career (Y/N) that's just a little hobby, you should be earning money from it.” But what if I did see them as a career? Imagine opening my gallery, selling my artwork, and making a name for myself in the art world. 

 But as if right now I’m sitting in my finance lecture trying my best not to have a complete mental breakdown. Seriously, why did I sign up for this? I'd honestly rather marry an eighty-year-old dude who's guaranteed to cheat on me with younger women than endure this professor’s constant coffee slurping and forgetfulness. And wouldn't you know it, my earbuds decided to die on me. As I glanced around the room, I couldn’t help but observe my classmates – someone was playing Papa's Freezeria, a diligent note-taker, and Aeri who made eye contact with me... Wait what. I must be seeing things because I couldn’t possibly get her attention on me, like what did I do? She looked up and down at me then turned around and went back talking to her friends. Weird. 

I couldn’t stop thinking about how Aeri. Uchinaga Aeri made eye contact with me? Aeri was a very….interesting person the nicest way I could describe her. She was very cocky, arrogant, and from what I heard also toxic. She leads on girls thinking they could have a chance with her, only to find out she just wanted to get something out of them and then break their hearts in the cruelest way possible or how boys fond over her to the point that they carve her name on their thigh or even worse commit suicide. It's no wonder she's got such a big ego. I mean, who wouldn't, with all the boys and girls falling over themselves to impress her, copy her, and just generally bask in her glory? She's practically a campus legend. And let's not forget her family's "old money" background – her great-great-great grandfather's company has been keeping her in the lap of luxury for generations.

But why was she staring at me? I never really cross paths with her unless it’s some snarky comments about my presentation whenever I present or how I was always not paying attention in class

“And that’s it for today's class, please make sure to submit your spreadsheet project by the end of the day which is due at midnight, and don't you dare email me over the weekend saying you lost progress on it or experiencing technical issues while submitting it. Have a good day” as the professor leaves the classroom. “Well shit,” I thought I haven't even touched the project yet here I was daydreaming about Aeri the entire class period. 

No. No, I wasn’t. I was just caught off guard that's all, I would never think about her like that. She barely even knows I exist and it's going to stay like that.

It was now 9:00 PM, and I found myself in the library, attempting to break free from procrastination. Even glancing at the graph is causing me a headache. I took another sip of my third energy drink can and attempted to input the numbers from the graph when my computer suddenly slammed shut, nearly crushing my fingers.

“What the hell? What is your prob-” My mouth stopped as soon as I saw the person who was standing in front of me. Aeri.

“Um hi A-” 

 “You’re (Y/n) (L/n)?” she said cutting me off mid-sentence

“Yeah? I’m in your finance class…” I looked up at her, catching me by surprise at how she knew my name.

"I have a proposition for you," she said. "I'm looking for a photographer to take my modeling photos. And I stumbled upon your page and I have to say, your pictures are... decent."

 She didn't even bother to make eye contact with me while speaking to me. It seemed like it was a struggle for her to compliment my work.

I rolled my eyes at her. "Well, Aeri, I'd love to work for you, but only if money is involved," I replied with a straight face. "Wow, aren't you greedy?" she scoffed in amazement that I had the nerve to ask for payment. "You get to work for me and all you care about is how much I'll pay you?"

 “My time and work aren't for free and even if I were with the most famous person I would still charge them, I have a student debt to pay off not to mention my rent. And besides you come from a wealthy family how come you can’t find a professional photographer to take your pictures?”

“It's just” She pauses for a moment as if she is going to say something she shouldn't say “My family can’t know about this and that is all I’m going to say to you because it's none of your business” she smiled at me as she said that almost feeling like I was being threatened 

"Even if I had a private photographer, there's a good chance they would try to expose me to get more money from my family," she said, almost mumbling that last part. She got up from her chair and came over to my side. As if the atmosphere just changed out of nowhere, why am I so tense? It's like the Grim Reaper is about to take my life away from me any second now. As she leaned on the edge of the table, making eye contact with me, she continued, "Besides you really can’t say no to me either way”

“What can you have that I can’t say-”

 Then the room went silent when she pulled up a video. The video I’ve tried to run away from. The video I tried to avoid. The video that Aeri is holding that ruined my life in high school to the point I moved states away from home when I was applying to college. 

Was it expensive to the point my parents wouldn’t financially support me? Yes. All because of a video. Pretty much. But yet here I am seeing how Aeri using this video against me. I just wanted to run away from it like how I’ve been doing for the longest time.

“Aeri,” I said with a stern voice, not trying to get my anxiety the best of me “Where the hell did you get that video from”

“Oh this” she held her phone up and smiled at me “I have some connections but that’s not important right now because now I have you in a position where you really can’t say no to me” She had a huge grin on her face that I just wanted to slap it off. 

Red. I saw red at that moment. Why? Just why? Why is this happening to me now? Who the hell does she think she is? I thought I could simply just run away from it and be done with it but I guess not. I just wanted to leave and run far away from this world but felt stuck in my mind and couldn't even leave the chair as if someone put glue on it. When I looked up from Aeri, she was standing there, looking down on me like I was prey to her.

“Fine” is all I could say to her, not after the stunt she pulled out on me. I felt tired from that moment and all I wanted to do was just go to my apartment, lay in bed, and never wake up but unfortunately, not everyone can have that.

"Glad we agreed then," she said as she grabbed her stuff. Before she turned to leave, she added, "Oh, and one more thing” She handed me a sticky note with her number on it. "Text me if you have any questions or something, but don't text me too much. Otherwise, we'll only communicate by email, okay? Bye," she said then walked out of the library as if she hadn't just blackmailed me.

Fucking great just great (y/n) now look at what you got yourself into now. Not only you're going to be working for her and she has shit on you as well. Wow, I got the best of both worlds, didn't I? 

The train ride was very silent on my way to my apartment, my leg kept bouncing up and down as I stared out the window with headphones on that I always kept a spare but even so the music couldn’t even calm my thoughts down.

ding

The announcement came on telling passengers of the next stop and to be ready to depart. I grabbed my stuff and stood in front of the door. I kept looking at myself in my reflection. And all I saw was a sixteen-year-old me looking distraught and disappointed. If only I could've hugged her and told her everything would be alright. But even she knows I'm lying to myself.

As I finally arrived at my apartment door where I already heard two of my roommates being very loud and obnoxious (as usual). I opened the door where I saw Woo Young and Yeonjun playing video games and being extremely competitive with each other in the living room.

As I step inside, I drop my keys in the bowl and slip off my shoes, tucking them away in the cubby before slipping into my house slippers. 

"Guys, don't start roughhousing because I don't want to spend a month without a TV like last time," I yelled as I was in the kitchen trying to find something to eat, even though I had lost my appetite after that whole day. I simply grabbed a yogurt and headed to the living room to grab my bag.

“Jeez you look like shit” claimed Woo-young as he kept looking at me and then back at the screen. “Thanks” I replied as I was walking towards my room.

“Hard day in class?” yeonjun asked without taking his eyes off the TV, getting more aggressive with the controller 

“Trust me that wasn’t even half of what happened today but I would appreciate it if you guys keep it down please I just want to sleep and hope this entire day was just a dream,” I said, knowing I got weird looks from them but turned down the volume a bit.

As I finally changed into my pajamas, I settled into bed and stared at the ceiling, recapturing what the fuck just happened today. I was simply minding my own business finishing my project, which I didn’t even get to finish but at this point why does it matter I just got blackmailed by the most popular girl on this campus, and worse I have to fucking work for her now. Memories of our brief encounter at the library began flashing through my mind.

My mind lingers to slumber as I try to hide away from these bad thoughts and sleep where I'm not running away from everyone and everything. 

I promised her that.

[vintageaustin]

Masterlist

Last Updated: 04.20.2023

Welcome to my main masterlist! It is about time I finally got this up and running... and not broken

Under the cut you will find the links to everything I posted along with prewarning's to the fics themselves. Please pay attention to these warnings as the things I write are not for everyone!

A couple of things to note, descriptions are short little summaries. They may not be the best explained, but I promise the fic themselves are much better then such.

Along with that, keep an eye out for the emojis below for some pre-warnings.

🖤 Dark Themes 🤍 Smut

Elvis Presley

Baby Fever

► You and Elvis have been married for about three years now, and he thinks it's time for a baby

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Jessie's Girl

► You are Elvis' best friend's girlfriend, but little did you know Elvis is head over heels for you.

Part 1, Part 2 🤍

Pretty When You Cry

► Reader finds out that Elvis has to leave for Germany

Fucked My Way Up to The Top 🤍

► Sugar daddy Elvis being jealous after seeing the waiter flirt with the reader at the restaurant

Summer of '55

► The reader goes with Elvis and some friends down to the sunflower fields. Your best friend ends up asking what he's like in bed and Elvis overhears how in love the reader is with Elvis.

Art Deco 🤍

► Reader and Elvis meet at Club Handy after being apart for a short period of time. The both of you knew that you're bad for one another, but can't leave each other alone.

It's Supposed to be Fun Turning 21

► Based off the Presley home video's on Priscilla's 21st birthday. Instead of Priscilla it is the reader.

Fuck it I Love You

► Sugar daddy Elvis starting a relationship between 34-year-old Elvis and 19-year-old reader, who is the Colonel's step daughter... it starts off pretty innocent but soon turns into a lot more.

Part 1, Part 2

Honey, I Belong With You

► Drugged up Elvis begging you to stay by his side forever. You make a promise that you might not be able to keep.

Take Me to Church

► The church and the royal family isn't always the best mix, but when it comes to the newfound king and the presists daughter... they mix perfectly.

Baby Blues

► Reader finds out that Elvis is cheating, and she finds herself with filled with rage.

Until I Found Her

► Formally known as Tredici // cowriter: @asshlyyyy

► You’ve heard of Romeo and Juliet right? Well, imagine that… but remove the violence and death. You’re the rich girl who would never be seen with someone who was poor. Well… that’s what you image was. You didn’t care about the money. Because once you found Elvis… Everything changed.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Sebastian Kydd

Cruel Summer 🤍

► The reader and Sebastian have been friends since forever... well that is until that one collage part...

Austin Butler

Are you Lonesome Tonight......?

► It is 2020 and the Covid pandemic just got worse than it already was... Seeing you are in lockdown and living with your boyfriend who was working on the new Elvis movie and your college being on lock down as well, it could get quite lonesome.

Lotta True Crime

► Serial Killer Austin kidnaps reader who has a podcast about true crime with her friends. She saw something she shouldn't have, and the rest is history.

Part 1 🖤, Part 2 🖤, Part 3 🖤🤍, Part 4 🖤

Say Yes to Heaven, Say Yes to Me

► It is the 1950s, and Austin is on his way to get married to the love of his life.

I've Got My Eye on You

► The reader is getting hated on and becomes depressed... down in the dumps... and even suicidal. Austin helps the reader through this hard time.

Put Me In a Movie

► Both the reader and Austin have an unhealthy obsession with each other and decide to finally make something of it.

[antianakin]

If it's possible to ask multiple questions for the 'choose violence ask game' : 3, 7, 15, 19 and 22 please

Choose violence ask game:

3. screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr

I think so far the worst was when THPG decided to argue that the point of the Prequels was that the corporations were the victims of the Republic. It's definitely the most UNIQUELY bad take and probably one of the ones that understands Star Wars the least.

The ones that could be argued to be worse just because of how prevalent they are in fandom are the typical takes of the Jedi "taking Anakin from his mother" or abusing him or that they "needed to fall" etc etc.

7. what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them?

Anakin, tbh. I wouldn't say I had particularly STRONG feelings on Anakin back when I was a casual fan, but I definitely felt positively about him. I honestly really liked finding sweet fics with Obi-Wan & Anakin during Anakin's Padawan years, and I liked plenty of fics where Anakin got to have his cake and eat it too by showing the Order you CAN be a Jedi and be married.

And then I started actually looking for more Star Wars content online and ended up coming upon posts where people were discussing what Lucas actually intended to say about the Jedi, the Buddhist roots of their philosophy, etc. and the more I interacted with that kind of content, the harder it was to LIKE Anakin and that's when his fans started to turn me off of him. It was a slow turn from "oh Anakin's totally fine and the Jedi are wrong" to "actually Anakin's probably the one who's wrong but he just needs a lil help" to "wow fuck this bitch."

15. that one thing you see in fanart all the time

So the obvious thing is whitewashed clones, that's the serious answer. Hate when clones don't seem to look much at all like Temuera Morrison and it doesn't seem like there was a lot of effort towards that end.

My less serious answer is one I think is sitting in the queue somewhere, but it's Anakin with the twins as this like happy cutesy thing. There's absolutely nothing WRONG with the concept or the art at all, no actual objectionable content, it just doesn't work for me anymore. I can't see a happy future for Anakin with the twins and the one and only thought that comes into my head when I see it is "oh god get them out of there." No shade towards artists who do make those pieces or the people who like it, it just isn't my cup of tea.

19. you're mad/ashamed/horrified you actually kind of like...

Padme sometimes I guess? Like she's not written WELL and the things she does have completely turned me off of other characters, but that childhood nostalgia hits HARD.

22. your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores

That the Jedi are the good guys and Anakin's a villain. Obviously not everyone ignores this, but I still wish more people remembered it.

[silverloreley]

Part 2 of the outline of my LBFAD x TTEOTM crossover idea (which I need now more than ever given how the series ended).

Part 1 here. We were left at the Nehter River. Now, I think the reason the disaster demonic duo couldn’t find the Devil Fetus for 500 years is because TTJ was in the river while the Evil Bone was with Susu, who timeskipped to her own time so, in those 500 years, there were no Evil Bone nor Devil Fetus to find.

[Which means that having TTJ dive in the Nether River was actually a good idea to prevent/delay the end of the world, or at least to spare him five centuries of tortures from the demons who’d try to awaken their master (not that he didn’t suffer plenty in the Nether River, but that was his choice, you see)]

That said, the 500 years disappeareance could happen, in this fic, also if the very worried immortal family decides to take a risk and bring TTJ with them in the immortal realm, preferably Xishan or Cangyanhai. In fact, in Xishan he could recover from the wound of the Nails in his heart and cultivate better his new immortal soul. They’d also explain him the nature of Susu’s sacrifice, once given the chance, and XLH would beg him to be patient and wait for LSS to be back in a new life, like she waited for DFQC.

But we know TTJ is a stubborn freak (who we love) and I think more likely he dived in the Nether River anyway, “bye family, come pick me up in 500 years” sort of.

This got even longer than the other part.

Shangque basically adopts Nian Baiyu. Aka: Nian Baiyu doesn’t fall prey of the demons and gains immortality thanks to his new dad shifu. They were close before too, since Shangque saw the poor lieutenant interact with TTJ and had flashbacks of himself with DFQC. Jieli insists on taking in Nian Baiyu’s sister too when their mother dies in the demon attack (this isn’t plot-relevant, I just liked this idea). The Yiyue tribe passes under Shangque’s protection and of the Moon Tribe by proxy, therefore no one is taken hostage or stuff.

Qingyu and Pian Ran get married and rule the empire together, although they make to history as they created a new tradition about the emperor wearing the mask and the empress must never be seen, the latter only to let Pian Ran be free to do whatever she pleases. After 300 years or so, they plan to find a good-hearted, strong, righteous and smart kid to adopt as their heir for when they plan to retire and travel around the world.

That said!

When the Nether River spits out TTJ, he does end up near the immortal sect, while his family was waiting for him near the Yiyue tribe’s settlement. It causes a bit of a delay in them meeting again.

No one remembers he had been a disciple over 500 years before just like no one remembered Xiao Lin, which is curious but true because most people forgot, have died, or just are too young to have met him in those 3 years so long before.

Master Zhaoyou still puts TTJ to test because “a disciple who had not cultivated any art in five centuries is as good as a newbie” or something (he dissipated most his cultivation in the Nether River so Zhaoyou is pretty much right). That’s when Zhaoyou finds out a few things that he keeps for himself about TTJ, including the fact he’s the Devil Fetus but without the Evil Bone, that he was raised by actual immortals, and there’s something else he can’t quite figure out and breaks his head over.

The first thing XLH does upon finding TTJ again is slap his arm and chastize him for making her worry for other 500 years, as if she had not suffered enough being parted for so long from someone she loved before. He apologizes and she cries and obvsy forgives him. DFQC gives him the cold shoulder for the grand total of a day, then he caves in too. Changheng and Shangque can’t even do that and hug him right away. Once they arrive, Danyin and Jieli are much worse, they go on a tag-team two-hours long tirade while Xunfeng is just, like, there watching and gloating with this judgmental face that ends up being worse than everything else put together.

Nian Baiyu and Changheng offer to stay in the sect with him if what he wants is to stay, everyone else will come back from time to time, like they used to do in his childhood.

None of them had the chance to meet Susu yet or even hear of her name, at least until the competition comes and, whoops, there she is! The Lady of Spirituality, who would have guessed? And she saved TTJ again, just in case someone had doubts it was her.

Before that, though, the immortal fam offer their help containing the demons during the competition, since that’s not an interference with mortal fates. It changes everything and nothing: they manage to trap the two big demons for a while, but those two are very strong and manage to escape.

XLH is very happy to meet Susu again, although Susu tries to pretend she doesn’t know any of them, XLH laughs and tells her she tried the trick too and it never works in the long run.

(TTJ knew that part of the story and he pulls a DFQC and kisses Susu instead of only tricking her into revealing herself. Yes, that’s a scene I loved in LBFAD and I expected one like that in TTEOTM, damn it!)

He still ends up following her to Jing and being baited by Si Ying and Jing Mie, use the Crossbow, find out Susu has the Evil Bone and so forth because that bit was solid.

Since TTJ told his parent(s) a through recollection of Bo’re life (save for some, ehm, more private bits), they all know that Di Mian is a lying liar who lies, who did not kill the (D)evil God - the previous Goddess of Xishan did - and that he was the real cause of his beloved wife’s death. It discredits him a lot, especially during the trial (Changheng basically moved in the Xiaoyao sect at this point and was already there to help, DFQC and XLH arrive later for reasons).

Although, it’s undeniable that TTJ is the Devil Fetus and used to have the Evil Bone and still has the Crossbow so it only helps so much.

DFQC crushes the Pillar to interrupt the punishment (and gets real scary) while XLH starts to chastize the sects for being unable to see past their prejudice. Susu adds to it with her retelling (and the lie about the Evil Bone being gone) just like in canon because that scene is epic and almost made me cry so it must stay as it is.

Incidentally, the trial is also when TTJ finds out his family adopted him to prevent the end of the world, which is pretty devastating interms of trust, but the love they have for him is genuine and so is his for them, so everything is later resolved with a shoutfest and lots of tears.

Zhaoyou is unofficially dragged in the loop of the immortal family after that. He admits he had perceived/noted the Devil Fetus’ nature from the start but wanted to give his student a chance. They’re all very touched by that, and grateful (and Changheng developed a bit of a crush on him, no I accept no criticism here).

They end up sharing all they know: in the 500 years, they made researches on the Devil Fetus and how to separate its destiny from that of Tai Sui, but aside from removing the Evil Bone and keeping the artifacts far from each other since none can be destroyed, it seems like there’s nothing more to do, not without killing TTJ and make him regenerate in Xishan’s soil. The only problem is that without a soul vessel (like XLH’s seed or the moon bone orchid) the new life would be completely new, so not TTJ, and that’s not a viable solution, so TTJ needs to cultivate enough to create a soul vessel for his primordial spirit to be preserved if he wants to get rid of Tai Sui’s influence for good. It’s a lenghty procedure and the demons, along with Tai Sui, give them no time for this to happen.

There is, nevertheless, a moment of respite, while they start to plan the wedding. The immortal family almost goes overboard with the engagement gifts.

TTJ asks LSS’s fathers to let some of the immortal family assist in the removal of the Evil Bone (he doesn’t trust Di Mian. in. the. slightest). Di Mian wouldn’t want to, but has to cave in to avoid suspicions.

During the procedure, Di Mian manages to near-fatally wound Qu Xuanzi and DFQC with the Sky-Slashing Sword to the point of rendering them comatose and manages to put the blame on TTJ, he also plans to completely kill them but he’s stopped by LSS figuring out what happened. Qu Xuanzi very nearly dies (maybe he doesn’t. I just decided this can be an everybody lives au, all things considered, with XLH being there it can be).

Di Mian still flees with the Evil Bone, followed by Zhaoyou and Changheng.

TTJ is lured out by Si Ying and Jing Mie who kidnapped Susu thinking she still has the Evil Bone or at least can bait TTJ. She manages to escape mostly on her own because she’s more badass than the show allowed her to be.

Danyin and Xunfeng fight against Si Ying and Jing Mie because I say so to cover Susu’s escape and her start looking for the entrance of the Devil Palace.

(Eh, that means the Spider Demon won’t appear here, nor there will be her fight with Nian Baiyu. Whoops)

After the fight with Di Mian, Zhaoyou is about to devilize but Changheng uses half his immortal soul and near so of his cultivation to stop the process and save him. Unfortunately, this also means they’re both out of commission and seem to be dead on the outside eye.

The All-in-Distress-Way is opened, cue the sect people being stupid (the red master whatshisname tries to use the Crossbow which backfires and kills him LOL), Susu facing her shit dad once more, and so forth.

TTJ saves Susu from Di Mian, but he’s forced to devilize. Of course, he surrendered only on surface, because he 100% intends to weaponize the chance he’s given to destroy Tai Sui from the inside, a true suicide mission (it’s nice that I started to write this outline days before I saw the final 5 eps and I still got it right, that part of the plot makes perfect sense, if you ask me).

This starts an internal power struggle between TTJ and TS to control the body, the whole speech about all things sad and evil feeding the Devil God and all that drill.

After GYJW calls back all the sect people, including LSS, he finds out Zhaoyou isn’t dead and Changheng tries to make him see reason. Idk where this may lead until this dialogue is written though, but I feel this must happen because GYJW is a bad cheap copy of Changheng (and XL wasn’t that bad) he could have been a much better character, so perhaps he’s salvageable here.

The sects still have to intervene to stop the All-in-Distress Way because stopping the end of the world is the right thing to do.

Susu will have none of it, of course, and goes to speak with her (almost) husband, consequences be damned. So do XLH and DFQC, although he’s still wounded by the Sky-Slashing Sword.

Changheng stays behind in the sect to help the planning, Danyin and Xunfeng decide to return to the Immortal realms to mobilize Shuiyuntian and Changyanhai to try block the All-in-Distress Way from above.

TTJ ends up having to fool not only LSS but also XLH and DFQC, and actually manages to get the upper hand on all three because Tai Sui started to gloat about how he tricked the Goddess of Xishan and the great Yuezun by taking the primordial spirit of their future child and turning him into his vessel. Basically, in the river of reincarnation, he swiped their future child’s soul and forced the Evil Bone onto him, and then made sure he’d be born in a mortal’s life of suffering to break him down to his will for good. He planned to reveal it near the end of the world to make DFQC and, most importantly, Xi Yun unable to kill him (whether this is the truth or not, it’s debatable, it all depends on the message we want to pass thorugh with this rewriting).

Unfortunately, it works, and TTJ is left to apply his initial plan of having himself killed by Susu after the Celestial Punishment Array will hit.

During the Bo’re life, though, Susu sees through his lies, three lifetimes gave her a good enough grasp of his tellings. The fact she figured out most the plan does little to stop it, at first, since both play their parts till the end.

XLH is conflicted for a while, but eventually agrees to the plan, although for her it’s another heartbreak and repeating history. She says this much to TTJ who falters for a moment, revealing his true feelings but he has to push trough.

The Celestial Punishment Array is made by the sects and supported by Shuiyuntian and Cangyanhai, which once again joined forces to defeat Tai Sui. It’s a pretty big thing because it’s the first time in 30000 years the Immortals descend among mortals to help them (and will mark a new alliance for the future).

LSS ascends because that’s what she has to do and, in the “godly council” there’s also Xi Yun, who promises to be by her side. Chu Huang thanks her.

Tai Sui is ultimately erased for good by the combined efforts of TTJ, ascended!Susu and Xi Yun, but this effort claims TTJ’s life, as he expected, and Susu’s, who sacrificed her godhood to turn the Scale into a soul vessel for him to come back when she realized he intended to die for good.

XLH is left to pick up the pieces: given her phoenix nature, LSS is back as an egg, which her adoptive father (if he survived, otherwise Ye Qingyu and Pian Ran) will take care of until she’s back. As for TTJ, the Scale-turned soul vessel will allow, with time, to fix and restore in full his primordial spirit, so XLH and DFQC take it to Xishan and wait.

Qingyu and Pian Ran had been using their combined energies to protect the kingdom, but since they had each only half her original demonic energy/life, they end up consuming most of it, at which point they agree they had had enough of being rulers, and retire to the countryside.

Time skip to a few centuries later, when the taizi dianxia (crown prince) of Cangyanhai meets the Lady of Spirituality of the immortal sect. Neither remembers each other, again, until they touch by accident while bickering and then it all comes back to them.

And, for fuck’s sake, this time they get married decently and are happy with their daughter and extended family and all is well.

THE END and holy shit, if the outline is that long, this could become a monster fic.

[eww-y-tho]

✨Miserable Thoughts At Around Midnight Coming From Existing With Two Narcissistic Parents✨

Pt. 1

I'm starting a series that I don't think many people will see, but this is probably going to be just for me to get my sadness and trauma out there somewhere whenever I'm thinking too much to sleep, and idk someone might be comforted by it in a weird way.

I'm just feeling very crushed right now and need an outlet. Ignore me if this, including other sensitive topics, such as attempted $u!c!d3 or inappropriate conversations with minors, is triggering for you.

For some context, my parents are divorced and living in separate houses. I'm living with my father and visiting my mother regularly. My sister is studying psychology and we've been deducing our parent's behaviour.

One of the toughest parts of having narcissistic parents is recognizing the patterns they use to manipulate you. I'm going to be talking about my mother first. Comparing the behaviour in my mother's texts between us sisters indicates a serious difference in interactions.

My mother has a history of putting me on a pedestal, calling me the light of her life, her baby, and the only reason she was married to my father. She "needed to stay with him" so that I "had someone to take care of me until I was an adult."

As a result, her subsequent neglect of anything other than spewing her poison was crushing. Me and my sister were surfing through the bins that contained crafts, art, and any nicknacks we collected over the years, and I have 20 separate, very crude cards to my mother that just say "I love you," so you can see how much I wanted to please her.

She talked about her sex life with my father to me in my tween years, plus my sense of wanting to age faster so my mother could finally leave the marriage really fucked me up. She would infantilize me and break down my confidence. Being homeschooled didn't help. I felt completely isolated.

My only saving grace was the internet while my sister left for uni. My sister had more signs of complete neglect, though. She has mental and physical health issues that are tied to parental neglect and a lot of her childhood memories were spent alone.

My sister showed me her text messages, and hers are drier than the Sahara, my mother only sporadically asks for favours that indicate a lack of care. My texts with my mother are drowned in red heart emojis, weird gifs for the context of the conversation, and a regular daily check-in if I drank my pill, what I'm doing, if I ate, what I ate, asking for any artwork WIPs I have, etc.

While that might sound sweet at first, it's very clearly a manipulation tactic, as she constantly drowns me in affection because she still thinks I can be controlled by all of her manipulative behaviour and my childhood urge to get validation from her.

It's very hard to see, which is why this speculation makes you feel like an asshole sometimes. But my sister and I have been burned by her so many times, she's ignored our advice in the past too much, pulled the victim card at so many inappropriate points, and she's actively engaged in destructive behaviour that caused some serious trauma. It's hard to believe she has good intentions.

God, I barely talked about all the things she's done to me and this is very surface-level, but it will go a lot more in-depth in other posts with examples as well as with my father so you know I'm not crazy.

I'll add a small tidbit here (that's not so small now) because it's plagued me for a few days recently:

My sister had a conversation with my mother about the four years my sister was in university, also known as the hardest point of my life. It's hard to admit, but around 3 years in, I attempted $u!c!d3. It didn't really threaten my life, but the intent was there.

My sister leaving really took a toll on my mental state, and living with two narcissistic parents made it worse. I only Skyped my sister on the weekends because I didn't want to bother her while she was in uni, so the only relationship I was active in was with my mother, as I didn't really have an excuse to not talk to her.

It was really damaging, and just remembering those years makes me cry. Back to the conversation. My sister told me that my mother actually told her that she was glad my sister left because that made me and my mother closer. I had a freakout and cried real hard when my sister told me that, because one, she was truly blind to the suffering I experienced, two, she just said that my sister was a barrier between me and her, and three, "close?" if anything, I became more and more distant as time passed.

Not even mentioning how damaging that was to my sister, as she told me that she didn't react to the blatant lack of care, but that sentence mixed with all the shit she did made her feel like she failed in protecting me, which was a driving force she had throughout my childhood. That stung.

Anyway, that's enough misery for now. I'm done.

[hopefulromances]

Drabble Night

Hi friends! I'm happy y'all are enjoying Long Time Coming! I'm loving writing it! I'm not up to much tonight so I thought I would do some drabbles!

Here's a prompt list, send me an ask with a number and I'll write something up!

Prompts from @creativepromptsforwriting

“This didn’t work out as I had intended.”

“Urgh. Definitely not.”

“I will prove you wrong. Just watch.”

“Let’s kiss and see where it takes us.”

“Idiots. They are all idiots.”

“If I have to tell you again, I won’t be this nice.”

“Well, this went horribly wrong…”

“How do you become accidently married?”

“I hate us sometimes.”

“Why are you wearing my skirt?”

“It’s impossible to get rid of me.”

“Sometimes, I don’t know why I put up with you.”

“This is stupid. And kind of fun.”

“Please tell me, this is not why you woke me up.”

“I may have lost it.”

“You and me - movie night.”

Let’s grab the food and get out of here.“

"High heels do look good on you.”

“Roadtrip!”

“I prefer not to be disturbed.”

“We should have been in bed 3 hours ago.”

“This is a stupid excuse.”

“Why won’t you let me braid your hair?”

“Are you awake or asleep?”

“I can’t smile at you, I’m mad.”

“Well, it’s never too late.”

“Oh, look! My will to live… it’s gone.”

“Just five more minutes.”

“Where did you get the flowers from?”

“Alright, let’s make a deal.”

“You’re so easily distracted.”

“Cooking is an art form.”

“Are you a witch?”

“Thanks for nothing, I guess.”

“This is so stupid.”

“You can’t handle my beauty.”

“Is that my shirt?”

“This doesn’t smell like roses.”

“Who do we have here?”

“I’m annoyed, to say it mildly.”

“Not sure what you mean.”

“Smells suspicious.”

“Tomorrow will be better.”

“I don’t know how I feel about this.”

“Lies. Just lies.”

“Could you spare some change?”

“Well, we can’t fix it now.”

“I’m not touching that!”

“You’re not getting sea sick, are you?”

“It’s not what you think it is.”

“Did you eavesdrop?

"I can’t believe we’re friends sometimes.”

“How was I supposed to know?”

“This fits perfectly.”

“Stay there. I’m on my way.”

“Let’s get some ice cream.”

“The world is not ready for us.”

“What kind of sick dream is this?”

“You’re a legend, man!”

“The feeling is mutual.”

“Does this make sense to you?”

“I’m just so tired.”

“Do I really want to know?”

“The government doesn’t want you to know about this.”

“I volunteer myself to go last.”

“Your handwriting is atrocious.”

“This whole thing is a mess.”

“We were never prepared for this.”

“Things are worse than I thought.”

“Not our brightest idea.”

“Did you see that?”

“How did you get it destroyed like that?”

“Bye, bye, you won’t be missed.”

“This is a nightmare.”

“I have secrets you don’t know about.”

[hotch-stufff]

Twists of Fate

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Reader, past Jimmy Palmer x Reader

WC: 2.5k

Description: After being cheated on by an NCIS agent, you decide to move to Quantico and join the BAU. What happens when you fall for the Handsome Unit Chief? Will you confront your past, or will it stop you from moving on?

Author’s Note: This has been in my drafts for like months. I actually forgot about it. The reader is Gibbs daughter as well, so there’s a lot going on, but I actually liked how this turned out. Lmk what you think <3. Also, not my gif.

——————————————————

"You cheated on me?" You asked hesitantly. So quiet he barely heard it. His eyes closed and he held his head in his hands.

"I don't- I don't understand. Y-you said you had to work late." Your lip quivered, and your voice stayed quiet and soft. He wished you would yell at him. He wished you were angry. It would be so much easier than the heartbroken look on your face.

"I'm so sorry y/n. I don't know what I was thinking. It just, it just happened." He desperately wanted to bring you into his arms. To hold you. To kiss you. But he lost that privilege

"I- I. I thought you loved me." You were full on crying now. You couldn't bring yourself to do anything but sob silently on the couch. You were so heartbroken. "I thought we were happy." You sniffed, trying so hard to stop the tears.

"Y/n it was a one time thing. I still love you. You are the love of my life. I want to marry you and have kids with you and grow old with you. Please, please forgive me. Please baby." He grabbed your hands, and you let out a sob.

"No." Your voice remained small as you pulled your hands away. Slowly you stood up, the tears still falling. "Goodbye Jimmy." He was crying now.

"Please don't go. Please. I love you. Baby we can work this out. Please." But you ignored his pleas. You stood up, grabbed your phone and keys and walked out. You started your car and pulled out of the driveway.

You aren't sure how you made it there in one piece, but you seemed to have mastered the art of driving while crying.

You drove to the only person who would make you feel any better at all.

Gibbs.

You pulled into his driveway, shut off your car, and made your way inside. You searched around and found him in the basement.

"Y/n? What's th’matter?” He set down his sander and walked over to you as soon as he saw the tears in your eyes. You didn't cry often, so it shocked him seeing you like this.

"Dad." You let out a sob. He held you tight and ran his hand through your hair soothingly.

"Hey, hey. Calm down f’me. Breathe. Tell me what happened." There was no sugar coating it, so you just said those dreadful words.

"He-he cheated on me." His eyes flashed with anger before he quickly brought you into his arms even tighter than before.. You were crying so hard now. He had never seen you so broken. He wished he could do something, anything. He didn't even know you were seeing anyone. Well he knew, of course he knew. He just didn't know who.

"It's okay sweetheart, I'm right here." He held you until you calmed down. He took you upstairs, made you some tea and sent you to bed. You didn't sleep a wink. No matter how comfortable the guest bed was.

You woke the next morning feeling even worse than the night before. You hated this feeling. You hated that a man had reduced you to feeling this way.

You could barely eat, or sleep, or even process anything.

It was torture.

This routine continued for about 2 weeks, before you had had enough.

You knew your father would hate it. But you needed to leave.

You just couldn't stay.

"I think that I'm going to move to Quantico. Take that job with the FBI." You said at dinner one night. Your dad looked slightly shocked, but not overall surprised. He was silent for a long time before speaking up.

"Well, you know I will support you in whatever you do. Even if it is the FBI." You giggled at the distaste in his voice.

"I just think I need to start over. Get away from everything. It's just too hard to stay in DC right now." He understood. And of course he helped you move all of your stuff and settle in in the upcoming weeks. He really didn't like that you were going into the FBI instead of NCIS, but he was just glad you were happy.

And you really were. Over the next month, you really picked yourself up. Your new team, the BAU, had become like another family. They welcomed you with open arms and you felt truly whole for the first time since you found out Jimmy cheated. They, of course, figured that out quickly, being profilers and all. And they all were quick to decide that they hated whoever Jimmy Palmer was.

The next couple months of settling into the team were perfect. You were best friends with Spence and Morgan. Jj had turned into the sister you had lost long ago. Prentiss and Garcia are always ready for a girls night. And Rossi, who was pretty close with your dad, watching over you at your father's request. The only person you had yet to get close to, was Hotch. Jj told you not to take it personally. That he was a closed off man and that he didn't really like change. You of course just thought he didn't like you.

That was until a particular case, where an unsub was hunting down women that looked very similar to you. The team decided it was best that you go undercover, and you were all for it ready to do your job. Unfortunately, it didn't go well. The unsub pulled a gun before anyone could think and shot you in the shoulder. It was unbearably painful and you can barely remember what happened. But you remember Hotch standing over you, applying pressure to your wound. He looked scared as hell and that was just about more terrifying than getting shot. You passed out soon after that.

Waking in the hospital was awful. The lights are too bright, the pain in your shoulder, that scratchy throat. But the hand on your own shocked you more than anything. You looked over to find a fluff of dark hair on the side of your bed. You recognized it instantly as Hotch. Your heart fluttered and you gently shook him awake. He shot up.

"Y/n. You're awake." You smiled softly at him. "How do you feel?"

"Like I was shot." His face hardened. "But overall okay I guess. But wh-what are you doing here?" You asked, scared for his response.

"I couldn't leave. Seeing you get shot, just made me realize how stupid I was being." He wasn't making sense.

"Hotch, you lost me." He stared into your eyes.

"Aaron, call me Aaron please." You were so very confused. "I'm going to do something and feel free to slap me."

"Wha-?" You were cut off by his lips on your own. You were shocked, but it didn't take you long to kiss him back. You were lost in each other, your lips meeting with unmatched passion. But your thoughts strayed to the fact that you were kissing your boss. You had sworn that after Jimmy had cheated on you, you would never date another agent. You hadn’t been on your father’s NCIS team, but you had still had to work with Jimmy on occasion, and ultimately left when he broke your heart.

It was with this thought that you pulled away from Hotch. He looked at you, a smile on his face, and your next words, physically hurt to say.

“We can’t.” You whisper, and his smile falls. His eyebrows furrow, and he nods in understanding.

“Of course, I don’t know what I was thinking.” He pulls his hand away, and you watch him close himself off. He stands, leans across your bed and presses a kiss to your forehead, before turning to leave.

Were you making a mistake? Hotch isn’t Jimmy. You can’t judge every man because you were hurt one time.

“Wait!” Hotch stops in the doorway. He turns slowly, and his eyes meet yours. You’re too scared to say what you really want to, so you say anything that comes to mind.

“Why didn’t you say anything sooner?” You ask, and Hotch takes a moment before moving back to his chair.

“I didn’t want to scare you away. I know you were hurt in your last relationship.” He pauses, hesitantly taking your hand in his. “And I was scared.” His eyes meet yours once again. “So I pushed you away. I tried as hard as I could to not get close to you. But then you got hurt, and I didn’t want anything to happen to you without you knowing that I care about you. A lot.” He waits with bated breath for your response. And when a smile blooms across your face, he lets out a breath of air.

“I promised myself I would never date someone I work with again.” You squeeze his hand and place your other on his cheek. “But, I know you aren’t Jimmy. I know you would never try to hurt me.” Your heart pounds out of your chest. “I care about you too. A lot.” You whisper, and his lips are on yours again. It’s less passionate than the first time, but just as meaningful. In that moment, you know you made the right choice.

And that was the beginning of your relationship. It was rocky in the beginning. Trying to hide it from the team was close to impossible, but it worked for about 5 months. They eventually caught the two of you making out in the break room when you had thought everyone had left. Aaron's fault really.

He had insisted everyone was gone.

Of course a girls night was planned where you told them everything, from the first kiss, to the first date, to when you met Jack, and the fact that you practically lived at his apartment.

About a year into the relationship, he asked you to move in with him, and of course he met your dad. You weren't the least bit surprised when you walked away for a second and heard your father tell Aaron that he would "kill him and make it look like an accident if he ever hurt his daughter." To which Aaron replied with an awkward chuckle, simply saying he would never hurt you, that you were the love of his life.

Another 6 months brought you to a very fancy restaurant and the man you had hopelessly fallen in love with down on one knee next to your table. You both cried as you said yes and kissed softly as strangers surrounding you cheered. Everything had turned around, and you were so incredibly happy.

That was, until your first joint case with NCIS.

It was a normal day and everyone was sitting at their desks when Aaron came out of his office.

"We have a case. It's a bad one, wheels up in 20. We'll be collaborating with one of the NCIS teams in DC. We'll brief you on the plane. Gibbs, my office please." You stood and walked up to his office, not at all surprised that he called you up. You were dreading his next words.

"It's your dad's team." You sighed. Aaron was surprised at the saddened look on your face. He was the only one, besides your father, who didn't know who the cheating ex was. "What's wrong?"

"There is something I should tell you." You took a deep breath before sitting in the chair in front of his desk. "The guy I was with before you, the guy who cheated on me, is Jimmy Palmer. He's on my father's team. My dad doesn't even know that it's him. But I want you to know before you hear it from anyone else." He was quick to walk around the desk and he pulled you into his arms.

"If you need to sit this one out you can. We can manage." You smiled softly at his kindness. This man understood you like no other.

"No, it's alright. I haven't seen the man in almost 3 years, and I'm sure it will be fine." You couldn't have been more wrong. It was in fact very not fine. As soon as you entered the NCIS building, a sense of dread filled you. Jimmy’s wide eyes found yours and as soon as he was introduced, the team instantly knew who he was. The case was messy, especially since no one from your team trusted Palmer, at all. But you managed to close the case while saving the last victim. Both teams had decided to go out to a bar to celebrate and you were dreading it.

The bar wasn't too crowded, and you stayed relatively close to Aaron or your father most of the night. Jimmy had taken that as a sign to stay away from you. And it worked, until you went to get refills. He volunteered to help and there was no escaping. Once you reached the bar and ordered the drinks he began talking.

"Listen Y/n, I just wanted you to know that I miss you a lot." He began, taking your hand in is. It took everything in you not to punch him square in the nose. "And I still love you. I was hoping that you might want to give us another chance." You were shocked. The man you hadn't seen in 3 years, who had cheated on you had the audacity to say all of this.

"I-I don't feel that way for you anymore. I'm sorry Jimmy. But you screwed up, and you lost me. You need to deal with that." You grabbed the drinks and took them back to your table. Aaron and your father recognized the look of panic in your eyes and they were instantly on alert. Aaron was about to say something when Jimmy grabbed your arm.

"Y/n, you're being ridiculous. We were happy, we can still be happy." You tried ripping your arm from his grasp, but he had a rather tight hold. Aaron stood and he towered over Jimmy. Jimmy glared at Aaron, but his next words shook Palmer to his core.

"Let go of my fiance." He spoke sternly. The look on Jimmy’s face was priceless. "Now." He did as he was told.

"Y-your fiance?" You nodded your head, lifting your hand to sheepishly show Jimmy the ring. Your dad cleared his throat from behind you and had a look of utter confusion on his face.

"Ah yes. Dad, this is the cheating ex. Jimmy, this is my dad, but I'm pretty sure you know him." Palmer looked scared as your father stood next to Aaron. He was quick to turn around and run out of the building, his tail between his legs. You turned around and looked at Aaron with love and adoration.

"Thank you." He smiled softly and took you into his arms. And you all sat back down and enjoyed the rest of your evening. And that night as you lay in bed with Aaron, you couldn't help but smile at the twists of fate that led you to the moment.

——————————————————

Thank you guys so much for reading. This was an old work, in my drafts for months, so if it’s aweful, please tell me lol.

Also, I’m going to go back through and look at some of my previous requests. Hopefully I will be able to answer as many as possible in the next few weeks.

Thank you guys for your constant support, it means the world <3

[creativepromptsforwriting]

Drabble List #1

75 prompts to write drabbles or longer stories.

"This didn't work out as I had intended."

"Urgh. Definitely not."

"I will prove you wrong. Just watch."

"Let's kiss and see where it takes us."

"Idiots. They are all idiots."

"If I have to tell you again, I won't be this nice."

"Well, this went horribly wrong..."

"How do you become accidently married?"

"I hate us sometimes."

"Why are you wearing my skirt?"

"It's impossible to get rid of me."

"Sometimes, I don't know why I put up with you."

"This is stupid. And kind of fun."

"Please tell me, this is not why you woke me up."

"I may have lost it."

"You and me - movie night."

Let's grab the food and get out of here."

"High heels do look good on you."

"Roadtrip!"

"I prefer not to be disturbed."

"We should have been in bed 3 hours ago."

"This is a stupid excuse."

"Why won't you let me braid your hair?"

"Are you awake or asleep?"

"I can't smile at you, I'm mad."

"Well, it's never too late."

"Oh, look! My will to live... it's gone."

"Just five more minutes."

"Where did you get the flowers from?"

"Alright, let's make a deal."

"You're so easily distracted."

"Cooking is an art form."

"Are you a witch?"

"Thanks for nothing, I guess."

"This is so stupid."

"You can't handle my beauty."

"Is that my shirt?"

"This doesn't smell like roses."

"Who do we have here?"

"I'm annoyed, to say it mildly."

"Not sure what you mean."

"Smells suspicious."

"Tomorrow will be better."

"I don't know how I feel about this."

"Lies. Just lies."

"Could you spare some change?"

"Well, we can't fix it now."

"I'm not touching that!"

"You're not getting sea sick, are you?"

"It's not what you think it is."

"Did you eavesdrop?

"I can't believe we're friends sometimes."

"How was I supposed to know?"

"This fits perfectly."

"Stay there. I'm on my way."

"Let's get some ice cream."

"The world is not ready for us."

"What kind of sick dream is this?"

"You're a legend, man!"

"The feeling is mutual."

"Does this make sense to you?"

"I'm just so tired."

"Do I really want to know?"

"The government doesn't want you to know about this."

"I volunteer myself to go last."

"Your handwriting is atrocious."

"This whole thing is a mess."

"We were never prepared for this."

"Things are worse than I thought."

"Not our brightest idea."

"Did you see that?"

"How did you get it destroyed like that?"

"Bye, bye, you won't be missed."

"This is a nightmare."

"I have secrets you don't know about."

Drabble List #2|List #3|List#4|List #5|List #6|List #7|List #8

Have fun creating and writing!

If you like my blog and want to support me, you can buy me a coffee! And check out my Instagram! 🥰

[moonianbbyg]

gemini in your chart shows what area of your life you just can’t stop entertaining!

credits for the idea to @/melanatedmomma on twitter.

☿ gemini 1H: geminis usually tend to change their appearance up a lot so this could mean you just can’t stop changing your looks! since air signs are prone to be indecisive this could be because you can never decide which look suits you the best

☿ gemini 2H: always chasing your dreams/goals/ambitions (which is a good thing) you can’t settle down until you make yourself happier and you might get anxious if you don’t feel comfortable in your life, you hate the feeling of anything being pointless.

☿ gemini 3H: you’re literally always thinking of everything/something, mind like a pisces! lol you will for sure speak your mind and you just have the need to share your opinion all the time 

☿ gemini 4H: you can never stop worrying about family issues or your family members. you want to fix everything or any problems (your love language might be acts of service) if there isn’t a problem you’re just very generous with ur family and you’re always making sure you always show them love and spoil them with gifts/affection

☿ gemini 5H: this placement is even worse if you have a gemini venus lmao but you can never stop thinking about being in a relationship or you can never stop thinking about spreading your creative ideas around - you might’ve even been the kid that’s the best in art class! you could be a sweet talker and very charming so people are easily attracted to you but this placement can indicate high standards so you might just flirt for fun. [you might even daydream of sex a lot 👀 or having kids depending if you want one or not ofc]

☿ gemini 6H: similar to gemini 1H you’re always worrying about your appearance do i look good? you’re the person that will always dress to impress. this placement can also show a workaholic so you might pay attention to your job a lot

☿ gemini 7H: well i’d say this placement really depends on your other birth chart placements and your faith/destiny 💀 you could get married more than once in this lifetime and simply bc a gemini 7H gets betrayed a LOT in relationships. you might even be a somewhat naive person so you jump from relationships into relationships without thinking

☿ gemini 8H: correct me if i’m wrong but do you get betrayed a lot or have many enemies? because you’re a very revengeful person who easily builds hate for other people. you’re always planning of revenge and you can’t relax until you know they got their karma. you might even experience a lot of one night stands which you don’t mind having ;) LMAO

☿ gemini 9H: you’re the type of person who thinks being away from home when you’re stressed is the answer. you want to explore the world and go on many vacations just to put your mind at ease.. you never stop doing what you want and what’s best for you. (love this placement omg!!) you could’ve also been the nerd in school who always makes sure they get good grades or you were the teachers pet at some point

☿ gemini 10H: similar to gemini 2H you’re always chasing your ambitions and dreams! due to 10H having to do with your public image you could also worry a lot what others are thinking of you so you might always entertain your bank account’s loss of money 😭 you love to spend (not judging you i do the same lol)

☿ gemini 11H: if someone has you as their friend they’re a lucky person for sure!! you love to spend on your friends and make them happy.. you won’t be able to go to sleep peacefully without knowing your friends are happy. you might even see your friends as your family/second family (so adorable) <3

☿ gemini 12H: you’re so invented into spirituality and mystery. you’re the person that always wants to know why, how and when !? you might put a lot of time into astrology, spirituality etc. or you might even be interested into the meaning of your dreams/you’ll try to lucid dream

this post was created by @moonianbbyg on tumblr <3 please give credits if reposting my work.

[tom-holland-parker]

Lets get Married

Summary: On a class trip to Vegas, Peter is determined to make this trip a memorable one, even if it means doing something crazy. 

Pairing: Peter Parker x Stark!Reader

Word count: 2911

Masterlist

Note: If you’ve never heard Lets get married by bleachers you are missing out.

Taking a bunch of 17/18 year olds to vegas probably wasn't the best idea. Between Flash's constant suggestions on going to a strip club and being stuck on a crowded bus in 90 degree weather, it was already turning out to be terrible.

"Well someone doesn't look too happy" Peter joked as you rested your head on his shoulder. You could feel a headache forming in your head and the heat was only making things worse. "If Flash doesn't stop talking I'm going to stab him" you groaned trying to block out his loud voice.

Peter chuckled, giving you a kiss on your forehead, "sorry to burst your bubble but it's my job as Spiderman to make sure you don't do that"

You rolled your eyes, "but it's your job as Peter AKA my boyfriend to let me get away with it"

"You do realize you're joking about murder" Mj interrupt as she poked her head above her seat in front of you. "I know you're thinking the same thing Mj". She shrugged before returning to the book.

"I’m very glad we finally got a peaceful field trip I don’t think I can handle another Europe or Washington" You joked looking up at Peter. He chuckled, “Don’t jinx it. I don’t want any sort of trouble to happen”

"Well we could always cause some trouble" you smirked, "I've been researching some casinos"

"Since when do you know how to gamble" He laughed. "I'm Tony Stark's daughter doing risky stuff is in my blood. Plus my dad left me with his credit card" you opened your wallet showing Peter the shiny black amex that was tucked in the pocket.

“I don’t know about this,” He said nervously. You scoffed, “You’re telling me that I made all of us get fake IDs and you’re not even going to let me gamble” 

Peter rolled his eyes, remembering the exact day you were talking about. It was almost a month ago when you tricked him and your friends into taking photos that they thought were for the yearbook but turned out to be fake IDs that you needed to get into a party. “I never wanted that fake ID” 

“Yeah but you’re beautiful girlfriend got you one anyway” You leaned over placing a soft kiss on his neck, “Please baby let have some fun. You know what they say What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”

"If you guys are planning on sneaking out, count me in" Mj interrupted, not bothering to wait for a reply before ducking her head back over the seat.

Peter sighed as he shook his head, "Fine but only because Ned has been studying the art of poker for weeks". He pointed to the row next to you where Ned sat reading The Poker Players Bible

“He’s learning poker from a book?” You shook your head in amusement, “He’s gonna lose” 

Peter chuckled, “Have some faith in him. I think he’d make an excellent poker player”. You rolled your eyes, glancing at Ned again before looking back at Peter. 

"Wanna make a bet?" You smirked sitting up from your slouched position. Peter smiled and nodded. "We'll let Ned play three games of poker. If he wins at least twice I'll do whatever you want but is he loses twice then you have to do whatever I want"

He hesitated trying to figure out whether or not you were joking. He rolled his eyes when he realized you were serious, "deal". He shook your hand, "I need to talk to Ned''. You rolled your eyes and put on your headphones as Peter got up and walked to the row besides you.

You didn't notice but Peter had been nervous ever since the plane had landed in Vegas. He knew you'd always wanted to come here and he wanted to make your first trip here a memorable one. "Hey Ned" he whispered, glancing towards you to make sure you weren't paying attention, "I need your help"

"I thought you said you wouldn't have to do Spiderman things on this trip" he replied in a worried tone.

Peter shook his head, "no it's not that" he reassured, "Y/N and Mj are going to come with us tonight to the Casino, but I've made a bet with Y/N and I need you to win two of three poker games tonight"

Ned smiled, "don't worry I've got this I spent the whole plane ride playing in small online competitions and I've won a few games so I'm pretty much a pro"

"great" Peter chuckled nervously, "I'm just nervous. I still don't know what I'm going to do to make this trip memorable for her" he glanced at you watching as you stared out the window.

"Why don't you just cross out number 4 on her bucket list" Ned said as he looked at his book again.

"What are you talking about?" Peter questioned. Ned sighed putting down his book again, "do you remember last summer when we all hung out at her place and she stole a bottle of her dads tequila and she started talking about her bucket list"

Peter nodded waiting for Ned to explain, "well number 4 was get married in Vegas even if it's just a joke"

A burst of laughter exploded from Peter, "are you insane? I can't do that. Her father will kill me" he whispered trying to avoid the strange looks he was getting from his sudden outburst.

"Oh come on I'm sure he'll find it funny" Ned smiled.

Peter nodded, “Ok yeah I’m gonna do it. I'm gonna marry her”. Ned chuckled, "Great. Now I need to study or else you’re going to lose this bet” He returned back to his book as Peter, who was now lost in his thoughts returned back to his seat, letting you rest your head on his shoulder for the rest of the bus ride. 

///

“Ned if you don’t quiet down we’re going to get caught” You whispered as you and your friend piled out the hotel room. It was nearing 11 and all the teachers had forced the students to stay in the rooms for the rest of the night. “Your heels are making more noise than me” Ned joked as you all entered the elevator. 

You rolled your eyes grabbing Peter wrist to look at the time on his watch, “Alright we all need to be back by 4:30” 

To your surprise the casino wasn’t crowded, then again who is going to a casino on a Monday night. “Ok babe, me and Mj are gonna play craps. I'll leave Ned to practice before you lose this bet” You kissed his cheek before grabbing Mj’s hand and guiding her to the dice table. 

“Don’t you think your father is going to question why there are charges to a Vegas casino on his credit card?” Mj asked as you took money out of the ATM. You shrugged, “That’s a problem for another day”. She chuckled as you moved to the table and placed your bets on the game. The dealer handed you your chips as well as the dice signaling to you that the game had started.

It was only an hour later when Peter met up with you and Mj. He wrapped his arms around your waist as you placed your betting chips in their spots, “Are you winning?” He whispered as you grabbed the dice from the table. 

“I’ve done pretty good so far. I need a 7” You shook the dice in your hand before turning to him, “Kiss for good luck?”

He chuckled and gave you a quick kiss, watching as you threw the dice. He could sense your nervousness as the dice moved down the table hitting the wall before landing on the lucky number 7. 

Everyone at the table shouted cheerfully, happy that they had won the round. You gather your chips from the dealer, “Alright Jerry it's been nice playing with you I hope to do it again sometime” you waved goodbye as you all walked to the poker table where Ned sat waiting for the group to join him before he started another game. 

“Alright Ned three games I betting on two loses but Peter thinks differently” You teased as he rolled his eyes, “Prove me right”

If you were being honest you didn’t exactly know what was going on. You’d seen you father and the other avengers play poker before but they never let you in on the game so you hardly knew anything about it, but so far you could tell that you were losing the bet. 

Ned was in the middle of the second game and according to Mj, who didn’t have a biased opinion on this bet, things were looking good for Peter. Ned had won the first game and it looked like he was going to win this one. You sighed in annoyance, hating that you had to admit you were wrong. 

Peter smiled, wrapping his arms around you, “Don’t worry babe I think you’ll actually like that i have planned”. You rolled your eyes watching as Ned cheered clearly happy that he won the game. You sighed, “Ok what do you want” 

“Give me 3 minutes. Stay here” He smiled, grabbing Mj’s arm, leaving you alone at the table with Ned. 

“Ned what does he have planned?” You smirked hoping to wean out whatever Peter was going to do. He shook his head, “Y/N I love you but Peter’s my best friend and I can’t just give away the surprise” You rolled your eyes, turning around at watch as Peter talked to Mj. 

“Please Mj” Peter begged, “I want to make this trip memorable and i'm only asking you because her father doesn’t know” 

“You’re insane” her eyes widened at the thought of you and Peter getting married this young, “You guys are 18 do you seriously think getting married is the best idea” 

“It’s been on her bucket list for years” He pointed out trying to justify his plans. “Please Mj if not for me then do it for the happiness of your best friend” 

She took a deep breath, “Fine I will walk Y/N down the aisle”. Peter smiled pulling Mj into a tight hug. “You’re the best” 

///

“Guys I don’t appreciate surprises” You joked as Ned guided you through the crowded sidewalk. “Don’t worry we’re almost there” He reassured you. You sighed and kept walking as all your friends laughed. 

You came to a sudden stop as Peter grabbed your hand, “Ok Ned you can uncover her eyes” he chuckled. Ned took his hands off your eyes stepping back as you looked around in confusion. Peter was on one knee with a nervous smile plastered on his face. “Y/N I love you”

“Peter what are you doing?” You looked up noticing the small chapel you all stood in front of, “Please don’t tell me-”

“I love you and I know this is on your bucket list so” he kissed you hand, “Will you marry me?”

You stood silent for a moment, shock taking over your body, “Peter-” His face dropping, thinking maybe this was completely ridiculous. You smiled through as sigh, “Yes I will marry you” 

He stood up quickly, pulling you into a hug. “Alright well we better hurry because it’s already 3 and we need to be back at the hotel soon” 

You nodded your head as everyone walked into the small chapel, “Hi I made an appointment online” Peter said nervously as you walked to the front desk hand in hand, Mj and Ned trailing close behind you.

“Peter?” The short lady said. He nodded, grabbing his ID and handing it to her. You did the same as she typed the information in the computer. “Ok boys you can go through there and stand at the altar, girls you can come with me” 

She smiled guiding you and Mj into a separate room, “Ok so we have different dress and veil options for you to pick from but you don’t seem like an extremely flashy girl so I'm going to suggest the little white dress option” 

She handed you a hanger that held a body con white dress with glitter details, it actually looked like something you had in your closet at home. You nodded your head moving to the dressing room to put in on. You locked the door behind you taking this time as a moment for you to take everything in. You were about to get married. Even if it was just a joke it was still a crazy thing to do. You weren’t nervous that you’d regret it, you loved Peter with all your heart, but you were nervous about everyone else's reactions. I can do this, You whispered to yourself putting the dress on before walking out the small room.

“Alright here goes nothing” You smiled nervously and you grabbed Mj’s arm. The song over the speaker began to play as you slowly walked down the aisle. Peter turned to look at you, shocked at how good you looked in all white, a color you rarely ever wore. 

"Wow" he muttered as you stood in front of him, handing your bouquet of fake flowers to Mj as she stood behind you. "You look amazing" You smiled grabbing his hand. 

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness and celebrate the union of Peter Benjamin Parker and Y/N Y/M/N Stark, in marriage. In the years they have been together, their love and understanding of each other has grown and matured, and now they have decided to live their lives together as husband and wife" the short lady read from the thin book in her hands. "Do you Peter Parker, take Y/N Stark to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

Peter smiled, looking you in the eyes, "I do"

"Do you Y/N Stark take Peter Parker to be you lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part"

You nodded your head enthusiastically, "I do"

"Then I now pronounce you husband and wife you may now kiss the bride" the room filled the applause as you pulled Peter into a quick passionate kiss. Only pulling apart when you realized your empty fingers, "wait we don't have rings"

"Oh i got that covered" Ned said cheerfully as he pulled out two contained of rings, the ones you usually get from the quarter machines, "they were the only ones I could find on short notice"

"they're perfect Ned", you chuckled, pulling out the pink and purple rings, "Dibs on pink"

Peter rolled his eyes forcing the small ring onto his finger, "I don't think I'll ever be able to take this off" he joked

"That's the point of a wedding ring" you grabbed his hand, "you can't get rid of me that easily"

"Alright time for pictures and then certificate" the short lady appeared with a Polaroid Camera snapping pictures of you and Peter.

"Are you happy?" You looked up and smiled. "I'm married to my favorite girl in the whole world. Why wouldn't I be happy?" Peter smirked before giving you a quick kiss.

Time flew by so fast. After the certificate was signed, a bottle of champagne was popped leading you to get extremely tipsy. By the time you all got back to the hotel it was already 5. Peter carried you up the stair bridal style watching as you moved sleepily in his arms.

"What the hell" Flash said loudly startling everyone. You all turned around watching as Flash stood in the hallway in his bathrobe surrounded by two girls who definitely weren't students. "Go to bed Flash" you mumbled, cuddling further into Peter's arms.

"You guys snuck out?" He said in a shocked voice, "Oh I can't wait until you guys to get caught"

Mj chuckled opening the door to the hotel room you shared with her, "Flash do those girls know that you're 16" she lied. The girls gasped quickly walking away from the angered boy. He took a deep breath before stomping back into his room. "Gosh I hate that dude" Ned said as you all walked into the hotel room.

Peter placed you in bed, taking off your shoes before tucking you in, "I'll see you tomorrow morning Mrs. Parker"

You smile tiredly, "I love you Mr. Parker"

///

"Well well well if it isn't the newly weds" Your father said angrily as you walked through the elevator doors. You kept your composure not wanting to give you and peter away

"What are you talking about?" You said through a smile

"Don't act dumb" you father said as he pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket, "I'm the one who gave Peter the emergency credit card I can see everything he buys"

Your eyes widened, Peter took a deep breath, "Mr. Stark-"

"Im gonna give you ten seconds to run" Your father said as he threw down the paper. 

"I'll talk to you later babe" Peter quickly kissed your cheek before rushing out the room. You father quickly trailing behind

[wattpadscapcons]

Oooooo!!! I got a good one!

What about a Drabble of Kagehara finding the reader passed out and asleep at their work desk? They’re swamped with work and he carries and tucks them into bed for the night. And in the morning he talks about their workload and tries to encourage them to take some time off saying he’ll do anything just for them to take a break from their work

Kinda like your oneshot “Break Time” only it’s a role reversal

Alrighty then.... Here we go again...

Househusband kagehara Househusband kagehara Househusband kagehara Househusband kagehara Househusband kagehara Househusband kagehara Househusband kagehara

=

Break Time V2 (Pregame! Shuichi x Reader)

=

Here he finds you asleep over your work yet once again. He thinks to leave you there for a second but he know if he does, the first thing you'll end up doing is going straight back to work as soon as you're awake. He doesn't really think that's fair. Of course, he's just glad you didn't actually fall asleep at your agency this time. Not that he didn't enjoy carrying you home then too.

=

It just happened to be as embarrassing as the time you were put on the "good stuff" as you called it, for your last dentist appointment. He can still remember your look of surprise when he told you that you were married.

"You're my husband?"

"Mhm."

"Well damn, I'm glad I married someone pretty."

He got it on camera and there will never be a day you live it down. He will never let you delete that video from his phone, and he will never delete that memory from his mind. He will cherish it until the day he dies. Moving on...

=

He was a little more upset that you forgot to eat again, even though he brought your meals directly to you. Did you just push them to the side and continue to work when he told you to take a break? Again? What a pity, he doesn't ever want to be the one telling you how to live your life, but if this continues you could get sick, or worse.

"What am I going to do with you Y/N?"

How he manages to pick you up without waking you up has become a secret art of his. He doesn't really like the pure looks of confusion you have when you wake up in your bed and not at work. Of course, Shuichi doesn't like a lot of things. You not taking breaks, ignoring his hard work and cooking, and refusing to eat and sleep are just a few things he despises most.

=

He'll do anything it takes to get you to slow down or ask for less work, he'll even intimidate the hell out of your boss if he needs to. All he can do right now is nuzzle up against you and just leave the lecture for the morning. He wants to enjoy being next to you for as long as he can. The morning comes a lot earlier for him, you woke up at 5am.

You attempted to sneak away from him only to get caught. You didn't forget that he can be a light sleeper now, did you?

"Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"Shu?"

"Back to bed."

Oh no... you're screwed if you try to go against him right now. You know it well too. Turning to face him, you can see he's sitting up now, with a very disappointed look on his face.

"Hon....I have a lot of work to do."

"Please don't make me get out of bed angel. You know what will happen if I do."

"You're not really giving me a choice here, are you?"

"Nope. Unless you're wanting to have a serious talk right now about your deteriorating health."

"No. Sleep is fine."

"Good. Now come here, we can talk about that in the morning."

The morning being 3 hours later for him, plus another 2 hours for you. He was making sure you got at least 8 hours of sleep before he let's out of that bed. Even then, he still might not and just handcuff you to the bed while he makes you breakfast. No need in letting you try to pull another fast one on him after all.

=

"Why did you handcuff me to the bed?"

"To keep you from escaping, again."

"Shu-"

"No, we aren't talking about that right now. You need to eat. You've been pushing everything I've made for you the past few days to the side. You're bound to be starving."

"......Thank you."

"Anything for my angel.💙"

=

He hand to unhandcuff you, but that doesn't mean he wasn't ready to feed you by hand if you did attempt another escape attempt. He's done it before and he sure as hell would be happy to do it again.

=

"Alrighty...now what was this about deteriorating health?"

"You need to take time off from work."

"Huh?"

"Y/N, you've literally been working yourself to death for weeks. I don't like finding you passed out on the floor or getting a call about being knocked out cold at work. It's just not healthy."

"I just feel like I'll never get anything done if I don't do it like that."

"Let me put it this way then, I am willing to get a job myself if that will stop you from this destructive behavior."

"Shu-"

"Or I could just threaten your boss, tie you to the bed, call in sick for you everyday for a week-"

"OK OK I get it..."

"Great, I'll already called in for you anyways."

"What am I going to do with you Shu?"

"You're going to stay in bed and eat the food I make you. This week is going to be all about you."

"Can't it be about you too?"

"I'm not the one who got themselves sick."

[messers-moony]

Comics 3 | A.G

Paring: Aidan Gallagher X Fem!Reader

Summary: Aidan meets an unusually pretty girl at a library while trying to find a textbook for school.

Thirty years of age, both adults still lived in the heart of New York City with bustling careers. Aidan’s singing and acting career took off after releasing his EP at twenty-five, along with his acting in The Umbrella Academy. Not to mention his phenomenal acting in the Netflix series based on Y/n’s comics.

Y/n’s comic book writing and illustrating only got busier as the years went by. So much so Aidan would have to make sure she was eating correctly as she soon became a workaholic. While he loved her passion for comics, he also loved her well-being and wanted her healthy.

Soon enough, she found her healthy balance between work and reality. But lately, she found herself delving back into old habits. She cooped herself in her office, not ever wanting to leave. Aidan tried convincing her to leave, but every time, she’d say the same thing.

“ If I leave, I’ll lose inspiration, and I have perfect ideas at the moment! “

What was even worse was she was most productive at night. So now, Aidan slept alone instead of with the girl he yearned for. Oftentimes he found himself hugging her pillow with his nose as deep as it could go without suffocating himself.

This was a very unhealthy addiction, and again, Aidan loved her enthusiasm for her work, but this was becoming too much. It was about 4 am when Aidan got restless and left the bedroom.

Hesitantly he knocked on her office door to no response. Sighing, he opened the door. There he found Y/n laid with her head on top of the desktop. She was sound asleep, looking rather uncomfortable.

Carefully he picked her up and brought her to bed. She would probably scold him in the morning for bringing her to bed instead of waking her to continue to work, but he didn’t care. She fell into bed effortlessly and instantly nuzzled into his arms, staying asleep.

He gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead before falling asleep himself. Then in the morning, clattering in the kitchen could be heard. Groaning, Aidan left the bed to see Y/n in the kitchen making coffee while reading something on her phone.

“ Morning. “ Was spoke tiredly from Aidan’s mouth, causing her to look up, “ Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you. “ Y/n apologized as she set her phone down.

Aidan took a seat at one of the barstools next to the ledge, “ You didn’t. I was bound to wake up eventually. I have a photoshoot later and some scenes to do. “ He replied as he rubbed his face.

“ Are you okay? “ Y/n queried, “ You’re not overworking yourself, are you? “

Aidan deadpanned, “ You’re not one to talk. “ He snapped, and Y/n looked taken aback, “ I found you asleep at your desk last night with colored pencils in your hand. “

“ I'm sorry. I just, I just really need this done. I have a deadline, and it’s stressing me out beyond belief. “ She again apologized, making Aidan sigh, “ I know, love, I know. But you can’t keep yourself in your office all day. You worry me when you’re like this, not eating, not drinking, not doing anything aside from work. “ Aidan explained.

“ I know you’re very passionate about your work, and I love that about you. You put everything you can into your comics, and that’s what makes them so good, but you need to find your balance again. You’re stressing yourself out over nothing. You’ll complete this comic in time. I know you will. “ He reassured, “ I do not deny it isn’t stressful because I know it is. But you can’t be this hard on yourself. “

Y/n sighed, “ Thank you. I’ll try to find my balance again. It’s just been so much. “ She admitted, and Aidan gave her a tiny smile, “ I know. We’ve been together for almost five years, dated for two, and married for nearly three. I know when something becomes too much. “ The brunette male retorted with a chuckle.

“ Damn, it’s almost been three years. It feels like it was yesterday. “ Y/n reminisced, “ You were such a dork back then. “

Aidan scoffed, “ And you weren’t? If I remember correctly, you wore sneakers instead of heels to our wedding. “

“ I can’t walk in heels! That’s not being a dork; that’s being intelligent. “ Y/n faked offense, and Aidan raised an eyebrow, “ And when we got back to the hotel, what did we do? “

“ Played Mario kart. “ Y/n muttered, “ Mm? I couldn’t hear you. “ Aidan teased.

She crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes playfully at her husband, “ We played Mario kart. “

“ And that is the dorky side of you, my dear. “ Aidan smirked as he got up from his chair and towards the coffee maker, “ But don’t be mistaken, I love you even more so because you’re like that. “

“ We’re not like normal married couples, are we? “ Y/n questioned as Aidan handed her a coffee, “ Definitely not. “

Life had resumed after that playful banter between both lovers. Aidan had gone on to do his photoshoot and scenes for the day while Y/n worked on her comic book.

Something had always been curious to Aidan though, more specifically, there was a question lingering in his head constantly. Where was Y/n’s family? And why didn’t she ever speak of them?

Aidan was always reasonably proud of his family, but Y/n hadn’t ever mentioned that she had a family. He’d be lying if it didn’t worry him. He didn’t want to imagine her having no family at all. While Aidan’s parents were terrific in-laws, he needed to know she had family as well.

There weren’t even pictures anywhere of them, not a sign. Her phone didn’t hold any photos of mysterious people, nor did any of the frames in the apartment they lived. The questions became more persistent as time went on.

Eventually, after months of pondering, he decided to ask. They were both watching a television show in the living room as she laid in his lap. His hand had absentmindedly began playing with her hair as the other rested upon her chest.

“ Love? “ Aidan spoke, grabbing her attention, “ Yes? “

He thought long and hard before being bluntly curious, “ Where’s your family? “ The question had now blatantly been spilled from his mouth as she froze, “ I, uh, why do you ask? “ Y/n stammered.

“ You’ve never spoken about them. I’ve never even seen proof they existed. It’s been piquing my curiosity forever, and it pains me to think you grew up with no family. “ Aidan confessed as her face softened at his concern, “ I did grow up with family. We should probably just leave it at that. “ She responded, but Aidan wasn't happy with her answer.

“ Please, what happened to them that you won’t even tell me about them? “ He persisted, “ Aidan, it’s not essential, I promise. “ Y/n replied, trying to keep her frustration to a minimum.

Aidan still wasn’t quite cheerful at her sudden annoyance, “ What are their names? Did you have any siblings? Any cousins? Any aunts or uncles? “ The male continued asking questioned until Y/n lost her temper, “ Aidan! Please! I don’t want to speak about them. They made it known long ago they wanted nothing to do with me, okay? “ Y/n snapped as she sat up and faced him.

“ But why? “ He questioned softly as he cupped her cheek, “ Because! They didn’t like the person I became. They thought it was stupid. I wanted to even think about majoring in Art. I was exiled from my own family because Art was my choice of career. “ Y/n began explaining.

She sighed, “ It didn’t help as I progressed through my career either. They caught wind of us dating and weren’t happy. Said you were an idiot, a fool, and- and just a dumbass using me for sex. I- I couldn’t take it anymore! I was sick and tired of being ridiculed my entire life. So I cut them out of my life like I should’ve many, many years ago. “

“ I’m so sorry. “ Aidan whispered, “ I didn’t mean to pry.

“ It’s okay. You didn’t know, but now you do. “ Y/n replied as she hastily wiped her cheeks.

“ Why don’t we play some Mario kart? “

[lollypopsx]

Prompt List

Prompts 1-75 are courtesy of @creativepromptsforwriting - please check her out! 76 onwards are my own ideas, I can’t help adding to it!

Send me and ask or a message to request! I’d be more than happy to!

Completed prompts will be linked in my Masterlist 

"This didn't work out as I had intended."

"Urgh. Definitely not."

"I will prove you wrong. Just watch."

"Let's kiss and see where it takes us."

"Idiots. They are all idiots."

"If I have to tell you again, I won't be this nice."

"Well, this went horribly wrong..."

"How do you become accidently married?"

"I hate us sometimes."

"Why are you wearing my skirt?"

"It's impossible to get rid of me."

"Sometimes, I don't know why I put up with you."

"This is stupid. And kind of fun."

"Please tell me, this is not why you woke me up."

"I may have lost it."

"You and me - movie night."

Let's grab the food and get out of here."

"High heels do look good on you."

"Roadtrip!"

"I prefer not to be disturbed."

"We should have been in bed 3 hours ago."

"This is a stupid excuse."

"Why won't you let me braid your hair?"

"Are you awake or asleep?"

"I can't smile at you, I'm mad."

"Well, it's never too late."

"Oh, look! My will to live... it's gone."

"Just five more minutes."

"Where did you get the flowers from?"

"Alright, let's make a deal."

"You're so easily distracted."

"Cooking is an art form."

"Are you a witch?"

"Thanks for nothing, I guess."

"This is so stupid."

"You can't handle my beauty."

"Is that my shirt?"

"This doesn't smell like roses."

"Who do we have here?"

"I'm annoyed, to say it mildly."

"Not sure what you mean."

"Smells suspicious."

"Tomorrow will be better."

"I don't know how I feel about this."

"Lies. Just lies."

"Could you spare some change?"

"Well, we can't fix it now."

"I'm not touching that!"

"You're not getting sea sick, are you?"

"It's not what you think it is."

"Did you eavesdrop?

"I can't believe we're friends sometimes."

"How was I supposed to know?"

"This fits perfectly."

"Stay there. I'm on my way."

"Let's get some ice cream."

"The world is not ready for us."

"What kind of sick dream is this?"

"You're a legend, man!"

"The feeling is mutual."

"Does this make sense to you?"

"I'm just so tired."

"Do I really want to know?"

"The government doesn't want you to know about this."

"I volunteer myself to go last."

"Your handwriting is atrocious."

This whole thing is a mess”

"We were never prepared for this."

"Things are worse than I thought."

"Not our brightest idea."

"Did you see that?"

"How did you get it destroyed like that?"

"Bye, bye, you won't be missed."

"This is a nightmare."

"I have secrets you don't know about.”

“Get out of my kitchen”

“You were mine for the summer”

“Don’t forget where you belong”

“Don’t test my patience”

“You had your chance, you blew it”

“Why can’t I be the little spoon for once”

“You did not just shave that...”

“We could of had it all”

“I got you some”

“That was private”

“I can’t believe they saw that”

“You’re too dangerous”

“I’m sitting on a bench in Coney Island”

“You had to kill me, but it killed you just the same”

“But maybe this thing was a masterpiece, til you tore it all up”

“My reputations never been worse”

“You’re my best friend”

“We don’t have time to mess this up”

“Meet me behind the mall”

“I’ll always be in charge”

“So can we start it all over again?”

“To be loved and to be in love”

“It’s your world, we’re just living in it”

“You go glen coco”

“I guess I’ll just stumble home back to my cats”

[renegadewangs]

Van Zieks - the Examination, part 11

Warnings: SPOILERS for The Great Ace Attorney: Chronicles. Additional warning for racist sentiments uttered by fictional characters (and screencaps to show these sentiments).

Disclaimer: (see Part 1 for the more detailed disclaimer.) - These posts are not meant to be taken as fact. Everything I’m outlining stems from my own views and experiences. If you believe that I’ve missed or misinterpreted something, please let me know so I can edit the post accordingly. -The purpose of these posts is an analysis, nothing more. Please do not come into these posts expecting me to either defend Barok van Zieks from haters, nor expecting me to encourage the hatred. - I’m using the Western release of The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles for these posts, but may refer to the original Japanese dialogue of Dai Gyakuten Saiban if needed to compare what’s said. This also means I’m using the localized names and localized romanization of the names to stay consistent. -It doesn’t matter one bit to me whether you like Barok van Zieks or dislike him. However, I will ask that everyone who comments refrains from attacking real, actual people.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10

Bring on the game's credits! BRING IT! The Resolve of Ryunosuke Naruhodo part 2 is here!

Episode 2-5: The Resolve of Ryunosuke Naruhodo, part 2

This is the first time in a while that I actually want to try other options to see what happens. The 'accusation' leads to some witty banter with a frustrated Stronghart, but 'report' is one that gets a reaction from Van Zieks himself. Ryu theorizes that 'since Klint was a well-bred and fastidious man, and knowing the end was near, he might have wanted to tie up some loose ends in all of his outstanding business'. Van Zieks immediately replies that his brother had no outstanding business.

DID I JUST GET PENALIZED BY THE DEFENDANT??? Just for implying his brother might've had some loose ends to tie up? Van Zieks really hates it when people show his brother even the slightest bit of disrespect, huh? Well, it's about to get a whole lot worse. Let's go for the confession option! Van Zieks definitely doesn't take kindly to this one.

“What are you saying? Do you even realise?! A confession...about the true identity of the Professor... That, that would mean...”

He fumbled his speech, there. We've never heard him do that before. And he's gone back to that bobbing, unsteady animation halfway into the above dialogue. Ryu insists it's the only explanation that fits. The man who murdered those members of the aristocracy wasn't Genshin Asogi at all, it was the one believed to be the fifth victim, Klint van Zieks himself.

Welp. We broke him. Stronghart remarks that Pandora's box has opened at last, making it clear he already knew what we just revealed. The gallery is outraged.

We've gone from well-bred to thoroughbred, have we? Susato feels very bad for Van Zieks, but Ryu asks himself whether such a brilliant prosecutor never suspected “what his older brother really was”. To clear up doubt further, he asks whether Klint Van Zieks owned a dog. Barok doesn't intend to dodge the facts of the situation, it seems.

Not what the concept art says, but it's possible Klint owned a different, smaller dog before Balmung. Van Zieks talks about how loyal the dog was and how it wore a jewel-studded collar which was stolen from the house “some years ago now”. This implies it was less than ten years ago, and must've been kept in the house as a keepsake even after Balmung passed away. Ryu and Susato bring up that they've seen such a collar; it was Selden's loot in case 2-2. They note the fancy B emblem on it, and this is the first time we find out that Klint van Zieks was a married man. His widow's maiden name was Baskerville. It's a little odd to me that for someone who thought so highly of his brother, Van Zieks never mentioned his sister in law before now. Conveniently, it never came up for the sake of a twist, I suppose. Either way, the emblem confirms the collar they saw was Balmung's. Ryu notes there was a considerable amount of blood on the collar (nobody washed this thing?) and while it could've come from typical hunting trips, it could just as well have been human blood. With that, the gallery begins to lean towards the truth that Klint van Zieks really was the Professor himself. Stronghart seems to have realized there's no way out of this now and announces that 'they may have the truth'.

Here comes that 'true nature' thing again, just worded a bit differently. Van Zieks doesn't intend to shirk away from it, though. He's open to the insinuation that his brother was, in truth, something truly horrible. Stronghart explains that Klint attempted to fight the growing darkness in London, only to end up being consumed by it. He also admits that after the fourth victim fell, Genshin showed up at his office, putting forth the accusation that Klint was the Professor. He didn't have any evidence and needed a warrant to get some, but Stronghart refused to anger the aristocracy based on the accusation of a visiting student, so he sent Genshin away. As a result, the man headed over to the Van Zieks mansion and Klint perished. Stronghart continues to admit that he was responsible for pinning the Professor's crimes on Genshin, right down to ordering Gregson to fabricate evidence. Sure enough, the late inspector's earlier claims ring true: it seems he did genuinely believe Genshin to be the killer, but was reluctant to falsify anything until Stronghart strong-armed him into it. The jailbreak agreement was also part of Stronghart's plan; he manipulated Genshin into agreeing by proverbially dangling his 14 year old son in front of him. Van Zieks brings up one more point: that Stronghart was the mastermind behind the Reaper organization. Not only does he admit to it, he calls it a “brilliant idea” and even takes credit for how his “minions” worked tirelessly to ensure Van Zieks was never accused of being the Reaper himself. What a smarmy bumhole. He insists it was all for the preservation of law and order across the empire, and the gallery is actually suckered into falling for this ploy. It seems as if he's going to get away with his masterminding without decent consequences. Kazuma now has one more question for Van Zieks, and it's the exact one Ryu asked himself earlier; did he never have any doubts about his brother?

“My brother's sense of justice was extremely strong. Perhaps...too strong, I observed. […] During the time of the Professor killings, my brother did not appear to be himself. But it was only once. Not more. Klint wasn't the culprit. That was my conclusion at the time. And I still believe that now. […] The third victim...was the Lord Chief Justice at the time. It was he who had recognized my brother's potential and trained him as a prosecutor. No matter what the circumstances, it's unthinkable that my brother could have killed his friend and mentor!”

So here, we learn that Klint wasn't an infallible paragon of virtue in his brother's eyes. Simply by saying that his sense of justice was “perhaps too strong”, a flaw is being brought to light. Younger Barok saw that Klint's need to ensure justice was overpowering him, and he also saw that during the time of the killings, something was off about his behavior. Enough to have the younger Van Zieks consider, for a brief time, that perhaps the Professor was him. However, the death of the third victim was like a lifeline to him, a flotation device keep him from going under- or perhaps more like a straw to grasp. It offered a sort of justification to him; a firm belief that Klint would never kill his own mentor and therefore he couldn't possibly be the Professor, and Barok was wrong to ever doubt him. However, it was just a very meager excuse to put his suspicions at ease and blind him to the truth. There are, after all, plenty of reasons why Klint would kill that Lord Chief Justice if indeed he were the Professor.

So Stronghart now tries to wrap everything up with a neat little bow, saying that's all the truth they'll be able to get from this trial and he'll present himself at the Ministry of Justice for whatever sanctions are deemed necessary. Since he's the Lord Chief Justice, I can't imagine the Ministry of Justice will give him more than a slap on the wrist. However, he says just a bit too much in his closing statement and Ryu jumps on that immediately. A third page of Genshin's will was hidden from everyone! Turns out, it was a personal message to Kazuma that they never bothered to send to Japan. Governor Caidin conveniently brought it with him and the contents are read aloud after some pressuring. With this last secret message left behind by Genshin, Ryu manages to find Klint's last will and testament hidden inside the Asogi clan's sword. GASP.

Oblivious to the shenanigans playing out in the Court Record section of the game, Stronghart once again tries to end the trial and even goes so far as to say Klint was basically insane when he took his mentor's life (to which Van Zieks objects fiercely). Ryu interjects, saying he has one more piece of evidence to present. When Stronghart calls the very notion absurd, Van Zieks once again raises an objection, pointing out that “this gentleman has an uncanny habit of producing evidence at the final hour that had escaped everyone else's attention.” Which, y'know, is true. That's how Ace Attorney works. I do want to draw attention to the fact that he said “this gentleman” as opposed to “this Nipponese” or even something like “this barrister”. He considers Ryu a gentleman now! So with that, Ryu has the opportunity to shove Klint's will in everyone's face and things escalate very quickly.

Ooh, his speech faltered again. He is shook! And it gets even better when he gets a closer look at the document.

Stronghart panics and demands Ryu hands the document over to him at once. When that fails, he even tries to forcibly adjourn the trial and get everyone to clear the courtroom. If that isn't suspicious, we don't know what is. It sure is satisfying to watch him squirm. Naturally, he can't actually put an end to the trial now- not with so many people watching, so the document is read aloud. It's revealed that Genshin challenged Klint to a duel, so that he might “depart this world with honor”. Klint goes on to write that he finds himself undeserving of this honor and that “the Japanese are a truly merciful people”. So here, already, we get the final nail in the coffin for Van Zieks's entire motivation for racial prejudice and for hating Genshin in particular. Klint never thought ill of Genshin, not even in his final moments. If anything, he was grateful for being put out of his misery and being allowed to 'depart the world with honor'. Genshin's actions were not betrayal; not ever. They were merciful. (COOL MOTIVE, STILL MURDER.) What we also learn is that while Klint did indeed take the life of the first victim on his own accord, he was then immediately identified as the culprit and blackmailed into the next three killings by someone else. You guessed it, it was Stronghart! Despite his earlier panic, he now has a myriad of justification ready, talking about how sacrifices have to be made for the sake of justice and whatnot. He also explains that he was the one who pressured Jigoku into shooting Genshin in the graveyard when Drebber showed up there. He acts like Jigoku is the only one to blame, but considering Stronghart was basically screaming in Jigoku's ear, I wouldn't be surprised if this poor man pulled the trigger by accident simply because he was startled by the shouting. Stronghart was the one who decided that Genshin needed to die and forced Jigoku to act, so Stronghart is the one ultimately responsible. Naturally, Ryu and Kazuma both attempt to argue Stronghart's justifications into the ground. At one point, Stronghart plays the victim card and asks them to acknowledge his 'struggle', but Kazuma insists that this jerk has done nothing and:

WELL. Okay. Looks like we've finally convinced Kazuma that Van Zieks is a victim in this whole ordeal, as well as someone who 'acts justly'. That's a wonderful way forward. With all this out in the open, though, Stronghart offers a literal round of applause. It's true; he's “done nothing” and “merely been surrounded by fools who've acted very rashly indeed”, which means he can't be charged with any crimes. We can't even prove he threatened anyone into doing his bidding, as he says it might as well have been “bargaining”. Thing is, bargaining with someone to end a third party's life is known as “contract killing” and is, in fact, illegal. I can't find any sources to verify whether it was already illegal in 1900 England, but I can only assume so, or people would've gotten away with murders very easily. I guess the bottom line here is that we can't prove Stronghart really did extort or pay anyone to take a life, since there's no material evidence for that sort of thing, nor anyone who can testify on it. Stronghart claims that the minutes of the trial will be heavily redacted to remove matters not related to Gregson's death, in the interest of preserving law and order, as well as to protect the queen. The gallery has now turned against us as well, chanting Stronghart's name.

Here we have a singular opportunity to deviate into the closest thing to a bad ending this game series has. Anyone who remembers the iconic 'the miracle never happen' ending in AA2, or even the bad endings in AA5 where either Trucy or Athena is implied to be killed by Aura, will be sorely disappointed by this one. First, to compare... In the standard ending, no matter how far along you've gotten in the trial- including proving that Stronghart was the Reaper- Van Zieks will still be found guilty. Stronghart will utter the words that he “would like to think however misguided, [Van Zieks] acted out of a sense of justice nonetheless”, and then pronounces the poor man guilty of crimes we've already proven were never committed by him. Now, in this slightly different ending, if you run out of all your penalty points because you fail to present Harely, the dialogue is tweaked. Stronghart declares that for the sake of justice, “the only correct course of action has been unanimously acknowledged by the clear majority here present. All mention of that which has been discussed in this courtroom today will be struck from the records. Barok van Zieks – Or should I say, Reaper of the Bailey... The heinous crimes committed by your brother, Klint van Zieks, will be lost in obscurity, this time forever. May you also find peace now as you join your sibling in the eternal darkness.”

And then, just as in the standard ending, Van Zieks is pronounced guilty and the doors slam shut. So effectively, the only real difference here is that Stronghart really rubs it in our faces that Van Zieks is taking the fall as the Reaper in the eyes of the public. He knows Van Zieks isn't the Reaper- everyone present in the courtroom knows it. However, since the entirely gallery is siding with the real mastermind, the minutes of the trial will be confiscated and destroyed so that the truth will be lost forever. Neither Kazuma nor Ryu reacts to this turn of events on-screen, which is a shame. Van Zieks doesn't fight the adjudication either, he simply accepts the verdict in silence- Hang on, where have we heard that before? Genshin? And didn't Van Zieks say that so long as his death served a purpose, he wouldn't mind dying over being called the Reaper? Stronghart certainly seems to feel that Van Zieks ought to be thrown under the omnibus and sent to the gallows for the sake of minimizing crime in London.

But we're not going to let the true antagonist of this game get away with his bullshit! Time to pull Harely's ears! Cue another (S)Holmeus Ex-Machina where it turns out the entire secret trial has been livestreamed to the Queen of England through holograms. By royal decree, Stronghart is stripped of his title and will be prosecuted for his crimes at a later time. FINAL BOSS, DEFEATED.

With Stronghart out of the way, Van Zieks has some closing sentiments to offer.

“Is that my brother left this world without a word to me.”

I can see why that might bug him. Van Zieks always looked up to his brother and shielded him from disrespect even a decade after his death, but Klint in turn didn't seem to want to leave any parting sentiments for him, not even a simple farewell. That's not the case, though! Susato points out there's actually more to Klint's will than was read aloud, so let's hear it now.

“Barok, you have always looked up to me, and now, you follow in my footsteps to become a prosecutor. It is my fervent wish that my unspeakable deeds should not hinder your advancement. I ask not for understanding, for none could understand my depravity. I ask only for forgiveness. Asogi is a fine detective, and a hunter worthy of respect. He has agreed to honour my final two wishes. The first is that this document survives. The second... I cannot commit to paper. I have confessed my sins to my wife. May she find resolution in my death. With my eternal gratitude to my Japanese friend, I rest my quill.”

Imagine how different things would've ended if the will had found its way to Van Zieks shortly after Klint's death. It would've prevented so much grief and so much prejudice, because if Van Zieks had learned that Klint still regarded Genshin with so much respect and gratitude even in this situation, he would never have blamed him for Klint's death nor considered it too great a betrayal. Everything that happened was in line with Klint's wishes. As it stands now, the words in Klint's will basically serve to scold Van Zieks for his attitude and hatred these past ten years.

Yep, there we go. The final straw. He's been truly, utterly embarrassed and made to confront his mistakes. When Stronghart explains how his ambition to become Attorney General is what prompted him to silence people like Watson and Gregson. Van Zieks asks him whether he ever bothered to count the number of brilliant people he had killed. Kind of a questionable remark, since Stronghart mostly had criminals killed. We don't even know for sure whether Watson was a good person or not; he comes across as a cowardly skeeve. I guess Van Zieks is mostly talking about Genshin, but even that is... Uh...

I received an Ask a while back, bringing up the matter that Genshin appears to be exonerated of any wrongdoing when the truth of Klint's death is revealed. That despite duels being outlawed and it being literal murder, Kazuma seems to take this truth as his father's name being cleared. Indeed, going over everything we've learned so far, it feels as if the narrative has set up both Klint and Genshin, and even characters like Jigoku and Gregson, as victims of Stronghart's manipulation. The thing is, though... Both Genshin and Klint took at least one life of their own free will, Jigoku pulled a trigger twice for the sake of his own career (and recruited someone into an assassin plot), Gregson conspired with a notorious assassin to commit over a dozen murders just because his boss told him it was the right thing to do... Feeling bad about murder or resorting to it because 'the other person is even worse and needs to be stopped' doesn't change that it's murder. It doesn't seem as if Kazuma or anyone else outright says their loved ones are absolved of any responsibility/their names are cleared, but it does really come across as if the narrative wants you to forgive them. So uh... Yes. This is something the game should have properly addressed, instead of just going 'oh, these poor people, all used as puppets by the final boss'.

Anyway, (S)Holmes takes the time to remind Van Zieks that he's the defendant in this case, not the prosecutor. Our old friend Santa Judge returns for the adjudication! Turns out, he was in the gallery all along. (Was he chanting Stronghart's name too?) He talks about how the darkness of the past ten years has lifted, in part thanks to a bright young star from the East. Awww, we've completely won over the judge! Van Zieks now also has something to add.

“I had the faintest of intimations. That if British justice, so warped and twisted over its long history, was finally to know change... This might just be the man to do it. But at the time, I wouldn't allow myself to acknowledge the possibility. I couldn't overcome my hatred of the Japanese, after the circumstances of my brother's death. Mr. Naruhodo...”

He takes a flourishing bow here, an acknowledgment that Ryu is worthy of his respect and perhaps even that Ryu is superior to him, then stands up straight again for the final whammy.

Ryu is shocked and Susato is brought to tears. We did it, y'all. We've secured the full, heartfelt apology. I'm not sure there's really anything to add to this, nor anything we could want from it at this point in time. Ryu doesn't say he forgives Van Zieks for his discourtesies, but considering how hard he worked to get this guy cleared of murder, that would feel kind of out of place. The forgiveness happened long before Van Zieks apologized, or so is the implication. (Is that the correct narrative path? Not at all, but I'll get back to that in the conclusion.) So after some more closing words from Ryu, Van Zieks gets his not-guilty verdict and court is adjourned.

In the defendant's lobby, Ryu feels a bit conflicted about how this whole thing went down. Susato tries to cheer him up by saying that everything will seem much better once he sees Van Zieks's smiling face. Indeed, in most other Ace Attorney games, this would be the point where at last, an emotionally distant defendant/witness drops their walls and allows themselves to smile (or cry). Just think of Gina, Lana Skye or even Athena Cykes when she cries tears of joy during AA5's ending. Hilariously enough, Van Zieks is not one of those characters.

This is a really fun subversion of expectations and Ace Attorney tropes. And I still believe his face got frozen like that. Even so, he's got something heartfelt to say.

“For you to have risen to the level of excellence you demonstrated today... Well, it's quite remarkable.”

Sounds like a hatchet job of a compliment at first glance, but the sentiment is there. It is extremely remarkable for a foreign exchange student who's only been in the country for about 9 months- and who only spent like 2 of those as an active lawyer- to rise to such a level that he not only uncovers the truth of the current case, but of a cold case from 10 years prior, which was part of a huge cover-up. Ryu points out that he exposed a most 'unpalatable truth' in court and that he feels as if he robbed Van Zieks of something precious. Van Zieks doesn't seem to agree. He reminisces on Stronghart's words.

“But that... That was just the feeble excuse of a coward. Only those with a steadfast eye for the truth have what it takes to fight the dark forces of crime. You made fine work of establishing that fact in court today.”

So once again, he's complimenting Ryu's courtroom performance. Not only that, but he's acknowledging (in different words) the earlier sentiment that the truth needs to come out, no matter how painful. Perhaps, indirectly, he's calling himself a feeble coward as well. Ryu and Susato are proud of Van Zieks's growth, with Susato saying that surely Kazuma would be smiling if he were here. Naturally, when he shows up at that very second, he isn't smiling at all. Like mentor, like disciple! Kazuma takes a polite bow before Van Zieks and congratulates him on his acquittal. Naturally, after watching Kazuma prosecute so ferociously for two whole episodes, that doesn't feel sincere. Van Zieks asks him whether he doesn't instead want to curse him. Kazuma apologizes for his earlier behavior, which does feel 100% sincere.

“Your father, Genshin... If I had been stronger, then perhaps... I made an unforgivable error of judgment. … I can offer no excuse.”

One more apology to add to the pile! And here we once again reach that question of whether the narrative is acting like Genshin should be absolved of all blame. In a technical sense, Van Zieks wasn't wrong to prosecute Genshin, since he did seriously murder Klint. That alone is already warranting of the death penalty, so the added crimes of the Professor on top of that don't change too much. However, I don't think Van Zieks's lines truly relate to the Professor trial itself. The error of judgment, in my eyes, can also be seen as the blind acceptance that Genshin betrayed him (as well as Klint) when there was actually far more at play. This notion that Genshin was a horrid traitor who abused their trust and hospitality was then allowed to grow into an irrational hatred which festered for a decade. Regardless of whether Genshin killed Klint, the insistence that the man's true nature was that of a monster was wrong, and I think that's what he's apologizing for. To be clear, he's not apologizing for racist sentiments uttered towards Kazuma or anyone else from Japan with these lines. This purely relates to his treatment of Genshin. However, he already apologized for his many discourtesies back in the courtroom and I think the racist outbursts were part of those discourtesies.

Kazuma says he can offer no forgiveness, which is totally fair. Kazuma isn't obligated to forgive this man. He does, however, admit that he has respect for Van Zieks, since he “fought for justice and the truth”.

Awww! Remember how in my very first 'strong thought about Barok' post, I pointed out that Barok almost appears to have been designed to be Kazuma's rival prosecutor instead of Ryu's? Yeah. Here we see it very clearly. The reconciliation conversation between these two feels like a much better resolution than the conversation between Van Zieks and Ryu.

So now Kazuma brings up that Genshin promised to do two things for Klint, but the second wasn't mentioned in the will. Mikotoba shows up to share a very heartbreaking tale about Klint's unnamed widow, the lady Zieks-Baskerville, who was hiding out in Dartmoor and passed away from childbirth very shortly after Genshin was executed. The newborn baby girl survived, though! Van Zieks blurts out that that makes no sense. “Why on Earth wouldn't Klint have entrusted the child to my care in that case?!” And that alone is already kind of tragic, but what really packs a wallop is this:

This means Klint and his wife deliberately kept the pregnancy from him. It's never explained why. Genshin showed up at the manor in the spur of the moment and Klint died that very same night, when his wife must've already been around 8 or 9 months pregnant. (she gives birth about a week or two later, after all.) Klint says that he 'confessed his sins to his wife', but that also must've been very recent, if not that very same night, since Stronghart was threatening to tell Klint's wife and brother of his misdeeds. Stronghart's hold on Klint would've weakened if he'd told her the truth months ago, which in turn implies the both of them decided not to tell Barok while she herself was still oblivious to the Professor truth. Honestly, it all feels like a vague plotconvenience.

What is explained is why the newborn baby wasn't entrusted to Van Zieks. It isn't because Klint had the amazing foresight to know his younger brother would become a salty, loner alcoholic; it's because he and his wife feared the truth of the Professor might come out. Heck, if Genshin had never been arrested for Klint's death, perhaps it would've come out for certain. “The girl would be forever branded as the daughter of the infamous mass murderer.” So the baby girl was distanced from the Van Zieks family as much as possible, with all of London unaware of her existence. This girl is, of course, Iris.

Right on cue, the Harely plushie activates to receive a call from (S)Holmes and Iris. She invites everyone over to 221B for a feast and makes sure to invite “Mr. Reaper” too. He very awkwardly declines the offer.

Humanization? Humanization! He does, however, give Iris his word that he'll present himself at 221B in the near future to express his gratitude. I think a big part of why he declined the offer was because he wouldn't feel at home during the big celebration when a whole group of people is there. He'd much rather visit Iris during a more quiet, private moment and that's sweet too. Plus, I don't think he's in the mood for a celebration, considering all the horrible truths he's learned in a single day.

So now Kazuma prepares to leave and asks Van Zieks to accompany him. The wording of “would you care to-” makes it very clear this isn't a demand, it's a very soft request that Van Zieks is free to decline. Not that he hesitates for even a second. Here's some more parting words.

“I believe... You saved my life.”

He takes a deep, flourishing bow and honestly I've lost track of how many times he's praised/thanked Ryu by now. More than Edgeworth thanked Phoenix, most likely. The prosecutor duo prepares to walk away, but Ryu calls after Van Zieks, asking him to wait. Which he does. Ryu asks him what he intends to do now.

... “Prosecutor van Zieks chooses death”??? In a way, he's thinking of pulling a similar move. He intends to publicize the full truth of the Professor, and I can only imagine that includes Stronghart's involvement in what went down 10 years ago. Maybe he'll even share the truth of the Reaper who's haunted the courtroom all these years. He believes that “once that's done, the Van Zieks family will be ostracised completely from London society.” (I don't think he means living family members, but rather, the legacy of the Van Zieks name and the rights associated with it.) So because of that, he intends to leave the capital as soon as he's free of his employment. Considering how easily this man took a five year sabbatical and adding in the fact that the Lord Chief Justice just got arrested, I expect his resignation could be as easy as packing his desk and leaving his office without saying a word. Kazuma, however, calls him a fool and a coward. He basically dares Van Zieks to keep going now that he's finally freed from the pseudonym of the Reaper. Van Zieks neither agrees with the sentiment nor shoots it down, instead saying it's unexpected to hear those words from Kazuma of all people. With that out in the open, they leave for realsies.

Just as Van Zieks doesn't attend the Baker Street party, he isn't there when Ryu's at the docks to return to Japan. I like to think Kazuma did bother to tell Van Zieks that Ryu is leaving the country, because withholding that information seems like a bit of a jerk move, but... Well. Not showing up at the docks to say some final farewells is even more of a jerk move on Van Zieks's part. Though it's possible he felt he wasn't wanted there, and may eventually ask for Ryu's address so he can write a letter (which is far less imposing than invading a heartfelt farewell with a scowling face). It's a shame, though. I would've liked to hear his thoughts on Ryu's departure.

We learn that Kazuma will “stay in Lord van Zieks's tutelage for the time being” to become a full-fledged prosecutor. Which is fine, I guess. It doesn't matter whether he's a defense attorney or a prosecutor; all that matters is the pursuit of the truth. What catches my interest is that even with all that bad blood and refusal to forgive Van Zieks, Kazuma still agrees to keep studying as his disciple. This implies to me that he sincerely doesn't believe Van Zieks to be a bad person anymore, and acknowledges he can learn a lot from this man. Which is not the same thing as being on friendly terms with him, but at the very least he's giving Van Zieks the benefit of the doubt when it comes to improving their... Well, their dynamic, I suppose I should call it.

On to the credits scenes we go! This time, Van Zieks legit does get a scene of his own, but before we address this one, I want to skip ahead real quick to Albert Harebrayne's scene.

“He sent me a very nice letter saying he'd like to show me around now that everything was settled. B-But what have I done? I was so excited, I picked this splendid hotel and now I can't afford the bill! Oh Barok! Come to my rescue again, please! I, I wish I could just vanish into thin air sometimes!”

Several things of note can be taken out of this little scene. First of all, with the Reaper nonsense behind them, Van Zieks seems to have wasted very little time with asking his best buddy to return to London for that sightseeing that was promised. Presumably, he even paid for the trip (again), since Albert still seems to be very low on money. This, coupled with the fact that Van Zieks was reading that letter with quite a bit of dedication in his jail cell, indicates to me that he's longing for the good old days, when he could smile and have friends. He's trying to return to a sense of normalcy and since Albert is still considered his closest friend, it makes sense he'd reach out to him instead of a relative stranger like Kazuma. Baby steps. Now, the fact that Albert says “come to my rescue again” sets the very clear tone that this guy believes Van Zieks has helped him before- during the trial, of course. It's another reinforcement of the notion that Albert is thankful Van Zieks chose the role of prosecutor in order to defend the teleportation theory, even if it meant that he himself would be branded a murderer. Despite his gruff exterior and blunt words, Albert thinks of Van Zieks as a sort of knight in shining armor who will come save him. … With cold hard cash, in this case, but it's the gesture that counts. Van Zieks might allow Albert to stay in his mansion instead, but it depends how high the risk of assassination is at this point in time. People are probably hating on the Van Zieks family now that the truth of the Professor is out.

On to credits scene of Van Zieks himself! We have confirmation by now that he hasn't retired as a prosecutor, since Kazuma already expressed his intent to keep studying under him. So we see Van Zieks in his office, addressing Klint's painting.

“In those days, when I was known as the Reaper, I felt your presence at my side. Once, unable to bear the burden of that grim pseudonym, I even retired from the courtroom. Despite everything, I still wear your prosecutor's badge with pride. But the darkness that beset me is no more. As you, too... Are no more.”

The first two sentences of this bit feel very disjointed and barely related to me, so I had a quick look at some fan translations. First is the sub translation on Youtube: “I could feel you standing by my side through the days in which I was called the Reaper. Yet there were times I could not bear the burden of that name, and left the courtroom far behind me.” The “yet” is very crucial, since it makes the insinuation that feeling his brother's presence was very important to Van Zieks, but the burden became so overwhelming that he retired anyway. Taisa the Gamer's script doesn't have a “yet” in it, nor any equivalent, but the sentence structure still flows well enough not to cast doubt on how he felt about Klint's supposed presence. Contrasting that, the localization's wording with “even” almost makes it seem like feeling Klint's presence was a negative thing- that he was overwhelmed by it and that this was the burden associated with the Reaper name, as opposed to the killings. Which can't possibly be right; he already admitted to us that the idea of his brother's ghost helping him was one of the main reasons he kept on being the Reaper. So long story short, the localization's take on these first two lines is a little off.

The prosecutor's badge thing, however, is spot on. Despite everything- despite the 'true nature' of Klint now exposed, Van Zieks still wears the badge with pride. We know the badge is symbolical, of course. He still believes in Klint's sense of justice and he's still going to openly admit to being Klint's brother- to being a Van Zieks. That's sweet. He goes on to say that the darkness within him is no more. To really grasp what that means, let's go back to the end of case 2-3 for a second. There, Van Zieks says that after his brother's death, he found himself in “a very dark place indeed”. In case 2-4, he mentions that he refuses to trust others to protect himself against betrayal, but has now sunk into a proverbial mire which makes it impossible to breathe. All of that is the same darkness he's referring to now, I'm sure. I don't believe depression can lift this easily; there's no way that darkness is no more. However, I think what he means to say is that it no longer has such a strong hold on him that it manifests in paranoia and irrational hatred. He has a chance now to start fresh and that's what he intends to do. He's striding away from that darkness, towards a brighter future. In order for a person to change for the better, they themselves have to want to change, and it looks like Van Zieks is all for that. Which at last brings us to the conclusion of this essay series! The conclusion, which looks back on the original query posed in Part 1, will once again include a load of screencaps. To keep the post size lighter, I'm going to put it in a separate post. I hope you'll look forward to it!